Thanks guys! Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Though whoever made the character page messed up with the coding I think. Still, cool to see.
Dial (Ben10/Marvel Cinematic Universe SI)
- Thread starter DesertChocolate
- Start date
Thanks guys! Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Though whoever made the character page messed up with the coding I think. Still, cool to see.
42
I slid across the ground as dozens of strips of mummy wraps, moving towards Donnie like he was Indiana Jones and I was a bunch of snakes. Unlike the good Doctor Jones, Donnie was unfazed and started blasting wide waves of frost at me. I slithered around them, leaving portions of me to fall and shatter on the ground before going in between his legs and rising up into an uppercut as I returned to my bipedal form. Before my large bandage fist could hit his chin, Donnie created a hasty chunk of ice, which, though it shattered under my strength, kept me from making a knockout blow. I twisted out of the way of another blast by turning into scraps on the wind, wrapping a tendril around Donnie's arm and twisting to throw him. The tendril froze in an instant, shattering into white shards, but I still managed to toss him across the tarmac.
Donnie, in a move of athleticism I didn't expect, managed to twist in the air and shot ice to form into a slide connected to the ground large enough to support him. He went onto it at an angle, sliding across the ice to turn a throw into a safer stumble, before turning and blasting at me again.
"This is getting annoying," I said in my odd ghostly voice, ignoring my arm getting frozen and shattered again. Well, not ignored. While I still had plenty of energy, I could feel that the constant shapeshifting and regeneration would take its toll eventually. Not to mention if he managed to freeze my entire body I would be effectively taken out of the fight. Donnie couldn't kill me, but he was also good enough that I was starting to get worried. "Tony, any chance you can help?"
"Not really," Far away, I could hear the whine of repulsor beams and the strange muted sound of Darkforce attacks. "This guy isn't getting through my defenses but I can't seem to overload him! What was HYDRA doing to this guy!?"
"Then we need to find some other way to stop them," I said, creating a large shield of bandages out of my left arm to block another ice attack. The shield froze over, but my strength let me hold it up to keep blocking the attacks. "Your armor is upgraded with Melter tech, right?"
"Probably?" Tony said hesitantly. "We didn't get to test it. Jarvis?"
"Logic dictates testing before attempting a live fire exercise," Jarvis sounded very beleaguered. "But I don't see any issues arising."
"Then I say we trade dance partners," I said over the comms, dropping the shield and moving to attack Donnie again. The ice user snapped his hands out and made a pair of icy blades. He grabbed onto the hilts and walked forward with that damned emotionless look on his face. It was terrifying on some level. Creel hadn't been so far gone that he had no emotions at all. What had HYDRA done? "You come towards me and I'll go for you?"
"Sure thing, Fanboy."
With that, I split myself in half to avoid a slice from Donnie. As the sword passed in between me, I floated away before flying away. Donnie, single-minded as ever, chased after me, running with the endurance of a skilled athlete. He tossed aside his swords in favor of shooting at me. His ice attacks came in the form of clouded mist, focused blue glowing beams, or white hot lightning-like attacks. None of which he was supposed to be capable of. In fact, did the effect seem to be getting stronger the closer he got to Daniels?
I discarded that thought as the black and gold for of Iron Man flew towards me, Marcus Daniels chasing after him. As I passed Tony, I formed a hand to slap at his.
"Tag out," I said, rushing towards Marcus.
Seemingly realizing what was happening, Daniels fired a shadowy cloud at me. I ducked around it.
Behind me, Donnie attacked Tony with an ice cold attack. Tony held his arms out to take the attack on his chest. For a moment, frost formed across Tony's armor. Then it shattered away in a blast wave of heat.
"How about that?" Tony said, sounding amused.
Donnie raised his hands and sent out waves of ice. Tony raised his own hands and unleashed heat rays that smashed into the cold, sending out steam in all directions.
As they began to battle, I was floating towards Daniels. The steam sent off from Tony and Donnie threw me off my trajectory, however, sending me in a different direction. Daniels managed to blast me in the air, tearing through my bandages. I regenerated them and flew towards him again. He grinned at that and, to my surprise, didn't move at all as I came in close and reformed to attack him with a fist. Once I was in my full form, however, Daniels stepped forward and grabbed my arm. For just a moment, we stared at each other, Daniels smiling.
"...Are you trying to absorb my energy?"
He paled, apparently realizing something Donnie was too out of it to figure out. That I was an eight-foot-tall mummy who could regenerate from damage and no sell his best one hit kill move. I punched him in the face as a reward.
"Rude," had I been saying that a lot lately? I ignored the thought in favor over of wrapping Daniels in my tendrils as he staggered back with a broken nose. Behind me, Tony and Donnie were still battling it out. I ignored them, focusing on Daniels as I wrapped him up in more and more tendrils.
He exploded with dark energy, tearing at the bandages surrounding him as he screamed.
"You won't keep me from he-mmff!" I pulled a Spider-Man and wrapped a bandage around his mouth.
"If I wanted to listen to creepy assholes, I'd make a Tinder with Natasha as my profile pic," I quipped.
"Good one!" Tony yelled overhead.
"Thank you," I ducked around a Darkforce attack as a ball of cloth. In that form, I rolled around the tarmac at high speed, dodging blasts. "Good thing I've played so many video games," I mused, bouncing off the floor to slam into Daniels' chest, sending him flying with a shout. "Samus and Sonic, eat your heart out."
"Fanboy!" Tony yelled at me.
"Playboy!" I yelled back, rising to my mummy form.
"Stop acting like I'm a joke," Daniels spat out, rising up. I focused on him, surprised at the view of his eyes. They had gone black. "I... I'm going to kill you."
Shadows lengthened. He stepped forward. "I'll kill you all."
He fired a shadow the size of a truck at me. I turned into strips of cloth laying on the floor, watching as they passed over me.
"You're all going to die!" Daniels skin started to flake away, black... something, showing up underneath.
Okay, going to have to end this. Darkforce... Okay, I got an idea. It was risky. I didn't know how much time I had but whatever was happening to Daniels, we had to finish it.
"Tony, come over here!"
I tapped the Omnitrix. Snare-Oh was awesome but it was time to go next level.
Tony flew towards me as I flashed green.
"Upgrade!"
I was only in my normal Upgrade for a moment when Tony flew into me. I joined to his armor instantly, sinking into it. As I joined with his armor, portions of me went deeper, in the implants with Tony that let him remotely control his armor. We flew spun in the air to face our opponents, the arc reactor in our chest glowing with immense green power.
"WE ARE VENOM," I said jokingly, in as deep a voice as I could say it in.
Joining with Tony was different from joining with Rhodey. Rhodey's armor, advanced as it was, wasn't as worked over with as Tony's was. Rhodey went for tech that worked. Not the experimental. It was like the difference between a person who painted houses and a person who painted art. Similar, but with different focuses.
Not much time to do this. I flowed into the weapons Tony had made within the armor to combat Daniels. Donnie was running towards us but he was still far enough away for us to finish this.
Daniels aimed his hands at us, roaring as he launched Darkforce at us. We responded to the incoming waves of energy by lifting our hands up.
Ports on our shoulders opened, large cannons flowing out to aim, our arms became giant cannons, and the arc reactor on our chest changed its lights color from green to white. We fired five bright lasers of white light, two from the shoulders, two from the arm cannons, and one from the chest, at the Darkforce cloud. The two massive forces, light and darkness, met in the middle with incredible force.
"I'm increasing our power as high as I can," I told Tony, Upgrade's voice being a bit more natural sounding than Snare-Oh's.
"Go further!" Tony shouted, his muscles straining. "Donnie's almost here, we need to take out Daniels before that!"
"I'm on it!" I flowed into the power conduits and improved them further. For the first time, I was straining as Upgrade. I could read the scans on Tony's HUD, and Daniels was somehow getting to a level of power we hadn't anticipated before. I'd never been familiar with the character of Blackout before but if he'd been that powerful he would have probably shown up more often.
The concrete beneath Daniels's feet began to crack, shadows pouring up to meld to him. His eyes crackled with black energy. The air before him was gone, replaced with his Darkforce power.
In retaliation, Tony roared. "Peace out, Boogeyman!" I completed the power conduits as Tony leaned into his assault. The five beams of light intensified in power, slicing through the Darkforce. Daniels roared, the last of his skin flaking away before the waves of power hit him.
For just a moment, he seemed to flicker. I poked my head out of Tony to fire my own blast of white light. With that final blow, Daniels exploded.
The Omnitrix timed right then.
I separated from Tony in my fully armored form and fell to the ground, exhausted. I looked towards Tony, who floated above me, breathing heavily.
A beam of ice hit Tony, blasting him out of the air.
I spun around and raised my arm, catoms flowing into a shield. Donnie hit me them. I screamed as cold flowed through the shield and armor, my HUD screaming at me as the sheer blast of ice seemed to suck the air from my lungs. "Holy shit, Donnie!"
"You killed him!" Donnie apparently lost whatever emotionless demeanor he'd had, replacing it with a lost sort of scream.
"You're welcome!" I shouted back. For all my brevity, I was in trouble. Donnie had been powerful before but now he was something else. The world around me had become a snowstorm, my HUD sending me alarms as the environmental control systems struggled to compensate from the sudden drop in temperature and my skin started to stick to my armor. "Tony!"
"I've got you!" Tony slammed into the ground next to me in a burst of fire. I screamed at the intense pain of cold giving way to heat, stumbling. Tony came close to me. "This is insane!" He yelled over the rushing wind. Snowflakes fell from the sky as the tarmac frosted over. "He's created a blizzard!"
"We need to stop him!" I yelled. Another crack made me scream in pain as a wing of a plane slammed into me. I landed on the ground.
"I...!" Tony seemed to falter as he flew over to help him. "...I'll do it."
"Tony!"
"We have no choice!" Tony yelled. "I'll try to knock him out, but he's becoming too powerful!"
Sudden streaks of black were floating in the snow, disappearing and reappearing. Tony flew into the icy winds, leaving me to stagger after him. The world was a white haze. I felt hail begin to fall from the sky, shattering against my armor with bonecrushing force. The catoms within my suit fought to protect me. I slipped on a patch of ice and barely kept from falling. Fuck, I never remembered Blizzard being this powerful in the comics. This was on the level of Ice Man or Storm!
"Donnie! Stop!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "We can help you! We can cure you!"
Ice shattered across my arm as more warnings flashed red on my HUD. I felt desperate at this point. I may have been joking around, but Donnie was a victim, someone we wanted to save. Someone I didn't want to see die, for Fitz and Simmons at least. We had to help him. "Donnie, please! Fitz misses you!"
