Equis, Canterlot
The Canterlot Museum. The most distinguished in all of Equestria, containing every bit of archeological research uncovered by ponies since the city's founding. Exhibits included preserved documents dating back to the time before the rule of the Two Sisters, diaries recounting the rises of Discord and Nightmare Moon, and strange manuscripts that could predate the existence of ponies as the dominant species entirely. Naturally, tourists flocked to it, and even on the weekends, the days when it wasn't completely full were few and far between.
This was one of those days, due to the giant hole torn into the west wall.
Princess Twilight Sparkle glided down to the nearby sidewalk, her violet wings folding back into her sides as she landed. Despite all the time with her alicorn powers, she rarely flew long distances, unless there was an emergency going on. Receiving an early morning message from Princess Celestia, imploring that she come to the museum immediately, definitely qualified as an emergency. Galloping the remaining distance, Twilight leapt through the newly created entrance into the museum.
Despite the destructive nature of the hole, the interior was surprisingly undamaged. Burn scars marred the walls, created from the aftermath of a magical attack, she presumed. A few glass cases had been cracked, or outright shattered, leaving the pieces glittering on the floor like bits of crystal, but the contents were undamaged, only knocked to the ground (Twilight's inner scholar breathed a sigh of relief). Hoof prints were punched into the floors, along with one or two imprints in the shape of stallions hammered into the walls. Medical staff were loading two unicorns, unconscious and injured, but alive, onto stretchers, in preparation for the hospital. Celestia herself stood in the Crystal Empire wing, gazing at something blocked from Twilight's view by her body, her ever-flowing mane swaying in nonexistent wind.
"Princess Celestia!" exclaimed the lavender alicorn, galloping over to her former teacher. "I came as soon as I got your message."
Celestia turned around to face her, affectionately placing her front leg around Twilight and hugging her tightly. She smiled warmly, although the traces of worry in her face did not escape Twilight's keen eyes.
"You know you don't have to call me by my title anymore, right?" she asked. "After all, you do share it."
Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Force of habit. At least I don't do that with Cadence. So, what exactly happened here?"
Celestia's expression turned serious once more, as she shifted to face the exhibit. "There has been a robbery." She gestured at a long display case, filled with various crystals taken from the frozen north surrounding the Crystal Empire, as well as the Empire itself. Pony geologists had provided small bites of information related to each crystal type, including chemical and magical properties, as well as potential applications. The glass had been forcefully smashed open, and two spearhead shaped crystals had been removed from their place.
"That's all that was stolen?" asked Twilight. "Why would somepony break into this museum just to steal two crystals?" She checked the blurb where the crystals had sat, but they were apparently mere artifacts left over from the war with King Sombra. They'd been used as backup magical storage devices, in case a unicorn completely exhausted themselves on the field of battle, but were completely inert at the moment.
"Those two particular crystals have no unique properties," Celestia answered, "as we never went beyond the theoretical with them." Twilight turned to her, and Celestia elaborated. "During the war, due to the need to conserve magical stockpiles, Luna and I started experimenting with the crystal magical packs. These," she gestured to the entire set, "were intended to be pocket spells. Teleportation, shields, and so on. They unicorn would cast a simple release spell on the crystal, activating its effect. The war ended before we needed to put any of them into practice."
"So those two in particular aren't special," said Twilight. "Perhaps the thief just grabbed what they could and fled."
"We won't know for sure until the injured security guards recover," said Celestia, "but I think I know the identity of our thieves. That's actually the main reason I called you here." Celestia's eyes did a quick sweep of the room, checking for eavesdroppers. She leaned in closer to Twilight's ear. "Earlier this morning, I received a message. There has been a breakout...in Tartarus."
Twilight's blood turned to ice. A mental image formed in her mind, that of a massive, demonic centaur, tearing the land apart, as powerless ponies cowered, unable to raise even the most feeble resistance. "You don't mean..."
"No," Celestia quickly assured her. "Tirek remains imprisoned. I checked on him myself."
Twilight released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, relaxing into a normal breathing pattern once more. "Then who?"
"Are you familiar with Phobos and Deimos?"
