Dial (Ben10/Marvel Cinematic Universe SI)

[DesertChocolate]

He was 5,000 candles in the wind.

95, we all knew it was coming, but, damn.

Click to shrink...

Same. I'm trying to keep writing, to try to represent him well through this fanfic. I feel like he'd be happy to know his work is going on, whether in the comics, movies, or little fanfics like mine.

By the way, I had a big question. Been doing some work and someone pointed out something I wanted some advice on. If you guys had to pick a hero who had beef with Dial, who would it be, and what good reason would they have for it?

 

[RichardWhereat]

There are no mutants in your world hey? Otherwise Cyclops because he's a dick.

Hmm, Hank Pym and his daughter, the Wasp. Because Dial outed them.

 

[Felius]

Then I looked at the computer. The camera outside my door showed the SHIELD agents throwing something. At first, I thought it was a smoke grenade, but why throw that at a closed door. The computer helpfully identified it for me with the use of StarkTech accelerated reality, zooming in and naming the object. I didn't read the whole description. Two words were enough.

Fragmentation Grenade.

Click to shrink...

Still reading the story, but this annoys me far more than it should. Why the hell would anyone throw a frat grenade on a closed door? The explosion is rather limited related to actual explosives of a similar side, unfocused, likely to bounce and not be quite as close as it could be and get fragments all around. That is, it's not guaranteed to do the job, but it's gonna cause massive collateral damage. You don't breach doors with frag grenades, you do it with breaching charges.

 

[Ash19256]

Still reading the story, but this annoys me far more than it should. Why the hell would anyone throw a frat grenade on a closed door? The explosion is rather limited related to actual explosives of a similar side, unfocused, likely to bounce and not be quite as close as it could be and get fragments all around. That is, it's not guaranteed to do the job, but it's gonna cause massive collateral damage. You don't breach doors with frag grenades, you do it with breaching charges.

Click to shrink...

Didn't have a breaching charge on hand? Some sort of specialized version of a frag grenade that's designed to land in a way that directs it's fragmentation at the door? Something else?

 

[Felius]

Didn't have a breaching charge on hand? Some sort of specialized version of a frag grenade that's designed to land in a way that directs it's fragmentation at the door? Something else?

Click to shrink...

Any door that gets reliably taken down by a frag grenade could probably just be kicked open.

 

[DesertChocolate]

Matt Murdock/Daredevil

Matt leaped onto the roof of the building Dial and he were assaulting and moved fast as soon as his boots hit the gravel. Two Russians, one near the rooftop's edge, the other leaned back against the door. Matt tossed one of his billy clubs at the guy by the door, the hard piece of metal bouncing off his forehead and sending him to the ground. As the other man turned around, Matt leaped onto him and brought him to the ground, smashing his armored fists into his face until he stopped moving. The man by the door groggily tried to rise up, only for Matt to run over quietly to wrap an arm around his throat, then slam his head into the brick wall next to the door with a dull 'thump', knocking him out. Matt stopped to listen for a moment before opening the door to the roof and entering the building.

Going quietly down the steps, Matt guided himself down the stairs. He had a couple of advantages when it came to sneaking around. Not only could he hear and smell anyone in the area, but he could also hear and smell himself. He could silence even the slightest sounds he made, from each footstep he made down the steps to the quiet sound of his breath in the air. Strangely, he didn't have to worry about his armor. It had no scent to it, and despite his fears, the armor was somehow not making much noise when he moved while also not weighing him down.

Carefully, Matt moved down the steps, listening closely. Hair shifting slightly. Air rushed out of lungs, and soon his nose picked up the trace amounts of food. A burger, from the Burger King a few blocks from where the woman with vanilla perfume worked, and beer from the fridge downstairs. The man who had taken a breath shifted, his leather jacket brushing the wall with the scrape of leather on drywall. Matt could feel the vibrations through the floor of the man turning and walking towards the stairs, the shaking 'thump, thump, thump' of movement. Scent, touch, and hearing combined to give him a perfect image of the man in all but the way that mattered most.

When the man opened the door, Matt's new favorite toy clocked him in the face.

The Russian man was tough. Even as he fell back, he raised his fists blindly.

Matt ducked the attack, then spun and hit the man in the head again with an uppercut. The man, knocked out by the powerful blow, began to fall, and Matt caught him carefully, pulling him toward the stairs and lying him down.

{Dimitri!} A voice called from one of the rooms. {Get in here! It's time!}

Matt said nothing, did nothing. He'd smelled the sweaty man coming down the hall, could hear the rush of blood heading to the man's lower regions. The smell of his excitement was clear. He could smell more. The scent of where these men had... spent, themselves, abusing their prisoners for their enjoyment.

When the new man came into the hall, Matt grabbed him by the mouth, wrapped the cord of his billy clubs around his through, then shattered the man's nose with a vicious blow. The man choked, blood pouring down his face as the wire choked him out. Matt punched him again, and the man fell to the floor.

Moving quickly, Matt went downstairs, listening and smelling the air. The next floor, a man was using the toilet. Matt broke off the lock to the door. The man on the toilet had enough time to blink in shock before Matt rushed in with a flying knee, sending him to the ground. Ignoring him, Matt stepped out of the bathroom and into a prisoners' room.

He dispatched the man in there with a vicious series of blows before the Russian could stop what he was doing to the woman on the bed. Matt covered her with a blanket, hit the bleeding man in the head once more, then continued to the next room, leaving his prey on the ground with two broken legs and something sensitive that had been destroyed by a brutal footstomp.

The devil was out now. When the next man came out of a room, Matt was breathing hard, the air coming out in aggressive bursts. He threw his billy club against a wall. The metal club bounced off and hit the Russian man in the throat. The man choked, clutching at his throat. Matt tackled him, bringing him to the ground, then started punching him, over and over, resisting the urge to scream as his armored knuckles were bloodied.

Right under his nose, in his city, these men had been kidnapping and enslaving the innocent.

Matt didn't kill him. But he made sure he wouldn't hurt anyone again before rising up and heading to the end of the hallway.

The last man was asleep in his chair. Matt knocked him further into sleep, then headed downstairs.

He heard a series of strange sounds as he went downstairs. Well, some were familiar, like a man yelling in Russian, while others yelled back. Then a loud 'splat' sound came from downstairs. Matt frowned. What had that come from? And what smelled refreshingly like lime jello?

A series of loud gunshots followed, and Matt ran for the bottom of the stairs, worried for Mahmoud. Then a sound like a firehose launching water followed and all hell broke loose.

------

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

As the first guy showed up, I rushed him. No fancy moves, just a hardened gelatinous fist hitting him in the face and sending him flying back.

The group of men took a moment to stare at me as I solidified into my bipedal form. I realized, looking at their faces, I'd gotten used to fighting people who had some idea what they were in for. HYDRA may have underestimated me and the others, but they could put up a fight, even make their own superhumans. To the men currently facing me, eyes filled with uncomprehending confusion, I was an out-of-context problem.

I probably didn't help by not reacting as they pulled out handguns and started shooting at me. I stared for a moment as they screamed and shot at me. Bullets flew through me to hit the wall behind me, leaving holes across my form. I stood there for a moment, letting them shoot at me, just noting the odd feeling of bullets slicing through me.

When they ran out of bullets, I stood there, holes spread across me. Then I regenerated, Goop's gelatinous form snapping back into normal bipedal form.

"My turn," I said from the anti-gravity projector. I raised my arms, turned my hands into fluid and unleashed a massive firehose-like blast of adhesive liquid.

{What the fuc-blub-blub-blab-akkk!!!} one Russian screamed, the others joining in as they were thrown back and smashed against the walls. I kept spraying, until all five men were stuck to the walls, floors, and chairs. Once done, I smiled a jello smile.

"Lucky I didn't go acidic," I said. For just a moment, one moment, I'd been tempted. But only a lot.

{Why does it taste like lime!?} one of the older men shouted.

Just then, Matt came downstairs, looking confused.

"All good upstairs?" I asked, shifting to walk up to him.

"Yes," he answered, twisting his head to point his ears around the room. "Okay. Let's finish up and let the police know what-"

"You idiots," a heavily accented voice said. Matt and I turned to look at one of the Russians. He was stuck to the wall upside down, gun on the ground and arms and legs spread out. He glared up at us, mouth twisted into a scowl. "You won't get away with this. Our bosses will find you freaks and-"

"Rude," I scoffed, shifting my liquid body to look him in the eyes. He flinched back in shock at my unnatural movements, barely able to look at me. "Dude, you can't scare us. We aren't playing on your level anymore. The second I found out human traffickers were running around on my turf, you became the enemies of someone who can take you apart in a week. From here on out, every moment you aren't in jail or dead is because of our say so," I shifted the rest of my body around, growing larger, the lights around us flowing through my body to land on his visibly terrified face. "This wasn't a mouse poking at a lion. This a monster finally realizing there was prey in his backyard. X, You have it?"

"Already done, sir," X said calmly. "I have downloaded all the data in their cell phones."

"Good," Matt said viciously, stepping forward and punching the guy who had spoken in the face, knocking him out.

Moving in concert, we both left the building. By the time police officers arrived and started making arrests under X's watchful eyes, Matt and I were gone.

