Marvel Cinematic Universe is owned by Disney. So are the Royal Dirty Dozen (what my daughters call the Disney Princesses).
Nighttime, Project: HELIOS, Undisclosed Location, Calais, France, September 5, 1888
Author's Note: And happy International Women's Day (3/8). Fitting I would include this considering what the story is about :-)
Commander Jane Minnie Porter, Deputy Director of Operations for the Directorate of Intelligence and Supply, Nautical Enforcement Yard, had loaded the final crates of the prototype known as 'FIREWORK' onto the wagon, a drover team already on the front bench and cracking the whip towards the team of horses as Porter saw the shipment traveling down the sands of Calais, France towards road that hugged the coastline. The drovers knew that waiting for them further down the coast line was a small dingy that was specifically told not to fly the Union Jack, snuggled against the French coastline illegally. If it were discovered by the French Fleets, being fired upon at the thought of being privateers or pirates was the least of their worries.
The last loaded wagon gone, Jane moved to the small stable set within the cavern where the remaining horses were, the last of the men having evacuated thanks to Commander Michael Darling, only a couple having been left unaccounted for; those within the laboratory. Knowing that the Rear Admiral was there with the remaining personnel, Jane looked to the tracks where the mine cart would travel when the last of their people came to the surface, preparing the horses for them in case a speedy exit was needed. She could hear the cart rumbling from the depths of the cavern where she saw four people exiting the cart several paces away; Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov, Doctor Carl Fredrickson, a red-coated DISNEY Agent she believed to be named Richard, and a woman in odd-looking armor, flesh as pale as the moonlight, and holding a polearm of some kind, being escorted by the Orphan while Doctor Fredrickson carried a small wooden crate lashed together in his hands… without his walker. The situation struck her as odd.
"We need these horses." Romanov said towards Porter without even looking at her, pointing out several of the readied steeds, saddles placed and tied upon, bridle and reins ready to go as the four newcomers went to the stables to commander the equestrian mounts. The DISNEY Agent was assisting Doctor Fredrickson upon his horse while holding the crate before handing it to the Physicist while the unknown woman when to a mount. There was something about this situation that was very off as she looked towards Anastasia, surprised to see that her eyes…
…Lord, her pupils and corneas were gone!
"Who is she?" Jane asked as her hand slid easily to the Webley Top-Break .455 caliber Mk. I Service Revolver at her belt, flipping the holsters' leather flap as her hand rested on its grip.
"I didn't ask." The Russian replied without even looking towards Porter, a woman Jane had known for a few years treating her so dismissively. Jane watched as the white-haired woman with the halberd mount one of the horses with grace, putting a foot into one of the stirrups and kicking her other leg over without assistance even while in armor. The British woman slowly walked back towards where another available horse was, everything screaming at her that something was off but she didn't know how or why.
That was when she heard the ear-piercing shrill of the raid siren going off from deeper within the facility, where the laboratory was located.
Porter looked to Romanov, whose hand was already dipping towards her holstered Smith and Wesson .44 Russian Revolver on her right hip as Jane flung herself to one side behind one of the stable walls, hearing two cracks of the revolver going off, the rounds no doubt passing by where she once stood as she rolled behind the wooden wall for defense as another crack had a bullet impacting the support beam of the stable, slightly shattering it along with a spray of splinters. The Deputy Director grimaced as she heard a 'hayah!' and the snap of leather as a multitude of iron-shodded hooves clattered against the stony floor of the cave, picking up speed. Jane pushed herself from out of her cover with her Webley revolver in hand, thumbing the hammer back and firing three times at the four fleeing horses that were heading towards the cave systems' exit. Tisking at the situation, Commander Jane Porter ran towards one of the saddled stable horses and vaulted onto the back of the steed by jumping up from its rear while assisting her leap by placing her hands on its rump and guiding her 'fall' onto the saddle as she grabbed the reins and kicked the horse into action, the equestrian animal rearing up once with a startled neigh as it began to sprint forward, the clopping of iron hooves on rocky ground echoing off the cavern walls as Jane reloaded her three spent casings in her revolver by breaking it in half, exposing the cylinders and pulling out the used shells and replacing them with fresh ones from a pouch on her belt as she snapped the Webley back into firing configuration as her horse sped off in pursuit.
