Chapter 22
Wasp kept her head down as she and Wanda snuck into the church. Behind them was Natasha and Mehit. The four of them had snuck in to the church when Thor had attacked the horse demon thing that had shocked Edward for a brief second before he regained his composure. To bad the same could not be the same said for Thor as he had incitated the attack against the Nuckelavee that had stood beside the mummies. Wasp didn't understand the supernatural world like the few Avengers, but she knew from the way that the demon was in the town that it was not a good thing. It also didn't help how Edward had reacted towards it.
Edward by far was one of the scariest members of the Avengers to be recruited by Captain America. He didn't back down from a fight and it did not matter if that was against both the Hulk and Thor. He was always between the two heavy hitters of the Avengers and he had already proven to them both that he was a force not to be messed about with. To see him showing real concern towards a creature that had freaked nearly every other Avenger. The way that Edward had dealt with the creature had shown Wasp that this Nuckelavee was something that they should be concerned about. Edward had shown no signs of wanting to fight the demon unlike Hulk and Thor who had wanted to fight the creature.
Wasp let out a small shriek when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Another hand clamped around her mouth that had stopped her from making any other noise. Natasha had lived up to being a master spy. She had manged to walk right up to Wasp without the sizechanger knowing that she was behind her.
"Wasp we need to be quite! We can not allow Ahmanet or even Stark to know where we are until we are well out of here with the objective!" Black Widow said in such a lone tone that Wasp almost didn't hear what she was saying.
Black Widow walked away from Wasp who was still shocked that she had managed to sneak up on her way. The trained assassin kept her back against the wall as she snuck closer to into the deepest part of the church that they hoped would have the Set Dagger hidden in it. Her hand kept hovering above her pistol as she waited for something to jump out in front of her and try to kill her. Years of being an assassin for not only SHIELD but for other people, people that she hated that she had once worked for had taught her a lot of things about staying alive and being ready for a fight.
The female members of the Avengers made no noise at all as they walked into a large chamber in the church. It was the room where all the town folks would gather for the Sunday session along with weddings and funerals. The benches were all facing the centre of the chamber where the stand were the priest would stand and talk to them all without having to shut a lot.
In the middle of the room as a whole was the marble statue of an Angel. Its wings were wide open as in one hand it held a massive sword and in the other hand it held a flag that had the Scottish flag on it. The face of the Angel was what anyone would expect for an Angel as it looked down at the demon that was at its feet.
Mehit walked towards the Statue. The Werelion held her weapon tightly as she approached the statue. She huffed as she looked at the Angel that the humans thought would protect them. How wrong they were. The Angels were just little children who had thrown a hissy fit because of whatever Daddy issue they had been having. She had heard that it was because of the Guardians that their plans for ending the world had been stopped. She also knew much about the Winchester brothers and how they had broken their destinies, something that the Angles should have done if they had thought for themselves.
She had a poor veiw of the Angles. They had declared that they had man's best intrest at heart and they had gotten lost with what their roles were in a world that was ever changing. She had even gone to Nightshade and told the Dragonoid that she should have taken care of the Angels. The response that Nightshade gave chilled her to the bones. Nightshade didn't kill many Angels, no she experimented on them and their Grace to create weapons and technology. Right now she had made a deal with Michael and it was an unsteady deal at that. If the Angels should go back to their plans of the Apoylpse, Nightshade would take the actions that she deemed necessary and that was to wipe them all out of existence.
Mehit had a poor view of Angles, but it was not compared to Nightshade. Nightshade viewed them as children that needed to be taught a lesson and that lesson before it was learned cost lives of Angels in two garrisons as she and Edward tore through them to get their attention. Even with this alliance between the Angles and the Guardians, Nightshade was making sure that they did not get a lot of movement in having two members of the Guardians always following them.
Julian and Black Horn were two creatures that no one wanted to meet in a dark alley all alone, and it didn't matter if you were a Human or something else. Both of them would toy with who they were up against.
Black Horn would lead them away from allies or from anyone else who could help them. Once he was sure that they were well removed and would take some time for people to find out that the target was mission he would make his move against them, but that was always after he had driven them crazy after days of playing a game.