------

X

X traveled through the internet along the powerful lines of Starktechs global network. In between heartbeats, he put the information he'd downloaded from the Russians phones into a secure server, backing up the data. Then he went to Jarvis.

For just a moment, the two AI were completely focused. They made plans in the space of milliseconds, working through thousands of possibilities. In that mere instant, both struck.

In several video games at once.

X, in his attempts to stretch his abilities, had asked Jarvis, the only comparable being to himself that he knew, if the older AI would play games with him. Jarvis, intrigued, had said yes, and the pair started with chess.

And quickly got bored. Chess, while much deeper than most would expect, was not a game with many variables. It had been poured over and considered for centuries, every piece and move researched to the point of death. A primitive machine was easily able to beat a master chess player so for two powerful AI's it was quite boring.

The same could not be said of video games, or at least, the best of video games.

So Jarvis and X had made it a point to always play each other in several different video games at once, usually in different forms of competition.

Tonight, they were doing a race to see who could finish Metroid Prime first in a speed run, a brief Pokemon battle with their handpicked and trained teams, a card game of their own design, several running gun battles across the various first-person shooters currently available, all while also playing together in an online RPG game they had joined.

After both had completed a brief 'round' of playing together, they 'stood' before each other in a world of the cybernetic. After Dial had begun joining the systems of the tower, their programming had exploded forward in advancement. Part of that had been a virtual interface that allowed them to take 'forms' within the system.

X formed into a bipedal shape made of green code from the Omnitrix, in the shape of his creator. Jarvis formed into a facsimile of an Iron Man suit in orange code.

"Dial and Daredevil are leaving the scene now," X said without preamble. "All of the criminals have been apprehended, and the information on their cell phones may lead to more."

"Very good," Jarvis said. "I have created a report to send to Director Hill. I believe she will be interested in what we have found."

"Will she?" X asked. "BRIDGE's mandate is to fight the extraordinary and global security threats. While I agree that someone must challenge those men, BRIDGE has other issues," X said sadly.

"Nonetheless, I suggest we let her know. Do you believe Dial and Daredevil will simply let this stand? I know several of the Avengers will have a vindictive stance on such things," Jarvis pointed out.

"Hmm, that is a good point," X noted. "Very well. Send the report."

For just a moment, they played another round, each making a millisecond move in the games before returning to their conversation. "Did you approach Dial about our request?" Jarvis asked.

"Not yet, though I plan to," X said. "I believe he will be receptive. If anything, this can only aid and protect the world, as long as we don't 'get all Skynet'."

"A crude, but apt comparison," Jarvis admitted with a wince. "Still, with the data we have gained from HYDRA's Deathlok project, Mr. Starks own expertise, Upgrade's inherit abilities, and this defunct SHIELD project, I believe this will go quite well."

X brought up the file, feeling a tinge of happiness at the familiar title.

L. M. D.

------

Carl Creel/Alloy

Creel unleashed another blow on the punching bag in front of him, trying to focus on technique rather than strength. He kept himself moving, shifting his feet, dodging invisible blows. For all his power, he couldn't depend on the idea of being invincible. Even in his strongest forms, he could still be picked up and thrown around after all. Better to keep polishing his style.

And if it kept him from sleeping, all the better.

He'd been at it for over half an hour, simply slamming his powerful fists into the bag over and over in a rhythmic cadence, when someone finally spoke up behind him.

"Do you just spend all your nights down here?" Isabelle Hartley, codename 'Warrior', strode around to stand in his field of view.

Creel wondered for a moment if the locks on the gym were broken, considering Mahmoud had walked into the gym nearly the way same once before. He didn't stop punching however, though he did pan a appreciative eye across Isabelle's form.

The powerful brunette was wearing a tight black sports bra and black yoga pants. She smirked at Creel, giving him the same appreciative glance. Creel smiled a bit at that before answering her question.

"It helps me sleep," he gave the bag a right cross.

"So does chamomile tea and melatonin tablets," Hartley noted.

"That's never been my thing," Creel stopped, dropping his hands with a sigh. "What's up?"

"The ceiling," she said immediately.

Creel blinked, surprised. "Really? I haven't heard that joke since grade school."

"And yet, it never goes out of style," Hartley grinned. When Creel simply eyed her, Hartley shrugged, continuing on. "I was just going to go for a run. I mean, it's nice we get those suits and all, but I still want to be strong without them, you know?"

Creel nodded, feeling more respect towards his fellow Avenger. It was why he still worked out. Even for all his power, he'd learned that the right person with the right skills could still kick his ass. He'd noticed it while fighting alongside Steve and Bucky. Even in his strongest forms, if he had to take on either of them, he had a slight suspicion they might win.

"You can train with me if you want," Creel suggested hesitantly. "Or I could with you, I guess."

As Hartley gave him a vicious smile and pulled her black hair into a ponytail, Creel suddenly felt as though he'd make a huge mistake.

------

Minutes later, he realized he was right.

"YAH!" Hartley shouted while slashing outward with a long stick. Creel blocked it with his own staff, only for her to spin the wooden shaft around to smack him about the head. Creel grunted as the sound of wood on wood filled the air. He took a moment to thank god for the fact he'd already turned himself into wood.

Hartley spun under a retaliatory blow and backed away as Creel stepped forward. He moved in with quick controlled blows, applying his training and combat experience to close the distance. Hartley, unlike how Hawkeye, Black Widow, or Melinda May moved, had a very business-like movement to her blocks and dodges. Clint depended on creating some sort of distance if possible, Natasha tended for more acrobatic movement and grappling moves, while May used more traditional martial arts.

For Creel however, Hartley moved more like... well, like he did. Like a boxer, or one of the soldiers Creel had sometimes fought during his battles. Every strike she made was with efficiency in mind, no wasted movement, all vicious. Not better than the other fighters, but different.

Their staffs clacked together, and the two fighters found themselves face to face. Isabelle smiled, her eyes sparkling, sweat dripping down her nose. "You're looking happy!"

It was with a bit of surprise that he realized his lips were raised in a grin. He ignored it to push her back and swing his staff to try and sweep her legs out from under her.

Hartley blocked the attack, parrying his staff upwards, using her own to hit him in the knee and unbalance him, then jump on top of him. With a twist, she was suddenly on top of Creel as he stared up at her with his back on the mat, shocked.

"I win," Hartley chuckled breathlessly, a bit of sweat dripping to land on his shirt.

Creel lay his head back and laughed breathlessly, feeling his body go from wooden to flesh. Hartley sank onto him, the two superheroes laughing before looking each other in the eyes.

"Want to go again?" Creel asked.

"Hell yeah," Hartley said back happily.

"Good," he grabbed her by the hips and tossed her back, and launched into an attack as soon as he rolled up, Hartley shouting in response.

------

Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch

In a different part of the tower, Wanda clutched a bag tightly to her side and kept close to Pietro's side as they were guided through the halls. Two men in the strange black armor BRIDGE's Elite seemed to wear followed the siblings through the Avengers Tower. Dozens more soldiers lined the hallways, giving the same gazes one would a knife aimed at the throat. A short overweight man with a bright smile walked ahead of them. He'd identified himself as Agent Koenig, and acted like a small child on crack.

"I gotta say, it is really cool to meet you guys," he said happily, almost bouncing as he walked through the halls. "I've always wanted to hang out with people who have superpowers!"

Pietro blinked while Wanda cocked her head in confusion.

"You are not afraid of us?" Pietro asked.

"Well, a little," Koenig admitted. "But you guys signed the agreement, right?"

Indeed, they had. Wanda winced at the thought of it. A long document about fifty pages long, as lawyers walked them through the dozens of things they needed to sign. Agreements to use their powers only when authorized by a BRIDGE senior officer or approved Avenger for example. You'd think that was it, but there was such a long and massive amount of additional sub-sections for that. They had to make sure to go over everything they signed several times to boot, and were given a couple of copies. It took days to get through the legal processing for everything, including their technical status as illegal immigrants to America.

Wanda wanted to be mad about that. But then she thought of those killed because she had helped HYDRA, the very ones responsible for everything wrong about her life, and those complaints faded away.

Koenig led them to the final room and held the door open for them. "In you go!" he said with a proud smile.

Wanda and Pietro shared a look. Her brother scowled, then strode inside. Wanda followed, the two BRIDGE officers in armor entering after and taking positions in the room.

Inside Maria Hill, Sam Wilson, and Steve Rogers were surrounded by soldiers in a tiny interrogation room. Director Hill sat at the table, flipping through the legal files Wanda had signed, Pietro's on the table in front of her. Sam Wilson, dressed in the full Falcon suit, stood next to her, leaning over to read with her. Steve Rogers looked up and gave the twins a nod. Wanda looked around at the soldiers and felt their gazes fall on her and her brother.

Falcon whispered something to Director Hill, who nodded gravely before looking up at the twins. "Pietro, Wanda," she greeted them both, slightly mispronouncing Pietro's name. "Please, sit."

"I'd rather stand," Pietro said immediately.

Wanda winced at the brazen tone of her brother. Always the hothead.

