The Defenders Of Midgard, An MCU Fan Fiction:
By Ozymandias The Mad
Chapter 17
In To The Heart Of Hellfire
Welcome To The Hellfire Club
A disenchanted Pepper Pots stands in Hulk Orchard Park, still wearing her sparkly red dress and her golden tiara, waving her golden wand, and practicing her magic, with frustrating results. Gen. Fitz stands watch in the park and watches her practice. Pepper tries to create the matte black vines that she had used before during her enchantment, but the vines fail to form properly, then disintegrate before her eyes, to her ever growing frustration.
Witch Pepper:
Dammit!… This was so easy just a few minutes ago… I still remember everything… Why can’t I do this now?…
Gen. Fitz:
If you don’t mind me saying so… I think your trying too hard… to do something that you don’t completely believe to be possible… I’ve picked up a bit of magic myself over the years… a lot of it from my great grandfather Loki in disguise… You may still have all of the memories of a sorceress… But you no longer have the confidence of one… You may know and understand how it’s done… But that is not the same as belief… The power of magic… is largely a power of the mind… But the conscious mind is always riddled with doubt and questioning… If it’s still working properly that is… But magic requires an absolute faith to perform… Which is why the mental discipline is so important… Absolute belief is impossible without mental discipline to suspend all questioning… without completely losing reason… Truly powerful magic often requires entering into a deep trance… often accompanied by chanting… even music… Try to relax… and just go through the motions… like psychic muscle memory… Don’t think about it… Just do it…
Witch Pepper:
Do… or do not… There is no try…
Witch Pepper takes a deep breath, and waves her magic wand again, conjuring a giant green tree in the middle of Hulk Orchard Park.
Witch Pepper:
Alright!… It worked!… But why does magic require such absolute faith?… That sounds culty to me…
Gen. Fitz:
Technically speaking… It’s not that faith is required so much… as doubt that must be temporarily suspended… because it gets in the way… The power of the mind is also the power of the subconscious… not just the conscious mind… So magic often involves using various tricks of the mind… against one’s own mind… to temporarily unify both the conscious and subconscious minds… in common purpose… and with absolute focus… for that common purpose… without any nagging doubts… that act as a psychosomatic blocks… against tapping into the full power of the mind…
Witch Pepper:
That doesn’t sound like anything I remember…
Gen. Fitz:
It’s not the traditional explanation… My training was more traditional too… But I’ve been working with the Weird Happenings Organization for a number of decades… and they take a more scientific parapsychology approach… better suited for people with more modernist sensibilities…
Witch Pepper:
Any other tips and tricks?…
Gen. Fitz:
Just one really… whenever possible and practical… and safe to do so… cheat!… Stark called… He was going to give you an FSB himself… But the events of this evening are keeping him quite busy… So he’s asked me to handle it for him… These devices allow for people without the mental discipline… to use basic magic without it… For someone with actual training like you… Or just the memories of it… It should make everything much easier for you… And provide an additional power source as well…
Witch Pepper:
Well… I don’t know about that… Aren’t those things dangerously powerful?…
Gen. Fitz:
Yes… And you’ll probably need it… There are no reinforcements coming any time soon… We’re it… And I take it from your earnest practice… that you intend to step off the sidelines?… If so… you’ll need every weapon you can get… provided you know how to use it… And your false memories give more than adequate qualifications for it… Even if you don’t wish to go to the front lines… There is no safe place in all of Los Angeles right now… And with the bulk of our strength elsewhere… Now would be an opportune time to attack us here… You’ll probably need your own Power Prism just to defend yourself…
Witch Pepper:
Well… Okay… Does it hurt?…
Gen. Fitz:
That depends on where you stick it… I’m kidding… It doesn’t hurt…
Gen. Fitz goes through the familiar motions, accompanied by the familiar white sparkles, and forms a matte black spear within her empty hand, with a translucent crystal shard as a spear head.
Witch Pepper:
A spear?… Are you trying to encourage me to join the fight?…
Gen. Fitz:
In your hands it’s primarily meant to be something of a wizard’s staff… an extra large wand basically… But the spear is for the up close and personal… just in case…
Pepper levels her new spear in the direction of her new tree, then lightening shoots out of the spear tip and lights up her tree, setting it ablaze.
Witch Pepper:
Wow!… Not just up close and personal…
In another corner of Hulk Orchard Park, Dr. Pym, Dr. Van Dyne, and Dotty watch over the Wolf King’s brood, along with Romulus, Remus, and Robin, with numerous enlarged ants standing guard and patrolling the area, as well as playing with the various small children. The new fairies Scott and Hope ride on an enlarged ant’s head, and keep watch over the children with Dr. Pym, Dr. Van Dyne, and the others. Dotty just sits and polishes her new plasma pistol, with an agitated look of frustrated concern on her face.
Dr. Pym:
Don’t get me wrong… I like kids… But this is not I what expected when I took the Black Box Extremis… I’ve been almost completely useless so far… except to serve as a glorified babysitter… Even the wingnuts are more useful right now… as acolytes of Avalon… magic gives me a headache…
Fairy Scott:
We’re fairies of Avalon… by virtue of enchantment… But still…
Fairy Hope:
But we’re junior acolytes… on account of being young fairy folk… The wingnuts enchanted back story made them our supervisors and instructors!… our keepers basically…
Dr. Pym:
So… Headaches all around then…
Dr. Van Dyne:
Now Hank… You shouldn’t be so eager to join the fray… This war is only getting started for us… And it’s been going on since long before us… Times like these will be few and far between for us…
Romulus:
Yeah… Take it easy when you can… Because you never know when a spider goblin’s going to attack… and not just in Niflheim…
Remus:
Yeah… We thought we were done with all that… But as it turns out… Midgard is a pretty rough neighborhood too…
Robin:
It wasn’t that bad when Lady Gallio was in charge…
Romulus:
Lady Gallio was the bad… when she was in charge…
Robin:
You weren’t there…
Romulus:
Fortunately for us…
Remus:
But she had a lot more people to defend Nova Roma… then we’ve ever had to protect Emerald City…
On a series of benches a little ways from the playing children, King Odin sits watching his grandchildren and great grandchildren play, with Dir. Mace and his adopted son Loki, surrounded by his Nornheim attendants. In front of him, Dr. Jane Foster sits on the grass with her daughter, gazing at the screens of two newly formed matte black laptops, as Dr. Foster tries to keep her daughter busy analyzing data from the pit.
Dir. Mace:
Are you sure that you wouldn’t rather be resting?…
King Odin:
I am resting… I’m taking a break from prophecy… For as long as it will allow me to do so… And I will do as I wish while that is the case… And I wish to see my grandchildren… and great grandchildren…
Dir. Mace:
Yes your majesty…
Loki:
I’m with father on this one… I’m still getting used to the idea of having so many new grandchildren of my own…
King Odin:
Yes… It’s a lot to get used to… Even if you see it coming… as I did…
Princess Frigga:
You saw it coming grandpa?…
King Odin:
Yes indeed I did… young Princess Frigga… and your parents wedding…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Right… The wedding… Can’t wait…
Dr. Bill Foster tours the city with B and T Ward, trying to keep his mind off of his missing friend Ava, accompanied by some of Dr. Pym’s ants. B & T both carry large plasma rifles, seemingly over sized overkill for twelve year old kids.
Dr. Bill Foster:
Hate to break it to you kids… But your Emerald City… isn’t emerald…
B Ward:
It was…
T Ward:
Till everything got whammied…
B Ward:
We would ask Aunty Lorelei what’s wrong with the city… because she basically is the city… But she’s gone dark… She must have gotten whammied too…
T Ward:
Uncle Bishop is probably freaking out… He’s known her even longer than we have… And they got a thing… of some kind…
B Ward:
But how kind?…
The three chuckle at the kids ribbing of Aunty Lorelei.
Dr. Bill Foster:
I’m missing a friend too… But we don’t have a thing… She’s like an adopted daughter to me… And I feel like I’ve misplaced her… But she was compromised by the Black Queen… And now I’m stuck here waiting for the other shoe to drop… Nothing personal kids…
BT Ward:
It’s cool…
B Ward:
Say… Do you talk to ants too?…
Dr. Bill Foster:
No kid… That’s not a trick that I ever learned… But if you need anything off of a high shelf… I’m your man…
BT Ward:
Ha… Ha…
Dr. Simmons and Lorelei make their way to Hulk Orchard Park, with Meghan and their Cuckoos escort. King Odin catches sight of them and calls out to Lorelei.
