5 - Master of Gravity
In the silent darkness of the cell, all he had were his thoughts. And so he remembered. He remembered how life had been before his capture. He remembered how it had all began, earnest scientific research and the pursuit of knowledge. They had been trying to develop instant transportation. Teleportation would have allowed humans to travel wherever they wanted in the world and so eliminate the need for cars and other vehicles. Given the state of the environment, their research was desperately needed.
He remembered the explosion; a burst of light and heat and then every cell in his body was saturated with new energy. He had been seeking a means of instantaneous travel, a way to better humanity. Instead, the graviton particles which had flooded his body had enhanced him beyond comprehension. For a time - for a glorious, all to brief time in his life - he had known what it was like to be the most powerful man alive. The limitless possibilities. The ability to do as he pleased, with no one to stop him. The fear of his fellow man.
Vaguely, he could still recall warmth and light. The feel of the sun on his skin. The wind in his hair. The sound of running water and the cool breeze in the rocky mountains. Raindrops on his hands. The sight of snow blanketing the ground, shining as it melted in the midday sun. Freedom. He could almost taste it, though it slipped further from his mind with every passing hour. It was impossible to say how long he had been locked in his darkened sterile chamber.
More than anything else, he thought of the men who had put him here. In the quiet darkness there was nothing to do but brood on his capture. He saw their faces in their dreams. When he heard their voices he would awaken, screaming in a mix of terror and rage almost impossible to bear. Fury and Xavier had trapped him in this hellish cell, and he could never forget them. They lived in his very mind, tormenting him endlessly.
The monotony of life was broken by the sound of screaming outside his cell. He tilted his head upwards, watching and listening intently. His heart thudded in his chest as he waited. The screams continued, followed by the sound of an explosion. He felt the Entire facility tremble, and grit his teeth. SHIELD agents continued to scream, firing guns at an unknown target. He frowned. Was this a rescue? Or an assassination attempt? Doubtless he had made enemies. Perhaps some fool had come to seek 'justice' for his crimes. All he could do was wait for the outcome of the apparent fight in the hall outside.
Almost as abruptly as it had begun the noise fell silent. Lights flickered on in the cell. He blinked rapidly, eyes slowly adjusting. The suspension field deactivated, and he dropped to the floor on his hands and knees. The door shot open with a hiss. Slowly, he pushed himself shakilly onto his feet. His long unused legs buckled. He shuffled slowly out into the hallway. A dozen SHIELD agents lay dead along the hall. Some had had their necks snapped. Most appeared to have been burnt to death.
He frowned and slowly made his way towards the exit, placing his hand against the wall next to him to balance himself as he went. He made his way through the prison, doors opening for him as he approached the entire way. Finally, mercifully as he stepped out into the cool night air, he felt a surge of strength as his long dormant powers returned to him. The earth
beneath him cracked and the trees surrounding the base were ripped into the air. There was a sickening crunch behind him as the base crumpled into a thick ball of metal and concrete. Gravity was once again his to control. Franklin Hall once more wielded the most potent force in the universe.
There was cackle in the distance, and his eyes snapped upwards. Floating in the air above him, about a hundred feet from where he stood was an armoured figure with a billowing hooded green cape. The figure peered down at him. Franklin snarled and flew up to meet the stranger.
"Most impressive" the armour clad man stated calmly, still watching him with an almost bored expression.
"Who are you?" He croaked, voice raspy to his own ears.
"Victor Von Doom, smartest man alive and master of magic. Now I have freed you, you are going to do something for me."
–AoS–
He hopped out of the Mustang, thanking Steve for the lift as he grabbed his school bag out of the back and waved goodbye to his sister who rushed off to join her friends. His stepfather nodded as the car pulled away from the curb, and Nate watched as he disappeared from view before turning towards the campus. Gwen rushed forwards to join him, linking her arm with his.
"So," the blonde girl spoke excitedly, "how was the college tour?" He nodded.
"It was pretty good I guess." His friend grinned.
"I see Sentinel fought some apes that first day you were there," she whispered conspiratorially, softly enough only he could hear her over the noise of the other students.
"I guess you decided to do it then" he nodded absentmindedly, then blinked.
"Do what?"
"Use your powers to help, like I suggested of course!" She replied. He nodded and shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess. It was pretty fun." She frowned slightly.
"Are you going to do it again?"
"Probably. I still need to find the guy who sent those gorillas to the university, don't I?" And I really need to know why, too, he thought. It didn't make any sense. They hadn't stolen anything while they were there. Once he arrived they seemed to focus solely on him and
ignore the civilians. Maybe it had been some sort of strange terrorist attack he had interrupted.
"What did your dad's officers do with them after I left, by the way?" She shrugged.
