[IC] All-Star Marvel: Audax Mundus Novus - Season 1 (Completed)

[Bright_Ops]

Loki accepted the seat gladly, falling into the offered chair with a little... less grace then he would care to admit. Magic could be quite a taxing art if you weren't careful with how you employed it and it spoke highly of Loki's abilities with it that he had been able to throw as many spells (Some of which were rather large scale) around as he had been in quick succession without suffering the ill effects of the drain; A bit of rest to recover through was highly welcomed.

As Bruce gave a rather abridged version of events of how he came to be, it was clear that Loki was intrigued by this 'Gamma Energy' that the man spoke of. While he didn't understand what it was yet, a part of him couldn't help but kick himself for missing the chance to bankroll its research himself. Maybe once Banner was set up properly they could try and set something up... It was an interesting thought.

The smile that appeared on the former God of Mischief's face at the mention of the 'Norse' gods could have made the sunrise look a little dimmer then normal. "I'm going to admit, I never thought that we would be remembered at all after Ragnarok. True I knew that something would raise from the ashes once it was all said and done but for so many of our stories to be remembered..." Clicking his tongue a little, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself "Even to this day those doing research on me can't seem to agree on my motives or if I was good or bad. That's the kind of legacy that any trickster would kill for."

The chuckles died down a little as Loki looked down at the ground in deep thought. He had never told anyone his side of events before or after 'The End of the World' and he didn't exactly feel in the mood to tell the whole story if only because it was quite a long tale. Still, a part of him felt little sharing a little insight into how things had gone down and why... "Bruce, beware of those who can see the future. Those who can see what is to come often have their own agenda's that they desire to push as they 'guide' others. By the time myself and Odin had discovered this there was far, far to much bad blood between us for me to have wanted to stop. Even back then I could see that I could have stopped my campaign to end Asgard and sided with Odin to stop the end of the world; During the final assault I could see quite clearly how we might have held out had things been different. But by then to much damage had been done, to much anger and pride on both of our parts to change my mind."

There had been a lot of time to think about things after the fact... even more so due to his reward for his part in things. There had been much that had happened that he regretted in hindsight. Letting out a sigh, he seemed to buck up a little as he looked up at Bruce. "Of course, I was as surprised as anyone that I got a second chance to return to the worlds proper and you can bet I was surprised at how far humans had come since then. It was actually mildly terrifying how quickly things could get out of hand from the littlest of things if you weren't careful. Did a favor for the people who freed me and returned me to Midgard back in nineteen fourteen and you can still see the echos that left behind..."

Loki left it at that. He was sure that Bruce was smart enough to connect those dots together.

[DrewVonAwesome]

New York City, NY
Stark Estates

“Current speed on main hydro kinetic boosters is optimal.”

Tony Stark watched from behind the plexiglass as the engines roared to life on the glove mounted propulsion systems. He was exhausted, it was 1... no 2 in the morning and Tony didn't have much time to get things just right before the leer jet was sending him out to Vegas for the Electronic Consumers Conference. It was the first time the Stark company had ever gone, either in its past form or the new vastly improved Stark Technology, in Tony's eyes at least. To this day he has no idea how his father would take to him doing so much different. Sure the family business was in weaponry, and his grandfather was quite proud of their work. Martin Stark though as much as he worked hard to keep things running smoothly, and as well as he could keep the facade up. The idea of fueling wars always made him cringe a little, it was something Tony only ever seemed to notice, but it was there.

As the gloves were finally remote deactivated Tony went around the security barrier and examined the glove. Slipping an arm in it felt perfect inside, not too hot from the over running of the thruster. Slipping the glove back off Tony rubbed his eyes hard as his body began to really lay it on thick that it was getting late and he needed to get some kind of shut eye before the flight at... shit it was in 6 hours. Tony felt like a mess, jeans and a wife beater, his hair just felt sloppy. First things first he needed to sleep and then clean up before the flight. The C.E.C. was going to be so very important for the company. It was by all means a re-introduction into everything the company stands for from here on in. First things first though for Stark... sleeeeeeeeep.

New York City, NY
La Guardia Airport

Tony Stark thankfully not only got a couple hours to rest up, but a showering and changing into some fresh clothes later (complete with awesome Bruce Lee DJ t-shirt) and Tony Stark was good to go. As the limo pulled up to the runway, with the leer jet in waiting Tony Stark smiled from behind his shades as the limo's door opened for him. Waiting him at the door to the jet was a large, almost intimidating black man in mass alone even with a nice suit on. Military trained and primed, James joined the company back when his father wanted someone with inside military knowledge to ensure weapons would not only be better but soldiers would have better understanding and function with them better. After Tony came in James pleaded to keep his position fearing for his personal life. Tony though never once considered dismissing the man. He couldn't bring himself too even if he had too. He wanted someone like James around, someone who wouldn't let him do something stupid.

“Please dear God tell me that's not what you're planning on wearing tonight during the presentation.” James already sounded like a worried mom over Tony which made him chuckle. “Oh no I was planning on underwear and tube socks on my hands. It'll be pink underwear I'll wear too, shows I'm caring.” Tony's snark, even with him a bit sleep depraved, was still sharp as ever. “No seriously James I got something in my luggage all pressed and ready to go. I'm just not going to wear it until I have too.” Tony's disdain for suits was something everyone in the company knew. Unless he was speaking to someone from another company or some other situation that called for one Tony just wore whatever to work. Suits were too stuffy, they made him feel like he wasn't him. Like he was just pretending to be someone who he couldn't even imagine being.

James to his credit just sighed a bit, quietly and mostly to himself. He was used to the Stark sarcasm, but getting it from someone half his age made it so much worse. As Tony and James boarded the jet, the steward was collecting Tony's luggage from the trunk of the limo. Which Tony watched from a window as he pulled off his shades. He was buckling into his seat when he heard James give a 'hmmm'. “Tony how much sleep did you get last night?” He finally asked seeing the baggage in Tony's eyes. Tony glanced up, busted. He held his hands up defensively. “Sorry I know, just been busy working on something.” Tony immediately regretted mentioning, even as vaguely as he did, the Iron Man project. Tony just waved his hands, “Just don't even ask, we'll talk about it when I think its ready. Just a personal thing.” James shrugged and folded his arms as he leaned back into his seat. “Just so long as it doesn't cause massive explosions.” James casually said, which strangely only got a meek chuckle from Tony.

Las Vegas, NV
Electronics Consumers Conference

“YEAH! KILLED IT!” Tony Stark put his hand up high as several other hands slapped it hard. The showcase presentation was a complete success. Already tech blogs were raving about the new handheld gaming system, plasma TVs, and smart phones with unbreakable plexiglass screens. Then again Tony Stark knew it was all going to be a success. Success was something he needed for the company badly. The company needed big smash hits to be able to rebound after the opening troubles. Sure Tony Stark knew the road as CEO of his family's enterprise was not going to be easy, but turns out investors REALLY don't like the idea of an 18 year old fresh out of High School not only running a major corporation, but completely changing said corporation's main supplies and image. Said young out of high school kid had a lot on his plate, and knew failure would mean the end of the now third generation ran business.

As Tony Stark got high five after high five, finally adjusting and loosening up the skinny black tie he had on with his grey shirt and black slacks. “Ah, man I tell ya, The Geto Boys said it best. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta!” Tony Stark beamed. “I'm fairly sure CEOs aren't people who should be quoting The Geto Boys.” Tony Stark turned to see the larger James Rhodes. A close friend of his father turned executive of daily operations after Tony put himself in charge. “Whatever, bunch of haters I tell ya.” Tony stated with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Well either way Tony, we still have a few business matters left with the show before I would call it a complete success.” James Rhodes, for as much as Tony both liked and hated it, was always extremely attentive when it came to the details. “The show was great, but I think Stark Technology is really going to need its big thing to really put it over the edge.” Tony paused after getting a can of soda from a catering table to glance back at James. “Wait hold up seriously? I know I wasn't the only one who heard the crowd screaming like pre-teens at a...” Tony Stark realized he didn't realize who was the big it singer right now. “Whoever the Hell concert these days. Beiber still right? No wait uh whatever point is they loved it. What the Hell kind of big thing are they talking about?”

Quickly Tony Stark pulled up his smart phone, instantly seeing that while a lot of sites were praising the presentation and items the company had planned. There was a consciousness against a really big item to put the company on the map. Tony's joy had dampened a bit as he flipped through the twitter posts, facebook posts, everything on the web about the show that all seemingly said the same thing. “What the Hell? What did I need to juggle chainsaws while humming AC/DC to make these people happy?” Tony sighed irritated before a thought dawned on him. “Wait! I might have it. Rhodes schedule a press conference at HQ. Next week, early afternoon at the best.” Already Tony saw the press conference in his head and could almost smell the big publicity. Leaving him scratching his chin with a hand, quietly muttering to himself “They want a showstopper? I'll give them a showstopper...”

