Issue #9: Fragmented

Unknown Location

Deep within this secret lab was none other than the villainous alliance, The Goblin King and Dr. Eggman. The former stomped to his ally and asked a simple question about their ever growing plan, "Did you broadcast the warning?"

Eggman grinned, "I sure did, it was broadcasted on every single device on the planet. There is no chance Sonic and Spider-Man could have missed it. Now they're most likely hopelessly scrambling for a way to stop us, which won't come to pass."

Osborn nodded, "Indeed. This device of yours shall do wonders for our cause. How much longer until it is finished?"

"It will still take some time, what with this and requiring Metal Sonic to be rebuilt. And yes, I'm well aware we cannot be seen until I obtain our trump card from SHIELD's clutches, that will come soon enough. I have however, already hired the ones who will perform the task, and they should be here momentarily." Eggman explained, never looking away from the machine housing the Chaos Emeralds.

A gruff voice spat out, "It will… do you no good…"

Norman turned his head, glaring at the black hedgehog bound to the wall, the mind control wearing off, "Ah ah ah, Shadow. Do not think you can speak just yet." he punched the artificial hedgehog in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, "You will play your part soon enough."

Shadow hissed in pain but relented, slipping into unconsciousness. With the hedgehog worn out, Osborn folded his arms, "Feh. Maybe we should raid the Triskelion sooner rather than later, I'm already getting fed up with Shadow's attitude."

"He is quite the pest that much I can tell you." Eggman agreed, "But once our band of mercenaries arrive we'll coordinate an attack to retrieve the vial as soon as we can."

"And speak of the devil and he shall arrive." said a new figure, stepping into the lab. He was a grey jackal with white patches, his different colored eyes being his most notable trait. He had a sword strapped to his side, his hand constantly gripping it, "Well well, doctor. It is about time you and I were properly introduced."

"And who are you?" Osborn asked.

The jackal said, "You may refer to me as Zero, the Ultimate Mercenary. The doctor gave us the coordinates to your hideout when he hired us and gave us this device." he showed Norman a handheld capable of warping between both worlds thanks to spare Chaos Energy, "You must be Norman Osborn, or the Goblin King as he called you. Just know that my squad and I never leave a job unfinished."

Goblin grinned, "I see. If you're as good as you claim you are, your little group shall do wonders obtaining what we seek."

Folding his hands Eggman said, "Your squad is among the best on Mobius, you better not disappoint."

The Ultimate Mercenary replied, "Oh believe me doctor, I shall exceed your expectations."

"That's a lot of confidence for a small jackal like yourself." Goblin mocked the leader of the Jackal Squad.

The jackal glared at him, "You dare insult my skills?"

As Eggman ignored them and started to go back to working, the alarm blared as loud as it could. The doctor raised his head and looked to the monitor. A sinister grin appeared on his face, "You wish to prove yourself, Zero? Then I'll give you a test. Incapacitate the targets, but keep them alive, we need some leverage for our enemies after all."

The jackal looked at the screen, seeing some costumed heroes nearing the base. A man clad in red, white and blue. An armored man in yellow and gold. A green giant. A thunder-harnessing god with a hammer. A man with a bow and arrow. And a woman wielding two stun batons. All of them were on the verge of reaching the lair.

The Goblin chuckled, "Ah, The Avengers have arrived."

Avengers Tower, New York

Nick Fury sighed, hearing everything Spider-Man told him. He was in disbelief but also not surprised, "You always get involved with the weirdest crap, Parker." he simply stated.

Peter rubbed his head, "You have no idea, Nick." he leaned his head onto the sofa, "I'm just glad to be back home."

Standing next to the sofa was another hero wearing a yellow and gold uniform. "You vanish for two days and the world is on the verge of going to shit. Sounds about right for you. Can't believe I agreed to this meeting. Last thing I wanted to see was a bunch of rodents."

"Who are ya calling a rodent?" Sonic called out.

"Give us a break, Logan." Spider-Man told his fellow Avenger, Wolverine, grunting in annoyance.

