Chapter 17: Initial Contact
Returning from her trip Malice alighted on the roof a few feet away from a waiting Chris Redfield. "Where were you?" he asked "You shouldn't be flying about right now, it's too dangerous." "Calm down, I didn't go too far" she replied, stretching her wings "How is the situation?" Chris frowned "Not good, we're still trying to come up with some way to stay alive. We have an idea though, we've thought about creating bridges between our apartment and the neighboring ones. If they're not infested by zombies we can use the bridge to transport supplies and as passages to maneuver around." He gestured to a pile of steel planks the residents had crafted by tearing down whatever superfluous material they could find. "Could you cart these over to the roof over there" Chris asked pointing to the northern most building "Rocket Raccoon will start building his half of the bridge once you guys check out the area." "Sure" Malice conceded without her usual guff, now that she had quite a few souls locked away for Master Hector she was in a good mood. The boards were a bit unwieldy but after a few trips she finally carted the initial load over as well as Rocket Raccoon. "Whatever ya do don't drop me lass" he warned her as he stared down at the streets "The last thing I want to do is become a mini mouthful for those buggers down there."
Their scan of the building was brief; the zombies had eaten everyone in the building and had left neither survivors nor any of their brethren. The pair locked and sealed the doors with everything they could find and made sure the windows were bolted shut. "Good on ya, looks like we'll be able to build in peace" the Guardian of the Galaxy said "Let's get crackin' on that bridge." The creature's resourcefulness proved to be a great blessing as he used his laser and some tools they had found in the basement to Macguyver the bridge. The foot of the bridge was the hardest part, attaching sheet metal to cement proved to be tricky and structurally unsound. It took several shots from the laser gun at differing temperatures to attach it before they reinforced it as best they could with the rest of the metal they had. Acknowledging her cue without having to be told Malice flitted off to their base building to grab the next pile. Chris was down below but had just finished placing her sheets onto the pile. "Here's the next batch" the redhead stated "How's it going over at your end?" "I think we've managed to anchor the foot of the bridge but I am not sure" the angel replied with a shrug "How many more loads of these must I carry?" Ignoring the irritation in the blonde's voice shrugged "Don't know, it's not like we're swimming in resources here. We're scraping it off as best we can from the interior but it's difficult to pinpoint how much we can peel off. For now I'd imagine we have enough for ten more piles."
Malice craned her neck so she could look back at the building where Rocket Raccoon was at; it was going to take way more than ten piles of sheet metal to connect the roofs. Shouldering her new load Malice flew back to Rocket Raccoon who was jumping up and down on the foot of the bridge "Give me a hand lass" he instructed her "I ain't heavy enough to see if the foundation will keep the rest of the bridge up." Setting the sheet metal down Malice climbed atop the contraction and placed all her weight into the soles of her feet. The bridge did not shudder or squeak from the stress of their weight but Rocket Raccoon was still unhappy with the results. "Blimey, I wish Chris was over here. That big bloke could give this thing a real test what with those muscles of his." Sighing he jumped off the contraption onto the roof and studied the metal Malice had brought back with her "Bugger it all, some of these sheets are barely more durable than a Kleenex." Rolling her eyes Malice accosted him "I thought you could just refine them until they get stronger." "I would if I could but melting them with a laser ain't gonna cut it lass. We need a forge or something to get these sorry lots to be durable. Not to mention we'll need something to hammer em out with." "Got any clue where the Sprites hide their dwarves" Malice asked snippily. "Go grab the next lot of metal, maybe they'll be some better parts in there" Rocket Raccoon instructed "I think I'll nip down below and see if there's anything useful."
Absentmindedly the Guardian of the Galaxy leaned his head back and surveyed the cloudy sky "Do ya hear that?" Peering up Malice listened for anything out of the ordinary but came up with only the light boom of an approaching storm. "It's called thunder" Malice said in a condescending manner which got her a rude gesture from Rocket Raccoon. "I know what bloody thunder sounds like" he snapped at her while gesturing to the sky "Does it look like it's gonna storm lass?" He had a point, the sky was gray but not the heavy gray that portends a storm. "Get ready" the creature warned her as the buzzing of static lightning began to crescendo. Lifting her ax up Malice scanned the skies for an opponent; her anticipation was what saved her life. Streaking out of the cover of the clouds a mysterious person went hurtling straight towards the angel who was barely able to put her guard up before he smashed into her weapon. The pair skidded across the top of the roof, her wings flared as wildly they could in an attempt to diminish the momentum but it was a futile gesture as both of them went tumbling off the roof. "Malice" Rocket Raccoon cried out before racing over to the edge on all fours. He peered over the side for a brief second only to jerk his head back as a net of lightening engulfed the street below sending its bolts everywhere. Once he was sure he hadn't been fried by the errant electricity Rocket Raccoon glanced down below and gaped at what he saw.
