Chapter 160 – Aftermath
160
Upstate New York
New Avengers Facility
5:40 p.m.
Scott Lang only had a millisecond to react. Just one millisecond to press his thumb against the button on his finger. The following flow of time was consumed in a shock wave of fire, dust, rock, and otherworldly energy.
His mask closed over his face and his body shrunk the second it was thrown back from the force of the initial explosion. Through the laboratory, that fire and dust consumed all there was and knocked several Avengers off their feet, took the breath from their lungs, and caught their minds in a state of utter shock. They couldn’t formulate or fathom what was happening to them before it was too late. Before they felt the ground beneath them be ripped away and their world consumed in fire.
Miles above the New Avengers Facility, the evening skies were blotted by the shadow of Sanctuary II, the massive warship unleashing torrents of energy missiles that struck the facility and the grounds surrounding it. Anything consumed under its shadow was a target, blotted and neutralized in an explosion of fire, dust, and dirt. The bombardment was mainly focused on the facility, but an enemy warship quickly came into view after its cloak was discovered. Sanctuary II focused its firepower on it.
The first blast struck the warship’s outer hull, being so utterly devastating that it wiped out the Helicarrier’s cloaking mechanism and unveiled the ship to the rest of the world. The following missiles simply eviscerated the Helicarrier so rapidly that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents didn’t even have a proper moment to retaliate. The enemy bombardment was so consuming and so overwhelming that the personnel inside couldn’t even maintain their proper standing before it all went to hell. Piper, Davis, and every available S.H.I.E.L.D. agent within the Helicarrier felt their worlds turn into a blaring red as fire tore through their ship, the shields, and everything caught in-between.
They couldn’t even scream when that rippling explosion consumed the entire bridge.
Remnants of the Helicarrier began to fall in a blistering inferno, Sanctuary II glaring down upon it as it continued to unleash streams of blue energy blasts onto the descending S.H.I.E.L.D. warship. Bubbling explosions consumed the hull of the Helicarrier, coming together to form one final eruption once the Helicarrier impacted the roof of the New Avengers Facility. An explosion so fierce and so feral tore across the landscape as both the facility and the Helicarrier collapsed as one. And Sanctuary II just kept on firing.
The base was mutilated from the sky. Landing zones, nearby storage facilities, and any structure that bore the Avengers insignia was wiped away. The nearby forests burned in a wave of fire, leveling the battleground and transforming it into a blackened, scorched earth. The remaining structure of the New Avengers Facility caved in alongside the remains of the Helicarrier. The inhabitants inside—those who experienced utter hell and confusion—felt the full weight of their world come crashing down right on top of them.
It was so overwhelming that no one could understand what was happening until the surprise attack had finally run its course. It felt as if it would never end. The Avengers within the laboratory were either blown aside by the consuming shock waves impacting the facility, thrown into some other room, against each other, or falling into the growing crevice right beneath their feet. It was a tumble of bodies and screams, no one able to see one another or themselves for that matter when the earth fell and they, too, with it.
Hulk, Rhodes, Rocket, Starlight, Sunset, Maud, and so many others were blown to the ground and slid down it into the growing darkness. Their bodies disappeared through the smoke and black, only their screams emanating and eventually fading away as the explosions continued to ripple and consume the facility. Twilight, Rainbow, Derpy, and several others tried to fly away, protect themselves, and just do anything to react accordingly. It was all for naught. A mass confusion filled the air and their line of sight was blotted to compensate for the weight falling on top of them. Darkness filled the laboratory.
The final missile from Sanctuary II was the strongest yet, striking all that remained of the facility and sending a resounding shock wave of energy across the torn wasteland. The water’s surface flew back from the wave of energy before finally settling, and then began to seep into the crevice created from the bombardment. The lower depths of the facility quickly began to flood, the smoke completely consuming the air above and within the remains.
Within those remains, those that were lucky, those that had survived made their presence known one way or another. A clustered maze of rebar, concrete, glass, stone, and other building debris was fully devoured under the crushing weight of the Helicarrier’s remains as well as the growing pressure from the flooding waters. Smoke blotted every survivor’s vision, the cries and groans of agony from those very survivors beginning to sound off. Nearly every voiced was drowned away by the facility’s own groans and growls, all of it so close to have fully collapsed over the facility’s lower depths. Yet something kept it all from falling. One opposite force kept the entire facility’s remains and the Helicarrier as well from crushing those survivors.
Bruce Banner emerged from the smoke, his body bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. His left arm helped, but only doing so much against such immense pressure. His burnt right arm hung limply by his side, unable to help. Gritting his teeth, Banner managed to open his eyes to see all those that had fallen with him.