Then I was in the eye of the storm. Tony and Donnie stood there, Tony in front of me and Donnie across from us. The kid was yelling wordlessly with his hands forward, launching waves of blue-white frost at us. Tony poured on bright orange waves of fire. "He's not listening!" Tony said desperately.
"Donnie!" I yelled over the sound of waves of steam and the blizzard around us. "Come on, man! We can help!"
Then a pillar of ice shot up nearby. I stared at it, only for another to shoot up underneath me. I flew into the air and activated my jumpjets before I landed, slipping slightly on the ice. More and more pillars began to rise, but I was focused on Donnie.
He looked at me and pointed a hand at me. In slow motion, I saw Tony look at me as well. The Iron Man seemed to hesitate. He knew, like me, that Donnie was about to shoot at me. With this new level of power, what would the kid do? More streaks of shadow flickered across Donnie's skin as Tony came to a decision. He activated his chest repulsor and opened up with more power.
The heat-based beams finally overcame their counterparts, slicing through to hit Donnie. As I watched in horror, Donnie screamed. The blizzard shook under some unseen wave of pressure. Then it all exploded.
------
When my eyes opened later, I was on my back. The night sky was still snowing, but the clouds had started to fade. With some effort, I struggled to my feet and looked around. Shards of ice rested all over the tarmac. A couple of planes nearby had been destroyed my shards of hail the size of cars. Tony was standing in the center of the conflict, looking down at the floor with his fists clenched, his black and gold armor glowing red from the heat it was giving off. He looked over his shoulder at me.
"...Nothing could have survived that."
"...Yeah."
I walked up to him, a deep sadness filling me. Tony had saved my life, maybe even saved the entire West Coast from the storm Donnie had been making according to the readings later. But it didn't feel good, knowing an innocent and broken young man was dead now. Two of the most powerful beings on Earth and still...
I turned around, focusing on the next step with a heavy feeling inside me. "X, bring the Defiant over. Have they gotten to HYDRA yet?"
"No sir," X said as my Quinjet rose up in the distance.
"Good. How's Phil and everyone else?"
"They've begun to rendezvous with the others. I will inform them of what happened."
The Defiant flew over to us as I looked back at Tony. He let out a sound I couldn't really understand, then walked over to me. We got into the ship and left.
------
A chunk of ice shifted quietly on the ground.
------
January 20th, 2014
In the Defiant, Tony and I listened to the comms as we flew through the air. He'd removed his suit and was sitting in the copilots seat next to me as I piloted us through the air to rendezvous with the others. Maria was speaking firmly over the radio.
"We go in hard and fast. Dial, you'll be confronting Wanda Maximoff and Melissa Gold. Bruce, Tony, and Dial will take on Abomination and any other gamma mutates the Omnitrix can't cure. Tony, did you complete-"
"It's done," Tony confirmed.
"Good. Then you'll help Hulk. Cap, you and the rest of the Avengers will join our forces on the grounds and inside the castle. Centipede soldiers and Chitauri armor users have likely infested the place alongside normal soldiers. Remember, in the event of Strucker escaping, we go for contingency plan B. Understood, Dial?"
"Yes, ma'am," I answered. "By the way, we've caught up."
Ahead of us was an Insight Helicarrier, one of the normal ones. It was flying south with Quinjets around it like bees around a hive. The Defiant joined the convoy. I could see the Bus parked on the helicarrier as we flew with the group.
"Good. Then launch the assault, now," Maria said simply.
A contingent of the first Quinjets peeled off, followed by regular jets taking off from the helicarrier. I twisted around and joined them, pushing the Defiant as hard as I could before turning to Tony.
"You okay?" I asked hesitantly.
"No," Tony said curtly. "But when am I ever?"
He got up and walked into the back of the Quinjet.
We flew on in silence across the forested landscaped for several miles. When we got close, Jarvis spoke.
"Several enemy Quinjets are moving to intercept us. Anti-aircraft emplacements are preparing to fire."
"Then the party is getting started early," Tony replied, already wearing everything except his helmet, which he carried under his arm. "I can take out the Quinjets. Bruce can get the emplacements."
"You sure?" I asked from the pilot's seat.
"HYDRA forced me to fight and kill a kid," the door of the Quinjet opened up, Tony put on his helmet and I could hear it sealing and linking up with rest of armor. "I'm going to make them pay for that. Jarvis, send me the package."
"On it's way, Mr. Stark," Tony nodded at the response, then he blasted out of the back of the Quinjet in a roar of noise.
I turned back to the Defiant's controls, thinking for a moment. HYDRA, HYDRA, HYDRA, HYDRA, causing us nothing but trouble. Donnie, Jennifer, Trip, Sharon, all their victims in the Graveyard... I hesitated a moment longer before reaching for the control panel. I turned on the weapons systems and looked over the radar.
Twelve Quinjets flying towards us, too far away to be seen by human sensors. But the Defiant wasn't a human ship, not completely anymore. I moved the joystick and aimed my weapons at the head Quinjet, ignoring Iron Man flying towards it to focus. With a pull of the trigger, the head Quinjet was hit by a pair of lasers to the wings. Thankfully, lasers are both too fast to dodge and extremely accurate, being, you know, light. The Quinjet plummeted out of the sky. I aimed my weapons at the next as one of the Quinjets next to mine dropped a massive green being to the forest below. I fired my lasers once more, taking out another Quinjet. Then Tony was shooting his repulsors and the two groups of ships met in the air. I twisted the controls around and grit my teeth, trying to take out another Quinjet but instead slicing the top off a tree when the laser missed. The Hulk's baritone roar could be heard, followed by an explosion amongst the forest below.
"Come on!" I yelled, twisting the Defiant around to confront another Quinjet. The HYDRA pilot fired bullets that bounced off my ships shields, depleting them slightly. I shot the other plane in it's under-hanging miniguns, destroying the weapon. Before I could finish it off, a BRIDGE Quinjet slid around and fired into it, destroying the Quinjet. A quick zoom and enhance cliché later and I could see Clint inside the Quinjet, waving at me. I waved back, then focused on the fight as more HYDRA Quinjets headed for us. I checked a timer in the corner of my screen. Right on schedule, a bright pink light showed up in the distance.
"X, you got my back, buddy?" I asked with a grin, letting go of the controls.
The steering and weapons joystick moved on their own. "Always, sir."
I got up and ran to the back of the Quinjet, leaping out as the ship flew sped up to insane speeds, shooting over the castle as gun emplacements fired on the Defiant. I fell towards the castle at a fast clip in my armor, aiming for the eastern side of it. When two Chitauri armored soldiers flew up to meet me, I twisted until my feet were facing the incoming ground and pulled out my rifle, aiming at a soldier and firing a warning hail of bullets that the pair dodging, letting me zoom past them.
Before I got to the ground I ignited my jump jets, landing on the ground with a solid, but not bone-breaking, bouncing slightly. Safe, I looked up at the people waiting for me. Dozens of Centipede and Chitauri soldiers, all eyeing me.
"Okay," I grabbed the Omnitrix dial and twisted the face. "Let's go!"
Orange fur grew across my face and body, striped with black. I grinned as fangs slid out of my mouth.
"Rath!"
"Let me tell you something, HYDRA Morons! Rath has had a depressing day and has been waiting for today for weeks! So now I'm gonna turn you all into my punchi-" A Chitauri soldier shot me in the face. I stopped, turning to look at the guy. "...You! Rath beats you down first!"
With that, I leaped towards the soldier as all the others began to fire on me. Seconds later, the poor guy was screaming as I used him like a bludgeon.
Ah, Rath. The perfect form to get out some anger in a truly cathartic way.
------
Author's Note: This chapter was hard, for a few reasons, but it was still fun. Anyways, now we're digging into the War of the Castle. Dial and the others all have their jobs.
As for Daniels and Donnie, yep, they're dead. Absolutely dead. It's not like I left things ambiguous in any way (A chunk of ice rolls by).
Oh, and Snare-Oh. Don't think for one second that he's weak. He just didn't have the sheer power to take on Daniels and Donnie, who were both somewhat... enhanced. Even then, Snare-Oh wins most MCU fights nine times out of ten.
Oh right, couple of other things. Since the last chapter, this story now has a discord Discord - Free voice and text chat for gamers and a Dial (Fanfic) - TV Tropes made by storysmith112358 who is awesome. Check it out and update it when you get the chance!
I've also started streaming video games to try and make some money on Twitch and talk to you guys at a faster rate. It's at twitch.tv/mahmoudschahed.
None of it is necessary to enjoy the story, but I wanted to open up some options for you guys
Donnie, in a move of athleticism I didn't expect, managed to twist in the air and shot ice to form into a slide connected to the ground large enough to support him. He went onto it at an angle, sliding across the ice to turn a throw into a safer stumble, before turning and blasting at me again.
"This is getting annoying," I said in my odd ghostly voice, ignoring my arm getting frozen and shattered again. Well, not ignored. While I still had plenty of energy, I could feel that the constant shapeshifting and regeneration would take its toll eventually. Not to mention if he managed to freeze my entire body I would be effectively taken out of the fight. Donnie couldn't kill me, but he was also good enough that I was starting to get worried. "Tony, any chance you can help?"
"Not really," Far away, I could hear the whine of repulsor beams and the strange muted sound of Darkforce attacks. "This guy isn't getting through my defenses but I can't seem to overload him! What was HYDRA doing to this guy!?"
"Then we need to find some other way to stop them," I said, creating a large shield of bandages out of my left arm to block another ice attack. The shield froze over, but my strength let me hold it up to keep blocking the attacks. "Your armor is upgraded with Melter tech, right?"
"Probably?" Tony said hesitantly. "We didn't get to test it. Jarvis?"
"Logic dictates testing before attempting a live fire exercise," Jarvis sounded very beleaguered. "But I don't see any issues arising."
"Then I say we trade dance partners," I said over the comms, dropping the shield and moving to attack Donnie again. The ice user snapped his hands out and made a pair of icy blades. He grabbed onto the hilts and walked forward with that damned emotionless look on his face. It was terrifying on some level. Creel hadn't been so far gone that he had no emotions at all. What had HYDRA done? "You come towards me and I'll go for you?"
"Sure thing, Fanboy."