The blast of lightening had taken out the entire chunk of zombies who had been loitering in the street from curb to curb leaving only charred piles of ash coating the asphalt. Malice was alright; she had not suffered injuries from either the fall or lightening, and was on the attack with Skadi swinging it in large arcs that covered a sizable space in front of her. She was fighting a blond man wearing a horned helm and wielding a hammer that crackled with white hot electricity. "Cor Blimey" Rocket Raccoon muttered as he recognized the assailant, it was Thor, one of the Avengers and an acquaintance of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Their weapons sang as they exchanged blows at a brisk tempo, Mjollinir managed to deflect the ax head multiple times but only managed to strike back a few times. Not happy with how the confrontation was going the god of thunder parried a blow long enough for him to slam his hammer into the ground sending a shockwave out that pushed both battlers back a few feet. The lull in battle gave the pair a few seconds to analyze their opponent while letting Rocket Raccoon scamper his way down onto the street. "Hold the phone Thor, why the hell are you attacking Malice" the creature asked as he landed on the sidewalk. "Stay back Rocket Raccoon for this Malice has intruded upon the Midgard domain and murdered innocent lives" the god announced thrusting his weapon in the direction of the angel "Know this, Thor is the keeper of this plane and by attacking it you have roused an anger that burns brighter than all the flames of Niflheim."
"Thor, huh" she commented while swinging her weapon about in a lazy fashion "Your aura is that of the gods but so twisted and sterile it makes me want to retch." She swung her weapon down in front of her and smirked "For the memory of the gods I'll put an imposter like you down, pray your diviner is at least the real deal." "I know not by what arrogant state of mind's thou is in" Thor replied angrily "But know that I am a god who hails from Valhalla whether thou acknowledges it or not. You, harpy of Niflheim, shall face my judgment here and now for thine wanton slaughter as well as the arrogance to wrap yourself in cheap splendor fit only for the Valkyries. Watch closely Rocket Raccoon for I shall reveal the true face of this demon." Whirling his hammer Thor called forth the thunder from the clouds above which had darkened considerably in preparation for the coming battle. With a cry he launched a massive bolt of lightning down on Malice's head fully intending to kill her before things got out of hand. Lifting her weapon above her head she caught the blunt of the blow onto the shaft of her ax, which made her fall to her knees from the weight of the blow, and began to siphon the power into her diviner itself. Once the lightening abated Malice stood up and rushed forward deciding to wait for the perfect moment to strike with her pent up power rather than waste it on a single strike.
The pair clashed yet again but it was clear from the start that the angel had a slight upper hand. Her weapon allowed her to space the thunder god effortlessly keeping him in the arcing path of her blade at all times while ensuring that his short weapon could never find purchase on her body. Grunting as he smashed the weapon away Thor's head began to buzz with options, Mjolnir had been made to attack not to defend hence its design; the longer he kept this up the greater the chance that he would suffer a blow from the shining ax. While the "angel" was an imposter to the core the weapon she wielded was definitely one of Asgard's, meaning that it could damage his body unlike the majority of Earth weaponry. Deflecting a rapid combo of blows aimed at his head Thor stepped back trying to give himself room to summon some lightening, it would give him the cover he needed to slip past the ax, but the angel was on his hot on his heels. Like a dancer she followed his stagger step back with a supernatural clairvoyance and punished him with two quick blows to the helmet. He grimaced at the ringing in his ears but recovered fast enough to prevent the angel from scoring a blow on his body.
They exchanged a few more blows, none of which connected, when Thor noticed two things simultaneously. First the angel was beaming at him with a knowing grin and second that the back of his head was beginning to feel really cold. Suddenly a massive tab of freezing cold exploded onto the back of his neck causing him to cry out and stumble back with his guard wide open. Not letting the opportunity go Malice stepped in and turned his chest into a tributary of blood with her ax before knocking him onto his back. Before he could rally his strength to jump back up Thor founded his left eye suddenly frozen shut. Grasping his face he felt a shell of ice that had encased his entire head. Before he could even blink his fingertips froze to his face, the frost was making its way down his hand freezing it all in place. It dawned on him; the blow to the back of the head must have started all of this. She had planted the frost which had claimed the majority of its face within seconds. Struggling as best he could he broke his hand out of the frost and began to claw at his face trying to tear it off of him but his hands merely scratched against a smooth surface and were quickly refrozen each time they touched. "How sad" Malice said as she perched above him with a smug look on her features as he struggled. "I was hoping someone who had the audacity to claim godhood would put up a bit more of a fight then this."
Even while the frost claimed his other eye and began to cover his nose Thor couldn't help but match her smug look with one of his own. "Such parlor tricks will not overcome Thor, god of thunder" he said before lifting his hammer to the sky. A powerful thunderbolt fell upon him shattering the ice. Thor picked himself up and inspected his wounds; his godhood allowed him to rejuvenate quickly but even then it would take longer than usual to recover from this. Picking up his hammer he twirled it again band went zipping into the air, the angel had mere seconds to drift to the sky before the god soared past her like a bullet. Swinging wide Thor smashed into the side of a nearby building with his feet leaving a massive crater. With a grunt he swung Mjolnir back around and gave it a few more twirls to help keep his momentum up before he rocketed back. The entire trip took ten seconds, even if she had been given thirty seconds Malice could not have hoped to dodge the blow. She was slung forward onto the concrete; Skadi skittered away from her grip. Standing over his fallen opponent Thor lifted his hammer into the sky "You shall pay for your sins with your life" he cried and prepared to smash her skull into pieces.
