Remnants Mightiest Heroes!
Chapter 3: The Avengers
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Avengers Tower
"All right J.A.R.V.I.S. what's the status on the Rubber Ducky Armor?"
"Armor Integrity Critical. Calculated time of repair eight days."
"That's assuming Attuma doesn't try flooding New York again," Tony Stark groaned, rubbing his head.
The armored Avenger isn't happy. Attuma, an Atlantean warlord, made another one of his attempts to flood New York. This time he tried to cause a tsunami by using stolen sonic technology. If Sam's jokes about the name weren't bad enough, Attuma did a number on his deep-sea armor. Tony is in his black undersuit, arc reactor glowing from his chest. On his desktop is a schematic of the armor with highlighted areas.
"What's the extent of the damage," Tony asked, already dreading the answer.
"Damage to aquatic-respiratory system severe. Armor chassis sustained 80% damage. Attuma certainly does know when to hold back. Does he sir?"
"That he does," Tony growled as closed the window. "I'm going to have to pull an all-nighter on this one."
"I'm afraid that Captain Rogers has requested your presence in the meeting room. You need to help with the victory party."
"Of course," Tony closed his desktop. "I'd better get going. Take over for me will you J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
"Sure thing. Also, I would like to point out that Hulk ate all the pizza again."
Tony grimaced. He knew exactly who is going to be unhappy about that and it is not the Hulk.
"You overgrown garbage disposal!"
"How come you always blame me?"
"Let's see, there is a table where the pizza was supposed to be there. Care to explain why it was smashed? Because I can only think of one guy!"
There is an ongoing argument between Hawkeye and the Hulk. Clint Barton wore his black and purple bodysuit, purple sunglasses, his trademark bow and quiver behind his back. He glared at the face of a menacing green giant wearing only purple stretch shorts. Next to them was a smashed table with an empty pizza box.
"Are you done?" Hulk asked in a growl. "Because I prefer to eat without your girly scream."
"Girly scream?!" Hawkeye protested. Before he could protest, a blonde-haired man cut in between them. He is dressed in a suit with the colors of the American flag, a white star on his chest.
"That's enough you two," Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, ordered. Hulk and Hawkeye turned away with a huff. "We can get another table and pizza. We've got plenty of time."
"Already ahead of you Cap," Tony spoke as he entered the room. "Sam's bringing another order. Where's the others?"
"Thor's gone to Asgard to get something for the party," Steve answered with a smile. Tony groaned at that. "The rest are coming with their choice foods."
"That's great," Tony nodded. "I'll be honest. I don't exactly want another taste of Thor's vol-au-vents."
"Aww, don't be mad at Goldilocks' food," Hulk said. "I like them."
"If it prevents you from eating the pizza," Clint muttered. Hulk glared at him, but Clint had already turned away.
"So, what's the status of your…uh… rubber ducky armor?" Steve asked. It was clear that he is steering the topic away from pizza. Clint and Hulk immediately began chuckling. Tony gave them a withering glare.
"It'll be some time before it can be deployed," Tony said. "But anyway, at least we sent Attuma back to Atlantis. I'm starting to think about redesigning our underwater gear."
"Namor is glad to have him back," Steve said. "He won't be going anywhere for a long time."
"Until he breaks out again," Hulk pounded his fists together. "When I see him again, I'm going to smash him!"
"Isn't that what you always do?" Clint asked with a grin. This time, Hulk gave the archer a big grin on his green face. Suddenly, a flash of lighting followed by the sound of thunder halted any further conversation. Then J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke from the intercom.
"Pardon me, Avengers. Thor has returned to Avengers Tower."
"We've noticed," Clint remarked. A minute later, the doors to the meeting room opened. A muscular man in armor complete with a red cape walked in. Blonde hair trailed from underneath a silver winged helmet. His right hand grasped a Warhammer, the handle short. In his left arm, he held a silver tray of pastries.
"Hail, fellow Avengers!" Thor announced, holding up the tray. "I've brought vol-au-vents!"
Tony gave a low groan.
"Excellent, Thor!" Steve smiled.
"I call dibs!" Hulk ran up to the God of Thunder. Thor chuckled as he placed the tray down on the table. He held a hand to placate the green giant.
"Easy Hulk," Thor said with a smile. "There will be plenty of time to eat once the others arrive."
At that moment, the door opened again. This time, it is a red-haired woman in a black bodysuit. Silver wristlets are wrapped around her forearms and two pistols are holstered at her hips. On her belt, a red hourglass is on her buckle signifying who she is.
Natasha Romanova. The Black Widow. Her expression shows that she isn't here about the party.
"Hey Natasha," Hawkeye greeted. "
"Everyone to the conference room," She grimly said. "Director Fury wants to talk to all of you."
Every plan for the party came to a screeching halt.
"Nine hours ago, we've lost contact with several of our agents," Nick Fury said onscreen. "Their mission was to investigate and rescue several missing persons. Each of them is either archaeologists or doctors. Our intel suggests that they're last seen at a dig site in Egypt, and that is the only thing we knew before they suddenly went dark. We can confirm something is going on in the area. Whatever it is, can't be good."
The Avengers have gathered in the conference room. Each member sat around the table with their attention on Fury.
"Any idea on who's behind this?" Steve asked Fury. He had donned his blue helmet. Emblazoned on it is a white 'A'.
"We don't know," Fury admitted. "But we suspect that whoever they are, they must be desperate if they wanted to kidnap a dozen high-profile researchers."
"So, what was at this dig site?" Tony asked. He is currently wearing his red and gold Ironman armor. His faceplate is opened to reveal his goateed face. "A flying saucer underneath the temple? Because 'Temple of the Crystal Skull' is what killed the Indiana Jones franchise."
Just like the rest of the Avengers, they knew that Fury is a man of secrets. Many secrets. He wasn't called the spy for anything.
"Unknown," Fury answered without humor. "There has been no person who is even aware it even exists. Which is probably why none of our agents have returned. There is something there that somebody doesn't want to be seen. Whatever it is, I want the Avengers to find out what and rescue them."
"Wait, you want us to go to Egypt now?!" Hawkeye asked. "We've just stopped an Atlantean warlord from flooding New York City, AGAIN! I haven't even gotten my socks dry."
"May I remind you, Barton, that you've also dealt with aliens, gods, and monsters daily?"
"I think you need your eye checked Fury. Because last I checked, we don't work for you or S.H.I.E.L.D," Hawkeye countered. "Why can't you get somebody else to do it?"
