Chapter 10 - The Two Week Arc Part 2
By One Above All
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Why oh why can't the plan ever be simple? Or go smoothly? Get the vibranium, beat the bad guys, explode the ship, and go home for a stiff drink. Instead, they got a pissed off Wakandan king who's fighting a guy who's dressed as and is strong as an oversized Scorpion. Punisher who is fighting a walking nuclear reactor. A knight with a magical sword fighting a literal alien dragon. Got to remind himself later about reporting to SWORD about a possible leak in illegal distributed DNA masks among the black markets. Oh, and said alien dragon was using major amounts of fire to turn the outside of the ship into an oven. Even with the nuclear engine going haywire.
These completely terrible situations played out in Trickshot's head as tried to think of possible solutions for this crap. He wished he could say that he had the time to think of such things, but his dance partner wasn't going to allow him that luxury.
Bullseye. Crazy, sadistic, and evil. It really doesn't help that he is just as good a marksman as him and his brother. Hell, Bullseyes was Hawkeye at one point in the past. Charles Barton is humble enough to admit that his brother Clint is a better sharpshooter than himself. But right now, he's all the good guys have for a guy who can't miss. He can't afford to lose to Daredevil's biggest hater, not once. His quiver on its last few arrows until its next recharge print of a new batch, he watches his footing a narrow battlefield of the ship's interior. Considering who he's fighting, the psycho uses just about anything as ammo.
With his advanced tech goggles, Trickshot switched to a vibration sensing vision. Thanks to the scans he picked up from the vibranium, he now has a vision echo location based on electron particle movement. When fighting a Daredevil villain, you have to think like Daredevil. Bullseye may know his way around the ship, but Trickshot will know where he is at all times. And that wasn't his only advantage, technically the Enforcers and hopefully the rest of Hydra don't have their locked memories from their past lives available to them at the moment. Which means Barton knows Lester better than the deranged marksman himself. Eventually, Bullseye will catch on. So he'll have to beat him quickly. Although killing wasn't his go to method to deal with enemies, this wasn't some henchmen. This was the top assassin for the Kingpin, and now a merc for Hydra. Unlike Clint, Charles can stomach putting down a psychopath permanently.
Hand tightened on his compound bow and his next arrow primed for release, Trickshot moves smoothly through the ship's hallways as he looks for a trail of his opponent. Any slip or delay in judgement, then he's a dead man. Bullseye is a dangerous man who would use methods based on how interested he is in the person he's killing. A simple civilian, an act of murder that would either be untraceable or was discovered as a morbid lethal prank. A person of high status in society, then their bodies would be found the next day with disfigurement and expressions of pain. A superhero or supervillain, given the chance or if the poor bastard was unlucky, Lester would parade the fact and gloat of his achievement to other monsters like him.
Trickshot figured the lunatic would go easy on him since he's a fellow sharpshooter. But no, he's not that lucky. He loses this, then Bullseye is going to carry his corpse to a taxidermist and keep his stuffed body to be the trophy of what shabby base that the Enforcers call home. Well, him or Frank. Just as Barton made a turn to the left in the halls of the ship, the vessel shifted on its sides and a loud roar could be heard from outside. Then an explosion from the backend of the ship where this mess began from. Bright green could be seen from the small windows, probably emitting from the main deck. A Wakandan King and three international fairing vigilantes fighting four very deadly mercs. If any of them dies tonight, well, SHIELD can always find more to take their place. They won't be as good, but they can certainly try to be.
CLICK. SHINK.
Immediately, Trickshot spun around and released his arrow to the direction of the sound. Just to see the arrowhead and the card dissecting each other in fluid motion. Then, a second card flew straight for his face. Tilting slightly to his side, the card flew past and left a small cut to the left side of the archer's mask. A silhouette walked out of the shadows with his cards flapping through the air from hand to hand. His costume looked so familiar. A black full bodysuit with white gloves and boots. White accents that complement his bullseye motif, but much like his fellow mercs, he has tactical gear added to his attire. Most likely from a third party black market tailor since not one bit of it seemed Hydra influence.
"Adamantium Arrowheads.", said Bullseyes observantly.
"Adamantium razor playing cards. You guys actually play with those or what?", asked Trickshot curiously.
"My team learned to appreciate my hobbies. We learned to appreciate each other's interests. Some of us like really fancy TV's and some like to see how long it takes for a guy to bleed out.", answered Bullseye as he threw two more cards.
