Chapter 15
Sam marched towards the one-percenter, fists clenched, "What in the hell are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here for the big team-up," Osborn gestured to the other heroes, "I mean, you've got all the tropes. The disabled war vet, the grey-haired wizard, the magical goth, the cheerful boy-"
"Oh, he isn't going to be cheerful for long," Sam glared at Peter.
"Look, I know I should have told you first, but I called Mr. Osborn over here because we need help," Peter explained.
"And you thought he was the perfect one to contact?", Strange asked, "You've brought him to Kamar-Taj, for all we know, he's gonna bring his little military buddies over here."
"Please," Norman rolled his eyes, "Doctor, I have more integrity than that. A man has a right to keep secrets."
"What makes you think we would let you join?" Rhodes asked, "Don't we didn't catch what you were saying in your interviews."
"When did I say anything bad about you?"
"Oh, I don't know," Hope shrugged sarcastically, "Calling attention to us, putting us out in the open-"
"Talking about certain...private matters we didn't need the world to think about," Wanda added, clearly referring to him telling others about her being a mutant and Carol having history with the Kree.
"I thought a large point of being a hero was being open! That's why I don't bother with the secret identity thing!" Osborn defended himself, "Look, I didn't mean any harm. I just figured the world deserved the truth if we're gonna be the ones protecting it."
Sam analyzed the man carefully before turning to Peter, "A word, kid?"
…
"You're really trying to get on my nerves, aren't you?," Sam looked down at the kid. The two stood inside one of the temples, making sure that the room was private.
"Look, I know I should have told you guys, but I really think we need Mr. Osborn," Peter explained, "I've looked it up. I've done the research. He really seems like a nice guy."
"Yeah, a lot of people do," Sam bluntly put it, "Look, even if he IS trustworthy, that doesn't mean we should just let him join the group! He's still a rookie!"
"A rookie who took down a Kree spaceship!" Peter pointed out, "Plus, the people trust him! The government trusts him! We could use someone like that!"
Sam squinted his eyes at the boy, "Are you sure you're not just doing this because he's nice to you?"
"Oh, come on, sir-"
"No. Fury told me about what happened with that Mysterio guy and-"
"DON'T," Peter suddenly shouted, taking Sam off guard.
The boy's face softened, "Please, don't mention him. Not again. Look, I trusted Beck blindly and he almost killed me. I'm not making the same mistake with Osborn. We can keep a close eye on him, watch his every move. If he really is a bad guy, we can catch him. But if he's not...it wouldn't hurt to have another teammate."
…
"So, what do you guys do for fun around here? Magic chess? Magic bingo?", Osborn asked sarcastically.
"Please stop putting 'magic' in front of everything," Hope pleaded.
"As soon as you and your pops stop putting 'quantum' in front of everything," Osborn rebutted, "I've read up on your work, Dr. Van Dyne. I have to say, you and your family's work on the Quantum Realm truly is fascinating."
Hope's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Uh...thanks."
"And Mr. Lang, I've read the reports," Osborn turned to Scott, "Is it true that you were the one who rescued the half killed by the Snap?"
Scott chuckled a little, "W-Well, I guess, kind of maybe? I mean, Stark and Banner-"
"Oh, you guys and modesty," Osborn laughed, "You gotta take pride in what you do! We're all now Earth's mightiest, after all!"
"I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong address, buddy. Yellow Brick Road's that way, Tin-Man," Carol butted into the conversation, eyeing Osborn suspiciously.
"I understood that reference," Osborn pointed to Danvers, "I gotta ask, what's space like? I'm hoping since we're fighting aliens and all, I can get a first look and everything, maybe snap a pic. You guys really gotta hop on social media. Get more people on your side-"
"You really love moving your mouth, don't you?" Valkyrie asked.
"I like to think of it as charming," Osborn shrugged, "So, Queen Brunhilde-"
" King Brunhilde."
"You say tomato, I say Solanum Lycopersicum," Osborn joked, "How's New Asgard been? I've been meaning to add a few new facilities over there. Really think your kind would love the newest OsPod! Or better yet, we can talk about weapons manufacturing! I've heard you've been working on something about a rainbow bridge-"
"Lovely sales pitch," Valkyrie put on the fakest grin she could, "But no. We're not interested in weapons."