Jane Porter slapped the horse's flanks with the reins in her left hand as she spurred the steed with her heels to its flanks as she bore down towards the fleeing forms of the four horses and riders heading out of the cave and towards the Calais beach, holding her Webley in her right hand as she took aim at the nearest rider, cocking the hammer back and aiming while bouncing up and down while riding on horseback. She fired at the red-coated DISNEY Agent ahead of her by a dozen lengths, the round missing as she pulled the hammer back and fired again, trying to time her shots with her steeds' gallop. The Agent twisted in his saddle to aim his .303 Mk. I cartridge Magazine Lee-Metford bolt-action Service Rifle at her, Jane sucking in a breath as she leaned forward to minimize her profile as the rifle went off, the round streaking by as the Commander pulled the hammer to cock the revolver, aiming as she leaned a little to the right of her horses' bobbing head and fired. The Agent who fired at her tumbled off of his horse, striking the stony floor of the cave and rolling from the speed of the impact as his riderless horse continued to gallop ahead with three others still barreling forward as they exited the cave with Porter in galloping pursuit as hooves hit the nighttime sandy beach of Calais.
Jane spurred her horse, leaning forward in her stirrups and saddle willing the steed to go faster as she slapped the reins against the horse's rump as she traveled over French sand, seeing the four horses with their three riders heading west into the night, going in the same direction as the wagons loaded with the prototypes Agent Darling was to transport. A few of the men meant to protect the shipment were turning about at the sight of the three approaching riders with Porter hot on their hooves as she watched the strangely-armored woman with the polearm thrust her weapon forward only to see some sort of light burst from its bladed head, striking one of the DISNEY horsemen, turning much of the man and horse into ash. Porter galloped on, horrified by what she saw as she fired at the woman-in-question as she saw the riderless horse finally peter off to one side as Agent Anastasia Romanov twisted in her saddle and aimed a revolver in Jane's direction, firing while riding facing backwards. Rounds whistled on by as Porter fired back with her Webley until her hammer dropped on a spent shell. The Englishwoman cursed as she holstered the empty revolver and pulled from inside her jacket a Webley .442 Webley British Bulldog Pocket Revolver, the short-barreled revolver unspent as she thumbed back the hammer and fired once more.
Behind her, Commander Jane Porter heard the sound of what had to be the end of the world.
The Deputy Director turned her head around to see where Project: HELIOS was, secured in a cavern off the cost of France erupt into a geyser of steam and rock, as if the very earth had been torn asunder. Fredrickson's boiler, Jane realized as the explosion lit up the sky and sent a plumb of rock scattering in the sky, the Commander realized that there would be a shower of boulders coming from the sky. She turned back to look at the three getaway riders, now passing by the cargo wagons with their train of horses trying to escape catastrophe while floundering in the sand when rocks and clods of dirt began pattering and splashing all around Jane, her horse rearing up and neighing in fear as a small boulder half the size of a rowboat landing only a dozen paces away in front of her, spraying sand everywhere with its crash. Porter cursed as she got her horse under control, going around the boulder to see her quarry much further ahead since she temporarily lost the pursuit as other rocks came crashing down around her, the equestrian beats skittish and barely obeying her commands.
Bloody hell, I've lost them!, Porter realized with disgust as debris rained down upon the French beach as she looked back to where the cave was.
All that was left was a smoking crater.
