The Defenders Of Midgard, An MCU Fan Fiction:
Chapter 8: Showdown At The Dunbar Hotel!
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Chapter 8
Showdown At The Dunbar Hotel!
Sparks? Say Hello To Tinder Box!
Shield West Coast HQ erupts in alarms suddenly, which are then just as suddenly silenced and suppressed, as numerous FSB drones in beekeeper style bright yellow hazmat suits stride into the base, beating to death and dismembering everyone they come across as they progress through the base. Shield agents fire endlessly and ineffectively, as the bullets simply embed themselves in the drones, and are absorbed after having no effect. A large hulking matte black golem leads them in, made from the physical remains and FSB of the deceased Dr. Tarleton.
The golem and the beekeepers make their way to a secure holding chamber in the bowels of Shield West Coast, holding MODOC in a suspension of sedating gas. The golem smashes the control console for the chamber, then colonizes it with FSBs. The chamber vents it’s sedating gas, as the chamber opens, revealing a slumbering MODOC. Four of the beekeepers enter the chamber and place their hands on MODOC, sending an electric shock through him, shocking him awake. MODOC shatters the four beekeepers into broken chunks of FSB material, with a concussive telekinetic blast of some kind.
MODOC:
Who dares shock MODOC?!?…
Tarleton Golem:
I dare… to wake MODOC…
MODOC:
Who are you?…
Tarleton Golem:
I am… Doctor… I am… Golem… I… am… Doctor… Golem…
MODOC:
Well Dr. Golem… What are your intentions… with MODOC?…
Dr. Golem:
I serve AIM… I serve MODOC… I serve the Scientist Supreme of AIM… AIM must be restored… The supremacy of science must be obeyed…
MODOC:
I am science!… Mother is the Scientist Supreme!… Where is mother?… Where is the Scientist Supreme?… Where is Dr. Monica Rappaccini?…
Dr. Golem:
She has turned her back on AIM… Surrendered to the enemy… And given them her power… A power not given to you or me…
MODOC:
Mother has betrayed us!… I am AIM now!… I am science!… I am now the Scientist Supreme!…
Dr. Golem:
Your supremacy shall be obeyed…
MODOC:
We must regroup… I underestimated the enemies of AIM… I shall never do so again… We must prepare… We need to regroup and rebuild… Mother’s betrayal has weakened us… And we shall have our revenge upon her… and all the enemies of AIM… The supremacy of science will not be denied!…
Dr. Golem:
Your supremacy shall be obeyed…
Half way down to the bottom of the Monterey Trench, Stark and the Mega Golem crew get an alarm from Shield West Coast HQ that gets cut off, sparking curiosity.
Ned:
What the hell was that?… A false alarm?…
Stark:
Shield doesn’t really give false alarms… Especially with all the Stark security tech in their systems… Even if it is a false alarm… Stark tech giving false alarms is alarming in and of it self… to me at least… Hail them… And we need to change course… Our three hour shakedown cruise will just have to wait… We have to investigate regardless…
Ned:
I’m not getting any reply… Not even an automated one… Their systems are completely incommunicado… Are far as I can tell… Either way… That’s not good…
Parker:
Isn’t that where they’re keeping MODOC?…
Stark:
Okay… I’ve heard enough… head for Shield West Coast at best speed… Pete… go ahead and suit up now just in case… And let me out… I’m going on ahead of you… Catch up as fast as you can… Don’t spare the arcs!… But don’t go in without my clearance to do so!… Understand?…
Ned/Peter:
Yes sir!…
Ned and Peter fly towards Malibu in the Mega Golem, as Iron Man enters the wide open hanger bay of the base, built into the side of the cliff face, beneath what used to Stark’s Malibu home. Iron Man scans the base for life signs and comes up empty. He walks through the base as he continues to scan, with no signs of life or bodies, or even a drop of blood, only abandoned weapons and spent shell casings, littering the floor everywhere. Ned and Peter arrive in the Mega Golem, only to find Iron Man sitting on the edge of the open hanger bay door.
Iron Man:
Ned… You and Peter can go ahead and just stay in the golem for now… There’s nothing and no one here to save… The entire base has been cleared out… with nothing left but signs of a fire fight with no bodies… We need to sort this out… But we can’t do it by hand… On my own authority and say so… use the Mega Golem and colonize the entire base with your FSBs… While your at it… forensically analyze and document absolutely every detail… every shell casing… every energy blast mark… every drop of blood… if you can find any… Send all of the information to Shield main HQ… and Stark Industries for further analysis… And notify Shield and Dir. Mace of what’s happened here… I’m going check on the others and make sure Stark Industries doesn’t get hit too… If anyone or anything but me or Shield shows up here… Run… No heroics… Not even you Peter… You hear me?…
Ned/Peter:
Yes sir…
Iron Man:
And Ned… Run full data recovery protocols on every scrap of memory in the base’s systems while your at it… The systems seem to have been wiped… See if you can recover any evidence or record of what happened here… And Peter… Until further notice… You’re on bodyguard detail… You’re Ned’s bodyguard for this investigation… But no unnecessary heroics… This ghost base is creeping me out… I don’t like it… And even worse than that… I don’t understand it… Your jobs are to help me and Shield understand… But absolutely no heroics!… Understand me!…
Ned/Peter:
Yes sir…
Iron Man rockets towards Stark Industries, as he opens up a line of communication in his helmet.
Iron Man:
Dir. Mace?… We have a severe MODOC situation… at Shield West Coast HQ… It’s been completely cleared out… No one left… Least of all MODOC…
Whitney, Dotty, Monica, and Betsy make their way downstairs towards the jazz club, as Giuletta Nefaria occupies a high end suit at the hotel alone, with armed guards posted outside. The room itself is decorated with various artifacts and antiques, with numerous bits of occult paraphernalia, and lit candles everywhere providing the only light for the room, with thick black curtains completely closed. Giuletta herself kneels and chants in the center of the room. A burst of black smoke suddenly fills the room, as Electra emerges from the cloud of smoke.
Giuletta:
Mistress Electra!?!… Where is Ogun?…
Electra:
Ogun is no longer of any concern to you Giuletta… The Black Queen herself has expunged Ogun from The Hand… Your loyalty belongs properly to The Hand of the Black Queen… not some amputated finger… Unless you wish to oppose the will of the Angel of Death… Which I would not recommend…
Giuletta:
My apologies… Mistress Electra… I was simply surprised… I have dire need of assistance… The peace effort was as futile as you and Ogun predicted… Thanks to my own daughter!… My brother Silvio is now on the war path more than ever before… And I fear that his efforts may disrupt the agenda of The Hand… without reinforcements to oppose him…
Electra:
Your guile is as transparent to me as it ever was to Ogun… Giuletta… But you are correct… And your loyalty has been unwavering… Your enemies… shall be the enemies of The Hand… for as long as you serve The Hand… And The Hand still has great plans for you and the City of Lost Angels… among other things…
In a bungalow behind the jazz club, Dotty knocks on the door, with Whitney and the others waiting behind her. The door opens on it’s own with an electric motor whirring sound, and reveals Dr. Jason Wilkes, appearing as a middle aged black man with salt and pepper dreadlocks, sitting in a comfy overstuffed chair surrounded by wires and equipment, with large coils surrounding the entire room, enclosing it in a special electromagnetic field in order to stabilize Dr. Wilkes. The four women walk through the door, and Dr. Wilkes waves his hand over a sensor on the table next to his chair, then the door closes itself.
Dr. Wilkes:
Dotty… You brought friends… Including Whitney Frost… Younger than ever it seems… That brings back memories… none of them good… Nothing personal… Although… If you came here after all these years… to kill me… You might find that more difficult than you expect… Perhaps I should wish you luck… As death might be an improvement… Who are your other friends?…
Whitney:
This is my granddaughter Monica… and her friend Betsy… My granddaughter may have a treatment for you… And as far as the past is concerned… I have no hard feelings left over from the distant past… And as I recall… We both gave as good as we got… It wasn’t really personal then either… Although admittedly… it certainly seemed that way at the time… I have something wonderful to show you Dr. Wilkes…
Whitney reaches up to the matte black purl necklace, and it reforms into a FSB default matte black box, as a visual aide.
Whitney:
This… Is what’s known as an FSB… a Fits Simmons Box… My granddaughter didn’t invent this… But she invented something even more powerful with it… It’s made… of zero matter… It’s made of nanotechnology… made from zero matter… It’s a nano technological quantum super computer… powered with zero point energy… with telepathic control… capable of making and fabricating just about anything you can imagine… It’s supposedly partly made based on magic… But I’m not sure if I’m willing to believe that just yet… That’s part of what I believe my granddaughter and I… may need your help to figure out… If you’re interested… If it doesn’t work… you have my word that we’ll try to kill you… Either way… your problem should be solved…
Dr. Wilkes:
Thanks Whitney… That’s oddly comforting… But I can’t even touch that thing right now… Even with all this fancy equipment… my stability comes and goes… And right now happens to be especially bad…
Whitney tosses the matte black cube over to Dr. Wilkes, who instinctively tries to catch it, and unexpectedly manages to do so.