Osborn clicked his tongue, "Shame."
Rhodes burst into laughter, not a cheerful laugh of humor, but one of sheer disbelief, "I can't believe this! A weapons dealer with the world's biggest weapon and we're supposed to trust him!"
"Funny," Osborn noted, "You trusted Stark."
Rhodes's face quickly darkened, pure rage blinding him. The armored hero began to march towards the billionaire, fists clenched.
"What the hell you just say?," he quietly asked Osborn, the low tone of his voice barely masking his anger.
Fear grew in Osborn's eyes, "I didn't mean to-"
"SAY IT AGAIN, ASSHOLE!," Rhodes charged towards Osborn, screaming bloody murder.
T'Challa grabbed Rhodey from behind, trying to slow him down, "COLONEL! CALM YOURSELF!"
Wanda jumped in front of Rhodes, holding her hands out to hold him back, "RHODES! RHODEY, STOP!"
The two pushed their friend back, but Rhodey's eyes never left Osborn's.
Norman sighed, "Well, my knight in scarlet armor!"
"Don't push it," Wanda glared at the man, "You don't get to talk shit about things you know nothing about."
Osborn turned to the other heroes who were watching, "Didn't wanna join in?"
Strange glared, "Believe me, be glad we didn't."
…
"Please, Captain Wilson, sir," Peter begged his superior, "I know it's a lot to ask, but I think this can work."
Sam sighed, shaking his head, "Look, kid-"
Suddenly, Peter tensed up, his hair on end.
"Kid?" Sam asked, "Kid, what's up?"
"Peter Tingle."
"Say what now?", Sam tilted.
"GET DOWN!", Peter yelled as he grabbed Wilson and leaped out of the temple
An explosion ripped through the building as Peter darted outside and shot a strand at the side of the temple next to him, swinging up with Sam in hand.
On the courtyard, the other heroes barely escaped the explosion. Strange was able to use his powers to dispel the flames before it them.
"Damn, nice save," Osborn commented.
The Falcon and Spider-Man landed on the rooftop, a look of shock on both of their faces.
"What the hell just happened?!," yelled Sam.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The two paled at the sound of villainous cackling.
"Welcome to the second act, ladies and germs!," the Goblin laughed, "You know what that means!"
Suddenly, the sound of airships filled the sky. The heroes slowly turned to see a giant Kree warships coming towards them, firing downwards.
"The bad guys close in!" the green menace cackled, flying back up.
"Accusers," Carol gasped.
"TAKE COVER!," Osborn shouted as he grabbed Hope and Scott and dragged them out of the way. A team of sorcerers appeared and began summoning glowing shields to defend their home from the missiles being fired at them.
Unfortunately, one of the Goblin's pumpkin bombs flew through an opening in the sorcerers' defense and blew them out of the way, causing the shields to glitch out.
"NO!," Strange yelled out, launching himself at the Goblin. Before he could attack, another massive missile fired at Kamar-Taj, ready to absolutely destroy the place.
Thankfully, Carol blasted into the air and stopped the missile mid-flight with her bare hands. She began pushing it away and throw it back at the ship when she heard it beep. The bomb's already been activated.
"SHIT!," she cursed as she used all of her power to chuck the bomb at one of the ships before it detonated. A fiery explosion sent the heroes flying as the force sent Carol crashing through one of the buildings.
"DANVERS?!," Rhodes shouted out to his ally.
"I'm fine," Carol ached, pushing away the rubble, "More powerful than last time."
On the comms, Rhodey could hear Sam's voice calling out to him.
"Rhodes?!" Sam yelled, "Everyone okay?!"
"Define okay!", Scott groaned, helping Hope up.
"Okay, Danvers, time to pull that trick with Thanos," Sam ordered.
"I need time to power up, get back into binary mode," Carol explained.
"Alright, so we just have to buy you some time!", Peter stammered.
Valkyrie shouted, "NO! Those ships have fail-safes to detonate when taken down! It's too close to the planet! You'll wipe us all off the map!"
Carol looked up, surprised and confused.
"Danvers, that true?", Sam asked on comms for confirmation.
