A/N: Review responses are in my forums like normal. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. We are approaching the end.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Far From Home
The first indication Bruce had that something wasn't right was the giant fire dragon that burst out of the air right above the proving ground of the New York Earth Defense Force campus.
The creature defied any comparison to folklore Bruce could think of. The other researchers ran screaming in terror and the Kree-spawned mutant, Kurt, puffed away to alert the base. The beast had curled horns like a ram, four large reptilian legs and a tail. Instead of wings, though, somehow it flew through the use of fiery jets that thrust out from above its fore shoulder blades.
Behind the creature, he glimpsed burning zombie-like things pouring out of the tear in space. They came by the hundreds. Thousands even.
The dragon was coming right at him, roaring fiercely.
"It's been a while, Big Guy," Bruce said. "Maybe too long. You want to steer for a while?"
The Big Guy within surged to the forefront of their shared consciousness in a wave of rage and exaltation. Fabric ripped as Bruce's skin turned green. With a roar to match that of the fiery dragon, Hulk launched himself so high into the air the dragon did not have time to compensate before a ton of fury slammed into the creature's neck.
Hulk grabbed one of the great curved horns and twisted; the dragon's head and face turned and planted right into the chewed-up soil of the proving grounds. Its long, muscular body flipped over it and landed with a loud thud.
Claxons rang from the base and personnel with Chitauri-inspired assault cannons rushed out on foot and in armored cars to confront the horde of zombie fire demons. Hulk didn't care.
The dragon flashed fire at him from its left thruster vent. The fire tickled; Hulk hated being tickled, so he punched the dragon.
The monster whelped as the force of his blow spun it back to its four claws. It moved gingerly about to face him and roared. A fire demon jumped at Hulk, but he batted it away hard enough to reduce the dust to ash. He roared back at the dragon, and then charged. The dragon charged in turn.
Hulk liked to smash.
~~Titanomachy~~
~~ Titanomachy ~~
"I'm saying it now, Rogers. He's going to want to call it Spot."
Steve had absolutely no doubt that the fire demons which spilled out of the portal (that their resident psychic Maximoff had already closed) could have done some serious damage in a civilian setting. The thirty or so dead EDF soldiers were living proof the creatures were approximately three times stronger than a typical human.
However, as Tony Stark later theorized, they came from a world with a markedly higher ambient temperature and likely incredible air pressure closer to Venus than earth.
They popped like balloons when shot. Once the shock and horror wore off, the security team made short work of the thousands of demons that appeared. Moreover, the creatures attacked without any sense of tactics or purpose, rushing toward the defenders mindlessly. Captain Ambrose laughingly called it a target-rich environment.
The exception was the dragon. And the Hulk.
"You know, I don't even think they're fighting," Tony continued. "I mean...that could be me and Pepper…"
"Tony, I have Pepper on speed dial," Steve warned.
Stark laughed; it had a slightly manic tone to it, as if he still couldn't quite believe that he was married to Pepper Potts.
In the field, Hulk was chasing the fire dragon around the charred, chewed-up the field until the bus-sized beast stopped, turned and pounced on him. They wrestled for a bit, with the Hulk's roar sounding suspiciously like childish laughter, before Hulk ran around the field and the dragon chased him.
The two men watched from the east balcony.
"Think this was Thanos?"
"You don't?" Tony asked. "Thor said that Surtr was over two miles tall when he destroyed Asgard. The fire demons of Muspelheim were supposed to be terrifying. But I guess that's only if you're there."
Out on the field, the Hulk threw one of the old Humvees that the researchers used for fire testing. The dragon tore after it, launched itself into the air with its back jets and caught the battered vehicle mid-air. It crashed to the ground, and then proudly carried it back to Hulk.
"Where are we on the Defenders?" Rogers asked.
"The first units were finished two days ago and are going through testing," Stark said. "You've seen the footage Nova Prime gave me from Al Agulla. They won't be enough."
"Depends on how we use them," Rogers said. "Al Agulla didn't have a bifrost at their disposal."
"And this time Black Swan's on our side."
The two monsters were wrestling again, with the fire dragon lovingly licking napalm across the Hulk while he hugged it and rubbed its obsidian-like body.
Tony patted Steve's back. "Good luck telling him he can't keep it. Got two more suits to finish if you want your new Iron Legion pilots to be any good."
Rogers snorted and continued watching the show as Stark walked away.
~~Titanomachy~~
~~Titanomachy~~
"Is that a cubano?"
