Author's Note: yes, yes, I know it's been a long time since I last updated. But, I had to scratch a Star Wars itch and it wouldn't relent! But here we are, back on the trail of the best Marvel series ever made. Don't hesitate to let me know your enjoyment! (seriously, I better not see a whole lot of "finally!"'s in the reviews!)
An investigation that could shatter life as we know it! Tony Stark is confronted with a devastating truth; Earth is being invaded! But these invaders hide in plain sight, wearing the faces of friends, family, even enemies! Is one of them an Avenger? Will the culprits be unmasked? Wait… Nick Fury is back? This mind-boggling episode, true believers, will have you asking-
Chapter 31: Who Do You Trust?
It was a dark and stormy night over New York's harbour area. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, torrential rain came down in sheets as the SHIELD Helicarrier lumbered across the cloudy sky, looking like a hi-tech zeppelin of days gone by. Within her personal quarters, acting-director Maria Hill slept soundly in her bed, undisturbed by the tempest unfolding beyond the walls of her room.
However, her sixth sense kept her from sleeping peacefully. She could tell someone was watching her and stirred from her slumber. Trained to respond to situations like these, Maria made to attack the intruder in her room. But her assailant was evidently awaiting her awakening and struck first, trapping her in a chokehold and silencing her with a hand over her mouth. Thrashing in her grip, Maria struggled hard to break free but was easily overpowered by someone easily more awake than she was.
"Maria!" A familiar voice snapped. She paused, eyes wide and spotting someone else in her room, sitting on an empty chair across from her bed. "Relax. We're not gonna hurt you." Maria knew that voice… it did so much to explain why no alarms had gone off. Lightning crackled outside, partially revealing the body of a man she knew all too well and was genuinely shocked to see. He'd been gone for months, almost a year now. "I've got about ninety seconds before SHIELD security detects us, so you need to listen. I'm here to give you a warning: watch your back."
Rising to his feet, Nick Fury strode over to the nearby window and watched the rain come down. The lightning illuminated his new look, a black trench coat over a non-descript tactical suit like what SHIELD special ops teams wore. He'd shaved his hair, growing out a proper goatee that completely changed his look. "I've been keeping an eye on you, Maria, ever since I left. I'm taking a big risk here," he went on, "maybe you're human, maybe you're not. Bottom line, I'm running out of time." He turned, and gave her the most serious look with his one good eye. "If you're human, then the Earth needs you." Nick stated. He reached into his jacket, withdrawing a data disk. "Everything I know is on there. You can't trust SHIELD. You can't trust the government." He told her, tossing it onto her bed. "Hydra and AIM have all been infiltrated, and worst of all, the super-heroes. Everyone has been compromised." He said gravely. At that, her assailant released her, revealed to be Mockingbird in full costume with quarterstaff in hand.
Regardless of the personas she knew well, Maria was not about to take any chances. She dove for her bed, reaching under the pillow for the battle pistol she kept there. She rose to a shotter's position, her weapon charged and aimed directly for Nick Fury. Just in case. Mockingbird moved quickly, standing between the pair and ready to fight. Nick noticed the commotion and offered the barest of smirks. "I always liked you, Hill. Try and stay alive." He remarked. Toggling a device in his hand, a burst of white light blinded Maria, forcing her to shut her eyes and look away.
By the time it receded, Nick Fury and Mockingbird were nowhere to be seen.
At first, Maria assumed that her head was pounding and that the tech Fury had used was some sort of neural-inhibitor designed to disrupt her synapses and disturb her memories. It would certainly explain that pounding in her head…
But after a moment of recovery, she realized her head was not pounding. The door to her quarters was. At once, it came crashing open and three SHIELD security guards entered with weapons at the ready. "Director Hill! Is everything okay?" The team leader questioned. Evidently Fury was right about the duration of SHIELD response time. Seemed like something the Nick she knew would know. But as for the security leader's question, all Maria could do was glance at the data disk on her bed.
Is everything okay? She wasn't entirely sure…
Elsewhere…
"Okay. So I'd like to make a toast," Tony Stark proffered, "well, less of a toast and more like a welcome. A 'welcome toast'."
"Wow. You're really bad at this." Clint Barton snickered, sloshing the contents of his plastic cup around.
"Well, I'm really good at 'you just got fired' speeches, Clint, if you catch my drift. Care to hear one now?" Tony retorted. The archer merely frowned and helped himself to a fresh slice of pepperoni pizza.
The two had not come alone to this pizzeria, accompanied by fellow Avengers Steve Rogers, Janet Van Dyne and Carol Danvers. Carol had also brought along Matthias Peterson, the brother of fellow Avenger Connor Peterson, a close friend she'd come to know and warmly regard. Tonight's outing was a special occasion; a celebration of Carol passing her probation period as an Avenger-tryout and graduating to a full-fledged member of the team. Miss Marvel was now a full-time superhero and Tony thought it best they celebrate that fact.
"I'd like to officially welcome Miss Marvel to the Avengers. You've been with us two weeks now, and already saved the planet twice." Tony pronounced, lifting his cup as the others followed suite. "So we're even considering taking you off probationary status."
"Considering it. Don't get cocky." Clint added in emphasis.