"Yeah, but...no one's supposed to-"
The loud roar of the warship's engine shook all of Kamar-Taj, causing the team to yell in pain. Smaller ships began to fly outside of it like bees from a hive.
A bright beam shone from the flying machines of death onto the courtyard and from out of it walked a grinning Yon-Rogg and a troop of Kree soldiers.
"My. It has been so long since I've breathed in that putrid scent," he breathed in deeply before facing the heroes, "Greetings, all of you. I am Commander Yon-Rogg of Star-Force. I'm sure Vers has already informed you of who I am."
The smug grin on his face angered Carol, her blood burning, "What do you want, Yon?"
"To inform all you that this planet is now under Kree control."
"I'm sorry, what now?" Osborn asked.
"Your planet has the power to wipe out entire star systems, yet that power is in the hands of incompetent apes," Yon-Rogg explained, "The Kree have been doing everything to recapture the power levels of the great "Captain Marvel", but it wasn't enough. Our biology wasn't compatible with the same experiments that perfected Vers. Perhaps here, we can find a subject suitable as well as stop a growing superpower in its tracks."
"Sorry, asshole, but I'm a one of a kind deal," Carol growled lighting up her fists.
"This planet is under our protection," Strange glared at the alien, "If you believe you can waltz in and take over the world that destroyed Thanos , then, believe me, you are sorely mistaken."
"This does not need to end in a fight," T'Challa walked forward, hoping to reason with the Kree.
"The Panther, I presume? News traveled across the galaxy of the man whose army defeated Thanos's Outriders," Yon smiled, "You may not be aware of how things work off your mudball planet, but out there, it's basic survival of the fittest. Either surrender willingly or perish like others before you. So dictates the Supreme Intelligence."
Valkyrie whipped out her blade, "Less chit chat, more slaughter please."
"Very well. I must say, a part of me hoped it would come to this," Yon-Rogg smiled.
The heroes on the ground charged at the soldiers, Rhodey and Osborn taking to the sky to fight off the smaller ships.
"Danvers, we need you on the warship!" Sam called out, leaping off the roof to join the fight, shield in hand. As Sam soared into battle, Peter shot a strand at the Falcon's back, allowing himself to be pulled off and swing over the courtyard.
Instead of listening to that order, Carol launched herself at Yon-Rogg, arms out and ready to slam into a certain Kree's face. However, before she could land a punch, the Goblin swiped Yon out of the way and carried him away on his glider.
"I'm going after Yon," Carol shouted.
"DANVERS?!," Sam kept shouting, firing away at the ships flying at him, "Wanda?!"
"I'm on it," the mutant nodded, using her powers to lift herself into the air and attempt to grab the ship with her telekinesis. She tries to crush the thing, but she kept having to lose her grip as the enemies constantly fired at her.
"I can't get a hold on the thing!," she yelled.
On the ground, some of the heroes were busy fighting foot-soldiers. T'Challa swiped his claws down at their faces. Rhodes covered the king's back, shooting down soldiers like fish in a barrel.
Scott and Hope tossed around Pym Particle-discs to shrink down some of their enemies.
Ant-Man picked one of the shrunken Kree up in his fingers, "Kinda cute when they're little!"
"Scott, we are literally about to die!," Hope pointed out as she held one of them in a choke-hold.
Valkyrie dueled with as many soldiers as she could, gutting as many as she could with her blade. She even sliced through one of their rifles.
"Well, you lot sure don't build your weapons they way you used to," she smirked as she slashed across his chest.
Strange and his students pulled out all the tricks they could as fast they were able to. They opened portals under the soldiers' feet, slammed their faces in with amber shields, even sent a few into the Mirror Dimension.
Stephen panted, turning to the other sorcerers, "Nice to see training's paid off."
Before one of the Kree could take Strange's head off, red mist wrapped around his waist and pulled back, slamming him into the side of the temple. He looked up to see Wanda hover down.
"Eyes on the enemy, Doctor," Wanda warned her cloaked ally.
…
"I must say, you are persistent," the Goblin grinned as Carol soared after him, quickly catching up to the green menace.
