Arc Ten. Chapter Two-Hundred Eighty-Seven. Lights Out

Ravage screamed as her armour slid over her. The form-fitting newer armour was being tested today, Carol knew that labs and firing ranges never gave the whole truth, that only in combat could you establish if something really worked or not

Captain Marvel snorted, "Nice duds. But they won't save you," and her arms glowed for a second before firing off another beam of blue energy.

Ravage held up an arm, and a shield of adamantium unfolded, letting the beam bounce from it. Carol was a brawler, she could throw photon beams all day, but moving at accelerated speeds she preferred to hit things, so her armour was suited to her fighting style. Peter and Liv both loved their extra arms, Natasha had her supercharged Widow's Bites, and Carol had extra thick gauntlets and a reinforced armoured shield on both arms, making her look more like a beetle than the spider that adorned Peter's Venom outfit.

She didn't care though, and as she sped forwards she slammed a fist into Marvel's guts and then as she doubled, brought up two fists in a haymaker and sent her flying.

"Pretty lights are great when it's Christmas, but let's fight like adults," she said as she followed after her, leaping up and grabbing her, spinning around and throwing her into the ground at high speed.

Following her down, Ravage rained blows on both her chest and face. Pinning her to the ground with her body weight before flipping back, kicking her back up into the air and blasting her at close range.

One fact of life for everyone at the warehouse was a common thread. Peter. And as a game, they devised ways to spend time with him. Carol's favourite was the training.

Once upon a time, a jar existed, with paper inside, detailing things the women would do for and to him if he reached a target. They had reversed it, and now, he would give out papers with things he would do for them. These were more than the little things they did as a group, they were personal, and Peter had agreed to any request. It lit a competitive streak in everyone. He still spend time with them but these were special. It was silly and stupid but most of all a fun way to bond, and everyone tried just a little bit harder because of it, even Peter.

Carol trained, and to win was to get a prize, it was just difficult when your tutor was a hundred years old at least, and your main rival could pull your lungs out your ass before you even knew she was there. The military, even the Kree, hadn't prepared her to face Logan or Nat, but right now she was grateful for every second spent on the mat with them.

Captain Marvel never knew what hit her as the woman she used to look up to used her as a punching bag. Every counter she had was useless and after being blasted into the air, she used her powers to slow her fall only to find Carol swinging at her and driving both knees into her back.

As she slammed into the ground once more, her powers began to sputter. She knew Carol had a high-calorie diet, they had files on the amount the warehouse ate, all carefully collected from Supermarket chains, what she never realised was it wasn't enough. Carol danced through the air, throwing punches, kicks and avoiding the sloppy moves of Captain Marvel. She was flagging but to her, Carol seemed to barely be breaking a sweat. High-intensity combat was her forte, and Monica regretted getting up close and personal with her.

Ravage drove Marvel's head into the ground, and when she lifted her by the back of the neck, she closed her eyes as Marvel brought both hands together and blasted her right in the face.

Smoke wafted from Ravage's helmet, "nice try-" but Ravage never finished as the Gamma troopers opened fire.

Heavier pulse cannons had been set up, Monica providing the distraction for them while larger barrel sized energy cells were fitted to large turret-sized guns. After driving support legs into the concrete of the sidewalks, they had taken aim, and with no care towards their own, fired.

Ravage had hoped her armour would soften the blow, and while she was till whole the blast had lifted her and Marvel into the air and thrown them across the street into a building.

More soldiers, ordinary Shield agents advanced with rifles drawn, connected to power packs. These were the newer models, the energy output increased as the smaller guns proved useless against more powerful foes. Even with the thick shield over both arms protecting her she was blasted back again and again.

A trooper ran over to Monica and helped her to her feet, "Ma'am," he said as he handed her a small pack of thick glucose gel. "She appears to be unharmed, and the rifles are having little to no effect. Orders?"

"Forward Fire," Captain Marvel said, and the troopers all turned and clicked their rifles to a new setting they fired at her.

Ravage watched her pulse with each blast, powering her up further. Energy absorption, she tutted in her head, damn cheats.

Captain Marvel sneered and bring both hands together fired a huge blast at Ravage, sending her flying and burning through the reinforced armour on her front.

As Ravage shook broken ceiling tiles from herself she lifted an arm as bolts of blue light streaked through shelves and hangers. Burning and setting the store alight.

Ravage wasn't in pain but she was hurt. Heat and plasma burned anything, and the symbiote wasn't immune. "Yeah, now we're mad," she said as she stood, brushing the last of the beams from herself.

Captain Marvel watched as Ravage stood after being blasted by a force strong enough to blow a hole in the side of the building. During testing, it had melted a tank, and she brushed it off like it was nothing.

"Men, Protocol Firefly." and her Gamma troopers nodded and stepped back, moving away.

"I'm sorry, but you forced me to do this." Floating up, Captain Marvel began to glow once more, pulsing with a brighter and brighter light.