In quick succession, Trickshot shifted his compound bow into its combat staff form and deflected the cards away from himself. The razor cards being flung into the walls and peering back at the end of the hall, Lester had disappeared. Marksman and sharpshooter advanced across the internals of the Lionfish as the battle outside raged on. An arrow flies and a card spins. A wrist bolt is sent out and a throwing knife is delivered back. Trickshot had an answer for all of Bullseyes' unconventional weapons, except for a certain breed of weapons.
BANG. Guns. For the love of God, why is it always a gun? He has nothing against the weapon type in general. It's just that it always sucks to be at the other end of a gun. Considering his own as an archer, no Trickshot or Hawkeye have ever preferred to use one. Not that it isn't an effective weapon, especially in Punisher's hand. There's just no art to it. The feel of the bow handle, the tension of the bow string, and the release of an arrow as your own breath exhaled. It's not a rush, but a mantra. Like your body knows it's the way it needs to be as it is yourself in every way. Oh god, that was more deep than it needed to be. Trickshot refocuses on getting the drop on his psychotic opponent.
All metallic wet roads lead to a very heated and large chamber with humming machines that keep the ship alive. One look at them and Charles Barton knew that those are Hydra reverse engineered nuclear generators. Oddly enough, they were a mix of European and Chinese class reactors. He only had a split second to move his head back as he reacted to the loud bang of a magnum revolver. Typical Bullseye. Didn't care that he just literally just shot a bullet at a potential nuclear disaster.
"I'm getting really tired of playing hide and seek, Trickshot. If the plan was to sink the ship, you guys could have done it when you found it. You're here for the vibranium, not going to happen.", proclaimed Bullseye as he fires his gun again. Dodging the line of fire, the archer takes cover and with weaving movement in a crouching posture. Lester's bullets follow him, even when said target was trying his best to stay hidden. The archer came up with a possible endgame plan. His team was outside and he was inside. Literal nuke box in a metallic room where bullets could easily ricochet around. And the crazy guy is the one with the gun. With a bit of mental math and freestyle thinking, Trickshot knew the steps he needed to take. He has two advantages. He has his quirk and his memories, because technically to bullseye, this is the first time they have ever fought.
Switching to his last two high concussion arrows, Trickshot aims and shoots two simultaneously at Bullseye. It was a bluff, but it will decide the rest of the plan if the lunatic takes the bait or not. The arrows fly straight to Lester who simply fires his gun and leaps over the arrows. The bullet that zoomed in between the arrows reached the archer and was deflected by the bow which was quickly turned into a staff. The stray bullet then hit a steel beam and bounced into one of the panels of the nuclear engines. 'Great, he didn't take it. Plan B, become the bait.', thought Trickshot as he pulled out new arrows and met Bullseyes on the main platform of the engine room.
Left with no choice, Trickshot has to get in close and improvise, getting Bullseye to do the work for him. They slowly approach each other with conviction and silent fury. With each step, Lester fires his revolver and Barton would deflect the shots as much as he can as he too steps closer. He could painfully feel it. Several grazings and bleeding. The rush is what kept him going and his left leg may have gotten shot. Thank god, the bullet went all the way through. Face to face now, the archer tried his best to give his hardest swing at the marksman. Lester however caught the compact staff and hit Barton in the face with the bottom of his gun's handle. Taking a Knee to the stomach, Archer went down to one of his own knees and spat a nugget of his blood.
"Any last words.", mocked Bullseye as he takes his sweet time replacing each empty shell with a fresh new bullet that mysteriously appears in his hand each time. Trickshot took note of that and then analyzed the specs from his goggles that showed the results of Bullseye's abilities. Now that Lester is staying still for the biomatrix software to do a complete biological scan. When his quirk was finally revealed, Barton felt a cold shiver at how broken said quirk was. Then again, the marksman didn't know the archer's own quirk either. 'Got to keep him talking.', thought Trickshot as he now leaves things to chance now.
"Your quirk, what is it?", asked Trickshot as he felt his life slowly fleeting him.
"Sure, why not? The first time anybody asked that. And well, you're going to die anyway. I call it Precision Recall. Any weapon I have ever used, as long as I remember them, will always be transmigrated into reality for me to use again. Hell, even the ammunition is fully stocked, so I'll always be ready to fight. Guns or knives, anything I use for killing is a part of my everlasting arsenal. And trust me, I remember everything I do.", declared Bullseye in a sick morbid sense of pride as he places his second to last bullet in the rotating cylinder. For Barton, it was chance time now.