With that, I split myself in half to avoid a slice from Donnie. As the sword passed in between me, I floated away before flying away. Donnie, single-minded as ever, chased after me, running with the endurance of a skilled athlete. He tossed aside his swords in favor of shooting at me. His ice attacks came in the form of clouded mist, focused blue glowing beams, or white hot lightning-like attacks. None of which he was supposed to be capable of. In fact, did the effect seem to be getting stronger the closer he got to Daniels?
I discarded that thought as the black and gold for of Iron Man flew towards me, Marcus Daniels chasing after him. As I passed Tony, I formed a hand to slap at his.
"Tag out," I said, rushing towards Marcus.
Seemingly realizing what was happening, Daniels fired a shadowy cloud at me. I ducked around it.
Behind me, Donnie attacked Tony with an ice cold attack. Tony held his arms out to take the attack on his chest. For a moment, frost formed across Tony's armor. Then it shattered away in a blast wave of heat.
"How about that?" Tony said, sounding amused.
Donnie raised his hands and sent out waves of ice. Tony raised his own hands and unleashed heat rays that smashed into the cold, sending out steam in all directions.
As they began to battle, I was floating towards Daniels. The steam sent off from Tony and Donnie threw me off my trajectory, however, sending me in a different direction. Daniels managed to blast me in the air, tearing through my bandages. I regenerated them and flew towards him again. He grinned at that and, to my surprise, didn't move at all as I came in close and reformed to attack him with a fist. Once I was in my full form, however, Daniels stepped forward and grabbed my arm. For just a moment, we stared at each other, Daniels smiling.
"...Are you trying to absorb my energy?"
He paled, apparently realizing something Donnie was too out of it to figure out. That I was an eight-foot-tall mummy who could regenerate from damage and no sell his best one hit kill move. I punched him in the face as a reward.
"Rude," had I been saying that a lot lately? I ignored the thought in favor over of wrapping Daniels in my tendrils as he staggered back with a broken nose. Behind me, Tony and Donnie were still battling it out. I ignored them, focusing on Daniels as I wrapped him up in more and more tendrils.
He exploded with dark energy, tearing at the bandages surrounding him as he screamed.
"You won't keep me from he-mmff!" I pulled a Spider-Man and wrapped a bandage around his mouth.
"If I wanted to listen to creepy assholes, I'd make a Tinder with Natasha as my profile pic," I quipped.
"Good one!" Tony yelled overhead.
"Thank you," I ducked around a Darkforce attack as a ball of cloth. In that form, I rolled around the tarmac at high speed, dodging blasts. "Good thing I've played so many video games," I mused, bouncing off the floor to slam into Daniels' chest, sending him flying with a shout. "Samus and Sonic, eat your heart out."
"Fanboy!" Tony yelled at me.
"Playboy!" I yelled back, rising to my mummy form.
"Stop acting like I'm a joke," Daniels spat out, rising up. I focused on him, surprised at the view of his eyes. They had gone black. "I... I'm going to kill you."
Shadows lengthened. He stepped forward. "I'll kill you all."
He fired a shadow the size of a truck at me. I turned into strips of cloth laying on the floor, watching as they passed over me.
"You're all going to die!" Daniels skin started to flake away, black... something, showing up underneath.
Okay, going to have to end this. Darkforce... Okay, I got an idea. It was risky. I didn't know how much time I had but whatever was happening to Daniels, we had to finish it.
"Tony, come over here!"
I tapped the Omnitrix. Snare-Oh was awesome but it was time to go next level.
Tony flew towards me as I flashed green.
"Upgrade!"
I was only in my normal Upgrade for a moment when Tony flew into me. I joined to his armor instantly, sinking into it. As I joined with his armor, portions of me went deeper, in the implants with Tony that let him remotely control his armor. We flew spun in the air to face our opponents, the arc reactor in our chest glowing with immense green power.
"WE ARE VENOM," I said jokingly, in as deep a voice as I could say it in.
Joining with Tony was different from joining with Rhodey. Rhodey's armor, advanced as it was, wasn't as worked over with as Tony's was. Rhodey went for tech that worked. Not the experimental. It was like the difference between a person who painted houses and a person who painted art. Similar, but with different focuses.
Not much time to do this. I flowed into the weapons Tony had made within the armor to combat Daniels. Donnie was running towards us but he was still far enough away for us to finish this.
Daniels aimed his hands at us, roaring as he launched Darkforce at us. We responded to the incoming waves of energy by lifting our hands up.
Ports on our shoulders opened, large cannons flowing out to aim, our arms became giant cannons, and the arc reactor on our chest changed its lights color from green to white. We fired five bright lasers of white light, two from the shoulders, two from the arm cannons, and one from the chest, at the Darkforce cloud. The two massive forces, light and darkness, met in the middle with incredible force.
"I'm increasing our power as high as I can," I told Tony, Upgrade's voice being a bit more natural sounding than Snare-Oh's.
"Go further!" Tony shouted, his muscles straining. "Donnie's almost here, we need to take out Daniels before that!"
"I'm on it!" I flowed into the power conduits and improved them further. For the first time, I was straining as Upgrade. I could read the scans on Tony's HUD, and Daniels was somehow getting to a level of power we hadn't anticipated before. I'd never been familiar with the character of Blackout before but if he'd been that powerful he would have probably shown up more often.
The concrete beneath Daniels's feet began to crack, shadows pouring up to meld to him. His eyes crackled with black energy. The air before him was gone, replaced with his Darkforce power.
In retaliation, Tony roared. "Peace out, Boogeyman!" I completed the power conduits as Tony leaned into his assault. The five beams of light intensified in power, slicing through the Darkforce. Daniels roared, the last of his skin flaking away before the waves of power hit him.
For just a moment, he seemed to flicker. I poked my head out of Tony to fire my own blast of white light. With that final blow, Daniels exploded.
The Omnitrix timed right then.
I separated from Tony in my fully armored form and fell to the ground, exhausted. I looked towards Tony, who floated above me, breathing heavily.
A beam of ice hit Tony, blasting him out of the air.
I spun around and raised my arm, catoms flowing into a shield. Donnie hit me them. I screamed as cold flowed through the shield and armor, my HUD screaming at me as the sheer blast of ice seemed to suck the air from my lungs. "Holy shit, Donnie!"
"You killed him!" Donnie apparently lost whatever emotionless demeanor he'd had, replacing it with a lost sort of scream.
"You're welcome!" I shouted back. For all my brevity, I was in trouble. Donnie had been powerful before but now he was something else. The world around me had become a snowstorm, my HUD sending me alarms as the environmental control systems struggled to compensate from the sudden drop in temperature and my skin started to stick to my armor. "Tony!"
"I've got you!" Tony slammed into the ground next to me in a burst of fire. I screamed at the intense pain of cold giving way to heat, stumbling. Tony came close to me. "This is insane!" He yelled over the rushing wind. Snowflakes fell from the sky as the tarmac frosted over. "He's created a blizzard!"
"We need to stop him!" I yelled. Another crack made me scream in pain as a wing of a plane slammed into me. I landed on the ground.
"I...!" Tony seemed to falter as he flew over to help him. "...I'll do it."
"Tony!"
"We have no choice!" Tony yelled. "I'll try to knock him out, but he's becoming too powerful!"
Sudden streaks of black were floating in the snow, disappearing and reappearing. Tony flew into the icy winds, leaving me to stagger after him. The world was a white haze. I felt hail begin to fall from the sky, shattering against my armor with bonecrushing force. The catoms within my suit fought to protect me. I slipped on a patch of ice and barely kept from falling. Fuck, I never remembered Blizzard being this powerful in the comics. This was on the level of Ice Man or Storm!
"Donnie! Stop!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "We can help you! We can cure you!"
Ice shattered across my arm as more warnings flashed red on my HUD. I felt desperate at this point. I may have been joking around, but Donnie was a victim, someone we wanted to save. Someone I didn't want to see die, for Fitz and Simmons at least. We had to help him. "Donnie, please! Fitz misses you!"
Then I was in the eye of the storm. Tony and Donnie stood there, Tony in front of me and Donnie across from us. The kid was yelling wordlessly with his hands forward, launching waves of blue-white frost at us. Tony poured on bright orange waves of fire. "He's not listening!" Tony said desperately.
"Donnie!" I yelled over the sound of waves of steam and the blizzard around us. "Come on, man! We can help!"
Then a pillar of ice shot up nearby. I stared at it, only for another to shoot up underneath me. I flew into the air and activated my jumpjets before I landed, slipping slightly on the ice. More and more pillars began to rise, but I was focused on Donnie.
He looked at me and pointed a hand at me. In slow motion, I saw Tony look at me as well. The Iron Man seemed to hesitate. He knew, like me, that Donnie was about to shoot at me. With this new level of power, what would the kid do? More streaks of shadow flickered across Donnie's skin as Tony came to a decision. He activated his chest repulsor and opened up with more power.
The heat-based beams finally overcame their counterparts, slicing through to hit Donnie. As I watched in horror, Donnie screamed. The blizzard shook under some unseen wave of pressure. Then it all exploded.
------
When my eyes opened later, I was on my back. The night sky was still snowing, but the clouds had started to fade. With some effort, I struggled to my feet and looked around. Shards of ice rested all over the tarmac. A couple of planes nearby had been destroyed my shards of hail the size of cars. Tony was standing in the center of the conflict, looking down at the floor with his fists clenched, his black and gold armor glowing red from the heat it was giving off. He looked over his shoulder at me.
"...Nothing could have survived that."
"...Yeah."
I walked up to him, a deep sadness filling me. Tony had saved my life, maybe even saved the entire West Coast from the storm Donnie had been making according to the readings later. But it didn't feel good, knowing an innocent and broken young man was dead now. Two of the most powerful beings on Earth and still...
I turned around, focusing on the next step with a heavy feeling inside me. "X, bring the Defiant over. Have they gotten to HYDRA yet?"
"No sir," X said as my Quinjet rose up in the distance.
"Good. How's Phil and everyone else?"
"They've begun to rendezvous with the others. I will inform them of what happened."
The Defiant flew over to us as I looked back at Tony. He let out a sound I couldn't really understand, then walked over to me. We got into the ship and left.
------
A chunk of ice shifted quietly on the ground.
------
January 20th, 2014
In the Defiant, Tony and I listened to the comms as we flew through the air. He'd removed his suit and was sitting in the copilots seat next to me as I piloted us through the air to rendezvous with the others. Maria was speaking firmly over the radio.
"We go in hard and fast. Dial, you'll be confronting Wanda Maximoff and Melissa Gold. Bruce, Tony, and Dial will take on Abomination and any other gamma mutates the Omnitrix can't cure. Tony, did you complete-"
"It's done," Tony confirmed.