He felt his heart drop to see such a large number of Avengers surrounding him, all of them lying at his mercy. Bruce turned back to the crumbling ceiling, to the entire facility and Helicarrier resting on his shoulders. He was the only thing preventing tons and tons of killing weight from crushing his friends, the only thing that was keeping them alive.
The rushing water impacted his back and neck rather quickly, starting to fill up the lower levels. The Hulk screamed against it all.
Several others were scattered throughout the remains. Only a select few were spared from the crushing weight of the lower depths, Daisy Johnson and Alphonso Mackenzie being two of those few. Together, they lied within the remnants of the living room, having been thrown into it upon the first explosion that had struck the laboratory. After several seconds, they finally began to come to, Daisy first among them and feeling her surroundings.
The air above her head was infected in darkness, ashes, and smoke. Her gloveless fingers felt the ground around her, washing over the rock, glass, and torn carpet that filled the living room. The facility teetered and groaned all around her, the piercing ring in her left ear earning a moan from Quake. That moan only increased in volume, Daisy rolling to her side and pressing her fists into the ground. The facility growled to her actions. Rising up to her hands and knees, Daisy felt a wave of nausea flush through her guts and forehead, prompting a hand to rise up to meet it.
Bringing her hand back, she stared at her palm and saw the slick crimson painted alongside her fingers. Upon gazing into the shattered glass beneath her, Daisy noted that her forehead had been cut open. A stream of blood flowed down the side of her face and dripped onto the glass beneath her, Johnson breathing steadily as her vision began to blur. She shook it away, tried her best to, and brought her gaze forward towards the sound of moaning.
Mack lay on his chest mere feet ahead of her, the couch flipped over and resting on top of him. It had miraculously protected him from the piece of ceiling that had fallen on top of the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hissing through the pain, Daisy managed to stand up. Her feet wobbled as did the living room’s entire floor. She made her movements cautiously forward, approaching Mack and trying to move the couch off of him. She pushed the ceiling first of all, then began with the piece of torn furniture. It hurt like hell, and it didn’t budge.
With little patience and strength left, Daisy simply pressed her palm against it and sent a tremor of energy into the couch. It flew across the room like it weighed nothing, crashing and disappearing through the smoke. Daisy fell once more to her knees with her chest heaving and breath rather wet. Spitting out a helping of blood from her mouth, Daisy pressed her palms against Mack and shook him.
He responded in a low groan, opening his eyes and gazing to nothing but the floor.
Managing to roll him over on his back with a cry of effort, Daisy pressed her finger to her ear and declared painfully over the shared comms, “This is Daisy… Johnson! If anyone can hear this message, we’re in the living room! Please, Mack needs help! If anyone can respond, we need help! Does anyone copy?!”
The voice and static in Shuri’s ear jolted her from the darkness that clouded her mind, the Queen of Wakanda gasping for air upon the tattered ground she lay on.
There was no more ceiling where she lay, only the smog-filled skies of utter blackness consuming the evening sunlight and Sanctuary II glaring down upon her with its red haze. Rolling over to her knees, Shuri pushed herself up and analyzed her surroundings. She was just on the outskirts of the facility, a collection of concrete, rebar, and other debris resting on the scorched grass and earth. Stumbling on that grass, Shuri could see through somewhat blotted vision the suit of armor looking from side to side.
She blinked and fully witnessed Friday bend down and pick up her metal arm, jamming it into the socket and locking it back in place. Friday rolled her shoulder, quickly bringing her gaze over to the young Wakandan queen. “Your Highness,” the AI called, stumbling through the debris and gripping Shuri’s extended palm.
Shuri was pulled to her feet, aided greatly by the Mark 45 Iron Man armor. Hunching over slightly, Shuri turned about and gazed to the remains of the facility, dust and soot and blood painted on her face and showing the utter paleness in her expression. The utter loss of hope and life that filled her eyes when she saw all that remained.
The blistering fragments of the Helicarrier rested over the New Avengers Facility, what was left of both nearly caved in and scattered into a billion burning pieces of debris. The outer walls of the facility were torn asunder and ripped open for the entire world to see, various different levels of the building exposed. Shuri felt ill just wondering how far she was thrown from the explosion, trying to understand how she could have miraculously survived it all.
Which reminded her. “How many casualties?” she asked, voice torn with weakness.
Several seconds of Friday analyzing and scanning their surroundings, the facility, and the Helicarrier earned Shuri’s eyes. Slowly at first, the young queen growing more and more terrified the longer it took for the AI to answer. When she finally did, Shuri felt her heart drop. Especially when she heard the hurt in Friday’s voice.
