Time to get down to business! The Avengers are summoned by SHIELD to handle a rising new threat that could very easily spell the end of the world! With the newly-christened Cybernaut in tow, will the team succeed? Will they succumb? Only one way to find out! Welcome, true believers, to-
Chapter 5: Gamma World Part 1
Within the sub-level laboratory of Avengers Mansion, Connor Peterson was hard at work. Ever the studious engineer, he was intensely focused on a project of epic proportions. This project had to go according to plan, failure was not an option. Everything had to be aligned just so, otherwise the consequences would be horrific to say the least.
And he knew a thing or two about projects with consequences.
His hands worked meticulously. He preferred his fingers in the moment, trusting his own judgement and sense of tangibility over his magnetic harnesses. Wires were fitted into place, switches flipped, toggles triggered, everything was almost ready. "Okay… input and output, check. Power, check. Synchronicity, check. Wiring, check." He breathed deeply, exhausting his list. "Alright, let's do this." Steadying himself, he reached forward…
And pressed the play button.
Within seconds, the opening notes of Invisible Touch by English rock band Genesis filled the room. In that same amount of time, Connor started bobbing his head and swaying a little to the beat of what was easily one of his top five tunes. With music resonating throughout the lab he set to work on his newest project, taking a seat before a machine grinding station and sliding a curved piece of metal under the cutter. The voice of Phil Collins belting out the lyrics soon joined in the music, Connor humming along and partly miming the words as he kept working.
Soon the part had been carved out and Connor strutted over to circuit-imprinting console, some extra pep in his step as the chorus came on and he started to sing along. "She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah! She reaches in and grabs right hold of your heart. She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah! It takes control and slowly tears you apart." Sliding the part in and closing the lid, Connor primed the settings and stood back to wait, bobbing his head and dancing in place, thoroughly enjoying this little moment.
Unbeknownst to him, someone else had stopped by the lab. Not one of its usual customers, though, but none other than Janet Van Dyne herself. Drawn by the music, something that never happened when Hank was in his lab, she grew curious and made to check it out. It was then that she stumbled across something completely unexpected; Connor in his own lively little world, dancing and singing and generally enjoying himself while he worked. The sight was so… enchanting that she couldn't help but stop and simply watch him. And so, Janet leaned up against the entrance, smiling and watching him do his thing. It was natural, in a unique way, and Janet was completely taken with the sight of Connor in a happy mood. She even started nodding in time with the music, Genesis not necessarily being her taste, but enjoying the song in conjunction with Connor's 'dance party'. "Well I don't really know her, I only know her name… But she crawls under your skin… You're never quite the same, and now I know… She's got something you just can't trust… And it's something mysterious… And now it seems I'm falling, falling for her…"
Totally oblivious to Janet's presence, Connor was too absorbed in the music and his work to notice as he pulled the metal piece from the circuit-imprinter and onto a workbench, where he began fusing it with another piece of metal. Despite his work, and using a precision fusion spot-welder, he still swayed side to side. Janet suppressed a giggle, her smile broadening as she continued to watch, listening with rapt attention to his humming and partial singing. Hank was never this fun or peppy in the lab.
"Well she don't like losing, to her it's still a game… And though she will mess up your life… You'll want her just the same, and now I know… She has a built in ability… To take everything she sees… And now it seems I've fallen, fallen for her" The song's lyrics resonated with a small part of Connor's heart. He felt the words quite literally defining his feelings for a woman he wanted, despite the fact that pursuing her would mess up the lives of all involved, or so he figured. But he couldn't deny that he had fallen for her, irregardless of truths and reality. It was his burden to bear, these unrequited feelings.
He pushed past those thoughts, joining the voice of Phil Collins as he sang the final chorus line. "She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah! She reaches in and grabs right hold of your heart. She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah! It takes control and slowly tears you apart." He didn't match perfectly, but it was his own rendition with his own voice. With his work complete, Connor drummed his fingers against the table in happy success as he stood and kept humming… whirling around and suddenly shocked by Janet's appearance. "GAH! O-Oh, uh…! H-H-Hi there." He stammered. Janet let herself giggle this time, especially when she noticed how red his face was turning.
"Quite the dance party in here." She remarked, stepping into the lab as the song trailed off and ended. "Looked like you were having fun."
"Heh, uh… well…" Connor bashfully mumbled, rubbing the back of his head and not really answering. Janet could tell he was quite embarrassed.
"It's okay. It's fine if you wanna have some fun." She assured him. "You do you and no one can say otherwise… unless, of course, its breaking the law."
"Y-Yeah, right. Um, that makes sense." Connor agreed, trying to smile but still feeling quite embarrassed. Janet started poking around the lab.
"I bet it'd be lots of fun to work with you in here. You're a lot more lively than Hank is." She mused.
"I'm… sure he has his moments." Connor replied. "Erm, not to be rude, but I thought you were out with the team chasing after that Hydra operative."
"Oh, Hawkeye? Yeah, Thor decided to join in last minute and I opted to stay behind and keep an eye on the monitors." Janet explained. "Besides, Hawkeye's got… what, a bow and arrow? They'll bag him for sure, especially if Thor puts that hammer of his to good use." As she kept talking, Connor listened. Despite his embarrassment, her cheery demeanor was infectious and he soon forgot all about it as he simply watched and listened to her.
She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah, she reaches in and grabs right hold of your heart…
"Hey you got any more songs like that? I could bring in some of mine and we'll keep this party going." Janet offered with an enthusiastic smile. Connor chuckled, seriously entertaining the idea until the moment was interrupted by a steady alert tone from their Avengers ID cards.