Twilight nodded, remembering the exact passage from a history text. "They were a pair of faun brothers who came to Equestria from their own land, around seven hundred years following the imprisonment of Nightmare Moon. They quickly discovered they loved nothing more than causing fear and distress among ponies with their considerable magical might, reeking havoc for no reason other than their own amusement. Eventually, they were caught by the Equestrian Royal Army, and imprisoned in Tartarus."
Now that Twilight took a moment to observe, some of the hoofprints came from cloven hooves, like those of a goat. The individual prints were further apart than a pony's steps would be.
"Exactly," said Celestia. "While not threats on the same scale as Discord or Nightmare Moon, the brothers were a disruption to the lives of ponies everywhere." Her face contorted into a an expression of unease. "But their power was insufficient to break the seals that contained them."
"Meaning they had outside assistance," said Twilight.
"Cerberus never even saw them leave," said Celestia. "Nopony assaulted Tartarus upfront. Breaching its defenses, without even alerting Cerberus, requires an incredibly high magical ability. Luna and I combined would have trouble doing so."
Twilight mentally ran through a list in her head. "Well, I think after his experience with Tirek, we can eliminate Discord as a suspect. Not to mention this isn't his style at all."
"I agree," said Celestia. "Regardless, we must consider Phobos and Deimos a threat. The Equestrian Royal Guard is on alert, and ponies are advised to report any faun sightings."
"I understand," said Twilight. "I can tell the others, we'll start—"
"No."
Twilight's focus vanished at the sound of that single word. Her gaze moved from the spot she'd been staring at, back to her former teacher. "No?" she repeated.
"You and your friends don't have to start investigating this by yourselves. I'm not saying you shouldn't inform the other Elements, and it's certainly a good idea to have more eyes, but really, the Equestrian authorities can handle this."
Now the Princess of Friendship was perplexed. Usually, Celestia jumped at the chance for her and the others to help with whatever new disaster was on the horizon (although, they were the only ones who could unlock the powers of the Elements of Harmony). Tirek had been an understandable exception, considering his powers, but this was the first time Celestia was outright discouraging it.
"With all due respect, Prin—Celestia," said Twilight, slipping over her words. "Phobos and Deimos are small scale compared to what we've faced before. We can deal with them."
"I don't doubt your capabilities, Twilight," the white alicorn responded apologetically. "My point is, like you said, this duo is relatively nonthreatening. Equestria owes you so much already, so why not let it repay that debt and sit this one out?" Her faced seemed to darken as she looked down at the floor, and her voice dropped as she continued. "Of course, I can't order you not to get involved..."
Twilight raised her eyebrows. This was definitely abnormal behavior, considering Celestia always seemed incapable of awkward conversation. "Celestia," Twilight began, trotting towards her mentor, "is there something we need to talk about?"
"No, no," was the answer, as the princess shook her head. "Nothing's wrong, I promise." She breathed quietly, before looking down at her protege. "Just...be careful Twilight. Please?"
Twilight nodded, but her puzzled expression remained. It was clear she wasn't going to get any answers out Celestia today. She made a mental note to bring it up at a more opportune moment.
Earth, Avengers Compound
"Are you sure? I know a guy who could probably enhance the tensile strength quite a bit. No, you wouldn't have to show him, I promise. Well, at least let me get you some of the ingredients for a while, that stuff ain't cheap. Okay, yeah. Sure the suit doesn't need any repairs? Good going, kid. Take care of yourself." The echo of a smile flashed across Tony's face as he hung up. The spider kid was smart, and his heart was in the right place, but he could be a bit of a handful. Tony couldn't imagine making all that webbing on that kid's budget, especially without his aunt finding out, but Peter wouldn't ask Tony assist with the production, even when the older man offered. Then again, he could understand taking pride in one's work.
Unfortunately, since the call had ended, Tony no longer had anything to distract himself. He sighed as he glanced over the same half-finished blueprints he'd been looking at for the last hour. The ones that he had no desire to actually work on. He'd already finished the Mark XLVII, so why had he even bothered to try and draw up a new suit? The answer was simple: He had nothing better to do. His fingers limply reached for the keyboard once more, but came to a halt.
