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Post by BloodValkyrie on Dec 4, 2012 9:23:04 GMT -5
Name: Converging Fates
Characters: Veslir Orwep, Avengers, ???? ?????, ??????-???, ????????? ????, Carl Makkura, X-23, Wolverine, Gambit, Amura Herrin, Doctor Doom, Amuzi Genre: Adventure/Drama Setting: Six months after Amura's defeat in Racamgi.
Description: A man's foolish attempt to destroy five ancient relics has now placed another reality in danger. His world's goddess seeks to fix this and has chosen the three most important people from their world to retrieve the relics. The super-powered beings of this unfamiliar world, however, will prove to make the task significantly harder than it should be.
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It has taken me quite a while, but I have finally progressed enough with this story that I now feel confident enough to share it with you all. The original idea came from a picture Mk.I made, which Hisui helped him name. I took the name from the picture since this story is based upon it. Even if you are not a fan of Marvel, I implore you to give it a chance. I am not writing this thing for my health after all.
Any feedback would be appreciated. Feel free to post your comments and such below each chapter.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Dec 4, 2012 9:25:50 GMT -5
Chapter 1 The Arrival
In the year of 2012, in the month of October, when the weather was beginning to chill and the leaves upon the trees were already shifting colors... A bright light shined within the sky; within the reaches of space. It was no bigger than the other stars, yet this light split into five and vanished. It was considered a minor event by the people of this planet. Those who noticed it simply thought of it as a natural cosmic occurrence and admired its brief, but incredible, beauty. One man, however, thought it was unusual. He believed it warranted investigating.
Latveria. A small country nestled on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is a land free of crime, hunger, and unemployment. Its people are happy and prosperous. Yet within this small peaceful nation, within its capital of Doomstadt, sat its ruler. A man of unprecedented intelligence. A man whose name alone often struck fear into the hearts of his enemies. This was the man who thought of the splitting light as odd. It would only be an hour later when a bright light would appear in his castle's courtyard. The light was accompanied by a small crash and a brief, but noticeable, rumble of his home. He quickly left the castle, followed by a small squad of his robotic guardsmen, and headed to the courtyard. Within the center, where the marble fountain had been, was a small crater. The plants nearby were burnt to ash and the cobblestone paths were dotted with black specks. The castle's owner, Latveria's ruler, ignored all of this as he approached his target. He stopped at the crater and silently looked within it.
In the crater was a small stone, small enough to fit within the palm of someone's hand. It was made of some kind of black marble-like material. Of course, the most curious thing about its appearance was the swirling violet color within. The man cautiously picked it up, his gauntlets ignoring the heat of the orb, and examined it. The colors within were similar to those within space. Indeed, the stone looked as if it had a tiny purple galaxy within it. To a normal man, the stone would have been deemed little more than a pretty rock. To a man such as this, one who was knowledgeable in the mystic arts, it was much more. He could feel the energy contained within the orb. Truthfully, it was comparable to a cosmic cube. But to simply grab this orb and attempt to use it were the actions of a shortsighted fool.
A fool was something Victor von Doom was the exact opposite of.
He wasted no time and quickly returned to his castle, heading straight for his laboratory. The power within this stone was great and he was sure there was some way he could take advantage of it. But the origin of the relic was shrouded in mystery. Precautions needed to be taken before even attempting to wield its magnificent power. The orb arrived within his castle's courtyard in a simple flash of light with weak rumbling. It did not fall from space nor do anything else that could attract the attention of his enemies. He had as much time as he needed. Once he could wield the stone he would reveal his finding to the world and make it his own. The planet would be rightfully his and there would be nothing anybody, not even Reed Richards, could do to stop him.
Doctor Doom walked through the corridor, his robotic guardsmen leaving his side one-by-one as they returned to their posts. He entered his own personal laboratory as his mind went to work on figuring out a way to properly test the orb's power. Suddenly, he paused. Something felt odd...he felt as if he was being watched. But how could that be? Sneaking into his castle, let alone any of his laboratories, was practically impossible.
Feminine laughter rang throughout the room as if its owner was listening to his very thoughts. Doom had dealt with telepathy before and knew this wasn't such a case. If it were, he would be hearing the voice within his head, as if it were his own mind talking to him. That meant whoever was laughing had to be in this room. That would be a fatal mistake on their part.
"Who dares to enter Doom's castle uninvited?" His voice a warning.
The very fabric of space seemed to ripple in front of him like water as a tall woman stepped out of nothingness. She had pale skin, long silver hair, and wore a gray robe with a black metallic belt wrapped around her waist. What her clothing lacked in beauty was made up for a hundredfold by her physical appearance. If Doom was going to retaliate in some way to her intrusion, she quickly gave him pause by falling to her knees and bowing. This act of respect and "worship", if you will, intrigued him. But she was still an intruder and, on top of that, one he knew little of. From her unusual entrance, as well as her ability to hide within his lab nearly undetected, he figured she had some knowledge in magic. Her appearance so soon after the arrival of this stone was also far too suspicious to be deemed as mere coincidence. She was linked to them in some way...
"Pardon the intrusion, my liege. My name is Amura Herrin and I-"
"You have knowledge of this stone, correct?"
She looked up at him in surprise.
"The timing of your arrival as well as your blatant use of magic made it obvious."
She was impressed. It only took him a moment to figure all of that out. "That is correct. I know a great deal about that stone and have traveled to this realm in order to teach you of their use and to assist in gathering the others."
The word "realm" piqued his interest. This woman was from another area? A different timeline or dimension, perhaps? Doom looked at the purple orb within his hand. "There are more of these?"
"Yes. There are three more. All of which should be on this planet."
This was becoming more and more interesting. The power he felt within this orb alone was great, but adding three more to his collection would be even greater. However, there were questions knocking at the back of Doom's mind. Exactly where was this woman from? Why did she choose to help him? After all, the majority of the people upon this planet grossly misunderstood him. They thought of him as some kind of criminal of the lowest order, similar to men such as the Red Skull or Norman Osborn. They were all far too ignorant to truly understand how benevolent his goals were...too ignorant to understand how much the world would gain from his rule. But with all four of these relics he would undoubtedly be able accomplish that. Perhaps that was why this woman, Amura, was willing to assist him. Perhaps she was able to see the bigger picture?
"Stand." Doom commanded. Amura silently obliged and stood up. "Before you are permitted to assist Doom you must first reveal why you are so willing to do so. Most of this world sees Doom as nothing more than a villain."
Amura stared at him for a moment with her gray eyes, as if trying to think of a proper way to word her response. "Because you are what's best for this world."
"...Elaborate."
"You rule this small country...this small nation. It's like an utopia here. There is no crime, no starving people on the streets, no mass disease outbreaks, nothing of the sort. Order is strict, but it is often better to sacrifice some freedom in exchange for safety instead of vice versa."
This was somewhat troubling. This woman was talking as if she had been in Latveria for an extended period of time. Yet Doom did his best to keep track of every citizen in Latveria and he had never seen this person before. His response was serious and its tone made clear what the consequences were for a displeasing answer.
"How long have you been in Latveria without my knowledge?"
"About a week, my lord. I came here to observe and see if you were truly worthy of the stones and I have concluded that you are. hence my presence here. During my time I have hid among the gypsies hoping to avoid your attention until the time was right."
"Hmph. At the very least, you are honest."
"I apologize for the deception."
Doom walked past Amura and further into the lab. "Your information of the stones shall decide whether you are punished for it or not."
"Talisma."
He stopped, waiting for her to explain what she just said.
"The stones are called the Talisma."
He had to be cautious. He knew this one stone had great power so it was natural to assume the others would as well. That was not his concern, however. This woman, Amura, was being ridiculously respectful. He enjoyed it, of course, but he knew it was best to keep his guard up. He knew little of her and it was possible she was simply attempting to use him to collect these "Talisma". If that were the case he would end her life immediately. But for now, it was best for him to simply go along and see what comes from all this.
"Come, Amura. We have much to discuss..."
Away from the beautiful blue planet, on the white heavenly body that orbits it, were two beings. One was a known inhabitant of this universe while the other was a newcomer. One was a tall man with a large head wearing blue and white robes. The other was a young woman with long blonde hair, dressed in a red and white dress with red-framed glasses. Both beings were looking down at the planet below; watching the events unfold. It was at this time that the tall man finally spoke.
"This event bodes dark times for the world and, most probable, the universe as well."
The woman nodded. "Yes, I'm well aware."
"What do you intend to do? As you know, I cannot interfere."
"Oh, please. Uatu, you've intervened several times for a multitude of other situations. However, I'm aware of you Watchers and your oath. So, I'll respect it and handle this myself."
The Watcher looked at her; his face showing no emotion whatsoever. "What is it you plan to do?"
"I'm from a completely different reality. Not similar to this one in the slightest. It'll be a tad bit difficult, but I believe I can summon a few of my own heroes to tackle this threat."
"Why not simply alert Earth's heroes? They have defeated many enemies and conquered countless threats. I am confident in their ability to pull through this as well."
"Because it's my responsibility. Where do you think those relics came from?"
Uatu said nothing in response. There was nothing to be said anyways. He knew what she meant and he fully believed it. If these "Talisma" had existed in this reality before, he would have had some knowledge of it. Their appearance here was as big a surprise to him as everyone else...actually, perhaps less so. After all, this woman next to him had appeared and warned him of their arrival a small time before it happened. She raised her arm as the cosmic being next to her watched on. A yellow light appeared in the palm of her hand and flew off into the darkness, entering the fabric of time and space and disappearing from their sight.
Uatu glanced back at Earth. "It will be practically impossible for your heroes to succeed without alerting any of the superhuman beings there."
The unknown woman simply smiled. "Then let's hope they play nice with one another lest Doom successfully acquire all the stones."
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Post by Jisui on Dec 4, 2012 11:13:13 GMT -5
Excellent opening : D Attracted my attention very well. The music was a good fit on that note, set the mood pretty well.
