Defenders Of Midgard, #TheDefendersOfMidgard , An MCU Fan Fiction, Chapter 22: Hail Hydra! The Immortal Order Of Death!
What Goes Around Comes Around Especially The Cycle Of Life And Death
Chapter 22: Hail Hydra! The Immortal Order Of Death!
What Goes Around Comes Around
Especially The Cycle Of Life And Death
Natasha Romanov lands her flying car at Stark Castle with the Iron King and his Iron Queen waiting there, surrounded by a green and blue armored phalanx of guardsmen, surrounded by numerous Valkyrie tending to a few hundred winged horses. They are also joined by the Blue Angel Darcy with a ginger haired infant child held in one arm dressed in cloth diaper and a blue cape as a wrap. Yelena of the Valkyrie, Capt. Rogers of the guard, and Hawkeye of the fay remain sitting in the car with Natasha.
Iron Man:
Well?… Is this another false alarm?… Was that just Princess Sparkles throwing another spergapolooza?… or just another enchanted creep with delusions of Godhood?… Is it really hammer time?… If it’s still just the kid… that’s a new level for her…
Natasha Romanov:
That was her… with Thor’s hammer… Yeah… Take a moment to absorb that one… Can’t say I’m surprised… But she really didn’t need any more power that she can barely control… But Thor’s happy!… Coulson May and Fits are here too… along with Queen Aelsa of Alfheim!… That’s our long-awaited rescue… We’ve been in here for like… a day… tops… their time… The next rescue attempt probably won’t be for a hundred years our time…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Where’s Thor now?… Booty call?…
Natasha Romanov:
Sort of… He and Fits took off to the Cal Tech monastery to… reconnect… We’re all supposed to meet up at Emerald City to discuss Fits’ hypothetical music cure for the Psycho Fandango…
Sorceress Pepper:
Music cure?… I find that hard to believe… But the FSBs are supposed to be a hybrid of science and magic anyway… So maybe a magic cure can be a tech fix?… I can hear you grinding your teeth Tony…
Iron Man:
Oh no… I’m perfectly fine with that whatever that is as long as it works… But I’ll need to see some specs that I can understand on that before I’ll get too enthusiastic about it… But maybe now we’ll have enough airborne muscle to ground the angel Samuel and capture Venom… The latest battle downtown yielded some surprising results… Thanks to a sonic attack on Venom by Daisy…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Good luck with that… I’ll leave you to it here… I wanna go and shock goldilocks for once… I just hope I’m not too late for the reveal!…
Natasha Romanov:
Which one?…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Any of them!… Especially mine!…
Darcy disappears in a flash of light and reappears in another flash in the air above the Cal Tech monastery, shocking Thor speechless in the middle of giving a long-winded excuse to his daughter Frigga, his baby mama Jane, and Frigga’s scandalous Grandpa Eric. Fits and Simmons remain while they get reacquainted, but their pixie daughter flew off wandering elsewhere through Cal Tech.
Thor:
It was a vision!… Visions can’t always be completely explained… Often they just have to be explored… and pursued… until they finally make sense… It’s like… By the roots of Yggdrasil!?!…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Hey there thunder balls!… How’s it bangin?… I’m not interrupting anything… am I?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Show off…
Thor:
Darcy!?!… What on Midgard happened to you?!?…
Blue Angel Darcy:
A lot… I’m not entirely sure about all of it… But this is definitely my son Michael… He’s named after the archangel… Eric’s idea… He’s ours… Eric’s and mine… We’re married now… Aren’t you shocked by that?… Or is it just the wings?…
Thor:
Just the wings… I always thought that Eric and you looked at each other way more friendly than just friends… Is that how you say it on Midgard?… ‘more than friends’?… I don’t know how to be subtle… inuendo is not my forte…
Blue Angel Darcy:
I’ll say… That doesn’t even really qualify… That’s just tact and discretion…
Thor:
I’m not really good at that either…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Fair enough… No argument…
Darcy flies down to join them on the ground, then she starts to look at Eric and Jane with curious anticipation.
Blue Angel Darcy:
So?… Been catchin up?… What have I missed?… Anything catch fire yet?…
Thor:
Catch fire?… Why would anything catch fire?… I’m not so careless with my lightening as that… And my daughter has been on her best behavior ever since the thundering earlier… Nothing is catching fire here…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Famous last words… So… Who wants to go first?… Fess up!…
Princess Frigga:
Uncle Eric is Grandpa Eric!… Scandalous Grandpa Eric!…
Thor:
Scandalous Grandpa Eric?…
Dr. Selvig:
It’s true Thor… When Jane hid her condition from me… I grew concerned… and I had to tell her truth… about her mother and I… I had been meaning to… but I was a coward… I looked after her as best as I could… but only while keeping it a secret from her… Because I was still a coward…
Thor:
Why did it have to be a secret?…
Princess Frigga:
It was a scandalous teacher student thing… with grandma… Very scandalous…
Blue Angel Darcy:
She loves saying that word… Michael is effectively Frigga’s uncle!… And that’s not all… Anyone else yet?… Very well… I’ll keep going… Honestly Thor… I have no idea whether or not I’m a real angel or just enchanted this way… But this… is one hundred percent the real deal…
Darcy holds up her hand and conjures forth Excalibur into her waiting hand, white flames blazing.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Behold… the legendary… Excalibur…
Thor:
The… Excalibur?… The stories of Camelot were still fresh and new when Loki and I were but small boys… We would always play act as children… But Loki would be King Arthur and I would be Lancelot… Arthur’s greatest knight… Loki was actually married in a ceremony conducted by Queen Morgana herself… Master Fits’ mother… It was a legendary scandal!… It was very scandalous… And I was very jealous… And father was very cross…
Blue Angel Darcy:
I’m actually King Arthur reincarnated… That’s why I have the sword… And FYI… Arthur and Lancelot were the same dude… a magical split personality… Here… Try it on for size… I can lend its power to other people… but only I can control it… Here…
Thor reaches out to Excalibur to touch its blade, but the sword disappears as his hand gets close.
Dr. Jane Foster:
Darcy…
Blue Angel Darcy:
I’m just playing with you… Here…
Darcy conjures Excalibur back into her hand and holds the sword blade down with a reverse grip by the handle to hand it over to Thor’s eagerly awaiting hand. Thor holds it up against his hammer as if fighting some temptation.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Go ahead… Clank it… You know you want to… You should have seen the workout the Hulk gave it… I was actually worried at times…
Thor opens his arms wide then thrashes the sword against his hammer as everyone holds their ears, creating a loud thundering metallic gong that reverberates through Cal Tech, with sparks flying, but without even a scratch on Excalibur.
Thor:
Truly legendary…
Blue Angel Darcy:
If you think that’s surprising… that’s nothing… Right Eric?… Jane?… My hubby Eric is playing coy… Drop the glamour Eric… I want to see the look on his face…
Thor:
Glamour?… Is there some sort of spell?… not just an archaic fashion sense?…
Eric releases his glamour spell disguising his real appearance and reveals his 7-foot muscular frame and long thick head of green hair, wearing a silvery chain mail shirt with a silvery armored breast plate and a large matte black cross right down the center of it, and a set of matte black fake leather pants and knee-high steel toed biker boots with armored shin guards and knee guards.
Thor:
Have you all been magically transfigured?…
Dr. Selvig:
Most of LA has been… But this is the result of an experimental treatment that Jane devised as a last-ditch effort to cure her cancer…
Thor:
Cancer!?!… The bane of mortals?!?… What sort of treatment is that?… And why isn’t she all of a sudden so large as you?… Is she using a glamour too?… You can level with me Jane… You’re not secretly… butch?… are you?… Like some sort of… She-Hulk?…
Dr. Selvig:
It’s called Black Box Gamma… Its results can be varied and unpredictable… It was a treatment that was partly based on what turned Dr. Banner into the Hulk… Something similar turned Sec. Ross into a red version of the Hulk… But I just got bigger and taller… and slightly greener… but a lot stronger than I was… maybe even stronger than you… And Jane… Well… You might as well show him…
Dr. Foster erupts in white flames as she ignites her own Black Box Gamma.