"Pffft, like you get to make the decisions, Hawkeye." Janet scoffed. "If anyone should be saying that, it oughtta be T'Challa or Connor. They've been Avengers way longer than you." Clint rolled his eyes.
"Get off my case about that, will ya?" He muttered, biting into his slice.
"Whatever. I'm just glad there's finally another girl on the team." Janet remarked.
"Here, here." The men concurred, tapping cups together.
"Thanks, guys. Really, this means a lot to me." Carol chuckled.
"You should be proud of yourself, Carol. Happy to celebrate this milestone with you." Matthias agreed, helping himself to a slice of meat-lovers and fully-loaded. "Thanks for inviting me out, by the way. Not everyday I get to interact with world-famous superheroes. Well, apart from my brother that is." He added in thanks.
Janet studied him out of the corner of her eye. She had not met Connor's younger brother in person until tonight when Carol brought him along. But for being the younger brother, Matthias could certainly pass for the elder. He was taller and more muscular than Connor was, cutting a sharp appearance and exuding a manly presence. His jet black hair was slicked back and pulled into a ponytail, while his hazel eyes gleamed brightly. Janet had even briefly considered making a move on him… until she noticed a certain kind of look shared between him and Carol. Call it a woman's intuition, but she could tell from just a look that something unspoken was afoot.
"I meant to ask, do you have someone at the Mansion? You know, in case of 'random evil'?" Carol inquired as they all helped themselves to pizza and soda.
"We have regular monitor duty assignments." Steve told her, taking a fresh slice for himself. "Hulk is on tonight." Carol paused, a worried expression on her face as the potential ramifications of such a move settled in. "And the Black Panther and Cybernaut are on Hulk-duty." Steve added.
Back at Avengers Mansion…
Hulk stood with crossed arms in the sublevel meeting room, looking particularly cross as he watched Black Panther sit quietly on the floor, his body positioned in a meditative posture. Out of his line of sight, Cybernaut sat with his feet propped up against the holotable, a book in hand as he busied himself with some reading. Hulk ignored him, staring at T'Challa as the Wakandan remained silent and focused on his meditations.
"You talk too much." Hulk grunted. Panther did not stir, but Cybernaut looked up from his book, revealing his mask was lowered and a pair of reading glasses were in its place.
"Someone say something?" He asked, glancing back and forth between his two colleagues. Both remained silent. "No? Alright." He shrugged and went back to reading Altered Carbon.
Elsewhere in the city…
It was a calm and otherwise peaceful night in Central Park. A handful of walkers, people-watchers and joggers enjoyed the sparsity and the brisk starry night, a moment of calm reprieve after a busy city day.
One particular jogger paused alone beneath a bridge, stopping to catch her breath as she completed a circuit of the park. Daisy Johnson knelt down to tie her shoe, seemingly oblivious to the way the shadows cast by the bridge began to move and flicker. Heavy footsteps filled the air, a massive grotesque shape slowly emerging into the light, taking the form of a massive horrifying creature. Formerly small-time thug John Horton, he had been transformed through mutagenic science into the monstrous Griffin.
Daisy appeared unfazed as the beastial monstrosity encroached upon her, snarling and gnashing his teeth in preparation for an easy kill. "I've been looking for you, Mister Horton." She calmly said aloud. "You probably can't even understand me, but I need your help." That seemed to get Griffin's attention and the beast cocked his head as Daisy continued. "I need you to do something for me… but the only way you're going to do it is if I give you the worst earache you've ever had in your life." She added, clenching her fists as her innate seismic powers began to swell. "Sorry in advance."
Channeling her powers, Daisy unleashed high-frequency vibrations that began to oscillate within Griffin's super-sensitive hearing. The beast was driven into a frenzy, baring his teeth as he lunged towards Daisy with wings spread. Daisy sidestepped with easy, lashing out her right had as she delivered a bolt of seismic energy straight to Griffin's head. With an unearthly screech, he took flight, clutching his head. His pattern was erratic, zigzagging back and forth across the sky in a seemingly-uncontrollable manner. Daisy watched him leave and reached for her earpiece.
"This is Quake. Phase one is go." She reported.
"…so I joined the Air Force right out of high school. They paid for college but I re-enlisted anyway so I could fly jets. I looooved flying jets." Carol described.
"Huh. I should've done a stint like that. Would've made paying for my tickets way easier." Matthias pondered, sipping the last of his soda.
"What was your squadron name?" Steve inquired.
"The hundred and second, the best of the best." Carol stated proudly. "Major Carol Danvers, call sign 'Warbird'." She added with a salute. "They pulled me into Special Investigations not long after. They knew I was a big believer in law and order. Without rules, we've got nothing."
"Warbird, eh? That sounds like a cool alias on its own." Matthias mused.
"Hmm. I'll give you that, but… I prefer Miss Marvel. Has to do with how I got my powers." Carol replied, brushing some hair behind her ear. Matthias had no clearance to learn about the Kree Sentry event, which also meant that he could not know about Captain Mar-Vell of the Kree Navy. Carol had sounded out Mar-Vell to Marvel and the name stuck with her.