"Cool, here's mine.", said Trickshot as he activated his quirk Color Blind. He just hopes none of his team are near him right now. Just as Bullseye was about to transmigrate the last bullet, he accidently let his current blindness be known.
"What the hell?", said Bullseye, shocked as he sees nothing but darkness. Just then, Trickshot swung hard and batted Bullseye's guns with his staff. The hit caused Lester to fire involuntarily and the bullet put the final dent to the emergency panel of the nuclear engine closest to them. In quick succession, Barton then pulled out a secret ice arrow that he always kept for emergencies. The freezing arrow was fired from the bow and zoomed straight into the opening of the reactor. The cooling agent quickly freezes the engine to a full shut down and the freezing process then continues to freeze the other surrounding engine into icy steel boxes.
Trickshot then used his good leg to rise and give a hard shoulder bash to push Bullseye away. Balling his fist with a nightcrawler pellet, Barton quickly gave the floor a downward punch and broke the pellet to allow the blue smoke to completely cover. With a thought of where he wants to be, Barton was teleported by the blue smoke to the outside deck where laid on his back on top of the area where he was most likely above the bow. He would like to say that he was the king of the world, but right now he just felt like a bloody mess.
The ship then rocked left and right since now with the nuclear engines off, there was nothing powering the ship or its stabilizers. Everything was pretty much just passing by as time and awareness were quickly fleeting. He heard a loud explosion, something flying with hot air swirling, and finally the sensation of being dragged and shoved into some kind of aircraft. It felt and sounded like a quinjet. He heard what could be Frank arguing with Black Panther as the quinjet made its escape from the Baltic sea with four of them battered and tired. He could just make out what his team was saying.
"What happened to the Vibranium? We were supposed to retrieve it with those four into caustity.", argued Black Panther as Punisher shoved a single Vibranium brick into the king's hand.
"There. The rest is in the bottom of the Baltic sea now.", said Punisher, aggravated and tired.
"That's not acceptable. I held my end and now should you. Hydra will eventually claim the Vibranium cache once they fish it out.", proclaimed Black Panther, expressing his dissatisfaction.
"I needed an escape plan and Radioactive Man was melting everything. I figured I'd be fighting another scum with radiation powers so I had Forge make me a radiation shield module. So I blew a hole into the hull. When the ship lost power, it tilted to a side and all the Vibranium slid off the ship.", argued Frank as he showed a nearly messed up device on the verge of catching on fire.
"Mates, please stop yammering. The siege went south and those tossers had a dragon making my life hell. If it wasn't for that winning hand of a quirk I got, bloody things would have eaten me.", said Black Knight as he placed Trickshot on a seat and patching his wounds.
"Where were you during all this, Catman?", asked Frank agitated.
"Scorpion was on the assault and we battled on the bridge. The ship controls were destroyed in the process. Though that doesn't explain how the ship lost power.", argued Panther further.
It was then that small nearly unnoticeable whispers could be heard to the ears of the three still able men. The sound was coming from Trickshot.
"Had to stop the ship. We were going to lose. Had to stop their plan. Whatever it was. No one wins. Better than getting killed.", said Trickshot as he struggled to stay conscious. Black Knight immediately went back to work patching the archer's wounds. Punisher, ignoring his own wounds, went to the pilot chair and took the quinjet off auto-pilot as he decided to fly them all back to the Helicarrier. Black Panther remains to his own side of the jet, caressing the lone brick of Vibranium. To the four men there, this day was a bust. They lost the metal and they lost the fight. So did their enemies, but it resolved nothing. Wakanda is still endangered and Hydra is going to be more fiercer with attack than ever. Trickshot knew one thing before he fell unconscious. Peggy was going to be pissed.
… May 2, 2174 - Thursday, 6:00 PM. Naruhata …
"Come on, Green. It's not that far for you. Just run and jump.", said Creed as he waited for his neighbor Izuku Midoriya on the top of a building opposite to the building that the fanboy was shaking on.
"Creed, it seems a bit too wide from my view.", said a nervous Izuku as he made the mistake of looking down from the railings.
"That's just the vertigo talking. Run and jump. The point is to grab the ledge just after a jump. We're going to see if you're quick enough to catch yourself.", explained Creed as he leaned in on the railing and looked at Izuku expectantly.
"When you said you were going to help train me in parkour, I thought you set up some obstacle course somewhere or at a SHIELD facility.", argued Izuku nervously as he contemplated his chances.
