Once and for All (part V)

Bruce Ba-HULK!/Hulk

Hulk roared as he rushed through the trees, snapping branches off his body with no regard for them. Ahead of him was a large anti-aircraft gun emplacement pointed up at his friends, shooting at them. Hulk narrowed his eyes, ignoring all the puny HYDRA shooting at him to focus in on the giant gun. There was a moment, with Hulk's green foot digging deep into the earth as he was moments from hitting the thing, where the whole forest stilled. Then the Hulk was smashing into the gun, steel bending and shattering everywhere into pieces of shrapnel, the HYDRA soldier piloting the gun flying into the distance.

"Huh," Bruce said in his mind. "That was impressive. And you didn't kill anyone."

Hulk shook his head, only barely listening. The big green monster felt his rage rise.

"Okay, next one," Bruce said calmly. "Come on, big guy, we need to take these things out so everyone else can be safe."

Hulk struggled to think as he turned around and ran towards the next emplacement, tossing aside a HYDRA soldier as he ran past, then tearing through a tree which exploded into chunks of wood all over the forest floor. Bullets bounced off Hulk, who furrowed his brow in thought.

"Abomination..."

Bruce sent a wave of acknowledgment. "We'll take him when he shows up, Hulk."

A tank rolled over a nearby hill, firing waves of energy at the Hulk. They barely slowed him down despite their unusual weaponry. Hulk roared, twisting around and leaping towards the tank to lift it onto his shoulders before jumping again to land next to the next emplacement, spinning around to smash the tank into it.

"BLONSKY!" Hulk roared in challenge.

In the distance, another roar responded. Hulk spun around, nostrils flaring with rage.

"Wait, Hulk!" Bruce said quickly. "I know, you want to fight him! But Blonsky's not important! Jennifer! Jennifer is the one we want to save remember?"

Metaphorical ice-water poured over the Hulk. For a moment, he stared longingly towards where the roar had come from. Then he turned and ran for the next emplacement. And if he hit it with even more anger than before, it was because he was picturing a green face on the metal.

Steve Rogers/Captain America

"Whoa, look at him go," Clint said from the cockpit as he watched Hulk tear another emplacement to pieces.

"Focus," Steve said leaning over to gaze upon the castle beyond. While he was carrying his shield, the rest of his clothes was more casual, except for several pouches across his legs and a small backpack. "We've got a job to do."

Clint nodded, spinning the Quinjet to fire upon a HYDRA aircraft, only for a fighter jet to zoom past with a missile. Steve turned and walked into the back.

"Jarvis and X are still going through the files," Steve said to those gathered in the back, BRIDGE Elites, Natasha, and Bobbi, his comms sending his words to the other soldiers in other Quinjets. "But they've been able to tell us that HYDRA has enough Chitauri armored and Centipede soldiers for a small army. They've also made Gamma-enhanced soldiers, at least two of which are stable. Now, our people on the inside are going to be engaging us in combat. That's necessary for the ruse to work. So those are Avengers only targets. Everyone else is fair game," Steve closed his eyes thinking for a moment. "We don't expect everything to go perfectly. But you all have one order above all others. Come back home alive. Understood?"

With that statement, the door in the back opened. Steve moved towards it, tapping his chest. "Captain America."

With that, catoms flowed across his body from the pouches on his legs and the pack on his back, moving over his body. They formed into metallic plates across his frame, forming into gauntlets and greaves, covering him in hundreds of pounds of metal and other materials. The armor was similar in design to Steve's old costume, with a star that glowed with white flames of power. His helmet's face was all in one smooth piece, like that of a knight. Steve moved over to Natasha and Bobbi, who were in their armor already, Natasha in a black version of Bobbi's costume, only with red highlights.

"Still not sure about this armor," Steve admitted, looking down at himself. "I mean, I can move really easily in it. But I'm still-"

"Bulletproof?" Natasha quipped.

Steve looked over at Bobbi, who shrugged. Steve sighed, then leaped out of the Quinjet.

"...Did he have a parachute?" A BRIDGE Elite asked, shocked.

Clint, laughing like a madman, jumped out, Bobbi and Natasha following with whoops of joy.

"What the hell did we sign up for?" The same Elite asked.