New York City, NY
Stark Estate

“So promise me that until the press conference what I'm about to show you NEVER leaves this room.” Tony had taken James to the room where the Iron Man project had been made through blood, sweat, and one or two tears Tony is too prideful to admit too. Sure James had seen the place plenty of times, knowing the family as he did. But with the build up there was still something to it he was tense about. “Yeah no its fine Tony, can we just get on with this? You have a dinner tonight with the Japanese people about the potential merger with their company.” James pointed out, as he gestured to his wrist watch.

Tony smirked as he shook his head, “Oh trust me we'll have time.” Tony stretched out his arms looking up to the ceiling of the room. “JARVIS? Initiate project Iron Man.”

The robotic arms of the room were his father's creation, all of which helped out with his own creations. Now however they brought down a wide array of armor pieces. Red, yellow, and black in color as they snapped in at points and slowly covered Tony Stark's body. The chest's opening perfectly fit the reactor core in Tony as it glowed a bit brighter from the armor giving it that little more work. Soon the helmet latched onto the back of Tony's head and snapped around and closed. The armor hummed to life as Tony's screen caught the image of James in front of him with a staggered jaw. “I know I know, look James if you'd like I can have JARVIS get you a cup for all that drool about to come out.” Tony's voice echoed off of the small speaker in the armor that let him speak from inside the helmet.

James remained too stunned to speak for a moment, finally after placing a hand onto his forehead he shook his head and spoke. “Tony... Tony. What's been the big point of the company change?”

“To rid the company's warmongering image?”

“So... how is our big showstopper suppose to be... a suit of armor that has weapons?”

Tony saw where this was going and flipped open the helmet. “Okay hold on before you start connecting the dots that way lets clear some things up. First things first right now the only person who could ever operate this thing is me. So I'm not going to just be handing this out to the US Army anytime soon. Secondly I didn't make this thing for destruction, I made this thing because...” Tony paused, feeling something hit him deep metaphysically.

“You made it to get back at the people who killed your father.” James stated.

Tony struggled to let the words get out of his throat, he desperately wanted to say yes. It was the images he saw when the suit was first being made. The terrorists in their cave or where ever. Laughing with sadistic glee before he came in. Launching missiles and making them pay dearly. Before he could dwell on any of that though he had a realization. One which was the reason the suit was finished. “Yeah... at first. I wanted to do it so badly but, I know how I can't do that. Not just legally but I can't let myself sink that far, let myself just drop to their level. No I didn't finish this suit to get revenge. I finished this suit so that something like that couldn't happen again. Not to me but to anyone. I just... shit I don't know how to say this. I want to leave the world a better place than when I came into it. So maybe me just making something crazy was the only way I could think to do it, but I know this can do it.”

James slowly got up out of his seat, approaching Tony and putting a hand onto the metal shoulder of his suit. “Tony, you're a good kid. Always have been, always will be. If you want to give this a shot I'll go ahead and follow you. I'm just hoping you don't bite off more than you can chew.”

“Heh, come on James, when I have ever made a stupid decision?”

“Plenty of times Tony. Plenty.”

[Angel Vicky]

JUDGEMENT
Behrut, Lebanon. 7pm.

[Recommended Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpoJOSME_lw&index=4&list=FLT7j7huMjTLXE61dlZeJXWw]

“Val!” V turned around upon hearing her name being called out by Agent Maria Hill. Snapping out of her daydream, where she had found herself in a golden city with a rainbow bridge. As she walked along the glass like floor gazing up at the brilliant shining stars, she reached out her hand toward the sky like she could almost touch them, then everything faded. She was actually leaning with one hand against the wall on the Quinjet. She was getting ready for the drop into the middle of a battlefield between US troops aiding the civilians against Rebel forces in Behrut.



And now adorned in her new modernised, leather inspired hero outfit. A much better fit and feel for combat; yet retaining an element of metallic boots with guards. A more comfortable and lighter fit for combat. Accompanied her new Heater shaped purple metal shield.

She said nothing as she looked at Agent Hill. Valkyrie had grown ever more serious in her ways. Maria went on to explain her mission. “So remember, your job is to punch in, alleviate fire away from the US troops and civs while SHIELD evacs them. And, neutralise the rebel fighters.”
“So they're sending me down instead...” This was her first time out of the SHIELD HQ and her first field assignment as Valkyrie with her wings. The world had not yet seen this Angel of Death and nobody else from SHIELD was available at this moment in time as they were all battling HULK in New York or on other assignments. She was fearful of how the world religions would react to her.

“Yes, sending you in is our best chance of minimising casualties, you can take their fire and survive.” Maria scorns her for the attitude from her pilot seat and flicks the door switch. “Don't worry, you can do this V!” She yells as the door opens and the wind picks up. “And you're sure you don't wanna wear the helmet?”

“I'm nothing special.” Valkyrie retorted back as she holds one leg over the edge and just drops elegantly from of the plane.

[Battle theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_GDL97ukO4&index=4&list=FLT7j7huMjTLXE61dlZeJXWw]

It was now that all her training with Captain America paid off. He taught her how to use her new found wings. About half way down to her drop point, she conjured her wings out at will, there her magical healing properties took over by resealing the skin around the blades again. Her powers grew exponentially every day, and she still didn't fully understand her purpose.

Fighters and civilians down below began to look up and point at her. Some of the extremists fled in absolute fear that judgement day was upon them. Valkyrie slowed her descent speed and with the flap of her wings, gained some glide control over the nearly ruined city. “Why do people want to do such terrible things? I'll never understand.” She comments to herself as she landed on top of a part crumbled building. Upon scanning the area, she saw gun fights breaking out below. Civilians were cornered and caught up between US troops and extremist rebels. She gasps as she witnesses them being mowed down by an AK-47. Then taking further notice, the ground was littered with the bodies of innocent victims. It almost made her throw up. Righteous fury begins to consume her.

She didn't even have to think about it as she jumped with such godly speed toward the rebel fighters. She was soon upon them, taking their guns in one quick swoop and breaking them in half over her knee, throwing them to the ground. Now she faced her greatest dilemma - to let them live to kill another day, or kill them now without trial? There was no question. They needed punishing for the heinous crimes they had committed.

One rebel looked horrified in shock and fell to their shaken knees. “P-please....no.....my time has not come yet.” Another of them only wept at the brilliant presence of her wings as she peered down at their heartless and cruel faces. She picks up the one who spoke by his neck. “Do you think that what you are doing here today has ANY meaning? Do you think your God LOVES you!?” He shakes his head in horror. “You're right. He doesn't love you!” She throws him half way across the battlefield. His comrade screams and tried to run, but stumbled. She caught upto him with ease. She grabs him by the leg upside down. “I should do what you did to them. But that would make me no better. So I'm letting SHIELD have you.” She then begins to drag him by his leg with his face scraping the ground. She turns to him and laughs with a smile. “You'll enjoy it! I assure you!!” She was no assassin. These men had to pay for their crimes but she felt it a more fitting punishment to give them to SHIELD for brutal interrogations.

As soon as she handed him over, she turned to the rest of the battlefield. She spreads her wings and flies up into the sky where everyone could see. “Extremists! Hear me now! Your time of judgement here! Surrender or you will PAY for your crimes...in Hell!” She holds out her hand and Dragonfang appears to her side, bestowed upon her by the Goddess Freya. She could get used to wielding this sword, it felt so natural.

Most of them surrendered immediately, but those who did not and fired at her. She took one bullet into her arm but didnt even flinch at the wound, she deflected another with her trusty sword. The wounds healed over quickly and she descended to knock their guns out of the hands. “..You've made your choice.” Valkyrie cuts his arms off with her sharp blade. “Best get medical aid before you bleed to death...” She scorns. His life could still be saved but he would never hold a gun ever again.

She noticed the lifeless bodies were glowing around her. She approaches one of the innocent victims. A child lay with its mother's arm around her. She felt so very sad at this sight. Something was whispering to her inside. Valkyrie somehow knew deep down that she could save them, like an instinct. So she placed her hands on their arms. And as she closed her eyes, she focused all her energies into her hands, she glowed and the light flowed down through her arm into the dead, and not just the two she touched but the nearby victims as well.

Suddenly they all wake up mysteriously and Victoria smiles with relief. “MEDIC!!!” She yells them over as SHIELD wraps up the rest of the arrested rebels. The victims look up at this winged creature with confusion but with awe, something about her just didn't feel human to them. They somehow knew they had been given a second chance. One of the lesser injured revived hobbled up to her and held her hand. “You have come to save us. You are our Salvation. We thank you, so very much!”

And then V knew who's salvation the ghostly woman meant. It was the humans. SHIELD tried their best to keep the media's attention away from her but in vain. Within minutes reports flooded the internet and news of the Valkyrie's existence. She couldn't help blush at the people fussing all around her with cameras. Although it had been some time has had been the attention of the media, she now had a purpose she'd been searching for. This was her calling.