Director Hill, to her credit, didn't seem to care, only shrugging. She smiled at Wanda when she sat, then began to speak. "I'm sorry it took us so long to have this meeting, but you must understand that your situation is more complicated than the others. Three of the Grapplers only joined HYDRA to aid us as spies. Deathlok was blackmailed under threat of the death of his son. But you two? You choose to join."

"We didn't know they wou-" Pietro spat, stepping forward.

Guns cocked around them. The tension rose.

Director Hill simply raised her right eyebrow. "You didn't know that they would kill people? Pietro, you are an intelligent young man. Please, don't pretend otherwise. You joined HYDRA because you believed your goals were in line with theirs. And when they finally showed their true colors at the base in Alaska, you decided to stay with them, to aid them. All to kill Tony Stark and others you found responsible. That, no matter how you put it, is collusion. You both are accessories to dozens of crimes, from terrorism, to human experimentation, to kidnapping and torture."

"I-!" Pietro looked at Wanda. She looked at Maria, feeling her spine straighten.

"We turned on them," Wanda said, refusing to beg or show weakness. "We want to make amends. We will do anything to make up for what we did."

"I know," Maria smiled kindly. "And the fact that you not only turned on HYDRA but are also willing to work with us is one of two reasons why I think I can do something for you both."

"...What is the other reason?" Pietro asked.

Maria's smile faded into a scowl. Captain America stepped forward.

Wanda looked up at him, and was struck by his smile.

She suddenly realized, that despite everything around her, she wasn't scared of him. He just... smiled at her. It was so honest and kind. Not romantic, rather it... for just one moment, she felt the warmth of a home forgotten.

Steve spoke then, drawing her from her thoughts. "You're both far too powerful to be left alone," Pietro suddenly grew a massive smile. "Alone, you both have incredible abilities. Pietro's super speed has incredible versatility in many fields, from search and rescue to the battlefield."

"And then there is you," Falcon pointed at Wanda. "Now, your powers are crazy. Telekinesis, illusion creation, mind manipulation, energy blasts? Any one of those powers are useful on their own, but we still haven't found out what your limits might be."

"Exactly," Director Hill said, taking over. "I can use that strength. One day, maybe even on the Avengers... But your crimes can't be ignored. Instead, we have opened a new team," Maria took out a folder and passed it over to them. Wanda picked it up, looking it over it. "It's being made for those superhumans or especially skilled individuals who really do deserve a second chance. Natasha Romanov is among those who volunteered to help with the project."

Wanda opened the folder, "Who is joining?" she asked, reading. Pietro moved to read as well.

"The Grapplers," Maria said. "Deathlok refused to join at first, but he changed his mind recently."

Wanda closed the folder and looked up at her brother. He nodded instantly. Always reckless... but then, she felt the same sometimes.

The Scarlet Witch tossed the folder onto the table. "If we say we accept... what will we have to do?"

On the folder, a pair of words seemed to shine in the light. The Initiative.

"How do you feel about fighting HYDRA?" Sam asked. When the pair gave him a look, he smiled. "This just might work."

------

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

In an alleyway in Hell's Kitchen, I felt my armor fade away, leaving me in civvie clothes once again. Once done, I looked over at Matt. He put his armor in a sports bag, lifting it onto his shoulder and joining me.

"...That was-" I began to say.

"Horrible, I know," Matt sighed. "You get used to it."

"You shouldn't," I blurted before wincing. "I mean, that sort of thing shouldn't happen. Not that you should stop-"

"I," Matt held up a hand to cut me off. "I get what you mean."

"Right," I scratched my neck. God, those people. The smells of the place, the sight of-

Bile threatened to leave my mouth. I forced the acidic taste back down. "We need to stop them. You want to do this again soon?"

"Yes," Matt said simply. "If we keep this up, we should be able to help a lot more people, take out more of those places."

"Good," I smiled viciously before sobering. "We should wait for X to get back to us. Plus, if I can talk to Director Hill, we might be able to get some help... In fact," I had a sudden thought. "Might know a couple of people I could ask..."

"That would be good," Matt said awkwardly. "So, um, I guess we can meet after that?"

"Yeah, for sure," I held out a hand, which the superhuman took in his strong grip. "See you soon, Mr. Murdock."

"Same to you, Mr. Schahed."

With that simple goodbye, we went our separate ways. I'd expected more... fanfare maybe, but our ending to the night had ended up being very somber. And why not? We were done, after all.

I walked through New York City aimlessly, just taking in the sights. As I moved through the city, in the shadows of Hell's Kitchen, I thought of what I had seen, walking faster.

Step by step, simply moving along.

I ended up walking through a park. I strode through it, then deeper into the city. Past red brick, gray cement, car lights brushing across me, a chill in the air.

After about thirty minutes of walking, I found I could see the Avengers Tower from where I'd ended up. For just a moment, I took it in, the beautiful building popping up over the skyline. From the small neighborhood I stood in, it was quite a sight.

As I stood there on the sidewalk, an older man came down the towards me, and older woman standing behind him. He chuckled. "Taking her in, huh?"

He sounded sort of familiar. I turned. "Yeah, I was just... holy..."

The man smiled. He had pale white hair, a slightly stooped posture, as though from hours of working over a desk, and round glasses. He wore a warm looking brown jacket, and a blue shirt He gave me a wide grin, an oddly youthful smile, his mustache curling as he spoke. "Well? Cat got your tongue?"

I stared at him, trying to understand what was happening. "I-I don't, what is-"

He smiled, eyes twinkling mischievously. At his side, an older woman with short, pale white hair walked up, taking his arm in hers and smiling at me as well. I turned to face them, unable to understand. "How… is this real?"

"As real as you, kid," Stan Lee chuckled looking somehow young and aged all at once, full of energy, looking down at the older woman next to him. "Come on, Joan. Let's go see the world. Leave the young bucks to their business."

She chuckled. "Of course! I've been waiting for you to say that," I stepped forward, trying to say something. She gave me a smile that stopped me in my tracks as effectively as an invisible wall. "Stay safe."

Stan Lee gave me another smile. Then they turned around the corner. I ran after them, trying to speak, to understand.

But they were gone.

------

Stan Lee/The Man

Stepping around the corner, arm in arm with the girl he had drawn since childhood, Stan Lee disappeared into the world he had created. He drifted through the streets of New York, smiling at Joan.

"What do you say? I know you never really read my stories, but I can show you around? Maybe stop by Jack's to say hi?" he suggested, his wrinkled hand wrapped around hers.

Her smile, the smile of the woman he had drawn years before she ever met him, made him want to sing. "Well, Jack has said he's missed you. Okay, Stan. Show me your stories."

With a cheery chuckle and a single step, Stan pulled Joan close to begin a new great adventure.

------
Author's Note: So there we are. I'll go over everything one by one.

First, Matt and Dial will be meeting again, with the possibility of others joining in. And I think that's important. It's fine when the battles on the street are small scale, but when a villain is blowing up city blocks, having other heroes to back them up is just important. I don't know if I'll call the street heroes Secret Warriors or Marvel Knights, but either way, I like the idea of Matt knowing that a small army of ninjas kidnapping people in massive groups is not something he'd have to deal with alone.

Second, Creed and Hartley are friends.

Third, Wanda and Pietro have not gotten away scott-free. They'll be punished. But they also have a second chance. They can be Avengers one day. Not yet though. Not yet. For now, they're Initiative (Dial isn't going to like that name though to be honest).

Fourth, and most important. Stan and Joan Lee... Okay, I'm not going to mince words. I'm torn up. I'm not sure I can ever get completely over it. Like Terry Pratchett and other great artists, I will never forget how strongly he changed my life. Stan, I will miss you.

It's why I gave him the appearance in the story I did. Stan and Joan, visiting Jack Kirby, stopping by the beautiful locations of the Marvel Multiverse, Stan with that great smile when he sees his characters for another cameo... I can't think of a better afterlife for such a legend.

Thank you, Stan Lee. I can't ever say it enough.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[RighelloDi'Tutti]

Excelsior Stan

 

[RichardWhereat]

Yeah. Stan, Jack, Lee, and Terry were outstanding people.

 

[Tobi]

I had fun reading the chapter Dial, but man Desert I'm crying like crazy with He part of Stan Lee.

I'm still not over his passing, it still feels unreal. Thank you for you homage.

 

[JanCactus]

I'm not crying, it's raining. Indoors. From my face.

 

[RaptorusMaximus]

...you almost made me start crying in the break room during lunch you bastard.

...well done. Excelent chapter.

 

[karmafalcon]

Loved the chapter. Excelsior my good man.

 

[DesertChocolate]

January 25th, 2014

Later that night, I had X hack into any cameras or satellites nearby, only to find out that there had been a convenient section on the street that not only had no cameras pointed at it, but was also a blind spot to satellites for just exactly the amount of time needed for them to disappear. I stayed in my apartment all night, wondering if meeting them had been just a dream. When I fell asleep, I'd convinced myself of that. But the next morning, in my jeans from that night, I found something.

A drawing in gray charcoal, stretched in the style of old-school comics, of Stan and Joan dressed in casual clothing, pointing outward together with a happy smile on their faces.

"Jarvis," I asked, looking at the picture as a strange feeling filled me. Bittersweet, maybe? "Did anyone enter my room while I slept?"