Sonic walked up next to Wolverine, "Yeah seriously, it's not our fault Osborn got as powerful as he did. The dude's crazy strong."

Wolverine crossed his arms at the sight of the hedgehog, "You guys were the only ones aware of his plan, next time try harder."

Peter rolled his eyes, "I'd like to see you do better, this is rich coming from the guy who loses to every Avengers baddie immediately."

"Ya might wanna pick yer next words wisely, kid. We may be teammates but I ain't afraid to slice ya." Logan threatened, revealing his claws and surprising Sonic.

"Whoa, sick." admitted the hedgehog.

Fury spoke up, "Gentlemen, enough. We're not gonna make progress by arguing among ourselves. It's clear that Osborn has become a bigger threat and with the aid of this Dr. Eggman Sonic mentioned, it's clear that we have to do what we can to stop them."

"Amen to that, Fury." Sonic agreed, "So when can we head out and kick bad guy butt?"

The Director of SHIELD answered, "When the Avengers return from their recon mission. We need as much help as we can to stop this threat, and with the rest of the X-Men and Fantastic 4 away on cosmic duties, it's up to us here to take care of it ourselves."

The hedgehog nodded, "Alrighty then, Nick. Just say the word and we'll jump in and save the day like always."

Fury glanced at Peter with his eye, wondering if Sonic was always like this. Peter merely shrugged, knowing why he was given that glare. Not noticing this, Sonic said, "I'm gonna check on Tails and Knux, I think that robot guy's giving them a tour or somethin'." he zoomed off to his friends to explore the rest of Avengers Tower.

"Some friends ya made, kid." Wolverine stated.

Peter said, "Hey, they're willing to help. I'll take it, plus they are pretty cool once you get to know them."

While Spider-Man and Wolverine bickered as usual, Fury put a finger to his ear, "Avengers, it's Director Fury, do you have any leads on where Osborn and Eggman might be?"

"We might have one." Captain America revealed, "We found a giant metal castle on the outskirts of Sokovia. We're going to investigate."

"Do you need backup?" Fury wondered.

"No need, Fury. This will be a simple recon, then we'll head right back to New York." Iron Man assured.

Fury paused for a moment then replied, "Very well then. Report back once you're done."

"Understood. Avengers out." Black Widow said.

Sokovia Border

The Quinjet landed on the grass nearby the castle, using stealth tech to shield itself from being found. Stepping out first was none other than Captain America himself, shield in hand. "Alright Avengers. This is the spot." he revealed, ready for a fight.

"It's pretty sloppy of Osborn to give us a noticeable energy spike within this area." Iron Man pointed out.

Black Widow frowned at the easiness of the mission, "It could very easily be a trap. I doubt it'll be that easy for us."

"Hulk will smash anyway." Hulk growled.

Thor tightly gripped his hammer, "Verily. If our enemies plan to ambush us, we shall be ready."

Hawkeye replied, "Implying I'm already not."

Captain America questioned, "Is everyone ready?" his fellow Avengers nodded in agreement, "Alright, then let's see what this is."

The Avengers quietly started walking and taking in the grim scenery. Hawkeye broke the silence by saying, "So how did this get built under our noses anyway?"

"They must've used camo technology to hide away long enough to finish this. The fact that this is visible and we know of it suddenly is pretty suspicious wouldn't you say, Cap?" Iron Man wondered.

Cap stated, "It's quite clear this is a trap. However, if it means we can find any answers to stopping Osborn and Eggman for good, we have to investigate this."

"You plan to do what now?" a gruff voice called out to the heroes. Turning around the Avengers spotted the Goblin King, Dr. Eggman in the Egg Walker and Zero the Jackal wielding his blade. The three of them appeared through Chaos Control. "Oh if you wish to be rid of us, you'll have to get through us first."

Black Widow said, "We knew this was a trap, Norman. Surrender and we'll go easy on you."

Dr. Eggman laughed, "As if we'll bow to the Avengers!"

