2 Years Later
Two long years had passed since the incident in Latveria, and much had changed in that time. The Avengers had seen many members leave and return, relations between Asgard, Wakanda, Atlantis and the people of the world had been strengthened tenfold and yet, something felt uneasy to all the people of the world, and especially the people of the United States.
One city in particular, New York City, the big apple as many would call it. And everything was peaceful and quite
"PARKER! DAMMIT PARKER GET IN HERE NOW OR YOU'RE FIRED!"
Well…almost
The editor of the Daily Bugle, Mr J. Jonah Jameson was going on his daily rampage, roaring and screaming from his office for one of his favourite (using the term loosely) freelancers.
"Hey JJ, what's up?" Peter smiled peeking his head in through the door
"GET IN HERE NOW!" Jonah screamed at the top of his lungs, if the man spoke any louder Peter was afraid his head would blow up.
Then he would be out of a job
"WHERE ARE THOSE DAM PHOTO'S YOU PROMISED ME! I GOTTA DEADLINE TO MEET HERE AND I NEED SOMETHING FOR THE FRONT PAGE!" Jonah yelled like a howler monkey
"I gave you those shots yesterday Jonah, I left them on your desk" Peter said, his ears used to the explosive voice of his boss.
"NOT THE SHOTS I NEEDED! A FEW SHOTS OF SPIDERMAN SWINGING AROUND TRYING TO GET A PEEK OF MS MARVEL'S ASS ARE NOT WHAT I NEED PARKER!" Jonah bellowed at the top of his lungs. The very assumption that Jonah was getting at made him want to slug him in the face, no one talked about his Carol like she was some common whore without Peter getting some payback in some way. Put then again Peter needed this job to pay the bills, and to keep that job he had to keep that impulse in check…for now at least.
"Then what did you want Jonah?" Peter asked
"SOMETHING NEW AND FRESH PARKER, THE PEOPLE HAVE GOTTEN EYEFULS OF THE AVENGERS AND FANTASTIC FOUR WINNING A FIGHT TIME AND TIME AGAIN AND IT'S GETTING OLD! WE NEED SOMETHING TO DRAW THE PEOPLE'S ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE EVENING GAZETE AND ONTO THE BUGLE AND FOR THAT! WE NEED SOMETHING DIFFERENT!" Peter was surprised at the fact Jonah worked up enough breath for that sentence without falling to ground and wheezing.
"I'll see what I can do" Peter put on a fake smile and went to walk out the door only to get interrupted.
"WAIT RIGHT THERE PARKER! I'M NOT FINISHED YET!" Jonah bellowed stopping Peter in his tracks
"I WANT SOMETHING INCRIMINATING! SOMETHING FINNALLY SHOWS THOSE MASKED VIGILANTE'S FOR WHAT THEY REALLY ARE! NO ONE WHO INVADES A FOREIGHN COUNTRY FOR SOME MADE UP MAGIC PORTAL THINGY MAJIGY ISN'T RIGHT IN THE HEAD! I WANT EVIDENCE! NOT ANOTHER PHOTO SHOOT, BUT SOMETHING THAT WILL WAKE UP THE MASSES!" Jonah shouted waving his finger around like Hitler, hell the moustache made him the spitting image.
"Sure thing Jonah, I'll do what I can" Peter said with his fake smile while he thought 'in your dreams'
As Peter made his way out onto the roof he took off the backpack he was wearing, sure he was a grown man now and not a teenager but he still needed something to stow his civilian clothes in whenever he needed to let loose. He quickly disrobed to the Spiderman outfit he was wearing underneath; he attached his web shooters and put on his mask before putting his civilian wear in his backpack and putting it somewhere safe.
"I love this job" Peter smiled but just as he was about to leap from the rooftop to begin web slinging across the streets he felt something grab him by the back of his outfit and shoot off into the sky with him. About 2 years ago he would have assumed it was one of his enemies like Goblin or Vulture trying to kill him when he was most vulnerable. But instead he smiled and went with the flow as he knew exactly who snatched him from the rooftop.
His favourite person in the world
"How was work for you Baby?" Peter asked fully well knowing who is was
"Well I think my ears are finally getting used to Jonah's screaming, how are you not deaf at this point?" Carol laughed
"I guess I just adapted sweetheart, now could you not dangle me around like that?" Peter asked softly with a smile behind his mask
"Sure thing" Carol smiled as she let him go, but instead of him swinging via his webs, he did something she didn't expect. As he fell through the air he sharply twisted and shot a web stream at her, pulling her to his chest where he wrapped his arms around her and proceeded to swing around with her in his embrace.
