An Alliance is Forged
"WOOOOHOOOO!" Ben cheered as he swung between buildings in one of the Wards of the Citadel.
Today was a pretty quiet day and his friends were just back home chilling, but Ben could never stay in one place for too long. Even though there was no sign of any crime in progress, he still performed his daily patrol in keeping an eye out for trouble. He's more like his dad than he knows.
Nothing has really happened ever since he and his friends took out the Friends of Humanity a week ago. Now all they've been doing was taking care of small time crime, and that's not really a job for all three of them, so Ben volunteered for the first patrol.
Ben landed on top of a building and sat down at the edge and sighed in relaxation. "Nice to have a day off here and there." Ben said. He perked up when he heard his Omni-tool beeping and activated it, causing a screen to appear with Garrus face on it. "Hey Garrus, what's up? We still on for tonight."
"Sorry Ben, but I'm going to have to cancel. I've just been given an investigation, and it's going to need my full attention." Garrus stated and Ben could notice he had a troubled look on his face.
"What's going on?" Ben asked, with his tone becoming slightly more serious. "Is there anything me and the other guys can do?"
"It's just an investigation and seeing if I can gather evidence, so there really isn't much you can do at the moment." Garrus said before looking to his sides to make sure no one was listening. "This is supposed to be top secret from the public, but in case I do need your help in the long run, it's best you know that there's some trouble brewing."
"What happened?" Ben asked.
"The human colony, Eden Prime, was recently attacked by the synthetic race known as the Geth." Garrus answered in a troubled tone.
"Wait, me and the others read up on those." Ben noted. "Aren't they those robots that live beyond some place called the Perseus Veil?" Garrus nodded at that, happy to know that he didn't need to waste time explaining that detail. "Why would they come out of hiding and attack a colony out of the blue?"
"Apparently, they weren't acting alone. They had help, one of my people." Garrus answered with his eyes narrowing. "Saren, a Turian Spectre, allegedly led the Geth and commanded them to attack the colony."
"Hold up, I thought Spectres were the good guys?" Ben asked in confusion. "I heard that they were supposed to be like these super spies, or something like that."
"Spectre's are enlisted by the Council, and their main goal is to quell conflict in the galaxy, and they have full authority to use whatever method to accomplish that, even if the methods are considered immoral." Garrus answered.
"Damn." Ben said with cringe. Guess there's more to Spectres than what you read. "So what, do you need me and the others help with this."
"I'm just trying to gather any evidence to prove that he was responsible for the attack, but so far I've been coming up with nothing. If I need anything, I'll let you guys know." Garrus assured before looking at Ben with a serious expression. "Listen, Ben, I got this bad feeling. Keep on your toes, because I think there's a storm coming and Saren's at the center of it."
Ben nodded, understanding just how serious Garrus was being. "Alright. I'll let the guys know about this. If you need anything, just let us know."
"Thanks, Ben. Appreciate it." Garrus said with a grateful nod before hanging up.
Ben looked back at the distance and couldn't help but feel troubled. "If Garrus is on edge because of this, then something big must be going down."
/
Vince sat alone in a meditative position in one of their rooms to the apartment he and his friends were using. His eyes were closed as he was in deep concentration while he slowly started floating up in midair. He was picturing it, one of the many locations he was familiar with in New York. The rebuilt Avengers Tower.
He held up his hand with the sling ring on his fingers and started moving them in a circle. A couple of sparks appeared in midair, but that was it as Vince continued to rotate his arms in an attempt to open a portal back home. Vince took a breath and let his arms down as no matter how hard he concentrated, he just couldn't seem to open a portal back home.
Vince sighed in frustration as he landed back down on his feet and exited the room, now walking into a room with Erik sitting on a couch eating a sandwich and watching TV.
Erik noticed him and gave a slight wave, before noticing the frustration on Vince's face as he looked in the fridge for a snack. "Hey, Vince. Still no luck, I take it?"
"Understatement of the century." Vince said as he started making himself a sandwich as well. "Whenever I ever had trouble with a spell, my dad would always give me a book from Kamar-Taj and have me do extension research. Problem is, there's no Kamar-Taj here, so therefor, no books to do extensive research."
