Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter for Earth's Mightiest Huntsmen. And we're finally here! The conclusion to the first arc!

Thank you all for your continued support. Now let's get back to the story.

Hydra Island

"So…anybody got a plan here?" Tony asked, his palms raised and ready to fight the massive amount of Hydra soldiers and mechs that were surrounding them.

"Our enemies appear to want to prevent us from reaching the defense grid," Vision noted.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Vision." Tony replied.

Tony analyzed the surrounding Hydra soldiers, taking note of their weapons. "Oh, great. Looks like Zemo had enough time to weaponize Adhesive X."

"Well, if they try to use that stuff on me, I'll just shrink down small enough to free myself," Hank spoke up

"And my ability to alter my own density will render any attempts of gluing unsuccessful," Vision added.

"Great. So I'm the only one actually in danger here," Tony grumbled. "Typical."

"Surrender, Avengers scum!" one of the Hydra soldiers yelled. "We got you surrounded—" Whatever he was going to say next was lost as Tony fired a repulsor blast at him, knocking him to the ground.

"Yeah, surrender's not really in the Avengers' vocabulary," Tony told him.

"Open fire!" another Hydra soldier yelled, and the soldiers started shooting. Most of them were still firing bullets, but a few of the soldiers were shooting globs and streams of a pale, glue-like substance which stuck to everything it hit.

Hank went small as he jumped, shrinking to the size of the ant. It was hard to see him that point, but the soldier he had been heading towards buckled from a seemingly invisible force. Hank grew back to normal size seconds later, ducking under two more Hydra soldiers as they swung at him.

The giant mechs aimed their cannon arms at the Avengers and fired massive beams of energy at them. Tony took off for the sky, flying around the beams before launching several missiles from his shoulders at one of the mechs. The missiles exploded, toppling the mech, but another one simply took its place, launching his own volley of missiles at Tony.

"Damnit!" he swore, flying away from the missiles as they chased him. He flew at one of the other mechs and suddenly flew up. The missiles, having no time to track his movements, hit the other mech, blowing it to bits.

Several of the glue gunners were aiming their attention to Vision, who simply phased through the glue as it hit him. The gem in his head glowed before shooting a beam through the guns of the soldiers that were shooting at him. The guns exploded, showering the soldiers in Adhesive X.

"Cap, you copy?!" Tony asked through the comms. "We may be delayed a little in getting to that defense grid."

Static greeted him. "Cap? Wasp? Panther? Anyone on comms?" Tony tried again.

"Damn. They're jamming our comms!" he reported to Hank and Vision. "Vision, see what you can do."

"I will do my best," Vision answered as he swept around the battlefield, taking down soldiers left and right. A mech suddenly stomped down on the ground next to him, sending him stumbling back. The mech raised its foot again, stomping down on top of the android, only for the foot to smash right through him, leaving a hole in the foot and the Avenger unharmed thanks to his density altering abilities. "But the jamming is significant. I cannot even raise S.H.I.E.L.D. to update them on the situation."

"Great," Tony grumbled, firing a set of lasers from his wrists to take down a few more Hydra soldiers. "The one time we actually want to talk to Fury, we can't."

"Focus, Tony," Hank warned, shrinking down as he dove to avoid two soldiers trying to punch him at the same time, only for them to punch each other instead. He regrew a second later. "We got to get through these guys and get to that defense grid."

"You go, Hank," Tony told him, bringing his shield online to block several laser blasts from the mechs while using his repulsors to bring down another soldier. "Vision and I will keep them busy."

"Are you sure, Tony?"

"We'll be fine, Hank!" Tony let out a grunt as he caught a mech's arm while it swung at him, straining from the force and the weight. "You have to get those defenses down before S.H.I.E.L.D. gets here."

"Understood. I'll get it done." Hank shrunk down once more, vanishing from sight. Vision soon floated up to join Tony in the air as the weapons fire on them only increased.

"Our chances for victory here are getting slimmer by the second," Vision warned.

"Just keep fighting," Tony told him. "We've handled bigger threats than a few Hydra goons."

The shoulder pads on the Hydra mechs suddenly hissed and slid open, revealing several rows of missiles, which all began to glow with energy.

Tony let out another groan. "Really?"

Clint fired another arrow at Doughboy, which did absolutely nothing to slow the beast down as it leaped at him, forcing him to roll to the side. Natasha's gauntlets, firing everything she had, also didn't seem to be having much of an effect on the thing.

"Uh, guys?! Little help here!" Janet called from where she was still stuck on Doughboy. She struggled to fly away, her wings flapping as fast as she could make them, but the glue-soaked monster kept her in place.

Zola laughed. "A futile effort," he gloated, folding his hands behind his body. "With the added bonus of Adhesive X, Doughboy is unstoppable."

"Okay, I'm open to suggestions here," Clint said to Natasha.

Natasha jumped to the side to avoid a sticky tentacle from Doughboy. "Doughboy seems slower and more compact than before," she noted. "And it doesn't seem to be attempting to grow bigger."

Several more tentacles went towards Clint, who had to spin and roll out of the way to avoid getting caught. "So?"

