X-51 settled back into the Shockwave Rider and began flipping switching and looking at monitors and holo-screens. Troll hit the floor hard without a care in the world. She kept repeating a word earlier. 'Guardians.' The Machine Man didn't know what to make of the motley crew he had crossed paths with in deep space. Though the dog's telepathy being able to communicate with even X-51's robotics was strange and amazing to say the least. This new loner, the last of the Novas it seemed, finally boarded the ship. After the telepathic dog made himself comfortable he asked the Machine Man...

"Do you mind informink her, Mister Machine Man?" Cosmo asked, as he climbed back into his seat.

"The ship detected a strange energy signature outside of Knowhere that matches the same energy signature found where the Nova Corps home world once rested in the stars. I've still got a lock on it but the signal is beginning to fade. We need to close the gap between us a little further before we lose the trail." X-51 began to explain before an odd noise happened from the direction of the dog in the space suit.

*fart noise*

"What did that animal just do to my chair..?" X-51 asked raising a synthetic eyebrow.

~KL~

(Joint post with Spud and Bright_Ops)

Iron Man tried to weave out of the way but the hammer clipped him on his side leaving him launched away and hard. It was only a glancing blow but that hammer's crazy physics made it enough to know him loopy. Iron Man tried to grasp and claw for anything he could to get back upright but the pain in his arm and now body had all caught up to him, making it incredibly difficult to do so as he groaned.

"Oh good... yeah I didn't need my liver anyways." Tony mumbled to himself as he helplessly looked for a way to stay in the fight.

"Thou wilt tell me where Loki is or payeth with thee life. Telleth me Stark, what manner of bribe hath the Son of Laufey furnished thee with to procure such stubborn loyalty?." Thor said, despite Stark's efforts to slow her down there was barely a drop of sweat on her forehead.

Loki left the hotel dressed in a nice suit, having thankfully talked to reception and manipulate them into giving him a scheduled meeting with Stark that day. He hoped the young man would recognize him, and listen to reason that this 'Thor' was a serious menace. His suit of black and white with a green scarf though did make getting there quickly a bit of a hassle. He would of dressed less formal for things but not only would he feel a bit less of himself, but from what he understood the young Mr. Stark did plenty of dressing lazily himself.

As he could see Stark Tower in the distance though a sudden clap of thunder came nearby it. Being the bright sunny day it was people around him glanced up in a moment of confusion but Loki didn't need to decipher what was happening. She was there, and Tony Stark was in serious trouble. Picking up the pace Loki started towards the tower knowing a plan was needed. Running into a woman of such strength and brute force would equal pain, as Mr. Stark was no doubt learning now. He needed to figure out the spot in her mind that will allow reason, where ever it is muddled among all her cravings for revenge and the clouding it left on the rest of her mind.

As Loki went in he quickly used a spell to make himself invisible, to avoid any security who would stop and question him, which would only slow him down. Slipping into what he hoped was the right elevator Loki reemerged as he hoped it would get him to where he needed to be quickly.

"Wait what?" Stark awkwardly rolled onto his back, leaning against a wall as he glanced at the furious Goddess lady who was admittedly handing him his own ass. At this point aggression was just a bad idea, and he had to try and reason with her. "Look he never 'hath bribed' me with anything! Please just chill out for a moment because this is getting a little out of hand here!"

"Enough!" Thor shouted, at this stage his 'Look behind you its Loki!' trick had pretty much flipped a 'go-nuts' switch in her brain. Stark had put too much faith in his metal suits against a force he simply couldn't reckon with and now he was trying to find a way out, only to find that Thor had pretty much cornered him. Thor wasn't the type to "use her words", especially when it appeared Tony didn't quite speak her language.

"Your words bore me. It is you whom asked for this fight so have at thee." Mjolnir sparked to life, charging up with wicked icy-blue tendrils of lightning, occasionally a stray spark would jump off and spark on the floor, fizzling out quickly, but not without leaving a black scorch mark on the floor. Larger tongues of lightning flicked across the hammer, if the small stray sparks were enough to mar the tiles, one could only guess the scale of the damage the substantial bolts of lightning at her command would inflict.

"You can thanketh Loki for thy demise, it shouldst be he who shalt face mine wrath, yet tis thou who wilt face me in his stead.."

Admittedly, this was less than honorable behavior on Thor's part, and Mjolnir felt ever so slightly heavier in her grasp, although pumped full of adrenalin and anger, her clobbering arm didn't waver, Mjolnir was still hers to command. Somewhere, deep down, the hammer believed she was still worthy, although she was standing on the edge of no return, until she crossed that line, Mjolnir appeared to still have some faith in her ... that is if she came to her senses before it was too late.

As Tony Stark glanced up, the sparks of electricity shooting around the hammer and the metal in the room. Held up in Thor's hand with no question where it was coming down. All Tony could do was look on and realize that you do see your life flash before your eyes before you die. His heart slowing as he felt a tear start to escape his eye. All he could really think in that moment was how he was about to be reunited with his dad.

Before Thor could finish the job though, the elevator door near them dinged and opened. Out stepped the very reason for everything Thor had done. He quickly assessed Tony on the ground, looking like he was in serious pain as one of the arms on his suit was shattered, his flesh seemingly mangled underneath. The right side of his suit also crushed and battered. Loki worried the suit, though impressive, wouldn't do much against the power of Mjonir, and that was confirmed seeing the young man in pain and death staring him in the face. Loki could only thank the gods he got there in time. Tony Stark saw him out of the corner of his eye and although he wasn't out of the woods yet, he was very happy to see someone there who would at least make sure his brain matter wasn't about the spread on the wall.

"I believe you've done plenty already..." Loki calmly but firmly stated as he stepped out, towards Thor but keeping his distance from her since he knew he was clearly already itching for war.

"It is me you want, is it not? The sole monster of the world." Loki pained himself a bit saying that but considering Thor's almost predator like hunting for him it wasn't far off presumably. He got a good look at her face, and still the looks kept ringing of something for him, someone from Asgard. He just couldn't figure it out, but if he didn't things may only get uglier.

"I did not come armed for combat, I just want us to rationalize all this before you do something even more irrational than what you've already done."

One would think that the sheer unadulterated terror Stark was in, pretty much cowering before her, would be enough to flip Thor's "angry switch" back into the "off" position. Tony was before her, helpless, like a lamb ready for slaughter. Surely now she'd come to her senses, this wasn't the guy she wanted and his death would gain nothing for her. She didn't come to her senses, much like the Hulk when he turned green, Thor was trapped in an endless loop of seeing red and it didn't matter who got in her way.

She may have been blinded, but her hearing didn't defy her. She heard a voice she would recognize anywhere ... The voice that she'd killed for to track down. The voice that belonged to a monster, whom it seemed she was finding more in common with each day, not that she realized it just yet.

Like a candle flame snuffed out in a swift breeze, the lightning fizzed out of Mjolnir and she turned slightly, totally ignoring Stark and her eyes, practically ablaze with fury, settled on Loki. Had Loki been a few seconds too late, Stark would be nothing more than a dented tin-can smashed with brain matter.

"So you finally crawl out of the woodwork like the filthy rat you are. Funny ... you don't usually reveal yourself so willingly Trickster. Hast thee grown weary of using others as thine shield?"

Loki may have been trying to keep his distance, but Thor wasn't on the defensive, she'd give him some words, but she was growing impatient already, she wanted his blood. "I've already grown tired of your words, Liar. You cannot rationalize what you've done to Asgard ... To me." Loki wasn't facing an Asgardian seeking to avenge her home, he was facing a woman whom he'd destroyed in the past. This wasn't for Asgard anymore, her rage had consumed her, this was for Tarene. Vengeance not justice.

"Arm thyself and face me." she shouted. "Or wouldn't thou rather I tear out thy treacherous neck with mine bare hands?"

Loki stood firmly in place, she wanted a war but he wasn't going to give her one. He's already fought enough battles and let shed enough blood to even fancy such a thought. Instead he knew he had to treat her, for lack of a better term, as an animal. Finally un-caged, ready to strike. He had to show he wasn't afraid of her, but that he respected what she could do to him if he didn't play everything he was about to very carefully.

"I cannot rationalize what I did to Asgard no. But speaking to me like I'm the monster... its funny to think about." Loki's eyes glanced over to the wounded Tony Stark. Feeling pity that the young man had gotten thrown into something that, even with his immense intelligence. Was all something he could never truly understand.

"I don't quite understand how you think this young man is 'my shield'. I had only met and worked with him briefly last night. More to the point, I fail to see how spilling his blood was suppose to fix what had happened." Loki glanced back at Thor again but this time a face suddenly came to him, one of great sadness but of tremendous anger. Who had the blade that plunged into his own heart that sent him to the netherworld. loki suddenly understood everything, who she was, and why she was.

"Tarene." Was the only word to slip out of his lips when the realization came to him. It was at that moment he understood how to solve this puzzle with no blood spilled.

"Tarene."

It echoed when he said it. Strange, since they weren't in an "echoey" room. All the words, all the anger she wanted to unleash on Loki seemed to freeze, she wasn't dumbstruck, she was just frozen briefly. Perhaps this was another one of his tricks? She wouldn't put it past him to pull a stunt like that.

"So you do remember me." she said, her voice steady, it almost sounded calm, but the undercurrent of sheer blazing hot rage ensured Loki wasn't so mistaken.

She didn't look in Stark's direction when Loki suggested she kill him, her gaze was locked on Loki. She'd seen what had happened on Asgard, up until the last moment when she'd fled. Part of her couldn't believe Loki was really here.

Her fingers coiled tighter around Mjolnir and her wrist shifted position slightly, as if preparing to strike, the hammer hummed softly with energy but the air remained oddly calm and still.

"THAT Tarene died on Asgard, by your hand. Do I not deserve the same satisfaction of slaying you?"
She glanced over at Stark, injured, a little shaken up ... okay very shaken up, but he was very much in the land of the living. "Perhaps it is too late for me? Perhaps I have already become a monster, the very same as you, maybe it is the right time for me to indulge and slay you. If I truly cannot be redeemed, I shall enjoy my fall from grace." Her fingers twitched, setting up an attack? Loki and Stark would find out in a fraction of a second, that was all it took for her to wreak utter havoc.