"Clint…" Natasha warned, but Fury cut her off.
"Because last I checked," Fury narrowed his eye. "You don't seem to have anything else to do."
"Nothing else to do?" Hawkeye choked, nearly jumping out of his seat. "What do you call a victory party?"
It was at that moment that the captain cut the conversation before it can escalate.
"Enough Hawkeye," Captain America said in a firm tone. Hawkeye sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. The living legend turned to Fury. He thought for a moment and heaved a sigh of resignation. "Okay, Fury."
"What?"
"We'll get your people out of there. Once we do, we'll take care of whoever is behind this."
"Thank you, Captain," Nick said. "I am heading over there aboard the Helicarrier. Contact me when the mission is complete. Fury out."
The screen blinked out.
"You can't be serious Cap," Hawkeye protested. Captain America stood up and grabbed his vibranium shield. He slung it behind his back.
"We'll have plenty of time for the party Clint," Captain America said, looking at the archer with a stern but not hard look. "But right now, lives are at stake. If what Fury said is true, then that takes priority. Are you sure that your conscience will let you ignore this?"
Hawkeye said nothing for a moment. Then he sighed in resignation.
"It's not like I would ignore it," Hawkeye admitted. "Hulk would just eat all the food anyway."
Hulk grunted, then smacked a fist into an open palm. "I was looking for something to smash, anyway."
"Aye Hulk," Thor agreed, raising his hammer- Mjolnir. "Nothing like a good fight before a feast!"
"I'll tell the other's that the party is going to be delayed," Tony said as he sent a text through his armor. The faceplate closed, and he turned the glowing eyes to the Black Widow. "Natasha?"
"I've got the coordinates," Natasha said. "We'll set off in the Quinjet when were ready."
"Which is now," Captain America said as he walked to the door, the others following. "Avengers Assemble!"
The door opened and a man stood with a stack of pizza boxes. He wore a dark grey and red suit with red wings on folded on his back.
"Sorry I'm late," Samuel Wilson, AKA Falcon, chuckled. "I thought for a moment that nobody was home, then J.A.R.V.I.S. told me everybody has gathered in the conference…room…"
Falcon stared at the faces of his teammates and his voice fell.
"Did I miss something?"
Egypt
"The Pizza is going to be cold," Falcon complained as flew above the desert at night. His cowl, in night vision mode, is scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary. Iron Man is flying beside him. The rest of the Avengers are still in the Quinjet.
"Relax Sam," Iron Man said to Falcon over the communication network. "If they go cold, we can always give them to Hulk."
"You guys have no idea how long it took me to get those pizza's," Falcon grumbled. Then his HUD started beeping. "Hold up, I got something."
"Me too."
The flying Avengers stopped flying and scanned the area. To the human eye, it seemed nothing out of the ordinary. Just another vastness of sand. However, their scanners are showing differently.
"I've detected a heat signature just now," Iron Man spoke. "It was faint, then it vanished. My scanners aren't picking up anything else. Now if Fury's right, then the dig site should be about here."
"But where?" Falcon asked. The two Avengers just stared at the area for a moment. Falcon turned his head and spotted a Pharaoh Eagle-Owl, thus getting an idea.
"Give me a second," Falcon told Iron Man. His eyes glowed as he created an empathetic link with the owl. The owl turned its attention to him, then it spread its wings and flew to Falcon. It flew in front of his face before landing on his shoulder.
"Uhm, Sam?" Iron Man asked skeptically. "I get your thing with birds but…"
"Just trust me on this," Falcon assured him. He turned to the Owl, sending a silent command. The owl nodded and flew toward where they picked up the heat signature. It flew for a few meters before it vanished completely.
"Whoa!" Iron Man exclaimed. Then he communicated with the rest of the Avengers. "Iron Man to Quinjet, it turns out our resident birdkeeper has found the dig site. Seems somebody has put up a cloaking field, which is why none of our scanners have picked it up."
"Sam, what do you see?" Captain America asked.
"Give me a second," Falcon said as he looked through the eyes of the owl. "I see the dig site, but I don't see what's… Wait! I see people moving about. They're… Holy…. Some of them are A.I.M.!"
"A.I.M.?" Tony exclaimed.
"Who else would wear beekeeper costumes in the middle of the desert?"
A.I.M. is short for Advanced Idea Mechanics. It's an organization of brilliant scientists who would rather dedicate their brainpower to taking over the world. Their modus operandi is by inventing advanced technology, sometimes salvaging it from other people. "That explains everything. A.I.M has enough eggheads to create this. What are they doing here?"
"I don't know," Falcon admitted.
"We can find out later," Captain America said. "Sam, do you see the missing persons?"
"Negative," Sam said. "I've already asked Archie to find them."
"Archie?"
"Hey, you named your armor Rubber Ducky," Falcon said in a defensive tone. "When you have avian powers, you can name the birds. Anyway, Archie has seen the missing agents. We can assume that A.I.M. did one of their usual hocus pocus on them because they're acting as guards. Archie has his eyes on some of the missing people. They're unharmed but…"
"But what?"
"They don't seem to be under any duress," Falcon said. "Nor do they look like they are under mind control like the agents. For a lack of a better word, I'd say they're comfortable around them."
"That doesn't fit the usual hostage psyche," Hawkeye commented. "Unless…"
"They're on A.I.M.'s payroll," Natasha finished, no surprise in her tone. Over the comms, they can hear her interfacing with the computer. "I've looked into their records. They might have good looks on the outside, but they've been getting money from offshore accounts. Each of them belongs to a person that doesn't exist."
"It would make sense about it," Hawkeye said. "By kidnapping them, they can cover up their connections to A.I.M. and keep their image. That way, they can continue their research, and no one will be the wiser. What's the plan cap?"
"Sam, can you see the cloaking device?"
"I've got eyes on it," Falcon replied. "Archie's got his sights on it at this moment. They've only left one guy on guard. Can you believe it."
"They don't seem to have picked us up yet," Tony said. "Otherwise they would've launched a defensive. It looks like they forgot to bring a radar with them."
"Good enough for me," Steve said. "Sam, can you have Archie disable the field?"
"I can, but why?"
"We'll need to cause some chaos," The Captain explained. "We'll need to take them out before they alert the other facilities they're hiding. Especially M.O.D.O.K. if he isn't here. Hawkeye, you're on overwatch. Natasha, secure any valuable intel they're trying to burn. Thor, secure the perimeter. Hulk, do what you do best."
"SMASH!" They could hear him pounding his fists.
"Tony, can you clear the landing zone?"
