"Get down!" Steve yelled, ducking himself right before the explosion obliterated the rocks where their heads had just been.
"Blast," Rex muttered, shaking his head slightly. "Can't even get a look at the bastard. He could be anywhere."
"Probably the higher ground," Steve gestured with his head a little to the right where he had noticed the larger cluster of boulders as they had arrived here. "That's where I'd be. But we need to be sure."
"What are you thinking?"
"Just keep an eye on those boulders," Steve replied, hefting up his shield. He crouched carefully, taking a deep breath, before rising up, his shield raised high to block any incoming missiles, eyes scanning the area. And then he heard it. The sounds that had signaled the first attack. A soft bang, followed a second later by a louder one. He looked around wildly for the projectile but only saw a wisp of smoke coming right for him. His eyes widened and he braced himself just as something struck his shield, letting off a loud BOOM!
He found himself flung to the ground, the impact flattening him. He grunted, shaking his head a little to try and clear the ringing. He looked up and saw Rex crouching next to him, arm outstretched. He grabbed it and sat up into a crouch.
"That was your plan?" Rex asked. Steve could practically see the raised eyebrow behind the helmet.
"I was going to deflect whatever it was," he replied. "But it's no projectile. It's…something else."
"Yeah, I got a good look. It's definitely being fired but it didn't look like anything I've seen before. Two small explosions midair before the big one hit you. It was definitely aimed at you. There was a trail of smoke coming from the boulders, just like you said. But I have no idea what it is."
Steve shook his head. It didn't matter what kind of projectile it was. They had the information they wanted. "Alright. We'll have to flank them. It seems like it's only one person and whoever they are, they can't aim at both of us. I'll head to the left, you take the right."
"Copy that," Rex nodded, readying his blasters. "Good luck."
"You too."
Steve carefully moved across the ground, keeping the rocks between him and the large cluster of boulders. As he did, he thought back to how he got here. He had been standing on the Quantum Tunnel as Bruce pressed the button to send him back to return the Infinity Stones. Then, as he felt the sensation of shrinking into the Quantum Realm, he had suddenly found himself in the middle of a rocky, barren landscape. He was wearing his uniform with the stars and stripes and, most surprising of all, he had his shield. Fully intact which was impossible as the last time he'd seen it, Thanos had broken it apart. But here it was, in his hands, good as new.
He had no idea what was going on. But after a battle with a strange lizard monster, he had come across Rex and the two had agreed to work together. Steve didn't know much about the man except that he was a war veteran as well as a clone and a captain in the Grand Army of the Republic. They had exchanged some information but Steve knew the man was holding back. Didn't matter to him, he had things he was keeping to himself as well. At least until he knew he really could trust the man. And so far, Rex hadn't done anything to prove he couldn't.
After all the crazy things he'd seen over the last decade, Steve didn't think things could get weirder. He should have known better. Things could always get weirder. He guessed he owed Fury another ten bucks.
But right now, none of that mattered. What mattered was quietly approaching whoever this person attacking them was and taking them out.
He carefully shuffled next to the rocks, trying to not make any noise. This reminded him of his days back in the war, hunkering deep in the trenches, waiting for the right moment to strike. Those weren't fun memories.
He came to a stop when he saw a gap in the rocks ahead, one that would leave him open to attack from the person above. He grimaced and looked around but it was the only way forward that he could see.
Thinking quickly, Steve grabbed a fair-sized stone off the ground. He took a breath and then threw it off to the side, causing it to clatter loudly against some of the larger rocks. Instantly, Steve heard the sound again. The soft bang coming from his right. The second he heard it, he moved, running across the open ground. As he did, he heard the second bang coming overhead. He slid the final meter just as the loud explosion came, detonating the area he had thrown the rock and turning it into a mass of rubble. And yet, as far as he could see, no trace of explosives.
"So what is this guy firing?" Steve wondered. Repulsor tech like with Iron Man? Some form of godly energy like with Thor? Or something else entirely?
He looked up and grimaced again. The next bit would be even trickier. He had a straight shot to the cluster of boulders but it was practically an empty plain for the next twenty yards except for a few scattering of rocks here and there. He would have to be fast and agile to make it. Fortunately, he was both.