---
9pm Breaking News from BBC Worldwide Network:

“....Although we have seen many remarkable people step up to the plate in the today's ever growing problematic society; the appearance of this winged heroine is truly a remarkable one. Not only does she appear to be an Angel like creature but she was seen to bring people back from the DEAD. She also reportedly held a sword, what was apparently fashioned with some sort of Norse symbol. It is allegedly claimed that she is the daughter of multi-billionaire philanthropists, Lord Reginald and Lady Malicia Parrington. Although Victoria Parrington has not been seen in the public eye for quite some time, she is now associated with SHIELD. Back to you in the studio John....”
----

[Sep]

Doom walked through the large double doors into the main chamber of the castle, while the Throne room to many was believed to be the heart of the council this room was truly it. A large super computer took up one side of the room, with various screens of ridiculous sizes. Two doom bots closed the doors behind him, while he could close them himself why should he lower himself to do a peasants work? Moving to the console he activated the screens, looking at them as all the major events from the news appeared on the screens. A battle in new york with a green goliath and two would be heroes stepping in to stop it, what people were calling an angel in Lebanon and the youngest Stark releasing some new technology.

He shook his head slightly. The Stark family had typically been rather intelligent, nothing compared to him obviously, it was sad to see such a mind to go to waste on items of no real significance, games and screens for idiots who couldn't keep their mobile devices from breaking? No, he much preferred his fathers work. He had even purchased some weapons of Stark both through legitimate and... less legitimate channels. However he didn't not bat an eye over it, they were for the defense of Latvaria and he would defend her by any means from the rest of the world.

What was interesting was this appearance of an angel, and some people were calling the hammer wielding one "Thor" due to the hammer, despite the obvious gender difference from the age old Myths. There was already an online mass hysteria on whether or not these were the real gods that people should be worshiping, the ones of norse myth. As how could you not? There was undeniable proof of them existing. Several people according to his searches were already converting and trying to learn more, anything to do with Norse Mythology was trending right now. With a winged angel reminiscent of a Valkyrie and the rumored female Thor the internet was exploding.

Such idiots, Doom was superior in every way. Though with the fact the one with wings was an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D could work to his advantage, the request already sent to Fury that she be his escort for his upcoming trip to America.

"'Atta girl." Wilson was in the back of a Quinjet, approaching the savage land. However as he had already checked all the briefing files they had on both the savage land and the corporation that was wanting to take dinosaurs, after somehow discovering the savage land, he had turned his attention to keeping an eye on the news. The Hulk was still pretty major, was was Spider-man and the triceratops but Valkyrie had made a big impression somehow, the media had also connected the dots far quicker than he would have liked to her true identity. The BBC must have been on full action stations to find out so quickly, or perhaps her family was more well known than he had thought.

One thing was sure, her training had sure has hell paid off. The bringing back to life thing was a bit, odd though. He actually found it disconcerting, this was a world full of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things...

However bringing people back from death? Was there no line that couldn't be crossed? That was only if the media was being genuine however, there was no way to prove if the people she had brought back had actually been dead. It was just something he would have to find out later.

[Natty]

“Oh, Frosty, the Snowman, was a jolly happy soul!”

Bobby voice sang cheerfully over the sounds of the carnage that was ensuing on the dimly lit street in Salem Center. The X-men moved through the air at a startling rate, a column of ice appeared beneath his feet as he moved. Below him, a very peculiar battle was taking place. Monstrous shapes of ice lumbered about, with the ice golems striking any enemy that crossed them with a frosty appendage. Their enemies? Purifiers. A group of religious mutant hating terrorists.

Terrorists. As if the media would ever call anyone killing mutants that. The thought made Bobby sick.

Deciding to take his mind off such things, Bobby thought it was time to join the fray. Turning sharply, Iceman stopped circling the conflict, with him instead diving straight down into it. His fist collided with the head of a hooded Purifier as he landed, with Iceman knocking him off guard. Moving his frozen fist once more, he brought it up, sucker punching the whack job from below. Before he could make a witty remark or an ice related pun however, Bobby caught sight of another Purifier turning his high tech rifle towards him.

Moving up his arms, a wall of ice jutted out of the ground in front of him, acting as a blockade as the man fire his rifle. The icy barricade was no match for the gun’s energy blast however, with the wall exploding into pieces and disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Reacting quickly, the mutant shot a blast of ice from his now outstretched arm, with him freezing the man’s gun solid. It shattered as the man reared back in shock, giving the hero ample opportunity to burst forward and finish the job.

The sound of squealing echoed through the group. Turning Bobby found himself impressed, with every Purifier down for the count. Well, nearly everyone. The groups apparently leader seemed to be the last man remaining. Something he was very aware of.

“This won’t be the last you’ll see of me, you abomination!” He bellowed at the hero before turning to run.

The thought made Bobby chuckle slightly as he watched the man sprint up the road.

Iceman looked around himself briefly at the surround ice golems, who seemed to be watching too.

“A ball, if you will, Squire” Bobby requested smugly, holding up his hand expectantly.

One of the golems next to him dropped what appeared to be a snowball into his hand.

Smiling, Bobby moved his fingers and coated the ball in a thick layer of ice. He readied himself. He only had one shot.

“Oh, Frosty, the Snowman…” Bobby began to sing once more.

Bobby threw the ball. It hurtled through the air, descending upon the running racist. The man dropped to the floor as it collided with his body.

“…was alive as he could be.”

---

It didn’t take long for Bobby to clean up the mess he had made. The ice golems simply collapsed into slush, leaving a muddle puddle around a group of unconscious hooded men. The tiring part had been moving the knocked out group onto the pavement, where Bobby had lined their bodies against a wall before giving each Purifier a pair of their very own handcuffs made of ice.

He decided to the leave the scene straight away after calling the police. Knowing them, they’d probably find a way of arresting them too. However before this, Bobby had taken a look at the Purifier’s weapons. Their kit seemed like highly advanced tech. It was so much different from when the X-men had last gone against them. So different that Bobby even found it quite suspicious. Who had given them this stuff? Deciding that it would probably be best not to let the tech fall into the hands of the likes of the police, Bobby rubbed his hands together and worked his magic.

Minutes later Bobby was making his way back to the mansion, a horde of snowmen following him, their arms full of weapons.

[Dedonus]

Carol Danvers

Carol felt the chilling wind buffer against her face. While the darkness of the night shrouded everything, Carol could tell that she was no longer on the ground. It was almost like a sense of weightlessness, as if she were flying through the sky. When she felt herself dive and ascend again without feeling any solid ground or the fluid texture of any water, Carol knew she somehow had to be flying. She did not know how this was possible, but once she flew through the dense mass of a lonely cloud, Carol at least knew she was airborne.

Out in the distance, Carol could barely catch sight of a large, passenger plane descending into Boston. However, even though the nighttime darkness hindered her ability to discern the aircraft, Carol could tell that something was wrong: the plane was descending too soon. She did not know why she did it, but Carol zoomed down toward the plane and braced herself against the belly of the plane in an attempt to level the plane out, or at least slow down its descent. As she exerted her energy to save the plane, a yellow aura developed around Carol.

As the plane descended, Carol could see the Boston Logan International Airport, where this plane had initially planned to land. However, at the rate at which they were descending, even with Carol’s intervention, the commercial plane would not reach the safety of the airport’s landing pads before it would have already barreled through the populated regions of Boston. Carol continued to exert all her energy into slowing the planes’ fall, hoping that it would be enough to save the passengers and the crew of the plane. Fortunately, the pilots were well-aware of the situation and had already begun to steer towards the bay so that they would land without causing much collateral damage.

Once Carol began to feel the icy waters of Boston and the plane had safely crashed into the bay, a chilling sensation jolted Carol awaken, causing her to sit straight up in her bed. After she rubbed her eyes, Carol realized that what she had just experienced must have only been a dream. Or at least that is what she thought until she peered over toward a large mirror that sat on the opposite side of her room.

In the reflection of the mirror, Carol saw a woman, whom Carol estimated to be in her mid to late twenties, sitting in the exact place where Carol though she was sitting. When Carol got up from her bed, so did the woman in the mirror. Carol’s reflection was wearing a red costume over her torso that that had black portion covering her shoulders and trimmed the bottom section of the costume. In the center of the outfit, there was a golden, eight-point star, while a red scarf was tied around her neck. Black, thigh-high boots covered much of her legs, while gloves of the same color covered her arms all the way up to her elbows.

Carol turned away from the mirror and grabbed her cellphone from off of her nightstand. When she had her phone in her hands, Carol realized that the black gloves that she saw on the woman in the mirror were also covering her arms, too! Panicking over the situation, she gazed at the date that was displayed on her phone. When she saw that her phone read that it was still August, 2012, Carol at least knew that she did not somehow wake up several years in the future. But did she somehow rapidly age in the present? Was that even possible?

After looking at her phone, Carol walked over to her bedroom mirror to get a better look at herself. Even though before all of this happened Carol was neither bad looking nor very short, she now looked almost looked like a supermodel and this was not only due to her new height. Turning around, Carol looked over her shoulder to see how she looked from a different angle.