The two teens had spent a majority of the day at school, but once the day was over the Canadian dragged his green-haired friend to the changing room to put on some SHIELD training clothes. As long as Izuku is with Creed, they'll be uninterrupted for the Canadian had scripted on the forums of SHIELD communications that their "Objective" will be taking up personal training with the Youth Department.
Since the beginning of the two weeks long road to the Yuuei Sports Festival, Victor Creed had taken up most of his time helping Izuku get a rhythm with being a flexible fighter. His lessons were simple and he made sure that Green got the full course of how a real Mutant kicks some ass. The first lesson was knowing to pick your fights. The robots in the Yuuei training grounds were useful for this. Small ones were mandatory to fight, med size are only when green is with Creed, and big ones are only for getting away practice. The fanboy asked why he wasn't allowed practice with All For One for this. The Canadian explained that he has to earn his right to his big gun. Crawl, walk, then, run. Punch, hit, sever, then shoot. Now that they are at midway point until the festival, Creed allowed Izuku to know exactly what kind of method this is based on.
"Did the Punisher really trained you like this?", asked Izuku as he stepped back to begin his running start.
"Yeah, he was a real pain to all of us. Hell, he still is. For him, we were just weapons to be added to his arsenal. But the farther we went, the more we caught up with him. And then he made it harder later, Carter wanted warriors and Frank delivered.", answered Creed as he kept one hand on a rail and outreach with the other to allow Izuku to catch.
Izuku sprinted, leaped on the railing, and he leaped from it. His hand outreach and was caught by Creed. The Canadian heaves the fanboy over to the new rooftop. Steadying himself, the fanboy stood straight and pulled in the Canadian from over the railing. The two teens then walked over to the other side of the roof and entered through the rooftop entrance into the building. Being back on the streets, the pair walked to the nearest small market, where they talked about the upcoming sports festival and enjoyed their rewards for the results of their parkour training.
"You did good, Green. Remember that there's no shame in learning better running before better fighting. Unless, you're a SHIELD youth. Then yeah, you're going to be called a wimp and Frank will beat some masculinity into you for the hundredth time.", said Creed to Izuku as he recalls his early years in the SHIELD youth department. In his mind, the Canadian remembered those times as a fond memory. Like being recruited for a junior hockey team. Izuku looks at him concernedly, like his neighbor was not all there if being mentored by the Punisher of all people was an honor of some sort.
"Creed, how can you think fondly of that? The Punisher, I don't know much on vigilante culture in the west, but even major international news covers his deeds. He's a killer. Even if those he's killing are criminals and villains, it's still not right. It's not solving the problem. It's just allowing other threats to move in and take what remains.", proclaimed Izuku as he stares down at his bottled juice. He then looks at Creed with a concerned look.
"Why do you smile when you think of him training you and your squad? Doesn't it bother you that he's no better than those he kills?", asked Izuku as Creed took a drink of his juice and exhaled as he looked at his neighbor.
"Not really.", said Creed simply, which shocked Izuku into confusion. The Canadian then looked at the green haired fanboy with a nonchalant face. "We live in two different worlds, Green. You see a guy doing wrong. I see a guy doing the only thing in this world he knows how to do. He ain't moving on from his bad crap that made him the badass he is today. Hell, I doubt rebirth would change him. He knows one thing and one thing only. You're evil, you're dead.", explained Creed as he then finishes his drink. Leaving Izuku dumbfounded on how he so easily accepts this. The fanboy figured he'll just drop it for now. Whether out of respect or simply not caring, it seems the Canadian has his own views of the Punisher and won't think otherwise.
"But enough of that asshole, with the sport festival coming up, we got to get you into better shape for it and for the past week we finally got you to run, jump, and climb like a spidermonkey on an adrenaline high. For the rest of this week, we're going to have you learn how to fight without using your quirk straight off the bat. Tomorrow, we're going to the Japanese Division HQ and use the combat equipment. Hopefully, you're not a featherweight.", proclaimed Creed as he and izuku stood to walk back home.
"Oh really, I never thought I could actually get combat training. I mean, that seems like something Doom would be against since he monitors my condition. Then again, he probably would suggest something less aggressive for me if that wasn't the case. Although, with how my quirk works, I guess it would be best for me to not actually perform combat training but to see a demonstration. But I would also have-", Izuku then rambled on and on with his word vomit habit. His out loud inner monologue was something that Creed had to get used to and he learned to block out all the noise. As the two teens continued to talk and walk, well actually Creed listening to Izuku rambling, the Canadian noticed that they had arrived at their apartment.