Julian was different and that was what made him more scarier than any Wendigo or any Ghoul or anything else that walked the Earth. He played pranks, that meant nothing at first but slowly he would show his endgame in the pranks. Either for information or to sabotage enemy plans, Mehit had not seen it in person but Edward in the sort time that they had joined the Avengers in their quest to end Seth had been told a lot about the other Avengers. All of them had their strengths and weaknesses, but Julian he acted like he was a normal man with so many weaknesses. He acted like a big goof that everyone loved and wanted to be around but that was a cover story. Julian like Black Horn liked to play a game that ended so quickly that no one knew what was happening.
The other Avengers had different strengths and weaknesses. It was with these strengths and weaknesses that helped them to be the heroes that they were today. It also helped them to work well as a part of a team other than being alone. There was a few members of the Avengers who worked better as being a part of a team and others were more like a lone wolf than anything else.
"Does anyone else find this way to easy?" Wanda asked. She kept looking over her shoulder as she expected something to jump out at them. She couldn't help the feeling that was way to easy when they should be fighting for what should be an important tool in taken out Seth.
Wasp let out a shriek as a twisted figure stumbled out of the shadows that was followed by a familiar face. A face that none of them wanted to see standing beside the Mummy that was not on their side. The one that Imhotep had warned them about, but like usual Stark had not listened to the warnings that his team mates where given him. A weakness that the human inventor had when compared to the other Avengers that Mehit had noticed as she studied her new allies.
"Stark what are you doing?" Natasha demanded. She stepped in front of Mehit as the Werelion prepared to smash the Angel statue that she was standing above. "Go and help the others outside!" she ordered him.
Iron Man just kept staring at them with a blank look on his face. He didn't even move as the rotten corpse that was Ahmanet moved so close to him that they were almost so close that they could kiss. There was no sign of life in his eyes and it didn't even matter as a red light shimmered through them and whatever was not going through Stark's mind it caused Wanda to gasp.
"There's something wrong with Stark's mind!" she told the others.
"What do you mean? He's been hypnotised?" Wasp asked. Wasp was in her small size and buzzed in front of Wanda. Her voice kept breaking as she allowed her fear to creep in and show the other female members of the Avengers how scared that she was. She was not use to dealing with the Supernatural side of things. That was normal the issue that the Guardians and even Doctor Strange dealt with. She knew that there was also the Hunters all around the world who dealt with the Supernatural.
Wasp saw that this was something that the Avengers should not be dealing with. They should be dealing with super villains who had plans on taken over the world. They should also be dealing with aliens invading the planet. That was things that they should be dealing with. They should not be dealing with Gods and monsters straight from horror movies. It was not what they were supposed to handle.
"No its worse than that I am afraid!" Mehit spoke up from where she stood before the Angel Statue. The State that told the humans that they would always have defenders. It was true to an extent but that was because other humans were looking after humans rather than beings that were created to do it for them. The Angels had lost their way in what they were supposed to do, but they had found it once again they were doing all they could to help them with the growing threat that Seth was now that he had all four of his generals back.
The Werelion kept close to the statue. If things were to go wrong and she knew that they would, one of them needed to be close to the final prize and get it as far away from here as possible. They could not afford to waste time, time that was running out for all of them. Bast had seen it years ago and had ran away. The Werepanther had been to scared to rage war against Seth and had fled as the rest of them prepared for the new heroes to come and defeat him. Already they were being formed and it will be soon when they take the final fight back against Seth and defeat him.
First they needed to deal with the problem that was coming from Ahmanet and Iron Man.
"I see that you are still up to your old tricks witch!" she snapped at Ahmanet.
The female Mummy only let out a giggle like a school girl would make when talking to her crush. She leaned in closer to Iron Man and kissed his check before looking back at Mehit. "You know me so well! And he begged for it to happen to him so you know! He wanted to be one of the heroes to help save the world and bring about a new one where we all live in peace!" she explained to them. She ran a hand though Tony's hair as he took the Iron Man mask off so they could kiss him on the lips.