"Sounds like they caught him already." Connor mused as he fished his out and toggled it, the photo on front shifting to reveal Iron Man's face. "What's the word, Tony? You bag this Hawkeye yet?"
"Not quite. It's complicated, but SHIELD showed up and Quatermain wants our help. I need you and Jan to suit up and get the Quinjet ready for takeoff once we get back." Iron Man replied.
"Quartermain? What happened to Mariah Hill and Nick Fury?" Janet wondered.
"You know SHIELD; all cryptic non-answers and generally getting in the way." Jan understood his response better than Connor did, having dealt with SHIELD and its personnel in the past. "We're making our way back now."
"We'll be ready to leave." Jan promised. The card shut off and the two were on their own again.
"Guess I need to get into my suit." Connor remarked, studying his t-shirt and jeans getup. "Time to do that thing we do."
"Yeah, knowing SHIELD, it'll be a walk in the park for us Avengers." Janet mused.
Later…
Following one of SHIELD's many Skystriker fighter jets, the Avengers Quinjet was a piece of remarkable aeronautical engineering built and designed by Tony Stark himself. Combining his own patented repulsor tech with state of the art airforce-grade machinery, the result was a multipurpose shuttle capable of carrying all of the Avengers. While mainly designed for those who could not fly or were incapable of prolonged flight, some like Thor and Cybernaut willingly took seats for the sake of efficiency moving to and from action zones.
Outside, Iron Man kept pace as he flew alongside the Quinjet and behind SHIELD's aerial escort, in contact with Quatermain and keeping his team abreast thanks to his omni-sync communication system as their trip took them deep into the remote desert badlands of Nevada. "I'm getting a little impatient, Quartermain. You won't tell us where Fury is, you're not telling us what's going on-"
"Even if I knew where Nick Fury was, I'm pretty sure I'm not at liberty to tell you, Iron Man." The SHIELD agent responded. "As for what's going on, it's simpler if you just see it yourself." Within the Quinjet, the other Avengers listened in as Wasp piloted with Cap sitting shotgun.
"Tony wasn't kidding when he said these guys are all about 'non-answers'." Connor remarked, fully kitted out in his Cybernaut gear.
"Aye. For an 'intelligence agency' they are far from willing to share such intellect." Thor concurred. "They are… what is the phrase you mortals use…? Ah, yes, bureaucrats." He stated. Cap suddenly pointed out the forward windscreen.
"Look, on the horizon." The Avengers were drawn to bright green glow permeating the scenery for miles around, emanating from a singular point that appeared like a dome of energy.
"Odin's beard…" Thor gasped. "What manner of sorcery is this?"
"That is where the Cube facility is." Panther observed.
"Starting to realize why Quartermain wanted us here so badly." Wasp remarked. They drew closer and could see the unique outline of the prison for gamma-based supervillains within the green dome, which was even larger in person as the Quinjet set down outside of a base camp SHIELD had set up. Iron Man touched down closer to the dome and allowed his optical scanners to perform a sweep as the rest of the team disembarked behind him.
"Wow… it's pure gamma radiation. Readings are off the charts." He said in awe. "Man, I bet Hank is sorry he stayed in Wakanda now."
"No kidding!" Wasp readily agreed. "This is way cooler than studying Vibranium." In a split second, she remembered who was with them, specifically standing right behind her. "Uh, no offence." She quickly apologized to Panther, who silently stared back at her through the glower of his mask.
"Where is Bruce Banner? I was told he was on your team." A new voice inquired. The team glanced down into a nearby crater and were met by a surprising sight.
"Why does that man have green hair?" Cap quietly asked aloud.
"I have no idea." Tony replied in an equally hushed tone before addressing him. "You're Doctor Leonard Samson, right?" He inquired. Clad in a red and white suit with long green hair, Samson nodded in affirmation. "Hulk is on a… vacation." Iron Man loosely explained.
Neither Samson nor Clay Quartermain liked the sound of that.
"Now does someone wanna tell us what's going on?" Iron Man demanded. In response, Samson and Quartermain led the Avengers into the base camp's headquarters, where they pulled up footage of an initial SHIELD infiltration mission after the big breakout that had compromised the security and integrity of the Cube. A team ranging from five to six members, clad in radiation-proof armor and armed with high-powered rifles
"This is video from SHIELD's incursion into the Cube after the breakout. The staff and SHIELD personnel were all accounted for. But the prisoners, well, they were another matter..." Quartermain explained, the Avengers watching grimly as the incursion team was taken out one by one by a variety of shadowy and unidentifiable figures… save for a giant claw that reached out and yanked one team member into the darkness.
"What was that?!" Wasp cried in alarm. Toggling a switch on the console, Quartermain pulled up a bio on what had to be the ugliest monstrosity Connor had ever seen.
"Emil Blonsky; the Abomination." Samson answered. "Strong as the Hulk, twice as mean, and with military training. He's not the problem, though." Quartermain qeued up a second video, one that contained footage of a three man team outside the Cube.
"The energy dome exploded outward from the Cube and the SHIELD team was caught inside it." Quartermain drawled. Two men and a woman, minding their own business, when the wall of energy suddenly erupted from the facility and blanketed the area. "Then this happened…" Caught in the middle and subjected to immense doses of gamma radiation, the trio were soon forcibly transformed into monsters of their own, mutating beyond human recognition into horrific creatures no words could ever accurately describe. It was like watching a horror movie unfold in real life.
The Avengers were aghast as the feed cut out, staring at the blank screen in a stunned, unnerved silence. "Geez… their transformations were nearly instantaneous!" Cybernaut realized. "The amount of gamma radiation needed for that to happen-"
"Is off the charts." Samson finished for him.
