Revamped!
[I swear on my life, I wrote this chapter/story arc way before the Thor: Ragnarök movie or its trailer came out. Besides, I got this idea from somewhere else].
Copyright - Avengers Assemble (Marvel Animation)
Chapter 10: MojoWorld Part One
The team celebrated after their first mission. They didn't think that the problem with Ivory Gates would be so difficult but she was, to put it bluntly, annoying. It meant something to them to have walked out of that mission alive. It was their first real mission … that they lost the first time. Five-to-one and they lost to a non-enhanced human. They thought that if it was that bad, imagine if the rest of them were there.
Iqadi would've captured Ivory before they even looked at her photo. The others? Apollo would be too carefree to, well, care. Emily would have her head in the clouds and compliment Ivory's gorgeous dress at the ball. Sigyn's head would be all over the place.
But since they succeeded, SHIELD assigned them another mission right away.
-o-
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 21:33 PM
Minutes later, it's only when they heard footsteps in the hallway that they knew their time is running out. There are probably more security guards monitoring the hall right outside the door they're hiding behind than what could fit in the room they crammed themselves in.
"We need a plan," Daniel whispers, quickly running a hand through his hair. "Seeing as we have to get through about, I don't know, twenty-five guys with guns with only the two of us."
"Twenty-six," Merida corrects casually.
Daniel looks at her, his only teammate on this mission without anyone else for back-up. Even if they had their back-up, they didn't have any time to call them nor did they have time to get here with their forces.
Merida clears her throat. "There are two per floor and we're on the thirteenth floor. There's our twenty-six. We can try the utility elevator but even then, there would be at least six more guys in the annex and another five in the west atrium. Even if the two of us manage to clear that, we would be facing at least another twenty-seven armed and trained operatives and that's not even including the standard perimeter."
Daniel has no response. When did she have time to take note of all that?
"Just follow me," Merida says, taking the lead.
She opens the door and walks out of the room cautiously. Daniel turns around, constantly checking if someone with a gun is approaching them. Merida approaches another door and presses her ear against it to listen to what's on the other side. Her eyes meet Daniel and she tosses him a gun. He flinches a little as he catches it with two hands.
"You ready?" Merida whispers to him.
"Even if I say no, you're still going to charge in," Daniel replies, loading the gun. He knows what he's doing.
Merida replies with a snarky grin and a kick towards the door. It pops off its hinges and Merida storms right in with a loaded bow, firing arrows like bullets. Daniel steps in, helping Merida out the best he could. Everyone in the room falls to the ground, shooting back with no luck. When all is quiet, Merida and Daniel hear approaching footsteps that sound like a trembling earthquake. The two of them throw themselves behind the desks, knowing that this hiding spot won't last. They'll search this entire room. Merida reloads her bow as Daniel does the same with his gun.
"We're cornered," Daniel says. "The only door in this room is the one the storm will be entering from. There's no way out."
Merida snickers as she pulls out a little circular bomb from her utility belt. She sticks it on the window in front of them and presses it. As a small red light begins to flash, she looks at Daniel.
"There's always a way out," Merida tells him. "You trust me?"
"Of course," Daniel replies without a second thought.
"Then get ready to jump."
Merida and Daniel get up, covering their faces as the window shatters and glass shards fly all around. More armed forces burst through the door and the moment they begin firing, Merida and Daniel jump out the window. Mid-air and free-falling without a parachute, Merida quickly loads a grappling hook arrow in her bow. As she shoots it up, Merida uses her free hand and extends it towards Daniel. As he reaches for it, they - vanish into thin air.
-o-
PNG Quinjet - 21:48 PM
"Wait, what?!" Angela exclaims, staring at the live footage of Merida and Daniel's mission courtesy of the camera's from the neighbouring building's security footage.
Angela rewinds the footage as Xavier and James stand closer. She replays the footage in slow-motion. They watch as Merida and Daniel break through the window. As their friends are falling, attempting to rescue themselves, they disappear. The three of them have to replay the footage multiple times before accepting the fact that their friends literally disappeared in thin air and it's not a video glitch.
"What?!" Angela exclaims again.
"Merida! Daniel!" Xavier says into his comms. "Somebody please…"
There's no response from them. Only static.
James hesitates. Out of the whole team so far, he and Daniel are the experts in science and technology. With Daniel gone, that leaves only him. The twins look at James and he can only stare back.