King Odin:
How lovely to see you again… Lady Lorelei… So glad that you could finally join us… As I knew you would…
Loki:
Lorelei… Are you okay?… When the city went black… and you went dark… I was worried that Malekith had done something to you… What’s wrong?… Did something happen?…
Lorelei:
I’m alive again!… I don’t know how… But I’m no longer part of the city anymore… I have flesh of my own again!… But I cannot vouch for the nature of my own resurrection… or whether or not Malekith had anything to do with it…
King Odin:
To hell with Malekith!… I will vouch for your resurrection!… Do not concern yourself with the how of it… seize this chance at a new start… and make the most of it… Even if Malekith had a hand in it… He is not all powerful… We will seize this victory… from the jaws of Malekith’s defeat… from his mouth directly if necessary… along with his wagging tongue…
Lorelei:
That is most gratifying to hear your majesty… Is my daughter here?… I feel an extra strong need to hug my own daughter with my own arms…
Loki:
She is assisting your sisters elsewhere at the moment… But she is as safe as anyone can be probably… even though it is technically a battle field…
Lorelei:
A battle field!?!…
Loki:
Now calm down… your daughter takes after you in more ways than you realize… She has your power… especially with your dagger… She has a special talent for using it to free hell hounds… enslaved wolfkin… her and her father’s people… She may have been drafted at a young age… But she is doing her duty… And she seems to love her work…
Lorelei:
It is truly a dark time that necessitates such things… But I understand… And who is this young one?… She’s not one of Ward’s…
Princess Frigga:
I’m Princess Frigga!… I’m Thor’s daughter… But I’m working too… I’m working the problem with mommy…
Lorelei:
Is that so?… And what problem is that?…
Princess Frigga:
Fixing the space-time continuum… once the queen of evil is done messing with it…
Lorelei:
Really?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Yes… She’s mommies little assistant… But this is going to take more than the two of us and our laptops… But everyone is busy now… or needs to be…
Lorelei:
I see what you mean…
Meghan:
I don’t see… Am I supposed to be busy?…
Loki:
Yes… You’re supposed to be busy helping us look after the kids… while their father and mothers are away…
Meghan:
I’m on it!… I won’t let you down daddy… And I won’t run away again… I promise…
Meghan strides off with a sense of mission towards the kids playing with the ants, as Gen. Fitz walks over to talk, leaving Pepper to practice with her new toy.
Gen. Fitz:
Dr. Simmons… May I have a word with you?… About Leopold’s mother?…
Dr. Simmons:
Do we really have to?… Is she still here?…
Gen. Fitz:
No… And she still doesn’t know about you… and your condition… does she?…
Dr. Simmons:
No… My own parents don’t even know… Has she been enchanted?… Maybe I’ll get lucky… and she’ll forget all about me from some enchantment…
Gen. Fitz:
Not likely… Can we have a word in private?… There are a few things you need to know… about Leopold’s mum…
Dr. Simmons:
Well… Okay… If you insist… general melodrama…
Gen. Fitz:
Please… call me Alistair… We are practically family after all…
The Warriors Three are led by Daisy’s adopted service dog Snoopy, followed by a number of Dr. Pym’s enlarged ants, as they search the city with Snoopy as their guide.
Fandral:
Not to disparage Mistress Daisy’s choice in hounds… but do we even know if this dog can hunt?… What is it even chasing after?…
Volstagg:
Perhaps it’s just hungry…
Hogan:
I do not know if this dog can hunt… But Mistress Daisy did say that she adopted the animal once it’s military service was over… I don’t think the dog is actually trained to hunt… But it is trained to fight in a way… I have no idea what it’s after… But it does know Reyna’s scent… We have to secure the city anyway… So we might as well let Snoopy here be our guide to the city…
In a remote part of the city, far from Hulk Orchard Park, a poof of black smoke materializes four figures, Electra and the blind monk from the Dunbar Hotel, along with Ava and Venom.
Electra:
So… do we understand each other or not?… I know that you don’t want to be handled Venom… But we do have important tasks to perform here besides your personal obsession…
Venom:
Don’t waste your breath… You and I both know that I’m only a distraction for your mission… We don’t need to coordinate for that… We don’t even need to speak… So we probably shouldn’t…
Venom shoots out a web line and swings away.
Blind Monk:
Is he going to be a problem?…
Electra:
I don’t know Matt… Probably… But most likely not today my love…
Ava:
Leave Dr. Foster to me… He won’t give me any trouble… I bet he’ll almost come quietly… Either way… he shouldn’t be any trouble… compared to what your after…
Blind Matt:
Thanks for the endorsement… I’m brimming with confidence now…
Electra:
It’s a fair enough assessment… For all his complaining… Venom probably has better chance of success than us… And we have multiple targets…
Ava:
My FSB has a fix on Dr. Foster’s location… So I’ll leave you to it…
Blind Matt:
Happy hunting… Ava…
Ava:
Same to you… Mr. Murdock… Same to you…
Helga continues to comfort Ilsa in a room with matte black walls, decorated only by lit torches grown directly out of the walls, and a large collection of classic movie posters. They include a number of them featuring Whitney Frost, and some movies produced and directed by Howard Stark, including his Kid Colt movie.
Helga:
He’ll be okay… And so will you… You have to stop blaming yourself… You had no way of knowing that would happen… You were trying to help him… and it was working… up to a point…
Ilsa:
Up to the point that I gave him an FSB!… But you knew not to… But I didn’t listen… But I know why I didn’t… I felt too much like him… You know how I feel about my appearance… about my skin color… I can’t change like my brother Loki… I can’t blend in with anything normal for Midgard… I look just like the enemy that father told us about… the Kree… Perhaps I belong in Niflheim…
Helga:
Is that why you like the older movies so much?… Black and white?… no color?…
Ilsa:
I suppose… Everything is simpler in the older movies… including the color scheme… I thought I could fix someone… In a way that I can’t fix myself… And the way he looked at me… even before he lost his mind to Venom… thanks to me… he made me feel like it didn’t matter… like I could just be myself…
Helga:
True blue?…
Ilsa:
Something like that…
Helga:
Well… Even if I can’t convince you to stop beating yourself up about this… can I at least get you to leave your room again?… get some fresh air?… Plot revenge against the goddess of love?… Although I think she’s our cousin… That could start a blood feud… or an actual full fledged holy war!…
Ilsa chuckles at her sisters ribbing.
Ilsa:
Alright Helga… I’m done wallowing… Let’s go plot our revenge together…
Helga:
Our revenge?… I have no reason to seek vengeance upon the goddess of love… I just met the man of my dreams… He even has a pet name for me already… Bruja Pequena…
Ilsa:
Little witch?…
Helga:
You know Spanish?…
Ilsa:
Yes… a little… Viva libertad… What he said as he swung away… I think it means either live free… or long live freedom… or something like that… But I thought freedom was suppose to be a good thing… He can’t be all bad… even now… if he still believes in freedom… right?…
Helga:
That depends on what he wants the freedom to do… Not all freedoms are created equal… like dad always says… Some come at a high price for others… Some of which invite blow back… and revenge… Quite frankly… I didn’t like the way Venom was looking at you… I don’t think I want to find out what Venom wants freedom for…
Ilsa:
That’s not his name…
Helga:
It is now… until we can fix him… Let’s go find your mom… and see if she has any ideas… Then we’ll come up with a plan… That’s way better than wallowing here in your room… Like in one of those cheesy teen movies… the colored ones that you hate… Keep this up… and I’ll make you watch Pretty In Pink again…
Ilsa chuckles again at her silly threat.
Ilsa:
Okay… Okay Helga… Let’s go… before the movie marathon begins…
The two sisters hug and make their way out of Ilsa’s room. They turn to head for Hulk Orchard Park once outside the doorway, when Venom comes at them from behind, having hid just outside the door, and knocks both sisters out. Venom leaves Helga behind otherwise uninjured, and takes the unconscious Ilsa away with him, slung over his shoulder, as he web slings away with her. An invisible Ava closes in on her target, as the ants escorting him detect her presence somehow, and turn around to face her.