You set the setting for Latveria very well as well. But above all that, what I was most impressed about, was your characterization of Doom. Even if I don't really keep up with comics, you did a great job of getting me into his character through the writing/his interaction with Amura.
Solid start I should think. Good job so far.
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Post by Greed on Dec 4, 2012 16:10:27 GMT -5
I'm with Jisui on this. This is absolutely awesome, and I enjoyed reading it to the point where I was sorely disappointed that your post wasn't longer.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jan 21, 2013 21:17:56 GMT -5
Chapter 2 The Armored General
A bright light within his mind's eye. That's what it had to be. It had to be something within his mind itself. He was a being who required no sleep and his previous surroundings were nowhere in sight. His office with the metallic walls and that mahogany desk he was so fond of...it was all completely gone and replaced by this light and the mysterious woman within it. She looked completely normal. Long blonde hair, a white and red dress, and small glasses. Truth be told, her face was strikingly similar to the city's top doctor. However, such a similarity was irrelevant at this time. All he could do was simply watch her as she opened her mouth, speaking yet releasing no words. He understood her anyways, though. His mind was gradually filled with understanding of his new task and, when the golden woman's mouth closed, he solemnly nodded.
This would be his first journey to another realm, but those relics were dangerous; far too dangerous to have lying about in some unknown world. They were thought to have been destroyed years ago, but obviously that was not the case. He knew nothing of this woman and yet...he believed her so easily. He had a feeling within his guy that she could be trusted. After everything he had been through in his military career he now knew how trustworthy his gut was. His vision was then filled with light as he lost all feeling of his body.
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The First Avenger. The Star-Spangled Avenger. These were names normally associated with the living legend that currently sat in the living room of Avengers Tower. His mind was running through everything that had recently happened. The return of the Phoenix Force, its possession of Cyclops and the others, and all the destruction it caused. The death of Charles Xavier and Cyclops admitting he would do it all again...this just added more onto his mind. If there was a single good that that came out from the whole ordeal, it was the fact that Steve Rogers now knew he had made a terrible mistake. He hadn't done enough. When it came to the problems mutants faced, he hadn't really done much to help them. Sure, he fought alongside the X-Men several times and they had each saved one another's lives a dozen times over, but...was there ever really a time where he actively did something with the goal of helping mutantkind? He had never really gone up to any of the X-Men and said "Hey, it's wrong mutants are treated so unfairly. Is there any way I can help?"
It was time for that to change. Maybe a new team of Avengers, one incorporating both humans and mutants? Logan would surely want a part of that. He'd need to be consulted anyways since his help would be needed when thinking of others to recruit.
"So, what's with that look?"
Steve Rogers was brought back to reality by the voice. He looked to his side and saw that Tony Stark, also known as the Invincible Iron Man, had taken the seat next to him.
"What look?"
"The one you just had. That's usually the one you have when you're in deep thought or something." He shrugged and smiled. "Same kind of look when we're trying to think of a plan to save the world."
"Not really in the mood for jokes now, Tony."
"Huh. Figured."
...
"I haven't done enough."
This statement came as no surprise. After all, the industrialist was thinking the same thing. The whole ordeal with the Phoenix Force had shown both Avengers the same thing. Tony leaned back in his seat, looked up at the ceiling, and sighed.
"You mean 'we'. The Avengers as a whole didn't do enough. We've never really gotten involved with the whole mutant situation, after all. We just sort of stood back and let the X-Men handle it."
"Look how that turned out. Cyclops ended up losing his faith in humanity. He ended up becoming another Magneto."
The truth in that was still shocking. Years upon years ago no one would have thought Cyclops, the capable leader of the X-Men and Xavier's prized pupil, was capable of such things. He had always been strict, but was also kind-hearted and sensitive to the plights of others. He had always been able to keep his priorities in check while also keeping his humanity. Over time he began to change. He became darker and gradually began to lose himself. The sense of irony was not lost on the two Avengers. Magneto, who was often regarded as a mutant terrorist and focused solely on the survival of mutants, had joined the X-Men and became a trusted member and ally. He had become a better person and wished to redeem himself. At the same time, however, Cyclops was becoming more and more focused on mutants and began to care less and less about the average human. He had ended up becoming the very thing the X-Men fight against.
"So, what are we gonna do about it?" Tony asked as he stood up.
"I've been thinking about that and I think I have something."
"Oh?"
"A new Avengers team. One with both humans and mutants. That might be a good first step to showing people that mutants are just like us and should be treated the same."
Tony stroked his chin as he considered the idea. It could definitely work. The Avengers always did have a rather good reputation and having publicly-known mutants as members could definitely help ease tensions. It wasn't like they were short on reliable mutant superheroes anyways. Heck, most members of the X-Men were reliable and he was sure at least a few of them wouldn't mind joining. They wouldn't need to leave the X-Men anyways, so that wasn't a concern. If the Thing could be part of the Avengers and Future Foundation then the same could be done for the X-Men.
"I like it. We're gonna need some help figuring out who to recruit, though. We have a ridiculous amount of choices."
"Ha, that shouldn't be a problem. Let's check if Logan's got some time on his hands."
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New York City was a jungle of glass, stone, and metal. A metropolis filled with millions of people, each going about their daily routine. Cars, mostly taxis, filled the streets with the honking of their horns filling the air. To each of these citizens though, this was all a natural part of the day. Most would probably think the city was too quiet if these sounds were to vanish. But such an absence would quickly be replaced by the weekly attacks from giant monsters and robots, the monthly alien invasion, and the annual visits by a cosmic behemoth wearing a purple and blue uniform with an enormous purple helmet, who happened to enjoy devouring planets. So a tall man in dark blue armor with red jewels and wires appearing in the middle of a street was also considered normal. In fact, some were even thinking this man was a superhero of some kind, in league with the heroes natural to their world.
An unfamiliar city filled his vision while a deafening crash sounded about. Tall structures made of stone, metal, and various other materials surrounded him. Each one having countless windows and probably housing countless people. The streets had black pavement with yellow and white lines and the sidewalks were filled with people going about their day-to-day business. Or at least they would be if it were not for him having arrived in the middle of a four-way intersection. Unfamiliar vehicles stood still, their engines running loudly as their drivers beeped their horns even louder. He was rather perplexed by it all. A ten-foot armored man, such as him, appears in the middle of their city in a deafening boom and they don't even show the slightest bit of concern? It was as if such things were a regular occurrence here...
Of course, none of that really mattered. He was here to find the Talisma and that was it. The only problem was that he had little idea as to where to start. The woman that had brought him here had given him little information save for the fact that one of them was supposedly in this city. Given the size of the place...it was rather vague. There was little more he could do but simply ask around. But the constant beeping of horns was finally getting to the man and he turned to one of the vehicles. The unlucky one was a bright red sports car and its driver's expression quickly changed from one of annoyance to one of pure terror. She was a young woman with dark brown hair and was wearing black formal clothing. She had probably just gotten out of work and was on her way home, but none of that was in Veslir's mind as he raised a fist. He simply wanted them all to understand who they were dealing with.
The armored giant's fist came down on the front of the car, caving in the hood and lifting it forward. If he had put any more force into the blow, he would have flipped the entire car forward. The entire area became dead silent after this. The only sound was the occasional piece of garbage tumbling across the street.
Then all hell broke loose.
People began screaming and some quickly abandoned their vehicles while others tried to drive theirs away. Many of them crashed into other vehicles, filling the air with the cries of metal as it was torn apart and the shrieks of glass as it shattered. Veslir could only look as everyone around him was consumed with panic. The more logical part of him knew this was the most likely scenario but the emotional part of him hadn't cared moments ago. Truthfully, he was disappointed in himself. It was rare when he lost his temper like that, but given the graveness of the situation and the near-complete lack of direction, it wasn't too surprising that such a small thing made him snap a bit. There was little he could do now besides go on his way. After all, he was the one who caused this panic and it was highly unlikely he could defuse the situation on his own. Veslir sighed and began walking down the street. After all, he knew nothing of the location of the stone besides it being in this city. He was considering asking someone for aid, but that was impossible now.
Then he felt something hit him in the chest. He looked down at his chestplate and saw some kind of purple...arrow? It looked like a normal arrow save for the cylindrical tip. A moment later, the tip lit up and Veslir felt a powerful surge of electricity flow through his body. Of course, given his nature, this did absolutely not harm to him whatsoever. It merely tickled. He then looked ahead and saw a strangely dressed man. He was wearing a purple and blue outfit with an odd mask. His right arm was bare, save for a few purple straps, and his mask had two curved parts around the eyes. The thing that grabbed his attention the most, however, was the bow and the arrow currently aimed at him.
How peculiar. This world had rather advanced technology, yet here was a man who continued to use such outdated weaponry.
“A bow and arrows?” Veslir started. “What do you hope to accomplish with those? Considering the technology of your world I had assumed that any opposition I encountered would be using firearms.”
The man smirked, yet remained still; His arrow still aimed at Veslir. “I take it that you’re not from around here? Because if you were, you’d know who I am. If you knew who I am, you wouldn’t be talking crap about my bow.”
That helped explain things a little. If this man was as famous as he claimed, then perhaps his outdated weapon would actually be useful? Then again, the initial attack hadn’t fazed Veslir in the least. He had a job to do, but his curiosity over this man and his skills was too great to resist. He pulled the arrow off his chest and tossed it aside.
"Very well, then. I am General Veslir Orwep of the Camgi Order."
"Heh. Name's Hawkeye. Best marksman in the world and a member of the Avengers."
"Let us see if you truly have as much skill as you boast."
No time was wasted as Hawkeye immediately shot another arrow, the same kind as before, which Veslir quickly blocked by raising his arm. He felt the electricity flow through him and was once again completely unaffected. The armored general sighed, pulled the arrow off, and tossed it aside just like the other. Another arrow struck his side as he was doing this and erupted in an explosion of flame. This actually caused Veslir some pain and made him stumble back a step. If he had a mouth, he would be smiling. This man seemed to use a combination of outdated weaponry with his world's modern technology. A merging of ages. It was certainly unexpected and it told the general that he would actually have to try in order to win.