Dr. Wilkes:
I caught it!… I can actually feel it!… I can feel the chair now too!… How did you do that?…
Whitney:
I didn’t… It was just an experiment… And so is this…
Whitney walks over to Dr, Wilkes in his chair, and takes back her FSB cube. Then she reaches down and passes her hand through his without the box. Then she places the FSB back in his hand, and places her hand on his.
Whitney:
Well… Scientifically speaking… that settles the matter… But my granddaughter is the doctor… What do think of his prognosis…
Monica:
Improving by the minute… But you had better let me do it… I’m going to issue you your own FSB… But I will not give you the full Black Box Extremis treatment that I gave to Whitney and Dotty… As I believe the Extremis element could actually increase your instability… But I will use your FSB to colonize your bones… So that it can’t be separated from you… And you can stay tangible no matter what… But I suspect the FSB may even allow you to exert manual conscious control over your condition… But I make no promises as far as that is concerned… As it is… I cannot even promise that the FSB will even be able to bind it self to you at all… given your condition… Here… give me your hand…
Dr. Wilkes puts his hand forward again, and Monica places her Power Prism in Dr Wilkes hand, stabilizing and solidifying him. Then a stream of white sparkles begins to flood into Dr. Wilkes eyes, nose, and throat. Dr. Wilkes begins to shudder slightly, as the white sparkles stop.
Dr. Wilkes:
Did it work?…
Whitney:
It seems to have… Try doing something physical to test it…
Dr. Wilkes gets up off the chair, with his feet touching the ground, and walks over to Dotty, then plants a big kiss on her.
Whitney:
Well then… That seems to have succeeded well enough for now…
Monica:
Only time will tell for sure… You should explore the possibilities on your own… But let me know if you have any problems…
Whitney:
My granddaughter and I have other business elsewhere… I have yet to meet the father of my great grandchildren… And I’m sure we can count on Dotty to look after you while you experiment… with your new physicality… We should really leave you two to it… I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on…
Dotty:
That would be great…
An ordinary flying drone, modified with a rocket propelled grenade launcher and a targeting system, flies over towards the roof of the Dunbar Hotel, and fires a grenade at Giuletta’s helicopter, destroying it, blowing it up on the roof and shattering a large sky light on the roof, shaking the building. Inside the jazz club, Coulson, the Warriors Three, and the ladies in the booth, all react to the explosion, and are put on their guard.
Coulson:
That’s not a good sign…
Hogan:
Is it an attack?…
Coulson:
It could just a random explosion… Accidents do happen… We shouldn’t overreact till we know better…
Fandral:
Indeed… No reason to stop drinking just yet… Perhaps it’s just a small war… as opposed to the big one…
Volstagg:
Worrying makes me hungry…
Fandral:
Everything makes you hungry…
Volstagg:
True enough…
Daisy:
That wasn’t me!…
Yo Yo:
We didn’t think it was… You do shaking… not banging… not unless your shaking nitro…
May:
Probably just some random accidental explosion… Not everywhere is necessarily a war zone… But we may have to find another bar… if this one catches fire…
Dr. Simmons:
The Frolic Room perhaps…
The gangsters in black flood into the bar, with guns drawn, and open fire at anything in sight with a pulse. The bar tender ducks down behind the bar, and the waiters flee for the exits, as Coulson and the Warriors Three jump over the bar for cover. Daisy uses her power to deflect the bullets with concentrated vibrations in the air surrounding their booth.
Daisy:
Who the hell ordered the gangland massacre platter?…
Dr. Simmons:
This has nothing to do with us… right?…We don’t even know any gangsters… do we?…
Yo Yo:
Gabriel’s girlfriend does… But she’s not here… is she?… Gabriel isn’t…
Coulson:
Why are we hiding?… I can heal just about anything probably… And don’t bullets virtually bounce off you guys?…
Hogan:
They still hurt…
Coulson:
Yeah… They probably hurt with me too… We can’t just sit here and take it though… We need to get out of here and reposition ourselves to do something about this…
Hogan:
The bartender has already fled… Chirpy has the layout of this hotel… behind us there is an exit… We can take it… And circle around behind them…
Coulson:
A flanking maneuver… lets go for it… lead the way… Daisy can hold off these goons here for now…
May:
Coulson’s repositioning… We should get out of here too… Whatever this is… it probably has nothing to do with us…
Daisy:
We can’t just let them shoot up the place… This our spot dammit!… We’re just lucky the place is empty except for us this time of day… You stay here… I’ll deal with these jerks…
While maintaining her concentrated vibration force bubble around her and the booth, Daisy steps out into reign of bullets, and draws out her sais from inside her leather jacket.
Daisy:
That’s enough!… You jerks picked the wrong club to start a fight in!…
Daisy channels her power into her weapons, and crosses her sais in front of her, then uncrosses them, scraping them against each other in front of her, unleashing a vibratory shock wave that knocks all of the gangsters back into a heap against the wall of the club, shaking the building slightly in the process. Coulson and the Warriors Three are thwarted in their flanking maneuver, by having their access to the exit blocked by the entrance of Giuletta Nefaria, followed by a number of growling hell hounds. The silver maned cyborg enters the club from the other side, the way the other gangsters came in before, followed by a small army of other gangsters converging upon the club from the rest of the hotel. A cloud of black smoke bursts into the middle of the club, and Electra appears within the cloud, along with numerous red clad ninja.
Daisy/Yo Yo:
Electra!…
May:
That’s Electra?…
Dr. Laufey:
This is getting out of hand…
Giuletta:
Silvio!… I’m done playing nice with your nuts and bolts ass!… When I’m done with you… I’ll have your parts recycled!… And I’ll put your silver maned head on my wall!…
Silvio:
Fat chance!… Wicked bitch of the west!… I’m going to burn this place to ash!… And your witch hide with it!… Open fire!…
Numerous other red clad ninja filter in behind the gangsters from out of nowhere, and start attacking the gangsters from behind, forcing many of them to turn their guns around the other way. The hell hounds begin to attack anything not wearing red pajamas, except for Giuletta.
Coulson:
Remember… The hell hounds are victims too… Don’t kill them if you can help it…
Fandral:
Easier said than done… Son of Coul… Your friend Daisy would have a better chance of it… But it looks like she’s busy…
Coulson uses his FSBs to conjure up a single matte black katana into his waiting two handed grip, in a flurry of white sparkles.
Hogan:
Do you know how wield a sword?… Son of Coul?…
Coulson:
We’re about to find out…
Daisy:
Electra!… Where are my daughters?!?…
Electra:
Right about now?… I wouldn’t know exactly… If you really cared so much… You shouldn’t have betrayed your own mother!…
Yo Yo gets up out of the booth to back Daisy up with Electra, with May joining her. Dr. Laufey pulls her dagger and her FSB orb, and slides deeper into the booth for cover, not wanting to jeopardize her pregnancy. A smiling Dr. Simmons scoots to the edge of the opening of the booth, for good view of all the excitement, and possibly blood. Tiny little matte black spiders begin to crawl out from Dr. Simmons hoodie, and crawl away discretely.
May uses the FSB in her bones to conjure forth two matching matte black versions of traditional Chinese broad swords, formed rapidly in flurry of white sparkles, then launches herself at the red clad ninja, with reckless abandon, slicing off a pair of their heads to start with, before slashing after Silver Mane. Yo Yo launches herself at Electra with her power at full speed, but plows harmlessly through a cloud of black smoke that Electra disappears into, before she snaps back to her original position. Electra reappears from the smoke just as Daisy launches herself at her with both sais. Daisy and Electra lock sais, as Electra uses Daisy’s forward momentum to drag her into the smoke, disappearing them both. They reappear on the roof, next to the still flaming wreckage of Giuletta’s helicopter, as they continue their duel of sais.
Downstairs, Monica, Betsy, and Whitney come up behind Giuletta, as she watches her hell hounds fight with Coulson and the warriors Three. Yo Yo uses her power to perform multiple successive high speed attacks against the hell hounds fighting Coulson and the Warriors Three, knocking them back one by one.
Monica:
Is this all really necessary mama?… Is our family really that cursed?…
Giuletta turns around suddenly, startled by not only by her own daughter, but by her own mother.
Giuletta:
Mama?!?…
Whitney:
Hello Giuletta… You and Silvio are still at it I see… Monica dear… Can you do something about these… dog things?…
Monica:
Yes… grand mama…
Monica holds up her Power Prism, then flashes of lightening shoot out from it and strike the hell hounds, disappearing them.
Whitney:
Wow!… You didn’t kill them unnecessarily I hope… Did you?…
Monica:
No grand mama… They’re just held in stasis and shrunk down to the atomic level for safekeeping… Until I have a better place to put them… or a use for them…
Giuletta:
Foolish child!… You have no idea what you’re meddling with!… The Hand is not forgiving for those who get it their way!…
Monica:
Whatever mama… I’ve already had enough of this nonsense…
More lightening flashes from Monica’s Power Prism, striking and disappearing Giuletta and Silvio, then striking and disappearing Monica, Betsy, and Whitney along with them.