But if the person up there saw him, well…the chances of him making it were not favorable. Still, he had faced worse odds in his life and managed to make it through.
He peered carefully over to the boulder cluster, doing his best to not be seen. It seemed his attacker was doing the same, completely hidden. But he had to pop-up at some point to attack. Or did he? With all these strange new powers around, Steve didn't know what was possible anymore.
But just as he had that thought, he saw movement and hunkered down a little more. He watched as a figure emerged from behind the boulders. He could only see the head but he could make out some features. A bald, bearded man with what looked like a third eye in the middle of his forehead. It was hard to tell from this distance so Steve could be wrong. But he also knew there was a fair chance he was correct.
As the man looked over towards him, he repressed the urge to move. If he moved, he would be more easily seen. He just had to stay still and hope his helmet looked like a rock from over there. Fortunately, the man looked away and Steve breathed out in relief. But that was short-lived as he saw the man suddenly turn to his left.
Steve's eyes widened as a line of smoke formed from the man's forehead, shooting outward before causing the small explosion sound midair followed by the second one before the third erupted in the rocks below. There was a loud cry of pain and Steve spotted a brief flash of white and blue.
"Rex," he growled and took off.
The man saw him instantly and turned towards him. The smoke line formed just like before, this time aimed right at him. Steve watched as the first explosion came, reaching down and grabbing hold of a large rock as it did. He calculated quickly and, just after the second explosion, he threw the rock up in the air before throwing himself to the side. The third explosion obliterated the rock midair, some pebbles raining down on him. But other than that, he was unharmed.
He shook his head to clear the ringing from his ears and then slowly got on his hands and knees. It was the third eye or whatever was on the man's forehead. That was the source of the explosions. So that was what he had to take down.
He suddenly heard the first explosion and was up and moving before he even thought about it, leaping into the air right before the rock he'd been hiding behind exploded. He was hurled through the air but turned his landing into a roll, recovering quickly as he dove behind some more rocks.
He heard a soft thump behind him and risked a quick peek. The man had apparently jumped in after him, looking around. Now, Steve noticed that his right arm and leg were made of metal, creating a slight thumping noise every time he moved. It wasn't much, but Steve would take any advantage he could get at this point.
The man studied the area carefully and Steve stepped back before he could be seen. He then did the same trick he did earlier, picking up a small stone and tossing it to the side. Instantly, the man turned to find the source of the sound. As he did, Steve threw his shield like he had done a hundred times before, having already done the calculations in his head. He then started moving, running right for the man who saw him coming. Steve saw the smoke trail appear and the first explosion come right when his shield, having bounced off two rocks, slammed into the man, knocking him back a step which was all the opening Steve needed. He charged the last few steps and threw himself into the man, knocking him down.
The man let out a grunt and punched out with his metal arm but Steve ducked aside and let loose a punch of his own, his landing sweetly across the man's jaw.
"Stay down," he warned.
The man glared up at him but made no moves.
"Good," Steve nodded, picking up his shield from where it had fallen. "Now, I want you t-"
"Look out!"
Startled, Steve glanced up at Rex yelling down at him right before something hit him from behind, staggering him forward. Before he could recover, the man's metal arm came up in a fist and this time landed a hit right across his cheek. He felt himself go weightless for a second before he crashed into a stone pillar behind him. He groaned, rubbing his cheek. He hadn't been punched like that since, well, Thanos during the Battle of Wakanda. This guy was that strong.
He then heard the first explosion and his eyes widened. But before the second explosion could go off, there was a sudden round of blaster fire. Steve looked up and saw Rex clambering down the side of the rocks from his perch above, firing smoothly at the man who was taking cover behind another stone pillar.
"You alright?" he asked quickly as he came up next to Steve.
"Not too bad," Steve replied, hefting up his shield. "You?"
"I'll live."
The small explosion sound came again. "Move!" Steve barked, dragging Rex to the side behind his shield right before the large explosion knocked them flat on their backs. The shield took the brunt of the attack, allowing them to quickly be on their feet again.
"Did you see that?" Steve asked, having them duck behind another stone pillar.
"See what?"
"The smoke curved."
"What?"
Steve quickly explained what he had seen about the man's explosive powers. "He's generating it. Unleashing it with that third eye of his. I thought at first he needed to see his targets with it but apparently not. The smoke curved around the pillar."
