Chapter 40: 40
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James 'Bucky' Barnes/Nomad
Bucky landed quietly in the shadow of the control tower that overlooked the base, where no one could see him. He took a moment to watch as Hulk and, what did Dial call him? Four Arms? Bucky watched as the two massive monsters 'played' with tanks. They were currently throwing a tank between each other in an impromptu game of catch.
It took Bucky back, watching that. To days as a kid in Brooklyn, playing with Steve on his team. He was terrible but damned if he wasn't determined. Of course, once they'd played a couple of games after Steve had gotten his powers, Bucky ended up feeling like the weak link on the team. It was kind of hilarious actually.
Bucky put aside those thoughts as Four Arms batted a Quinjet thrown by Hulk into the distance with a bat made from a crumpled tank turret. Instead, he looked over at the door to the watchtower. His job was simple. Enter the tower, get to a computer, insert a hard drive, and defend it until X and Jarvis had hacked their way in and found HYDRA's main base of operations.
He leaned towards the keypad next to the door, one with green glowing buttons. He had all sorts of tools made to bypass devices like this in his armor now but...
Bucky jammed his metal arm into the door frame, tightened his grip on the door itself, and proceeded to ripe the whole thing off its hinges where it dropped to the ground with a clang. Alarms were already ringing out across the base the sounds of destruction echoing even from over here. There was no need to waste time trying to be clandestine on the keypad when Four Arms, Hulk, and War Machine were already causing a ruckus.
He entered, his rifle up and at the ready. Nothing was there but a hallway leading to stairs.
"This is Nomad, I'm in the control tower now," Bucky said quietly.
"War Machine, I read you," Rhodey said, the only other 'professional' in the group. "Continuing to act as air support, but let me know if you need backup."
"Copy that, War Machine. Nomad out," Bucky started up the stairs, moving at a fast clip. As he did, he activated his X-Ray vision, his eyes adjusting to the blue-white vision with long hours of practice. He could see two guards a floor up, waiting to surprise intruders with a hail of bullets. Bucky strode up to the floor, activated the silenced mode on his rifle and took aim. He waited for the flying form of War Machine to pass with a loud burst of sound.
'Ffft, Ffft!', two bullets went through drywall and entered the heads of the guards. Bucky felt a bit of satisfaction. While silencers only made it hard to spot where the noise was coming from, rather than totally muffling it (Nothing on Earth can truly silence a gun) the tech of the BCW made such sound whisper quiet. Along with a combination of War Machine flying past and the other gunshots outside, Bucky doubted anyone would notice something was up unless they checked up on the guards in question.
Bucky moved higher through the floors, switching between his thermal and X-Ray vision, moving carefully and quickly. He ignored several floors full of personnel and soldiers, going for the top. "X, can you hack them yet?"
"I am unable to," the AI actually sounded frustrated. "Samuel Sterns' firewalls are adapting. I can destroy them with a direct line."
"You'll get it," Bucky reached for his waist as he came to the final floor, pulling out a round object with a magnet on the flat side. He pressed it against the door and stepped back, raising his left hand up. Catoms flowed to create a massive tower shield from his arm, as thick as two thumbs and chest high. He hefted it, aiming his gun with his right hand as he sent a signal to the object.
It exploded inwards with incredible power, turning the door to ashes. Bucky took the shockwaves on his shield and armor, rushing into the room as soon as the explosion passed.
The top floor of the control tower had windows looking out onto the base all around the room, with consoles and computers everywhere displaying all manner things such as radar. There were ten guards and about a dozen personnel, several of them screaming or holding hands up to block the smoke caused by the explosion. Bucky aimed and shot quickly.
One guard went down, then another. A man ducked behind some computers, raising his gun over them to spray and pray. Bucky ignored him, moving on. One shot, one kill. One shot, one kill. The guards aimed and fired at Bucky, only for their bullets to bounce harmlessly off his shield. Some would think it sad, in some ways. Bucky was an enhanced cyborg trained in assassination by the most ruthless people in history, covered in the most sophisticated armor ever designed without being worn by Tony Stark. The guards were men with guns in the end.
Bucky felt no sympathy for the men. HYDRA had made their choice in this case. He killed them all with machine-like proficiency, striding into the room. One of the men, a dark-skinned man with wide eyes, tried to tackle him. Bucky shot out his kneecaps, then fired one into the man's head, noting how much ammo he had left. Plenty left for the others.
All the targets were dead when he was done. Bucky moved to the computers and reached for his waist once more, taking a small device out and plugging it into the USB port. "I'm in."
"One moment," X said politely. "Jarvis and I are working... We're making contact. Uploading virus, downloading files."
Bucky raised his shield and faced the door, waiting patiently. He kept his head on a swivel, watching the windows as well. Nothing to do but be patient. He was good at being patient.
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
"Raagh!" I leaped into a hanger, diving into a cargo plane's nose. My fingers tore into the nose, ripping through it. Once a hole was big enough to let me in I dug into the rest of the mechanics, red hands rapidly pulling apart steel and wires to get into the plane. I heard the cockpit collapse behind me in a rush of squealing metal. Sparks surrounded me, and I left four-fingered hand holds in my passage into the plane. My head ripped into the cargo hold where I grinned 'bloodthirstily' at the HYDRA soldiers waiting for me. "Heeeere's Johnny!"
One man let out a loud screech of horror when I said that. Not a fan of movies, I guess.
Once inside, I went wild. I punched everything I could see, ignoring the bullets bouncing off my skin to instead punch the cargo, rip apart the plane, and 'gently' sent HYDRA soldiers flying as I rammed through the cargo doors back into the hanger.
My assault had a purpose. The hanger the plane I was currently destroying was in happened to be far from the main control tower. Any forces getting diverted would be sent far from the tower, giving Bucky less opposition to deal with. Hulk smashed down through the roof and landed next to me as the plane exploded behind us. War Machine flew over to join us as well.
"How we doing Rhodey?" I asked.
"We should be good. Director Hill is on her way and most of the HYDRA forces on the base are-" A shell slammed into me in the middle of his sentence. The force of the shot hitting my chest sent me back a couple steps from not seeing it coming and feeling kinda like what a weak punch felt like when I was human. "Well, most of them are done," Rhodey finished, the three of us looking at the incoming group of tanks and APC's, five and eight respectively, joined by a gunship flying in the air and heading towards the hanger.
"Oh you son of-" I was cut off when Hulk leaped into the air, roaring.
"YOU HURT HULK FRIEND!" with that battlecry, Hulk slammed into the gunship, causing it to spin wildly in the air and bringing it down with incredible force as he roared triumphantly.
"Hulk, I'm not... wow, he's really tearing into that thing," I blinked as Hulk started tearing big handholds out of the gunship, the helicopter's rotors smacking into him and bending fruitlessly.
"Better them than us," Rhodey said, raising his arms. "Come on," he fired a repulsor beam that slammed into one of the APC's, sending it skittering. "Let's go work for a living."
With a nod in response, I sprinted forward, running through a hail of gunfire before tackling a tank, lifting the front and flipping it upside-down before kicking it away. Hulk tossed another tank for me to punch out of the air while War Machine flew under my arms to fire a barrage of bullets at a HYDRA soldier aiming a rocket launcher at me. We moved forward, carving a path through the HYDRA soldiers. I leaped up to grab a Quinjet out of the sky, slamming it into the ground in a slam dunk motion. War Machine unleashed a barrage of explosions on a group of Humvees with heavy machine guns. Hulk used a tank turret like a war hammer, destroying more vehicles with a pleased/angry grin on his face.
Then we got the message.
"This is Director Hill, we're on our way," our leader said over the comms.