Loki sensed her feelings start to dampen as just seeing her guard drop ever so slightly made Loki hope she understood what he said. Still he knew she perhaps needed more.

"A lot of innocent people have died because of these hands Tarene." Loki quietly held out the very palms towards her to show.

"A long time in the Netherworld, and back here in Midgard all left me with time to wonder what I gained by doing what I did. What I gained was nothing. I didn't make my own situation better, I didn't fix anything. All that happened was my thirst for anger only grew, and the few fleeting moments of satisfaction only led to more anger. Tarene I know I couldn't apologize to you and have any part of it mean a damn thing. We both know what I did on Asgard is unforgivable. But I can assure you vengeance upon me will never fix what had happen. I'm not saying forgive me for what I did, I simply want you to stop before you repeat my horrible mistakes."

The silence in the room and the thick tense feeling all made everything in that moment seemingly stand still as Loki quietly tried to gauge the fellow Asgardian's next move. Best case scenario she'd drop Mjolnir and the madness would stop, worst case scenario... Loki would most likely regret coming to Stark Tower unarmed, and the building would lose an owner.

Suddenly an ever so gentle twitch in her hand holding the mighty hammer twitched, Loki reacted with a slight step forward. It was one more pause before fate decided their lives.

A stray spark flickered off Mjolnir, Tarene wasn't looking in his direction, but perhaps Stark was still a little jumpy. Loki on the other hand ... he took a step closer. It was a bold move ... and a stupid one. Mjolnir hit the floor with a dull "thud" and left a small scorch mark outlining its spot on the floor, as quickly as the hammer hit the ground, Tarene closed the gap between herself and Loki in one brisk stride, catching him by the throat with one hand.

"Stark. If you value your life you'll get out of here before I change my mind. I'm in a generous mood today. Leave." she said flatly. If Stark hesitated and decided to stick around, he'd just get caught in the cross-fire. She wasn't going to kill him to get to Loki, now that Loki was here, but that didn't mean he wouldn't end up getting squashed by accident if things suddenly kicked off and he got caught up in the firefight.

Not taking the opening to get out of the scene in vain Tony still had to struggle with only a single good arm to pull a seriously wounded body with. He wasn't sure if Tarene's threat was fully empty or very real and frankly after the morning he just had he didn't want to know. Though losing energy fast and not having much to get him and the now more and more seemingly bulky Iron Man suit to carry was all quickly turning into a burden.

Suddenly though a pair of hands grasped his arm as he glanced up. Pepper had slipped away from the desk and, even knowing what could happen to her, wasn't about to let Tony get hurt any further. “Here come on Tony.” She muttered to Tony as the moment of realizing what she was doing put a little extra energy back into him. His legs kicking and helping propel him along the ground and out of the scene. “Man you're the best receptionist I've ever had...” Tony weakly joked as the two turned the corner past the door and back into his office.

"Mjolnir grows heavier in my hand each day ever since you appeared here ... blighting this realm as you did Asgard ..." she glanced at her free hand, Loki still trapped, unarmed and pretty much at her mercy, although he was armed with an arsenal of spells, he'd surely find a way out if he needed to. Tarene's hands were bloodied, from the fight, though it wasn't any major damage ... still, there was more blood on her hands right now than there was on Loki's.

"You claim you want to save me from myself, do you not?" she asked, then again that was what he suggested, stop now, don't make the same mistake he had made.

"You want to appeal to my sense of humanity." she coiled her hand up into a fist and punched him squarely in the jaw.

"What if it's too late for that? Just like it's too late for Asgard ... for my friends, Sif, Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun ... Your brother!" she shouted, punching him again.

It was weird ... Tarene felt as if she would feel better if she killed him ... That she'd enjoy hurting him as badly as he'd hurt her. Yet ... she just felt hollow. She let go of his throat and stared at her hands for a moment.

"Mjolnir still believes I am worthy ... I cannot tell why, I'd have slain Stark in a heartbeat without even- ..." she was turning into a monster ... maybe Mjolnir knew part of her was still in there, a good part, but it was like a candle in a dark dark cave and it was almost snuffed out by anger. It was funny that Loki of all people was now attempting to save her.

"Are you truly sorry for what you have done?" she asked. Loki may have thought his apologies didn't matter a damn ... but no one apologized for Ragnarok, and while beating the snot out of Loki probably wouldn't make her feel better ... perhaps an apology would.

The punch to the jaw was surprising if only because Tarene had limited herself to merely punching him but even as Loki forced himself back onto his feet while rubbing his jaw after being knocked down by a blow that would have most likely most likely have hospitalized a mortal man, the trickster let the pain numb away a little while he thought about what he was going to say. He could have just said yes and been done with it but that would have been something hollow and without meaning.

When facing the judgment of one whom he had truly wronged, he decided to dig deep for his answer. She deserved nothing less then the honest truth. The embers of a hatred that had consumed all its fuel in a raging inferno of madness and revenge and had starved itself to death once everything had burned briefly flared up and glowed in the eyes of the trickster as he looked down at the damaged floor of Stark's office in quite contemplation. A loud sigh extinguished the embers once more; The tone in Loki's voice seemed to betray just how much he had witnessed and done.

"The path that led to Ragnarok was paved by pride, arrogance, mistrust and betrayal on all sides. I cannot speak for the actions of others that contributed to the end of Asgard, but I have long had to live with the fact that the lion's share of the blame rests on my shoulders. If I had the ability to go back and relive my life again knowing what I know now I would -love- to say that things would have been sunshine and rainbows but I know that it wouldn't have been. With many of the circumstances unchanged, there still would have been a breaking point... but it would not have spiraled out of control like it did. Maybe I wouldn't have had so much innocent blood on my hands..." Raising the hands in question in order to look at them briefly, Loki sighed before looking Tarene in the eyes.

"I am sorry Tarene. You and many more like you did not deserve what I helped to bring about. There are few days that I do not wish that things hadn't spiraled out of control like it did and when I was blessed with a second chance, I promised myself that I would use it to become the man I should have tried to be in the first place; I might never atone for what I have done, but if I don't try what point is there to receiving a second chance at life?"

"If you want to hit me again, go ahead. If anyone has the right to do it it's you."

Tarene looked as though for a moment she was planning on it, exchanging glances between him and her fist which clinched in and out a bit. However after a brief moment she let out a sigh, finally just fell over and took a seat onto the ground. Her face a strange mix of broken, inflictive, and regretful. From there SHIELD arrived fairly quickly because of the emergency signal. The large force of agents were ready for war against Tarene but were not prepared for her extending out her hands, and willingly turning herself in. She was put into the strongest handcuffs they had, and taken away to everyone's sigh of relief.

"Ooooooh myyyyyyy!" Mastodon cried out in surprise as he went flying into the sedative chamber. His massive, fur-covered back slammed into the rear of the cage that his body created a vaguely elephant-shaped dent in the wall. The quick witted behemoth was quick to push himself back to his feet and raised his fists. He wasn't down and out quite yet. "You sluggish brute! Return to my side, that we may make glorious battle. Victory will belong to Mastodon this day!" But the taunt didn't take. The Hulk turned away from the D-list super villain and faced Professor Thorton, who was still standing in the second-story observation room looking down at the jade giant. Sweat poured down from his brow; the doctor was only now beginning to realize how truly outmatched his forces were. Bruce Banner is no longer a man. The Professor thought. He has become a force of nature. The creature let loose a terrible roar. The bellow echoed throughout the compound, causing nearly everyone to hesitate and listen. Such anger. Such rage. This mindless monster's livid hatred was plain to see; it was a hatred that had festered and grown for years. A hatred embedded into the thing's very soul. A hatred now directed at Thorton. The Hulk wrapped a giant hand around the operating table and pulled it out of the concrete and tile floor as if it hadn't been bolted down at all. Professor Thorton, frozen by fear, couldn't move a muscle as the table came flying through the reinforced glass and slammed into him.

"THORTON!" Mastodon screamed out in a mixture of horror and confusion, watching as his mentor was apparently crushed by a flying table. The Elephant Man ran up behind the Hulk with the intention of beating the monster's head in. He was stopped in his tracks, however, by the sound of an alarm blaring throughout the base. The voice of the late Professor echoed over the intercom. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. If you're hearing this message, then that means that my heart has stopped. Do not attempt to save me; the detonation of the nuclear bomb placed underneath this facility cannot be stopped or reversed. Contingency plan Alpha-Centuari Canary One is now in affect. I repeat: Contingency plan Alpha-Centauri Canary One is now in affect. All units are to evacuate the premises immediately. Self destruct in two minutes. I apologize for the extreme measures, but I must make sure that the Weapon X Program dies with me. I..." Thorton chocked up, before talking in a breathe of air and continuing. "I'm doing this because I love you all. I may not have ever showed it, but I cared deeply for each and every one of you. I'll be damned if I let Romulus manipulate more mutants into joining his war against Trask and his Sentinel Order. You deserve better than this, Team X. You deserve to be FREE."

Wolverine, Laura and Lady Deathstrike rushed into the lab through the hole in the wall created by the over-anxious Mastodon. "What's Thorton goin' on about?" Logan asked as he stared down the Hulk, who was moments from escaping. "We've been lied to. Manipulated. Controlled." Lady Deathstrike realized it was as if a fog that had been covering her mind for some time had finally lifted. "I don't know how or why, but Romulus had taken control of our brains and altered our way of thinking." X-23 looked at Deathstrike as if she'd gone mad. "Everything I've done, I've done of my own volition. No one here is manipulating us but Thorton. Even in death, that bastard is leading us on. Now come on, we have a giant to fell." Laura popped her claws and took a step towards the Hulk. Logan shot out his hand and wrapped his fingers around X-23's forearm. "Lady's got a point, kid." Logan rasped. "Ever wonder why we can't remember where we came from? Or why we've never wanted to go outside 'less Rommy said so? Doesn't fit, not with me." Laura ripped Logan's hand off her arm, breaking his grip. "We wouldn't be having this conversation if we were mind controlled, you idiots." While the three mutants were busy bickering, they didn't notice Valkyrie approaching until she flew between the three of them and the Hulk and started shouting. By this time the Hulk was already outside; moments from leaping away.