"What's the matter?" Hawkeye asked with a smirk. "You haven't moved an inch towards me and I already hit you twice. Scared?"
"Not at all. Merely seeing if you are actually worth any true effort."
Veslir jumped towards Hawkeye, reaching him in one bound and slamming a fist down. The archer backflipped and avoided the crippling blow, firing another explosive arrow in midair. He mentally cursed his luck as he saw the street crumble like styrofoam under his opponent's strength. As a part of the Avengers, he had faced several people who were physically stronger than him. He had managed to defeat several of them. But it never stopped being annoying. After all, how could someone not be annoyed by the fact that all it would take to lose is one hit, while it would take several good hits for them to win? If Hawkeye were younger and inexperienced, he would be using the words "completely unfair". But with all his experience and skills, he now called these battles a "nice challenge".
Veslir immediately raised his arm and blocked the arrow from hitting his head. The explosion sent pain throughout his arm, but it was fairly minor. He ignored it and closed in on the archer again, swinging his fist to the side. Hawkeye performed yet another backflip, but this time the armored giant grabbed his leg and threw him into the side of a nearby car. The door bent inward and the windows shattered from the impact. Hawkeye grunted loudly from the pain, but did his best to ignore it and rolled out of the car and to the side, barely avoiding Veslir's next punch which pierced the car's door like paper. The archer quickly moved away from his opponent, performing a few short jumps and landing on the roof of an abandoned taxi. He felt around his left shoulder, cringing in pain as he tried to figure out the damage. His entire arm was sore, particularly the shoulder, but he was still able to move it well. If there was any serious damage, it wasn't bothering him at this time. Which meant he was free to worry about it later.
"You are lucky." Veslir said as he started to slowly walk towards the archer. "From the injuries you seemed to sustain from that crash, I am willing to wager that you are a normal human. If that is the case, then you are extremely lucky that I did not put any more strength into that blow. You bones could have been ground into powder if I had."
Hawkeye simply looked at him silently. He knew he was right. Another hit like that and he might be unable to use his arm. If that were to happen, this fight would become significantly harder. But from the way this guy was talking, it was becoming obvious he didn't intend to kill him.
"Why are you here anyways? You said you're a general of some kind, right? So....what? You part of an alien race that wants to take our planet? Cause the last guys that tried that got beat down pretty badly."
Veslir raised an eyebrow at this. "Aliens? You have actually had aliens invade?"
Hawkeye smirked. "Yeah, you're definitely not from around here."
The armored general pushed aside the aliens comment. This man, Hawkeye, said he was a member of the Avengers before they fought. The Avengers must be some kind of team in this world and, judging from the one in front of him, they were most likely some kind of peace-keeping force. In that respect, they were rather similar to a group in his own world...although they lacked any kind of official name.
"You mentioned you are a member of the Avengers."
"Yep, you heard right."
"What exactly do you do?"
Hawkeye froze and stared at Veslir as if he had just grown twenty heads.
"You're being serious?"
"Yes."
He facepalmed and sat down on the taxi, whispering to himself. "Damn, you really, really, aren't from around here." He then looked at the armored general and sighed. "We're earth's mightiest heroes. We're a team that's saved the world, heck the whole universe, a bunch of times. We-"
"That's all I needed to hear."
Veslir suddenly appeared in front of Hawkeye, his eyes glowing bright with azure energy, and grabbed him with one massive hand as soon as he took out another arrow. He lifted him off the tax and brought his face inches from his.
"Call your allies now, or I will crush you like a tomato."
Hawkeye's expression was one of pain. After all, his enemy was currently crushing him ans it was only a matter of time until his arms broke, then his ribs, and so on. But the thing that surprised him the most was how quickly he had reached him. Just a moment ago he and the armored general were a few meters away from each other. But in one quick instant he had moved in front of him and grabbed him. The archer mentally cursed himself for letting his guard down and taking his opponent so lightly. Why did he want him to call the others though? Was this guy just looking for a good fight? If that were the case, he would get more than he could handle. The Avenger still had his arrow in his hand and it wasn't like the previous ones.
So he smiled.
"Why are you smiling, archer? You cannot escape from my grasp and I have enough strength to crush you to death in an instant."
"Heh. I'm smiling because I'm not the only one who's gonna go out if you do that."
Veslir narrowed his eyes, silently encouraging him to explain.
"I've still got an arrow in my hand and it's enough to take even you down. Your armor's made of metal and, even though I have no idea what you are underneath that, I'm willing to bet that you'll be in a lot of trouble if it gets destroyed. This arrow's one that will release an acidic explosion if used. So yeah, I'll die, but your armor will get completely wasted and so will you. The acid eats through metal like termites do wood."
"..."
"So if I go down, I'm taking you with me."
All the sirens and screaming around them became little more than a whisper. Both warriors focused solely on one another.
Until a large red fist appear and smashed Veslir in the side of his head, releasing Hawkeye from his grip and sending him into a nearby car. The force of the blow carried him through the first car and straight into a second, which was struck by a beam of blue energy and exploded, engulfing the armored general in fire and smoke. The archer breathed heavily and fell to his knees, clutching his sides in pain. He looked to the side and saw his saviors.
A large hulk of a man with red skin, black hair, and yellow eyes stood in front of him. He wore nothing more than tattered black pants. Hovering in the sky above him was a man in red and gold armor and a blond woman in a red and blue uniform with a red sash around her waist and a star-like symbol on her chest. Then the living legend himself walked up to him.
"Good job holding him off, Clint."
Hawkeye laughed. "Hey, I had things under control, Cap."
Captain America simply nodded as he helped his friend up, draping one of his arms over his shoulders. He looked at both Captain Marvel and Iron Man in the air. "Carol! Take Hawkeye back to Avengers Tower. Tony, can you do a quick round and check if there's any civilians nearby? If there are, get them to safety."
Iron Man nodded and flew off while Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, flew down to the street and took Hawkeye from their leader.
"I'll be back in a bit. Try to save some of the action for me."
Red Hulk laughed quietly and took a step forward. "Don't get your hopes up. This guy's mine."
"I'll keep that in mind if I get back and you're in a crater in the street."
Before anything else could be said, Captain America loudly cleared his throat. "There's no time for this. Carol, get going. Red Hulk, with me."
The crimson goliath next to him simply nodded and looked at the flaming wreckage ahead. Both Avengers were waiting for the armored general to walk out.
And he did not dissappoint.
Veslir came walking out of the flames and smoke, his armor covered in scratches and slight burns, but nothing visibly severe. He stopped and looked at his two new adversaries.
"I take it you two are also part of this Avengers group?"
Captain America nodded. "That's right. Now we're taking you in for injuring one of our own and endangering innocent lives."
He sighed and continued walking. "I am Veslir Orwep, gen-"
Cap interrupted him. "Red Hulk, now!"
The next thing Veslir saw was the crimson giant lunging at him.
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Post by Jisui on Jan 21, 2013 22:03:51 GMT -5
Chapter 2 : D As was the case before, I enjoyed this chapter. The opening bit with Captain America and Ironman talking to each other was a pretty cool bit that helped the set the setting a bit (the X-men/Avengers team hinted was neat). The gem of the chapter however, was definitely the second part, with the Veslir vs Hawkeye. The atmosphere, with the music, banter and descriptive detail to setting, was awesome. Really got me pumped.
He sighed and continued walking. "I am Veslir Orwep, gen-" Cap interrupted him. "Red Hulk, now!"
The next thing Veslir saw was the crimson giant lunging at him.
Cool cliffhanger as well. Can't wait for chapter 3 bishface (Y).