"The dome is expanding, with no sign of stopping." Quartermain continued. "At this rate it'll hit a town in the next six hours, a major city in eight."
"Who's responsible for this?" Cap questioned. The answer was soon before him, as Samson pulled up a second prisoner profile.
"Samuel Sterns; the Leader, a gamma-irradiated villain. As strong as the Hulk is, the Leader is intelligent." He explained.
"As far as we know, the Leader's inside. Most likely with a mess of gamma villains: the Abomination, the Absorbing Man, Zzzax, they were all inside the Cube when the breakout occurred." Quartermain stated.
"And we haven't come across any of them since that day." Iron Man confirmed. "Stands to reason this Leader's got them all doing his bidding."
"We want you to go inside the Cube." Quartermain then told them. Wasp broke out in laughter, only to stop moments later when she realized no one else was with her.
"Oh, you're being serious…" She realized nervously. "Uh, not to harp on this one particular little point, but just how are we going to get into the Cube without… you know, getting all gamma'd up?" It was a question the rest of her team could relate to. Samson promptly triggered a panel release and a series of bulky grey-green suits emerged from the wall.
"This is how, Wasp; I've modified this SHIELD radiation plating to protect you. Wearing these, you should be able to negate the effects of the gamma dome." He explained. Each team member took a suit, studying it for a moment. Connor reached out with his technopathic senses and explored the inner-workings of the design. From what he could tell, it was simplistic but effective. Originally designed to protect the wearer from radiation that was unrelated to gamma in origin, the adjustments Samson had made appeared to be linear and concise.
Thor took one in hand and studied it before putting it back. "An Asgardian needs no such protection." He stated, his mystical near-otherworldly body rendering him immune to such things.
"So you've sent people in wearing these?" Tony inquired.
"Uh… no. It hasn't been tested yet." Samson revealed. "B-But I'm confident it will work."
The entire team collectively paused to stare incredulously at him.
"Oh, so we're the guinea pigs. Great confidence booster." Cybernaut snidely remarked with a sigh as he started putting his on. With next to no alternatives, the rest of the team did as well, helmets and suits going on over costumes while Cap, Panther and Cybernaut made their weaponry available outside the constrictive confines.
Janet checked herself over, mentally critiquing the less-than-fashionable state she was in. She turned around and looked over her shoulder at Connor. "Does this thing make me look big?" She wondered. A hot blush swept across his cheeks the moment he realized she was referring to her bottom and quickly locked his eyes on the back of her helmet instead.
"I think you can make anything you wear look good." He replied, quickly slipping his helmet on to hide his reddened cheeks. Janet smiled at the compliment.
"Aw, thank you." She replied before shrinking down and taking flight. Meanwhile Tony tapped a trigger on his gauntlet, switching his armor to a 'gamma protection mode' that turned his ARC reactor green as Quartermain, Samson and their team of two finished suiting up.
The two groups made their way to the edge of the dome, which slowly expanded to engulf more of the desert. It seemed so much more ominous now that they understood its capabilities and the challenge that lay behind it in the Cube.
"So… who wants to go first? Cybernaut?" Iron Man queried.
"I would… but you're in front of me." Connor remarked.
"Cheeky." Tony murmured. "How about you, Panther?" T'Challa silently and willingly stepped forward, only to be halted by Cap who turned to Iron Man.
"Leader's lead." He said poignantly.
"Thanks Cap." Tony replied with a sigh, stepping forward as the unwillingly first to enter the dome. Standing in place it didn't take long for the dome to engulf him and he was soon within its radius. His scanners immediately blared warnings of high gamma radiation, any exposure now would be the end of him. The rest of the Avengers and the SHIELD team followed, all of them fully immersed in the gamma dome.
"Like the outside… but more green." Connor noted.
"Safety check. Everyone's suits holding up?" Tony asked. Everyone looked themselves over while Connor reached out with his mind, feeling out the data streams and program transmissions within everyone's protective suits.
"Containment is holding. Systems are in the green." He reported.
"That's a start. Now, how about shutting this thing down?" Tony wondered. "Any leads, Cybernaut?" Reaching further with his abilities, Connor could barely sense several scattered signals on the edge of his technopathy.
"Some, but it's not enough to say. Could be malfunctioning prison equipment or the cause itself. I need to get closer." He replied. His words were enough to spur the team into action, everyone venturing further into the dome and closer to the Cube. Tony performed a quick comms check.
"Iron Man to SHIELD base camp, respond." His words were met with garbled static. "Communications are down." He grumbled.
"SHIELD's down too. I've got nothing." Quartermain affirmed.
"Cybernaut, anything?" Cap inquired.
"Nothing. Could be the radiation, could be something else. Too much scattered interference for me to pick out any one thing." Connor replied after a moment. Wasp flew on ahead, spying a piece of ruined wreckage. The closer she drew, the more details she could see, until the remains of a ruined SHIELD VTOL came into view. "Woah… Look at this place!" She murmured. Something caused this damage and it wasn't the dome.
Suddenly, the rock beneath her began to shift and move until a head rose up behind the diminutive Wasp. Whirling around, Janet's eyes widened in shock and she flew away as fast as possible as the rocks unfurled to reveal a humanoid form of a beastial creature, covered in the rags that had once been the garb of a SHIELD agent. From the wreckage of the jet, two more gamma beasts emerged, one of which a mere hulking humanoid the other, bearing a striking resemblance to a woman, possessed claws and wings like some great predatory bird.
The Avengers quickly stood ready for combat, sizing up their foes. "Uh… Quartermain?" Iron Man questioned.