"Hold it" Rocket Raccoon demanded as he bounded over to them, he had been watching stunned from the sidelines up to now. "What the hell is all this" he demanded "First you blast in here like your biscuits are on fire, you fight Malice to the death for some bloody reason, and then you see it fit to execute her. What gives?" "Move aside Guardian of the Galaxy" Thor warned frozen in his position with hammer overhead "This demon claimed the lives of many a mortal today and for intruding upon the ward of Thor, the thunder god, she must pay for her sins with her life." "Hold the phone" Rocket Raccoon demanded as he crossed his arms "Zombies don't count as mortal lives mate, their undead and those buggers are all the ones who have been on the receiving end of Malice's ax, savvy?" "Impossible" Thor replied "The weapon that lies there reeks of the souls ripped from the still living bodies of mortals. Do not let her countenance deceive you for she is of Niflheim." "If you're going to tell lies at least make them plausible" the angel bit back before activating her Angel Awakening. With her second wind she sped forward and snatched up Skadi before either of them could move. She briefly contemplated unleashing the power she had stored but thought the better of it; she wanted to keep Rocket Raccoon's trust for now.
"Is this the god you were talking about earlier" she asked gesturing to the horned blond with a jerk of her chin. "Aye, this be Thor" Rocket said not moving from his position between the pair of them "Lass, ya didn't go and kill blokes did you?" Smirking Malice ran a hand through her bangs "Of course not, I was with you and the others in the apartment all day. When would I have had time to go out and murder Sprites?""Tis true mate, she was with us all day" Thor shook his head at this information "She lies; some foul trickery must have deceived you all. I can smell her rotten deeds like rotten eggs, they reek of transgression." Rocket Raccoon waffled a bit "I'm sorry Thor but she has a point, and right now I can't afford you to smote her like a herring. Please, can't we chill for a bloomin second here and talk this over?" "Forgive me friend but I cannot let this crime go unpunished" the thunder god said before kicking Rocket Raccoon away "Prepare to die!" With a yell he tossed his hammer forward intent on sending Malice to the grave by shattering her spine into dust but Malice was ready. She dodged the first blow, allowing the hammer to rush past her and turn around, while she prepped the air with a blast of condensation. She twirled the opposite way as the hammer tried to clip her on the return trip and in mid twirl she unleashed her Blue Sophia attack.
The brunt of the blizzard struck just as Thor grabbed his hammer preventing him from guarding against it with a peal of thunder. Giant shard of ice rained from all sides cutting his skin while frostbite spotted his skin in gray blue patches. As the ice abated the Asgardians stared each other down for a second before Thor fell onto his knees in pain. Malice smiled as she deactivated her Angel Awakening, even with his above average regeneration rate Thor would soon succumb to the frostbite. "Now do you understand the might of the Magi" she asked brushing her bangs "Be grateful that I am feeling merciful today or else your head would be mine." His soul was tempting but Malice was banking on quantity over quality, she needed Rocket Raccoon's trust if she wanted to continue harvesting in ease. "Don't you see" the god wheezed as he fought to keep from passing out "She's dangerous!" "Well to be honest mate, you're the bloke who attacked first" the Guardian of the Galaxy pointed out "Now that we're done with this pointless punch up mind clueing us in to where the rest of the Avengers are?" The thunder god pointed behind them with a trembling finger but it was a useless gesture, the sound of the Hulk impacting the ground was more than the warning they needed that the cavalry had arrived.
Jumping into the air Malice barely dodged the fist of the Hulk seeking to smash her into the ground; she landed beside Rocket Raccoon who was looking really conflicted. "Now, now boyos, this is a lot more complicated than it looks like" he said trying to reason with them but his words fell on deaf ears. "It's not complicated at all" Captain America said pointing at Malice "According to Thor you went into a nearby apartment and stripped the souls from the residents. Do you deny it?" "With every fiber of my being" Malice hissed readying her weapon "I believe the two of you know each other" she gestured to Rocket Raccoon "He can testify for me." The pair swapped info but it did no good "I trust Thor on this, he might not be the brightest bulb in the bunch but he has never lied to us." Frowning Rocket Raccoon shrugged "Then what the hell do you want to do? We don't want to fight you and you're too hot blooded to listen to reason, we're at a bloody impasse." "Listen Rocket, you're an alien on this planet meaning this is outside you're jurisdiction" Cap said using logic to circumvent the creature's argument "You have no right to impede us and if you continue to do so you will be aiding and abetting a criminal" his eyes narrowed "Your move." Rocket Raccoon shook his head "I thought you were one of the good guys mate, one who would listen to reason. I ain't gonna stand here and let you clap the irons on Malice without even listening to the evidence in her defense." He pulled out his laser pistol and cocked it at the Avengers "Your move, asshole." Captain America frowned "So be it." With a roar the Hulk charged forward taking several laser blasts to the chest which did nothing to slow his advance.
"Bloody hell, I hate ole mean and green" the Guardian of the Galaxy groaned as he and Malice flung themselves to either side allowing the Avenger to pass between them. Something round and colorful slammed into Malice's face making her scream as the blunt force broke her nose and bruised her forehead. The shield circled around allowing Captain America to grab it and not a moment too soon, Malice was making her way towards him while Rocket did his best to try and keep the Hulk occupied. Nimbly the hero dodged a flurry of blows using the gap between the few that had a little too much force behind them to land quick body blows or shield bashes to her head. Getting more and more frustrated with each attack Malice might have succumbed to the Captain's superior battle experience if she hadn't been having her ass kicked multiple times by who battled in much the same way as the hero before her. The pair stayed light on their feet letting Malice work against herself by launching powerful attacks that wore her out while goading her on with pitiful punches. The angel knew the hero was waiting for the perfect time to finish her with one attack; she had to reduce his mobility.