Dr. Bill Foster:
Who’s there?… Show yourself!…
Ava:
Okay… as long as the middle school militia doesn’t shoot me for it…
Ava shimmers into view, and the twins level their plasma rifles at her.
Dr. Bill Foster:
Ava?… Are you okay?… Lower your weapons!… She’s a friend!…
B Ward:
I thought you said that she was compromised my the enemy…
T Ward:
And why was she sneaking around anyway?… if she’s supposedly a
friendly?…
Dr. Bill Foster:
You kids have got to get your heads out of boot camp!… Now put those things down!…
B & T Ward:
Alright…
Ava:
Thank you Dr. Foster… I knew I could count on you…
Ava walks up to Dr. Foster and gives him a hug, surprising him. Then she shimmers away with him, as the ants go nuts, frantically searching around for the missing Dr. Foster.
B & T Ward:
Dr. Foster!…
B Ward:
Dammit!…
T Ward:
Where’d they go?…
B Ward:
I don’t know… But they’re not here now… By black box can’t detect them anywhere… Even the ants are at a loss…
T Ward:
We have to go tell Dr. Pym… and get reinforcements for the search…
B Ward:
Let’s go!…
B & T run off with the ants chasing after them. Gen. Fitz gets a sudden emergency message from B & T regarding the abduction of Dr. Foster, as he is in the middle of a conversation about Dr. Simmons potential mother in law.
Gen. Fitz:
Oh bloody hell… Ava’s taken Dr. Foster… There’s no telling who else is here for similar business… I’ve relayed the information to Dir. Mace and Loki… But we have to go…
Dr. Simmons:
Before we go… what do you think my chances are?… With Leopold’s Mum?…
Gen. Fitz:
I wish I could tell you… But at this point I barely know her myself… given how much she’s kept from me over the years… and from Leopold… I suspect she might be in a forgiving mood… given her feelings of guilt about secrets… But there’s no telling with her… Just don’t tell her without me present… just in case…
Dir. Mace receives the news back in Hulk Orchard Park.
Dir. Mace:
Oh crap… Dr. Pym… I just got a report… that Ava has kidnapped Dr. Foster…
Dr. Pym:
She what?!?…
Dir. Mace:
I don’t know the details… But we have to assume there’s more coming… We have to assume there’s more here already… In spit of what her file says… I don’t think even the infamous Ghost would have tried something so bold… not without help or company… or both…
Dr. Pym:
Ava’s been through a lot… a lot of it at the hands of Hydra… within Shield… But I thought she was beyond all of that now… finally free of it… I don’t know how she does it… But this is the same thing the Black Queen did with Cap. Rogers friend Sam… Dammit!… Ava wouldn’t have even been at the Dunbar Hotel… except we took her there to seek help for her from Dr. Wilkes!… someone she already attacked right in front of me!… But this is not the Ava that I’ve come to know…
Dir. Mace:
Right now we have to be on high alert against another attack at this point…
Loki:
We should have known… This is entirely predictable… My great grandson did predict it… But I didn’t pay attention… I didn’t think there was much we could do about it… that wasn’t already being done… With the bulk of our actual strength elsewhere… It not only invites attack… It virtually guarantees it… We should consolidate everyone left in the city right here… So we can at least hold on to the people we still have…
Dir. Mace:
Agreed… The twins Balder and Thor are already on their way back here… As are Gen. Fitz and Dr. Simmons…
Loki:
I have to find my granddaughter Ilsa… I know that she’s been traumatized… But I can’t allow her any privacy for that at the moment… Helga is with her… But I can’t contact either one of them at the moment… I think I’ve done enough self indulgent grandchild watching for one war… I have to go find them…
Gen. Fitz:
Hold up there… I’ll go with you… And B & T should join us first… and just send one team… with everyone else consolidated here…
Gen. Fitz and Dr. Simmons arrive back in Hulk Orchard Park, just as plans are forming for a response. Elsewhere, in a remote section of the city, Ilsa awakens to the surprise of Peter Parker’s face grinning at her, with webbing binding her hands, feet, and mouth.
Venom:
Ola… Ilsa… my lovely Ilsa… My apologies… for the rough treatment… But you are too powerful to be taken lightly… And I wanted us to have some alone time together… We were interrupted before by your sister… She has a bit of hair trigger doesn’t she?… But I don’t blame her… But if she keeps getting in my way… I may have to kill her… I knew I couldn’t stay before… But I couldn’t just let you go completely… So I planted a tracker on you… to make sure that I could find you again… I was listening for a while before… I heard what you said about your lovely blue skin… Being different is a blessing… when everything normal is worthless… But enough from me… I want to hear from you… True Blue…
Venom rips off the webbing on her mouth.
Ilsa:
Peter?…
Venom:
I am Venom!… And my heart belongs to you Ilsa… I would be your slave already… except I’m not so easy as that… But easy prey is generally of no value… Anything worth having… is worth fighting for… and anything that you don’t have to fight for… or even earn… is of no value… I would be of no value to you… if I could be swayed so easily… And if you were not so powerful and dangerous to me… I probably wouldn’t want you nearly as much either… But I am weak before you… So I must have you…
Ilsa:
Have me?… Come with me… Come with me to see my mother… She’s a doctor… And a powerful sorceress in her own right…
Venom:
Introducing me to your parents already?… You might be moving too fast for me Ilsa… I’m just a shy boy from the Bronx… But okay… if you insist…
Venom leans in and kisses Ilsa on the mouth. Ilsa eyes open wide for a moment, then close, as she begins to kiss him back. Then she regains her senses, and jerks her mouth away from his, with a forceful wag of her head in defiance.
Venom:
Still resisting Ilsa?… That’s okay… for now… Soon we will have all the time in the world to get to know each other better…
Ilsa:
You have to stop this Peter… My father will kill you for this… if you don’t let me go… But we can help you…
Venom:
Oh I want your help… I cannot be truly free without you… You have already helped me so much… And I want you to continue to help me… But on my terms…
Venom leans in to steal another kiss, and Ilsa relents and kisses him back for a few moments, before shrugging him off again, then she begins to whistle a variation of the song she played earlier on her flute. Venom reacts to the whistle as if shocked in the head by actual shock therapy, as Ilsa continues to whistle.
Venom:
Aahhh!… That sound!… That song!… Why does it hurt now?…
Ilsa stops her whistling to reply.
Ilsa:
It hurts?… But it helped you before?…
Venom:
Perhaps your magic has worn off… But it doesn’t feel like it… My heart still belongs to you… Your magic is a riddle that I can’t wait to unravel…
Venom then tries to steal another kiss while Ilsa has stopped her whistling, but Ilsa immediately resumes her whistling song.
Venom:
Aahhh!… Ilsa… I can’t… think… straight… oh my head… Ilsa?… What are you doing here?… You shouldn’t be here… Are you tied up?… with webbing?… Did I do this?…
Ilsa stops her whistling again, at the awakening of Peter Parker within Venom.
Ilsa:
Peter!?!… Are you okay?… Do you remember who you are now?…
Venom:
I… I do… But I can’t seem to stay clear in my head… I’m so foggy… I wonder if this is what the Hulk feels like sometimes…
Ilsa:
That is how Uncle Bruce describes it… except more fiery than foggy…
Venom:
Well I am not your Uncle Bruce… I am Venom!…
Ilsa:
Peter!…
Venom then grabs Ilsa’s head to kiss her again, as well as stop her whistling, and Ilsa relents. Then Helga arrives with her sword in her right hand, and her Vajra Thunderbolt in her other hand, already lit up.
Helga:
Ilsa!… Get off of her!…
Helga rushes toward them and swings her sword at Venom’s head, only to have him leap away before her sword could contact anything. Then she unleashes the full force of her Vajra Thunderbolt, with a series of lightening strikes at Venom, all of which completely miss him, as he jumps, tumbles, and evades the lightening, making his way through the doorway that Helga just came through to make his escape. Helga chases him for a moment, then returns to help her sister out of her bonds.