"Once Sam gets the cloaking field down," Tony said, as he scrolled through a playlist. "I've got something in mind."
"Already on it," Sam declared. Through his eyes, Archie had already landed on top of the apparatus. Below on the dashboard is a switch with the label 'Active' glowing in green letters. An obvious sign if they've seen one. "Just waiting on your call Cap."
"Do it."
"Archie?" Falcon sent a telepathic command to his new feathered friend. With a hoot, Archie swooped down and flipped the switch. Below, the word 'Disabled' glowed in red letters. A split second, the field went down, exposing the site to the whole world.
"Uploading soundtrack," Tony said as he played. Within seconds, everything with a speaker has been hijacked by the billionaire. Soon, 'Shoot to Thrill' is playing.
"Good choice," Captain America commented.
"I know my music," Tony boasted as he flew up into the air. He flew a few meters before making an upward U-turn and diving to the ground. As the armored avenger closed in, a few A.I.M. agents finally spotted him. They scrambled to cover as Tony righted his body and landed on his feet and fist to the ground. He turned his head glared up at the scattered agents.
"Hello," He greeted cheerfully. "Would you prefer to surrender first, and save yourselves a daily beating? Or would you prefer to take your daily beating, and THEN surrender?"
The Iron Man was then hit by a barrage of energy bursts. One of the A.I.M. agents had just gotten up, grabbed an energy rifle, and fired upon the armored avenger. Tony deadpanned as he turned his attention to him. Eventually, the energy rifle ran out of ammunition and the agent is left with an unloaded weapon. Still, the agent kept pulling the trigger.
"Well that was a stupid question," Tony remarked. "Though I preferred the daily beating anyway."
He held up his hands and fired a repulsor blast at the agent, knocking him against the wall. More agents fired upon him, only to receive a repulsor in return. Tony marched with clanging steps towards three agents and punched one of them in the gut and grabbing another to slam him into the last one. It seemed like the landing zone is clear until he spotted two agents tinkering with the device.
"What do we have here?" He announced. On his HUD, it displayed the device the agents are tinkering with. His eyes widened as it revealed the inner workings and a blast radius. "Not going to happen!"
He raised his hands and fired a blast at the bomb. The agents covered their heads as the blast hit the bomb. But instead of blowing up, it powered down. The agents looked at the bomb in confusion before turning to Iron Man.
"EMP Blast," Tony clarified. "You guys should make it. When you're in prison."
Tony raised his hands and fired a repulsor blast at the A.I.M agents. They flew back against a tent and crumpled to the ground.
"LZ is clear," Tony announced to the Quinjet. "Your clear cap."
"Oh, thank goodness!"
Tony turned to see one of the missing persons running up to him. He hastily spoke in faux relief. "These animals kidnapped—"
His voice faltered as he was electrocuted from behind. He fell, revealing the Black Widow holding one of her shock sticks.
"Figured I save you the trouble," She twirled her shock stick and holstered it behind her back. She knelt and handcuffed him as the Quinjet descended. A roar caught their attention and they saw A.I.M. attempting to flee on hover vehicles. They didn't get far as lightning descended upon them, striking the vehicles and short-circuiting them. The drivers can only look up in horror as the god of thunder descended upon them.
"STAND, AND FACE THE WRATH OF THE SON OF ODIN, MECHANICS OF ADVANCED IDEAS!" Thor declared, brandishing Mjolnir. Lightning flashed from the hammer, intimidating the agents.
"Thor secured the perimeter," Captain America said as he leaped from the Quinjet. Hawkeye took his bow and fired a grapple arrow. He pulled himself to a watchtower roof, pressing his finger to his ear.
"Sam, can we get a visual?"
"I've deployed Redwing," The Falcon replied. Within seconds, Clints HUD displayed a map from the Redwing drone. The Avengers are highlighted blue and A.I.M. is highlighted red. "Cap, they seem to be gathering around an apparatus. I think they've brought a teleporter. It's about four clicks from your position Hawkeye."
"Hawkeye!"
Clint didn't need another word to draw another arrow. With steady breathing, he aimed it in the direction of the teleporter. He let the bowstring go and the arrow flew. It traveled in an arc towards the teleporter. An A.I.M. scientist was just about to activate it before it landed, nearly hitting his hand. Then, electricity flowed through the tip of the arrow, overcharging the machine. It short-circuited, rendering the machine inoperable.
"Teleporters are taken out," Hawkeye reported, drawing another arrow. "I've got my eyes on several others trying to make a run for it on jets. Hulk?"
With a roar, the Hulk leaped into the air. Within a single bound, he landed in between the jets. The shockwave upon impact sent several A.I.M. agents off balance. With a growl, each of his big meaty hands grabbed a jet and smashed them together repeatedly. The machines crumpled and fell apart from the strength of the green behemoth. He threw each of them at the remaining transports, making them explode.
The good news for A.I.M. is that none of their personnel are onboard.
Bad news for A.I.M. is that out of all the Avengers, they have to deal with the big bad Hulk.
Hulk roared and clapped his hands, sending a shockwave. The agents fell effortlessly while other buildings disintegrated from the force of the blast. Hulk looked around the area and scratched his head.
"Why don't these guys have someone bigger?" He wondered.
"Aye, that's what I suspect as well," Thor landed beside him. "It would appear they didn't expect our presence. Otherwise, they would at least send an Adaptoid here."
"You can say that again blondie," Hawkeye remarked. Another A.I.M. agent attempted to sneak behind him. Without looking, Hawkeye aimed his bow behind him and fired a knockout arrow. With the force of a punch, the agent fell off the watchtower. "Although I'm not complaining. If this is all A.I.M. has, then this is going to be short."
Suddenly, noise filled the air.
"Me and my mouth," Hawkeye groaned.
Thor and Hulk turned to the source of the noise. Rising like smoke and coming towards them is a swarm of black mass.
"Drones," Hawkeye reported. "I don't have enough arrows. Can you guys handle it?"
"Indeed," Thor hefted Mjolnir and began spinning it. He glanced at Hulk. "Vol-au-vents to the first person who picks off the most of these drones?"
"You're on Goldilocks!"
Together, the muscle of the Avengers leaped into the sky. Lightning leaped off Mjolnir in arcs and Hulk raised his hands and clapped. Lightning fried several drones while shockwaves followed like thunder. Flying in-between is the Falcon. Several times, he fired his machine guns at any drone he set his sights on. Several times he stopped to let loose feather flechettes from his wings. Once he lured a horde to follow him and dropped down. They followed him to the ground until he pulled up just in time to let gravity finish them off. Soon, there is a pile of dead drones.
