Remnant's Mightiest Heroes!
Chapter 8: Raft Breakout
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It was J.A.R.V.I.S who interrupted everything.
"Priority call from S.H.I.E.L.D."
Teams RWBY and JNPR had been training or reconfiguring with their new weapons when they heard it. It was after they decided to put the discussion of their names on hold until further notice and moved to the training grounds to test out their new weapons. They stopped what they were doing and rushed to the command center where the rest of the Avengers had gathered. Each of them had donned their gear and are ready for combat. Fury and Steve stood before the big screen with Phil Coulson on the line.
"How did this happen?" Fury demanded.
"We're unsure Director," Phil replied. "But the area is swarming with escapees. The blackout that occurred also affected the forcefield generator."
"Secure a perimeter," Nick ordered. "Standby until I get there. The Avengers will arrive to contain the situation."
"Understood Director."
"What's going on?" Jaune asked. Fury and Captain America turned to look at them.
"Another breakout occurred," Fury answered. "At this rate, I shouldn't be surprised this would happen."
"Is it like the mass breakout?" Blake asked, obviously referring to the fallout of the Chitauri invasion. To her relief, Fury shook his head.
"Nope. This time it's only the Raft we must worry about," Fury turned to Captain America. "I'll let you take it over from here."
"Thanks," Captain America stepped forward as Fury left. "First I need some of us to help secure the perimeter.
"Sam and Carol, I need you to provide air support. Anything that isn't friendly is to be taken down."
"You got it cap," Sam nodded.
"Pietro, Scott, and Hope your priority are the hostages."
"You got it cap," Scott said. Quicksilver flashed a thumbs up.
"Tony, I need you to get to the forcefield generator and get it working. Without it, the prisoners can still leave the island."
"On it."
"The rest of us are going to get the prisoners back to their cells," Steve finished. "
"Now Teams RWBY and JNPR…" Tony began.
"We're going," Ruby declared. The rest of her friends nodded with a serious look on their faces.
"And if you tell us to sit this one out, I will dent that helmet into your skull," Yang added, red eyes for emphasis. "In case you forgot, this isn't the first time we've taken down villains."
"I was going to say give it all you've got," Tony continued. "Also, to put on your suits when you board the Quinjet."
"Oh…" Yang's eyes turned to their regular lilac. "Okay."
"Remember, this is different than the attack on Avengers Tower," Captain America warned. "Be sure you don't get too confident." Then to everyone in the room. "You have your assignments, now move out! Avengers Assemble!"
Teams RWBY and JNPR sat aboard a Quinjet Piloted by Carol. Each of them is jumpy about this. It was their first official mission on earth. Not like the assault on Avengers Tower.
"We're about five clicks from the drop zone," Carol called out. "You guys all set?"
"Yes, Captain Marvel," Ruby replied as she finished putting on her suit. It is having a similar color scheme to her old Huntress outfit, dominantly red with black outlines. It also has her emblem like the others. Stark had designed them so that they would be easy to put on, allowing her to step into it still in her clothing. She pressed the rose emblem on her chest, and the vacuum seal kicked in and compressed the suit around her small frame. Looking at herself, she can't even tell if she was wearing anything underneath.
"First we secure a landing zone for S.H.I.E.L.D personnel," Ruby recited from memory as she donned her signature red cloak. "Then we move to our assigned cellblocks and secure the prisoners."
"Correct," Carol enabled the autopilot and exited the cockpit. She stopped to admire the new look that they are wearing.
"You guys are looking good in those new suits," Carol commented.
"You took the words out of my mouth," Yang said as she stretched in her brown and orange outlined suit. The left-arm had been cut to showcase the metal arm, now back into its original configuration. The blonde brawler was in the process of donning a classic domino mask.
"Do you think that we can redesign our suits after this?" Weiss asked. Her suit is dark blue with white outlines. On her hip is Myrtenaster in a holster.
"You'll have to take that up with Tony. That's partially why he went with the basic design, he didn't know your preferences," Carol's smile now became a serious frown. "Let's go over the plan one more time."
She pressed a button on the side and a holographic map displaying the Raft showed.
"According to the intel from Fury, hostiles have taken over the prisoner transport area," Carol pointed towards the area in question. "That's the only way that they could escape. They put in a demand for several Quinjets off the Island. No one to track them. Fortunately, we're more than willing to provide."
"I take it we're the ones delivering the Quinjets?" Blake asked. Her suit is black with purple outlines. Gambol Shroud is on her back on a magnetic plate as a force of habit. The Faunus can immediately tell that the Avengers didn't mean what the inmates were expecting.
"Yep," Carol nodded. "We're on board to give it to them personally. You guys are going to be the landing party that greets them when we arrive. I should warn you that several inmates have taken three hostages. One of them happens to be the warden."
"So, we need to deal with that first?" Jaune said. His suit is white with golden outlines. What stood out from the rest of them was the gauntlet with the sword and shield design on his left arm. Pyrrha raised a hand.
"How exactly are we going to do this?" She asked. Her suit is scarlet with similar accents as her leader. On her back is Milo and in her right hand is Akouo.
"Remember when you told us that your school had you plan your landing strategies?" Carol asked with a smile. "That we had you do a class back at Bootcamp?"
Then everybody understood.
"You mean the ones Sam practiced with us back at Bootcamp?" Nora asked, wearing a pink variation of the stark suit with white outlines. Ren stood at her side in a green suit with purple highlights. "Where he made us all jump off the Helicarrier?"
"That's the one," Carol nodded. "Only this time, you're jumping out of the Quinjet."
John Walker had his hands behind his head as an inmate held a rifle against his head. He was performing routine inspection the moment the blackout occurred. When the cells opened, letting the prisoners free. Despite his efforts, he was overpowered and taken prisoner to the landing zone.
"Hey, warden," The inmate in front of him growled. "When are we going to get our ride out of here?"
"As long as it takes," John snarked. "Plus, a couple of years to your sentence, because you asked."
The butt of the rifle slammed into his face, splitting his lip. Even if he wanted to, he can't risk endangering the two guards sitting by his sides. No to mention that they are surrounded by several more inmates, nearly half of them have weaponry stolen from the armory.
Sometimes, he wished that nobody knew who he was.
"Put out another call," The leader ordered, still keeping his eyes and rifle on Walker. "We will execute one prisoner for every five minutes they don't—"
The leading inmate was cut off by something hitting his skull. Behind him, Walker heard grunts as the two behind them are also taken out. His eyes found the object that hit them.
"A bullet?" He wondered out loud. There should've been a bullet wound.
"Holy crap!" An inmate shouted.
"Is it S.H.I.E.L.D?"
"No, it's…"
In a burst of rose petals, Ruby rose appeared with Crescent Rose in full scythe mode. The blade arced over her head. Her head tilted up as she glared at the inmates.
"Little Red Riding Hood?" The inmate asked in a confused manner.
"That is not my—" The girl cried out before stopping. "You know what, I'll think about that later. Let's just fight. But first…"
Crescent Rose scythe blade melded into the shaft and it changed into a bo-staff. One of the features of their new weapons is that they respond to their neural impulses. She didn't get the chance to ask how it works, but as long as the nanites know the program, they can mechashift. These people don't have an aura— or the bio-energy field as Tony told them, so scythe form will kill them easily. Ruby twirled her Bo-staff and rushed towards the nearest inmate, electricity cackling at the tip. The inmate was hit by a shocking amount of electricity and collapsed on the ground.
The rest of the escapees snapped out of their shock and charged at her, either to take her hostage or beat her to a pulp. Ruby twirled her body and struck a charging inmate at the knees. Then she swirled and smacked the tip into the head of another. Ruby then swept at the legs of another charging inmate, and when he hit the ground, she shocked him for good measure. Ruby struck another one before turning to face another one charging at her. Mid-spin, her bo-staff shifted into a sleek DMR, the barrel of which is aimed at a surprised inmate. He didn't have time to yelp as she fired a knock-out bullet at him.