"It's them!" He gasped. "It's my team." A beastial bellow sounded from the more-human of the three as he led the charge against them, followed by his fellow monsters.
"I… kinda wish I'd stayed at the Mansion." Janet remarked.
"You and me both." Connor agreed, gripping his batons like his life depended on them… and it did.
The SHIELD agents engaged their former comrades with rifles blazing as the Avengers surged forward to counterattack. Clashing in the middle, Thor and Iron Man tackled the rocky beast while Captain America and Black Panther rushed his humanoid partner, leaving Cybernaut and Wasp to engage the bird-based creature.
Iron Man was promptly batted aside by a hand of hewn stone, crashing through the wreckage of the VTOL only to come bursting back out and raining down a volley of repulsor fire as Thor charged in with a deafening cry and smashed in the side of the creature's face with his hammer.
Moving faster than Wasp and Cybernaut could account for, the bird beast took flight and snagged a SHIELD agent as she did, taking flight with him flailing and screaming within her talons. "Wasp!" Samson's cry was met with Janet pursuing their foe, unleashing a volley of bio-stings that caught her in the leg and forced her to drop the SHIELD agent, sending him tumbling helplessly towards the ground. But despite her minuscule size, Wasp's strength was doubled-proportionally in the same way Hank's was whenever he shrunk, and she caught the agent before he could crash. He landed safely on his feet, just in time for their airborne felon to come around for another pass.
"Cybernaut!" Wasp cried out.
"I got it!" He answered, splitting his batons into individual irons and sending them all hurtling towards the mutated agent. Rounds ricocheted off her head, forcing her to raise her arms to try and ward off the repetitive strikes. Seeing an opportunity, Doc Samson grabbed her leg and smashed her into the ground with his enhanced strength. It was almost enough to finish the job, but Connor reforged his irons into a staff and promptly smashed it into her temple, knocking her out cold.
Captain America stood steadfast, holding his ground as his shield absorbed blow after blow from the gamma mutant until Panther vaulted over him and struck with a lunge kick that knocked him flat on his back, but even that alone was not enough to keep him down. He turned to attack T'Challa, suffering several blows from the Black Panther's hands and feet until he managed to grab his leg and throw him to the side. But the next thing he saw was red white and blue as Captain America charged him shield-first, slamming his unbreakable weapon into his face and catapulting over him. The blow was enough to render him woozy and unstable and he soon fell flat on his face, down for the count.
Another powerful blow from Mjolnir staggered the beast made of rock long enough for Iron Man to pull out his hip-mounted electron conductors and generate a burst of electricity that scorched the mutants head and took him out instantly. As he collapsed and Iron Man hilted his weapons, Thor paused to study the creature.
"These creatures may share his origin, but they are pale reflections of the true Hulk." He observed.
"That's a good thing, Thor." Iron Man remarked. Samson had also paused, investigating the vital signs of the mutated agents.
"Once they're outside the dome, they should revert back to normal. Hopefully with no side effects." He announced. Wasp landed beside him and resized.
"Thanks for chipping in back there, Doc. You could've easily passed for one of us." Cybernaut commented.
"Doc Samson: Avenger." Wasp mused thoughtfully. "Think about it." In response, Samson stood with a sigh.
"Look around. This is all my fault. Bruce warned me and I didn't listen. My only concern right now is making this right." He told them all.
"The dome has to have some kind of power source, like a gamma generator." Iron Man stated. "We'll find it and shut it down, put an end to all of this."
"We get inside and I'll find it." Cybernaut promised. "All I need is one good wavelength and I can lead us straight to it."
"If the Leader is truly as brilliant as Samson says, then this is no doubt a trap. He will be prepared for SHIELD at the very least and the Hulk at the very most." Panther determined, pointing towards the Cube's broken front entrance.
"I forgot you talked!" Janet gasped humourously.
"If this is indeed a trap, warriors," Thor continued, clapping Panther on the back with enough force to make him buckle, "then so be it." He said with an eager grin. Iron Man shrugged in relent.
"Well alright then… Thor goes in first."
Back in New York…
For the first time in a long time, Clint Barton was greatful for a sudden appearance by SHIELD. Quartermain had drawn the attention of the Avengers pursuing him long enough for him to make a clean getaway and now he was on to personal matters… like learning the truth behind the true Hydra operative.
A clever bait-and-switch had framed him, but he knew exactly who was responsible. It was time to find out what Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow, was up to.
Clad in his purple Hawkeye suit, Clint had tailed her to a warehouse on the docks. Innocent and unsuspecting at first glance, he'd observed her enter through a door guarded by a Hydra footsoldier on the other side. That information was enough for him and he fitted an arrow into his bowstring before letting it fly towards the door. The soldier on the opposite side was not expecting an arrowhead to burst through the door, nor was he expecting the bulky tip to open and unleash a cloud of gaseous vapours that rendered him unconscious within a second of inhaling them. A burst of electricity followed shortly after, causing the unique locking mechanism to spark and fizzle out as the door swung open after a simple push from Hawkeye. Stepping over the guard, he made his way inside.
"Sorry, buddy. Didn't know the secret knock." He remarked, drawing another arrow. Disappearing down a corridor, he soon found himself on the edge of a catwalk, looking down upon a massive Hydra installation that included the construction of armored Dreadnought soldiers as well as arms and ammunition for footsoldiers. This was a high-value target and Clint had every intention of reporting its location to the right people. After, that is, he had completed his personal endeavour.