"I know your frustrated, hell, I'm frustrated to, but there's nothing we can do about it." Erik said as he took a bite. "Besides I'm not really worried. If we can't find anyway to get back on our end, I'm sure the others back home are figuring something out on their end."
Vince couldn't help but agree with that. Some members of their team have been taught by some of the smartest minds on their Earth. "I guess you have a point there." Vince said before noticing a call coming on his Omni-tool. He answered it and revealed it to be Ben. "Ben, is something up?"
"How's the patrol going?" Erik called out.
"Patrol hit a bit of a snag. Garrus called me up to cancel for tonight because he's investigating something that has him worried." Ben informed.
"What's going on?" Vince asked, giving Ben his full attention. "What happened?"
"Apparently a Spectre named Saren is being accused of attacking the human colony Eden Prime with an army of robots and Garrus is in charge of finding evidence." Ben said, shocking the other two Avengers, but only slightly.
"So it looks like it's going to be one of those days, huh?" Erik said with a sigh.
"Does Garrus need our help?" Vince asked.
"At the moment he said he's fine, but he wants us to stay on alert. Something about this has got him on edge, and I think this is only gonna get crazier." Ben said in a serious tone.
Erik glanced back at the TV briefly before his eyes widened slightly by what was being shown. "Guys, check it out." Erik said as he turned the volume up and Vince moved his arm so that the screen on his Omni-tool was facing the TV. It showed an Asari giving a news report on the exact same attack they were talking about.
"And with each passing hour the casualty numbers for the attack on Eden Prime continue to rise, scaring more human colonists and fearing for their lives. While the council continue to declare this as an isolated incident, there are still those who remain skeptical."
"You were right Erik, looks like it is going to be one of those days." Vince said with a troubled look, one that each of the Avengers shared.
What they don't realize at the moment, is that they aren't the only ones investigating this situation...
/
John Shepard, Commander of the SSV Normandy, had to refrain from sighing as he listened to Udina arguing with the Council in his office about what action should be taken.
With him were two members of his crew, with one being a more recent addition. Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, who was with him on the mission to Eden Prime, and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, who was part of the 212th Division stationed on Eden Prime and was the only survivor after the Geth attacked. Also in the office was Shepard's C.O., as well as father-figure, Captain Anderson.
Shepard can still remember Eden Prime like it happened hours ago. The smell of death and destruction as he trudged through the terrain, shooting Geth and those things - those Husks - as they came back to life to attack them. He can still remember seeing Jenkins lifeless body as he got shot down by those Geth drones. He remembers that giant unknown ship that exited Eden Prime's atmosphere and took off to who knows where.
But most of all, he still remembers the Beacon. Ashley was about to be the one to have an encounter with it, but Shepard pushed her out of the way before it had a chance to grab her.
The Prothean Beacon was said to hold untold knowledge left behind by the Protheans, so it was a his job to recover it before the Geth got to it. He succeeded, but not in the way that he expected. When he approached the Beacon, it showed him something, images that just won't leave his head.
Death.
Fire.
Millions of life forms screaming.
He doesn't understand much of it, but whatever it was he guarantees that it was what the Geth were after.
What's more, the situation got even more complicated when the Spectre agent Saren became accused of orchestrating the attack on the colony and, what's more, killing a fellow Spectre named Nihlus.
Now it was their word against his, and it was blatantly obvious which side the Council was on.
"This is an outrage!" Udina exclaimed angrily at the holograms of the Council. "The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a Turian colony!"
"The Turians don't found colonies on the borders of the Terminus System, Ambassador." Valern stated.
"Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went in to the Traverse." Tevos said in her firm, yet still gentle tone.
"What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!" Udina urged.
"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador." Spartacus said in a pointed tone, wanting Udina to know his place.
"Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing, not before." Tevos said right before the holograms disappeared.
'Well, that definitely didn't go well.' Shepard thought to himself.
Udina grunted in frustration before locking his eyes with Anderson and the others. "Captain Anderson. I see you brought half your crew with you." Udina said in a low tone. It was no secret that Udina and Anderson didn't get along that much, and it was safe to say that this situation wasn't helping.
"Just the ground team from Eden Prime, in case you had any questions." Anderson said.
"I have the mission reports. I assume they're accurate?" Udina asked.
"They are. Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience." Anderson pointed out.
"They were not happy about it. Saren's their top agent, and they don't like him being accused of treason." Udina stated.
