#you are normal and well adjusted but me and my plethora of angry men have scarves and yarn so whos the winner here huh

[parapsychoiogy]

imagining a character takes up knitting or crocheting to deal with Stuff™️ is something that can be sooo personal

[snowfall-fanfictions]

Ice, Fire, and Shadow

FFN link

Ao3 link

A dragon, a soldier and an assassin. When Elsa's missing and Arendelle has no one else to turn to, teaming those three up seems to be the answer - if only they didn't try to kill each other. Crossover with CallenAmakuni, @snowdragon4, and @snowfall-in-summer.

“I’m not paid enough for this.”

A long sigh heaved from deep within Garret’s chest while he ran a hand through his crimson hair. He had been standing in front of the door for little more than half an hour – the ants he felt walking all over his legs were starting up a colony, apparently. He brought his gaze down to his shifting feet.

“Could have put out a couple chairs, at least,” he said, his annoyance growing with every minute he spent fidgeting on his spot, waiting for a colonel that might very well have left home.

The latter had asked for him, yet he still didn’t know where, when and for what. Garret had resorted to waiting in front of his office and had considered knocking once or twice.

“Better not to try my luck.”

The colonel had always been considerate, but Garret’s teammates always told him stories of subordinates getting in disproportionate trouble for the tiniest mistakes. When hierarchy was involved, safe wasn’t only the better choice. It was the only choice. He finally clasped his hands behind his back and dejectedly decided to wait some more – he had already gone that far.

Standing alone with his mind, his thoughts inevitably went back to the fiasco.

“God-freaking-dammit.”

The instructions were simple: he wasn’t supposed to use the asset outside direct orders. It had more or less been a tacit accord of his strike team’s commander with the higher staff and he knew that. Then why did he have to disobey that command the only time it was explicitly specified? Why did he use it the only time when it was not only unnecessary but also detrimental to the mission? Why was he so stupid?

He angrily clapped his boot on the cold wood beneath him in a tentative attempt to evacuate some of his frustration – he couldn’t let his superior see that he was angry at himself. And of course, that same superior had chosen that exact moment to open his office’s door.

“Got something under your foot, soldier?” the colonel asked with a lifted eyebrow. His proud bushy mustache was one privilege among the plethora of perks his rank inferred. Among those perks was the ability to reprimand his men. “Want some rocks to step on?”

Garret immediately stood upright and saluted sharply. “No, sir. Squished a bug, sir.” Bluff seemed to be his strategy.

The colonel kept his eyebrow up. “Do I want to ask you to lift your boot, soldier?”

The strategy was quickly proving ineffective.

“N-No, sir.”

The colonel breathed a sigh that made his entire body sink down. “Come in, son,” he said, stepping aside to leave Garret enough space to go into his small office. The room was well-lit, perfectly organized and without any embellishment. A fitting setting for the man. The colonel sat at his desk and clasped his hands together over it. Garret stayed on his feet – he hadn’t been invited to sit.

“Do you know why I called you in?” the older man said once he finished examining him.

“I have an idea about it, sir.”

“All right, then. That saves you some uncomfortable small talk. You know you fucked up.”

“I do, sir.”

“And you know how sensitive it is that your…abilities…remain a secret.”

“Yes, sir.”

The colonel dropped his arms to rest on the table. His gaze visibly hardened. “Then you’ll understand our decision to send you away for a little while.”

Garret’s felt his heart fall. “Send- Send me away, sir?”

The colonel somberly nodded. “Exactly. For at least four months.”

“Two months? What am I gonna do for four bloody months?” Garret blurted out without thinking, forgetting the protocol in the process.

The sanction was instantaneous. “Watch your tongue, soldier, or I’ll make it a whole year.”

Garret immediately got his bearings back, realising how out of line he was. “Sir, yes, sir.”

“Officially, you’re going to investigate a creature sighting in foreign territory,” the colonel explained once his glare softened a bit. “Unofficially, I don’t give a cow’s tit what you do. You’re to leave the country tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? B-But I have to say farewell to…”

“It’s an order, son. Order from him,” the colonel finished with an insistent glance. “I wouldn’t discuss anything further. The boat’s waiting. Report at London Port first thing in the morning. See you in two months. Dismissed.”

The words were final, ringing in Garret’s ears like the blunt impact of the hammer that had just fallen.

“Un-Understood, sir.”

As he turned around to leave, he heard the colonel’s normal voice, the one that sounded warm and welcoming, the one he would usually never use when wearing his uniform. “Sorry, soldier. Wish we could have handled this any differently.”

“Yeah. I know,” Garret answered before closing the door behind him.

 —:0:—

The morning’s atmosphere was chilly, humid and heavy. The port was starting to wake up even though the sun was still nowhere to be seen, its light replaced instead by the faint glow of smelly oil lamps. Bringing his coat closer to his body, Garret adjusted his small satchel over his shoulder. He sighed when he noticed the dense fog escaping out of the sailors’ mouths, lifting up to blend into the vapor of the buzzing docks’ heavy machinery. He’d have to look like he was feeling the cold.

“All right, fellas?” he greeted when he reached the hull of the vessel he had been assigned to.

Nobody answered him, but a young one disappeared into the deck and came back accompanied by a man with a hat that seemed to be the captain. “Cheers, mate. You the special cargo?” that same man called.

Garret rolled his eyes. Of course, they would call him that. “That’d be me, yeah.”

“Come on-board,” he said as he threw a rope ladder his way. “We got instructions to get you out of here.”

Garret climbed in, quickly getting used to the slight swaying of the ship. He could tell she was military in design, civilian in aspect. “So where are we taking her?” were his first words.

The captain removed his hat and started wiping the dust off its edges. “You are not takin’ anythin’ anywhere. You just sit tight. We are droppin’ you off where the brass told us to drop you off.”

Garret’s shoulders slightly slumped down. The trip was going to be fun. “And where would that be?” he asked.

The captain put on his hat again, his gaze fixed on the horizon. “A small place up North. They said it’s called Arendelle.”

—:0:—

Eryn downed another tankard of ale. This was at least his third one today. He always found himself back in Karnisvarne after each successful kill. This time it was some medium ranking general in the Southern Isles army. He couldn’t be bothered to remember the details, he normally stopped caring about that after he was paid. And he was handsomely rewarded for the kill, even securing a bonus for shifting the blame onto some fresh private. It may not have been the most honorable thing, but money is indeed money.

He was still in his travelling attire; his brown travelling cloak draped over his shoulders like a fancy cape, covering his plain looking shirt. His boots were still caked with dirt from the quick escape he had to make when he put a bullet between the general’s eyes. Eryn’s raven black hair was windswept from when he and Magni bolted out of the camp to the nearest port. Now in the calm of the tavern, Eryn looked like a disheveled mess compared to everyone else

Eryn sat at the bar, carefully studying the other patrons. There were only a few other people in the tavern along with him. Everyone else was busy toiling out in the fields for meager pay, or up in the city for some festival. Eryn could care less about what happened in Arendelle proper, since they seemed not to care about anyone but themselves. He nursed another tankard in his hands while he listened to some of the conversations happening.

“There’s a nip in the air. Not good for crops…”

“Lyin’ whore. Kid obviously ain’t mine.”

“Bullshit! Snowmen can’t talk…”

“Ya hear about the queen bringing in one of them ‘Dragon Knights?’”

Eryn perked up at that last conversation. Dragons? You have my attention. Two men were seated a few seats away from him at the bar, hunched over with their own tankards. Eryn leaned in closer to listen in on their conversation.

“Hell’s a dragon knight?” One of the men asked.

“Agh. Warriors from buttfuck ‘who cares’,” his friend replied. “One of ‘em’s here for the festival.”

“What’re they doing here?”

“Probably for the queen, but who cares? Freaks of nature the lot of them. The whore’s magic could easily make her a target for the likes of them…”

Eryn contemplated this information for a moment. If the Dragon Knights were renowned warriors, what would people think of a man who could kill a Dragon Knight? That’s when a spark of inspiration hit him like-

A Dragon Knight?! Are you out of your mind, Odrikson?! a familiar voice rang in his head.