“I wish that the bottom of this wasn’t so skimpy.” Carol thought to herself as she looked over the costume that she was wearing. However, as soon as she had thought this, a similar yellow aura appeared at the bottom of her costume. Once that light had dissipated, Carol was shocked to see that apparently by her mere thoughts the bottom of her costume had changed.

However, before she could do anything else, Carol heard a heavy knock on her door. “Carol, get your &%# out of bed. It’s almost freaking noon!” It was her father. Even without any alcohol in his system, Carol could tell that something was still irking him, causing him to become irritated.

“One second!” Carol yelled back, not even thinking about how her voice might have sounded different. But something strange happened again. Even though she had been examining herself I the mirror a few seconds ago, Carol found herself laying back in her bed, staring at the ceiling. When she sat back up in bed and turned towards the mirror, she saw her normal reflection in the mirror. What was going on? Was that all a dream or a hallucination? Or did it really happen?

[Sep]

"Well, you haven't caused the end of the world here. In fact you seem to have worked against it as far as I have seen." He took a moment to think. "From what you've just told me, you have your own demons. You've laid yours to rest, I have no control over mine and it's destructive and deadly. Yours however, you have complete control over. Don't let them control you're life, you've seen how destructive it can be in both the doings of the other guy and in your own actions back wherever you come from. Perhaps in saving people from the other guy you've found your calling."

He yawned, stretching himself out in the chair. "You're known as a god Loki. Yes that may be the god of Mischief, deceit and lies but you've got power or they wouldn't have made you a god. You've already proven a lot of people wrong in being real, many people felt you just tales told by our ancestors to inspire hope in soldiers, and teach lessons."

He looked at Loki. "You've already proven people wrong in the fact you exist, perhaps it's time to prove them wrong again and that you can do some good."

[Eru Iluvatar]

The Unspoken: Fact or Fiction?

Vol. 2, Book 1 - A Ruler Dethroned
Extract 2
The first chronicles of the Inhuman civilisation arose early in the twentieth century, yet periods are seemingly lost from all record - specifically certain months in the 1980s. Legend tells of another descendant of King Agon and Queen Rynda besides King Maximus, an elder brother - though no there is no certifiable evidence to this rumour, as none of the purported family of this man have stated it to be true.

Karnak strode with an anger that was rare to behold, as his indifference regarding most others extended to their opinions of him and their ability to influence his emotions. Gorgon, however, was the physical embodiment of irritation - always trying to oust Karnak in every way, though the hulking Inhuman's only real talents were in his strength and military stratagems. Karnak had the upper hand with his intelligence and knowledge of many things, though the two always conflicted when fighting itself was brought up: Karnak with his skill and adroitness, and Gorgon with his power and size. Each believed their own style to be the superior of the other, yet Karnak had not entertained the suggestion of revealing the victor in a fight - partly because it would seem that the two Inhumans were tantamount, and if Gorgon won... Nobody would ever hear the end of it.

Karnak's fury beholden movements were aimed towards the majestic throne complex of King Maximus - ruler of the Great Refuge ever since Agon and Rynda had been incapacitated by the Kree forces, nearly a decade earlier. Maximus had ascended to regality with a prodigal flair, expanding the throne room and his own quarters and decorating them lavishly in the process. There were many opponents to Maximus' rule, which incorporated laconic hostilities with potential allies, and ferocious demonstrations of hostility with enemies. People were undoubtedly already blaming the rogue Inhuman's escape on the reckless King. Karnak suspected that Maximus would not care for their mumblings, anyway, as the combat expert had spent a good deal of time with the ruler as required his station. Though, it was true that Karnak had not successfully delivered much 'royal advisement' to the ignorant ears of Maximus.

While it was still spoken that Maximus was not in Attilan, Karnak had heard otherwise from reliable sources. The King's own page and unofficial spy, a man-child named Ordible, had a loose tongue - and his unrequited nervousness around Karnak made it easy for information to be passed between them. Fortunately, Maximus had not taken much notice or else Ordible would have been dispatched from royal service a time ago - him assuredly hearing all within the palace due to his ability.
Karnak entered the throne house and quickly moved to Ordible's small chamber near the entrance. Karnak did not want to deal with all the formalities required when speaking to royal Inhumans around the palace, though he was a noble himself. He had decided to consult Ordible on whether Maximus had truly returned and was available before entering the throne complex. Thankfully, the door to Ordible's chamber was slightly ajar and Karnak slipped straight into the confined space. The man-child sat in the far corner of the room, partially obscured by the wooden partition in the middle of the floor.

"Ordible, have you knowledge of Maximus' return yet?"

"I... I-," Ordible whimpered with ostensibly his natural hesitation, "Help." The man-child turned slowly to Karnak, revealing a stream of tears rushing down his face, and the first emergences of blood coming from the unnatural large holes replacing his ears due to Terrigenesis.

"By the Unspoken! Ordible, what is it? Where is this happening?" Karnak blurted, surprise overwhelming his monotone normality.

Ordible pointed slowly and with obvious difficulty towards the wall, and murmured 'throne' as he faded into unconsciousness. The strain, whatever it was that was afflicting Ordible, was clearly too intense for the poor man. Hopefully Karnak could stop it before it started affecting the populace with less sensitive hearing. The combat master spun and rapidly darted out of the room towards the ornate stairs. He could now feel the regular vibrations in the stone around him now he was at the same elevation of the throne room. The royal Inhumans, too, were beginning to panic and flee; none seemed willing to venture towards the throne room. Karnak brushed past the throng of departing royals and their attendees, noticing in the midst of them the young Crystal - the younger sister of Lady Medusa. Three men were carrying her out, probably under orders from Medusa herself, yet she was fighting to escape their grips and head towards the throne room. Karnak knew not why it was always only the Royal Family who intentionally engaged in dangerous situations, perhaps it ran in the blood they all had in their veins, or perhaps it was the ubiquitous attention seeking of most of Karnak's relatives, with the exception of he himself. She was quickly manoeuvred out of the entrance square, however, leaving Karnak with no apparent allies in his progress towards the throne room.
Eventually, he reached the huge oak doors that everyone was avoiding, and he pushed vehemently through to one of the side corridors that led to the throne room. The clattering of conflict just ahead was now rising in a crescendo of violence, and he could just about make out the shouting voices within the room. He easily recognised the prominent grunts and yells of Gorgon, and just behind them the angered ranting of King Maximus.

All the sound died away, however, as a third voice whispered only one word - yet nevertheless it penetrated his skull, mind, and everything around Karnak. It was the only thing he knew as the word 'STOP' filled all he could hear and think, and ripped the stone from the wall and the wood from the floor as the palace blew apart under the devastating power of the voice in the throne room.

[Bright_Ops]

As he sat back in his chair and looked at Bruce, really looked at him as if he was just seeing the man for the first time, Loki seemed to have a new found respect for him. "You know, I don't think I've ever thought of it that way. It's definitely something to think about at least..."

Yawning a little, Loki shook his head a bit in order to wake himself up a bit. Today had been rather busy... "Sorry, I'm actually looking forwards to discussing gamma energy with you, but it seems that today has finally caught up with me so I'm going to retire for the..." Loki took a moment to glance towards the raising sun before finishing "Well, day. I've got a couple of things that I need to look into and I'm kind of curious in keeping an eye on the fallout of our little adventure tonight but I'll swing by in a couple of days to check up on you and see how you're doing, alright?"

[Spud]

Dwight's ill-feeling from last night wasn't just a hunch ... He felt his stomach sink when he discovered the state of Thor's apartment when he went over the following morning. Thor wasn't of Earth, but she knew how to lock a door, and in all the time he'd known her, she'd kept her apartment locked, yet when he'd gone over the following morning to see if she wanted to try another search, the door wasn't just unlocked, it was left wide open. He asked the neighbours if they'd seen or heard anything and all they said was the heard someone enter the apartment late at night, heard stuff moving around and then nothing. They didn't mention a struggle or hearing voices, so Dwight concluded she'd come and gone alone. All her stuff was gone, not that she'd had much to begin with anyway. There was only one conclusion, she'd gone and done a runner. He didn't know what she was capable of, but he hadn't expected her to just vanish, it hurt a little, he'd thought they'd become good friends and now this.

He'd planned to discuss moving their search along, the internet had since exploded with news about a Valkyrie of sorts and more rumours about the existence of Gods, though he hadn't found Loki yet, Dwight was sure Thor would want to know about this Valkyrie incase it was one of her old friends from Asgard. There was some crude mobile-phone photos and video footage, for the first time, he'd seen the God Of Mischief, though the photo was grainy. He saw Thor punch Loki in the face before the God appeared to run off and Miss America called for backup against the Hulk. It was incredible. To see the legendary Loki Laufeyson, albeit a potato-quality phone picture, was absolutely giddying for him. He was a little saddened that he'd probably not get to talk to Loki and ask countless questions, Loki's stories were the hardest to decrypt after all. Once Thor found him ... Dwight could only assume she'd imprison him, or send him to another realm to face punishment for his crimes or ... if bloodlust got to her, she'd kill him. He was unsure just how it would pan out, of course he never considered Loki beating Thor to a pulp, but that too was a possibility.