"Saren's a threat to every human colony out there." Shepard said strongly, as he saw first hand how dangerous Saren and his Geth army was. "He needs to be stopped. The Council has to listen to us!"
"Settle down, Commander. You've already down more than enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres.." Udina ordered in an accusatory tone. "The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!"
"That's Saren's fault, not his!" Anderson defended with his eyes narrowing at the ambassador.
"Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations, otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres." Udina said before looking towards Anderson. "Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing." He then turned his attention to Shepard and his two comrades. "Shepard, you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower, top level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in." With that said, Udina and ANderson walked off out of the office.
Ashley shook her head in frustration. "And that's why I hate politicians." Ashley said with a sigh.
"At least we have a chance, even if it's small." Shepard said as he tried to see the bright side.
"Think we might have a chance to see a bit of the Presidium while we head to the Citadel Tower?" Kaidan asked.
"We're not exactly here for sightseeing, Lieutenant." Ashley pointed out.
"I just thought that this is our first time on the Citadel. Might as well make the most of it." Kaidan said with a shrug.
"He has a point, Williams." Shepard said with shrug and a slight smirk as the three of them exited the office. "Might as well make the most of this little adventure we're on."
Ashley sighed as she too gave a slight shrug. "I guess you have a point, sir."
As they were about to head on out of the Embassy building, Kaidan paused as he thought he heard voices coming from the room down the hallway. Shepard and Ashley paused when they saw their comrade not following.
"Something wrong, Kaidan?" Shepard asked the Lieutenant.
"I think there's a commotion going on in the Elcor/Volus Embassy." Kaidan pointed out.
"Let's see what's going on. Someone may need our help." Shepard said as the three of them entered the room.
/
Spider-Man dodged incoming fire from a Krogan trying to shot at him. He found this big guy causing trouble when he was trying to rob a group of Salarians and demanded all of their valuables.
"Come on, I know dinosaurs have very tiny brains, but you can find better work than just simply mugging a few civilians." Spider-Man said as he jumped to the side to avoid getting shot.
"Well I knew it would get your attention." The Krogan said with a snarl as he shot at him again, but missed like last time.
"Wait, you did all this for me? I'm touched." Spider-Man said in fake surprise.
"You'll be dead!" The Krogan exclaimed angrily as he continued to fire at the hero. "I am Korbec, and you and your friends ruined everything for me!"
"You're going to have to be specific, cause me and my pals have taken down a lot of gun crazy maniacs." Spider-Man said, not really seeing where this big guy was going with this.
"Me and my gang would have been rich from that back heist, if you and your pyjak friends didn't ruin it for us!" Korbec exclaimed angrily. "Once I'm done with you, I'm going to find the rest of your friends and tear their arms off!"
"Oh, that was you? I thought you looked familiar!" Spider-Man said in remembrance. "You did all this just because of owner little back heist? You got some serious issues."
"Maybe, but at least I can quell them with your head on a silver platter!" Korbec exclaimed as he charged right at the hero while still firing like a madman.
Spider-Man jumped in a zigzag maneuver to avoid getting shot at before jumping right in front of the angry Korbec. The Krogan tried to strike at him with the blunt end of his shotgun, but the hero dodged out of the way and kicked the weapon right out of the alien's hand. He then followed it up by by doing a few flip and spin kicks that pushed Korbec back a few paces.
Korbec growled in anger before he rushed in again head first in an attempt to run him down. Spider-Man saw this coming and dropped down low and kicked the Krogan in the stomach and sent him up in the air. He then followed it up by launching two web lines at him and then pulled him down fast, slamming him to the ground.
Korbec groaned as he tried to get back up, but Spider-Man rushed in and delivered a couple of punches, knocking him out. To finish this up, the hero webbed him to the ground so that he wouldn't get away.
"Now why don't you take a time out to work on your issues." Spider-Man said in a light scolding tone. "Maybe this time you'll stay in a C-Sec prison."
The two Salarians that Korbec tried to rob approached the arachnid-themed hero. "Thank you, human. We owe you our lives." One of the Salarians said with a grateful smile.
"Truly, you are quite extraordinary." The other one said.
"I'm just happy to help." Spider-Man said humbly. "Why don't you two give C-Sec a call and have them pick this guy up. He's got a late appointment with a prison cell." With that said, Spider-Man jumped up and launched a web line to swing away.