In the approximately six months, since Siberia, the compound had basically become a ghost town. Vision was there, of course, but it wasn't like he ever wanted to talk. He spent most of his time reading quietly in his own room, or trying to perfect that stupid dish he'd tried to fix Maximoff that one time. Rhodey had times where he wasn't busting his ass in physical therapy, but Tony couldn't look at him for long without feeling empty. Hill still worked there, but she wasn't exactly his friend, even if she did work for him. The U.N. board hadn't called them on any missions, and that seemed unlikely to change in the near future. Part of him almost wanted to get forced into some stupid task force so he wasn't stuck sitting around. In fact, the only one who called at all was Ross, usually to yell at Tony for something. Leaving him on hold was always good for a laugh, at least.
Tony's gaze wandered over to that stupid, outdated flip phone that sat in the corner on his work desk. He wondered why he'd never gotten around to covering it up, or putting it in the vault alongside Rogers' shield. The thing was an eyesore, reminding him of things he'd much rather forget every time he looked at it. He wondered if his pride would even let him use it, even if some giant, planet eating space god was on the verge of consuming Earth. After everything that went down, even talking to Rogers would be like getting that shrapnel jammed in his chest all over again. Not to mention—
Tony's thoughts were brought to a screeching halt as his projector screen turned bright red, and an alarm began reverberating throughout the entire compound. At the same time, an explosion, similar to the sound of a bursting grenade, sounded off across the building. F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice was clear through the clatter, "Boss, we've got a security breach in the storage room. The security cameras have been destroyed."
Well, that was something. Tony, not even bothering with a quip, made a beckoning motion with his arm, stirring the Mark XLVII from its resting place. Within seconds, the components of the armor came flying through the open door, latching onto their master, expanding to engulf his body. The entire process was complete in the time it took for Tony to take a deep breath, leaving Iron Man standing in his place. His boots ignited with rocket thrusters, sending the golden Avenger zooming down the halls.
As Tony passed his room, Vision poked his head out, having heard the same alarm. "Mr. Stark?" he asked, but Tony ignored him. Rhodey came out too, stumbling on his braced legs, following after Tony. The golden Avenger came to a brief stop at the sight.
"I got this," he told his friend. "Go back to lying down." Then he rocketed off, with Vision following.
Rhodey chuckled briefly. "Keep dreamin', buddy."
Tony zoomed down to the storage room, where the reinforced steel door had been forcefully blown open, leaving a smoking hole. The metal was bent inwards, and the jagged tips stained black. The blast zone was relatively small and focused, coming from a focused blast, meaning that whoever had broke in had advanced weapons of some kind. Arming his repulsors, Tony stepped into the room. The sight that awaited him was something he'd never expected.
Earth, Wakanda
Steve ducked under the swinging metal fist, snatching up his shield with one hand from its resting place on the ground. Bucky kicked out towards Steve's neck, but the captain recognized the move too easily. The attacker would bring their foot up toward the opponent's head, using their momentum to wrap the leg around the head, sending their opponent crashing into the ground.
Steve responded by catching Bucky's leg, pinning it under his armpit in a vice-like grip. A simple yank knocked Bucky off balance, giving Steve the opening to backhand him with his circular shield. The Winter Soldier was sent sprawling across the training mat, the rubber squeaking from the friction.
"Hey," said Sam, looking at the nearby timer. "You lasted two minutes that time!"
"Stuff it," said Bucky, pushing himself to his feet with his prosthetic.
"Come on, you're a better fighter than that," said Steve. "You beat me half to death, remember?"
"Only because you weren't fighting back," Bucky responded, in a half-hearted attempt at a joke. He turned, heading for the exit. "I'm gonna take a shower."
Steve sighed as he watched his best friend go. Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the team's current living situation was still tense. Bucky had been pulled out of cryogenic stasis nearly a month ago, after Wanda had suggested that her mental abilities might be sufficient to deprogram him. After hours of practice, she removed the codes from his mind, leaving the Winter Soldier, in essence, dead. Since then, Bucky had gained a new bionic arm, laced with vibranium, from T'Challa, as yet another apology for trying to kill him. Steve had brought him into their combat practice, but the Winter Soldier's unmatched skill currently seemed somewhat less than unmatched. Additionally, he hadn't even reacted with much joy upon being "cured" of his Winter Soldier persona.