"Why would he do such a thing? Tony is one of the smartest people on this planet? He should know better than to trust the likes of you with your poor fashion sense!" Wasp shouted back at her. She was really hoping that this was some plan that Tony was using to get closer to the enemy and kill them. It sounded like a good plan and no doubt it was something that the Guardians had done many times without altering each other of their plan.
"He wanted to be remembered. But that was too hard for him. Your team has Gods and Monsters in it now. How could a simple human like Mr Stark hope to compete against the likes of Thor or Nightshade when one of them is a God and the other is an alien like non others before?" Ahmanet told Wasp as she walked away from Iron Man and to her. She smirked as she watched Wasp shrink in size and her hands glow yellow with her powers. "It is true that I skipped a few details but he allowed it nerveless. He did not question my real motives even as I asked him to bring down the Moonray. He did not ask questions as I told him to go and kill a small boy!"
Wasp let out a shriek at what she was hearing. "How could you be so stupid and let this thing do this to you?" she demanded from Iron Man.
The only response that Iron Man gave was to stare blankly at her. All of his free will was gone and had been replaced with something else.
"I am afraid that he no longer talks to you. He only has the new mind in place and that is to bring the new world for Seth!" Ahmanet declared to Wasp. She looked back at Iron Man and gave the order, "Kill them all!"
"I will do whatever you say my love!" he said as the face mask dropped back down with a clank. He shot into the air only to find himself going back wards. He hovered above the ground to see that Captain America, once again human was standing behind him and the girls.
"Cap your back!" shouted Wasp she was so happy to see him human again. She watched as Captain America raised his shield and prepared to fight one of his friends that he had made in the 21st century.
"Get the dagger! I will hold these two off!" he ordered. He kept his attention on Iron Man and Ahmanet. "If you carry on down this path Tony then we will have no choice but to take you down like any other villain that we have done so over the few years of the Avengers being formed!" he ordered Iron Man.
Ahmanet could only smirk at what Iron Man told Captain America, "I have made my choice Cap, and it will be me that will see the brand new world!"
Captain America stared at Iron Man. His friend was lost and he knew that was all that Nightshade needed to take him out for what he had done to the Moonray. He had heard that Tony had killed a kid and that was another nail in the coffin that he had created. Nightshade would no doubt help him get into the coffin the next time that they cross paths and that made him glad that she was away to help Galvatron fight against Unicron rather than staying with them.
"Then so be it!" he told his friend. He raised his shield as Iron Man came in for the attack. Lasers were fired and rebounded back thanks to his shield. Iron Man kept diving at Captain America but the supersoldier was ready for every attack that came his way. He used his shield for both offensive and defensive tactics as Iron Man swopped in and kept hopping for the best in the tight space.
A loud smash was heard behind followed by a scream coming from Ahmanet. "No!" she shouted as she raced towards the broken statue that had only a second a ago had hidden the Set Dagger she raced to see that the dagger was in the hands of Mehit. The Werelion had fully transformed and stood at the same height as the Hulk. In her hands that were clawed and furry was the Set Dagger. It was just as hideous as it had been the last time that she had seen it with Imhotep all those years ago.
"I wouldn't try anything at all, witch!" Mehit snarled as she looked down at the still broken body that Ahmanet was being forced to walk in. Crash landing which at the time had been a good idea had not done her any good. It had gotten the Avengers what they were looking for and they were now one step closer to fighting Seth for the last time. True she got a puppet to do whatever she wanted, but Mehit knew that would not last long. Humans had a thing for standing on their own feet.
"This is not over! Not by a long shot. We will help our lord bring about a new world and all of you will pay for the parts that you have played in denying him of his destiny!" she shouted back at all them. "Iron Man get me out of here!" she shouted at Iron Man who was hovering above the ground like a puppet on strings. He became alive again when she gave him the order and he shot down and picked her up bridal style before blasting out of the church.
Captain America turned around to face Mehit as the Werelion returned to her human form. "Please tell me that there is a way that we can get Stark out of this?" he asked her as she gave him the Set Dagger.
The Set Dagger did not look like much considering all the hype there had been for the dagger. Its handle was black and had etched symbols on it, that came from a language that he did not think was Ancient Egyptian but could be older or the same age as that civilisation The blade itself was ragged and looked like it had been damaged many times but it was still useful for their needs in taken down Seth.