"Wait, Major? That means she outranks you, old man." Clint teased Steve, using a bow and arrow he'd fashioned out of straws and a toothpick to idly play target-practice with his empty cup.
"And as a SWORD field commander, I outrank you back when you did ops for SHIELD." Carol remarked, firing off a bolt of photonic energy from her finger that disintegrated his makeshift weaponry.
"I like you already, Major." Steve remarked as Janet chuckled. Their revelry was cut short by exclamations and a clamour just beyond the shoppe's windows and the Avengers turned to look, catching sight of a flying creature making a beeline down the city street.
"Ah… check, please!" Tony called out, signalling the waitress. The team made to move out. It was time to be heroes again. Steve was the first out, already in costume for the most part. Janet wasted no time shrinking down and disappearing from view, her clothes left in a pile on the seat as she took flight in full Wasp costume.
"Come on, Miss Marvel, party's over," she urged Carol, "time for the after-party." She added with a grin, pounding her fists together.
"You are way too excited about a giant monster flying down the street." Carol remarked as she slipped her domino mask over her eyes. Clint followed her out of the booth, both needing to change.
"I'm no hero, but I know a spectacle when I hear about one." Matthias mused as he made to stick with them.
"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up once I've got my armor." Tony said. "And make sure the newbie does all the hard work!" He called after Clint. Carol paused and turned.
"Tony… thanks." She offered sincerely. Tony winked.
"Go get 'em, Carol." The blonde smiled and took off with the rest of the team. Tony stayed seating, withdrawing his wallet as the waitress arrived with their bill. "Also, I'm gonna need about ten pizzas to go. The Hulk will tear me apart if I come home without food… plus I promised the others some too." He commented.
"You're not going home." The waitress suddenly intoned. Tony looked up, his eyes widening in shock as a familiar wrist-cuff was levelled at his head. Before he could move, a single dart whizzed from the launcher and struck him in the neck. Tony was knocked out instantly, slumping against the table with only a face burned into his memory as he recognized the 'waitress'. She had been hiding in plain sight, something Natasha Romanoff was an expert at. She reached for her earpiece. "This is Widow. I've got him."
Captain America was the first to react to Griffin, powering his motorcycle down the street and hurling his shield with force. The hard-light projectile slammed into Griffin's snout, earning a bellow of pain and rage as the winged monster took flight. Cap's shield returned to its place on his wrist projector. "He's all yours, team!" The others wasted no time flying in, Wasp and Miss Marvel under their own power and Hawkeye aboard his sky-cycle.
The archer quickly primed one of his razor-head arrows and loosed the projectile, striking Griffin in the wing. Wasp zeroed in next, striking the monster in the chest with a bio-sting. Desperate to get away, Griffin dove low and tackled Miss Marvel mid-flight. The two of them plowed into the grounds of Central Park, churning up grass and trees and leaving a crater in the wake of their impact. Carol picked herself up, only to find Griffin on his feet and snarling, spoiling for a fight.
"Alright, kitty cat, I don't wanna hurt you, but-AUGH!" A sudden punch laid her out flat, half-burying her in the dirt as Griffin pounced, showing no mercy. Hawkeye and Wasp arrived at the edge of the crater, watching the throwdown unfold.
"We should help." Wasp said aloud.
"Why? Did you even read her file?" Hawkeye retorted. "She's as tough as Thor and almost as strong as the Hulk. I'm pretty sure I can handle this." He stated decidedly. "But, more importantly, I'm not the low man on the totem pole anymore. She is." Sure enough, Carol was hardly using Avengers-level strategy, and was earning her fair share of bumps and bruises as Griffin used his jaws to grab her leg and smash her repeatedly into the ground. Wasp and Hawkeye collectively winced.
"Ohhh… Carol! You're doing it wrong!" Wasp called out. "You're supposed to get out of the way!"
"Yeah! It works better if you tackle the monster, not the other way around!" Hawkeye added in his own snarky way. Janet suddenly picked up on his tone. This was fun!
"And if it tries to bite you, you should not let it!" She added.
"Are you sure you've done this before?" Hawkeye teased.
"Very funny, you guys!" Carol shouted in reply from the slugfest. It was then that Steve rolled up on his motorcycle, followed closed by a sweaty, out-of-breath Matthias who had jogged all the way over.
"I'm not too late, am I? Didn't wanna miss out on the action." He asked between heavy breaths.
"Uh, are you sure you wanna be around people who can do… that to Central Park?" Wasp asked, suddenly concerned for his safety. A single errant blow from either Griffin or Miss Marvel could be his demise.
"You kidding? Of course I wanna watch." Matthias replied with a breathless grin. "I'm always cleaning up after you guys, I wanna see how the mess gets made." He straightened up, hands on his hips as he continued to watch the punch-fest below. Cap removed his cycle helmet.
"In my day, we gave new recruits a hard time, but nothing like this." He remarked. "In my day it was worse." Everyone was all smiles and good-natured chuckles as Carol continued to duke it out with Griffin.
"You're doing great!" Hawkeye shouted.
"Watch out for his tail!" Wasp cautioned.
"Get him in the corner! Left! Right! Left! Right!" Matthias called out like a bystander at a boxing match.