Dr. Jane Foster:
It’s not a glamour… And I’m not butch… I did get some superstrength… But not as much as Eric… It’s mostly just raw energy that is barely controlled… But I can at least turn it on and off… And the white flames are harmless… They’re the same magic white flames as Excalibur… Darcy had to help me out with the treatment using her white flames… As a side effect… I can use it at will now… The treatment probably would have killed me otherwise… It was a reckless desperation move… the end of a series of such moves… for inoperable brain cancer… You don’t mind?…
Dr. Foster shuts off her flames and returns to normal to hear her answer.
Thor:
Mind?… It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!… You’re like a living supernova in lovely feminine form… my Nova Queen to be… What’s next?… Has my grandfather King Bor come back from the dead perhaps?… Or my mother?…
Princess Frigga:
No daddy!… But look at what I can do!…
Princess Sparkles instantly transforms into her sparkly rainbow plasma form in a sudden lightening flash, hovering inches above the ground, as Thor stands there, mouth gapping in astonishment.
Dr. Spectrum:
When did she start doing that?… This is a new one on me too…
Dr. Simmons:
And you thought that we had a challenge corralling our wee little pixie daughter…
Dr. Jane Foster:
She only started doing that when this whole thing began… But I don’t like it!… It makes me nervous when she does that… like she might not come back…
Princess Frigga:
Oh mommy… Don’t be silly… Watch me daddy!…
Frigga takes off in a flash, disappearing effectively instantly, traveling at the speed of lightening, with numerous follow up lightening flashes throughout Liber Avalon.
Dr. Selvig:
There she goes… Even Helga can’t keep up with her when she does that… Not in that form… You’re on your own there… But she’ll probably be back fairly quickly… She won’t stay away for long now that you’re here…
As if on cue, the lightening princess strikes the ground next to them with a lightening flash, materializing in the flesh, transforming at the same time.
Thor:
That is absolutely amazing!… And I am completely jealous…
Dr. Jane Foster:
And I am not amused little girl!… No joy riding the lightening!… No more using your plasma form to ditch Helga!… Or us!…
Princess Frigga:
Sorry mommy…
Dr. Jane Foster:
It’s okay… In fact… Now that your father’s here… I have something that I’ve been saving for you… I made it assuming that… in the worst-case scenario… if you couldn’t wield your father’s hammer… you would still have a weapon of your own to wield and to protect yourself with…
Dr. Foster reaches into the inside of her lab coat and pulls out a small silvery pen like object with a small silvery twenty-sided polyhedron at one end. She holds it in front of herself as it enlarges to its full size in her hand, two feet long with a silvery baseball sized twenty-sided polyhedron on one end, and a spiral groove pattern on the silvery handle for grip.
Dr. Jane Foster:
It’s a scepter fit for a princess… made mostly of pure Vibranium… like Capt. America’s shield… But it has a power prism just like Space Crow’s… which I made just for you… with the Gravitonium and everything… Worst case scenario… it makes for a good club… I made my own power prism that way too… except as a necklace mostly so I wouldn’t lose it… But it’s not to play with… It’s a part of mommy’s work… And so are you… So naturally you're going to need one too… I couldn’t make you some magic weapon that I could never understand or trust… But Vibranium and Gravitonium I understand pretty well… And so do you little girl… But I need you to be careful with it… No more joy riding the lightening!…
Princess Frigga:
Okay mommy…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Now… Its currently dormant so I could safely handle it along with my own… But its set to accept you as its master… You just have to use your own FSB to try and colonize it… and the rest is automatic…
Princess Frigga:
Okay mommy…
Princess Frigga holds her hands up to her matte black tiara, and a flurry of rainbow-colored sparkles emanates from her tiara and flies onto the handle of the scepter, filling in the grooves on the handle with matte black FSB material, and entering a hole in the base of the handle, filling in a hollow space in the center of the handle up into the polyhedron on the end. Princess Frigga reaches over to grab the handle from her mother, and a sudden short electrical discharge escapes on contact.
Princess Frigga:
Sorry mommy!… I didn’t mean to… But… Wait… My power’s gone!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
No Princess Sparkles… This weapon comes with a bit of a learning curve… and some minor effective power dampening… But its only temporary while you learn how to use it… I got tired of you running off little girl… The Vibranium alone acts like a power conduit for all of your careless discharges… like a lightening rod… that sucks up the lightening… by harmlessly redirecting it… But in the long run it can make you even more powerful… It’s a near perfect reflector and resonator of energy… And I suspect it should also act as a stabilizer of your plasma form… Try it now… with your scepter…
Princess Frigga is engulfed in a flash of lightening, and she converts completely to plasma save for her new scepter, with the scepter still being gripped in her plasma hand.
Princess Frigga:
The scepter won’t change mommy!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
I suspected as much… It may eventually… But Vibranium will be far more resistant to the change at first… until you master it better… How does it feel?…
Princess Frigga:
It feels… less buzzy… It’s more like a low hum… but more tingly… and easier!…
Princess Frigga starts to levitate upwards slightly, then begins to turn slowly in the air end over end, as if to amuse herself with it, and starts to giggle. Then Dr. Simmons and Fits’ six-inch-tall butterfly winged elven daughter flies in and starts circling around Frigga as she turns in the air, giggling right along with her.
Dr. Jane Foster:
I’m so glad you’re enjoying your new toy…
Seeing Fits and Simmons pixie daughter flying circles around the Plasma Princess, ginger haired baby Michael reaches out for them, and red feathered wings spring out from his back from underneath his little blue cape. He tries to fly over and join them, only to be stopped by Darcy as she grabs a hold of one of his legs and pulls him back to her arms.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Woh there magic Mikey!… No winged pursuits today please… I swear to God… The play pen and the crib in our nursery need nets!… but not for mosquitos… Ilyanna’s even worse though… She shrinks down and slips through…
Dr. Spectrum:
Ilyanna?… My great grandmother’s name on my mother’s side?… Is that what you named our daughter?… Is that even really my great grandmother’s name?… now that I think about it..
Dr. Simmons:
It is… or it was… Queen Ilyanna… once a queen of Alfheim… mother of Queen Igraine… the first queen of Avalon… your mother’s mother… Again… details are scarce and sensitive… other than a very complicated royal family tree that’s part legendary…
Elsewhere, Danielle the Valkyrie rides her winged horse high overhead of what used to be the Hollywood Bowl, circling and patrolling the sky above it, with a cloaked Space Crow flying along as her wingman and providing surveillance on the bowl. The Hollywood Bowl lies abandoned partly as a result of the effective haunting by Ursa Major and the Necromancer. Ursa Major himself lies curled up into a big grizzly furball and sleeping it off among a pile of kegs in the back of the stage. Various rows of seats have been converted into garden rows, with improvised irrigation systems showing some of the few signs of life in the old amphitheater besides the big bad bear.
Directly overlooking the old Hollywood Bowl nearby is an old hilltop mansion magically converted by the Psycho Fandango into a hilltop castle keep, also sacked and abandoned in accordance with its enchanted backstory. In the one remaining high tower of the castle ruins, King T’Challa and Chief M’Baku, with Sgt. Bucky Barnes and Shield agent Lance Hunter in their fully human forms, are set up as a stakeout on the Hollywood Bowl, with FSB provided telescopic surveillance equipment for sight and sound, scanning for signs of unnatural life. In the inner courtyard of the castle ruins two winged horses are fed and tended to by a pair of Valkyrie, Brunhilde and Bobbie Morse.