Back at the Quinjet, Tony was hooked up to the bomb. Cables streamed from his gauntlet and A holographic screen is projected in front of him.
"Cap, you go on ahead," He said. "I suspect that this isn't the only bomb that A.I.M. has. I'm going to go look for them and disable them."
"Understood," Captain America said. "Natasha you're with me. Sam, help Thor and Hulk deal with those drones! The rest round up all these A.I.M agents."
"On it Cap," Natasha said as she dodged a strike from a mind-controlled S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She took out her shock sticks and pressed both against his neck. He spasmed uncontrollably and fell to the ground unconscious. Another wrapped his arms around her, but she shifted her center of gravity. Her legs wrapped around his neck and she forced him on his back. She applied pressure to his neck until he turned limped. The Black Widow got up and stepped away from the prone body.
"I've got a visual on the pit," Sam reported. "It appears to be… a ship of some kind."
"Ship?" Captain America asked. Then he shook his head. "Later. Can you see anything else?"
"It looks like there are still some A.I.M. goons down below!" Sam replied. "They appear to be clearing out though. Some of them are tinkering with a computer."
"They're clearing their findings," Natasha said in alarm. "They would rather delete them rather than let someone else have them."
"Not going to happen!" Captain America rushed to the pit. He jumped off the edge and let gravity pull him down. Positioning his shield so that it faced the ground, the captain braced for impact. Captain America crashed into the ground, surprising the agents. Thanks to the vibranium alloy, his shield absorbed the impact, cushioning his landing. Then he stood up straight in the presence of the A.I.M. scientists.
"I'm afraid that we need that," He commented as he hefted his shield and threw it. The shield flew and struck the A.I.M. scientist nearest to the console. It struck him in the head and bounced off him. Ricocheting off of several scientists, it returned to the hand of Captain America, who proceeded to insert his arm through the straps and engaged the rest of the scientists. He held up his shield up to block energy bursts and bashed it against one and throwing a quick punch into the visor of another.
Another A.I.M. scientist attempted to fire a bazooka at him, only for him to be taken down from an axe kick from above. Natasha removed the bazooka and walked over to the computer while the captain dealt with any remaining opposition.
Natasha typed away at the keyboard. "Cap. This is everything about their operations including this. This also lists routes that lead to more A.I.M. safehouses."
"Get everything then," The Captain grunted as punched another A.I.M. scientist in the face. "We can give it to Fury."
"Already on it," Natasha pulled out a thumb drive and inserted it into a port. She typed in a few keys and initiated the download. "This will take a few minutes. In the meantime… wait…"
Suddenly, the download stopped as the screen began to glitch.
"Natasha, what's going on?!"
"The screen is glitching," Natasha hastily tapped a few keys. "The download has stopped, and the system is erasing the data!"
"It's not the system Agent Romanova!"
The captain and widow paled. "That voice."
The two avengers looked up to see a large object descending from the sky. The object was a man sitting in a yellow chair propelled by a rocket turbine. His limbs are covered in purple armor plating. His head, however, is the biggest feature of them all. Surrounding his head is a purple band with a red center. Tiny eyes glared upon the heroes.
"M.O.D.O.K."
"Indeed, Captain Rogers! I am M.O.D.O.K.!" M.O.D.O.K. declared. "and A.I.M. will have the technology inside this ship!"
Suddenly, they felt their heads ache. Groaning, Steve and Natasha fell to their knees and clutched their heads. Pain flooded their heads as M.O.D.O.K. emitted psionic waves. Captain America glared up at the grinning organism.
"You forget M.O.D.O.K.!" The captain America forced through the pain. "I'm used to your mind games! There's no point in trying!"
"Oh, I know I can't control you," M.O.D.O.K. replied darkly. "Agent Romanova on the other hand…"
Captain America's eyes widened and turned to see his comrade standing up slowly. Then, without hesitation, she rushed at him with her shock batons raised. He lifted his shield just in time to block her sticks, electricity crackling against it. Natasha's eyes looked dead inside.
"The red room has left many mental commands," M.O.D.O.K. mocked with glee. "So many that my superior intellect can exploit! I've commanded the Black Widow to fight at my side and destroy you! Let's see if you can bring yourself to fight your friend!"
"Dammit," Captain America kept his shield up and shifted just in time to block a high kick from Natasha. Throwing his shield, he reached out and grabbed both of her hands. Increasing the pressure, he forced her to let go of her shock sticks. Undeterred, she ran up and kicked him in the head, freeing her from his grip. She landed a few feet away from him and reached for her guns. The captain dodged and rolled as she fired her guns at him. He held his hand out and received his shield, which he threw to ricochet of several obstacles, and blocked the gunfire. Bullets flattened against the star-spangled shield.
"Sam!" Captain America shouted in his earpiece. "I need some air support! Be careful with Black Widow, M.O.D.O.K. did something to her!"
"Loud and clear Cap!" Sam shouted over the comms. "Don't worry about Nat! I've got someone on it!"
Natasha was still firing on him before a brown blur collided with her face. She staggered and tried to hit Archie, but he flew up to avoid her strike. While Archie distracted her, Captain America rushed up to her and knocked her out with a punch.
"Hey M.O.D.O.K.! Heads up!"
M.O.D.O.K. turned to see the Falcon, firing his submachine guns at him. The bullets flattened against the telekinetic barrier that M.O.D.O.K. had set up. Snarling in annoyance, M.O.D.O.K turned his attention to Falcon. But behind him, a red drone flew by firing rockets at him. They exploded against his shield, diverting M.O.D.O.K.'s attention back and forth. While they are fighting, Captain America carried Natasha out of the crossfire and set her down. Slowly, she began to come to.
"You all right?" Steve asked in concern. Natasha scowled and got up.
"I will be when we take down that big brain," She growled, taking a small circular device. "Clint, are you there?"
"I am," Clint replied, the sound of a bowstring being released I heard on his end. "Just took care of some runaways on foot. Some who were stupid enough to get close to Stark when he is disarming the bombs. Now I am standing here watching M.O.D.O.K. play kill the Falcon. What do you need?"
"Remember that trick we did back in Italy? We're doing that again."
"Okay, I've got you in my sights," In the distance, Natasha can see Hawkeye knocking another arrow on his bow. "Ready?"