"I get it! That's fine! I'm not afraid of the dirty work!" Miss Marvel growled as she held Griffin's snapping jaws at bay with one arm. With the other she delivered a powerful uppercut that sent Griffin spinning through the air. The monster landed on his feet, seemingly unaffected by the blow, ready to keep fighting. Luckily Carol was game to keep brawling too. "Okay… let's do this, ugly!"
Elsewhere…
Tony came to with a groan, his mind foggy, his vision blurry, and his body heavier than lead paperweights. He blinked several times, trying to discern who or what the fuzzy object before him was. Tony soon deduced it to be a person, a woman. An admittedly beautiful redhead in his eyes, but one who was far more than a pretty face. He recognized her.
"Wha-… Widow? What's going on? Where am I?" He slurred as he gave his head a shake.
"You're in a safe place." The spy answered, strutting away. "You've been out for about twenty minutes." Tony watched as Black Widow strode over, through a room that resembled a warehouse, to join a crew of unexpected individuals; Quake, Mockingbird, Agent Miguel and Nick Fury himself.
"F-Fury?" He exclaimed in realization. "What's going on here? Where've you been all this time?" He tried to stand, losing his balance and forced to brace himself against the chair he'd been propped up in. "What's the Black Widow doing here?" He demanded. "And where is 'here'?"
"My personal safehouse. One of the ones that SHIELD doesn't know about. As to what's going on, I'm going to show you." Fury answered, stepping over to an adjacent door. Finding his footing, Tony slowly ambled his way over as Fury opened the massive steel door and let him inside. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, but when they did a shocking sight awaited him. It looked like Hydra's own Madame Viper… except her skin was now green and her face sported rather alien features. Namely a striated chin and long pointed ears. "This… is a Skrull." Fury revealed. "A shape-shifting alien that can take the appearance of anyone. They're invading Earth. It's already started." Tony was shocked. For having just come to, it was proving to be a very real information overload. Leave it to Fury to explain without explaining.
"Stop. Just… Just back up." Tony asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Start at the beginning; where did this thing come from?"
"Uh, space." Mockingbird remarked in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Cute." Tony huffed.
"It was actually because of you Avengers that we found out about the Skrull in the first place." Fury explained. "When Hawkeye decided to go after the Black Widow against orders, he tracked her to Hydra island. He didn't know she was working undercover for me at the time. But while the Avengers were messing up months of work, Mockingbird took down Madame Viper."
"When Viper hit the ground I was going to go back and help your team. But then I saw it." Bobbi continued. "Viper changed, right in front of me. She changed into this."
"And then Mockingbird did the single most sensible thing that any agent of SHIELD has ever done: she kept it quiet and brought it to me." Fury added. With that revelation in mind, Tony began putting the pieces together.
"So if one of these things got inside Hydra…"
"At that point, I realized that anyone, anywhere could be a Skrull." Nick told him.
"It doesn't make sense." Tony muttered, starting to pace. "How do you know this? How do you even know this is a Skrull? I'm assuming this one isn't talking." In response, Fury retrieved a device from within his trenchcoat.
"Pulled this off it. Some kind of comm device." He explained. "It's fried, but we've been able to get some data from it. A bunch of hissing, actually, but the word 'Skrull' shows up a lot." Tony looked it over. It vaguely resembled certain Earth-based technology. But he did not recognize the shape or system from any known manufacturer. "We've been able to determine that Viper received communications from two locations. One of them was the SHIELD Helicarrier, and the other-"
"I've got to get back to my team." Tony interrupted. If an alien threat was real, then they needed to act. They had dealt with the Kree, they could deal with-
"Tony." Fury stopped him. "The other communication came from your mansion." Stark whirled around in dismay.
"What-?!" He gasped. Surely Fury was joking. But as the SHIELD director crossed his arms, Tony could tell he was dead serious.
"The Avengers have been infiltrated!"
Tony did not want to believe it. He was lost for words, trapped in a swirling storm of bewilderment that consumed his mind. To make matters worse, Mockingbird had evidence to back up Fury's claim. "When Hawkeye and I were taken to Hydra island, Baron Strucker was gonna execute us both. But Madame Viper stopped him. She suggested to Strucker that they keep Hawkeye alive. We were taken to the dungeons where they separated us." She described.
"Why?" Tony wondered.
"She said he might be useful." Bobbi said simply.
"Or she wanted to replace him with a Skrull agent." Fury added, crossing his arms.
"This is insane. You're saying Hawkeye is one of these-… these things?" Tony wildly questioned, gesturing to the Skrull on the table. "I know Hawkeye."
"I saw Viper every week over the course of a year, Stark. The Skrull had her appearance, her voice, yes, but it also had her memories. She was a perfect copy in every way." Black Widow told him.
"He's a suspect, Tony. That's what we're saying." Fury stated, leaving no room for debate. Tony backed up, pointing an accusatory finger in Fury's direction.
"And how do I know you're not a Skrull? You could be telling me all this just to throw me off, push me in the wrong direction." He retorted. Nick smiled.
"Now you're getting it." Tony was slack-jawed. Of all the things his genius intellect could wrap itself around, this was not one of them.