"I'm getting the hang of this," Ruby commented before she burst into rose petals just in time to avoid two more inmates trying to flank her. When the petals reconverted, she had a look like she had forgotten about something.
"Red Riding Hood!" A shout came from above.
"Crap Nuggets! I nearly forgot," Ruby fished into the built-in utility belt of her suit and pulled out a grenade, armed it, and tossed it a few feet away from her. After a few seconds, it exploded into a cloud of blue foam which solidified after covering a ten-foot radius.
It was something she made in her spare time. She took some of the Trapsters' glue and experimented with the density foam that she had been provided. The result is a foam that can provide a soft landing for anyone falling to the ground.
Like right now.
The rest of her friend's free fall onto the foam. The foam absorbed most of the impact, but they still bounced off the foam. Thanks to Sam's training, they tucked in their bodies into a roll and when they hit the ground bounced back on their feet. In Blake's case, for some reason, she landed on her feet rather.
In her defense, she hadn't tested it in the field yet.
"Let's do that again!" Nora chirped.
"Later," Jaune said as he pulled the hilt sticking over the knuckles of his gauntlet. Instead of his usual sword, he drew a baton crackling with electricity. He tapped the symbol on his gauntlet with his index finger. It expanded into his kite shield to which he held it in front of him. "Let's get to work. Nike and Belle take care of the guys in the towers. The rest of us will deal with the ones on the ground."
"Alright!" Yang pounded her fists together. "Let's do this!"
She charged at the nearest group of inmates and began to pummel them. She grabbed one's head and rammed it on her knee and threw him over her shoulder. The inmate flew in the air and collided with another inmate. Yang held out her fist and it rocketed off her arm and smashed into the thug's nose.
Blake gripped Gambol Shroud by the hilt, transforming it into katana form. Three charged at Blake, the nearest one bringing a crowbar down on her head. Blake let her shadow take the blow, but instead of pushing herself back, she pushed herself forward. When she made contact with the other inmates, she did the same. By the time she was behind them, she had already drawn her Gambol Shroud in katana form. With a flourish, she slid the katana back into its scabbard. The second it clicked, like in any cheesy anime, their metal bars got sliced in two and fell to the ground along with their pants. The inmates covered their nether regions in embarrassment.
Weiss chose to make a much quicker and more tactical move. Concentrating, she created several Glyphs that boxed in several inmates, much to their surprise. She gripped Myrtenaster in revolver mode and fired several ricochet bullets. It is a type of impact bullet was difficult to design back in Bootcamp, specifically for her semblance. It bounced off the Glyphs and struck an inmate. This bullet proceeded to bounce off and hit another glyph and hit another inmate, falling into the same pattern. Any that tried to escape found themselves repelled back in to hit an inmate. By the time she dismissed the glyphs, the inmates are all down for the count.
Jaune held his shield high to block incoming bullets. His shield isn't made of vibranium like Captain America, but it absorbed the impact thanks to the design. He charged forward and rammed his shield into the shooter's hand, knocking the gun out. For good measure, he slammed his shield into his head. Bullets slammed into his aura protected body and he turned his attention to three more guys. Snarling, he charged forward and jabbed his stun baton into his midsection shocking him. He blocked a strike from his left with his shield, and just before he could pull away, Jaune inserted his baton inside his shield still active. His side of the shield is insulated, which protected him as the front is electrified, shocking the inmate.
Nora, grinning madly, swung Magnhild into three at once. She twirled and slammed it onto the head of the inmate. Then she felt electricity coursing into her body. She turned her head to find one of the inmates trying to shock her into submission with a stun baton. He didn't expect her semblance to use it to make her stronger. Grinning at her victory, she grabbed his head and headbutted it with sufficient force to knock him out. Then she hefted her hammer high as a booster appeared at the backside of the hammer, which rocketed her towards another inmate.
"YEEHAW!"
On the other side, Pyrrha wasn't breaking a sweat. She drew Milo back and cast it forward. As she did, Milo segmented and extended in length with the ending becoming a claw. When the claw grabbed the nearest inmate, it glowed black as she flicked it back onto the backs of two of his friends. Then, she swept it to her left, Milo's reach extending, to sweep all around her, knocking the poor guy into more of his inmate comrades. When that was done, Pyrrha drew the prisoner back and promptly hit him with Akouo.
"I'm sorry," She apologized before turning Milo into javelin form and throwing it. It pinned a prisoner to a concrete wall.
Meanwhile, Ren focused on the sniper, who had prioritized taking him out before the latter could. Ren dodged every bullet as he combined his pistols by the handles. The barrels turned backward as the guns combined into a bow, a thin string of green energy becoming the drawstring. Ren pulled the string back, creating an energy arrow, and let it fly. The arrow struck true on the sniper's chest, the energy arrow shocking him into paralysis. Deciding to go up close, Ren turned StormFlower back into its dual handguns and aimed. The blades turned thirty degrees up and fired, carrying a cable each. They buried themselves into the floor of the tower. He pulled himself up and flipped backward to plant a kick into the face of the sniper. He rotated his body so that he landed on his feet. Two of his buddies became enraged and prepared to charge at him. He had half a mind to use StormFlower's newest melee function, but the words of the Immortal Iron Fist echoed in his mind.
Rely too much on your weapon, and you will be as frail as anyone else…
Time to put the results of his tutelage to the test. Ren spun Stormflower and holstered it and got into the leopard stance. The first inmate charged at him with a fist raised. Ren took advantage of his sloppy stance and struck him with a leopard fist. For the last one, he reached out and pinched a pressure point on his neck, paralyzing him.
Soon, the landing zone is cleared. All would-be escapees have been incapacitated.
"Now that's a wrap," Ruby declared. She glanced down at Crescent Rose with joy. "My new baby performs so well!"
"These guys didn't have a chance," Yang commented. Then they heard a shot echo. Yang turned around to find an inmate they missed trying to clobber her. The inmate fell to the ground, convulsing with electricity. All eyes turned to the warden who is holding a smoking rifle.
"Figured I wasn't doing much," John Walker said as he lowered the rifle. Behind him lay a pile of unconscious inmates. "Besides, I owed them some payback."
"Warden walker," Jaune spoke, his mask showing the name of the Raft's warden. "Are you alright?"
"As of right as rain," Walker replied. "Fury wouldn't put me here as warden if I wasn't up for the job."
"You know Fury?"
"He does," Carol said as she descended. She looked at Teams RWBY and JNPR. "He used to hold the moniker of Captain America for a while."
"He did?" Everyone asked. They looked at the warden with surprise.
"Long story," Carol turned to Walker. "How's the situation?"
"We'll hold the landing area for reinforcements," Walker said. "But some of my men are still unaccounted for. If you find them, please rescue them."
"We will," Ruby promised. Looking up, she saw that the rest of the Avengers have made their landing. High in the sky, she can see the faint glimpse of Falcon and Thor flying.
"Alright, here's the name of the game," Carol began. She pulled out her Avengers ID card and spoke to it. "Sam, we need a visual on the Raft."
"I've deployed Red Wing," Sam replied in their comms. "Teams RWBY and JNPR, it should be coming up on your HUD's right now. Make sure to thank Redwing when we're done."
Carol rolled her eyes at that. She mentally reminded herself to get Sam an actual bird to talk to. RWBY and JNPR's masks showed a window with the Raft's schematics. Waypoints had been set up under their color.
"Tony is trying to get the forcefield generator back online. If it's down, every prisoner on the premises is free to escape. The problem is that the power is still out, and even with the backup generator, it won't be enough. Red and Prince, you two will assist Tony."
"You can count on us!" Ruby said as Jaune rushed over to her. Instantly, Ruby's semblance took hold. They burst into a cluster of red and yellow rose petals and flew off into the direction of their mission.