Her mere fingers were able to crush through the glider's engines, throwing the Goblin and his little passenger off and flying through the air. Carol zoomed in after them, but before she could grab them mid-air, the Goblin tossed another orange bomb her way.
The explosion Carol could handle. It was the large amounts of green smoke that spread out from the bomb that caught her off guard. Whatever it was made of was getting into Carol's lungs.
However, she persevered, slamming her hands together to create enough of a power surge to blow the gas away.
She looked down to see Yon running off like a coward. Before he could get away, Carol crashed right down in front of him and threw a massive punch his way, sending him right into one of the nearby buildings. He slowly crumbled to the ground, clearly in pain.
"Nice shot," he grumbled, "I taught you well."
"You. Taught. Me. Nothing," the captain placed her foot onto the villain's chest began pressing down, "For a man who cares about honor, you sure enjoy running when your men are being taken down."
The commander suddenly burst into laughter, "Oh, you glowing dunce! You think it's that simple?"
This got Yon a swift kick to the face, a tooth even flying out.
"Call your men off right now," Carol glared.
"No."
"Wasn't a request."
"What are you going to do? Kill me?"
"Thought's crossed my mind."
The alien laughed, "I cannot wait to see your face when you discover the truth."
"And what would that be?"
Suddenly, the sound of whirring engines filled the air. Carol's attention turned upwards as shock began to register.
The Goblin chuckled, hovering on his glider in front of her, "Ready for the plot twist, sweety?"
Another laugh pierced the air, "Ready for the twist?"
And another, "Ready for the twist?"
Once more, again and again, "Ready for the twist?"
Before the captain could respond, a horde of soldiers in goblin masks flew straight at her.
…
"Got you! Got you! Got you too!," Peter kept shouting as he webbed up as many soldiers as he could, "Mr. Wilson, what do we do?"
"Kind of busy here, kid!," the ex-soldier shouted as he fired at any ships coming his way, "Get Danvers back, we need to blow a hole in the battleship before it fires again!"
"No, you heard Valkyrie!" Osborn shouted at them, "We take that thing down, we can all kiss this place bye-bye!"
Peter swung down and landed on top of the floating Iron Patriot, "What do you need us to do?"
"Keep me covered," Osborn asked the boy, "I've got a plan."
Rhodey looked over, "Sorry, since when were we taking orders from the flag waver over here?"
"Since I'm the only one coming up with actual ideas!," the billionaire replied, "Kid, lend a hand?"
"Peter, we need you to go after Captain Marvel!," Sam shouted as he wrestled with a warrior, "She's the only one who can take all these guys on!"
"Pete, I can stop these guys, but I need you to listen to me!," Osborn looked the boy in the eyes, his voice becoming more vulnerable, "Please."
Peter looked back and forth between the Falcon and the Iron Patriot. Sam was his leader, he was the guy who wanted Peter on the team, but the boy saw what Norman could do.
"What do you need?", Parker asked.
"Keep the path to the ship clear," the billionaire asked the boy, "When I give the signal, get Strange to open up one of his portals and get ready to start pushing."
Peter nodded and began to swing around, wrapping his webs around some of the ships to get them to crash into each other.
Rhodes groaned, "I'm gonna regret this."
He began aiding Peter in clearing the sky, the sound of his machine guns rattling in the air.
"Osborn, wait-!," Sam could barely get a word in as Osborn soared past him towards the massive battleship. He groaned as he scoped the area, "Danvers, we need back-up!"
On the comms, Carol's voice came through, "Uh, yeah, I'm coming over! Bad news is I'm bringing the party to you?"
Before Sam could ask any questions, the glowing form of Carol Danvers burst onto the scene, an entire gang of men in goblin-like armor flying after her.
"Uh, I don't see how that's a party," Peter gulped as he stood on Rhodey's shoulder.
"Okay, sparkles, keep them off my back as much as you can," Osborn shouted over to her as he flew straight into the front of the battleship, destroying any ships coming at him.
"What the hell is he doing?!," Carol asked as she fired at the Goblins. For some reason, they were able to dodge each blast.
Peter landed on the shoulders of one of the Goblins and shot out two strands at two of the menaces below, pulling back up to them into the villain he was standing on. As they plummeted to the ground, they were picked up by other Goblins, a never-ending wave of green coming for the heroes.