"Not sure. He's been ordered to put out an arrest on sight order against you, by the way." Nate sighed and nodded. He wasn't all that surprised. Captain Stacy was a good man, but he still had to follow the directions given to him by the mayor's office. It wasn't as though they could actually catch him anyway.
He stopped short as they were about to step into the school house. Gwen glanced back at him, having been pulled short when he stopped moving. She stepped back to stand beside him. Glancing around, she grabbed his hand and stepped around the side of the school, leading him to a large tree on the outskirts of the campus.
"What is it?" She asked, voice urgent.
He frowned, still listening.
"Not entirely sure. Something big downtown." His best friend nodded, eyes shining with determination.
"Give me your bag to take to your locker. I'll cover for you." She stated simply, reaching for his bag. He pushed it into her hand and pulled her in for a quick hug, which after a moment of shock, she reciprocated.
"I better get going" he stated as he transformed into Sentinel. She nodded, stepping back to allow him to run down the nearby side street.
–AoS–
Steve tapped his fingers on the wheel, turning up the music as he drove away from the school. Life since moving from Australia to America had been good. His real estate agency was doing well, he was happily married and had two step children he adored. He slowed down, slinging into the McDonalds drive thru. Normally he avoided fast food, but he felt like a cup of coffee. He made his order at the window, paid, and received the black coffee and hash brown. Taking a bite into the treat while stopped at the intersection, he frowned at the sound of his mobile ringing. Turning off the music, he took the call through Bluetooth.
"Go for Steve" he stated.
"Abrahams," came the crisp voice of Henry Collins, "are you available?" Steve frowned and sighed. "Yeah Henry. Got no clients today. What do you want?"
"Explosion at a military base near you. We need someone to go out and take a look."
"Alright. I'll send you whatever I find when I'm done. Send through the address."
"We already did."
Steve scoffed and rolled his eyes.
–AoS–
It had been years since he had last set foot in New York. The city was as crowded and oblivious as he remembered. Doom's request to attack Manhattan had been simple enough to grant. He could do the dictator's dirty work for him, then find and kill Charles Xavier and Nick Fury. He floated over the city, peering down at the millions self-absorbed of fools below. Some had stopped to watch him, pointing in awe. He snorted, raising his hands into the air.
He watched as a nearby five storey Office building and the carpark around it broke away from the sidewalk, and floated into the air. Screams rent the air. Pedestrians threw themselves onto the street to avoid being lifted with the building. Car horns sounded as traffic ground to a halt. He peered at the trapped workers in the building, laughing as he spun it through the air, juggling it around him as he floated higher into the sky. Bored of the game, he thrust a hand, tossing the building across the city skyline and out past the harbour. It slammed into the Atlantic, sinking slowly beneath the waters. He thrust his hands downwards, exerting increased gravity over the cars on the freeway. They slowed and ground to a halt, several catching fire. A middle streaked past him, and he turned in mid air.
Two armed helicopters flew towards him. He watched, amused, as they fired their payloads. Lazily flicking a hand, he sent their missiles flying out of orbit. They opened fire. Exerting gravity upon the bullets, he sent them flying into the ground. Stretching his hands outwards, he sent one of the helicopters flying towards the ground, and the other soared off into space.
–AoS– He ran through the streets in the direction of the screams, dashing past thousands of pedestrians and vehicles alike. Coming to a halt, he stared in horror at the sight that met him. Men and women alike were fleeing like ants from a running hose. The street had been cracked down the middle, split for at least a hundred feet. He heard a woman screaming, and spun around. She was pointing down the road, towards a young girl struggling with a small dog.
"Please!" The woman shrieked, "someone save my child!" He turned back towards the child and felt his heart leap into his throat as a helicopter fell out of the sky towards the girl. He shot forward like a cannonball, and wrapped his arms protectively around the girl and dog as he moved the pair out of the way of the falling aircraft. Running back into place, he leaped into the air to meet the helicopter, catching it and gently placing it on the ground next to the child and dog.
He turned to the little girl. "Get to your mom. I'll handle things here." The little girl nodded and ran away. He made his way over to the helicopter to make sure the occupants were alright, only to be sent flying away from it as he was struck in the side of the head. He felt himself slam into the ground and winced. Stood over him was a tall middle aged male with black hair in a dark blue suit with a white cape. The man lifted him into the air, and punched him in the
stomach. He winced and felt the air knocked out of his lungs. The stranger dropped him once more before kicking him in the ribs.
"What are you, stranger?" The older man demanded. Nate picked himself up, dusting the dirt off of his suit. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the other man.
"Sentinel. And I'm here to stop you." The older man threw his head back and laughed.
"I am the master of gravity, commander of one of the four fundamental forces of nature! You actually think you can defeat the strongest man on earth?" Nate glared at the man, leaping forwards. He struck him on the chin. The stranger staggered back. Nate rushed forward, punching him in the chest. He flew through the air like a baseball, slamming into an empty building. A burst of energy shook the building, which proceeded to collapse. The stranger shot into the air, hovering above him.