She feinted a vertical sweep downwards choosing instead to smash the hilt of her diviner into the ground as Captain America swung to the right having fallen for the fake out. A small sheet of ice covered the field and without giving the man any time to think Malice swung a massive horizontal blow intent on cutting his top half from the bottom. Even with the super serum he had imbibed long ago Captain America could not defy friction, the lack of it prevented him from stepping out of the way or hunkering down to jump over it. With his neurons firing at a limit that was beyond most mortal men his train of thought sped towards the conclusion he was going to have to block. That was second nature to him, muscle memory in its truest form since the shield was already up across his chest even before the senses had managed to compute what was happening. Unfortunately Captain America had overlooked one crucial detail, one that would bite him in the ass for quite a time. He had forgotten that that was no ordinary weapon he was dealing with, it was neither Earthling nor extraterrestrial and it did not follow the laws of the universe. It was crafted from a material that was created by a higher power then the evolutionary force that had given birth to the iron-vibranium his shield was made of. When viewed in slow motion it was almost painful to watch, the ax's first touch, no more than it kissing the surface of the shield, immediately covered it in a supernatural frost.
Iron-vibranium wasn't about to falter from such an attack but it did paralyze the molecules the element was made up of making it much more vulnerable to blow it was about to receive. Even though she weighed considerably less than the Avenger Malice was using her height in the air to give her ax an angle that nullified the strength difference between them. The horizontal arc curved slightly allowing the blade to bite deeper into the shield than if it had been moving in a completely longitudinal angle. The cut slashed the shield like a knife through a carpet, plenty of resistance but no way for it to stop the damage the blade left in its wake. Once the ax's blade made it through the other end of the shield it launched down and hit the concrete thanks to the laws of physics, causing Malice to stumble a bit to keep from being disarmed by gravity. She was in much better shape than the hero who stumbled back with his shield in pieces and his left arm coated in frost. He took a step back which was just enough of an impact to shatter the rest of the shield into jagged shards of iron-vibranium which lay littered about his feet like autumn leaves. At that moment Malice was immediately included into the insanely exclusive cabal of beings who had managed to destroy the shield of Captain America, a club so tiny one could count their total with one hand.
The speed of the battle returned to normal and Captain America had to bite down a yell of pain, the hungry frost had entered his wound, enlarging it with every second and destroying any chance that badly damaged limb would ever be able to recover from the blow. Clutching his now useless limb to his arm Captain America fought through the pain to dodge another combo of blows from the angel seeking to end him permanently. Without his shield, his left hand, and his mobility, thanks to the ice coating the sidewalk, the situation was looking awful grim for the star-spangled hero. Lucky for him the Hulk had just sent Rocket Raccoon tumbling away granting a glance of how quickly the tides had turned against them. With a roar the switch in the Hulk's head turned from angry to pissed angry and he stomped forward intent on punishing the winged bitch who hurt his friend. With a punch he hit Malice who had blocked his fist with Skadi sending her back into a building giving him time to throw Cap over his shoulder and bound back towards a fallen Thor. "Hulk no like when friends get hurt" he snarled at them placing Cap next to the thunder god "Hulk smash space coon and wing lady!"
With a leap he took to the air then fell back onto the ground fist first sending a shockwave in a wide direction before launching himself back up and repeating the process several times. As the third strike came in for a landing directly at Malice she tried to block it with Skadi hoping to send the green giant off balance long enough for her to counter attack. It had about as much of an effect as trying to stop a wrecking ball with a piece of paper; Malice took a nasty blow to the midsection that weakened her greatly and upon his jump back up into the air the resulting smash sent her to the ground for a dirt nap. Swearing up a storm Rocket continued to prance about the street dodging blows, his height and his speed made it much harder for Hulk to get a bearing on him. Finally the hero came to a stop clearly fatigued enough to force him to catch his breath which gave the Guardian of the Galaxy an opening. Scrambling on top of the Hulk Rocket pointed his laser point-blank against the man's head and pulled the trigger with the setting set to stun. Falling onto his face the Hulk joined the angel for a dirt nap but from prior experience with the gamma infused monster Rocket Raccoon knew this was a temporary coma at least.
Dashing over to Malice he pulled out a small device that looked like it was made out of adhesive and rubber with some sort of small motherboard embedded within it. Attaching it onto her forehead he pressed the motherboard making the device beep once and light up. The machine poked a needle into her bloodstream injecting her with a bunch of nanomachines. They worked fast to heal her injury while rousing her from her stupor allowing her to stand up again unaided. "What in Niflheim is this" she asked peeling the device from her forehead. "Tis a restorative device called an Analeptic, we Guardians use em when we get a particularly nasty blow to the head" he explained to her "But don't go round taking knocks like that as often as you please, I only got a few more in stock and I'd like to save em for a rainy day." "Duly noted" the angel replied grabbing her weapon off the ground "Got a plan?" "Battling the "Hulk is easier said than done, bugger hits like a truck and trying to out muscle him in a punch up is useless" her companion said motioning to the hero who was beginning to rouse from his stupor "We gotta fight smarter not harder and whatever you do don't let him hit ya." With renewed vigor the Hulk jumped up and roared at them before stomping forward causing the pair to split up in opposite directions.