Helga:
Ilsa… Are you okay?… Did he do anything to you?…
Ilsa:
No… I’m okay… How did you find me?…
Helga:
I planted my own tracker on you earlier… I didn’t tell you before because you were still reeling from the encounter… But… based on the way he was talking… and what he tried to do with Princess Shuri… I figured he might make an attempt on you… Did he do anything besides kiss you?… Are you sure you’re okay?…
Ilsa:
Yes… Or I will be… I… I wanted him to keep going… Is that wrong of me?… Does that make me weak?…
Helga:
Weak?… Hell no!… But it might qualify you as being at least a little crazy!… What were you thinking?…
Ilsa:
I don’t know what I was thinking!… I was trying to reach Peter… But he kept kissing me… And I knew it was wrong… But I didn’t want him to stop… I’m a hopelessly lost cause… aren’t I?…
Helga:
You’re not a hopelessly lost cause… at least not hopelessly… Your just in love… with a boy… trapped inside a creep… But if you want to save the boy… you can’t give in to the creep… You can’t humor that creep to any extent by going along… just because you want to be with the boy trapped inside… You have to resist… You can’t let Venom believe that he can ever have you his way…
Ilsa:
I understand… But I don’t think I can manage that… I certainly can’t as it is now…
Helga:
You’re going to have to learn… for both your sake… Come on… Let’s get out of here and get back to the others… They’re bound to be worried about us… And you are not the only person who’s been taken…
Loki receives word from Helga and Ilsa, just as B & T run into Hulk Orchard Park, followed by the Warriors Three, without Snoopy.
Loki:
Well… That’s a relief… I just got word from Helga and Ilsa… They’re fine… And they’re on their way here now… But they had another encounter with the Venom creature… He abducted Ilsa… But Helga got her back… and forced Venom to flee… But I doubt that this is the last of it…
Elsewhere, Snoopy roams the halls and walkways by herself, searching for something. She makes her way to the outer wall facing the mainland and Port Stark. Venom sits perched upon a watch tower along the wall, as he notices the lone errant dog searching, seemingly following some scent.
Venom:
Hey there Wile E. Coyote… Are you chasing the Road Runner?… You’ll never catch him going that slow… So what are you chasing?…
Venom follows Snoopy at a discrete distance, until Snoopy comes to a stop, sits down, and lifts up it’s paw, gesturing up and down with it, as if signaling that she found some explosive device. Venom catches up to the signaling Snoopy, and lands on top of the walkway next to Snoopy. Venom then spins around and shoots his webs at something invisible, then Reyna shimmers into view, wrapped up in Venom’s web.
Venom:
Hello there… You are definitely… not the Road Runner… are you?… Reyna…
Reyna:
How do you know my name?…
Venom:
Selene said to be on the look out for you… although when she described you… I didn’t believe her… She’ll be most grateful to have you back with her…
Reyna:
No!… You can’t take me to her!… I won’t go!…
Venom:
I’m not giving you a choice fairy woman… I can’t return to her completely empty handed… I’ll never hear the end of it…
Reyna:
Snoopy!… I’m so sorry about this!…
Reyna raises her hands as high as she can within Venom’s webbing, and begins to emit a glowing blue, pink, and purple pixie dust like substance, that flies over to Snoopy, and swirls around the dog. Snoopy begins to emit a similar glow to the pixie dust, and begins to grow larger and change, breaking out of it’s collar, and growing more and more fierce looking. Snoopy grows to become seven feet high at the top of it’s ears, before the glowing and growing stops. Then Snoopy begins to growl and show it’s teeth, as if cursed with some sort of Gigantor berzerker charm.
Venom:
Woh there… Wile E. Coyote… I’m not the Road Runner either… Nice trick though Reyna… But it will take more than Wile E. here to stop your reunion with Selene…
Snoopy rushes Venom attempting to bite at his head. But Venom dodges away and jumps over Snoopy to land next to Reyna, and then knocks out Reyna to prevent the use of any more fairy magic.
Venom:
That’s enough of that Miss Reyna… We don’t have time to housebreak your new pet…
Venom grabs Reyna and swings out over to the causeway and makes his way back to the mainland. Snoopy leaps off the top of the wall, and lands down onto the causeway, then chases after Venom and Reyna. As they are making their way along the causeway, the gargoyle dragon creature is spotted by Venom flying in the direction of Emerald City. Gen. Talbot flies after him in his battle mech, and the Hulk leaps high over Venom’s and Snoopy’s heads to land on the causeway behind them, before leaping into the city, chasing after the dragon.
Venom:
Looks like the party’s just about to heat up… But we have places to be… And Wile E. won’t let up anytime soon… Oh well… Our loss… I just hope Ilsa is okay… for Selene’s sake…
The dragon lands down in Hulk Orchard Park, on top of Pepper’s still smoldering tree, then begins to shoot flames out of it’s mouth at Pepper, the nearest target. Pepper instinctively surrounds herself in an invisible protective bubble, causing the flames to spread around her bubble, revealing the outline of the bubble only by negation. Gen. Talbot lands down in Hulk Orchard Park, placing himself and his battle mech in between the bulk of the small children, and the dragon perched in Pepper’s tree, then he opens fire on the monster with a rocket propelled grenade barrage. Gen. Talbot cuts off his barrage, as he sees the Hulk leaping in to land on the dragon’s back.
Behind Gen. Talbot and his battle mech, Electra and Matt Murdock hide and wait for an opportunity to pounce. Princess Frigga goes off, with a lightening aura that shoots up in amplitude, before she flies up after the dragon monster.
Dr. Jane Foster:
Frigga!…
Helga:
What the hell!?!… Who the hell is that?!?… Who the hell is Frigga?!?… Is that another enchantment?…
Flying in a rage at the dragon, she unleashes her lightening full blast without considering the poor Hulk trying to throttle the dragon from behind, and shocks them both, with dragon being stunned off the tree, and the Hulk being stunned off of the dragon.
Loki:
Helga!… That little girl is Thor’s daughter!… Get her out of there now!…
Helga:
Thor’s daughter!?!… I’m on it!…
Helga pulls out her Vajra Thunderbolt and pops her limiters, causing her to likewise be bathed in a highly energetic lightening aura, as she flies up after Frigga, closing in on her as she flies and hovers over the dragon preparing for another lightening blast. The dragon let’s lose a flaming torrent at Frigga above it, just as Helga grabs Frigga in midair, and pulls her out of the path of the flames. Helga and Frigga land back by Dr. Jane Foster.
Princess Frigga:
Hey!… Who are you supposed to be?… What’s the big idea stopping me from killing the monster?…
Helga:
Stowe it kid!… This is strictly adult business here!… Don’t make me shock you unconscious just to keep you out of the way!…
Princess Frigga:
Okay… Mean girl!…
Loki:
Thanks Helga… You certainly have a way with kids…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Don’t you ever do that again little girl!… You nearly gave me a heart attack!…
Princess Frigga:
I said okay…
The dragon makes it’s way to it’s feet just as the Hulk does, then turns towards the Hulk to blast him with more flames. Pepper levels her new magic FSB spear at the dragon, and blasts the dragon with her own lightening strike, knocking the dragon back to another section of the park, before he can blast the Hulk with his flames. The dragon rises back to it’s feet, and shoots up in size to become fifty feet tall.
Dr. Pym:
That’s it!… I’m going in babe… You stay here with the kids… I’m done with the sidelines…
Dr. Pym becomes suddenly bathed in green sparkles that form a mostly traditional looking set of an Asgardian suit of armor, except all green with a mantis head stylized helmet. Then he enlarges to fifty feet tall himself as he steps over the children and the others, and heads off after the dragon, as Gen. Talbot resumes his grenade barrage against the dragon. The Hulk leaps at the dragon again, and Gen. Talbot cuts off his barrage to let the Hulk take his shot. Pepper makes her way over to the location of Dr. Jane Foster and the others, to help protect the little princess and King Odin. Electra conjures forth a large number of Hand ninja by their sides where they lie in wait, then they all attack everyone in sight, threatening but not attacking any of the children, but using them to hamper and restrict the actions of their actual targets.
Dotty:
The Hand!…
Dotty starts to open fire at the various Hand ninja, but is prevented from shooting at all of them, because of the children in their midst serving as effective human shields. The ants attack and kill a number of the Hand ninja, but mostly just stand guard over the children, stuck in the fray. Dr. Van Dyne pulls out her own plasma pistol and joins Dotty in the firing, as she tries to keep the kids corralled where they can be protected. Romulus and Remus move to protect the children and engage the Hand ninja with their swords. Just as they do so, Matt Murdock leaps into the small space that opens up in between them and Robin, and then engages them with his staff, to add to the space between them. Electra jumps over to land behind Robin, and grabs her with both arms from behind. Murdock steps back to rejoin Electra with Robin, just as the three of them disappear in a poof of black smoke.