“Every able-bodied S.H.I.E.L.D. agent within the Helicarrier has perished, including agents Piper and Davis. The others’ heartbeats remain visible, some weaker than others. But they’re still alive.”
Shuri turned aside at that grave news given to her. Closing her eyes under the moment of silence for the fallen, she slowly opened them and stared once more into the burning graveyard of concrete and metal. She said, “Not for much longer if we don’t act.”
A slight groan could be heard within the rubble up ahead. Shuri and Friday both turned to it, both of them rushing over as fast as their wounded bodies could manage to the sound. With Friday doing most of the heavy lifting and removing the large slabs of concrete, Shuri was the first one to make eye contact with none other than Melinda May hidden under the debris.
And Shuri, moments away from breaking that distance and holding onto May, stopped just inches and cringed back. The blood in her face slipped away, her breath tightening and eventually stopping when she saw it. Friday’s shimmering eyes centered on it, as well. Not even May was able to see it like they did. She didn’t have the strength to simply turn her head to her right to see the piece of rebar embedded through her shoulder.
Moaning in agony, May managed to see both Shuri and Friday bend down to her at long last. While Shuri comforted her with whispers and strokes of her palm against her forehead, Friday more so focused on the wound. She analyzed it quickly, laying her metal hands gingerly over her shoulder. She gave a slight tug, just to see the severity of the wound. May cried out, stopping what would have been a scream to tear through her throat. She gritted her teeth, shut her eyes tight, and seethed in unhinged pain. Friday backed away, turning to Shuri slowly while May breathed heavily.
They were so focused on May that they never saw the beam of light emerge from Sanctuary II.
It fell from under the rows of red, teeth-like lights emanating from the maw of the massive warship. Striking the devastated earth, a being of great size and stature emerged through the smoke and light. His golden and black armor—dented and scratched from prior years of seemingly never-ending warfare and strife—gleamed under the glare of the fires consuming the wasteland he had created. A large Double-Edged Sword rested in his right hand. He shone under the blinding beam of energy, like a miraculous deity sent from above, or a hellish demon emerged from below. A mixture of both.
The light faded, and Thanos remained.
The first intake of air was that of smoke, a sickening stench of metal and fire, torched trees and earth mixing together alongside the dead within the Helicarrier’s remains. The Mad Titan breathed it in all the same, deeply, and sighed rather longingly. Though he did not admit it aloud, he had missed the smells of conquest. He also dreaded it, knowing with certainty that death ensued and would only continue to from that point on. Yet he digressed, for it would be just one last time. One last act.
He could recall the final moments of his journey, witnessing through the vision of his daughter that the Avengers had succeeded. Together, they brought the six Infinity Stones back from the dead, created a gauntlet of their own, and snapped their fingers. It appeared as if Thanos had arrived to Earth just a few seconds short of stopping them, but he did not worry over such timing. Whether or not their Snap had actually worked, all that mattered was that the Infinity Stones were back, and waiting for him somewhere within the rubble. Whether they brought back everyone Thanos had taken didn’t matter.
In the grand scheme, all that mattered was the Stones. Everything would change once he got his hands on the gauntlet just one more time.
With that final decision set in stone, Thanos stepped forward, continuously scanning his environment for moments on end. Knowing before he landed that the Outriders would search the remains and retrieve the gauntlet for him, all Thanos really had to do was wait.
That was it. Just wait.
Jamming one end of his blade into the earth, Thanos removed his helmet with both hands. He rested it on top of the other blade’s tip, spinning about and taking a seat upon a pile of rubble. He exhaled at that motion, arms resting on his knees once he hunched forward and gazed into the remains of the devastation he enacted. Not a sound other than the cracking fires surrounding him, or the soft growls of the crumbling home of the Avengers. The right half of his face was illuminated in the light of the fires. The left half remained in the shadows, remained scarred.
Reaching for his armor, Thanos removed a small blade and pulled it outward. He clicked it, and watched as the switchblade opened and unveiled both ends of each knife. He let it rest against his left forefinger. The red liquid in the center of it moved from side to side, the intricate silver shimmering under the glow of the fires. Thanos stared longingly to it, a hint of dread, sadness, and guilt filling his expression and his eyes. His heart. The endoskeleton within his left arm felt all too natural, the restored nerve endings feeling the slick and cold metal of the switchblade and fixing it once one end tipped.
Bringing it back into balance.
It continuously fell out of favor, and Thanos—without even looking most of time—continuously brought it back into balance. He stared below, sometimes at the blade, but always thought of her. She always tried to fill his thoughts in the waning seconds of unnerving silence that proceeded. And all Thanos could do was wait in that silence alongside his daughter.
Either for the Infinity Stones or the Avengers to come to him first.