"So that must mean that, by making Doughboy made up of Adhesive X, Zola must have had to sacrifice many of Doughboy's other abilities to make this one work, such as maneuverability."

Doughboy lunged at Clint again while swinging a tentacle at Natasha, forcing both to dodge. "Yeah, he's still maneuvering!" Clint pointed out. "What's your point?"

"It means he may be weaker than the other Doughboys we've fought."

"Still waiting for news on how we take this thing down!" Clint fired a trio of arrows at Doughboy. The arrows stuck in its goopy flesh and exploded, but the explosion was caught inside of the creature. Its skin rippled from the shockwave, but it was completely undamaged.

"Careful!" Janet called. "I don't really want to end up as fried bug!"

Zola let out a laugh. "Struggle all you want, little bug. But you will find that once you have stuck to Adhesive X, nothing you do can get you unstuck."

Janet struggled some more. "Ah, screw it." She shrank down even smaller than she already was, too small for the eye to see. A few seconds later, she reappeared, flying away from Doughboy, her yellow boots apparently still stuck within. "Anybody got a plan here?" she asked.

Doughboy, enraged at somehow having lost its prisoner, leaped towards the heroes with a growl. Clint and Natasha rolled away, while Jan flew up, shooting a few blasts at the creature with her stingers. "We'll take care of Doughboy!" he yelled. "You go get Zola!"

"Hawkeye—"

Clint dodged another swipe from a tentacle as Natasha rolled under Doughboy. "There's an ESP box on top of Zola's body," she told Janet. "It helps him control his creations. Disable it, and it could weaken Doughboy enough for us to finish him off."

Janet nodded. "Got it." She flew directly towards Zola, sending more blasts from her stingers at him, aiming directly for the small rod at the top of the robot. He simply raised his metal hands, blocking the blasts.

"Come on, Miss Van Dyne," he taunted, the face widening into an evil grin. "But you will find that I am harder to defeat than you think."

"You've lost, Zemo," Steve warned. "Put down your weapons and surrender."

"Never," Zemo growled. "I have planned this moment for months, ever since I first learned that S.H.I.E.L.D. had saved Adhesive X. My family's legacy, our greatest creation—it is mine now. And it will be the end of the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and anyone who stands in Hydra's way. The world will be ours."

"That's never going to happen," Steve told him.

"It has already begun!" Zemo snapped. "Your Avengers are scattered all over Hydra Island. My forces are closing in on them, and when S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives, I will bring their Helicarrier to the ground."

"You won't be taking anyone down today, Zemo," Steve said. "We're taking you in."

"Come quietly, and you may gain some leniency," T'Challa added.

Zemo narrowed his eyes. "I think not. Crossbones!"

The wall behind Steve and T'Challa exploded, sending both men stumbling forward. Crossbones appeared through the smoke and rubble, armed with a grenade launcher. "Crossbones—take care of the panther," Zemo ordered.

Crossbones fired another grenade at T'Challa, who was blown back. The mercenary marched towards him, casually reloading his weapon.

"Panther!" Steve moved to throw his shield at Crossbones, but Zemo moving caught his attention. Thus, he was able to dodge out of the way as he fired a glob of Adhesive X at the spot that he had just been standing in.

"Your focus should be on me, Captain America," Zemo warned. "For I will be the one to finish what the Red Skull started. I will be the one to kill you!"

"Go, Captain!" T'Challa yelled from where he was facing off against Crossbones. "I will be fine!"

Steve gritted his teeth and stared Zemo down. "Fine, Zemo," he told him. "You want a fight? You've got one."

Zemo stepped down away from his throne, still aiming the Adhesive X gun at Steve. "I'm going to enjoy this."

He fired several more globs at him, which he ran to avoid, taking note as to where they hit so as to avoid stepping on the glue patches. He threw his shield at Zemo. He ducked, and the shield sailed over his head. However, when he rose again to continue shooting, the shield ricocheted off the throne and hit his hand, knocking the gun from his grip.

Steve made his move, running straight at Zemo, picking up his rolling shield along the way. Zemo, growling slightly, drew his adamantium sword and thrust it at him, which the Avenger blocked with his shield.

"This is how it should be, Captain," Zemo snarled. "You and me, in a battle to the death, where only one of us will walk away."

"That's not going to happen, Zemo," Steve grunted, forcing Zemo back with a shove and attempting to punch him in the face. Zemo blocked and tried to slice at Steve's arm, but he managed to pull back in time.

"Making us come here was a stupid move, Zemo," Steve told him as they continued their battle, trading blows and dodges. "Why risk everything for this?"

"My father's legacy remains with Adhesive X," Zemo responded, matching Steve blow for blow. "A legacy you tried to destroy during the war. It would've defeated the Allies had it not been for your interference. Now, I will finish my father's work, and use Adhesive X to destroy you once and for all."

He swung his sword again, scraping it against Steve's shield. The Avenger felt himself being pushed back, but dug his feet into the ground to keep himself from moving. As Zemo swung again, Steve threw the shield into the ground bouncing it off the floor and directly into Zemo's face. The Hydra leader cried out in pain, taking a few steps back.