Dr. Simmons:
Well… That’s somewhat disappointing… I expected much more action than that… More bloodshed at least… Oh well… Spider Minions!… Crawlies!…
Spider Minions:
Yes Madame Web…
Scores of tiny little spiders all over the place, suddenly enlarge to size of attack dogs, and start tearing through the remaining ninja and gangsters with equal abandon and ferocity, tearing a bloody flaming path through them, with the ninja bursting into black flames, and the gangsters being turned in to a bloody dismembered mess.
Yo Yo:
Yeesh… Gruesome… Was that really necessary?…
May:
Yes… Took her long enough though…
Daisy and Electra continue their duel on the roof, slashing and stabbing fruitlessly at each other as they fight on the roof.
Daisy:
Where are they?… Tell me before I slash your worthless throat!…
Electra:
Silly girl… You’re about a hundred years too early to be talking that tough with me… And what makes you think your children want you back?… Did it ever occur to you… that they may prefer to be with their grandmother… rather than their traitor of a mother?…
Daisy:
Shut up and die you lying bitch!…
Severe tremors shake the ground beneath the Dunbar Hotel, severe enough to weaken the decaying and somewhat neglected structure, compromising it utterly as it begins to slowly crumble. Down in Dr. Wilkes room, Dotty and Dr. Wilkes grow concerned about the ongoing fight and it’s effect on the building their in.
Dr. Wilkes:
They’re destroying my home!…
Dotty:
We don’t have to stay here!… We can leave before that!…
Dr. Wilkes:
But this is my home… I don’t even know how to live elsewhere after all this time… This building is a part of my history… and the history of my community… I just can’t let it be destroyed…
Dotty:
Then colonize it… with your FSB… like your bones… but with the building…
Dr. Wilkes:
Can I even do that?…
Dotty:
I don’t know… But you have to try… Or we have to leave… Now…
Dr. Wilkes starts to emit streams of white sparkles that stream into the walls of his room, and begin to cover every inch of surface of the support structure, every wall, floor, and door in the building, turning them all matte black. As the process of white sparkles turning the building matte black reaches the roof, Daisy and Electra are still slashing each other. Then Dr. Simmons guard dog size Spider Minions reach the roof by climbing the walls up through the inside of the building and pouring out onto the roof through the broken skylight.
Electra:
It’s getting crowded up here… Time to go… I’ll be sure to give your love to your grandmother and your kids… Mistress Daisy…
Daisy:
Stop!… Wait!…
Electra begins to disappear in another cloud of black smoke, and Daisy crosses her sais again, then uncrosses them, unleashing another shock wave in the direction of Electra and her black cloud. The shock wave passes harmlessly through the cloud, just missing Electra, and smashes the burning wreckage of the helicopter down onto the empty SUVs of the gangsters still parked on the street below. After the wreckage hits the street, the spider minions shrink down out of sight and skitter away as tiny little matte black spiders, then Iron Man flies over and lands on the roof next to Daisy.
Iron Man:
Daisy… What happened here?… Did MODOC attack here?…
Daisy:
MODOC?… Why would MODOC be behind this?… MODOC is in custody… Isn’t he?…
Iron Man:
Not anymore… Shield West Coast was cleared out… with no bodies left behind… It looks like they all got the Dr. Tarleton treatment… Are you sure this isn’t related?… I was heading to Stark Industries to help secure it just in case… Then I saw a helicopter blow up in the distance and I had to check it out… If this isn’t MODOC… what was it?…
Daisy:
I don’t know exactly… At first it looked like it was just some gangland attack that we got caught up in… Then The hand… a cyborg… and some hell hounds… all decided to join the party and attack everyone in sight… Electra was here!… The right hand minion of the Black Queen herself was here!… I have no idea why… But I don’t think she was here for us… She seemed surprised to see me… I have to check on my friends…
Daisy walks over to the broken skylight, and jumps down into the opening, using her power to create a cushion beneath her of concentrated vibration, to cushion her landing perfectly. Daisy starts to walk back in to the club as Iron Man lands next to her and walks along. As they walk into the club, both Daisy and Iron Man are shocked by the resulting carnage from Dr. Simmons unleashing her Spider Minions.
Iron Man:
Holy blood bath Ash can!… What the hell happened to them?…
Dr. Simmons:
I did… My spider minions did it…
May:
She should have done it to begin with… But she was enjoying the show I guess…
Dr. Simmons:
They’re just gangsters… They had it coming… Coming here for slaughter… They got their wish… Dr. Rappaccini was here by the way… She presumably abducted or destroyed a large number of hell hounds… Then she disappeared both Giuletta Nefaria and Slivio Manfreddi… before she disappeared herself… And a couple of people she had with her… Including Betsy… and someone who was the spitting image of the classic movie actress Whitney Frost!… Crazy huh?… How are we going to explain this to poor Gabriel?…
Daisy:
I have no idea… But we’re definitely going to have to keep Robbie away from Gabriel’s in laws…
Iron Man:
Coulson!?!… You’re alive!?!… How?… Are you a clone?… Or an FSB drone?…
Coulson:
I’m the real me alright… The how is a long story… I could show you my file… But that wouldn’t necessarily make it believable… I still don’t entirely believe it… Now I’m stuck with this glorified parasite… The immortal demon sorcerer Ogun… Formerly of The Hand… before the Black Queen cast him him out… And permanently bound him to me… Ogun went suspiciously quiet when Electra and The Hand showed up here… involved in a gang war… I suspect he knew about their involvement… probably arranged it… And we know that The Hand is working with the Kree… Now this gang war… is unavoidably a part of a much bigger war…
Iron Man:
Hold on a second… Back that train up a bit… How are you alive again?… without saying a word?…
Coulson:
I’m sorry about that… Really… But it was classified… And I was still a company man… Fury felt that the Avengers needed it to stay a secret… to provide motivation and unit cohesion within the Avengers… Cohesion that recently broke down…
Iron Man:
You do have a point… But I’m still going to want to see that file…
Coulson:
You can read my copy… if I can still find it… Believe it or not… It involved the use of Kree blood of all things… And it had all kinds of nasty after effects… Now that all seems quaint… compared to my current issues…
Ogun:
Do you mean me?… The immortal sorcerer Ogun?…
Coulson:
Demon sorcerer Ogun…
Ogun:
Demon is a pejorative term… The meaning of which is in the eye of the non beholder… hah hah hah…
Coulson:
I see you’ve overcome your sudden shyness… at the arrival of Electra and The Hand… in the middle of a mob war…
Ogun:
If you want me to take credit… I’m more than happy to… Even if only as a facilitator of divine chaos… But that’s all your going to get out of me… I’m not about to spill the beans… before the Italian espresso has been fully brewed…
Iron Man:
Nice new friend you’ve got there…
Coulson:
We’re not friends… We’re just kind of stuck with each other… For now…
Iron Man:
Need any help with that?…
Coulson:
Probably… But with all due respect… if Queen Karnilla can’t manage it… I’m not sure anyone can…
Iron Man:
You wouldn’t mind if I took that as a personal challenge would you?… I don’t like conceding anything to magic if I can help it… Deferring is not in my nature…
Coulson:
Knock yourself out… If it wasn’t for the FSB that Fitz gave me… Ogun would still be in control of my body… But it’s keyed to me… and it allowed me to kick him out partially… He basically lives inside my FSB now… which are all throughout my bones… But he basically runs that…
Iron Man:
This problem just gets more and more interesting… Try not to take it personally… But I may have to obsess over you…
Coulson:
Okay?… I’ll… try?…
Iron Man:
Cool… I have to get back to Stark Industries… MODOC is still on the loose… And this mess is not mine to clean up… This is all on you guys… I didn’t make any of it… So I’m out… And I still want that file…
Coulson:
I’ll dig it up…
Iron Man begins to walk out of the club as Gabriel rolls in on the matte black roller blades on the underneath of his matte black armor’s boots.
Iron Man:
Dude!… Monica was here!… We both just missed her!… I’m afraid the your girlfriend’s mafia family is going to be more of real concern for you…
Gabriel:
Dammit Monica!… Did she do this?…
Iron Man:
No… That was Dr. Simmons… I’m not sure I want to know just how… Be careful with Monica… I know her too… She’s becoming bolder… And because she can’t be touched… or thinks she can’t… she is bound to become more reckless… if nothing else… Never mind thanksgiving dinner with this family… and Robbie…
Gabriel:
Right… Got it… I heard about MODOC… Do you think she had anything to do with that?…
Iron Man:
No… Not the Monica Rappaccini I knew… But she did create MODOC… And I don’t think she meant for that… So what she means to do… doesn’t necessarily matter… I gotta go… Watch your back…
Gabriel:
You too…
Robbie’s Hell Charger speeds up the coast towards Shield West Coast HQ, with Mack riding shotgun, and Grant Ward and Gen. Talbot in the back seat.