"Stand down. Your last warning." Captain Marvel said, brushing the dust from her uniform, and as she started to float her skin pulsed with blue light, rippling across her slowly at first and then in faster and faster flashes until she was glowing, Never thought I'd have to do this.

Ravage recognised it, she had her own Binary form, and copying her powers gave Monica one too. Ravage shook her head, what was the point? She must know that she could do that too, and the gap in their abilities would still remain.

Ravage stood, holding both shield arms in front of her waiting for the next blast to hit her when Monica exploded into light and shimmered, zipping forwards and flying through Ravage's arms as if they weren't there. Ravage felt every muscle in her body contract as the full force of energy phased into her and stayed there,

Captain Marvel's now pure energy body phased into Ravage, passing through her armour and tapping into the arc reactor on her back, draining it dry and powering her up more. The pure energy flowed into every cell of her body, and while Ravage could absorb some, there was simply too much at once. Even flaring off blasts of power Ravage couldn't contain all the energy and she screamed as she burned from the inside. Even trying to connect to her binary form only added to the pain, and with each moment she felt herself slipping into the black.

It was not without effect though, and even as Ravage burned, Monica screamed in pain as well. The strange alien biology Carol possesses was absorbing her, and she felt herself growing weaker and weaker the longer she stayed in this form.

Exhausted Monica fell backwards, her body returning to normal but Ravage slumped onto the ground, a horrible smell of cooked meat and burnt hair coming from her. She was breathing, a slow steady rhythm but so far she hadn't moved.

Monica blinked, letting the sweat and tears run from her eyes. "Containment, quick, before she recovers," she shouted as the troopers, who escaped the blast, came back in and after prodding Carol's still form. Several stood guard as the unlucky volunteer cuffed her with energy dampening restraints on both her wrists, ankles, and then added in a power restraint collar for good measure.

The reports Carol Danvers had been weakened by some unknown force were grossly exaggerated, and as a medic looked over Monica he shook her head, "You won but your bioenergy levels are so low you're a normal person, Cap. You'll need a long rest to recover." and as he helped her to her feet she looked over at Carol being taken away on a stretcher,

"It's fine. We got her, and we can get the rest too."

This was a shit show as her old commander used to call it. They had gotten one. She already heard that Talbot failed, Ross only got Rogers, and the other Avengers had been driven off by a lawyer of all things. The New Avengers were off to a rocky start, and they hadn't even been teamed up.

Looking at the wrecked clothes shop, she knew this would be blamed on her as well. Sone fist mission this was, she thought. And holding her ribs and trying to ignore that all over ache she got when transformed herself into pure energy, she used the shoulder of the medic as a temporary crutch to get back to the unit's ATV.

She nodded as the medic helped her into the ATV, gave her a shot of serum and then checked her vision. Her energy form was dangerous to use, and she was stuck as a floating see-through ghost for a week when she first tried it, giving off massive amounts of X-Rays.

It was only through years of treating for the Avengers Initiative that she finally got a good grip on her powers but whatever Carol had become had drained her dry. "Hey, remember to take blood and tissue samples while she's out," she told the medic who nodded and collected a tray from the back of the ATV.

She knew her own transformation was based on blood and other genetic material found, but they were damaged, and incomplete. With new fresh samples, they could refine the process, and maybe even fix her.

Leaving back and closing her eyes, a soldier nudged her gently and she was handed two things, a ration bar and a radio,

"Go for Rambeau."

"Blonskey 'ere, you get the firefly?"

"Affirmative. Carol Danvers has been neutralised. Do you need help?"

"Nah, just wanted to know if I'd be first or not, got my name in the pool see," and Monica tutted,

"Blonsky, I know being a Hulk makes you stupid, but only supposed to be when you're transformed. Don't bother me while I'm out on a mission."

"Fine, fine." and she could hear him curing as the radio squealed, "I will request backup if Hill and her companions prove difficult. Blonsky out."

Maria shook her head and closed her eyes again, unwrapping the energy bar and ignoring the strange chemical-laced chocolate fudge flavoured energy bar. Emile had made it perfectly clear he was attracted to her, and while the man was attractive, the beast was not.

She laughed to herself, imagining if when they grew did everything, as very few Gamma troopers were female and those that were had to endure the jokes that followed. Of course, Betty was fine. Nobody wanted to see Bruce get angry, even if the reports he had managed to de-power himself were true. Hulk was unpredictable, and while he had complained about the new law, so far he had stayed off the battlefield.

Parker's little enhanced group was proving difficult enough, and once more it seemed that a well trained, well-armed small force could do exactly what the Senate was afraid of. Powered individuals capable of doing what they pleased when they pleased. Monica was glad her mom wasn't here to see what kind of monster Carol had become, of what it took to take her down after her refusal to follow orders. She just hated that to fight the monster, she had to become a monster herself.