Steve, having caught the shield again, dashed forward, slamming the shield into Zemo and sending him sprawling. "You've never been able to defeat me before, Zemo," Steve reminded him. "Even with Adhesive X, you can't win."

Zemo panted, crawling back to his feet. "I don't need to beat you," he said. "All I need is a hostage, and you will surrender yourself to me."

Steve threw his shield again as he ran. While Zemo deflected it with his sword, Steve slid on the ground, taking out Zemo's legs and forcing him back to the ground. "That's not going to happen, Zemo," he declared. "The Avengers are willing to die to save the world."

Zemo's eyes narrowed. "And are you willing to watch one of your friends die in order to see me rot behind bars?"

Steve didn't answer, instead picking up his shield and putting himself back in a fighting stance.

"Very well then," Zemo said, pointing his sword at his foe. "Enough playing around. Crossbones!"

Crossbones, still fighting T'Challa on the other side of the throne room, suddenly surged forward, throwing two punches into him and forcing him back. At the same time, he threw a grenade that instantly exploded, coating T'Challa with Adhesive X as he fell to the ground. The instant he hit the ground, he was stuck.

"T'Challa!" Steve called, momentarily distracted. Zemo took the opportunity to attack, knocking Steve aside.

"This is the moment, Captain!" Zemo told him, rushing over to the stuck T'Challa and ripping his mask off. He placed his sword's tip at T'Challa's throat as he struggled helplessly. "Surrender yourself! Now! Or the Black Panther dies!"

The next rocket that hit him knocked Tony to the ground. "Running low on suit power here," he warned.

"Our enemies continue to multiply," Vision responded, spinning around to blast another squad of Hydra soldiers.

"Yeah, I can see that." Tony got back to his feet, narrowly avoiding a glob of Adhesive X. "Anytime S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to show up is fine with me."

"A S.H.I.E.L.D. attack on Hydra Island is ill advised while the defense grid is still operational."

Tony fired several repulsor blasts at nearby Hydra soldiers and sent a missile at a mech. "Then Hank better hurry up and get that defense grid down."

Hank moved quietly through the hallways in one of the buildings of Hydra Island, riding one of the ants that he had brought with him. Due to Hydra Island's artificial nature, he knew that there were unlikely to be any ants already on the island, so he had brought a few with him.

Thanks to his smart thinking, he was already getting close to where the defense grid was. Time was of the essence. Not even Iron Man and Vision could hold out against that many Hydra soldiers forever. Once the defense grid was down, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be free to move in and help secure the island.

He soon came upon a large set of blast doors. "That must be it," he thought. He directed his ant to crawl under the door. Once they were inside, he found himself in what appeared to be a large control room. Over two dozen guards were inside, monitoring security systems and walking around the area.

He flew around on his ant, surveying the scene and trying to decide the best course of action. It was hard to figure out which one of the many machines and computers in there was connected to the defense grid. And once he made his presence known, it was going to be that much harder.

"Well," he said aloud. "Guess it's time to go big." He jumped off the ant. As he fell, he activated his suit and began to grow at an alarming rate. In seconds, he was at his usual size, growing even faster.

The Hydra soldiers noticed him instantly. "It's Ant-Man!" one of them yelled. "Stop him before—"

But it was too late.

A massive explosion rocked the area, causing Tony, the Hydra soldiers, and the mechs to all stumble. Everyone turned in the direction of the explosion just as a giant Hank rose from the remains of the building.

"Well now," Tony commented, taking advantage of the distraction. "I guess the defense grid is down.

"Along with whatever is jamming the comms," Vision added. "I'm picking up S.H.I.E.L.D. comm chatter on the long-range frequencies."

"About damn time." Tony opened a comm channel to the Helicarrier. "You there, Fury? The long-range defenses on Hydra Island are down. You're clear to launch your strike force."

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

"I hear you, Iron Man," Fury responded, standing in the bridge of the Helicarrier. "We're preparing our strike teams right now. And we may have something more to help you against Adhesive x."

"Really? Your scientists found a counter?" Tony asked.

"Actually, it was thanks to Spider-Man and the alien girl. They found an expert and got a formula from him. They're on board right now, ready to help."

"You actually brought that kid along?"

"No, Spider-Man did. He vouched for her."

"Well then…this just got a whole lot more interesting."

"Get back to work, Stark," Fury ordered. "Expect reinforcements shortly." He ended the transmission before Tony could offer up a snarky response.

"We've got incoming, Director Fury!" a dark-haired woman called from nearby. "Hydra's launching aircraft, and they're heading right for us!"

"Ready all defense teams, Hill," Fury ordered. "Tell the Quinjets to launch and get boots on the ground. And put me through to Fitz and Simmons in the lab."

"Yes, Director." Hill tapped a few buttons, and a video feed of the lab appeared, where Agents Fitz and Simmons were working on what was obviously the counter to Adhesive X.

Simmons was the first to notice Fury on the monitor. "Ah! Hello, Director," she spoke.

"Cut the small talk, Simmons," Fury interrupted. "Is it ready?"

"Well, the formula appears to be able to work in the brief simulations we've been able to run," Simmons reported. "But, as you know, Hydra took all the Adhesive X samples we had. So we won't know for sure if this will work until we test it out in the field."