Mack:
We’re almost there… Anything yet?…
Robbie:
Kind of… But it’s vague… and deeper… As if it’s more intense… but further away somehow… coming from further up the coast… If they cleared out Shield HQ… it wouldn’t come from there… But they gotta go somewhere… What I’m sensing from up the coast could be them… Or it could be some other unrelated evil… It’s not like there’s any shortage of that…
Gen. Talbot:
Never mind Shield HQ… You don’t have clearance… And I couldn’t get clearance for you anyway…
Robbie:
Because I’m complicated… Like Daisy said…
Gen. Talbot:
Something like that… I came along on this snipe hunt… because you said you could sense the evil… And Mack vouched for that… I want to see this for myself… Never mind Shield HQ… If you sense something… then lets find it… We can sort it out when we get there… If this evil sense of yours is worth anything… Whatever we find will probably be worth killing anyway… Can’t this hot rod go any faster?…
Robbie:
I’m trying to avoid unnecessary trouble…
Gen. Talbot:
To hell with that… The president has already declared an emergency after the Stark Industries attack… Step on it!…
Mack uses his FSB to make a spinning red and blue light, with a siren and a magnetic base, then reaches out the window and puts it on top of the roof, before it begins flash, spin, and wail.
Robbie:
Dude!… That is so not cool!…
Mack:
It’s temporary… It comes right off…
Robbie:
That is not the only issue… And why does he have to come along anyway?…
Robbie gestures over his shoulder at Ward.
Ward:
I… just wanted to help out Gen. Talbot… To make myself useful… Helping out…
Robbie looks over at Mack, and rubs his nose a little with one of his hands, as Mack smiles back.
Gen. Talbot:
If you don’t mind my asking son… Just why are you wearing a black Snoopy pendent?… The cross I get… especially under the circumstances… But Snoopy?…
Gen. Talbot points at the matte black Snoopy head pendent, similar to his daughter Karney’s, but in matte black, and hanging from matte black chain around his neck, hanging next to his gold chain and cross.
Ward:
Oh this?… This is my FSB… I keep it in the form of a chain around my neck so I don’t lose it if I transform again… The Snoopy pendent is just to please my daughter… She’s a big Snoopy fan…
Robbie and Mack glance at each other grinning.
Gen. Talbot:
Enough chit chat… Step on it already… If you’re even half right about what your sensing… there are all sorts of things up the coast… that could be a target for MODOC… Things I can’t talk about… Dangerous things… But things that Dr. Tarleton may have had access to know about… things in the deeper parts of the Shield database wiped by MODOC… no doubt downloaded first… Things that may be even more dangerous than MODOC…
Mack:
Like what?… Can you at least narrow it down for me?… I had clearance too…
Gen. Talbot:
Okay… But only because we may have to deal with it… Held in deep secure storage at Vandenberg Air Force Base… is something even more dangerous than the Hulk… Because it made the Hulk…
Ward:
A Gamma Bomb?!?… You have another Gamma Bomb?!?… I thought there was only one prototype!…
Gen. Talbot:
At ease fan boy… There were two exactly identical prototypes originally… The second one was made from the beginning… to eventually verify the results of the first… But after the results of the first… the project was canned for good… And for good reason… And all other nuclear underground testing in the US was banned by executive order as result of the fallout of that… more the political fallout than the gamma… The treaty ban followed soon after that… The existence of the second bomb was hushed up… denied and buried in compartmentalized red tape… as well as in a vault under Vandenberg Air Force Base…
Queen Karnilla’s war shuttle lands at Vandenberg Air Force Base, already under heavy guard, met by an assortment of senators, congressman, and diplomats. The hatch of the war shuttle opens, then the queen herself, her daughter Lady Sif, and King T’Challa, walk out with Gen. Fitz, Sec. Ross, and Dir. Mace.
Sec. Ross:
Senator Nadeer… This is Queen Karnilla of Nornheim… And her daughter Lady Sif… And of course you’re familiar with King T’Challa and Dir. Mace… This is Gen. Alistair Fitz… the commander of the Black Air unit of the British SAS… Your majesty… General… This is Senator Ellen Nadeer… She chairs the senate defense committee…
Queen K:
Greetings from Nornheim… Senator Nadeer…
King T’Challa:
Likewise from Wakanda… As always Senator…
Gen. Fitz:
Pleasure to make your acquaintance senator…
Sen. Nadeer:
Thank you general… But under the circumstances… When new acquaintances are bearer of bad news… it’s seldom a pleasure… But I suppose it can’t be helped… At least not at this point… Before this… it could have been helped by Nornheim… or Asgard… or even Wakanda… As it is… It takes war for people to do the right thing sometimes…
Queen K:
Just what are you trying to imply?… Senator…
Sen. Nadeer:
My apologies… I did not mean to be so subtle… Politics and diplomacy can be habit forming… I did not mean to imply anything… I meant to state that if the likes of Asgard… Nornheim… or even Wakanda had shared their technology and resources before now… The Kree would never have dared to come here again… And where exactly were Asgard and Nornheim… when the Kree came here before… and experimented on us… to create their Inhuman weapons?…
King T’Challa:
Senator Nadeer… We have discussed this before… I cannot speak for Asgard or Nornheim… But Wakanda owes no special dept to the world… that requires us to share anything that is not in our interest to share… War does change things… Whether we like it or not… that is the way of things…
Queen K:
As far as Asgard and Nornheim are concerned… We had no knowledge of the Kree experiments… We only learned of this recently ourselves… It had only been a legend before… the legend of Terra Genesis… As far as the rest is concerned… We have had fairly strict rules against meddling in the affairs of Midgard for centuries… King Odin himself enacted the restrictions… after the Frost Giants of Jotunheim invaded Midgard… And turned it into a battle field… The restrictions on Midgardian involvement… are for the protection of Midgard… For the sake of it’s independent development… But like King T’Challa says… war unavoidably changes things…
Sen. Nadeer:
Well… How paternalistic of you and Odin… Funny thing is… I don’t feel protected by that…
Queen K:
Only because you know nothing of what you speak…
Sen. Nadeer:
I beg your pardon…
Dir. Mace:
Now ladies… I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot here… Perhaps we can take this discussion inside… where we can talk it over… over tea and refreshments… We do have a lot to talk about… And dwelling excessively on the past… won’t serve anyone’s interest here…
Sec. Ross:
Still a top rate diplomat I see… eh Jeffery?… I wholeheartedly agree… Lets get in out of the sun at a minimum… If we must argue… We can at least do it with air conditioning… not to mention tea and refreshments…
The diplomatic entourage begins to make it’s way into the base, then alarms start to sound all over the base, as Dr. Golem and the beekeeper drones invade Vandenberg from the ocean, walking right into the base from out of the serf. The drones rapidly cover the ground from the serf to the vicinity of the queen’s war shuttle and the diplomatic entourage. MODOC suddenly appears rising out of the serf, and rapidly flies over to them.
Dir. Mace:
It’s MODOC!… And Dr. Tarleton’s FSB drones!…
The beekeepers rapidly advance upon the queen and company, then the queen pulls her sword and her FSB orb, and waves her sword in the air for a moment before leveling it at the advancing beekeepers. Purple lightening explosively discharges and streams out of her sword, devastating the first few lines of them, turning them into charred beekeeper briquettes. MODOC flies over them without slowing down, seemingly oblivious to their supposed importance.
Queen K:
Come… Hurry into the shuttle… We must leave here… And let the warriors of Midgard do their jobs… Politicians will only be in the way here…
Dir. Mace:
Agreed… Please… Senators… Congressman… Go with the queen… Let us handle this… Hurry!… Sec. Ross…
Sec. Ross:
I am not leaving this situation…
King T’Challa:
Neither am I… Although I am over dressed for the occasion…
Gen. Fitz:
Likewise…
Dir. Mace:
Okay… Every one else on the shuttle!… Now!…
Queen K:
Lady Sif… You should stay and help them… And Gen. Fitz… Please… Here… Take my sword with you… Master Fitz would want you to have it… I believe that you will find it surprisingly useful… Especially when used in combination with your new FSB…
The queen hands her sword over to general Fitz, with a prideful smile.
Gen. Fitz:
Thank you your majesty… I’ll carry it with pride… Now with all due respect your majesty… Get your royal buttocks on the shuttle and leave this to us…
Queen K:
Very well general… Very well…
The queen and the politicians take off and fly away in the war shuttle, as Dr. Golem and the beekeepers flood into one of the buildings on base, following after MODOC. Lady Sif leads a charge after the beekeepers, as they engage and attack base security personnel, with the guards firing their guns continuously to no effect. Lady Sif slices through a number of the beekeepers, causing them only to have to reform themselves. Gen. Fits tries his hand with his FSB and the queen’s sword, and launches his own purple lightening attack against a large number of beekeepers, turning them likewise into briquettes, to the shock of Lady Sif and Gen. Fitz. Iron Man comes flying in at max speed and strafes a bunch of beekeepers with his repulsers.
Iron Man:
Did someone report a pest problem?… Some sort of AIM infestation?… Seems to be going around…
The Mega Golem roars overhead as it slowly lowers it self to touch down on the base. Iron Man opens up his coms inside his helmet and hails the golem.