"I-I can't…" He stammered, feeling overwhelmed. He turned, stumbling out of the room as he struggled to come to grips with it all. Alien imposters. Taking any shape, any form. And he'd never know it until it was too late.
What was he supposed to do…?
Later that night…
When JARVIS informed the trio monitoring Avengers Mansion that the rest of the team was returning, they made their way up to the main level to greet their returning colleagues. Along the way, Cybernaut had a proposal for Black Panther. "You say it is an action movie?" The Wakandan queried.
"Oh yeah, perfect turn-off-your-brain-and-enjoy material. Premiere is next week and I'd love to have you come with me." The technopath explained.
"I will have to give it some thought. I would hate for a movie to detract from our duties." T'Challa answered in a ponderous tone.
"Just think of it as a little downtime. Nothing too strenuous." Connor promised. "Come on, Dark of the Moon will be perfect for putting up your feet and munching on popcorn."
"Sounds like it comes highly recommended by you." Panther mused. Connor shrugged.
"Well, I did go to the premieres of the first two Transformers movies. Not stopping that track record now."
Meanwhile, the Avengers were making their way in from outside, having successfully dealt with Griffin and sent him to lockup. "Well, what a show that was! Nice to get to witness one of these affairs over the aftermath of one." Matthias remarked.
"I'm so glad you found my struggle entertaining." Miss Marvel teased in response. Hawkeye, Cap and Wasp moved on towards the front door while she lingered behind with Matthias.
"In all seriousness, thanks for inviting me out tonight. Nice to know I'm such a friend that you'd call me to join in your celebrations." He thanked her.
"Well, saving your life did kinda help me get back on my feet. So, I'd say I owe you that." Carol replied. "Plus, your brother is one of my teammates, so you're kinda Avengers-related anyway." Matthias chuckled.
"Extended family, we'll call it." Carol smiled warmly.
"Yeah. Sure."
"Well, good-night Miss Marvel. Don't hesitate to call if you're not too busy being an A-lister." Matthias proffered, jingling his apartment keys in his pocket.
"I'm sure I can make time for you in my helplessly busy schedule." She remarked in reply. They both mutually chuckled. And then, acting on impulse, she reached forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Good-night, Matthias." She bade him farewell and turned to go, leaving the younger Peterson smiling.
Carol's own faded quite suddenly when she saw her friend waiting at the front door. Janet was giving her one of her smug 'I saw that' looks. "Well well well…" She trailed off, looking positively giddy over such juicy material. Carol merely huffed and quickened her pace to hurry inside, Janet following and snickering to herself.
"So, how about that Griffin fight?" Carol quickly asked Hawkeye and Cap, desperate for a change in conversation.
"Eh, eight points from me. But the Russian judge isn't so easy-going." The archer remarked.
"I'd say you did a pretty admirable job, Miss Marvel." Cap interjected as they filed in through the main door. "Can't say as I've ever heard Griffin squeal like that before." He added.
"I don't think anyone's ever pulled on his wings like that before!" Wasp giggled.
"Or just about pantsed him when trying to perform a rolling tackle." Hawkeye added, slowly devolving into laughter of his own. "I gotta try that some time."
"Right…" Carol began chuckling as well as the four reminisced the hilarious moment. "The fact you all get to deal with that every day… Oh man, you guys, you're so lucky." Carol stated.
"The look on Griffin's face when he bit down on your leg." Janet giggled uproariously.
"Hopefully his teeth will grow back." Hawkeye snickered. "No one's gonna take him seriously like that." The four collectively chortled.
"I felt bad! He got those big puppy dog eyes, like I yelled at him or something." Carol admitted.
"Well, next time the Hulk gets out of line, we're sending you in. I think you can take him." Wasp commented. Laughter ensued, only to be stopped by a gruff voice from the main hall.
"What's so funny?" The foursome paused, spotting Hulk propping himself up against one of the decorative pillars lining the entryway. His dour demeanor promptly sobered everyone up.
"Nothing."
"Nah, nothing."
"Nothing. Nope."
The jade giant glared. "I don't see any food." He growled.
"The Griffin attacked, Hulk. We had to leave dinner early. Sorry, pal." Captain America apologized.
"Lucky for you." Hulk grumbled. "I was stuck here with them. I'd rather be fighting." It was then that Cybernaut and Black Panther arrived on the scene, the technopath working on a half-eaten burrito.
"Decided we didn't wanna wait around for pizza. Hey, did you know there's this neat little Mexican hole-in-the-wall up the street? They do delivery and everything." He explained. "Tell him how good the guacamole is, Panther." He urged, nudging his friend. The Wakandan remained silent. His was gaze fixated elsewhere, almost as if he was staring into space. "Uh, Panther? T'Challa?" Connor prodded to no avail. He looked up, seeing nothing out of the ordinary and frowned.
"What're you looking at?" Hawkeye asked.
"Iron Man." Black Panther stated. "He is standing in the corner, cloaked." Cybernaut's eyes narrowed.
"He is… I can sense it." He realized, taking a step forward. The familiar chittering of Stark tech filled his technopathic senses, followed by the hum of a functioning ARC reactor. "Tony? What's going on?" He asked the empty air.
"Iron Man?" Cap queried. For a moment there was silence, no movement of any kind. Then, the air shimmered and the fully-armed and operational Iron Man armor appeared before them.