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Post by Advix on Jan 23, 2013 3:39:40 GMT -5
wow. pretty chaotic. a few typos here and there, but a fun read once Veslir hit the scene. The beginning confused me a little bit what with Cyclops killing Xavier in backstory. did that actually happen? it's been a long time since i followed anything from Marvel.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Jan 23, 2013 7:09:52 GMT -5
Yes, actually. Cyclops was corrupted by the Phoenix Force in the end of the Avengers vs X-Men storyline last year. Xavier tried to talk him down but he wouldn't listen and killed him instead. I would have expanded upon that and explained it a bit more, but I did not want to make it seem like that whole segment was just to explain that stuff. Technically, it was, but I did not want to make it obvious XD
I appreciate you two reading this.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Feb 11, 2013 21:42:04 GMT -5
[[ Yes, I am skipping Chapter 3 for now. I have it almost done, but I have recently hit a wall with it. So, I went ahead and moved onto Chapter 4 for now. You do not need to read Chapter 3 to read Chapter 4 since they have nothing to do with one another. Only difference is...well, Chapter 3 takes place before 4. I shall fix the order up once 3 is complete. ]]
Chapter 4 The Man of Darkness
The sky had turned black as the hours passed. Not a single dark cloud was present, yet the stars remained unseen. Of course, the city was a bastion of its own artificial lights. It was New York City, after all. The Big Apple, The Empire City, The City That Never Sleeps, whatever moniker was to your taste. It was a massive city filled with hundreds of lights. Anyone hoping to see the stars in such a place was either ill informed or a complete idiot. This was not to say that the city did not have its own sense of beauty, though. While during the day it was filled to the brim with people going about their busy schedules with the streets filled to capacity with vehicles, mainly taxis, of all kinds. Their exhaust and various gases gave the air a putrid smell, one that the city’s normal inhabitants had long grown accustomed to. At night, however, the city seemed to transform. The crowds were significantly smaller, fewer vehicles drove about, and the air was more tolerable. The various light fixtures gave areas their own attractive glows. There was even an occasional horse-drawn carriage, often carrying two lovers simply enjoying the night. It would be something that Laura Kinney, referred to as X-23 by those who were less than a friend, would take the time to admire if it were not for her current task. Laura was an attractive young woman with bright green eyes and long black hair, falling to the middle of her back. She wore a black leather jacket, black pants, and a black shirt that exposed her midriff. Needless to say, she was a fan of the color black. At this moment both she and her friends, Logan and Remy LeBeau, were simply standing on the sidewalk across from the site of one of the day’s earlier battles. Logan was somewhat short, standing a bit above five feet, but was fairly muscular. His hair was currently in its trademark horn-like style, but this was hidden by a dark tan cowboy hat. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and dark blue jeans, with his prized silver dog tags hanging from a chain around his neck. The relationship between him and Laura was complicated and confusing at times. They were close, but she was a female clone created from Logan’s DNA. This often made others see Laura as Logan’s daughter, and the two actually acknowledged each other as this for a time. However, it eventually dawned upon them both that, due to their extensive healing factors and reduced aging, they would continue to look the same for ages to come. This fact made them both start to refer to one another as brother and sister. However, they never bothered correcting anyone if they referred to them as father and daughter. After all, was there really a proper term for them? Both mutants had decided it was not worth all the thought and left it alone. The other man standing with them was also a mutant. One who often went by the codename Gambit. He had short brown hair and stubble upon his upper lip and chin. His eyes were a constantly bright red and he wore a long brown trench coat. Underneath the coat he wore a black t-shirt, black pants, and silver metallic boots. Gambit was a man with a checkered past, but his loyalty was always with his friends. He had become a close friend of Logan’s after the numerous battles the two fought alongside one another in the X-Men. While he became a close friend of Laura’s after helping her figure out all the gruesome details of her past as well as her place in life. The two of them had traveled the world together on their journey and now had a relationship similar to siblings. The trio continued to look at the ravaged street in front of them. "So..." Gambit started, "What happened here? It look like the Hulk went and threw every single car he could find right here." The street was covered in craters of varying sizes and long deep cracks were spread throughout the black pavement. The tattered remains of cars were strewn about the area and black smeared spots were the only reminders of the fires that blazed mere hours ago. Logan walked ahead and began sniffing the air. "Honestly, you ain't that far from the truth, Remy. Some guy from another world callin' himself Veslir arrived here earlier today. Said he was a General a' some kind. He got into a scrap with the Avengers and...well, this is what happened. From what Cap told me, the guy was strong enough to take on the Red Hulk." Gambit whistled, as if impressed by the destruction, while Laura looked at Logan quizzically. "If the Avengers managed to defeat the man, then what purpose do we serve being here?" "You never really dealt with any a' this otherworldly crap before, Laura. So I ain't surprised at you askin' that." The feral mutant answered as he continued to sniff the air. "From my experience, it's pretty damn rare when these guys come to another world all by themself." Laura quickly caught on. "You are attempting to familiarize yourself with the scent of this Veslir man so you can use that in an attempt to find any others that could have come along with him." Logan smiled as he saw her start sniffing the air as well. Her superhuman senses were on par with his, so having both of them trying to catch the scent would make this move along that much faster. Gambit scratched his head awkwardly as he watched the two clawed mutants sniffing the air like dogs. "So. What's ol' Gambit got to do? He ain't got a bloodhound's nose like you two do." "Keep an eye out for us." Logan replied. "We don't know nothin' about these guys, so for all we know they could be onto us and be plannin' on attacking us from behind." "'Course." Gambit smiled. "Have the thief keep an eye out. Makes sense." If someone outside the group were to hear that, they would assume the Cajun's remark was sarcastic. But Logan and Laura knew he was serious and meant his words. After all, Gambit was a very talented thief. He was skilled in nearly all things concerning breaking and entering. This also meant he had incredibly sharp eyes. A thief needed to be alert at all times after all. The next several minutes passed in relative silence. Then Logan and Laura stopped sniffing, having caught the appropriate scent, Gambit snapped his fingers in an effort to gain their attention. All three mutants looked at each other. The Cajun then pointed up towards the roof of the convenience store behind him, a signal the two clawed mutants understood in an instant. Whoever had a similar scent to Veslir was currently on that rooftop. Looking down at them for all they knew. Logan wasted no time and lunged onto the front of the building, digging his adamantium claws deep into the brick wall. The sound of metal piercing stone echoed throughout the area and a single red light looked over the edge of the roof above. Logan froze as he looked up at the light. It took only a single second for him to realize it was not a light. It was an eye. A single, glowing, red eye.
In that instant it was gone, accompanied by loud footsteps. Logan looked down at Laura and Gambit, who were already running into the nearby alleyway to cut off the retreating figure. No words were needed. They both saw what he saw and already knew what to do. The three of them were simply that well coordinated. No longer holding the element of surprise, Logan began tearing away at the brick wall, climbing it as fast as he could and, inadvertently, as loud as he could. Laura and Gambit sprinted down the alley, the female mutant taking the lead since she could actually hear the unknown visitor's footsteps more clearly. Gambit pointed ahead at an upcoming fire escape ladder. Laura nodded at him and quickly jumped, skipping the first "floor" of the fire escape and rushing up the remaining ladders. Gambit, unable to jump such a height without breaking his legs, and also lacking a healing factor, jumped onto the bottom ladder and began climbing up on his own. Laura soon made it to the roof of the building, seeing the retreating figure ahead of her. She rushed after it, slowly beginning to close the distance. Whoever it was had considerable speed, but not enough to outrun her. Once Logan finished climbing he would undoubtedly catch up to them as well. The black figure then reached the end of the roof, quickly coming to a halt. The roof ahead was across a rather wide street so, unless this person had incredible leg strength, it was not going to make the jump. Laura's assumption turned out to be correct as the figure turned to look at her, its left eye still glowing brightly like a flashlight. "You have the scent of the other man, Veslir, on you. I am assuming this means you are from the same place he..." She sniffed again. There was another scent. The figure's own unique scent. It smelled like death. The smell of iron was mixed with the figure's own individual smell. It smelled like blood and death. Laura was no stranger to these smells, given her past as a bloody assassin. This also meant she was no amateur and knew when something was a threat. She extended her claws. "Who are you and why have you come here?" She took a few steps closer and stopped when she got a full view of her adversary. He was slightly taller than her, probably by an inch or so. He was wearing a large black cloak, tattered at the edges with a large hood that shrouded his face in shadows. The cloak was secured by a silver chain attached to a single silver button on both sides of the collar. The man wore no shirt, revealing that his chest was covered in white bandages, and his black jeans had red designs streaking down the legs. The cloak had sleeves, which covered his arms, but a long silver chain fell through the sleeves next to his hands. It did not take a very observant person to realize this man had chains wrapped around his arms under the cloak's sleeves. The bandages gave Laura a sense of concern. Was this man injured? No, he was able to run as if he were in perfect health and the scent of blood upon him was old. If he was injured, it was in the past and likely no longer a concern. But this other scent...this man had killed. Many, many, times. Was he an assassin sent by Veslir? Laura could not help but feel a pang of pity. Perhaps the bandages were the result of his training? If that were true then he was similar to her in a way. But that did not matter at this time. This man was needed for questioning and it was obvious from the previous chase that he was not willing to come quietly. "Laura!" The familiar voice of the Cajun rang out as Gambit reached her side. Followed by Logan right behind him. He popped his claws, ready to fight at a moment's notice. "So, you're the other guy that came with that Veslir guy, ain'tcha?" The cloaked man stared at the group, his red eye moving from each of them in an endless cycle. Logan growled. "The silent treatment? Bub, I ain't a fan of the silent treatment. I reckon I got a good way to make you talk, though." He slid his claws against one another for emphasis, sending a few sparks towards the cloaked man. "Hold a moment, Logan." Gambit said, holding out a hand in front of his friend. "Maybe our strange visitor here...can't even talk, eh? He's cornered pretty badly and he ain't got nowhere to run. If he could talk, well I'd reckon he'd talk. He got two mutants with metal claws and healin' factors barin' their fangs right at him. Ain't no way he winnin' this." Logan sighed and shook his head. "Remy, you ain't got our noses so you can't really tell this. But this guy's got the smell of blood and death all over him. He's killed before...a lot. We ain't givin' him a chance to do anything. I say we take him down now and question him later." And with that statement, the Wolverine charged, extending both his arms and preparing to stab the cloaked man. As soon as the feral mutant took his first step, the man's right arm was surrounded by spiraling purple energy. This did not stop Wolverine from charging. He knew his opponent was preparing to attack, so he decided to simply gut him before he finished. Unfortunately, this was not how things were going to go. The violet energy dissipated, leaving a large silver scythe in the cloaked man's right hand. He swung it in a wide forward arc, which Wolverine barely managed to block with his claws. The force of the swing carried him a foot off the roof, sending him rolling to the side. He quickly regained his balanced and lunged at the cloaked man, ducking under another scythe swing and stabbing with his left claws. The man barely dodged this by jumping to the side, performing another horizontal slash as he back away. The