"Killing wanna-be Nazi's?" Another responded.

"...Yeah, that's fair."

Steve's jets activated moments from impact, allowing his superhuman legs to take the landing on the grassy field in front of the castle. As he did, Iron Man and War Machine flew overhead, shooting their weapons at the tanks taking to the field, Sam following later to dive into the dogfight between the Quinjets. Clint, Natasha, and Bobbi glided into the castle itself by crashing into the upper windows. Hartley, the woman codenamed Warrior landed next to Steve from another Quinjet, followed by Bucky and Creel. Together, the four of them rushed across the open field towards the castle. For most, the run would have been suicide. Not so much for the quartet.

Chitauri armored soldiers flew overhead and aimed at the group, shooting purple energy blobs at them. Steve raised his shield and blocked them as catoms flowed to Bucky and Hartley's arms to let them do the same with their own shields. Creel shapeshifted into his vibranium form and simply kept running, ignoring the shots landing on him.

Centipede soldiers took to the field as well, rushing out of the castle to attack the group while tanks were torn apart by Tony and Rhodey in a medley of destruction. Steve, the fastest of the group, met the soldiers first but Bucky was already shooting, taking out one of them in a hail of bullets.

Creel, in the meantime, leaped into the air with his superhuman strength. As soon as his feet left the ground, he changed colors from the dark gray of refined vibranium to a color closer to a see-through blue. Aerogel, one of the lightest and strongest materials on Earth, had a weight of 0.16 milligrams. Propelled by Creel's incredible strength, the superhuman rocketed into a Chitauri soldier with a roar, pulling the surprised HYDRA soldier into his grasp. In a flash, Creel turned into his immensely heavy osmium form and slammed into the ground with the soldier beneath him. Creel rolled on the ground and came alongside Hartley, switching back into his vibranium form and punching a Centipede soldier. Hartley stabbed her sword into the man, circling Creel to attack another soldier. For a moment, Hartley and Creel were fighting as one, moving between each other in synergy. Hartley sliced off the arm of a Centipede soldier, then ducked to let Creel punch the man in the face. Creel blocked a series of Chitauri energy beams before Hartley jumped off his back to slash into those men. They fought as though they'd known each other their entire lives.

Steve and Bucky, on the other hand, put them to shame. The pair of WW2 veterans ran up some steps leading to the castle. Four Centipede soldiers rushed them. Steve and Bucky raised their shields.

The doors to the castle exploded inwards moments later when a hail of fists, elbows, feet, and shields sent the four Centipede soldiers flying. Steve and Bucky followed after, rushing across the ground at high speed. Hartley and Creel ran in next. Steve blocked a hail of bullets on his shield, then threw his famously mighty shield, ignoring the Centipede soldier rushing at his weak left side. The soldier reached for a knife and stabbed at Steve.

Bucky caught the blade in his robotic hand, snapping the blade before shooting the soldier in the chest with his BCW. As he did, a sniper aimed a shot at the former Winter Soldier's back and fired.

The round bounced off the returning shield of Captain America. Steve spun with his shield to uppercut into the chin of a HYDRA operative, Bucky killing the sniper with a well-placed round.

"Holy shit," Creel mumbled, watching the pair fight with grace and efficiency he'd never seen before.

"Damn," Hartley said, biting her lip under her helmet. "I want that."

Steve almost stumbled on hearing that, Bucky grinning at his friend. Some things never changed.

They got back to work.

Above the super-soldiers, three assassins ran through the top floors of the castle, the sound of gunshots filling the air.

Prince T'Challa/The Black Panther

The Kingdom of Wakanda was thought of as the Third World. Primitive, full of nothing but farmers, tribes, and cows.

If only people knew better, though for centuries it was agreed by those who did know that it was best to keep the secret of Wakanda.

Of course, that was the exact argument that was being held in the throne room of Wakanda. To step into the light, or to continue as they had. Days ago, such a conversation would have been out of the realms of possibility for any of the rulers of Wakanda's tribes. Today, all the tribe leaders had come. King T'Chaka sat at the center, dressed in simple black robes on his throne, the beautiful Golden City behind them. The prince sat beside him on the left, in a carbon copy of his father's outfit. Queen Ramonda sat on his right, wearing a beautiful purple dress. From there, the tribal leaders sat in a circle on a platform of brown stone, each with their own chair.