Peter Parker screeched, pulled down his hand-made mask and backflipped along the edge of the building where he'd been taking his lunch break. He landed in a crouch, ready to fight or flee with his Delmar special held like a weapon in his hand.
His would-be assailant sat on the edge of the building and smirked at him. Even with all his dialed up senses, he had no idea how she got so close. She had red hair, wore a plain denim jacket over a tight blouse and black jeans, and in general was the most ridiculously pretty MIL...older woman he'd seen! After a few synapses firing, he even recognized her. And then, when he recognized her, his mind immediately went to the last video Ned sent him and he was suddenly so dizzy he almost fell off the building.
Rule 34 was a thing. And the Heroes of Houston existed; even the lesser-known ones who ended up helping carve out HYDRA after SHIELD collapsed like Natalia Romanov, were famous enough for Rule 34 to apply. And Ned knew where to find the videos, and was never shy about forwarding them even if Peter never asked.
Then again, Peter never said no, either.
"Um...whatch'ya doing up here?" Peter hated that his voice squeaked.
"I'm recruiting," Romanov said. "So... your aunt told me you were turning 17 next week."
The dizziness turned into the feeling of his stomach dropping. He crouched down. "Why were you talking to my aunt? Wait…how do you even know my…that I have an aunt?"
She turned to face him; for the first time he noticed how stiff her leg was, enough she had to use her hands to get it over the edge. "Because I'm recruiting, and it's illegal for the Earth Defense Organization to recruit under-age potentials without the permission of their legal guardian."
The fear transformed from immediate fight or flight to the more pervasive one of dread. "You told her!?"
She laughed. "Peter, you build computers from scrap. You're on your school's academic decathlon team, but you synthesized the chemical for your webbing and then designed a dispenser system by trash diving. Tony Stark said your webbing was genius-level stuff. Your Aunt knows that you are a brilliant young man, and that the EDO desperately needs brilliant young people to be a part of the team. That's as far as our conversation went."
She slowly reached into her denim jacket and removed what looked like a pamphlet that she tossed at him. The wind took it a little over the side, but Peter leaned out horizontal to the building and easily snagged it before settling back down.
"International Academy for Scientific Advancement?"
He sat, and then glancing up suspiciously at Romanov lifted his mask enough to take a bite of his sandwich. He was really hungry, so he ate while he read. And read. It was a dense pamphlet.
"Why?" he finally asked.
"Can I come closer so we can talk like normal people?"
"Ah...sure, I guess." Romanov stood; she had a very minor limp as she came. "Houston," she explained at his look. She motioned to her leg. "When the SHIELD helicarrier went down, I took a shrapnel wound in my calf. It developed sepsis and gangrene because of the exposure to Houston bay water. They had to cut a lot of tissue away. I suppose now that Telos has her magic back she could heal me, but I haven't bothered to ask."
She sat again a couple of feet away. She was wearing the same scent of perfume as Aunt May-a lilac scent. It actually helped him not stare, strangely enough.
"A while back, during one of our last operations against the HYDRA organization, we discovered that HYDRA had been using alien technology to manipulate human genes."
Peter tried not to choke on his sandwich. "What? Why?"
"To make super powered individuals like you," she said. "It was pervasive, and the research was conducted through many different channels. We have reason to believe that your powers might have been related. Oscorp Industries had some financial ties with both AIM Industries and Hydra. That's why you don't hear about them anymore."
Peter researched what happened as much as he could, until all the trails went cold and the massive multi-billion-dollar Oscorp disappeared almost overnight. "Did you…?"
"Those guilty of crimes were tried and sentenced, assets were seized and liquidated, and the innocent found work elsewhere. We're not the bad guys, Peter."
She tapped the pamphlet. He noticed she moved slowly, deliberately, as if she knew his reflexes were several times faster than hers. "The point is, you're not alone. Some of the victims of the genetic modifications have stabilized sufficiently that they've been enrolled in the flagship IASA Campus upstate. Some have remarkable abilities. But you would have the added bonus of not just being a powered recruit. I wasn't lying when I said Tony Stark personally examined some of the web samples we were able to preserve. If you joined, you would be working at least part time as his research assistant."
It just seemed like too much. What would Ned say? Or MJ, or...or Liz!
"Is the invitation just for me?"
Romanov grinned. "Peter, you're going to the Midtown School of Science and Technology, and the IASA is aggressively recruiting qualified students. We've sent invitations to seven of your classmates. But none of them will have personal tutelage from Tony Stark. That's just for you."
