Chapter 2 – Black Oni In Harlem
Central Harlem Neighborhood – Manhattan, New York
It was chaos and pandemonium as the citizens of Harlem fled down the street, crying and screaming, from foreign invaders, the kind of invaders NOT of this world. Traffic came to a complete halt as people fearfully left their vehicles and fled to safety.
NYPD officers, uniformed and SWAT, scrambled to scene, and formed a human barrier, coming between the fleeing civilians and invading demonic army. The invaders looked like zombie soldiers from Feudal Era Japan who had one thing in mind, bloodshed.
They were zombies whose bodies gradually decomposed but still retained their basic combat skills. Their clothing consisted of a tattered green uniform that revealed their insides, that were also decomposing. None of them showed fear, only the urge to shed blood.
"FIRE!" commanded one of the NYPD Officers.
The NYPD officers in the defensive formation fired on the invading army of undead, though the latter's numbers continued increasing. They were armed with standard police weaponry such as pistols, assault rifles, and tactical shotguns.
"Eat this!" shouted SWAT Officer #1, who took out a tear gas grenade, then pulled the pin, and lodged it into the crowd of zombie zoldiers. The grenade ignited and released a plume of tear gas, which DIDN'T faze the zombies at all.
SWAT Officer #2 grabbed a flash bang, pulled the pin, and threw the grenade into the crowd of zombies.
The NYPD Officers looked away as the flash bang ignited, unleashing a blinding bright light.
They looked back and saw the zombie soldiers, unaffected by the flash bang, continuing in their direction. Other officers continued firing on the zombie soldiers, while taking down a small number of them,
"Shit, this isn't working!" yelled NYPD Officer #1, who was losing it.
The zombie soldiers got closer and closer.
"Pull back!" ordered the Commanding NYPD Officer.
Just as the NYPD Officers turned the other way to create distance between themselves and the attacking army of zombie soldiers, more zombie soldiers appeared out of thin air. The NYPD Officers were surrounded on both sides, in a pincer attack by the zombie soldiers.
"What do we do!?" asked a fearful NYPD Officer #2.
One of the zombie soldiers swung his katana against the chest of NYPD Officer #1, who dropped to the ground, bleeding out, and slowly dying after.
SWAT Officer #3 screamed in pain as the zombie soldiers impaled him with their katanas, from both directions, then gurgling out blood, before dying.
"We're going to die!" shouted a frantic NYPD Officer #3, who fired his shotgun at random zombie soldiers. One of the zombie soldiers jumped, swung its sword, and swiftly decapitated NYPD Officer #3. A geyser of blood spewed from where the officer's head used to be.
The zombie soldier didn't stop to relish the kill, it continued attacking nearby NYPD Officers.
The Commanding NYPD Officer quickly pressed the button to the portable police radio attached to his vest. "HQ, requesting backup in Harlem! We're outnumbered and unable to escape, respond!"
There was radio silence.
"Respond!" the Commanding NYPD Officer over the radio.
The surviving NYPD officers huddled together and formed a circle, the only thing they could do, as the zombie soldiers, with bigger numbers, inched closer, and ready to kill.
Despite the NYPD Officers putting up a fight, the zombie soldiers relentlessly marched in their direction. The NYPD Officers huddled closer, tightening their circle, as they continued firing their weapons at the emotionless, but murder-driven, zombie soldiers.
"They keep coming and coming, there's too many of them!" ranted NYPD Officer #4. He struggled to reload his shotgun but kept dropping his shells on the ground without knowing it. "Shit, shit, shit! I'm empty!"
Three zombie soldiers closed in on NYPD Officer #4, pulled back their blades, ready to swing.
NYPD Officer #4 fell back and shielded himself with his arms, despite knowing it wasn't going to work. He looked up and saw large winged monsters flying over the neighborhood and more of those undead soldiers jumping off of them, landing before the panicked NYPD Officers.
These zombies were different, though, they had four legs, not two.
"Oh, God, they even have four-legged freaks!?" NYPD Officer #5 asked, horrified at the sight. He was a regular beat cop, not someone properly equipped to take on superhuman threats.
"Genma scum!" yelled a voice.
The NYPD Officers turned their eyes to the voice's direction. A strange young man, Asian, with blonde hair, and blue samurai armor, was charging in their direction.
"Hey, get back! This is dangerous!" the Commanding NYPD Officer ordered.
"That's my line!" the Mysterious Samurai fired back while charging head-on towards the large group of zombie soldiers. He reached behind, pulled out a long weird-looking katana, and swung at any zombie soldier that he came across.
Four zombie soldiers dropped to the ground, dead, then disappearing seconds later.
The Samurai ran in the direction of NYPD Officer #4, swung his katana, and sliced all of the zombie soldiers across the waist.
The torsos of the zombie soldiers fell and blood spewed out from where the Samurai bifurated them.
NYPD Officer #4, hyperventilating, looked up at the Samurai who saved his life. "T-thank you..." NYPD Officer #4, not having the composure to make a full sentence.
"I'll create an opening for you guys to escape and get to safety." the Samurai told NYPD Officer #4. He quickly turned to his left and thrusted his blade into the skull of another zombie soldier.
Two zombie soldiers climbed on top of an abandoned van, eyed the Samurai, whose back was turned on them, and jumped at him.