"He's getting away!" Laura took off at a sprint towards Valkyrie and the Hulk, letting loose a ferocious battle cry like some sort of animal. "KID!" Wolverine yelled, following after her. X-23 jumped over Valkyrie, dodging any attempt to stop her using an impressive display of acrobatics and inhuman reflexes. Logan's clone and female counterpart stabbed into the Hulk's thick back and swung around to the green beast's face, aiming to shove her foot-claw into the creature's left eye. At the same time she brought her second pair of claws around and aimed to impale them into the much more powerful behemoth's head. Wolverine, eager to help his pseudo-daughter, approached Valkyrie with the same surprising speed. Instead of acting her with his claws, Wolverine did the unexpected: he struck the physically stronger opponent with a nerve strike. The move was meant to disable a normal human's muscles for just a few seconds; long enough for Wolverine to grab X-23 and pull her away from a rightfully pissed off Hulk. "I'll hold 'em off! GET TO THE AZRAEL!" Team X hesitated for a moment. "GO-" Wolverine roared, before the Hulk grabbed him by the face and tossed the tiny mutant outside. Kestrel led the remaining members of Team X out of the room and up towards the landing pad. Mastodon kept himself between Valkyrie and the rest of the group as they bade themselves retreat. "I shall hold off this femme fatale whilst you all make your escape!" Mastodon proclaimed. Maverick stopped running, turning towards his friend. "You can't! That nuke'll kill you for sure." Elephant Man turned towards Maverick and smiled. "I will see you again, my friend. In this life or the next. Now run!"

Wolverine looked up at the Hulk, the monster dwarfing Logan in sheer size. "Ah, crap." He muttered. This wasn't going to end well.

Hulk roared as the sharp blades despite the thickness of his skin, and healing factor. Tore through his skin and drew blood. He moved his hand up to his face ready to catch the women who cut him however she was pulled away first and his hand grasped at thin air. He turned to face the man in yellow and pushed him aside with one of his massive hands covering the mutants face. However then he saw that Valkyrie had stepped in between him and the others, taking several hits for him. He let out a breath of hot air out of his nose and ran straight at Mastodon. Brushing Valkyrie, gently, aside. As he ran at the beast. He didn't actually see that Wolverine had been the one to use the nerve strike so Mastodon would be the one to be subject to his rage.

Before the Elephant man could react to anything Hulk grabbed him by the tusks, both of them. Leaning down till there faces were within inches of eachother and he roared, far louder than anything heard within New York or Australia. Birds in the distance took off from their perches as they flew off in fear. Some of the looser snow on treetops nearby fell, the sound revertebrating around the clearing that the facility sat within. Mastodon got a face full of the roar. Then Hulk just grinned, pulling Mastodon round once, twice, three times as if in a dance. Spinning his partner until in the beak of a swing - he let go. Hulk wasn't sure if Mastodon would survive it, yet he did it anyway despite puny Banners protests. The anger that Banner felt at the man apparently dying had simply fuelled Hulk. Made him stronger than Banner.

That said, he was loosing all sense of reasoning as Banners voice became quieter and quieter. Only one thing was certain, Valkyrie had been a nice lady. Like the nice lady Banner once knew before they had to run away. He cast a glance at Wolverine and merely let out a grunt as he picked up Valkyrie gently. Then he ran into the woods, and jumped. Soaring through the air as he did so, as soon as he landed he jumped again. Taking him further and further into the Canadian wilderness. When the sky lit up with the explosion, and they weren't affected by it, he stopped. Placing Valkyrie down and then walking back away from her.

Crouching beside the ground, watching her.

As the man turned to beast Doom was actually surprised.

He wasn't fond of being surprised. A group of Doomdogs came running down the ramp, as well as some less human looking Doombots (The general infantry didn't need to mimic him after all). The dogs moved between the delegates of the shadow conquerors and the rapidly changing Aleksei Systevich, he did his research. This wasn't exactly the turn of events he was going for, and he didn't like what was going on.

He didn't know what was going on. He didn't like that either. The Doombots fanned out and surrounded the group, though right now it looked like the side to side with was in fact the Shadow Conquerors. Despite the fact that he had already surmised that they were the ones to perform the attack, it was too poorly co-ordinated to be a military strike. Though while he didn't like surprises, he was fond of being impressed.

Doom's thoughts were cut short, however, by the barrelling figure of the Rhino - whom had discarded his adornments to reveal a full sharp gray body suit. If it didn't produce a striking resemblance to the creature, Wanda would have thought he looked ridiculous. Instead, she somewhat admired him in a way as she observed the huge man battering aside one of the attacking mechanical dogs while ripping the head off another. The four Doom humanoids stood back from the conflict, each watching with an enigmatic - yet she suspected concerned - expression. Other metal men had emerged from the aircraft with the dog reinforcements, and the robots whom where not battling the Rhino were clumped in a defensive manner.

Now why on Earth have the Government opted for this display? It was certainly a foolish action at first glance, and Doom had already set a precedent in the few moments she had known him by taking measures to confuse onlookers to the real him - if he was even actually here. And if the Government wanted war with Latveria, she didn't know why, and while they had sufficient forces to combat them for a time they would be leaving their flank open for Wanda to attack with her Conquerors. Not that she was complaining, if the Government wanted to doom themselves then she would finally enact the revenge she lusted for. The fools.

Wanda came to a decision. Unfortunately, she could not channel her magical onslaught through Arissa's body, but that was why she had commanded Baron to accompany her to the intervention. The towering man was pitiful at diplomacy, and communication in general, but he packed a heavy punch. She grabbed his wrist just as one of the Shadows she had brought as additional security jogged up to her.

"Sir, Delegate, we really should retreat from the scene."

Wanda shot him a glare through Arissa's eyes with her aura, and snarled.

"I have greater plans at work, fool! Away with you!"

The Shadow narrowed his eyes at the unprecedented insult from what he assumed to be Arissa, but backed off to the small group nevertheless. Wanda rolled her eyes with disdain and turned to Baron, who was watching her silently.

"I need you to get involved. Battle the Rhino, but let the Dooms finish him off. If ever we are to light the spark to an alliance, it is now." Baron nodded in response and clenched his fists. The Dooms were sending more metal facsimiles to battle the hulking Government man, and Baron soon joined them.

Doom hit something on his wrist as the broadcast was sent. "Let it be known that I tried to reach a peaceful resolution between the three parties. The Sokovian government chose the destructive path. So be it, on their own heads." The Doombots advanced on the Rhino while the four possible Dooms stood still. There was a hum and a roar as the Jet shot back up into the air. Doom let loose a smile behind his mask as people watched it go.

This wasn't within his plans, this fight wasn't something he was going for. Not yet. One of the four possible Dooms stepped forward running towards Rhino as the other Doombots stood in a defensive circle in order to prevent any member of the Sokovian army from interfering. Rhino turned and ran at him, as two Doomdogs then jumped up onto his back their claws trying to dig into the armour.

Rhino's path disrupted, the possible Doom sidestepped to let the Rhino go careering past him, then raising his hand up to the centre of Rhino's back between the Doomdogs he let loose an energy bolt.

The barrage of energy impaling into the back of Systevich sent him sprawling towards Baron, who had been moving around and past most of the Dooms to close the Rhino into a horseshoe. The two large figures careened away to the left of Doom's aircraft, and Wanda could see blood already flowing freely from Baron's nose.

He won't last long at all. It had come down to a decision for Wanda. The chaos caused by Doom's untimely interjection opened an enticing opportunity that the Government had never offered before. Systevich's sudden hostility was a sign of desperation - perhaps the Government had come to the end of their patience? Maybe the Conqueror's incessant attacks had become too much? Or... No. They could be taking out our outposts right now. Moving towards the base of operations. It dawned on Wanda with a sudden epiphany that this was the final battle. Doom's appearance meant the end of the decades of guerrilla warfare, and with the Government's larger forces and however much weaponry they had stolen from Latveria, the syndicate's survival was at stake. The President could focus his attention on destroying the Conquerors while they placed themselves on equal ground with Doom's state. Two possible routes formulated in her head, the first - she could send out her forces to meet the Government and try and cut off the head of the beast, by targeting the President. The second - she could stay and attempt to form an alliance with Doom. The latter would make her force able to overwhelm the Governments, but she would be abandoning the Conquerors to disconcerting odds. Then again, if she retreated from Arissa's body to return to her own several miles away, Doom could still treat her and her syndicate as a threat.

She sighed sharply and narrowed her eyes at the close-knit group of metal men that were inexorably destroying the Rhino. Baron had manouvred himself and the Government brute back towards Doom - though it appeared that Wanda's own thug was on his last legs. Moreover, the fire-arm wielding throngs of Sokovia's army were subtely readying their weapons at Doom and Baron. Simultaneously Wanda's small bodyguard unit were frantically calling into their comms for reinforcements and eyeing the many barrels of the army's guns, lest they turned towards them. The worst part was, Wanda could not conduit her abilities through Arissa's body, meaning to have any physical impact upon the airport standoff she would have to return in her body. The mere time lost from that movement could result in the corpses of too many of her own pawns, but if she did nothing then she could end up causing the death of Arissa's body also.

Wanda rolled her eyes with irritation and made a decision. Arissa's mind returned quickly to her waiting body - but the unnatural action of the transferral had caused the body to spasm, and the sudden movement unfortunately sent a smattering of bullets careening towards her. The airport strip descended into chaos as a hailstorm of gunfire erupted between the army and the growing force of Shadows, while the battle between Rhino, Baron and Doom's men still raged.

Valkyrie took blow after blow, unfortunately without her shield. And that meant she was getting sliced and diced and scratched. Some of them too fast to heal over instantly. The power of the God's were not as quick as she'd have liked sometimes. Thankfully, Hulk took on Mastodon and got rid of him. But his almighty roar forced her to tremble and cover her ears in pain. Damned those Asgardian heightened senses.

But then she heard the alarm and panicked. She could fly fast but wasn't sure if she could make the blast radius in time. Luckily, Hulk had picked her up and scaled the air so fast with his jumps to avoid the blast. She had been sent in to rescue him but he ended up rescuing her. How the rides had turned. Valkyrie held on tight in his big strong arm, the feeling of flying so fast in the air was invigorating. She always loved that.