She stood again and dusted herself off. "It was good talking to you, Peter. So, I heard Delmar's is the best sandwich shop in Queens. What do you think?"
"Their Cuban is the best," Peter agreed as he tried to keep reading while saying goodbye to the ridiculously beautiful woman who smelled like Aunt May and had four different porn parodies of her floating around the ether. Or so he'd heard.
"I'll give it a try. See you around, Spiderman."
Peter flipped to the last page, and there he found a simple white business card:
Tony Stark, Executive Director of Advanced Technologies
Earth Defense Organization.
Underneath that, in scrunched, crowded cursive, was a note and a phone number. Call me when you're ready. T. Stark.
"Unbelievable," Peter Parker muttered. He finished the rest of his sandwich.
Delmar's really was the best.
~~Titanomachy~~
~~ Titanomachy ~~
Most of Steve Rogers' day was spent in meetings. Holo-conferences, in-person meetings, telephone calls-he'd long accepted that leadership at his level was not in the field, but in the political arena. He didn't feel it was his strength at all-he knew that he still clung to some of his older ideals of patriotism and had a streak of naivete in him. But then again, that's why he so appreciated the partnership he had with Maria Rambeau.
Maria had no illusions about what they were, and what they had to do to defend the earth. More importantly, she had first-hand knowledge of what they faced. That lent credibility to her passion, and when coupled with her competence made for a very effective director. Together they were able to cut through most bureaucratic red tape.
That's why when he had time to actually sit in his office and work, he guarded the time jealously. That Friday was just such a day. He had a good workout in the morning, sparred with some of the new recruits, had a meeting with some of the mutants and inhumans (they were really going to have to come up with a better term), and then settled into his office for some paperwork.
The Earth Defense Force could now claim its first fully functional squadron of 24 Defender-class extra-atmospheric defense vehicles. Classed as a SF-101 Defender, the fighter had a reverse V-wing chassis that made it look almost like a backward-dart. The advanced crystal-lattice quantum computer system was the only thing that made it flyable in atmosphere, since it was inherently unstable, but that very instability made it amazingly agile. Perhaps the most important aspect of the fighter, though, was the small pocket of stabilized inertia around the cockpit pod that allowed it to pull turns that would not just render pilots unconscious, but kill them.
The inverse V-wings didn't just act as airfoils, though. They were filled with stabilizing jets for exo-atmospheric maneuvering, held the shielding projectors, and held the secondary and tertiary emergency power plants.
The main fuselage of the fifty-foot-long vehicle housed the massive fusion-powered multivector thruster that could put the fighter from ocean level to high orbit in ten minutes. That same generator powered the fighter's primary cannons, patterned off Kree capital ship weaponry. The Defenders also fielded twelve hard-point ordinances that could be loaded with nuclear payloads.
The Stark Tech Space-to-Space Skywalker missile even had stealth tech. But at $10 million per missile, they were to be saved for the most extreme circumstance. Rogers wasn't even going to comment on Stark's name for the missile. The personnel liked it, so that was enough.
"General Rogers?"
Steve looked up at the unfamiliar voice, and then a split second later was on his feet with directed energy plasma pistol. "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"
The intruder looked like a reject from a fantasy movie. He wore slacks and an Oriental-inspired tunic, with a broad-collared cloak around his shoulders and a large, bawdy amulet on his chest. Thin-faced, with a goatee and frosted temples, and man held up both his hands.
The hands were deeply scarred.
"My name is Doctor Steven Strange. I know this is hard to believe, but I'm…
"The sorcerer," Steve said. He kept his weapon ready, but lowered it. "Telos and Thor mentioned you, but we couldn't find your residence."
Strange lowered his hands. "Magic. I'm glad I don't have to explain things. The order I belong to has the same mission as your EDF, only on the spiritual and magical plain. And we've been guarding the earth for thousands of years. Normally our worlds don't coincide, but there's something you need to see."
The man dramatically pointed both hands toward the windows of Roger's office, and then spun one hand around. Where the projected hand moved-which Steve now saw held a strange broad ring-the air sparked and formed an oval frame. Steve stepped to one side of his desk and saw jungle beyond the portal.
"I've seen Telos do something similar," Rogers said. "Where is that?"
"Hawaii. We're being invaded again. Just like those fire demons you dealt with last month."
"You knew about it and didn't help?"
"Who do you think taught young Maximoff to close the portal, General? No one in this world is born knowing how to do that type of magic. Will you come?"