A volley of arrows flew downward, in a diagonal direction, hitting the zombies in midair, and sending them to the ground. The arrows beeped and exploded, blowing the two zombie soldiers into pieces, catching the Samurai's attention, as he looked in the direction of where the arrows came from.
On the rooftop, where the arrows were fired from, stood a young girl, female, in a purple outfit, purple shades over her eyes, and long dark hair.
"Soki, don't go running off on your own!" the girl scolded the Samurai, who was revealed as "Soki."
Soki gave the girl an annoyed look, as if he didn't want any help. "Look, Kate, I got this handled. Dealing with the Gemna is MY business!"
"It's MY business, too! These freaks are on my turf, it also makes them my problem!" the girl, revealed as "Kate," fired back. She pulled an arrow from the arrow tube that was worn over her back, loading it into her longbow, pulling the string back, and firing the arrow at another zombie soldier, hitting it in the head, and killing it.
The zombie soldier, whose head was impaled by the arrow, slumped to the ground, dead, again.
Zombie soldiers started appearing on the rooftop, surrounding Kate, in all directions, and slowly walked toward her, with their katanas raised. The sight of the zombies made Kate slightly nervous as she was more used to dealing with human enemies.
"I don't supposed we can talk this out." Kate said, feigning diplomacy. She quickly grabed a few arrows from her arrow tube, loaded them into her bow, and fired them at the zombie soldiers.
Some of the zombie soldiers dropped dead, then disappearing into nothing.
One of them got close enough and swung its katana at Kate.
Kate quickly ducked under the katana swing, crouched down, and knocked the zombie soldier down with a foot sweep.
"I guess we're NOT going to talk this out, then." Kate said before she stood up and stomped her left foot onto the zombie soldier's head. She quickly grabbed a few more arrows and fired them from her bow, dispatching the last of the zombie soldiers who appeared on the rooftop.
While Kate was busy dispatching the zombie soldiers on the rooftop, Soki had already killed at least 20 zombie soldiers, and had no intention of stopping.
The army of zombie soldiers continued increasing and they were getting closer.
Soki turned to the surviving NYPD Officers and aimed his long katana in the opposite side of the street, which had a lesser number of zombie soldiers. "I'm going to cut through these Genma soldiers and clear a path for you to escape, stay behind me."
The NYPD Officers nodded in compliance.
Soki ran in the direction he pointed to, running at the first zombie soldier, and dispatching it with a few slashes from his katana. He ran at another nearby zombie soldier and did the same thing.
The Commanding NYPD Officer turned to the other officers. "What are you waiting for!? Move out!"
The NYPD Officers followed Soki who slowly cleared an escape route for them.
The growing army of zombie soldiers on the other side continued closing the gap, Soki had to act fast or his efforts would be in vain.
Kate, seeing Soki clearing a path for the NYPD Officers, followed him, while keeping to the rooftops. She turned the other way and saw the growing army of undead Genma soldiers getting closer. "Go faster, they're getting closer!"
"Don't rush me!" Soki fired back, while he continued dispatching more undead Genma soldiers.
"I don't have an infinite amount of arrows, y'know!?" Kate rhetorically asked, firing back at Soki. It was apparent that Kate and Soki have been working together but there are still plenty of rough edges to smooth out. Kate turned her attention to the larger number of undead Genma soldiers that continued marching after Soki and the NYPD Officers.
Kate quickly pulled a high-tech arrow from her tube, loaded it into the bow, and shot it at the middle of the oncoming Genma force. The arrow hit one of the undead Genma soldiers, then blinked, and exploded.
The explosion took out all of the Genma soldiers who were in a 15-meter radius.
More Genma soldiers marched forward and closed up the gap, then continued pursuing Soki and the surviving NYPD Officers.
The smart phone attacked to the left side of Kate's waist rung, the name "Cassie Lang" appeared on the caller ID.
Kate placed her bow down on the side, grabbed her phone, pressed the "talk" button, and put the call on speaker.
"Cass, I'm kinda busy right now!" Kate said, while she kept her eye on the undead Gemna soldiers who continued marching down the street.
"Where are you, Kate?" asked the voice on the other line, one that sounded like a teenage girl.
"I'm in Harlem. I got sidetracked by a bunch of zombies with katanas." Kate explained. She then asked Cassie "Where are you?"
"The Chinatown in Manhattan, it's chaos. We're also dealing with zombies with katanas, where the hell did they come from?"
"They just came out of nowhere. I'm covering Soki who's leading the cops to safety." Kate explained.
"What, Soki's fighting them by himself!?"
"Yeah, he said those things are from his world. They're 'Genma,' from what Soki just told me. These things don't feel any pain or emotions, they just kill."
"Wow, that's good to know."
"Please don't tell me you're by yourself, Cass." Kate said, concerned for her friend's well-being.
"No. I'm with America, Misty, Colleen, Jessica, Iron Fist, Paladin, Bob, Shoma, Burai, and Daehan." There was a loud explosion coming from the other end of the line.
"Cass, what just happened!?"
"It's all right, it's just Daehan firing one of his rockets." Cassie answered, nonchalant.
"Rockets? He has rockets?" Kate asked. There was disbelief in her voice. "I thought he just knew how to kick good."