Romulus/Remus:
Robin!?!…
They quickly dispatch the remainder of the Hand ninja, but only after their target is already acquired. The remainder of the combatants continue the fight with the dragon, unaware of what just transpired with Robin and the children, their attention momentarily lost to the fog of war and the heat of battle. The Hulk smashes the face of the dragon, staggering him, as the giant green mantis warrior steps up to follow that up with a combination of strikes, staggering the dragon further back. Then the dragon flies up and over Dr. Pym and the Hulk to land near King Odin and the others, Pepper, Helga, and even little Frigga, all launch their own lightening attacks, lifting the dragon up off the ground and back away again, before coming crashing back down on part of the city adjacent to the park. Ilsa starts running after the dragon, causing Helga to start running after her.
Helga:
Ilsa!… Wait!… What are you doing?…
Ilsa takes out her flute and begins to play as she makes her way to the dragon’s position. Pepper takes off after the girls to back them up with her magic spear. The dragon makes it’s way to it’s feet, just as Pepper catches up with the girls.
Pepper:
Uh… Do we know what we’re doing here?…
Helga:
No… We don’t… I’m not even sure if Ilsa does… But her mouth is busy so we can’t ask her right now… But I’m not leaving my sister to fight alone… whatever she’s doing…
The dragon starts to step towards the girls, then stops, as if paralyzed and frozen in place. Gen. Talbot in his battle mech lands next to the girls ready to fire, just as the Hulk leaps over and lands near them as well. The giant green knight makes his way over to them as well, with everyone perplexed and transfixed by what Ilsa seems to be doing. The dragon then inexplicably begins to squat down as if to take a dump in the park.
Pepper:
Uh… Is he doing… what I think he’s doing?…
Helga:
Who knows… At this point… I don’t even know if Ilsa is getting him to do that or not… If she is… then she’s gonna have some explaining to do… if he does what he looks like he’s about to do…
Ilsa continues to play her flute song, as the dragon dumps out a human sized matte black egg out from underneath it, onto the grass of the park, then flies away.
Dr. Pym:
Okay… What just happened?…
Romulus/Remus:
They took Robin!…
Romulus:
They attacked us while everyone else was busy… and they took Robin!…
Remus:
They used the dragon attack as a distraction and attacked us while we were guarding the kids…
Romulus:
They used the kids as human shields… to get what they were really after…
Pepper:
Who’s Robin?…
Romulus:
She’s an Inhuman friend of Daisy’s…
Remus:
She sees the future… That’s probably why she was targeted…
Romulus:
We just got played… big time…
The matte black egg begins to show glowing blue cracks forming in it’s surface, before it breaks open and hatches an unconscious naked black man, resembling Dr. Wilkes, with his skin pulsating with a blue glow, an indication of human flesh under the influence of Black Box Extremis.
Dr. Pym:
Dr. Wilkes?…
As Venom continues to make his way back to the Dunbar Hotel with his prize in tow, Werner Von Strucker and Logan Creed make their way down into the basement of the Dunbar Hotel, following the scent of a bleeding Victor Creed. Logan appears obviously nauseated, as Werner grows more and more concerned, carrying a plasma rifle in his arms.
Werner VS:
Wooh… Now even I can smell it… This can’t all be the cannibal’s blood… right?…
Logan:
I don’t know kid… I can barely make out the scent anymore with all the blood smells in the air…
Werner VS:
No wonder… This place smells like a slaughter house down here… even to me… Did they kill everyone in the hotel?… If you can’t follow the scent anymore… maybe we should blow this joint and call it a night… while we still can…
Logan:
Yeah… I think you’re right kid… Let’s get out of here…
Cannibal Creed:
What’s the matter runt?… Afraid of a little blood letting?…
The cannibal rushes the pair from concealment in the basement shadows, grabs the plasma rifle from out of Werner’s hands, and bashes Logan over the head with it. Numerous vampires also move in on them from the shadows, rushing the two of them and restraining their arms. Logan instinctively causes three matte black claws, each about a foot long, to shoot out of the spaces between the knuckles of his right hand, surprising himself as much as the Vampires. Logan then does the same deliberately with his left hand. With a quick but forceful struggle, Logan manages to free his arms, and slices the heads off of the vampires who were holding him, causing them to turn to dust as they perish for good.
Werner VS:
Woh!… Did you know you had those?…
Logan:
No kid… I didn’t… or at least… I didn’t remember…
Logan then quickly attacks and slices the heads off of the two vampires restraining Werner, freeing him.
Lilith:
Nice claws Logan… But as I recall… they weren’t black before…
Logan:
Before?… Do I know you?…
Lilith:
Ah yes… We go way back… as do your mother and I…
Logan:
My mother?… Who are you?…
Lilith steps out of the shadows herself to properly re-introduce herself.
Lilith:
I am Lilith… queen of the vampires…
Werner VS:
Lilith?… But… you’re Dr. Simmons sire!… You sired her to compel her to find a cure for vampirism… Why would you do that?… and then side with someone like Selene?…
Lilith:
I have my reasons that I am not required to share with you… or Dr. Simmons… And how would you know about that exactly?… Who are you supposed to be?…
Werner VS:
I’m Werner Von Strucker… Dr. Simmons recently just hired me on as a lab assistant…
Lilith:
So you’re Werner… I heard about you from Dr. Simmons… I also knew your father… He was quite the notorious scumbag… By my standards… that is quite an accomplishment… But then he got himself killed by a robot of all things…
Logan:
You said that you knew my mother… Who was she?…
Lilith:
You could always just ask her yourself…
Selene:
It’s so nice to see you again Logan… This is turning out to be quite the family reunion… First your brother here… and now you…
Logan:
My brother?… Who are you even talking about?…
Cannibal Creed:
She’s talking about me… runt… I barely remember at all myself…
Selene steps out of the shadows with her archangel next to her, both seemingly completely healed from their injuries incurred at the tip of Yelena’s spear.
Selene:
My name is Selene… I am your mother… And you and Victor here… are my fraternal twin sons… part Inhuman… part wolfkin… and all mine…
Logan:
I don’t belong to anyone… not anymore… Look… I don’t know what you want with me… But I’ll give you whatever you want… Just let the kid go…
Selene:
Well… I have no problem with that necessarily… I have no use for a Von Strucker… necessarily… But Lilith may have requirements of her own…
Lilith:
Indeed… He is my protege’s lab assistant after all… And another Black Box Extremis patient… I will always have a use for those…
Logan:
Over my dead body!…
Werner VS:
Uh… Logan?… We may want to reconsider that plan… We seem fairly outnumbered here… Maybe I should just take my chances with Lilith… even with your claws… I don’t think either one of us is getting out of here…
Logan:
I said… over my dead body… I don’t remember much… But I know there are fates worse than death… I won’t submit to that… or surrender anyone to it without a fight…
Selene:
Oh how noble… Victor…
Cannibal Creed tosses Werner’s plasma rifle aside, and jumps Logan. Werner tries to make a move for the rifle, but is intercepted by Lilith, who grabs him from behind, bites him, and begins to drain him. Victor and Logan go at it with claws and blood flying for a few moments, then Selene herself jumps Logan from behind while he’s fighting with Victor, and grabs his head in her hands, as Victor grabs his arms and holds them to his side. A matte black substance seeps from Selene’s hands into Logan’s face, seeming to seep into the veins on his face before disappearing. Then Logan’s eyes turn matte black momentarily, before clearing and leaving dark circles around the eyes.
Selene:
Now behave yourself son… I going to need you to help me with the rest of the family…
Logan:
Yes mother…
Selene:
That’s better…
Werner VS:
Logan!…
Selene:
He can’t help you now young Werner… You would do better to appeal to Lilith… But she’s already made her choice…
Lilith finishes feeding for the time being, then whips Werner around, slices open her wrist, and forces Werner to drink. Werner resists at first, but can’t avoid swallowing at least a little blood.