Iron Man:
What did I say about heroics?…
Ned:
No heroics here… We’re not even in the golem… We’re in a war shuttle that we just finished making… hot off the nanotech presses… With the telepathic control… the Mega Golem makes a great drone… just like Avatar… I’m still just the man in the chair… But now my chair is in a war shuttle… We got a call from Gen. Talbot… He said it was all hands on deck time… and something about a Gamma Bomb…
Iron Man:
Gamma Bomb!?!… Dammit Banner!… You picked a great time to be awol…
Ned:
Pete wants to know if you want him down there…
Iron Man:
Yes… And you too… But you stay in the shuttle… Drop off Spider Man and give me some fire support with these beekeepers…
Ned:
It’s just like when I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home…
Iron Man:
Knock that off!… Recycle the rest with your Mega Golem… Leave nothing to waste… or to wonder off again…
Ned:
Cool!… I get to try my new recycling protocols!…
Iron Man:
Oh my god you are such a geek!… And coming from me that’s saying something… I’ll want a full report on that later by the way…
Ned’s war shuttle swoops in low with the hatch open, and let’s Spider Man web sling his way out using the Mega Golem like a high building back in New York, then the shuttle begins to fire on the beekeepers with his own strafing runs. Spider Man lands next to Dir. Mace, Sec. Ross, and King T’Challa. Then Iron Man chimes in on coms again, just for Spider Man.
Iron Man:
Pete… Listen to me very carefully… If there’s a Gamma Bomb somewhere at the bottom of this… Then I trust Sec. Ross even less than I normally do right now… If there’s a Gamma Bomb here… Then I trust that Sec. Ross knows all about it… But I don’t necessarily trust that he’ll do the right thing about it… I want you to be his shadow… You’re on bodyguard detail still… But now for Sec. Ross… And keep an eye on him… And keep an eye out for T’Challa while you’re at it… He didn’t exactly bring the proper attire for this kind of party…
Spider Man:
You got it Mr. Stark… Hey Sec. Ross… Mr. Stark wants me to help protect you… So just think of me as your friendly neighborhood bodyguard…
Sec. Ross:
Honored… But we really need to get into the base… There are things here that must be protected far more than me…
Spider Man:
Well… Right now we don’t have a way through these drones yet… If your looking to go after MODOC… Firstly… That’s insane… Secondly… There’s no way in right now…
Sec. Ross:
That’s bound to change at the rate your boss is working… We have to be ready to make our own way in at the earliest opportunity…
King T’Challa:
I agree… But you are the least capable among us to do so… You have my pledge of protection as well Sec. Ross… But from what I’ve heard of this MODOC… protection is not so easy to come by… no matter how good your bodyguards may be… with all due respect… to the Spider Man…
Sec. Ross:
I appreciate that… But the priority here absolutely cannot be my protection… There are vastly more important things at stake here than protecting me… And vastly more dangerous things to deal with here besides MODOC…
Spider Man:
You mean the Gamma Bomb?…
Sec. Ross:
How did you know about that?…
Dir. Mace:
Gamma Bomb?… secretary?…
Spider Man:
Gen. Talbot told us about it… when he called out an SOS to us… He was kind of frantic… Didn’t go into details…
Dir. Mace:
Possession and maintenance of weapons like Gamma Bombs are strictly prohibited by multiple treaties… including the Sechovia Accords…
Sec. Ross:
You can press charges later… if we live…
Dir. Mace:
Where exactly on this base is this Gamma Bomb being kept?…
Sec. Ross:
Several levels down beneath that building there… The one that MODOC and his drones have been flooding into for a few minutes now…
Spider Man:
Mr. Stark… Did you get that?…
Iron Man:
Yeah… I got it… Ned… slight change of plans… Keep recycling… But use the Mega Golem to colonize that building and every floor beneath it… Try to slow them down if you can… Isolate MODOC and the drones as best you can… try to keep them away from anyone else…
Ned:
You got it boss… Launching operation Mega Golem maze… AKA… Game of Death… Enter the Mega Golem…
Iron Man:
More like game of dork… Just get it done…
The Mega Golem stomps on numerous beekeepers on it’s way over to the building in question, as Lady Sif and Gen. Fitz cut off their attacks against the beekeepers to get out of the golem’s way. The Mega Golem leans down to rest it’s hand on top of the building, and the golem begins to emit and stream white sparkles covering the building and converting it to matte black FSB material. Iron Man flies down to land near the building entrance, and clears a path to the door through all the remaining beekeepers with a few forceful blasts.
Robbie and the others arrive in his Hell Charger, with skull already on fire, wheels burning as well as screeching, as the Hell Charger drives full flaming speed at a border fence of the base, ramming it, bending it back, then jumping it like a ramp. The Hell Charger lands near a large group of beekeepers, and the Ghost Rider reaches up out of the window with his chain, and starts to whirl his flaming chain in an ever widening flaming circle above the Hell Charger, like a flaming weed wacker, plowing through the beekeepers. The Hell Charger drives, wacks, and burns it’s way through the beekeepers, then screeches to a halt next to Iron Man.
Ned:
Mr. Stark… Be advised… My colonization efforts are meeting up with resistance from enemy FSBs… slowing things down… Which suggests they’re already doing that too… Also be advised… My sensors indicate way more than several levels below that building… It’s like a whole base down there… with tunnels that lead off who knows where… And a submarine base that opens up into ocean beneath the water… They may have multiple ways out… if they want a way out…
Iron Man:
Okay Ned… Maintain the colonization efforts as best as you can here… But send the golem down and colonize that submarine base as a drone… Don’t go down there yourself and don’t land… But keep scanning… And keep recycling!… I want nothing left!… You got it?…
Ned:
You got it boss!… Not a nano scrap!…
Iron Man:
So… Sec. Ross… Way more than several levels?… Multiple tunnels?… Submarine base?… Any thing else you care to share with the group before we play game of death with MODOC and a Gamma Bomb?…
Shuri flies in with Fitz in her new flying car, with Gabriel and Daisy sitting in the back seat, comparing notes while Fitz gazes at his prize translucent tool. They land next to the group, just as the Mega Golem goes for a swim. Capt. Brian Braddock swooshes in almost silently, flying unaided, then hovers over the group before landing next to Gen. Fitz, still wearing his British Royal Air Force uniform, but now with his Captain Britain Motorcycle helmet.
Captain Brian:
Queen Karnilla sent reinforcements… But Shuri insisted on coming to help her brother… Nice sword… general…
Fitz:
Something he knows how to use…
Gen. Fitz:
Stowe it Leopold… We have professional adult business to attend to here…
Ned:
Sir… Be advised… We control the stairwells… But the elevators are iffy… presumed to be under enemy control… But there are no signs of any humans down there… no signs of life at all except for MODOC… the rats… and the cockroaches… It looks like no one’s been down there in forever… Even if the tech isn’t colonized by the enemy… it’s probably suspect…
Iron Man:
Gotcha loud and clear Golem Master… We were just about to divide ourselves… to conquer the enemy… There’s a secret base down there… with a Gamma Bomb in it… At least partly courtesy of Sec. Ross over there… And I’m sure he knows all about it… That base down there… has MODOC in it already… with a head start of several minutes… But that base is attached to a submarine base with access… in theory… I’m headed for the sub base… who wants to get wet with me?…
Ghost Rider:
We are vengeance!… We are not talk!…
The Ghost Rider flames and storms off to smash through the barricaded ground level entrance.
Mack:
I’m with team vengeance…
Daisy:
Me too!… I wanna break something!… A lot of somethings!…
Gen. Talbot:
Wait a minute!… I brought him to the party!… I’m not letting that flaming skull outta my sight!…
Ward:
Wait for me!…
Lady Sif:
Wait for me Ward!… You oaf!…
Sec. Ross:
Wait for me dammit!…
Dir. Mace:
Wait for me Secretary…
Spider Man:
I guess I’m with this party Mr. Stark…
King T’Challa:
Me too… Shuri… You help out with the submarines… Maybe you’ll find a yellow one…
Shuri:
Do you really think so?…
King T’Challa:
Absolutely…
Shuri:
Don’t make fun!…
Iron Man:
Don’t trust the elevators unless you can completely take them over with your FSBs first… We have the stairwells… That’s it… Okay… Ned come down and get whoever doesn’t have their own means to get down to the submarine bay…
Shuri:
I can make one of those shuttles!… Mr. Leeds gave me the specs… And a Death Star Super Cluster of my own!… a double layer Power Prism really I want to show off for it’s creator… The double layer Power Prism… by my calculations… is the most that one can entertain in the hand held device and still be able to physically handle the device while using it… without being augmented or superhuman somehow… This much has already been established… Just don’t tell my brother how…
King T’Challa:
I heard that!…
Shuri:
Hush!… It’s way better than a tablet…
Iron Man:
Let Ned handle the shuttling… It’s the kind of thing he lives for… Trust me… Can you take that whole thing with you?… You might need it… Perhaps a golem?… a little muscle of your own?…
Shuri’s flying car begins to transform and shrink into her matte black FSB Power Prism, as a baseball sized twenty sided matte black polyhedron.