feral mutant was prepared for his opponent's surprising strength and braced himself for the impact, managing to keep his footing as he blocked the scythe with his claws again. The two of them continued to clash as Gambit and Laura watched on the side. Both of them wanted to jump in and help their friend, but Wolverine's fighting was feral. It was difficult to jump into a close quarters fight with him and not risk taking his claws in the face. But they both knew they could not simply stand aside and let him fight on his own. The Cajun could not help but have a lingering feeling that this was excessive. Laura felt the same, albeit for a different reason. All these doubts disappeared when the cloaked man's scythe went right into Wolverine's side, forcing the feral mutant to release a pain bestial scream. He growled as he looked at his dark opponent in rage. The man's red eye paused for a moment as it shifted to Gambit and Laura, both looking at him in anger. It seemed as if he hesitated for a moment before pulling his scythe back to him, cutting through Wolverine's midriff. Blood poured from the open wound as he fell to his knees, realizing he needed time to heal. The time for inaction was over and Laura lunged forward to protect her father-figure, surprising the cloaked man and sinking her claws into both his shoulders. A loud yelp erupted from the man's bandaged face, which was the first time any of the mutants had heard his voice. It instantly revealed that, for the most part, the man was likely not human. His voice had a slight distortion, as if you were listening to someone through a radio. Laura wasted no time in wondering about this, however, as she quickly wrapped her legs around the man's mid-section and sprouted the claw within each of her feet; all while keeping her upper claws still embedded in his shoulders. Her foot claws sprouted straight into the cloaked man's back, causing him to yell again, and she quickly pulled her legs apart, bringing both claws out from her target's sides. The man screamed in both pain and anger and his red eye glowed even brighter, a trail of smoky crimson energy now rising from it. He glared at Laura and his body turned completely black, melting out of the female mutant's grip and reforming several feet behind her and Gambit. Blood fell from the man's wounds and his breathing was noticeably heavier. However, both Laura and the Cajun were more concerned with what the man had just done. "Laura." Gambit started, holding up a playing card and charging it with pink kinetic energy. "I don' know what this guy jus' did, but I got a bad feelin' 'bout it." She silently nodded in agreement. This man...he simply melted into the darkness and reappeared behind them. He felt like heavy air when he did that as she was wrapped around him. Her body had fallen right through him. Whatever he turned himself into, she was rather sure that her claws would not be able to touch him. She needed to take him down before he could do it again. Otherwise they would not be able to stop him. Laura lunged at the cloaked man once again, slashing both her claws to the side. He turned into darkness again and she simply fell through him. She landed on her hands and slashed at him with both her foot claws, which he also phased through. "Why do you keep trying?" He asked, finally speaking. She continued swiping her claws at him, but failed to successfully land any blows as he constantly shifted from his physical form to his darkness form. "You can't touch me. This is completely pointless. Stop being an idiot!" The man's tone was gradually shifting to one of frustration. "Why are you so obsessed with killing me? Because I hurt your friend? The other guy said you two had healing factors, so I figured he'd be fine." Laura said nothing. She simply continued to attack, each strike hitting nothing but the darkness. Each unsuccessful attack showing just how futile the battle was. But she was not a mindless animal. She was capable of observation and planning. As were her allies. The man of darkness, however, did not realize this and continued talking. "I don't want to fight you guys. Just tell me what you know about Veslir and I'll-" He was cut off as a playing card covered in pink energy crashed into his back, exploding like a miniature grenade and sending him sliding across the roof in his physical form. Laura paused and looked at Gambit, who was walking towards her and the downed man. "Ah, sorry about the wait, petite. Didn't wanna hit ya by accident. Took ya a while t' give me an openin'." The female mutant looked at him with a small smile, thankful for his assistance. The two of them approached the cloaked man. He was struggling to get up and coughing heavily. Gambit took out another one of his playing cards and surrounded it with kinetic energy again. "It don' look like dat lil' magic trick o' yours holds up to ol' Gambit's kinetic energy. Now I suggest ya stay down unless you be wantin' another blast." The Cajun was not saying the last part as a threat. There was no malice in his tone. It was simply a stated fact. Logan walked up behind the two of them, looking down at the man in anger. After all, no one would be happy with the person who nearly disemboweled them. His wound was healed, for the most part, but it was still an unpleasant experience. Logan kicked the cloaked man, sending him rolling a few feet, then stepped on his chest. He held up his claws in front of him and snarled. "Bub, you just pissed me off. Be glad we need you alive, otherwise I'd cut ya into mincemeat." He then looked at the man's shoulder's noting the wounds her received from Laura were healing already. "Heh, looks like you got a healin' factor like Laura and me. Good. Now I can do this." Before darkness consumed his vision, he saw three metal claws heading for his face.
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Post by Greed on Feb 12, 2013 0:22:55 GMT -5
Goddamn, nice chapter, you nailed Wolverine and Gambit. Though I have little idea of X-23, I'll just assume you nailed her too
... Also poor Carl lol. BUB'D
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Post by Jisui on Feb 12, 2013 1:03:52 GMT -5
OOF... you used Under the Moonlight That stings a bit, but I'll get over it. Anyway, on to the chapter: I thought it was the most well-written chapter you've done yet Slvr. Your attention to detail was nice, especially describing New York and the relationship between Logan/Laura (describing their relationship as a mixture of brother/sister/father/daughter/something unknown was a nice touch). Of course, your characterization of Wolverine/Gambit was great (like Sacchin, I haven't seen much of X-23, but you seemed like you stayed in character pretty well). The chase and fight scene with Carl was well done. I liked the redesign you did for him, seems more modern, but it retains his basic stuff, chains, robe and all. I was pulling for him to fuck up Wolverine, but alas, Gambit cheapshotted him : ( Good stuff Slvr. It's stuff like this that motivates me to push myself to finish my own stuff.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Feb 12, 2013 11:36:45 GMT -5
Thank you, both of you. I actually had to go back and re-read some of Mk.I's X-23 issues to see how Gambit talked, but it seems like it paid off in the end. Also, if one of you do not mind....can you edit my post and correct the many spelling mistakes I had? I wrote this using Notepad, so I had no spellcheck ):
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Post by Jisui on Feb 12, 2013 20:17:01 GMT -5
Thank you, both of you. I actually had to go back and re-read some of Mk.I's X-23 issues to see how Gambit talked, but it seems like it paid off in the end. Also, if one of you do not mind....can you edit my post and correct the many spelling mistakes I had? I wrote this using Notepad, so I had no spellcheck ): Done : D check your PMs.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Feb 13, 2013 16:49:31 GMT -5
I lied when I said I would fix the order of this story. I do not really have a way to stick a post before my Chapter 4 one and I do not want to mess up the order of the comments on it so...yeah. Here we are.
By the way, I am personally not a large fan of this chapter. I feel it is the weakest one out of all the ones I have written thus far. I do personally like the second half though. I believe it got better after that.
Chapter 3 The Hero From Another World
Stealth wasn’t something he normally did. After all, he was known in the superhero community for his nearly endless stream of one-liners and wisecracks. But he knew when to shut up. He wasn’t stupid after all. Now was one of those times. The Avengers were currently fighting some ten-foot guy in azure armor in the middle of the street. The Red Hulk and he were going at it like crazy, trading blow after blow. But, surprisingly, that wasn’t the wall-crawler’s main concern. His attention was focused on the man on the rooftop below him, the one silently watching the epic battle. There were certainly many strange characters in the world. Heck, there were vampires, sorcerers, giant green monsters, and basically anything else you could think of roaming the world. But there was something peculiar about this man…
He had light skin and black slicked hair with several blue streaks. He wore a blue t-shirt with two “tails” extending from the back, similar to a music conductor's coat, and black jeans. His brown boots had golden buckles at their top and his arm bands were the same: brown and gold. The wall-crawler continued to silently study the unknown man. He just couldn’t shake off the feeling that he simply did not belong. Maybe he was in league with the armored giant below?
Or not, since he just took off in the opposite direction. Spider-Man quickly pursued him, sticking to the higher buildings while the man below moved from rooftop to rooftop. In all honesty, he wasn’t completely about what to do. Part of him wanted to continue following and see where he went while another part of him wanted to confront him and find out just what he was doing. He decided to follow. If things started to look bad he would simply restrain the guy with his webbing.
As he continued following, it became more and more apparent where this guy was heading. It was only once he reached Queens and continued towards the East River was he able to confirm it. This man was heading to Ryker’s Island. The city’s main prison complex tucked between Queens and the Bronx within the East River. It was also possible that he was heading to The Raft, one of the main prisons for super-criminals. But that was something Spider-Man truly didn’t want to even think about. The last time there was a breakout at that place 46 criminals managed to escape. Sure, that incident also lead to the creation of the New Avengers, but it was still pretty bad.
The wall-crawler figured it was finally time to stop sneaking around and fired a web line. To anyone walking around, they would have seen a random line of web flying out of a tree’s multicolored leaves. The line smacked the black and blue haired man right in the back and Spider-Man pulled hard. The man was pulled off his feet and came flying towards the tree, crashing into it right after the superhero jumped away from it. The impact was a loud sickening crack as the tree’s bark cracked and branches snapped. The man fell out of it and onto the grass a moment later. Normally, Spider-Man wouldn’t have used such force, but from watching the guy jump from rooftop to rooftop and taking hundred-foot falls like nothing, it was pretty obvious he could take some punishment. Spider-Man landed in front of him and held both hands out, ready to web up the unknown man if necessary.
“So! I see you’re on your way to Ryker’s Island. Or The Raft. Could be either one since they’re basically right next to each other.”
The man looked at him with a confused expression and quickly stood up. “I really, really don’t have time for this. Just let me go about my business. That’s all I’m asking.”
“What exactly is your business? Can’t risk you making a break out at either place, so I really hope you had something good to say.”
“God damn it.”
Spider-Man suddenly felt a tickle at the base of his spine, his Spider-Sense, and instinctively flipped away from the man, who quickly slammed his fist on the ground and missed the wall-crawler by inches.
"Hey, hey! At least have the decency to give me your name before I embarrass you! Sheesh, it's like common etiquette among criminals died out or something. Usually you guys go off spouting your names, saying you're invincible, unstoppable, blah, blah, blah." The web-slinger dodged another downward strike from the guy, flipping onto the side of a tree and sticking there. The man looked at him and brushed his hand through his black and blue hair.
"You're really not fighting me seriously, are you?"
"Nah."
The man sighed. "Silv. My name's Silv Namre."
"Weird name, but fine. I'm your friendly neighbo-"
Spider-Man was then interrupted by a blast of concussive blue energy, sending him through the tree and rolling across the grass. He quickly regained his balance and hopped bacj onto his feet. He wanted to make another joke, but the new guy, Silv, was already in front of him. The costumed hero easily dodged the straight punch, but he felt the attack cut through the wind. This guy has considerable strength. Not like the Hulk, thank God, but it was something to be careful of. His speed was also something that was not to be underestimated. On top of that, this guy had energy blasts. If he could also fly then the wall-crawler would have considered himself fighting a male version of Captain Marvel! Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't beat him. He'd taken down Firelord and the Juggernaut before and, so far, Silv wasn't good enough to be on their level.