'Dad's been called amazing, spectacular, or sensational, but I don't think he's been called extraordinary before. Maybe I can trademark that.' Ben thought to himself before shaking his head. "Nah, sounds too egocentric for my taste."
With that, he just kept on swinging to continue with his patrol. That was a nice little distraction from the news he received this morning, but he still can't get it out of his mind. A human colony was attacked and he and his friends were stuck here.
They were supposed to be the Avengers, a force for good, to protect the people from dangers they never could hope to fight. Now they're stuck on a humongous space station with no way off it while a planet just got attacked by a bunch of robots.
"Wish we could find a way to do more. Maybe get off this station at least, and help out those beyond this place." Ben muttered to himself as he still couldn't shake that feeling of unease he got from his call with Garrus.
/
After making a couple of stops and speaking to some of the residents here at the Citadel Presidium, Commander Shepard and his two crewmen finally made it to the Citadel Tower, where Anderson and Udina were waiting for them so they could attend the hearing.
"Finally." Ashley sighed in exasperation. "I thought we'd never get here in time."
"It wasn't so bad." Kaiden said with a shrug. "At least we got to meet that Asari consort everyone seems to love so much."
"We'll talk to that Turian general she asked us to track down later. Right now the hearing is about to start and that takes priority." Shepard said as they all entered the elevator.
"Right behind you, Commander." Ashley said as the elevator traveled upwards and played the generic elevator music. Ashley couldn't help but shuffle nervously as they went up. "The Council isn't going to ask me any questions, are they?"
"I doubt it." Kaiden answered. "We've made our reports, now we just have to trust Ambassador Udina."
"No, we don't, sir." Ashley deadpanned.
As they rode up, the music stopped playing the music briefly and started playing Citadel news.
"And in other news, people are still praising the brave heroics from our residential crime fighters known as the Avengers. The three of them were spotted yesterday aiding C-Sec in a shootout that would have claimed more lives if it was prolonged, though thankfully no lives were lost. Opinions about these individuals are still split in the public opinion, but for all attempts and purposes these amazing individuals have done some good work here at the Citadel, and I for one am thankful to have them here."
That news report really confused the Alliance soldiers as this was the first they're hearing about this.
"The 'Avengers,' Commander?" Kaiden asked in confusion.
"This is the first I'm hearing about them, Lieutenant." Shepard said in equal confusion.
"Did the reporter seriously call them crime fighters?" Ashley couldn't help but ask.
"Maybe Captain Anderson can tell us more about this." Kaiden suggested.
"That'll have to wait. We're here." Shepard said seriously as they arrived at the top and the elevator opened.
The top floor of the Citadel Tower was huge with a long pathway leading up to the center. The three of them walked up the first set of stairs, but paused when they spotted two Turians getting into a heated argument. It appeared to be Garrus and his boss Executor Pallin.
"Saren's hiding something. Give me more time. Stall them!" Garrus pleaded to his boss.
"Stall the Council?" Pallin asked sarcastically, knowing that idea was ridiculous. "Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus." Having the final word, Pallin walked away.
Garrus looked down with frustration in his eyes. He was close to uncovering something about Saren, but every time he thought he had something he hit a road block because of a lot of government red tape.
Garrus finally spotted Shepard as he and his crewmen walked up to him. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."
"Sounds like you really want to bring him down." Shepard noted based off that argument.
"I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way." Garrus said. "But he's a Spectre, everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence."
Kaiden looked past them and noticed Anderson in the distance waving them over. "I think the Council's ready for us, Commander." Kaiden said.
"Good luck, Shepard." Garrus said as he walked off. "Maybe the Council will listen to you."
"Sounds like we really have our work cut out for us." Ashley noted.
"We have to at least try." Shepard said strongly as he and the others made their way down the path.
The floor was bigger than they thought, with a fountain at the center and what looked like a few cherry blossom trees around the area. Several diplomats were scattered around the floor, mostly talking about the hearing itself or various other politics. They went up a couple flights of stairs will they saw Anderson, and he did not look happy.
"The hearing's already started. Come on." Anderson said as they all followed him. Udina stood upon a small singular platform speaking to the Council, who stood up on a higher platform looking down on them.