Loosing an explosive arrowhead, he demolished a crane system with a single shot and also drew everyone's attention. "Let's do this," he muttered, reaching for his quiver. Hydra certainly had the numbers, but he had the gear and the training to even the odds. The goons were all about 'point and shoot' tactics; rudimentary at best, prediactable at worst, and Hawkeye exploited both of them.
Explosive arrows sent footsoldiers tumbling, acidic arrows corroded the Dreadnought controls and caused them to collapsed, electric arrows stunned troopers in their tracks and knocked them out cold. Even then, when the odd trooper got too close, Hawkeye's bow itself became a potent close-quarters weapon. It soon drew the eyes of those in the offices above, Black Widow and the green-themed Madame Hydra herself. Their exchange interrupted, they were soon focused on Clint's arrival. "Who's next?!" He called out, feeling the adrenaline rush. Widow wasted no time swooping down on a tether, driving her boots into his back as she knocked him over with her momentum. She was on her feet in a flash, priming one of her wrist launchers and locking Hawkeye in a perfect headshot range before he was on his feet.
"You should've let go, Clint." She remarked, her voice lined by a Russian accent.
"So shoot me." He retorted. "Come on, Natasha, do it. Come on, you Hydra scum!" He goaded. With a frown, Widow backflipped away as he lashed out at her shins with his bow, expecting the move. She retaliated with several sharp blows and a roundhouse kick that sent him crashing through a crate.
But Clint was tougher than most, able to shrug off hits and blows that would've kept an ordinary man down. He was soon his feet and sprinting as Widow unleashed a flurry of razor darts from her wrist launchers. The pursuit turned into a deadly game of chase as arrows and darts were traded back and forth until Hawkeye managed to score a lucky hit that knocked Widow off her feet. Clinging to the side of a crate to prevent from rolling into the inferno the warehouse had become, Hawkeye claimed a definitive upper hand as two arrows split her wrist launchers in two and sent her tumbling backwards. She would've fallen hard had he not launched a trick arrow armed with a bola that snared her entire body tightly before a second arrow caught the ropes and oh-so-neatly pinned her to the side of a crate.
Trapped, Widow struggled in vain as Hawkeye approached her. Her black catsuit tight against her body, flaunting every curve as she writhed within her restraints. But Clint had her pinned and pinned good. "It's over, Natasha. You've lost." He declared with a slight edge to his voice. The pain of betrayal was still raw and an element of hatred had seeped into his voice.
"Let me go, Hawkeye. You can't take me to SHIELD. You're a traitor, remember?" She replied with a slight smirk, his traitorous status her own doing. Clint knelt before her, eye to eye.
"Yeah, I remember." He said gruffly. "That's why I'm not taking you to SHIELD." Sliding a knife from his boot, he made to cut her down. "I'm taking you to the Avengers."
A shocked Natasha had half a second to consider the ramifications of such an act before she was unceremoniously dropped to the floor.
Meanwhile…
The interior of the Cube was dark and ominous, barely any light save for the eerie green glow of gamma radiation. This was close to the epicentre, any exposure to gamma radiation would spell the immediate end of sentience and a near-instantaneous transformation into a gamma mutant. The team traveled through corridors that had borne the brunt of the breakout, gigantic pieces of rubble and debris lining the halls and leaving the Cube resembling more of a battlefield or disaster zone than an abandoned prison.
"Stay sharp, team." Cap cautioned, wary of a potential ambush.
"Right. Everyone stay sharp." Iron Man echoed immediately afterwards. He led using lights generated by his repulsor emitters, channeling mere photons instead of concentrated particles.
But it was not enough to reveal everything as the two SHIELD agents disappeared into the mist with matching screams of terror. The Avengers whirled around, tense and ready for trouble.
"Jackson? Jackson! What just happened?" Quartermain cried, hoping for some response. "Collins?"
"The gamma radiation is messing with my sensors." Iron Man reported. "I've got multiple contacts, but I can't lock them down."
"If anyone is completely terrified, I can escort you out." Wasp volunteered, curled up around herself in mid-air.
"I can sense something…" Connor continued. "There's faint electrical signals. Three, no-… four of them. Powerful, part of some kind of device-" He was interrupted as Samson was promptly hurled across the room by an invisible force and slammed into a wall.
"Doc?!" Janet cried in alarm.
"Show yourself, coward!" Thor challenge, his words met seconds later when a monstrous hand made completely of metal grabbed him from behind an threw him across the room. The brief glimpse was enough to tell Quartermain everything.
"The U-Foes!" He shouted in warning. All the Avengers quickly drew up personnel profiles on the group of four; Vapor, Vector, Ironclad and X-Ray, all gamma-irradiated villains who were not to be taken lightly.
Suddenly, X-Ray burst from the mist and landed on Quartermain, unleashing a powerful energy shock that ripped through his body and bypassed his suit completely. The intense jolt took down Quartermain as Vapor arrived on the scene, her gaseous body lifting Cap off the ground as she filtered through his helmet's rebreather and materialized next to his face.
"Give Vapor a kiss.." She purred, locking lips with the stunned Captain and slowly depleting him of oxygen as her body took on the mixed compounds of saline and chlorine. Meanwhile, X-Ray had jumped on Iron Man and unleashed a similar electrical burst that tore through his suit's systems, electrocuting Tony despite all protective efforts. Wasp charged up her stings to fire, only for Vector to emerge from the mist and grip her with a telekinetic hold, slamming her into another wall and taking her out.
"Wasp!" Cybernaut cried out as he found himself encircled by all manner of villainy. He focused on Vector, his body like a brilliant mass of a dark matter galaxy, space confined within a corporeal humanoid form.