"It's better than nothing," Fury decided. "Good work, you two."

"What, no thanks for me?" An upside-down Spider-Man poked his head down into the camera feed. "After all the thinking I did to figure out that Paste Pot Pete could help us out? I'm hurt, Nick."

Fury let out a slight grunt of frustration. "I'll thank you if this works, Spider-Man."

"Well, you're in luck," Spider-Man told him as he flipped down to the ground. "Fitz and Simmons are giving me some of the counter to fit in my web shooters so I can help out down on the island."

"And what about your new friend?"

"Ruby?" Spider-Man jerked his thumb off screen. "Been working on her weapon for the past hour, trying to get it to work with some of your stun ammo. I think she's going to try to help out too."

"Remember—she's your responsibility."

"Hey, relax, Fury. I'm great with kids."

"Uh huh." Fury cut the feed.

"Enemy forces closing," Hill warned.

Fury crossed his arms. "Then let's give them a show."

The alarms were blaring, red lights flashing on the walls. But Ruby heard none of it as she finished working on Crescent Rose. She squinted at the weapon, lining her new modified ammo clips to the chamber, making sure that everything was cut and fitted correctly. "Here we go," she thought, sliding the new clip filled with the stun ammo into her beloved weapon. The clip slid neatly into place, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey." Ruby yelped, swinging around and waving her arms defensively only to see that it was Spider-Man behind her. "We're about to start our attack. Are you ready to go?"

Ruby grinned and cocked Crescent Rose. "Let's go kick some butt."

They ran out of the lab and back towards the hangar, rushing past S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as ran around in different directions, heading to various stations and positions. Seeing everyone running around reminded Ruby of how everyone was scrambling around Vale and Beacon Academy when Ultron had first arrived. Like those soldiers, these S.H.I.E.L.D. agents looked determined and confident that they would win the day. But, unlike back then, Ruby could see a path to victory. Hydra wasn't Ultron. They could be defeated.

Ruby and Spider-Man arrived in the same hangar bay they had landed in, only now it was full of activity. Several more Quinjets were launching, and flight crews and soldiers were running about. And out the hangar, Ruby could see the start of a ferocious air battle. Explosions lit up the sky with fire and steel as the two sides clashed.

"How are we making it through all that?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I was thinking that—" Spider-Man whipped his head around. "Woah! Spidey-Sense is going crazy!"

"What's—" Ruby started to ask. But Spider-Man suddenly tackled her right as something crashed through the ceiling, raining debris down right where she had just been standing.

Spider-Man helped Ruby back to her feet as the strange metal cylinder that had crashed down into the hanger burst open, revealing a small squad of Hydra soldiers…as well as Grim Reaper.

"They're boarding the Helicarrier!" Spider-Man yelled.

Ruby, in response, pulled Crescent Rose out and slammed the scythe into the ground before aiming the barrel of the gun at one of the Hydra soldiers just getting out. "Here goes nothing!" she cried, pulling the trigger.

BLAM! Crescent Rose kicked back into Ruby's shoulder as it fired, remaining stuck in the floor. The shot hit the Hydra soldier dead in the chest, causing sparks to run all over his body before he collapsed, unconscious.

Grim Reaper swung around to face her. "Well, well, well," he said, brushing his cloak back and revealing his scythe hand. "If it isn't the wannabe hero."

Ruby aimed Crescent Rose at the villain. "You're not getting away this time!" she shouted over to him.

"I bested you once already, little girl. Do you really think you can beat me this time?"

Ruby didn't even blink. "Yes."

Spider-Man looked from Ruby to Grim Reaper. "So, uh…you got this, right?"

"Go," Ruby told him. "I'll get him this time."

He hesitated, but then told her, "Go get him, Ruby." With that, he ran off, heading for the edge of the hangar.

"You should've told the bug to stay here," Grim Reaper warned. "You only survived last time because of Black Panther. Who's going to save you this time?"

Ruby dug Crescent Rose out from the floor and pointed it at Grim Reaper. "I'm going to bring you down this time, Reaper."

Grim Reaper chuckled, waving off the Hydra soldiers that had come with him. "We shall see."

Hydra Island

The Hydra soldiers were in full retreat as several Quinjets flew in towards Tony and Vision's position. The remaining three mechs aimed their weapons towards the Quinjets and opened fire, but a flurry of bullets from the trio of ships tore the mechs to shreds.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," Tony commented as the three Quinjets landed and several squads of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents poured out.

"Iron Man!" Agent Quartermain emerged from one of the Quinjets, flanked by two more agents.

"Agent Quartermain, welcome to the party," Tony greeted him.

"Looks like you've had quite the party already," Quartermain noted, looking around at the unconscious Hydra soldiers, destroyed mechs, and patches of Adhesive X that were strewn about the entire area.

"You should've come sooner. I would've saved a few snakeheads for you to take care of personally."

Quartermain chuckled. "We're landing men all over the island to secure it. But Hydra's launched their own attack on the Helicarrier. We're holding them off for now, but we could use the support."

