Agent Clint Barton stood on top of a train station, an arrow set in his bow. He had been sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to take out a Russian spy. She was supposedly the most deadly assassin in the world, codenamed the Black Widow. By some stroke of luck, a few agents had discovered her next mission. Now it was up to Hawkeye to stop it, once and for all. He noticed a woman in a beige trench coat approaching the station. Her long black hair got in the way whenever she tried to look over her shoulder; Barton could tell it was a wig. The target had arrived. He pulled back his arrow, preparing to shoot. It wasn't the ideal place to take out the spy, but Hawkeye knew there wouldn't be another chance. He let go. In a split second, the Black Widow drew a pistol and shot the arrow out of the air. Then, she ran inside. Clint stopped for a second, confused. In all his time as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, no one had ever shot down his arrow. Realizing his target was almost gone, he jumped down from the roof and chased her. They rushed through the train station as civilians hid from the gunshots. Black Widow turned her head for a second, and Barton got a brief glimpse of her face. He stopped in his tracks, his mind racing. No, he thought. How... how do I know her? How do I know her name? "Natasha?" he yelled. The Black Widow stopped and turned around, pointing her gun at Hawkeye. "What did you say?" "Natasha," he repeated. "You're Natasha Romanoff." She cursed in Russian. "Who are you, and how do you know that name?" "I'm- I'm Clint! Don't you remember me?" He winced. "I guess you don't... I don't know why I know you... I was sent here...." "S.H.I.E.L.D. is getting pretty desperate for agents. Goodbye, 'Clint'." The gun went off, and Barton fell over. He opened his eyes, and he was back on the roof of the train station, bow in hand. "This," he said, "is getting weird."
Natasha Romanoff sat in her bed, holding one of her guns in her lap. "Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.," she said. "I'm supposed to be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." She stood, leaving her pistol on the bed. Memories flashed through her head. She remembered her training at the Academy. She remembered her work as an assassin. She remembered doing everything they told her to do, even though she knew it was wrong. And then S.H.I.E.L.D. came along. They sent Hawkeye to take her out. Instead, she became his partner. Together, they took out the 'bad guys'; even as a 'good guy', she couldn't escape her training. She approached the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. She gazed deeply into her reflection. Wavy red hair. A black t-shirt and jeans. "I guess this is what I am," she said. "This is all I'll ever be. A monster." Her chest filled with anger. "At least I can still feel. At least they didn't take that away from me." She walked back over to the bed and lifted the gun. She fired a shot at the mirror. The explosion filled the room with sound, and glass covered the hardwood floor. All was silent once again, and she collapsed onto the bed. A tear escaped her eye, but she stood back up. "I can't let this be my life," she weakly said. "I need to show them the monster they created. I need to make them regret the day they took Natasha Romanoff into the Red Room." She grabbed the gun once again, and opened the door. But rather than a dimly lit hallway, she only found a metal wall. "What?" She took a step back, aghast. "No, I... I need to get out." She pointed her gun and shot the obstacle in her path, but the bullets simply bounced off and fell to the ground. "I need to get out... I NEED TO GET OUT!" She continued to shoot the wall, screaming, choking back tears. But at the end of the day, she was left alone, locked in her room. The only villain left to face was herself.