"Negative, Director," X said in response. "There are several active anti-aircraft weapon emplacements around the base that could prove deadly to any landing force not properly cloaked. I'll work on shutting them down while in the system."
That gave me an idea as I ripped the treads of a tank and tossed them to Hulk, who used them as a whip to destroy the rotors of a helicopter.
"I know a faster way that will hamper the whole base, " I said as firmly as I could, trying to seem leadery. "X, are they all connected to the same power source?"
"Yes sir, a series of generators to the north of your position."
"Then I'll get them," I tapped the Omnitrix symbol on my chest.
"Fasttrack!"
"See you guys in a bit!" I yelled to War Machine and Hulk, the latter waving his tank turret/war hammer. With that, I sped away to the north. In mere seconds, I was on the other side of the base. A HYDRA soldier was yelling into a walkie-talkie as I ran by. I punched him aside, sending him flying. A little further was an electrical plant, the kind I'd torn apart in Just Cause 3 a thousand times before, with the tall spires, wires, and large steel boxes, all in an area as large as an apartment building.
"Directly ahead sir," X informed me.
"I see it!" I replied, tapping the Omnitrix.
"Feedback!"
In the form of the tall and black skinned Conductiod, I could feel the power around me flowing between the wires. I grinned toothily and pointed my hands at them.
In a burst of light, blue electricity flowed from the metal spires, wires, and boxes and into the air.
"Fzzt-cat-fzzt!" was the crackling sound it made as it slammed into the plug like extensions on my fingertips.
"Hahahaha!" I laughed, the feeling of energy flowing into my body getting to the edges of intoxicating. Like feeling a hot tub full of minerals bubbling against your skin, that all over rejuvenating tingle all throughout my body.
"The anti-aircraft emplacements are shutting down, but I suggest you continue taking their power," X said. "Troops are heading to attack you, sir. Coming from the southeast. I suggest neutralizing them."
I nodded, still taking power from the generators, then looked over to the southeast. I could see soldiers running towards me, back-dropped by the forest that surrounded the base. I thought of changing forms before dismissing the idea. Instead, I turned my left hand from where it had been absorbing electricity to raise it into the sky as I kept pulling power in with my right hand. About ten guys.
"..." I stared at the group for a moment. Then I sent power through my body over my head, the tendrils on my head lifting up. An orb of blue power gathered over my head, growing to the size of a beach ball. I reared back and threw it at the group.
They tried to scatter when they saw what I was doing, but few things can actually out-speed lightning. The blue ball grew in the middle of its journey and slammed into every single one of them in a wave of power. Electricity soaked them with hundreds of thousands of volts.
I watched with a neutral face as they shook on the ground from muscles clenched by lightning. Then I turned back to the generators. I took comfort in the feeling of electricity, absorbing it until there was nothing left to pull.
"Very good, sir. All weapon emplacements have been shut down along with the vast majority of enemy systems in around the base," Jarvis said, surprising me.
"Thanks, Jarvis. How's X?"
"I'm doing well, sir. The virus has done its work, and we will be interpreting the data," I turned away from the plant and blasted the tarmac beneath me, launching myself into the air on jets of lightning to land on top of a three-story building forty feet away. I looked out over the forest, to where a fleet of Quinjets was flying towards the base, with US military vehicles driving on the roads through the forest to get to us. "We've won, sir."
"This fight," I smiled a bit, looking out over the forest as War Machine flew to land behind me. A loud crack of concrete told me Hulk had done the same. I took note of the powerful energy I could feel coming from them but focused on the view. "After this though, the real fight starts again."
The three of us stood on the roof, watching our reinforcements arrive.
Audrey Nathan
Audrey stretched underneath the light she'd been using as her starting point for her run for years. The cellist was wearing a black hoodie and gray yoga pants, her running shoes a bit beat up, but still serviceable. She looked up at the dark morning sky, the sun still a few hours from rising, before taking out her phone and flipping through her playlist, smiling as the familiar sound of classical music began to play. She truly loved listening to music, almost as much as playing it. Hearing each string of a violin and cello get plucked, hearing the wind instruments join in as a skilled drummer took the song along its path. There was a beauty to it, something that spoke to Audrey.
She began to jog, shivering slightly at the chill that suddenly rose in the air as she ran. The beginning of the song played with the steps of her feet, with the beat of her heart, Gustav Holst's Mars, the Bringer of War, playing. The beginning drums and trombones started to pick up, then the tubas, violins, picking up with each step she took on her run through the dark forest-
Then the music started to sputter about five minutes in, and whining crackle coming from her earphones. She frowned, taking her phone out to look at it. The phone died. And so did the path lights around her.
Confusion filled her for a moment as a cold wind floated around her, the shadows lengthening. Then a memory, from long ago, filled her with fear. She turned around. The sight behind her filled her with fear and horror.
Marcus Daniels was a tall, thin man, with combed back hair, sallow eyes, wearing a dark long coat that seemed to absorb the light around him. He strode towards her, a terrifying look in his eyes that she remembered. As though he had seen something beautiful he wanted to make his at all costs. The shadows around them lengthened.
Beside him was someone she didn't recognize, a young man with a gray hoodie. His face, in some ways, was more terrifying than Marcus'. It was blank, uncaring, eyeing her with no emotion. The cold wind picked up.
At the sight of her superhuman stalker's return, she turned and ran as fast as she could.
Frank Castle/Punisher
"Contact," Frank said into his mic softly, moving towards his target. HYDRA in dark green and brown gear, moving through the forest as quietly as they could. They shone to his thermal vision, nine men moving as one towards where Audrey had begun her run.
Frank and the three other BRIDGE Elite's circled around them, moving in silently under cloak. Hawkeye was in the treetops, flitting through the forest branches like some elf from a fantasy movie. Captain America was next to him, moving even more skillfully along than Frank was.
At the moment before Frank struck, he found himself humming something his daughter had taught him for some reason. 'One batch, two batch...' A strange thing to have in his head before he killed someone. He put it aside. He'd see her later. For now, he had work to do.
Frank pulled out his Excalibur as the handle grew into a long Bowie knife, moving towards the HYDRA soldier in front of him.
"Now," Captain America whispered softly.
Frank grabbed his target around the mouth and stabbed him in the back, the long blade slicing into his enemies heart. Captain America grabbed his own targets head and twisted. The other BRIDGE Elites went for knife stabs as well, one of them slicing a HYDRA soldier's throat out.
Five HYDRA soldiers went down, leaving three to turn in surprise. Even as quiet as they were, the BRIDGE Elites and Cap still made enough noise to grab attention.
Which is what Hawkeye had been counting on. He fired three times in a brief second. Two arrows killed their target, while the last was an ICER tipped arrow, knocking out the target.
Two BRIDGE Elite's rushed in while Frank looked towards Audrey, his thermal vision showing her. And two other... things. Strange, negative beings in the shape of humans, only seen by how the warmth in the surrounding area acted. One seemed the draw in the warmth and energy around it. The other seemed to do the opposite, somehow radiating in a way that almost...
"I hate when I'm right sometimes," Frank whispered. "Sir, two enhanced."
"Mockingbird," Captain America said quickly. "Get Audrey out! Tony, move in!"
Audrey Nathan
"Please!" Daniels yelled as she ran away. "You have to come with me! I can make us happy!"
Audrey ran faster. She ignored the chill in the air, the shadows surrounding her as tears ran down her cheeks. Again. The monster was back, the man who claimed to love her without even knowing her. Her monstrous stalker. She was in a nightmare again. And there was no one to-
A motorcycle sped out of the forest, spinning to join her. The woman on it, a tall blonde looked at her. "I'm with BRIDGE, get on!"
Audrey felt fresh tears fall as she hastily got on the motorcycle, barely listening to her words and simply choosing the fastest means of escape.