"Gretel and Shang, we have our suspicions on who is responsible for the power outage. That is why it will be your mission to get the power back on."
"Aye aye, Captain!" Nora saluted as Magnhild turned ninety degrees so that the booster end faced the ground. Nora grabbed Ren and together, they blasted off into the sky.
"Meanwhile, we need people to help the rest of us out in keeping the prisoners contained while the generator is being repaired. Rapunzel and Snow, you two will assist Hulk and Thor at the beachside of the Raft."
"Awesome! More smashing!" Yang gleefully exclaimed. She held out her right arm and shot it out. This time, a cable is attached to the arm. With a whirring of internal servos, Yang pulled herself up and over the wall like a slingshot. Weiss rolled her eyes and created a glyph beneath herself to launch herself after her.
"Belle and Nike, you guys got cellblocks B to F. If you see any hostages, they're your priority."
"Understood."
Carol can tell that they didn't like their impromptu nicknames. But they can bear with it for the time being. After this though, they vowed to decide their permanent codenames.
A blast caught her attention to the sky. She saw Sam firing upon an avian super criminal.
"Time to get to work," Carol said as she flared up and took to the sky.
Ruby and Jaune landed at their destination.
"Let's get going," Ruby said as her HUD showed a red line guiding her to Iron Man's position.
"Right," Jaune nodded.
They took off running, weapons out in preparation.
"Say Jaune, can I ask you a question?" Ruby suddenly asked.
"Right now?" Jaune said. "Sure."
"Where did prince come from?" Ruby said. "Based on the names that the Avengers were trying to give us, they seemed to be based on their fairy tales. Which tale did that come from?"
Not even his mask can hide his blush of embarrassment. "It doesn't exactly come from a fairy tale. It's taken from…Prince Charming."
Ruby stopped running at that. She slowly turned to face Jaune with astonishment. Then she burst out laughing. She hugged her sides as she doubled over laughing.
"Hahahahahahah!"
"Hey! You didn't like being called crater face or little red riding hood!" Jaune protested. But she just kept on laughing. With a huff, he trudged forward. "Let's just get going."
He pushed open the doors to find himself face to face with a group of inmates. They looked up in his direction. Immediately, Jaune backed away and drew the baton out of his shield.
"Well lookie what we have here," A man with a scar on his left eye spoke. "A boy playing dress-up armed with a stick! Whatever will we do?"
"You get the ones on the right?" Ruby asked as she appeared at his side, Crescent Rose at the ready.
"I called dibs," He replied.
Suddenly, the wind kicked up between them as a blue and silver blur flew past him. One of them found himself hanging on the wall by his underwear. Two of them have punched themselves unconscious. Two inmates found their heads knocked together. The leader suddenly found his head inside…
Ruby and Jaune stood there speechless.
"Uh…what just happened?" Ruby finally asked.
"Super speed, "A voice behind them answered. "Google it."
The duo turned to find Quicksilver standing there grinning. "Tony's just up ahead. You might want to get over there pronto instead of laughing about your names."
"Easy for him to say," Ruby grumbled as Pietro sped away. "His name is cool."
"It fits," Jaune said. "Quicksilver is another name for Mercury. On earth, he's a roman speedster god. But we'd better get going."
Together, the two continued their trek. On the way, they ran into several loose inmates to which they either shocked into submission or locked them inside something until someone puts them back into their cell. On the last legs to their destination, they came across a room where they assumed was where they put the technology they confiscated. Some of them are missing, most likely recovered by their previous owners. When they entered the next room…
"Hey, what was in here?"
On the floor was a cracked container. Leaking out was a black gooey substance.
"We'll worry about that later," Ruby said. "Let's get to Stark."
They rushed forward to the next room. The ceiling has a hole cracked into it. On the floor are two inmates, stunned. Tony stood before a generator, sparks lighting against his armor. The armored Avenger turned his head to look at them.
"Good, you're here," Tony said then turned back to his work. "Little Red, I'll need your small hands to help with reconnecting the wiring. Prince Charming, you can stand guard at the door. Make sure that nobody gets past you until we get this repaired."
"Okay," Jaune said as he got into position. Ruby moved over to stand next to Tony. Her eyes scanned the damage to the forcefield generator. Judging by the clean-cut wires and dents, it's like somebody punched the panel open and slashed the wires with a knife. Whoever pulled that off smashed the controls as well. The only they're going to fix it was to fix the wiring while the power is out.
Ruby got to work and held the wire ends for Tony to weld with his finger.
"So, was that place the armory?" Ruby asked while they worked.
"Yep," Tony replied. "Any criminal of the Raft gets their stuff taken over there. It was mostly empty by the time I got here. It contained a variety of dangerous stuff."
"Like that container of black goo?"
"Yep. Anyway, can get the red wire—Wait…" Tony stopped welding and looked towards Ruby, his faceplate opening. "…why did you say, 'black goo'?"
"We found a container of black goo when we got here," Ruby answered slowly, noting the paling look on Tony's face. "…is there something wrong?"
"J.A.R.V.I.S," Tony's faceplate slapped back into place. "Scan the generator for traces of V-252!"
"Scanning," J.A.R.V.I.S spoke.
"V-252?" Ruby asked. "Is that what was in the container? What does it do?"
"Let be the first to warn you that it's not an object," Tony said ominously. "It's the most dangerous lifeform ever known."
"Lifeform?" Jaune asked. "That goo belongs to a lifeform?"
"It doesn't belong to a lifeform, Prince Charming. It is a lifeform."
On his armors HUD, J.A.R.V.I.S completed the scan. Tony's eyes widened.
"Sam," Tony called out to the Falcon. "Can you get me a visual on Eddie Brock? It is loose. It cut the power to the generator."
"What is loose?" Ruby asked. "Stark, what is going on?"
"I'll explain later. We need to find Eddie Brock before it bonds with him."
"Oh, there won't be any need for that Mr. Stark."
Everyone looked up at the ceiling to where the voice originated. The dark made it difficult to see anything. But upon closer look, thanks to the light streaming from the hole, they realized the darkness was an inky substance. It shifted to form two sets of inhuman white eyes with no pupils and a gaping mouth of teeth.
"With three hosts here, I would just have to find him!"
"Get back!" Tony shouted to Ruby and Jaune, who complied as the thing dripped down to the floor. It expanded until it towered over them, numerous tentacles coming out of the thing.
"What is that thing?" Jaune shouted.
"That is a symbiote," Tony replied. "Keep your distance and don't let it touch you."
"So how do we—" Ruby was interrupted when the Symbiote lashed its tentacles at her.
"Eep!" She burst into rose petals just in time to avoid it. She reformed a few feet to the right and tried to attack the symbiote with Crescent Rose's scythe form. It slashed a few tentacles. But her feeling of victory was brief as the wound closed.
"Incendiary rounds!" Tony shouted. "The Symbiote is vulnerable to heat and sonic!"
"Incendiary, alright!" Ruby took a cartridge with the flame symbol on it and inserted it into Crescent Rose as it changed into a DMR form. She opened fire upon it, the bullets digging into the black mass. The moment they made an impact; the rounds exploding with a red light. The Symbiote shrieked in pain from the heat.
"Loading another one," Ruby announced. She loaded another clip and fired upon it. To her astonishment, not only did it hit, but the Symbiote managed to grab her with a tentacle.
"Guess you didn't hear," The Symbiote said. "I got even greater resistance to heat from the last time."
"No!" Jaune attempted to rescue his friend, but Tony held him back by the shoulder. Ruby's eyes widened as the Symbiote enveloped her. When it finished merging, she wasn't the same. Her face became enveloped in a mask, replacing her eyes with that of the Symbiotes. Crescent Rose slowly became demonic as much as her cloak. She looked like a demented Reaper.
"That's what it does," Tony said to a white face Jaune. "It takes on a host and corrupts it until they're under its control. I knew a web-head with a bad experience."