"Sam, get clear!" Natasha called as she threw the device at M.O.D.O.K., which began bleeping red. As if he knew what they are doing, Captain America covered the two of them with his shield. Sam recalled Redwing and careened away as Hawkeye let loose the arrow. In mid-air, it emitted a sonic screech. Howling in pain, M.O.D.O.K. covered where his ears should be. Then the arrow hit the device and it exploded in a flash, blinding him.
"Damn you!" The Mental organism cried. "Damn you all!"
"Keep him off balance!" Captain America shouted, throwing his shield. M.O.D.O.K. barely had time to react as the shield hit his forehead, sending him back. Then an arrow hit him and exploded, rocking him back. Just as M.O.D.O.K. opened his eyes, a green form leaped into the pit and grabbed both of his legs.
"Time to make you fly!" Hulk shouted as he spun M.O.D.O.K. around in a circle. M.O.D.O.K. screamed as he spun, spun, and spun. Until finally, Hulk let go, sending him flying to the sky…
…right where Thor is waiting.
"Taste the wrath of Mjolnir!" He cried as he spun his hammer by the leather thong. Gripping it by the handle, he brought it down upon the evil being. With a flash of light and a sound of thunder, M.O.D.O.K. was sent back to the earth at full force. M.O.D.O.K. crashed into the ground, creating a crater.
M.O.D.O.K. laid on the ground, writhing. Mjolnir had damaged his doomsday chair, preventing him from moving. But that didn't mean that he wasn't powerless.
Before he could try, however, Iron Man landed in front of him.
"Stark…" M.O.D.O.K. growled.
"Hello M.O.D.O.K.," Tony nonchalantly replied. "I was wondering who the big brain was behind those bombs. Of course, being a genius, I could guess that where A.I.M. goes you follow... all the way to the Vault."
"You Avengers haven't won yet," M.O.D.O.K. declared as he tried to lift himself with telekinesis. "My superior intellect is enough to – ARG!"
Suddenly, M.O.D.O.K. spasmed from a million volts coursing through his body. He tried again only to get the same result.
"You were saying?" Tony asked mockingly.
"I'm saying I shall—" M.O.D.O.K. tried to get out but couldn't as he was suddenly shocked again.
"Sorry baby head. I think I accidentally slipped in some of my Telepathic Microscopic Taser's while you were having a fit. TMT for sort. I made it especially for you and people with abilities like yours. The more you try to use it, the higher the voltage becomes."
"If you think your technology will stop my intellect. Then you are—" Once again, M.O.D.O.K. gets shocked again.
"Hey, I did say that it affects anyone with abilities like yours," Tony said dryly. "That includes the ability to control my tech."
As M.O.D.O.K tried in vain to use his abilities, Hawkeye fired another arrow. This time, when it made contact, foam spread across the body of the mental organism. When it completely covered him, it hardened. M.O.D.O.K. is incapacitated.
"Can't say I'm happy to see M.O.D.O.K. being helpless," Hawkeye commented as landed into the pit. He looked at Tony with a look of apprehension. "How long were you working on that."
"Ever since he stripped me of my armor," Tony replied. "I wanted to test out my new firewalls, but I can wait until next time."
"Hopefully not," Captain America said as he and the rest of the Avengers gathered around the squirming villain. "Let's get this guy to a nice warm prison cell."
"I'll contact Director Fury," Natasha said. "He'll be plenty happy to see the baby head in a cell again." She walked off to the side and placed a finger on an earpiece. Tony glanced at the ship.
"How long has this been here?" Captain America asked. Clint walked over to the console, relieved that it's still operational, and opened a file.
"Discovered by sheer luck six months ago," He read. "A ship crashed into this area while an agent got lost. With all the chaos happening, they decided to keep this under wraps until they get inside. M.O.D.O.K., for once, thought it wouldn't be a good idea for him to not work with the project until now."
"Good that did for him in the end. Now we can…" Tony's voice trailed off as his scanners went off. "Cap! My scanners are detecting eight lifeforms on that ship!"
"What?" Captain America exclaimed. The other Avengers looked alarmed. M.O.D.O.K. looked interested as well.
"Life forms? So that's what that ship—" Hawkeye decided at that moment to fire an electric arrow at him, electrocuting him. M.O.D.O.K. fell into unconsciousness.
"Was getting on my nerves," Hawkeye told the others. "Anyway cap, what do we do?"
"If there are people on that ship, then we need to help them. They could need medical attention. Stark, can you get in?"
"Give me a second," Tony walked over and linked his armor to a port. This technology felt familiar to him somehow. But he put that thought away for the moment. "Just give me a few seconds and I'll—"
Hulk went up and grabbed the ramp and ripped it off the ship. He turned to see Stark standing still. Underneath the faceplate, he was gaping at him.
"You take too long," He grunted as he leaped into the interior
"I agree with Hulk," Thor said as he walked by a frozen Stark. "We don't have the time for another 'hack' of yours."
Tony finally snapped out his daze and walked inside, the Captain following him. They entered into a steel gray hallway. The other went up ahead while Tony scanned the technology. Captain America stood with his friend.
"What is it Stark?"
"I knew I recognized the tech," Tony spoke in an unhappy tone. "It's 41st-century technology. I know one guy who has access to that."
"Kang?" Captain America asked. "Why would one of his ships be here?"
"That's one thing I would like to ask him."
"Cap!" Came Sam's voice from ahead." I found four of them! I think they're children!"
"WHAT!?" The two avengers ran ahead to the cockpit. Falcon was kneeling in front of one of the pilots, a blonde-haired boy in a rabbit hoodie. Captain America went and checked his co-pilot, who is a young girl wearing a tattered skirt and cape. Her hair is the darkest shade of red anyone had seen before it revealed its true color at the tips. Like the boy, she was bruised and cut, blood caked on her skin.
"Their vitals are stable," Sam said, worry evident in his voice. He examined the other two behind them. "But they have sustained physical trauma all over. My HUD is telling me that they've also sustained some damage from the crash."
"They also appear to be in stasis," Tony scans showed that they are encompassed by an energy field. "It looks as if the Stasis is the only thing keeping them from dying. They will need medical treatment as soon as we take them out."
"Agreed." Captain America nodded grimly. Just then, Hawkeye came running in, panting.
"We've found four more in the medical bay," He breathed. "Two of them are in bad shape than the rest. One has an arm missing, the other looked like she was turned into a shish kebab. A LASER shish kebab."
Thor walked in next. "Odin's beard!" He cursed as he looked upon the pilots. "What became of them?"
"It's the same as the others," Tony replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a device near the girl's feet. "We've found them in need of medical attention. My scanners believe that some of the injuries are caused by the crash.