"Alright bub, enough with the ideas, I already decided on what to teach you first.", said Creed as he shook Izuku to stop his one sided talking. This actually got the fanboy's curiosity.
"So then, what will you teach me tomorrow?", asked Izuku as Creed formed a sinister smirk on his face,
"Bareknuckle boxing, I'm going to see how long you can punch through pieces of wood until you start bleeding.", answered Creed as he started to chuckle a little upon seeing Izuku's face grimace a little at the thought of tomorrow's training. Perhaps more parkour training wouldn't be so bad.
Walking up through the apartment levels, the two teens talked about their classmates' training regimes for the sport festival. Izuku heard from Ochako that Mina and her were practicing on levitating debris and melting it as it falls. Creed sees it as a decent workout. Test your range or test your physical strength, it would be dumb to be a one trick pony. Considering how little the Canadian has known Ochako and with what he got from Erik on his views of Mina, the savage Sabretooth himself would like to see those two girls at least make it to half way through the event. The Green-haired fanboy mentioned Aoyama had joined them for some reason, just shooting his belly laser to make his tolerance more lasting. Creed hopes the cajun is the first to lose.
"Iida is doing sprint exercises all across the city." "That guy needs to think about a better fuel for those legs of his." "I think Kacchan is exercising his explosions in the fields by the school." "Firecracker need a better gimmick. He's too predictable." "Eijiro is testing his durability by jumping off roofs and then hitting the streets." "HA, maybe we should practice with him for tomorrow."
The two friends continue to talk about their classmates and their chances on how they'll do in the festival. Izuku mentioned how he isn't one for the cameras or the people watching him. For him, the competition is stressful already. Creed was the opposite for he loves the attention and the more people to beat or humiliate the better. The fanboy thinks that the Canadian has the same mindset as Kacchan in that both blondes apparently don't see a world where they would lose. As both have reached the doors to their apartment livings, the foreigner puts a hand on the fanboy's shoulder.
"Listen bub, so far, there's been tons of drama going on with SHIELD lately. Chances are that something big might happen, so there is a chance that some of us SHIELD youth won't be at the Sport festival.", said Creed as he scratched the back of his head with his eyes focusing elsewhere, telling that he's not all relaxed with the recent developments. This made Izuku worry a little.
"So, you and Squad Doom won't be at the event?", asked Izuku with a saddened expression.
"It's still up in the air if that's the case. But if it isn't, then listen to me when I say this. Me and Squad Doom have our own take on the festival, but that doesn't matter since if we were to take part then we're going to make sure we kick everyone's asses and show those pro-heroes how a SHIELD-born hero shows his grit. We ain't fighting for their approval or the teacher's. We're doing this for the Director. If that means we got to show off, then we're going to steal the whole show from the whole lot of you. Even the other classes won't stand a chance.", proclaimed Creed, either proudly or arrogantly, Izuku could feel the genuineness behind each word. This is different from what everyone in class feels. The SHIELD youths weren't here for promotion or status. This was once again their dedication to duty.
This feeling very much reminds him of what exactly happened last friday.
… Last Friday, Yuuei Academy - Class 1A Homeroom …
"And that will be all for today's lesson, remember that homework is due in two days.", said Cementoss as he packed his lesson and began to exit the room. As everyone got ready to leave too due to Cementoss being their final lesson, they heard the teacher briefing stopped at the door.
"Oh excuse me", said Cementoss as he apparently had a bit of trouble passing through.
Ochako was the first to get up from her desk to see what her teacher saw. Her reaction and everyone else's was to say the least, confused and shocked.
"What's going on? Why are you all here?", asked Ochako out loud as all of Class 1-A sees a herd of other Yuuei students crowding in front of the door.
Squad Doom did as they always did and blocked out the noise of those below them. Eddie was daydreaming. Creed was sleeping. Erik was getting his pack ready. And Doom, like every other day, just continued to write notes into his personal project journal. They heard a bit of Iida, they didn't care to hear Mineta, but their interest peaked when they heard the brash Bakuguo state the obvious.
"They're scouting out the real competition, idiot. We're the class that survived a villain attack. They want to see us with their own eyes." stated Bakuguo firmly and stoically as he approached the herd. Eddie left his daydream, Creed peeked through his long bangs, Erik simply stood from his desk, and Doom closed his journal with his green eyes following the explosive blonde.