Lilith:
There… Now both you and Dr. Simmons belong to me now… But Dr. Simmons doesn’t realize this completely… So this will be our little secret… I want her brain working on all cylinders… without any unnecessary distractions… And you’re going to be my special little spy… as well as my new toy… Your blood is even more delicious than Victor’s… And you’re much cuter as well…
Werner VS:
My blood is yours… Mistress Lilith…
Bishop’s hunt through the Dunbar Hotel is somewhat frustrated by Malekith’s ability to hide, and to literally blend in physically with the walls, in order to appear and disappear, to ooze in and ooze out. Yo Yo and Mack the Executioner grow increasingly concerned, as they are led further and further into the hotel, slowly making their way up to upper floors, when Star God and the Ghost Rider catch up with them.
Star God:
Find him yet?… Malekith?… or that Dr. Diablo creep?…
Mack:
No… Not really… We’ve only caught glimpses of the bastard… I’m starting to think we’re being led into a trap…
Yo Yo:
This whole hotel is trap!… We should call it a night… and quit while we’re ahead…
Star God:
I second that emotion… But the flaming skull may not want to come with… And I can’t leave without you guys… I came here as part your rescue… This entire hotel is now the territory of the enemy… They practically announced that themselves… They’re not hiding here… they’re luring… I would love to do some damage on our way out… We are vengeance after all…
Ghost Rider:
We are vengeance… We are not talk… But we are scorched earth when necessary…
Star God:
Well I like the sound of that plan… What do you need for that?…
Ghost Rider:
Space… and elevation…
Star God:
Space and elevation?… I really hope he’s not talking about the final frontier…
Mack:
Let’s head for the roof… Maybe we can set a trap of our own…
Star God:
Come and get it bitches… We are vengeance served daily…
Yo Yo:
Twenty four seven…
Mack:
Three sixty five…
Bishop:
There will be other battles… I will relent father… Let’s go…
Electra, Matt Murdock, and Robin materialize on the roof of the Dunbar Hotel, just as Venom arrives on the roof with his prize as well, swinging in with Reyna still unconscious and webbed up.
Venom:
I see that you were successful… For your sake I hope that Ilsa did not suffer for your success…
Electra:
We left before that… But she was fine when we left… And who do you have with you?…
Venom:
I failed in my primary mission… But one of the targets of opportunity that Selene mentioned presented it self to me on the way out… I believe this one is called Reyna… I can’t be sure… But she fits the strange description that Selene gave us…
Venom pulls his webbing from Reyna’s head, as she regains consciousness.
Electra:
So you’re Reyna?… This is Robin… She has a power similar to yours… But I bet you know that already… don’t you?… And I’m not talking about the magic fairy makeover…
Robin:
Nice to meet you… Are you a friend of Mistress Gallio’s too?…
Reyna:
She is familiar… Who’s Mistress Gallio?…
Electra:
You would know her better… as your old friend Jia Ying…
Reyna:
What!?!… You can’t take me to her!… I won’t go!…
Reyna begins to shake her head like crazy, and emitting a pink, blue, and purple pixie dust like substance, smothering Venom’s face with it, causing him to grab his head with his hands, and stagger away from her.
Venom:
Aggh!… My head!… Get out of my head!…
Venom leaps from the roof, fleeing as he swings away. Matt Murdock tumbles over to Reyna, and knocks her out with his staff.
Electra:
That trick will not be working on us… Miss Reyna…
Snoopy comes in leaping from rooftop to rooftop, still following Reyna’s scent. Then leaps onto the roof of the Dunbar Hotel, and immediately stands over Reyna, as Mr. Murdock back flips away. Then Snoopy begins to growl at the others.
Electra:
Woh there poochie… Someone’s been juicing… That should be considered animal abuse… shouldn’t it?…
Dr. Diablo:
I recommend euthanasia…
Dr. Diablo phases through the roof top to join the Electra and the others, followed by Malekith oozing up from the roof top surface to join them as well.
Malekith:
Let’s not be hasty… Perhaps the beast can be housebroken… with a firm enough hand…
Bishop:
A firm hand without justice… is nothing but a hand of evil… to be severed by justice…
Bishop and company arrive on the rooftop, and take in the scene.
Malekith:
How delightfully medieval of you… I see your enjoying the change in scenery as well… Would you like a tour?…
Bishop:
I’ll be giving you a tour of hell in due course… monster!…
Yo Yo:
Robin!… Are you okay?…
Robin:
Of course I am Aunty Yo Yo… I’m going to see mother…
Mack:
Mother?…
Star God:
She’s talking about the Black Queen again… Lady Gallio… She has no idea… She can’t be helped by talking her out of it…
Malekith:
Then we should just stop talking… Electra… take the queen’s adopted daughter… and clear out… We shall deal with these trespassers… and their pooch…
Star God:
Our pooch?… That thing isn’t with you?… Holy crap is that Snoopy?… What the hell happened to you?… Wait… Is that Reyna webbed up there?… Venom must have abducted her… He could still be here somewhere…
Electra disappears from the rooftop in a poof of black smoke, with Mr. Murdock and Robin, leaving Malekith and Dr. Diablo behind to deal with the trespassers.
Yo Yo:
Robin!…
Star God:
Don’t worry about her… She’s probably the one person on this earth that the Black Queen won’t hurt… if anyone… She’s a cooperating hostage… well beyond Stockholm Syndrome… She’s not going to be so easy to rescue… Reyna is another matter…
Bishop:
Enough!… Time to die for good monster!… I’ll bring Robin to your funeral!…
Malekith:
How considerate…
Bishop lets loose a barrage of energy at Malekith, both from his left hand’s open palm, and the plasma pistol in his right hand, but with no noticeable affect, with the energy appearing to bounce off of some invisible barrier. Yo Yo tries to attack Dr. Diablo head on, as cover for her son Bishop in his attack on Malekith. She launches her self at Dr. Diablo, in the blink of an eye, but passes through him fruitlessly before snapping back to her starting point. Then Dr. Diablo launches a large number of tiny small matte black figurines of winged harpy like FSB gargoyles, that enlarge and fly about the roof and start attacking. The Ghost Rider generates another flaming hellfire chain from his palm that lengthens and animates like a flaming lasso, and surprisingly manages to wrap itself around Dr. Diablo, in spite of his normal intangibility. Dr. Diablo then flies up off the roof, taking the tethered Ghost Rider with him up into the air, as numerous flying harpies attack the Ghost Rider, and he thrashes at them the whole way.
Mack:
Robbie!…
Star God:
Never mind the flaming skull… the flaming skull can take of the flaming skull… Worry about us… We have to go…
As the harpies continue to attack, Star God lets loose a lightening strike from out of the power prism in his shield, that strikes and disappears Reyna and Snoopy.
Mack:
Did you kill them?…
Star God:
No… I just shrunk them down for stasis and removal… My rescue mission just changed… And we have to go… Now that the Ghost Rider is getting his space and elevation… We really have to get out of here… Because I don’t know what a scorched earth exit strategy looks like… when powered by actual hellfire… But I’m pretty sure we don’t want to be here to see it up close and personal… I’ve called for an evac… But we have to hold out till they get here… assuming the Ghost Rider can hold off long enough before he does… whatever he’s going to do…
The Star God materializes a matte black mace in his right hand, in a familiar flurry of white sparkles, and proceeds to bash and smash harpy ass. Mack joins in on Bishop’s barrage of Malekith, but to no avail. And Yo Yo launches multiple high speed attacks against harpies on the roof, continuing to buy time. King T’Challa’s shuttle shimmers into view, with it’s rear hatch open and overlooking the rooftop, and the White Wolf unleashes a full auto fire fifty caliber barrage at Malekith, as well the harpies on the roof, and in the air surrounding it. Daisy’s flying car comes flying in at high speed, ramming a few harpies in mid air on the way in, with Natasha Romanov riding shotgun, holding a plasma rifle at the ready.
Daisy’s flying car flies low without landing and hovers just inches above the roof, as Natasha open up with covering fire, to allow Mack, Yo Yo, and Bishop to jump into the back seat. The Star God materializes his matte black roller blades, then jumps off the roof to land on an electromagnetic cushion in mid air, then skates away on it, before shimmering away and disappearing. High up in the air, the Ghost Rider continues to struggle against the harpy drones, seemingly at his limit, as multiple harpies grab at him and restrain his movements as they attack.