Sweeping to the right Malice hung back briefly contemplating escaping into the air when the Hulk's huge hand made a grab for her. Jumping back Malice used her wings for an extra boost and not a moment too soon, the tips of her feathers brushed the hero's knuckles in testament to how close she had come to getting crushed. Defensively Malice lay down a sheet of ice as she retreated, hoping to discourage the Avenger from following her. Luckily for her the Hulk was too angry to focus on anything else but her so he stomped forward in pursuit. With an infuriated cry he slipped and landed on his back sliding forward a bit from the momentum. Waffling between melee or projectiles Malice took Rocket's words to heart and floated backward carving her ax through the air to create icicles the size or lampposts. "Hah" she cried, thrusting her weapon forward which sent them flying through the air leaving streaks of thin mist in their wake. Pierced like a pin cushion the Hulk gave a scream and slammed his fist onto the ground, causing the ice to shatter and allowing him to regain his footing. All in all Malice was disappointed by the damage, there were some small cuts but it seemed like the extent of the damage had been from the cold. Stamping his feet the green giant charged her but Malice had ample time to fly into the air sending the man on a crash course with the building behind her.
The entire structure toppled onto the Avenger but even the tons upon tons of concrete and brick did nothing to harm him in any way. 'He really wasn't kidding' Malice thought as she hovered about a mile in the air "This thing is more of a force of nature than a man." Below her the hero jumped into the air fully intent in grounding Malice, it took some fancy twisting for her to avoid becoming street pizza. Returning to that old attack pattern of multiple ground pounds the Hulk sent the two warriors running about trying to stay alive. It was especially tricky for Malice as the air was being filled with dirt and dust from each blow to the street creating a cloud that obscured her view of the street cloaking the Hulk's position. Pretty soon she was wheeling about in tight fast circles in preparation for when he would pop out of the cloud and try to hammer her from below. After twenty or so minutes of this the Hulk finally grew tired enough to stop for a breather allowing Rocket Raccoon to stun him once again in the same manner. Fluttering down from above Malice flourished her weapon "Shall we" she asked. Rocket Raccoon nodded.
Together the pair of them assaulted the downed hero as best they could pumping him full of white hot lasers, lacerations and as much frostbite as they could manage. The minute the giant twitched his hand the pair retreated back several feet firing projectiles as they went. Covering his face with his forearms as he rose, the Hulk feinted a charge to get them to scatter once again before switching tactics. Grabbing pieces of broken up concrete he began to sling the slabs at Malice, having pegged her to be the least mobile of the two. Taking a deep breath the angel calmed her racing heart and focused her attention on the situation at hand. Walking forward she twirled her weapon about, time seemed to slow as each piece reached her allowing her to line up the perfect slash which tore them into harmless rubble which passed over her. On her approach to the Hulk she tapped the ground encasing the man's feet in ice "Time to end this" she commented slamming the blunt end of Skadi into Hulk's mid-section causing him to crumple over for a second. But a second was more than enough for Malice, slamming the hilt against the ground again caused the ice to gather and jut upward taking the green giant with it. By timing it properly Malice pushed the hero higher and higher into the air with each consecutive ice shard. Finally one massive pillar froze around the hero holding him steady as the angel soared up to his position. Hovering in front of him Malice watched as the Hulk tried to free himself "This is the will of the gods" she stated raising her weapon over her head "Trie." She smashed him in the head sending him onto the ground with the shards of the pillar following after him burying his body in a casket of ice.
Arrogantly Malice brushed aside her bangs "That was easy" only for Rocket to berate her "What are you doing? Get outta there!" She barely had time to quirk an eyebrow before the green giant smashed his ice prison sending frost shrapnel everywhere, several pieces hit Malice leaving holes the size of quarters in her flesh. Many others carved her wings to bits sending her on a merciless dive towards the ground. As she lay there Angel awakening activated unconsciously dragging its host away from death but it came at a steep price. Having under gone two Awakenings in such a short span of time as well as an extended period of intense energy exertion Malice was barely able to get up let alone fly away as the Hulk tried to run her down. "This is insane" she said as she flew upward trying to ignore the intense feeling of vertigo that had settled on her. With a blip Awakening disappeared leaving her breathless and vulnerable with the Hulk peering up ready to smash her back down to earth. "Shit" Rocket growled as he watched Malice bob unsteadily in the air, the poor lass was on her last legs.
Switching from stun to incinerate Rocket Raccoon unloaded a barrage on the back of the Hulk trying to draw his attention away from the beleaguered angel. It worked; the Hulk began to stalk towards him using his giant green mitts to absorb the blows. A game of cat and mouse commenced as Rocket had to duck and dodge around the Hulk's grasping hands while blasting him every time he got half a chance. He hastily sidestepped around the Hulk's legs and scampered off in the opposite direction trying to get some much needed distance between them but the hero would have none of that. Gripping the ground the Hulk lifted it up sending a shockwave filled with debris towards the creature. It struck him from behind sending him tumbling a great distance away, his gun clattered off several feet to the side of him. Weakly he tried to get up, he could hear the Hulk's footsteps as they approached him, but he was exhausted from the fight. As his hands braced against his side to lift him onto his feet he could feel a warm liquid pooling around his frame, blood. Grimacing in despair Rocket wondered if this would be his last stand, the feeling of the Hulk picking him up like a doll confirmed it. "Puny space coon no get hurt if he no hurt Hulk's friends" the giant growled at him looking as right as rain despite the beating he and Malice had given him.