"I - " James stutters, "I'm sure I can think of a possible explanation for this. Don't worry, they will be fine."
-o-
Location Unknown - Time Unknown
Merida doesn't remember landing flat on the ground. She barely remembers falling. She wakes up in a room that's completely white, realizing that she isn't on the ground outside the building she jumped out of. This can't be heaven. She wasn't that much of a saint. She rubs her eyes, clearing her vision, and sees Daniel lying unconscious about three feet away from her with his arms and legs sprawled out like a starfish.
"Please don't be dead…" Merida mutters.
She repeats that mantra as she grabs her bow from beside her and begins crawling over to him. Her legs are slowly regaining consciousness the more she uses them. Merida takes Daniel's head in her hands and places two fingers on his neck to feel for a pulse. The moment her cold fingertips touch his warm neck, Daniel jerks awake and Merida sighs in relief. Merida holds his shoulders and calms him down, allowing him to absorb the area around them - which isn't really much.
"I know you have trick arrows but this is a little much," Daniel says, groaning on the ground.
"Daniel…" Merida whispers. "I have no clue where we are…"
Daniel's face drops. "Me neither."
At this point, neither of them knows where they are, what happened, and what to do now. This is way beyond the mission.
Merida looks around the area they're in although there is nothing to see but white emptiness. Daniel remains silent, knowing that if Merida Barton is worried, then they have a real problem. The two of them stand up and Merida loads her bow.
They flinch at the sound of mechanical gears being turned all around them, echoing so loud that it makes their ears bleed. Merida raises her bow until its perpendicular to her body. A shining light blinds them but when their eyes adjust, they finally see colour with the sound of chanting, cheering, and applauding. Merida and Daniel look around and see that they're now in the centre of an arena with a Roman colosseum vibe with an excited audience that seems to stretch on for miles with no end. There is a skylight in the ceiling above where they can see the sky full of night stars.
"Oh my god…" Merida mutters, trying to wrap her head around all this.
"Merida…" Daniel says, looking up.
On a four-way JumboTron above the audience, Merida and Daniel see their faces plastered on, scared and confused. The phrase "Hulk with His Assistant" appears underneath in giant, animated letters. Both of their hearts suddenly stop, especially at the way they're addressed. They've never gotten so stressed and nervous so fast: restless, panicking, confused.
"Hulk?!" Daniel exclaims, suddenly feeling faint.
"Assistant?!" Merida exclaims, offended.
They suddenly feel something prick their necks, feeling like a pinch. Merida picks off what was there and sees that in her hands are a little needle and not a bug of some sort. Merida holds it up and sees that the vial component of the needle is empty.
"What the -?" She starts.
"- hell!" Daniel exclaims, his voice deeper with a sharp stab of pain.
Merida shifts her weight from one foot to another and feels that nothing is happening to her. Whatever substance was in that vial isn't harming her in any way whatsoever.
"Daniel," Merida says, "we're fine. Or we will be once we find the exit."
Merida turns around to face Daniel and sees his hunched over, holding himself as he grunts loudly in pain.
"Daniel -"
Merida tentatively reaches forwards, but Daniel stumbles back, swiping her away. She takes a few steps closer to him cautiously as he takes his head in his hands to block out the outside noise. Merida retracts her hand, only wondering how he's feeling the effects of the needle and not her. She slowly places a hand on his shoulder and Daniel flinches, screaming as he falls to the ground.
Flat on the ground and facing away from Merida, Daniel squeezes his eyes tightly shut. He grits his teeth, clenches his stomach, and slams a fist on the ground. He breaths and once his breaths are calm, his fist unclenches. Although, his body doesn't stop rattling.
"Whoever's in charge wherever we are," Daniel starts, "they're not here for us. I don't know all the details, hell, I don't know any but I do know one thing: they won't kill us. At least, not yet. We'll have some time to figure this out. No, I'll be useless. You have time to figure this out."
Merida is unsure what to say but she knows that she has to say something. The last few seconds were too much for her to take all at once.
"What are you talking about?" Merida asks softly.
"I'm sorry, Merida," Daniel tells her. He turns and looks into her blue eyes with his brown ones that have turned bright green. "They want a Hulk fight."
[So … did anyone see that coming?]