Bobbie The Valkyrie:
So… When real Valkyrie are doing real Valkyrie things… I don’t imagine there being a lot of stakeouts… at least not normally… At least I don’t recall that in any of my enchanted backstory…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Normally… it’s not… But normally necromancers aren’t coming and going from Niflheim at will on the one hand… and enchanted angels aren’t being twisted into their service on the other… The ranks of the Valkyrie will have to grow commensurate with the new herd… if not more so… Necromancy… real or otherwise… is now a primary concern for the Valkyrie… real or otherwise…
Bobbie The Valkyrie:
So I’m not defective?… This is new territory for the Valkyrie?…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
It’s not so much that its new… so much as it wasn’t a specialty of the Valkyrie before now… not as much as in Avalon… And that will have to change more than anything…
Space Crow chimes in over the FSB com system in response to recent developments elsewhere and nothing happening here.
Space Crow:
Not to be a sunshine patriot or anything… but shouldn’t we be regrouping right now?… With Thor and the others arriving… isn’t that more important than surveillance on a hibernating demon bear?…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
He’s not hibernating… He’s drunk… and sleeping it off… And technically… I don’t think a necromancer automatically counts as a demon… And now would be a perfect time to catch something in action… as a reaction provoked by recent developments… They’ll call us if they need us Space Crow…
Agent Lance Hunter:
Yeah… Stay on mission… Space Crow… Don’t let a Shield badge and a fancy call sign go to your head… probie…
Space Crow:
Roger that senpai…
King T’Challa:
‘Probie’?…
Agent Lance Hunter:
Probationary agent… the special ed version of special agent…
Space Crow:
Ha… Ha… Wait!… I’m getting an alert from Capt. Britain with one of the other surveillance teams… Their bogies are headed towards our bogies… fast and on the ground… They have to be coming here… There’s nothing out here these days but us… Hooray for the Hollywood Bowl…
The Necromancer walks out from behind stage at the Hollywood Bowl with a matte black necro spear and makes her way to a makeshift firepit built onto the stage from stone, brick, and sand with a big black caldron hanging over the pit from a tripod placed over the pit.
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
We have movement on the stage… I’ve got eyes on the Necromancer… Told you…Something’s up…
The Necromancer spears the smoldering mass beneath the caldron and the fire sparks up a raging flame within the pit before the fire dies down to a steady roar. Then the caldron begins to emit a glowing red plume of steam.
Necromancer:
Alexei!… Prosnites!… Get up you fuzzy drunken oaf!…
The bear rouses to awaken cranky and hung over as it growls to a stand, growing to twenty feet tall as it howls at the Necromancer, with all three eyes wide open and glowing green.
Necromancer:
Oh shush… We have company coming… VIPs…
The bear sits back down, shrinking down slightly as he does, and cracks open another keg and proceeds to drink again.
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
Well… There you have it… The bear is on the move too… with VIPs coming… If this means what I think it means… then that is disappointing… But I thought I had remembered that chick from Hydra… It sucks to be right sometimes… more often than not actually…
Gen. Fits:
It’s not just her and Dr. Wilkes… They have a special guest… who matches the description of the alleged new host for Hive… All dressed in a bunch of creepy black robes… Nothing concerning there… And she’s riding her own FSB motorcycle… That’s a major breach… not the first… but certainly a major one… And it looks like it was Dr. Wilkes and Dotty who gave it to her…
Capt. Britain:
They’ve been using their FSBs to cloak their conversation from me and the ground detail for the past few hours… Then they all decided to come straight here… So I gave the general the heads up on Hive… Although we still don’t know anything other than they’re on the move together… Honestly… I could have been wrestling with a fallen angel this whole time…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
That may yet be in the cards… The wicked witch has got her caldron fired up already… She’s preparing for something… Should we be calling for back up here?… Are there any fallen angel sightings?…
Space Crow:
Nothing up here Sgt. Barnes… The sky is clear except for incoming Capt. Britain… I detect nothing trans dimensional either… at least nothing more than we’re used to in here… Are we intervening?… Or are we just watching?… Because Danielle might want to land and lay low if we want to be stealth here… She may want to just return to base in case it really is Hive… And Capt. Britain may wish to opt for stealth measures… As it is I can see the two bikes approaching… What’s the call?…
King T’Challa:
Let’s maintain stealth and find out what’s going on first… Although some may wish to get closer on foot to improve our surveillance… But Danielle should go and notify Daisy and the Wolf King personally about Hive back at the Johnson Building… Leave this part here to us Danielle…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Yes your majesty…
Danielle veers off in the direction of the Johnson building as Capt. Britain starts to cloak on the way in.
Gen. Fits:
We could come in closer from the air… I already have stealth engaged… Capt. Britain can follow suit and join me for a stealthy ground approach… Space Crow can stay cloaked in the air to keep an eye on the skies… We can keep the Valkyrie on standby at the castle ruin…
King T’Challa:
Agreed… But they’d better join us up here so they can see this for themselves…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
We’re already here… Can we see them from here yet…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
I can see them approaching on the road up to the bear’s den… Man… I recognize her too… Dr. Moira MacTaggert… One of Hydra’s creepier scientists… She was a psycho brain doctor who worked out of the UK… neuro biophysics… parapsychology… brain surgery… She was involved in some of Hydra's more fringe research… with the paranormal and the occult… any means to power will do… as long as it works… She was a true believer of the Hydra cult… I had a few run ins with her… retrieving… runaway experiments… things… that I still can’t really handle talking about… Hail Hydra… Anyone got an axe?…
Bobbie The Valkyrie:
I infiltrated Hydra… But I don’t remember hearing of her…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
She was before your time… young lady… And I don’t think she was all that popular with the others… She was supposedly brilliant… but not popular… She was trouble… even for Hydra…
Gen. Fits:
She was a volunteer as a host for Hive before… And apparently volunteered for it again once she was resurrected somehow along with Hive…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
Psycho wearing psycho… But why is Dr. Wilkes involved?… Just because his girlfriend has a history?… So do I… You don’t see me eager to join back up again… Why would anyone who’s free of them ever go back?…
King T’Challa:
I suspect we will soon find out… Dr. Wilkes has been through a lot… Perhaps more than he has let on…
Chief M’Baku:
Perhaps Dr. Wilkes has fallen under the spell of this Necromancer… Isn’t Hive supposed to have the power to sway peoples minds and control them?…
King T’Challa:
Only for other Inhumans… But if Hive gets a hold of any… It can enslave them to Hydra… Which is why Danielle could not stay… only Daisy is immune… And it can devour the flesh of ordinary humans… But somehow I don’t feel that this is a matter of duress or coercion…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
They look far too chummy for that… I think they’re actually smiling… Not a good sign…
With Dotty riding behind Dr. Wilkes on one bike, and Dr. Moira MacTaggert riding solo, the two bikes pull into the Hollywood Bowl’s now unpaved parking lot, complete with stables and hitching posts for horses. They continue to make their way into the amphitheater, riding right up to the stage before parking dismounting from their bikes.
Necromancer:
Welcome to the Hollywood Bowl… Please don’t mind the cumbersome and primitive plumbing here and there… We do have to grow our own food after all… Somehow it magically manages to grow without sunlight… I guess there really must be an invisible Sun… Its an honor… But you don’t look like an alien space god… with all due respect… Madame Hydra…
Madame Hydra:
I am no god… I am only an immortal servant of the collective greater good… Dotty here has been selling me on your unique talents… Talents very similar to my immortal enemy the Black Queen… The scientists among our fellow enemies believe that her powers as an Inhuman mimic of those of a proper necromancer… Powers of science that mimic powers of magic… or vice versa… To destroy my enemy… an enemy of order… an agent of chaos and gratuitous suffering… I will need that power for myself… or have someone by my side who can wield it for me… and more importantly for the collective greater good… in service to the greater collective order…
Necromancer:
The greater good?… Greater order?… Don’t make me laugh… Your greater good is the greater you… We have no interest in joining your cult’s greater order… I was never voluntarily a member before… I have no interest in surrendering what little freedom we have left to your Hive mind… You’re all nuts!… I don’t know what Dotty sees in that old nonsense… But Hydra is dead… or should be… Along with the power of the necromancer comes the agenda of the necromancer… an agenda that aims at higher things than politics… or ideology… true power… and the true freedom that it brings… the power of life and death… the power of heaven and hell…
Dotty:
Who was it that joined a cult?… You’re the one who sounds like a cult member…
Madame Hydra:
No… I like it… Its… ambitious… as ambitious as the Black Queen… We must rise to the level of that ambition ourselves… and surpass the angel of death… Is there nothing I can offer you to sway you to my side and to my cause?… If you have such disregard for Hydra… why do you keep an old phantom of Hydra company?…
The voice of the Red Skull replies from the caldron.