"So he can attack from any direction," Rex surmised. "Not great. Any ideas to take him out?"
"One." Steve listened carefully in case the man moved. "That eye of his is the source of his power. So we take it out. How good a shot are you?" he nodded at Rex's blasters.
"Pretty good."
"Alright then, you're the shooter and I'm the bait." Steve hefted his shield up, getting ready to move. "Just don't wait too long to make the shot, ok?"
"Ha," Rex chuckled. "Don't worry, pretty boy. I got you."
Steve took in a breath and then moved, leaping out from behind the rocks. Almost instantaneously, he heard the first boom and raised his shield high. He saw the second boom and hurled himself to the side before the third explosion could hit him. Instead, he managed to roll with it, coming up on his feet and still running.
The explosive sounds came again, but this time they were a little ways behind him so Steve allowed himself a second to breathe. And then the big explosion came along with a loud cracking and crumbling noise. He turned and sucked in his breath as he saw one of the larger pillars of rock falling right for him, the explosion having taken out its bottom. He ran quickly ran for cover until he heard the explosive sounds again. He whirled around just in time to have the third explosion strike him right in his shield, tossing him like a ragdoll in the wind until he came crashing down hard on the ground.
"Ugh," he groaned, feeling like he'd been hit by a truck. Actually, that would have been preferable.
He grunted and opened his eyes right in time to see the stone pillar falling down on top of him.
"Shit!" he muttered, rising into a crouch, shield raised high just as the rocks hit him.
Rex grunted, rising quickly from where he'd fallen. The plan was not going, well, according to plan. The second Steve had run out, Rex had been prepared to fire on the exploding man but their enemy was more cunning than they had thought. Instead of firing his power right at Steve, like they had planned, he had fired right between Steve and Rex, giving both maybe a less powerful but still strong blast. Rex had been knocked into one of the rocks where he had rolled onto the ground. His armor had taken the brunt of it but he still felt like he had been trampled.
He managed to get to his feet just in time to see the large stone pillar collapse. "Steve, you better not be under there," he muttered. But there was no time to wonder. The explosive man was just ahead of him, eyes on the large dust cloud the pillar had created. Now was his chance.
Rex carefully made his way across the ground, making sure not to trip on anything. So far, the man didn't seem to be aware of his presence and Rex was hoping his luck would hold.
So, naturally, it didn't.
The man suddenly turned around and locked eyes with Rex. They had a second where both just froze. Then they moved. Rex aimed his blasters and opened fire while the man breathed in and released his power, causing the air in front of him to explode. Rex dove aside right before the place he'd been standing was blown apart. He turned his dive into a roll and came up on his feet, still firing. If he couldn't take out the eye, he could still blast the man.
But then he saw something that stopped him cold. As he fired again, the blue light of the bolt seemed to twist away from the man's body instead of striking him, as if something had propelled it away. "What the hell?" Rex muttered right before he saw the man take another deep breath. Knowing what was coming next, Rex dove aside again to dodge the latest explosion.
So firing at the man was out, apparently. But the pistols were just one tool he used. If he couldn't hit the man's eye with them, then Rex would just have to use something else.
He knew he would have to act fast. All the man needed to do was breathe in and he'd be ready to fire. And Rex wasn't sure whether or not taking out the eye during the attack would help. So he had to take it out before. That gave him about a second-long window.
Plenty of time.
Rex grabbed hold of a particularly smooth stone and leaped out of cover. He spotted the explosive the same second he was spotted. He saw the man clench up, breathing in to attack, and Rex threw the stone as hard and as fast as he could.
Rex wasn't the best sharpshooter in his squad nor did he have the best aim. But he was still a Captain, recently promoted to Commander, of the Grand Army of the Republic. Which meant that even if he wasn't the best, he was pretty damn close.
The stone struck the man right in his third eye just before he could attack. He grunted and took a step back, clutching his forehead.
"Was hoping for a little more, but I guess that'll do," Rex muttered and ran as fast as he could. Just as the man looked up again, Rex was on top of him, slamming into him and hurling him to the ground. He then punched as hard as he could into the man's third eye, causing him to yell out in pain.