"So how do we get it off her?" Jaune asked as the Symbiote-corrupted-Ruby began twitching.
"For now, we prioritize containment," Tony said. "Get behind her and deploy the barrier field I installed in Crocea Mors."
Jaune nodded and sped into action. He ran around the Symbiote-Ruby with his shield up. His possessed friend seemed to have realized what they were trying to do. With a snarl, she squatted down on all fours and leaped toward him. She was blasted from behind by a repulsor from Tony.
"Eyes on me, Little Red," Tony called. "I'm going to be the one you'll face."
"QUIT CALLING ME THAT!"Symbiote-Ruby growled as she lunged towards him, Crescent Rose deployed in scythe form. The tip of Crescent Rose slashed across his armor's chassis. His repulsor can't generate enough heat to get the symbiote off. Even if it did, the amount of energy would kill her even with the armor protocol in place.
Jaune held up his shield at the door. The Shield segmented into four-piece and emitted yellow energy. The energy field solidified into a barrier that expanded in front of him. Tony deployed a similar blue energy barrier from his gauntlet, boxing in Symbiote-Ruby completely. Symbiote-Ruby growled as it slashed Crescent Rose against the barriers. Jaune gritted his teeth as the strikes of the scythe slashed against his barrier, he didn't recall Ruby having such strength. But it was then the huntsmen-in-training noticed that the strikes seemed to be off.
It's like she's…not even trying to break the barrier…
"She's still in there!" Jaune shouted, as Symbiote-Ruby stopped swinging Crescent Rose and began clutching her head with her free hand. Jaune was about to lower his barrier, but Tony stopped him.
"Don't lower your barrier!" Tony shouted. "If she still has her mind, then the symbiote hasn't corrupted her yet. That will make it easier to remove."
"Then why don't we remove it?" Jaune demanded, the groans of Symbiote-Ruby getting louder.
"Because then it will take over one of us," Tony said, keeping his barrier up. "The last time I tried to brute force it, the little SOB got smart enough to slip through my armor. Since it developed resistance to the level of heat from the incendiary rounds, I called in something with a lot more."
Then Symbiote-Ruby stopped struggling. Then it looked up at the hole in the ceiling. She looked back at them with a look of realization and a gaping smile. Jaune gasped as they had forgotten that there was still an opening for escape.
"Can't believe it took it that long to realize it," Tony muttered as Symbiote-Ruby crouched down and leaped towards freedom. Only for a heavy red and green object to suddenly drop down and land on Symbiote-Ruby, cracking the floor.
"It's a good thing that I got your call then," Vision said as Symbiote-Ruby struggled underneath him. The android had increased his density to about ninety tons. If Ruby wasn't still fighting the Symbiote, it would've escaped with her semblance. "Beginning the removal."
The gem on Vision's forehead began to glow. Symbiote-Ruby, as if realizing what is happening, began to increase its attempts at escape.
"NO!" Jaune shouted, but Vision had already fired a solar energy beam. Symbiote-Ruby shrieked in pain from the heat of the sun. By the time it died down, the symbiote is off her. But this time, she was encased in armor that covered her from head to toe.
"What the?" Jaune said as he lowered his barrier and approached his friend and kneeled. He felt the armor. "Where did this come from?"
"It the armor protocol I installed in each of your suits," Tony answered as he scanned Ruby's vitals. Thanks to the nanotech in his armor, the damage is being repaired. "It activates only when your aura is depleted. It's both lightweights to allow ease of movement and durable to stop an energy bolt from frying you. It deactivates when your aura is back up."
Then they heard a groan from Ruby as she stirred awake. "Ugh…What happened…?"
"You were briefly taken over by the Symbiote," Vision replied.
"Right now, we'd better contain it before…" Tony's voice trailed off before cursing. "Dammit! We're too late."
"We'll settle this later."
Everyone turned to see a blonde-haired man with a stubbly beard reaching out to the Symbiote. They didn't get to see much of him as the black symbiote enveloped him. His body grew bigger and muscular. When the black mass reached his face, it became the same when Ruby was possessed. White-eyes, a gaping mouth, and a long tongue. On his chest grew a white spider symbol.
They glared at the heroes as it roared to the heavens. But instead of attacking them, they broke into black rose petals as they said three parting words.
"WE…ARE…VENOM!"
"That's the last of them!" Nora shouted as she stood above a pile of unconscious inmates. Each of them has a bump on their heads. Ren had paralyzed several of his shares.
"Let's get going!"
Nora and Ren walked down the pathway to their designated mission. After a while, Ren started a conversation.
"Hey, Nora?"
"Yes?"
"Do you…have any plans after this?"
"No…why?"
"It's just," Ren stumbled for the right words. "…we hadn't seen New York much. So, would you like to go see it with me?"
Nora stopped walking and stared at him. Her face has a hint of pink. "Are you asking me on a…"
"Magni? Shang?" Jaune cut into their comms. Nora and Ren flinched at the untimely interruption. "What's your status?"
"We're almost to the powerhouse," Nora said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "How's the forcefield generator?"
"We had a nasty encounter with Venom. Big bad alien symbiote that can take control of people and turn them bad. Long story short, he escaped using Red Riding Hood's semblance. I'll fill you in later, but they finished fixing up the forcefield generator. We just need the power back online."
"We're on it! Over and out fearless leader!" Nora ended the communication. A sad expression appeared on her face that conveyed the message to continue it later.
Ren nodded and together they made their way to the powerhouse. Through the windows, yellow lights flashed inside the building. Ren signaled to Nora to stay silent as he opened the door and slipped inside on the balls of his feet. Standing near a power generator is a man in a green suit with yellow lightning motifs. Yellow electricity flowed from the generator and into his hands.
Their HUD's are connected to the Datacrux, which allowed them to view a summarized file on the man before them.
Maxwell Dillon AKA Electro. Abilities: Electrostatic Energy Generation.
"He must be the guy who's draining the power," Ren whispered and turned his head. "Magni, go around back and—"
He stopped to realize he couldn't see Nora behind him. With sinking horror, he turned to see her skipping towards the villain, whistling a jaunty tune and Magnhild over her shoulders. Somehow, Electro didn't seem to notice.
"Hey there!"
Electro jumped and stopped what he was doing. He turned around to face her.
"What the hell?!" He exclaimed. "Who are you supposed to be?"
"My name is Magni!" Nora cheerfully replied. Then put a finger on her chin. "Wait…that isn't going to be my name is it…well, whatever. Could you please surrender and come quietly? This prison is surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D and The Avengers."
Ren stared at her with his jaw open. Electro, meanwhile, laughed hysterically.
"Surrender? You're asking me to surrender after I have achieved my goal?" Electro laughed as electricity flowed around his body. "I have become a being of living energy! I am a literal god! There's no way I'm going back to that damp prison cell!"
He held his hands out in front of him. "I think I will demonstrate my newfound power on you!"
Electro let loose a torrent of lightning upon the girl. Ren watched as he knew what is going to happen next. Nora grinned and held up Magnhild, letting it act as a lightning rod. The electricity flowed across it, turning into pink as it sapped into her body. The electric supervillain stopped shooting electricity at her when he realized that his electricity isn't affecting her.
"What's going on?" He demanded. "That was enough to kill a man at thirty feet! Why aren't you a fried crisp?"
"It might have something to do with my ability," Nora cheerfully replied. "You see, I can absorb electricity to enhance my muscles. This provides me with enhanced strength and immunity to electrical attacks."
"Wait…WHAT?!" Electro said in shock. Taking advantage of his shock, Nora bent her knees and propelled herself with her supercharged legs. She landed in front of him, and with a mighty swing of her hammer, sent him crashing into the wall and out the building. Nora grinned as she relaxed.