The Red Skull:
An old phantom am I?… That is rich coming from you Alveus… the first phantom of Hydra…
Necromancer:
So… Madame Hydra is for real is she?…
The Red Skull:
Most definitely… But time has passed us all by… Even in my time the cause of Alveus was but a distant after thought for most of Hydra…
Dotty:
I had never even heard the story before… But now we’re stuck in the middle of it…
Necromancer:
Are we stuck in it?… Or is it just the planet that’s stuck in it?… Or maybe just LA…Other than possibly being caught in the middle of some ancient blood feud among the Inhumans… a blood feud that Alveus already effectively lost twice… what’s in it for us?…
Dr. Jason Wilkes:
Mutual enemies… and mutual challenges… with complimentary talents to bring to bare…
Necromancer:
With all due respect Dr. Wilkes… I don’t see how we have any mutual enemies… Who do you even have as an enemy?…
Dr. Jason Wilkes:
Death is my enemy… The darkness and chaos of Malekith is my enemy… The Black Queen and her minions who handed me over to Malekith are my enemies… Doesn’t any of that sound familiar?…
Necromancer:
Malekith sounds familiar… Malekith is dead Dr. Wilkes…
Dr. Jason Wilkes:
Malekith escaped from Niflhiem… He now has an artificial body… made of a technology called an FSB… He nearly destroyed me with it… But he also empowered me with it… just to use me with it… And I will never be used that way again… as a cheap puppet… Not by the Black Queen… nor Madame Hydra… nor you… But together we don’t have to be… in order to make each other stronger… maybe even stronger than the gods… new masters of life and death… toppling the old gods for a new age… And Dr. Wilkes is dead!… Malekith killed him… For better or for worse… I am now irrevocably what Malekith made me… I am Dr. Diablo…
Necromancer:
Malekith himself was a legendary necromancer… Dr. Diablo… But now he’s a creature of technology… The Black Queen is an Inhuman… arguably the most powerful necromancer ever… And she was produced by a scientific experiment of the Kree Empire… Now you want this power for yourself?… Do you actually expect me to give this to you?… What do you offer in exchange?… besides mutual obstacles?…
Madame Hydra:
We have this FSB technology for starters… And soon I will raise an army of Inhumans… As I understand it… you are not without scientific expertise yourself…
Necromancer:
My expertise is part of what helped turn the big bad bear… into the big bad bear… And it hasn’t done either of us much good… But you do give me an idea… The spirit of the Red Skull has seen and been touched by things that are beyond reason… He touched the Tesseract unprotected… and was transformed into energy… killing him… but forever altering his spirit… giving him insight… which he is powerless to act upon as an intangible spirit… I would have to form a stone golem puppet of some kind… just to give him a temporary lease on false life… Otherwise a human sacrifice may be required to provide a host body… And I have already burned enough bridges with my own family… But perhaps… with an FSB… we can try something in between… I will except your offer… in exchange for the FSBs… I will be your necromancer… But the Red Skull will lead Hydra… and we shall all be its heads… even Alexei…
Alexei roars with seeming enthusiasm.
Madame Hydra:
Agreed… But the Inhumans are my charge… and mine alone…
Necromancer:
Fair enough… But if you’re that particular… you should try making more of them…
Madame Hydra:
I have tried before… with a human scientist… Dr. Holden Radcliffe… But those results were mostly a failure resulting from… lacking the right ingredients… Kree ingredients… Kree blood in particular…
Necromancer:
It even sounds like some form of necromancy… I’m familiar with Dr. Radcliffe… Hydra has made use of much of his work… although without him knowing this… He’s one of those self-indulgent mad scientists who are always outsmarting themselves… FSBs… Now… We don’t have time to waste… with the new arrivals in town…
Madame Hydra:
Very well…
Dr. Diablo walks over to the Necromancer and grabs her empty hand, and he holds up his other hand a foot away from the Necromancer’s necro spear before he starts to emanate white sparkles from his hand that fly over to the necro spear and start to colonize it and form the Necromancer’s new FSB out of it.
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
That’s another major breach…
Necromancer:
That’s all there is to it?…
Dr. Diablo:
Yes… Do you want me to give one to Alexei too?…
Alexei lets out a massive grizzly sized burp.
Necromancer:
I’ll deal with Alexei later… For now… Hydra needs its supreme head…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
Are they about to do what I think they’re about to do?…
Agent Lance Hunter:
Is it too early to call in a code green?…
King T’Challa:
Yes… And Dr. Banner probably has his hands full with a fallen angel right about now… But Sgt. Barnes should probably notify the Black Widow at a minimum… We may yet need back up here… possibly a code green… if not full Avengers back up… Gen. Fits… Are you and Capt. Britain in any position to act?…
Gen. Fits:
Just barely… The teddy bear is too close to the Necromancer… even drunk we may need more muscle to deal with him if we have to…
The Necromancer begins to stream white sparkles out of her FSB colonized necro spear to form a matte black statue of the Red Skull to scale in his old Hydra dress uniform.
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
This cannot be happening…
King T’Challa:
Sgt. Barnes… Agent Hunter… Ready your plasma rifles… maximum charge…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
I’ll fetch my axe…
Sgt. Barnes and Agent Hunter get up to man a pair of large matte black heavy-duty long-range plasma rifles with scopes and tripod mounts, preplaced with a clear shot of the stage. The Necromancer takes her necro spear and plunges its spear tip into the caldron, then pulls it out with the tip glowing red and steaming. She then stabs the Red Skull statue in the heart with it, causing the entire statue to begin to glow and pulsate red, after she pulls out her no longer glowing spear.
King T’Challa:
No more watching… Target the Red Skull and destroy that thing before it finishes becoming whoever… or whatever it’s supposed to be… And target the caldron as well… Destroy them both!…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
Roger That… With pleasure… I’ll take the skull… You nail the witch’s caldron on my mark…
Agent Lance Hunter:
Roger that mate… Waiting on you…
The Red Skull continues to pulsate with a red glow as the statue begins to emit a glowing red steam. Sgt. Barnes unleashes a short burst of plasma fire, destroying the Red Skull statue, and Hunter simultaneously destroys the caldron with a second burst.
Dotty:
Plasma sniper fire!?!…
Ursa Major is roused to his feet angry and howling at the tower in the distance where the blasts came from, and then growing to twenty feet tall again as he steps off in that direction.
Necromancer:
Alexei!… Stop!…
Capt. Britain decloaks as he flies in and blindsides the giant monster bear in the side of the head in mid stride. Gen. Fits decloaks himself on the ground with his sword glowing with a low purple flame surrounding the blade. Then he whips it around and unleashes a torrent of purple flames at the Necromancer, as Dotty and Madame Hydra run for cover, but Dr. Diablo just stands there unfazed but amused. The Necromancer just blocks and absorbs the purple flames with her FSB necro spear, and Gen. Fits relents in his attack. Then the Necromancer feeds his purple flames back at him, streaming out of her necro spear, causing him to run for cover, recloak, and reposition himself.