"No sir," Jarvis replied over the speakers in my room. I could almost feel his cameras focusing on me. After a bit of silence, he spoke once more. "There is no record of unauthorized entry into your room or the tower."

I held up the picture, reading the word bubble between Stan and Joan. "Excelsior..."

"A word that could be said to mean 'ever upward'?" Jarvis asked. "Is there some significance to that, sir?"

"It means everything," I placed the picture gently on my desk. "Please, order a picture frame for this, Jarvis."

"Already done, sir."

"Thank you," I looked at the drawing. I didn't know what it meant entirely. If Stan giving me this picture was a sign of his approval of me or some sort of reminder of just what I was involved in. But I'd take it as a reminder. Excelsior. Ever upward, always improving, always getting better.

"...Jarvis. Please let me know if you ever see someone like this on your radar."

"It isn't exactly, radar, per se," Jarvis said as I walked towards my room door. "May I ask who it is?"

"Someone very important to me, and arguably everyone else... if he ever ends up in danger, for any reason, no matter what I'm doing, let me know, as a top priority."

Excelsior. A reminder to always improve, maybe, to be better every day? ...I'd take that to heart.

I squared my shoulders and entered into a new day.

...Before running back into my apartment because I'd forgotten to brush my teeth.

------

A couple of hours later, after food and a shower, I was standing inside of Jennifer's room in the Tower with Bruce, both of us waiting outside of a closed door as she changed in her bedroom. I was wearing a gray shirt with Hawkeye's symbol, a purple arrowhead, emblazoned across it, while Bruce had on a button shirt with its sleeves rolled up.

"You know women taking a long time to get changed is a giant stereotype, right!?" I yelled through the door jokingly.

"Hey, don't blame me!" Jen called back, chuckling as the sound of rummaging came from inside.
"I still need to go shopping, I can't just keep asking Stark's people to tailor me new stuff all the time or give me the extra large shirts from the Avengers merchandise."

"You know, we could just bring them to us," Bruce offered hesitantly. "You don't have to walk over there."

"I want to make an impression, Bruce!"

I blinked. "You're seven feet tall, green, built as hell, and one of the most beautiful women in the world. You'd make an impression in a paper bag."

Bruce gave me an odd look. Jen laughed, a simple and very smoky laugh. "Only one of the most beautiful?"

I gulped. "Uh, in my defense, you'd be in most people's top five?"

"Including yours?" she teased.

"Uhhhhhh," Shit. I looked at Bruce and whispered. "I'm in too deep. Help!"

"You're on your own," he hissed back.

The door opened then. Bruce and I stepped back to take a look at Jennifer Walters as she smiled brightly at us, emerald lips quirking.

"So, what do you think?" She twirled on a single heel, a pair of black high heels that further elevated her height. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and she wore a black business skirt, a white shirt, and a black jacket on top. A pair of glasses rested on her face as she came to a stop.

"Looking good," I gave her a thumbs up and a smile.

"You look amazing," Bruce said, sounding as proud as could be. Then he frowned. "I thought you had perfect vision."

"Oh, I do," Jen pulled the glasses down slightly to look at us with a smirk. "But I look good in these."

With that, she took me by the arm and pulled me along as I yelped in surprise. "Later Bruce! See you tonight!"

"Let me go!" I shouted, my feet dangling off the ground as the superhuman dragged me along.
"Jen, wait!"

"No time," she ran out the door, pretty much carrying me. "Come on!"

"Bruce, help me damn you!" I panicked, trying to shake my way out of her grip. "Jen, let me down!"

"Come home safe!" Bruce shouted after us clearly fighting off laughter.

"Woman, I will go Four Arms and beat you silly!" I shouted, trying to understand when the hell Jen had decided to start a comedic routine staring me as the beleaguered idiot.

"Go ahead, it's been a while," she said offhandedly. As she pulled me into the elevator and turned to give Bruce a smile and a wave. "See ya, cuz!"

He gave us a wave in return as the doors closed.

------

Matt Murdock/Daredevil

"Will you look at this place!?" Foggy called happily as he walked around the space of his new office. "Man, I told you this was a good idea! Matt, I have an oak desk! Smell my desk! Smell it's money!"

Matt laughed, pretending to hesitantly stride in through Foggy's office door. "I'll, uh, I'll pass Foggy. How's it look?"

In truth, Matt already had some idea. With Mahmoud's first check and the aid of Stark Industries, they'd not only been able to find an excellent office in Hell's Kitchen but even have it completely renovated. While the smell of new paint and electronic equipment was annoying, the scent of the new wooden shelves and tables, as well as the fully stocked mini fridges full of snacks, made Matt want to take a good deep breath of air. The blind warrior had managed to get a sense for the size of the rooms of well. Three offices, a waiting room/lobby, and a small reception area. Amazing.

"Matt," Foggy said seriously. Of course, his heartbeat told Matt he was still happy. "We have an office. A real one. With desks, and fancy placards."

"One for you and I?" Matt asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, three of them," Foggy admitted. "I think it's for that extra person he asked us to work with. Actually, they should be here in an hour."

Matt blinked as the sounds of footsteps coming towards their door came from the hallway. He didn't show it on his face, but he listened closely. One was Mahmoud, his footsteps loud as always. A single sniff brought that odd scent that always hung around the young man, as though he was constantly covered in the scents of odd animals. Which made sense, Matt supposed.
The other person was a woman. A very heavy, very tall woman. And there was something… strange around her, something that buzzed at the edges of his senses.
Mahmoud opened the door.

"Foggy, Matt!?" he called immediately. "Sorry, we're early!"

"No problem," Foggy said, smiling, heading out of his office to enter the lobby. "I was just-ghuk."

Matt smirked at the sound of Foggy's heart skipping a beat.

------

Foggy Nelson/Currently In Love

God existed. That was the only answer. Foggy just stopped thinking for about eight seconds. He just stared at her. No. HER.

Tall, like seven feet. Long legs, long greenish black hair, and so, just, seriously, her curves were... Wait, what the hell? Green skin?

Foggy's thoughts regenerated. "Green."

Yeah, he needed some more time.

"That I am," the woman before him smiled beautifully. "Hi! I'm Jennifer Walters."

Foggy blushed, smiling good-naturedly. "Hi, Jennifer. I'm currently embarrassed as hell."

Jen laughed. "It's okay, I've been getting that reaction!"

'I'll bet,' Foggy thought to himself. He held out a hand. "I'm Foggy Nelson."

"Foggy?" Jennifer asked, confused. She still took his hand.

"It's what I go by," he said easily.

"Foggy... alright," Jen looked at Matt. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm uh, I'm Matt Murdock," Matt said, clutching to his cane.

Jen held out her hand to him. Foggy winced when Matt simply stood there, not seeing the hand.
Then Mahmoud stepped forward and pushed down Jen's hand. "So, as I said before. This is Jen Walters. A Gamma-enhanced individual, with superhuman strength and durability, and a very awesome track record as a practicing lawyer in LA."
"You certainly are impressive," Foggy said with a grin. Then he realized something. "Wait, 'gamma'? Like, uh, like the Hulk?"

"Yeah," Jen said. "He's my cousin."

"...Oh," Foggy blinked. For just a moment, an image in his head of a giant green muscle man about to turn him into Foggy Jelly for hitting on his cousin filled Foggy's mind.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to talk," Mahmoud said, giving Matt a nod. Foggy managed some amusement at that. Mahmoud, despite knowing Matt was blind, still couldn't help the little motions that sighted people did without realizing. "See ya," with that, Mahmoud turned and left out the way they came in.

"So, let's talk," Jen said, pulling out some files from a case on her shoulder. "I believe the idea was that I could work with you guys on cases, correct?"

"Well, yes. But uh," Foggy frowned. "I've looked up your record, and honestly. You're good. Seriously, you were on track to partner at your law firm one day! We haven't even gotten a case yet."

"Fine by me," Jen said, looking around. "My priorities have shifted a bit. I'm probably going to spend more time as an Avenger than a lawyer. But I still want to help people the way I used to."

"Huh. Yeah, I can respect that," Foggy looked around as well. "So uh, we do have that office for you over there. Mini fridges if you want food, and such. I can show you around if you want?"

"Nah, I got it," Jen looked over at Matt, then at Foggy. "Well. Here's to working together."

"Hell yeah! Can't wait to work with you!" Foggy said with a silly grin as Jen walked into her new office. He ignored Matt's chuckle.

"Foggy, you're coming off pretty strong," Matt said with a shake of his head.

"Well, I think I'm a little massively out of my league," Foggy admitted. Then he thought for a moment. "I mean, I'm out of her league. Seriously, be glad you're blind, she looks like a horror show, basically just her cousin in female form, kinda gross to be hones-."

"You know, I can hear you!" Jen called cheerily from her new office.

Matt laughed as Foggy gaped.

Well, what did Matt know about women anyway? Except for that Greek chick. And the redhead. And the blonde. And Amy. And Carol. And that paralegal. And...

------

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

Once I left Matt, Foggy, and Jen's new office, I went Astrodactyl and flew back to the Avengers Tower. I had a full itinerary for today. For one, Tony was bringing together some of us to work on a new project, so that was first. After that, Creel and I were going to hang out for a bit, then a long workout to end the day. Three hours of Steve and Natasha kicking my ass. At least I had abs now.