"NO!" Marcus yelled, rushing after her. "Not again! Stop them!"
The last was yelled at the young man next to him, who raised his hands.
Something fell out of the sky to land between the women on the motorcycle and the two men following. When it rose up, Audrey felt something within her relax.
"Dude, can't you take a hint?" Wearing gold and black armor that was mirror polished to perfection, the familiar figure of the Iron Man suit Audrey had seen on the news stood tall. "She's so not into you. Try Tinder, find a girl who likes black paint, dark shadows, and My Chemical Romance."
"See ya, Tony!" the woman Audrey was clutching yelled, twisting the throttle and taking off quickly into the night. "Hold tight! We'll keep you safe!"
"Thank you," Audrey whimpered, feeling shame for how scared she'd been, but still holding tightly to the waist of the woman who'd saved her. "Thank you..."
Agent Phil Coulson
Phil ran out to join Tony as soon as Audrey was safe, so focused on her that he'd nearly forgotten his own role.
"Daniels!" Phil yelled as he joined Tony. "Surrender, please! We just want to keep you safe and keep you from hurting... Donnie?"
The figure next Daniels didn't respond. But Phil knew who he was.
"Wait, Donnie Gill?" Tony stared, surprised. If Phil had to guess, Tony was probably looking at files on Donnie from the HUD in his helmet. "The blizzard kid?"
The young man with a newly shorn head only stared placidly.
"Enough!" Marcus yelled, enraged. "You're the one who put me away... but they made me stronger," he smiled sadistically, raising his hands. "Strong enough to kill you!"
With that insane scream, Daniels fired a blast of power. The Darkforce seemed to absorb the world around it as it flew towards Phil, only visible because it sucked in the light around it.
Tony fired a ray of concentrated light at the beam, stopping it in its tracks. The Darkforce and light rays fought for a moment, filling the area with shining light and wisps of shadow. Daniels yelled in rage as the bright gold sections on Tony's armor glimmered against beneath the black sections, illuminated by the strobing lights.
A tiny explosion filled the air and Daniels stopped, panting in rage. Iron Man stopped as well.
"We don't want to fight you," Tony said calmly.
"But we will, if we have to," Phil added sadly, raising his ICER pistol to aim. "Surrender."
"...No," Marcus said, his eyes insane with rage. "Blizzard! Take the Iron Man!"
Donnie lifted a hand up and narrowed his eyes.
A cloudy line of ice flew from Donnie's and into Tony at what had to be sonic speeds. Tony yelled out as he was sent flying back, covered in chunks of ice that began to grow over him. He struggled to move as Donnie kept shooting him.
Then Daniels joined in, blasting his own powers. The cold beam of ice flowed with the shadows to become a strangely beautiful attack made of blue-white ice and black ink-, the two negative energies pushing Iron Man back further.
Phil raised his gun and fired at Daniels, only be blasted back by an errant shot of Darkforce that felt like it cracked his sternum.
"Kill him!" Daniels yelled, joining in with a still emotionless Donnie. "Kill him!"
"Man, screw you!" Tony yelled, spinning to blast a beam that fought back against the two superhumans attacks. He roared, feet skittering as the forest around them and pavement beneath began to get covered in frost.
Then loud gunshots began to echo from the forest around them.
"Tony, Phil, we're on our way, just hold on!" Steve yelled over the comms. "HYDRA is trying to stop us!"
Daniels spat to the side. "Damn... Fine! Blizzard!"
Donnie, without a shift of expression, blasted the ground at the same time as Daniels. An explosion of cold shadow surrounded them, blinding Phil and Tony. Iron Man fired at the explosion with his repulsors of concentrated light, made specifically to overload Daniels, struggling with the ice covering his form and making it harder to move.
But when the obscuring ice dust and shadows faded, Daniels and Donnie were gone.
"Fuck!" Phil yelled in an uncharacteristic burst of anger, struggling to his feet.
"Phil!" Steve ran over, still cloaked, but slowly coming into view as he joined them. "Tony! What happened?"
Tony swore, rising to his feet with a crack of ice falling from his armor to hit the floor filled the air. "They ran away. We could have had them, but I got surprised by their whole attack combo thing... We should get one of those."
"Sir," Frank Castle joined them, wearing his heavy armor. Phil noted the black colors and the white skull emblazoned on the chest, looking almost spray painted onto him. "Fifteen HYDRA dead or captured. The rest ran with Daniels and Donnie."
Steve shook his head. "Okay, this is still a win. We got Audrey out, and we know about Donnie. Reconvene at the Bus and we'll find a way to track them, keep them from their target," Steve looked around as his camouflage dropped away, revealing the red, white, and blue armor he was now wearing, his face concealed by a faceless helm that faded to its trademark shape. "The day's just getting started. Jarvis, is the other team finished?"
"Yes, Captain," Jarvis responded. "They will be joining you soon."
"Let them know about Donald Gill," Steve said calmly.
"...Okay," Tony's faceplate rose up, revealing his face, eyes glimmering with a darkness matching Daniels. "He won't get away. Not again."
"No," Phil said, eyes meeting Tony with the same dark thoughts. "No, he won't."
HYDRA had taken Trip, tried to take SHIELD... Taken Ward before he'd even met him. They would not take Audrey.
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James 'Bucky' Barnes/Nomad
Bucky landed quietly in the shadow of the control tower that overlooked the base, where no one could see him. He took a moment to watch as Hulk and, what did Dial call him? Four Arms? Bucky watched as the two massive monsters 'played' with tanks. They were currently throwing a tank between each other in an impromptu game of catch.
It took Bucky back, watching that. To days as a kid in Brooklyn, playing with Steve on his team. He was terrible but damned if he wasn't determined. Of course, once they'd played a couple of games after Steve had gotten his powers, Bucky ended up feeling like the weak link on the team. It was kind of hilarious actually.
Bucky put aside those thoughts as Four Arms batted a Quinjet thrown by Hulk into the distance with a bat made from a crumpled tank turret. Instead, he looked over at the door to the watchtower. His job was simple. Enter the tower, get to a computer, insert a hard drive, and defend it until X and Jarvis had hacked their way in and found HYDRA's main base of operations.
He leaned towards the keypad next to the door, one with green glowing buttons. He had all sorts of tools made to bypass devices like this in his armor now but...
Bucky jammed his metal arm into the door frame, tightened his grip on the door itself, and proceeded to ripe the whole thing off its hinges where it dropped to the ground with a clang. Alarms were already ringing out across the base the sounds of destruction echoing even from over here. There was no need to waste time trying to be clandestine on the keypad when Four Arms, Hulk, and War Machine were already causing a ruckus.
He entered, his rifle up and at the ready. Nothing was there but a hallway leading to stairs.
"This is Nomad, I'm in the control tower now," Bucky said quietly.
"War Machine, I read you," Rhodey said, the only other 'professional' in the group. "Continuing to act as air support, but let me know if you need backup."
"Copy that, War Machine. Nomad out," Bucky started up the stairs, moving at a fast clip. As he did, he activated his X-Ray vision, his eyes adjusting to the blue-white vision with long hours of practice. He could see two guards a floor up, waiting to surprise intruders with a hail of bullets. Bucky strode up to the floor, activated the silenced mode on his rifle and took aim. He waited for the flying form of War Machine to pass with a loud burst of sound.
'Ffft, Ffft!', two bullets went through drywall and entered the heads of the guards. Bucky felt a bit of satisfaction. While silencers only made it hard to spot where the noise was coming from, rather than totally muffling it (Nothing on Earth can truly silence a gun) the tech of the BCW made such sound whisper quiet. Along with a combination of War Machine flying past and the other gunshots outside, Bucky doubted anyone would notice something was up unless they checked up on the guards in question.