"Good. Then you'll help Hulk. Cap, you and the rest of the Avengers will join our forces on the grounds and inside the castle. Centipede soldiers and Chitauri armor users have likely infested the place alongside normal soldiers. Remember, in the event of Strucker escaping, we go for contingency plan B. Understood, Dial?"
"Yes, ma'am," I answered. "By the way, we've caught up."
Ahead of us was an Insight Helicarrier, one of the normal ones. It was flying south with Quinjets around it like bees around a hive. The Defiant joined the convoy. I could see the Bus parked on the helicarrier as we flew with the group.
"Good. Then launch the assault, now," Maria said simply.
A contingent of the first Quinjets peeled off, followed by regular jets taking off from the helicarrier. I twisted around and joined them, pushing the Defiant as hard as I could before turning to Tony.
"You okay?" I asked hesitantly.
"No," Tony said curtly. "But when am I ever?"
He got up and walked into the back of the Quinjet.
We flew on in silence across the forested landscaped for several miles. When we got close, Jarvis spoke.
"Several enemy Quinjets are moving to intercept us. Anti-aircraft emplacements are preparing to fire."
"Then the party is getting started early," Tony replied, already wearing everything except his helmet, which he carried under his arm. "I can take out the Quinjets. Bruce can get the emplacements."
"You sure?" I asked from the pilot's seat.
"HYDRA forced me to fight and kill a kid," the door of the Quinjet opened up, Tony put on his helmet and I could hear it sealing and linking up with rest of armor. "I'm going to make them pay for that. Jarvis, send me the package."
"On it's way, Mr. Stark," Tony nodded at the response, then he blasted out of the back of the Quinjet in a roar of noise.
I turned back to the Defiant's controls, thinking for a moment. HYDRA, HYDRA, HYDRA, HYDRA, causing us nothing but trouble. Donnie, Jennifer, Trip, Sharon, all their victims in the Graveyard... I hesitated a moment longer before reaching for the control panel. I turned on the weapons systems and looked over the radar.
Twelve Quinjets flying towards us, too far away to be seen by human sensors. But the Defiant wasn't a human ship, not completely anymore. I moved the joystick and aimed my weapons at the head Quinjet, ignoring Iron Man flying towards it to focus. With a pull of the trigger, the head Quinjet was hit by a pair of lasers to the wings. Thankfully, lasers are both too fast to dodge and extremely accurate, being, you know, light. The Quinjet plummeted out of the sky. I aimed my weapons at the next as one of the Quinjets next to mine dropped a massive green being to the forest below. I fired my lasers once more, taking out another Quinjet. Then Tony was shooting his repulsors and the two groups of ships met in the air. I twisted the controls around and grit my teeth, trying to take out another Quinjet but instead slicing the top off a tree when the laser missed. The Hulk's baritone roar could be heard, followed by an explosion amongst the forest below.
"Come on!" I yelled, twisting the Defiant around to confront another Quinjet. The HYDRA pilot fired bullets that bounced off my ships shields, depleting them slightly. I shot the other plane in it's under-hanging miniguns, destroying the weapon. Before I could finish it off, a BRIDGE Quinjet slid around and fired into it, destroying the Quinjet. A quick zoom and enhance cliché later and I could see Clint inside the Quinjet, waving at me. I waved back, then focused on the fight as more HYDRA Quinjets headed for us. I checked a timer in the corner of my screen. Right on schedule, a bright pink light showed up in the distance.
"X, you got my back, buddy?" I asked with a grin, letting go of the controls.
The steering and weapons joystick moved on their own. "Always, sir."
I got up and ran to the back of the Quinjet, leaping out as the ship flew sped up to insane speeds, shooting over the castle as gun emplacements fired on the Defiant. I fell towards the castle at a fast clip in my armor, aiming for the eastern side of it. When two Chitauri armored soldiers flew up to meet me, I twisted until my feet were facing the incoming ground and pulled out my rifle, aiming at a soldier and firing a warning hail of bullets that the pair dodging, letting me zoom past them.
Before I got to the ground I ignited my jump jets, landing on the ground with a solid, but not bone-breaking, bouncing slightly. Safe, I looked up at the people waiting for me. Dozens of Centipede and Chitauri soldiers, all eyeing me.
"Okay," I grabbed the Omnitrix dial and twisted the face. "Let's go!"
Orange fur grew across my face and body, striped with black. I grinned as fangs slid out of my mouth.
"Rath!"
"Let me tell you something, HYDRA Morons! Rath has had a depressing day and has been waiting for today for weeks! So now I'm gonna turn you all into my punchi-" A Chitauri soldier shot me in the face. I stopped, turning to look at the guy. "...You! Rath beats you down first!"
With that, I leaped towards the soldier as all the others began to fire on me. Seconds later, the poor guy was screaming as I used him like a bludgeon.
Ah, Rath. The perfect form to get out some anger in a truly cathartic way.
------
Author's Note: This chapter was hard, for a few reasons, but it was still fun. Anyways, now we're digging into the War of the Castle. Dial and the others all have their jobs.
As for Daniels and Donnie, yep, they're dead. Absolutely dead. It's not like I left things ambiguous in any way (A chunk of ice rolls by).
Oh, and Snare-Oh. Don't think for one second that he's weak. He just didn't have the sheer power to take on Daniels and Donnie, who were both somewhat... enhanced. Even then, Snare-Oh wins most MCU fights nine times out of ten.
Oh right, couple of other things. Since the last chapter, this story now has a discord Discord - Free voice and text chat for gamers and a Dial (Fanfic) - TV Tropes made by storysmith112358 who is awesome. Check it out and update it when you get the chance!
I've also started streaming video games to try and make some money on Twitch and talk to you guys at a faster rate. It's at twitch.tv/mahmoudschahed.None of it is necessary to enjoy the story, but I wanted to open up some options for you guys
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
Motherfucker, always find the body! You're a Sufficient Velocity'er you have no excuse for this flagrant failure of The List!
- Location
- USA
That was talking about Grey Matter's intellect compared to basically everyone else. Galvans are so smart that... well I'll just quote myself.
Galvans are also super strong for their size (being at most half a foot tall if that) being able to push full mop buckets and dislodge pipes. They also seem to have a inherent knack for biology since they can apply that neural grip to anything.
That being said if Dial doesn't hole himself up in a lab for a week and make himself a toolbelt that would make Batman green with envy... he's doing something wrong.
As for this chapter it's nice you're actually doing something with the Donnie after death scene unlike canon.
Also this.
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- Location
- Brazil
Functionally identical to casting Raise Dead.
See?
You are supposed to be the genre-savvy one.
Why is Tony carrying the helmet made out of nanites under his arm?
Solid, bur not bone-breaking what?
I just found it weird that Dial insisted on a bad matchup for so long in this fight.
- Location
- USA
Not a bone breaking landing I think is what's meant to be there
Guys. Donnie blew up, into pieces of ice all over the floor. He's allowed to think Donnie might be dead, because he didn't disappear into an abyss or in the bottom of the ocean, he blew the eff up.
And really, Dial wouldn't consider being wrong about this a bad thing. He WANTED to save Donnie, ya know?
Tony's armor isn't made of nanites. He's holding onto that concept for something better.
Landing, I'll go back and fix it.
In truth, Snare-Oh wasn't a bad match up. If it wasn't for how overpowered Donnie and Daniels are in this story, he'd have won.
Even then, he wasn't Snare-Oh for very long. The second he realized he needed more firepower, he upgraded.
KillingYouNicely
I've seen things. They weren't really interesting.
- Location
- Australia
I kinda want to see Dial fight Wanda - the meta-knowledge he has of her will no doubt make the interaction interesting, especially if he's still Rath when she turns up :lol
- Location
- Brazil
I'm being more tongue-in-cheek than anything. "Nothing could have survived that" is just so damn classic, y'know?
You cheeky shit.
Ain't I a stinker?
- Location
- USA
Yeah but... at the same time he's in a blatantly inspired comic book universe and so he should know there is a list of things that Should Not Be Said since 9/10 they are triggers for Murphy's Law and Checkov's Gun to spring up.
No one could have survived that is right up there with things that shouldn't be said.
Also that Venom line is going to raise some questions should they ever encounter the Symbiotes. Granted Dial has a nigh perfect excuse with any slipped up meta knowledge with the dimensional viewer.
...Although why he hasn't let slip of things he knows with 100% accuracy are most likely things to watch out for (Dormamu/Galactus/Beyonder/Thanos/the Infinity Srones etc) I honestly don't know. Same with Ben 10 stuff like the Multiversal Time War.
What's the use of having meta knowledge and a easy excuse to share information that might be accurate if you don't use it at the first opportunity? Even if they don't turn out to be threats to watch out for you'd leave off Earth being waaaaay better off defense wise for when things are needed.
- Location
- Marinette Wisconsin
I think he's waiting until Hydra's dead and done, before telling them about that stuff. Get our own house in order and all that.
EDIT: Also I think he might be hoping to invoke the trope.
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- Location
- USA
I mean yeah. Not now but when things cool down.
Comic books show people saying "nobody could have survived that" when it is dramatic--that is, when someone survived it. People could be saying it all the time when nobody really did survive. It's just that those times aren't shown on-panel because there's no reason to show them, for the same reason that there's no reason to show someone going to the bathroom.
Dial doesn't know that this is one of the times where the readers can see it (meaning that there's some drama-related reason to show it) rather than one of the times that is offscreen and means nothing.
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
So, is the you who's an SI here, one who's read Loki: Agent of Asgard, and the Vote Loki run where he's just the God of Stories?
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Yeah, I've read them. They were good man.
nmWarden
Webcomic Glutton
- Location
- Texas
Do you have a schedule? What about a list of games to rotate between or load up for the first time? I'm looking forward to the next Livestream!
Right now I'm playing Spiderman PS4, and I'm aiming for three days a week for three hours starting at around Noon in Oregon. So today I'm doing another one three hours from now.
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
So the SIs opinion of Loki isn't going to be as antagomistic of Loki, or views him as the Old Loki?
Know what? Shoulda just asked how does Dial view Loki.
Know what? Shoulda just asked how does Dial view Loki.
As someone who is dangerous, but not unreasonable. He wouldn't trust him, but he knows Loki can be redeemed, at least somewhat.