"Well, that takes care of that!" Nora spoke like a hyperactive hamster as she skipped toward the hole in the wall. Ren kept looking on with a flabbergasted look at how everything transpired. He snapped out of his stupor and followed her. They found Electro laying on the ground counting the stars around her head.
"I'm not going to ask how you managed to harm him," Ren said. "Despite him being made of electricity. Just…donot ever do that again…"
"Oh, come on Shang," Nora said. "That was too easy to pass up."
"I can remedy that if you want."
Nora and Ren froze and whipped around to the source of the voice. Standing on top of the roof is a man in blue and orange body armor. Their HUD didn't identify the man by face, but by the skull mask and hood, he wore.
Anthony 'Tony' Masters AKA Taskmaster. Abilities: Photographic Reflexes.
"Taskmaster?" Nora asked while the latter leaped down. "What kind of name is that?"
"One who can get the task done," He replied ominously. "I must say, I was expecting that fight to last a bit longer. Nor did I count on you being able to absorb Dillon's electricity. I can't have that, so I'm going to have to take over this fight."
"Last longer?" Ren asked. Then it hit him. "Are you the mastermind behind the breakout?"
"You catch on quick," Taskmaster replied, folding his hands behind his back. "I could use you in my school. Unfortunately, I'm currently not accepting applicants."
"Well we weren't interested, to begin with," Nora said, hefting Magnhild. Ren spun Stormflower by the handles, the nanotech transforming them into green tonfas. "We'll be sure to take you down!"
Nora charged at him with her hammer raised. Taskmaster just stood there as the hammer came down. Then he sidestepped, allowing Magnhild's head to slam into the ground. Then he drew back his right arm and threw a hook straight into her face. Her aura may have protected her, but it didn't stop her from being stunned from the blow. Then, Taskmaster did a spin kick that sent Nora flying, forcing her to let go of her hammer. As soon as she let go though, the hammer reverted to spheroid form.
"Magni!" Ren shouted after his friend as she crashed into a wall. With a flicker of pink, her aura shattered. Then, she became encased in pink armor. Ren didn't have time to wonder about that before he faces Taskmaster.
"I was going to use that," He pointed towards the sphere. "But I suppose I can't expect every weapon to be free."
He pulled out a glowing red sword and a shield.
"Shall we?"
"Bring it!"
Ren charged at Taskmaster. Keeping the lengths of the tonfas stretching outward, he thrust forward. Taskmaster blocked the strike with his shield and thrust his sword. Ren dodged and attempted another strike, but Taskmaster blocked it again. When he did a leg sweep, Taskmaster jumped up and brought his heel down for a scissor kick. Ren guarded against the kick with Stormflower and pushed up in an attempt to unbalance him. When he tried a crane kick, Taskmaster planted his hands onto the ground and cartwheeled away from him to put some distance between them. They stared at each other for a moment.
"Not bad," Taskmaster commented. "You might make this worth my while."
Then they engaged again. Whether they parried, punched, or kick none of them seemed to be winning. When one would try to take advantage, the opponent somehow managed to slip away. He was in the middle of a palm thrust before he realized that his shield is missing. The answer to where that was came when it slammed into him. He toppled to the ground and Taskmaster took the opportunity to do a Tong kick into his right side. Ren tumbled onto the ground but recovered on all fours.
This was getting nowhere. It was like he was fighting himself, but with a different weapon.
Ren remembered what the Datacrux showed him about Taskmasters' ability. Photographic Reflexes. His mind wandered back to a certain classmate of his. A rabbit Faunus named Velvet Scarlatina. During the Kang Invasion, she told them her semblance allows her to memorize the movements of…
The realization hit his face like a stampeding Goliath.
He's the same as Velvet.
"You're copying my movements!" Ren shouted as blocked another strike and flipped away from him. It all made sense. Those movements reminded him so much of Pyrrha and Jaune. Not to mention his shield is almost too like Captain America's.
"Correct," Taskmaster replied. "It's not just you that I copied. I've got cameras all over the Raft which allowed me to watch your friends fight. I must say, not every day that I see children fighting like warriors."
He readied himself in a stance that reminded Ren of Jaune.
"You're probably thinking about changing your fighting style. It will be of no use. I only need seconds to adapt."
"Then I'll need only seconds to learn."
Then, they charged.
Weiss couldn't think of what is worse.
The fact that she got stuck with cleanup duty or that her friend is being controlled by a green telepath. Weiss and Yang had arrived at the beach to see Hulk and Thor fighting inmates who were trying to escape by sea. Some of them had super strength and durability, which allowed them to survive the blows of the gamma-powered behemoth and Mjolnir. It was after they had finished, three people charged into the fray.
One she recognized from the old news broadcast is the Abomination. Despite Hulk's efforts, the Abomination is a match for him in strength and size. The two behemoths had exchanged blows that could shake the earth.
Another is a man in a sleeveless black shirt and pants wielding a ball on a chain. Her HUD introduced him as Carl Creel AKA the Absorbing Man. His ability allows him to absorb the properties of whatever he touched. He engaged Thor, lighting flashing between blows against a copper body which allowed him to be immune to Mjolnir's lightning.
Finally, a small man in an orange and black suit. It looked like the opposite of Hulk showed up. Then, like somebody had flipped a switch in her head, Yang began attacking them. Weiss took the liberty of fighting her.
"Hulk!" Weiss shouted as she created a glyph beneath Yang, causing her to slip. "What's did this guy do to Ya-Rapunzel?"
"That puny man is the Leader," Hulk grunted under the strain of keeping the Abomination back. "An accident involving an experiment with gamma radiation enhanced his intelligence. Not only did his brain get big, but he also developed psychic powers. His mind control powers only work on the weak-minded."
"Like you will be if you don't focus on me!" Abomination roared as he slammed an elbow into Hulk's face. Hulk roared and tackled Abomination through a wall.
Weiss switched Myrtenaster into revolver form and fired another volley upon the Leader. To her frustration, The Leader tilted his head to the side, causing her to miss again. Not to mention that he will occasionally throw something at her with his telekinesis, to which she repelled with a glyph. She had been firing upon him whilst keeping Yang slipping. It was like this little-green-man rip-off knew where she was firing. Her aura meter showed that it's nearing fifty percent.
"Just give it up," The Leader gloated. "My mind is far superior to yours!"
"Don't listen to him," Thor said to Weiss as he knocked the Absorbing Man into the sky. "He may be smart, but his arrogance has proven to be his undoing."
As he leaped after his opponent, Weiss considered his words. From her glance at his profile, this guy had a sick obsession with his intellect. He and the Hulk clashed before and that had always resulted in his defeat. From Hulk's testimony, Leader's intelligence allows him to calculate his opponent's move before he makes them. Problem is that his ego makes him miscalculate and overlook some details.
So, if there was some unexpected factor…
Weiss perked her head up. Maybe it's time to test out that new technique with her semblance.
"Okay!" Weiss said as she had the glyph keeping Yang repel her into the air. "If you're so smart…"
She had Myrtenaster change into rapier form and waved it like a conductor at an orchestra. A series of glyphs had formed above her. Weiss then aimed the point of Myrtenaster at The Leader, who for the first time, looked disturbed at the display.
"Predict this!" Weiss shouted as she pulled the trigger. Her glyphs repelled air almost at the speed of a bullet. Not even his mind can keep up with the speed of the shockwaves as they slammed into his position. By the time it died down, The Leader is on the ground with a dark spot on his shiny green forehead.
Weiss felt her knees buckle, but she struggled to keep herself standing. Her aura meter is at nine percent. That last attack took nearly everything out of her. If it weren't for that endurance training back at Bootcamp, she did not doubt that she would've fainted.
Weiss heard a groan from behind her. From the sound of it, it appears Yang had regained her mind. She heard footsteps approach her.
"Ugh…" Yang groaned as she rubbed the back of her head. "What happened…?"
"The Leader took control of your mind," Weiss explained through ragged breaths. "You were a temporary enemy until now."
