"So we're all going?" Dean asked. The Justice League members had suited up fully, Diana and Arthur finally arriving that morning. Bruce had changed into his bulky Bat-Armor. A note had arrived in the morning, the same as the others. A solid gold dagger pinning it to the table.
"That's what the note said." Oliver said. He had changed into the full Arrow costume, hood pulled up, shadowing his face. Roy was pulling his quiver over his shoulder and checking his gear.
"Why now?" Clark asked.
"When has the timing of any of Fates messages made sense?" Morgan said rolling his shoulders. The room was abuzz with motion as everyone scrambled around the room, rooting around for various pieces of equipment. Sam tossed Dean a heavy UNSC issue shotgun. An energy was in that building, the kind that can only be mustered by insanely competent people preparing for the worst. After the room settled down, the assembled team stood shoulder to shoulder. There's a tense pause, as Hal cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Oliver.
"What?" He asked.
"It's your army man. Motivate em." Hal grinned. Oliver stepped up and looked back over the assembled faces and helmets. He coughed quietly.
"I don't know what's going to be on the other side of this portal. I don't know if we're going to make it back. Your most important job from here on out is to come back alive. Each one of you is experienced so I'm not going to belittle you with some pep talk. Come back alive. That's what matters." He said simply.
"Feet first into hell boys and girls!" Morgan crowed cockily. Castiel activated the portal. Felicity went around handing out ear pieces or setting comms to the right frequency. She sat back down at the desk.
"Thanks to the Wayne tech gear, we have a decent amount of power on our communications set up. I'm going to be doing the best I can to provide logistics for you guys. I'm patched into everyone with a helmet cam as well. Good luck." She said. Oliver was the first to step through.
Elsewhere…
Bright sunlight seared the emerald archers' eyes. It looked like modern New York City. Central Park specifically. Bruce stepped through after him. Oliver drew his bow, just to be safe. The rest of the troops quickly followed. The Spartans and the ODST's working very quickly and clearing the area.
"Anything on local comm traffic?" Oliver asked Bruce. He shook his head.
"Nothing significant yet." The dark knight said.
Clark cocked his head, almost like a dog hearing something.
"Something is coming." He said. Diana drew her sword. Buck called over to Oliver.
"Contact, closing fast." He said. "Airborne." He amended.
A red and gold streak shattered the tense silence as it landed abruptly in the park. The shape straightened up, revealing a humanoid figure, gleaming blue eyes regarding them emotionlessly.
"Bad cosplay convention? New supervillain team? What's going on here?" The voice had a metallic inflection to it, but the sarcasm in it was jarring. A heavy whine filled the air as a VTOL aircraft dropped into a sharp hover above them. The metallic figure was joined by a star spangled man toting a shield, a black clad archer, another black clad woman, a tall blonde man toting a massive hammer, and a rather ordinary looking man. Every weapon in the clearing was brought up and trained immediately.
"Back up! Back up!" Thomas barked.
"We don't want any trouble." Oliver said slowly. "We just want to talk."
"Why the heavy armaments then Robin Hood?" The armored figure asked.
"Tony. Take it easy." The spangled figure said.
"We're looking for a Doctor Steven Strange." Oliver said. The team opposite of them exchanged looks.
"That name ring a bell Tin Man?" Dean asked. 'Tony' looked like he was flexing his shoulders, as a set of small rocket launchers came out of the armor there. Dean racked the slide on his shotgun loudly. Sam placed a cautionary hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Can we stop the pissing contest for a second? We've got bigger issues." Roy said. He gestured at the rapidly darkening skies over the city. There was a thunderous boom and the sky opened.
"Covenant?" Thomas said suddenly. "That doesn't make fucking sense."
"All the same, those are banshees and dropships coming through." Buck said.
"You know what these things are?" The man with the shield said.
"They aren't from around here." Oliver said. "We need to contain this. Barry, give us a mile or so buffer around the park. Clark get airborne, take out the Covenant air power. Bruce, we have to take this fight into the buildings, get them off the streets." The Flash took off, leaving a scorched patch of earth in his wake.
"We're going to help." The star spangled man said.
"This looks like more fun anyway." Tony said.
"Everyone saw the guy disappear right?" The black clad archer said.
"I've seen weirder." Tony said again.
"Okay, we could use the help. I'm not gonna presume to order you guys around, just fill in where you see fit." Oliver said.
"Right. Tony go with Clark, ground their air. Same game plan as the Chitauri." The shield carrier said. "Clint, go with the gentleman in the hood here…"
"Steve." He offered his hand to the emerald archer.
"Oliver." He replied.
Barry rocketed from building to building, wending his way through clearing the area. He noticed something strange in one of the apartments he phased into. A man pulling on a dark red suit of body armor in a darkened apartment. He came to a shuddering halt. He caught the baton swinging at his head just short of his face.
"If you're one of the good guys we could really use your help with the shit storm outside." He said quickly. The other figure in red relaxed and stepped back.