Hawkeye quipped, "You wish you would by the time we're done with you."

The fight started once Hulk jumped in to punch the Goblin King, Osborn grabbing the hero's fist, "Hulk smash Goblin!"

"Do try to anyway. It will be amusing." Norman mocked. He uppercutted Hulk, launching him into the air. Osborn jumped after him and kicked the giant hero in the chest, pushing him down hard enough to create a crater near the castle. Osborn warped to Hulk's spot and grabbed his leg while he was down, slamming him around multiple times before spinning and throwing him aside.

Hulk got his bearings and slid on the floor, creating a giant track of dirt in the process. "HULK HATE GOBLIN!" he screamed out, raising his fists so that he could bash Norman's head in. However, while the attack did leave Goblin confused and dazed it wasn't enough to stop him, "WHAT?" Hulk yelled out in disbelief.

"You are quite weaker than I anticipated, Banner." Goblin mocked, ready to punch Hulk, but the green goliath grabbed Norman's fist and made him punch himself. The Goblin King grunted in pain, a grin forming on Hulk's face upon hearing that.

"Hulk is still strongest there is. Not puny Norman." Hulk boasted.

The Goblin King hissed at that and grabbed Hulk's arm, using his pyrokinetic abilities to burn his flesh. Hulk screamed in pain, a burn mark covering his entire right arm. "You don't know what you are messing with, child." Osborn coldly said. He opened his palm, covered in flames, but Hulk jumped back and kicked Osborn's back.

Once he landed, the hero touched his arm, feeling the stinging sensation and saying, "Burn not hurt Hulk like this before."

"You haven't felt my flames before. I am enhanced by magic that puts Strange to shame, and it shall be your true undoing." The Goblin King revealed. He leaped and smacked Hulk down with his flaming fists, burning the Hulk more. The green hero screamed in pain, unable to fight back as Goblin punched him in the stomach. He then followed up with another kick, launching the Hulk back a little.

Hulk flipped then landed on his feet, lunging forward towards Osborn despite his weakened state. "Hulk… will… bury you!" he yelled in pure rage, trying to land a blow to Norman, to no avail.

"No Hulk. It is I who will bury you." Goblin stated, wrapping his flaming palm around Hulk's head, suffocating him to the point of unconsciousness. He slammed the green goliath's downed body onto the ground as hard as he could, making sure the fight was over.

Goblin felt something whack him in the head, he noticed it was a hammer, one that flung back to its wielder. "You will pay for bringing down a friend." Thor declared.

"I'd like to see you try, Goldie." Osborn quipped.

Thor lunged at Norman and smacked his chest with Mljnoir, getting no reaction from Norman. The Goblin King smirked and punched Thor square in the jaw, "What is this sorcery?" he asked out, realizing that he actually felt that attack.

"A magic artifact. One that is equal to that of your godhood." the Goblin King announced to the God of Thunder.

"Tis not possible!" Thor shouted, commanding lightning to enhance his fists. While it did get Osborn to move back and recoil in pain, his attacks weren't enough. "You will fall to me, vile monster!" he gave Osborn's face a clean right hook, "I have bested beasts stronger than you! Thou are but another addition to thy list!"

"Is that so?" Osborn sneered, throwing fireballs at Thor. The god spun his hammer around to deflect the projectiles. Thor screamed and went for a counterattack, making sure Osborn's guard was lowered. However Norman barely flinched and although he spat out a drop of blood, it meant pretty much nothing.

Osborn then warped behind Thor, grabbed him by his cape and started to use his flaming abilities to cover the god's entire body. Although nothing visible was shown on Thor's being, it still very much hurt him. Thor yelled in pain as loud as he could, the flames rivaling that of Surtur. Using the power of the fragment inside him, Norman finally brought down the Mighty Thor with one last punch, knocking him out.

"On this day, even gods will fall."

Meanwhile with Hawkeye and Black Widow, they were busy fighting off the Ultimate Mercenary. The jackal slashed at the agents, "You dare come to us? You lot made a grave mistake."