I entered Tony's lab and realized I was a bit early. So I did what I always did when I was in Tony's lab on my own.

I stared at the Iron Man suits.

They were lined up at the back of his lab. It reminded me less of the giant rooms full of suits I'd seen in the comics and more of the Batcave, or how some of the Power Rangers series displayed their suits, standing in full view and encased in glass tubes. I looked over one of them, his first suit. It looked like the classic one from the comics, to be honest. I could see the marking where it had been welded together in rough ways. From there, the suits got more and more advanced, until I was on his last model before he began wearing his current one. Red and gold, blue light in the center.

Weird. The Omnitrix on my wrist was leagues beyond the suit before me. With access to Jury Rigg and Upgrade, I could make it much more powerful, if a bit quirky. But even a layman like me could see the genius in the man who had made it. For just a moment, I wondered what Azmuth would think of Tony. Probably see him as a potential, if slightly stunted, student. Which, considering Azmuth, was next level praise.

"She's a bit outdated," Tony said behind me, surprising me. I turned as he walked up to look at the suit with me. He crossed his arms. "But she's still solid."

"...You really are a genius, man," I said softly, looking around. "I mean, I cheat, but when I look at these-"

"Yeah, Pepper says my ego is big enough," despite his comment, Tony sounded very thoughtful. "To be honest though, it surprises me too sometimes. I mean, these suits have gotten to a level I wouldn't have imagined from the first one... What's the most advanced my suits got in other universes?"

I hesitated. "...One shattered a planet once. Another broke a galaxy destroying force into five pieces."

"Huh. Lot to live up to then," Tony said.

"Probably shouldn't have mentioned it," I said, cursing my lack of foresight.

"Nah, I'm not feeling super inadequate at all," Tony shook his head. "That is kind of what I wanted to talk to you about," when I turned, Tony scratched his neck. "I have an idea for something. Something that can help a lot of people. And I think Upgrade is what I need for it."

"...You might be right," I turned to him, crossing my arms. "Tony, what exactly are you trying to say? I know we aren't best friends or anything, but-"

Tony scoffed. "Well yeah, but you aren't exactly best friends with anyone. Seriously kid, you need to hang out with people in your off time. Take a damn break every now and then."

I opened my mouth, feeling hurt. Before I could speak, Fitz and Bruce entered the room, interrupting me.

"Tony, Mahmoud," Fitz said, smiling at us.

"Hey, Ross," Tony said to Fitz, using the 'Ross and Rachel' nickname he'd been using for Fitz-Simmons, turning around to face the pair of geniuses. "Bruce, you all right?"

"I'm all right," Bruce walked around to me. "How'd she do?"

"Jen? She was good when I left her. Foggy and Matt are good guys, and she's a smart lawyer. She'll probably end up sending a lot of bad guys to jail even without her powers," I said.

Bruce seemed to relax just a bit. He was a good brother. Well, cousin.

"All right, eyes up," Tony waved a hand. Two holographic images appeared, one an orange flowing group of lights in the shape of an Iron Man suit, the other a blue hologram that looked like an older version of me. "Jarvis, X. And one more."

"Hey!" Skye came in, carelessly tossing aside her backpack on the floor and gently resting her laptop on a table. "Am I late?"

"Nah, right on time," Tony looked around. "All right. I have a plan for something. Something big."
A schematic appeared in front of us. It spun into place, solidifying as we watched. "Bruce knows about it. With this, if I can do it right? We won't need Avengers anymore. Just one program, keeping the world safe. Hundreds of drones working across the Earth, aiding in search in rescue, combat missions, anything we need."
He looked around. "This is possible. More than ever. Two AI, two engineers, an Omnitrix, a badass hacker, and one of the top scientists on Earth. We do this right, and this will make the world safe."

Tony had a talent for words. Skye was listening closely, while Fitz seemed taken with the idea. I was trying to think of why I had a bad feeling.

The Iron Man looked around. "We have time now. Time to make something great. And I want you guys in on the project with me. I call it... ULTRON."

"...I have thoughts on the name," I said at last, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

Goddamnit Marvel.

------

*(^!#@$*@&α ^#...!(*#&@*ω &!a

In a locker, deep within the tower, a suit of black catom armor rested peacefully. A BRIDGE Elite soldier had worn and taken it off dozens of times with no issues. It was, like others of it's kind, some of the most advanced armor in the world.

The locker room was empty when that set of armor began to shake. A red mist began to pulse around it. Catoms fell off into chunks, then flowed back into the armor. Over and over, until it looked less like armor, and more like some alien creature.

Then it pressed up against the door of the locker it was within. It smashed the metal apart, sending it flying.

As the loud sound echoed in the empty room, the catom armor hesitantly began to 'walk' forward, dragging its mass across the concrete. It 'dripped' and pooled across the ground. Red mist flowed out of it, then melded back into the mass. The black and red object finally reached a door. It moved under it, slipped into an office, and went to a computer under the desk inside.

Black steel and red clouds flowed up to the PC, then entered inside, running along the circuits As it melded with the device, the red mist pulsed faster and faster.

The PC was suddenly 'devoured' by the catom armor, leaving a slightly larger mass of metal. As it pulsed, a device like a small speaker flowed outward. An inhuman voice, like a man's but soaked in blood, came from the speaker.

"IIIIIII...R...Ron..." The speaker fell apart. After a long moment, the catom armor began to flow again.

Slowly, bit by bit, it rose. It came together, solidified. The red mist seemed to glow with power. When it finished, it took the shape of a man. It was black at the core, but the red mist surrounded it like fire. When it's 'mouth' opened, a small glowing speaker could be seen. Within the being, it pulled at the memory files within itself, stolen from the computer it had just eaten, stolen from the network. Soon, camera files flowed to its mind. Recent files. A portion of itself dug into the computer, slipping into the system, past defenses with ease, slipping beneath the notice of everyone.

It reached the most defended networks. And simply entered them, with the sort of horrific ease that spoke of either long practice or extreme genius.

"U-uuuuulllllllll," it 'hissed, the part of it's speech fading into an electrical screech. The catoms of the being 'flickered'. It didn't move otherwise, only staring aimlessly.

Then the catoms fell apart, and the red mist stayed. With a slight twist, it flowed into the network, disappearing into the internet and leaving a mass of useless catoms.

------

Lyle Getz of AIM

In a room across the country, a man sat at a desk and desperately worked at his computer. He was an older man, with thinning black hair, round glasses, and a thin build. He wore a bright yellow lab coat over a yellow jumpsuit. The man looked weary, with dark shadows under his eyes, hair unkempt, his typing slow and unsteady.

Lyle Getz was the current leader of the thinktank known as AIM, an acronym for Advanced Idea Mechanics. Once, they had been on top of the world. With the leadership of Aldrich Killian, they had become one of the US government's top-funded research think tanks, developing a form of gene therapy that would change the world.

Up until Killian decided to go nuts and start killing people.

Lyle didn't really care about that, emotionally. The older scientist was more upset about the sheer stupidity of Killian's decision. Extremis soldiers used as bombs, as suicide strikers? Ridiculous. Bombs had their place of course, but in a world of superhumans, far too many could survive a bomb easily. No, the real gift of Extremis was in the other abilities, the regeneration and pyrokinetic abilities. But worse then that, even when Killian had his soldiers use Extremis correctly, it was all to attack one man. Tony Stark.

Stupid. AIM could have been so much more. So many projects now gone, because Killian was mad that his idol had ignored him.

Truthfully, Lyle may not have known entirely everything about Killian and his motivations. A lot of mysteries had been left in the aftermath of his rampage, and with the man killed by Tony Stark, even more was left unknown.

In the end, whatever Killian had done, Lyle was picking up the pieces. Just a normal scientist trying to make sure the failing thinktank could somehow survive.

And Lyle was failing in that endeavor. Extremis was now illegal. All of their other projects were defunded, leaving them dead in the water. AIM's best scientists were getting picked up by other groups. They were a joke now. All he was doing was slowly getting buried.

Lyle rubbed his eyes slowly. As he did, someone opened the door to his office. "Lyle?"

He turned and smiled sadly. "Hello, Monica."

Monica Rappaccini was a gorgeous Italian woman, dressed in a tight green swimsuit-like uniform with some yellow sections. She had black hair and green eyes. She always had a scowl on her face, as though she was constantly moments from punching someone for some perceived slight.

"How're those octopi?" Lyle asked, trying not to show how relieved he was to have a break.

Her scowl became a bit meaner. "I want to kill them. Those damned things vex me at every turn. If the military really wants me to develop something from the Blue-ringed octopus, they need to fund me."

Lyle's temporary good mood vanished. "Monica-"

"We need money, Lyle!" she glared at him. "You need to talk to-"

"To who?" Lyle's eyes narrowed. "To the government? Killian turned their former soldiers into suicide bombers. Or go higher up? Oh wait, the damned President was kidnapped by our own men!"

Monica crossed her arms. "Well, you need to find something. Or I'm out. I got an offer from Cross Technologies."

Lyle shook his head. "Then take it, Monica. I like you. But do what you have to. Until that time, get the fuck out of my office and let me figure out how to fix this."