"Now that's more like it," Rex smirked.
The man recovered fast, punching Rex hard in his side with his metal arm. Rex was thrown off but he got up on his hands and knees, inwardly cursing himself for letting his guard down. He saw the man get up as well and instantly attacked again, not wanting to let his enemy get even a second of recovery time.
The man saw him coming and threw his metal arm out again. Rex saw it coming and ducked under it, coming up behind the man and punching him in the back of the head. The man grunted and then twisted around, the metal arm whirling in a deadly swing that Rex only narrowly avoided. But he didn't see the man's regular arm come up behind it, grabbing him around the throat and lifting him up. Rex choked, grasping at the man's arm and kicking out wildly. His feet connected with the man's chest but didn't have any effect, the man just glaring and squeezing harder on Rex's throat.
Thinking quickly, Rex pulled out one of his pistols and flipped it around, grasping the barrel. The man's eyes widened and he moved to stop him but Rex was too fast, bringing the pistol down on the man's eye like a hammer. The man grunted, wincing in pain and Rex felt his grip loosen. He ripped open the man's fingers and dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch. He allowed himself two seconds to try and recover from being choked before he went on the attack again, bringing his fist up into the man's chin and causing him to stumble back again.
"This isn't working," Rex muttered. As hard as he fought, he wasn't a match against the man in a straight-up brawl. The man was too strong for him. And Rex couldn't use his pistols either which left him with few options.
He picked up a sharp rock, deciding it was his best choice for now. The man turned back to him, glaring with hatred. "If this is how I die," Rex told him, "then I'm going to make sure you pay for it."
They both charged at the same time. Rex ducked under the metal fist and struck hard with his rock, managing to land a blow across the man's face. The man grunted but then punched again and Rex had to step aside to dodge the metal fist again. He moved to attack and then got hit by the man's regular fist, nearly getting knocked to the ground. He just managed to stop himself and renewed his attack, punching out with his rock. But instead of ducking aside, the man stepped into it, taking the hit as he wrapped his arms around Rex, lifting him up and squeezing hard. Rex grunted and tried to break free but was locked in viselike grip, the man's arms joined tightly. He was being crushed.
He tried to hit the man with his rock but couldn't gain any momentum, his arms pinned to his sides. As the seconds passed, he felt his body get more and more crushed as the man squeezed tighter. He was seeing black spots and could barely breathe. He wasn't going to last much longer.
Acting instinctively, he lunged forwards and smashed his helmet into the man's face. The man grunted again and Rex felt his grip loosen slightly. He was a little woozy from the head-smash but he kept at it, bringing his helmet down again and again into the man's face in an almost droid-like fashion, until, with one big crunch the man dropped him to the ground.
Rex practically collapsed against the rocks, gasping for breath. He could barely think, his mind addled from the repeated blows. His vision was blurry and his ribs felt like they had been shattered. He tried to get to his feet but could barely get on his hands and knees. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the man walking up to him, metal fist raised. Rex again tried to get up but couldn't focus. He reached for his pistols, trying to get them out of their holsters in time, but couldn't quite make it. He saw the metal fist above him and couldn't make himself move.
So this was how it ended. On a barren planet in the middle of nowhere. He closed his eyes, ready to join his brothers in the afterlife.
And then he heard a loud, metallic CLANG!
He looked up and blinked, his vision clearing a little. The metal fist had been blocked by a round sheet of metal. And connected to that sheet of metal was an arm. Rex followed it and saw Steve Rogers standing there, staring down at him.
"On your feet soldier. This is no place to die."
Those words resonated inside Rex, and he shook his head, clearing his mind. He was a soldier. He had survived countless battles across the galaxy as well as Order 66. He would survive this as well.
"Thanks, soldier," Rex said, gripping his pistols tightly. "Now let's take this walking tank down."
"Sounds good to me." Steve lunged upwards with his shield and threw the man back. Taking advantage, Rex opened fire. Just like before, the blasts deflected off of him but this time Rex came the focus on the man's face, blinding him. Using the distraction, Steve charged forward and slammed his shield into the man's chest, knocking him off his feet and bringing him down. Without giving him a second of respite, Steve followed him down. Rex stopped firing as Steve punched the man across the jaw and then brought his shield up to deliver the final blow.