"Okay, what the hell are you?" Hawkeye asked, using his bow to counter Zero's sword strikes.

"An assassin. One that shall dispose of heroes like you." the mercenary jackal boasted, spinning and kicking Hawkeye's gut. Black Widow went after him, but the jackal blocked her in time with his sword, "Do not think you can outmaneuver me, human."

Black Widow grunted, moving in sync with Zero's movements. Batons met blade with each strike. "You're not like the other mercenaries. You must be from the other world."

"As if that wasn't obvious." the Ultimate Mercenary mocked, slashing downwards, forcing Black Widow to jump back. He was about to strike again, but a sudden surge of electricity hit his body. He reached for his back and found a taser arrow. He hissed, "Why you…"

"You got two people here. Don't ignore any of us." Hawkeye taunted, readying another arrow. He shot it, however the jackal slashed it in half and chuckled. But Hawkeye and Black Widow were undeterred. The reason was that it was a smoke arrow that covered the jackal's line of vision, so he was unprepared for Black Widow and Hawkeye to work together in attacking him.

Hawkeye rolled and tripped the jackal, allowing Black Widow to stun him with her batons before adding on with a kick. Holding an arrow, Hawkeye smacked the jackal as hard as he could. Then the jackal got up and kicked both of them away with ease.

Once the smoke cleared, Zero hissed, "You dare make a mockery of me?you agents are nothing compared to me!"

"We heard that one before." Hawkeye quipped, shooting an arrow at Zero, who sliced it. While his sword was lowered, the archer jumped in and struck the jackal's face.

"We'll hand you to SHIELD custody like all the other assassins and thugs we've brought down." Black Widow declared.

"As if I will let that happen." Zero grunted, aiming both his arms outwards and shooting a dart. Faster than the agents could react. They recoiled in pain, electricity covering their entire bodies, making them collapse. "Weaklings. I expected more of a challenge."

With Eggman, he was busy fighting Iron Man and Captain America. The armored Avenger joked, "Seriously doc? This tech looks like something from 2001."

"I'm well aware of your technological gifts, Stark." Eggman said, using a shield to deflect some repulsor blasts, "Which is why I needed to stall you while I charged… This!" he pressed a button, suddenly Iron Man's flight ceased and he fell onto the grass, unable to move in his armor or escape. "An EMP capable of shutting down even your tech. It's time you met your superior, Tony."

Iron Man tried to say something, but alas his armor was shut down and not even his speakers would allow him to be heard so the only sounds heard were muffled. Eggman used his armor to repeatedly kick the armor until Stark inside was unconscious. Captain America tried to fight back, but was pushed aside by a random boxing glove.

The First Avenger slid on the ground to get his bearings and stared down his enemies. Now it was him against Eggman, the Goblin King, and the Ultimate Mercenary. "Just surrender, Captain. And maybe we'll go easy on you and your friends."

"I won't surrender to the likes of you." Captain America declared.

"Then die!" Zero said, being the first to attack Cap. The Avenger used his shield to block his sword, lunging it forward to hit the jackal. "You son of a…" he grunted, going for another hit, this time successful slashing Cap's leg, making him kneel for a second. Using his uninjured leg, Cap kicked Zero back to get his bearings.

Eggman pressed some buttons on his mech, shouting, "All systems, full power!" missiles began to shoot out from the mech, targeting the First Avenger. Cap raised his shield and held it out in front of him as he charged after the mad doctor, the missiles hitting the ground and missing him as he sprinted. Captain America jumped but was blasted aside by one more projectile, causing him to be thrown to the other side of the field very painfully.

The soldier coughed, gripping his chest. "Is that all you got?" he taunted, making it clear that he would be defiant to the end.

The Goblin King landed next to him, "Believe me, it's not." he grabbed Captain America by the throat, choking him. The soldier kicked himself free from Osborn's grip and landed on a knee, trying to catch his breath. He lunged forward and hit Norman, his shield denting in the process. Osborn grinned at that and grabbed Cap once more, crushing his throat as a warning. The captain screamed and pressed his palms onto Goblin's arms in an attempt to break free.