"What?" Yang's eyes shot wide. Her gaze turned red as she glared at the leader. She moved to pummel him, but Weiss held her back by her robot hand.
"He's already out," Weiss reminded.
"But somebody has got to pay for messing with my head!"
Just then, something crashed into the ground. It was Hulk, who was groaning as the Abomination leaped onto the sand.
"Is that all you got?" Abomination asked smugly. "I'm starting to think you've gotten soft!"
"You talk too much," Hulk retorted. He got up but Yang held a handout in front of him
"This guy's mine…" Yang said in a low voice.
"But…" Hulk flinched when Yang looked at him with her red eyes that conveyed the message don't. Then she turned and marched slowly towards the Abomination.
Yang didn't say anything rather reared back her right arm. It segmented to expose a yellow core pulsing with yellow energy. It flared like fire and the arm piece recombined back into an arm, only this time, it emanated a yellow glow.
"HUUUUAAAAH!" Yang roared as she threw the fist at the Abomination. Upon impact, all the energy her semblance collected from the blows of the inmates and stored in her arm exploded, flashing a yellow light that blinded everyone. When it died down, Yang's arm was smoking, and Abomination had a scorching spot on his chest.
Yang turned around and walked away. A few seconds later, Abomination fell to his knees and flat on the ground. His eyes showed their whites.
"Much better!" Yang declared happily, clapping her hands to dust them off. Hulk and Weiss watched her with open mouths. Weiss turned to the Hulk.
"What have you and Walters been teaching her?"
Pyrrha threw another inmate into another and proceeded to knock them out. Then she cast Milo in whip mode to snag an inmate's gun. With her semblance, she had the claw smack it against his head, knocking him out.
"Don't move!"
Pyrrha stopped. The remaining inmate had a hostage at knifepoint.
"Make a move and the guard here gets it!"
Pyrrha didn't move, nor did she show an ounce of fear. Because what the inmate didn't notice was her friend appearing behind him. Quickly, Blake wrapped an arm around the inmate's neck, applying pressure. The inmate let go of his host as he struggled against her arm. Despite his efforts, Blake not only managed to keep her grip, but she applied more pressure until eventually, he stiffened. Blake let go of the inmate and clapped her hands.
"That's the last of them," Blake said. Then she put a finger to her ear. "Captain, we've cleared cell block T."
"Great Work," Steve replied through the comms. "I and Black Widow have cleared Cell Block W. Meet Hawkeye at the next rendezvous point. We're almost done."
"Will do," Blake said, ending communications. The guard they rescued approached them.
"Thank you," He said. "If you weren't here, I don't know what would've happened."
"It's part of what we do," Pyrrha said with a smile.
"Still, thank you for helping me and my men," He continued. "Though there is still one unaccounted for. His name is Richard Roe. The last time we saw him is when he got transferred to guard duty for a special part of the prison. It will be a great relief if you can find him."
"We'll be on the lookout," Pyrrha promised. "Do you know where to go?"
"Just follow the red line," The guard pointed to a red line on the ground. "It'll lead you to it."
"Thank you," Blake said. "Get to safety. S.H.I.E.L.D will arrive here at any moment."
"One more thing," The guard said before they could take off. "What do you guys call yourselves?"
Before Blake could say anything, Pyrrha had already opened her mouth to say, "We're Belle and Nike."
As soon as they begin walking, Blake shot a glare in her direction. "Really? I thought those weren't going to be our permanent names."
"I'm sorry," Pyrrha apologized. "But you have to admit, you are beautiful. It suits you."
"It also reminds me of something I don't have," Blake snapped, causing them to stop. The cat faunus' face became remorseful. "Look, Nike, I'm sorry. Don't get me wrong, I love the story. But, I'm not the girl who gets prince charming in the end. Our beasts are different."
Pyrrha immediately knew what she was talking about, but she respectfully let the discussion end.
"This must be it," Pyrrha said as they approached the end of the red line. In front of them stood a door that is ajar. Their masks scanned the door and it turned out that, unlike the others, this one is made out of an enhanced polycarbonate. What puzzled them the most was the sign on the door.
NO METAL BEYOND THIS POINT
"You think they mean weapons?" Pyrrha asked as they stepped inside. The corridor was dark, but her mask automatically activated night vision.
"It could be that the prisoner inside can control metal," Blake said as they walked down the corridor. "Maybe that's the point of the sign. If they're stuck inside a place without metal, they would be powerless. But who would they have here?"
Then Pyrrha let out a gasp.
"Hey, I think I found Mr. Roe," Pyrrha pointed to a slumped body against the wall. She ran over to examine him. Her HUD identified him as Richard Roe. Her face drooped. "He's dead…"
Blake, however, was still immersed in her thoughts. The talk of metal reminded her of a conversation she had with Pietro and Wanda. Like her, they are part of a species of humanity that was prosecuted because they were different. What made her connect with them more was that they once fought for the wrong side. They were part of a brotherhood that was led by a man named…
The faunus' amber eyes widened in realization.
"What could have killed him?" Pyrrha asked herself. From examining his body, he appeared to have drops of blood all over his body. That wasn't enough to make him die of blood loss.
"He had too much iron in his blood."
The two huntresses-in-training looked up and Blake felt herself go cold. Stepping towards them is an elderly but physically fit man in red and purple armor. Bit of metal can be seen flying and fusing into his armor. He held a hand up so that two metal balls are orbiting over it. Even without his helmet, their HUD's had no trouble identifying the man.
Max Eisenhardt AKA Magneto. Abilities: Magnetokinesis.
"Iron has a more valuable role than forging guns and knives. Without it, the blood can't carry hemoglobin. If it's removed…then you've already become a corpse."
Blake and Pyrrha immediately raised their weapons in their gun forms and fired upon him, emptying the clips. Magneto simply raised a hand and stopped the bullets. Magneto examined the bullets and them with an unimpressed look.
"You people never learn," Magneto said. With a wave of his free hand, he turned the bullets around and repelled them with a magnetic force. Pyrrha raised Akouo just in time to block the speeding bullets. Blake had to create three shadows to avoid being hit by the bullets. Even if her aura can protect her, there's a chance that someone at his level can break it with ease.
Blake cursed under her breath. In their haste and anger, the forgot that their bullets are made from metal, of course, he would be able to repel them.
"Nike, we have to go," Blake said. "With our situation, we're not going to be able to beat him."
"You go and get back up," Pyrrha said. "I'll hold him off here."
"Don't be stupid," Blake argued. "He's out of your league!"
"Which is why I will hold him off," Pyrrha said with an added stare. "Trust me."
Blake stared at her for a moment. Gritting her teeth, she turned and ran down the direction they came from. Now, it is just Pyrrha and Magneto.
"Nike," Magneto said in contemplation. "In Greek mythology, she is the goddess of victory. Athena held her in the palm of her hand as a way to represent being victorious in war. Your feline friend must think very highly of you to leave you here."
"I get that a lot," Pyrrha admitted, getting into a fighting stance. "But let's just say that it is temporary."
"But she is right though," Magneto said. "I'm beyond you."
Then, he sent the metal balls at her. Instead of raising Akouo, Pyrrha held out her hand and activated her semblance. A black aura enveloped the balls, halting them in midair. Magneto's eyebrows raised at this development.
"Interesting. You appear to have the same power as mine. I can see why the name would fit you. But I have ways around it."
He dropped his hold on the balls and held a palm out. Electricity sparked around his body as it traveled to his outstretched hand. Then, lightning bolts leaped from his fingers and arched towards her. Pyrrha instinctively stopped using her semblance and raised her shield. The lightning hit her shield, but it spread all over her body, causing her pain. If it weren't for her aura, she did not doubt that she would've been dead. Grunting, she turned Milo into whip form and swung it at Magneto. He just waved so that it hit the plastic wall beside him. Then, to her disbelief, Milo became fused with it. Pyrrha let go of her weapon and threw Akouo. Magneto stopped it, but that was what she expected to do as she charged at him with a fist raised.