Nighttime, Beach, Calais, France, September 5, 1888
Commander Michael Darling gathered the wagons at the small concealable quay ten miles west of Project: HELIOS where a small steam-powered side-wheel ferryboat awaited where DISNEY Agents were hauling crates out of the wagons to place them on-board the seaborne vessel, carrying them from the wagons and towards the singular disposable quay dock that had been set up only a few bells prior. Eight wagons had been loaded with the prototype known as Chimera, a device that he had only seen once but never in full operation. A hundred had been made since the event that nearly destroyed Londonderry, Ireland, the Directorate funding a New Age weapons program to answer threats of an… unusual variety.
"Get these crates loaded into ferry quickly." Michael reminded the men as he watched two men grab a crate, hoisting it up with some difficulty before moving it down the disposable dock supported by airbags filled with hydrogen to keep the wooden walkway afloat as well as able to abandon it at a moments' notice. Darling looked back to where the cave was located to the east, frowning. He had thankfully met the timeline of getting all of the prototypes out of the small armory set within the cave and loaded up, not to mention trudging horse team and wagon through the sands of the Calais beach in a good amount of time. The ferry was merely a short-term transportation vessel to send the devices to where they really needed to go, a secret amongst those of a high level of secrecy amongst the Directorate of Intelligence and Supply, Nautical Enforcement Yard. Once the crates were loaded and the ferry away, Michael could figure out what had happened at the-
Something loud exploded in the distance, sounding as if a hundred thunderclaps happened at once to the east.
Darling turned to look to where Project: HELIOS was, only to see in the distance what appeared to be a geyser of steam and debris erupting from where the cave was located, a plump of superheated water ejecting upward in such a volume that even he could see it in the pale moonlight at night. The boiler exploded, Michael realized with a shiver of fear, knowing just how big the boiler was and what it was meant to contain; the power to change the world. It had been a massive thing, the size of a sixth-rate vessel, with a piping system that put almost every other machine known to man to shame. It was meant to harness the power of the Gods, to contain what could potentially be an unlimited source of energy to power a country, to move away from wood and coal for heat and light. It was ambitious, of course, but it would put England at the top of the food chain for years if not decades to come, not having to rely on trade and shipments of fuel to keep its people warm. Everything ran off of either coal, wood, or oil, and shipping such commodities had its price. But the thought of having a source of fuel that didn't run out and didn't create dozens of smokestack plumbs all into the air, raining ash and soot on everything? It was a worthwhile endeavor. Plus it had helped with not too few experiments and thoughts concerning new weapons and mechanisms.
But now it looks as if the cavern that had house DJINN had erupted, the boiler that had been created to house that energy exploding.
The quaking of the ground from the explosion ceased as the disposable quay stopped bouncing about, and Michael reminded his fellow Agents to continue working, knowing that they only had a limited amount of time. That explosion could likely be heard by any of the French, and sooner or later the French Army or the French Navy would come to investigate. Heck, even just some French villager coming up to the beach to see what they were doing would be an undesirable scenario. With the amount of creates and men hauling them off the wagon and loading them onto the ferry, he figured he would be finished in a brass bell, but he wouldn't have the vessels' master and commander leave until he collected the Director and the Deputy Director as well. Dash if he would leave them on a French beach no matter who or what was coming!
When the last wagon was being unloaded, the sound of hooves upon the sand alerted Agent Darling of someone's approach as he pulled his Enfield Mk. II .476 Service Revolver from the holster on his hip, plucking a oil lantern with its hood low to minimize its light source after pulling open the searchlight cover while cocking back the hammer on his revolver as he swept the light towards the sound, seeing two people on horseback approaching the scene. The sight of a man and a woman mounted on horses calmed him somewhat considering how many DISNEY Agents had revolvers or bolt-action rifles at the ready, but when they drew closer, he confirmed their identities as Rear Admiral Jonathan Smith and Commander Jane Porter. Michael sighed in relief as he de-cocked his revolver and returned it to his leather holster after sweeping his coat back to do so as the pair of riders approached the temporary quay, heading towards him thanks to the lantern he held. Darling closed the brass cover of the spotlight and gave a decent hue to a pair of Agents standing nearby and motioned for them to take the horses as the Director and Deputy Director of Operations dismounted their steeds, their boots hitting sand as they strode towards his position a few paces away as the men took their rides and led them towards the ferry.