All of this thinking and comparing was done while Spider-Man continuously dodged Silv's attacks. It was quickly becoming apparent that, despite the guy's abilities, he showed a lack of actual skill. He showed no style to his fighting. He basically fought like a street brawler, similar to Luke Cage. Granted, Luke was still a pretty damned good fighter since he had years upon years of combat experience. This Silv fellow was showing...not as much. Spider-Man dodged a heavy downward kick and jumped onto the top of a tree.
"Do you always swing yourself around like a psycho or are you just saving your actual skill for someone else?"
Silv looked at him with a confused expression. "Are you trying to annoy me or something? So I get sloppy?"
"Sloppy? You really don't need my help for that!"
The black and blue haired man stopped and fully stood up. He turned and began walking away. "Okay, this is obviously a big joke to you so I'm heading out. Really have no time for th-"
Spider-Man jumped forward and bounced himself off Silv's back, sending the otherworldly man to the ground. "What are you in such a huge rush for? Seriously. Is causing a prison breakout that big of a thing for you?" Suddenly, he felt a screaming in his head. His Spider-Sense was screaming at him to be careful. Warning him that the man in front of him was now a serious threat. The wall-crawler wasn't exactly sure why this came out of nowhere but his answer came a moment later when a blue fiery aura erupted from Silv's body. The earth shook from the overflowing power and, while Spider-Man was having minimal trouble keeping balance, he knew that things were about to get difficult. He had been in this superhero business long enough to know fiery auras and a screaming Spider-Sense was not a good combination. From the feeling alone, he was pretty sure he'd be enjoying a confrontation with Carnage more.
Silv pushed himself off the ground, his eyes filled with azure energy and his aura twisting and turning like a sapphire flame. Spider-Man said nothing and simply readied himself for the inevitable attack. Neither hero had noticed the thin line of crimson energy that came streaking from space, heading towards a certain super-villain prison in the distance.
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The Raft was currently the world's largest, most secure, supervillain prison. There had been a mass break out a few years ago, but they had learned from their mistakes. The prison was located on an island next to Ryker's Island and had eight underwater levels, each one lined with dozens upon dozens of cells. Each cell was surrounded by thick steel and lined with the unbreakable metal, adamantium. Within each cell was a camera made of the same metal, allowing the guards to keep a constant eye on the inmates. Each prisoner's powers were neutralized by a collar wrapped around their neck, while those who gained their powers from technology were kept as far as possible from their weapons. Of course, after the last break out and such, whenever one of them were captured their weapons would be outright destroyed if possible. Each of the security guards were armed with upgraded Capekiller suits. These suits of hi-tech armor looked like a mix of modern army uniforms and medieval knight armor. Each was equipped with a jetpack, a firearm of the wielder's choice, and various other weapons. These were the same blue armor and weapons that were used by S.H.I.E.L.D. to apprehend rogue superheroes during the Superhuman Registration Act. These upgraded versions, however, built upon its previous version's strengths and reduced its weaknesses. A small army of trained agents using the suits could easily take on most of the B-list super-villains of Earth while being able to put up a decent fight against some of the tougher ones such as Carnage, Mandarin, Electro, and the Rhino.
Herman Schultz was one of the many inmates of the The Raft. Of course, to everyone else, he was known as the Shocker, a frequent foe of Spider-Man. Schultz was a high school dropout with incredible talent as both an inventor and an engineer. He ended up squandering his talents by turning to crime. He became a burglar and the world's best safe-cracker. He was eventually caught and imprisoned, but he managed to build a pair of gauntlets that allowed him to fire air blasts vibrating at high frequencies. The force of these blasts was enough to destroy concrete and cause serious damage to both the body's outside and insides. Schultz would soon cross paths with Spider-Man and became a frequent foe of his. With his gauntlets, and padded suit, he was a moderate threat. But he had no access to his weaponry within The Raft and could only sit in his cell. The memories of his past ventures were the only things to keep him company. At least, until a blinding crimson light filled his cell, accompanied by a loud crash.
The chatter of prisoners and guards filled the air as they all tried to figure out what had just happened. Schultz, however, knew exactly what caused it. Lying on the adamntium floor, right in front of his bed, was a small crimson orb. He got up and moved closer to it. It had bright white energy swirling within it, similar to the appearance of a galaxy. Normally, he would actually stay away from such a thing. Schultz may have been a criminal, but he wasn't insane nor stupid and knew when something was out of his league. Part of him knew getting involved with this object would be a mistake. But...he felt drawn to it. His feet moved, ignoring the mind of their master, and the burglar soon found himself on the verge of grasping the orb, his hand a few inches away.
"STEP AWAY FROM THE ORB, CRIMINAL SCUM! NOW!"
Schultz's eyes turned and stopped on the three armored guards that had just burst through his cell door. All of them had their weapons aimed. One at his head, another at his outstretched hand, and the last on his chest. He was a smart man. He knew when to back off. Unfortunately, he just could not ignore the call of the beautiful red orb. So he grabbed it and the guards fired.
Then all hell broke loose.
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The battle between the two heroes was getting nowhere. The sirens of police could be heard in the distance. Holes were spread throughout the streets while the grass upon people's yards was covered in web. Trees lied cracked or broken. There were even a few overturned automobiles. The usual peaceful area of Queens now looked as if a small hurricane had swept through. Silv had scored some good hits on the wall-crawler, but none were decisive. He was still jumping and swinging about as if he had only hit him with a paper ball. The otherworldly hero had taken some hits himself, of course. The web-slinging hero could definitely throw a punch and Silv was fairly certain that if he hadn't been filling his torso with his energy that he would have quite a few broken ribs right now. The fight was currently an endless cycle. One would attack, the other would dodge. When one blocked, the other would grab. Both heroes were beginning to reach the same conclusion. It was only the tall plume of smoke in the distance that made them actually stop.
Spider-Man looked to the side, noticed the smoke, and froze. He held up a hand, signaling his opponent to stop, and pointed out towards the tower of black smog. "Aw, man. Don't tell me you were a distraction or something, Silv."
He looked offended for the briefest of moments, but shook it off. "I should be doing this alone. There's some other guy I know around here, but I haven't talked to him yet."
"Is it that guy you were watching fight the Avengers before? Tall armored giant guy?"
A sigh and nod.
"Well, it was nice beating the stuffing out of you, Silv, but I should really go check on that burning super prison over there." He then turned and jumped onto the roof of a house, preparing to swing off towards The Raft. His opponent stopped him with a quick "Wait!" Spider-Man turned to look at him and sighed. "Seriously. I need to get going. Keep bothering me and I'll put so much web in your hair that you'll need to shave yourself bald."
Silv ignored the threat. "I'm going with you. I need to head to that place anyways. The...what'd you call it? The Raft?"
"Now why on Earth would I let you do that?"
"Because I'm not trying to cause a break out." He sighed as Spider-Man looked at him silently. It was clear that he'd need to actually explain what was going on in order to get the wall-crawler's help. "Look. There's these five relics that I've been sent to find. They're ridiculously powerful and I need to get them before they fall into the wrong hands. I was told one of them was on The Raft, the prison on that smaller island. But..." Silv looked at the smoke. "It looks like it might be a bit too late for that." He then felt something hit his back and found himself flying into the air. He looked up and saw that Spider-Man had stuck a web to him and launched another one at a flying helicopter. It seemed they were hitching a ride to The Raft.
The story would sound ridiculous to a normal person. But Spider-Man had dealt with such crazy things before. The Infinity Gems, the Cosmic Cube, the Tablet of Time, and more. There was a whole armory of powerful relics in the world and, while he hated dealing with them, he knew it was only a matter of time until some other ones appeared. Of course, if he was actually told that the relics were from a different dimension, the same one Silv and Veslir were from...well, it may have been a bit harder to believe.
The wall-crawler looked down at his passenger, his voice had a serious tone. "If I find out you're lying to me, Silv...well, magic world-destroying stones will be the least of your worries."
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The top of The Raft was a mess of craters, destroyed helicopters, and injured guards. The alarm was blaring and orders were being shouted.
"You two! Get them some medical attention!"
"He's on his way up!"
"Cover the doors!"
A dozen guards, clad in blue Capekiller armor, moved to the front of the building's doors. They all aimed their weapons forward, fully prepared to reduce the intruder to red mist. Unfortunately, that scenario was ridiculously unlikely and all the guards knew this as soon as the doors opened.
Within the hallway, walking forward, was a man covered in bulky red and yellow armor with a crimson orb in the chestpiece. His bright white eyes glowed as he moved and his large gauntlets shook with vibrating air as he held down their triggers. The amount of power within them was so great that it looked as if the very fabric of reality was rippling around them like water. One of the guards took a step back, asking his allies what the hell the beast in front of them was. None of them knew, but their commanding officer ordered them all to shut their mouths and stay focused. They all listened, steeled their nerves, and aimed at their armored figure. It wasn't until he was a few yards away that one of the guards finally realized who this man was.
"My god...is that the Shocker?!"
Several guards looked at him, then at their target, and came to the same conclusion.
"What the hell happened to him?! How'd he get that armor?! Wasn't someone supposed to destroy his gauntlets?!" Before anything else could be said, Shocker aimed one arm forward and released the trigger.
All the guards were sent flying back, crashing into vehicles, smashing into the ground, or flying straight off the island and into the water below. Shocker took a look at his gauntlets and smiled within his helmet. This armor came out of nowhere. It simply wrapped around his body as soon as he touched that red gem. But he didn't care. He was simply enjoying it. The possibilities flooded into his mind. He could get as much money as he wanted from an unlucky bank. He could get enough to live the rest of his life comfortably. His smile grew wider and he advanced forward, ignoring the bullets bouncing off his armor.
"Out of the way, people! Friendly neighborhood superhero and his lowly sidekick coming to the rescue!"
Some guards ignored the voice, while others looked at its source, thankful for the arrival of one of the city's many superheroes. Spider-Man had landed on the ground, dropping Silv and letting him roll forward. Any joke that the wall-crawler was about to spew got locked in his throat as he saw the armored hulk in front of him. If it were not for the vibrating gauntlets, he would have guessed it was Iron Man from the red and yellow armor alone. It looked rather similar to one of his earlier Hulkbuster armors after all. His inner musing was interrupted by Silv cursing under his breath.
