Alright. Took me a while to think this one up. Please note that I'm making this up as I go along. Hope you guys enjoy!
Inversion Chapter Eight – Gem Hunt, part 3
Avengers Tower was the tallest building in New York. No one knew how they constructed it so quickly, as it was completed within six days. Gleaming diamond windows and adamantium steel glinted in the sunlight, reminding everybody that the Avengers were watching over them.
The irony wasn't lost on Electro as he walked the streets of New York. He and the Collective have been walking the streets for three days now, looking for a way in. Carnage had taken up residence over in Hell's Kitchen, using the various law offices located there to find some way into Avengers Tower. Curt Connors was in his old laboratory at Horizon Labs, using the resources at this disposal to find a way to hack into the security systems. Sabretooth was in Central Park, talking to old friends and eating food from Subway. Bullseye was in Battery Park, doing God knows what. Electro himself was over by the Baxter Building, trying to track down anyone who used to be Avengers.
Electro approached a woman who was sitting on one of the benches. She was wearing a black beret and sunglasses that matched. A red designer sweater clung to her body, with one button on the collar. Black pants barely reached her ankles, showing off her pale white skin. High heel shoes were also in black, with the exception of one blue stripe running down both pairs. The woman herself was using a Dell Notebook. Her fingers danced over the buttons, turning what should have been mundane into an art form.
Electro took a seat next to her, his brown coat rustling as he made himself comfortable. "A storm's coming," he said offhandedly.
"How should we shield ourselves?" she asked in a similar tone.
"Stay away from anything iron," he replied. "Hello, Masque."
The woman called Masque snapped her Notebook, turning her head towards Electro. "Are you trying to get us arrested? Call me Whitney."
"Why are you so worried? Shouldn't the fiancé of Tony Stark be safe from the guys like me?"
"Not if they knew that I was a double agent. We should probably take this conversation somewhere else."
"You're right," Electro said, remembering the ridiculous amount of recording equipment the Baxter Building had. "You up for Starbucks?"
"Absolutely. The autumn chill is getting to me."
Minutes later, they were sitting in one of the many Starbucks buildings located nearby. Whitney had ordered a Blonde Roast, which she took black. Electro, not liking the taste of coffee, opted for hot chocolate. Both were taking small sips of their drinks while talking.
"What calls for the social visit, Max? I doubt it's to reminisce about our… history."
"There was something, but now that you've brought it up, I do want to talk about us."
Even though Whitney was still wearing sunglasses, Electro could tell that she was avoiding meeting his eyes. "What do you want me to say? I'm sorry that I put our relationship in perspective against the thousands of lives we can save if I took undercover work? You were a wonderful boyfriend, but I didn't want you to wait for my assignment to be over."
"I understand all that," Electro replied. "What I don't understand – what I'm hurting over – is one simple question. Why did I have to find out about your assignment from my bosses, and not from you?"
A single tear slid down Whitney's right cheek. "Because I knew I couldn't stand seeing you in pain," she whispered. "Every night for the past week, I've been waking up with tears on my face. I don't need to talk to Leonard Sampson to know that they were dreams of seeing your face when you found out."
Electro said nothing, only stared at his hot chocolate. It would have been easier if she had said that she didn't love him anymore. Finding out that she still had feelings for him just made him feel even worse inside.
"You won't have to be doing undercover work anymore," Electro said after a few moments. "Something's come up a few days ago."
Electro then proceeded to tell Whitney what had happened. He told her about how Osborn and Ultron infiltrated the Helicarrier, finding out about the Inverted's plans. He told her how they were planning to use the Infinity Power Gem to turbo-boost the Twilight Sword's power.
"That's why I'm here with…" Electro looked around to make sure no one was listening, "my friends. We need the Infinity Gem that controls Reality. Can you help us?"
Whitney was horrified. She had even dropped her Notebook and her coffee. "I can't join you guys in breaking into the Tower," she replied. "What I can do, however, is tell you how to get past all the security."
It was eight at night when the Collective stood on the rooftop nearest Avengers Tower. The logo for the Avengers, a giant letter A, was shining in red at the top of the Tower.
"Do you think the information she gave us is accurate?" Carnage asked, not taking his eyes off the Tower.
"Whitney wouldn't sell us out like that," Electro replied.
"Sell you out, you mean," Sabretooth grunted.
Electro had never wanted to punch Sabretooth so much in his life. Electricity started sparking along his hands as his anger grew. Just as quickly, though, he forced himself to calm down. Remember what you're here for, he kept repeating to himself in his head.
"She cares about protecting innocent people just as much as we do," Electro said. "So yes, I trust her."
"That's good enough for me," Bullseye said. "Your gut never let us down before. In fact, if she does sell us out, I'll buy drinks for all of us."
"Can we just go already?" the Lizard complained. "Listening to you brutes argue is giving me a headache." Without waiting for the others, he leaped towards the Tower.
Electro and the others leapt after him. They had chosen this spot for a reason other than its close proximity – it faced the one side of the building where the only glass window was located. With an almost musical sound, the glass shattered as the Collective broke through the window.
"All right, guys," Carnage whispered. "According to the information that Whitney got for us, the Gem should be located in the center of the Tower. Since we're only three levels below, let's get to it."