Bruce Banner lied in the street, sweat dripping from his body. He couldn't remember how he got there; in fact, he couldn't remember anything from the past twenty-four hours. The last thing he remembered was- "Oh no." He jumped up and looked around. Flames bathed the city, and people were trying to get away. "What have I done?" "What are you doing?" yelled a middle-aged man from the sidewalk. "Put on some clothes and get away! That crazy doctor is attacking the city!" "I... I can't go with you." "Don't try that bravery stuff with me! That thing will rip you apart if you go in there!" Bruce started to hyperventilate. "No, really. You need to go right now. I'll be fine." "I'm not leaving anyone behind!" The man hurried across the street and grabbed Banner by the arm. "What's your name?" "Please, they're coming for me!" "Sir, you're in shock. What is your name?" The bald man had circular glasses and and grey mustache. He was dressed in a navy blue coat and beige pants. "My... my name is Banner." "Banner? And what's your first name?" "It's Bruce, sir. Please, go save yourself." "Bruce Banner, pleased to meet you. Your name sounds familiar." The man's expression slowly changed from caring to horrified. "Oh my God. You're the crazy doctor." Banner's legs almost gave out. "Please... leave." The man fell down to his knees, hands clasped together. "I have a wife and a daughter. I'll do anything, please don't smash me." "I don't want to smash you! Run away as fast as you can, before they show up!" "Thank you so much." The man scurried away, leaving Banner alone. A gunshot rang out from above, and the doctor felt his state of mind slip into that of the Hulk.
"You were supposed to be my heir!" Thor and Odin stood in the Asgardian throne room, glaring at one another. "And what am I now?" yelled the God of Thunder. Odin sighed. "You are nothing but a disappointment." Thor took a step back. "Father." "No, it is my fault. I trained you to be a great warrior, when I should have trained you to be a great king." "A great king must be unafraid to wage war on those who threaten Asgard!" "A great king must create peace within the Nine Realms! Buri was able to do so. I thought you could follow in his footsteps, but I have been proven wrong, time and again." "Buri is dead! The days of peace are long behind us!" "Long behind us? I don't recall battling back the Frost Giants." "Every kingdom laughs at your weakness! The Dark Elves, the Frost Giants - even the Dwarves of Nidavellir - they plot our demise while you sit on this throne!" "You must be mad! I tried to raise you in the image of my grandfather, but I have simply created another Asgardian warmonger." "So you admit it, then? You admit your conquests of the Nine Realms?" "I was young, hungry for power! Most of all, I was a fool. Thor... I wanted you to be better." "I will be better. I will crush our enemies, and make Asgard the greatest of the Nine Realms once more!" "You simply do not listen! I vow to you now: you shall never become king while I am still alive to stop you." "As if your word means anything!" "That is enough! You must learn humility the hard way. I shall send you to Midgard, and you shall live as a Mortal." "You know you can't do that, father. What about Mjølnir?" "The hammer must stay with me. Goodbye, son." Odin slammed down his spear, Gungnir. "You're serious? Father, please!" But it was too late. Thor had been teleported to Midgard via the Bifrost. He had no choice but to take on the life of a mere Mortal.
"Reveal to me all that you detect." Every imprisoned soul in the depths of Hell lit up for Victor Von Doom. His armored hand pressed against the orange stone hanging from his neck. "Show me which are counted among the living." Six of the millions remained in view, in the distance. "As I feared, they have come and they have been punished. I must save them." His armor clinked as he ran toward the lights. As he reached them, a deep voice spoke from a giant, fiery throne. "Hello, Von Doom." "Hello, Mephisto. I'm sure you know why I have come. I do not wish for a fight; I simply wish to make a deal." "A deal? You have piqued my interest, Von Doom! What do you offer to redeem the soul of your mother?" "I offer up my own soul. I shall happily spend eternity with you in this forsaken realm. Simply give my mother a human body and let her live on Earth. She shall be instated as ruler of Latveria." Mephisto stood from his throne and extended his flaming hand. "We have a deal, Von Doom." "There remains another matter to address, Mephisto." "Oh?" The Hell-Lord sat back down. "Release the Avengers from your grasp. They have done nothing to wrong you." "They shall not be part of our deal. It is a soul for a soul. The Avengers have met their fate; they are experiencing their worst nightmares." "There will not be a deal without the Avengers!" Doom stamped his foot against the scorched ground. "Then there will not be a deal, Victor Von Doom." The Latverian ruler closed his eyes and grasped the Chain of Souls. He muttered under his breath. The stone shone orange light across the realm before going dim once more. "You are clever like your mother, Von Doom. What a shame you must undergo the same fate." "You assume victory too soon, Mephisto." He let go of the stone and pointed his hands at the ground. It opened up, and the five unconscious Avengers surfaced. He then opened a portal to the mortal world and sent them through. "You will live to regret this, Victor Von Doom," said Mephisto. He paused. "I know." He jumped through the portal himself, resurfacing on the other side.