"Y'know, Silv...that's exactly how I feel too."
"Yeah, but you'd be even more worried if you know exactly what was going on."
Spider-Man shrugged and looked back at Shocker, who was slowly making his way to them. "So old Shocker's got some new toys. Big whoop. I took on Colossus before, who has the powers of the Juggernaut stacked onto his, by the way."
Silv looked at him as if he suddenly sprouted four arms and the wall-crawled scratched his head awkwardly. "You're...really not from around here are you? That or you've been living your life under a rock."
The azure hero decided against commenting on anything his ally just said and turned his attention back to Shocker. "You see that red gem in his chest?"
"Power source?" Was Spider-Man's best guess.
"Basically. That's one of the relics I was telling you about. It's the Talisma of Power. It's got the ability to increase its wielder's power by a ridiculous amount. Of course, the actual physical changes are always different."
"That explains how he got that new suit... God, it's like the Infinity Gems all over again."
"The what?"
Spider-Man fired a web line at the gem, hoping to pull it out before Shocker got close enough. "I'll tell you about that little adventure some other time, Silv. It's a bit of a doozy." The armored criminal in front of them reacted fast enough to cover the gem with his arm, blocking the web from hitting it. He began to cackle in joy as he ripped the webbing off and tossed it onto the ground.
"Ha! Man, this is just too perfect! I get this crazy marble that gives me this awesome suit and now I get to beat down the bastard that's annoyed the hell out of me for all these years!"
Spider-Man crouched down, ready to move at a moment's notice. "Aw, don't be mad at me, Schulzty! If you didn't always go out and try to rob something you wouldn't have been thrown into this place every month!" Silv then stepped in front of the wall-crawler, looking right into the Shocker's white eye-plates. "Listen, I don't know who you are, but it's obvious you and Spider-Man have some history. I just want to ask you for that relic you have in your chest, then I'll just be on my way. That thing is extremely dangerous and, honestly, you're gonna end up hurting yourself the most in the end if you keep using it. So, I'm giving you once chance to surrender and hand it over."
The azure hero's attempt at a peaceful resolution fell on deaf ears as Shocker raised his hands. "Nah, I think I'll just keep this thing and use it to crush both of you into the ground!" Spider-Man felt his spider-sense go off and instantly grabbed Silv a mere moment before the villain pressed released the triggers of his gauntlets. The superhero jumped into the air with his surprised ally, narrowly avoiding the blast of vibrated air that crushed the unfortunate helicopter sitting behind them. The wall-crawler looked down at the shredded metal as he flipped through the air, releasing Silv partway through the jump so he could land on his own. Spidey was never really that good with landing properly while holding someone by the collar of their shirt after all.
Silv landed on his feet hard, denting the metal floor of the The Raft. He wasted no time and immediately ran towards Shocker, pulling his fist back and winding up for a punch. "Fine, if you're gonna be an idiot and just let that damned relic screw with your mind, I'll be more than glad to rip if out of your chest by force!" His fist connected with Shocker's and the two were at a standstill. The metal plating beneath them cracked as they pushed more strength into their fists, each of them hoping to overpower the other. That is, until Shocker said "Screw this". and smashed his free fist into Silv's face, sending the otherworldly hero crashing into several nearby crates.
During Silv's and Shocker's clash, Spider-Man had swung up to a high point on The Raft, specifically the tip of its long radio antenna. He quickly scouted out the area, noting that most of the guards were retreating with their wounded. This was definitely the best choice since it would be harder for him to fight if he had to keep a constant eye on them. Since they were moving away from the fight, the web-slinger could focus almost all his attention on taking down Shocker. He then saw Silv go flying into a pile of metal crates, having lost his little power struggle with the villain.
"Welp, looks like it's my turn. Of course, jumping at him when he's all powered-up like that is stupid. There should be something..." His eyes then stopped on the remains of the helicopter from before. It was torn apart, but there was still a fairly large chunk of it intact. Obviously it would never fly again, but that wasn't what he had in mind. Spider-Man leaped off the antenna and swung back down to the battle at the same time that Silv got back up.
The azure hero dusted himself off and glared at his opponent. It was a rookie mistake. He didn't keep his eyes on his opponent's other hand, which was the mistake of an amateur. He was Silv Namre! The guy who saved his whole world from the very armies of Hell itself! He wasn't going to go down from some two-bit criminal who happened to get his hands on one of the most powerful magical items of his own world. The last part of that statement made part of Silv's mind acknowledge just how difficult this fight was going to be. But the fact he survived a punch from someone using the Talisma of Power showed Shocker didn't know how to fully use it. That would have to be his saving grace. Silv cracked his knuckles and began walking towards his opponent. He would be lying if he said there was not a part of him that was enjoying this fight. After all, he rarely got any fights in his own world due to his reputation. Most criminals were too afraid to attract the attention of "The People's Hero".
"All right! Let's try that again!"
Shocker smiled under his helmet. He wasn't normally a big fan of fighting, but it was fun to throw around all this power. He was beginning to understand why some people enjoyed fighting.
Until a giant mass of metal was swung into his back like a wrecking ball, sending him flying past Silv and skidding, face down, across the floor. Spider-Man stood several yards away holding a web-line attached to the metal mass, trying his best to hold in his laughter. "You know, I think I get why Thunderball likes carrying that wrecking ball of his all the time. It's actually really fun hitting people with this thing!" The azure hero whistled, impressed by the wall-crawler's attack.
"Well what are you waiting for? Hit him again!"
Spider-Man laughed. "Ha, already doing that!" He swung the makeshift wrecking ball above his head, ready to slam it down upon Shocker's downed body. However he turned over at the last second and, to the shock of the two heroes, caught the ball with a single massive hand. "Alright web-head...that was the only lucky shot you're getting!" He threw the massive metal ball back at the wall-crawler, who cursed in surprise and immediately rolled to the side, avoiding the massive projectile. Silv, on the other hand, was not as lucky and took a direct hit, being carried with the ball and flying off it once it crashed onto the floor, sending him to the other side of the complex. Spider-Man watched as his ally flew through the air, visibly cringing when he saw him smash face-first into the steel flooring.
"Hey Silv! You all right?!"
No response. Although he could see the azure hero slowly trying to push himself back up. It looked like he was down for now, leaving the situation up to him.
Then his spider-sense screamed at him and Spider-Man jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding another blast of vibrated air. He heard Shocker's boots stomping on the floor and knew he was running towards him, probably trying to punch him or something. Bad guys never really learned, did they? Everyone should know by now that most of the big guys couldn't touch him. He had a sixth sense bordering on precognition for God's sake! The web-slinger jumped backwards again, firing a web line at Shocker's back and pulling himself towards the villain like a slingshot. The impact was strong enough to push him into the floor and Spider-Man continued his assault by bouncing off his head, firing another web line at his opponent's helmet. He slammed his foot onto the floor, loosening one of the metal plates, and stuck the other end of the web line to it. Shocker let out a loud growl, showing he was beginning to lose patience. Good. He was the type of person to get even sloppier when pissed off.
Spider-Man's plan worked perfectly. Shocker forced himself back up as quickly and forcefully as he could, snapping his head up to see his target. Unfortunately for him, such a sudden and forceful movement pulled the web line on the back of his helmet so hard that is ripped the metal plate off the floor and straight into his face, sending him falling onto his back. The well-crawler began laughing as he swung around, trying to find another way to anger Shocker even more.
"Wow, you've gotta be kidding me, Schultzy! You have a gem that gives you god-like power, yet you still can't beat me! Honestly, I think this is a new low for you. Heck, the Mole Man's an even bigger threat than you now!"
That was it. He could not take it anymore. Herman Schultz, the Shocker, had been beaten by Spider-Man for years. Every time they fought the fights seemed to get shorter and easier for the wall-crawler. He became less and less of a threat as time passed. Even now, when he had this mystical armor from this crimson gem, the bastard was still mocking him! Still not taking him seriously! If Shocker was his normal rational self, he would have taken this fight as a sign he needed to get away while he was ahead. He still had the gem. That was more than enough. But he was consumed by his rage. Consumed by hatred for the web-slinger for turning him onto a joke. For years he had to take this, but now he had had it.
Simply put, he snapped.
"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGHHHHH!" Shocker roared in white-hot fury, slamming his fists onto the floor and shaking the entire island. Spider-Man's laughing stopped immediately and he landed on the side of a small building. The villain glared at him like a demon as the very fabric of reality seemed to ripple around his gauntlets like water. "You wanna make jokes?! You wanna keep laughing at me?! Well how about you laugh at this?!"
"Shocker..." Spider-Man said, his voice unusually serious.
He then released the triggers of his gauntlets, pouring all the power of them into the surface of The Raft. It felt like the entire place was being hit by an earth-shattering quake. Cracks tore through parts of the flooring, buildings, and the island itself. Shocker pressed the triggers and raised his fists again, preparing for another strike. "How about I take down this whole damned island?! How about I throw every one of these mooks into the sea?! YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY?!"
No words were said as Spider-Man leaped off the side of the building with such speed that he was little more than a red and blue blur. He had to stop him. That first blow showed he could actually do this. With that gem, Shocker was truly capable of sinking the entire island. It was impossible for Spider-Man to save all the prisoners as well as the guards and staff. He was just one man. So he needed to avoid that situation entirely. He needed to take down Shocker now! It didn't matter that he was stronger than him. It didn't matter that his bones could be turned to powder from a single bad hit from the guy. He needed to stop him no matter what!
Spider-Man collided with Shocker using his full strength, the two of them rolling back as he peppered the villain with a flurry of lightning-fast punches, too fast for him to even react to. This was how a serious Spider-Man fought. This was how an angry Spider-Man fought. When he was like this, the wall-crawler was nearly unstoppable. Normally that would be the end of it. The villain would go down and the superhero would be victorious.