Eryn pulled his dagger out of its sheath. It was an ancient looking blade, with an ebony grip and a rough looking edge. Etched into it were a series of runes which currently glowed bright red.

C’mon! An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime! he mentally retorted.

That’s what at least three of your predecessors said before they all met their ends. Dragon Knights are not meant to be taken lightly, Odrikson, they-

How hard can it be?

THEY ARE DRAGONS, BOY!

Bah, that’s probably just some propaganda to scare folks into respecting them. Like ‘Winged Hussars.’ And since when have you been an expert in ancient knighthood orders?

Since when have you been an idiot? I assure you, that title is not simply honorary. If you try to fight a Dragon Knight, you will die!

You said that for at least three different jobs we took.

Yes, and if it weren’t for me, you would be dead! Besides, didn't we just get done with a kill not a few hours ago? 

Well, Adrenaline is still pumping. I guess. 

Odrikson….

Bah, quit blabbering. We’re off to Arendelle proper.

Eryn sheathed the dagger and got up from the bar. He fished around in his pocket for a few gold coins and made his way out of the tavern. This was a perfect opportunity! If he killed this “Dragon Knight,” the whole damned world would know who Eryn Odrikson was. It would be impossible to go anywhere and find someone not talking about how a master assassin killed such a prestigious warrior. Eryn wasn’t quite sure what a dragon knight looked like, but he was certain he would know as soon as he saw one.

Entering the stables, Eryn saddled up Magni, his horse, and readied up. With the shout of “Magni! Beveg seg!” the black stallion darted out of the stables onto the north road.

That Dragon Knight is mine, Eryn thought to himself as Karnisvarne disappeared behind him.

 —:0:—

The Great Thaw Festival Observance, or GTFO as Princess Anna put it, was to be a new tradition in Arendelle after the events that took place one year ago today.  After what seemed like hours of pleading, Queen Elsa finally relented to her sister’s wishes to host the festivities.  The contrast in the sisters' personalities had never been more evident than when the festival was decided on.  Elsa saw it as the day she lost control and the kingdom found out about her secrets, Anna saw it as the day they became sisters again and the gates to their kingdom had been opened. 

Either way she looked at it, Elsa couldn’t help but feel a little excited about the upcoming events. Even her advisors were looking forward to it, and they were never happy about anything.

Looking over the fjord filled to the brim with ships, Elsa took a few deep breaths of the ocean air, allowing its calming and salty breeze to settle her nerves.  

I can do this. This is for Anna. Anna and I, but still mostly Anna. As much as she wanted to enjoy the gates being open, she still wouldn’t be what most people would call a “people person”.  She left that to her sister. 

“There you are!” Speaking of which. Elsa felt the arms of her sister wrap around her shoulders.  “Are you excited about the festival?”

Elsa’s eyes drifted from the harbor to the town square where her people were setting up banners, food, tables with goods ready to be sold, and an all around merry atmosphere.  

A smile ghosted her lips. “As excited as I’ll ever be.”  

Anna gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Oh don’t be like that. This is gonna be a blast and you know it.”  

Elsa barked a laugh. “You're just saying that because you're excited for yet another party.”

“Well, the gates are open and we’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”  

Elsa reached up and grabbed her sister's arm tenderly. “I know, and little by little we're making up for it.”

“Then let’s go!” Grabbing her by the arm, she tugged, pulling her sister through the castle at top speed and Elsa’s arm from its socket. Before her brain could register what was happening, she found herself in the castle courtyard still being towed behind her sister.  

Suddenly Anna stopped. “OH! Before we go too far I have to show you what me and Gerda made.”  

“Gerda and I,” Elsa corrected. 

“No.” Anna pointed to herself in an exaggerated fashion.  “ME! And Gerda.”

Elsa’s expression was as blank as stone and with a deadpan expression she responded. “That joke never gets old.” Anna disappeared back into the castle and with impressive speed, returned only a few moments later.  

“We had a bunch of this made up and are being hung around the city.” It was an exquisite banner made from gold, green and purple fabrics with stitchings of the letters GTFO.  “What do you think?”

Elsa tilted her head. As much as she loved the banner and her sister’s creative talents, something about it seemed off. Unable to think of it she gave her sister a large wide smile. “It’s beautiful.”  

Squealing excitedly, Anna all but sprinted into the town, Elsa making sure to keep her arms behind her back so that Anna didn’t pull them off.  

Sure enough the banners were being hung throughout Arendelle, and no matter how many of them she saw, Elsa couldn’t remember what it was that was off about them.  

“Good work guys!” she heard Anna say. Kristoff, Sven and Olaf were helping hang the banners over a few of the consignment tents. While Anna gave the boys a hand -and by giving a hand meant barked orders about how they were doing it wrong- Elsa meandered through the town.  She nodded and smiled to the various merchants, townsfolk, children, and those visiting from other countries.  

After exchanging a few words with someone there from France, out of the corner of her eye she spotted an old friend wandering through the square. She almost didn’t recognize him dressed in a dark green suit, a high collared shirt with a tie, grey trousers and nice black leather shoes.  Even his dark brown hair was combed to the side. Had it not been for the glowing teal necklace he wore, she wouldn’t have known it was Drake Daniels, Dragon Knight. 

She excused herself from the French dignitary, and made her way to the dragon warrior.  

He held his arms behind his back as he aimlessly meandered, clear that he was either lost or wasting time pretending to be interested in what was going on around him. Luckily for him Elsa was closing in, giving him a reprieve from his feigned interests.  

He bowed at the waist with his hand over his heart. “Her Majesty honors me with her presence.”

She chuckled at his sarcastic, teasing tone, and with a curtsy responded. “You should be so honored.” He laughed as he stood up straight, his fingers casually tugging at his collar. “Um, what are you wearing?” Elsa asked.

He looked at himself like he had done something wrong. “A suit? Am I not supposed to wear one?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, no, no.  It’s just I’ve never seen you so, dressed up?”

He released a breath of relief. “Well. This is a festival. I don’t see the need to be geared up in all my hunting gear. Although,” he lifted his suit a bit to show a belt littered with a variety of pouches, “I never leave the house unprepared.”  

“Ha. So much for no hunting gear.”

“Hey! I said ALL my hunting gear. This is only some of it.”

“Some of what?”  Seeing that Elsa was chatting with someone, Anna had removed herself from her supervising duties to see what her sister was up to. Her mouth dropped with surprise and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Drake! It’s so good to see you.”

He returned a gentle friendly hug. “You too, princess.”

“When did you get here?” she asked when they stepped away from each other.

“Well, actually I arrived a few days ago, but I kept myself out of the way so as to not interrupt anything you ladies were doing. And yes, I flew, no boats for me please.”  

“Well neat! Now that you're here, you can help us hang these.” Drake looked at the banner she had flashed to him and his smile changed to a twisted, uncomfortable grimace. “What?  What is it?”  

“Um, heh, you do know what GTFO means right?” 

Anna shook her head. “The Great Thaw Festival Observance?” Drake sucked in a breath through his teeth, before leaning forward to whisper into her ear.  Anna’s expression changed from confused to downright horrified. “Oh god! KRISTOFF, TAKE THE BANNERS DOWN!!”  She sprinted to stop him, leaving Elsa to watch her with her brows lowered.  

“What was that?”

Drake couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’ll tell you as we help her take those things down.”  

Just as he took his first step, he stopped when he felt a tickle in the back of his neck. He was a monster hunter, who knew never to ignore those hairs. He threw a quick glance at his surroundings, his ears and nose twitching.

This is still a bad idea, Odrikson.

The voice was faint, ghostly, almost ethereal but with a rasp and menacing tone.

Hush, I’m concentrating.

This one was less otherworldly, more grounded but no less hostile. Drake furrowed his brows. “Your Majesty, I’m going to have to check on something real quick.”

Elsa simply shrugged in response. “As you wish,” she answered. “But first, tell me what those lette-” She turned around, noticing the surprising absence of the Dragon Knight. “Huh. Where did he go?”