"Uh, Tony? You in there?" Wasp asked with a raised brow. "What's going on?"
"I just got back from meeting with Nick Fury," Iron Man announced, startling them all, "and I've got a quick question I need to ask;" He stepped forward into the light, "Is anyone here a shape-shifting alien?" The response was to be expected.
"What?!" Janet exclaimed.
"Aliens?! Wha-… What the-?!" Connor echoed.
"You saw Nick Fury?" Carol blurted out.
"The same Nick Fury that's been AWOL for months?" Clint added.
"Remember when the Kree showed up? Captain Marvel told us how they were at war with an alien race called the Skrulls. Well, the Skrulls are here, and they can look like anyone." Iron Man continued, unhindered by their questioned. "And Fury thinks that one of you has been replaced by one." That news was just as bewildering. So much so that Wasp burst out laughing she deemed it so absurd. But when Iron man did not react, she sobered and realized with a cold chill that Tony believed everything he was saying.
"Wait. You're being serious…" She trailed off. "You've got to be kidding! That's just not possible! We're… We're us! We know each other, no one here is some alien imposter." Iron Man stayed silent. Gravely silent.
"And this came from Nick Fury, right? The same Nick Fury that has never been a fan of us being us?" Connor added. "How is this real? How do you know this is a real threat? How do you know this isn't him trying to create distrust with some super-elaborate spygames to divide us and break up the team?!" It seemed like a logical solution. But Hawkeye, a former SHIELD agent, knew better. He'd been trained to read people's emotions and between the lines of their sentences. And he knew when there was more than what was being revealed.
"You're holding back." He realized, stepping forward to confront him. "Fury wouldn't have come to you with this if he didn't have someone pegged." Iron Man sighed.
"You're right." He confessed. "It was you. He said you were the Skrull, Clint." That was three times as shocking. At first, everyone gave Iron Man a funny look. Then they were giving Hawkeye a funny look, and he noticed.
"Woah… Woah, woah! Wasp is right, this is crazy! I-I've saved this team more times than I can count! I've helped save the friggin' world even! I'm not some alien!" The arched cried in his own defence.
"Hawkeye's right. I don't believe that for a second." Cybernaut stated, coming to his defence.
"So how do we know it's not you, Connor?" Iron Man demanded, turning things on him. The technopath balked.
"What? That's ridiculous! I've never even heard of the Skrull until Mar-Vell mentioned it in passing! Did Fury show you one? I don't even know what they look like!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah! Same here." Hawkeye chimed in.
"Hawkeye… Clint." The archer turned around, finding Miss Marvel approaching him. "I need you to come with me."
"What are you talking about?" Clint asked warily.
"I may be an Avenger now, but I'm also an agent of SWORD. This is what we do." Carol stated. "If Nick Fury thinks you're one of these Skrulls, I need to bring you in for interrogation. Those are the rules." She reached for his arm, insistent on taking him with her. But Hawkeye quickly batted her hand away.
"Don't touch me!" He snapped. Carol's expression hardened and her fists began to glow.
"Don't make me do this the hard way, Hawkeye." She threatened, ready to use force. "Look, there are rules, and without them-" She abruptly stopped when, in the blink of an eye, Hawkeye had his bow out and an arrow aimed right for her face.
"You can stuff your rules, Major! I'm not going anywhere with you!" He retorted. Cybernaut quickly moved between them, hands out to try and regain some passivity.
"Alright, let's just take it easy, both of you back up and back off and we'll talk this out." He urged them both. Wasp joined in, taking flight and hovering between them.
"Carol, stop this! Hawkeye's one of us." She insisted. The hum of a repulsor charging up drew their attention to Iron Man, who had his weapon aimed directly at Hawkeye. The archer frowned.
"So much for 'Avengers, assemble'." He muttered ruefully. Connor tried to amp up his intervention.
"Tony… don't do anything rash." He cautioned. "I can turn your armor off with a thought, you know it."
"Why? So you can protect your Skrull buddy?" Tony retorted. Connor frowned.
"Fury's getting into your head! That's what spymasters do! You need to listen to reason! Think, Tony! Think!" He snapped.
"You didn't see what I saw, Connor. You don't know what these things are capable of." Tony stated.
"No one is taking Hawkeye!" The technopath firmly declared.
"All of you, stop this!" Wasp cried out. "We're the Avengers! We're supposed to be better than this! If we can't trust each other, then we've got nothing."
"Janet's right. Come on, think back over everything we've done the past months. The past year! We know each other!" Connor agreed. Hawkeye started looking around for other allies, someone to vouch for him who hadn't spoken yet. Cap was oddly quiet.
"T'Challa…" He looked to Black Panther, standing silently by Hulk. "It's me, T'Challa. You have to believe me! You know me!" He implored.
"Right? Come on, Panther, back us up here." Connor chipped in. Black Panther glanced back and forth between the parties in the stand off.
"Iron Man is correct." He said at length. "If the Skrulls truly are here, any of us could have been replaced at any time. Look at Ant-Man's recent behavior. Who is to say that the Ultron incident was not intentional?"
"Hey! That's outta line!" Janet snapped in irritation.