Peter looked at the smirk Carol was giving him and replied being completely honest. "What? I can't act like a loving boyfriend once and while by giving my girl a lift?" Peter smirked earning a smile from Carol.
"It's a little unexpected that's all" Carol said with a loving tone
"What's wrong with swinging?" Peter asked
"I prefer Flying" Carol smiled
"I prefer it this way"
"And why is that?"
"I get the best view in the world" Peter said with his eyes fixed on Carol's angelic features.
"Flatterer" Carol said
"It's not flattery if it's true" Peter smiled causing Carol to giggle; he knew exactly how to bring out her feminine side.
"If you don't stop that Pete, I'm gonna blush" Carol said with a tone that only he could bring out of her.
"I say that's a motivator, you look cute with a blush" Peter said sweetly, as Carol's cheeks actually reddened a tad bit.
"Shouldn't you be concentrating on swinging?" Carol asked, averting her eyes as not to blush anymore
"I know this city like the back of my hand, plus, I have much more important things to concentrate on" Peter smirked, his eyes still resting on Carol's angelic face. Not a word of that sentence was a lie; he truly found every feature of her face to be pure perfection, her pure soft skin, her blue sapphire eyes and that heavenly smile that would make a sun look dim by comparison.
Truly she would always be perfect in his eyes
"Anywhere we need to be right now?" Peter asked
"Well, Tony and Steve said they needed us and whatever team members around the mansion today, they weren't precise about the time so I doubt it's that important whatever it is" Carol said finally getting onto topic
"Great, so can be as late as I want this time? Great!" Peter exclaimed as his habit of being late at meetings was one of the things that had not changed about him in 2 years.
"Oh you aren't getting back into that habit again mister, we have some spare time and we are going straight to the mansion" Carol said as she broke Peter's embrace and began to fly by herself.
"Oh really? And what will the mighty Ms Marvel do to make me?" Peter teased as he slung his webs over to the left and clung to the face of a stone wall. Carol smirked as she hovered close to him, her face inches away from his, her blue eyes gazing into the white eye pieces of his mask.
"I could grab a hold of you and…oooh I don't know, fly higher and higher into the atmosphere until you lose your breath and fall unconscious, then I could simply carry you back" Carol said with a smile. With most people that sentence would have seemed like a threat, but between Carol and Peter it was a playful jab that was unique to their relationship. Before their relationship became official, Carol would usually threaten Peter during fights and missions but now they were a couple she used them as a tease and truth be told.
Peter liked it.
"As much as I would like to risk getting frozen in the upper atmosphere…I have a proposition in mind" Peter said causing Carol to raise an eyebrow.
"Go on" She said with her arms crossed
"You give me a 10 second head start to get as far away from you as possible, once the 10 seconds are up, you chase me. If you can catch me within…oh I don't know, 5 minutes, you win and we go straight to the mansion" Peter said with a smirk
"And if you win?" Carol asked
"If you can't catch me within 5 minutes, we do whatever I say first" Peter said
"And what would that be? A trip to the movies? Go to Disneyland for the day?" Carol joked
"An hour back home….completely unsupervised" Peter said with a suggestive grin
Now he had her attention
"…..Unsupervised?"
"All to ourselves, whatever we can think of" Peter said
"…..2 minutes" Carol said
"What?"
"I have to catch you in 2 minutes, don't want this over too quickly" Carol smiled seductively
"Alright, YOU BETTER START COUNTING!" Peter shouted with a chuckle as he began swinging via his web streams and Carol smiled widely as she began counting in her head.
She hoped he would win.
The city seemed in perfect condition; as if it had never seen the carnage it suffered two years ago at the hands of the Masters. The people of New York went about their daily business like any normal day, going to work, having lunch, basically whatever came to mind. The people around the entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge were no exception, cars were driving past on the highway and people were jogging, walking their pets and any other activities they could do, until.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH UGH!" Viktor shouted as he was thrown out of the east river and plummeted down and crashed into the bonnet of a parked car, crushing the glass and causing the alarm to start beeping violently.
The owner of the car was a foot away, slack jawed with a phone in one hand and a coffee in his other. The man's eyes understandably were wide open in utter shock as the British Avenger pulled himself from the wreck.
"Sorry about the car mate….I uh….hope you have insurance" Viktor grinned awkwardly as he leaned back to limber up.
"…..My…..My…My Car?!" the man exclaimed dropping his coffee on the floor. A large crow then flew in and landed on Viktor's steaming shoulder, the enhanced body heat that Viktor had helped in drying himself as the sea water was already evaporating.