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
To the horses!…
King T’Challa:
You two should probably stay here and provide cover fire if possible… Come M’Baku… We should have words with this Necromancer…
King T’Challa and Chief M’Baku ride on the backs of the winged horses behind the Valkyrie and begin to fly their way over to the Hollywood Bowl. The smoking molten ruin of the Red Skull manikin and the necromancer’s caldron begin to move, flow, and ooze toward each other until they connect and merge, and then begin to rise as it continues to smoke and glow a molten glow. As it rises it begins to retake the shape of the Red Skull and cool slightly, taking the appearance of a molten magma statue of the Red Skull, turning mostly black but with reddish orange molten cracks and crevices all over it.
The Red Skull:
Thank you… for such a warm reception… Sgt. Barnes I presume?… I can sense you’re here…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
No way in hell!… There’s just no way!… Melt that skull!…
Agent Lance Hunter:
Roger that!… Melting skull face!…
Hunter and Sgt. Barnes unload a full-bore plasma barrage upon the Red Skull’s molten form for several moments, but to no avail whatsoever as the Red Skull begins to laugh.
The Red Skull:
Hah hah hah… It’s nice to know you still care Sgt. Barnes… But I’m afraid you’ll have to try something else… Perhaps something face to face?… As you Americans like to say… ‘I dare you to come down here and say that to my face!’… Hah hah hah…
White Wolf:
Fine!… We’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way!… The medieval way if we have to…
Agent Lance Hunter:
This is the setting for it…
Sgt. Barnes transforms into his white furred wolfkin form in response to the obvious provocation, followed suit by Agent Hunter transforming into his light brown wolfkin form, as they storm out of the castle ruins and race down to the Hollywood Bowl on foot.
The Red Skulls molten form continues to cool and darken, but its skull turns red with miniature matte black cracks and crevices in its surface. The eyes in the skull take on a normal appearance of human eyes, but a matte black oval jewel appears to be embedded and aligned vertically in the middle of the Red Skull’s forehead. The rest of the Red Skull’s new body takes on more of a human shape and separates from the molten mass still on the ground, and then begins to walk slowly away from it.
Madame Hydra:
Hail Hydra!…
The Red Skull:
Hail Hydra indeed… Hail the new Hydra!… The Immortal Order of Death!…
Dotty:
Hail to the chief…
Dr. Diablo:
Hail Hail… Now it’s time to bail…
Matte black clothing forms on the Red Skulls new body, then transforms into the appearance, color, and texture into his old black Hydra dress uniform from World War II, complete with shiny boots and everything.
The Red Skull:
Bail?… Why should we retreat?… if I take your meaning correctly…
Dr. Diablo:
You do… We’re about to have a lot of company that we’re not ready for… As much as you may enjoy that… especially for the chance of a reunion with your old friend Capt. Rogers… You might find that disappointing… He’s not exactly himself these days… There’s a lot of that going around… I suggest that we bug out of here and regroup in order to rebuild… If we indulge ourselves here… then the new Hydra is dead here… then so much for the immortal… If you’re supposed to be a brilliant strategist and tactician… then you might want to show it… And we may have a way out of here…
The Red Skull:
A way out you say?…
Dotty:
The Necromancer may have a way out… But she’s reluctant to leave family behind… And that family is probably on the way here to kill us right now… or at least some of us…
Necromancer:
You presume too much Dotty!… not to mention breaking a confidence… Alexei!… Get yourself together you fuzzy oaf!…
Ursa Major stumbles to his feet dazed but howling angry. The pair of winged horses from the stakeout swoop in and land among the rows of crops, a few sections back from the stage. Their passengers jump off and allow the winged horses to take off again and clear the battlefield. Chief M’Baku transforms and enlarges into his twenty-foot-tall white furred mountain gorilla form and jumps on Ursa Major, tumbling and wrestling with him among the amphitheater gardens.
Dotty:
It’s for your own good Melina… and for Alexei’s too… You can’t do anything for your family or for Alexei in here… Your family won’t let you… not to mention this strange enchantment affecting LA… So you’re going to have to ditch them for now... or we’ll all be dead… for good… rather than immortal…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
That sounds good to me your majesty… Doesn’t that sound good to you?… Perhaps we should help them with that… and save them from the cursed path of necromancy… by giving them a proper death…
King T’Challa:
Perhaps we shall Mistress Brunhilde… Perhaps we shall… Unless they choose to surrender… I believe we can find either dungeons or tombs suitable for necromancers if it comes to it…
Bobbie The Valkyrie:
Or maybe we’ll just try Guillotines first and see if that works…
The Necromancer shoots another torrent of purple flames at her would-be executioners, forcing them back to retreat and regroup with Gen. Fits.
Necromancer:
I will prepare… I will need a few moments undisturbed… in order to take us all… if you want to go further than downtown that is…
Madame Hydra:
Did you hear all that?… We’re leaving… I need you here… No more skulking about… It’s time to make our exit…
The colossal 7-foot-tall shiny metallic frame of the Inhuman named Piotr Rasputin materializes in a sudden flash of light, dressed in matte black armor in the style of a Roman Centurion, sans helmet, shield, or any other weapon. Appearing on the metal colossus’ shoulder with him is a young kunoichi dressed in blue, with her mask and hood on, and a sword strapped to her back, whirling a blindingly sparkly crystal pendent from a chain over head with one of her hands. The blinding sparkle fades away, then the kunoichi hangs the pendent back around her neck, hanging from a silvery chain.
Necromancer:
Are these new friends of yours?… or just more common enemies?…
Madame Hydra:
They’re with me… They’re Inhuman… The first two of my new army…
Necromancer:
Your first two new slaves you mean…
Madame Hydra:
They sought me out…
Necromancer:
So… are they stupid?… insane?… or some combination of both?…
Madame Hydra:
For them… It was either me or the Black Queen… They chose wisely… I made them whole…
Necromancer:
If you say so… I can’t imagine what that’s like… If they’re so eager to make themselves useful… then how about helping Alexei?… while I focus on getting us out of here?…
Madame Hydra:
If you please Piotr…
Piotr Rasputin:
My pleasure…
The kunoichi jumps off of Piotr’s shoulder as he begins to storm off, only to be ambushed by a decloaking Capt. Britain with a flying tackle that takes the metal colossus right off his feet, flies him straight up into the air, then rapidly flies him down before dropping him, as he comes crashing down into the top of the amphitheater, imploding the shell and sending dust and debris everywhere.
Blue Kunoichi:
Piotr!?!…
Madame Hydra:
He’ll be fine my little shadow cat… Piotr’s metal Colossus form is harder than just about anything they can hit him with…
Piotr the Metal Colossus suddenly and explosively busts out from the amphitheater shell debris pile and storms out looking extra perturbed.
Madame Hydra:
Run along and scratch some eyes out for me… will you Kitty?… The Necromancer needs some time to prepare our exit…
Shadow Cat:
Maybe I’ll catch me a little bird to play with while we’re waiting…
The Shadow Cat starts to walk off slowly at first, and her feet begin to rise off the ground as she walks, as if walking on some invisible platform. She draws the sword from the scabbard strapped to her back with one hand and grabs a hold of the crystal pendent hanging from her neck with the other, then she shimmers away and disappears several feet above the ground as she reaches full stride climbing upward in the air. The Metal Colossus storms over and launches himself as a flying metal body tackle into Chief M’Baku’s rib section as the chief wrestles with Ursa Major in his giant white gorilla form.
Chief M’Baku tumbles with the Metal Colossus, as Ursa Major howls and begins to chase after the chief to take advantage. Then Capt. Britain decloaks in flight again and crashes down into the bear’s skull with his feet at an angle from above, pulling a perfect MODOC maneuver on the giant bear’s skull, smashing Ursa Major down into the ground, sending him tumbling feet over head backwards. As Capt. Britain flies off from the Ursa Major’s head, the Shadow Cat shimmers into view above him falling down onto his back with her sword bearing down on him, and stabs him in the back of his torso, running him through with her sword.