"That mechanical right leg of his can fire rockets."
"It would've been nice if he was here, it's JUST me and Soki!" Kate complained.
"I gotta go, we're rendezvous back at Clint's apartment. Stay alive, all right?"
"Yeah, you too! Stay alive, Cass!" Kate said, ending the call, putting the phone back, and picking her bow back up.
During the conversation between Kate and Cassie, Soki has cut through most of the undead Genma soldiers that stood in his way. There were still more blocking his way and there many more undead Genma soldiers marching after them.
Soki brought up his right foot and kicked one Genma soldier away, then swing his sword down, killing it (again) seconds later.
The Gemna soldier's body disintegrated into nothing while leaving behind floating glowing red energy orbs.
Soki held out his right arm, which housed a unique-looking gauntlet, that sucked up the glowing red orbs in a vacuum effect.
"What the hell's that?" the Commanding NYPD Officer asked.
"They're called soul orbs, the Genma leave them behind after they're dead. I collect them with this Oni Gauntlet and I use the power to strengthen my gear." Soki explained, then swinging his blade, and killing three more undead Genma soldiers.
The three Genma soldiers disappeared into nothing while leaving behind those same glowing red orbs, which Soki quickly absorbed with his Oni Gauntlet.
Kate from above, on another rooftop, repeatedly shot arrows from her bow, hitting as many pursuing undead Genma soldiers.
The Genma soldiers killed by Kate dropped to the ground, disappeared into nothing, and left behind glowing red orbs.
Soki quickly absorbed them into his gauntlet and continued killing all the Genma in his direction.
"Go faster, I don't have that many arrows left!" Kate said.
"Get to safety when you run out of arrows!" Soki commanded.
"Hey, you're not the boss of me! You're a guest in this world, my city, you follow my lead!" Kate barked back, refusing to be ordered around by someone from a parallel world.
"I'm telling you this because you haven't fought the Genma as long as I have!" Soki argued as he dispatched two more undead Genma soldiers.
"Since these 'Genma' are popping up, uninvited, and making themselves at 'home,' it looks like I'm going to have plenty of time LEARNING to kill them!" Kate argued back.
Soki was silent, he couldn't come up with a response because Kate was RIGHT. He groaned, sighed, and went back to killing the Genma with his katana.
A couple more Genma soldiers dropped to the ground, dead (again), disappeared, and left behind glowing red orbs.
Soki quickly absorbed the orbs with his Oni Gauntlet, knowing those orbs will come in handy in the future.
"There's no end to them." Soki said to himself.
Right at that moment, someone stormed out of a random building by kicking down the door. This man was athletically built, wore a black military outfit, wore a black eye-mask, and had a metallic left arm. He was heavily armed with a decent arsenal.
There were two pistols holstered on both sides of the Mysterious Man's waist, a tactical shotgun slung over his back, and an assault rifle in his hands.
The man saw the large army of Genma and knew they meant harm.
The Mysterious Man aimed his assault rifle in the direction of the large number of undead Genma soldiers, squeezed the trigger, and fired bursts in their direction.
Soki stopped and turned his attention to the Mysterious Man, eyeing him with curiosity and intrigue. "Who are you?"
"An ally." said the Mysterious Man, while keeping his eyes on the Genma soldiers.
"It's the Winter Soldier!" exclaimed the Commanding NYPD Officer, feeling hopeful at the Winter Soldier's surprise arrival.
"Who's the Winter Soldier?" Soki asked.
"It's a long story, I'll tell you about it if we live through this." the Commanding NYPD Officer answered. He was GLAD that someone superpowered like the Winter Soldier came to the rescue, but knew that they were not out of danger.
The Winter Soldier stopped firing his assault rifle, ejected the empty magazine, grabbed a new one from his ammo pouch, and loaded it into the assault rifle. He aimed for the closest Genma soldiers and continued shooting.
The undead Genma soldiers quickly dropped to the ground dead, then disappeared soon after, but left behind those glowing orbs.
"What are those things?" the Winter Soldier asked, curious and cautious about the red orbs.
"Here, I got it!" Soki responded as he held out his Oni Gauntlet and absorbed those orbs. "When Gemna die, they leave soul orbs behind. Anyone of oni blood can use these orbs and get stronger."
The Winter Soldier looked at his own left arm. "Heh, I wish this arm could do the same." the Winter Soldier mused to himself.
To the front of Soki, a tall and muscular black man walked onto the middle of the street from one of the random alleyways. The man had on a pair of black jeans over his legs and a tight-fit yellow t-shirt that showed off his muscles. His head was shaved but had a small beard and mustache.
"Sweet Christmas, Harlem can't even catch a break." the man said as he grabbed one Genma soldier, picking it up, and tossing it into a small group of other Genma soldiers. He walked towards a random car, nonchalantly picked it up with ease, aimed at the Genma soldiers in his way, and threw the car in their direction.
The car crashed into the Genma soldiers and violently tumbled, on impact, into more Genma soldiers, taking them out.
The bodies of the Gemna soldiers dissipated into nothing, leaving only the glowing red orbs. Soki quickley held out his Oni Gauntlet and sucked the orbs up.