Thor clenched his fist. "Whoever did this has earned my Ire. To attack children is unthinkable! Do we know who did this?"
Before Tony could answer, Natasha came running.
"I came as soon as I—What happened to them?"
She gasped as she saw the children. Her breath hitched even more when she saw their state. Captain America looked at her.
"Contact Fury immediately! We need medics on the double!"
Ruby drifted from between consciousness and oblivion. She had expected to be in pain after the ship malfunctioned and crashed onto an unknown planet. But now, all she felt was softness and warmth.
Her silver eyes opened. She was resting on something plushy. Her body is strapped down, not too tight, but enough to prevent her from falling off. From her blurred vision, she could tell that she wasn't on the ship anymore but in another transport. She felt it flying and heard the engines so it must be air transport. Was she being taken to a hospital? Where are her friends?
Her vision cleared, and she saw someone standing nearby. He was fiddling with an arrow when he noticed her out of the corner of his eye. He turned and said something in a language she didn't understand, and more people came toward her. For a moment, she felt relief.
That feeling disappeared when she saw metal. The red and gold metal of a figure. Glowing white eyes gazed down on her as it approached her with clanging footsteps.
She felt her heart race as she struggled against the bonds. The man with the arrow looked alarmed and rushed over and placed his hands on her shoulders. He kept her down as the metal man backed away in alarm.
A woman came and took out a syringe. She tried to press it against her skin but broke. Frowning, she grabbed a plastic mask and pressed it over her mouth. The man held her down kept her still as Ruby lost strength in her muscles. Slowly, she felt herself losing consciousness.
Nick Fury stood on the deck of the Helicarrier, his black long coat swaying in the wind. Behind him stood Maria Hill with several S.H.I.E.L.D. medical staff along with several armed agents. Each of them has a gurney to receive the patients.
Soon, the Quinjet and two more landed on the runway. The ramp lowered, and the Avengers came out. From the other two, S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel escorted M.O.D.O.K. and A.I.M. agents off. The medics rushed through the Avengers and onboard the Quinjet.
"Well, well," Fury muttered as he approached the encased leader of A.I.M. "We've been looking for you ever since you and your buddies in the Cabal went dark. I've been saving you the nicest seat in the Vault."
M.O.D.O.K. growled but didn't say anything. Fury nodded to Maria, who proceeded to escort him and his cohorts away. Fury then turned to the Avengers.
"That's about the only good news I've received today," Nick spoke, his face grim. "Agent Romanoff told me that we've got wounded?"
"We've got eight wounded teens," Steve spoke as the Medics began rolling out the children. "Two of them are heavily injured. The rest we suspect they got from the crash."
"I have a few of my technical support all over the crash site," Fury said as he walked away, gesturing for the Avengers to follow. They stopped with the medics and their patients. With a whirr of machines, the floor beneath them descended. "From what you told me, I'm glad that A.I.M. doesn't have their hands on more of Kang's technology. Meanwhile, what do we know about the children?"
"There's nothing much to tell director," Natasha responded. "Given the circumstance of Kang's technology, they could've come from anywhere in time."
"Of course," Fury groaned. Then he noticed an odd man out. "Where's Stark?"
"One of the children woke up," Steve explained. "Upon seeing him, she began to panic. Tony suspected that she sustained a PTSD. She panicked when she saw his armor. He thought it was a good idea to head back to Avenger's tower."
"If you ask me, I think his feelings were hurt," Clint smirked.
"I see…" Fury muttered. He suspected that isn't the only cause, but he will get to that later. "Anyway, while the medics are treating them, I'm having my scientists examine them."
"Is that necessary Fury?" Falcon asked with skepticism to which Fury raised his hands defensively.
"I just want to make sure they aren't a threat," Fury said. Before they could protest, he said, "I don't like it any more than you do. But these people were on board a ship belonging to a time-traveling tyrant. How do we know that they won't attack us when they get up?"
"This young maiden didn't seem to be a threat," Thor argued, gesturing to the red-garbed girl. "They don't appear to machines either."
"Regardless, until I'm sure they aren't a threat, I'd like to keep my eye on them," Fury said. "In the meantime, can you tell me if they had anything on them?"
Tony sat at the workbench of the lab at Avengers tower. His armor in the decompressed state. In front of him is the device that belonged to the girl. Its frame is white and looked like any smartphone except without the screen. He had disassembled it and found a black crystal. Which answered his question on why he couldn't turn it on.
The crystal acted like the battery for the device. Now for some reason, it didn't work like it was supposed to. Tony decided to investigate later, for now, he is modifying the device to suit a lithium-ion battery.
The doors to the lab opened and two more people walked in. Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, in her blue and red suit. T'challa AKA Black Panther in his black vibranium panther suit.
"Tony," Carol called as she walked over to Tony. He didn't look up as he continued tinkering. "We heard that the party almost got canceled thanks to Fury. What's happened?"
"Oh, just the usual," Tony replied with a smile. "A.I.M. was planning another one of their technological schemes and we saved day." His smile faded. "That and we've found children."
"Children," T'challa asked. The King of Wakanda took his eyes off the device Tony was fiddling with and stared at the billionaire. Carol looked alarmed as well. "What were children doing with A.I.M.?"
"They were in the spacecraft that A.I.M. seemed was interested in," He replied, as he took out tweezer and fixed the wiring. "A ship that belonged to Kang." Carol and T'challa looked even more alarmed at the name. "Cap and the others took them to the Helicarrier for medical care. If I'm correct as usual, they are being analyzed by Fury's usual paranoia."
"So why are you here?" Carol asked.
"Because of this," Tony answered, gesturing to the contraption on the table. "They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. In my case, this device is worth a thousand words. If I can get this thing working, we might get answers as to why they were inside and what happened."
"I assume this was the battery?" T'challa asked as he tenderly lifted the black crystal. Through his mask, he was scanning the substance. "Odd. It doesn't match any known element that we know."
"Glad that caught your interest," Tony said as he finished putting it back together. "Can your scientists go over it?"
"I'll see what they can do," T'Challa walked away. As he contacted his homeland, Tony lifted the device and examined it all over. Carol leaned over and gazed at the jury-rigged device.
"Still having trouble?" Carol asked in amusement.
"I'm starting to think that whoever made this device is complicated," Tony grunted as he tried to see how it worked. He looked at the small diamond at the center and he got an idea. He gripped both sides of the device and pulled. A transparent screen slid out until he held it like a Nintendo Switch.