Shadow Cat:
Eat steel union jackass!…
Capt. Britain:
Arrrggh!!!…
Shadow Cat just misses Capt. Britain’s heart as he shifts slightly as a reflex in the air as she bore down on him. Capt. Britain continues to twist in the air to force Shadow Cat off of him, and she pulls out her sword and pushes off of him to land surefooted and tumble away on the ground among the garden rows.
Capt. Britain:
Arrrggh!!!…
Gen. Fits:
Braddock!…
Capt. Britain comes crashing down into another section of the garden rows. Gen. Fits decloaks with King T’Challa, as King T’Challa brandishes his FSB power prism enhanced Vibranium spear, and they rush over to Capt. Britain to see to his condition. The Shadow Cat makes a move to finish off the wounded Capt. Britain only to be blocked by King T’Challa and his spear.
Shadow Cat:
Hey there big black cat… Want a cat fight?… You don’t want to make yourself bad luck for this kitty… I tend to be pretty good at killing bad luck…
King T’Challa:
I am very well trained to provide such luck… You won’t find it so easy to avoid me…
Shadow Cat:
You may be well trained… But I was trained by Master Ogun… And as enhanced as you seem to be… you are only human… Whereas I am Inhuman… And well beyond you… You can’t even really stand in my way…
Shadow Cat starts to walk through the Black Panther, phasing through him intangible and causing electrical shorts to spark throughout the technology embedded within the Black Panther’s Vibranium armor. But then King T’Challa leaps up and back flips over her to place himself back in between the Shadow Cat and her prey. The Shadow Cat makes a move to run through him again, but this time the Black Panther’s spear begins to emit a steady low hum and manages to block her sword and stop her in her tracks.
King T’Challa:
Now that I know what you can do… you won’t find it so easy as that… Now show me what this Ogun taught you little girl… Unless you want to let me help you?… Maybe I can help you and your friend Piotr… You don’t need to go with this Hive creature just to escape the Black Queen…
Shadow Cat:
This is not escape!… This is homecoming!… And Madame Hydra is our homecoming queen!…
King T’Challa:
She is only the queen of slaves!… leading you to a path of unnatural necromancy!…
Shadow Cat:
I have no problem with that… Master Ogun has trained me in more than just how to swing a sword…
King T’Challa:
I have been trained in more than combat as well little girl… In Wakanda we have our own ways of dealing with would be necromancers… and their would be protégé’s… and all of their tricks!…
Chief M’Baku pries Colossus off of himself and hurls him by one leg at the Red Skull and the Necromancer on what’s left of the stage, then rushes over to reengage with Ursa Major as the monster bear stumbles howling to its feet. As the chief rushes to engage the bear, Ursa Major starts to grow larger and darker, becoming more ill-defined and shadowy, like black smoke in giant grizzly form with three glowing green eyes and glowing green claws, growing to nearly 50 feet. The chief launches himself at Smokey the necromancer bear and passes right through him, as the bear just howls in defiance.
The Red Skull calmly ducks under Piotr the metal missile, but the Necromancer jumps off the stage as Colossus crashes into it and becomes buried in another pile of rubble. The Valkyries Brunhilde and Bobbie Morse shimmer into view holding matte black spears with Vibranium spear tips at the ready, closing in on the Necromancer as she lands from jumping off the stage. Colossus busts himself out of the debris pile on stage and chases back after Chief M’Baku as the chief tries to attack the mostly intangible necromancer bear.
Sgt. Barnes and Agent Hunter run into the amphitheater still in wolfkin form but wielding smaller plasma rifles more suitable for the up-close kill and begin to open fire relentlessly but almost harmlessly on the Red Skull. The surface of the Red Skull’s new body grows red hot and molten again under the plasma barrage.
Dr. Diablo:
That is enough of that…
The two FSB bikes start to transform and enlarge as they change, transforming into a pair of giant humanoid dragon golems, each growing to about 15 feet tall. The two dragons then move to block the Valkyrie and the wolfkin in their assault, and counter assault with their own dragon flames, forcing the wolfkin to cease fire and run for cover, quickly joined by the Valkyrie. The Red Skull’s body cools and transforms its damaged surface back to its previous appearance wearing the old Hydra uniform, as the Red Skull scoffs at the attempt.
The Red Skull:
Hah!… More of the same won’t do anything different!… I told you… You’ll have to learn some new tricks!… The old methods won’t work on me now… Perhaps never again… And I have new friends now!… friends with all sorts of interesting talents…
Gen. Fits:
So does he!…
As Gen. Fits tends to Capt. Britain’s wound using some kind of healing magic applied with one hand directly upon the wound, he conjures forth his FSB griffin golem and enlarges it to about 10 feet tall standing over Gen. Fits and Capt. Britain. Then the griffin begins to spew flames of its own out of its beak back at the two dragons, combining their respective flaming torrents into one fiery whirlwind momentarily, which then spreads out radially from the center where they converged, incinerating much of the surrounding garden rows.
Gen. Fits’ griffin covers Fits and Braddock with both arms and both wings, shielding them from the flames. The Black Panther and the Shadow Cat flee together behind some debris to hide from the flames, but continue their cat fight virtually uninterrupted. The Necromancer just absorbs the flames that come near her into her necro spear. The Red Skull and Dr. Diablo simply observe the flames engulfing them and their surroundings with amused disinterest, while Dotty and Madame Hydra remain behind cover.
Madame Hydra:
The dragon flames are impressive Dr. Diablo… But they are getting out of hand… and not getting us anywhere…
Dr. Diablo:
You do have a point…
The dragon golems relent in their fiery attack, and the griffin relents as well. The fires die down somewhat leaving behind a flaming ruin of what used to be the garden rows, as the smoke-filled amphitheater begins to clear slightly. As the smoke clears the amphitheater it resembles a properly medieval war zone, with medieval dragons standing guard over Necromancers. But Gen. Fits takes the opportunity to use his griffin to remove Capt. Britain and himself from the immediate battle ground under the cover of smoke before it partially clears.
Dotty walks out calmly from cover now wearing a matte black cat suit with combat boots and various tactical gear, and a plasma pistol strapped to her thigh, after transforming her FSB cloths into something more combat ready and flame retardant. A matte black hooded cloak now covers her head and shoulders, and a red and black Hydra logo badge covers the heart on her body suit. Madame Hydra walks out after having similarly transformed her FSB clothing into a kind of emerald green version of traditional Asgardian armor, with gold trim, a green and yellow Hydra logo badge adorning the center of the breast plate of her armor, and a green cape hanging down from the shoulders.
Dotty:
I love a good weenie roast as much as the next gal… But seriously Jason… Sorry… Dr. D… Do we really have time for these weenies?… Aren’t we supposed to be leaving Melina?… Is that supposed to be happening anytime soon?…
Necromancer:
I have to rebuild my strength… Resurrecting the dead in any form… to any extent… is bound to be draining…
Dotty:
And why did you have to bring him back exactly?… Nothing personal… You were a legend even when you were still alive naturally… But that’s no obligation on us to bring you back… Why did you even contact that spirit to begin with?… What made you seek him out if you care nothing for Hydra?…
Necromancer:
I didn’t seek him out Dotty… You did…
Dotty:
Me!?!… What did I do to bring him into the picture?… I may be much older than I look… But I’m not nostalgic… What are you even talking about?…
Necromancer:
You asked me if I could contact the spirits of your dead parents… so that you could get to know them… about who they were… I used your own blood to do it… But he was all that I could contact… I still haven’t heard from your mother…
Sgt. Barnes chimes in from concealment still monitoring the situation.