"All right," Tony said, activating his thrusters and starting to rise into the air again. "I'll see what I can do."

Quartermain gestured to the agents by his side. "May, Ward—with me. We're taking Hydra Island. Let's move out."

Janet fired another few dozen stinger blasts at Zola, who blocked them with his hands as he tried to swat her out of the air. "How we doing over there, guys?!" she called.

"Oh, just peachy!" Clint called back as he jumped back and sidestepped attacks from Doughboy, while Natasha shot at the creature with her gauntlets. "Okay, I'm running out of ideas here!"

Natasha slid under Doughboy's flailing tentacles, still firing on the monster. "You didn't even have any ideas to stop this thing to begin with!"

"I don't see you coming up with any ideas either!" Clint countered.

Natasha ignored him as she slid to the side, trying to come up with a way to stop the creature. That was when she saw something sticking out from the fleshy mass of Doughboy. It looked like Janet's yellow boots. Now that she was focused, she could see a few other things sticking out—small pieces of scrap metal, arrow shafts from Clint's arrows, and a few other things.

Seeing all that gave Natasha an idea. "Hawkeye! Start throwing everything you can into Doughboy!" she yelled, grabbing another piece of scrap metal and tossing it into the monster.

"What's that going to do—" Clint started, but then he suddenly realized what Natasha had in mind, and he grinned. "Now that is a plan!" He started grabbing more debris created from the battle and started throwing whatever he could at Doughboy, continuing to dodge the beast as it tried to attack.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Zola snarled before wincing in pain as another flurry of stings from Wasp strafed down his metal body.

"Giving your pet a bad case of indigestion," Clint quipped. At this point, more and more pieces of metal were sticking out of Doughboy.

Natasha threw one last metal piece into Doughboy's head. "Now, Hawkeye!"

Clint nocked another arrow, aiming directly at the metal stuck in Doughboy's goopy head. He let the arrow fly, hitting his mark easily. Upon contact, the arrow began to spark, sending strikes of electricity all throughout Doughboy and the metal pieces stuck all over the creature.

"No!" Zola yelled, starting to run for Doughboy. But Janet saw her chance, flying down and shooting multiple stinger blasts at the ESP box that was on top of Zola artificial body. The rod began to spark, and Zola cried out in pain before collapsing, his body sparking.

Doughboy, however, was starting to swell as the electricity arching around it began to reach critical mass. The face changed to that of confusion and agony until, with an ear-splitting screech, it exploded, sending globs of Adhesive X in all directions.

Unfortunately, the explosion also blew back Clint, Natasha, and Janet, making them hit the walls and floor just in time for the Adhesive X to splash into them, pinning them down.

"Well…we got them," Clint said after a moment of silence.

Janet, her body completely covered in Adhesive X other than her head due to her tiny form, struggled to get up, but she was completely glued to the floor. "Yay team," she grumbled.

"I won't ask again, Captain," Zemo ordered, keeping his sword tip against the exposed throat of T'Challa. "Put down your shield and surrender, or Wakanda will be forced to find a new king."

"Damnit, Zemo!" Steve shouted in response. "Can't you hear what's going on out there? S.H.I.E.L.D. is here! You can't escape! Come quietly!"

"No!" Zemo snapped. Next to him, Crossbones stood ready to assist. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will not be taking me today. Today, an Avenger dies—whether that be you or the Panther is your decision."

Steve's eyes narrowed at Zemo. "Can you do it, Captain?" Zemo challenged. "Can you condemn one of your closest friends and allies to death just to bring me in?"

Steve clenched his fists, looking down at T'Challa. The Wakandan's face was expressionless as he stared directly at Zemo. "We are all willing to die to defeat threats to the world such as yourself, Zemo," T'Challa eventually told him. "For even if one of us falls, we will be avenged by our allies. Your best option is to attempt to flee now. Otherwise, S.H.I.E.L.D. will apprehend you. Every second you delay will increase the chances of your capture."

Zemo growled. "No. This is the end for you, Black Panther." He pulled his sword back, preparing to plunge it into T'Challa's throat, even as Steve raised his arm, preparing to throw his shield at him.

Thwip! A web line suddenly stuck to Zemo's sword, yanking it from his grasp. "Didn't your mother tell you not to play with knives?" Spider-Man quipped as he landed, catching the sword. "You could poke someone's eye out with this thing."

"Spider-Man," Zemo growled. "You're a long way from neighborhood."

"Yeah, well, threatening the world with discount Elmer's glue kind of ruins the neighborhood," Spider-Man told him.

Zemo growled in frustration. "It matters not! I still have the panther as my prisoner! As long as he is bonded to my Adhesive X, he is at my mercy."

"Really? Well, let's just see about changing that." Spider-Man aimed both his web shooters at Zemo and fired. But the webs flew wide, instead hitting just next to where T'Challa was bonded to the floor.

Zemo let out a laugh. "What was that supposed to do?"

Spider-Man nodded, probably smiling under his mask. "Even the playing field."

Zemo's eyes widened as he turned around. The glue holding T'Challa to the ground was dissolving before his eyes. "Impossible! Adhesive X is unbreakable! Undefeatable!"