"And where the hell have you been?" Viktor asked the crow on his shoulder, the crow that had been his life-long companion, Callus.
"CAW!" Callus cawed
"Well in case you haven't noticed, water isn't my habitat either" Viktor replied to the crow
*SPLASH…FWOOSH!*
In a spray of seawater, another figure flew from the river and landed swiftly next to Viktor. This wasn't per say….a man, but the Atlantean King Namor, the Submariner. Wearing his black outfit as opposed to the bare chested look he would go with from time to time.
"Brimstone, what is the matter? Not able to hold your breath?" Namor asked with a grin
"Sorry your highness, but I was under the impression that you were the expert at fighting Sea Monsters" Viktor replied, shaking water from his hat.
Viktor's outfit had hardly changed a bit in the 2 years that had come and gone. He wore the same hat as he always did, but instead of a feather he had a red ribbon decorating it instead. He had replaced his black facemask with a crimson red one that added some much needed colour (not that it helped). His new coat was a black duster that had gained its fair share of tears and shreds, underneath said was duster he wore a flak jacket over a black long sleeved shirt. His black metal studded boots and his red clawed Gauntlets were the same as he never wanted to part with the Adamantium/Vibranium forearm armour that had saved his life on many occasions.
"I do not make quarrels with the creatures of the sea Brimstone, I simply rule and care for them" Namor continued with his arms folded
"Then why didn't you stop that one from trying to eat me?" Viktor said pointing at the river he had been thrown out of.
"That creature is not one of my ocean, it is…different" Namor said glancing back at the river
"Hey…ASSHOLES! WHAT ABOUT MY CAR?!" the man from before shouted causing Namor and Viktor to turn their backs to the river
"I said I'm sorry, what more do you want?" Viktor said but as he finished his sentence both he and Namor felt a presence behind them, the scared look the man had on his face was also a sign….so was the huge shadow looming over the two. Viktor and Namor turned and where faced with their quarry.
A colossal creature, unlike any sea creature Namor had faced, it was as tall as the Brooklyn bridge and had an armoured hide like that of a lobster or crab yet its appearance was more like that of a sea serpent, its back was littered with spikes and fins that must have helped in swimming and its neck was what gave it it's massive height. It also had two huge Taloned legs that it was using to balance itself over the side of the island.
All the people present ran screaming, running for their lives as the creature loomed with its two massive slitted pupils fixed on Namor and Viktor. He creature opened its huge maw to show off the three rows of razor sharp teeth it had, along with its huge serpent like tongue.
"Wanna try talking to it now?" Viktor asked with a smirk as he put his hat back on
"I doubt that words would sway this beast" Namor replied sternly
"Ha, you really need to learn to take a joke once in a while" Viktor smiled as his eyes began to glow red much brighter.
The creature then roared into Viktor and Namor's faces, pieces of rotting fish and god knows what else splattering onto the floor as it did. Viktor was not one to be easily intimidated and held his ground while Namor was an Atlantean Prince and was used to having massive sea creatures like this snarl and roar at him every other day.
"So you won't mind if I fry this fishy then?" Viktor asked
"Not at all, after you" Namor said
"With pleasure" Viktor grinned before his armoured fists where engulfed in flame and he shot into the air to attack the creature.
*Avengers Mansion
Meanwhile back at the Mansion, Steve and Tony were sat down, attempting to make sense of what Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four was telling them some rather troubling information, that is if they could understand what he was saying.
"I still didn't understand a word of that" Steve said rubbing his forehead
"Don't worry Bud, I didn't either. Reed, How about you try explaining that again, slower this time ok?" Tony said putting a hand on Steve's shoulder
"Alright, I will try to put this in terms that you can understand. Ever since Doom activated the Dimensional warp in Latveria, I have been picking up strange energy fluctuations, the most prevalent of which are dimensional rips" Reed said
"Ok….I sort of got that" Steve said
"Ok, say that….ah…this sheet of paper is our universe" Reed said retrieving a piece of paper from the table.
"Ok then, that might help" Steve said
"Whenever I create a dimensional rift or a portal, I outfit them with a way of sealing themselves back up, so that no damage is done to our universe. But the way Doom created his machine, was so that the damage would be permanent, so when he turned it on, it tore the fabric of reality" Reed explained a he tore the middle of the sheet to that a thin tear was present.
"Alright, I get it so far" Steve said with a grin, maybe at last he was going to understand Reed's technobabble.
"That tear in reality has gave way to weakening the fabric of our universe, that has given way to smaller rips and tears" Reed said taking out a pencil and poking a few holes here and there on the sheet.
