[IC] Marvel universe: Earth Alpha-34

[knighthawk]

To say 'it came out of nowhere' would not be an understatement. With all of space to scan, this one seemed to walk between the raindrops as whatever it was approached the earth by the shadow of the moon. Not only did the moon's mass actually block it from all ground scanning devices such as the SETI program, but even in the second that it sling-shotted around the moon, it was almost perfectly hidden on it approach by being a streak of silver against the gray of the moon. Until it struck a perfect LEO of 120 miles and orbited the earth from west to east with a 10 degree pitch to its orbit on each hourly elliptical.

@TimeMasterX
What was once barely seen hung in the sky for a whole day, traveling at 1000 miles an hour in the opposite direction to earth. Whatever it might have been intended as, to one group it was a call to arms. For now that it was well within scanning radius, there was a lifesign on this silver streak as it crash landed in the Antarctic, a poetic justice to return to home from whence it came.

@Crimson Clover
S.H.I.E.L.D. Was currently running an operation in dealing with south America near Cape Horn regarding some heavy arms traffic when all the bells ans whistles went off. Being the closest helicarrier, their entire unit was called from the operation to investigate the Antarctic circle to secure anything of any asset before any other country got there first.

@Roosan
As the sun set in england, a silver steak flew past the sun, a time of two lights shining through an arch Stonehenge. From this arch came a portal and from this portal emerged a man barely dressed in ancient armor with ancient ways. The time has come, this world needs a new king. There is one who bears the crowned sword and you shall seek them out. Unity of this race is needed to save both races now.[/i]

@PhoenixForce@knighthawk
"To me, my x-men!"
Ten of the trained mutants stood before their magnetic mentor in parade rest. They were a strike force meant to protect and inform humanity from those who feared what they could not defend against or understand. Some passed for human, some could not, and in many ways it was the ones who could pass for human that were all the more frightening than the 'monsters'.

Of the ten were two strike teams of five, blue team and gold team whose rosters tended to rotate depending on the circumstances or each mission. In this circumstance, there were two occurrences to attend to in close proximity. One was the going ons in Africa regarding strange weather phenomenon and the other was a massive spike from the odd comet streaking to earth. Cerebro detected a mental signatre, Ferro detected unknown metals.

'Spider-man, Wildfire, Iceman, Havok, Psyloce: You will travel to the Antarctic. Psychic to detect the mind of whoever is there, Havoc because of the cosmic radiation detected. Iceman to make full advantage of the frozen environment, Wildfire for the same, if opposite reason as well as an opportunity to hone or strengthen your powers in the most unfavorable of conditions. And spiderman for strength and technical knowledge if there is any manner of alien craft.

Psy-clops, Tidalwave, Juggernaut, Jubilation, Fantastic. You are to head to Africa, Psyclops leading with his psychic network, Tidalwave 's water manipulation should be able to handle any sudden shifts in the weather, Jubilation's energy control for any threats with juggernaut's strength and Fantastic as the mind on the field.

[TimeMasterX]

As long as one man stands against you, you'll never be able to claim victory.
-Steve Rogers, the Silver Surfer

Antartica, Earth

A star was falling to Earth, a silver comet rushing down towards the approaching cold wastes of the Arctic. Many would dismiss it as a natural, if beautiful, phenomenon; no more worth notice than any freak weather condition. But this was no falling comet, no meteor shower. The silver haze that surrounded the plummeting object was just that, haze, used to obscure its source from prying eyes. For if you were there on that day standing on the snow and just happened to be looking up to the heavens then you would see that the object falling towards you was a very recognisable shape.

But no one was there, not a single naked eye saw its approach and not a single creature stirred. For that was the plan, the entry point was deliberate in its obscurity. No one would see because no one was meant to see.

So no one saw the silver haze fade and the figure behind it come into the fore. He was a man without noticeable features and smooth to the touch. There was a reflective sheen around him that was only noticeable due to its cracked and worn appearance. He was perched atop a board and appeared to be trying to maintain his balance against the whirlwind of air and gale force winds that were buffeting his descent even as he plummeted. He barely had time to grab on tight to the his conveyance before-

WHAM!!!

The impact of the figure hitting the Arctic floor would be registered on seismic measuring systems from the world's leading scientists right down to the experiments done in classrooms around the planet, so powerful it was. Snow and ice were struck with such force that if the kinetic energy didn't cause it to melt, the remnants of the landscape were sent momentarily into the air.

The figure lay motionless, the shock of the impact had caused him to lose consciousness and he knew nothing more. His board lay beside him, abandoned for the moment and feeling the effects of the collision every bit as much as its master. Both lay in the crater of their impact until slowly, tentatively as though afraid to wake the slumbering figure, the snow began to fall once more.

[Barrett]

The wind whistled through the trees, rolling the dead leaves across the forest floor and playing with the hair of a man sitting at the forest’s edge. The wood was small and made up of stunted oaks and sycamores. Here and there, a bird dared to show its face to check whether Winter was really gone or an early rising fox stuck its head out of its den. On the horizon, the sun set the sky on fire as it set, shining off the roofs of a turkey farm. The man, sitting on a fallen tree with a sheathed sword across his lap, was glaring at the turkey farm with unflinching attention. Now and then, the few workers still present would glance in his direction uneasily. A man with a sword is always intimidating, even more so when he’s staring at your workplace with bloody murder in his eyes.

The man’s name is Taranis and, technically, he isn’t a man. The word god doesn’t necessarily come to mind when observing a bear-like, shirtless man with a mane of twig infested hair and an expression of contained fury. But for the past several millennia, Taranis has been on of Mother Earth’s champions, sadly absent from this earth since 500BCE. Having only recently returned to his home realm, Taranis has found things much changed. The people were taller, healthier and live longer but the woods are smaller, sicker and far rarer. Still, Taranis understood the need to expand and build up cities and towns, especially now there are so many people. For the most part, he was happy with how the earth had fared during his pantheon’s absence. Until he asked one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. handlers how man had access to such much meat, so many eggs and so much milk. Before long, he was introduced to the concept of domesticated animals, battery farming and the wonders of the dairy farm.

For near a month now, Taranis has been moodily stalking the land, glowering at poultry farmers, shooting daggers at dairy owners and grumpily contemplating petting zoos. Mostly, he wants to tear the buildings down, free the animals and shatter the whole system. But even in his moments of greatest rage, Taranis is a not a naturally impulsive man. A second’s thought brings up a dozen problems; the animals wouldn’t know what to do with freedom, people would go hungry and famine would crush the poorest of the nation. So he sits and glares and thinks, listening for any messages from Mother Earth. She has been strangely quiet for some time now.

And then… he feels it. A tremor, through every living being. There is no earthquake, no disaster, just a momentary feeling of unease. Squirrels stop munching on nuts for a moment, dogs let balls drop from their mouths. And Taranis, alone in a country forest feels, something change in the wind. Something new, or perhaps something very old, stands upon the earth. And it is looking for Taranis.

With a muttered curse, he stands and pats the nearest tree with his hand. “There is a curse; may you live in interesting times. Seems things are about to get interesting, wouldn’t you say?” There is no audible reply but Taranis smiles and shakes his head. In a couple of moments, the wind builds up, going from a gentle breeze to a roaring gale. Seconds later, he is a dot high up in the air, soaring southwards on an angry new wind.