The tall and muscular black man watched Soki absorb the red orbs into his gauntlet. "Soki, what's that even do?" It was apparent that Soki and the muscular black man were familiar with each other.
"Every Genma that dies leave these behind. Anyone with oni blood can use these orbs to strengthen their equipment." Soki explained.
"That's pretty awesome. Only you can collect them?" the man asked.
Soki shook his head. "I might have some soul bracelets. Anybody who can wear them can absorb those soul orbs but they can't use their powers."
"Hey, we're in this together. I'll happily help you gather those red orb things." the man offered.
Soki smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Luke, I'll give one to you when I get a chance."
Kate jumped out of a third floor window of a random building, crouched, landed, tumbled forward, and landed on her feet.
"Give me one, too, Soki." Kate requested.
"Fine. Let's get them to safety first." Soki said. He looked at Luke, then at Kate, as the two reminded him of his former partners, Roberto Frois and Jubei Yagyu. Then he looked at the Winter Soldier who was preoccupied with fighting the Genma soldiers on the other side of the street.
The Winter Soldier reminded him of Ohatsu, his beloved, as she was also proficient in firearms.
"Bucky, how are you doing?" Luke asked.
"I'm good. Just get them to safety. I got this side handled." Bucky said. He emptied out the magazine, lowered his assault rifle, and grabbed a grenade from his waist holster. "Fire in the hole!" Bucky yelled as he pulled the pin and threw the grenade into the crowd of marching Genma soldiers.
**BOOM!**
Shrapnel flew everywhere taking out all Genma soldiers in a 25-foot radius while the incendiary blast took out all Genma soldiers in a 15-foot radius.
A bunch of orbs floated up and flew in the direction of Soki who held out his Oni Gauntlet.
Bucky grabbed another grenade, pulled the pin, and threw the grenade into the crowd of undead Genma soldiers.
A few seconds later, then...
**BOOM!**
More Genma soldiers, dead (again).
"Any idea on where to go?" Bucky asked.
"Let's try the 110 Street-Central Park North. It's not that far. If we can't catch a subway, we can retreat through the tunnels and rendezvous with the others in Central Park. I hear there's a joint safe zone being set up there." Luke suggested.
"Lead the way, Luke." Bucky replied as grabbed a new magazine from his ammo belt, loaded it into his assault rifle, and continued shooting at the undead Genma soldiers. He saw that the numbers of the Genma soldiers dwindled enough that he fell back and followed after Luke.
From above, a flaming man flew over the street. This was a person who was completely engulfed in flames and he was throwing fireballs from his hands at the Genma soldiers on the street. He spotted Luke, flew down, and landed a couple of feet in front of him.
"Flame Off!" the man said as the flames no longer enveloped him.
"Johnny, how are things on your end?" Luke asked the man.
Soki looked at Johnny who had blonde hair and a skin-tight blue suit with the number "4" on his chest. He saw that Luke and this "Johnny" had a casual friendship of the sort with each other.
"Johnny Storm!?" asked one of the NYPD Officers.
"Sue asked me to fly around to do recon. Those monsters are mainly attacking most of Manhattan. We're dealing with these giant flying creatures that are carrying those-" Johnny said, pointing at the Genma soldiers, and continuing "-things. You guys have any idea who or what they are?"
Luke eyed Soki while Kate pointed her bow at Soki.
"Ask our guest resident." Kate said.
Johnny turned to Soki and paused, looking him up and down. This was a new face and he looked carefully at the small black horns that protruded from opposite ends of Soki's forehead.
"When are you from?" Johnny asked, seeing that Soki came from another time period.
"They say 'Feudal Era Japan' or something." Soki answered.
"Soki, this is Johnny Storm. He's part of a superhero group called the Fantastic Four. You already saw what Johnny could do." Luke said.
"They call me the 'Human Torch,' but you can call me Johnny." Johnny said, then extending his hand.
"I was born Yuki Hideyasu but I swore off that name because of my father's corrupt ways and now go by Soki." Soki said, shaking Johnny's hand.
"Hey, if can save the friendly talk for LATER!" Bucky scolded, this was NOT the time to casually chat. He reloaded his assault rifle and continued shooting the undead Genma soldiers.
"Flame On!" Johnny exclaimed, engulfing himself completely in flames, flying in the air, aiming both hands at the space between themselves and the undead Genma soldiers.
"Fall back, guys!" Bucky exclaimed, knowing what Johnny was going to do next.
"Light them up, Johnny!" Cage requested, knowing he didn't have to tell that to Johnny.
Johnny shot a beam of fire from his hands at the street below, creating a barrier of fire, slowing the marching undead Genma soldiers.
The fire didn't stop the Genma soldiers but the flames were hot enough that it burned them severely that they would fall to the ground, dead (again), and leaving behind the glowing red soul orbs.
Soki quickly absorbed the soul orbs into his Oni Gauntlet.
Johnny increased the width of the literal fire wall to slow the marching Gemna soldiers further. He then flew in Luke's direction and threw fire balls at random Genma that were in his sights.
"Hit that car in the middle of the street for me." Luke requested.
"Got it!" Johnny said as he threw a few fireballs from his hand at the car that Luke had thrown earlier.
"Take cover!" Luke said as he and the others took cover behind a few abandoned vehicles.