 —:0:—

Drake crossed the main square, the outer city’s rim, then the first glades, and as fast as he moved he was no less on edge. He walked deep into the woods, the two voices following him with impressive stealth. He had to control his pace so as to not go too fast and lose them, or two slowly and alert them.

Where do you think he’s going?

Did mortals get dumber over the millennia or am I just cursed with you?

You know what they say. You can't land a shot you don't take.

I'm sure they say lots of things. You know what they also say? Listen to the Lord of Shadows before doing something reckless.

What intrigued Drake most was the clear absence of footsteps. If it weren’t for the voices exchanging quips every now and then, he wouldn’t have detected them. He stopped in the middle of a clear and open meadow far enough away from the kingdom and turned around.

“Is there something you want from me?” he called loudly.

He’s talking to himself, now. Pff, what a nutjob.

I’m not going to dignify that remark with an answer.

A vein popped on Drake’s forehead at the jab. “You two might as well show yourselves.”

Wait. Two?

“Yeah. Two. The demon and the guy who’s stupid enough to follow me.”

What a surprise.

He can hear me?

“Yes, I can, “ Drake huffed in annoyance. “Now, we gonna do this or what?”

A shadow slithered on the barks, jumping from tree to tree. It approached rapidly, stopping a few feet away from Drake before briskly lifting off the ground, transforming into a black leathered young man holding a dagger in his right hand in a reversed grip. “Your head,” he hissed.

With that, he leaped with incredible speed, aiming at Drake’s neck. The latter barely had time to register that he had moved before he leaned away and felt a vicious snarl below his right ear and his suit ripping out from over his shoulder. He jumped away with a swift step, holding the location where the blade had apparently scratched his skin.

“Okay, first off, this is my only suit that you just tore. So, thanks for that. And what’s this about wanting to kill me?”

The young man slowly walked to the side while twirling his ebony blade between his fingers. “No hard feelings, boy. This is business. When your head rolls to my feet, your reputation will only add to the reverence of my name.”

Drake waited a moment before his head lowered in a “seriously” stare. “I'm sorry, I’m a little slow here. So you’re attacking me... to become famous?”

See?! Even HE knows how stupid your plan is. 

Shut up! I’m in the middle of the pre-fight banter.

Drake didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, who are you?”

Eryn slightly puffed his chest out.  “Eryn Odrikson! Master assassin and your executioner.”

Drake blinked a few times. “Okay maybe you should kill me, cuz I’ve never heard of you.” He removed his hand from the wound on his shoulder, noting the small specks of blood.  “Although this is concerning.” He narrowed his eyes at the dagger in Eryn’s hand. He had never seen anything like it before, nor the writing on the metal, but if it was talking it couldn’t be good. 

Drake examined his attacker.  “Well, I’ll cut you a deal. Leave now and I won’t kick your ass back to wherever you came from.” 

Eryn sneered. “Yeah, how ‘bout—“

—yes! 

“—no.”

Drake heaved a sigh. Looking over his shoulder at the kingdom, he knew he really didn’t have time to deal with this, so he might as well end it quickly. “Alright then. There’s no honor in this, but just so you know, you were warned.”

With that, Drake bent forward. The necklace he wore glowed and he let it engulf him in it’s pure blue. He felt his wings grow, his fangs bare and his throat burn. He let out a deafening roar, lifting his now thick and long head to the heavens.  

And he’s a dragon now.

I guess this DRAGON Knight is full of surprises.

Why didn’t you tell me he could actually turn into one?!?

The assassin plunged to the side to avoid a spray of ungodly blue-hot fire that left only carbonised grass in its wake.

I know this might sound obvious, but do not let the fire touch you.

Gee, thanks for the advice!

Eryn darted forward at his top speed, avoiding another fiery breath and closing the distance with the dragon’s belly.

Is it...glowing?

Now is not the time, Odrikson!

He prepared a strike, cocking his arm back and twisting his feet to accumulate enough force behind the hit. However, Drake interrupted his attempt in an instant and Eryn had to dodge the heavy and scaly tail that stomped the location he had been in a fraction of a second before. He continued dashing back, closely avoiding a rapid claw aiming at his legs and parrying a hit of that same tail that sent sparks in the air and him flying away. He glided a bit on the slippery soil when he landed, bringing himself low and at the ready should another attack come his way. 

I don’t care what it takes, we’re doing it. We’re bringing it down.

It’s a dragon, you moron. You think YOU can take it down?

"Oh, you're gonna burn," the dragon boomed in his enhanced voice before he opened his mouth and sparkles started flying dangerously around it.

Before they could both unleash their wrath, they instinctively brought a claw and a dagger to their sides to deflect arrows that had been aiming at their heads. The two projectiles softly landed in the middle of the space between them. Examining them with curious eyes, they both noticed the pale reflection they were emitting. They were made of crystal ice.

The dragon and the assassin whirled their heads to their left, where a strange man wearing a large maroon coat and a simple traveler’s garb stood with his right arm outstretched. Among the light mist that was surrounding him, his crimson hair stuck out from afar. 

A frozen spear appeared in his hand almost instantaneously. He gave it a quick twirl and planted it in the ground below him with a resonating thud. 

“Hello there,” Garret simply greeted with a smile. “And here I thought the colonel was making a monkey out of me. Mind if I join in?” 

A/N: CallenAmakuni: Hello and first of all thanks for reading! This has been a blast to write - I had lots of fun - and I hope you enjoyed it. We each wrote a part of this chapter and the blend is IMO very harmonious, so I’m very proud of it and us!

Now, a few precisions for those of you who are already familiar with Patience and Time. The Garret you see here is not the same one as the one in PaT. This is an AU - from an AU, yeah, but still - where he is younger and never went to Arendelle before. Everything that happens here will have no repercussions on PaT. See this as a rather self-indulgent Avengers-style crossover where we have fun with our characters. 

And if you haven’t already, please go check Snowfall’s Beware The Frozen Heart (both on AO3 and FFN) and Bearhow’s Hungry Moon (on FFN only for now), I assure you it’ll be worth your while!

We’re really excited to bring you what’s coming next. Thanks again, and see you next time!

A/N: Snowfall_In_Summer: I agree, this was incredibly fun to write!

Likewise, for those familiar with “Beware the Frozen Heart,” This is a non canon story to that fic. The Eryn here isn’t the same Eryn that’s in BtFH. If Garret and Drake interest you, check out CallenAmakuni’s Patience and Time and Bearhow’s Hungry Moon series (Like CallenAmakuni said, Hungry Moon is on FFN only for now. Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13314313/1/Hungry-Moon)

Hope you enjoyed this little experiment!

A/N: Bearhow

Bearhow here! 

I’d like to echo what my partners in crime have already said m.  This was a blast and it's only going to get more amazing as the story goes on. Also this is a different continuity from “Hungry Moon” and “the Snow queen's champion”, but Drake does know our favorite Arendellians.  

Enjoy the show! 

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Chapter 12; Bringing everyone back

*Author’s note*

Okay so here we are with the aftermath of what happened in the previous chapter. I hope you all enjoy what happens here because the next chapter.....oh lord will it be a mouthful but until then you guys get this as a preview for what’s to come in the next chapter. Enjoy my lovelies :)

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@waddles03​

@platawnic​

______________________________________________________________

I was sitting out along the roof of the building completely angry with this whole shit show. First I lose half my family, my wife, and now in order to bring them back, my wife's old mentor and dearest friend had to die in order for them all to come back. What the hell kind of trade is that?!

"Rauri?" I heard my mother in law's voice say.

"Why did she have to do it? There—there should've been another way. There could've been another way." Morowa came up to me and sat down beside me and said.

"As much as I wish it were true, I'm afraid there wasn't. Magic like that requires the greatest sacrifice and I would know. With my husband and my first daughter I—I didn't know the risk. But then I came to realize that powerful magic, always, always, always come with a price. And Natasha knew she had to be the one to pay for it."

She wrapped an arm around me and she continued,

"But we can't let her sacrifice be for nothing. If we don't finish the mission now, then she died for nothing. She knew how important (y/n) was to you. What a whole lot of people who disappeared that day meant to those of us still here. Clint's whole family. Your family, Dean's, Mitchell's, Steve, Scott, everyone lost people they knew and loved."