43
Bruce Ba-HULK!/Hulk
Hulk roared as he rushed through the trees, snapping branches off his body with no regard for them. Ahead of him was a large anti-aircraft gun emplacement pointed up at his friends, shooting at them. Hulk narrowed his eyes, ignoring all the puny HYDRA shooting at him to focus in on the giant gun. There was a moment, with Hulk's green foot digging deep into the earth as he was moments from hitting the thing, where the whole forest stilled. Then the Hulk was smashing into the gun, steel bending and shattering everywhere into pieces of shrapnel, the HYDRA soldier piloting the gun flying into the distance.
"Huh," Bruce said in his mind. "That was impressive. And you didn't kill anyone."
Hulk shook his head, only barely listening. The big green monster felt his rage rise.
"Okay, next one," Bruce said calmly. "Come on, big guy, we need to take these things out so everyone else can be safe."
Hulk struggled to think as he turned around and ran towards the next emplacement, tossing aside a HYDRA soldier as he ran past, then tearing through a tree which exploded into chunks of wood all over the forest floor. Bullets bounced off Hulk, who furrowed his brow in thought.
"Abomination..."
Bruce sent a wave of acknowledgment. "We'll take him when he shows up, Hulk."
A tank rolled over a nearby hill, firing waves of energy at the Hulk. They barely slowed him down despite their unusual weaponry. Hulk roared, twisting around and leaping towards the tank to lift it onto his shoulders before jumping again to land next to the next emplacement, spinning around to smash the tank into it.
"BLONSKY!" Hulk roared in challenge.
In the distance, another roar responded. Hulk spun around, nostrils flaring with rage.
"Wait, Hulk!" Bruce said quickly. "I know, you want to fight him! But Blonsky's not important! Jennifer! Jennifer is the one we want to save remember?"
Metaphorical ice-water poured over the Hulk. For a moment, he stared longingly towards where the roar had come from. Then he turned and ran for the next emplacement. And if he hit it with even more anger than before, it was because he was picturing a green face on the metal.
------
Steve Rogers/Captain America
"Whoa, look at him go," Clint said from the cockpit as he watched Hulk tear another emplacement to pieces.
"Focus," Steve said leaning over to gaze upon the castle beyond. While he was carrying his shield, the rest of his clothes was more casual, except for several pouches across his legs and a small backpack. "We've got a job to do."
Clint nodded, spinning the Quinjet to fire upon a HYDRA aircraft, only for a fighter jet to zoom past with a missile. Steve turned and walked into the back.
"Jarvis and X are still going through the files," Steve said to those gathered in the back, BRIDGE Elites, Natasha, and Bobbi, his comms sending his words to the other soldiers in other Quinjets. "But they've been able to tell us that HYDRA has enough Chitauri armored and Centipede soldiers for a small army. They've also made Gamma-enhanced soldiers, at least two of which are stable. Now, our people on the inside are going to be engaging us in combat. That's necessary for the ruse to work. So those are Avengers only targets. Everyone else is fair game," Steve closed his eyes thinking for a moment. "We don't expect everything to go perfectly. But you all have one order above all others. Come back home alive. Understood?"
With that statement, the door in the back opened. Steve moved towards it, tapping his chest. "Captain America."
With that, catoms flowed across his body from the pouches on his legs and the pack on his back, moving over his body. They formed into metallic plates across his frame, forming into gauntlets and greaves, covering him in hundreds of pounds of metal and other materials. The armor was similar in design to Steve's old costume, with a star that glowed with white flames of power. His helmet's face was all in one smooth piece, like that of a knight. Steve moved over to Natasha and Bobbi, who were in their armor already, Natasha in a black version of Bobbi's costume, only with red highlights.
"Still not sure about this armor," Steve admitted, looking down at himself. "I mean, I can move really easily in it. But I'm still-"
"Bulletproof?" Natasha quipped.
Steve looked over at Bobbi, who shrugged. Steve sighed, then leaped out of the Quinjet.
"...Did he have a parachute?" A BRIDGE Elite asked, shocked.
Clint, laughing like a madman, jumped out, Bobbi and Natasha following with whoops of joy.
"What the hell did we sign up for?" The same Elite asked.
"Killing wanna-be Nazi's?" Another responded.
"...Yeah, that's fair."
------
Steve's jets activated moments from impact, allowing his superhuman legs to take the landing on the grassy field in front of the castle. As he did, Iron Man and War Machine flew overhead, shooting their weapons at the tanks taking to the field, Sam following later to dive into the dogfight between the Quinjets. Clint, Natasha, and Bobbi glided into the castle itself by crashing into the upper windows. Hartley, the woman codenamed Warrior landed next to Steve from another Quinjet, followed by Bucky and Creel. Together, the four of them rushed across the open field towards the castle. For most, the run would have been suicide. Not so much for the quartet.
Chitauri armored soldiers flew overhead and aimed at the group, shooting purple energy blobs at them. Steve raised his shield and blocked them as catoms flowed to Bucky and Hartley's arms to let them do the same with their own shields. Creel shapeshifted into his vibranium form and simply kept running, ignoring the shots landing on him.
Centipede soldiers took to the field as well, rushing out of the castle to attack the group while tanks were torn apart by Tony and Rhodey in a medley of destruction. Steve, the fastest of the group, met the soldiers first but Bucky was already shooting, taking out one of them in a hail of bullets.
Creel, in the meantime, leaped into the air with his superhuman strength. As soon as his feet left the ground, he changed colors from the dark gray of refined vibranium to a color closer to a see-through blue. Aerogel, one of the lightest and strongest materials on Earth, had a weight of 0.16 milligrams. Propelled by Creel's incredible strength, the superhuman rocketed into a Chitauri soldier with a roar, pulling the surprised HYDRA soldier into his grasp. In a flash, Creel turned into his immensely heavy osmium form and slammed into the ground with the soldier beneath him. Creel rolled on the ground and came alongside Hartley, switching back into his vibranium form and punching a Centipede soldier. Hartley stabbed her sword into the man, circling Creel to attack another soldier. For a moment, Hartley and Creel were fighting as one, moving between each other in synergy. Hartley sliced off the arm of a Centipede soldier, then ducked to let Creel punch the man in the face. Creel blocked a series of Chitauri energy beams before Hartley jumped off his back to slash into those men. They fought as though they'd known each other their entire lives.
Steve and Bucky, on the other hand, put them to shame. The pair of WW2 veterans ran up some steps leading to the castle. Four Centipede soldiers rushed them. Steve and Bucky raised their shields.
The doors to the castle exploded inwards moments later when a hail of fists, elbows, feet, and shields sent the four Centipede soldiers flying. Steve and Bucky followed after, rushing across the ground at high speed. Hartley and Creel ran in next. Steve blocked a hail of bullets on his shield, then threw his famously mighty shield, ignoring the Centipede soldier rushing at his weak left side. The soldier reached for a knife and stabbed at Steve.
Bucky caught the blade in his robotic hand, snapping the blade before shooting the soldier in the chest with his BCW. As he did, a sniper aimed a shot at the former Winter Soldier's back and fired.
The round bounced off the returning shield of Captain America. Steve spun with his shield to uppercut into the chin of a HYDRA operative, Bucky killing the sniper with a well-placed round.
"Holy shit," Creel mumbled, watching the pair fight with grace and efficiency he'd never seen before.
"Damn," Hartley said, biting her lip under her helmet. "I want that."
Steve almost stumbled on hearing that, Bucky grinning at his friend. Some things never changed.
They got back to work.
Above the super-soldiers, three assassins ran through the top floors of the castle, the sound of gunshots filling the air.
------
Prince T'Challa/The Black Panther
The Kingdom of Wakanda was thought of as the Third World. Primitive, full of nothing but farmers, tribes, and cows.
If only people knew better, though for centuries it was agreed by those who did know that it was best to keep the secret of Wakanda.
Of course, that was the exact argument that was being held in the throne room of Wakanda. To step into the light, or to continue as they had. Days ago, such a conversation would have been out of the realms of possibility for any of the rulers of Wakanda's tribes. Today, all the tribe leaders had come. King T'Chaka sat at the center, dressed in simple black robes on his throne, the beautiful Golden City behind them. The prince sat beside him on the left, in a carbon copy of his father's outfit. Queen Ramonda sat on his right, wearing a beautiful purple dress. From there, the tribal leaders sat in a circle on a platform of brown stone, each with their own chair.
With the bright sunlight behind him, T'Chaka listened to the group argue, the River Tribe leader, an older man with a crisp purple business suit and a large purple 'lip plate' in his bottom lip, was speaking now. "The River Tribe has been pushing for Wakanda to provide more support to the world for several years. To give refuge, medical supplies, and rescue those in need. This may be the first step to Wakanda aiding the world."
"Or to destroying our way of life," W'Kabi, the leader of the Border Tribe, and T'Challa's best friend spoke with a serious look on his face. "You bring in the refugees, let the people of other countries know what we have, and their problems... become our problems."
"That's not the issue we'd be dealing with," Oyoke, the leader of the Dora Milaje, said calmly. "Don't forget what this man, Dial, has said. Tony Stark, for all of his genius, has none of the advantages our scientists have. His technology is great, but vibranium and our better-educated scientists, as well as Shuri recently," T'Challa felt a burst of pride for his bratty fourteen-year-old sister. "Have always let us overcome that. But Dial is giving them alien technology beyond anything we've seen before. They are now years ahead of us in many fields. If this continues then BRIDGE will discover us, whatever we decide."
"...Only for as long as Dial lives," the leader of the Mining Tribe, an older woman with an ornate red dress, mentioned softly.
T'Chaka raised a hand, stopping any outburst that may follow that. "That is not something I believe possible. I have seen the power of the Omnitrix, and the skill with which Schahed wields it with. He is constantly watched by an AI, whether he realizes it or not. He is surrounded by the Avengers and BRIDGE's soldiers. More importantly, the aliens he can transform into gives him versatility and power alike to match most armies. Our armies might overcome them. We have more advanced weaponry and soldiers than they do. But the amount of damage we would have to do to defeat and kill Dial would expose us no matter what. And, in truth..." T'Chaka smiled. "I think this may be to Wakanda's advantage. Dial has promised a trade."
"Can he truly make such promises?" The River Tribe leader asked, his lip plate wobbling with each word. "He is only a soldier."
"He is more than that," T'Challa said. "All the Avengers are. In many ways, they are similar to the Black Panther's role in Wakanda. Spiritual leaders, not just warriors. He is, with the help of his watch, a skilled scientist capable of accelerating BRIDGE's technological development. He holds more influence in BRIDGE than I believe even he realizes. And there is something... honest, in him," T'Challa looked at his father. "My King. Can we tell them?"