Ghost Rider:
We are vengeance!… We are scorched earth!… We are the whirlwind!…
A whirlwind of hellfire erupts from the Ghost Rider, engulfing him, the harpies and his still chained up Dr. Diablo. Then it rabidly expands and lengthens, striking down at the Dunbar Hotel, incinerating anything above ground, at or near the Dunbar Hotel, and extending high into the sky, causing lightening storms to erupt, before the flames eventually die down. Numerous lightening strikes cause secondary natural flame fires sporadically throughout the city, which then burn out of control without a fire department to put them out, moderated only by the relative dearth of wooden structures, compared to stone castles and keeps, due to the magic makeover of the city.
Numerous flying harpies chase after the Wakandan shuttle and Daisy’s flying car, as Bishop blasts them out of the sky with his power, one by one till they’re none left to chase them. They come down to land in Hulk Orchard Park, just as Star God shimmers back into view on the ground waiting for them.
Daisy:
Ward!… What the hell was that?…
Star God:
A scorched earth exit strategy… courtesy of the Ghost Rider’s hellfire…
Daisy:
Robbie did that?… You didn’t let my baby daddy go kamikaze did you?…
Star God:
Nobody let’s the Ghost Rider do anything… It was the Ghost Rider’s idea basically… I have to assume that he knows what he’s doing… Frankly I half expect him to just drive up in the charger… without a scratch on it… or him… I’d be more concerned with Robin than Robbie right now…
Daisy:
Robin?… What happened to Robin?…
Star God:
I don’t know the details… They came here and made off with a few different people… including Dr. Foster… and Robin and Reyna… Venom even made another attempt on Ilsa… But Helga got her back… But I wouldn’t worry too much about Robin though… She’s one of the few people that I don’t think Selene will want to hurt… She has no reason to… given that Robin is completely cooperative with her… I got Reyna back on the roof of the Dunbar Hotel… where we found a supersized Snoopy standing over Reyna… protecting her… I shrank them both down and put them in stasis to get them out of there… But rescuing Robin against her will was not an option under the circumstances… She and her abductors disappeared right before the serious fight on the roof even started… We can only hope that they had the good sense to clear out far enough from ground zero of the Ghost Rider’s scorched earth hellfire salute to vengeance…
Daisy:
I understand… Wait… Snoopy?… Snoopy was there?…
Star God:
Yeah… But I barely recognized her… She was seven feet tall at the ears… I have no idea how she got on the roof to begin with… let alone what happened to her… You’re going to have to see her to believe it… It looked like what Selene did to your father… like some sort of super growth spurt berzerker curse… More Hulk hound… than hell hound… Let me show you…
Star God unleashes another lightening strike from the power prism in his shield, and materializes Reyna, still unconscious and webbed up, with Snoopy still standing over her and growling. Snoopy realizes that the baddies are gone then stops growling, and licks at Reyna’s face a little bit, as if trying to wake her. Then Snoopy sees Daisy and runs over to her, and proceeds to molest Daisy’s face with a now very large tongue.
Daisy:
Oh… my… god… Whatever happened to you?… Wow… Your tongue… is really big now… Okay… Okay… Heal!…
Snoopy stops her tongue molestation, and sits at attention.
Daisy:
Good girl…
Reyna:
No thanks to me…
Reyna regains consciousness as the Star God works to free Reyna from Venom’s webbing.
Reyna:
I cursed poor Snoopy… I was desperate… Snoopy and Venom both found me at the same time… I cursed Snoopy in a desperate attempt not to be taken… But it didn’t work… The curse worked… just not the plan… if you can call that a plan… I don’t think there’s a way to undo it… I am genuinely sorry for that…
Daisy:
Don’t apologize for that… Apologize for running off on your own to begin with!… No more of that… You are a target now… There is absolutely no mistake about that… and for the same reason as Robin… the very thing you’re so scared about… the power of prophecy… But I have friends who can help you with that… But only if you don’t run off again… Understand?…
Reyna:
Yes Daisy… You have my word…
Daisy:
Given everything we’re dealing with now… Snoopy’s probably better of this way… Poor Snoopy… You’re supposed to be retired from war and duty… How am I ever going to manage to feed you like this?…
Just then, a small mini whirlwind of fire erupts out of a spot on the grass of Hulk Orchard Park. Then the flaming Hell Charger races out of it, dissipating it, and skidding to a flaming halt next to Daisy and Snoopy, before the flames all die down to nothing, and the flaming skull is doused restoring Robbie’s human head.
Daisy:
Robbie!… You made it!…
Star God:
Told you… Did you manage to finish off mister devil may care?….
Robbie:
The devil may cry… I did better than that…
Robbie exits the vehicle and walks over to the trunk of the Hell Charger, followed by Daisy, Star God and the others. Robbie opens the trunk and reveals Dr. Diablo wrapped, wings and all, in a flaming chain, floating weightless in the space of the trunk.
Dr. Diablo:
You will not hold me for long fools… Your flames tickle…
Robbie:
Man… shut the hell up!…
Robbie shuts the trunk on the devil inside.
Robbie:
Now what do I do with him?… This thing is completely unnatural… It confuses the Rider… Vengeance can’t be satisfied… And I don’t know why… Neither does the Rider… And… am I imagining things… or was there a volcano in downtown LA?…
Daisy:
Yes… Mara made it… different battle… same war… See what you miss when wonder off with your head on fire?…
Helga and Ilsa come running out to greet them, and brief their dad.
Helga:
Speaking of missing things… You wouldn’t believe what happened while you were away…
Daisy:
Yeah… We know… Robin and Dr. Foster were kidnapped…
Helga:
That’s not what I’m talking about… of all the things that happened… that actually made sense… not cool… but it made sense… More sense than everything else that happened for sure… While you were away fighting the big fight… We had ourselves a flying dragon attack…
Star God:
A flying dragon attack!?!…
Helga:
Yeah… The dragon provided cover for Robin’s abduction… Which is the only part of this story that makes sense… Because then… the tamer of savage beasts here… used her magic flute to enchant the dragon somehow… causing it to squat down and lay a big black egg down on the grass… and then he flew off somewhere…
Daisy:
What!?!…
Helga:
Oh… it gets better… or… weirder… Because then… the egg cracked open… with a butt naked Dr. Wilkes inside… Dr. Pym’s friend… They’re examining him now… Crazy huh?…
Star God:
So this dragon flew off?… Did you see where?…
Helga:
Where?… Are you not the least bit shocked by this?…
Star God:
I think I’ve lost the ability to be shocked… Did you see where it went?… It might come back at some point…
Helga:
It just flew off to the east… back to the main land… Uncle Bruce rode piggyback on Gen. Talbot’s battle mech… and they flew off after it… We haven’t really heard anything from them since… But they could be awhile…
Star God:
Banner took off with Gen. Talbot!… Okay… Forget what I said… That is a shock… I’d better go after them… provide back up… try and sort through this… Plus I just have to see this for myself…
Helga:
Gen. Talbot is providing his telemetry via the FSB network… They’re somewhere in east LA now… Do you want us to come with?… Ilsa’s flute has some serious mojo… and not just with the man of spiders…
Star God:
Are you okay Ilsa?… Are you up to chasing dragons?… tamer of savage beasts?…
Ilsa:
Yes father… I have to get stronger… so that my flute can save Peter…
Star God:
Okay… But why have the dragon lay an egg?…
Ilsa:
I didn’t compel that specifically… I just focused on pacification… and healing… I couldn’t tell you why it laid an egg in the park… or flew off and left it behind… I am beyond clueless about Dr. Wilkes…
Star God:
Maybe you healed Dr. Wilkes… if he was inside all along…
Dr. Pym:
That is not a bad supposition… But it’s definitely an incomplete healing… Physically… he’s perfectly sound… and seems to have been dosed with Black Box Extremis at some point… He had an FSB before… But he declined to take the Extremis part before because it might have destabilized a special condition he had… A condition he no longer seems to have… But mentally… he’s a virtual blank slate… complete amnesia… He remember his science… and facts of the world… just nothing about himself…
Dr. Pym joins the group after having finished examining Dr. Wilkes.