"I just—wish that it didn't have to be her, nor Clint."

"I know." She turned my head to face her and she pressed her forehead against mine as I felt her fingers comb through the bottom of my hairline at the back of my head. I closed my eyes and tried to draw in her strength.

'Morowa, we're getting the glove prepared.' I heard Steve say through her commlink. Morowa pressed her fingers to her ear and said.

"We'll meet you in the lab. You good to go?" she asked me. I nodded then she helped me stand up and we walked down towards the lab.

When we arrived, I saw Rocket making the final adjustments to the glove. It resembled an Iron Man design but what I noticed is that all six of the stones were put in the same positions as they were with the gauntlet that Thanos had them in five years ago.

"Alright the glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freakin fingers?"

"I'll do it." Said Thor as he began to walk up casually. At that point we all tried to stop him from grabbing the glove.

"Thor just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet." Said Steve.

"Oh I'm sorry. What, we're all just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor snapped impatiently.

"We should at least discuss it." Said Scott.

"Look, sitting here staring at the thing isn't going to bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So, this responsibility falls upon me."

"Normally you're right." Said Tony as he stepped in front of Thor who kept rambling on about how he should be the one to do it. As Tony tried to get a word in, Thor shushed him before pleading with him.

"Just let me do it. Just let me do something good, something right." Pleaded Thor.

"Look, it's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent. I'm telling you. You're in no condition." Tony reasoned with him.

I'll agree with Stark on that, he may still be worthy of his hammer but due to his unstableness from years of drinking and deep depression, there's no telling what Thor could do with the glove and those stones.

"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" asked Thor to which Rhodey responded.

"Cheez whiz?" Thor pointed at him angrily before turning back towards Stark and answered.

"Lightning."

"Yeah." Tony whispered nonchalantly .

"Lightning."

"Lightning won't help you pal, it's gotta be me." Said Bruce. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive." Bruce said as he walked up towards the glove.

"How do we know you will?" I asked.

"We don't. But the radiation is mostly gamma. It's like.....I was made for this."

*3rd Person POV*

Nebula was the only one who wasn't currently at the lab. She stood before the time machine but as she walked up to the controls and unwrapped her hand to reveal a still blue hand. This wasn't the present day Nebula, this was the Nebula from 2014, the one who still sided with Thanos.

Apparently the connection between the two Nebulas was so strong that the Thanos of 2014 captured the present day Nebula and sent evil Nebula along with the Avenger so that she could bring Thanos to the future.

And that's exactly what she was doing as she began flipping the switches on and punching the coordinates from 2014 to now.

Meanwhile unbeknownst to the Avengers in the lab who were preparing Bruce to put on the glove.

"Good to go, yeah?" asked Tony as Bruce now held the glove in his large hulk hands.

"Let's do it." Said Bruce.

"Okay, remember; everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago...you're just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years."

"Got it." Most of everyone minus Thor and Rocket were now in their suits in case anything went sideways for Banner because they didn't know how this was going to work in order to bring everyone back. It may work differently than it did five years ago so they needed to be ready.

Tony activated his suit and projected a shield over himself and Clint. Morowa did the same for herself and Rauri as her Jaguar helmet phased over her. Bruce turned to Tony and nodded telling him he was ready.

"Friday, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol, will ya?"

'Yes boss.' Friday said. And soon the entire Avengers facility went into lockdown mode. With the heavy steel enforced doors, nothing could get in, and nothing nor anyone could get out.

"Everybody comes home." Said Bruce. As he slowly moved his hand towards the glove, it broke apart and adjusted itself in order to fit on Bruce's hand. Everyone around Bruce began to brace themselves as the glove continued to adjust it's size and shape into a bigger glove, resembling the gauntlet that Thanos had.

As soon as the gauntlet fully formed around Bruce's hand, immediately he was brought down to his knees as the powerful gamma radiation started to spread up his arm. Bruce had only experienced a pain like this once, but this time—it was almost twice as excruciating for him as he groaned and cried out in pain.

The gauntlet sparked and groaned as the power from all six stones began to course through Bruce's body.

"Take it off! Take it off!" pleaded Thor.

"No wait. Bruce are you okay?" Steve said. Bruce continued to groan as Tony said.

'Talk to me Banner.' Bruce cried out through his pants and groans.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Morowa sighed anxiously as Rauri and her looked at each other and he moved closer to her and held onto her shoulder for not only comfort but support in case things went sideways.

Back with evil Nebula, she was finally flipping the final switches and the machine began to activate as she grinned in awe, hoping that by doing this she would finally get the approval from her father that she's rightfully deserved.

Soon Thanos' ship came out of the quantum time machine and burst through the ceiling forcing everything in the room to cave in.

In the lab Bruce panted through the pain as his entire right arm, even up onto his neck was charring away like coal in the fire. He got his thought straight before crying out in pure agony as it took all his might to hold his gloved hand up and finally delivering the fateful snap.

A flash of light came up and the next thing everyone saw, Bruce collapsed weak and completely fried. The gauntlet slipping right out of his hand.

"Bruce!" Steve cried out as he knelt down beside him. Clint and Rauri both kicked the glove away from Bruce.

"Don't move him." Morowa said as Tony lowered his shield as well as his helmet before activating the fire extinguisher mode on his suit to ice over Bruce's entire arm. The doors began to open as the protocol was now over.

"Did—did it work?" whispered Bruce exhaustedly.

"We're not sure. It's okay." Thor said as he knelt down beside Cap and pressed his hand against his friend's shoulder.

"Here Bruce, try to relax okay?" Morowa said in her soothing motherly voice. She placed both her hands at both sides of Bruce's temples and used her magic to try and heal him of his pain.

As Scott went to look by the back windows, Rauri and Clint looked up as a phone began to vibrate.

"Clint isn't that your phone?" asked Rauri. The two marauders slowly walked towards the table and as Clint looked down at his phone he couldn't believe who it was that was calling him.

It was his wife Laura.

The two men looked at each other in shock and Rauri gestured for him to take his phone. Clint slowly reached out for it and immediately answered it.

"Honey." He choked out.

'Clint?' Rauri could hear his wife's voice speak loudly and clearly.

"Honey." Clint choked again. It was then Rauri began to think that it actually worked. Because if Clint's wife is back then that means—she was back too.

"Guys....I think it worked." Said Scott in awe. But as Bruce's vision suddenly became clear, his eyes widened in horror as all he saw was a beam heading straight down towards them.

Next thing everyone knew, the entire facility was being bombed to smithereens. Everyone fell down hundreds of feet down to the earth in either a group or on their own.

*Rauri's POV*

What the bloody hell just happened!? Oh thank god I had this Vibranium suit on otherwise I might've been in twice as much pain. I slowly got up and shook myself off before phasing back into my human form, (guess when I hit that beam I must've unconsciously phased into my wolf form).

"Hello? Can anybody hear me?! Mum? Cap? Clint?" it was then I heard a groan. I stood up and only had to walk barely a foot for there amongst the rubble I could already see the quiver of arrows. "Clint!" I raced towards him and tossed aside any boulder surrounding him or could be a threat to him.

He groaned as he wobbled himself to stand up.

"You okay?"

"Well nothing's broken, at least I don't feel anything broken. You?"

"I think I'm good."

"What the hell was that?"

"I have no idea. Where are we?"

"The lower levels of the facility. Thankfully Tony had some secret tunnels as emergency escape routes but this place is built like a maze in case any threats try to follow us."

"Great, so how the hell do we get out of here?"

"Relax wolf boy, I know the way out. But first we gotta see if we can find any of the others."

"Right, right." I helped Clint onto his feet and as he turned on his flashlight to look up at the hole above us he cried out for Steve's codename.

But I could smell something, and it was close very close. Something familiar, something—oh fuck no.

"Hey Rauri, I got the glove, now let's—what is it?" I phased into my wolf form, my fur bristled and tail extended upwards in anger as I snarled just behind us. As a soft growl echoed through the walls, I knew Clint had to know now what I was sensing.