But this was anything but normal.
Shocker regained enough of his senses to finally counterattack. Spider-Man was still on top of him, smashing him across the head and chest with a storm of punches and kicks. It hurt like hell and, if he didn't have this gem, Shocker would have definitely been a battered bloody mess now. But he did have this gem. He was several hundred times stronger than normal. And he showed it by forcing his head forward, too fast and sudden for even Spider-Man to avoid with his spider-sense. The headbutt was a direct hit, hitting the superhero's nose and forcing him to stumble back. "Not laughing anymore, are you?!" Shocker screamed as he quickly got up, charged, and punched the superhero in the stomach, releasing the trigger of his gauntlet at the same time. A powerful burst of vibrated air fired, sending Spider-Man flying back and into the wall of the guard barracks.
Pain. That was all Spider-Man felt at this time. The world spun around him as he flew through the air, coming to a halt as he made contact with a steel wall. He slid off the wall and fell onto the ground, his vision sprinkled with black dots. He forced himself to remain conscious and tried to stand back up. The pain in his abdomen was too much and he fell back to his knees, coughing up blood. He lifted up the bottom part of his mask, spat out the crimson liquid, and resumed his attempt to stand. He felt his torso with his fingers, trying to survey the damage. Two cracked ribs and some nasty pain coming from his stomach, along with...was that blood under his mask? Yep. His nose was bleeding. He really hoped his stomach was not torn open from that attack because that would seriously ruin his day. He looked ahead and saw Shocker standing several yards away from him. He wasn't moving. He was just looking at him. Shocker was not the type to gloat, so...wait.
Why was Silv glowing?
Silv was conscious during all of this. His body was filled with pain and he found it difficult to move. The giant mass of metal from earlier was covered in jagged edges, many of which cut through several parts of him. He felt the warm crimson liquid seeping out from his wounds. He felt it falling from one of his shoulders, one of his arms, his chest, and one of his thighs. The smell of iron was heavy around him and he knew he was in trouble. He shifted his head so he could get a better view of the battle, just in time to see his superhero ally take a horrific blow from Shocker. The wall-crawler had gone flying past Silv and straight into the wall of a building, sliding down and falling face down. He tried to get up, but fell to his knees quickly, spitting out blood afterwards.
Things were going poorly. Both of them were heavily injured while their opponent seemed to be fine. How often had Silv been in situations like this? How often had he and his friends been down for the count, yet pulled through in the end? It happened so often that it should have been something they could make a career out of. So why was this different? Why did Silv find it so much harder to get up this time? Perhaps it was because he was alone in this struggle? His friends were not here. Only he was. His friends and loved ones remained in their own world. They were not here to see this. To encourage him. To help him.
No, that was not true. Silv was not alone. He had the wall-crawler here as his ally. He fought alongside him against this beast, he believed his ridiculous story so easily and assisted him without a single complaint. This was a familiar, yet unfamiliar, situation. He had fought alongside unknown people before, but very rarely had they shown to be so heroic and selfless of their own accord. On top of that...these were the Talisma he was dealing with. The stones of god-like power from his world. He may not have been the reason the relics arrived here, but he was still responsible for them. They were capable of unimaginable destruction and this world would be consumed by them unless he got up and stopped this bastard right here...
Silv's arms began to glow, the veins within them filling with bright blue energy that became visible even through his sleeves.
Reinforcement. A skill that was long abandoned in his world. The art of using your own natural energy to enhance the abilities of your selected body part. His other techniques were child's play compared to this. His power to create duplicates of his limbs from pure energy, the "Ghost Limb", was a simple, yet effective, skill. His fiery blue aura...when it was active it allowed him to use the full natural power and speed of his body, regardless of injuries.
The veins within Silv's legs glowed next, filling with magnificent azure power.
Reinforcement was leaps beyond both those skills in complication and effectiveness. It pushed his body beyond its natural limit, allowing him to move, think, and strike better than he ever could normally. It was if he were overclocking his actual body. This meant this art had risks, like any other. Each reinforced body part like like a container, holding all of its extra energy and releasing it when opened.
The veins within Silv's torso flashed with energy, glowing like a neon sign.
Like any container, though, each part had its limits.To go beyond the capacity could result in crippling injuries. Hence why the art had been abandoned and replaced by safer, yet weaker, methods.
The veins within Silv's head brightened, showing an outline of his brain.
It was always recommended that a person only reinforce two body parts at once. The azure hero currently had six.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, no?
Silv got up from the floor, fully standing up as if he were not the least bit injured. The bleeding cuts on his body said otherwise, but he did not feel them. Or, better yet, he ignored them. Right now his mind was focused on only one thing: Taking the Talisma of Power from Shocker, no matter what.
Shocker laughed as he saw the glowing hero stand. "Heh, what? You me to beat you down again?" He felt a small bit of the power emanating from his opponent, but thought nothing of it. After all, he had a god-like gem that gave him armor strong enough to destroy a whole island. There was absolutely no way this weird guy could do anything to him, right?
Shocker found out just how wrong he was when he blinked and saw Silv suddenly standing a single foot away from him. Before he could say a single surprised word he felt a fist connect with his face and the world spun around him as he went flying into the air. His face was in incredible pain and he could taste blood in his mouth. Fear shrouded Shocker's heart as he realized he had taken actual physical damage. This glowing man...whatever he did to himself made him strong enough to actually hurt him through his armor now. He had no time to think of anything else though as he felt something tap his chest. Looking down, he saw it was a thick line of white webbing. His eyes moved towards the surface below and he saw Spider-Man had managed to force himself back up, leaning against the wall of a structure. The wall-crawler pulled the web line with all his strength and pulled Shocker from the air and down towards the surface. Silv quickly moved towards his landing zone and winded up for another punch.
No. It could not end like this. He had beaten down both these idiots. Why were they still standing?! He had this gem of incredible power, but he was still losing?! No, no, no! It was ridiculous! Shocker refused to let the battle end in such a way and pulled both his fists back, ready to counter Silv's strike with his own.
The two of them clashed loudly, the force of their colliding fists creating a hurricane-level torrent of wind and sounding like a cannon. The steel floor dented under the pressure of the titans as they struggled for supremacy. Shocker released the triggers of his gauntlets while his fists were pressed against Silv's and the boom of his vibrational air shot echoed. Yet, the azure hero remained. He had poured more energy into his arms a second before Shocker's attack and, as a result, was able to withstand it.
Then a sickening pop was heard as blood spurted out from Silv's right arm, signaling he was pushing it too hard. He grimaced in pain but continued to hold against Shocker. The villain saw this though, and pressed forward with newfound vigor, smiling under his helmet at the fact victory was near.
"So, you mind if I borrow this while you two duel?"
Shocker's eyes widened and he looked down at the floor, seeing Spider-Man crouching in front of him with his hand on the crimson gem embedded in his chest. He simply looked at the wall-crawler in frozen terror, knowing his end had finally arrived.
"Didn't think so." Spider-Man said as he grabbed the gem and pulled it from Shocker's chest, quickly jumping away from the battle. Red electricity burst forth from the villain's chest and he screamed in rage and agony while pieces of his armor shattered like glass and faded from existence. Silv ceased his assault and quickly hopped away from the screaming criminal. Less than a minute passed before Herman Schultz was left in his prison uniform, sitting on his knees and staring at his hands in disbelief. He looked up at the azure hero who simply shook his head. His veins lost their glow and he returned to normal, falling down onto his back from exhaustion.
Spider-Man made his way over to his ally, looking at the red stone in his hand. He then looked over at their defeated enemy and swiftly punched him in the face, knocking him out.
"Okay, Schultzy. Now I'm not visiting you anymore."
Silv let out a tired laugh. The Raft's guards then began to come out from their hiding places, each one cautiously approaching the area. If anyone said anything, it was drowned out by the loud roar of an engine. The wall-crawler looked up at the sky and noticed a blue flying car was descending towards them. He would be pretty angry with his fellow superheroes for being late if he was not already overcome with relief that the Shocker had been defeated. There were four people within the descending vehicle.
'Well, Silv." Spider-Man started. "You stay here while I go explain to Reed what happened here. You look like you're about to drop dead after all."
Silv said nothing and simply looked at the four newcomers.
A man with short, neat, brown hair that was white at the bottom. His body seemed to stretch as he made his way out of the vehicle. Next to him was an attractive woman with should-length blonde hair and blue eyes. Behind those two was another man with short blonde hair and blue eyes, similar to the woman. They were most likely siblings. The last person was...well, something that was rather unusual. He was humanoid in form, but his body looked like it was made of craggy orange rocks. All four of them wore matching blue and black uniforms with the number 4 on the chests. Except for the orange rock-man. His 4 was on the buckle of his belt since he was not wearing a shirt.
The wall-crawler approached the azure hero and helped him stand up, draping one of his arms over his shoulders.
"Silv, this is the Fantastic Four. Pretty cheesy name, I know, but they're pretty cool."
The orange rocky man made folded his arms and made a sound that was probably a chuckle. "Yeah, yeah. Come on web-head. Get him into the car and we'll get this whole thing sorted out."
Then everything went black as Silv finally lost consciousness.
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Post by Jisui on Feb 13, 2013 17:55:02 GMT -5
A 7000+ word chapter? I approve (Y) nice effort. As for the chapter, I don't know why you think it's a bad chapter. I actually liked it, because: 1) You did a good job with Spider-man, his quips and overall attitude were amusing in contrast with Silv. I just enjoyed reading his character overall. 2) Silv AKA the "People's Hero" AKA "My body is made out of swords" was a badass this chapter. When Emiya started playing , and he started talking about Reinforcement, I half-expected him to use Unlimited Silv Works and douse Shocker in blue swords or some shiz That shit was awesome :< 3) Very action oriented chapter, but I think this chapter also had the best fight scene out of all the chapters yet so far as well. Again, 7000+ words for a chapter is nice, and I ended up enjoying the extra length of it as I read. Keep up the good work Slvr! You're a machine or something, getting off another chapter so soon : D
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