"I was headed that way." He said simply.
"There's gonna be a dude in a hood. He's the guy you want to talk to. You go by anything?"
"Daredevil."
"I'm the Flash." He grinned cockily and was gone again. High above the city, Clarke and Tony were doing the best they could to contain the carnage. The Kryptonian smashed another drop ship to the ground, taking a second to glance at the armored human.
"We're going to have a very serious talk about the whole flying alien thing when we get a moment." He said. He did sharp roll and fired a dozen rockets into a cluster of Banshees. The battle only got fiercer. The three archers ended up together, in the shattered front of a convenience store. Oliver fired a tazer arrow, shorting out three Elites energy shields before Roy dropped them.
"These look a lot like those things we encountered before." He radioed Thomas.
"Something isn't right." The ODST replied.
"I'm picking up a UNSC transponder signal." Buck replied.
"Help…me…" A voice cut into the already chaotic shared comm.
"Wait a minute. Locke? LOCKE?" Vale yelled.
"Vale wait a damn minute!" Buck yelled.
"Go after her. This smells like a trap." Oliver said. The archers continued pouring arrows out of the shattered window.
"Those things are getting back up." The black clad archer said. He reached back and drew an explosive arrow, incinerating the first one.
"Nice." Roy said softly.
In the park something different was playing out. Buck and Tanka had sprinted after Vale. The ODST's hot on their heels. A lone figure stood in the center of the park, gazing out over a pond.
"Locke?" Vale's voice was like a small child. The armored figure turned.
"Oh my god." Tanaka said. Whatever used to be Locke smiled. Black veins stood out against his skin. The air got noticeably colder. The ODST's arrived.
"Quite the opposite actually." A deep voice rumbled, seemingly coming from everywhere at once.
"Fuck, Fuck fuck fuck." Morgan repeated rapidly.
"Drop him!" Buck said sharply. The assembled soldiers fired at the monster. Locke closed the gap frighteningly fast. He snatched the rifle out of Vales hands, punching her through a tree. He moved quickly, too quickly. He shattered Cooper's chest plate, threw Thomas into the pond and snapped Morgan's neck in an instant.
Barry appeared out of nowhere, shattering the sound barrier with his first punch. Locke jerked back, staggering. Vale climbed shakily to her feet.
"Locke, what the fuck is wrong with you?" She asked. He laughed mirthlessly, as the rest of the soldiers moved to engage him again. Buck throws a punch as Lock effortlessly deflects another blow from Barry. The blonde hammer wielder dropped out of the sky, swinging his weapon at Locke's chest. The monster wearing a Spartans face, blocked the blow.
"The thunder god. It's been too long." The monster said smiling. He effortlessly fended off the combined attacks of the group, while grinning maniacally at the thunder god.
"How do you know me monster?" The blonde man asked angrily. Steve joined the fight at this point, blocking a heavy blow with his shield.
A throaty hiss emitted from the creatures throat upon the arrival of a new combatant. A nondescript black haired man in flowing dark robes. A bolt of lightning drove the creature back.
"It's me you want isn't it?" The new figure said arrogantly. Barry took the time to usher them away from the rapidly escalating fight.
"Strange. Once you die, the multiverse follows soon after." Locke hissed.
"Dr Strange?" Buck asked. The robed figure shot lightning at the possessed Spartan, turning to speak to Buck.
"Fate warned me you'd be coming. " He said. "The Rot is after me. We need to leave if this world is to be saved." He closed his eyes for a second. "You have the device?"
"We do." Buck activated his comm. "Oliver we gotta go. We found him."
"What about the Covenant?"
"He seems to think they'll leave if we do." The Spartan said dryly. "You might want to sound the general retreat. But man you should see this guy, he's on a whole other level."
Dr Strange was hurling lightning bolts at the demonic creature, while hovering a foot above the ground, while having a casual conversation.
"Every fall back to the park, we're leaving." Oliver's voice came over the radio. The emerald archer appeared out of the chaos, supporting Roy and followed by the black clad archer. Tony crashed heavily to earth next to them.
"Felicity, now would be an amazing time to get off of your ass." Roy said, voice sounding a bit strained. The dark knight joined the fray, throwing a jackal through a brick wall to make his entrance. Clark hovered overhead, constantly clearing the airspace with short blasts of laser vision.
"Let me help." Clark yelled to .
"What can you do?"
"How much time would it buy us if I threw him into the sun?"
"Enough."
Clark delivered a heavy punch, staggering Locke. He grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around once and threw him. Locke caught the Kryptonians arm and they both ended up flying into a nearby building. Clark grunted heavily.
"I'll keep him busy. Get the portal open." He said. The blue clad sorcerer dropped to earth and began making gestures in the air. The man Barry had talked to earlier showed up, flanked by a massive tank of a man, and a short haired military looking guy.
"We had to fight our way here, are we too late?"
"Daredevil! Glad you could make it!" Barry appeared, smiling. Sam and Dean arrive, hot on the heels of the new group. Sam is bleeding heavily from a shoulder wound.