"Yes," T'Chaka pulled out a cat-like object from his robes. "Dial, in an attempt to prove his willingness to help us, has provided this. The Panther's Trail, he called it. I had our scientists study it. They have confirmed it is what he says it is."
T'Chaka tapped the top of the device. A hologram appeared, crystal clear and almost solid in appearance. An image of a familiar enemy to Wakanda appeared. He was laughing, sitting in a room.
"Klaue," W'Kabi said, his eyes hard. "Is this-"
"It is up-to-date, my love," Oyoke said softly. Klaue turned to one of the men around him, speaking to the man. "This gives us all we need to find him. He can never escape from us again."
"Can it be trusted?" The leader of the Merchant tribe, who had not spoken yet, finally raised her voice. She wore large gold earrings about the size of a fist in each ear and was watching the hologram with keen interest.
"It has been confirmed," T'Chaka said in his baritone voice. "I propose that we hold off on the discussion of what to do about Dial's proposal until we deal with this. T'Challa will lead an assault on Klaue. Oyoke, W'Kabi," the two of them looked up. "Klaue is in an isolated location, near Johannesburg. Take some of your best troops. Do any hear object to this being a capture mission?" when no one responded, T'Chaka nodded. "Very well. Go there. Bring Klaue so that justice might finally be enacted. Then, I suggest we invite this discussion to continue at another time."
T'Challa stayed silent, but the young man was thinking at a furious rate. This... this would change everything. T'Challa had never considered that such a conversation would ever happen. Dial had done this. That unassuming young man with a ponytail and beard. Since meeting him, T'Challa's dreams had been... strange. Almost as though Bast had been sending him messages.
T'Challa was troubled and he needed to discover why.
------
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
"Let me tell you something, Random HYDRA goons!" I sliced a Chitauri energy weapon in half and roared. "You need to learn one thing! Rath doesn't lose!"
Technically true. Even Creel had only beaten me because the Omnitrix timed out. Thus far, Rath had a flawless win record.
And I wasn't going to end it now. Around thirty men surrounded me in the courtyard, all their eyes on me, and I was willing to absorb all the attention. I had no idea where my hosts were, but I was willing to wait.
"Let's go!" I roared, rushing towards a HYDRA soldier and punching him hard enough that he flew into another man, the two crashing into a stone bench. I jumped up into the air. "MILKY WAY SHOCKWAVE!" I slammed my claw into cobblestone, a wave of power erupting outward to send the men and women around me flying. As one landed on the ground, I grabbed him by the ankle, leaping into the air where I started spinning as fast as I could.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" the guy I was spinning screamed as I spun around and around in mid-air. Then I let go to let him smash through a window of the castle at high speed.
"DRAGONTHROW!" I shouted, landing on the ground and rushing towards the next soldier, laughing. "Yes! RATH LOVES THIS!"
Bullets started hitting me, but I ignored them to kick a Centipede soldier away. Then the plasma weapons started hitting me. My fur got a little scorched by those, but not enough for me to really notice. I instead grabbed a soldier and spun her around, rearing my foot back before kicking the girl in the ass. "SIRIUS BUTTKICKING!"
Then I spun to slam my claw into the floor again, sending out a smaller shockwave. I reached out and grabbed a stone bench, ripping it out of the ground and throwing it at a group of soldiers, sending the combined group of Centipede and regular HYDRA soldiers to the ground.
Then a soldier punched me in the face, turning my head to the left. I stood still as more plasma bolts singed my fur and starting to sting a little from the constant barrage. I took the small pain and let it fuel me, pushing my aggression higher as I smiled. In a way, the pain was a pleasure, was a good way to stoke my anger. Then I looked at the guy who had punched me.
"So you want to play with Rath?"
The Centipede soldiers tended to show no emotion. This guy managed something close to fear. Then I grabbed him by the arm and twisted it behind his back before rushing forward at full speed towards his friends, the guy screaming in my grip. "ANTARIAN ARMBAR!"
We bashed into a group of soldiers, sending them flying. I roared in pride, raising my hands up. "RATH IS HERE! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF RATH!? WHO HAS THE STONES!?"
A wall of the castle shattered outward to reveal a hall behind it. Out of it stepped... Kristen Nun? Granted, she wasn't a huge celebrity or anything, but she did have a reputation as a bodybuilder. This version of her was bigger, wearing a tank-top, backward baseball cap, and sweats on a woman who actually towered over Rath. She gave me a smile that was somehow shy. "I'll fight you."
I grinned at that before turning around and grabbing a piece out of the stone wall behind me, turning to toss it at her. She watched as the stone section of wall flew towards her before lashing out and punching it, sending gravel everywhere. "Leave!" she yelled to the soldiers around her. "Now! Support the defense in the castle!"
The normal HYDRA, Chitauri armored soldiers, and Centipede soldiers ran for it, leaving me and her alone.
"I'm Miriam, by the way," the giant of a woman said. "Miriam Pouncy."
"Rath is Rath," I said with a grin. "Ready!?"
"Yep!" The two of us rushed each other, meeting in the center of the courtyard in an explosion of sound. We wrapped hands around each other. Miriam grinned in my face, whatever shyness in her eyes fading in an instant. I flashed my fangs. "LET'S GO!" I wrapped my arms around her head and twisted, tossing her into a stone table, shattering it with her form. Miriam rolled backward with the impact when I ran towards her, coming up into an uppercut that sent me flying up into the sky, slamming me into one of the towers of the castle. The large tower cracked on the impact of my body. Miriam landed on me as I rested against the castle tower. She punched me in the face harder than even the Hulk had, sending a tooth flying. I roared and twisted to grab her arm, spinning her into the tower and shattering it with her body. We both yelled aloud as we ripped into the castle, dropping through the roof and dropping past Captain America and Nomad battling two green monstrosities, landing on a lower floor.
Miriam grabbed me by the arm and spun to toss me through another wall. I ended up inside a large dining hall, complete with a throne at the head of the room. My large form shattered the wooden table, sending shards everywhere. I rolled to my feet and faced Miriam before punching her back, my claw scraping across her chest to tear at her tank top. She yelled at the blow, staggering back.
My fur was still singed from the earlier plasma bolts, but the real damage I'd gotten was from Miriam.
"You hit hard!" I said with a bloody grin, rolling my shoulders. "Rath likes fighting you Grapplers!"
"Lucky there are two of us," a cute voice said behind me.
I blinked. Then a wall of sound hit me like a truck, sending me catapulting through the castle, spinning through the rooms. I roared, shattering stone on my body until something grabbed me in mid-air. When I looked at myself, a red energy surrounded my chest. Then it pulled me in another direction, sending me through a sofa, a wall, and finally a chandelier, spinning me all the while. "Raaaaaagh! Rath is going to throw up!"
My body hit the ground in a shower of chandelier crystals. I rolled to my feet and faced my opponents as the three came into the large foyer we'd entered. Miriam Pouncy landed in a boom of sound. Behind her, Elizabeth Olsen's look-alike flew in on waves of red power projected from her hands, wearing a red longcoat and corset, her long brown hair fluttering. The final woman looked like Stephanie Wright, a tiny pixie of a weightlifter with very short bleached blonde hair, and she wore a skintight lifters outfit with a white bird image on the front. She floated above us on wings of pink.
Poundcakes, Scarlet Witch, and Songbird. They may not be known to the world as such yet but the three before me had a lot of power to yield.
As I rose, I came to a tough conclusion. I had to change forms.
I didn't want to. Rath was a prideful form. And in truth, he could handle most any battle that came his way. But for this fight, Songbird's sonic attacks would damage his sensitive ears far too much, not to mention Scarlet Witch's long-range telekinesis and Miriam pounding on me all the while. I needed durability and long-range power.
Plus, there was the plan to consider.
With a heavy heart, I reached for the Omnitrix. "Rath could have won you know!?" I yelled out before touching the Omnitrix. "Next time!"
In a flash of green, orange fur gave way to green skin. Large Tesla Coils popped up across my body. Lightning crashed from the ceiling. I stood tall, looking at the woman across from me as electricity flowed.
"Frankenstrike!"
I faced the three and smiled. "Let's do this!"
I released a blast of lightning. Songbird flew up and took a breath. "▅▄▅▂▂▃▅▅▅▃▃▄▄▅!!!"
A pink set of waves flew from her lips as she floated above, clashing with my attack. Electricity and pink sound met in the center of the foyer, tearing apart the floorboards. Scarlet Witch unleashed her own attack... and 'missed'. Her attack hit the floor, tearing it apart further and sending me into the basement, the three women following.
As soon as I landed, I looked at them in time to catch a fist from Miriam. I staggered back across the stone floor before coming up with a lightning enhanced uppercut to send her back into a wall behind her, smashing the wall apart. Scarlet Witch unleashed a blast of red energy as she dropped in after me. I countered with lightning, the two energies exploding on contact. Scarlet Witch landed on the ground and blocked another lightning bolt with a shield of red power. My right hand lifted to attack Songbird as the pixie-like woman floated down, forcing her to block as well. Miriam rose up and rushed me. I roared.
"Come on! We aren't done yet!" My eyes alive with power, I unleashed more lightning in a dome around me, keeping Miriam from me.
For a moment. Then the superhuman narrowed her eyes and dove into the dome. "YAAAGH!" She screamed in pain as she was electrocuted. She ran in anyway, wrapping her hands around my waist and spinning to smash me into a wall, both of us crashing into another room.
------
Author's Note:
So, the fight begins in earnest. The reason for Frankenstrike will come to fruition soon, but man, Rath could have won that fight! Or at least, his loss would have been fun. And the castle would have disappeared.
And yeah, Hulk actually ignored a fight to focus on an objective. Blonsky ain't happy.
Meantime, Steve and Bucky just watched a screaming cat and woman drop though two floors as they beat on each other. Fun.
As for Wakanda, T'Challa is having dreams. Bast is speaking.
But man, this chapter was hard to write. But it's done. A bit rougher than I wanted, but I'm satisfied. More soon. Remember, this story has a tropes page now! One that could use some love, especially for the character page Talk soon!
Hulk roared as he rushed through the trees, snapping branches off his body with no regard for them. Ahead of him was a large anti-aircraft gun emplacement pointed up at his friends, shooting at them. Hulk narrowed his eyes, ignoring all the puny HYDRA shooting at him to focus in on the giant gun. There was a moment, with Hulk's green foot digging deep into the earth as he was moments from hitting the thing, where the whole forest stilled. Then the Hulk was smashing into the gun, steel bending and shattering everywhere into pieces of shrapnel, the HYDRA soldier piloting the gun flying into the distance.