Upon setting her down before the massive green 'monster', who was really a big softie at heart, and no-one would ever really see that side of him often. Valkyrie's armour was partially hanging off, cut to pieces, her leather armour torn to shreds. Her bloodied wounds were starting to heal over slowly as her body glowed golden. Although, she had to kneel after taking such a beating from six highly skilled killers. She panted slightly and removed her winged helmet to reveal her long brown wavy hair, slightly frayed. "Thank you. For saving my life." Came a small smile from her lips and a tiredness in her eyes. A 'monster' would have left her there to die.

But she was still more concerned for his well being than her own, she could heal over in time but his damage was more from a mental torture. "Are you...alright?" She wasn't sure to call him Hulk, Doctor Banner or both. The SHIELD helicarrier had escaped the blast zone and started to make its way toward Valkyrie.

Finally, she used her sword to stabbing it into the ground and lift herself up by leaning on it and then introduced herself by placing a dainty hand on her chest. She looked too gentle underneath all that armour to be a warrior. "My name is Victoria." She showed no sign of fear around this hulking great creature, whereas most would have probably bolted from him by now. But she just smiled at him as if he were any other normal person. Like it did not matter to her. After all, who was SHE to judge? She was an Asgardian but not Asgardian? She didn't really understand herself let alone others with stranger powers. It is what it is.

"SHIELD sent me in to rescue you, but I think it was you, rather, who rescued me." She let out a light chuckle. She knew he wasn't all that bad despite what people had said or what she had seen. He was more -misunderstood-. He used to be a brilliant scientist, a good man, from what she heard, and he must still be in there somewhere.

"I can take you back to Australia if you want to be left alone again." She offered with a kind and gentle tone. Straightening herself out, clearly she was in some pain as she winced holding one of her shoulder blades, the wing seemed to be dangling as if broken. Once again, she seemed to know how he was feeling. Her empathy was a wonderful gift, heightened by the Gods. "Or anywhere else you'd prefer to go?" After all his Australia camp had now been compromised...

While nearby the fight was still raging on Quicksilver was playing crowd control. The panicked masses as closing in on the dangerous fight and Pietro knew casualties could only come from such stupidity. He knew from experience on these kinds of things.

Quickly throwing barricades down to keep the crowds a safe distance away from any oncoming shrapnel or being in range for Lorelei to take control of any of the men. “Alright screw off if you've seen one fight you've seen them all. What do the Patriots or whatever not have a game you can all mindlessly stare at?” Pietro called to the crowd, he never really did like American Football. It was shitty team hand egg. The dumbest of Americans have no idea what real football looks like.

“Go on beat it!” Pietro continued under a very clear, “Screw you mutie!” came from someone in the crowd. Pietro saw the man who shouted it, and the small throng of supporters who cheered him. Then glanced back over at the battle, no one seemed to be paying any attention to what he was doing... good.

The man sure was proud of himself for calling that filthy mutant out, that is until a sudden gust of wind brought about a VERY sharp pain in his groin. As Quicksilver took a second to give the man a real showing of what 'kicking the uprights' meant. The man's eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he collapsed to the ground clinching his crotch. All as Quicksilver was right back where he was standing before. “Anyone else? Anyone else want to call me names? No?” Pietro dared the crowd, he was not in a good mood, and unlike his teammates while he wasn't about to kill anyone, he wasn't going to let just anyone get away with crap like that.

Sussuration ran rampant as it had done for the past hour. Zebediah had lain still, pretending to be as dead as he thought he should have been, for that time - listening with intent to the President's angry cries and rants at the men around him. A cellphone stayed perpetually at his ear, except for the moments when he dialled a new number or accepted an incoming call. It appeared to Killgrave from his subdued position on the cold ground that everything had gone to hell for the Government, and he hoped it had for the Shadow Conquerors also. Three men stood around him: one with a gun to the back of his head, another whose footsteps he heard pattering around him and a final man who was muttering to the second and scribbling with a pencil.
A sudden shout, much closer than before, announced the arrival of what could only be the President of Sokovia.

"Up with him. Up!" The voice, barked. Blaring lamplight blinded Killgrave as he was thrust into an upright position by the gun handler. The movement revealed two things to him - that his hands were bound behind his back, and, as his joints jolted awake, neither his left leg or right arm were numb or paralysed. He could feel the hard grip of a hand on his elbow, though no pain born of the bullet arose. The same occurred with his leg as he was part-dragged, part-led to face the President. As his eyes adjusted, Zebediah was able to glance towards the twin puddles of blood signifying the Conqueror's betrayal. To his astonishment, the puddles were small and shallow, and at the centre of each was a gleaning black bullet.

"What -" He started, but his gruff voice turned to a cry of pain. The President had embedded a sharp knife as long as a piranha's tooth into his stomach. The pain gripped him, all-consuming, his breath stolen from his lungs. Then, it lessened. And continued to do so. Killgrave's brows rose in absolute bemusement. The President shared his expression, and it was then that Zebediah first saw the man's face in person. He had seen him before on posters and on dusty TV screens, but looking at it now it seemed... different. Like there's a different man looking out of his eyes. The President's bald head blended into his bearded face into his three-piece suit as a great exhaustion filled Killgrave's head. He had no chance to examine the President further, however, as the pain from the knife had almost dispersed and the object itself was quickly, horrifically, retreating from it's home in his stomach. Shit, what the hell has happened to me?!

"Remarkable." The President gasped, as he easily retrieved the blood-covered knife. A handkerchief was on it immediately, cleaning the dark red substance from the blade. "He will serve perfectly in the battle to come." The foreigner gestured at the man holding Zebediah, and the grip was swiftly released from his arms. The binding of his hands still forbade any resistance, but it was pleasant to have a degree of independence returned to him.
An exquisitely dressed officially soon approached the President and the three men who stood behind Zebediah. He bowed gracefully, though an urgent fear was plastered onto his face.

"Mister President, apologies. Captain Systevich has engaged the Latverians and we have sent men to each of the known resistance bases, three squads to each, sir." Latverians? The President nodded and cleared his throat loudly, but he did not say anything for a couple of minutes. The official was clearly waiting for a reply, and uninvited beads of sweat were quickly appearing on his forehead.

"Fine. Send another from Enhancement if Systevich doesn't come through - preferably Parks. Also, reinforce every group that encounters a substantial amount of Conquerors. I'm going to the Recluse base, and there's a boat there if you need it, Senator. I can sacrifice my seat now that our abandoned operative here has proven an efficient human shield." The President drawled. He cleared his throat again as the senator bowed and stepped away. The foreigner then signalled to a waiting group of armed men by the weapon collection. Four of them stepped forward, two positioning themselves behind Killgrave as they grabbed his arms and pulled him to his feet while the other two took point ahead of the President. Men in grey overalls and weathered bodies were running past them with crates of the stolen Latverian weapons, though they made sure to move a significant distance away from where Zebediah stood looking at them. The five Government men with their prisoner then began to move towards the agape hangar doors leading into the cold night air. One of the runners with the crates, however, matched Zebediah's stare as they moved away. Killgrave recognised signs of curiosity in the returned gaze, but mostly... fear.

One of the armed men was whispering intently to the President as they emerged into the night. It was colder than it had been when Killgrave had entered. The man kept glancing back at Zebediah, and the President - though angered at first, was nodding to the gunman's words. Zebediah was able to hear their conversation as they slowed to a halt outside the hangar.

"It's giving me the creeps. Looks so... unnatural." The gunman said. He held up an open bottle of water as he approached Killgrave, and there was also the President's bloodied handkerchief in his other hand. "Let's get this shit off you, purple man." He muttered, and one of the two men holding Killgrave chuckled. Purple? What does that mean? A welcome attack of water drowned his battered face.

"What do you mean, purple?" Killgrave spoke. His only answer was a butt in the back of his knee by one of his guards, sending him to the ground. The guards hoisted him up.

"Shh. Quiet." The man cleaning his face snapped. The handkerchief was rough on his face, as it spread the water around his mouth and onto his nose. It drew back, sending dribbles left on the cloth onto his guard disguise. The water obscured Killgrave's vision, but he could hear the sharp intake of breath from the gunman. The handkerchief returned to assault his face along with another splash from the bottle. Wait. That purple gas...?

"Uhm, sir?" The gunman called in a soft, scared voice.

"What? What is it?" The President turned, the phone again at his ear.

"It's not... And..."

The President stepped closer to Killgrave, shock spreading over his face also.

"Dear God, his eyes!"

It was the growing irritation at the Government men's tones and the water dripping through his hair and washing cold down his shirt and obscuring his eyesight and the growing tension around him that caused Killgrave to snap his head up in a mad sense of anger.

"Get away from me!"

They ran.

Hyperion followed Captain America up the polished steel ramp of the SHIELD quinjet. Riding on a terrestrial aircraft was far slower than Zhib-Ran's natural flight, but Agent Milton doubted that Wilson's primitive set of artificial wings could keep up with Hyperion's own near lightspeed movement. So he could forgive his "superior's" decision to take the aircraft instead. He listened as Sam started to explain a plan that Director Nick Fury (or more likely his think tanks) thought up. Although Captain America would attempt to conceal his enthusiasm for this new project, it was plain to see (In Milton's eyes, anyway) that he had faith in whatever the higher ups had cooked up this time. Hyperion followed behind Cap into the main cabin and took a seat opposite him. He sat for a moment waiting for Wilson to finish with the pilot and take a seat. While he was sitting, Zhib-Ran noticed the air conditioning was bothering his now-exposed skin; his original world had always been warmer than most places on Earth. The irritation grew to such level of annoyance that Agent Milton decided to do something about it. After all, he had a dozen seconds or so to spare.