"I am afraid that the curse that Ahmanet has placed on Stark is not the same on as what was placed on you! The transformation spell that was placed on you was in hopes to cause the Avengers to fall apart, but you managed to live through the first onslaught that the Serpent Sisters had dished out against you. It was always going to be a temporary thing. Stark's issue that is not easy to defeat. The only way to get it removed I would say either killing Ahmanet or Seth or even better both of them to be sure!" Mehit explained to him.
"Just great! Another problem we have!" he said as he placed his shield on the straps of his back. He placed the Set Dagger away in a pocket of his uniform where it would be save as he looked at the girls who had gone into the church and a way from the fight that was taken place outside.
"We better go and help them!" he said to them. He turned around and came face to face with Edward. The Ghoul was breathing heavily as he allowed his body to rest after a fight that he was not ready for.
"Edward?" Wasp asked. She could get freaked out by a lot of things, but she was used to Edward and the other members of the Guardians who had all became a part of the Avengers when Nightshade and Edward joined. "What happened? Did you beat the horse demon? Do you need to see a doctor or what type of professional a Ghoul would need, like a Witch Doctor or Voodoo Priest?" she asked as she got right into Edward's face and checked all the new wounds that he had gotten in his fight with the Nuckelavee.
"A Voodoo Priest and Witch Doctor are just the same things with different names as a Witch Doctor is male and the Voodoo Priest or should I say Priestess is female!" he explained to her. He leaned against the wall of the church and slid down it. He couldn't help the groan that escaped from his mouth as he done that. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Wasp sitting beside him.
"Your arm!" she gasped and pointed at his right arm. The right arm that he used to hold his Axe and the one that the Nuckelavee had stomped on to disarm him. The arm was crushed and he was lucky that it was still connected to his body after the fight that he had been though. "Is it going to be okay?" she asked him. She reached out to touch it but Edward pulled his torso away from her.
"It will be okay. Remember that I am not human and I can heal a lot faster than you!" he said to her. "I just need to get a splint so its not hanging lose!" he told her. "I will have Sasha heal me when we get back to the Estate so I am good to go!" he continued to explain.
He could see that Wasp was still worried about him. She kept biting her lip as she thought of him going about with a broken arm for a few days. "This is nothing compared to what I had gotten when I was still a Gladiator and fighting in the Pits! Trust me I will be fine, but what I am worried about is Stark and the Mummy flying off together! I thought he had a girlfriend?" he spoke up again. This time his attention was on Captain America.
"Stark has been-" Captain America didn't know what to say as he felt Edward's glare on him. Edward was another one who would go against Iron Man with Nightshade pinning against him that he was afraid for Iron Man. He was going to be going up against two creatures that he really should not have annoyed but he had. He would be really lucky if he was able to walk away from an angry Nightshade and an Edward who was looking to kill something for the fun of it.
"His soul has been corrupted! It still felt like Tony but his soul was not the same at all. It was evil and cold!" Wanda spoke up. She had felt Stark's mind and soul to see what was happening under the surface. He might still look like the Tony that they all knew, but under the surface there this darkness that she had seen with Ultron when she had managed to get a fell for his mind.
Edward with Wasp's help got back to his feet. He staggered a few steps before regained his balance. "We better get back to the Estate and rethink of a new plan as the enemy has all of our plans so far!" he told them.
"What about the Avengers Facility?" Black Widow finally spoke up after being quite for so long. "We need a base to regroup and gather supplies or will that be a bad mistake for us?" she asked the Ghoul and the supersoldier.
"It wont be a good idea. It would be the first place that Stark goes to look for us and we will be trapped since he will know all the access codes to get in. That's also including if we change the code. That's why we need to go to the Estate!" Edward explained to her.
"How far away is the State by foot, Edward?" Captain America asked him.
"Not far and who said anything about walking? The jet may be down but the Moonray is mainly based back at the Estate meaning that we can still have the Ground Bridges that can take us anywhere and that includes the Estate!" Edward explained.
"Then that's where we are going!" Captain America said to them all.