Their first obstacle was a locked door. It required Steve Rogers' fingerprint to open, so it would normally have been impossible to get in. However, when the Collective is concerned, nothing is impossible. Electro placed his hands on the sides of the console and started manipulating the electricity inside. Soon, he had fooled the machine into thinking that it had scanned the correct fingerprint, and it slid open for them.
After going up a flight of stairs, they saw a series of laser beams. There must have been at least seventy-five beams, and they all moved at speeds that the human eye barely was able to follow. Either the beams would set off an alarm, or it would slice them to ribbons. Knowing the suicidal tendencies of Iron Man, the second one seemed more likely.
Connors squatted down and studied the lasers, his eyes flicking from one beam to the next. After about twelve seconds, he held up his left hand and started counting down from five on it. Once he reached zero, Carnage used his strength to hurl Connors across the room. Connors dodged all the lasers, pulling in and moving his arms, tail, and legs as he needed to. Once he reached the other side of the room, he clung to a wall and hit a series of buttons on a console similar to the one in the other room. With a hiss, the beams vanished.
"Two traps disabled in less than a minute," Bullseye muttered. "Avengers, you're slipping."
The level that held the Gem, though, contained a complete surprise.
The Collective entered the room to find Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Steve Rogers there. Iron Man had his helmet off, letting everybody see his playboy features. The grin on his face, though, would have looked more appropriate on a mad scientist. Hawkeye showed no emotion on his face as he pointed his bow at Bullseye. Captain America gripped his vibranium shield, looking like he was about to throw it.
"Hello, boys," Stark grinned. "Welcome to Avengers Tower. Hope you enjoy your stay, beca-"
"Change your flamin' tagline already, Stark!" Sabretooth growled. "Everyone survives, you crazy sonuva bitch."
"How'd you know we would be here?" Connors asked.
Iron Man stepped aside to reveal Whitney. She looked she was ready to either start crying or screaming.
"I'm so sorry," Whitney told Electro. "I didn't want to…"
"Of course she did," Stark interrupted. "How about that? A double agent playing the lovestruck fool, and she does turn into a lovestruck fool! Guess that means you're not needed anymore, huh, Sparky?"
Electro flew at Stark, electricity covering his body as he screamed "I'LL KILL YOU!" Hawkeye launched an arrow at him, but it never found its mark thanks to Carnage's tendril.
The room erupted into chaos. Connors and Bullseye took on Captain America, as they exchanged punches, kicks, and counterattacks. Sabretooth and Carnage took up Hawkeye's attention, catching arrows out of the air and sometimes throwing them back at him. Electro was taking on Iron Man.
It was the latter pair that was causing all the destruction. Electricity clashed against repulsor energy, reducing anything they touched to ash. Electro's companions had never seen him so furious. His mouth was open in an eternal scream of rage as he threw everything he had against Iron Man. Stark; however, was looking quite bored.
"I was supposed to go to my bachelor party tonight," Stark said annoyingly. "Instead, I have to deal with you guys. I know it's His plan and all, but is it too much to ask for one night?"
Electro was caught off guard by that last statement. Who was this "Him"? Iron Man took advantage of this and turned his repulsor blasts on to full power, blasting Electro into a wall. He was hurt, badly enough that he couldn't use his right arm.
Iron Man walked in front of Electro, an adamantium blade popping out of his left gauntlet. "It's been an annoyance," Iron Man said, plunging his blade at Electro. He closed his eyes as he waited for the end.
He heard it pierce flesh, but he didn't feel any pain other than his broken arm. Opening his eyes, he was horrified at what he saw. Whitney had put herself in the blade's path, taking the blow meant for him. Coughing up a small amount of blood, she whispered "I… love… you…"
Iron Man thrust his arm out, throwing Whitney off the blade. Turning to where she landed, he spat, "You were never a good girlfriend, anyway."
That's when he felt a hand on the side of his head. He started screaming as all the lights went out, shocking everybody in the room. The screams continued even as the rest of the Collective finished off their opponents. Trying to locate the source of the screams, Carnage shouted, "Electro! What are you doing?"
With that, the lights came on. Iron Man fell to the floor, not even twitching as he did so. Electro stood there, breathing heavily. "I didn't kill him," Electro answered everyone's unspoken question. "I did the next worst thing. I took away everything that made him smart. His memories of learning mechanics and engineering are gone. His brain's ability to learn new things has been turned off. He will never make another Iron Man armor, pilot one, or relearn how to make one."
The rest of the Collective were staring at him in awe. Electro didn't notice. He walked over to where Whitney had been tossed and cradled her in his arms. Every memory he had of her – their first date at the movies, the time when he accidently sucked the power out of her iPhone, and many more – flooded through his brain. He wasn't even aware he started crying until he was tapped on the shoulder. Looking up through blurry eyes, he saw Carnage holding something yellow in his hands.
"I got the Infinity Gem," he said gently. "We should go now."
"Can we…" Electro wiped the tears from his eyes, "can we take her? So we can give her a proper funeral?"
Carnage was about to say no when Sabretooth said, "Sure. I'll carry her."
The Collective was gone by the time the sun rose, the only evidence of their ever being there a missing gem, lots of ash, and a black beret.
Damn. Didn't think I could write something like that. It'll probably be a while before I update again, so until then, viva Templar!