Bucky moved higher through the floors, switching between his thermal and X-Ray vision, moving carefully and quickly. He ignored several floors full of personnel and soldiers, going for the top. "X, can you hack them yet?"
"I am unable to," the AI actually sounded frustrated. "Samuel Sterns' firewalls are adapting. I can destroy them with a direct line."
"You'll get it," Bucky reached for his waist as he came to the final floor, pulling out a round object with a magnet on the flat side. He pressed it against the door and stepped back, raising his left hand up. Catoms flowed to create a massive tower shield from his arm, as thick as two thumbs and chest high. He hefted it, aiming his gun with his right hand as he sent a signal to the object.
It exploded inwards with incredible power, turning the door to ashes. Bucky took the shockwaves on his shield and armor, rushing into the room as soon as the explosion passed.
The top floor of the control tower had windows looking out onto the base all around the room, with consoles and computers everywhere displaying all manner things such as radar. There were ten guards and about a dozen personnel, several of them screaming or holding hands up to block the smoke caused by the explosion. Bucky aimed and shot quickly.
One guard went down, then another. A man ducked behind some computers, raising his gun over them to spray and pray. Bucky ignored him, moving on. One shot, one kill. One shot, one kill. The guards aimed and fired at Bucky, only for their bullets to bounce harmlessly off his shield. Some would think it sad, in some ways. Bucky was an enhanced cyborg trained in assassination by the most ruthless people in history, covered in the most sophisticated armor ever designed without being worn by Tony Stark. The guards were men with guns in the end.
Bucky felt no sympathy for the men. HYDRA had made their choice in this case. He killed them all with machine-like proficiency, striding into the room. One of the men, a dark-skinned man with wide eyes, tried to tackle him. Bucky shot out his kneecaps, then fired one into the man's head, noting how much ammo he had left. Plenty left for the others.
All the targets were dead when he was done. Bucky moved to the computers and reached for his waist once more, taking a small device out and plugging it into the USB port. "I'm in."
"One moment," X said politely. "Jarvis and I are working... We're making contact. Uploading virus, downloading files."
Bucky raised his shield and faced the door, waiting patiently. He kept his head on a swivel, watching the windows as well. Nothing to do but be patient. He was good at being patient.
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
"Raagh!" I leaped into a hanger, diving into a cargo plane's nose. My fingers tore into the nose, ripping through it. Once a hole was big enough to let me in I dug into the rest of the mechanics, red hands rapidly pulling apart steel and wires to get into the plane. I heard the cockpit collapse behind me in a rush of squealing metal. Sparks surrounded me, and I left four-fingered hand holds in my passage into the plane. My head ripped into the cargo hold where I grinned 'bloodthirstily' at the HYDRA soldiers waiting for me. "Heeeere's Johnny!"
One man let out a loud screech of horror when I said that. Not a fan of movies, I guess.
Once inside, I went wild. I punched everything I could see, ignoring the bullets bouncing off my skin to instead punch the cargo, rip apart the plane, and 'gently' sent HYDRA soldiers flying as I rammed through the cargo doors back into the hanger.
My assault had a purpose. The hanger the plane I was currently destroying was in happened to be far from the main control tower. Any forces getting diverted would be sent far from the tower, giving Bucky less opposition to deal with. Hulk smashed down through the roof and landed next to me as the plane exploded behind us. War Machine flew over to join us as well.
"How we doing Rhodey?" I asked.
"We should be good. Director Hill is on her way and most of the HYDRA forces on the base are-" A shell slammed into me in the middle of his sentence. The force of the shot hitting my chest sent me back a couple steps from not seeing it coming and feeling kinda like what a weak punch felt like when I was human. "Well, most of them are done," Rhodey finished, the three of us looking at the incoming group of tanks and APC's, five and eight respectively, joined by a gunship flying in the air and heading towards the hanger.
"Oh you son of-" I was cut off when Hulk leaped into the air, roaring.
"YOU HURT HULK FRIEND!" with that battlecry, Hulk slammed into the gunship, causing it to spin wildly in the air and bringing it down with incredible force as he roared triumphantly.
"Hulk, I'm not... wow, he's really tearing into that thing," I blinked as Hulk started tearing big handholds out of the gunship, the helicopter's rotors smacking into him and bending fruitlessly.
"Better them than us," Rhodey said, raising his arms. "Come on," he fired a repulsor beam that slammed into one of the APC's, sending it skittering. "Let's go work for a living."
With a nod in response, I sprinted forward, running through a hail of gunfire before tackling a tank, lifting the front and flipping it upside-down before kicking it away. Hulk tossed another tank for me to punch out of the air while War Machine flew under my arms to fire a barrage of bullets at a HYDRA soldier aiming a rocket launcher at me. We moved forward, carving a path through the HYDRA soldiers. I leaped up to grab a Quinjet out of the sky, slamming it into the ground in a slam dunk motion. War Machine unleashed a barrage of explosions on a group of Humvees with heavy machine guns. Hulk used a tank turret like a war hammer, destroying more vehicles with a pleased/angry grin on his face.
Then we got the message.
"This is Director Hill, we're on our way," our leader said over the comms.
"Negative, Director," X said in response. "There are several active anti-aircraft weapon emplacements around the base that could prove deadly to any landing force not properly cloaked. I'll work on shutting them down while in the system."
That gave me an idea as I ripped the treads of a tank and tossed them to Hulk, who used them as a whip to destroy the rotors of a helicopter.
"I know a faster way that will hamper the whole base, " I said as firmly as I could, trying to seem leadery. "X, are they all connected to the same power source?"
"Yes sir, a series of generators to the north of your position."
"Then I'll get them," I tapped the Omnitrix symbol on my chest.
"Fasttrack!"
"See you guys in a bit!" I yelled to War Machine and Hulk, the latter waving his tank turret/war hammer. With that, I sped away to the north. In mere seconds, I was on the other side of the base. A HYDRA soldier was yelling into a walkie-talkie as I ran by. I punched him aside, sending him flying. A little further was an electrical plant, the kind I'd torn apart in Just Cause 3 a thousand times before, with the tall spires, wires, and large steel boxes, all in an area as large as an apartment building.
"Directly ahead sir," X informed me.
"I see it!" I replied, tapping the Omnitrix.
"Feedback!"
In the form of the tall and black skinned Conductiod, I could feel the power around me flowing between the wires. I grinned toothily and pointed my hands at them.
In a burst of light, blue electricity flowed from the metal spires, wires, and boxes and into the air.
"Fzzt-cat-fzzt!" was the crackling sound it made as it slammed into the plug like extensions on my fingertips.
"Hahahaha!" I laughed, the feeling of energy flowing into my body getting to the edges of intoxicating. Like feeling a hot tub full of minerals bubbling against your skin, that all over rejuvenating tingle all throughout my body.
"The anti-aircraft emplacements are shutting down, but I suggest you continue taking their power," X said. "Troops are heading to attack you, sir. Coming from the southeast. I suggest neutralizing them."
I nodded, still taking power from the generators, then looked over to the southeast. I could see soldiers running towards me, back-dropped by the forest that surrounded the base. I thought of changing forms before dismissing the idea. Instead, I turned my left hand from where it had been absorbing electricity to raise it into the sky as I kept pulling power in with my right hand. About ten guys.
"..." I stared at the group for a moment. Then I sent power through my body over my head, the tendrils on my head lifting up. An orb of blue power gathered over my head, growing to the size of a beach ball. I reared back and threw it at the group.
They tried to scatter when they saw what I was doing, but few things can actually out-speed lightning. The blue ball grew in the middle of its journey and slammed into every single one of them in a wave of power. Electricity soaked them with hundreds of thousands of volts.
