Chapter 5 2016: Explaining things
Pepper's point of view
There was chaos.
Arguments and conversations were going on around me.
There was no control. There was only madness.
There was an almighty blinding flash and then 14 words repeated 5 times stilled my heart.
"Behold the Metatron, herald of the almighty and voice of the one true god"
"Behold the Metatron, herald of the almighty and voice of the one true god"
"Behold the Metatron, herald of the almighty and voice of the one true god"
"Behold the Metatron, herald of the almighty and voice of the one true god"
"Behold the Metatron, herald of the almighty and voice of the one true god"
"Who in the BLUE HELL are you?" snarled Howard
"Mr Stark, relax, I am the Metatron, the voice of God. I am here to help with the mission."
"What mission?"
"That will be explained… When everyone here stops squabbling like school children and gives me the basic respect of paying attention!" his voice was languid, low, smooth, like treacle dripping from the back of a spoon but it was also commanding.
Like an army on orders, or a troupe of Irish Dancers in sync, the assembled squabbling Avengers and their cohorts turned and faced Metatron as one…
"Mr Stark, does this building have a large room with a screen?"
"Yes, we screen movies regularly…"
"Stark!"
"Yes" said Tony and Howard together
"What is going on here?"
"We're assembling for a mission"
"Really? Who's the enemy?"
"Thanos"
"What? That means… oh goodness… I'd better get Jane… and Loki…"
"Thor, can you see if you can find Bruce?"
"Of course… Heimdall, it's Thor here. I need you to lower the Bifrost immediately. I need to see Loki, and everyone at once. It's of the greatest importance… I'll be right back, everyone"
Thor's point of view
"Heimdall, find Korg. Is Dr Banner anywhere?"
"He's in the lab"
"What about Jane?"
"She's with Dr Banner in the lab"
"Where's Loki and mother and father… we need to go to Midgard at once. Urgent mission. Metatron is involved"
"That sounds serious"
"It is… very serious. Gather everyone… be quick Heimdall Stark said this mission's enemy is Thanos"
"WHAT?"
Heimdall sounded the 'trouble brewing, and it wasn't Loki or Hela this time' alarm and everyone came running.
"Mother, Father, Loki, Jane, Valkyrie, Dr Banner, Korg, everyone. We are needed urgently on Midgard. Thanos is preparing to attack…"
"We have visitors Thor"
"Visitors introduce yourselves quickly and then follow us."
"This is not becoming of a future king"
"Sorry father, but I have friends on Midgard and in fact, Jane is from Midgard… Metatron says we need to be there, that means it's serious"
"Very well, let's go"
"Frigga…"
"No, Odin, we are going and that's it. I'm putting my foot down."
"Father, when mother gets like this the best thing to say to her is 'yes dear' it saves a lot of aggravation." I said in a low voice. Korg and Bruce chuckled loudly.
"You are wise Thor…"
"I wouldn't say that"
"You want to tangle with the Hulk up here like you did in the living room of Stark Tower, Loki?" Bruce growled, his eyes glinting green.
"No"
"Well, zip it. I don't want to hear one word from you for the entire trip. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Dr Banner"
"That's better"
"We have visitors Thor, we cannot just abandon them"
"Who are these visitors?"
"Thor, my name is Peter Quill, and this is my team of mercenaries, Gamora – daughter of Thanos, her sister Nebula, Mantis, Drax, Rocket and Groot"
"I am Groot"
"I am Thor… nice to meet you, We're needed on Midgard."
"This is Carol Danvers, she's not part of our team, but she wants to help us… we call ourselves the Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Welcome aboard, good to meet you all"
Metatron's point of view
"Oh good, you brought everyone and the guardians. Bruce, you might want you put on your headphones for this"
"What do you mean Metatron?"
"I mean that this involves Ross and I know you hate him"
"What happened?"
"Well… the avengers kind of… broke up"
"What… like the Beatles?"
"Worse. Cap and I fell out hard… we're not exactly talking"
"OK… where does the assclown who totally and entirely ruined my life fit into all this?"
"He's the one who came up with The Sokovia Accords…"
"The what?"
"Basically, the current version of the accords is designed to control us. To prevent another Sokovia and another Ultron."
"We would essentially be under the mucky boots of the government, and we'd have no choice about where we go"
"Stark…"
"No, Rogers… it's about accountability. We need to be put in check. Too many people lost their lives because of our actions"
"The accords are unfair and ridiculous. They are harmful to people like Constance and Bruce"
"They are not, they are about accountability"
"The accords are unfair and ridiculous. They are harmful to people like Constance and Bruce"
"They are not, they are about accountability"
"The accords are unfair and ridiculous. They are harmful to people like Constance and Bruce"
"They are not, they are about accountability"
"The accords are unfair and ridiculous. They are harmful to people like Constance and Bruce"
"They are not, they are about accountability"
"The accords are unfair and ridiculous. They are harmful to people like Constance and Bruce"
"They are not, they are about accountability"
"ENOUGH! The accords can be renegotiated, but you need to learn to work together" I interjected.
"So where are these accords then?"
"Here"
"Thank you"
Tony gave a copy of the full, unrevised Sokovia Accords to the Asgardians, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Carol Danvers.
"I suggest you read those and make notes."
"Why don't we all read them? It would do us good to refresh our memories"
"Excellent suggestion"
"Why don't we read the accords and then after the mission we can discuss them and the notes"
There was a hiss of frustration, heavy footsteps, a loud exasperated sigh and a flump. A teenage girl with waist length red blond hair and bright-green eyes was now sitting in one of the recliner chairs in the cinema. She looked defeated.
Serendipity's point of view
"Metatron, there's one group we forgot to invite"
"Who?"
"The students and Faculty of Professor X's academy"
"The school that's merging with WWE LEARNING ACADEMY? While Vince and Linda and their friend are in jail?"
"Yes. I spoke to the DA, Vince, and Linda can attend this mission with their friend. They've to be e-incarcerated while they're here, though, which means they'll have an electronic tag."
"Is Constance going to attend that school?"
"We don't have a choice about sending her there… she's enhanced and neurodiverse… it's that, or she goes to The Raft"
"Kind of seems to me like Vince and Linda have given up on her"