"Goddamnit Tara, why couldn't you figure out how to work a cellphone" Dwight groaned. He'd have to find some way to contact SHIELD to find Thor. Whatever she was up to, it couldn't be good and he had about as much hope of finding her as he did finding Loki. Asgardian Gods were a hard bunch to keep track of it seemed. Dwight wracked his brains ... how could he contact an organisation like SHIELD? They were probably already watching him anyway, Thor implied they'd done as much when his crazily accurate papers were first reviewed.

Once again, Thor was having a bad day ... Patience was never her strong point and it hadn't improved much since arriving on Midgard. By now, she was feeling exceptionally impatient at her lack of plausible leads. The museum raid from the previous night had proved fruitful if her goal was to dig into Loki's past, but his current whereabouts were as mysterious as ever. A quick taxi ride across New York led her to the meteorological centre, where apparently there were satellites, little did she know, they were weather satellites and they weren't for locating missing Gods. She overwhelmed security and made her way through the building all the way to the main research and control rooms, only to discover that weather satellites were different to what she was looking for. Police had already been called and by the time she walked out of the weather centre, there was a squad car parked outside.
"Ma'am you're gonna have to come with us, you're under arrest for trespass and threatening violence against the individuals inside the meteorological centre. You don't have to say anything but anything you fail to mention when questioned which you may later rely on in cour-" The cop started off the speech, surprised that he didn't even have to walk over to Thor to cuff her.
Before he could finish, whipping out the cuffs, suspecting Thor was giving herself up, she simply swung her wrist, Mjolnir in hand, and the cop car flipped, landing a few feet away.
"Who dares to bark orders to the God of Thunder?" she asked coldly.
The cops were dumbstruck, staring at their mangled-upside-down squad car which she'd flipped over as easily as a child would flip a plastic toy truck. They stammered something, unable to fully form words before Thor spoke up again.
"Stay out of my way, I have no quarrel with your kind, I am only seeking Laufeyson." she pushed past the cops who were left thoroughly confused and terrified. Whoever ... or whatever the blonde stranger was, she easily overpowered them. The two frightened cops debated on calling the national guard, then again after the Hulk's destruction from the morning previous, would the national guard be able to help?

Thor found herself stopping for lunch in a run down diner, all this frustration had worked up quite the appetite. Glumly, she tucked into some eggs and bacon and plenty of coffee and stared glumly across the diner. That was when the news came on. It grabbed Thor's attention when the word "technology" came up. That was what she needed. She focused her attention on the screen as the news-reader talked about some kind of conference, a meeting where lots of technology experts met up. It was just what she needed!

To her disappointment, she was a day late and the experts had finished their stuff. A Tony Stark guy had put on quite the performance apparently, or so the newsreader said. What caught her surprise was the fact that this Stark fella was in New York.
"New York's very own Tony Stark blew away audiences at the annual Electronic Consumers Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, with an impressive line-up of consumer products. After the conference Stark returned to Stark Towers in New York where he met with the press and then revealed the Iron Man project. Critics have been quick to point out that Stark previously expressed a desire to move away from the war mongering image associated with previous Stark Industries ventures shortly before presenting the project however many have applauded Stark for striving to protect citizens in light of recent events which have devastated portions of New York City. Stark released the following statement to local media ""Either I continue to operate it or I have it work off of an advance remote control system. I want this suit to be something people can feel safe seeing whenever something happens. With the recent attacks that ravaged the city streets this suit can provide hopefully at least the beginning of helping avert such moments from ever happening."" ... In other news, a clean-up operation is underway in downtown New York after-" Thor tuned out after the broadcaster began talking about the brawl that had occurred yesterday, Thor had been there, it was old news and the media appeared largely clueless about what exactly happened, much less where Loki and the Hulk went. To find that out, she'd need special technology, like what Stark would probably have ... She quickly finished her meal and got up to leave the diner. She'd have to pay Stark Towers a visit but first she had to figure out where Stark Towers was, she'd also have to try and not get into trouble for the time being.

SHIELD were watching Thor, as she'd anticipated, but they'd yet to fly in and stop her, then again, her movements were unpredictable at best and mobilising an agent who would be able to deal with her was proving problematic. It seemed she'd have to progress without SHIELD's help for now at least, but this time she knew where she was going.

Fury was quickly arranging a small team to track her down, warning them to avoid any hostile contact as he wasn't exactly sure what they were up against. If Thor really had gone rogue, there was only a few individuals who could take her down in a fist fight, 2 of which had vanished to Australia. Perhaps a squadron could knock her down long enough to contain her, but Fury wasn't prepared to risk that many lives, especially with everything else that was going on, he didn't have those kinds of resources (or man power) to throw away.
"Do not use hostile force, we don't know exactly how much power we're dealing with and what she's willing to do, if you can't talk her down, you back down, stay out of her way and keep civilians out of her way until we're better equipped to face this threat." Fury warned, sending out his crew. He hoped there would be no need to resort to desperate measures, she'd come in willingly last time so it wasn't entirely beyond the realms of possibility that she'd be open to negotiations again. All they had to do was catch her, but she was on the move again and they could only guess where she was going.

[Angel Vicky]

“Siguna...”

A faint whispering awoken the Lady Victoria Parrington, the newly appointed Angel of Valhalla by the world's media, during her sleep in the early hours of the morning. As she rose from her bed, she looked around and saw nothing but her normal room at SHIELD HQ. She was about to lay back down when she heard it again. She gets out of bed and wanders around the room in her pyjamas. “Hello..?” She waits for a moment before turning around to go back to sleep.

As she turns around she was faced by a blonde bearded large built male in armour but he was transparent. “...Beware the Trickster...” And then if she somehow knew who he was, she reached out to him. “Theoric..?” She seemed to remember his face from somewhere. He reached out his hand toward her and touches it before disappearing. She stood there pensively for what seemed a lifetime, before sitting on the edge of her bed. “Who are all these people...The Trickster? Who is that...” She wondered before heading out to the training room in her SHIELD uniform.

The Valkyrie was hard at working out when Agent Phil Coulson walked into the gymnasium. She was using the heaviest weights that Captain America used. She seemed to be pushing herself even harder today. “You're up early.”

“Couldnt sleep.” She states firmly between lifts, panting slightly, only barely breaking a sweat. As if she were in competition with herself.

“You're not sleeping a lot these days, anything troubling you?” Phil asks with concern written on his face as he handed her a file. “Your next assignment.” He was a fatherly figure to the young agent. But he didn't seem to want to pry into her life too much. She gets off the weight machine and opens the file whilst grabbing a towel to put around her neck. “An invitation to the 'Parrington's annual charity ball.....featuring a debut appearance by their very own Angel and Valkyrie....Victoria Parrington'.” Her tone grew more monotonous as she read through it. “Are you kidding me?!” She looked at Phil with disbelief.

Phil smiles. “Fury approved their request for you to go. He has arranged for you to meet your next assignment there.” Victoria reads further. “Victor..Von..Doom?” She looks back at him again with disdain. “You are to be his escort while on his trip here around the States.” Phil continues to explain.

“The leader of a country, needs MY assistance? Is his security not good enough?”She asks Phil as they leave the training room and walk down the hall together. “Apparently he wants the best. So we're sending you, and your parents had some persuasion, something about 'setting you up with an ideal suitor at the same time'?” Phil chuckles as he pats her arm and walks off ahead of her, leaving Victoria in the hallway with a scornful expression. “Fury is going to get his ass kicked for this.”

- - - -

Well, here she was. Standing in her childhood bedroom as the party was just about to begin. Gazing out the window she saw a lot of citizens stood outside the gates, just wanting to get a mere glimpse of the Parrington's daughter, Valkyrie. They held plaques and banners that read “Our Saviour is Here” and various other positive slogans. She adorned a long emerald gown with hair partially swept back and long and wavy cascading over one shoulder.
Attire: http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/1904520213_1/CX252-New-design-sexy-back-beautiful-velvet-long-sleeve-emerald-green-prom-dress.jpg

“Everyone is so eager to meet you!” Victoria's mother wandered in. “You look positively radiant my dear” Her father Reginald came in right behind Malicia. “We never knew you could so such wonderful things. You saved all those people.” Her mother took her hands in her own. “The children haven't seen you in ages, you must stop by the Orphanage soon, they miss you.”

“And young Mr Stark is attending this evenings events but I think he is a little too young to be a good match for you, but Von Doom on the other hand is quite a catch.” Her father added with one hand held neatly behind his back in that upper class manner. Feeling a little overwhelmed by her parents, she took herself back from them.

“I believe Mr Von Doom has got better things to do with his time. And stop trying to set me up with a husband. I don't need one.” She folds her arms tight stubbornly in her lovely evening gown fit for an Asgardian goddess. They look a little disheartened at their daughter's continued defiance. Victoria just hated the thought of being arranged to marry someone,as if she'd been through it before.