"Huh," Bruce said in his mind. "That was impressive. And you didn't kill anyone."
Hulk shook his head, only barely listening. The big green monster felt his rage rise.
"Okay, next one," Bruce said calmly. "Come on, big guy, we need to take these things out so everyone else can be safe."
Hulk struggled to think as he turned around and ran towards the next emplacement, tossing aside a HYDRA soldier as he ran past, then tearing through a tree which exploded into chunks of wood all over the forest floor. Bullets bounced off Hulk, who furrowed his brow in thought.
"Abomination..."
Bruce sent a wave of acknowledgment. "We'll take him when he shows up, Hulk."
A tank rolled over a nearby hill, firing waves of energy at the Hulk. They barely slowed him down despite their unusual weaponry. Hulk roared, twisting around and leaping towards the tank to lift it onto his shoulders before jumping again to land next to the next emplacement, spinning around to smash the tank into it.
"BLONSKY!" Hulk roared in challenge.
In the distance, another roar responded. Hulk spun around, nostrils flaring with rage.
"Wait, Hulk!" Bruce said quickly. "I know, you want to fight him! But Blonsky's not important! Jennifer! Jennifer is the one we want to save remember?"
Metaphorical ice-water poured over the Hulk. For a moment, he stared longingly towards where the roar had come from. Then he turned and ran for the next emplacement. And if he hit it with even more anger than before, it was because he was picturing a green face on the metal.
------
Steve Rogers/Captain America
"Whoa, look at him go," Clint said from the cockpit as he watched Hulk tear another emplacement to pieces.
"Focus," Steve said leaning over to gaze upon the castle beyond. While he was carrying his shield, the rest of his clothes was more casual, except for several pouches across his legs and a small backpack. "We've got a job to do."
Clint nodded, spinning the Quinjet to fire upon a HYDRA aircraft, only for a fighter jet to zoom past with a missile. Steve turned and walked into the back.
"Jarvis and X are still going through the files," Steve said to those gathered in the back, BRIDGE Elites, Natasha, and Bobbi, his comms sending his words to the other soldiers in other Quinjets. "But they've been able to tell us that HYDRA has enough Chitauri armored and Centipede soldiers for a small army. They've also made Gamma-enhanced soldiers, at least two of which are stable. Now, our people on the inside are going to be engaging us in combat. That's necessary for the ruse to work. So those are Avengers only targets. Everyone else is fair game," Steve closed his eyes thinking for a moment. "We don't expect everything to go perfectly. But you all have one order above all others. Come back home alive. Understood?"
With that statement, the door in the back opened. Steve moved towards it, tapping his chest. "Captain America."
With that, catoms flowed across his body from the pouches on his legs and the pack on his back, moving over his body. They formed into metallic plates across his frame, forming into gauntlets and greaves, covering him in hundreds of pounds of metal and other materials. The armor was similar in design to Steve's old costume, with a star that glowed with white flames of power. His helmet's face was all in one smooth piece, like that of a knight. Steve moved over to Natasha and Bobbi, who were in their armor already, Natasha in a black version of Bobbi's costume, only with red highlights.
"Still not sure about this armor," Steve admitted, looking down at himself. "I mean, I can move really easily in it. But I'm still-"
"Bulletproof?" Natasha quipped.
Steve looked over at Bobbi, who shrugged. Steve sighed, then leaped out of the Quinjet.
"...Did he have a parachute?" A BRIDGE Elite asked, shocked.
Clint, laughing like a madman, jumped out, Bobbi and Natasha following with whoops of joy.
"What the hell did we sign up for?" The same Elite asked.
"Killing wanna-be Nazi's?" Another responded.
"...Yeah, that's fair."
------
Steve's jets activated moments from impact, allowing his superhuman legs to take the landing on the grassy field in front of the castle. As he did, Iron Man and War Machine flew overhead, shooting their weapons at the tanks taking to the field, Sam following later to dive into the dogfight between the Quinjets. Clint, Natasha, and Bobbi glided into the castle itself by crashing into the upper windows. Hartley, the woman codenamed Warrior landed next to Steve from another Quinjet, followed by Bucky and Creel. Together, the four of them rushed across the open field towards the castle. For most, the run would have been suicide. Not so much for the quartet.
Chitauri armored soldiers flew overhead and aimed at the group, shooting purple energy blobs at them. Steve raised his shield and blocked them as catoms flowed to Bucky and Hartley's arms to let them do the same with their own shields. Creel shapeshifted into his vibranium form and simply kept running, ignoring the shots landing on him.
Centipede soldiers took to the field as well, rushing out of the castle to attack the group while tanks were torn apart by Tony and Rhodey in a medley of destruction. Steve, the fastest of the group, met the soldiers first but Bucky was already shooting, taking out one of them in a hail of bullets.
Creel, in the meantime, leaped into the air with his superhuman strength. As soon as his feet left the ground, he changed colors from the dark gray of refined vibranium to a color closer to a see-through blue. Aerogel, one of the lightest and strongest materials on Earth, had a weight of 0.16 milligrams. Propelled by Creel's incredible strength, the superhuman rocketed into a Chitauri soldier with a roar, pulling the surprised HYDRA soldier into his grasp. In a flash, Creel turned into his immensely heavy osmium form and slammed into the ground with the soldier beneath him. Creel rolled on the ground and came alongside Hartley, switching back into his vibranium form and punching a Centipede soldier. Hartley stabbed her sword into the man, circling Creel to attack another soldier. For a moment, Hartley and Creel were fighting as one, moving between each other in synergy. Hartley sliced off the arm of a Centipede soldier, then ducked to let Creel punch the man in the face. Creel blocked a series of Chitauri energy beams before Hartley jumped off his back to slash into those men. They fought as though they'd known each other their entire lives.
Steve and Bucky, on the other hand, put them to shame. The pair of WW2 veterans ran up some steps leading to the castle. Four Centipede soldiers rushed them. Steve and Bucky raised their shields.
The doors to the castle exploded inwards moments later when a hail of fists, elbows, feet, and shields sent the four Centipede soldiers flying. Steve and Bucky followed after, rushing across the ground at high speed. Hartley and Creel ran in next. Steve blocked a hail of bullets on his shield, then threw his famously mighty shield, ignoring the Centipede soldier rushing at his weak left side. The soldier reached for a knife and stabbed at Steve.
Bucky caught the blade in his robotic hand, snapping the blade before shooting the soldier in the chest with his BCW. As he did, a sniper aimed a shot at the former Winter Soldier's back and fired.
The round bounced off the returning shield of Captain America. Steve spun with his shield to uppercut into the chin of a HYDRA operative, Bucky killing the sniper with a well-placed round.
"Holy shit," Creel mumbled, watching the pair fight with grace and efficiency he'd never seen before.
"Damn," Hartley said, biting her lip under her helmet. "I want that."
Steve almost stumbled on hearing that, Bucky grinning at his friend. Some things never changed.
They got back to work.
Above the super-soldiers, three assassins ran through the top floors of the castle, the sound of gunshots filling the air.
------
Prince T'Challa/The Black Panther
The Kingdom of Wakanda was thought of as the Third World. Primitive, full of nothing but farmers, tribes, and cows.
If only people knew better, though for centuries it was agreed by those who did know that it was best to keep the secret of Wakanda.
Of course, that was the exact argument that was being held in the throne room of Wakanda. To step into the light, or to continue as they had. Days ago, such a conversation would have been out of the realms of possibility for any of the rulers of Wakanda's tribes. Today, all the tribe leaders had come. King T'Chaka sat at the center, dressed in simple black robes on his throne, the beautiful Golden City behind them. The prince sat beside him on the left, in a carbon copy of his father's outfit. Queen Ramonda sat on his right, wearing a beautiful purple dress. From there, the tribal leaders sat in a circle on a platform of brown stone, each with their own chair.
With the bright sunlight behind him, T'Chaka listened to the group argue, the River Tribe leader, an older man with a crisp purple business suit and a large purple 'lip plate' in his bottom lip, was speaking now. "The River Tribe has been pushing for Wakanda to provide more support to the world for several years. To give refuge, medical supplies, and rescue those in need. This may be the first step to Wakanda aiding the world."
"Or to destroying our way of life," W'Kabi, the leader of the Border Tribe, and T'Challa's best friend spoke with a serious look on his face. "You bring in the refugees, let the people of other countries know what we have, and their problems... become our problems."
"That's not the issue we'd be dealing with," Oyoke, the leader of the Dora Milaje, said calmly. "Don't forget what this man, Dial, has said. Tony Stark, for all of his genius, has none of the advantages our scientists have. His technology is great, but vibranium and our better-educated scientists, as well as Shuri recently," T'Challa felt a burst of pride for his bratty fourteen-year-old sister. "Have always let us overcome that. But Dial is giving them alien technology beyond anything we've seen before. They are now years ahead of us in many fields. If this continues then BRIDGE will discover us, whatever we decide."
"...Only for as long as Dial lives," the leader of the Mining Tribe, an older woman with an ornate red dress, mentioned softly.
T'Chaka raised a hand, stopping any outburst that may follow that. "That is not something I believe possible. I have seen the power of the Omnitrix, and the skill with which Schahed wields it with. He is constantly watched by an AI, whether he realizes it or not. He is surrounded by the Avengers and BRIDGE's soldiers. More importantly, the aliens he can transform into gives him versatility and power alike to match most armies. Our armies might overcome them. We have more advanced weaponry and soldiers than they do. But the amount of damage we would have to do to defeat and kill Dial would expose us no matter what. And, in truth..." T'Chaka smiled. "I think this may be to Wakanda's advantage. Dial has promised a trade."
"Can he truly make such promises?" The River Tribe leader asked, his lip plate wobbling with each word. "He is only a soldier."
"He is more than that," T'Challa said. "All the Avengers are. In many ways, they are similar to the Black Panther's role in Wakanda. Spiritual leaders, not just warriors. He is, with the help of his watch, a skilled scientist capable of accelerating BRIDGE's technological development. He holds more influence in BRIDGE than I believe even he realizes. And there is something... honest, in him," T'Challa looked at his father. "My King. Can we tell them?"
"Yes," T'Chaka pulled out a cat-like object from his robes. "Dial, in an attempt to prove his willingness to help us, has provided this. The Panther's Trail, he called it. I had our scientists study it. They have confirmed it is what he says it is."
T'Chaka tapped the top of the device. A hologram appeared, crystal clear and almost solid in appearance. An image of a familiar enemy to Wakanda appeared. He was laughing, sitting in a room.