"I expected more of a fight from you, Captain America." Osborn mocked, slamming Cap on the ground and using his fire powers to deal more pain to his foe. Cap coughed, unable to stand, he tried to get up, but his face met Norman's giant fist and he too was knocked down for good, "Pathetic. The Avengers barely stood a chance against our might."

Eggman laughed, "Quick, put them in the nullifier cells before they wake up. Cross off these pests off our list."

"That was quite a battle. Perhaps I made the right decision accepting this offer." Zero admitted.

"You did. Now you get to bask in the glory among us." Osborn told him, lifting the Hulk while the others tried to gather the rest of the Avengers quickly.

Avengers Tower

A bit of time passed since the meeting. Peter decided to spend the remainder of the day in the room the Avengers gave him to tinker with some of his tech, namely his web shooters and a suit. Team Sonic walked in to check on him, Tails asking, "What are you working on?"

Peter smiled, "Eh, nothing big. Just making some more web fluid with the spare chemicals I left here, and modifying my old suit. As much as I like the Velocity Armor, I think it's time for something sleeker and a bit old school to show that I'm back."

The man held up the costume. It was red and black just like his original suit, however there was a notable difference, that being the black stripes that appeared on the shoulders down the torso area, connecting in the red gap between the blue on the side and the legs.

"Not bad, Pete." Sonic complimented.

"Thanks. It's a redesign I was hoping to get to for quite a bit. So I thought now was the time." Peter said.

"Odd priority, but at least the result was good." Knuckles admitted.

Peter nodded, "Yeah, I'm gonna go out on patrol to test how it feels, you're free to-" he got cut off, hearing his phone ring, "Oh yeah, I got service here again. Let's see who's…" he paused, reading the contacts, "Oh. Sorry guys, I really have to answer this."

"No prob." Sonic replied.

Answering the phone, Peter greeted, "Hello?"

"Peter? Is that really you?" the woman on the other end asked.

"Of course it is, MJ. Unless you think I'm the Chameleon in disguise or something, then again I'm not sure which would be more annoying, him or me." Peter assured.

"...Yeah it's you. Where have you been, Tiger?" Mary Jane wondered.

Peter sighed, putting on his costume, "It's a long story. I'll tell you when I get home, I'm heading there right now."

"Alright, and you also need to talk to May. She's been worried sick about you the past few days and I can only cover for so long without telling her about Spider-Man." MJ reminded him.

"I will, don't worry. In fact, invite her over, might as well explain to you two at once." Peter decided.

"You sure?"

"I am. Last thing I want is for Aunt May to be left in the dark in case something like this happens again. I'm gonna tell her everything." Peter said.

"...Okay. Okay, I'll invite her for dinner. See you soon, Tiger~" Mary Jane said before hanging up.

Peter ended the call, and placed his phone in the small pocket on his costume. "Alright, so patrol's gonna be delayed. I need to head home and explain what happened to my family."

Sonic waved a hand, "You do what'cha gotta do Pete. Tails, Knux and I will cover for ya while you're gone."

"Stopping some crime could be a good stress reliever anyway." Knuckles agreed.

"And I can examine Mister Stark's tech for inspiration." Tails said.

Peter grinned as he put on his modified mask, finishing the new costume set. He said, "Thanks guys. I shouldn't be long. Once I get back, we'll start figuring out how to stop Osborn and Eggman."

Sonic gave a thumbs up, "You got it!"

Now donned in full Spider-Man attire, Peter swung out the window to home at last. A moment after he did so, Fury walked into the room, the former looking agitated. "Where's Parker?" the Director of SHIELD questioned the Mobians, noticing his absence.

"Heading home for a moment." Tails explained, "Is something wrong?"

Fury nodded, "There is. The Avengers have gone radio silent."

The trio all glanced at another and asked, "Wait what?"