I saw an arrow shoot straight across and lighting up from Clint were those terrible alien dogs that had come to Wakanda all those years ago.

"Okay. Rauri come on!"

'No you go, I'll keep some of these guys busy.'

"Are you crazy I'm not leaving you here!" I shoved him with my head.

'I'm not asking now go. GO!' I snarled as I turned and leapt at the first alien dog I saw. I ripped it's head right off before snarling and took down as many more as I could, allowing Clint some time to escape.

*Morowa's POV*

"Morowa. Morowa can you hear me?" I groaned and opened my eyes to see both Steve and Tony standing over me.

"Easy there McGonagall." Said Tony. I glared at him for the comparison and I groaned out.

"What happened?"

"You mess with time it tends to mess you back." I exhaled and muttered.

"God I should've known this."

"Yeah well there'll be plenty of time to play the blame game. Right now we've got more pressing matters to address right now. C'mon." both men helped me stand up and we soon joined up with Thor outside. Down amongst the rubble I saw the familiar figure of Thanos.

"Shit." I muttered.

"What's he been doing?" asked Tony.

"Absolutely nothing." Answered Thor.

"Where are the stones?" asked Steve.

"Somewhere under all this." Replied Tony.

"Well he doesn't have them, that's all I care about. Let's keep it that way." I answered.

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor asked us.

"Yeah. I don't much care." Tony said nonchalantly.

"Good. Just as long as we're all in agreement." Soon thunder and lightning boomed and crashed in the sky as Thor began to spark with lightning and lightning struck down on him, his sweats changed into his armor, his beard braided and hair pinned up, and he now wielded both his hammer and axe. "Let's kill him properly this time."

We walked down the hill to where Thanos was merely just sitting on some rubble without his helm on and his double bladed sword just standing in the dirt.

"You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life...the other half would thrive. But you've shown me...that's impossible." He spoke as we all circled around him, trapping him between the four of us. "And as long as there are those that remember what was—there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."

"Yep. We're all kinds of stubborn." Tony stated bluntly.

"I'm thankful. Because now...I know what I must do." Thanos stood up and walked right towards his double axe sword to get his helmet as he continued, "I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then...with the stones you've collected for me create a new one. Teeming with life. That knows not what it has lost...but what it has gained." He picked up his sword.

At that point Thor began to spark with lighting as both his weapons powered up, while my Jaguar helm came over my face and I readied my old Dora Milaje spear as Thanos finished.

"A grateful universe."

"Born out of blood." Steve told him.

"They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them." Thor then let out a battle cry and took the first charge, followed by Tony then Steve and I. Beams, lightning, Steve's shield, and my spear as well as some mystical weapons were all fighting against Thanos trying to bring him down and end his life once and for all.

*Rauri's POV*

I had somehow managed to kill some of the alien dogs but there were still plenty more going after Clint. I raced on ahead and attacked and killed any on sight that I could sink my teeth into. When I finally spotted Clint, I raced ahead and helped him up onto my back.

He must've freaked out at first because I felt him punch my back but when he felt the Vibranium armor, he quickly hauled himself onto my back and I kept running forward. To buy us some time, he banged on a coupe of the pipes with one of his arrows before impaling it into another pipe on the floor.

Next thing I knew, I was being flung forwards as an explosion happened behind us. I groaned and shook myself from the rubble.

'You could've warned me in advance before yah did that yah git!'

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. God your wife didn't complain as much as you did." I snarled but we didn't have time to argue because the dogs who survived the explosion were coming in hot.

I snarled defensively as I stood in front of Clint. I heard one of his grabbling hooks fire and he said.

"Human form now Rauri!" I felt a grip at my collar and just as I phased into my human form, I was being shot upwards. He handed me his sword and I quickly cut through any dog that came up towards us.

Finally we reached the top and as we parted sides, I tossed him his sword back just as a dog came right for him and he sliced it in half. With a yell as he rolled towards the edge of the hole with his sword held high in case anymore of those bastards came up, all I heard was a slam and I knew it was over. He rolled back over onto his back panting exhaustedly.

"You're slipping old timer." I panted out.

"And there's the humor from her." It was then the blue alien woman uhh—Nebula I think her name was came to Clint and stood over him. But something was different about her. "Oh hey. We know you." He handed the gauntlet to her but she just stood there staring at it.

"Father. I have the stones." She said through a comm link.

"What?" she slammed her foot down and just as I phased back into my wolf form and snarled at her, she drew her gun on me ready to shoot when a voice echoed.

"Stop." I turned to see a green woman coming out of one of the exit points holding a gun towards bad Nebula.

"You're betraying us?" hissed bad Nebula. But then coming out from an entry point beside the green woman holding her hands up in surrender was—Nebula? Wait I sniffed the air softly and I knew that that was our Nebula.

She must've been captured somehow and this Nebula holding the gauntlet was probably her past self. Taking advantage of this, Clint stood up and came over to me and I curled myself around him protectively in case evil Nebula tried something. Evil Nebula turned her gun towards our Nebula and our Nebula said.

"You don't have to do this." There was a brief silence before evil Nebula hissed.

"I am—this."

"No. You're not." Said the green woman.

"You've seen what we've become." Said our Nebula as she lightly tapped the side of her face, revealing that the golden parts she had added were gone, revealing nothing but gears and wiring. Evil Nebula looked between her future self and the green woman.

"Nebula listen to her." Said the green woman.

"You can change." Said our Nebula. It was then the green woman lowered her weapon as she looked at evil Nebula. I could see the tears glistening in evil Nebula's eyes and she said brokenly.

"He won't let me." Suddenly she turned the gun towards the green woman who cried out no to her but then our Nebula drew out her gun and shot her past self in the chest. Evil Nebula slammed against the wall and slowly fell to the ground and died right there on the spot.

A single tear falling out of her eye.

Clint then stepped away from me and took the gauntlet back.

"Alright, let's get out of here." He said. I nodded and walked up to him and lowered myself onto my stomach so that he could properly mount my back. Nebula also got on behind him and we all turned towards the green woman and she said.

"I'll do fine running beside you wolf beast." I softly glared at her but I stood up and took off running with her running right behind me.

*Morowa's POV*

It took almost everything we had. Tony and Thor worked together to power up some powerful guns for Tony to shoot at Thanos who only used his axe bladed sword and spun it around as fast as he could to deflect the beams.

Even separate, they still couldn't bring him down. Thor's failed attempt to used Mjolnir as a final attack while Thanos proved useless as he used Tony as a shield and of course as soon as he was struck not only by the force of the hammer, but the lightning coursing around it, forced Tony across the field, knocking him out.

Steve and I worked together using hand to hand combat against the mad titan. As Steve was knocked down to the ground, I summoned the crimson bands of Cyttorak and shot them out to wrap around his arm which held his weapon.

Then using some fire elemental magic I learned in Japan, I forced the bands to spark into a blue fiery blaze hopping to burn this bastard's hand right off. Showing him every ounce of pain he's forced me to deal with the second his future self snapped his damn fingers and took my daughter away. But somehow he managed to rip the bands off and pull me towards him. Just before he could throw a punch my way, I flipped over him and got on top of his shoulders and pressed my hands to his helm.

Even with the protective helm, that didn't stop my magic from numbing his brain. And he was sure as hell trying to fight it so I immediately cried out.

"Thor now!" he came running right towards us with Stormbreaker and managed give him a good swing. I tried to keep him under for as long as I could, wrapping my legs around him to keep my balance while Thor let him have it. Unfortunately, he broke the connection and immediately grabbed me and first kicked Thor aside before slamming me down to the ground.

"Insect!" he hissed before slamming his foot into my ribs and I let out a scream of pure agony as I felt a few of them breaking. That's when Thor came in and got him off of me and as the two of them duked it out, I crawled towards a pile of rubble and leaned against it trying to keep my tears and sobs in as I tried to heal myself.

But I saw Thor sadly getting his ass kicked by Thanos as he now had Thor pinned against some rubble just a few feet away from where I was. Thanos was now using Stormbreaker against Thor trying to pierce through his armor but that's when I saw it.