I watched with a neutral face as they shook on the ground from muscles clenched by lightning. Then I turned back to the generators. I took comfort in the feeling of electricity, absorbing it until there was nothing left to pull.
"Very good, sir. All weapon emplacements have been shut down along with the vast majority of enemy systems in around the base," Jarvis said, surprising me.
"Thanks, Jarvis. How's X?"
"I'm doing well, sir. The virus has done its work, and we will be interpreting the data," I turned away from the plant and blasted the tarmac beneath me, launching myself into the air on jets of lightning to land on top of a three-story building forty feet away. I looked out over the forest, to where a fleet of Quinjets was flying towards the base, with US military vehicles driving on the roads through the forest to get to us. "We've won, sir."
"This fight," I smiled a bit, looking out over the forest as War Machine flew to land behind me. A loud crack of concrete told me Hulk had done the same. I took note of the powerful energy I could feel coming from them but focused on the view. "After this though, the real fight starts again."
The three of us stood on the roof, watching our reinforcements arrive.
Audrey Nathan
Audrey stretched underneath the light she'd been using as her starting point for her run for years. The cellist was wearing a black hoodie and gray yoga pants, her running shoes a bit beat up, but still serviceable. She looked up at the dark morning sky, the sun still a few hours from rising, before taking out her phone and flipping through her playlist, smiling as the familiar sound of classical music began to play. She truly loved listening to music, almost as much as playing it. Hearing each string of a violin and cello get plucked, hearing the wind instruments join in as a skilled drummer took the song along its path. There was a beauty to it, something that spoke to Audrey.
She began to jog, shivering slightly at the chill that suddenly rose in the air as she ran. The beginning of the song played with the steps of her feet, with the beat of her heart, Gustav Holst's Mars, the Bringer of War, playing. The beginning drums and trombones started to pick up, then the tubas, violins, picking up with each step she took on her run through the dark forest-
Then the music started to sputter about five minutes in, and whining crackle coming from her earphones. She frowned, taking her phone out to look at it. The phone died. And so did the path lights around her.
Confusion filled her for a moment as a cold wind floated around her, the shadows lengthening. Then a memory, from long ago, filled her with fear. She turned around. The sight behind her filled her with fear and horror.
Marcus Daniels was a tall, thin man, with combed back hair, sallow eyes, wearing a dark long coat that seemed to absorb the light around him. He strode towards her, a terrifying look in his eyes that she remembered. As though he had seen something beautiful he wanted to make his at all costs. The shadows around them lengthened.
Beside him was someone she didn't recognize, a young man with a gray hoodie. His face, in some ways, was more terrifying than Marcus'. It was blank, uncaring, eyeing her with no emotion. The cold wind picked up.
At the sight of her superhuman stalker's return, she turned and ran as fast as she could.
Frank Castle/Punisher
"Contact," Frank said into his mic softly, moving towards his target. HYDRA in dark green and brown gear, moving through the forest as quietly as they could. They shone to his thermal vision, nine men moving as one towards where Audrey had begun her run.
Frank and the three other BRIDGE Elite's circled around them, moving in silently under cloak. Hawkeye was in the treetops, flitting through the forest branches like some elf from a fantasy movie. Captain America was next to him, moving even more skillfully along than Frank was.
At the moment before Frank struck, he found himself humming something his daughter had taught him for some reason. 'One batch, two batch...' A strange thing to have in his head before he killed someone. He put it aside. He'd see her later. For now, he had work to do.
Frank pulled out his Excalibur as the handle grew into a long Bowie knife, moving towards the HYDRA soldier in front of him.
"Now," Captain America whispered softly.
Frank grabbed his target around the mouth and stabbed him in the back, the long blade slicing into his enemies heart. Captain America grabbed his own targets head and twisted. The other BRIDGE Elites went for knife stabs as well, one of them slicing a HYDRA soldier's throat out.
Five HYDRA soldiers went down, leaving three to turn in surprise. Even as quiet as they were, the BRIDGE Elites and Cap still made enough noise to grab attention.
Which is what Hawkeye had been counting on. He fired three times in a brief second. Two arrows killed their target, while the last was an ICER tipped arrow, knocking out the target.
Two BRIDGE Elite's rushed in while Frank looked towards Audrey, his thermal vision showing her. And two other... things. Strange, negative beings in the shape of humans, only seen by how the warmth in the surrounding area acted. One seemed the draw in the warmth and energy around it. The other seemed to do the opposite, somehow radiating in a way that almost...
"I hate when I'm right sometimes," Frank whispered. "Sir, two enhanced."
"Mockingbird," Captain America said quickly. "Get Audrey out! Tony, move in!"
Audrey Nathan
"Please!" Daniels yelled as she ran away. "You have to come with me! I can make us happy!"
Audrey ran faster. She ignored the chill in the air, the shadows surrounding her as tears ran down her cheeks. Again. The monster was back, the man who claimed to love her without even knowing her. Her monstrous stalker. She was in a nightmare again. And there was no one to-
A motorcycle sped out of the forest, spinning to join her. The woman on it, a tall blonde looked at her. "I'm with BRIDGE, get on!"
Audrey felt fresh tears fall as she hastily got on the motorcycle, barely listening to her words and simply choosing the fastest means of escape.
"NO!" Marcus yelled, rushing after her. "Not again! Stop them!"
The last was yelled at the young man next to him, who raised his hands.
Something fell out of the sky to land between the women on the motorcycle and the two men following. When it rose up, Audrey felt something within her relax.
"Dude, can't you take a hint?" Wearing gold and black armor that was mirror polished to perfection, the familiar figure of the Iron Man suit Audrey had seen on the news stood tall. "She's so not into you. Try Tinder, find a girl who likes black paint, dark shadows, and My Chemical Romance."
"See ya, Tony!" the woman Audrey was clutching yelled, twisting the throttle and taking off quickly into the night. "Hold tight! We'll keep you safe!"
"Thank you," Audrey whimpered, feeling shame for how scared she'd been, but still holding tightly to the waist of the woman who'd saved her. "Thank you..."
Agent Phil Coulson
Phil ran out to join Tony as soon as Audrey was safe, so focused on her that he'd nearly forgotten his own role.
"Daniels!" Phil yelled as he joined Tony. "Surrender, please! We just want to keep you safe and keep you from hurting... Donnie?"
The figure next Daniels didn't respond. But Phil knew who he was.
"Wait, Donnie Gill?" Tony stared, surprised. If Phil had to guess, Tony was probably looking at files on Donnie from the HUD in his helmet. "The blizzard kid?"
The young man with a newly shorn head only stared placidly.
"Enough!" Marcus yelled, enraged. "You're the one who put me away... but they made me stronger," he smiled sadistically, raising his hands. "Strong enough to kill you!"
With that insane scream, Daniels fired a blast of power. The Darkforce seemed to absorb the world around it as it flew towards Phil, only visible because it sucked in the light around it.
Tony fired a ray of concentrated light at the beam, stopping it in its tracks. The Darkforce and light rays fought for a moment, filling the area with shining light and wisps of shadow. Daniels yelled in rage as the bright gold sections on Tony's armor glimmered against beneath the black sections, illuminated by the strobing lights.
A tiny explosion filled the air and Daniels stopped, panting in rage. Iron Man stopped as well.
"We don't want to fight you," Tony said calmly.
"But we will, if we have to," Phil added sadly, raising his ICER pistol to aim. "Surrender."
"...No," Marcus said, his eyes insane with rage. "Blizzard! Take the Iron Man!"
Donnie lifted a hand up and narrowed his eyes.