Steve touched his wrist-com. "Stark, this is Rogers. I have a Dr. Strange in my office telling me of an invasion in Hawaii. Track me."
"Strange, huh? Okay, but no more pets. Do you know how much Banner's pet dragon eats? And its shit is corrosive. Seriously, an environmental hazard."
Strange lifted a brow. "You let Hulk keep the Muspelheim fire dragon?"
Rogers shrugged. "He named it Puppy. If you want to try and take away the Hulk's puppy, be my guest. So, we're doing this?"
They stepped through. The moment they did, Steven winced against a wall of intense, physically painful heat. He turned away from the distant jungle and saw they were on the edge of a very, very active volcano. "Where are we?"
"Mount Kilauea," Strange said. He pointed in the distance. Following his finger, Steve saw another sparking portal horizontal over what looked like the volcano's main caldera. This one, however, was large enough for a bomber to fly through. Massive, blue humanoid figures were stumbling out of the portal by the hundreds.
"Frost giants," Strange explained. "Another Asgardian enemy, this one from Jotunheim. They started to attack Moscow. Not sure why there, but several of my fellow sorcerers recognized the threat and placed their own portal right in front of the Jotunheim one. They leave their world, and then fall right into the volcano. As it turns out, frost giants tolerate magma as much as Muspelheim demons tolerate bullets."
It was hard for Rogers to begrudge the man's smirk. The size of the giants alone, and the fact that they were an ancient, powerful enemy of Asgard, made him think they could have done some serious damage.
"Why are you showing me this if you have it handled?"
"Because our worlds are intersecting, General," Strange said. "The Asgardians are as close to actual gods as we're likely to get. Their enemies are mythic and many, and you let them settle here. They're presence is a beacon, and various entities are starting to answer."
Rogers waved that point away. "This is Thanos, Dr. Strange. An interstellar genocidal madman. He was the one behind Loki and Houston. He was the one who managed to turn Telos into a killer. And we know he's a threat. That's why the EDO and the EDF exist-to prepare Earth as much as possible for when he attacks."
"When? Not if?"
Steve met the man's gaze squarely. "Telos was his. She escaped, and then betrayed him. She also has two Infinity Stones. She's not just the most powerful being on the planet, she's also the biggest target in the Universe. So, yes. When, not if."
Over the horizon, the flow of blue giants finally petered out. Moments later, so too did the portal.
"You have your own witch, General," Strange said. "Maximov's power is not sorcery, it's innate due to the mutations HYDRA forced on her. But she still needs to learn how to use that magic. And frankly Telos herself could use some training. I think it's time for our two organizations to start working together, rather than at odds. Especially if we have a common enemy."
"I agree," Rogers said. "And if you actually come to our campus by mundane means, we'll get you credentialed as a senior consultant."
"I...don't drive anymore."
"We can send a car," Rogers said. "Or a quinjet, if you prefer."
"Right. Well, let's get you back to your office," Strange said. "We're both busy men."
~~Titanomachy~~
~~Titanomachy~~
Liz Tooms didn't accept the invitation.
Ned was almost vibrating with excitement, and Flash was bragging to Donny Hui how he was a natural for the new IASA program. Peter sat in his side of the special limousine van that picked them up from Queens and drove them all the way into the beautiful, green countryside of upstate New York.
"Who shot your dog?"
Peter blinked and looked over at MJ. "What?"
"You look like someone shot your dog. I mean, wasn't this whole IASA thing supposed to be good?"
"He's sad Liz didn't accept," Ned said helpfully.
Peter rolled his eyes. "Ned!"
MJ shook her head. "She was going to be a senior, doofus. And on track to be valedictorian. Of course she was going to turn it down."
"You didn't," Ned said.
MJ shrugged. "I'm not a senior. And I wasn't gonna be valedictorian."
"Had to have something there to be accepted," Peter pointed out.
"Must be my winning personality," she said with a flat tone and a blank face.
The IASA was a boarding school. It would be the first time that Peter would be away from Aunt May. He worried about her, with Uncle Ben gone. Would she be okay without him to help her organize her bills, or run the account balancing worksheet he made for her?
They cleared a row of trees, and in the distance saw the curving white lines of the Northeast Earth Defense Force Campus, home of General Rogers, Tony Stark and the Iron Legion EDF Rapid Reaction Force.