"Until someone makes a formula to counter it," Spider-Man told him.

Zemo's next response was cut off as T'Challa slammed into him, sending the villain sprawling. Crossbones cursed and brought out a shotgun, but Spider-Man quickly webbed the gun away. "I'm going to need to see your gun license," he told him.

Zemo was back on his feet, grabbing for his sword. Steve lunged at him, beating him down with a punch. "You're not going anywhere, Zemo!"

Crossbones cursed again. "Forget this." He turned around and started running for the exit.

"Go after him!" Steve yelled as he struggled with Zemo. "I'll handle Zemo!"

"Come, Spider-Man!" T'Challa told Spider-Man, slipping his mask back on.

"Right behind you!" Spider-Man swung after T'Challa as they pursued Crossbones, leaving Zemo alone with Steve.

"It's just you and me now Zemo," Steve grunted as he pushed the villain back. "Let's finish this."

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

Grim Reaper struck first, running at Ruby and slashing at her with his hand scythe repeatedly. Ruby blocked and ducked under each strike, eventually swinging Crescent Rose up towards him, forcing him to back off. He growled in frustration and ran in to attack again.

Ruby leaped back, firing Crescent Rose a few times to propel herself back rapidly before swinging the weapon to point behind her and firing again, propelling herself forward to attack again. Grim Reaper slid to the side, swinging his scythe out to try to knock Ruby's legs out from under her. She jumped over the scythe, kicking the villain in the face and sending him stumbling back.

She landed, converted Crescent Rose into its rifle form, and fired multiple shots at Grim Reaper. He blocked them with his scythe as he ran at her, thrusting it at her chest. She used the rifle's recoil to blow herself back before converting the weapon back to a scythe. She slammed it on the ground, using its momentum to swing herself around, aiming to kick Grim Reaper again.

Unfortunately, he was ready for her this time. He grabbed her leg and tried to pull her away from her weapon. She instantly activated her Semblance, speeding away with a burst of rose petals. She leaped into the air and fired several more shots at Grim Reaper, who ran to avoid getting hit. His own cannon popped out from the top of his scythe, letting him return fire.

Ruby landed on the floor, using Crescent Rose's blade to deflect his blasts. She sped forward, using her Semblance once more to get herself closer, where the two continue their fight, each one using their scythes to try to hack and slash at the other.

"You really want to be a hero?" Grim Reaper snarled, matching her strike for strike. "I hope you're prepared to die like one. You think you're ready for the people on this planet that can kill you in a heartbeat? Do you really think you can stand up to threats like Doom? Or Magneto?"

"I don't know who those people are," Ruby said back as Grim Reaper forced her back. "And I don't care. All I need to do right now is take you down."

She stuck Crescent Rose into the ground and fired several rounds. Grim Reaper held his scythe hand up to block the shots, deflecting them around the hangar. "You've got quite the determined streak, kid," he told her. "But whoever you are, wherever you came from—you were better off there, failing the people you care about the most." He swept forward, his scythe spinning at top speed. Ruby was forced to move the blade on Crescent Rose in to deflect the scythe. Sparks flew as the blades clashed. He grinned in anticipation, using his superior strength to start to force her back.

Grim Reaper's words really hit home for Ruby, making her think about everyone on Remnant. Her Uncle Qrow. Her Father. Ozpin. All the other students at Beacon and the other Academies. Everyone that could be dead now thanks to Ultron.

Even worse, she was thinking about her friends. Weiss. Blake. Jaune. Ren. Pyrrha. Nora.

Yang.

Ruby still didn't know where her friends were, or if they were even still alive. If they had been transported to Earth, they would've been found by now. So where were they? Just thinking about it brought her to the verge of tears.

She gripped Crescent Rose tighter. "No," she said. "I'm not failing anyone. I will find my friends—and I will take you down!" She used her Semblance again, darting to the side, which caused Grim Reaper to stumble forward, off balance.

Ruby slid on the floor, aiming Crescent Rose behind her and pulling the trigger, sending her flying forward. At the last second, as Grim Reaper turned to face her again, she slammed Crescent Rose down, flipping over it and kicking him in the chest. He stumbled back as Ruby landed on the floor, picking up her weapon and continuing her assault, taking great care to not directly hit the villain with the blade, merely intent on keeping him off balance.

Grim Reaper scowled and did a front flip, kicking Ruby in the face. She took a few unstable steps back. Seeing his chance, the villain surged forward, slicing at her. "Now I've got you!"

But Ruby used her Semblance to jump back just out of reach, picking up Crescent Rose and switching it to its rifle form. As Grim Reaper's scythe missed her while she was in midair, she aimed her weapon right at his face and fired several times. The force of the recoil sent her flying back, but the force of the impact of the energy blasts sent him clear into one of unmanned Quinjets in the hangar before he slumped to the ground.

Ruby approached him cautiously, not sure if he was unconscious yet or not. Sure enough, he soon crawled to his feet, coughing from exhaustion. "Tell me," he rasped, "who are you?"

Ruby stared him down. "I'm a hero," she told him.