His fellow scientist gaped at him for just one moment. Then she spun on her bare heel and left in a huff. "Go screw yourself, Lyle!"

"Can't," Lyle said softly, eyes hardening as he turned to his computer. "Killian did it first."

Lyle typed for a bit, completing a response to a letter selling one more facility off to an interested party. It felt like that was all he did now. Sell off bits and pieces of AIM, slowly killing off his life's work.

It was when he finished and checked his files when, for just a moment, his monitor took on a red hue. Lyle blinked at the strangely swirling red lights before slapping his monitor. The red lights disappeared, then came back. Another slap, and they faded. Lyle stared oddly at the PC under his desk, then shrugged and looked at his folders. Then he stared at something... new. It was titled *(α^!#@$*@&α ^#...!(*#&@*ω &!α a.

With a pair of clicks, he opened it. Possibly a mistake, but when he opened it, he found something... unprecedented. A series of documents suggesting the possibility of...

"That can't be possible," gaping, Lyle opened one folder. Equations and specs on catoms? Like the kind SHIELD was using now? And was that specs for some sort of… nanomachines? But, how did it get on his computer?

With some deeper reading, Lyle found himself in awe. Some pieces were missing, sure, some imagery corrupted or missing, but it was a lot. And more. So much more. Files on the time and space continuum, on how to...

"Holy shit... Holy shit!" Lyle pressed on the print button with desperate energy, as though everything on his screen would disappear otherwise. He grabbed his smartphone and rushed out the door as the printer warmed up. "Get me robotics, now! And the physics guys! We might have something!"

It might be nothing. It might be some hacker, messing with him. But Lyle was desperate and it did look legitimate. Later, he might regret this. But he had a chance now, and if he didn't take it he might end up regretting it even more. Any boat in a storm and Lyle was just the man to swim toward that boat at full speed. He would handle whatever came after he climbed aboard.

As he ran out of the door, Lyle didn't notice that the screen once again flash red.

------

Weeks later, March 15th, 2014

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

In the middle of the night, a loud beeping noise brought me out of sleep. I tried to ignore it and managed to sleep through it for a bit.

Right up until I realized what was making the noise.

My eyes snapped open, and I reached outward.

I fell out of my bed trying to reach the beeping noise. Slamming into the ground wrapped by blankets, I shouted in pain, then scrambled to get the blankets off.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I tried to rip a thick blanket off my leg. "X!"

"Earthquake in Rio, sir!" X's voice, now crystal clear after all the improvements we'd made, said over my speakers. "Your ID card is on the dresser."

"Tell Sam I'll be up soon!" I ripped off the blankets at last and grabbed my still beeping ID card. It was a thick metal card a bit larger than a trading card, painted black and green, with a green Omnitrix symbol on the surface. When I tapped the Omnitrix symbol, it morphed colors and shapes to make the card white and red, the Omnitrix symbol replaced with an Avengers 'A'. It spun before projecting a holographic image of Director Maria Hill's face. "Where's the meet?"

"Enterprise," Maria said immediately. "We'll debrief on the way. Be advised, this earthquake isn't normal. Emergency response has given us some odd reports. We'll inform everyone when we're gathered, but bring the artillery."

Nodding, I quickly grabbed a shirt and jeans out of my closet along with my catom armor pack, snatched a protein bar and drink out of my kitchen, and headed out of door.

Duty called.
------
Author's Note: Yeah, time skip. I'll go over some of what happened in the days between January 25th to March 15th, but it's nothing insane. Just some research and such being done, as well as some things being done with tech.

As for the earthquake, it's not something that happened in the MCU.

 

[Krazyfan1]

DANG IT TONY!

 

[Pinklestia]

She is lucky to have regeneration, high heels can literally destroy your feet, just ask my aunt.

And instead of Ultron call it Malware.

Actually it kind of fits being red and that...

 

[White Lantern]

January 25th, 2014

Later that night, I had X hack into any cameras or satellites nearby, only to find out that there had been a convenient section on the street that not only had no cameras pointed at it, but was also a blind spot to satellites for just exactly the amount of time needed for them to disappear. I stayed in my apartment all night, wondering if meeting them had been just a dream. When I fell asleep, I'd convinced myself of that. But the next morning, in my jeans from that night, I found something.

A drawing in gray charcoal, stretched in the style of old-school comics, of Stan and Joan dressed in casual clothing, pointing outward together with a happy smile on their faces.

"Jarvis," I asked, looking at the picture as a strange feeling filled me. Bittersweet, maybe? "Did anyone enter my room while I slept?"

"No sir," Jarvis replied over the speakers in my room. I could almost feel his cameras focusing on me. After a bit of silence, he spoke once more. "There is no record of unauthorized entry into your room or the tower."

I held up the picture, reading the word bubble between Stan and Joan. "Excelsior..."

"A word that could be said to mean 'ever upward'?" Jarvis asked. "Is there some significance to that, sir?"

"It means everything," I placed the picture gently on my desk. "Please, order a picture frame for this, Jarvis."

"Already done, sir."

"Thank you," I looked at the drawing. I didn't know what it meant entirely. If Stan giving me this picture was a sign of his approval of me or some sort of reminder of just what I was involved in. But I'd take it as a reminder. Excelsior. Ever upward, always improving, always getting better.

"...Jarvis. Please let me know if you ever see someone like this on your radar."

"It isn't exactly, radar, per se," Jarvis said as I walked towards my room door. "May I ask who it is?"

"Someone very important to me, and arguably everyone else... if he ever ends up in danger, for any reason, no matter what I'm doing, let me know, as a top priority."

Excelsior. A reminder to always improve, maybe, to be better every day? ...I'd take that to heart.

I squared my shoulders and entered into a new day.

...Before running back into my apartment because I'd forgotten to brush my teeth.

------

A couple of hours later, after food and a shower, I was standing inside of Jennifer's room in the Tower with Bruce, both of us waiting outside of a closed door as she changed in her bedroom. I was wearing a gray shirt with Hawkeye's symbol, a purple arrowhead, emblazoned across it, while Bruce had on a button shirt with its sleeves rolled up.

"You know women taking a long time to get changed is a giant stereotype, right!?" I yelled through the door jokingly.

"Hey, don't blame me!" Jen called back, chuckling as the sound of rummaging came from inside.
"I still need to go shopping, I can't just keep asking Stark's people to tailor me new stuff all the time or give me the extra large shirts from the Avengers merchandise."

"You know, we could just bring them to us," Bruce offered hesitantly. "You don't have to walk over there."

"I want to make an impression, Bruce!"

I blinked. "You're seven feet tall, green, built as hell, and one of the most beautiful women in the world. You'd make an impression in a paper bag."

Bruce gave me an odd look. Jen laughed, a simple and very smoky laugh. "Only one of the most beautiful?"

I gulped. "Uh, in my defense, you'd be in most people's top five?"

"Including yours?" she teased.

"Uhhhhhh," Shit. I looked at Bruce and whispered. "I'm in too deep. Help!"

"You're on your own," he hissed back.

The door opened then. Bruce and I stepped back to take a look at Jennifer Walters as she smiled brightly at us, emerald lips quirking.

"So, what do you think?" She twirled on a single heel, a pair of black high heels that further elevated her height. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and she wore a black business skirt, a white shirt, and a black jacket on top. A pair of glasses rested on her face as she came to a stop.

"Looking good," I gave her a thumbs up and a smile.

"You look amazing," Bruce said, sounding as proud as could be. Then he frowned. "I thought you had perfect vision."

"Oh, I do," Jen pulled the glasses down slightly to look at us with a smirk. "But I look good in these."

With that, she took me by the arm and pulled me along as I yelped in surprise. "Later Bruce! See you tonight!"

"Let me go!" I shouted, my feet dangling off the ground as the superhuman dragged me along.
"Jen, wait!"

"No time," she ran out the door, pretty much carrying me. "Come on!"

"Bruce, help me damn you!" I panicked, trying to shake my way out of her grip. "Jen, let me down!"

"Come home safe!" Bruce shouted after us clearly fighting off laughter.

"Woman, I will go Four Arms and beat you silly!" I shouted, trying to understand when the hell Jen had decided to start a comedic routine staring me as the beleaguered idiot.

"Go ahead, it's been a while," she said offhandedly. As she pulled me into the elevator and turned to give Bruce a smile and a wave. "See ya, cuz!"

He gave us a wave in return as the doors closed.

------

Matt Murdock/Daredevil

"Will you look at this place!?" Foggy called happily as he walked around the space of his new office. "Man, I told you this was a good idea! Matt, I have an oak desk! Smell my desk! Smell it's money!"

Matt laughed, pretending to hesitantly stride in through Foggy's office door. "I'll, uh, I'll pass Foggy. How's it look?"

In truth, Matt already had some idea. With Mahmoud's first check and the aid of Stark Industries, they'd not only been able to find an excellent office in Hell's Kitchen but even have it completely renovated. While the smell of new paint and electronic equipment was annoying, the scent of the new wooden shelves and tables, as well as the fully stocked mini fridges full of snacks, made Matt want to take a good deep breath of air. The blind warrior had managed to get a sense for the size of the rooms of well. Three offices, a waiting room/lobby, and a small reception area. Amazing.