A cloudy line of ice flew from Donnie's and into Tony at what had to be sonic speeds. Tony yelled out as he was sent flying back, covered in chunks of ice that began to grow over him. He struggled to move as Donnie kept shooting him.
Then Daniels joined in, blasting his own powers. The cold beam of ice flowed with the shadows to become a strangely beautiful attack made of blue-white ice and black ink-, the two negative energies pushing Iron Man back further.
Phil raised his gun and fired at Daniels, only be blasted back by an errant shot of Darkforce that felt like it cracked his sternum.
"Kill him!" Daniels yelled, joining in with a still emotionless Donnie. "Kill him!"
"Man, screw you!" Tony yelled, spinning to blast a beam that fought back against the two superhumans attacks. He roared, feet skittering as the forest around them and pavement beneath began to get covered in frost.
Then loud gunshots began to echo from the forest around them.
"Tony, Phil, we're on our way, just hold on!" Steve yelled over the comms. "HYDRA is trying to stop us!"
Daniels spat to the side. "Damn... Fine! Blizzard!"
Donnie, without a shift of expression, blasted the ground at the same time as Daniels. An explosion of cold shadow surrounded them, blinding Phil and Tony. Iron Man fired at the explosion with his repulsors of concentrated light, made specifically to overload Daniels, struggling with the ice covering his form and making it harder to move.
But when the obscuring ice dust and shadows faded, Daniels and Donnie were gone.
"Fuck!" Phil yelled in an uncharacteristic burst of anger, struggling to his feet.
"Phil!" Steve ran over, still cloaked, but slowly coming into view as he joined them. "Tony! What happened?"
Tony swore, rising to his feet with a crack of ice falling from his armor to hit the floor filled the air. "They ran away. We could have had them, but I got surprised by their whole attack combo thing... We should get one of those."
"Sir," Frank Castle joined them, wearing his heavy armor. Phil noted the black colors and the white skull emblazoned on the chest, looking almost spray painted onto him. "Fifteen HYDRA dead or captured. The rest ran with Daniels and Donnie."
Steve shook his head. "Okay, this is still a win. We got Audrey out, and we know about Donnie. Reconvene at the Bus and we'll find a way to track them, keep them from their target," Steve looked around as his camouflage dropped away, revealing the red, white, and blue armor he was now wearing, his face concealed by a faceless helm that faded to its trademark shape. "The day's just getting started. Jarvis, is the other team finished?"
"Yes, Captain," Jarvis responded. "They will be joining you soon."
"Let them know about Donald Gill," Steve said calmly.
"...Okay," Tony's faceplate rose up, revealing his face, eyes glimmering with a darkness matching Daniels. "He won't get away. Not again."
"No," Phil said, eyes meeting Tony with the same dark thoughts. "No, he won't."
HYDRA had taken Trip, tried to take SHIELD... Taken Ward before he'd even met him. They would not take Audrey.
James 'Bucky' Barnes/Nomad Bucky landed quietly in the shadow of the control tower that overlooked the base, where no one could see him. He took a moment to watch as Hulk and, what did Dial call him? Four Arms? Bucky watched as the two massive monsters 'played' with tanks. They were currently throwing a tank between each other in an impromptu game of catch. It took Bucky back, watching that. To days as a kid in Brooklyn, playing with Steve on his team. He was terrible but damned if he wasn't determined. Of course, once they'd played a couple of games after Steve had gotten his powers, Bucky ended up feeling like the weak link on the team. It was kind of hilarious actually. Bucky put aside those thoughts as Four Arms batted a Quinjet thrown by Hulk into the distance with a bat made from a crumpled tank turret. Instead, he looked over at the door to the watchtower. His job was simple. Enter the tower, get to a computer, insert a hard drive, and defend it until X and Jarvis had hacked their way in and found HYDRA's main base of operations. He leaned towards the keypad next to the door, one with green glowing buttons. He had all sorts of tools made to bypass devices like this in his armor now but... Bucky jammed his metal arm into the door frame, tightened his grip on the door itself, and proceeded to ripe the whole thing off its hinges where it dropped to the ground with a clang. Alarms were already ringing out across the base the sounds of destruction echoing even from over here. There was no need to waste time trying to be clandestine on the keypad when Four Arms, Hulk, and War Machine were already causing a ruckus. He entered, his rifle up and at the ready. Nothing was there but a hallway leading to stairs. "This is Nomad, I'm in the control tower now," Bucky said quietly. "War Machine, I read you,"Rhodey said, the only other 'professional' in the group."Continuing to act as air support, but let me know if you need backup." "Copy that, War Machine. Nomad out," Bucky started up the stairs, moving at a fast clip. As he did, he activated his X-Ray vision, his eyes adjusting to the blue-white vision with long hours of practice. He could see two guards a floor up, waiting to surprise intruders with a hail of bullets. Bucky strode up to the floor, activated the silenced mode on his rifle and took aim. He waited for the flying form of War Machine to pass with a loud burst of sound. 'Ffft, Ffft!',two bullets went through drywall and entered the heads of the guards. Bucky felt a bit of satisfaction. While silencers only made it hard to spot where the noise was coming from, rather than totally muffling it Nothing on Earth can truly silence a gun the tech of the BCW made such sound whisper quiet. Along with a combination of War Machine flying past and the other gunshots outside, Bucky doubted anyone would notice something was up unless they checked up on the guards in question. Bucky moved higher through the floors, switching between his thermal and X-Ray vision, moving carefully and quickly. He ignored several floors full of personnel and soldiers, going for the top. "X, can you hack them yet?" "I am unable to,"the AI actually sounded frustrated."Samuel Sterns' firewalls are adapting. I can destroy them with a direct line." "You'll get it," Bucky reached for his waist as he came to the final floor, pulling out a round object with a magnet on the flat side. He pressed it against the door and stepped back, raising his left hand up. Catoms flowed to create a massive tower shield from his arm, as thick as two thumbs and chest high. He hefted it, aiming his gun with his right hand as he sent a signal to the object. It exploded inwards with incredible power, turning the door to ashes. Bucky took the shockwaves on his shield and armor, rushing into the room as soon as the explosion passed. The top floor of the control tower had windows looking out onto the base all around the room, with consoles and computers everywhere displaying all manner things such as radar. There were ten guards and about a dozen personnel, several of them screaming or holding hands up to block the smoke caused by the explosion. Bucky aimed and shot quickly. One guard went down, then another. A man ducked behind some computers, raising his gun over them to spray and pray. Bucky ignored him, moving on. One shot, one kill. One shot, one kill. The guards aimed and fired at Bucky, only for their bullets to bounce harmlessly off his shield. Some would think it sad, in some ways. Bucky was an enhanced cyborg trained in assassination by the most ruthless people in history, covered in the most sophisticated armor ever designed without being worn by Tony Stark. The guards were men with guns in the end. Bucky felt no sympathy for the men. HYDRA had made their choice in this case. He killed them all with machine-like proficiency, striding into the room. One of the men, a dark-skinned man with wide eyes, tried to tackle him. Bucky shot out his kneecaps, then fired one into the man's head, noting how much ammo he had left. Plenty left for the others. All the targets were dead when he was done. Bucky moved to the computers and reached for his waist once more, taking a small device out and plugging it into the USB port. "I'm in." "One moment,"X said politely."Jarvis and I are working... We're making contact. Uploading virus, downloading files." Bucky raised his shield and faced the door, waiting patiently. He kept his head on a swivel, watching the windows as well. Nothing to do but be patient. He was good at being patient. Mahmoud Schahed/Dial "Raagh!"I leaped into a hanger, diving into a cargo plane's nose. My fingers tore into the nose, ripping through it. Once a hole was big enough to let me in I dug into the rest of the mechanics, red hands