Grim Reaper suddenly leaped at her, his scythe spinning rapidly. Ruby quickly slid to the side before swinging Crescent Rose down. The blade hit the villain's scythe arm, slicing through it easily. The scythe fell to the ground while he stumbled forward, his arm sparking.

Grim Reaper stared at where his scythe had once been in shock. He swung around to face Ruby only to be met with the barrel of Crescent Rose. His eyes widened as Ruby smiled and pulled the trigger multiple times. The stun blasts sent him far into the wall, knocking him out cold.

Ruby let out a huge breath as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents moved in, picking up Grim Reaper's body and carrying him away. "Thanks, kid," one of the agents told her. "He's been a pain in the ass for a while now."

Ruby beamed with pride at the praise. She had finally beaten a villain all on her own. No one had to help her this time.

Things were finally looking up.

Hydra Island

"Come on, Crossbones!" Spider-Man called as he and T'Challa chased the mercenary. "It's completely fine that you're wearing a pirate flag on your chest!"

"Shut up, bug!" Crossbones turned around and pulled a pistol out, firing it repeatedly at Spider-Man, who easily dodged each bullet as he landed.

"Nope. Nope. Missed again," Spider-Man taunted. T'Challa took the opportunity to rush forward, sending a flying kick into Crossbones, slamming him into the wall. Spider-Man sent a flurry of webs at him, which he managed to dodge out of the way of.

"You're far more annoying than anyone has ever said!" Crossbones growled.

Spider-Man flipped up onto the ceiling. "Aww, I didn't know you cared."

T'Challa engaged Crossbones, who activated his wrist blades, and the two began to have a brutal battle, with the mercenary slashing with his blades, and the Avenger deflecting and attacking with his claws.

Spider-Man stayed on the ceiling, tracking Crossbones with his web shooters, waiting for an opening to immobilize him. But it wasn't easy. Crossbones was a master combatant, and even Captain America had difficulties beating him hand to hand.

Fortunately, T'Challa wasn't alone, and Crossbones was getting more and more annoyed. Eventually, the hero leaped into the air, allowing Spider-Man to spray Crossbones down with webs. The first few shots pinned his limbs to the wall. The next, long strand of webbing wrapped around his torso.

"You little—" Crossbones' words were cut off when Spider-Man webbed his mouth shut.

Spider-Man jumped down to the floor. "I'm sorry, but you've exceeded your weekly allotment of sadistic threats."

Crossbones struggled against the webs, but it was useless. He was caught.

Steve ducked under Zemo's sword and grabbed his elbow, forcing his arm down. With his other arm, he threw an uppercut that sent Zemo flying. He hit the ground hard, grunting in pain.

"Surrender, Zemo!" Steve ordered. "You've lost. Your lieutenants are being rounded up as we speak."

Zemo crawled back to his feet. "It's never over, Captain," he snarled. "Hydra will always survive. Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place. You will never defeat us for good. We—"

Steve threw his shield into Zemo, knocking him out cold. The Hydra leader sank to his knees before falling face first onto the floor. He caught the shield as it came back to him.

It was over.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

Overall, hundreds of Hydra soldiers had been rounded up all over the island. The survivors of the attack—the ones that hadn't been able to commit suicide to avoid capture—were being led onto various Quinjets to be shipped off to prison.

The biggest catches of the day were, of course, the supervillains. Crossbones was being loaded up to be transported to the Vault, alongside Grim Reaper, who was currently being held aboard the Helicarrier after his fight with Ruby. Both Arnim Zola and Baron Zemo would be transported to the most secure of the supervillain prisons, the Raft.

The Helicarrier had suffered minor damage in the firefight, but was otherwise intact. Repair crews were already working on fixing the ship as it hovered directly over Hydra Island

The Avengers—plus Spider-Man—watched the cleanup on the top deck of the Helicarrier. "I think we did good today," Spider-Man commented.

"Easy for you to say," Clint grumbled. "I'll be picking glue patches out of my skin for days."

"Lay off him, Clint," Steve told him. "If it wasn't for Spider-Man, you'd probably still be stuck to that wall down in Zola's lab."

"Avengers." Everyone turned around as Nick Fury approached.

"Fury," Steve greeted.

"Good work today," the S.H.I.E.L.D. director complimented. "This was a major victory against Hydra, especially now that we have both Zemo and Zola in custody, let alone Crossbones and Grim Reaper."

"It wasn't easy," Tony agreed. "But I'd say we got the job done."

"And Adhesive X?" Steve asked.

"Now that we have a working counter to it, the formula is useless to Hydra," Fury told him. "We have no further use for it."

"Make sure it stays that way," Hank said. "We don't want another repeat of this incident."

Fury didn't say another word. He simply just nodded at the Avengers and left.

"It is probably best that we leave S.H.I.E.L.D. to finish the cleanup and return to New York," Vision suggested.

"Yeah…there's probably a few dozen more muggers I need to catch," Spider-Man agreed. "Bills to pay. Hopefully no crazy supervillains lurking around trying to kill me."

"You all go find a Quinjet," Steve told them, looking over to the edge of the Helicarrier, where Ruby was sitting. "I'll get the kid."

Ruby sat on the edge of the Helicarrier, her legs dangling over thin air as she stared out over the horizon.