Before he could, the man's metal fist shot up, taking hold of the shield and stopping it short. He then twisted it to the side with Steve following it, sprawling into the rocks.
Rex instantly started firing his pistols again, blinding the man once more. But then he felt a change in the air, like a compression between him and the man. His eyes widened as he saw several bolts of fire halt midair and then shoot back towards him. He ducked aside but landed badly, one bolt striking the side of his helmet. As he tried to get back up, he saw the man lift Steve up with the shield. Steve quickly let go but didn't act fast enough as the metal foot suddenly came up, kicking him in the side and sending him crashing back into the rocks. The man then took the shield in both hands and pressed them together, bending the shield.
Or at least he tried to.
Rex couldn't help but smile as he saw the man's face turn red as he pressed down on the shield, doing his best to try and bend it. But the metal refused, remaining stubbornly smooth. No matter how hard the man tried, twisting and turning his arms in different positions, the shield stayed the same, completely unbent.
"Good luck with that," Steve said, getting to his feet. "Now why don't you hand that back before you hurt yourself."
The man grimaced at him and then threw his metal arm back, throwing the shield as hard as he could at Rogers. Rex's eyes widened as Steve just stood there, sure he would see his new ally smashed apart by the flying metal. But no, Steve reached out and, turning in his place, grabbed the shield midair before whirling around and firing it right back. The explosive man's eyes widened but he didn't have time to react before the shield struck him right in the forehead, causing him to fall hard on his back. The shield deflected off a rock pillar and then seemed to fly back into Steve's hand.
Rex gaped for a second before realizing this was there moment. The man was down, if for a second, and they could use that. He took hold of his pistols and flicked a button along the side of them, hoping his working theory was right. Otherwise…well, they'd do things the old-fashioned way.
Just as the man started to get up, Rex fired again, the blue bolt striking the man right in the third eye. And this time, it didn't deflect off. The blue ray hit dead center and then buzzed, a glow spreading fast over the man's body. He instantly slumped over, going still, and Rex breathed out with relief.
"What was that?" Steve asked, walking up.
"Stun blast," Rex replied. "He'll be out for several hours if we're lucky."
"Huh. How'd you know that would work?"
"Didn't. But he seemed to have some affinity to fire or energy from his explosive powers and how he deflected all my blasts. So I figured he may not be susceptible to less…damaging attacks."
"Like a stunner," Steve nodded. "Smart thinking."
Rex nodded back. He eyed the explosive man carefully, making sure he really was down. "So now what?"
Steve looked up at the sky, watching the sun making its way down. "We should probably walk a ways away from him before he can wake up and try to find some shelter for the night. Maybe some food and water. And then…" he shrugged helplessly. "We march on. See if we can find any answers."
Rex sighed. "Probably the best plan we'll get for now," he said. "Well, no time like the present. Let's get moving."
And we're back with the latest chapter. So yeah, this is the Steve Rogers from the MCU and Captain Rex comes in after The Clone Wars but way before Rebels. My best guess would be somewhere around The Bad Batch. As for the enemy, he's the combustion man from Last Airbender. He didn't get too much screen time so I wanted to fix that here.
I knew I was bringing in the two captains but I didn't think of putting them together until it hit me when thinking of ways to extend the story beyond the main characters that these two were both military veterans with the rank of captain, making their team-up obvious. You'll see so much more of their adventures together.
I also decided on this version of Steve for particular reasons, one of which will be made clear later on.
Hope you liked the story so far. Next chapter, we go back to our favorite little wizard.
Also, for One Piece fans, I'll be bringing in a few characters soon (Arlong for sure) but not too many as I'm still early on. Just finished up the Sky Island Saga which was pretty fun. Don't know why people complain about it so much. Also, I know from what you've said that you'd rather I wait until later before bringing the main characters in but I also don't want to bring in the versions that are super overpowered so what's the general consensus for bringing them in before the 2-year time skip?
To the Guest reviewer, you're right about the wizards, don't worry I am going to rectify that. In fairness, the ones so far like Harry use mostly basic spells. You'll start seeing more epic fights soon. Though I disagree on Sectumsempra as he doesn't like using that one.
As for Deadpool…no spoilers.
Until next time, thanks again for reading.