**BOOM!**
"Damage Control's going to be raking in those executive bonuses..." Johnny said to himself. He looked back down at Luke and said, "I'll fly ahead and clear a path for you guys. Once you guys get to the station, I'll head back to the Baxter Building."
Luke nodded, "Yeah, thanks. I'll owe you one. You better stay alive when this is over."
"Heh, I could say the same for you guys." Johnny said as he flew off.
"Alright, let's get the Sweet Christmas out of here!" Luke exclaimed as he led the way, running down the wrecked street.
Johnny, who was far up ahead, threw fireballs at some of the randomly parked vehicles.
**BOOM!**
One vehicle exploded, taking out several undead Genma soldiers.
**BOOM!**
**BOOM!**
**BOOM!**
Luke continued leading the charge, then a couple of undead Genma soldiers materialized out of nowhere, and attacked him from all sides. The sight of the Genma didn't faze Luke, he was used to fighting unnatural and abnormal threats.
The Genma soldiers paused, dumbfounded, seeing their attacks bouncing off of Luke's body.
Luke shook his head, then knocked all of them back with a spinning lariat. The man didn't even break a sweat, which surprised and impressed Soki.
Kate turned to the NYPD Officers. "What are you waiting for? C'mon!"
The NYPD Officers nodded and continued running down the street as Luke continued leading the charge.
Soki took to left of the NYPD Officers and slashed any Genma that dared to attack while Kate took the right and would do the same.
Bucky acted as the rear guard, keeping the Genma soldiers at bay with his assault rifle.
While Johnny continued clearing a path for Luke and Soki's group, Gemna soldiers materialized on the rooftops along the street.
These soldiers were armed with bows and chose Johnny as their target.
"Uh oh..." Johnny said to himself and increased altitude, to escape the range of the arrows.
The Genma archers aimed their bows in the air, in Johnny's direction, and shot their arrows at him. Their aim wasn't great but they relentlessly fired arrow after arrow at Johnny.
"Whoa!" Johnny exclaimed as he veered to his right to avoid the volley of arrows flying in his direction.
"Sweet Christmas..." Luke groaned, looking up and seeing Johnny dodging the incoming arrows from the Genma archers.
Soki quickly ran ahead of Luke, taking the charge, and impaling a Gemna soldier with his blade. He swung his blade up and flung the Genma soldier in the air, then ran at the Genma soldier as it descended, timing it right, and violently hitting the Gemna soldier with a shoulder ram.
The force knocked the Genma soldier back several feet, like a bowling ball, while knocking down other Genma soldiers in its path.
Soki quickly ran at the downed Genma soldiers and impaled them, making sure they were dead (again).
Genma soldiers materialized to the right of the NYPD Officers, which prompted Kate to sling the bow over her back, and draw her sword.
Kate engaged the Genma soldiers and easily dispatched them with her sword.
More Genma soldiers materialized, this time to the left of the NYPD Officers, and rushed to attack.
The NYPD Officers quickly aimed their weapons at the Gemna soldiers and fired at them.
Two figures from above quickly descended down to Luke and Soki's group.
The first was a tall and muscular black man with a red & white sleeveless suit. There was a red eye-mask covering his eyes. His suit had a red-colored wing harness.
The second was a person in high-tech armor, something that looked like what Iron-Man wore, but it was in different colors, purple and white. This person aimed their armored gauntlets at the Genma who appeared to the left of the NYPD Officers and fired a repulsor blast, which violently knocked the Genma soldiers back.
"It looks like you guys could use a hand." the second person said, whose voice was that of a woman.
"We could use a nice break, Pepper." Bucky said, while he continued shooting any Genma that appeared in front of him.
The winged black man landed in front of Luke. They faced each other, smiled, and embraced each other in a friendly hug. It showed that they were close friends.
"What are you doing here, Sam?" Luke asked the winged black man, who was known as "Sam."
"Steve told the Avengers to assemble at Avengers HQ at Times Square, I'm guessing these THINGS are why." Sam explained.
"City's on lockdown and full alert." Luke explained.
"You guys got any idea what these freaks are? I sure as hell, don't." Sam added, curious about the new threat they're facing.
"You're lucky I don't have the swear jar with me." Luke joked.
Sam laughed and chuckled. "Next time, Luke, next time. Where you guys headed?"
"We're making a break for the 110 Street-Central Park North Station, we're going to escape through the tunnels to Central Park. I heard S.H.I.E.L.D, the NYPD, and the National Guard are using this as a safe zone and shelter." Luke explained.
"Yeah, I been hearing about that over the radio chatter. Additional troops are getting called in from Fort Drum and Camp Smith to reinforce the troops at Fort Hamilton. More troops are being flown in from the Stewart Air National Guard Base, too." Sam added.
"I see Johnny's having his hands full." Pepper said as she landed in front of Bucky.
"Those things are worse than rats and roaches, they appear ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE." Bucky said, taking a deep breath.
"Where's Jessica?" Sam asked, concerned.
"In Chinatown. She's helping Misty, Colleen, Danny, Cassie, and America. Paladin's helping them, too. Their alternate universe allies are doing more than pulling their weight, too. I was impressed they knew how to fight." Luke said with enthusiasm.
