Chapter 8: Like The Romans, But With More Tech

Once Noh's ship was as well-hidden as it was possible for a Kree ship in Shi'ar territory to be, both he and Tommy met up with Logan and K to head for the capital city.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Noh advised Tommy as he simply scooped up Logan to carry him off at high speeds. "The Shi'ar are not unused to high-speed attacks, so don't expect them to be surprised by our arrival."

"Just watch out for yourself, Dad," Tommy replied, rolling his eyes as K hopped up on his back, and the two speedsters rushed off at once — with Tommy outstripping the Kree fighter and skidding to a stop. K beamed at having won the impromptu race, though the grin died a bit when they realized just how many Shi'ar there were.

"Well, time to work," K said in a whisper in Tommy's ear before she slid down and pulled him into better cover. He'd picked a good spot, and they could easily see what was happening on the makeshift stage where the Shi'ar had Rachel bound. She wasn't the only one, either — the God of Thunder was bound and unconscious beside her. And on her other side, Scott was tied and not looking so good — his shirt still torn open from where Creed had ripped into him, the half-healed injuries still bright red even from where they were.

"To quote a friend of mine," Noh said as he and Logan arrived a few moments later, "this looks bad."

"I've seen worse," Logan replied.

"Then let's not wait for it to get to that point, shall we?" Noh replied as the four of them quietly circled around to get a better angle of approach.

A massive crowd was gathered around the raised platform, jeers and insults echoing the streets as the Shi'ar made their hatred of the Phoenix known. And even far out as they were, the four rescuers could see that Rachel had fire in her gaze, though she looked like she was working hard to contain it, her teeth gritted against the power that wanted to escape. It was obvious Scott was saying something to her. He looked incredibly pale, and not just from blood loss. But whatever it was Scott wanted to tell Rachel was getting drowned out by one of the Shi'ar on the platform whipping the crowd up.

"What's the creep saying?" Tommy whispered to K. "Can any of you guys hear from this far out or … or understand Shi'ar?"

"More or less he's saying she is a crime against nature and the Shi'ar Empire. Which … probably to them makes more sense," K said. "To dangerous to exist. Whatever."

"Crimes against nature are the same as crimes against the empire in their mind," Noh said with his lip slightly curled.

"But they were fine dropping Creed on me? I call bullshit," K said with a little growl

"Are you trying to apply logic to the Shi'ar?" Noh asked, unable to quite stop to little smug smirk at the thought.

"Nope, just pointing out the painfully obvious," K said with a little matching smirk as Logan told them both to be quiet and get ready to move.

"I'm thinking claws to the face on whoever's holding our friends before they can make their move here," Logan muttered.

"And then can I blow up the whole stage?" Tommy asked with a crooked grin. "Ple-ease?"

"Go for it, kid," Logan replied with a nod.

Tommy nodded and pushed his hands out in front of him to crack his knuckles. "Perfect. I like this plan already."

"We can throw you both to the stage if you want — and meet you there," Noh offered. "I have excellent aim."

"That's not a bad plan of attack," Logan said with a nod.

At that, Noh and Tommy shared a look, and in a second, each of the speedsters had swept up a partner to pitch toward the stage — Logan at the Shi'ar soldiers holding Rachel and K toward Scott — before Noh and Tommy zipped down after them and actually beat them to the stage.

"Show's over, folks!" Tommy called out cheerfully as he threw out both hands and sent shockwaves down the streets that had the assembled crowd tripping over themselves at the small earthquake.

Noh had gone straight for the guy in charge of the whole thing and knocked him to the ground, though before he could really get started wailing on the Imperial Shi'ar, a war cry started up from around them as several Shi'ar rushed the stage. The whole thing had Noh on edge as he was already struggling with the Imperial Shi'ar in his grasp, the two trading blows hard and fast as they hissed and screeched at each other.

Logan had managed to find himself more or less surrounded, since as soon as he was spotted, the Shi'ar cranked up the security around Rachel. He'd worked up enough of a reputation with them that they knew better than to trust that he wouldn't do something. He was fighting his way through them as K tried to simultaneously keep the guards away from Scott and Thor — and get close enough herself to cut them loose from the shackles they had on them.

Which was a rude awakening, to say the least, for Scott. He had been losing steam, barely conscious and still badly hurt from Creed's initial attack on top of the Shi'ar treatment of their prisoners — but he quickly jerked nearly upright when he realized very quickly that Logan was charging toward Rachel. He had his claws out and was looking every bit as bloodthirsty as Scott had ever seen him — all while Rachel finally started to let the Phoenix out to play as her shackles disintegrated and the flames engulfed her as she started to rise up.

It was so familiar that Scott could feel the bottom drop out of his stomach, and what little blood was left in his face drained as he nearly swayed on the spot.