"I change my mind," Tony whistled. "I've got to find the guy who made this." He tapped the diamond, which he assumed to be the power button, and it glowed yellow. The screen glowed with life.
"Well done," Carol congratulated. "Looks like the futurist solves another technological mystery."
"It's what I do Carol," Tony smirked. As he scrolled the device screen, he frowned. "Though I think this needs improvement. Whoever made this didn't think that somebody would steal it. That and their personal information. I should give those kids a lecture."
He tapped on a file in alien letters. It opened to reveal pictures of various images. Some of them contained the people they rescued. The others remain a mystery.
"Worth a thousand words, huh?" Carol smiled.
"Coincidence."
While Tony scrolled through the pictures, a buzzing sounded from Carol. Frowning, she reached behind her and pulled out a phone with her suits color scheme. She accepted the call and held it to her ear, turning away as she did so. After a few minutes, she turned back to Tony frowning.
"Tony, would there happen to be seven more of those devices?"
Tony looked back at her unrepentant. "Fury called?"
Carol held up her phone. On it, the caller ID was unknown, but it was clear who was on the other line.
"Yep, and he wants to talk to you."
"Mind telling me what you were thinking Stark?" Fury nearly shouted in the command room of the Helicarrier. Onscreen was the caller ID Tony Stark. Behind him stood the Avengers, minus Black Widow and Hawkeye. They were stationed to watch over the children. He had learned that out of the eight devices that one of them was missing.
They didn't need another brain to figure out who made off with it to Avengers tower.
"Like what I always think," Tony replied. They could even hear is a smug smile. "I managed to crack the device. You won't believe the security they installed."
"I'll ask for details later," Fury said, calming down. "Did you find anything?"
"Mostly the kids in question. Moreover, there are some pictures of unfamiliar places. This includes strange black creatures with bone masks on them. Some of them include them fighting the black creatures."
"They're warriors then?" Thor asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. "They seemed pretty young, especially the red-cloaked one. If that would be the case, why are they unarmed? They couldn't have fought Kang unarmed."
"About that, I've opened a file on one of them. I got to say, it's pretty smart to combine a melee weapon with a gun. Strangely, there is a picture with the owner of this device hugging a huge scythe. The weapon is named Crescent Rose. If I don't know any better, I'd say that she was married to it."
"Like goldilocks here?" Hulk asked, chuckling. Thor threw him a glare and would've retorted if the Captain didn't intervene.
"Break it up," He ordered. The two powerhouses glowered at each other but didn't pursue it any further. "Tony, anything else?"
"Yeah, it turns out that this is powered by an unknown substance. However, for some reason, it's no longer working."
"Then this supports my theory that they may not be from earth," Fury said to Tony's surprise.
"What? I mean, I get time to travel. But time travel from another planet?"
"We've checked them over, and a few things stood out," Fury explained, bringing up windows as he went along. "They seem to be emitting, in Richards words, some kind of bio-energy field. From Agent Romanoff's testimony, it provides some kind of forcefield and healing ability."
"Their bruises are almost healed by the time we got them to the med bay," Falcon said. "The red-haired girl pretty much healed from those burns. This energy field seems to be the only thing keeping the blonde from bleeding out."
"That's interesting," Tony admitted. "Reed would want to look into that. Maybe he can enlighten us."
"I've sent a sample of their DNA to him for analysis. Second, one of them has feline features. One of them has an extra set of ears similar to cats."
"Can't say I'm surprised," Tony remarked. "There have been known to be other human-like lifeforms across the galaxy. But you certainly have a point. Carol, have you encountered people like them before?"
"No…" Carol said over the phone. "I've never seen or been to those places on the phone before."
"So, we've got a few kids who went toe to toe with the worst conqueror past and future," Hulk rumbled. "Question is how does it involve them and why?"
"We'll have to ask them when they get up," Captain America said. At that moment, the klaxon sounded as red lights flashed.
All agents code 13. Repeat, all agents code 13!
"Cap!" Hawkeyes' voice came over the comms. "We've got trouble. The kids are up and they are giving Hulk a run for his money!"
"Can't you restrain them?" Natasha asked as she ducked underneath another flying steel chair.
"Because it worked so well last time?" Clint snarked as he let loose another impact arrow on the Asian-looking boy. "And I've already used my last capture arrow."
Several minutes ago, Clint and Natasha were watching over them when the cat girl woke up and started screaming. Waking up to a room with two unfamiliar people was not going to help with PTSD. They tried calming her down, but she seized a scalpel from a nearby tray and started slashing at them. Thankfully nobody got cut. Natasha tried to take it from her, only to find a problem. For some reason, every time her hand made contact with her, it turned out to be a copy that disappeared. Reluctantly, Hawkeye drew a capture arrow, waited for an opening and fired it at the cat girl. The high-density foam encased her and hardened, restricting her movements and preventing more copies. They tried to calm her down but that was when they heard the blonde wake up behind them.
One look at them and she was off the bed and rushing at them, eyes going from lilac to red with anger. Her hair caught on fire, but they didn't have time to see if it was real. She tried to punch Natasha with her only arm, but she grasped her by the wrist and judo flipped her onto the ground. The blonde kept glaring at her, but she was held down by the spy.
"Calm down!" Natasha said, her voice steady. "We're not your enemy!
"Let me go!" The girl opened her mouth, but all Natasha got was incomprehensible words. Natasha groaned.
"Great, language barrier. Clint, can you get Thor down here? We'll need him to act as translator."
"One problem," Clint spoke with a hand ready to draw another arrow from his quiver. "The rest of the kids are up."
And they don't look happy Clint wanted to say, but she got the message. She turned to see the rest of the kids up and looking at them and their downed friends. Within seconds, they got mad and rushed at them.
"Get away from them!" The red-cloaked girl rushed at her with a trail of rose petals. Natasha let go of the blonde and faced her, activating her gauntlets. She didn't want to do this, but there was no helping it. They needed to be subdued before anyone gets hurt. She noticed that the girl didn't appear to be good at hand-to-hand, because the punch she was throwing at her was sloppy. Exploiting the opening, she ducked under the blow and punched her abdomen. Her Widows Bite emitted electrical shocks that coursed through the girl's body. Normally, a person would be stunned by the amount of watt's that her gauntlets emitted. But thanks to her bio-energy aura, she merely looked fatigued as she backed away from her warily.
She held her hands up in a placating gesture. Her face gave an apologetic look as she tried to assure her that she meant no harm. Unfortunately for her, the blonde-haired boy rushed at her, and she swept her legs under him. He fell to the ground on his side and vomited. Natasha winced. He must be airsick, she thought.