Hyperion stood up and zipped out of the ramp door and flew to the Midwest of the United States. He landed on the doorstep of a small farmhouse, knocking the door down and stepping inside. A white-haired woman peeked around the corner, investigating the source of the sound. She let loose a shrill, wordless scream before retreating backwards and out of sight. Milton crossed towards the stairway and smiled when he reached the second door to the left. The door was covered in poorly drawn pictures of a small family and photos of Spiderman clipped out of various Daily Bugle newspapers. Hyperion smashed the door down and was immediately greeted by the terrified cries of a young boy. Milton entered the child's room, ignoring his incessant need to announce his displeasure at this intrusion by bursting Zhib-Ran's sensitive eardrums. The SHIELD Agent moved to the center of the room. He examined the floor using his X-Ray vision; upon finding what he needed, Hyperion pulled up a number of wooden floor boards to reveal an obsidian colored box. He placed a massive hand on the surface of the strange shape, the area underneath flashed light blue and a voice spoke in a language unknown to man. The obsidian box split in two, and Hyperion pulled out a set of unearthly clothes. He violently shredded off the remains of his previous uniform and donned the black and gold set of tights that his people were known for. He finished off the getup by attaching the golden cape to his neck near the Atom symbol that dominated his suit's upper chest area. The symbol of his house: the atom, the thing that makes up all others. It holds entire worlds together. Yet it contains enough power to destroy them as well. It was all quite meaningful and theatrical symbolism that the people of Tok ate up. Hyperion glanced at the remains of the boy's door, at the pictures of this "Spider-Man" he had plastered on it. It would seem the people of Earth believe just as much (if not more so) in the idea of symbolism.

Good. Milton thought. I've always been a powerful symbol.

Suddenly an elderly man in overalls burst into the room, firing off a blast from his double barreled shotgun right into Hyperion's chest. The tiny pellets bounced harmlessly off his invincible body and left no mark on his new clothing. The suit was also designed to absorb solar radiation, so even its brief exposure to sunlight after all of these years left it able to deflect weapons fire. Zhib-Ran glared at the farmer, livid anger building up inside of him. This peasant just struck me. He thought. It dared to raise a finger against it's god. The hatred in his gaze rapidly mounted as the farmer fired off a second shell. He doesn't even know how easily I could end his life. How easily I could shatter this entire putrid planet into shards. The ignorance. The stupidity. Such a creature doesn't deserve to live. Milton didn't notice his vision turning crimson. He didn't notice a pair of red beams exiting his pupils and turning the farmer and his wife into ash. He had become deaf to the sound of the child crying out for help. He wanted some hero to swoop in and save him. Perhaps even his God to lift a single finger to stop this horrendous act of murder right in front of his eyes. The wooden walls of the building caught fire. The red slowly faded from Hyperion's eyes, and he looked at all he had done. A pair of charred skeletons clutched each other in a final, desperate embrace. The little boy stumbled across the burning room and collapsed over their corpses, tears falling down his face in waves.

The rapidly expanding inferno would soon consume everything inside. There would be no evidence to point towards Hyperion's involvement in their deaths. It wasn't time for his true intentions to be revealed quite yet anyway. It was for the best, after all. Hyperion left the Midwest in a hurry and entered the quinjet moments before its ramp closed. He zipped into his seat and looked across at a confused Captain America. "Excuse my absence. I needed to retrieve a change of clothing; it's unnaturally cold in here." Hyperion smiled warmly. Sam started his presentation using one of those touch screen computers that humans seemed so fond of. He listened to the Captain's words and took mental notes on all of the individual candidates shown while also reading over the dossiers multiple times and closely examine the images so that he could remember his soon-to-be new teammates by both face and name. They all seemed as if they would offer enough to the team to be semi-useful, though in truth Hyperion doubted they would be much help when they started to get into the big leagues. They were no Squadron Supreme, that was for sure. He made sure to keep a note of Wilson's obvious dislike of Tony Stark as well as this 'Miss America' girl's origins. If she knew anything about Hyperion's past, everything would be put into jeopardy. He would need to get her alone and see what she knew.

"Yes. I led my own team of crime fighters. The press called us the Squadron Supreme, if I recall. We were more of an informal gathering of powerful heroes from nearby solar systems that got together whenever large threats to the galaxy presented themselves. We were all around the same power level, so we made an even more powerful force to be reckoned with. Except for Nighthawk, that clever piece of Vark-" Hyperion stopped himself, clearing his throat. "I believe this team has potential. They will certainly be an asset to SHIELD's war on super-crime, if they can manage to work together. I have my doubts about the inclusion of a potential villain and what amounts to a rich playboy with a couple of fancy toys to an official SHIELD-sponsored team, but I'm sure you can whip them into shape. I'll do all I can to help, of course."

It had been less than a minute since America Chavez first started the brawl she now found herself in, yet he floor was already littered with the unconscious bodies of the Bishop’s security force. The fight had appeared extremely brutal, with America punching her way through all of them as if they were made of paper. That had not been the case however as the young heroine had held back with her punches, keen to not injure these men to the extent of the people she inadvertently hurt the day before. She went for clean knockouts, aiming to not break or fracture any bones. A task that was actually quite challenging.

Grinning slightly as the last body hit the floor, America gazed around the lobby at the mess. Despite her holding back, the elegantly furnished room was now trashed. She sighed slightly, before catching sight of a receptionist who was proceeding to creep out from behind the pillar where she had been hiding.

“Don’t worry Chica.” America spoke calmly as she began to back away towards the window. “I’m good for the damages.”

With that, she turned in a flash, before bursting forward into the air and through the window. Shaking the shards of glass from the window off of her as she moved, America Chavez soared up the side of the building, building in speed as she did so. Just before she reached the penthouse floor, she changed directionally slightly, causing her to rocket in through the penthouse’s bay windows as she reached them. The room shook slightly as she landed, cracking the floor slightly, as well as causing all of the inhabitants of the room to lurch forward in shock and confusion. This gave her time to survey the room. The first thing she noticed was the lack of her telepathic buddy, Quentin Quire. It would seem that she had beaten his elevator here. Damn she was good. The next thing that came to mind was the security. Three guards, all with their weapons out, similar to those whom she had just pummelled to a heap around twenty floors below. Between them at a glass desk sat the man from the billboard and the one whom America was after. Derek Bishop.

By now the guards had recovered from the shock of a beautiful Amazonian woman bursting in the room from the window, and at once opened fire on the intruder.

“Bad move, assholes.”

America moved forwardly swiftly, the gunfire reflecting off her arms with ease. She swung her arm up rapidly as she approached her target, knocking the gun from his hand and high into the air. Grabbing the man’s shoulders, she used him to propel herself upwards, push the security guard to the floor in the process. Spinning in the air, America kicked the gun as it began its decent, straight towards one of the other two guards. The force of the gun knocked the man off his feet and into the other guard behind him. Before they could get back up however, Ms America was upon them, launching them both into a heap on the floor with a few final blows from her fists.

As America readjusted herself after the conflict, a large ding could be heard throughout the room. Both America and Derek, whom was now crouching slightly behind his desk in a pathetic attempt to hide, turned to watch as the elevator door slid open. Out stepped Quentin who appeared to have been expecting the worse when those doors opened, evident by the fact that he was holding the gun he had found previously out in front of him in a somewhat menacing manor. The look of determination dropped from his face however when his eyes laid upon America and the bodies around her.

“Jesus Christ…” He murmured moving forwards. “Am I even needed here?”

“We’re not done yet, Quire. We still…”

“Yes, you’re certainly not done yet.” The two turned as Derek spoke, his voice echoing confidently through the penthouse. Despite how he had previously appeared hiding behind the desk, the business man now circled his desk, before leaning against it casually. He continued. “You’ve yet to meet my partner in all of this…”

Before America or Quentin could do anything, the man had clapped his hands. At once the world around them seemed to lurch for a second, before a flash of light appeared in the room. Just as quickly as it had started, everything went back to normal, with a strangely dressed man remaining where the light had been.

“May I present to you…” Derek spoke proudly as he came to stand next to his partner. “Pusher Man!”



“Yo dawgs. Heard yous were getting up in our bidness!”

Archangel soared through the air with grace and speed like nobody had ever seen. The few weeks he spent at the Xavier School as a teen were more than enough to prepare him for his solo adventures as a costumed hero in NYC. Warren flew up into the clouds, seeing the sun. Diving back down into the concrete jungle he darted and dipped through skyscrapers and eventually flew past the Statue of Liberty. The muscles in his wings were at their peak, lifting his over two hundred pound body with ease. Warren heard an airplane overhead, it seemed to be smoking and upon flying closer Archangel met what would become his first superhuman enemy.

A winged monster of a man known as the Griffin had attacked the plane and done damage to one of the turbines. Warren tried to get in close and take the monster down, however the tail of the beast swiped Archangel clear out of the entrance Griffin had torn into the side. The mutant hero recovered in seconds and managed to get into the plane.

"You thought you could run from ME?!?" the monster screamed at a man in a business suit as the people all around were panicking.

When the villain saw the hero had made an entrance, he threw him off guard. Griffin simply tossed a civilian out of the plane after ripping them out of their seatbelt.

"YOU need to leave ME alone!" Griffin screamed as Archangel dived out of the hole in the plane after the blonde female in a Rolling Stones t-shirt.

"This day isn't going how I planned at all..." Warren thought, "but at least I get to rescue a damsel in distress every so often."

"I'VE GOT YOU!" he shouted over the woman who was already mid-scream herself.

The hero sat her down on a nearby rooftop and flew back into the sky after the plane. On his way back up he tore the tin roof off a shed on another rooftop. By the time he'd made it to the plane Griffin was already miles ahead of him in the sky with the businessman he was shouting at now in the talons of the monster's feet. Warren used the piece of tin and patched the hole somewhat where Griffin ripped the door off and ran for the front of the plane.

"You need any help flying this bird, Captain?" he yelled at the door.

"I think I can land her in a nearby airfield. What do we call you, Birdman?" the pilot shouted back.

"You can call me Archangel." Warren stated with a grin moving the tin and dipping out of the man made entrance/exit.

~KL~

As SHIELD helped begin clean up with Tony's office and reception room the billionaire was helped onto a stretcher. Sighing angry to himself as he finally pulled off the remaining glove on his good hand. Throwing it away violently, grunting and immediately hurting in his bad arm from the movement.