Dr. Pym:
I would very much like to join this dragon hunt… That dragon may have indispensable information… indispensable for sorting out Dr. Wilkes condition… and the mystery of what happened to him… That dragon… and whoever… or whatever… made the dragon in the first place…
Robbie:
I may have something for that… part of that…
Robbie opens his trunk back up, and introduces Dr. Diablo to Dr. Pym.
Dr. Pym:
Holy crap… Talk about the devil in the dark…
Robbie:
This thing calls itself Dr. Diablo… I remember seeing that dragon thing… fly up out of this one’s palm… before it enlarged and flew off… He produced a bunch of other FSB drone monsters in a similar way… But only one dragon… as far as I know…
Dr. Pym:
Is there a reason for the flaming chains?… other than dramatic effect?…
Robbie:
That flame… is hellfire… that combined with my chains is the only thing I know that can touch him… Although Ward here blasted it with a massive bolt of lightening… and smashed it against the pavement… shattering it… But he just reformed himself… and went back to floating through walls…
Dr. Pym:
Intangibility was a part of Dr. Wilkes special condition… The FSB he was given allowed him to control it…
Robbie closes his trunk again, not wanting to look at Dr. Diablo’s grinning devil face.
Star God:
So we have every piece of the puzzle but one… looks like I’m overdo for a dragon hunt… King T’Challa… Can you take Dr. Pym with you?… and join us for a dragon hunt?… Helga and Ilsa don’t need a ride…
King T’Challa:
I would love to… But I think we should wait for Queen Morgana… She has a similar power to your daughter Ilsa… with her flute…
Star God:
Aren’t they still busy downtown?… We did just make quite a mess there…
Dr. Simmons:
Mr. Bishop… May I call you Bishop?… Might we have a word with you about Lorelei?…
Dr. Simmons walks over to the group with Gen. Fitz.
Bishop:
What about Lorelei?… Has she reappeared?…
Dr. Bishop:
Yes… In the flesh in fact… We don’t know exactly how it happened… But Lorelei is no longer a part of the city… She has been resurrected in the flesh by some as yet unknown means… related to enchantment…
Bishop:
She’s alive!… Take me to her!…
Dr. Simmons:
Now… please try to calm yourself… She is currently with her father Loki… helping to look after King Odin… who has been triggered into another bout of prophecy…
Bishop:
I must go to her now!…
Mack:
Hey!… Wait up!… Dammit!…
Yo Yo:
Let’s just go!…
Bishop storms off, followed by his parents Mack and Yo Yo.
Dr. Simmons:
Oh… I do wish her luck… But it’s hard for people to accept what they can’t understand… And I’m at a loss at the moment… And I can’t help her or him… or Dr. Wilkes for that matter…
Star God:
King T’Challa think that Fitz’ mom could help out with our dragon hunt to help sort out Dr. Wilkes… Have you talked to her yet?…
Dr. Simmons:
No… not yet… I may have a harder time explaining myself than Dr. Wilkes… That was before she revealed herself to be Morgana Pendragon of the fay… the queen of Avalon…
Star God:
Former queen…
Dr. Simmons:
Well that makes it all better… I’m sure now that she’ll have no problem with her son having a pregnant vampire for a girlfriend…
Star God:
Yeah… No crap… Wait what?…
Daisy:
You’re pregnant!?!… How is that even possible?… Is that another enchantment?…
Dr. Simmons:
No!… It’s science!… Artificial insemination using some preserved eggs of mine… combined with an artificial womb… made inside me with my FSBs… But try explaining any of that to the former queen of Avalon… I haven’t even told Fitz yet… I didn’t know if it would work… and I didn’t want to get his hopes up only to break his heart… I only just told his dad…
Suddenly there is a twisting and bending of light in the air nearby, accompanied by a series of wind chime like sounds, as Queen Morgana shimmers into view whirling her flute in front of herself. Daisy’s daughters Emma and Amara shimmer in along side Queen Morgana, along with Queen Karnilla and her daughter Dr. Laufey, as well as Lord Balder, assisted in walking by Natasha’s sister, Yelena the Valkyrie.
Dr. Simmons:
Morgan!… How nice to see you again!… Have you had a lovely trip?…
Daisy:
Lovely trip?…
Daisy facepalms trying not to look, but peaks through her fingers, unable to look away. Dr. Simmons grimaces slightly at her own obvious awkwardness, and tries to force a grin, in order to put up a brave and happy front.
Morgana:
Well hello there… Nice to see you too dear… Is something bothering you?… You seem… unnaturally… disturbed…
Dr. Simmons:
Me?… Disturbed?… Unnaturally?… Whatever would make you say that?…
Morgana:
Oh… I don’t know… Maybe because you’re a vampire?…
Dr. Simmons:
Vampire!?!… Wherever did you hear that?…
Dr. Laufey:
I told her… I figured it would be best to break the news to her when you were out of range… just in case… But I haven’t told her everything… I left the disclosure of other matters for you to take care of…
Morgana:
Other matters?… Like what?… If you’re still concerned about being a vampire… I can assure you… I don’t necessarily have any particular prejudice against vampires… I mean… don’t get me wrong… vampires are an unnatural abomination…
Dr. Simmons:
Oh… is that all?…
Morgana:
But the vampires themselves are the principle victims of the abomination… It’s beyond foolish to blame the victims for their victimization… But not all victims respond the same way to their plight… Although none can be completely trusted by anyone who cares for them… for their sake… and for the sake of those around them… Some of my best friends have been vampires…
Dr. Simmons:
I’m pregnant!…
Daisy:
Way to ease into it…
Morgana:
You’re what now?… How can you be pregnant?… Have you cracked under the pressure of your condition?…
Dr. Laufey:
She’s not cracked… I’m her doctor… She consulted me on the endeavor… And her condition is quite real… artificial in nature by unavoidable necessity… but nonetheless real…
Dr. Simmons:
It was brought about with artificial insemination… using previously preserved eggs… and an artificial womb… created within my own body… with a technology that Fitz developed… Fitz Simmons Boxes…
Morgana:
Those devices that have shielded some people from the enchantment… that has wreaked havoc upon all of Los Angeles?…
Dr. Simmons:
Yes… Although it may also be what was used to perpetrate it too… We’re still sorting that…
Morgana walks over to her would be daughter in law, and feels her stomach with her hand.
Morgana:
I can genuinely sense the life inside you now… That’s no bloody enchantment!… That is a bloody for real miracle of bloody science!…
Dr. Simmons:
I’m so relieved that you feel that way… Leopold doesn’t even know yet… I didn’t want to get his hopes up for an experimental process… I was so worried… that you might react badly… But I’m still in trouble aren’t I?…
Morgana:
You’re a bloody vampire… Of course you are… But don’t worry… If you ever become a problem… you have my word that I’ll make sure you’re put out of your misery…
Dr. Simmons:
Well… thank you… That’s actually quite reassuring… Especially after I nearly killed Leo…
Morgana:
You did what?!?…
Dr. Simmons:
But I also saved his life!… It was an accident… I hadn’t fed… I was being stubborn… And it nearly cost Leo his life… I had to give him an experimental treatment to save him… Black Box Extremis… It’s the combination of FSBs and Extremis… The FSBs regulate the Extremis… making it theoretically stable…
Morgana:
Theoretically?…
Dr. Simmons:
I’m sorry!… Please don’t kill me!… I’m working on a cure for vampirism!…
Morgana:
Oh really… Any progress?…
Dr. Simmons:
Some… My sire Mistress Lilith tasked me with finding a cure… She turned me for that purpose…
Morgana:
Lilith!?!… Your sire… was Lilith?!?… The bloody queen of the bloody vampires!?!… And she turned you… to find a cure?…
Dr. Simmons:
Yes… Do you know Mistress Lilith?… She turned me… And then she made me turn my friend agent May… to help me with the task… and provide more incentive… even without compulsion…
Morgana:
That sounds like her… I used to consider Lilith one of my best friends… But her war against her father… drove her mad… I sympathized with her and her cause… But she became far too ruthless… And I could not abide her behavior anymore… too much collateral damage in her wake… So I turned my back on her… Be very careful of Lilith… You can’t trust her at all… She’s a crazed mad zealot… And cares nothing for the suffering of innocents that get in her way… or even just get caught up in her wake…
Politics Are Poison!
Poison That Never Ends!
Battles Of Shadows And Mist!
That Forever Never End!
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