Then she felt something wrap around her ankles, stopping her mid-step. As she fell to the ground, she felt something restrain her wrists. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that the metal balls that Magneto used had become restraints.
"Normally you would've been charred by that blast," Magneto said. "But it appears that you have more than one ability. It's rare to possess more than one mutation."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a mutant."
Magneto looked surprised.
"That's unfortunate," He sighed. "I would love to help you discover the true potential of your powers…or at least offer you a place in my brotherhood."
He stepped around her and began walking to the exit.
"You can't escape," Pyrrha shouted, causing the Master of Magnetism to stop in his tracks. She strained to look over her shoulder. "The Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D have the entire prison surrounded."
"The Avengers?" Magneto mused. To her confusion, he laughed lightly as he spread out his arm. "I expected the X-Men, but this is quite an honor. I suppose I should return the favor with a display."
Then, she felt the earth rumble.
"That's the last of them," Ruby said as Tony welded the last wire.
"The power should be kicking in right about now," Tony checked his HUD. Sure enough, the electrical lighting lit up. His screen showed him that the generator is back online.
"Well done kid," Tony said to Ruby. "you've managed to fix the generator and keep every inmate in here."
"Aww," Ruby bashfully scratched her cheek. "It was nothing."
Then the power began to flicker.
"What the?"
"Tony," Steve said into the comms. "Our communications are getting faulty. What's going on?"
"Hold on," Tony checked his scanners. To his frustration, they were glitching due to some interference. "I'm detecting a magnetic anomaly all around the Raft. It's shortening out the generator and the comms."
"Can…any…hear…" The communication was breaking up. Despite the static, Jaune and Ruby recognized the voice of Blake Belladonna.
"Blake! I mean— Beauty!" Ruby shouted into her comms. "Are you alright? What's going on?"
"Nike…fighting…Magneto…" That was all they could get before she got cut off.
"Magneto," Wanda snarled over the comms. "I wouldn't be surprised if the polarity of the planet was reversed. If he's loose, that can mean trouble."
"She said something about Nike," Jaune said with concern. He had heard about Magneto from an account of Wanda and Pietro. If he's as powerful as they say he is, then not even Pyrrha will be enough to take him down. "Where is she?!"
"I lost visual on her," Sam said. "But I last saw her position northeast of your position! I'm on my way."
Just then, they felt the earth rumble again. Sam swore on the comms.
"He isn't just breaking out!" Sam shouted. "The entire prison is breaking out!"
"Get everyone and evacuate," Captain America ordered. "I'll send Pietro and Wanda after Pyrrha and Blake."
Ren skidded away from Taskmaster. They have been fighting for several minutes and Ren was getting tired. Taskmaster, however, looked fine. Every time Ren changed styles, Taskmaster would change also.
That was when he felt the earth rumbling.
"Looks like he's out," Taskmaster said as he deactivated his sword to store it behind him. "Time, I made my leave."
Taskmaster turns and ran. He didn't get far when a grenade landed on the ground near him. It exploded into foam that enveloped his legs.
"What the—" Taskmaster glanced at Nora, who held Magnhild in grenade launcher form. The armor had retreated into her uniform. He was caught up in his fight with Ren that he had forgotten about her.
"You're not going anywhere!" Nora declared.
"Magni!" Ren ran over to her and knelt. "Are you alright?"
Nora blushed as his face came close to hers. "Y-yeah, I mean…why wouldn't I be? I regained consciousness…"
"Magni! Shang!"
Ren and Nora looked up to see Sam landing in front of them. "You alright?"
"We are," Ren affirmed. "We fought Taskmaster and…"
His voice trailed off when he saw the spot the mercenary. The foam was still hardened, but it held nothing.
"Where did he go?" Nora exclaimed. "I had him!"
"We'll worry about that later," Sam said. "The entire area is about to become airspace. We need to get everybody off the island."
He grabbed an arm from each of them and flew off.
Yang and She-Hulk were had just finished a friendly competition of pummeling the most inmates when they felt the earth shake.
"What the—"
Right before their eyes, the entire prison is slowly being lifted out of the ground. Chunks of rock fell to the ground as the Raft broke into pieces. The pieces began to orbit alone platform.
"Did they add an anti-gravity drive or something?" Yang asked.
"I think they would've mentioned it if they did," She-Hulk said as Weiss joined in. A bright light shone above them, and Captain Marvel landed.
"Captain, what's going on?" Weiss asked.
"Magneto had just broken out," Carol said. "Belle reported but we lost contact with her."
"What?" Yang's eyes widened in shock. She marched up to Carol, her face etched with concern for her partner. "Where is she?"
"We don't know," Carol admitted. "We lost contact with her after her comms broke down."
"Then we have to go find her!" Yang shouted, she made her way to the floating debris, but She-Hulk stood in her path.
"You can't"
"Get out of my way!"
"Don't be reckless Yang," Thor said as he landed beside her. "Rage only leads to recklessness. Don't forget that you also have metal for Magneto to take advantage of. We've sent people to find her."
They held her gaze for a moment. Then Yang's eyes became lilac again as she stared up.
"Please be alright…"
Pyrrha watched Magneto, whose face had a perfect image of calm, as he lifted the pieces of the Raft off the ground. It was there that she knew that he had been toying with her. His skill with his powers has outmatched hers. There was a reason that they called him the master of magnetism.
Despite that, she had to stop him.
She focused her semblance on her restraints. They glowed black as she pulled them apart. She reached down and did the same to the ones on her ankles. Then she stood up and glared at Magneto, who seemed to have noticed that she broke out.
"Impressive, but not enough. It will take more than that to beat me."
"You're right," Pyrrha admitted. "in terms of technique, I won't be able to beat you." Then she smiled. "But you know what you are wearing. You're wearing metal."
She reached out and activated her semblance. This time, Magneto's armor glowed black. He didn't have time to react as Pyrrha used his armor to apply pressure to his body. He gritted in pain as he was being crushed. Despite the pain, he did a good job of keeping the Raft afloat. She can't just knock him unconscious, otherwise, everything will fall, killing everybody on the island.
"Put everything back on the ground, NOW," Pyrrha declared firmly. "Gently."
"Nike!"
Pyrrha turned to see Blake climbing up the platform. The cat faunus looked no worse for wear as she approached her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm alright," Pyrrha said as she turned to face Magneto once more. "I just need him to—"
Suddenly, she felt something collide with her head. She lost her grip as she fell on her side to the ground. She looked up at her attacker, which to her confusion, was Blake. Blake frowned as if she expected her to be unconscious from that hit. While Pyrrha is still reeling from shock, Blake pounced on her and gripped her throat. Pyrrha tried to get her off, but Blake's grip was strong.
"Belle?" Pyrrha asked in between breaths. "What are you doing?"
"Are you sure you're talking to her?" Blake whispered cryptically. Then, her eyes flashed yellow as Blake suddenly shifted from head to toe. Gone was the black suit to be replaced by a white suit with elbow-length gloves, a skirt that exposed her blue legs, white thigh-high boots and a black belt with skulls around her slender waist. Her black ear and faunus ears are replaced with red hair and a skull on the crown of her head. Her purple lips curled into a cruel smile as Pyrrha lost consciousness.
"Though I admit, I'm a little jealous of her name," Raven Darkholme, AKA Mystique, said as she got off Pyrrha. "It suits her friend. That cat ears make it cute."
"Anyone can be beautiful as you, Raven," Magneto said as he recovered his wind and next to her.
"Yeah right," Mystique scoffed. Then she held out the object she used to hit Pyrrha with. It was a red helmet with purple outlines along the edges. On the forehead is a red ornament of ruby with two horns. "I found this in the confusion."