With the bright sunlight behind him, T'Chaka listened to the group argue, the River Tribe leader, an older man with a crisp purple business suit and a large purple 'lip plate' in his bottom lip, was speaking now. "The River Tribe has been pushing for Wakanda to provide more support to the world for several years. To give refuge, medical supplies, and rescue those in need. This may be the first step to Wakanda aiding the world."

"Or to destroying our way of life," W'Kabi, the leader of the Border Tribe, and T'Challa's best friend spoke with a serious look on his face. "You bring in the refugees, let the people of other countries know what we have, and their problems... become our problems."

"That's not the issue we'd be dealing with," Oyoke, the leader of the Dora Milaje, said calmly. "Don't forget what this man, Dial, has said. Tony Stark, for all of his genius, has none of the advantages our scientists have. His technology is great, but vibranium and our better-educated scientists, as well as Shuri recently," T'Challa felt a burst of pride for his bratty fourteen-year-old sister. "Have always let us overcome that. But Dial is giving them alien technology beyond anything we've seen before. They are now years ahead of us in many fields. If this continues then BRIDGE will discover us, whatever we decide."

"...Only for as long as Dial lives," the leader of the Mining Tribe, an older woman with an ornate red dress, mentioned softly.

T'Chaka raised a hand, stopping any outburst that may follow that. "That is not something I believe possible. I have seen the power of the Omnitrix, and the skill with which Schahed wields it with. He is constantly watched by an AI, whether he realizes it or not. He is surrounded by the Avengers and BRIDGE's soldiers. More importantly, the aliens he can transform into gives him versatility and power alike to match most armies. Our armies might overcome them. We have more advanced weaponry and soldiers than they do. But the amount of damage we would have to do to defeat and kill Dial would expose us no matter what. And, in truth..." T'Chaka smiled. "I think this may be to Wakanda's advantage. Dial has promised a trade."

"Can he truly make such promises?" The River Tribe leader asked, his lip plate wobbling with each word. "He is only a soldier."

"He is more than that," T'Challa said. "All the Avengers are. In many ways, they are similar to the Black Panther's role in Wakanda. Spiritual leaders, not just warriors. He is, with the help of his watch, a skilled scientist capable of accelerating BRIDGE's technological development. He holds more influence in BRIDGE than I believe even he realizes. And there is something... honest, in him," T'Challa looked at his father. "My King. Can we tell them?"

"Yes," T'Chaka pulled out a cat-like object from his robes. "Dial, in an attempt to prove his willingness to help us, has provided this. The Panther's Trail, he called it. I had our scientists study it. They have confirmed it is what he says it is."

T'Chaka tapped the top of the device. A hologram appeared, crystal clear and almost solid in appearance. An image of a familiar enemy to Wakanda appeared. He was laughing, sitting in a room.

"Klaue," W'Kabi said, his eyes hard. "Is this-"

"It is up-to-date, my love," Oyoke said softly. Klaue turned to one of the men around him, speaking to the man. "This gives us all we need to find him. He can never escape from us again."

"Can it be trusted?" The leader of the Merchant tribe, who had not spoken yet, finally raised her voice. She wore large gold earrings about the size of a fist in each ear and was watching the hologram with keen interest.

"It has been confirmed," T'Chaka said in his baritone voice. "I propose that we hold off on the discussion of what to do about Dial's proposal until we deal with this. T'Challa will lead an assault on Klaue. Oyoke, W'Kabi," the two of them looked up. "Klaue is in an isolated location, near Johannesburg. Take some of your best troops. Do any hear object to this being a capture mission?" when no one responded, T'Chaka nodded. "Very well. Go there. Bring Klaue so that justice might finally be enacted. Then, I suggest we invite this discussion to continue at another time."

T'Challa stayed silent, but the young man was thinking at a furious rate. This... this would change everything. T'Challa had never considered that such a conversation would ever happen. Dial had done this. That unassuming young man with a ponytail and beard. Since meeting him, T'Challa's dreams had been... strange. Almost as though Bast had been sending him messages.