Sam then turned to Pepper. "Hey, I want to make another stop, Chinatown, to check on Jessica and the others. That cool?"
Pepper nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'll let Steve know, he'd want us to check on them." She then turned in the direction of Soki, who was far ahead of the group, aggressively dispatching all Genma soldiers in his path. "Who's the new guy?"
"They call him Soki, he's from Feudal Japan. He's our resident "Genma" expert." Luke answered.
"What are Genma" Pepper asked. She, too, wasn't familiar with this new threat, then again, most people in this universe weren't either.
"Those things we're fighting." Kate said. "Soki didn't tell us much, we'll have to get it out of him once we get to safety."
"What's he doing?" Pepper asked as she watched Soki absorb the soul orbs, left behind by the slain Genma soldiers, into his Oni Gauntlet.
"That's part of Soki's schtick. He absorb those things into his gauntlet and uses them to power up his gear. Only he or anybody else who came from the 'oni clan' can use that power." Kate added, furthering the explaination.
"Maybe you should take this 'Soki' to the Inner Sanctum and have him meet Stephen." Pepper suggested.
"One thing at a time." Luke said.
"Can you and Sam fly up and help Johnny out?" Bucky asked, rhetorically. Though he asked, Bucky expected the two to provide support for Johnny.
Pepper didn't answer as she ascended off the ground and flew in Johnny's direction.
Sam followed suit, flew into the air, and followed Pepper.
"Sam? Pepper?" Johnny asked, surprised at their sudden arrival.
"We were headed to Avengers Tower when we saw this." Pepper explained.
"I was headed to the Baxter Building but I had to help when I saw Luke down below." Johnny responded to Pepper.
"Where'd they come from?" Sam asked, pointing at the Gemna archers who were stationed on the random rooftops.
"They're EVERYWHERE. They LITERALLY come out of nowhere or they jump off those big winged monsters flying around Manhattan." Johnny said.
"There's giant winged monsters, too!?" asked a now-distraught Pepper. She flew downward and fired repulsor blasts at random Genma archers.
Sam followed suit and fired projectiles from his wing harness at the Gemna soldiers to the right of the street.
Johnny flew downward and dispatched the rest with fireballs.
Pepper eyed Soki, descended down, and landed in front of him. She used her helmet to scan Soki's biometrics as this information would be invaluable later.
Soki eyed this newcomer, intrigued at this armor.
"What are these Genma that Luke's talking about?" Pepper asked, wanting answers.
"A race of demons from my time. Oda Nobunaga aligned with the Genma to unite the country under his banner." Soki explained.
"Okay, they're demons." Pepper responded, then she turned to Sam. "Sam, we need to stay and make sure they get to safety."
"But Cap's waiting for us." Sam replied.
Pepper nodded, but Soki's information and assistance was going to be invaluable. "Sam, you go ahead to Avengers HQ without me. I have to take Soki to the Sanctum Santorum." she explained, then continued. "We need to give all information on this 'Genma' to Dr. Strange as soon as possible."
"Doctor Strange?" Soki asked.
"Dr. Stephen Strange, but he's known as Dr. Strange. He's the 'Sorcerer Supreme' of this world." Pepper said.
"Sorcerer Supreme?" Soki asked, now curious about this "Doctor Strange."
"A Sorcerer Supreme is a title granted to the one chosen to protect this world from magical and mystical threats, like the Genma here." Pepper explained. "I don't know much but I KNOW we need to get you to Doctor Strange immediately."
"Pepper's right, you'd be a lot of help if you were with Doctor Strange." Luke added.
"I have a better idea, Pepper. Take Soki with you once we get to the subway station. I think we can handle any Genma that we come across." Bucky suggested.
"Are you sure?" Soki asked.
"Yeah, I'm certain. If you can get to Doctor Strange, it will help us TREMENDOUSLY." Bucky emphasized. "You got the skills but we need to tell Doctor Strange EVERYTHING you know about this threat."
"He's right, Soki. Protecting this city is OUR responsibility." Kate added. "Pepper and Bucky are right, you're NEEDED at the Sanctum Sanctorum."
"I don't feel right leaving you guys behind like this." Soki protested.
"Oh, please... This is semi-normal." Luke said to Soki. "We're kinda used to dealing with this stuff, though we don't like it."
Soki sighed in protest, then relented. "Fine... How far until we reach this "subway" station?"
"It shouldn't be that far." Luke answered. "C'mon, let's keep moving."
"Lead the way, Luke." Soki replied.
"We'll split up once we get there and I'll lead you to Greenwich Village." Pepper said to Soki.
110th Street-Central Harlem North – Manhattan, New York
Luke led the way down the stairs into the the lobby with the NYPD Officers following after. Bucky took the rear guard, shooting down any pursuing Genma. The group quickly towards the gate and hopped over the ticket-checking devices.
Once they quickly made it to the terminal, everyone paused and took a deep breath.
"You guys good?" Luke asked.
"Yeah... We're good." the Commanding NYPD Officer said, dropping on all fours, and breathing heavily.
"Quiet, everyone!" Bucky ordered, holding up his hand, signalling everyone to be quiet. There was a faint sound of wheels riding on the subway track. It got louder, signalling that it was getting closer to the location.
"Hide. We don't know who's riding inside the subway car." Luke said, facing the NYPD Officers.