His hammer flung against Thanos' back, thankfully just in time. Mjolnir levitated in midair before going back to the person who had thrown it. And I was in awe to see just who it was that person was, Steve Rogers.

He stood strong with his shield in one hand and Mjolnir in the other.

"I knew it." I heard Thor say. With a final kick to knock him out, Thanos turned his attention back to Steve. As Steve swung the hammer and trudged right towards the titan all I could think to myself was kick his ass Steve.

And that he did.

With an uppercut to the jaw, a few hardcore swings, even using both shield and hammer to throw Thanos off his balance, because I knew what raw Vibranium could do if struck with a heavy object, especially if that object has enough power to light up a continent for over 100 years.

He then unleashed the true power of Mjolnir by sending a beam of lightning right at him from wither under the ground from an upper cut strike, or straight on like a punch. Before Thanos could even try to get back up, I took my chance to pin him to the ground.

So sending out the mystic binds of Nazareth, I had Thanos bound to the earth so he couldn't even move a muscle.

"Let him have it Steve! Do it for our She-wolf!" I exclaimed. He nodded and immediately lifted the hammer high which summoned an army of clouds as lighting struck down and thunder rumbled the sky.

As Thanos was forced to feel every ounce of electricity run through his body thanks to Steve and I. I growled and roared out as I sent my own rage of electricity from the ground towards him so he was getting it from both above and below him and all he could do was take it.

Steve then jumped from a pile of rubble to get some air and he slammed the hammer down right onto Thanos' head. But the bastard managed to somehow roll away and he now stood up and grabbed Steve by the throat and body slammed him down to the ground.

As Steve tried to get up and Thanos came at him removing his broken helmet and grabbing his axe sword once more. I stood in front of Steve with both the Shield unbreakable and my sword of Valtor. I used my shield to block his and I thrust my sword towards his leg managed a slight graze but it wasn't until I felt his weapon slash my leg.

I cried out and he repeatedly tried to break my shield but I held strong as I pushed him aside and leapt towards him with my sword ready to thrust right through his head. But he kicked me right in my ribs that weren't fully quite healed and I went flying across the fields. I groaned as I tried to stand up and summon my shield again.

But Steve stood over me and used his to try and protect me from Thanos' repetitive attack. But piece by piece, crack by crack his shield was cut away until only half of it was left. Then with a final swing of his blade, he sent both Steve and I across almost a football field distance if not half that.

The both of us hurt and exhausted.

I strained myself up and crawled over to Steve and groaned out.

"C'mon Rogers. On your feet soldier." He looked up at me and just stared at me for a few seconds before finally turning over straining himself.

"In all my years of conquest....violence. Slaughter. It was never personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet.... I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much."

Soon enough his entire army, ships and battalion came down upon us. The foes we once fought off five years ago were once again alive, the alien dogs, the Leviathan ships that attacked New York back in 2012, everything that Thanos had, he brought down.

Steve and I looked at each other and he was the first to try and pull himself up. Exhausted and panting softly, he slowly turned towards Thanos before shakily reaching for the strap on his shield.

I could tell that his arm was basically broken at this point as he tightened it and groaned but turning his hatred towards Thanos. He turned towards me and held out his free hand.

"On your feet soldier." I grinned and took his hand and he helped me stand up. "You up for another round?" I rubbed around my ribs and took out my Milaje spear once more and I said.

"I could do this all day." We then turned towards the dark army and slowly walked towards it. Even if we were both gonna die, at least we'd die in the blaze of glory fighting side by side.

One last fight to try and save our world, our friends, our family. And it was an honor that my last fight would be fighting along side the greatest warrior and hero in American history.

'Mom.... ' My commlink cracked in my ear.

I stopped and I almost collapsed at the sound of the voice. Was it....

'Mom it's me (y/n) can you hear me?'

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #49

UPDATE 49: The Predator

Last time Vista had been promoted to being the heart of the team, and her first action was to try to help Shadow Stalker. Take a guess how that went. Now it’s Shadow Stalker’s turn to be the focus. I’m both interested and dreading this. Let’s do it! Although...I admit I’ll be kind of rushing it. I just finished the customary skimming of the chapter, and, as usual when Sophia Hess gets involved, my patience is depleting so fast you’d think I’m about to plant my face onto my desk until it caves. And then I got to further than half of the chapter. It was quite unexpected.

So! Shadow Stalker is itching for a fight. She goes to the mall, hoping to encounter some looters, but the police are doing their job too well. Since she’s bored, she decides to call Emma, who is in Portland, away from the destruction and awfulness of Brockton Bay. Does that mean she’s out of the story? I...kind of doubt it, but yeah, nothing worthwhile would be lost if she didn’t return. Even though she was Taylor’s former best friend, Emma has been largely unimportant other than in the first arc or so.

Nobody’s surprised to hear Shadow Stalker doesn’t think highly of the other Wards, right? Because she doesn’t. It seems to me like she despises them. I know she was brought as probation, and would rather work alone than in the team, but it sounds like she utterly loathes that team.

“Two and a half more years, right?”  Emma asked, “Then you’re off probation, free to do your thing.”

“God, don’t remind me.  Makes me realize I’m not even halfway through it.  I can’t believe it’s already been this long, constantly hearing them bitch about dating, or clothes, or allowances, and every time I hear it it’s like, I want to scream in their face, fuck you, you little shit, shut the fuck up. I’ve killed people, and then I washed the blood off my hands and went to school and acted normal the next day!”

So it wasn’t that long ago that Shadow Stalker was integrated into the Wards. Was the exact time mentioned? I don’t really remember. The point is that she’s not even halfway through her probation. I don’t think she’ll last much longer. She simply doesn’t have the personality nor the will to play nice for that long. Just look at how she reacted with Vista. That’s not going to be a one-time thing.

She’s almost glad Leviathan attacked the city, mostly because it reveals people just like they are.

“Yeah.” Shadow Stalker didn’t elaborate too much further on the subject.  Leviathan had revealed the desperate, needy animal at the core of everyone in this city. He’d made things honest.

Most were victims, sheep huddling together for security in numbers, or rats hiding in the shadows, avoiding attention.  Others were predators, going on the offensive, taking what they needed through violence or manipulation.

Well, if anything, Shadow Stalker knows what she wants to be and is completely unapologetic about it. That much I can respect in some measure. I can’t say I like it, but I can see where that comes from and I can respect it. Being honest with yourself is very important, and yeah, Shadow Stalker is one of the rare people who are completely honest with themselves.

She didn’t care what category people fell into, so long as they didn’t get in her way, like Grue had a habit of doing.  Worse yet were those who seemed intent on irritating her by being lame and depressing, like Taylor or like Vista had been this past week.

Ah, yeah, right, Taylor and Vista were all like ‘hey, let’s mope around Sophia/Shadow Stalker to make her angry’. People being miserable doesn’t involve you unless you make it all about yourself by making them even more miserable. I’d even say Sophia brought that annoyance onto herself even if she doesn’t realize it.

They weren’t all bad.  The victim personality did have a habit of pissing her off, but she could let them be so long as the person or people in question stayed out of sight and out of mind, accepting their place without fight or fanfare.  There were some ‘predators’, she could admit, that were even useful.  Emma came to mind, the girl went a long way towards making life out of costume tolerable, and there was Director Piggot, who had kept her out of jail thus far, because she fit into the woman’s overarching agenda of PR and the illusion of a working system.

I think I get what’s her preferred attitude towards people: either be useful to her, or stay away. Hm. Quite pragmatic, but rather dangerous for people in general, because if she perceives someone as getting in her way, she’s not going to just let that go without comeuppance.

The conversation doesn’t last long, something happens that gets her attention: a convoy of vehicles with the headlights off, meaning it wants to go unnoticed. It could be a caravan of supplies, or it could be Coil’s men.

What follows is a short explanation about the mechanics of Shadow Stalker’s power. When she turns wispy, she is in a state where her body stops any biological activity except her cognitive functions. If it weren’t for the fact she can still move and think, she’d be clinically dead. Her very light weight, and the state of her body allow her to move at high speeds and jump at great altitude. That’s how she can follow the trucks with ease, observing and ready to move if necessary.