rapidly pulling apart steel and wires to get into the plane. I heard the cockpit collapse behind me in a rush of squealing metal. Sparks surrounded me, and I left four-fingered hand holds in my passage into the plane. My head ripped into the cargo hold where I grinned 'bloodthirstily' at the HYDRA soldiers waiting for me."Heeeere's Johnny!" One man let out a loud screech of horror when I said that. Not a fan of movies, I guess. Once inside, I went wild. I punched everything I could see, ignoring the bullets bouncing off my skin to instead punch the cargo, rip apart the plane, and 'gently' sent HYDRA soldiers flying as I rammed through the cargo doors back into the hanger. My assault had a purpose. The hanger the plane I was currently destroying was in happened to be far from the main control tower. Any forces getting diverted would be sent far from the tower, giving Bucky less opposition to deal with. Hulk smashed down through the roof and landed next to me as the plane exploded behind us. War Machine flew over to join us as well. "How we doing Rhodey?"I asked. "We should be good. Director Hill is on her way and most of the HYDRA forces on the base are-" A shell slammed into me in the middle of his sentence. The force of the shot hitting my chest sent me back a couple steps from not seeing it coming and feeling kinda like what a weak punch felt like when I was human. "Well, most of them are done," Rhodey finished, the three of us looking at the incoming group of tanks and APC's, five and eight respectively, joined by a gunship flying in the air and heading towards the hanger. "Oh you son of-"I was cut off when Hulk leaped into the air, roaring. "YOU HURT HULK FRIEND!"with that battlecry, Hulk slammed into the gunship, causing it to spin wildly in the air and bringing it down with incredible force as he roared triumphantly. "Hulk, I'm not... wow, he's really tearing into that thing,"I blinked as Hulk started tearing big handholds out of the gunship, the helicopter's rotors smacking into him and bending fruitlessly. "Better them than us," Rhodey said, raising his arms. "Come on," he fired a repulsor beam that slammed into one of the APC's, sending it skittering. "Let's go work for a living." With a nod in response, I sprinted forward, running through a hail of gunfire before tackling a tank, lifting the front and flipping it upside-down before kicking it away. Hulk tossed another tank for me to punch out of the air while War Machine flew under my arms to fire a barrage of bullets at a HYDRA soldier aiming a rocket launcher at me. We moved forward, carving a path through the HYDRA soldiers. I leaped up to grab a Quinjet out of the sky, slamming it into the ground in a slam dunk motion. War Machine unleashed a barrage of explosions on a group of Humvees with heavy machine guns. Hulk used a tank turret like a war hammer, destroying more vehicles with a pleased/angry grin on his face. Then we got the message. "This is Director Hill, we're on our way,"our leader said over the comms. "Negative, Director,"X said in response."There are severalactive anti-aircraft weapon emplacements around the base that could prove deadly to any landing force not properly cloaked. I'll work on shutting them down while in the system." That gave me an idea as I ripped the treads of a tank and tossed them to Hulk, who used them as a whip to destroy the rotors of a helicopter. "Iknow a faster way that will hamper the whole base,"I said as firmly as I could, trying to seem leadery."X, are they all connected to the same power source?" "Yes sir, a series of generators to the north of your position." "Then I'll get them,"I tapped the Omnitrix symbol on my chest. "Fasttrack!" "See you guys in a bit!" I yelled to War Machine and Hulk, the latter waving his tank turret/war hammer. With that, I sped away to the north. In mere seconds, I was on the other side of the base. A HYDRA soldier was yelling into a walkie-talkie as I ran by. I punched him aside, sending him flying. A little further was an electrical plant, the kind I'd torn apart inJust Cause 3a thousand times before, with the tall spires, wires, and large steel boxes, all in an area as large as an apartment building. "Directly ahead sir,"X informed me. "I see it!" I replied, tapping the Omnitrix. "Feedback!" In the form of the tall and black skinned Conductiod, I could feel the power around me flowing between the wires. I grinned toothily and pointed my hands at them. In a burst of light, blue electricity flowed from the metal spires, wires, and boxes and into the air. "Fzzt-cat-fzzt!"was the crackling sound it made as it slammed into the plug like extensions on my fingertips. "Hahahaha!" I laughed, the feeling of energy flowing into my body getting to the edges of intoxicating. Like feeling a hot tub full of minerals bubbling against your skin, that all over rejuvenating tingle all throughout my body. "The anti-aircraft emplacements are shutting down, but I suggest you continue taking their power,"X said."Troops are heading to attack you, sir. Coming from the southeast. I suggest neutralizing them." I nodded, still taking power from the generators, then looked over to the southeast. I could see soldiers running towards me, back-dropped by the forest that surrounded the base. I thought of changing forms before dismissing the idea. Instead, I turned my left hand from where it had been absorbing electricity to raise it into the sky as I kept pulling power in with my right hand. About ten guys. "..." I stared at the group for a moment. Then I sent power through my body over my head, the tendrils on my head lifting up. An orb of blue power gathered over my head, growing to the size of a beach ball. I reared back and threw it at the group. They tried to scatter when they saw what I was doing, but few things can actually out-speed lightning. The blue ball grew in the middle of its journey and slammed into every single one of them in a wave of power. Electricity soaked them with hundreds of thousands of volts. I watched with a neutral face as they shook on the ground from muscles clenched by lightning. Then I turned back to the generators. I took comfort in the feeling of electricity, absorbing it until there was nothing left to pull. "Very good,sir. All weapon emplacements have been shut down along with the vast majority of enemy systems in around the base,"Jarvis said, surprising me. "Thanks, Jarvis. How's X?" "I'm doing well, sir. The virus has done its work, and we will be interpreting the data,"I turned away from the plant and blasted the tarmac beneath me, launching myself into the air on jets of lightning to land on top of a three-story building forty feet away. I looked out over the forest, to where a fleet of Quinjets was flying towards the base, with US military vehicles driving on the roads through the forest to get to us."We've won, sir." "This fight," I smiled a bit, looking out over the forest as War Machine flew to land behind me. A loud crack of concrete told me Hulk had done the same. I took note of the powerful energy I could feel coming from them but focused on the view. "After this though, the real fight starts again." The three of us stood on the roof, watching our reinforcements arrive. Audrey Nathan Audrey stretched underneath the light she'd been using as her starting point for her run for years. The cellist was wearing a black hoodie and gray yoga pants, her running shoes a bit beat up, but still serviceable. She looked up at the dark morning sky, the sun still a few hours from rising, before taking out her phone and flipping through her playlist, smiling as the familiar sound of classical music began to play. She truly loved listening to music, almost as much as playing it. Hearing each string of a violin and cello get plucked, hearing the wind instruments join in as a skilled drummer took the song along its path. There was a beauty to it, something that spoke to Audrey. She began to jog, shivering slightly at the chill that suddenly rose in the air as she ran. The beginning of the song played with the steps of her feet, with the beat of her heart, Gustav Holst'sMars, the Bringer of War, playing. The beginning drums and trombones started to pick up, then the tubas, violins, picking up with each step she took on her run through the dark forest- Then the music started to sputter about five minutes in, and whining crackle coming from her earphones. She frowned, taking her phone out to look at it. The phone died. And so did the path lights around her. Confusion filled her for a moment as a cold wind floated around her, the shadows lengthening. Then a memory, from long ago, filled her with fear. She turned around. The sight behind her filled her with fear and horror. Marcus Daniels was a tall, thin man, with combed back hair, sallow eyes, wearing a dark long coat that seemed to absorb the light around him. He strode towards her, a terrifying look in his eyes that she remembered. As though he had seen something beautiful he wanted to make his at all costs. The shadows around them lengthened. Beside him was someone she didn't recognize, a young man with a gray hoodie. His face, in some ways, was more terrifying than Marcus'. It was blank, uncaring, eyeing her with no emotion. The cold wind picked up. At the sight of her superhuman stalker's return, she turned and ran as fast as she could. Frank Castle/Punisher "Contact," Frank said into his mic softly, moving towards his target. HYDRA in dark green and brown gear, moving through the forest as quietly as they could. They shone to his thermal vision, nine men moving as one towards where Audrey had begun her run. Frank and the three other BRIDGE Elite's circled around them, moving in silently under cloak. Hawkeye was in the treetops, flitting through the forest branches like some elf from a fantasy movie. Captain America was next to him, moving even more skillfully along than Frank was. At the moment before Frank struck, he found himself humming something his daughter had taught him for some reason. 