T'Challa was troubled and he needed to discover why.

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

"Let me tell you something, Random HYDRA goons!" I sliced a Chitauri energy weapon in half and roared. "You need to learn one thing! Rath doesn't lose!"

Technically true. Even Creel had only beaten me because the Omnitrix timed out. Thus far, Rath had a flawless win record.

And I wasn't going to end it now. Around thirty men surrounded me in the courtyard, all their eyes on me, and I was willing to absorb all the attention. I had no idea where my hosts were, but I was willing to wait.

"Let's go!" I roared, rushing towards a HYDRA soldier and punching him hard enough that he flew into another man, the two crashing into a stone bench. I jumped up into the air. "MILKY WAY SHOCKWAVE!" I slammed my claw into cobblestone, a wave of power erupting outward to send the men and women around me flying. As one landed on the ground, I grabbed him by the ankle, leaping into the air where I started spinning as fast as I could.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" the guy I was spinning screamed as I spun around and around in mid-air. Then I let go to let him smash through a window of the castle at high speed.

"DRAGONTHROW!" I shouted, landing on the ground and rushing towards the next soldier, laughing. "Yes! RATH LOVES THIS!"

Bullets started hitting me, but I ignored them to kick a Centipede soldier away. Then the plasma weapons started hitting me. My fur got a little scorched by those, but not enough for me to really notice. I instead grabbed a soldier and spun her around, rearing my foot back before kicking the girl in the ass. "SIRIUS BUTTKICKING!"

Then I spun to slam my claw into the floor again, sending out a smaller shockwave. I reached out and grabbed a stone bench, ripping it out of the ground and throwing it at a group of soldiers, sending the combined group of Centipede and regular HYDRA soldiers to the ground.

Then a soldier punched me in the face, turning my head to the left. I stood still as more plasma bolts singed my fur and starting to sting a little from the constant barrage. I took the small pain and let it fuel me, pushing my aggression higher as I smiled. In a way, the pain was a pleasure, was a good way to stoke my anger. Then I looked at the guy who had punched me.

"So you want to play with Rath?"

The Centipede soldiers tended to show no emotion. This guy managed something close to fear. Then I grabbed him by the arm and twisted it behind his back before rushing forward at full speed towards his friends, the guy screaming in my grip. "ANTARIAN ARMBAR!"

We bashed into a group of soldiers, sending them flying. I roared in pride, raising my hands up. "RATH IS HERE! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF RATH!? WHO HAS THE STONES!?"

A wall of the castle shattered outward to reveal a hall behind it. Out of it stepped... Kristen Nun? Granted, she wasn't a huge celebrity or anything, but she did have a reputation as a bodybuilder. This version of her was bigger, wearing a tank-top, backward baseball cap, and sweats on a woman who actually towered over Rath. She gave me a smile that was somehow shy. "I'll fight you."

I grinned at that before turning around and grabbing a piece out of the stone wall behind me, turning to toss it at her. She watched as the stone section of wall flew towards her before lashing out and punching it, sending gravel everywhere. "Leave!" she yelled to the soldiers around her. "Now! Support the defense in the castle!"

The normal HYDRA, Chitauri armored soldiers, and Centipede soldiers ran for it, leaving me and her alone.

"I'm Miriam, by the way," the giant of a woman said. "Miriam Pouncy."

"Rath is Rath," I said with a grin. "Ready!?"

"Yep!" The two of us rushed each other, meeting in the center of the courtyard in an explosion of sound. We wrapped hands around each other. Miriam grinned in my face, whatever shyness in her eyes fading in an instant. I flashed my fangs. "LET'S GO!" I wrapped my arms around her head and twisted, tossing her into a stone table, shattering it with her form. Miriam rolled backward with the impact when I ran towards her, coming up into an uppercut that sent me flying up into the sky, slamming me into one of the towers of the castle. The large tower cracked on the impact of my body. Miriam landed on me as I rested against the castle tower. She punched me in the face harder than even the Hulk had, sending a tooth flying. I roared and twisted to grab her arm, spinning her into the tower and shattering it with her body. We both yelled aloud as we ripped into the castle, dropping through the roof and dropping past Captain America and Nomad battling two green monstrosities, landing on a lower floor.