"Mr. Osborn has a plan! We just need to give him time!," Peter explained.
"Kid, that's a Kree Accuser battleship!," Carol shouting at the boy as he swung around the courtyard, "He can't just hack that!"
Suddenly, a new voice arrived on the comms, "Funny you should say that!"
"Mr. Osborn?"
The group turned to see the lights on the battleship begin to glitch on and off, as though it was beginning to shut down.
"How the hell?," Sam looked up from the middle of the fight as he stared up at the massive spacecraft.
Strange, Wanda, and his students provided a good chunk of the cover down below, shielding the team from the beams of light being fired at them.
Out of nowhere, Yon-Rogg appeared, firing down at Sam. The Falcon used his shield to deflect the blasts and tried throwing it at the maniacal alien. Instead, Yon ducked down and allowed the vibranium weapon to clatter to the floor.
"You really must work on your technique," T'Challa noted.
"Fall back! Fall back!", Yon-Rogg began to shout. Beams of light shone down from the ships above as the soldiers began to be taken back up, Yon included.
"No. Not again!," Carol yelled as she darted at Yon, leaving Peter to fend off the oncoming fleet of Goblins.
"Captain Danvers, wait!," he shouted as he swung his fists around, knocking as many enemies as he could off of their flightcraft.
Stephen looked up, his eyes widening as he saw the child defenseless, "PETER!"
He soared off of the ground, the shield he formed dissipating.
"Strange?!," Rhodes called out as the enemies continued to fire down at them.
Up in the sky, Strange used his cloak to grab Peter and pull him away from the battle, "Peter, get behind me!"
"What are you doing?!", Peter shouted, the lenses of his mask widening. He was actually getting some good hits in on his own and suddenly, he was being pushed aside.
"Stay back, Peter!," Strange yelled as he began sending the laughing Goblins into the Mirror Dimension.
"Down the rabbit hole!," one of the Goblins giggled as he flew in.
"Hey, Magic-Man!," Osborn's voice once again came over the comms, "You still any juice in you?"
"Depends. What do you need?," Strange asked.
"How big of a portal can you open up?," Osborn asked.
Strange and Peter turned to one another, a light bulb flashing in their heads.
The sorcerer lifted himself a little higher and began opening up a massive portal below him. The massive ship slowly descended downwards, the engines keeping it up and running powering off.
The smaller ships flew into the atmosphere, retreating, as Carol dashed towards them, trying to shoot down as many as she could. However, she was almost hit by the battleship as it fell through the portal, allowing the fleet as well as the Goblins to escape.
From the ship's ceiling burst Norman Osborn, soaring through the air, "Okay, close it now, Strange!"
Once the massive spaceship fell through the portal, Strange closed it right up, sweat beading off of his temple as he did so.
Every hero in the air began to meet back down on the courtyard, all of them tired like hell.
Osborn crashed back to the ground, his helmet collapsing back into his suit, "So, does this count as my first Avengers mission, because that was a badass way to invite me on."
"How the hell did you do that?," Carol asked.
"These guys might be smart, but I'm Norman Osborn," the man bragged, "This shit just comes to me."
"Mr. Osborn, that was incredible!," Peter pulled off his mask, revealing his smiling youthful face, "I mean, I honestly thought they were gonna kill us all and I was like, 'How many times do I have to be killed by crazy aliens,' and-"
"Peter," Sam put a hand on the boy's shoulders and faced the man in the metal suit, "Nice plan you had there. How'd you know it'd work?"
"What can I say? Man's gotta gamble sometimes," he shrugged, "But I've seen what you guys can do. Knew you'd have my back."
"Yeah, well, thanks for the save," Rhodes stepped forward, "Really appreciate it. But I think it's time for you to-"
"You're in," Sam bluntly stated.
"Excuse me?" both Osborn and Rhodes said at the same time.
"You're a normal citizen with zero expertise when it comes to heroics, yet you took down a damn Kree ship and jumped in when you knew you could've been killed," Sam pointed out, "As far as I'm concerned...Welcome to the Avengers."
Man, I suck at writing action scenes. Oh well. Hope you liked the chapter!