Shuri:
I plan on keeping my golems nano scale for storage… a tip from the Golem Master…
Iron Man:
Right… Gabriel… You’re with me… I’m heading straight for the sub bay now… Suit up and join me… Black Smith…
Gabriel:
Be right there…
Gabriel holds his Power Prism in front of him and lightening shoots out of it forming a matte black version of the Hulk Buster armor with deep sea mods, instantly all around Gabriel, with his Power Prism in the center piece of the chest plate of the armor, where an arc reactor normally is, stunning both Iron Man and Shuri, before taking off after Iron Man for the sub bay. Ned Lands, and the remaining members pile in to the back of the war shuttle. Shuri joins the Golem Master at the helm, while Fitz and His father sit behind them with Captain Brian. Leopold Fitz sits quietly puzzling to himself with a grin on his face, while he stares into his translucent Power Prism, twirling it weightlessly in the palm of his hand as it sparkles.
Gen. Fitz:
Leopold?… Is there a reason you find that crystal so fascinating?… besides what we can see?…
Leopold:
Endless possibilities… Infinite and endless… Far too much to talk about… And talk is cheap anyway… Right?… Chaos is beautiful… and dangerous… ‘The woods are lovely… dark and deep… But I have promises to keep… And miles to go before I sleep’… Or… eat drink and be merry… for tomorrow we role a twenty sided die?… or is it ride… or role… a twenty sided die?…
Gen. Fitz:
Quit while you’re a head case son… What’s with all that clap trap?… Are you spacing out to your own personal disco ball there?…
Leopold:
It’s one of the most powerful supercomputers ever produced… that could ever be produced… And all of that… in the palm of my hand… and because of the telepathic link… potentially in my head now… But it’s a lot to assimilate… So many possibilities… The maximum that could be theoretically withstood by someone with Black Box Extremis like me… Ten double layers… four hundred arc reactors… all powering the ultimate nanotech quantum supercomputer… calculating the infinite possibilities of chaotic existence… mastering chaos…
Gen. Fitz:
If you say so… Dr. light show…
Leopold:
Dr. Spectrum… actually… Jemma called me Dr. Spectrum… But she’s taken to calling herself Madame Web… I gave her one of these things too… before we left… I wish we could have stayed to get her reaction…
Gen. Fitz:
What?… To see if her head explodes too?…
Leopold:
My head is not going to explode!… At least not in any way that my Extremis can’t fix…
Gen. Fitz:
What your Extremis can’t fix?… What about fixing your Extremis?…
Leopold:
Who says I want it fixed?… That was a gift!… a gift of immortal life… from my immortal vampire girlfriend… which… while I was a bit cross with her for it at the time… As it turns out now… I can be with her forever!… But we can talk about all that other stuff later… I want to talk about how well you swing that sword dad… Queen Karnilla’s sword… The genetic key lock of the FSB is based on the Asgardian blood lock… Powerful Asgardian weapons are on often genetically key locked to their primary users and their direct descendants… as family heirlooms… The queen’s sword is no different… I already had my own experience with that whole glowing power up thing it does… And I noticed yours… Lady Sif did too… The queen knows… And she knows I know… But she hasn’t said anything… And neither have I till now… I guess we were both waiting for Lady Amora… Dr. Amora Laufey… to say something… But she hasn’t… And I’m fit to burst… What the hell dad?… Did You know?… You seem awfully cool with all of this…
Gen. Fitz:
I didn’t exactly know… But I always suspected… Grandmother would appear using a glamour that I would always see through… It always seemed strange that no one else noticed that she wasn’t elderly like a normal grandmother… And I’m far older than I look sonny… But I never knew the truth of it before now… Can you prove this?… For real?…
Leopold:
I already have… I’ve been doing deep background ever since I got this thing fully firing up… I’ve been assimilating the details this whole time… If you want I can send it to you… But before we indulge personal business as you say… There is something else your going to need along with the queen’s sword… You should be able to handle a double layer Power Prism… just like the one Shuri is using… And you’re going to need it… Let me give you one… I’m sending you the specs now… Try and make one now… You’ll need it against MODOC… I’ve been going over the data… I’ll send you that too… all of you… It’s twisted stuff… scientifically speaking…
Gen. Fitz FSB cube reforms into a baseball sized matte black twenty sided polyhedron.
Leopold:
Word of warning to normal brained who wish to remain that way… The telepathic interface can be as two way as you want it to be… The normal human mind can only stand so much input… But you don’t have to use it that way… Gabriel made one just like mine… But he doesn’t use it the same way I do… At least not at the moment… He’s more intuitive… an artist… I’m jealous of his skill frankly…
Gen. Fitz:
How do I make mine pretty?… Like yours?…
Leopold:
Command it to be… Translucent… Try it..
Gen. Fitz:
Translucent…
Gen. Fitz double layer Power Prism turns crystal translucent.
Gen. Fitz:
Matte black…
Gen. Fitz double layer Power Prism turns matte black again.
Gen. Fitz:
Professional and fancy dress…
Captain Brian:
Can I get me one of those… You said that yours was the maximum that someone with Black Box Extremis could handle… You and Gabriel both have one… I’ve had the same treatment… I can handle it too… Give me one too… I can take the full load too… I can take it…therefore I must take it for those who can’t… In the name of the Union Jack… For queen and country…
Leopold:
If your CO here says okay… We can’t really wait for the queen here…
Gen. Fitz:
No… We can’t… Go ahead and give him the full Monty… He’s a test pilot anyway… I probably would have ordered him to take it on anyway… Lets do this quick before we land in the bay…
Leopold:
I’m sending you the specs for the full Monty now…
Captain Brian:
Can we quit calling it that?…
Leopold:
Take it step by step… stage by stage… double layer by double layer…
Captain Brian takes his helmet off and cups it in his hands, as it looses it’s color and reforms into smooth matte black spherical mass in his hands. Then the matte black mass in his hands forms a twenty sided polyhedron Power Prism, which suddenly emits arcs of lightening that harmlessly bath everything around them, as they begin to float for few seconds, including the Power Prism, which floats out of Brian’s hand for a moment before he grabs it again in his hand. Then all the arcs stop, and everything and everyone stops floating.
Leopold:
Interesting Brian… Not only do you have the power to fly… But apparently… you have the power to take people with you… gravity control… through electromagnetism… more than just electromagnetic levitation… You might want to tie that thing on some how… So it doesn’t float away on you again…
The Captain Brian’s Power Prism shrinks down to the size of an actual D&D die, then turns silver in appearance, and generates a silvery chain for itself in a brief flurry of white sparkles, before Brian puts it around his neck. White sparkles continue to be emitted from his necklace, as his silvery Power Prism colonizes his uniform, and changes it into some form of silvery form fitting chain mail armor, covering his entire body down to his motorcycle boots, then finishing with a red white and blue Union Jack, painting itself all over the front of his new armor, then all over the back. His replica motorcycle helmet reforms on his head out of FSBs, in a flurry of white sparkles, likewise self painted with the Union Jack all over it.
Captain Britain:
Well… What do you think?… Too much?…
Gen. Fitz follows suit, but conjures up a fully matte black chain mail, with modern matte black combat boots. Gen. Fitz shrinks his Power Prism down and hangs it from his neck with a matte black chain.
Gen. Fitz:
You should armor up too son… And you too Lady Shuri…
Shuri:
Just because you look the part… doesn’t mean you have to act like a chivalrous knight…
Gen. Fitz:
I’m not… You need to protect yourself where we’re going… We all do…
Ned:
For the record I fight with golems… remotely… if at all… But I got golems for days… And I aim to please… Mr. Stark and the queen at least… By the way… we’re coming up on the bay now… So… If you have any other last minute major revelations and preparations to make… Now is the time…
Shuri:
I wish to study with the Golem Master… And practice my own golem arts… So I will stay with him and support his efforts… We’ll ride to the rescue later if need be… What of you Dr. Spectrum?… You should protect yourself physically at least a little bit…
Leopold:
I’m not wearing Stark armor… Asgardian armor… or other traditional types of armor would seem like an embarrassing cosplay… Jemma and I haven’t been into that since the academy… Perhaps a stylish compromise…
White sparkles bath Leopold and his cloths, transforming them to matte black chain mail like his fathers, then covers them with matte black hooded overcoat, and forms a set of plain and traditional looking matte black shades over his eyes, with his hood drawn over his head. As soon as all the white sparkles die down, Leopold shimmers away and disappears, then suddenly reappears moments later.