Above him Malice fluttered her wings preparing to dive-bomb the man but a perfectly aimed rock from the Hulk smashed against her guard and sent her to the ground in a heap. She rose but it would be too late to do anything, the distance between her and the Hulk was too great to cross before he turned Rocket Raccoon into paste. "Stop" she cried out trying to at least draw the Hulk's attention away but he was too fixated on the Guardian of the Galaxy squirming about in his grip. He even failed to even notice the plasma beam that had been launched straight at his face until it hit sending him reeling back several feet. In his frenzy he threw his hands up to protect himself from further harm sending Rocket Raccoon into the air. The poor space traveler landed with a painful whump on the sidewalk but he capitalized on his freedom skittering away to Malice's side. Heavy metal footsteps could be heard clanking towards them from within the massive dust cloud that had formed on all sides. A large figure slowly made his way through the veil, a shadow at first but with each passing second his bearing became clearer and clearer. He was a metal monstrosity standing at six feet tall with a posture that seemed to lord everyone within the vicinity, even the Hulk who was many feet taller and wider in comparison. His garb constituted of a green tunic and flapping cape, it would have looked stupid on anyone else but this man managed to carry it with a sense of menace.
"Aw crap" Rocket Raccoon muttered as he lightly massaged his bruised shoulder "Of course this nutter would have to show up now at all times." Malice turned to look at her companion and ask who this man was but the tin tyrant beat her to the punch. "Foolish creature, I am Victor von Doom and you shall address your new overlord in a respectful way" he glared at them from the peepholes of the grotesque mask he wore "Or else you shall be executed." At this point the Hulk had managed to recover from the surprise attack; he lowered his hands revealing an irritated patch of red, blistery skin that had formed over the middle of his green face as well as his huge teeth which were clenched in an enraged scowl. "Hulk hate space coon. Hulk hate wing lady. Hulk most hate Doom!" he screamed before bounding forward. If he was afraid of the force of godlike destruction barreling toward him, Doom didn't show it, choosing instead to briefly glance at the other Avengers. "Pathetic, Doom is disappointed" he sneered "Having fought Doom and won only to fall to an angel and a space rodent." "That's raccoon to you ya bastard" Rocket shouted back wagging his middle claw in Doom's direction "Smash em good Hulk." The Hulk needed no encouragement; ten feet away, he jumped into the air a bit and tucked his knees to his chest before landing on the ground using his momentum to barrel forward like a human bulldozer. Just as he was about to flatten Doom like a pancake the tin tyrant retracted his foot back and kicked the Hulk like if he was playing some sort of bizarre game of soccer.
Amazingly instead of his foot rebounding like a fist against a brick wall the Hulk was sent flying away landing in a heap a mile from Doom. Gobsmacked Rocket Raccoon stared at Doom who was standing there looking thoroughly unimpressed with the fact he had just sent the Hulk flying. "How the hell did you bloody do that ya bastard" the space traveler asked baring his fangs, something was really wrong here. "I said you will address me by my proper title, pest" Doom said thrusting a hand out towards the pair of them. Lightning streamed from his gauntlet striking them with so many volts they were unable to stand and had to fight like hell to stay conscious. "Rejoice mortals, for you are the first to witness the creation of a new world" Doom announced with his voice booming across the destroyed landscape "A world formed in the image of Doom who shall be its ruler for time immemorial!" Something small and sharp flew through the air striking him in the side of the mask, it didn't puncture deeply but it did stay stuck on his mask which looked fairly comical.
Annoyed he ended the electric surge and turned to face his attacker "A dog should learn to stay down." Scooping up another shard of his shattered shield Captain America struggled to stand up on his own two feet "Fuck you Doom, why don't you take your deluded fantasies and get the hell off of American soil." Tsking, Doom shook his head "American soil? Such an inferior thing no longer exists. Where Doom steps is sacred ground, the sacred ground of the empire of Latveria" Raising a hand he shot Captain America in the side with a finger laser making the hero fall to his knees screaming from the pain of his flesh searing like bacon in a pan. "For a man who rose from the dead you sure seem eager to return to being nothing more than plant fertilizer" he goaded as he continued to pepper the hero with finger lasers to the body and legs. "Forsooth there is no being in Asgrad or Utgard who rambles more than thee Doom" Thor said as he tossed his hammer at the villain "Mayhap if thine tongue wagged less thine lugs would heed the approach of thine impending downfall." Mjolnir plowed into Doom making him take a step back to recover his footing and let the hammer continue its journey from his side up and around his head before returning to the hand of the thunder god.
His godlike recovery had taken the edge off most of the wounds Malice had inflicted leaving him in much better shape than Captain America. "Ach, a remnant of a former world, one ruled by pretenders who called themselves gods" Doom said rubbing the spot where the hammer had struck his armor "A mortal ridiculing the gods, your arrogance truly is foppish folly at its finest" Thor retorted whirling his hammer in preparation to fight again. Doom merely shook his head before raising both gauntlets intending to give the thunder god a double dose of finger lasers only to take a block of cement to the side. "Hulk not done" the gamma beast roared as he grabbed two more handfuls of rubble measuring an entire body length wide "Die." "Do you understand yet Doom" Captain America asked, struggling once again to his feet "I thought we've been through this scenario a couple of times." "The one where you insects continue to be knocked down by I, Doom, only to keep getting up until you bore me enough with your futile struggle long enough to gain the upper hand" Doom replied, raising his hands up and letting them crackle with energy "Then, yes, I remember that scenario quite well." "They say insanity is to keep repeating something and expecting different results each and every time" Captain America said with a shake of his head "Somehow I think they were thinking of you when they came up with that." Together all three of them charged forward from their triangulated position intent on striking him down, Doom for his purposes simply began to laugh.