Miriam grabbed me by the arm and spun to toss me through another wall. I ended up inside a large dining hall, complete with a throne at the head of the room. My large form shattered the wooden table, sending shards everywhere. I rolled to my feet and faced Miriam before punching her back, my claw scraping across her chest to tear at her tank top. She yelled at the blow, staggering back.

My fur was still singed from the earlier plasma bolts, but the real damage I'd gotten was from Miriam.

"You hit hard!" I said with a bloody grin, rolling my shoulders. "Rath likes fighting you Grapplers!"

"Lucky there are two of us," a cute voice said behind me.

I blinked. Then a wall of sound hit me like a truck, sending me catapulting through the castle, spinning through the rooms. I roared, shattering stone on my body until something grabbed me in mid-air. When I looked at myself, a red energy surrounded my chest. Then it pulled me in another direction, sending me through a sofa, a wall, and finally a chandelier, spinning me all the while. "Raaaaaagh! Rath is going to throw up!"

My body hit the ground in a shower of chandelier crystals. I rolled to my feet and faced my opponents as the three came into the large foyer we'd entered. Miriam Pouncy landed in a boom of sound. Behind her, Elizabeth Olsen's look-alike flew in on waves of red power projected from her hands, wearing a red longcoat and corset, her long brown hair fluttering. The final woman looked like Stephanie Wright, a tiny pixie of a weightlifter with very short bleached blonde hair, and she wore a skintight lifters outfit with a white bird image on the front. She floated above us on wings of pink.

Poundcakes, Scarlet Witch, and Songbird. They may not be known to the world as such yet but the three before me had a lot of power to yield.

As I rose, I came to a tough conclusion. I had to change forms.

I didn't want to. Rath was a prideful form. And in truth, he could handle most any battle that came his way. But for this fight, Songbird's sonic attacks would damage his sensitive ears far too much, not to mention Scarlet Witch's long-range telekinesis and Miriam pounding on me all the while. I needed durability and long-range power.

Plus, there was the plan to consider.

With a heavy heart, I reached for the Omnitrix. "Rath could have won you know!?" I yelled out before touching the Omnitrix. "Next time!"

In a flash of green, orange fur gave way to green skin. Large Tesla Coils popped up across my body. Lightning crashed from the ceiling. I stood tall, looking at the woman across from me as electricity flowed.

"Frankenstrike!"

I faced the three and smiled. "Let's do this!"

I released a blast of lightning. Songbird flew up and took a breath. "▅▄▅▂▂▃▅▅▅▃▃▄▄▅!"

A pink set of waves flew from her lips as she floated above, clashing with my attack. Electricity and pink sound met in the center of the foyer, tearing apart the floorboards. Scarlet Witch unleashed her own attack... and 'missed'. Her attack hit the floor, tearing it apart further and sending me into the basement, the three women following.

As soon as I landed, I looked at them in time to catch a fist from Miriam. I staggered back across the stone floor before coming up with a lightning enhanced uppercut to send her back into a wall behind her, smashing the wall apart. Scarlet Witch unleashed a blast of red energy as she dropped in after me. I countered with lightning, the two energies exploding on contact. Scarlet Witch landed on the ground and blocked another lightning bolt with a shield of red power. My right hand lifted to attack Songbird as the pixie-like woman floated down, forcing her to block as well. Miriam rose up and rushed me. I roared.

"Come on! We aren't done yet!" My eyes alive with power, I unleashed more lightning in a dome around me, keeping Miriam from me.

For a moment. Then the superhuman narrowed her eyes and dove into the dome. "YAAAGH!" She screamed in pain as she was electrocuted. She ran in anyway, wrapping her hands around my waist and spinning to smash me into a wall, both of us crashing into another room.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Author's Note:

So, the fight begins in earnest. The reason for Frankenstrike will come to fruition soon, but man, Rath could have won that fight! Or at least, his loss would have been fun. And the castle would have disappeared.

And yeah, Hulk actually ignored a fight to focus on an objective. Blonsky ain't happy.

Meantime, Steve and Bucky just watched a screaming cat and woman drop though two floors as they beat on each other. Fun.

As for Wakanda, T'Challa is having dreams. Bast is speaking.