"We got everything and everyone out?" Admiral Smith asked, looking a little worse for wear in the moonlight and the reduced light of the lantern. Darling noted the bullet hole in his coat where his heart was nearby.
"We got the prototypes out. But we didn't evacuate the laboratory itself." Commander Darling reported, knowing that Smith had been there. It would have been up to the Director to make that call. "Everyone above the laboratory was evacuated along with the equipment, sir."
"DJINN is with a hostile force." The one-eyed man told him, making Michael's blood run cold in his veins. "We lost several either through violence or… other means." Darling wasn't sure what to make of that, but by the faces of both Smith and Porter, it wasn't good. "Commander Porter? What can you tell me?"
"That Doctor Fredrickson was carrying a crate, that Agent Romanov and another Agent shot at me, and a woman I had never seen before dressed in some sort of… it was almost like Greek or Roman armor of old, I would say, was armed with some sort of halberd that was also able to fire some sort of… projectile made up of light. I don't know how best to describe it other than that, I'm afraid." Porter looked troubled. "I had to shoot one of our own when he fired at me with his rifle. There was no way he was confused or misled. Anastasia also fired at me as well." Michael felt alarmed at that. He had known the Orphan for years now, and she had a strong, stubborn streak when it came to protecting those she considered friends or loyal. Being betrayed would do that. "My pursuit was halted when the boiler blew and I was dodging boulders coming from the sky. I lost them in the debris and night, Admiral." The troubled face swept over Jane's face again. "Sir, Anastasia's eyes were gone. Not the orbs, but her pupils and iris, like the eyes of a fish." Darling had no idea what to say to that.
"You were outnumbered, outgunned, and were only prevented by extraordinary means when you gave pursuit, Commander. That will be reflected in my report to the Admiralty as I accept the consequences of this." Smith replied, which didn't surprise Darling at all. There was a reason he respected the man who bore the title Rear Admiral and Director of Operations, and it wasn't because of those titles. "The evacuation of both personnel and equipment means that this wasn't a total loss, but the theft of DJINN is our top priority. Agent Darling? Speed up our loading process, get all the men upon the boat, and have us make way as soon as we can after sinking the quay. We need to report to the Admiralty of this and get in conference with the Naval Intelligence Department. Agent Romanov knows a good deal of locations and means to aid in keeping DJINN out of our reach, and we need to get that lamp back before someone does something drastic. When we load upon the ferry, we head back to London. This is a threat to the safety and security of the United Kingdom.
"As of right now, I intend to convince the Admiralty that we are at war." The Rear Admiral said, no doubt in his voice whatsoever.
"What do we do?" Darling asked, at a loss. With such a dangerous object on the loose, the loss of a secretive laboratory, and the thief being something unlike anything Michael had ever heard of, he wasn't sure what a practical solution would be. He saw the Admiral look out to the English Channel, its dark waters lapping the French coast as he took a few step towards it, obviously introspective.
"I'm going to activate the Marvel Initiative."
Author's Notes: No helicopters were harmed in the making of this chapter.
DISNEY FACT: The movie Snow White And The Seven Dwarves (1939) took four years to complete and was severely over-budgeted. Those in the film industry who caught wind of it called it "Disney's Folly" and predicted it would bankrupt Walt Disney and the Walt Disney Company. It cost $1.5 million dollars to make (in 1939 dollars) and received over $8 million in the box office, making it the highest-grossing sound movie of all time until the release of Gone With The Wind. Due to its many re-releases in theater as well as the home release, it has made $418 million dollars.
MARVEL FACT: The 'first' movie involving a Marvel character (as the 1944 films of Captain America were owned by Timely Comics at the time, the pre-cursor to Marvel Comics) was the very raunchy Howard the Duck. It was originally to be an animated film, but was made a live-action movie, produced in conjunction with Universal Studios and LucasFilms. It was a box office failure and considered one of the worst movies of all time.