It was a low, rumbling thing that could barely be heard over the war cries of the three heroes bearing down on him. "You know what they say about insanity" Doom whispered to know no one but himself as all three of them came within inches of striking him "It is only a half-step away from genius." Raising his hands up to the sky he became bathed in an ethereal light that seemed to spark malevolently, the heroes were drawn into its heartless embrace for a cruel second before sending them flying back. The light continued to grow and grow in brightness forcing Malice and Rocket Raccoon, who had been standing on the sidelines this entire time, to cover their eyes. "What is this ominous light that threatens to engulf us" Malice asked using her wings to provide more cover from it "This…this feels like…" It felt like the divine energy of the gods but that was impossible, they had died centuries ago. Lucky for her Rocket Raccoon had the answer, albeit one that brought more questions than answers though. "Bloody hell, I know what this is" he said stepping into the wing shadow "But, it can't be. This just can't be." "Mind clueing me in" she asked him snappishly. He turned to look at her, his eyes were filled with fear "I'm a Guardian of the Galaxy, we help extraterrestrials in need. Sometimes that means dealing with pirates or helping settle negotiations between planets but sometimes…we help locate a race whose planet was destroyed."
"That's all well and good but that tells me nothing of what is happening here." "When a planet is destroyed it's usually because the sun went supernova or they used up all their natural resources turning it into a wasteland" Rocket continued having to stop at several points to swallow the fear rising in his voice "But sometimes…we arrive in a space that used to be inhabited by a planet, maybe an entire solar system, and there's nothing there. No sun, no debris, no survivors. It disappeared into the ether because of one thing, Galactus: The World Eater." Malice couldn't but guffaw "Galactus the who? What sort of name is Galactus?" "It ain't a laughing matter" Rocket snapped at her "The bloke gobbles civilizations like candy carving a path of carnage through the cosmosphere." He pointed at the light which surrounded Dr. Doom in undulating patterns "The energy he's giving off belongs to Galactus, siphoned directly from the god himself." Malice looked at her companion critically and furrowed her eyebrow for a split second before making a decision. Grabbing Rocket Raccoon by the collar she hauled him away under her arm.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing" he barked at her "We gotta go back and help them." "Ha, for someone who's seen that sort of power before you sure seem intent on sticking around" Malice said taking off into the sky trying her best to keep her adrenaline levels up "Trust me, I've been around god-like beings before. We're too tired to put up a good fight." "So what about the Avengers?" Malice shrugged "If they're smart they'll run or else they'll be flattened like bugs. Right now our priorities should center on finding Chris and ." "Now that you mention it, it is a mite odd they didn't see us fighting and come to help us" Rocket commented "Hope they haven't run into any trouble." even while the words were coming out of his mouth he could feel his tail beginning to get bushy and whenever his tail got bushy something bad was about to go down.
While they disappeared into the clouds overhead Dr. Doom continued his beat down on the heroes. With Galactus' power he had become a juggernaut with strength enough to take them with one finger. Sidestepping a punch from the Hulk he laid the giant low with a kick to the thigh which elicited a rare groan of pain as the impact rattled the gamma saturated ribs. Thor swooped in with his hammer slamming Doom in the back, the weapon of the gods managed to actually dent the tin tyrant's armor. Stumbling forward Doom pivoted around and fired his finger lasers at the thunder god which struck him in the chest. Thor managed to shake it off giving him a second to line up another shot with Mjolnir but before he could release the hammer from his grip Doom shot him again using Galactus' power to increase the voltage to ridiculous heights. Suddenly crispy the thunder god fell to the round with a weak groan leaving only Captain America as the sole Avenger to stop Doom in his tracks. With a yawp he bounded forward in a last attempt to take the tin tyrant down with a drop kick, only to get grabbed from the air as Doom shot forward faster than the human eye could follow. Squirming in the air like a worm Captain America tried to kick his opponent in the face but his leg harmlessly clanged off the metal.
"How sad, not even capable of accepting a loss gracefully" Doom said as he smirked behind his mask "Are you incapable of understanding my superior power? Or can your brain not wrap itself around the concept that you have lost, utterly." His gauntlet tightened around Captain America's throat causing the Avenger to black out for half a second before coming to only to pass back out as Doom played with the hero's life like a stress ball. Finally Doom relented dumping the hero onto the ground where he gasped for breath "What was it like to be dead" Doom asked out of the blue "Was your lifetime of good deeds rewarded rightfully?" The hero didn't answer; he just continued to pant while his hands formed into fists so tight that the knuckles turned bone white. Doom quirked an eyebrow "Not what you expected then? Come now, talk, inquiring minds want to know." "There's nothing…" Cap whispered at such a low decibel level Doom had to bend over to hear him "There's nothing, no afterlife, just the Void." "Shocker" Doom commented crossing his arms "I always knew there was a hell but to think that good people get sent to the Void. Perhaps mother did go to the better place." "I just stood there for an eternity in the darkness" Cap said his voice quaking at the memory "I was alone, save for my memories, they came to life allowing me to relive the past, subvert it, destroy it, and yet all of it was artifice. I won't go back!"