“Oh...well...then come down and meet the people who we've helped this year with the Trust's money. We were all hoping you would sing for us with that beautiful voice f yours.” Her mother leads Victoria down the mansion's hallway and down the grand steps to the foyer where all the guests were having champagne and appetizers served.

Immediately spotting her old friend Pepper Pots, Victoria makes her excuse and dashes toward the red head adorning a modest white long dress. She hugs the young budding business woman. “Thank god you're here.” Pepper raises an eyebrow at her, “Thank God...?” She then folds her arms at the Valkyrie. “When were you going to tell me you had WINGS? Do they just appear out of your back or something..?” Pepper asks as she inspected Victoria's bare back. Victoria spins around to stop Pepper poking at her shoulder blades. “SHIELD likes to keep everything a secret, sorry.”

“Are you the result of an experiment or what?” Pepper demands to know. Victoria backs away and was then inundated with guests swarming her, asking her all sorts of questions about her powers and whether she really did bring people back to life. It was then she realised, she really felt alone and that nobody could understand what she was. Agent Phil came to her rescue and shooed them away. Various SHIELD agents were amongst the crowd. Classical light music started up and Phil lead the Valkyrie away from the guests and onto the dance floor space and assumed the male lead stance and she instinctively followed. “I didn't know you could dance, Phil.” The Lady of the Hour smiled at him, taken by surprise. “I don't have everything on file. You know, you should smile more. It suits you.” He smiled back at her as they danced together and her parents entertain their guests, welcoming all who came through the door. Pepper watches her good friend with suspicion, slightly annoyed by being kept in the dark.

“I must say green doesn't usually flatter women, but on you it works.” Phil attempts a compliment as they dance but Victoria's smile faded. “Thanks...”

“Siguna....”

There it was again, that same whisper. She couldn't help but look over his shoulder to spot a woman in the crowd with long blonde curly hair, she too wore emerald and had a...distinctive air about her. A chill was sent down her spine, the woman did not appear to look very friendly at all. Again, it felt like as if she knew her. But then she disappeared from view and she gazed the room unable to spot her again.

[Dedonus]

Peter Parker | Bobby Drake | Angelica Jones

Co-Written With @Natty

It was an overcast and dismal afternoon in New York City. Quite fitting for what was going to happen on the docks that day. Peter had told his aunt that he was meeting up with some friends for the afternoon. While Peter technically did not lie, since he was indeed meeting up with his friends Angelica and Bobby, who were also known as the X-Men Firestar and Iceman respectively, he never mentioned that they were planning to fight crime. Peter's aunt was always worried that her nephew was so frail, but Peter could not muster the courage to tell her that he himself was Spider-Man. His biggest concern was how she would take the news. Peter did not want to give his aunt a heart attack by revealing the identity of his alter-ego.

Waiting atop a rooftop of a building that was relatively close to the docks, already decked out in his red and blue threads, Peter looked up towards the sky. He could discern an object that seemed to be burning soaring up in the sky. Once this "comet" began to descend towards the ground, Peter knew that this "flying object" was actually Firestar. Clinging onto her back was Bobby Drake, wearing a special suit that would protect him from Firestar's microwave radiation. The distance between Manhattan and Salem Center was probably too large for Iceman to "skate" his way there on his ice constructs.

"I'm glad that you two could make it.". Peter extended his hand to Bobby, shaking his hand. However, while they were shaking hands, Peter fell his hand growing colder by the second, causing him to prematurely end their handshake. " I see you're still the joker that have always been."

“Well you know, Spidey.” Bobby replied with a grin, shaking the ice off of his hand. “We need to make these little get togethers fun somehow!”

The comment was merely for laughs obviously. These little trips to New York had been some of Bobby’s most memorable and happy experiences in recent years. Sure working alongside his fellow X-men was fun and exciting, but to Bobby there is nothing better than helping out the people who need it. That was one of the best parts about being a superhero to him!

Peter turned towards Angelica, intending to extend his hand to her, too. However, she surprised him when she immediately embraced her best friend. "I see you're happy to see me, Angel. It's not like we had not just seen each other a few days ago."

"It just feels great to get the band back together." She gave Peter a smile and released her vicegrip-like embrace.

“Wait, you two met up without me?” Bobby asked, butting into the conversation. “So not cool guys!”

Angelica rolled her eyes at the comment from the fellow mutant. “Says the one who spent last night taking out a gang of Purifiers all on his lonesome!”

“Purifiers?” Peter scratched his head when he heard Angelica mention that anti-mutant hate group, “Haven’t they learned anything from the Crusades that things like this doesn’t solve anything? I bet they flunked their high school history course.”

“That would explain why they’re still living in the dark ages.” Bobby laughed at his own joke slightly. “Am I right?”

Angelica just shook her head disappointedly.

“So, here’s the situation. From my sources at the Daily Bugle, there’s going to be some shady business happening here soon involving the Rose and some maggia boss called Silvermane. I don’t know whether these two factions are anticipating this imminent conflict, but I think we should play it safe and assume that Silvermane’s men have already set a trap.” Peter paused for a moment, wondering whether it was safe for him to involve his friends into this. But someone had to curb this crime.

The mention of the Rose caught Bobby off guard. The young mutant looked thoughtfully at Spider-man as he spoke, his mind going back to when Angelica had informed him of the death of Peter’s then-girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. The Rose had been involved then. He had practically been one of the causes of Gwen’s death. Would Peter be able to go through with this tonight without… No. Peter was strong. He could do this.

“You have a plan then, Webs?” Bobby asked, gazing off the edge of the rooftop and down towards the docks.

“Of course I have a plan. Obviously we have to act precautiously, making sure we don’t get caught in the middle of the crossfire. Our primary focus should be disarming the men. They can’t harm themselves and us if they are not wielding any weapons. Also, we should have the element of surprise. Silvermane’s men might know that the Rose is making a play for his turf, but not three teen superheroes!”

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, Pete?” Angelica placed her arm on Peter’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. Angelica knew that anything involving the Rose might cause him to act rashly, to put it nicely. She just wanted to make sure her best friend did not stoop down to the Rose’s level.

“I’m fine, Angel.” Peter gave Angelica two thumbs up and a smile, although his red-haired friend could not see his grin because it was covered by his mask. “So, you all ready?”

Bobby was about to warn his friend to remember that he was much better at freezing people instead of keeping to the shadows, when yesterday’s events with the Purifiers crossed his mind once more. If he could muster up anymore golems, then they’d have an army on their side. Deciding that it would probably be a good idea to inform the team, he turned back towards them.

“Yeah I’m good Petey, although thought that I should let you know that I got a major upgrade last night.” He exclaimed happily. “I can now…”

“Summon some ice golems or something.” Angelica finished. “It’s honestly nothing too special!” She teased, pulling a face towards Bobby.

“You won’t be saying that when you’re under 10 feet of snow!”

Angelica just rolled her eyes and looked back towards Peter. “Yeah I’m good, Pete. Let’s roll.”

Peter extended his arm out in front of himself. Angelica, in turn, placed her hand on top of Peter’s, and Bobby followed suit. In unison, the three teens, although not in a shout because they did not want to alert the maggia to their presence, said, : “Spider-Friends, Go for it!” After their team ‘battle cry’, Peter turned and leapt into the air, shooting out a thread of web skyward, swinging forward. Following closely behind him was Angelica, who heated the air around herself with her microwave powers, causing her to soar through the air. Last, but not least, came Bobby, with the ice-covered mutant sliding through the air atop a column of ice.

[Sep]

Hulk - So short a banner isn't worth it.

"I'll be fine." He turned looking at the camping gear. "I myself could do with a rest. I am sure I shall be seeing you shortly. After all, you are the one who'll have to keep me informed on what's going on in the world. Don't want to end without me knowing about it."

"Captain! Wilson, can you hear me?" his ear piece crackled as Wilson pushed something off the top of him, groaning slightly. Sparks could be heard falling down onto the floor and bouncing away, as the entire hull of the craft creaked and groaned in protest to what it had just been through. The lights flickering with all the consoles as they all struggled for power. He looked around at the strike team, none of them seemed alive however he'd have to check before he went anywhere. "I'm here Director. It seems we took a detour.""Your beacon activated - happened to you down there?" The radio, beginning to break up Wilson felt his head piece, it seemed fine and with it being patched straight into satellites unless he was deep underground he should have no problems with communication.

Unless someone was jamming him that was. "Took a hard landing sir, I think someone doesn't want us here. The situation seems more serious than we believed it to be.""Do you want me to- backup?- half an hour.""No sir, sending in more jets just risks more lives. I'll need to find out what shot us down first and neutralize it. I'll keep you apprised, Wilson out." The radio snapped as the connection was cut, of course Fury could re-activate it if he needed to but that wouldn't be unless something really serious happened.

For now he'd have to manage. Moving between the team members he checked for a pulse, it seemed some of them had died in the crash whereas some unlucky sods had bled out. If only he had woken up sooner he could have done something. It's not your fault Sam, lets not relive Afghanistan was the only comfort he got from his subconcious. Which was true enough, now wasn't the time to mope around. He had to figure out what had shot them down, find it and then disable it. Then his original mission would still apply. Moving to the beacon he pulled it out, disabling it's power. Yes it would make the bodies harder to find for burial but he didn't want someone coming along and desecrating the bodies.