"We found these guys a block away, figured they could be some help." Dean said panting. He started loading fresh shells into his shotgun. A heavy thud heralded the arrival of a pale, black haired woman. Clark was still locked in combat with Locke, buildings falling in the distance. The woman dropped to her knees, clutching a wound on her arm. Smith began making the rounds of the new arrivals, trying to patch up whatever wounds she could.
"The door is open." The sorcerer said calmly.
"You guys coming? We could use the help. And it's better than you know..dying." Barry said to the newcomers. Hal, Arthur and Diana arrived moments later. Oliver shot them a curious look.
"We got separated upon landing I think. We figured the invasion was going to be near wherever you guys ended up, so we fought our way here." Hal explained. A dozen green machine gun turrets appeared around the perimeter of the group. Arthur cleaned black ooze off of his trident. Oliver and Steve took up positions acting as load master, waving the assembled forces through the portal.
"Clark, now would be the time to put him in orbit." Oliver called. A red streak shot up above the city, rocketing into the sky. It abruptly turned and arced towards the door. A battered, but victorious Clark Kent landed roughly in front of his allies.
"We should leave. I don't know how long that's going to stall him for." He said, panting. With that, they broke ranks and stepped through.
Elsewhere…
"Smith tend to the wounded, Barry help the newbies get settled. Laurel we're probably gonna need more supplies. More cots at least. Take Bruce." Dean was stepping up to give Oliver time to recover, and to avoid thinking about how Sam is one of the wounded. Oliver took a deep breath and approached the beleaguered hunter.
"How many did we lose?" Oliver asked. He was fearing the worst.
"Sammy, Roy, Digg, Bruce, Thomas, and Buck are all wounded. Morgan is confirmed dead. Vale is iffy on if she's going to make it. She was wearing armor but we don't know if that's going to be enough. Cooper has a collapsed lung, he's not going to make through the night unless we get some better equipment down here. I counted two walking wounded and one seriously injured of the newbies. Felicity has been apologizing all over the place, apparently the tech gear failed as soon as the portal closed. We could talk to each other but she couldn't talk to us." Dean said grimly. He walked over to the communal fridge and tossed Oliver a water bottle. Steve joined them, streaks of grime running down his face.
"We need to talk." He said simply. Felicity had anticipated this and come up with a bit of an orientation for any newcomers. Regardless of that, they talk for hours, introductions go around, drinks are poured.
"It's kind of a tradition at this point." Oliver explained.
"So if you're also Bruce, maybe we start calling the costumed folks by their other name yeah?" Dean said. "Helps to avoid confusion."
"Fine by me." Tony said.
"Agreed." The new Bruce said. Bruce Wayne arrived back with Laurel shortly after, bringing medical supplies and extra cots.
"We've got changes of clothes and food down here just to be safe. It avoids the complications of having to host an army of people from other dimensions." Digg said, sitting down with a freshly bandaged chest wound.
"Should you be up?" Clint-the black clad archer- asked.
"I've had worse." The big soldier said. Hal and Clark dragged up another table to provide room for everyone. The night wore on, the group diminishing as people tried to get some shuteye.
"I'm curious why no one is yelling at me for answers yet." said.
"We're exhausted. The yelling comes tomorrow." Dean said wearily taking another swig from his beer.
"Fair enough." The sorcerer nodded and retreated off to a quiet corner of the warehouse.
"I'm telling you, this guy is strong. Way stronger than he has any right to be." Clark said.
"That's not Locke anymore. He was powerful even by Spartan standards." Buck said. One of the newcomers arrived at the table. His shoulder was a mass of bio-foam and bandages. Dean silently offered him a drink.
"We appreciate you being here…" Oliver said, probing for a name.
"Frank Castle. I'm the Punisher. And don't worry about it, this seems like as good a hill as any to die on." He said. The others nodded gratefully. Dean went around pouring shots again, it hadn't been tradition before but with the loss of Morgan it just felt right. He nodded at Thomas to do the honors.
"We scored a win today. There's no denying that. It seems like we really met our enemy today, and we're still here right? Most of us anyway…." The ODST cleared his throat softly. "But it did come with a cost. I've known Private Jake Morgan since I enlisted. He was always a foul tempered, irritable, pessimistic son of a bitch. But he was always there for us. You needed someone to run that sacrifice play, to throw themselves on the grenade? That was Jake. He had the chance to leave, to go back to a war that he understood, but he didn't. He believed in something greater, he believed in us. He died believing in us. He would've fought that monster by himself if it would have helped this cause. He was a great squad mate, a great soldier, and a great friend. My heart aches for the people who didn't get a chance to meet him. To Jake." He said, choking back tears.
"To Jake." Everyone chorused.
"Get some rest everyone. You certainly earned it. We're gonna be up bright and early for what Dr Strange has to say." Oliver said.
AN: There were some issues with the website not wanting to read the way I had written Doctor Strange? It was weird but it's fixed now.