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Oh, boy, the first casualties of the battle have already occurred! I only wonder what Thano's 'epic' monologue is going to be like.
Great chapter!
Is Thanos going to give his speech about his plans to the Avengers?
Is Ultron going to make an appearance?
Is Darth Maul going to appear to fight against the Avengers?
Coming up will truly be a “Duel of the Fates”! Eh-Eh!
10037479
Im not sure if you really meant the Darth Maul joke, but it IS clever!
10037485
Thanks!
10037479
I would honestly love it if Darth Maul just randomly showed up for no reason.
10037560
just have the doors open to reveal him and the music plays!
God damn sneak attack. The Sanctuary II comes in and destroys the Helicarrier, killing all the SHIELD agents on board including Piper and Davis (
WHY, JD!), sending its remains down on top of the Avengers along the bombardment raining down upon them leaving them injured and scattered in the remains. And they never even saw it coming until it was too late.
Hulk hate rubble like hulk hate Mountain
Damn... that was much more intense then the movie also...
You killed Piper and Davis you monster!!!
https://i.gifer.com/BPlH.gif
10037456
Indeed I wonder as well
10037709
Who was Piper and Davis again?
The final battle hasn't even commenced and already lives have been taken.
R.I.P. Piper and Davis, and all their fellow agents.
Captain America, Iron Man and Thor will most likely face off against Thanos, but I'm curious to see who else will be joining them in the fight.
Maybe?
10037762
They were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and they were recurring characters on the TV show, which is also called, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
10037793
Did they participate in the battle the past half of the story?
10037795
Yes, they were among those who fought in the Battle of Wakanda. and then they were aboard the Helicarrier during the final battle against Thanos before the Decimation.
I'm awful for saying this, but I'm glad that there were deaths. For the final battle of the MCU, there really weren't enough named deaths.
And the worse thing is, Ultron has yet to show himself.
and so it begins.... again kind of...
Thanos: Crashing the party and ruining it since 2018.
So Nut Chin has finally showed up and as always starts off with total dick moves like killing main marvel characters
It has just begun and our heroes already suffered loss of Piper, Davis and their fellow Shield agents, and the worst part about it is they probably won't be the only people that are going to die, and that Ultron is going to show up sooner or later.
Long have I waited...
Long have I waited...
10037787
Maybe rarity twilight and rainbow might join Captain America iron man and Thor
10038613
Yeah, I was thinking about those three. They are the surviving members of the Mane 6, and they would want make sure that Thanos doesn’t undo what they have done.
Plus, each of them have made a connection with the Marvel trio:
Twilight with Tony.
Rainbow with Steve.
Rarity with Thor (especially during the Time Heist).
So it would make sense for the six of them to fight Thanos together.
10038663
Hawkeye black widow and hulk are still there but occupied with keeping everyone safe until everyone comes back
10037456 Fairly similar, but with some new things thrown in there.
10037479 I’m counting on Darth Maul at this point.
10037653 Seeing these comments, I’m glad there are people who care about Piper and Davis. RIP.
10037743 I plan to up the ante in every single way!
10037787 I like your choice of mares. Let’s see what happens...
10037896 There’s gotta be some stakes thrown in there.
10038269 I wouldn’t say main characters, but definitely characters.
10038548 The darkest moments are still ahead...
10038571 My boy...
10038663 Glad you picked that up.
10038571
NICE!!
10038806
Well they are or in this case were main or secondary characters in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D so close enough
Holly Jebuss ! I come back just in time for the almost-grande-finale ! SOOOOOO sorry for not posting comments on the 10 or so last chapters , it was because I didn't have any connexion since freaking mid-December due to someone trying to replicate Fast and Furious near my house and demolishing an internet pole . Anyway , I have to say that I freaking excited to see what plot twists and epic moments you can bring us in those 40 chapters , I know you won't disappoint ! I mean , if you put the bombing of the Avengers 40 chapters before the end , you must have something REAL big prepared , right ?
Note: sry if this comment feels a little rushed , I just read the ten missed chapters and have 40 other chapters from other fics to read in one night so , yeah , I try not to take too much time (The chapters where great tho , don't get me wrong , just because I read them faster doesn't mean I liked them less).
10039082 Got something pretty damn big planned.
You're setting things up quite nicely for this story's eventual finale. :)
Oh man, the destruction of the Avengers Facility was already pretty intense in the film, but it feels even worse here. The Helicarrier was destroyed too, killing all the SHIELD agents onboard, including Piper and Davis. That's horrible, because they had basically won and undid what Thanos had done five years ago, but couldn’t even celebrate it before his sudden return, and we’re wiped out before they could even realize it.