"Guys, you heard him!" the Commanding NYPD Officer said to his subordinates, ordering them to hide out of sight.
The NYPD Officers did as commanded.
"Really?" Soki asked.
"Look, I know the Gemna are your thing but there are other dangerous things other than them." Luke said.
"Like vampires." Kate chimed in.
"Oh, Sweet Christmas... Don't jinx us, it's already bad enough we're dealing with these 'Genma' clowns. We don't need to also be dealing with vampires." Luke groaned.
"What are vampires?"
"Not now, Soki." Luke said, eyeing the subway train that slowed down once it reached the station.
Pepper aimed her armored gauntlets at one of the random train cars, ready to fire repulsor blasts, at any hostile that dared to exit through the doors.
Bucky slung his assault rifle over his back and drew his shotgun. "This is going to be close-quarters."
Johnny eyed the subway train that got closer to the station and noticed a familiar logo and he sighed in relief, then turning to everyone else.
"Luke, it's cool. It's ours!" Johnny said, pointing to the "4" on the train cars.
"You have your own train?" Luke asked.
"Reed designed it. He said it's more convenient to have your own train for shipping stuff, than suffer through the Manhattan traffic." Johnny said.
Luke, Kate, Pepper, Sam, and Bucky nodded in unison.
"Sweet Christmas, Johnny, don't even get me started on the New York traffic." Luke said, massaging his temples.
"It gets worse every year." Sam complained, shaking his head. "When I'm flying out on patrol, I see at least 20 accidents a day!"
"Only 30?" Kate asked, shocked. "Lucky... I think I saw at least 50 on one day."
"If you're referring to THAT day, it don't count." Sam dismissed. "You're talking about that Luna Snow concert, ain't ya?"
"It TOTALLY counts!" Kate protested, waving her arms in the air. "There's ALWAYS something going on here. There was that Beyonce concert three months ago and that Rihanna concern last year."
"Saw a 20-car pileup on the way to a Skrillex concert one time." Johnny chimed in.
Pepper cleared her throat, she had heard enough. "We have more PRESSING things to worry about right now and traffic accidents are the LEAST of them right now."
"Well, traffic accidents will make our job HARDER..." Johnny quipped, deciding to be a smartass about it.
Pepper narrowed her eyes at Johnny. She knew that Johnny talked a lot and was often a smartass, but this was one of those moments she didn't feel like dealing with any of that.
"Seriously, Johnny?" Pepper rhetorically asked.
Johnny was silent, he didn't feel like being scolded by Pepper at the moment.
The doors to one of the subway train cars opened and everyone outside were on guard, not knowing who or what was on the train. Sure, it was designed to be used by the Fantastic Four, but for all they could know, the Genma could've hijacked the thing.
A legless robot, alabaster colored, hovered through the entrance of the subway car and headed in Johnny's direction.
"Herbie?" Johnny asked.
"You're alive, Sue will be glad to know." said the robot.
Soki curiously eyed the robot as he has NEVER seen anything like it before. He lowered his guard, seeing that the robot was friendly and that it was an ally to Johnny.
"Herb, what's the situation?" Johnny asked.
"Dr. Richards has put the entire building on lockdown but is sheltering civilians. Ben is on the street, actively leading the evacuation, and keeping hostiles at bay." the robot explained.
"What about big sis?"
"Susan Richards and Crystal are fighting the enemies from above." the robot answered.
"Wait, what's Crystal doing there?" Johnny asked, surprised. The tone Johnny used indicated that he and this "Crystal" have history together.
"Crystal was acting in her duty as Princess Crystalia Amaquelin of Attilan." the robot answered. "I thought you already knew about the meeting."
Johnny took a deep breath and sighed, shaking his head. "I heard Reed talk about Crystal but I was too sleepy to pay attention."
The robot then scanned everybody in proximity of Johnny. "Recognizing biometrics of Virginia Potts, recognizing biometrics of Samuel Wilson, recognizing biometrics of James Buchanan Barnes, recognizing biometrics of Kate Bishop, recognizing biometrics of Carl Lucas..."
Soki was cautious as he watched the robot scan these people.
The robot turned its attention to Soki and scanned him. "Biometrics are not recognizable."
"He's a friend, Herb." Johnny said.
The robot hovered towards Soki, who was still cautious and on guard. Soki was ready to draw his blade and hack this robot in half if it tried anything "funny" with him.
"Greetings, friend. I mean you no harm, my name is Herbie. " the robot responded, politely introducing itself to Soki.
"Soki, it's fine. Herbie means no harm." Pepper said to Soki, holding her hand out to signal him that the robot was friendly.
Soki nodded and moved his hands away from his sword.
"It is nice to meet you, Herbie. I am Soki." Soki said, introducing himself to the robot.
"I am the Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics. 'H.E.R.B.I.E' for short." H.E.R.B.I.E warmly greeted Soki.
Soki slowly nodded, he did NOT understand what any of what that meant.
"Stand by, incoming transmission." H.E.R.B.I.E as his chest turned into an image projector, which projected the image of a blonde-haired woman, who wore the same outfit that Johnny had on.
"Johnny?" the holographic woman asked.
"Sue, you're all right." Johnny said to the woman, named "Sue," with a tone of relief in his voice.