"Doing okay?" Ruby looked over as Steve came forward, taking a seat next to her.

"Hey, Steve," Ruby said. "I'm okay."

"You should be proud of what you accomplished today," he told her. "You took down Grim Reaper. You may be young, but you've already proven that you're on your way to be a great hero."

Ruby blushed at the praise, but didn't respond.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked.

Ruby looked back out over the horizon. "I'm worried about my friends."

Steve followed her gaze. "I know. And I promise that, if they're out there somewhere, we'll find them. Until then, you're welcome to stay at Avengers Mansion. I can't promise that you can come along on missions, but we'll be more than happy to continue your training."

Ruby managed a smile. "Thanks, Steve."

Steve stood up. "We're about to head out."

"I'll be right there," Ruby told him, standing up as well. Steve smiled, and left her alone.

Ruby looked out at the sky. She took a deep breath. "Yang. Weiss. Blake. Jaune. Pyrrha. Ren. Nora. Be safe. I'll find you. I'll find you all. And then, together, we're going to get back to Remnant and take Ultron down. I promise."

But until then, she would stay with her new friends. She would train with the best heroes on the planet. And if—no, when—she found her friends again, she would be ready.

Elsewhere

One moment he was on the ground as Ultron stood over everyone, gloating. The next, there was a flash of pinkish energy, and he was flying back, landing in a heap and rolling several feet, his sword and shield clattering next to him.

Jaune Arc let out a groan, crawling to Crocea Mors and picking it up before getting to his feet. "Okay…anybody know what that was?" he asked.

That was when he realized that he was alone. There was no sign of the others. And it only took him another second to realize that he wasn't anywhere he recognized.

He was standing on a massive rainbow bridge that overlooked an endless void of space and stars. In the distance, he could see a glittering, golden city. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

"What is this place?" he asked aloud.

"That," a new, gruffer voice spoke, "is Asgard."

Jaune turned around to see a huge man standing behind him. He wore golden armor complete with a golden helmet that was capped off with massive horns. Placed before him, its tip in the ground, was a massive sword.

"And you," the man said, raising the sword. "Are trespassing."

And there you have it! The first arc has been concluded! Obviously, this arc served as an introduction to the Avengers and how strong they really were, so the stakes here weren't that high. But I hope everyone has gotten a feeling on how the Avengers work as a team and how strong each member really is.

Also, I hope you enjoyed all those cameos from various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. While the MCU's influence on this story will be small, I had to throw in the characters that originated from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., probably one of my favorite things to come from the MCU, which is why May, Ward, Fitz, and Simmons all had cameos in this chapter, alongside the introduction of Maria Hill. As for whether or not they'll have larger roles as this story progresses, well, y'all will just have to wait and see.

Probably my favorite scene to write in this chapter was Ruby's rematch with Grim Reaper. With Crescent Rose now able to actually shoot again, it was a blast being able to write a fight scene with her being able to use her weapon at almost full strength, including being able to use it to propel herself, as we have seen her do many times throughout RWBY. Obviously, this fight scene was meant to show her really trying to prove herself as a hero, and Grim Reaper was her first obstacle. And with his defeat, I believe she has taken the next critical step into becoming a great hero in this story. But she still has a lot to learn-remember, this story began during the Vytal Festival, meaning all the lessons she learned post Vol 3 have not happened. But we shall see how she grows and thrives while living with the Avengers.

With this first arc completed, we're on our way to the next arc: Asgard, which, as you all saw from that ending there, is where Jaune ended up. I'm certainly excited to get to what he's up to, as Asgard and the Nine Realms are a fascinating part of Marvel that the MCU didn't really do a whole lot with, other than Asgard and Jotunheim, of course. Obviously, you exactly what this means in terms of characters that will be in this arc. But I will say that you should be ready for a few more surprises to turn up in this next arc.

But for now, that's all from me. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, signing off.

Gehenna, New Zealand

At a secret base known only to a select few, several people, their faces shrouded in shadows, met.

"Zemo's actions have jeopardized our plans," one of the men there said. "Thanks to him, we've lost Hydra Island and Arnim Zola."

"We never should have let him gain that much power within Hydra," another man agreed.

"It will take some time to come back from this loss," a woman continued. "Especially with Zola in custody."

"Damn him!" The first man slammed his fist into the table. "Damn Zemo!"

"Peace, Kraken," a third male voice spoke from the head of the table. "Zemo was always destined to fail. But the important thing is that our operations still remain undetected. Zemo does not know about us, and Zola will not give us up. At the first opportunity, however, we will require the good doctor's services."

"What do we do until then?" the woman asked.

The leader leaned forward, his red glove barely visible in the dim light, alongside the monocle on his face. "Until then, we continue as planned. With one new addition." He pressed a button on the table and a holographic image appeared of a young girl in a red cloak.

"This girl…she possesses a power, an aura about her," the man continued. "She is not of this world. I wish to learn more about her. When the time is right…we will bring her to us. She may be the key to our final victory."

The ones sitting around the table nodded in agreement. The leader stood up, clenching his red fist.

"Hail Hydra."