And off to the side was a giant hologram of the sole purpose of this hearing, Saren.
Saren definitely looked like a older Turian than Garrus or Nihlus, with a prosthetic arm and a cold calculating gaze that sent shivers down the hardened soldiers spine, though Shepard showed no fear. Still, his eyes almost looked dead to the world emotionally, like he could watch a horrible event happening and he wouldn't show any emotion.
"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern, but there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way." Tevos stated.
"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason." Sparatus added.
"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" Udina pointed out sternly.
"We read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador." Valern stated skeptically to Udina. "The testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof."
"I resent these accusations." Saren finally spoke in a cold tone. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend."
"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson said angrily, which caused Saren to finally notice him and give a condescending look.
"Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me." Saren looked to the side and noticed Shepard amongst the group. "And this must be your protégés, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."
"The mission to Eden Prime was top secret. The only way you could know about the beacon is if you were there." Shepard accused.
"With Nihlus gone, his files passed on to me. I read the Eden Prime report. I was unimpressed." Saren said in a condescending tone. But what can you expect...from a human."
'Damn it, it's like he has an answer for everything.' Shepard thought to himself before speaking out. "Saren despises humanity! That's why he attacked Eden Prime."
"Your species needs to learn it's place, Shepard. You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres!" Saren said with his eyes narrowing.
"He has no right to say that!" Udina exclaimed angrily. "That's not his decision!"
"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting." Tevos placated, wanting to stay on track.
"This meeting has no purpose." Saren said impatiently. "The humans are wasting your time, Councilor, and mine."
Shepard could see that things were not going well for them, but he had to continue to try. "Saren's hiding behind his position as a Spectre. You need to open your eyes!"
"What we need is evidence." Valern stated. "So far we have found nothing."
"There is still one outstanding issue: Commander Shepard's vision." Anderson pointed out, hoping this might sway them. "It may have been triggered from the beacon."
"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?" Saren said skeptically. "How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony."
"I agree." Sparatus stated in an equal skeptical tone. "Our judgement must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation."
"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" Valern asked, wanting to know if they brought any more evidence.
Shepard may have kept a calm stoic look of any soldier, but he was feeling pretty angry at their blatant acceptance of Saren's innocence. "You've made your decision, I won't waste my breath."
Each of the Council members looked towards each other and shook their heads, coming to an agreement on this matter.
Tevos decided to speak for them. "The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the Geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied." This caused Udina to look down in frustration.
"I'm glad to see justice was served." Saren said in an almost smug tone before his hologram disappeared.
"This meeting is adjourned." Tevos said before the council walked off. This caused the Earthlings to walk off as well, looking down in defeat.
Udina couldn't stop giving Anderson and accusatory look. "It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question out motives."
"I know Saren." Anderson said strongly. "He's working with the Geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race. Every colony we have is at risk, every world we control is in danger, even Earth isn't safe."
"You think maybe you can tell me about this history between you and Saren?" Shepard asked as this was the first time he's ever heard about it.
"I worked with on a mission a long time ago. Things went bad, real bad." Anderson said as he had a somewhat haunted look in his eyes before he decided to get back to business. "We shouldn't talk about this here, but I know what he's like, and he has to be stopped."
"Well, the Council isn't going to help, so it looks like we need to deal with Saren ourselves." Shepard said.
"As a Spectre, he's practically untouchable." Udina said with a troubled expression. "We need to find some way to expose him."
Kaiden thought about it, until an idea came to him. "What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the executor."
"That's right!" Ashley said in realization. "He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren."
"Any idea where we could find him?" Shepard asked.
"I have a contact at C-Sec who can help us track Garrus down. His name is Harkin." Udina said, which caused Anderson to get angry.
"Forget it, they suspended Harkin last month for drinking on the job. I won't waste time with that loser." Anderson said sternly.
"You won't have to." Udina pointed out. "I don't want the Council usingyour past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this."
"You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation." Shepard argued, but Anderson held out his hand to stop him.
"The Ambassador is right. I need to step aside." Anderson said.
"I need to take care of some business." Udina said before looking at Anderson. "Captain, meet me in my office later." With that said, Udina left, leaving Anderson to talk with the Alliance marines.
"Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den. It's a dingy little club at the lower section of the Wards." Anderson stated. "Good luck, Shepard. I'll be over in the Ambassador's office if you need anything else."
"There is one thing, sir." Shepard said, stopping Anderson from leaving. "We overheard something on the elevator ride up here."
"What is it?" Anderson asked.
"What can you tell us about this group called the Avengers?" Shepard asked, which surprised Anderson slightly but then smirked as he fiddled with his Omni-tool.
"We hoped you may have more information on them, sir." Ashley said.
"I can't tell you much personally, as I've just been getting small reports here and there, but let me tell you, from the video recordings I have seen, what you're about to see is truly something else." Anderson as he showed the three of them a recording of the Avengers and their display of their powers, and needless to say, the three Alliance soldiers looked on in disbelief.
"Oh my god..." Kaiden breathed out at Doctor Strange creating a magical barrier while flying.
"Holy shit." Ashely said in disbelief at watching Erik and Spider-Man easily dispatch other thugs with their enhanced strength.
"Is this accurate, Captain?" Shepard couldn't help but ask, as he's never seen anything like this.
"Alliance Command has been getting reports on these individuals, though some are more skeptical than other about whether this is genuine or not." Anderson said as he deactivated his Omni-tool. "I, for one, am unsure, but apparently Udina has been hounded by the Council demanding if this is something that humanity has concocted, so if they have the Council on edge, I'm willing to incline that they're for real."
"Think we might run into them?" Kaiden couldn't help but ask. "Having these guys on our side could really help in the long run."
"Doubt it." Anderson shook his head. "From what I can tell they never stay in the same area and are very spread out. Still, you have a point, Lieutenant Alenko, having someone like these people on our side would be beneficial."
"I just want to know how they did all that stuff. It's gotta be some kind of Biotic enhancements of some kind." Ashley said trying to make sense of what she saw.
"We'll have to think on that later." Shepard said, wanting to get back on task. "We have to find Harkin so he can tell us where Garrus is."
"Good luck, Shepard." Anderson as he and the Alliance soldiers went their separate ways. The three soldiers decide it would be quicker if they used the transit cars to get to Chora's Den.
/
Spider-Man sat along the edge of a building again, now that he was coming up at the end of his patrol for the day. He looked down at his Omni-tool to check to see if Garrus has called back, but ever since their talk this morning, he's been pretty silent lately.
"Hope you're doing okay, buddy." Spider-Man said as he got up and was about to start swinging back home, but paused when he got a notification on his Omni-tool.
Ben and Garrus calibrated his and the other's Omni-tools with a police scanner so that way they could always keep an ear out for trouble and get there in time.
"Well, looks like the day's not over yet." Spider-Man said as he listened in on the police scanner on his Omni-tool.
"All units, we have a potential disturbance at Chora's Den. Shots fired. I repeat, shots fired."
"Better get there fast." Spider-Man said as he jumped off and swung in the direction of Chora's Den. He had to briefly look down at his Omni-tool in order to know which direction to go to as he's never been to Chora's Den before. "Hope I can get there before anybody gets hurt."
/
Shepard, Kaidan, and Ashley made their way in the direction to Chora's Den after the transit car dropped them off. Hopefully they can find Harkin so that way they can find Garrus in time. Every second they wait, was another second of Saren's trail going cold.
"Still not sure if talking to this Harkin guy is great idea Commander." Ashley said.
"Why do you say that, Williams?" Shepard asked curiously.
"I mean, just look at this report Anderson sent us." Ashley said as she brought up her Omni-tool. "Bribery accusations, battering detained criminals, excessive use of drugs and alcohol, this guy is practically scum. Why would he help us?"
"Well, maybe he'll help us out of the kindness of his heart." Kaidan said in a joking manner.
Lightly chucking at the Lieutenant's joke, Shepard decided to add to it. "Or maybe he'll be so drunk he'll have no choice but to help us."
"That seems to be more likely." Ashely said with a smirk as well. These guys may not be her old unit, but she had to say sticking with them is actually pretty good.
The three of them exited out of a hallway and they could see Chora's Den up ahead. They would have continued forward, but Shepard stopped them after he spotted something that really put him on edge.
Five Turians were hanging by the entrance, and they were eyeing them with a cold calculating gaze.
"Commander?" Ashley asked in confusion.