'One batch, two batch...' A strange thing to have in his head before he killed someone. He put it aside. He'd see her later. For now, he had work to do. Frank pulled out his Excalibur as the handle grew into a long Bowie knife, moving towards the HYDRA soldier in front of him. "Now,"Captain America whispered softly. Frank grabbed his target around the mouth and stabbed him in the back, the long blade slicing into his enemies heart. Captain America grabbed his own targets head and twisted. The other BRIDGE Elites went for knife stabs as well, one of them slicing a HYDRA soldier's throat out. Five HYDRA soldiers went down, leaving three to turn in surprise. Even as quiet as they were, the BRIDGE Elites and Cap still made enough noise to grab attention. Which is what Hawkeye had been counting on. He fired three times in a brief second. Two arrows killed their target, while the last was an ICER tipped arrow, knocking out the target. Two BRIDGE Elite's rushed in while Frank looked towards Audrey, his thermal vision showing her. And two other... things. Strange, negative beings in the shape of humans, only seen by how the warmth in the surrounding area acted. One seemed the draw in the warmth and energy around it. The other seemed to do the opposite, somehow radiating in a way that almost... "I hate when I'm right sometimes," Frank whispered. "Sir, two enhanced." "Mockingbird," Captain America said quickly. "Get Audrey out! Tony, move in!" Audrey Nathan "Please!" Daniels yelled as she ran away. "You have to come with me! I can make us happy!" Audrey ran faster. She ignored the chill in the air, the shadows surrounding her as tears ran down her cheeks. Again. The monster was back, the man who claimed to love her without even knowing her. Her monstrous stalker. She was in a nightmare again. And there was no one to- A motorcycle sped out of the forest, spinning to join her. The woman on it, a tall blonde looked at her. "I'm with BRIDGE, get on!" Audrey felt fresh tears fall as she hastily got on the motorcycle, barely listening to her words and simply choosing the fastest means of escape. "NO!" Marcus yelled, rushing after her. "Not again! Stop them!" The last was yelled at the young man next to him, who raised his hands. Something fell out of the sky to land between the women on the motorcycle and the two men following. When it rose up, Audrey felt something within her relax. "Dude, can't you take a hint?" Wearing gold and black armor that was mirror polished to perfection, the familiar figure of the Iron Man suit Audrey had seen on the news stood tall. "She'ssonot into you. Try Tinder, find a girl who likes black paint, dark shadows, and My Chemical Romance." "See ya, Tony!" the woman Audrey was clutching yelled, twisting the throttle and taking off quickly into the night. "Hold tight! We'll keep you safe!" "Thank you," Audrey whimpered, feeling shame for how scared she'd been, but still holding tightly to the waist of the woman who'd saved her. "Thank you..." Agent Phil Coulson Phil ran out to join Tony as soon as Audrey was safe, so focused on her that he'd nearly forgotten his own role. "Daniels!" Phil yelled as he joined Tony. "Surrender, please! We just want to keep you safe and keep you from hurting... Donnie?" The figure next Daniels didn't respond. But Phil knew who he was. "Wait, Donnie Gill?" Tony stared, surprised. If Phil had to guess, Tony was probably looking at files on Donnie from the HUD in his helmet. "The blizzard kid?" The young man with a newly shorn head only stared placidly. "Enough!" Marcus yelled, enraged. "You're the one who put me away... but they made me stronger," he smiled sadistically, raising his hands. "Strong enough to kill you!" With that insane scream, Daniels fired a blast of power. The Darkforce seemed to absorb the world around it as it flew towards Phil, only visible because it sucked in the light around it. Tony fired a ray of concentrated light at the beam, stopping it in its tracks. The Darkforce and light rays fought for a moment, filling the area with shining light and wisps of shadow. Daniels yelled in rage as the bright gold sections on Tony's armor glimmered against beneath the black sections, illuminated by the strobing lights. A tiny explosion filled the air and Daniels stopped, panting in rage. Iron Man stopped as well. "We don't want to fight you," Tony said calmly. "But we will, if we have to," Phil added sadly, raising his ICER pistol to aim. "Surrender." "...No," Marcus said, his eyes insane with rage. "Blizzard! Take the Iron Man!" Donnie lifted a hand up and narrowed his eyes. A cloudy line of ice flew from Donnie's and into Tony at what had to be sonic speeds. Tony yelled out as he was sent flying back, covered in chunks of ice that began to grow over him. He struggled to move as Donnie kept shooting him. Then Daniels joined in, blasting his own powers. The cold beam of ice flowed with the shadows to become a strangely beautiful attack made of blue-white ice and black ink-, the two negative energies pushing Iron Man back further. Phil raised his gun and fired at Daniels, only be blasted back by an errant shot of Darkforce that felt like it cracked his sternum. "Kill him!" Daniels yelled, joining in with a still emotionless Donnie. "Kill him!" "Man, screw you!" Tony yelled, spinning to blast a beam that fought back against the two superhumans attacks. He roared, feet skittering as the forest around them and pavement beneath began to get covered in frost. Then loud gunshots began to echo from the forest around them. "Tony, Phil, we're on our way, just hold on!"Steve yelled over the comms."HYDRA is trying to stop us!" Daniels spat to the side. "Damn... Fine! Blizzard!" Donnie, without a shift of expression, blasted the ground at the same time as Daniels. An explosion of cold shadow surrounded them, blinding Phil and Tony. Iron Man fired at the explosion with his repulsors of concentrated light, made specifically to overload Daniels, struggling with the ice covering his form and making it harder to move. But when the obscuring ice dust and shadows faded, Daniels and Donnie were gone. "Fuck!" Phil yelled in an uncharacteristic burst of anger, struggling to his feet. "Phil!" Steve ran over, still cloaked, but slowly coming into view as he joined them. "Tony! What happened?" Tony swore, rising to his feet with a crack of ice falling from his armor to hit the floor filled the air. "They ran away. We could have had them, but I got surprised by their whole attack combo thing... We should get one of those." "Sir," Frank Castle joined them, wearing his heavy armor. Phil noted the black colors and the white skull emblazoned on the chest, looking almost spray painted onto him. "Fifteen HYDRA dead or captured. The rest ran with Daniels and Donnie." Steve shook his head. "Okay, this is still a win. We got Audrey out, and we know about Donnie. Reconvene at the Bus and we'll find a way to track them, keep them from their target," Steve looked around as his camouflage dropped away, revealing the red, white, and blue armor he was now wearing, his face concealed by a faceless helm that faded to its trademark shape. "The day's just getting started. Jarvis, is the other team finished?" "Yes, Captain,"Jarvis responded."They will be joining you soon." "Let them know about Donald Gill," Steve said calmly. "...Okay," Tony's faceplate rose up, revealing his face, eyes glimmering with a darkness matching Daniels. "He won't get away. Not again." "No," Phil said, eyes meeting Tony with the same dark thoughts. "No, he won't." HYDRA had taken Trip, tried to take SHIELD... Taken Ward before he'd even met him. They would not take Audrey.