"Yeah, I'm still alive. Where are you?" Sue asked, then paused as she saw there were other people who were with Johnny.
"Hi, Sue." Pepper said, politely waving and smiling at Sue.
Sue expressed shock at seeing Pepper. "Pepper, what are you doing here?"
"I ran into Johnny by coincidence. Johnny ran into Luke's group by coincidence." Pepper explained.
"Hey, sis, I'm sorry for not being there so soon. I saw Luke's group needed help." Johnny said to Sue.
Sue nodded, she understood. "It's fine. We don't abandon our friends or anybody else who need our help."
"How's are you guys hanging?" Sam asked.
"We're good. Ben's working hard evacuating civilians to the building. Everybody is in a panic. I can't blame them." Sue said, taking a deep breath, and leaning her head back. "These things have only one thing on their mind, murder. I'd choose a Doombot over one of those freaks any day of the week."
"We have a friend who knows about these things." Pepper said, introducing Sue to Soki.
"Um, hello." Soki said, feeling awkward. This was the first time he was talking to a holographic projection.
"Nice to meet you, new friend." Sue nonchalantly said, introducing herself to Soki. "Nice outfit. Who's your designer?"
"Soki is from Feudal Era Japan, he's time displaced." Pepper explained.
"These things exist in your world, I mean in your time?" Sue asked.
Soki nodded. "Yeah, these things are called the Genma. They're demons from another dimension. The leader of the Genma, Fortinbras, wants to conquer the human world, starting with Japan."
"Now they're here..." Sue said. The sound of Sue's voice gave the impression that she did NOT want to deal with some brand new threat.
"We're splitting up here. I'm going with Soki to Greenwich Village, where the Sanctum Sanctorum is. I need to get him to Doctor Strange. Everyone else is going to the safe zone in Central Park." Pepper said to sue.
Sue nodded, she agreed with Pepper's plan. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Johnny, the rest of us can hold down the fort. Go with Pepper and Johnny to the Sanctorum."
"What about you?" Johnny asked.
"Crystal and I are doing fine. Colossus was in the area, he's helping Ben on the ground." Sue answered.
"Ask him how things are on Krakoa." Pepper requested.
"I'll do that, ONCE we've deal with those "Gemna" that your new friend, Soki, knows about." Sue said, then turned to Johnny again. "Get Soki to the Sanctum and fly back here as soon as possible."
Johnny nodded. "Yeah, yeah, you don't have to tell me twice."
"All of you be safe, all right?" Sue asked, rhetorically.
Luke nodded. "Yeah, don't have to tell me twice."
"See you all soon. H.E.R.B.I.E, end transmission." Sue said.
H.E.R.B.I.E ended the transmission and the holographic image of Sue disappeared. It was now the time to make a decision, who would go where with whom. Pepper and Johnny had already chosen to accompany Soki to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum.
Soki turned to Luke and spoke on the matter. "I think the rest of you should get them to safety. They need the help more than I do."
"You sure?" Luke asked.
Soki nodded. "You have to reunite with your family. Sam has to get to his group. Kate has to get to this place called Chinatown. Bucky's arsenal is invaluable to you guys, too."
"Soki's right. It's tactically sound." Bucky added. "Soki obviously knows how to handle himself. I have confidence in anybody who could give someone like Wolverine a run for his money, if the two ever crossed paths with each other."
Luke whistled at the thought. "Sweet Christmas, that would be INTERESTING to watch."
"Yeah, it would." Sam added.
"It's decided." Soki said.
Luke turned in the direction of the NYPD Officers who were still in hiding, then directed them to enter the Fantastic Four's private subway train.
"Next stop, Central Park." Luke said.
The surviving NYPD Officers wasted no time getting to the train as they quickly stepped through the doorway and quickly took their seats.
Bucky and Sam followed the NYPD Officers shortly.
Luke and Kate waited a little bit, turning their attention to Soki.
"It was great meeting and working with you, Soki." Kate said. She then walked up to Soki and affectionally hugged him, like he was a big brother figure, then releasing the hug. "You better survive this, okay?"
Soki nodded.
"Stay alive, guys." Luke said.
Pepper and Johnny nodded.
A few minutes later...
Soki, Pepper, and Johnny waved goodbye to everyone on the subway train as it slowly left the station, making its way to Central Park.
"C'mon, Soki. We need to get to Doctor Strange's." Pepper said. She then turned to Johnny, "I need you to take the front. We might run into vampires."
Johnny nodded, then reignited his body. "Roast the hell out of the vampires, check."
"Hopefully, a big 'hopefully,' we won't run into any of them." Pepper added.
"Are vampires bad?" Soki asked.
"It's complicated and we should save that conversation for Strange." Pepper answered. She then walked to the edge of the platform and carefully climbed down.
Johnny floated off the floor and then flew down the tunnel leading toward Greenwich, but he flew at a pace that allowed Soki to catch up.
Soki walked to the edge, climbed off, and followed Johnny.
Pepper waited and followed Soki after. She aimed her gauntlets toward her end of the tunnel, ready to attack any threat coming their way.
Author's Note – I introduced a non-Marvel character in this chapter and mentioned a couple more. If you know where these characters come from, leave an answer in the reviews.