No longer Captain America, Steve opted to shorten his alter ego to The Captain. His new uniform, created by T'Challa's finest people, resembled his old one, with the exception of color. It was a deep gray, not quite black, with a square of red and white stripes across his chest. A target, yes, but packed with sufficient padding to protect his vital areas. He carried a new vibranium shield, provided by T'Challa, but not painted.
"I don't know, Steve," said Sam, somberly. "His heart's just not in it."
"Agreed," responded his friend. "He was so energized while going after those other Winter Soldiers because he laid the blame on himself. Now...I think he just doesn't know what to do."
"Understandable," came a new voice. Steve and Sam turned to see T'Challa, dressed in simple workout clothes, coming into the gym. "When a man harbors as much guilt as he, it doesn't just fade away with time."
"What can we do?" asked Steve. "None of us blame him for the people he killed. The only one who really hasn't forgiven Bucky is himself."
T'Challa's normally confidant, professional expression softened. "I wish I had answers for you, Captain," he quietly responded, "but I do not."
T'Challa had been dealing with his own guilt in the months Steve's team had been staying in Wakanda, knowing he'd come so close to executing an innocent man. Despite Steve's repeated insistence that he'd been forgiven, with Bucky backing him up, the king continued to bend over backwards for them. When he was unable to assist, the somber mood poured on him like rain, and it showed in his posture and tone of voice.
Sam put his thoughts to work, his arms folded as he focused on one particular spot on the wall. "Maybe if we—"
He never got to finish that suggestion.
A massive bell chime began to sound throughout the building, like that of a fire alarm. Over the PA system, a voice began reciting first in Xhosa, followed by several other African and European languages for the benefit of non natives.
"Alert! There has been a security breach in Vibranium Deposit B! Alert! Hostile trespassers spotted! Alert! All security to Vibranium Deposit B!"
T'Challa spun around, but Steve and Sam beat him to it, sprinting out the door of the gym. The double doors of the building burst open as the Captain came out of them, followed a few seconds later by the airborne Falcon, having strapped on his pack and wrist devices in seconds thanks to days of practice. The duo rushed out of the training building, crossing the gravel covered landscape, towards the source of the disturbance.
Wakanda's massive vibranium mound, not even beginning to be depleted, was currently in the process of being mined once more. Steve was unaware of the purpose, but T'Challa probably had a good reason. Anyway, several small outposts, or deposits, had been set up near the entrance of the mine. The pieces of vibranium were divided up for processing and sent to one of these, before shipping them off to the location of their final purpose. Vibranium Deposit B, the one currently being burglarized, was located about twenty meters away from the cavern, and a bit farther away from the training compound. Naturally, Steve and Sam made the journey in less than two minutes.
As the duo approached, Wanda came rushing out from another building, having heard the alarm just the same. Steve and Sam paused only to check the status of the two armed guards, both of whom had been forcibly knocked unconscious, and their weapons reduced to smoking piles. Ascertaining that both would survive, the Captain charged through the broken door, to find something quite unusual, even for Wakanda.
Earth, Avengers Compound
The creature in front of Tony was bipedal, and the chest area was human enough, with the exception of more hair than should've been possible. The rest, of course, was clearly not human. On top of the shoulders, the head of a goat sat, with a pair of curved horns. Its eyes were the color of butter, with vertical slits for pupils. Its hair was deep gray, covering the head, legs, and arms. The arms ended in human-like hands, except for the hoof-like plating covering the dorsal surface. Its feet, naturally, ended in cloven hooves. In one hand, one of Tony's spare Arc Reactors sat, and in the other was a long wooden staff, almost like a shepherd's crook, except it ended in a C shape.
Stark, for one, wasn't in the mood for weirdness. "Okay, whatever you are," he said, raising both repulsors, "drop my property, and I don't smack you around.
The creature merely stared at him for a second, before a grin began to spread across its lips. It even laughed at him a little, to boot. Then, as if to make this even freakier, it actually spoke. The voice was unnervingly normal, and if Tony had been listening to it, without even seeing it, he would've sworn the voice was another human. "Humans," it chuckled, the voice clearly male. "An interesting species, but you take the cake. I wonder what capacity you have for terror. What would you do...?"