And a mile or so past that they arrived at the outer gate of the International Academy for Scientific Advancement. For the first time, when Peter saw the gates, fences and EDF soldiers, he began to wonder if he made a mistake. Deep within a copse of very old, very big trees, the school itself turned out to be what looked like an honest-to-God castle, with parapets and towers covered in climbing ivy and everything. It also boasted a swimming pool, a nice tennis court, what looked like hiking trails. In the far distance, he could see the radar telemetry dishes from the EDF.
"This place is gorgeous," Betty said, half rising from her seat in an effort to get a better glimpse. "I thought this was a new school."
"Ze school is new, but ze building iz old, yes?"
All six of the former Midtown Academy students turned to stare at the newcomer who suddenly, and inexplicably stood next to Elizabeth Brant's seat. She stared at him, eye level, and then screamed.
He screamed right back. He was blue, with rich, blue-black hair, and clawed, three-fingered hands. His screaming shocked Betty back into silence.
The driver very calmly stopped the van and stood. "Mr. Wagner, I know Professor Banner asked you to greet the students, but I'm fairly certain he meant after they arrived."
"During iz gud too, yes?" The young Wagner waived his three-fingered hand at them. "I am Kurt Wagner, and I am very glad you are here. Ze professor asked me to greet you so you vould know zere are inhuman and mutant students as well. Ve don't bite, and ze mutations are not contagious!"
"How did you even get in here?" Peter asked.
"Mr. Wagner is a teleporter," the driver said. "He was one of a handful of extraordinary people the EDF and the Iron Legion saved from HYDRA in Eastern Europe."
Suddenly Peter remembered what Ms. Romanov told him. With that in mind, Peter stood and offered his hand. "Peter Parker, glad to meet you."
Kurt's grin flashed scary fangs, but his eyes shone as he took the hand. "And I am glad to meet you. You are ze last students! Come, come! Zey have ze luncheon set out! Zey even bought pizza for Telos."
"Who's Telos?"
Peter didn't want to admit it, but he was glad Flash asked the question, because Kurt said it like they were all supposed to know. The driver, a heavy-set man in a suit and tie, shook his head. "Kurt, EDFs been trying to keep Telos under wraps. If she shows, they'll know. Come on, kids."
They walked out of the van into the circular paved drive of the beautiful castle front. On closer inspection, Peter realized it wasn't really a castle, just a very large mansion built in the late 18th or early 19th century style, with lots of heavy stone and gorgeous woodwork that had obviously been recently renovated.
Uniformed EDF personnel started unloading their bags from the back of the limousine. They were half-way across the drive when a newcomer arrived that made even Kurt look normal.
The girl had wings. She swooped down from the sky with a rush of air and kicking of golden laced boots as she alighted on the pavement. For a moment, Peter could barely process what he was seeing, because the girl didn't seem possible.
She pulled black and silver pinioned wings tight against the back of her bronzed chestplate. Her arms were bare, and had long lines of black tattoos running down the front and back, until they ended in black fingertips. The same for her legs. She wore what almost looked like a Roman kilt with the breast plate, and had real weapons at her waist, including a sword and two other smaller things that Peter wouldn't quite recognize. Her long, curling black hair was held back by a coronet that caught the early afternoon sunlight almost like diamond. Bright, inquisitive green eyes stood in a long face made bright by a painfully brilliant smile.
"Kurt!" she said.
"Telos!" The blue-skinned mutant puffed out of existence, only to appear again directly in front of the newcomer. She gave the young man a hug, at the same time revealing herself to be very tall for a woman. "This is so exciting! I haven't been to high school in...well, not since before I got blasted out of my Universe. Are these the last students? Stark said there were supposed to be 200 or so."
"Ze rest are inside," Kurt said. He then pointed to Peter. "Zat is Peter Parker. He shook my hand."
Flash was making strange fish expressions and Ned stood frozen as Telos stepped over to Peter. She offered her hand, just like he offered his to Kurt. "Telos, princess of Asgard. It's nice to meet you, Peter Parker. Mr. Stark has been talking about you for the past week."
Her hand felt warm and dry in his hand. He still hated how his voice squeaked. "Mr. Stark talks about me?"
She grinned. "Let's go inside. I won't be living here, I'm afraid. I have duties to New Asgard and the EDF, but given that I have some learning from two different galaxies, Professors Banner and Xavier thought I could help out and maybe learn some things as well. Come on, Banner promised me pizza!"
With the winged goddess and blue mutant, the stunned students of Midtown Academy made their way into the New York campus of the new academy.