REAL-WORLD FACT: The first depiction of a Marvel character on television was The Amazing Spider-Man, a made-for-television movie that was the backdoor for the television series starring Nicholas Hammond (the father in The Sound Of Music). It pre-dates The Incredible Hulk made-for-television movie by two months, and The Amazing Spider-Man had thirteen episodes despite being considered a Neilson Rating success.
Creating a sort of 1888 Victorian Era/Steampunk version of the Marvel Universe with a Disney cast is certainly an effort, but I'm enjoying making similarities with the technology of the late-19th Century along with some 'inclusions' of early-20th Century technology, bending a little time and space thanks to some of the veritable geniuses of that time with an Industrial World about to be smacked hard with a much more modern world. You'll see this with my version of Tony Stark, played by the daughter of an inventor (and that's your hint for another Disney Princess).
The 'swing-out' revolver (what we see today) wasn't invented until the 1899 (the S+W Model 10, the most selling handgun of the 20th Century). Before then, revolvers were loaded in three ways; through a gate one at a time like one sees with the old 1873 Peacemakers (called side-loading), extraction in which the entire cylinder can be removed (which you see with ball-can-cap revolvers like the 1860 Army), and then the 'top-break' in which the gun was folded in half, exposing the back end of the cylinder. You can see a top-break revolver in 3:10 To Yuma with Ben Foster's character (and one character even references its legendary terrible accuracy due to its weak frame issues). These revolvers were fast loading (they even had speed clips back then) but wore out fast since the breaking point was at the rear sight/hammer that held the revolver together along with the pivot point just forward of the trigger. Smith and Wesson invented the 'side-opening' swing that we know of today, revolutionizing the revolver forever. Can you imagine reloading a revolver one round at a time (old brass out, new brass in, rotate, repeat) in battle? That was what the OK Corral was like!
The Webley Top-Break is a bit of an ugly revolver; American Revolvers certainly had a look and feel thanks to the old west and the gunslinger (which Europe never had). To this day, America still holds the standard for the revolver, none made in Europe or Russia even coming close in prestige or quality save the Webley and the Enfield Mk. I. Which is why Director Smith has a Colt '73 Peacemaker while Porter has an English Revolver. Having Anastasia with the '.44 Russian' Model just makes sense… in which that model changed bullets forever with the 'internally lubricated' round that made riflings better as well as less jamming and debris with 'external lubrication' of before. Colt might have invented the revolver, but Smith and Wesson invented much what we know today.
The Webley British Bulldog is a pocket revolver, a small revolver meant for self-defense for the gentleman while on the streets (or the gambler at the card table). While bigger than the Derringer, it is a short-barreled weapon with only enough powder behind the round to put a bullet in a man from a short distance away. Think of a snub-nose .38 or even the classic .25 Saturday Night Special in the late 1800's for an idea.
The Webley British Bulldog is also responsible for the death of an American President, James Garfield, in 1881, murdered by a disgruntled lawyer who paid ten dollars for a revolver (he neglected to get the ivory grips because it cost an extra dollar despite knowing that the gun would end up in a museum. It did, actually; the Smithsonian).
In 1888, the British were still using Imperial/SI units, as the first 'treaty' for Metrication was signed in 1889 and didn't fully change the system until the 1970's. To this day, there are still SI units in England.
The Naval Intelligence Directorate was a real-life intelligence agency created in 1882, focused on 'foreign' intelligence (usually ship signals, vessel patrols and fleet compositions). Spycraft in those days was a far cry to what would later occur in World War I and II. But espionage has existed since the Trojan War with Odysseus' horse, and likely even well before the first Kingdoms (Sumeria) with scouts, bribes, torture, and double-dealing merchants.
Sorry, I couldn't call it the 'Avenger Initiative'. Instead, I called it the Marvel Initiative. You'll be seeing why later.
Now cue the glorious title and music for the Avengers… here!