"Matt," Foggy said seriously. Of course, his heartbeat told Matt he was still happy. "We have an office. A real one. With desks, and fancy placards."

"One for you and I?" Matt asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, three of them," Foggy admitted. "I think it's for that extra person he asked us to work with. Actually, they should be here in an hour."

Matt blinked as the sounds of footsteps coming towards their door came from the hallway. He didn't show it on his face, but he listened closely. One was Mahmoud, his footsteps loud as always. A single sniff brought that odd scent that always hung around the young man, as though he was constantly covered in the scents of odd animals. Which made sense, Matt supposed.
The other person was a woman. A very heavy, very tall woman. And there was something… strange around her, something that buzzed at the edges of his senses.
Mahmoud opened the door.

"Foggy, Matt!?" he called immediately. "Sorry, we're early!"

"No problem," Foggy said, smiling, heading out of his office to enter the lobby. "I was just-ghuk."

Matt smirked at the sound of Foggy's heart skipping a beat.

------

Foggy Nelson/Currently In Love

God existed. That was the only answer. Foggy just stopped thinking for about eight seconds. He just stared at her. No. HER.

Tall, like seven feet. Long legs, long greenish black hair, and so, just, seriously, her curves were... Wait, what the hell? Green skin?

Foggy's thoughts regenerated. "Green."

Yeah, he needed some more time.

"That I am," the woman before him smiled beautifully. "Hi! I'm Jennifer Walters."

Foggy blushed, smiling good-naturedly. "Hi, Jennifer. I'm currently embarrassed as hell."

Jen laughed. "It's okay, I've been getting that reaction!"

'I'll bet,' Foggy thought to himself. He held out a hand. "I'm Foggy Nelson."

"Foggy?" Jennifer asked, confused. She still took his hand.

"It's what I go by," he said easily.

"Foggy... alright," Jen looked at Matt. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm uh, I'm Matt Murdock," Matt said, clutching to his cane.

Jen held out her hand to him. Foggy winced when Matt simply stood there, not seeing the hand.
Then Mahmoud stepped forward and pushed down Jen's hand. "So, as I said before. This is Jen Walters. A Gamma-enhanced individual, with superhuman strength and durability, and a very awesome track record as a practicing lawyer in LA."
"You certainly are impressive," Foggy said with a grin. Then he realized something. "Wait, 'gamma'? Like, uh, like the Hulk?"

"Yeah," Jen said. "He's my cousin."

"...Oh," Foggy blinked. For just a moment, an image in his head of a giant green muscle man about to turn him into Foggy Jelly for hitting on his cousin filled Foggy's mind.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to talk," Mahmoud said, giving Matt a nod. Foggy managed some amusement at that. Mahmoud, despite knowing Matt was blind, still couldn't help the little motions that sighted people did without realizing. "See ya," with that, Mahmoud turned and left out the way they came in.

"So, let's talk," Jen said, pulling out some files from a case on her shoulder. "I believe the idea was that I could work with you guys on cases, correct?"

"Well, yes. But uh," Foggy frowned. "I've looked up your record, and honestly. You're good. Seriously, you were on track to partner at your law firm one day! We haven't even gotten a case yet."

"Fine by me," Jen said, looking around. "My priorities have shifted a bit. I'm probably going to spend more time as an Avenger than a lawyer. But I still want to help people the way I used to."

"Huh. Yeah, I can respect that," Foggy looked around as well. "So uh, we do have that office for you over there. Mini fridges if you want food, and such. I can show you around if you want?"

"Nah, I got it," Jen looked over at Matt, then at Foggy. "Well. Here's to working together."

"Hell yeah! Can't wait to work with you!" Foggy said with a silly grin as Jen walked into her new office. He ignored Matt's chuckle.

"Foggy, you're coming off pretty strong," Matt said with a shake of his head.

"Well, I think I'm a little massively out of my league," Foggy admitted. Then he thought for a moment. "I mean, I'm out of her league. Seriously, be glad you're blind, she looks like a horror show, basically just her cousin in female form, kinda gross to be hones-."

"You know, I can hear you!" Jen called cheerily from her new office.

Matt laughed as Foggy gaped.

Well, what did Matt know about women anyway? Except for that Greek chick named after a tragedy. And the redhead. And the blonde. And Amy. And Carol. And that paralegal. And...

------

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

Once I left Matt, Foggy, and Jen's new office, I went Astrodactyl and flew back to the Avengers Tower. I had a full itinerary for today. For one, Tony was bringing together some of us to work on a new project, so that was first. After that, Creel and I were going to hang out for a bit, then a long workout to end the day. Three hours of Steve and Natasha kicking my ass. At least I had abs now.

I entered Tony's lab and realized I was a bit early. So I did what I always did when I was in Tony's lab on my own.

I stared at the Iron Man suits.

They were lined up at the back of his lab. It reminded me less of the giant rooms full of suits I'd seen in the comics and more of the Batcave, or how some of the Power Rangers series displayed their suits, standing in full view and encased in glass tubes. I looked over one of them, his first suit. It looked like the classic one from the comics to be honest. I could see the marking where it had been welded together in rough ways. From there, the suits got more and more advanced, until I was on his last model before he began wearing his current one. Red and gold, blue light in the center.

Weird. The Omnitrix on my wrist was leagues beyond the suit before me. With access to Jury Rigg and Upgrade, I could make it much more powerful, if a bit quirky. But even a layman like me could see the genius in the man who had made it. For just a moment, I wondered what Azmuth would think of Tony. Probably see him as a potential, if slightly stunted, student. Which, considering Azmuth, was next level praise.

"She's a bit outdated," Tony said behind me, surprising me. I turned as he walked up to look at the suit with me. He crossed his arms. "But she's still solid."

"...You really are a genius, man," I said softly, looking around. "I mean, I cheat, but when I look at these-"

"Yeah, Pepper says my ego is big enough," despite his comment, Tony sounded very thoughtful. "To be honest though, it surprises me too sometimes. I mean, these suits have gotten to a level I wouldn't have imagined from the first one... What's the most advanced my suits got in other universes?"

I hesitated. "...One shattered a planet once. Another broke a galaxy destroying force into five pieces."

"Huh. Lot to live up to then," Tony said. He frowned, pu.

"Probably shouldn't have mentioned it," I said, cursing my lack of foresight.

"Nah, I'm not feeling super inadequate at all," Tony shook his head. "That is kind of what I wanted to talk to you about," when I turned, Tony scratched his neck. "I have an idea for something. Something that can help a lot of people. And I think Upgrade is what I need for it."

"...You might be right," I turned to him, crossing my arms. "Tony, what exactly are you trying to say? I know we aren't best friends or anything, but-"

Tony scoffed. "Well yeah, but you aren't exactly best friends with anyone. Seriously kid, you need to hang out with people in your off time. Take a damn break every now and then."

I opened my mouth, feeling hurt. Before I could speak, Fitz and Bruce entered the room, interrupting me.

"Tony, Mahmoud," Fitz said, smiling at us.

"Hey, Ross," Tony said to Fitz, turning around. "Bruce, you all right?"

"I'm all right," Bruce walked around to me. "How'd she do?"

"Jen? She was good when I left her. Foggy and Matt are good guys, and she's a smart lawyer. She'll probably end up sending a lot of bad guys to jail even without her powers," I said.

Bruce seemed to relax just a bit. He was a good brother. Well, cousin.

"All right, eyes up," Tony waved a hand. Two holographic images appeared, one an orange flowing group of lights in the shape of an Iron Man suit, the other a blue hologram that looked like a older version of me. "Jarvis, X. And one more."

"Hey!" Skye came in, carelessly tossing aside her backpack on the floor and gently resting her laptop on a table. "Am I late?"

"Nah, right on time," Tony looked around. "All right. I have a plan for something. Something big."
A schematic appeared in front of us. It spun into place, solidifying as we watched. "Bruce knows about it. With this, if I can do it right? We won't need Avengers anymore. Just one program, keeping the world safe. Hundreds of drones working across the Earth, aiding in search in rescue, combat missions, anything we need."
He looked around. "This is possible. More than ever. Two AI, two engineers, an Omnitrix, a badass hacker, and one of the top scientists on Earth. We do this right, and this will make the world safe."

Tony had a talent for words. Skye was listening closely, while Fisk seemed taken with the idea. I was trying to think of why I had a bad feeling.

The Iron Man looked around. "We have time now. Time to make something great. And I want you guys in on the project with me. I call it... ULTRON."

"...I have thoughts on the name," I said at last, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

Goddamnit Marvel.

------

*(^!#@$*@&α ^#...!(*#&@*ω &!a

In a locker, deep within the tower, a suit of black catom armor rested peacefully. A BRIDGE Elite soldier had worn and taken it off dozens of times with no issues. It was, like others of it's kind, some of the most advanced armor in the world.

The locker room was empty when that set of armor began to shake. Red mist began to pulse around it. Catoms fell off into chunks, then flowed back into the armor. Over and over, until it looked less like armor, and more like some alien creature.

Then it pressed up against the door of the locker it was within. It smashed the metal apart, sending it flying.