"What-?" Connor trailed off in shock. He couldn't believe his friend was taking
"No one truly knows anyone. Not that well." Panther concluded. He started walking, making for the side entrance as if to leave. Connor broke off from playing peacekeeper, jogging after his friend.
"T'Challa! Wait-!" He called out. Black Panther paused, but only for a moment.
"Do not follow me, Connor Peterson." T'Challa ordered in a low voice over his shoulder. "If that is who you really are." Connor stopped where he stood, his jaw dropping as his own friend turned his back on him and kept walking. Black Panther disappeared into the shadows, taking his leave. Crestfallen, Connor could only stare at the empty doorway in disbelief.
The other Avengers turned from the scene. "I'm giving you one last chance." Miss Marvel ordered Hawkeye. "Come in with me to SWORD, we'll sort this all out."
"How about this…" Hulk growled as he stepped into the quarrel. "If you don't put your arms down, you're gonna lose 'em." He threatened. "Hawkeye's with me." The archer felt a bit better about having the team muscle backing him up.
"I've earned my place on this team and I've earned your trust, Stark." He snapped at Tony. "You and Miss Rules here, you need to back off right now."
"I'm sorry, Hawkeye. You're going with Miss Marvel one way or another. We'll find a way to determine if you're who you say you are." Iron Man pressed, unwilling to back down. "And if you're not a Skrull, then you've got nothing to worry about, right?"
"Yeah?" Hawkeye trailed off. "Unless you're a Skrull." He pointedly noted. "Or Miss Marvel is…" The pointing-fingers business was growing and Janet was afraid she couldn't keep the peace.
"Let's… Everyone just breathe…" She begged them in a worried voice. "Everyone just-"
Like the fuse on a powder keg reaching it's limit, tensions erupted before she could finish speaking.
Hawkeye loosed an arrow instinctively, striking Iron Man's repulsor and shorting it out as Miss Marvel blasted away with photon bursts. Hulk absorbed the brunt of the damage as Hawkeye rolled out of the way, loosing four arrows at once. Captain America pulled Iron Man out of the way as two explosive arrows struck the wall behind him and detonated, the other two destroyed by Miss Marvel's powerful blasts. Hulk attacked her with a roar, Carol calling on her ability to fly to maneuver out of the way. Undeterred, the gamma behemoth drove both his fists into her, Miss Marvel holding him at bay by just barely. Defying the strength of Hulk was taking every ounce of power she possessed, and it was not an easy task.
"Wow… she really is that strong!" Janet muttered in wonderment. Charging her full photonic power, Carol unleashed a powerful blast of energy that sent Hulk sprawling across the mansion floor. With him down, Wasp moved to intervene. "I can't believe you're doing this! We trusted you. We made you an Avenger, we welcomed you in! We trusted you…" She cried in dismay.
"Do you think this is how I wanted today to go?!" Carol retorted, sounding distraught. "I have to do this, Jan! This isn't just a hobby for me! This is my duty-" Suddenly, a wrought iron cylinder knocked her upside the head.
"ENOUGH!" Cybernaut bellowed, summoning his magnets to pull the distant Iron Man and Hawkeye apart and holding them in the air. His sudden intervention brought the infighting to an abrupt halt. "We are the Avengers! We're a team! We can sort this out together! We don't take sides against each other!" He cried out, desperate to bring this nonsense to an end. "Please… just stop, cool off. Talk this out. Don't take Hawkeye anywhere." He begged them all, slowly lowering Hawkeye and Iron Man to the floor now that he had their attention.
"I have to… I…" Tony trailed off. "I can't trust you, any of you." He decided adamantly. "Hulk and Wasp are already shape-changers. Captain America could've been a Skrull from the day we found him, same thing with Cybernaut. Miss Marvel was working with an alien when we met her. And Panther… Panther was gathering information on all of us, he even hacked JARVIS for our files… and we just blew it off."
"We don't have any proof of any of that, Tony!" Wasp cried.
"I saw it." He retorted, lifting his faceplate. "I saw Fury's Skrull with my own eyes. This is happening."
"Well… if Skrulls really are invading, then the world needs us." Wasp determined. "The Avengers can fight this." But Tony shook his head.
"Panther was right to leave. I can't trust any of you." He turned to leave. "And if we can't trust each other, then we can't fight anything." Triggering his jets he hovered above them. "I started this team because I needed people I could count on. And now I can't. The Avengers are over as far as I'm concerned." With that, he took flight through the Mansion skylight and disappeared into the night.
"Hmph. He has trust issues. I don't." Hulk rumbled. Iron Man had made up his mind, the team left reeling in the wake of his hurtful declaration. But Hawkeye still had unfinished business.
"I'm not a Skrull and I'm not some flunky for SHIELD." He sharply told Carol. "I'm an Avenger. And if you're gonna try and take me in, you'd better be sure. You'd better be sure about all of us." He stated firmly. The heroine sighed in defeat, seeing Hulk and Wasp adamantly take his side. As much as she wanted to, her duty and dedication, everything her time in the Air Force had drilled into her, told her to move otherwise.
"This was supposed to be my welcome party…" She muttered sadly, taking flight and following after Tony out of the skylight.