"Logan — Rachel — NO!"

At the very last moment, and only at the very last moment, Logan stuck — his target wasn't Rachel, but the guard that had raised a weapon to try and shoot her. Instead of ramming his claws into Rachel, he absolutely tore into the guard and two others that came to his aide — more or less ignoring Rachel's fiery rise.

"O-kay then. I'll just get this one," Tommy said as he headed for Scott, zipping past the guards to vibrate the shackles holding the X-Men's leader until they burst open.

"It's okay," K called out toward Scott before she finally headed over to Thor and cut him loose. "They just … they're kind of asking for it."

"You can't let her … if the Phoenix…" Scott looked very panicked even as Tommy tried to steady her.

"And short of killing her, what do you want me to do?" K asked as she stepped back from Thor — who had one hand out and a scowl on his face as he waited for Mjolnir to make its way to him. "Because I don't want to do that. Neither does Logan. I think she can handle it."

"She can, but the Shi'ar…" Scott shook his head. "She and the Phoenix both have scores to settle here."

"Then we should get everyone we care about out and let them settle their score," K said reasonably. "We can pick her up when she's done razing the place."

"That's not a good idea," Noh called out as he finally separated the Imperial Shi'ar's head from the rest of him and took a moment to catch his breath.

"Why not?" K asked as she dove back into the fight, splattering blood across the stage. "My inner Viking concurs with this assessment. The lawyer agrees… That doesn't happen too often."

"You are making the same mistake as Jana — you have not done your research," Noh insisted.

"Actually, I read all about it, and for as much trouble as these jerks cause everyone? I don't see why not. Not when Rachel has been able to control it," K argued. "I'm on her side."

"She's never let it loose like that," Scott argued. "And the Phoenix won't stop with just this planet if it's freed." He had his gaze on Rachel despite the heat of the argument, and it was the first time K had really seen him that scared. "This is exactly the kind of anger it needs to take her over…"

"Okay then," K said, nodding her understanding as she slipped over to take over for Tommy on helping Scott, looking more concerned for him when he wasn't looking her way. "You need to go to the ship, big guy. Let Noh, Logan, and Tommy give some back up to the kids. Thor and I will keep an eye on her, and he can whip me up there if it needs to be done."

"I'm not going anywhere without Rachel," Scott insisted stubbornly.

"Well, I can't protect you and watch her," K said. "And you look like hell warmed over."

"Then don't worry about protecting me — just get me up to her."

K let out a sigh and looked around the area. "There's a vantage point you might be able to use," she said before she looked to Noh. "What do you think, star child?"

Noh frowned but had to nod. "Yes, that could work." He leaned over to K and added very softly, "But you should call me if things… turn south."

"If things go south, I'll have Thor to help me put a stop to it," K promised.

"His hammer can damage the Phoenix. We found this out when I faced it last, when I took a piece of it."

"Perfect," K said. "He can try to stop her from going totally overboard ... and if that fails, then we have the other failsafe."

"Call me before then, and I'll remove Scott bodily if I have to," he whispered low.

"Alright," she said with a nod. "Be safe."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "You too," he said before he and Tommy zipped off — with Tommy simply throwing Logan over his shoulder on the way without really asking, grinning delightedly at getting away with it, too.

The rest of the rescue squad had headed in the opposite direction from the four who went to the capital city, following Tony's instructions as they rushed to find their friends — with both Hawkeyes much quieter than usual as they were clearly anxious to find their respective partners.

The city itself was almost as large as the capital, and with their much bigger group, it was more difficult to hide in the shadows and keep out of sight. So it was almost inevitable when a Shi'ar soldier spotted them and sounded the alarm.

But the Shi'ar hadn't ever met the junior squad, and they weren't prepared for when Sophia cleared her throat and sang out: "Nobody move! Everyone be still and silent!"

The change was instant and almost palpable as everyone — Avenger, X-Man, and Shi'ar — froze on the spot. Sophia looked around at the frozen people and let out a little nervous giggle. "Oh, I'm really glad that worked. Okay." She turned to the rescue group. "If you're an X-Man or Avenger, you can move and speak now — but everyone else stay still and silent."

"Yeah, more specific to start with next time?" Tony requested with a look her way of total disbelief.

"That was faster," Sophia said with a little shrug. "And I got you back out of it, didn't I?"

"I really gotta do something about that," he muttered to himself.

"Same concept as the Purple Man, only she's not evil and she sings like a Disney princess," Kate explained quietly as they made their way through the now incredibly still streets. "And it wears her out the more people she uses it on," she added, nodding toward the scale-covered young woman as Brye tossed her a water bottle to keep her hydrated and on her feet. The longer the two of them were dating, the more automatic the response was from Brye to help Sophia; it was really cute, actually.

"Doesn't make it any less freaky," Tony called out.