Tony blinked a couple of times, before deciding to roll with it. "I'm sorry, we don't seem to be on the same page," he started. "Hi. My name's Tony Stark. I'm apprehending you for—"
He was interrupted by a blast of green energy from the staff, catching him clean in the stomach. Tony Stark was lifted off his feet and hurled backwards, slamming into the wall opposite the storeroom. His HUD went haywire for a few seconds, sparking into static, as though struck by an electrical disruption, before returning to normal. Tony grunted, taking note of the small amount of damage his armor had taken, before rising to his feet once more. The stupid thing could actually fight.
"Well then, Mister Stark," said the goat-headed beast (now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure it was called a faun in mythology), "my name is Deimos. And as much as I would enjoy breaking your mind, I have—"
He was cut off by one of Tony firing back with his repulsors, aiming for the head. Deimos ducked under the blast, but was unable to dodge the follow-up, clipping him on his oblique. Tony's gauntleted hands reached for the Arc Reactor, only to receive a clubbing backhand across the face from Deimos. The faun then sent another wave of energy from his staff, forcing Tony to take to the air to dodge.
Deimos began to chuckle once more, but his laughter ceased as a beam of pure gold lanced out, striking him in the chest. He fell backwards, rolling to regain his balance, before standing up to face his enemy once more, not dropping the Arc Reactor or his staff in the process. Deimos' head snapped up, looking at his newest enemy, Vision. The synthezoid floated next to his armored comrade, the Mind Stone glowing intensely as he stared down the faun. As they stared each other down, Rhodey rounded the corner, having just managed to catch up. He grabbed his holstered pistol, hoping that, if they needed him, he could stand steady enough to take the shot.
"I would advise you to follow his orders," said Vision.
Deimos stared down the pair, nobody making a move. Then, with a burst of stamina, he swung his staff in an arc, sending a ball of green energy into the floor, creating a burst of pure force that pushed out in all directions. Vision barely managed to allow most of it to phase through his body, and Tony was knocked out of the air, thankfully landing on his feet, his metal heels grinding into the floor as he was driven backwards by the gale of magic. Rhodey was far away enough to avoid a direct hit, but the shockwaves buffered him, forcing him to grab the wall and steady himself. Satisfied, Deimos turned, taking off down the opposite hallway.
Vision moved to pursue the faun, but was cut off by Tony rocketing past him, a roar of frustration echoing around the hallway. The genius superhero was already not having the best of days, and this incident only served to grind his teeth even further.
Tony followed Deimos all the way to the primary training room of the compound, alongside the massive windows that took up the entire wall. Deimos was standing in front of what appeared to be a swirling blue vortex in the air, almost like a whirlpool. Nothing was visible inside the maelstrom of light. Friday immediately began scanning the anomaly.
"Boss," she reported, "I'm getting massive energy spikes from that thing. It's functionally similar to the portal that appeared over New York, but this one doesn't have any visible energy source."
Tony made no response, too irritated by the inhuman thing in front of him. He began firing both repulsors repeatedly, aiming for Deimos' head. "Not in the mood to dick around with you, buddy," he snapped. "So surrender before I get really pissed."
Deimos ignored him, dodging the blasts of white light Tony sent his way. He vaulted over a pair of shots, before folding into a deep squat, and releasing all the compressed strength of his legs, launching himself head first into the portal. Deimos' body faded into the swirling blue light, followed by a flash of white electricity crackling around it. The portal's diameter began to decrease, and it started to fade from sight.
Tony groaned. Screw it, he did it once already.
Vision managed to finally catch up to Tony, only to see his colleague alone, firing up his jet thrusters. Before Vison could speak, Tony flew straight into the collapsing portal, just before it sealed up.
"Tony!" shouted the android, vainly reaching for the spot where Iron Man had vanished.
Down the hall, still trying to follow, Rhodey heard him. It wasn't a good sign.
Earth, Wakanda
Steve was driven back by the yellow beam pushing against his shield. The faun, carrying a pack full of vibranium shards inside their glass capsules, cackled like a hyena, before turning and sending another shot into the sky, straight towards Sam, who executed an aerial loop in the sky to dodge. Wanda retaliated for the others, gathering several large chunks of loose rock in her telekinetic grip, packing them together and hurling them at the creature. He merely laughed once more as he obliterated the stones with one burst.
"Didn't think you'd already be afraid of me," he chortled, staring down the three Avengers. "Those two guards about soiled their—what're they called, pants?—the first time they saw me. Now you're sending in your costumed weirdos, and I just got here!"