"I can't believe this is happening." Wasp bemoaned. "We can't let this be the end!"
"Get real." Hawkeye scoffed derisively. "Iron Man was right about one thing: the Avengers are over. I knew this was a ticking time-bomb from the start. Well the bomb's just gone off-"
"No." Everyone turned as Captain America finally spoke up. "This is what the enemy wants; to tear us apart with paranoia and mistrust. To win the war without ever firing a shot. Well I don't know about you, but I'm not going to let that happen. Being an Avenger is the only thing I have in this world and I'm not going to give it up that easily." He stated, his conviction and passion for heroism strong and believeable within his voice. "I'll lead you, if you'll have me." He offered. Everyone mulled that over for a bit.
"If I leave, it's like admitting I'm guilty… and that's not gonna happen." Hawkeye decided in the end. He stepped over to Cap, the supersoldier holding out his hand. "I'm in." The archer laid his gloved hand atop Cap's.
"I'm not going anywhere. I made a deal." Hulk added, lumbering over. "Besides, what's some Skrull gonna do to me?" He added with a grin. His beefy green mitt settled atop the other two. All that was left was Wasp, who flew in with a grateful smile on her face.
"Thank you, Cap." She said earnestly, placing her tiny hand atop the pile. But there was one person left in the room… "Connor?" She asked, noting his silence. The technopath looked up with sad eyes, the once chipper light gone from them.
"Yeah…" He muttered indecisively. He started walking, dragging his seat as a crushing weight on his soul slowed his pace. "Alright." He reached out with an unenthusiastic hand, adding his cyberwired limb to the pile. "I'm like you, Cap. Being an Avenger is the only thing I have in this world." He said aloud. "Without it… I'm nothing." He muttered forlornly. With his hat in the ring, he left their meeting and began shuffling down to the lab. He needed to think, to process…
To grieve.
Meanwhile…
"I can't believe he just came out and asked them if they were Skrulls!" Quake muttered in disbelief.
"This is a man who kept his secret identity for about five minutes." Nick Fury remarked. "Why did you think he wouldn't tell them?" The two stood on a rooftop adjacent to Avenger's Mansion, using powerful electro-binoculars to spy on the remaining heroes within. "But I got what I needed. Iron Man's the real deal."
"Oh, great. Except that by revealing your involved, he let the Skrulls know that you're on to them." Quake added.
"I assume they've always known I was on to them." Fury replied. "Iron Man's doing the same thing I did; he's putting the Skrull in a position where he can mess up and reveal himself."
"So… what now?" Quake wondered.
"Now we wait. It's the Skrull's move." Fury answered, returning to his spying.
Later…
Black Panther returned to Wakanda, assuming his rightful place as King and ordered a meeting with his elite guard; the Dora Milaje. The all-female guard flanked him, his most trusted warriors and most capable allies. "My Dora Milaje. Prepare Wakanda for invasion." He tasked them.
Aboard the starship Damocles, Carol Danvers stood alone staring at the pale blue orb of Earth out a viewport. Back at her post and her duty to keep an eye on Earth's extraterrestrial presence, the Skrull threat concerned her to no end. Worse yet was the prospect one remained among the Avengers; the one team she held in such high regard. "Miss Marvel, on approach you said you had a report to file?" A passing SWORD agent asked her. Carol sighed.
"No. Nothing to report yet." She decided.
Tony Stark sat alone in his office at Stark Tower. He hated this. He hated everything about the situation. He stared at his Iron Man helmet, questioning everything he'd ever seen or done, along with every person he'd ever interacted with. Not just the Avengers could be Skrulls, who else could be? Pepper Potts? His friend, James Rhodes? That would be a pickle, the War Machine armor had way more guns. In enemy hands would be a harsh foe to overcome. But the problem was he had no way of knowing. For the first time in a long time, Tony felt powerless… and he hated it. With an anguished shout, he threw his helmet at the wall before sinking back into his chair and holding his head in his hands.
In the Avengers sublevel lab, Connor attempted to put in some work on a piece of circuitry, soldering connectors in the hopes it would take his mind off recent events. But not matter how hard he tried, he could not shake the accusatory words of Black Panther from his mind. The man he called friend, so certain that they were doomed to be divided, so quickly to mistrust him and disregard everything they had done together…
Connor sighed as he lost his focus again, shutting off his tools and setting them aside as he slumped in his seat and rubbed his temples. He recalled their meetings and talks at the Wakandan embassy, how T'Challa had trained and mentored him along his course to becoming a hero. "Was it all for nothing…?" He wondered quietly, struggling with the emptiness he felt in his heart. Suddenly, it was the day after the lab accident. He was alone, no one to call friend, no one to call upon, no one to care…
Footsteps did not stir him, but the soft clink of a porcelain mug setting softly atop the workbench did. He looked up, steaming coffee placed before him, and Janet had her own mug as she sat across from him. She looked into his eyes, her blues big and sad, and she forced a smile.
"Thought you could use some company." She said, plainly and quietly. The gesture was a welcome one. And Connor couldn't help but offer a small smile in reply as he took the mug in hand.
They would drink and sparsely talk long into the night. Knowing they at least had each other.