Doom had made note, that his escort was not present as he stepped off his plane onto American soil. If he had seriously been in danger then he would have left, he had actually considered it. Though there were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D there so it would be hard to cast the organisation in poor light for that. Besides, if it had come to it he could defend himself. Though not many others knew that he did enjoy having the ace up his sleeve. He waved his arm and the doombots instantly understood the command and moved to defend his aircraft. While he could not use them everywhere on American soil technically the aircraft did belong to Latvaria so both it and the Latvarian embassy could be protected by his doombots.

It took him a ghastly hour to get to the estate for the party, whoever was in management of the road and transport systems in this country had not improved since he had went to university here. For one the traffic light set up was completely idiotic and needed an overhaul, as did the buses and the amount of poor drivers was atrocious. Everything in Latveria ran flawlessly, a testament to his leadership. Sometimes he forgot, despite the news articles how much the rest of the world was in chaos and out of order. How grim it really was. This fact was likely to irritate him most of the evening.

However he was impressed when he saw the Parrington estate. Stepping out of his car there were obviously photographers in the area trying to catch a glimpse at their superiors. As they should. He merely ignored them, walking tall and proud to the front door. Several photographers who seemed to be running around in the grounds on front of people needed to scurry out of his way as he did not stop. When he reached the doors of the building he walked into the reception area of the building. Hearing the music and laughter he decided to wait until one of the owners of the house acknowledged his presence. While they were no doubt his inferior, he wasn't a hypocrite and there were rules to follow.

[DrewVonAwesome]

“Parrington residents 15 miles away.”

“Got it. Ready exterior speaker system with mp3.”

Even if Tony Stark had never planned on doing something better and more helpful with the suit. Never let it become a show of power and justice. There was still something amazing about just flying around in it. It wasn't piloting a fighter jet, it was BEING the fighter jet. The information all with in perfect view of his eyes as the helmet also blocked out the very high winds blowing past him and helping drown it out in his MP3 player as it went through Stevie Ray Vaughn's greatest hits. Something about 'Texas Flood' while flying damn near mach 5 was so relaxing.

“Alright cue up the mp3 file...” Tony Stark knew he only had one chance to nail this entrance, sure he was fashionably late, as is traditional with a Stark, but he wasn't going to let it be just another big shiny entrance in just another big shiny car. Spotting the mansion in the distance heard the guitar riff playing as he stalled just a little, waiting for how long it would go until the key moment having heard the song a billion times before. Finally he spotted his landing near some paparazzi who were there...

You've been...

Iron Man flipped out of the sky, landing onto a knee to the carpeted driveway.

THUNDERSTUCK!

“Boom! I make this look easy!” Tony Stark proudly proclaimed to himself as he stood back upright. He had the suit deactivate, feeling the parts all detach and pull of him only to compartmentalize into what looked like a rather weird looking briefcase. All while Tony Stark adjusted the tie on his suit, the same one he wore at C.E.C. Because frankly it's already had a successful consumers show behind it, probably can help rock the party that helps rock the body too. Picking up the suit all cased up he tossed it nonchalantly to a valet. “Watch the paint job on it.” He absent minded called back to the valet who looked on dumbstruck.

“Hey scuse me Little Green Riding Hood...” Slipping past the large man Tony Stark quickly made his way in, “Tony Stark has arrived, now we can begin this party proper...” He was tempted to yell it out. But the Parrington family had a knack for making their soirees as classy as possible. So Tony had to be respectful and only say it to himself aloud. However it didn't take long before he spotted the familiar red head in a white dress. “Well well well if it isn't the most peppery of pots.” Tony Stark casually started as he came up behind the young woman.

“Oh God Tony really? We haven't seen one another in years and that's the first thing you decide to say?” Pepper Potts was one of the few people in the world who not only knew Tony inside and out, but was easily able to handle Tony's sarcasm with ease. “What? I've been busy trying to run a fortune 500 corporation! That's a lot of work you know. You know how many crankity old white men I have to handle on a daily basis? Quite a bit, and I wouldn't wish that torture on anyone.” Tony wasn't exactly lying about that last part as it got a smile from Pepper. “Well it is great to see you, even if its over Victoria and... whatever it is she is and doing these days.”

“Nah nah nah enough about that Pepper, I say its a great night and we enjoy ourselves a little before we go hassle her about the wings and the resurrecting and all that.” Tony Stark gently held out a hand. “May I have this dance madam Potts?” Tony politely asked. “Why of course Mister Stark.”

[Angel Vicky]

"Greetings, Lord Doom. We are so honoured and privileged you could attend our charity ball." Maricia Parrington walked upto Victor Von Doom immediately upon his entering the building. She bows to him as it was custom to in the presence of royalty. Her husband Reginald not far behind her, bowing also. "It is such an honour to meet you, Sire. I trust your journey here went well?"

That moment they were interrupted by...

THUNDERSTRUCK!

The Parringtons watched mortified at the racket and chaotic entrance of the young Tony Stark in his new mechanical suit. They stare at him with wide eyes and rosy red cheeks of embarrassment in front of Lord Doom. "I am SO sorry Your Majesty, we weren't....expecting...that." Maricia tentatively explains with a nervous tone.

Victoria and Phil stop dancing to see Tony Stark wander in as if he owned the place. That was usual. But the suit was his new gadget and VIP guests were all talking about him. "Always wanting to make an entrance." Phil sighs.

"It was actually a funny entrance." The Valkyrie chuckles as she watched Tony speak with Miss Potts. "Pepper doesn't seem too amused with him though." She then spots a tall man in a green cloak speaking to her parents. "Looks like your assignment is here. And oh look - you're wearing a matching dress!" Phil points out with a chuckle of his dry humour, rarely seen on his otherwise stern face.

Victoria stares at Phil with a frown for a few seconds before he stops smiling to himself over his lame joke, then turns away to walk off toward the Latvarian leader. Her hand was then taken by a suited tall dark haired gentleman. "May I have this dance Miss Parrington?" She obliged reluctantly, it was impolite to refuse.

"Lord Doom. Agent Phil Coulson of SHIELD. Your escort will be the Valkyrie, who is that lovely young lady over there in the green dress." Phil explains to Doom with professionalism, not daring to offer a handshake with the metallic overlord. "Is there anything you require of us during your visit to the United States, Sir?" He asks before allowing Victor to enjoy the rest of the party.

"I'll be happy to introduce you to our daughter, Your Majesty." Maricia offers kindly before asking a serving maid to get Lord Doom a drink.

[Bright_Ops]

"Not to worry Bruce." Loki started with good humor "If I get in the mood to start the whole 'world ending' thing again I'll be sure to ask your advice on where to start. Rest well." Offering the doctor a respectful mock salute, Loki disappeared from the Australian outback in order to crash in a hotel room almost halfway across the world. A good night sleep would do him the world of good after such a long day...

==================================================
Later on.

Much like he did every time that he woke up, Loki watched the international news. It tended to be somewhat less biased in its approach then other sources of news to begin with, but it also gave him some hints on where he needed to go in order to either do the most good or to find out what was really happening instead of the facade that was being presented. As he ate his breakfast waffles (Rated out of ten they were a solid eight), he watched as the troubles of the world were summed up for him in a time restricted format.

"...King Doom of Latveria is currently visiting the United States in what has officially been dubbed a diplomatic visit. We now turn to our local reporter in the field. What have you got for us Vivian?"

"Thanks Tom. I am currently standing outside of the Parrington Estate where they are currently hosting their 2012 Charity Ball. A number of big and important names have already arrived, including a rather impressive entrance by CEO Tony Stark just moments ago. While he didn't take the time to make a statement, King Doom recently arrived as well. While we are currently unable to see what is going on inside with all these important figures both local and foreign mingling together for a good cause, I'm sure that..."

Turning off the TV, Loki took a moment to think to himself. Well, he hadn't been to a party in quite a long time and it wasn't like he was slacking off; With that many important people around it was vital that he was there to help ensure that nothing bad happened. Hel, it was practically his duty to humanity to ensure that this select group of people had a good time. Well rested and now fed, Loki disappeared in a swirl of magic once more.

===============================================
Parrington Estate

His arrival largely went unnoticed, just another guest who had shuck outside in order to help himself to a smoke; After all, only guests were allowed inside of the estate and he definitely looked the part. (( http://41.media.tumblr.com/8de4926594e47921cf1016f96e416a0e/tumblr_n37zczpz1m1scikl2o2_500.jpg )) Besides, it wasn't like any of the other guests would care that there was another face in the crowd that they didn't recognize, they had other matters to concern themselves with.

Entering the building proper, Loki smiled to himself as he walked... no, glided through the crowd as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. In a way it was; While they had been much, much rarer, the humans of Midgard had always found something to celebrate or throw a party about and Loki had always done his best work at them. The wrong word here, an 'accidentally' overheard conversation there and making sure someone had one mug of something alcoholic to many could turn a happy occasion into the Incident that would justify years of fighting and distrust for years to come.