The creature continued to laugh, which cost him.
Wanda's next blast of red energy was easily sidestepped, but the over-confident faun moved his head directly in range of Sam, who struck it with an aerial round kick, backed by his momentum. Dazed, Steve's shield caught the creature off guard again, right between the pectorals. Rogers rushed up and caught the rebounding disk with one hand, and grasped a handful of brown hair with the other. The Captain turned around and bent his midsection, utilizing his entire body to hurl the thing head first into the Wakandan dirt. The faun's skull was impacted, but he managed to get both hands underneath him, pushing off the ground. He twisted in the air, facing his enemies once more as he landed on both hooves. Wanda, Steve, and Sam faced him, shield, magic, and duel Steyr Spp pistols drawn.
"Not sure who or what you are," said Steve, "but I'd throw down that Vibranium if I were you."
"You're outnumbered," said Wanda
The faun stared down his enemies, clearly angry at the turn of events. His ears shifted behind him, indicating he could clearly hear both Bucky and T'Challa rushing towards the site of the battle at full speed. T'Challa, surprisingly, had managed to don his entire suit already. Bucky had drawn a combat knife.
He raised his staff once more, sickly yellow light gathering in the C-curve. "Remember my name," he growled. "I'm Phobos! I am fear!" And the thrust the end of the staff into the ground.
The burst of bright light nearly blinded all those present, with even Sam's goggles doing little to block it. When their eyes opened, they were greeted by a writhing mass of the yellow energy. Slender and flexible forms contorted inside, gliding past each other. Four large bumps on top began to push out, becoming necks as thick as tree trunks. Four feet and a tail followed, and the necks grew snake-like heads, before the yellow glow faded to become brown, scaled skin.
Even T'Challa couldn't hold back a gasp. The creature in front of them resembled the mythical Hydra, standing as tall as Scott Lang's giant form. Its heads were glaring down at the Avengers, hissing and sticking forked tongues out between spear-like teeth. The feet ended in pointed talons, and the tail was larger and longer than a bus.
The heads actually seemed to grin as they looked down at the assembled Avengers. Steve gripped his shield, trying to formulate a strategy in his mind against an unprecedented enemy. He was about to shout an order, only to be cut off as one of the heads came right for them. Steve and Wanda dived to the side, while Sam fired up his rocket pack, flying straight away, all escaping the snapping jaws.
Once he made the air, Sam began to circle around the heads of the massive beast, just out of biting range. He focused on his comrades, who were currently avoiding two heads, while the other two kept their eyes on the Falcon, waiting for an opportunity.
Resolved to protect his comrades, Sam drew one of his pistols, reasoning that even if the hydra was bullet-proof, he could at least catch its attention. Reaching a proper vantage point, Sam took aim at the central body and fired.
And recoiled in shock as his shots passed right through the monster's thick hide. "Guys!" he shouted over his ear piece. "It's some kind of projection! It's not real!"
Taken aback, T'Challa reached forward with one clawed hand, taking a swipe into the creature's body. Just like the bullets, he passed through it like mist, and the hydra didn't react.
"But if it's an illusion..." said Steve. Realization hit him like a lightning bolt. Steve spun around to find just what he'd expected. Namely, Phobos retreating as fast as his goat legs could carry him, stolen vibranium in tow.
"AFTER HIM!" shouted Steve, sprinting at full speed. Sam rocketed after him, the duo outpacing the other three. The hydra illusion, its purpose fulfilled, began to fade away into nothing.
Steve and Sam rounded the corner, finding Phobos rushing towards a swirling blue portal, floating in the air. Sam dived out of the air, attempting to grab the faun before he could pass through, but to no avail. Phobos entered the vortex, with Sam right on his tail, and Steve following soon after, followed by the portal starting to shrink away.
The other three Avengers were too far to reach the collapsing gate. Roaring with frustration, Wanda reached out with her magical grip, with the goal of forcing the portal to remain open for just a few more seconds. But it wouldn't respond to the red energy coalescing around it, and vanished, leaving the three Avengers alone on the Wakandan soil.
"Dammit!" she bellowed, throwing her hands up.
"Now what?" asked Bucky.