"Welcome, Avengers, to the Cube." He greeted, offering a faceless smile. Samson picked himself up, also focused on the former inmate.
"Vector! You…" He stopped, spying a familiar green disc affixed to his chest. "I created those devices to drain gamma energy!"
"The Leader has other plans for them." Vector replied. "Our powers have been increased to levels you could never-" He was promptly and violently cut off as Black Panther snuck up behind him and landed a dropkick that knocked Vector silly. Seeing his moment, Connor reduced his baton to pieces and hurled all three of them like a slug, crushing the gamma-charger on Vector's chest before he hit the ground.
"You talk too much." Panther hissed.
"Couldn't agree more." Cybernaut growled. Reaching with his magnets, he grabbed X-Ray and threw him off of Iron Man, slamming the U-Foe into the wall. Sprinting towards Thor, the moment the god of thunder threw off the monstrous Ironclad, Connor grabbed him with his magnets and hurled him into the ceiling. The moment he collided, he threw him down into ground, propelling Ironclad deep into the sublevels of the Cube.
Freed from his attacker, Thor started spinning Mjolnir around, generating a powerful gust of wind that began to clear out the gamma mist. Captain America was caught in the epicentre, as was Vapor, who was pulled from his suit and dispersed into the air with a shriek as her body vanished. "Well met, friend Cybernaut! Thou art truly masterful in situations like these." The Asgardian complimented.
"Thanks Thor. I'm just glad I could sink my magnets into something." Connor replied, summoning his irons.
"Aye. Truly a poor showing. The Leader will have to do better than that-"
"No. The agents outside, the U-Foes, it is all a distraction." Panther cut in.
"Distract us from what?" Cybernaut questioned as the other Avengers recovered. Then his senses began to tingle like never before, strong surges of rippling electronic hardware coming from down the hall, like an ambient power surge slowly powering up all the technology in the area. Technology was coming to life… because someone powerful was approaching.
His gaze darting to back down the hall entrance, Cybernaut's heart lept into his throat as the reality set in for him.
"Wasp! Look out!" He cried, sprinting ahead and pushing the hovering Wasp out of the way before twin bolts of raw electricity reached out struck both him and Quartermain, taking them down. Janet had mere seconds to wrap her head around what was happening, turning back to his electrocuted form with a horrified gasp as she watched him convulse and writhe on the floor.
"Connor!" Surging from his and Quartermain's bodies, the lightning quickly coalesced into the humanoid form of Zzzax; the psionically-charged living electromagnetic field. Twin bolts of electricity struck Caps shield as Iron Man generated a deflection field with his repulsors.
"Attack me, monster!" Thor roared, rushing towards the massive Zzzax and swinging Mjolnir wildly. They collided head on as an electrically charged Mjolnir hammered Zzzax in the head, causing him to dissipate into a blinding array of sparks. As the light show died down, Iron Man turned at the sound of Vector's chuckling.
"You don't get it, do you?" He pried in a mocking tone. "We don't need to beat you…" At first, his words made no sense. But then Iron Man felt rippling static waves course through his armor.
"Oh no! The gamma armor!" He cried in alarm. That was the key, their plan the whole time.
They wanted them exposed to gamma radiation… converted into mutated monsters. "Connor! Someone check on Cybernaut!" He urgently ordered. Wasp was first on the scene as the man in question pushed himself to his feet and recovered from Zzzax's assault. He looked down to study himself,
"The suit…" he rasped, coughing as he regained clarity and his eyes widened in horror, "my suit!" Glancing down, he saw to his dismay a series of small cuts in the protective layer. Not enough to wound…
But enough to allow gamma energy in.
The Avengers realized his predicament but were helpless to act. What could they do under such circumstances? Connor knew this and turned towards them, his brown eyes starting to glow green. The change was happening, he could feel it. Starting on a molecular level as his very cells were altered and infused with immense doses of gamma rays. Everyone could see the fear and terror in his gaze.
"Connor?" Wasp softly asked, sounding worried. Fighting back the urge to panic, knowing it would be useless, Connor swallowed nervously and hoarsely answered,
"Run."
The mutation started instantly, his cells dosed with gamma radiation and starting to transform. With a sharp cry that pierced their very souls, Connor's body began to change. Growing larger and broader, the suit could no longer contain him and was shredded to pieces as he outgrew its form-fitting size. His hair grew long and thick, hanging around his head as his features contorted into an overgrown, monstrous expression.
Worst of all were his arms. The twisted lines of cyberware glowed green with gamma power while pieces of metal bulged out of his skin as his skeletal system expanded… but the magnetic harnesses did not. Snapping free of his ragged clothes, Connor loomed large over his teammates, twice the size of Thor. Janet stared up with wide, frightened eyes.
"C-Connor?" She queried in a trembling voice. His response was a guttural roar as he swung towards her, a punch that would've taken her out had Janet not flown out of the way with a yelp.
Elsewhere…
Within a hidden sanctum, Samuel Sterns observed events at the Cube through a series of monitors. Alone and high above the action, he felt completely in control watching events unfold. "Poor misguided Doctor Samson. All the time you were studying me in the Cube… you didn't realize it was I who was studying you." He mused. "How sad." Reaching for his neural implant, The Leader sent a telekinetic message to his newest gamma servant. "Cybernaut. Put the good doctor out of his misery…"
With a roar, the irradiated Connor charged the Avengers, but his gaze was on Samson. Thor quickly stepped between them. "I have no desire to fight you, Cybernaut!" He declared, sounding desperate. Connor ignored him and kept charging, his magnets thrumming with power as he unleashed a burst of magnetic energy that grabbed Thor by the belt and sent him sprawling. But the Asgardian quickly righted himself and flew back into the fray. "Remember who you are!" He implored.