"Something wrong?" Kaidan asked in confusion as well. Shepard didn't say anything as he narrowed his eyes at the group of Turians who continued gazing at them.
One of the Turians stepped forward and eyed each of the humans with a calculating gaze before he stopped at Shepard and focused solely on him. After a few seconds of this stare down, the Turian turned to his fellow group.
"That's him." He said, before all of them brought out their weapons and started firing at them.
"Get down!" Shepard ordered as they all ducked for cover and brought out their weapons as well. The Alliance soldiers occasionally stood back up to fire back at the group of assassins, but they were outnumbered and couldn't get a clear shot due to constantly being fired upon.
"Yeah, I'm really loving the Citadel now!" Ashley exclaimed as she stood up and managed to hit one of the assassins a few times, but his shield was holding.
"Who are these guys?" Kaidan questioned.
"Commander Shepard!" One of the Turian assassins called out while still firing. "Saren sends his regards!"
"Guess that answers that question." Shepard muttered before standing up and firing on the assassin, effectively killing him, before ducking back down to avoid getting shot. "Alright, we're going to have to work in tandem to dwindle their numbers."
"Easier said than done, Commander. They're trying to circle us." Kaidan said as he noticed the four remaining assassins split in two and were going in opposite paths to surround them.
Before the two coming on the right could get close to them, two web lines attached on their backs, confusing them before they were yanked back hard and crashed into the wall. Everyone present were confused by what just happened, but it turned to shock when Spider-Man swung right on in and landed in front of them.
"This a private party or can anyone join?" Spider-Man joked, looking at all the stunned faces from everyone present.
The lead Turian assassin looked towards the two that were knocked to the wall as they got back up. "Kill that freak!" He ordered.
The two assassins started to fire on the hero as he maneuvered and jumped out of the way from their shots. He jumped forward and delivered a spin kick on both of their heads and pushed them back, before shooting some web lines to yank their weapons out of their hands and tossed them away. That didn't deter the assassins as they now opted for melee combat and tried to deliver a couple of punches and kicks to the hero, but he managed to evade and block each one.
With those two kept busy, Shepard and his squad were able to focus on the last two assassins with the numbers game no longer in their favor. Kaidan used a Biotic Throw to send one of the assassins crashing into the wall, giving Ashley the time she needed to kill him with a few shots. Shepard focused his attention on the lead assassin as he shot at him with his rifle, with one shot hitting the Turians hand, causing him to drop his weapon. Shepard took that chance to switch out his rifle with his shotgun, which he fired a couple of shots to kill the assassin, even with his shields trying to protect him.
Back with Spider-Man, he grabbed a punch being thrown at him by one of the Turians and pushed him back, then raising both his arms to block a kick being sent by the other assassin. The hero then jumped up and did a split kick, knocking the two back a few paces before rushing over to one of them and uppercut him so hard he went up in the air. Spider-Man then shot two web lines on the assassin in the air and yanked him down, sending him crashing into the other one, knocking him out.
The final assassin got back up and tried to bring out a pistol, but Spider-Man moved fast and kicked right into the wall, then followed up by webbing him to it. The assassin tried to break free, but the web was too strong and he watched as the hero approached him.
"Why don't you just calm down and stick around." Spider-Man said to the webbed up assassin, before pausing to groan in embarrassment. "Yeah, that was a terrible joke. Honestly, I have better material than that. I don't know, what do you think?"
The Turian just growled in anger at the hero as he looked towards his unconscious partner, then at the other two dead assassins with Shepard and his squad approaching them. This entire mission went down in flames so quickly, and if he were to be taken in then there is no where he can escape Saren. Disappointing Saren is fate potentially worse than death.
Might as well take the easy route.
The assassin managed to maneuver his pistol holding hand at the right angle, and aim, but he wasn't aiming at the hero. He fired a quick shot and managed to hit the unconscious assassin in the head, killing him.
"Whoa!" Spider-Man exclaimed in disbelief. He then noticed that the assassin aimed the pistol at his own head, and he tried to stop him by shooting a glob of web to restrain him, but it was too late as the trigger was already pulled. Spider-Man looked in shock as the assassin fell limp. "Geez. What the hell was that about?"
Spider-Man soon turned his attention to the three Normandy crew members who continued to look at him in disbelief. Who could blame them as they had only seen one video footage of him and now here he was in person.