"Now to my calculations, after a while the tears and rips should diminish and fade away with proper treatment. I have been treating the dimensional tears for 2 years since Latveria" Reed said putting the sheet down
"Ok I'm failing to see why you are telling us this" Tony said beginning to think Reed was just reminding the two of them how smart he was.
"But for some reason, the tears have been getting more and more frequent, for example I sent Ben and Johnny to treat such a dimensional tear by the coast of Japan, but something had gotten through" Reed said gaining Tony and Steve's full attention
"Something got through?" Tony asked
"Yes, and I believe that Viktor and Namor and dealing with it right now" Reed said
"Great, as if we didn't have enough problems at the moment" Tony said
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Viktor roared as he grabbed the creature by the tail and threw it high into the sky like it was nothing. His eyes were on fire and his body was adorned with the glowing runes.
"YOU WANNA TAKE CARE OF IT! OR SHOULD I!?" Viktor asked Namor, his voice a little distorted.
"By all means" Namor said
"THANKS!" Viktor grinned as he darted into the sky and flew straight into the creature's mouth. Viktor then powered right into the creature's insides and from the outside all the citizens could see was the creature's belly begin to glow red before literally exploding and bursting into flames. The creature's two halves fell slowly to the ground as Viktor plummeted down, his body engulfed in flaming runes.
Viktor landed on the floor with style, not leaving a dent in the floor before the creature's upper half splattered down on the street behind him. Its flesh burned and blood boiled, it's eyes were now glazed over and dead as it's tongue hung out of its mouth.
"Beat that!" Viktor said as Callus remerged from his shoulder
"Beat what?" Namor responded
"The utter and sheer badassery I just displayed right there, what else?" Viktor asked with a smirk, Namor simply shook his head and flew off into the sky. Viktor pressed a finger to his ear and spoke, using the radio he had equipped.
"This is Brimstone, I am requesting a Shield Clean Up crew" Viktor said glancing at the Creature's corpse while the person on the other side spoke.
"Yeah…..he's a big one" Viktor said before turning off the radio.
"ALRIGHT PEOPLE! YOU'LL HAVE TO BACK AWAY FROM THE MONSTER CORPSE ALRIGHT! SHIELD ARE ON THEIR WAY TO CLEAN UP THE MESS!" Viktor announced to the people on the street. Luckily the NYPD where also there to contain the crowds.
"Hey asshole WHAT ABOUT MY CAR!" the man from before shouted as he ran up to Viktor who was actually beginning to get astounded at the fact that this man was so fixated on a dam car.
"Man…I said I was sorry alright, but hey, seeing as you are still here and not in between this thing's teeth I will accept that apology for bugging me" Viktor said with a smile. He had basically saved this man's life along with many others so he was a little ticked off that he was complaining to him about a car.
"You wrecked my car and I want you to pay me back!"
"…..Are…..are you serious? Or are you just missing the fact that I killed this thing to save your hide"
"Hey, if you are gonna pay him his car back, I want pay back for my bar!" another man from the crowd shouted, Viktor had noticed that during the fight, the creature did throw him into a bar and cave in a wall or two.
"Well, I'm sorry that a sea monster threw me into your bar, perhaps you should take it up with him" Viktor said before he walked over to the sea monster's corpse and tapped it on the head.
"Hey buddy, the nice man wants money for his bar! You gonna pay him or what?"
Silence
"Hey, turns out Sea Monsters are tight man, nothing I can do" Viktor joked
"Hey pay the man back, you wrecked his bar!" a woman from the crowd shouted
"Its your fault its wrecked asshole!" an older man in biker attire shouted with a pointing finger
"Yeah he should sue you!" a fatter man from the crowd yelled getting yells of agreement from the people around him.
"Well you should sue McDonalds, because they fucked you up!" Viktor retorted, he wasn't known for blindly taking abuse from complete strangers without retaliation. Suddenly the crowd went into a frenzy of yells and shouts.
"You're welcome!" Viktor bowed before taking off into the sky at break back speeds, he didn't need to take any shit from a bunch of ungrateful assholes. He had just saved their hides from getting eaten alive and that was the thanks he got?
Little did Viktor know that the worst was yet to come.
Alright I know this chapter doesn't feature much, but the real issues will begin the next chapter, I just wanted this chapter as an establishing opening so I hope you enjoyed it. And btw, about Viktor's voice distorting when he goes into his feral mode, I thought would be a nice touch, hope you liked it.
Please leave what you thought in the form of a review.
-what did you like?
-who do you hope to see in later chapters?
And now for the big one!
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AVENGER?
See you guys next time