Suddenly, Connor paused, the green glow disappearing from his eyes ever so briefly to reveal his enlarged brown hues, wide with fright and recognition. But seconds later, with a growl and a shake of his head, they glowed green again as he lunged towards Thor.
Snarling growls and roars echoed from the hallways around the remaining team members as more brutish monsters emerged from the green mist… each one of them clad in the ruined uniform of a SHIELD agent. Quartermain among them.
"This doesn't look good! Thoughts?" Iron Man asked.
"Uh… A quick u-turn sounds great right now!" Wasp cried.
"We can't hurt these men!" Steve declared, raising his shield defensively.
"I'm pretty sure they don't feel the same way about us!" Iron Man responded, charging his repulsors. "Panther, take Quartermain. Cap and I will-" But before he could finish, T'Challa had successfully backflipped over them all, using the head of one mutant as a springboard that allowed him to escape down the hallway. "Panther?" Sprinting away, T'Challa was long gone and far from answering Tony's cries. "Panther! I can't believe this!" He grumbled in pure frustration.
"Did he just… abandon us?!" Wasp gasped in dismay.
"Head's up!" Cap cried in warning, taking the brunt of a punch with his shield as Iron Man took flight and unleashed his unibeam to beat back the monster. Around them, Zzzax and the U-Foes were recovering, Vector and X-Ray standing up as Vapor coalesced into her corporeal form and surrounding the Avengers.
"There's too many of them!" Tony shouted, unleashing a volley of repulsor rays that did little to affect the mutants.
"We can't give up!" Cap responded, throwing his shield as Samson opened fire with his sidearm.
"That's easier said than done!" Janet replied, lighting up each mutant with rapid-fire stings.
"All they have to do is take out our armor and we've had it, we have to go for the generator." Iron Man determined. "Samson, go! I'll cover you!" He ordered. The doctor moved to obey as Iron Man sprouted a pair of sonic stun guns from each forearm, unleashing a torrent of sonic bolts that held the mutants at bay for a moment longer. Cap turned and followed Samson, determined to protect him as Wasp stayed closer to the ceiling.
Thor, meanwhile, was locked in combat with the mutated Connor, his durable body absorbing blows while sparks of lightning from his hammer warded off further attempts. "Thor we have to go!" Iron Man ordered. With a grunt, Thor held up his hammer just as Connor drove his hand into it. With a deafening roar of pain, he stumbled back and clutched his hand, the pain from impact raw and relentless.
"The Leader will pay for this!" He promised, unleashing a torrent of lightning towards the ceiling and causing and minor cave-in to cover their tracks as the Avengers moved deeper into the Cube. But still they were relentlessly pursued by the gamma mutants, now joined by the U-Foes and Zzzax. Iron Man was taken down as X-Ray lept on him, unleashing enough charged voltage to cause him immense pain.
"Tony!" Wasp cried in alarm. Cap was already moving, his shield whizzing through the air and ricocheting off X-Ray and a mutant not far behind him.
"Protect Samson! I'll get Tony!" Steve ordered his remaining two comrades, charging into the fray as Iron Man picked himself up. Thor and Wasp did not argue and kept moving as Cap lunged ahead and raised his shield in time to block a double-axehandle from Ironclad. Tony promptly knocked him away with a blast from his unibeam, only to then be attacked by a mutated Connor and Quartermain. Blasting them off and joining Captain America, they were both grabbed by Zzzax as he materialized from the ground and sent them both slamming into the walls and floor.
"D-Destroy the generator! N-No matter what!" Tony ordered through his comms, his armor short-circuiting and his gamma protection mere moments from failing him. Samson begged to differ, but Thor stopped him.
"Doctor, Iron Man speaks truly."
"Yeah, we're just moments away from becoming like them!" Wasp cried frantically.
"Take me to this Leader, and I will finish this." Thor promised. Samson nodded in agreement and started running again with Thor and Wasp flanking him. Their trek quickly took them to a massive room where a generating system powered a monstrous column of green gamma energy, fuelling the dome responsible for all of this.
"Woah… look at that thing!" Wasp remarked in exclamation. "Is that all gamma energy?"
"It is. My readings are off the charts." Samson confirmed. "We shut this down, we put an end to what's going on back there."
"Aye. Then let us finish this." Thor determined.
"Aw, look, Wrecker. They actually thought the Leader was gonna be here. Too bad…" A new voice taunted. Emerging from the glow, four hulking figures awaited the trio. It was none other than the Wrecking Crew; Thunderball, Piledriver, Bulldozer and Wrecker. Old rivals of Thor, the magically enhanced villains were a match for the Asgardian, and able to withstand the effects of the dome without flaw, thanks to their abilities stemming from Asgardian magic. Clad in red and white, Piledriver affixed one of the modified gamma-infusers to his chest, as did the rest of the Crew. Supreme amounts of gamma energy quickly bound itself to their bodies and transformed them into hulking monstrosities… but with far more control over their mental faculties.
"Uh oh…" Wasp gulped.
"Let's take 'em down, boys!" Wrecker ordered. Thunderball promptly lobbed his ball and chain towards the team, slamming into Samson and driving him into the ground, destroying his suit.
"Doctor!" Thor cried in alarm.
"Samson!" Wasp echoed. To their amazement, Samson did not begin to mutate. Instead, he picked himself up out of the rubble, seemingly no worse for wear.
"I'm… I'm alright." He stated, looking himself over. His suit was gone, but he was just fine. "I'm not changing-" The good news was cut short was Piledriver slammed his fist into him at high speed, throwing him into the wall. Thor was snared by Thunderball and thrown to the floor.