Leopold:
There… That should provide more than enough protection… If I need anything else I can always make it…
Gen. Fitz:
Is a single double layer… really the maximum for an unaltered human?…
Leopold:
Don’t even think about it dad… Black Box Extremis is extremely experimental… Don’t let my blasé detached attitude fool you… I’m fine with it… But that is still dangerous… The full Monty could be handled only indirectly otherwise… Like Jemma has to because of her special nature… Like Gabriel does by preference… I’ll send you the specs… I’ll give you whatever I’ve got general!… But you might not be able to handle the pressure!… So don’t make one your self…
Gen. Fitz:
If your girlfriend can’t handle the full Monty… How does she handle it?…
Leopold:
Inside one of her golems… One of her creepy spider minions… Made extra large at first to handle to power… Then shrunk down to the size of a creepy little tarantula… with red sparkles of all things… There’s no place like home Madame Web…
Gen. Fitz:
Perhaps I should make a golem of my own anyway… Ned and Lady Shuri probably should as well…
Leopold:
Try it… Just remember to over compensate with the size of the golem you put it in… You can always shrink it down from there with the synthetic Pym particles… Just don’t use that stuff on anything living as a precaution… Unless you’re a mad scientist…
Gen. Fitz pulls the already shrunken Power Prism around his neck and forms a Golem statue of a hulking matte black gargoyle, with a Union Jack on the chest of it, and a baseball sized hole in the center of the Union Jack, then places his existing Power Prism inside the gargoyle’s Union Jack, which morphs and shape shifts to absorb it completely, before it pulsates light purple for a few moments.
Gen. Fitz:
There… Now I can fight along side it… I don’t have to handle a thing…
Shuri:
Let me try!…
Shuri holds up her Power Prism and forms a large matte black statue of a giant black panther, ears, tail, and all on all fours in a flurry of white sparkles. She then places her Power Prism inside the head of the panther, which absorbs it completely, as the panther begins to pulsate yellow for a few moments, before the panther shrinks down to the size of a house cat and jumps into Shuri’s lap.
Shuri:
There’s a good little T’Chaka… Your turn Golem Master!…
Ned:
Woh there… Mr. Stark told me explicitly not to make any more…
Shuri:
Did he tell you not to upgrade?…
Ned:
No… He would never say that…
Shuri:
Then upgrade what you have… How many do you have now?… Five wasn’t it?…
Dr. Spectrum:
You could consolidate them… like Russian nesting dolls… One inside the other until there’s just one Mega Golem… Then you can add as many additional layers to you reach ten max… The human mind can only manage to maintain control over so much… Dr. Rappaccini supposedly lost control of her drones somehow… or so she claims…
Ned:
Yeah… Upgrades… I’ll buy that… It may get me fired… But maybe Mr. Stark will buy it too… Okay… All five are consolidating and upgrading as we speak… But it will take a while for me on account of the fact that I have multiple processes underway dealing with this situation as it is… recycling alone!… just cleaning up after these beekeeper loser bots!… It’s crazy the mess they left back there… Bound to be more inside…
Shuri:
Don’t worry Golem Master… I will protect you… In exchange for all your secrets of course…
Ned:
Granted… Everything except Stark’s armor… He’s particular about that…
The war shuttle pulls into the underwater bay, as Daisy shatters a blast door covering a secure stairwell entrance. The Ghost Rider storms past her and begins to stalk down the stairs as Daisy follows. Then Mack follows close behind, followed in turn by Gen. Talbot, Ward, Dir. Mace, and Lady Sif, with Secretary Ross, Spider Man, and King T’Challa falling in behind them. The group make their way down without incident, until they reach the floor of interest to the Ghost Rider, as well as Gen. Talbot and Sec. Ross, as the rider tries to open the extra secure door to that level. Daisy steps in and shatters it away, allowing the Ghost Rider entry, with Daisy and the group to follow close behind.
The Ghost Rider leads the group into a large chamber, emptied except for a hovering and smiling MODOC, and a small army of beekeepers. The Ghost Rider storms directly after MODOC, and is immediately swarmed and buried in beekeepers, as are the rest of the group.
Ward:
Will!… It’s go time!… It’s now or never!… Are you ready?…
Will:
I’m ready if you are!… Don’t forget… Star God Mode requires more than just my FSB fabrications… You gotta bring your end of it too!… Are you ready for this?…
Ward:
Just start the process!… I’ve been practicing with Karny Girl!… I can do this!… Now start the process!…
Lady Sif:
What are you blathering on about?… Ward?… You confused berzerker oaf!…
Ward begins his transformation into his full wolfkin form, while his matte black tracksuit morphs and shifts into a set of Asgardian style armor with imperial colors of Nornheim, purple and gold armor with silvery chain mail, fitted to his wolfkin form, with a large over sized heavy purple and gold shield on his left arm, bearing the Nornheim crest in gold, and a long handled medieval style straight double edged long sword, swinging in his right hand. Ward proceeds to tear through the beekeepers, growling, howling, winging his sword with one arm, and plowing through them with the shield on his other arm. Taken by his berzerker frenzy, Lady Sif goes full berzerker herself, and joins in after.
Spider Man:
Stay behind me Sec. Ross… Your majesty… King T’Challa… No offense… your majesty… But you’re not exactly dressed for success here…
King T’Challa:
With all due respect Spider Man… I’m perfectly prepared for this… I was just being diplomatic…
The Black Panther mask and helmet forms over King T’Challa’s face and head, with some kind of non-FSB Wakandan nanotech, as the Black Panther physically rips off the hooded ceremonial robe that covered the rest of his armor, before tearing into the beekeepers.
Spider Man:
Woh!… You don’t do that too… Do you?… Sec. Ross?…
Sec. Ross:
Don’t be silly kid!… Go help the king!…
Spider Man:
But Mr. Stark said to watch after you!…
Sec. Ross:
Stark isn’t here!… And I’m the Sec. of State!… And that’s a foreign monarch dressed like a black cat over there!… Go help the king!… That’s an order!… I don’t need a babysitter!… Go!…
Spider Man:
Yes sir Mr. Secretary!…
Spider Man complies and swings after the king as ordered, as Sec. Ross begins to discretely step away from the action. Dr. Golem suddenly swoops in from out of nowhere, and grabs Sec. Ross, then disappears shimmering, with MODOC Shimmering away after that.
Gen. Talbot:
Ross!…
Once Dr. Golem makes off with Sec. Ross, the beekeepers change their tactics and begin leveling and firing full auto chain fed machine gun fire at them from hidden improvised machine gun nests. Daisy surrounds and protects them all with a concentrated vibration force field, deflecting all of the bullets. Daisy unleashes a specially tuned and focused vibration shock wave that shatters the beekeepers, stopping the gunfire and freeing the Ghost Rider to chase.
Gen. Talbot:
Ross?… Where did they take the secretary?…
Dir. Mace:
No idea… They just shimmered away… We have no choice now but to follow the Ghost Rider… He at least knows what he’s after… And where it seems… After him!…
Gen. Talbot:
He’s headed for the submarine base… There’s an old lab complex there… with multiple tunnels… We could end up chasing him down here for years with all these tunnels… It was part of the original gamma research project… That is where the Gamma Bomb was born… That’s The Cube… It was called that because of the way it looked on the inside… Because the underground base was filled in with prefabricated square slabs of specially designed radiation proof material as a precaution… specially designed by Banner that way… All the rooms are variations and combinations on those standard slab made squares… All the rooms look alike… the place was maze even before MODOC got here…
Ward’s human voice chimes in through his FSB.
Ward:
This is The Cube!?!… I thought this maze looked familiar!… Woh… I’m talking through the FSB… Will are you still in there?…
Will:
Still here wolf boy…
Gen. Talbot:
You know the layout of The Cube fanboy?…
Ward:
Yeah… But I don’t recall a submarine base in the specs… And I thought the Gamma Base was in Dulce New Mexico…
Gen. Talbot:
The Submarine base was labeled submersible lab with the bay door left off the specs for security… Dulce was just the test site… This is The Cube…
Ward:
The rider’s headed toward the main central lab space… There are lots of places for more ambushes along the way… But I don’t think the Rider cares… So be ready… We’re in for more of a fight…
Gen. Talbot:
Well let’s go fanboy!… Lets get there first!… Let’s see if we can nudge the flaming skull into taking a smarter path… Now that we seem to know where this is headed…
Daisy:
Leave flamer boy to me!… I speak vengeance!… Which way are we going fanboy?… Vengeance will not be kept waiting…
In a large square central lab of triple slab height, twenty slabs long and twenty slabs deep, Sec. Ross wakes up, strapped to a matte black table in a large containment tank, with a large radiation vault door, big enough even for MODOC. A matte black version of the original Gamma Bomb lies at the foot of the matte black slab that Sec. Ross is strapped to with matte black straps. MODOC hovers over him in anticipation, startling him.