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
You have got to be kidding me…
Dotty:
You’re cracked!… You’ve stuck your head too far deep into your own caldron… and now you’ve become cracked in the head from exposure!… as cracked and melted down as your caldron…
The Red Skull:
Is it really that farfetched daughter?… Can’t you see the resemblance?…
Dotty:
Funny… Who knew the Red Skull had such a sense of humor… I was an orphaned conscript!…
The Red Skull:
I know daughter… I conscripted you… Your mother was effectively a stranger to me… We met as a part of a eugenics program of the Riech… She died in childbirth… even before I ever became the Red Skull… I gave you the name Cynthia… although you may not remember it… But I was ill-suited to the raising of children… and far too busy with Hydra besides… So I devised the Red Room program personally… for you… as well as for Hydra… To make you strong… as part of a new template… for a new humanity… free of the usual weaknesses of the human condition…
Cynthia Dotty Schmidt:
They sterilized me!… Was that a part of your plan?… for your own daughter?…
The Red Skull:
That was never my plan… The Red Room program was meant to be an important part of a broader scheme of eugenics… They were to be a new Valkyrie for Hydra… part of a warrior caste… a caste of military science… with the science of Hydra… But my enemies within Hydra took control after my passing… and to some extent before it… And they felt it better to have more expendable soldiers… born to be expendable dead ends for their respective lines… You were a part of the first class of the program… I suspect many feared its results… and erred on the side of control as opposed to potential for the future…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
That is one twisted family tree… Enough of this family reunion from hell.. We have to get back in there… and shut this down… starting with those dragons… Grab your spears and come with me…
Agent Lance Hunter:
Roger that… Dragon slayer duty it is…
Sgt. Barnes and Agent Hunter rush out along with the two Valkyrie, all brandishing matte black FSB spears with Vibranium tips, then they collectively unleash a sustained barrage of sonic blasts against the two dragons. The dragons fire back with sustained streams of flame that are buffeted back by the vibratory cushion created by all of the sonic blasts.
The Hulk is heard roaring as he comes crashing down into the middle of the amphitheater in amongst the dragons and grabs one of them by the leg and spins him around into the other one, sending them both hurtling out of the amphitheater, then he unleashes another roar in triumph. Ursa Major looms over the Hulk while Colossus continues to engage with Chief M’Baku. The Hulk launches himself to strike at the bear only to fly through him like Chief M'Baku did.
Following close in behind after the Hulk, the Wolf King speeds in on his hover quad at maximum speed, in fully armored wolfkin form, steering his hover quad with his right hand, and carrying his Vibranium shield at the ready on his left. The wolf King zeros in on the familiar face of Dr. Moira MacTaggert whom he knows to be the new host of Hive and rides his quad straight down into Madame Hydra on the ground, howling mad as he does so. The Wolf King jumps off at the last second to tumble away and recover to his feet as his hover quad crashes into Madame Hydra. Then he unleashes a lightening barrage from out of the power prism within his shield, striking Ursa Major and shocking the giant necromancer bear backwards as it howls in pain.
Necromancer:
Alexei!?!…
The Red Skull:
And who might this be?… Another child of Fenris?… Cousin of yours Sgt. Barnes?…
Cynthia Dotty Schmidt:
That’s the Wolf King of Emerald City… A king of Niflhiem really… Long story…
The Red Skull:
A king a of Niflhiem you say?… How intriguing…
Cynthia Dotty Schmidt:
He was also a former Hydra double agent… within Shield… and a previous host for Madame Hydra…
Wolf King:
Who are you calling Madame Hydra?… Dotty?… You’re not referring to yourself in the third person are you?… Next thing you know you’ll be speaking with the royal ‘we’… I didn’t take you for the pretentious type…
Cynthia Dotty Schmidt:
We are not amused…
Madame Hydra makes her way to her feet crawling out from under the debris of the hover quad that the Wolf King smashed into her. Her face and head are severely burned where they were exposed to the flames, but they quickly heals up without any sign of trauma by Madame Hydra, as she calmly addresses her former host.
Madame Hydra:
I am the one they call Madame Hydra now… Grant Ward… And you will find me far more difficult to destroy now than I ever was before…
Wolf King:
If the job was easy… then it wouldn’t be any fun!…
Madame Hydra:
Was it really so awful as that?… to make you so bitter?… You were once a true believer in the collective greater good of Hydra… however briefly… before you died on Maveth… And I gave you new life through me… and a greater purpose… You’ve become awfully ungrateful for everything you’ve been given… I don’t recall how it happened… But I suspect that you owe your resurrection to me as well… even as an apostate former soldier…
Wolf King:
Apostate?… Enough with the messiah complex!… Enough with profane resurrections!… Time to die properly!… And stay that way!… Madame Hydra!…
As the Hulk was roaring his way into battle at the Hollywood Bowl, his roar could be heard at Cal Tech as he made his way to the amphitheater, and then again roaring from the amphitheater itself.
Thor:
Bruce?… Is Dr. Banner going into battle again so soon?… Without me!?!… I should really join him… Standing idle while battle rages does not sit well with me…
Blue Angel Darcy:
That last one came from the Hollywood Bowl’s direction… You don’t think it’s the Necromancer do you?…
Thor:
Necromancer?… There’s a necromancer?… Does Lady Sif know about this?…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Yes… But it’s complicated… The Necromancer is the Black Widow’s mom… And there’s a necromancer bear… That’s her dad… Long story… But we’re supposed to be on Necromancer watch because the white flames of Excalibur can heal wounds from a necro sword… The Hollywood Bowl has been where the Necromancer and her bear crush have been laying low… and being watched…
Iron Man is seen flying over head towards the Hollywood Bowl, followed by the Black Widow and her sister along with Capt. Rogers and Hawkeye in their flying car.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Something major must be up if Banner’s heading to the bowl… with Iron Man?… But nobody called us?… We have to go… Here… Can you watch magic Mikey for me Jemma?…
Dr. Simmons:
Sure thing…
Princess Frigga:
Can I go too Mommy?…
Dr. Spectrum:
No!… Princess Sparkles… You’re going to stay here with us… and help us watch after the other two errant flyers… And we’re going to leave the necromancers to your father and his Avenger friends to deal with… Okay?…
Princess Sparkles:
Okay cousin Fits…
Darcy hands over Michael Selvig to Dr. Simmons then grabs Doc Samson’s hand and disappears in a brief flash of light.
Dr. Jane Foster:
Come on Thor… Come fly with me…
Thor:
You fly now too?!?…
Dr. Foster fires up her white flames, launches herself up into the sky, and begins to fly over to the Hollywood Bowl, soon to be followed by Thor winding up his hammer and launching himself likewise. Darcy and Doc Samson materialize in a bright flash with Darcy already holding Excalibur engulfed in white flames, standing by the Wolf King and the Valkyrie, along with Sgt. Barnes and Agent Hunter, just as Iron Man flies in and touches down for a landing next to them.
Iron Man:
Is that who I think it is?…
Sgt. Bucky Barnes:
It is… with some sort of FSB body… like Malekith… The Necromancer brought him back… The Red Skull’s calling Hydra an Immortal Order of Death now… and the woman in green is Hive… calling herself Madame Hydra now… All hell is literally breaking lose… Hydra’s gone full death cult…
Cynthia Dotty Schmidt:
This amphitheater is getting a bit crowded Melina… How’s our exit coming?…
Necromancer:
I’m almost ready…
Iron Man:
Did you catch that last part Widow?…
Thor and Dr. Foster catch up with the Black Widow’s flying car just as it comes in for a landing, just beating them to the ground.
Black Widow:
Yeah… I got it… You have to stop this mother!… Stop digging a deeper pit of hell for yourself!…
Necromancer:
Do you even believe in hell child?…
Black Widow:
Stop trying to turn me into a believer… and maybe we’ll talk about it… Steve?… Capt. Rogers?… Are you okay?… Steve?…
The Red Skull:
Capt. Rogers… So glad that you’ve finally joined us… old friend… I had heard that you were on the mend… in spirit… not quite yourself really… But for what it’s worth… you look better than ever… Enchantment agrees with you… It certainly agrees with me…
Capt. Rogers:
Yohan Schmidt… You should have stayed dead… Time for you to go back to hell… with a personal escort from me if necessary… by God’s will and grace…
Capt. Rogers: leaps out of the flying car with his shield and sword at the ready and flips and tumbles over to the stage before leaping up onto the stage and taking a flying slice at the Red Skull directly with his sword. The Red Skull doesn’t even move as Capt. Roger’s sword slices at his neck, only to break his sword over the Red Skull’s neck. Capt. Rogers tosses his broken sword in frustration and kneels down on the stage to pray.