Hawkeye wasn't having much luck either. He engaged in close combat with the Asian boy and red-haired girl. It was after firing a few arrows that he realized that the red-haired girl has magnetic powers. Using his bow like a kendo stick, he blocked and parried the strikes of the Asian boy. It was clear that this guy is good, but Hawkeye was better. Taking out an arrow, he made an effort to stab the boy with it, as expected he grabbed his wrist as it came down. To the boy's confusion, Clint smirked and pressed a button on his bow. The tip of the arrow exploded in a flash of light, blinding the boy. Thanks to his shades, his eyes are protected from the flash. Seizing the opportunity, he kicked the boy into a wall.
An orange-haired girl called out something which he assumed was the name of the boy. Enraged, she gripped her hands but didn't charge at him. Rather, she jumped into the path of electricity Natasha sent out with her Widow's bite. Instead of feeling fatigued, the opposite occurred. Pink electricity flowed in her body as she grinned like the wicked witch of the west. Hawkeye knew what was happening.
"So, you get stronger with electricity?" Hawkeye asked, forgetting for a moment that she can't understand him. "I'm almost glad we didn't bring Thor."
The girl crouched down and sprung towards him, fist raised. Hawkeye dodge rolled to the right and her fist impacted the ground where he once stood, denting the metal floor. Then she leaped at him again, but this time he was ready. Using her momentum against her, he threw her into the red-haired girl who was trying to throw another chair at him.
The red-cloaked girl shouted something to the others. A glance and they saw that they managed to get the catgirl out of the foam. The blonde is carrying her over her shoulder. The white-haired girl created a glowing symbol reminiscent of a snowflake. Objects in its vicinity levitated and rushed at them at full force.
"Nat!" Hawkeye grabbed his teammate and ducked them behind a bed as the rain of debris passed over them. After several moments it subsided. They looked over their cover, they saw that the children are gone.
Natasha pressed a finger to her earpiece. "Director Fury, the children have gotten out of the med bay."
"I know, several agents are reporting in. I'm ordering them to get to the top deck. Let them come outside."
"On it," Natasha gestured to Clint to follow her. Together, they set off in pursuit.
Fueled by adrenaline, the children rushed through the halls. They didn't know where they are, or who those people are, but they didn't care. They need to get out of here. Several times, they have encountered more strange people with guns. For some reason, they kept their distance and didn't fire their guns. Whether out of fear or not, they didn't think as they kept running.
Soon, they came across an opened hatch. Stepping outside, they found themselves in an airfield. They could feel the wind blowing against them as they walked further away from the entrance.
"Are we in the air?" The blonde-haired boy asked, his face looked green. "That explains why I am sick!"
"Just keep it in your stomach vomit boy!" The blonde-haired girl shouted over the wind. "I don't want you vomiting over me again! We need to get off this thing!"
At that moment, a metal shape landed in front of them with a clang. They looked at it and the red-cloaked girl widened her eyes in fear. The iron man looked up and stood straight.
"Hi," Tony greeted cheerfully as he waved his hand. The children backed away from him, causing him to sigh. "Look we might have gone off on the wrong foot, but I'm friendly."
"They don't understand you Stark!" Hawkeye shouted as he and Natasha emerged from the entrance, cutting them off. "They don't speak English!"
"Language barrier, huh?" Tony asked them, shrugging his shoulders. To their surprise, he opened his faceplate, showing his friendly smile. "No matter. We've got someone who can help."
"What! He's not an android?!" The red-cloaked girl shouted.
"Just stay here, we don't want to fight." He gestured with his hands. The children just looked at him like he'd grown another head.
"What's he doing?" The red-haired girl asked the blonde-boy.
"I don't know," He admitted. The iron man repeated the gestures and the boy somewhat understood. "I think he's saying that they don't want to fight and that we should stay here."
"Not a chance in hell!" The blonde girl shouted, her eyes still red. "How do we know they aren't lying!? What if it's a trick by Kang?!"
"What Iron Man speaks is true, young warrior." The children looked up to see Thor as he landed. They weren't astonished by his entrance, but the fact that he can understand them. He even spoke in their language. "If we are working with Kang, you most certainly will not be alive."
"You…You can understand us?" The catgirl asked in surprise.
"I can," Thor confirmed as the rest of the Avengers surrounded them in a circle. Smashing his way from below, the Hulk emerged from the depths of the Helicarrier, scarring the children with his massive size. Falcon and Captain Marvel landed at Iron Man's sides while the Black Panther leaped down from a Quinjet and landed on all fours. Captain America walked with Fury to where Thor is standing. Several agents stood by with weapons but didn't raise them per the director's orders.
Captain America looked at Thor and whispered something to him. Thor widened his eyes but nodded his head. He walked forward and pulled off his helmet and let it fall.
"My name is Steve Rogers," Captain America said while Thor translated. Slowly, he set his shield on the ground and walked toward him with hands raised. "We've found your ship crashed. You required medical help, so we brought you here. I don't know what Kang has done to you, but we can help you."
He ended up right in front of them. The children didn't back away or attack him. The youngest of them looked at him like he was someone familiar. Steve reached out a hand, which she stiffened.
"We mean you no harm," Steve said. "We only want to help."
The silver-eyed girl looked at him with reluctance. Slowly, she reached out a hand and grasped his and they shook. Behind her, her friends dropped their shoulders and became less agitated.
"Thank you," Steve smiled warmly. "May I ask your name?"
The girl smiled. Then she answered.
"My name is Ruby Rose."
[~][~]
I forgot to mention that I will be posting 2 chapters per month. Anyway, RWBYJNPR has been introduced to the Avengers. To be fair, I've been wondering why they haven't tried the TMT on MODOK yet. To those who read an error before, my apologies. You can rest assured that it won't happen again.
On to Q&A:
edboy4826: You'll see in due time.
SilentXD&: Kang hasn't been known for working well with others. He believes he knows the answer to everything all because he's from the future. Keep in mind, that Ozpin and Salem aren't the only ones at fault. Evil has truly won when good people do nothing.
Guest (1): As I said, you will see all in due time. The people in this chapter isn't the entire roster. It's not going to be as big as the Justice Leagues though.
Guest (2): SHAME ON YOU! If Spider-Man isn't involved, then the whole marvel universe will fall apart! Of course, I am going to add him to the mix. :)
hirshja: Thank you for the advice.
Juxshoa: Yes they do.
Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
See you next time!