"Piece of shit!" Tony grunted frustrated to say the least. With the fear subsiding Tony was in his own mind in a bad place. The suit went from being a success to a critical failure in a matter of hours. Sure he wasn't really prepared for taking on Tarene, and whatever that hammer that now sits in the middle of his reception room is packs a much bigger punch than he previously thought. Still he designed the suit to take on anything, and it failed horribly. He glanced up at the two SHIELD agents as they started to wheel him out of the area.

"Hey if the helicarrier is high enough to not be considered in US territory can you guys slip me some booze? I've never drank before but this feels like a great time to start..." Tony asked glancing over at them, before seeing out of the corner of his eye James Rhodes coming up to him with Pepper next to him.

"Swear to God James if you so much as hint to saying 'I told you so' you're fired. I know its probably illegal to fire someone over that but I'll figure out a way to do it!" Tony though sighed, his hand coming up to his eyes and covering them.

"I'm not going to say it..." James assured his young boss. "Hell I'm willing to wager that was one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't situations."

"Tony don't be too hard on yourself about this. No one could of possibly seen this coming." Pepper tried to assure Tony. Which only reminded him of something as he glanced over at the God nearby.

"Well almost no one..." Tony casually stated.

It was still morning, but Loki just knew that today was going to be a very, very long day.

The confrontation with Tarene had been something that he had known would have to come to a head sooner or later, but even he hadn't expected it to go down the way that it had. Granted there were much different, worse ways that it could have gone and the fact that there was now one less person out there that wanted him dead because he was able to talk them down made him feel better good about the whole thing but the fact that innocent people were hurt in the process...

Walking towards the stretcher that one Tony Stark was currently laid out on, Loki offered those standing around it a respectful nod of his head before he started talking. "It's good to see you again Tony... Though I cannot help but feel that if our track record of meeting each other before or while shit like this is going down continues, SHIELD is going to formally ask us to stop having these little get togethers." While the greeting was rather upbeat and with good cheer, the smile quickly faded as Loki actually started to look rather awkward as he started to shuffle his feet.

"For what it's worth, I really am sorry that this whole situation came about. While I was well aware that Tarene would be coming after me with a nearly mindless vengeance and that I would have had to face her sooner rather then later, I didn't foresee her being this reckless and stupid in her desire to track me down. As far as I am concerned I owe you, your friend here-" A nod was sent in the way James, even if Loki didn't actually know his name "- and this rather fetching young lady whom I remember from the charity event but whom I didn't actually get the pleasure of being introduced to due to the arrival of giant snakes,-" Unlike her male companions, Ms Pots was gifted with a smile that Loki reserved only for people whom he was actually pleased to be introduced too "big time after you got needlessly caught up in my mess. How you feeling Stark?"

"Oh trust me, I could live a long happy life if I never see you again..." Tony stated with a sarcastic grin as he looked over at the guy who has been a weird constant the last two days. He quickly realized how bad he sounded considering Loki did just save his life from the crazy lady with the hammer. So he sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"No I mean seriously. I owe you my life man. I would've been smashed in blood and guts if you hadn't shown up." Tony was still seriously smarting from the battle itself as he readjusted himself very carefully on the stretcher. Because there was possible damage to the elbow his bad arm was carefully put into a straight position and, assuming Tony could even move it at the moment, meant to stay that way.

James returned the respected nod to Loki before extending out a hand. "James Rhodes, former US Marine." It was an introduction he could recite in his sleep.

"And royal pain in my ass..." Tony quipped which got him a mean look from James.

"Tony, may I remind you of the horrible pain I can put you in if I so much as poke that arm?" James asked, with an evil grin and a finger extended skyward to do the honors if Tony chose his next words poorly.

"Oh no no no I'm good sorry..." Tony meekly let out.

Pepper though smiled as well at Loki's greeting to her. The man certainly knew how to charm and he was quite handsome, she didn't see the look Tony gave her and Loki when he realized she was looking into his eyes. "Very nice to meet you, Pepper Potts." She told him, giving him a polite nod of the head.

"If I may Mr. Rhodes and Ms. Potts." A SHIELD agent had arrived over, in a suit with an ear piece and shades on. Toned in what seemed like a Hispanic heritage. "I don't mean to interrupt things but Mr. Fury wanted me to rely some information over since we have the both of you available. Agent Sam Wilson is going to be running a super powered operative soon, and Fury was interested in the both of you cooperating if you would."

Tony just glanced at the man for a moment wondering if the man's glasses meant he was blind or something. Tony Stark was laying on a stretcher, having his ass just pounded into him by some crazy lady with a hammer. Now all of the sudden Fury wants him to be in some big Government group? "Tell Fury to just get me Victoria and I'll think about it." Tony sighed irritated, and right now the farthest thing from his mind was doing anything else with that God awful suit. The agent gestured to some others. The other two nodded and they helped wheel Tony Stark out of the building to awaiting medical attention.

While the introductions were brief they were respectful and were a solid foundation upon which to build up something more. Loki couldn't help but note that Ms Pots had actually looked him in the eyes and presented herself rather well; A woman of strong will that hadn't even began to come into her own if he was any judge of character. Only time would tell what she would become through.

Glancing towards the as of yet unnamed Shield agent that had been the messenger of the so called 'Mr. Fury', Loki actually seemed rather relaxed and carefree while his brain processed the information that a super powered team was being formed; While Tony had lost the fight against a Mjolnir empowered Tarene he had lasted much, much longer then any natural human had any real right too and Loki suspected that was largely because Tony hadn't expected someone like Tarene to come after him so soon. Not a bad person to work beside...

Turning to the SHIELD agent fully, Loki tilted his head as he made the counter offer "I would like to meet with this Mr. Fury before I make any commitment to this team of his. I'm sure he wouldn't have any objections to that."

Peter and Bobby had just departed from the Daily Bugle after they had learned about the vigilante, who could be their suspect in Firestar’s kidnapping, from Ben Urich. In the past year, in response to the maggia ‘civil war’ that happened since the Kingpin’s abdication due to the poor health of his wife, a shadowy figure had launched a one-man war against the contending crime-lords. While details are sketchy and uncertain, those maggia thugs that were his victims called him ‘The Rider’. Although normally it would be almost impossible for anyone to track this shadowy figure, fortunately for Spider-Man and Iceman, there was a rumor circling around that the Hammerhead faction of the maggia was planning something big that night. Hopefully for Spider-Man and Iceman, this will also draw out this so-called ‘Rider’.

Once the two superhumans arrived at the site where Hammerhead’s forces were supposed to be at that moment, they discovered that all the maggia goons had been mopped up by someone. After searching the area, the two teenagers stumbled upon another caped crusader. The man wore a black cape that shrouded his figure. Black and gray armor, including greaves, gauntlets, and spaulders, covered his body, while a black hood shrouded his face. Beneath the black hood, one could see red eyes glowing.

“Who are you supposed to be? The love child of Darth Vader and Shredder?” Spider-Man taunted this shadowy figure, assuming that this costumed crime-fighter was “The Rider”.

“Ooh, good burn!” Bobby jutted in cockily, cracking his frosty knuckles in an attempt to show the rider that he was about to receive a whuppin’.

“If you’re looking for a tutelage, you’ve come out here for nothing because I don’t let twelve-year olds run around me with.” The man said. The man's voice was scrambled by some type of device that prevented his voice from betraying his identity.

"Oh, that's good to know that you're not a pediphile. But what about sixteen year old girls?"

"Not even if she were the daughter of the Captain of the NYPD or the Commissioner.” Rider turned away from the two teenagers, believing that they were not a threat to him. However, what the Rider had said did not settle well with Peter. Even though there was no way that this ‘caped crusader’ knew anything about Peter’s old relationship with Gwen Stacy, nevertheless, it still felt like a dig towards him. Spider-Man shot a webline at the Rider and yanked him back towards himself and Iceman.

“Tell us where she is!” Spider-Man yelled at the man whom he had just dragged back to where he and Iceman were standing. “I saw you take her! You cannot fool me!”

“Kid.” The Rider said as he got to his feet. “You just made a grave mistake.” At that moment, the Rider slammed a pellet onto the ground, causing first a bright flash that momentarily distracted Iceman and Spider-Man. Then, a cloud of smoke arose from that spot, shrouding the immediate vicinity, which limited both Spider-Man and Iceman’s visibility (although it would not negate Spider-Man’s spider sense). Now Spider-Man and Iceman have to pay special attention to their surroundings, lest the Rider somehow catch them off guard.

Bobby coughed loudly as he accidently inhaled the smoke. Things were just going from bad to worse. At once, Bobby flexed his ice covered arms, causing small shards of ice to burst out of them, jutting out of his body for extra protection. Rubbing his hands together, the young mutant shifted around until he found himself standing back to back with his web-slinging partner.

“I’ve got your back, Spidey” Bobby whispered just loud enough for Peter to hear.

As he spoke, Bobby concentrated on the ground around him for a moment. A small layer of frost began to spread out around, with the smoke around them turning into more of an icy mist. Did this fool seriously expect to stop them with a simple smoke grenade? Bobby had been in snowstorms much worse than this before!

For a moment, nothing happened. The two teenagers stood their ground, waiting on whatever move this costumed vigilante decided to initiate next. It almost seemed as if this so-called 'Rider' had used the smoke grenades as a distraction to cover his escape. However, Peter and Bobby were not that lucky.

All of a sudden, the caped crusader leaped out from the cover of the smoke cloud. He pressed his palms against the two teenagers' heads and tried to slam their heads together. If the dark cloaked had been able to carry through with his attack, then he might have incapacitated the two teenagers, or at least daze them for several moments. However, his Spider Sense allowed Peter to slide his head to the side so that his head would not strike Bobby’s.

Stumbling backwards as he recovered from the attack, Bobby took a deep breath before reinforcing his raised fist with yet another layer of ice. Charging forward towards the ‘Rider’, Bobby swung his arm forward, only to narrowly miss the vigilante who had darted backwards with ease. In retaliation, the Rider sprung forward himself, parrying yet another strike from Iceman before launching his own fist out.

The punch winded the young hero, with the hit shattering the ice on Bobby’s stomach slightly. He collapsed to his knees, coughing slightly. This seriously wasn’t going well.