"Klaue," W'Kabi said, his eyes hard. "Is this-"
"It is up-to-date, my love," Oyoke said softly. Klaue turned to one of the men around him, speaking to the man. "This gives us all we need to find him. He can never escape from us again."
"Can it be trusted?" The leader of the Merchant tribe, who had not spoken yet, finally raised her voice. She wore large gold earrings about the size of a fist in each ear and was watching the hologram with keen interest.
"It has been confirmed," T'Chaka said in his baritone voice. "I propose that we hold off on the discussion of what to do about Dial's proposal until we deal with this. T'Challa will lead an assault on Klaue. Oyoke, W'Kabi," the two of them looked up. "Klaue is in an isolated location, near Johannesburg. Take some of your best troops. Do any hear object to this being a capture mission?" when no one responded, T'Chaka nodded. "Very well. Go there. Bring Klaue so that justice might finally be enacted. Then, I suggest we invite this discussion to continue at another time."
T'Challa stayed silent, but the young man was thinking at a furious rate. This... this would change everything. T'Challa had never considered that such a conversation would ever happen. Dial had done this. That unassuming young man with a ponytail and beard. Since meeting him, T'Challa's dreams had been... strange. Almost as though Bast had been sending him messages.
T'Challa was troubled and he needed to discover why.
------
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
"Let me tell you something, Random HYDRA goons!" I sliced a Chitauri energy weapon in half and roared. "You need to learn one thing! Rath doesn't lose!"
Technically true. Even Creel had only beaten me because the Omnitrix timed out. Thus far, Rath had a flawless win record.
And I wasn't going to end it now. Around thirty men surrounded me in the courtyard, all their eyes on me, and I was willing to absorb all the attention. I had no idea where my hosts were, but I was willing to wait.
"Let's go!" I roared, rushing towards a HYDRA soldier and punching him hard enough that he flew into another man, the two crashing into a stone bench. I jumped up into the air. "MILKY WAY SHOCKWAVE!" I slammed my claw into cobblestone, a wave of power erupting outward to send the men and women around me flying. As one landed on the ground, I grabbed him by the ankle, leaping into the air where I started spinning as fast as I could.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" the guy I was spinning screamed as I spun around and around in mid-air. Then I let go to let him smash through a window of the castle at high speed.
"DRAGONTHROW!" I shouted, landing on the ground and rushing towards the next soldier, laughing. "Yes! RATH LOVES THIS!"
Bullets started hitting me, but I ignored them to kick a Centipede soldier away. Then the plasma weapons started hitting me. My fur got a little scorched by those, but not enough for me to really notice. I instead grabbed a soldier and spun her around, rearing my foot back before kicking the girl in the ass. "SIRIUS BUTTKICKING!"
Then I spun to slam my claw into the floor again, sending out a smaller shockwave. I reached out and grabbed a stone bench, ripping it out of the ground and throwing it at a group of soldiers, sending the combined group of Centipede and regular HYDRA soldiers to the ground.
Then a soldier punched me in the face, turning my head to the left. I stood still as more plasma bolts singed my fur and starting to sting a little from the constant barrage. I took the small pain and let it fuel me, pushing my aggression higher as I smiled. In a way, the pain was a pleasure, was a good way to stoke my anger. Then I looked at the guy who had punched me.
"So you want to play with Rath?"
The Centipede soldiers tended to show no emotion. This guy managed something close to fear. Then I grabbed him by the arm and twisted it behind his back before rushing forward at full speed towards his friends, the guy screaming in my grip. "ANTARIAN ARMBAR!"
We bashed into a group of soldiers, sending them flying. I roared in pride, raising my hands up. "RATH IS HERE! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF RATH!? WHO HAS THE STONES!?"
A wall of the castle shattered outward to reveal a hall behind it. Out of it stepped... Kristen Nun? Granted, she wasn't a huge celebrity or anything, but she did have a reputation as a bodybuilder. This version of her was bigger, wearing a tank-top, backward baseball cap, and sweats on a woman who actually towered over Rath. She gave me a smile that was somehow shy. "I'll fight you."
I grinned at that before turning around and grabbing a piece out of the stone wall behind me, turning to toss it at her. She watched as the stone section of wall flew towards her before lashing out and punching it, sending gravel everywhere. "Leave!" she yelled to the soldiers around her. "Now! Support the defense in the castle!"
The normal HYDRA, Chitauri armored soldiers, and Centipede soldiers ran for it, leaving me and her alone.
"I'm Miriam, by the way," the giant of a woman said. "Miriam Pouncy."
"Rath is Rath," I said with a grin. "Ready!?"
"Yep!" The two of us rushed each other, meeting in the center of the courtyard in an explosion of sound. We wrapped hands around each other. Miriam grinned in my face, whatever shyness in her eyes fading in an instant. I flashed my fangs. "LET'S GO!" I wrapped my arms around her head and twisted, tossing her into a stone table, shattering it with her form. Miriam rolled backward with the impact when I ran towards her, coming up into an uppercut that sent me flying up into the sky, slamming me into one of the towers of the castle. The large tower cracked on the impact of my body. Miriam landed on me as I rested against the castle tower. She punched me in the face harder than even the Hulk had, sending a tooth flying. I roared and twisted to grab her arm, spinning her into the tower and shattering it with her body. We both yelled aloud as we ripped into the castle, dropping through the roof and dropping past Captain America and Nomad battling two green monstrosities, landing on a lower floor.
Miriam grabbed me by the arm and spun to toss me through another wall. I ended up inside a large dining hall, complete with a throne at the head of the room. My large form shattered the wooden table, sending shards everywhere. I rolled to my feet and faced Miriam before punching her back, my claw scraping across her chest to tear at her tank top. She yelled at the blow, staggering back.
My fur was still singed from the earlier plasma bolts, but the real damage I'd gotten was from Miriam.
"You hit hard!" I said with a bloody grin, rolling my shoulders. "Rath likes fighting you Grapplers!"
"Lucky there are two of us," a cute voice said behind me.
I blinked. Then a wall of sound hit me like a truck, sending me catapulting through the castle, spinning through the rooms. I roared, shattering stone on my body until something grabbed me in mid-air. When I looked at myself, a red energy surrounded my chest. Then it pulled me in another direction, sending me through a sofa, a wall, and finally a chandelier, spinning me all the while. "Raaaaaagh! Rath is going to throw up!"
My body hit the ground in a shower of chandelier crystals. I rolled to my feet and faced my opponents as the three came into the large foyer we'd entered. Miriam Pouncy landed in a boom of sound. Behind her, Elizabeth Olsen's look-alike flew in on waves of red power projected from her hands, wearing a red longcoat and corset, her long brown hair fluttering. The final woman looked like Stephanie Wright, a tiny pixie of a weightlifter with very short bleached blonde hair, and she wore a skintight lifters outfit with a white bird image on the front. She floated above us on wings of pink.
Poundcakes, Scarlet Witch, and Songbird. They may not be known to the world as such yet but the three before me had a lot of power to yield.
As I rose, I came to a tough conclusion. I had to change forms.
I didn't want to. Rath was a prideful form. And in truth, he could handle most any battle that came his way. But for this fight, Songbird's sonic attacks would damage his sensitive ears far too much, not to mention Scarlet Witch's long-range telekinesis and Miriam pounding on me all the while. I needed durability and long-range power.
Plus, there was the plan to consider.
With a heavy heart, I reached for the Omnitrix. "Rath could have won you know!?" I yelled out before touching the Omnitrix. "Next time!"
In a flash of green, orange fur gave way to green skin. Large Tesla Coils popped up across my body. Lightning crashed from the ceiling. I stood tall, looking at the woman across from me as electricity flowed.
"Frankenstrike!"
I faced the three and smiled. "Let's do this!"
I released a blast of lightning. Songbird flew up and took a breath. "▅▄▅▂▂▃▅▅▅▃▃▄▄▅!!!"
A pink set of waves flew from her lips as she floated above, clashing with my attack. Electricity and pink sound met in the center of the foyer, tearing apart the floorboards. Scarlet Witch unleashed her own attack... and 'missed'. Her attack hit the floor, tearing it apart further and sending me into the basement, the three women following.
As soon as I landed, I looked at them in time to catch a fist from Miriam. I staggered back across the stone floor before coming up with a lightning enhanced uppercut to send her back into a wall behind her, smashing the wall apart. Scarlet Witch unleashed a blast of red energy as she dropped in after me. I countered with lightning, the two energies exploding on contact. Scarlet Witch landed on the ground and blocked another lightning bolt with a shield of red power. My right hand lifted to attack Songbird as the pixie-like woman floated down, forcing her to block as well. Miriam rose up and rushed me. I roared.
"Come on! We aren't done yet!" My eyes alive with power, I unleashed more lightning in a dome around me, keeping Miriam from me.
For a moment. Then the superhuman narrowed her eyes and dove into the dome. "YAAAGH!" She screamed in pain as she was electrocuted. She ran in anyway, wrapping her hands around my waist and spinning to smash me into a wall, both of us crashing into another room.
------
Author's Note:
So, the fight begins in earnest. The reason for Frankenstrike will come to fruition soon, but man, Rath could have won that fight! Or at least, his loss would have been fun. And the castle would have disappeared.
And yeah, Hulk actually ignored a fight to focus on an objective. Blonsky ain't happy.
Meantime, Steve and Bucky just watched a screaming cat and woman drop though two floors as they beat on each other. Fun.
As for Wakanda, T'Challa is having dreams. Bast is speaking.
But man, this chapter was hard to write. But it's done. A bit rougher than I wanted, but I'm satisfied. More soon. Remember, this story has a tropes page now! One that could use some love, especially for the character page
Talk soon!
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
Heh. Oh Wakanda, you overhyped bunch of melee warriors who fight like melee warriors.. even the New Zealand Army could beat you. Because they fight like ranged weapon using professional soldiers.
I know it was a stylistic choice for marvel to turn the combat scenes in BP and IW into melee free for alls, but it did nothing to show that Wakanda really is as high tech brilliant, and high culture as they are supposed to be.
Enjoyed the chapter, and Rath is turning out to be my favourite. You better have had a good reason for Frankenstrike, because Rath could have won!
I know it was a stylistic choice for marvel to turn the combat scenes in BP and IW into melee free for alls, but it did nothing to show that Wakanda really is as high tech brilliant, and high culture as they are supposed to be.
Enjoyed the chapter, and Rath is turning out to be my favourite. You better have had a good reason for Frankenstrike, because Rath could have won!
"Rath doesn't know how to feel..."