The Red Skull:
Giving up so soon Capt. Rogers?… Or are you just suitably impressed?… I never realized that you were so religious… Has my fearsome visage finally convinced you that I am Satan?…
Capt. Rogers:
I’m just taking a moment to consider my options… And for the record… I always thought you were Satanic… You’ve just never seen me pray about it before…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Capt. Rogers!… Catch!…
Darcy tosses Excalibur over to Capt. Rogers waiting on stage. The Red Skull tries to intercept the sword only for it to flare up with white flames that burn his hand when he grabs at it. Excalibur tumbles in the air on stage and Capt. Rogers leaps up and grabs it out of the air and lands on his feet in front of the Red Skull. The white flames flare up again with the sword in Capt. Rogers’ hand, but they do not burn him.
Capt. Rogers takes another swing at the Red Skull, this time with Excalibur, and the Red Skull instinctively tries to block the flaming sword slicing at his neck with his arm, and Excalibur slices his arm off as the Red Skull ducks his head away and dodges the follow through of the white flaming blade. The Red Skull recovers well enough to kick Capt. Rogers away and gain some distance, then his arm begins to grow back, until it completely reforms itself within moments.
The Red Skull:
Now that is more like it!… But by all means… don’t stop now… I had no idea that you could be so skilled with the sword… I was a competitive fencer at University… I just have to find out for myself just how much your enchanted skill is worth… So by all means for your sake… don’t stop now…
The Red Skull conjures forth a necro sword of his own into his right hand and begins to engage and perry with Capt. Rogers and flaming Excalibur.
Dr. Diablo:
This is what I was afraid of… with all due respect her Skull…
Cynthia Dotty Schmidt:
Melina?…
Necromancer:
I’m ready… But we need breathing room… And I’m not leaving without Alexei!… Alexei!… Heel!…
Black Widow:
You’re so loyal when you want to be… in your own way…
Dr. Diablo brings back his dragon golems to rejoin the battle and keep the assembled warriors at bay. The Necromancer pulls out a small matte black pan flute and starts to play a few notes. Then the bear howls in response and begins to walk back towards the stage. Colossus gains the upper hand on Chief M’Baku and tosses him tumbling head over heels right at the Avengers flying car in the amphitheater. Chief M’Baku’s body crushes the now empty flying car. Colossus Storms over to the stage and calls out for his Shadow Cat.
Piotr The Metal Colossus:
Katya!?!… Time to go!…
Then the Shadow Cat comes running right through the debris piles back towards the stage, with King T’Challa chasing after her the long way by running over the top of the ruins as opposed to walking intangible through them.
Black Panther:
We’re not quite done talking Katya!… Even the sway of Hive is not necessarily forever!… You have a choice!… You and Piotr both!… We can find a way!… There can be no sanctuary in a cult of death!…
The Hulk leaps back into the amphitheater in front of the advancing monster bear only to be blindsided by Colossus to make way for the bear. Doc Samson rushes Colossus, but Colossus leaps over him to get to his Shadow Cat on the other side. As Ursa Major reaches the stage and looms over all present, the Hulk makes another attempt to bear wrestle with a leaping tackle only to be blocked and attacked in midair by the two dragons who then carry him off into the air with them, wrestling with him as they fly away.
Thor:
Banner!…
Iron Man:
I’ll go after him… You stay here… The big bad bear has a weakness for lightening… and the white flames…
Thor:
Duly noted…
Iron Man takes off after the Hulk and his dragons.
Dr. Jane Foster:
Let me try first…
Dr. Foster ramps up her white flames to their maximum and floods the amphitheater with white flames, taking over from and extinguishing all ordinary flame in the vicinity. The white flames continue to spread and cover the stage and then cover the bear that looms over it. The Necromancer is seemingly protected from the white flames by an invisible barrier a few meters wide that also surrounds Madame Hydra, Dr. Diablo, and Dotty that prevents the flames from reaching them. The Red Skull reacts as if in pain when engulfed in the white flames and withdraws from his duel with Capt. Rogers, then retreats to the refuge of the Necromancer’s shield.
The Shadow Cat and the Metal Colossus make their way to the Necromancer’s protective sphere as Capt. Rogers chases after the Red Skull. Colossus moves to intercept and grabs a hold of the white flaming blade of Excalibur with his bare metal hands completely unfazed, rips it from Capt. Rogers’ hand and hurls it away high into the air completely unharmed. Colossus then tries to strike at Capt. Rogers only for Capt. Rogers to block the strike with his shield while still getting knocked back several meters, before rejoining Katya and Madame Hydra within the Necromancer’s sanctuary sphere.
Piotr The Metal Colossus:
Izvinite… Capt. Rogers… But that sword does not belong to you…
Blue Angel Darcy:
No!… It belongs to me!…
Darcy summons her Excalibur back into her hand, and unleashes a raging flare of white flames that spreads out as a plume from Excalibur and joins with Dr. Foster’s flames to overwhelm the bear, causing it to howl in pain, as it starts to shrink in size.
Necromancer:
Alexei!… Come Alexei!… Come back down to me!…
Thor:
Yes!… By all means!… Come all the way down!…
Thor unleashes a massively thunderous barrage of lightening at the monster bear, causing Alexei to howl in pain as he shrinks down and retreats stumbling into the sanctuary of Melina’s protective sphere. The Necromancer’s sphere grows larger as it begins to absorb energy from Thor’s barrage, and finally grows large enough to meet Alexei part way, as he finally steps inside it.
Necromancer:
Thank you Prince Thor… for the extra juice… This could have taken longer than necessary otherwise… Goodbye Natasha… Yelena!… I hope that you and the others can learn to understand… eventually…
The Red Skull:
Auf Wiedersehen… Capt. Rogers… Until our next duel… Be sure to keep practicing until then… for your sake…
The Necromancer, the Red Skull, and the rest of the new Hydra turn into black silhouettes of themselves surrounded by a white lightening aura, then they all disappear in a bright flash of light.
Thor:
Um?… Did I just screw up?… I had always heard from Lady Sif that lightening was a useful weapon against necromancy… just not always that easy to be brought to bare… unless you’re me of course… or my daughter now…
Iron Man flies in as the Hulk crashes for a landing near them.
Iron Man:
You’re not wrong… at least not normally… It was a rookie mistake… But we’re all rookies here… This isn’t just necromancy… This is necromancy plus… as in plus FSBs… a technology that is a hybrid of science and magic to begin with… harnessing and controlling zero matter… which apparently is at the heart of real necromancy as well… And now the new Hydra is working both angles… It’s also a zero-point energy powered supercomputer that loves to play with lightening… and white flames… magical or otherwise… We can’t take it for granted that any of the old methods of science or magic will work with them… not any more… But we might be able to learn from their example… I had Space Crow go into comprehensive deep scan mode as soon as I heard something was up… just in case we could learn something from this… compared to previous times…
Thor:
Compared to previous times?…
Black Widow:
She’s pulled a disappearing act like that before… But she always reappeared within LA…
Space Crow:
Yeah… I can confirm that there is no sign of them reappearing anywhere in here with us… They could just be hiding better… but I doubt it… They’re gone… But with a lot more energy than previously… It’ll take some analysis… But we could generalize the technique to bust out of here… but only piecemeal… We still won’t have means to break the city out… We could only just make a run for it ourselves and leave the city to the Black Queen… and whatever she’s up to… We could run for help… But help won’t respond until most everyone in here is already long dead… This entire city is one big hostage rescue situation… and a city size human shield…
Politics Are Poison!
Poison That Never Ends!
Battles Of Shadows And Mist!
That Forever Never End!
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