"Even if, by a miracle, you were able to beat me it would only prolong the inevitable" Doom said, standing up "Time will take its inevitable toll before Death escorts you back to that endless wait for Godot. No mortal man can ever escape that fate." He pulled his cosmic cube out of the folds of his tunic "Luckily for you there are forces in this world that can halt death, no longer will the reaper haunt you like a lion stalking his prey." He offered it to Cap who looked at it with distrust in his eyes "What's the catch" he asked "I won't join you if that's what you are offering." ""Why not, you've already seen the other side. There's no deity to pat you on the head for a job well done, no host of angels to whisk you away to heaven, not even the earth will accept your soul into its consciousness. Why do you insist on this foolish path knowing that there is nothing else, this life is all sound and noise only to decay into the endless night of death." He forced the cube into Cap's hands; to his credit Cap didn't fight all that hard to push it back. "I don't expect an immediate answer" Doom said as he began to walk away, his cloak fluttering in the wind behind him "But I know your thoughts, the fears of the Void all men return unto. Taste the power of Galactus, feel the power that wells within your breast, a power that will ensure the light of life will never die from your eyes."
For several minutes Captain America could do nothing but stare at the cube in front of his eyes. It said nothing to him but the power roiling off of it spoke to him all the same promising him the world on a platter only if he let it saturate his heart. Gripping it he took the lightest sip allowing the light to deluge him for a spell before fading back into its container. His arm, made lame by the frost of the Grim Angel melted away like snow leaving it completely healed. Not a second later Thor began to groan as his consciousness began to return "By the Bifrost, what odious power lent Doom such command of so fell a magic? Not even hallowed Mjolnir managed to stop him." Turning his head he spied Cap looking despondent a few feet away "How fare thee Captain America?" Jerking his head up Cap looked at Thor with a slightly disoriented demeanor "Ah, yes, I am well for the most part." The cube, which had been clutched to his chest, sank into the skin of his chest sensing Cap's fear that he would be found out. Grasping the air in front of him in a panic he managed to summon the edge of it before pushing it back inside of himself, there would be time to think about Doom's offer later. Standing up he checked the Hulk who was beginning to rouse. "Hulk feel strange" the green giant complained touching his stomach gingerly "Pain no feel bad before, make Hulk want to smash" He jumped onto his feet only to sink back down in an uncharacteristic show of weakness.
"What's our next move" Thor asked scanning the sky for enemies "Our strength has been whittled away, the undead roam unhindered, and now villains bandy about with the might of Galactus at their fingertips." "The situation is bad" Captain America agreed "I hate to say it but we need to retreat for now. Let's lick our wounds and gather our strength, we'll need some intelligence about Doom as well." "Hulk no run, Hulk smash" the hero grumbled as he whacked the ground in an angry fit but his show of bravado was simply that, for the first time since he had met the Hulk, Captain America realized that the green giant had been badly hurt. "I'm sorry Hulk but we're no good to anybody if we're dead" he reasoned as he slung one of the Hulk's massive arms around his shoulder "Tell ya what, we'll swing by the grocery store and pick up as many frozen pizzas as you can carry, ok?" Placated the Hulk nodded allowing Thor to throw his other arm around his shoulder and together the trio limped off down the street, defeated.
For her part Malice was holding up slightly better injury-wise but she was getting more and more fatigued with each passing second. They touched down on the building they had been holing up in which was barren save for a pile of metal planks waiting for Malice to fly them over to the next building. "Take five love, I'll go scout around and see where they've kipped off to" Rocket Raccoon said as he wriggled out of her grip. She plopped herself onto the ground quickly nodding off only to be woken up forty five minutes later by Rocket frantically shaking her. "Bad news lass, looks like some trouble found Chris and " he said "They ain't nowhere to be found; I searched every nook too, mind you. The front door's been peeled open like a sardine can but there ain't no zombies in the apartments." Sighing Malice pushed her bangs out of her face "So, what happened?" "Beats me love, either there was a helluva punch up while we were gone or they just up and disintegrated." "Did anyone see them leave" Malice asked which made Rocket grimace "All the residents are dead, someone murdered all of them. Quite grisly but the weird part is that none of them had been bitten by zombies." This caught Malice's attention "What the hell do you mean it wasn't the zombies, who the hell did it?" "Don't know love but one thing I do know is whoever the blighter was ripped them apart like pieces of paper."
Groaning Malice stood up trying to ignore the dizziness that assaulted her head "What's the plan" she asked. "I can't get a bead on them now since the this bloody stench is covering everything" Rocket Raccoon griped "The best thing to do for now is simply to start looking for them by air." He looked at her anxiously causing her to wave off his concerns "Give me two hours to sleep, that'll be more than enough." It was a lie of course; she felt like shit and was sure that two weeks wouldn't be long enough to get back to one hundred percent. But time was of the essence, and Chris could be in trouble. She hadn't known them for that long but Malice knew that her allies were a commodity she could not afford to discard carelessly at this moment. Unconsciously her hand moved to the hem of Chris' shirt, she was still wearing it for some odd reason despite common sense dictating she should have switched to more sensible clothes some time ago. Brushing that pesky thought to the back of her mind Malice sat back down and went to sleep. With some time to burn Rocket headed back downstairs into the apartment intent on rustling up some grub. Warriors couldn't fight on an empty stomach after all. 'Please, for the love of the stars, be alright' he prayed as he descended down into the lobby feeling more alone than he had ever felt in his life.