"Gifted, you mean," Brye called back without hesitation. "And sexy."

"No, no. I meant freaky."

"It's a good thing I'm not evil, or I'd tell you to shut up too," Sophia called out, earning a laugh and a kiss from Brye as they continued to follow Tony toward where Noh's ship had found Peter.

The signal seemed to be coming from what was more or less the center of the city — a large, pillared building that seemed to be the end point of all the roads leading into the area — and Cassie frowned a bit as they got closer. "That looks hard to break into," she said.

"Hard, but not impossible," Clint said as he looked up at the nearly Roman-esque structure and pulled out a grappling arrow and took aim. "Need a better view."

"I'll come with you," Tammy offered, following behind him as he latched the arrow onto the top of the structure.

He looked her up and down for a moment. "Stick close, do what I say, and if I say run, don't hesitate," he told her, and it was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that he didn't have a hint of a joke to his tone.

She blinked at him for a long moment and then nodded quickly, following him up as he zipped up the side of the building with his grappling arrow, and the two blondes perched carefully at the top, staying out of sight of anyone inside.

If it hadn't been for the flashing signs, the technology laced throughout the place, and the dome top made of thick plexiglass — or the Shi'ar form of it anyway — the place would have looked like an ancient Roman colosseum. It was clear this was the entertainment center of the city, and it had the same viewing design as the Kree trials did, with raised seating and floating platforms as the spectators currently in the building seemed to be watching what was happening in the capital city on the various screens.

Tammy's eyes widened, and Clint swore under his breath as the two of them saw the large display of their three friends in the capital — but once they'd seen just how bad things were for Rachel, Scott, and Thor, Clint put a hand on Tammy's shoulder and redirected her attention, looking not for the big spectacle but for entrances and chinks in the building's armor.

"Looks like most of their attention is to keeping prisoners in, not keeping us out," Clint said. "Which is good for us."

Tammy nodded and looked around the crowd. "I don't think Sophia can freeze this many people at once," she muttered.

"Nope," Clint agreed. "But we might be able to get in through the gladiator entrances. If this place is anything like the Roman coliseums … there'll be non-public entry and exits."

Tammy nodded again and tried to follow his gaze. "Do you think there's anything underneath? I've seen that in movies too, but I don't know how historically accurate they are…."

"They had to have a way to get the gladiators and the lions and stuff into the arena without crossing paths with too many spectators. Besides, I think these guys are a lot more advanced than the Romans were."

"Just a little," she said with a little smirk, and Clint grinned her way for a second, seeming to wait for her before she spotted a smaller door near the floor of the arena. "There?" she asked, and he grinned and nodded.

"Now all we've gotta do is follow it back and get in that way," he explained, moving across the top of the building to get a different vantage point so he could do just that, pointing with two fingers as he narrowed his eyes and followed the curve of the building…. "Yeah, should be an entrance right there," he said, pointing toward the outer wall of the building as he was already headed back down. "C'mon, kiddo — you did great."

Once the two of them got down to where the others were, Clint jumped right into showing them where the side entrance should be. Still, the junior squad couldn't help but exchange a few glances when they arrived where Clint had pointed out, as it didn't look like much until both Clint and Tony ran their hands over the edges of the wall and found the access panel.

Tony looked over the encryption for a moment and almost laughed. "Piece of cake," he said — and a few moments later, the hidden door swung open.

Both Hawkeyes brushed past Tony, ready to get moving and get their friends out. The tunnels that ran underneath the arena were surprisingly well-kept and high-tech — and both Clint and Kate were kept fairly busy shooting out cameras and detection devices the whole way down.

"I don't know why, but I was expecting more… dirt and lions," Tammy whispered, though in the silent tunnels, her voice echoed a bit and had Clint snorting quietly.

"Don't worry, Spartacus; we'll find you something," he teased over his shoulder before the group of them rounded the corner and were greeted almost immediately by the sharp sound of snarls and snapping teeth.

The creature just behind the glowing energy bars was massive — its head alone was at least as tall as Tony was, with a hinged jaw that was obvious to see as it snapped at the group of them, all teeth and fury. It had a long, slimy neck that could probably reach through the bars if the power wasn't turned fully up, and all four feet had sharp talons the length of Tyler's arms.

The rescue party took a few steps back on seeing the giant snapping creature, though when it was clear it couldn't reach them, they proceeded cautiously — all except Brye, who tipped her head at the widely opened mouth and rows of teeth before she let out a little tsk.

"I know they've been starving you, but if you calm down, you can eat them when I let you out," she told the creature as if she was having a perfectly reasonable conversation with it.

When it responded with a low hiss and snap of its jaws, she put her hands on her hips. "No, I am not lying. Do you see me locking anybody up? We're here to let people out, not put them in."