“Okay, the kiddie gloves are coming off”. Peter exclaimed as he saw the Rider easily parry and counter Bobby’s attack. Peter leapt towards the caped crusader and unleashed an assault of punches and kicks against him. As each of the combatants kept blocking one another’s blows, their fight seemed to have become a delicate dance. Whoever made the first mistake would give the victory to his opponent. Peter could not believe that this man could keep up with him. As a result, Peter concluded that he either had superhuman abilities or he was secretly the Batman.

While this stalemated fight continued, a red concussion blast struck the ground in between the two fighters, which caused Peter and the Rider to disengage from one another in order to see what, or rather who, was the source of the ruby blast. When Peter looked up towards the source of the projectile, he saw a man in a blue and yellow suit standing on the top of a nearby rooftop, who wore a golden visor that had a ruby tinted glass covering his eyes. He had just pulled his fingers away from the side of the visor, which had triggered the blast.

“We need a word with you, Spider-Man.” Cyclops shouted down towards Peter.

Hulk could hear the Heli-carrier, and he could hear the Quinjets approaching. He just lowered his head towards her, then moved a hand towards her and gave her a slight push to make her lose her balance and fall off the sword. The meaning was clear. With that he turned and roared towards the Heli-Carrier as he ran and then jumped into the air. The pilots of the Quinjets looked in shock as the monster moved higher than they were, before crashing down hundreds of metres away. The snow was thrown in all directions as a small crater was formed before he was up again. Bounding from one spot to the next. It wasn't entirely clear how long he kept going. The Quinjets lost sight of him quickly however, the radar of the Heli-carrier lost him shortly after that. He kept going, deeper and deeper into the wilderness.

Until, he could go no more.

"Hulk. You lied to me, you've just proven how dangerous you are. I'm going to make sure you don't get to pose a danger to anyone for a very long time."

Hulk: Monster or Beast? Complete.

Now Starting: Hulk: Chasing Ghosts



"You realize Milton, I didn't even notice your absence." He unclipped his shield and put it beside him, taking a moment to marvel at it. It was the original Captain America shield and he got to use it. It was the only thing they ever found. "Anyway. There's no proof Loki was an actual Villain. All we have is the word of some hammer wielding woman who seems to be on a run for vengeance with no regard for a body count. Though I'm not going to sanction people to the team without testing them. Fury wants me to canvas all the potential applicants. I'll probably let you do a few, I trust your judgement after all."

He sat back and kicked his legs out. Taking this rare chance at relaxing between the end of a mission and his next one, or being sent for some R&R. "In terms of the Stark kid... I'm really only looking for a technical consultant. There's this other kid, a Pym no less. His file should be there. I think if either of them go in the field it should be him. He's got the experience, just needs the training. Though I guess I'll find out what Stark is like after all." He tapped a button as the back door to the jet opened, the rushing air pulling at him but not hard enough to pull him out of the jet.

"I'll let you chose whoever you want to canvas first. I trust your judgement."

Gunna's face turned to one of absolute disgust underneath her furs after her animalistic senses caught a whiff of Cosmo's accident. She sprung up onto all fours, before narrowing her eyes towards the dog. Even Magzi Trolls disliked some odors. Moving backwards slightly, she circled the room, finding herself behind the last of the Novas, clutching innocently to her leg.

Cosmo remained where he was sat, lowering his head slightly in embarrassment.

"You must be excusink me, comrades. Please continue." The dog spoke telepathically, urging that attention be brought back to the problem at hand.

Gunna understood, with the young Asgardian raising her arm slightly before shouting.

"Chase!"

The spacedog nodded slightly from his chair. "Yes, if Nova is in agreement, we back to followink!"

"I believe I can speed things up a bit from the outside of the ship..." X-51 mentioned as machines folded out of hidden compartments in his back creating more chrome plated looking mechanics with purple trim and glowing effects.

Attaching himself to the back end of the star cruiser the energy boost was quite a bit to take on but the Machine Man steadied himself. The passengers on the inside didn't all brace for the jump in speed and it caught at least one of them off guard. X-51 pushed himself to the limits knowing that whatever was creating the trail that trashed Knowhere was coming closer. And then he felt a different type of energy signature. More familiar. The enemy was near and another nearby world was also trashed. The ship slowed down as X-51 folded his thrusters into the back compartments near his robotic shoulder blades. Coming back into the hub of the Shockwave Rider he could see it in the dog's face as well. Cosmo knew what they were up against now as well.

"Nova, the ones who are responsible for this... they are Kree." X-51 stated, "The energy trail we have been following threw me off, they are piloting a newer model Kree warship. However, I can sense their biology from within the vehicle. They are not great in number, but they intend to spark a war..."

Gunna perked up as the Machine Man spoke.

"War bad!" She stated as she turned to look up at the Nova.

Mexxa just turned to look at Gunna and smiled before turning back around to face the machine man as he entered again. "We need to stop this, not just the war but the weapon and the Kree behind this needs to be brought to justice. None of you need to help. This is something that needs to be done and none of you owe anyone anything." She placed a hand on Gunnas shoulder.

"War is bad, but so is death. I don't want to see any of you hurt, or worse."

Gunna eyes narrowed beneath her troll fur headpiece at the remark. She didn't want to see any of them hurt? The thought nearly made Gunna laugh. She was from Asgard. She had been raised by the most fearsome bunch of trolls to ever travel those hills. She could take care of herself.

"The Kree does not possess technology enough to destroy my body, I will not let you fight alone, Nova." X-51 spoke up, "And if my scanners are accurate, the Troll's weapon can pierce even a Celstial. The odds are in our favor."

At the mention of her weapon, Gunna proceeded to let go of the Nova's leg, with the young Asgardian proudly waving the axe madly above her head once more. Her swings narrowly missed the space-dog, whom had left his seat to move towards Nova. "My mechanikal comrade has a point. You won't be able to beat the Kree alone, no?"

Natty/KL/Sep

As Valkyrie's body softly hit the snow, her long dark brown curls contrasted against the white canvas behind, she felt her body shut down. Weakened physically and now mentally. She could only watch on helplessly as Hulk launched himself into the atmosphere. Her vision became blurred as the Quinjet came into view. An exhausted exhale escaped her rosy lips in the form of a sigh. Feeling the cold underneath her body as she lay in stillness. Just what was her purpose here anyway? She had been sent these powers by the Gods to help people. And those she tried to help, did not want it.

First there was Victor von Doom. He could care less if she were to help him or not. And then there was Loki. Whom she recognised, it was more than a coincidence that he showed up, so he must be the real deal. And from what she knew of him, he wasn't a very nice person either. He had betrayed her in the past and would probably do so again. And now Hulk. He made it perfectly clear she was not welcome. It was getting an all too familiar feeling.

Was there nobody at all out there who would be happy to see Victoria Parrington or even Sigyn? Captain America was god knows where, Tony and Pepper had no time for her and you know what they say about 'three's a crowd'. And she didn't even know about her step-cousin, Thor, even existing at all. And she never had the chance to bond with Tarene. She drifted into a deep sleep thinking only that this was going to be the way she was going to die. Cold and alone. Just like she had done so before this new mortal life.

The Quinjet touched down a few meters away and Maria Hill came running out to Val's side. She checked her bloodied neck for a pulse. She was still alive. Maria called over the other two agents to help her move the Asgardian female to the jet and take her to the medical bay aboard the Heli-carrier. Victoria's body had healed over but the energy it took to do so had its toll on her soul.

-------------

Hours Later...

Valkyrie slowly opened her eyes to a bright light that dimmed eventually to reveal a white-out ceiling. She leaned up slowly and held her forehead, feeling a little light headed. Once her composure was gained, she gazed her surroundings to find she was back at SHIELD HQ in their medical bay. She sighed as she had hoped to wake up somewhere else. She began to feel trapped here. She wanted to wake up as someone else entirely. She was getting tired of being tossed to the sidelines like she were scraps for the dogs.

And then she had a visitor at her door. She looked over when she felt a strange presence enter. She laid eyes on the emerald clad blonde who she had seen before at the Parrington charity ball. Amora.

“You...” Valkyrie gritted her teeth in resentment at what she did to her parent's home and the fact she tried to kill her.

“I come in peace!” Amora held up her hands. Sigyn had always been a soft touch on giving people second chances and hearing them out. It was any wonder how she had gotten inside the HQ without SHIELD even knowing. But she was never really there. She was using a projection like her former Master Loki could do. And Valkyrie had figured that, so attacking an apparition that only she could see would do no good. So she regarded Amora with annoyance.

Was this all the friends she had right now? The only one who wanted to speak with her, or wanted her help specifically in this case, was an old enemy from the past. How the tides had turned.

Amora walked over slowly to the brunette and sat on the edge of the bed. “So. Sigyn. Have you remembered more about yourself?”

“I'm not Sigyn anymore..” Victoria glared at the blonde.

“Ah but to me, you will always be sweet little Sigyn.” Amora smiled. “I apologise for my...rashness earlier. It wasn't really meant for you. I got so blinded by hatred for that weasel Loki that I took it out on you too. I must remember that you were always a good friend to me in Asgard. You listened to my woes, fought by my side and made me laugh.”

Victoria's glare softened into a melancholy daze. In this state, she was easily manipulated. And that was Amora's chance to strike, an attempt at getting to the very formidable Valkyrie before SHIELD could. “I'm putting together a little team. Ladies only. Aren't you just sick of being let down by the men in your life?” Valkyrie certainly knew that all too well. She had her attention as she listened. Amora's grin grew darker by the second. “We could travel the stars, putting the wrongs that men have caused, to right. Restore order where there is none. It will be a fun adventure, just us girls. We can't trust the opposite sex to do right by us.” The Enchantress was certainly painting a pretty picture for the Goddess of Fidelity.

Valkyrie blinked at Amora, who then smiled warmly at her old friend. “Think about it...” She put a hand on her hand gently, it felt like a gentle feather as she only felt her soul essence. And then in a flash Amora was gone. Of course Amora only wanted the strongest females to turn them into femme fatales so that they could go around dominating males into submission. But Victoria was nothing like that. She didn't HATE men. But, she was so lonely that Amora's offer seemed awfully tempting. She turned her head to view the outside world, something she used to do with joy but all she felt inside was...numb.