"Not so easy this time, is it? Not when we've got all the power!" He cackled. Wasp quickly dove down and started firing her stings at Wrecker and Bulldozer as they converged on Thor.
"Back off, you freaks!"
"Look who's talkin'," Wrecker remarked, "'Dozer! Swat that bug!" The battle continued to rage on, but the Wrecking Crew was completely oblivious to what was transpiring above them…
Having maneuvered his way to an upper level of the Cube, Black Panther charged into the generator room with a trio of Vibranium daggers in hand. Leaping up to the pinnacle of the device, he stared down into the column of gamma energy and sent his weapons flying towards the epicentre. The immediate waves of intense gamma rays shorted out his suit's protective measures within seconds as pulsing shockwaves erupted from the generator.
A massive explosion followed shortly after, purging the gamma radiation with a powerful blast that filled every inch of the Cube and expanded outwards at a rapid rate. Bowling over all the mutants in the Cube, it drained the gamma energy from their bodies and returned them to their natural state. Each an everyone of them transformed into a human, shrinking in size until they were all normal. Every SHIELD agent, Quartermain, and Cybernaut were saved as the dome dissipated for good and stripped the villains of their augmented powers.
As Thor and Samson recovered before the knocked-out Wrecking Crew, Black Panther dropped down beside them, his suit torn from a last-minute influx of gamma energy. "I could not get close enough to the generator while the Leader's forces guarded it." He explained. "Are you okay, Doctor? Thunderer?" He asked of his teammates.
"Aye, T'Challa," Thor answered with a smile, "and, truly, that was a close one."
Night had fallen by the time cleanup had commenced, SHIELD agents leading the Wrecking Crew, the U-Foes and other gamma villains out into containment units for transportation to a new and improved prison. Meanwhile, the Avengers recovered at SHIELD's base camp. Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Wasp remained unharmed and fully functional. Black Panther and Cybernaut, exposed to gamma radiation, were being run through a battery of tests in order to determine they were truly back to normal and healthy.
Connor in particular was the main target of worry, as he had been exposed first. His outfit was shredded, barely draped over one shoulder as his chest and abdomen were exposed, revealing geometric lines of cyberware across his pectorals and down his back. His mask had been torn apart as well, his only saving modesty the pants he wore, now torn to mere shorts.
"Your vitals check out, everything looks to be normal." His attendant explained, straightening as she studied his basic results. "How about your, um… 'extras'?" She asked hesitantly. Connor checked his arms over, seeing no new patches of metal from his harnesses.
"Nothing abnormal."
"Well, I'd say you're in the clear then." She determined, packing up her kit and making to move on to other personnel. As she did, Janet strode over, still clad in her protective suit with the helmet under her arm.
"Hey there." She greeted with a soft, kind smile. Connor managed one of his own.
"Hey," he replied as she sat beside him.
"You gonna be okay?" She wondered. Connor sighed.
"I'll live." He said quietly. "I would never wish that even on my worst enemy." Janet's expression lost its cheeriness and she touched his arm. "I… I-I didn't hurt you, did I?" Connor wondered in a worried tone.
"No. Just the opposite, actually." She answered. "You took a hit meant for me back there. You… saved my life." If there was a more accurate summary, she did not know it. Had it not been for Connor's intervention, she likely would've been hit by Zzzax and turned into a mutant instead. "Thank you, Connor." His gaze was soft as it studied her features, the young man feeling ever so smitten the longer he looked at Janet. If only she looked his way more often, her crystal blue eyes so enchanting and inviting…
That and the way she said his name… like music…
"Anything anytime, Jan." He promised with a smile, meaning every word. Then he looked down at his ruined attire. "Uh… looks like I destroyed your outfit… sorry." He mumbled.
"That's alright. It's why I made spares." She replied. Connor chuckled.
"Forward-thinking of you. Guess some tearing from wearing is bound to happen to a hero." He said, smiling again. Janet returned it and scooted a little closer.
"Hey, I've been thinking… What do you think I would look like as a gamma monster? Like a giant bug?" She theorized.
"Oooooh, like The Fly." Connor described, recalling the famous movie involving a human-insect hybrid. "Except you'd be The Wasp. Literally." He pointedly noted. Janet giggled.
"I can see the headlines now, 'giant bug-lady rampages through city'." She mused, miming the cover of a newspaper.
"Attack of the Wasp-Woman." Connor continued. "Sounds like some sixties monster movie."
"With the cheesy effects and everything." Janet concurred. As their conversation continued, Panther, Thor and Samson spoke with Quartermain about their successful mission.
"Everyone seems to be recovering with no residual radiation poisoning." Samson explained. "The energy the Leader used was very specific." Quartermain accepted that, save for one nagging detail.
"The Leader… there was no sign of him?"
"No, but we saved a lot of lives today and we foiled his big plan." Samson replied with a smile.
"Did we?" T'Challa questioned from his seated position. He had been uncertain the entire mission, now he was expecting even more from the hyper-intelligent gamma villain.
Several miles away, the glow of Las Vegas lit up the night sky with a glow that could be seen for miles. It was far more obvious to a trio standing on a cliff nearby, a trio of villains best known as some of the Hulk's worst rogues; Crusher Kreel, the Absorbing Man. Emil Blonsky, the Abomination. And Samuel Sterns, The Leader.
"I would call that little 'test run' a success." Sterns mused. Retrieving a remote from his belt, he toggled the single button on it. "And now, we begin…" On cue, a blinding green light flared to life atop one of the city's skyscrapers, like a beacon of sinister intent…