"Thank you, Raven," Magneto said as his helmet levitated from her hand and into his. Magneto donned his helmet, completing his look. "Now to leave this place."
"You can say that again," A gruff voice said. Magneto and Raven turned to see a man in a brown and yellow suit with furs at the neck walking towards them. On his shoulder is Blake unconscious.
"It's about time we left this place," Victor Creed, AKA Sabretooth, smiled.
"Victor," Magneto spoke in a disapproving tone. "What are you doing with her?"
"I figured I could use a plaything," Victor replied. "Smells fresh and new. I could have fun with her."
"You realize that would slow us, down right?" Raven asked. She knew what became of Victor's playthings. Even if she is an enemy, she didn't want that girls' fate on her hands. She spread her hands wide. "If you take her, you'll be giving the Avengers another reason to hunt us down first. We've already wrecked the Raft."
"Let them come," Victor smiled, baring his fangs. "If they come, then that will mean that Wolverine will come."
"Victor," Magneto said in a calm but stoic voice. "I will only say this once. Leave her."
Mystique knew that tone as she heard it multiple times for Sabretooth's acts of insubordination. It never ended well for him if he pursued this course. But Victor didn't learn anything either from his time in prison or experience.
"Oh, come on. I went through a lot of prison time for this! At least let me—"
Victor stopped when he felt his body move against his will. Slowly, his arms took the body of Blake and laid her on the ground. Then, he was levitated directly into the face of Magneto.
"I said, leave her, "Magneto said, his voice carrying a threatening edge. "Or would you like to experience what I did to Wolverine? When I ripped out his adamantium skeleton?"
Sabretooth's face writhed in pain. "Alright! Alright! I get it!"
"Good," Magneto released his hold on Sabretooth and let him fall to the ground. As soon as he turned around, he heard a yelp of pain. He turned around to see Victor caught on fire. The man was howling in pain as he tried to pat out the flames.
"Magneto!"
The three members of the Brotherhood of Mutants looked up to see the Scarlet Witch descending in front of them. Her eyes are red as crimson energy crackled in her hands. It was clear that she's the one who set Victor on fire.
"Hello Wanda," Magneto greeted. "I see that you have improved with your Hex bolts. As much as I want to catch up, I have other things to attend to. If I were you, I'd focus on getting you and your friends out of here."
Behind him, a wormhole opened up. Magneto and his associates entered it. Victor shot a glare at her before following inside. The portal closed just as a silver blur reached it.
"Dammit!" Pietro cursed before turning to his sister. "Since when the hell can he do that?"
"Who cares?" Wanda shouted. "We've got to get out of here. Magneto was the only one keeping this afloat."
At that moment, she felt the ground beneath her shift. The siblings looked at each other and nodded. Quicksilver lived up to his name as he took Blake into his arms, bridal style, and ran off the edge. Thanks to his time perception, he was able to reach the ground at super-speed by launching from different bits of debris. Wanda levitated Pyrrha towards her with her telekinesis and enveloped them in a red glow as she teleported them to safety.
Meanwhile, the debris hit the ground where the Raft once stood.
Avengers Mansion, 2 hours later…
"In short, Magneto's upheaval of the Raft allowed nearly most of the prisoners to escape," Nick Fury said. The Avengers had gathered in the lounge, which still has part decorations. Teams RWBY and JNPR had been taken to the medical bay to look into possible permanent injuries. "The rest are either severely injured or killed. In the meantime, we have to build another Raft."
"It's the massive break out again," Steve sighed. "How many have escaped?"
"We're still counting," Nick replied. "Hopefully it isn't bigger than the massive of the escapees are level seven threats. Aside from Magneto is Green Goblin, Living Laser, Sabretooth, Doctor Octopus… the list goes on."
"There's also Taskmaster," Hawkeye said. "According to Ren's account, he's the one who masterminded the breakout."
"If that's true, then that's reason enough to issue a manhunt for him," Nick said, before sighing frustratingly. "Even though we don't even know what he looks like. In the meantime, how are the children?"
"They're recovering, Director," Natasha answered. "But they're feeling worse. They feel that they weren't…for a lack of a better word, strong enough. They felt that they should've done more to stop the breakout.
"They did what they could," Fury said. "It happens even to the best of us. Shame they had to find out the hard way. However, their efforts weren't in vain as there are still some prisoners that they secured. Can I count on everyone to assist me in rounding up the escapees?"
"You can count on it," Carol said. She turned to the second Wasp. "I have a feeling we'll be pulling an overnighter. Do you think you can get your mother to help out?"
"I'll see if she's available," Hope said. "But what about teams RWBY and JNPR?"
"We'll have to give them a break," Steve declared. "They've been through enough already. They shouldn't have to work overtime for this."
"Maybe that's the problem," Tony said, drawing everyone's attention.
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. They feel like they're responsible for the whole breakout succeeding. If we put this workload on them, they'll develop an unhealthy mindset that they have to hunt down every villain that escape. If that happens, they will exhaust themselves. We can't have that. We're forcing too much responsibility on them."
"So, what should they be doing?" Clint asked. "It's not like we have a play area for them at Avengers Mansion."
Tony sighed. "I think they should enjoy being teenagers while they still are, while also helping out. By doing that, they can avoid developing that aforementioned mindset. They even have to get settled into high school anyways. So why not let kids be kids?"
"You mean like hang out with people their age?" Carol asked. "With other teenagers?"
The idea was appealing to her, and she knew just where to find such people. She and Fury shared the same look.
"I've thought of the same thing," Nick said. "Which is why I called someone in."
The doors opened and a woman walked in. Her black hair has purple highlights which matched her purple and grey suit. On her forearms are silver gauntlets. She stood before the director of S.H.I.E.L.D and saluted.
"Reporting in Director," Daisy Johnson, AKA Quake, said. "What do you need?"
Latveria
"One million dollars as promised," Dr. Doom said as he presented a briefcase in front of Taskmaster.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Taskmaster said, taking the briefcase. He held a thumb drive before him. "The original footage was damaged from Magento's powers. But I had a backup in place. I hope it isn't any trouble, Lord Doom."
"It isn't," Dr. Doom took the thumb drive and walked over to the set of computer screens. He inserted it into the port and the screen flared to life. Each screen showed footage of the teenage superheroes that foiled the Frightful Fours assault on Avengers Tower. Dr. Doom watched their fights carefully, taking note of their weapons, skills, and powers. "Any damage done can and will be corrected. There are some outcomes one can't predict."
"If I mask ask," Taskmaster said. "Why go through the trouble of a breakout over a few kids?"
"What is knowledge without the unknown?" Dr. Doom said, without taking his eyes off the screen. "In a game of chess, one must know the pieces on the board well. When a new piece enters, that's when the game becomes interesting."
Taskmaster said nothing. His eyes found the red garbed girl as she transformed the Bo-staff into a scythe. She twirled it and held it so that she held it with the blade arching down. Taskmaster took a nearby scythe and mimicked the same motions thanks to his photographic reflexes.
"Interesting indeed."
[~][~]
Another chapter is done. Teams RWBY and JNPR have all experienced a prison break almost like the massive breakout. Then they learn just how powerful most of the villains are compared to the white fang grunts they've faced. Not to mention that Dr. Doom orchestrated the whole thing. Also, I'm going to refer him and Sabretooth by their villain names to avoid confusion. Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed the chapter.
Now on to Q&A:
Mastergamer14: I have plans for Raven. None of which involve her dropping in on Earth anytime soon. You forget that she's on Kang's list of people he holds responsible.
1968: I'd like to point out that some of those names are taken. But thanks for suggesting them.
Edinosaur25: I'd love to see that happen, but not too soon. As for the Thunderbolts, we'll see.
The mysterious Mr.E: I'm pretty sure Qrow would shoot himself if Nick doesn't due to his misfortune. As for the rest, I already have plans for them.
Matt22152: wait and see.
Thank you, for reading. See you all next time.