And here is trouble! Menja attacks! I suppose that means these are supplies trucks, then.

Miss Militia was climbing up out of the lead truck’s passenger door in an instant, hefting a grenade launcher to blast Menja three times in quick succession.

Okay, they weren’t. It was a trap organized by the Protectorate and the PRT. Many PRT agents and Miss Militia are here, attacking, and Shadow Stalker’s going to jump into the fray because I’m pretty sure she was aching for a fight, and there’s one! It’s a good thing she’s a very competent fighter, or I’d be wary of this.

Menja isn’t alone, though, other parahumans aligned with the now-gone E88 are here. Hookwolf, Cricket, Stormtiger, and several henchmen. There’s plethora of targets for her, but I think she’s likely to go for the big ones. And indeed, her target is Cricket, who…is tranquilized rather quickly. Well! That was a bit underwhelming, given how well Cricket had fought her last fight, but yeah, that’s how it went this time.

Who else? Menja was classified as a breaker, the spatial-warping effect that surrounded her made incoming attacks smaller even as she simultaneously made herself bigger.  The darts wouldn’t even be noticeable to her.  Stormtiger could deflect projectiles by sensing and adjusting air currents.  With the right timing, so her shots came out of the shadow state as they arrived to make contact with him?  Maybe. But he was engaged in a fist fight with Assault, and she’d be risking tagging the hero.  Hookwolf?  No point. He was currently in the shape of a gigantic wolf made of whirring metal blades.  Even if the dart did penetrate something approximating flesh, which it wouldn’t, his entire biology was so different that she doubted he would be affected.

All of those are pretty good points about why to target or not target them. Would Menja keep enlarging herself continuously? If not, maybe something could be done there, although…if the way her power works means that when she’s in a larger size all incoming attacks are smaller even if she’s not actively willing it to happen, then it’d be useless to attack her with the darts.

Since there was no easy target among the parahumans anymore, she focuses on the normal troops that came to fight. Those are no rival for her, being just…normal people, I suppose. Knocking them out is no problem. I have the feeling it’ll leave a lot to be desired, that this won’t make her feel any better. It angers Hookwolf, at least, and I’m pretty sure he knows who’s causing his troops to faint because all the villains in the city know what each Ward and Protectorate can do, but I don’t think he can do much against Shadow Stalker, can he? His abilities don’t allow much strategy to defeat her. It’s...it’d be like a stalemate, if they were mano-a-mano.

As expected, it’s extremely easy for Shadow Stalker to fight the human troops, but she can’t finish the fight because someone appears from an alleyway, there are bugs everywhere now. Oh, jolly! Is this what I think it is?

The girl glanced left, around the back of the truck, then glanced right, where she might have seen Shadow Stalker if she looked up just a little.  The lenses of her mask caught the moonlight, flashing a pale yellow.

Skitter.

Well hello there, protagonist of Worm! Last time I saw her; she was telling Tattletale about her plans, conveniently off-screen and unknown for the reader. Suspense! And she’s here...I’m pretty sure it’ll be related to her plans, and since she’s fighting the Chosen troops – and I really, really, really doubt she’d join any of the E88 remnants, and she’s not joining the Protectorate or the Wards...she most likely went rogue. Is she against the villains, meaning she’s trying to give herself a new heroic reputation...somehow? Pretty doubtful, since she’d get arrested at the first chance the heroes have. Is she just fighting people for her own satisfaction? No, that can’t be it...that wouldn’t lead anywhere. Maybe there’s a strategic reason to help defeat them.

The bug girl drew her combat stick, whipped it out to full length, and dispatched the Chosen one by one.  Shadow Stalker couldn’t see the hits, between the darkness and the obscuring mass of the swarm, but she saw the splashes and movements of the Chosen as they fell to the ground, clutching their faces, knees, and hands.

Alright, she has improved a lot since she started! Now she can hold her ground against a bunch of mooks without even using her bugs to defeat them, it was mostly her baton. Pretty nice! Boy, if only you knew that was Taylor Hebert, Sophia.

Many of the bugs fly towards the rest of the Chosen and to the PRT members, and Skitter takes the chance to steal a bag of supplies from one of the trucks. Oh, it wasn’t entirely a trap, it really was carrying supplies despite the large amount of agents. She takes the bag and runs, Shadow Stalker chooses to pursue her.

You saw my face.  Shadow Stalker thought, Records say you’ve got no team, now.  Operating alone between the old Boardwalk and the east end of Downtown.

Ah, right, looks like she was informed of what happened. That was to be expected, anyone would like to know if a dangerous villain found out how you looked like. It doesn’t guarantee a person knows your identity, but it’d be a starting point. Besides, Shadow Stalker wouldn’t let a chance to deal with a loose end pass. Knowing her, she’s going to pursue Skitter to the ends of the earth. What an unfortunate encounter. I don’t think Shadow Stalker and Skitter have fought each other before, this should be an interesting fight.

Leaving that aside, enough time has passed for the Wards and the Protectorate to have defined what are Skitter’s current activities. She’s staying near a familiar area. Not the Docks, but if I remember how the city is like, that’s not too far from there. I wonder what she’s doing over there, though? Has she taken possession of that territory, taking advantage of what’s in there? I can’t say I imagine there’s much there, what with how the tidal waves during the Leviathan fight destroyed all that place. On the other hand, that may mean she has time and a location to hide in until her plans with Tattletale are finished.

She withdrew a cartridge for her crossbow, each bolt loaded in at a slight angle, so the aluminum ‘feathers’ at the tail of each bolt stuck out.  She popped out one bolt to examine it, then turned it around so the barbed, razor sharp arrowhead caught the moonlight.  As Skitter passed beneath her, she turned the bolt’s point so her perspective made it appear to be at the girl’s throat.

Operating solo means there’s nobody to miss you.

Of course she’s going to kill Skitter, who’d have thunk it. I’m in absolute shock. Okay, no, not really. The good thing here is that I clearly remember Skitter’s narration mentioning how her armor is rather resistant, blades didn’t work very well even at that spot. Even if Shadow Stalker fired the bolt, there’s a chance Skitter’s costume will be sturdy enough to stop the bolt from burying into her neck. Although...um...I’m pretty sure a pointy object like that one wouldn’t need to get too deep before it causes a lot of damage. It’s not for nothing that predators try to crush large prey’s necks. There’s the spine, a couple arteries, the windpipe...you’d have to be lucky not to be hit in a lethal spot.

Skitter’s not stupid, she has ways to find out if there’s danger. There are a few clouds of bugs flying around, and one collides against Shadow Stalker. Even if Shadow Stalker is in her wispy form, I think the bugs would feel there’s something odd. Indeed, Skitter drops the bag and runs. Oh, the chase is on!

While running, bugs pass through Shadow Stalker. If there were enough bugs, they could even push back, that’s how light she turns when she’s in that wispy state. There aren’t enough bugs for such thing, but since she can’t turn back into a more physical state when there are bugs in middle of her, that slows her down a bit. Alright, then! Skitter will need every bit of advantage she can get.

Oh, welp, nevermind! Skitter just got a roundhouse kick to the face and fell to the ground. Man, these fights never go well at first for the character we have to root for, eh? Skitter isn’t giving up, of course, even though she’s on the ground, she takes her baton and tries to hit Shadow Stalker. It isn’t really working.

The stick passed through her head, once.  She resisted the urge to snap back to her normal form and retaliate.  The girl was powerless here.  Shadow Stalker could afford to hound her, drive her to the brink of desperation, wear her down.

For the love of—I’m not very knowledgeable about the superhero genre, but even I’m aware heroes and villains much better and/or likable than you have lost precisely because of what you’re doing. Overconfidence seriously can make you lose, seriously. Taunting is acceptable, and Shadow Stalker indulges in some of that, but toying with the person you’re fighting is giving them openings to strike back.

Skitter gripped her weapon two-handed again.  The grip was strange.  Something in her left hand?

Shadow Stalker realized what it was.  She simultaneously moved back, gripped her cloak with her left hand and shifted to her solid state to raise the fabric as a barrier.  The pepper spray spattered her cloak.