Captain America slumped over a wooden coffee table. It sat in the middle of his small Brooklyn apartment, and it creaked as Steve pushed his weight onto it. On the surface of the table was his cell phone, gifted to him by S.H.I.E.L.D. It began to ring, bringing unexpected noise to a room that had grown accustomed to silence. Rogers immediately sat up and grabbed it. "Hey, Coulson." "Captain America!" The voice on the other line seemed inexplicably joyous. "I didn't expect you to pick up. After all, you pretty much told Stark you wanted nothing to do with us." "I've thought it over. I have powers that most people don't. I have no right to not use them when the world needs them. Is it too late to join?" "It's never too late to join, Mr. Rogers. In fact, we really need you right now." Cap stood up and stretched his legs. "Why? What happened?" "The Avengers are missing. Two in New York, three in Latveria. On top of that, the Helicarrier just got attacked. Things are looking pretty bad, and you're our last shot at stopping this guy." "Last shot? I find that hard to believe." "Believe it. The Director won't let me hire any mercenaries, and the Gotham Knights are so hard to track down." "What exactly do you want me to do, Coulson?" "I want you to go to Latveria, report back what you see, and try not to get captured. Think you can do that?" "It's what I do best, sir. Won't it be too late by the time I get there, though?" "This is the future, Captain America! Never underestimate S.H.I.E.L.D. technology." Steve looked out the window to see a Quinjet flying toward his apartment building. "You didn't have a plan B, did you?" "Definitely not." Coulson hung up the phone.
-last edited on Mar 23, 2018 21:06:41 GMT by RomeNZ
Post by ultra on Mar 15, 2018 1:55:31 GMT
Chapter 20: A Rude Awakening
Hawkeye awoke to find himself lying on the cold, cobblestone floor of Castle Doom. His fellow Avengers lied, unconscious, around him. He noticed a man in a suit of armor and a green cloak standing over him. "What have you done?" he yelled. "Settle down," said Doctor Doom. "There is no need to fight." "Where are my arrows? What just happened? I... I was at a train station with Natasha, and then.... Oh my God...." "I said, settle down! You have just experienced your worst nightmare. I know it is seemingly cruel to expect you to battle so soon after that, but I obviously cannot solitarily battle the Lord of the Pit." "Lord of the Pit?" A flood of memories rushed into the mind of Agent Barton, and he was speechless. Doom stared at him. "Of course, you are presently attempting to piece together everything that just happened. Mephisto will be upon us soon, however, so you must aid me in awakening the other heroes." Hawkeye nodded and stood up. "So you want me to fight the Devil without my bow and arrows?" "I have simply confiscated your weaponry for the time being. Your assignment was to capture me; I needed time to explain to you that we are not enemies." "You haven't explained anything to me! A few hours ago, I got attacked by a bunch of robots that look like you. Do you mean to tell me that they were made by the Devil too?" Doom released a heavy sigh. "No, no. The Doombots were created and programmed by myself. I... needed to have security from those who did not know the urgency of the situation, such as yourself. But I was distracted in my work, and obviously did not program them well enough." The other Avengers began to awaken, each confused by their previous nightmares. Doom gave each the same explanation, and retrieved their weapons. A knock on the steel door rang across the room. "How curious," said Doom, walking toward the entrance. The door was opened, and outside stood Steve Rogers. He wore the gear, and held the shield, of Captain America. "I changed my mind, guys. Looks like it's up to me to save you from this lunatic."
Sorry your post was under consideration for so long.