As the loud sound echoed in the empty room, the catom armor hesitantly began to 'walk' forward, dragging its mass across the concrete. It 'dripped' and pooled across the ground. Red mist flowed out of it, then melded back into the mass. The black and red object finally reached a door. It moved under it, slipped into an office, and went to a computer under the desk inside.

Black steel and red clouds flowed up to the PC, then entered inside, running along the circuits As it melded with the device, the red mist pulsed faster and faster.

The PC was suddenly 'devoured' by the catom armor, leaving a slightly larger mass of metal. As it pulsed, a device like a small speaker flowed outward. An inhuman voice, like a man's but soaked in blood, came from the speaker.

"IIIIIII...R...Ron..." The speaker fell apart. After a long moment, the catom armor began to flow again.

Slowly, bit by bit, it rose. It came together, solidified. The red mist seemed to glow with power. When it finished, it took the shape of a man. It was black at the core, but the red mist surrounded it like fire. When it's 'mouth' opened, a small glowing speaker could be seen. Within the being, it pulled at the memory files within itself, stolen from the computer it had just eaten, stolen from the network. Soon, camera files flowed to its mind. Recent files.

"U-uuuuulllltrooooon," it 'hissed. The catoms of the being 'flickered'. It didn't move otherwise, only staring aimlessly.

Then the catoms fell apart, and the red mist stayed. With a slight twist, it flowed into the network, disappearing into the internet and leaving a mass of useless catoms.

------

Lyle Getz of AIM

In a room across the country, a man sat at a desk and desperately worked at his computer. He was an older man, with thinning black hair, round glasses, and a thin build. He wore a bright yellow lab coat over a yellow jumpsuit. The man looked weary, with dark shadows under his eyes, hair unkempt, his typing slow and unsteady.

Lyle Getz was the current leader of the thinktank known as AIM, an acronym for Advanced Idea Mechanics. Once, they had been on top of the world. With the leadership of Aldrich Killian, they had become one of the US government's top funded research thinktanks, developing a form of gene therapy that would change the world.

Up until Killian decided to go nuts and start killing people.

Lyle didn't really care about that, emotionally. The older scientist was more upset about the sheer stupidity of Killian's decision. Extremis soldiers used as bombs, as suicide strikers? Ridiculous. Bombs had their place of course, but in a world of superhumans, far too many could survive a bomb easily. No, the real gift of Extremis was in the other abilities, the regeneration and pyrokinetic abilities. But worse then that, even when Killian had his soldiers use Extremis correctly, it was all to attack one man. Tony Stark.

Stupid. AIM could have been so much more. So many projects now gone, because Killian was mad that his idol had ignored him.

Truthfully, Lyle may not have known entirely everything about Killian and his motivations. A lot of mysteries had been left in the aftermath of his rampage, and with the man killed by Tony Stark, even more was left unknown.

In the end, whatever Killian had done, Lyle was picking up the pieces. Just a normal scientist trying to make sure the failing thinktank could somehow survive.

And Lyle was failing in that endeavor. Extremis was now illegal. All of their other projects were defunded, leaving them dead in the water. AIM's best were getting picked up by other groups. They were a joke now. All he was doing was slowly getting buried.

Lyle rubbed his eyes slowly. As he did, someone opened the door to his office. "Lyle?"

He turned and smiled sadly. "Hi, Monica."

Monica Rappaccini was a gorgeous Italian woman, dressed in a tight green swimsuit-like uniform with some yellow sections. She had black hair and green eyes. She always had a scowl on her face, as though she was constantly moments from punching someone for some perceived slight.

"How're those octopi?" Lyle asked, trying not to show how relieved he was to have a break.

Her scowl became a bit meaner. "I want to kill them. Those damned things vex me at every turn. If the military really wants me to develop something from the Blue-ringed octopus, they need to fund me."

Lyle's temporary good mood vanished. "Monica-"

"We need money, Lyle!" she glared at him. "You need to talk to-"

"To who?" Lyle's eyes narrowed. "To the government? Killian turned their former soldiers into suicide bombers. Or go higher up? Oh wait, the damned President was kidnapped by our men!"

Monica crossed her arms. "Well, you need to find something. Or I'm out. I got an offer from Cross Industries. Not as good as what I used to have here but at least I'd have some damn funding."

Lyle shook his head. "Then take it, Monica. I like you, and I will work to keep your projects alive. But do what you have to. Until that time, get the fuck out of my office and let me figure out how to fix this."

His fellow scientist gaped at him for just one moment. Then she spun on her bare heel and left in a huff. "Go screw yourself, Lyle!"

"Can't," Lyle said softly, eyes hardening as he turned to his computer. "Killian did it first."

Lyle typed for a bit, completing a response to a letter selling one more facility off to an interested party. It felt like that was all he did now. Sell off bits and pieces of AIM, slowly killing off his life's work.

It was when he finished and checked his files when, for just a moment, his monitor took on a red hue. Lyle blinked at the strangely swirling red lights before slapping his monitor. The red lights disappeared, then came back. Another slap, and they faded. Lyle stared oddly at the PC under his desk, then shrugged and looked at his folders. Then he stared at something... new. It was titled *(α^!#@$*@&α ^#...!(*#&@*ω &!α a.

With a pair of clicks, he opened it. Possibly a mistake, but when he opened it, he found something... unprecedented. A series of documents suggesting the possibility of...

"That can't be possible," gaping, Lyle opened one folder. Equations and specs on catoms? Like the kind SHIELD was using now? And was that specs for some sort of… nano machines? But, how did it get on his computer?

With some deeper reading, Lyle found himself in awe. Some pieces were missing, sure, some imagery corrupted or missing, but it was a lot. And more. So much more. Files on the time and space continuum, on how to...

"Holy shit... Holy shit!" Lyle pressed on the print button with desperate energy, as though everything on his screen would disappear otherwise. He grabbed his smartphone and rushed out the door as the printer warmed up. "Get me robotics, now! And the physics guys! We might have something!"

As he ran out of the door, Lyle didn't notice the screen once again flash red.

------

Weeks later, March 15th, 2014

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

In the middle of the night, a loud beeping noise brought me out of sleep. I tried to ignore it, and managed to sleep through it for a bit.

Right up until I realized what was making the noise.

My eyes snapped open, and I reached outward.

I fell out of my bed trying to reach the beeping noise. Slamming into the ground wrapped by blankets, I shouted in pain, then scrambled to get the blankets off.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I tried to rip a thick blanket off my leg. "X!"

"Earthquake in Rio, sir!" X's voice, now crystal clear after all the improvements we'd made, said over my speakers. "Your ID card is on the dresser."

"Tell Sam I'll be up soon!" I ripped off the blankets at last and grabbed my still beeping ID card. It was a thick metal card a bit larger than a Pokemon card, painted black and green, with a green Omnitrix symbol on the surface. When I tapped the Omnitrix symbol, it morphed colors and shapes to make the card white and red, the Omnitrix symbol replaced with a Avengers 'A'. It spun before projecting a holographic image of Director Maria Hill's face. "Where's the meet?"

"Enterprise," Maria said immediately. "We'll debrief on the way. Be advised, this earthquake isn't normal. Emergency response have given us some odd reports. We'll inform everyone when we're gathered, but bring the artillery."

Nodding, I quickly grabbed a shirt and jeans out of my closet along with my catom armor pack, snatched a protein bar and drink out of my kitchen, and headed out of the door.

Duty called.
------
Author's Note: Yeah, time skip. I'll go over some of what happened in the days between January 25th to March 15th, but it's nothing insane. Just some research and such being done, as well as some things being done techwise.

As for the earthquake, it's not something that happened in the MCU.[/i][/b][/COLOR][/FONT]

Click to shrink...

But ultron isn't even a thing yet how is he corrupting armor?[/COLOR][/FONT]

 

[Siu Mars]

HOLY SHIT THATS ALPHA!!

EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE FUCKED

 

[RichardWhereat]

Yep. He thought he had to find Pym and keep an eye on him. Nope, Tony brought the fuck up to the door.

 

[Dragonin]

... who knows maybe partially magic ultron is a good thing

 

[RichardWhereat]

... who knows maybe partially magic ultron is a good thing

Click to shrink...

HOW?

 

[Dragonin]

HOW?

Click to shrink...

Well it's not like the artifact he got the magic from is a cursed artifact... or that it went to the desperate arms of a military company that regularly got into evil things... is capable of being a solely data entity... and has nanotechnology.

Everything is fine. What could possibly go wrong?

He (Dial) needed greater opponents.

 

[Siu Mars]

He (Dial) needed greater opponents.

Click to shrink...

Do not start with that Grimdark Worm bullshit in my Wholesome Crbetweenr betwen two series I never expected to create a good crossover together.

(I am not being insulting, I am just making a joke)

 

[LegionnaireBlaze]

Alpha mixing with Ultron. "We are Ultron Alpha.", perhaps?

 

[Pinklestia]

Alpha mixing with Ultron. "We are Ultron Alpha.", perhaps?

Click to shrink...

And add Malware just to spice things up.

 

[LegionnaireBlaze]

And add Malware just to spice things up.

Click to shrink...

"I was made with the purpose of assisting humanity by upgrading technology. Now, the technology upgrades myself, to bring about humanity's downfall."