"You are certainly strong, Sentinel! But can you survive this?!" He raised a hand, and Nate felt himself floating off the ground. Within moments, he was floating hundreds of metres above the ground. The other man laughed cruelly from below.
"This is the power of Graviton!" Graviton unleashed him, and he felt his stomach lurch as he fell towards the earth. He collided with the ground, cracking the road beneath him. Graviton floated down as Nate picked himself up, hovering a few feet above him. The other man tilted his head. Raising his hand, he shot a truck towards Nate.
Nate grit his teeth, bracing himself to catch the truck. He wrapped his arms around it, holding it tight. He let out a groan as Graviton increased the force of gravity on the truck, increasing its weight. Nate dropped to one knee, stepped back as best he could, and three the truck at his enemy. Graviton, caught off guard, was struck on the head and sent flying into the roof of a nearby skyscraper. The truck exploded, setting the older man's cape on fire.
He tore the burnt material off his back and lowered the gravity around Nate once more. He flicked a finger, and Nate felt himself soaring through the air towards the harbour. He hit the water, and felt himself breaking the surface as he sank towards the bottom. He struggled against the sensation, though as Graviton enhanced gravity around him, it became harder and harder to kick. The further he sunk, the more his limbs felt like anchors weighing him down.
He held his breath, sinking deeper and deeper into the water. After a few minutes, he felt himself lurching up once more. Graviton, floating over the water, laughed once more as he watched the water-logged Nate floating through the air below him. "So," the older man called, " you can survive underwater as well. How about we throw you around?" He tossed Nate through the city, sending him careening into buildings. He snarled as each progressive hit had no effect. Calling on his powers one final time, He tossed Sentinel into the air and out of orbit.
–AoS–
Doom cackled as he watched the footage of Graviton's fight with Sentinel. Sending the criminal to New York was working out even better than he had hoped. Physically, Graviton could not harm the hero. His powers, however, were a different matter. By manipulating gravity around him, Graviton was able to throw Sentinel around like a rag doll. He'd drowned him, thrown him into buildings, and slammed him repeatedly into the ground. Despite these attacks not doing any harm, it had shown Doom that Sentinel could be manipulated by telekinetic attacks.
Finally, Graviton raised both arms above his head, and Sentinel shot through the air upwards and out of sight. Doom smirked. No more Sentinel then, he thought to himself as the hero shot into space.
–AoS–
He floated through the vast emptiness of space, no longer bound by gravity. Sunlight struck his body, and his eyes flickered behind his eyelids. Blue eyes shot open, ringed by blazing white light. He felt his muscles loosening and his senses enhancing as the sunlight struck him. He could see the entire solar system; the rings of Saturn, Jupiter's raging storms. Planets, moons, and asteroids laid out before him. And below, a sapphire jewel of ethereal beauty.
Earth. His home, and on it, the people he loved. He had to protect them. If no one else could, then it fell to him. He stretched a hand out in front of him, towards the planet and closed his eyes, willing himself to move. Nothing at first, and then an inch. Then the next, and slowly but surely he moved closer. Then, without warning, he felt his stomach flip as he lurched forwards, flying towards the planet below. Heat enveloped his entire body and he grit his teeth as he entered orbit once more, soaring across the ocean in the direction of New York. He let out an exhilarated laugh as he realised he was flying.
He soared across the sky, and within seconds, New York was in sight. He grinned as he shot straight towards the unsuspecting Graviton ahead of him. He speared the other man, slamming his fist and shoulder into his burnt back. Graviton shot forwards, and fell towards the ground, unconscious. Nate shot forward after him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders and the other underneath his legs to keep him from hitting the ground.
Flying through the air for a few seconds, he gently dropped the unconscious criminal in front of the nearest police station. As half a dozen officers came running out of the building, each pointing guns in his direction he shot them a mock salute before flying off in the direction of Midtown elementary. He soared through the streets of Manhattan, unable to believe the morning he had experienced. Not only could he fly, he now knew he could survive in the vacuum of space. As he touched down in an alleyway near the school and switched back into his younger form, he wondered briefly just how powerful he might still become. It was an alarming thought.
–AoS– Doom snarled, flicking a hand at a nearby Doombot. Enraged, lightning arced from his hand, destroying the robot and leaving a pile of metal on the floor. Sentinel, who had been dead to rights, could, it turned out, fly. More importantly, he could apparently breathe in space. So far,
the vigilante was immune to almost all physical hits, faster than sound, and now capable of flight. He took a deep breath.
No matter, he thought, gritting his teeth, it would just take more time and effort to find a way to remove this newest nuisance then he had originally assumed.
A/n: Hey all. Don't really love this chapter personally.
Franklin Hall / Graviton - Ryan Farrell