A chance to travel the cosmos. A chance to have a companion. Someone who actually wanted her by their side. A small smile began to form on her face. She remembered laughing and joking with Amora in Asgard as Sigyn. Now only a former shell of that Asgardian beauty. She just couldn't remember her last fateful days, dying at the hand of the God Ares whilst protecting Gaia and the children imminently before the Ragnarok. Ares was one who had taken complete advantage of that event. The memories were just too painful that her mind had forcefully blocked it out.

Could this be the beginning of an exciting new adventure? She really did wonder. But soon the news would reach her about Tony. And Amora may lose her opportunity after all.

I'll protect with my life...

Bruce lay face first in the snow. Panting heavily, clutching at the snow before rolling onto his side. The transformation always took a toll on his body. How could it not, the bigger toll was on his mind. He couldn't entirely be sure if Hulk had given up control over what had happened or if he had taken it back but something bad had happened and Hulk had been the one to do it. So much for any possibility of trust between the two of them, there was no chance he'd be letting Hulk out again. It was back to trying to work on the cure. He turned around eyes wide as he heard footsteps behind him.

He sighed as he realized there was no-one there. Just a figment of his imagination, what wasn't was the cold. Standing up he hugged his torso as the cold bit at him, his feet were already numb. At least he didn't have to worry about any permanent damage he was sure that if it came to that no doubt the Hulk would take over to preserve them both. It wasn't exactly a re-assuring thought, he'd rather pass away than let Hulk out again. That was why he needed the cure, so he could get rid of the Hulk and finally atone for his sins. He looked around, deep in a forest and he sighed. Picking a direction at random he walked.

The snow crunched under his feet, eventually the cold began to cause pain but he refused to give into it. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms to try and bring heat back into them and he continued to walk. As night came in the temparature dropped even lower and he fell to his knees. Then he heard the truck, there must have been a road nearby. Renewed vigor he stood and ran, half stumbling, towards the noise. Coming out suddenly on a road to see the tail end of a truck speeding away around a corner. He collapsed, only just managing to stop his face hitting the tarmac with his hands as he passed into darkness.

---

Beep,beep,beep,beep,beep...

The sound of his heartbeat woke up up, or the sound of the EKG did at least. He sat up with a start, he was in a hospital bed. Warm, clothed. There was a tube running into his arm and the unmistakable patch of where blood was drawn. The heartrate on the machine sped up, until he took a deep breath. Calm it down Bruce, this is a hospital. Removing the covers he found himself in a hospital gown, turning over to the side he placed his feet on the cold floor and winced slightly.

They were still a bit tender. He took a couple of small light steps before he walked over to the door and opened it, looking around. He turned to the right as he walked out of the room, first things first. He needed to find that blood sample and destroy it. Secondly he'd need to leave before S.H.I.E.L.D or General Ross turned up looking for him. No doubt they'd still be actively monitoring to try and find out where he was. A nurse noticed him, and he dropped his head as he heard her. "Sir! Excuse me?! Sir!" He turned to face her and smiled. "Can I help you?"

"Sir, you can't be walking right now. We need to run more tests and then take some details." Bruce just flashed a smile, removing the hand she had put on his shoulder. "No, really I'm fine. What I need to do is destroy that blood sample that you took. Where can I find it?" She gave him a perplexed look, as she then looked around for a member of security. "It's fine, don't worry. You see-" He thought about it for a minute. His circumstances of being found were somewhat suspicious, so he'd already likely be getting monitored right now. "-I'm a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. Have you heard of them?" She shook her head, still looking around for someone to come to her aid. "That's a good thing, spy stuff. Listen, if you help me it'd be greatly appreciated. I was injected with a substance, I need the sample to find out what it is."

"Sir, we've got Doctors for that." He smiled, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Please, take me to it. You can even have the Doctor there who usually handles these things. I'll go over with it with him, prove that I know what I'm talking about. How does that sound?" She nodded and then signalled a corridor with her arm, before turning him down the corridor. "Okay... but just because I don't want to get int rouble with the authorities." He smiled, no doubt S.H.I.E.L.D would learn that he had been here, but by the time they got here the trail would be cold. He'd be long gone.

---

"WHERE IS SHE?" Ross tormed down a corridor, he was a man on a mission. He was also pissed and that much was obvious. "Sir, you can't be down here." If looks could kill, Ross would have killed the man. "The hell I can't. You go run to Fury, tell him General Ross wants a word with him. Until them I'm going to speak to your little winged friend and find out what the HELL she was doing. You got that?" The agent looked almost as if Ross had punched him in the face.

Before he turned and ran back the way he came, obviously his intention was to contact Fury. Ross pointed to a random Agent. "You! Where's Agent Parrington?" The Agent merely raised her arm and pointed to a nearby door. He walked over to it, hitting the opening panel. Being a medical bay the door opened without hesitation.

There she was. He was slightly stricken by her beauty, as most mortal men were, that and the wings anyway. Though he quickly composed himself and pointed and accusing finger at her. "What the HELL do you think you were doing? You had him. You had him dead to rights and let him go?! What was that about? And don't tell me you just fainted, I don't believe that for a second. If you think Maria Hill can cover for you you're solely mistaken.

He pulled out a cigar from one of his many pockets, lit it and shoved it in his mouth. The rush of nicotine doing little to calm him down. "You let that monster go. We had him. You know what else? Our satellite tracking for him has been hacked, destroyed, caput. We have NO idea where he is or what he is doing. You realize how long it took us to develop that? Almost as long as that monster has been out there.

He took a file that had been under his arm and threw it onto her bed. [b]"Sure he saved you but look at that, my Daughter after that thing almost killed her. The scientists he was working with. He tested a bomb, and the monster he became is far more powerful. Flick through it, see the damage he has done. Anything from now on that's on you."[b]

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I know Fury has plans for you, some form of Initiative. Though next time we track this beast down, know that you're going to be there with my men."

One day later...

Warren had been thinking about it all day. Through two meetings with shareholders, coffee with his gorgeous secretary, all day he dipped in and out thinking about taking down supervillains. And this other guy with wings, "is he my arch enemy now?" he thought.

Walking through the busy cubicles towards the other main entrance of his office, Warren continued to think about superfluous things...

"I wonder why it's pronounced ark-angel but then not ark-enemy. Why's it have to be arch? Have I been saying that wrong or something? I need to play on Google for awhile and see if I can find anything on that guy yesterday. Never in a million years did I think my first enemy would also have a pair of wings."

After several hours...

Warren looked stumped. Two photos in five different newspapers, and just three articles. One from about a month ago dated July 7th, 2012, and two from yesterday.

"So... they're calling him Griffin. The only other thing worth noting is the guy abducted yesterday on the plane was some lawyer named Henry Epson. Now is when I wish I had a more tech savvy sidekick and a little more back-up. At least at Xavier's somebody always had your back. Pretty sure at some point a kid even had the power to talk to machines and computers... wish I knew where that guy was now..." he thought laughing out loud for a few moments after.

"Let me see if there's an address for Mr. Epson... GOT IT!" he exclaimed the last bit out loud in his private office.

The lawyer lived in Brooklyn, the Sheepshead Bay area, but had an office in Queens. The police had already been to both locations. The office was trashed but not his home. Maybe Archangel could find something there if he does enough digging. The man lived alone. The toilet seat was up in his one bedroom apartment. And there's a cellphone blinking under a t-shirt in the bedroom.

"A lawyer actually forgot his phone and the cops didn't notice?" he asked himself.

~KL~

Sep & Angel Vicky

Victoria had heard the stomping of the General’s angry footsteps and oncoming storm toward her door and as he barged his way through in his usual rage, she sighed. She didn’t need this on top of everything else. As his voice blared and droned on, she seemed to have a glazed look about her. In that what he was saying seemed to be going in one ear and out the other. She finally addressed him after throwing in his two penneth worth. Gone was that look of compassion and warmth she usually gave to people. Gone was that weak little Sigyn that took a beating from just about everyone who wanted to use her power in the past.

“Firstly. I’ll have you know, that The Hulk is not a monster.” Her eyes glinted with a fiery resolve behind them that could pierce through the hardest of defenses. But that fire only made her all the more beautiful to those who could not have her. “Second. Hulk doesn’t even know what he is doing half the time in that enraged state. And third.” She picked up the file on the bed and threw it back in his face. “The only monsters I see around here - are power hungry humans hell bent on prodding him with sticks until he is provoked into doing something he cannot control. Like the New York incident...” Her tone was dominant and stubborn, like that of a true Asgardian Princess.

She grew tired of people trying to use The Hulk for their own gains. She knew exactly how that felt. She had been used and abused and tossed away like a discarded rag doll. She could care less if the General thought he had caught Banner and blamed Valkyrie for “letting him go”. They weren’t going to get through to anyone that way. If only they would try to merely understand him. Then perhaps they would not be in this mess in the first place. Mankind always feared what it did not understand. And what they feared became under lock and key or poked at until they broke it.

“The New York incident is exactly what I am talking about! Look what he did, the damage he did. All because some would be heroes decided to jump in and interfere with an ongoing military operation. Do I want to understand him? Sure. I want to understand how he works so that we can perfect him. He was a lab accident, he’s dangerous. A threat to everyone including himself.” he tipped the ash of his cigar onto the floor.

“I thought you were different Miss.Parrington. You get all the other heroes roaming around out there. Thinking they’re gods gift to the world, ones like Captain America. I thought you would be different. I thought being… whatever you are you’d understand our need to contain him. I guess I was wrong.” He moved over to the bed, picking up the file that he had dumped on the bed.“I will catch him Miss Parrington, I will find out what makes him work. I will be the one to make the US.Army peacekeepers of the world by turning them into super soldiers. If you interfere with my operation, I will see you removed from this organisation and jailed. Is that understood?”

“Loud and clear.” Was her glared response at the General. “Good luck with containing such a force.” She raised an eyebrow as she half smiled sarcastically. How could he even THINK of using such a deadly thing to weaponise other human beings? He was the kind of human who would let power corrupt them and hide behind the excuse of peace as a justification for such madness. People like that are what would cause the human race to destroy one another and the planet along with them. She could not abide by such actions. She would have to make sure she got to The Hulk before he did….