"Sweet pea, what the actual hell are you doing?" Tony asked, eyes wide. "That thing is going to eat you up in a heartbeat if you even think about letting it out."

"No, he won't, will you?" Brye insisted in a gentle voice as she got closer to the energy bars and tried to figure out what the kill switch was. "He wants to eat Shi'ar. There's a few big crunchy ones that are… ohhh crap they're coming down the hall, he says."

"Down the hall now? Like where we are?" Tony asked as he glanced down the way they'd come. "How sure are you that he won't eat us?"

Brye looked over the creature for a moment, who was no longer snapping at her and was just watching her. "Um. Me? Pretty darn sure. You guys ... maybe take a step or nine back."

"Tell him not to eat the non-Shi'ar and I'll blast the locks on the energy bars so he can eat those crunchy jerks."

Brye nodded. "My friend here is going to let you out, okay? So don't eat anyone here — just Shi'ar, please." When the creature kept staring at her, she held its gaze and didn't look away as she said to Tony, "Okay. Let's try it."

"Try it, she says," Tony muttered as he held up one hand and the repulsor in his palm started up the telltale whine, though he made sure to prep his shock charges — all of them — should Brye be wrong. "Here goes nothing," he said before he fired a quick blast at the locks and the generators that kept the door energized.

As soon as the energy died, the creature sprang forward to squeeze itself through, its slimy body surprisingly flexible as it all but spilled into the hallway, a low echoing roar sounding in their ears as it turned to face them for a moment. But instead of gulping any of them up, it met Brye's gaze, and she positively giggled.

"Ooh, yes, that would be fun," she told the creature, and before anyone could stop her, she sprang up to climb onto its head behind its hinged jaws, grinning madly before she and the creature sped off toward the incoming guards, the sound of roaring and giggling echoing back to them.

"I think you have to be insane to join the junior squad. That's part of the contract, isn't it?" Clint muttered under his breath to Kate, who just smirked.

"I think you have to be insane to join the team at all. Let's go get the rest of the nuthouse, shall we?" Tony replied before he swore a bit about nutsy mutant kids and shot down the corridor toward the center spectacle.

It wasn't the quiet infiltration that they had been doing before as the group made their way further inside — since the creature's escape had set off alarms. Though it was helpful that the guards were more concerned about their alien pet's escape than anything else — so most of the guards rushed past them without looking around the corners, as the creature wasn't likely to be found hiding in shadows or small spaces.

They were very nearly to about the center of the arena, by Clint's reckoning — though underneath it, of course — when one of the Shi'ar guards finally spotted them. The guy was way bigger than the usual Shi'ar — his armor looked almost decorative — and the war cry he let out rattled their teeth as he sprang toward the group and called for others to do the same.

"Now this is something I can do," Rico said as he scurried past the older heroes to all but pounce on the huge Shi'ar fighter, using his tail as a blunt force instrument to his advantage against the huge guy as more of them poured in and the rest of the team got to work.

"You Shi'ar are very sleepy," Sophia sang out, a little higher-pitched than usual as she all but scrambled away from an approaching Shi'ar fighter and hid behind Tyler, who burst forward to start pounding on the guy to keep him away from Sophia. It was enough to get the fighters to slow down, but they were still rather ferocious and downright big, even with several of Kate and Clint's arrows in them.

Tony was trying to keep out of reach as he flitted around them, shooting off all sorts of different and amazing shockers and missiles and some really wild just that seemed to knock entire lines of Shi'ar backward off their feet twenty yards at a shot. "Hey, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Tony called out. "Is it just me or do we need music?"

"Probably just you," Jana said. She had slipped behind Tony with a tiny little Cassie in her hands as the two girls headed for a door that looked like it might lead outside. Cassie shrank down even further and slipped into one of the panels, and a moment later, the door opened — not to more Shi'ar but to a surprised-looking Noh, Logan, and Tommy.

"I hadn't even finished rerouting the control panel," Noh said, looking a bit proud as Cassie and Jana waved them in to join the fight.

"Great timing, Noh — Tony was just asking for a soundtrack," Kate called over to him, and Noh looked delighted.

"We want music then, yeah?" Tony said as he hovered for a moment. "Doubt we have the same tastes though, sparkle prince ... or … whatever."

"Noh-Varr will do," he said with a smirk. "And you never know — I've been exploring all sorts of genres. Try me."

"Well, they were doing that stupid battle cry thing? So I think a little hard rock is in order."

Noh grinned. "All the better if it disrupts that cry of theirs," he agreed.

A moment later, Tony kicked off the playlist he'd been listening to in the suit on his own — a classic mix of everything from Black Sabbath to Guns N Roses — and it did seem to have some ill effects on the Shi'ar. Which only had the rest of the heroes grinning that much wider as they dove in to tear apart some aliens.