Accepting a glass of something bubbly that was as part of the uniform of the party goer as the suit was, Loki simply remained on the side lines for the time being, letting his gaze wonder to take in security (And in the case of some of the party goers themselves, admiration. There was no harm in checking out the goods after all).

[Sep]

Doom scoffed as the insolent whelp just barged past him. The insult he could live with, but such arrogance. Such a being didn't fit into society, he felt that just because he had a flash suit and a lot of money that he could just do whatever he wanted. Doom worked hard to get to where he was, and had sacrificed too much to make the world a better place. This boy felt that him a man of privilege could save the world. How pathetic. HE walked in where he was then greeted by the hosts. Naturally they both greeted someone as important as himself.

"My flight was pleasant, one of the benefits of designing your own aircraft. You know that it is perfect for the job. I even managed to stay in contact with my castle back home and keep an eye on my affairs there. Also no need to apologize-" He shot the young Stark a scowl. "-He is young after all, and so much like his father." He turned as the agent introduced himself. "I am aware of who she is agent, and what she is wearing. Just be glad that this is a such a joyous event. Had we been anywhere else but this lovely estate I would chastise you for your control of your agents, and inability to have them perform their job." He lightened his tone slightly.

"However as I said, this is a joyous event and I am sure that I am safe here thanks to my gracious hosts." He tipped his head to the Parringtons, and turned back to them. His conversation with the agent was done. "I shall not take you up on the offer of a drink, for you may prefer if I keep the mask on. However I shall accept the invitation to meet your daughter. She has made quite the impression on the world recently, it would be an honour to meet her."

[Angel Vicky]

Agent Coulson just smiles, biting his tongue as he half bowed to Doom before turning around to patrol the premises. Maricia bows to Doom once more. “Very well, Your Highness. After her performance I will introduce you. Alas, we must all do our part for charity. Tonight being no different.” She explains joyfully.
----
As SHIELD’s Valkyrie was dancing away with yet another hopeful suitor of the upper class society, she seemed rather distracted. Or bored.
“My name is Lord Spencer. Your parents and mine thought it would be a good idea for us to meet.” As she half listened to him drone on, she looked around the room. Suddenly she 'wasn’t in Kansas anymore, Toto'. It didn’t look like her home, or anywhere on Earth. It resembled a huge golden palace. She heard people laughing and running. She sees people wearing Asgardian attire, with a pensive expression on her face. She used to laugh like that, and she used to smile...a very long time ago. She’d been here before but she just didn’t know where ‘here’ was.

“Sif! Amora!” She heard her own distant voice calling out names she recognised. She turned around but the voice had all but faded.

“Is everything alright, Lady Parrington?” the Lord enquired. “It’s Valkyrie.” Snapping out of it, she retorts harshly to him. She sees her mother pointing at the stage. It was time to do her bit for charity before beginning her escort assignment to Lord Doom. Fundraising - the joy. “Do excuse me Lord Spencer, I’m needed on stage.” Outside the mansion for the TV crews to capture and the hopes of raising more money from the public. She leaves the hopeful suitor by himself to head up to the stage. The announcement sounded all over the place.

DRUM ROLL.

“And now the heroine of the hour - please give it up for - THE VALKYRIE.” People clap and cheer for this new mysterious hero who seemed to resurrect the dead, although not in her fighting armour for this special occasion.

“Good evening everyone.” The music stopped and the audience quiet. “I’d like to thank you all for attending the Parrington charity ball 2012. And it is a real pleasure to have Mr Tony Stark here with his incredible new invention and grand entrance, I’d expect no less from a Stark.” It got a few chuckles from the crowd, especially from Pepper. “And of course the King of Latveria graces us also. Welcome Lord Doom.” She courtseys to him from the stage.

“This evening is about Heroes. Heroes of war. Heroes of the past and the future. And our everyday heroes. SHIELD does all it can to protect the world. But I’d like to especially thank the Heroes who recently protected New York in its crisis. You are all truly remarkable and we cannot thank you enough. This fundraiser will help those who have been injured by the tragedies of war and the families of fallen heroes.” Victoria sincerely expresses with a pleasant smile, unaware of Loki’s presence for now. Cap was not here to give the inspirational speech, she hoped she could do him justice.

“I’d like to dedicate this next song to those Heroes and to our everyday heroes that fight our wars. And we hope to continue their efforts in Asgard-….” She stops; she didn’t understand why she said Asgard and clears her throat. “I mean in…the future. Please enjoy the rest of the evening.” She steps away from the microphone as the band sets up to start playing. She didn’t notice it but small tiny particles of light was forming around her as if there was a shift in time and space and an old enemy behind the scenes scheming.

Agent Phil Coulson was immediately on the line to SHIELD HQ. They had checked Victoria for everything but they had not considered using the recently added data they had on Thor to compare. Phil tells them to run a diagnostic on her body scans and compare them to the ones they secretly took of Thor. The body type was a match. SHIELD now knew that The Valkyrie was Asgardian. But how could that be if she was born on Earth and didn’t survive the Ragnarok?

SONG LINK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExNx4m4OXbE

Having had their dance interrupted by the speech, Pepper turns to Tony. "Oh I just love this song." As she secretly hoped he would continue to dance with her this fine eve.

[DrewVonAwesome]

Tony Stark even after having called the King of a nation a little girl essentially, could still feel Doom's eyes trying to kill him through glares. He didn't care one bit, he hoped Doom felt offended because frankly Tony was offended by Doom's mere existence. He had seen the reports about how Latervia was practically living in the 19th century, barely any electricity, no vehicles, nothing that Doom himself had access too and of course plenty of in stock. For someone who claimed to be about peace he sure loved not sharing a dime with people who somehow still defended him through and through. Whatever he put into the drinking water to brainwash them must be potent stuff....

As Tony paused with Pepper to listen to their long time friend give her speech it was clear something had gotten to her. She couldn't be nervous about this, it wasn't the first time he's seen her speak and she never had a problem with it. This time though she seemed rattled somehow. Especially when she said 'Asgard'. What the heck is an asgard? Well Stark had an idea at first, but the immature part of his brain was quickly silenced. When Victoria was finished and left the stage Tony just gave a simple “Well that... was weird...” Before Pepper got excited about Mariah Carey being covered by the band. Joy. Still Stark went along with it for now, thinking internally if he can catch one of the band members and perhaps bribe them to play some David Bowie or something like that. Suffragette City always made for good ballroom dancing, at least Tony thought so.

“Listen Pepper, quick question, feel free to answer how you want.” Tony started into as the two swayed and moved to the music. “If I was to ask how your current career field was looking right this moment, what would you say?” Pepper looked a bit confused at Tony as he twirled her out and back in. “Well Tony, I might have something lined up at a clothes store, why?” Pepper asked curious. “Well go ahead and can that, I need someone to be a receptionist at my place of work. Believe me you'll be paid quite well for the work.” Tony stated casually. “You don't have to decide right away, just come by the building tomorrow and we can talk more there.”

Meanwhile though, as the two danced away, some space away stood a man, dressed equally sharp, his bald head glinting just a little in the lights of the room as he watched Tony hiding a look of disdain for the young CEO. He turned back seeing Doom nearby and decided that the time was right to go with the plan. Carefully and with a proper bow he stood in front of the ruler of Latervia. “My dear sir, I am humbled to be in your presence and hope maybe I can get a moment of your time. My name is Obadiah Stane, executive with Stark... Tech.” He had to force that last part out, as it hurt him to even consider it. “I suppose I should apologize for the CEO's rather... pathetic nature. However I wish to perhaps offer something that might be better than any mere apology. A deal if you're willing to hear it.”

[Sep]

Doom turned to face Stane, what an ironic name. "I know of you sStane, and of your work. I do my research. Also as I said to the Parringtons-" He indicated to them. "- the youth of today often show no respect and can be quite bashful. I am sure he will grow out of it one day." Not likely however. "While I always open to new business ventures in order to improve the stability of Latveria, perhaps it should wait till another time?" There was something about this whole scenario that seemed under the table. Something he didn't want to be publically doing. "However I shall put something in the books. Perhaps tomorrow at eleven o'clock at the Latverian Embassy? I shall be willing to hear your companies proposition then. However for now-" He signalled to the stage. "-I have to go congratulate that young woman-" Who was getting more intriguing by the minute. "-on a job well done, and then make an announcement myself. If you will excuse me Mr.Stane."

He worked his way through the crowd, until he got to Valkyrie. Careful not to back down to anyone that didn't move out of his way but at the same time he didn't barge them out of his way. Appearances were everything. Once he got to her he bowed his head slightly, enough as a sign of respect but not to show submission. "What a wonderful speech Miss.Parrington. Truly inspiring, as much as your work was the other day. This world is in dyre need of more people like you." He gave a side glance at this Agent Coulson who was busy speaking into an earpiece. "I hope S.H.I.E.L.D is treating you well?"