Sec. Ross:
Holy crap don’t eat me!… Kill me quickly!… Please!… If you must!… Just don’t eat me!…
MODOC:
I have no intention of eating you grandfather… I intend to liberate you from your shackles of politics…
Sec. Ross:
Who the hell are you calling grandfather freak?…
MODOC:
I’m calling you grandfather… You were as much a builder of AIM as Aldrich Killian and Maya Hansen was… It was your funding from the Hulk Buster Task Force… deep pockets… unlimited excuses… Sound familiar grandfather?… I’ve done my homework this time… Stark Industries was a stupid and childish impulse… A result of being tricked by mother’s betrayal!…
Sec. Ross:
Mother?…
MODOC:
My mother… My creator… My betrayer… Dr. Monica Rappaccini… But nonetheless the designer of our salvation… with something she came up with long before I was born… or reborn… before her betrayal!… Something called… Gamma Extremis…
Sec. Ross:
Gamma Extremis!?!…
MODOC:
Yes… It is essentially a gamma ray wavelength enabled version of Extremis… the pinnacle of the AIM development project that you ordered and funded… then walked away from… The Hulk is a naturally occurring version… of what Gamma Extremis is meant to produce… And you shall be it’s first patient… I have modified the original Gamma Bomb… to create a Gamma Infuser… for the Gamma Extremis… It generates a burst of gamma ray wavelength energy… while simultaneously irradiating the Gamma Extremis with it… then infusing it into the air in concentrated form… bathed in the gamma rays that are like it’s mother’s milk… resonating with it by design… By mother’s design…
Sec. Ross:
You’re completely insane…
MODOC:
I am not insane!… I am Science!… And now… you will be too… Welcome back to the family grandfather… I have much to teach you…
MODOC hovers over and out as he leaves Sec. Ross strapped to a table attached to the Gamma Infuser inside the chamber. MODOC closes the chamber door behind him with telekinetic force. Then the Gamma Infuser starts a very visible ten second countdown, well in sight of Sec. Ross.
Sec. Ross:
Stop this!… Stop this at once!… I’m the Sec. of State!… Dammit freak!… I am Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross!…
MODOC:
No… Grandfather… You’re a traitor to science… And so you will become science… like me… as penance for your sins… as an apostate against science…
Sec. Ross:
Wait!… Wait!… Lets Talk about this!…
MODOC:
Talk is nothing but worthless noise!… Talking is no substitute for thinking!… I have learned that the hard way… I have already calculated and anticipated all of your blather… And I find your noise predictable and boring… Good bye grandfather… Hopefully you will be more interesting when I’m done with you… if you survive…
The Gamma Infuser begins to emit a pulsating red glow, as it hums louder and louder and glows brighter and brighter, nearing the end of it’s countdown. Then at the end, it flashes a blinding red flash, as a glowing red liquid is explosively diffused throughout the chamber, rendering the whole tank visibly into an opaque glowing pulsating red. As the pulsating red glow dies down to a dark opaque blood red, a loud Hulk like roar shatters the extra thick security glass, and the orange red glow of flames begin to pierce the blood red cloud slightly.
Within Monica’s White Sparkle Lounge, as one time bomb goes off, another one waits to blow, and a slow burning fuse is in the process of being tap danced on by Dr. Monica Rappaccini and her grandmother,. A matte black round table with matte black chairs sits in the center of them, covered with a white table cloth, with Giuletta Nefaria on one side, and Silvio Manfreddi on the other side. Monica sits opposite her grandmother Whitney Frost, the mother of the principle family feud combatants, Silvio and Giuletta. Betsy sits on the couch off to the side trying to stay out of things, as the combatants scowl at their movie star mother who looks younger than both of them.
Silvio:
So what foul sort of trick is this?… And who’s?… The foul witch Giuletta’s?… or her foul witch daughter’s?…
Giuletta:
Watch your foul tongue Silvio!… while you still have it!…
Whitney:
Watch both your tongues!… Both of you!… At the very least I would think that the children of Joseph Manfreddi would have more sense!… than to disrespect someone with my granddaughter’s power to her face… given that you are both her prisoners… my precious children… And as far as you believing that I am who I and my granddaughter say I am… I will understand your skepticism for only so long little Silvio… little Giuletta… before I give a you both a beating that will make one of grandma Manfreddi’s look like a spa message… You remember grandma Manfreddi don’t you?… And all the times you two would come running to me for sympathy… hoping that I wouldn’t tell papa… Come now children… Do we really have to reenact the family history here?…
Monica:
Recent history is bad enough…
Whitney:
Hush little Monica!… I’ll take care of this!…
Monica:
Sorry… grand mama…
Whitney:
But she is not wrong!… But I do not mean to be the heavy handed mother my first day back into your lives… We come bearing gifts… gifts that will help us rule the world some day!… And you would rather kill each other in some stupid blood feud over petty chump change rackets… I don’t care what it’s about!… And your father wouldn’t care either…
Silvio:
Sorry mama… But you look like you did… when you were with us… I remember mama… I tried to forget to be honest… Papa did too… None of us could move on really… It’s a bit much to wrap one’s head around… to see you like this now… If I could just understand…
Whitney:
It’s partly the result of something called Black Box Extremis… A power that little Monica gave to me… And which now… she can give to you two… if you promise to make peace long enough for me to get to know you two properly…
Monica:
Are you sure about that grand mama?… Do you really trust them to make peace long enough for that?…
Whitney:
Hush child!… I’m afraid our family interests will require at least that much risk… Give it to them now…
Monica:
Okay grand mama… Uncle Silvio… You’re in the most dire need so I’ll start with you… I’m going to give you your own magic black box of alien nanotech… already reverse engineered… It can colonize and upgrade any existing technology… But with the Black Box Extremis… the FSBs combine with Extremis… to regulate and stabilize the Extremis… potentially regrowing your old body eventually… I’ll get the process started at the same time that I give you your FSB… If your ready…
Silvio:
I’m ready whenever you are little Nefaria!… Hit me with your best shot!…
Giuletta:
Wait!… Give it to me first!… If you give it to him… he’ll use it to kill me before you can stop him!… He can’t be trusted!…
Whitney:
Hush little Giuletta!… I will give you the treatment while little Monica applies it to Silvio… I haven’t done it before… But I’ve seen it done a few times now…
Monica holds her Power Prism up and it begins to stream white sparkles into Silvio’s eyes, nose, and mouth. The matte black purl necklace around Whitney’s neck reforms into her matte black smiling drama mask on her face, and begins to emit a stream of white sparkles likewise into Giuletta’s eyes, nose, and throat. Monica’s Power Prism continues to cover Silvio’s cybernetics in white sparkles, colonizing them, turning them matte black. Silvio and Giuletta both begin to pulsate with a blue glow for a few moments before the glow dies down.
Monica:
The FSBs use a literally telepathic control mechanism… So you have to manually remove your FSB cybernetics consciously as you gradually grow the other parts back…
Giuletta:
Glorified witch craft!… I approve!… Perhaps we finally understand each other at last daughter…
Monica:
Gee… Thanks mother… That’s truer than you realize… But we can talk about that more later… Now if you both can behave yourselves… my angel Gabriel… the father of my children… is having a bit of a kerfuffle… And I may have to rescue him from the better angels of his nature… He’s just too much of an angel for his own good sometimes really… I really need to drop you two off I’m afraid… separately of course… Or you can wait together while I fetch him… Perhaps Betsy can chaperon…
Betsy:
I would love to help any way that I can… If they’ll have me…
Giuletta:
I would love to meet this angel Gabriel character… my would be son in law…
Silvio:
Wild robot horses couldn’t drag me away at this point… And the lady Betsy is quite diverting company to have… as a chaperon…
Betsy:
Well… that sounds like a silver tongue… as well as a silver mane…
Giuletta:
Get a room…
Monica:
Careful uncle Silvio… My friend Betsy here… is a vampire…
Silvio:
Charming… and intriguing… Where is this angel Gabriel now?…
Monica:
Actively digging himself a deep hole with good intentions…
Giuletta:
Sounds like a real hard case…
Monica:
His older brother is much worse… Trust me… But I planted a back door into his Power Prism… a back door that he can remove once he becomes aware of it… A necessary bit of subterfuge for the sake of science… and our family… I gave my angel Gabriel the specs hoping that he would share it with the FSBs creators… spurring further development… and allowing me to piggy back off of their genius further… I know that I said that I didn’t want to give you too many short cuts grand mama… I wanted to see what you would come up with on your own… But we simply can’t wait… Things are happening too quickly…
Whitney:
I understand little Monica… How would you like to proceed?…
Monica:
Give me temporary control of your FSBs… And I can run two simultaneous fabrication and upgrade processes… for what is known as a ten double layer Power Prism… The highest humanly manageable for someone with Black Box Extremis like us…
Whitney:
Do your best Monica… or your worst… I trust in your science… and your will…
Monica:
Thank you grand mama… We have to vacate the premises however… It’s about to get more crowded in her with the upgrade…
Lightening arcs in, erupting from the walls, striking everyone and disappearing them from Monica’s White Sparkle Lounge, and materializing them outside the main house on Giuletta’s Malibu estate. Additional lightening flashes and arcs out from her Power Prism, and the hell hounds held in stasis materialize all around them, but appear docile, as if sedated. White sparkles begin to stream from Whitney’s mask, forming a small baseball sized matte black twenty sided polyhedron. Monica and Whitney both begin to pulsate a light blue glow momentarily as they adjust to the power.
Monica:
How… How is that?… grand mama?… How does that make you feel?… Can you feel that too?…
Whitney:
Yes little Monica… We have so much work to do… for the future of our family… But first… Your angel Gabriel awaits…
Politics Are Poison!
Poison That Never Ends!
Battles Of Shadows And Mist!
That Forever Never End!
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