"Is everyone okay?" Spider-Man asked the three marines.
The three of them still didn't say anything until Ashley finally spoke up, though not the way the hero thought. "Holy shit." Ashley whispered in shock.
"I'm going to take that as a yes." Spider-Man said simply.
Shepard finally shook out of his stupor before speaking. "Sorry about that, we just only heard about you, and there was a small part of us that wondered if you were for real or not."
"You're one of them, aren't you?" Kaidan asked with a look still in disbelief. "You're one of these Avengers we heard about."
"You're right about that, and we are definitely real." Spider-Man said as he removed his mask to reveal his face. "Hi, my name's Ben Parker, aka Spider-Man."
Shepard held out his hand, which Ben shook. "Commander John Shepard of the Alliance. These two with me are Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams."
"Nice to meet you all." Ben said as he glanced at the dead Turians. "So, any idea who these guys were and why they were shooting at you?"
"These were Saren's men." Kaidan answered.
"Looks like he knew we wouldn't let that hearing go." Ashley grumbled.
"Wait, Saren?" Ben asked in slight surprise. "Isn't he that Spectre that's under investigation for the attack on Eden Prime?" The Normandy Squad were surprised that he had that information.
"How do you know about that?" Ashely asked in surprise. "That's actually supposed to be classified to the public."
"My friend Garrus works in C-Sec, and he told me that he was investigating Saren." Ben said, further shocking the Normandy squad.
"You know Garrus?" Shepard asked in surprise.
"Yeah, he's a good friend of mine." Ben answered.
"Do you know where he is?" Kaidan asked with a slight hint of nervousness. "We actually need to speak with him urgently."
"Wish I could help you with that, but I only talked with him this morning and I haven't heard from him since, and he didn't say where he'd be going." Ben answered, much to Shepard and his squad's disappointment.
"Looks like we're going to have to go with our original plan, Commander." Ashley said in disappointment as the three of them were about to make their way to Chora's Den.
"Hey, maybe I can come with and give you guy's a hand." Ben suggested, surprising the Normandy crew. "I can even call my friends and they could help us out as well."
"Are you sure about that?" Kaidan asked in concern. "This kind of thing is pretty dangerous."
"Uh..." Ben muttered as he gestured to the dead Turians. "That part is already kind of given."
"He's got you there." Ashley said with smirk towards Kaidan before looking towards Shepard. "Still, Commander, this is technically a military issue and I'm not sure if brining in a civilian is the best idea."
"I get that, but if things like this keep happening, than innocent people are going to get hurt, and me and my friends have a responsibility to protect them from the battles they can't protect themselves from. It's the responsibility of an Avenger." Ben said strongly, somewhat shocking the crew of the Normandy.
He may technically be a civilian, but Shepard could see the look of someone who has seen many battles, who has faced down many obstacles, and has even stared death in the face a few times. It wasn't like the looks he had seen in many hardened soldiers, but rather of someone who has a desire defend those from harm because it is right, not because of duty. He can really respect that.
"You say you and your friends can help us out?" Shepard asked again.
"Definitely." Ben said in determination.
Shepard soon smiled and held out his hand again. "Welcome aboard, Spider-Man."
"Gods to be here, Commander." Ben said as he shook Shepard's hand.
The day may not have started off how Shepard want, but a new alliance was forged...one that would shake the galaxy for years to come.
/
AN: Hey everybody, here's the next chapter of this story!
This one was really fun to write as we are now in the beginning of the first Mass Effect video game, which means that things are really going to heat up.
Writing Shepard and his squad's reaction to Spider-Man was pretty fun, but I gotta say my favorite dialogue to write was Saren's. My God is he such a despicable but still kind of fun villain. How could the Council not tell he's a bad guy, when he practically screams bad guy throughout that entire trial?
Another thing to note is that I mostly focused on Spider-Man in this chapter because I felt like he would be the best hero to meet the crew first, and I cannot wait to blow the Normandy crew's mind when they see the powers of Erick and Vincent.
Before I close off this chapter, I have a quick question, do you think I should incorporate Andromeda characters into this story? I feel like I can work with that, but I want to leave it up to you.
That's all I have to say everybody, but I'll see you all next time whenever I get a break from school.