And there it is! It’s not like I wanted to see Skitter injured or anything like that, it’s just that losing a fight because of they toy with their opponent is something that kind of annoys me. Maybe it’s my pragmatic nature shining through. Leaving that aside, this was her plan. Even the simplest weapons can be of a lot of help against capes. You’d never think spraying a superhero with pepper spray would work, but it does!

The chase continues again, and the narration reminds me Sophia was in the school track team before. Of course she’d start gaining on Skitter, she has a lot of practice running, and her power helps a lot, too. Skitter tries to climb a fire escape, but she doesn’t go very far before she changes her mind and jumps over a fence – fence Shadow Stalker could pass through easily, of course.

A flash and spray of sparks erupted as the shot made contact with the fence.

Oh, it’s electrified, and apparently, that’s a big problem. Shadow Stalker isn’t sure why, but her wispy form is much more vulnerable to electricity than most people would think. The exact reason why is unknown. Hmmm...could it be that when she wills herself to be intangible, her body partly turns into water vapor? The human body has large amounts of water, and as everyone knows, water is an excellent conductor of electricity. That may be why she’s vulnerable.

Skitter had known the fence was electrified, judging by the route she’d taken through the fire escape.  The area here didn’t have any power, so the question was whether it something this area’s inhabitants had set up to protect themselves… or was it a trap Skitter had put in place well in advance?  No.  More likely the girl had studied this area before carrying out any crimes.

Hah! Waaaaaay to make some specific denial in the narration, Mr. Wildbow. I doubt Skitter didn’t plan this. She’s way too careful to not plan this. She also has Tattletale as an ally. Tattletale could have found out this weakness and informed Skitter. The problem is that I have no idea why she’d prepare a trap against Shadow Stalker. Just to be careful if she was pursued? Did she have a different plan in case Miss Militia or Assault were the ones following her? I suppose she did.

She really didn’t like the idea that the villain had not only seen her face, but that she might have figured out one of her weaknesses.  Two, if she counted the pepper spray.  Being permeable was a problem when she absorbed gases, vapors and aerosols directly into her body.  It wouldn’t affect her if she was in her shadow state, and it would eventually filter out, but if she were forced to change back, she’d suffer as badly as anyone, if not worse.

Tattletale definitely was involved in this, no way she wasn’t. Also, it makes sense that Shadow Stalker would be vulnerable to that kind of thing, her shadow state is permeable and since stuff can pass through it, air and gases can do it too. Transforming back while being in middle of a cloud of pepper spray can’t be a fun time.

While running, Skitter gathered as many bugs as possible on herself, splitting in two at the first chance and going in opposite directions. Hohoh, I see what you’re doing, Skitter. Looks like making decoys has turned into part of her skills by now! This is the third time she does something like this. Her control over bugs is so masterful she can make one of the decoys pretend to be injured and fall to the floor, Shadow Stalker falls for that, hook, line and sinker. Man, I missed reading about Skitter fighting. Something I have always liked of her is that she’s rather clever and uses her powers rather creatively. There’s always something new in her fights.

What worked once could perhaps work again? It was worth a try, just that this time instead of dividing into two, she divided into four. This time she manages to hit all four options, and one falls to the floor. Shadow Stalker doesn’t waste any time, she pounces and holds Skitter’s face onto the water, letting her turn around but not letting her stand up. Thankfully, Shadow Stalker isn’t in the mood to play anymore, she tries to cut Skitter’s throat with an arrow. How many times has your costume saved your life, Skitter? To this day, that costume has been pretty damn useful.

While Shadow Stalker tries to think of a way to kill Skitter without leaving a bunch of clues she’s the one who did it...something unexpected happens. I never thought I’d see this happen.

While she craned her head to one side to the next to search for something useful, her surroundings were plunged into darkness.

At this point, I associate darkness in this story with one single character. How nice of you to be around to save Skitter’s hide, Grue, what’s up? Or did Skitter make amends with him? Tattletale is a good mediator, she’d be able to convince him to lend a hand if this was some sort of plan, but after the way the eighth arc ended, I didn’t think Skitter would be in contact with any Undersider other than Tattletale. If this was a plan they agreed since the beginning, it must be a very good plan, if Grue agreed to take part in it.

The darkness and Shadow Stalker’s power aren’t a good combination. She is sluggish, has a hard time moving, and the fact something large is dissipating her body through well-timed hits isn’t helping. Skitter, I’d say, may be the one hitting now. Once Shadow Stalker has been weakened enough, the darkness disappears.

She tried to raise her right crossbow, but her hand seized up, no longer under her own control as it bent to a pain like a bad Charlie horse.  Her fingers curled back, and the crossbow tumbled from her fingers.

I recognize that power too. Regent? Is Heckpuppy around, too? It seems not only Grue is taking part in...whatever’s going on here, Regent is here too. What’s going on? I’m so lost right now, and at the same time I’m so intrigued. Clearly Skitter didn’t sit around doing nothing during this interlude arc!

A-yup, there are the dogs! Nice touch, Mr. Wildbow, using the narration to call Heckpuppy by her family friendly name. Heckpuppy has several dogs, one of them has one eye missing. I’m pretty sure I remember why’s that. I’ll reread after posting this update, as this is quite a minor detail. If I remember correctly, Angelica had lost an eye during the fight. Glad one of the dogs survived Leviathan’s fury! There’s something else that gets my attention more than that, though.

A girl Shadow Stalker didn’t recognize stood just behind him, wearing a black scarf and a pale gray mask with pointed horns arching over the top of her head.  The eyes of the mask had lenses that were black from corner to corner, stylized to look fierce, more animal than human.

That’s a new person. Did Coil get someone else to join the group? He has the resources and ways to find new capes to join his troops and groups.

Seeing the group all gathered together and contradicting the intel the Wards and the Protectorate had makes Shadow Stalker think the drama about betrayal and all that had been a ruse. Oh, if only it was. That’d have been impressive. But no, it was all genuine.

“Well,” she spoke, her tone sarcastic, “How wonderfully fucking nice for you, that you guys patched things up.  You even have a new member, congratulations.  I guess everything’s back to normal for you freaks.”

“No…” Skitter spoke, and the bugs around her chirped, buzzed and droned to match the pitch and tone of her words. The villain hadn’t done that when the Undersiders attacked the fundraiser, she remembered.   Her voice was quiet, which only made it more eerie. The girl held out her hand, and Regent passed his scepter to her.

“…Things are different now,” Skitter finished.

It was just for like five or six updates, but I missed Skitter. I’m so glad to read what she’s doing, and how her first actions after her return to the story is all this. This is awesome.

Skitter used a tazer on Shadow Stalker, pretty much winning the confrontation. All Shadow Stalker can do now is...lie down, all limp and unable to move, knowing she’s at the Undersiders’ mercy.

Imp? Give me a hand with her upper body, take the other shoulder.

Imp, huh...so that’s the name for the new teammate. I’ll be waiting for an explanation about this, Mr. Wildbow!

The interlude ends with Shadow Stalker being carried away. I feel...a nice feeling of satisfaction. It’s almost cathartic. And this chapter shed some light on Shadow Stalker’s philosophies and thoughts, which is always nice. It doesn’t make her the slightest bit sympathetic, and I doubt Mr. Wildbow ever has the intention to try to make her look sympathetic at any point, which is something I’m glad about.

I enjoyed the Sentinel arc a lot. It was good to read about the Wards, how each one thought, the different personalities and how they coped with the current problems in Brockton Bay. I like that Weld and Flechette are currently part of the Wards. Parian is a character I hope to see again, although...since she’s a rogue and the Wards are the only ones with some sort of contact with her, I doubt she’ll be seen as much as she was during Flechette’s chapter. Oh well.

Mr. Wildbow also introduced the next big threat: the Slaughterhouse Nine. I suppose that’ll be the topic of the next arc or two, but the problem I have with that theory is that I don’t know how kidnapping Shadow Stalker would fit in such story. There must be something I’m not seeing, and it’s because I don’t know yet what the Undersiders have been up to. Once I find out, I may be able to have more or less an idea of what’ll happen.

But that’ll have to be for next time.

Next update: in three updates