"At least you know what a future pro looks like. Now move aside, you extras.", ordered a stoic Bakuguo as Izuku and Ochako were getting worried by his insults to other classes. Iida also scolded the explosive blonde for his brash behavior. Squad Doom didn't care for the judgement of Katsuki's character for they've heard this kind of talk many times in their early years in the youth department. But it was however how he carried himself, like something clicked that actually brought out something serious. Something they understood.
"So this is class 1-A. I heard that everyone is impressive, but you sound like an ass. Is everyone in the hero course delusional or is it just you?", asked a purple haired male student with tired eyes. This new face gained the attention of Squad Doom. He seemed like a weakling, but their training under the Punisher instilled into their minds that you don't underestimate a potential enemy. This purple-haired teen then spoke of how he wanted to get into the hero course, but he didn't meet the school's standards so he got booted to a lesser course. It was what he said next that got the full alert of Squad Doom.
"I didn't cut it the first time around, but I got another chance. If any of us do well in the sports festival, the teachers can decide to move us into the hero course. And they'll have to transfer people out to make room.", said the purple-haired teen nonchalantly. This statement sent a jolt of worry across the already concerned members of class 1-A. For Squad Doom, their eyes fell to Izuku. The sport festival seems to be more than just parlor games and reputation boosts. There's an actual threat to it. If their objective doesn't exceed expectations, then he'll lose his place in the hero course and lose his momentum in his quirk training to master One for All.
"Scouting out the competition, maybe some of my peers are, but I'm here to let you know that if you don't bring your very best. I'm going to steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a declaration of war.", proclaimed the purple-haired teen with the energy of a mic being dropped.
'WHERE DID THIS GUY EVEN COME FROM?', cried Izuku, Ochako, and Iida mentally.
'This fucking guy.', mocked Squad Doom with disinterest at this peon's little threat.
"Although, if what the news leaks said is right, then it may be a fact that the SHIELD youth department are the real stars of the show. You may have survived the villain attack, but did you actually fight any villains?", queried the purple-haired teen as now the expression on Bakuguo's face shifted from firm uncaring to slightly irritated. Like the thought of being told that he didn't have the guts to fight anyone was the biggest insult you could have told them. He wasn't the only one, some of class 1-A shifted their eyes to their four foreign classmates. Squad Doom were very displeased at the type of attention they were getting.
And thus, Victor von Doom stood from his desk with his school bag in hand. Following suit, Creed grunted at the scene and along with Eddie stood from desks as well. The four walked past the eyes of their peers, got close to the trio of Iida, Ochako, and Izuku. They moved past them as well, but not before Victor Creed whispered a message into the Fanboy's ear.
"Meet me at the beach. You know the one. Your personal training with us starts now.", whispered Creed to Izuku who's eyes widened upon the words.
Squad Doom was right behind Katsuki Bakuguo who was getting livid that the SHIELD dogs were once again regarded as higher than him. He was getting sick of the trend already. All of sudden a silver-haired teen popped out of nowhere and let his voice be heard.
"HEY YOU, I'M FROM THE CLASS NEXT DOOR TO YOU. I FOUGHT SOME VILLAIN AND I CAME TO SEE IF THAT WAS TRUE. TURNS OUT YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF BRATS WHO THINK THEY'RE BETTER THAN US.", roared the student in a state of rage. He would go further until he noticed Erik Lesher with his team.
"HEY, I REMEMBER YOU. DON'T THINK I FORGOT WHAT TRIED TO PULL BACK AT THE ENTRANCE EXAM.", yelled Tetsutetsu at the german teen.
"And I already forgot your very existence, do try to speak louder and maybe that'll change. Shall we Doom?", said Erik to the Latverian who merely walked forward to the purple-haired teen. Purple and green eyes met with the same cold look.
"I don't appreciate slander to any group who carry my presence in it. Whether my alignment or the class I'm in, your declaration is nothing more than cheap talk to put us and our peers in a pathetic mindset of doubt. The threat we faced that day would have killed any of us. On that day, we faced true enemies. All I see in front of me is children. So I'll only say this to all of you cattle. DOOM. DOESN'T. LOSE.", declared Victor von Doom with his emerald eyes burning a bright green as he and his squad left the classroom with all eyes on them.
As all the crowded students made way for the SHIELD youths, Tetsutetsu continued to bark his threats to Erik as Creed, without looking back, flipped the bird at the loud mouth teen in defense for his fellow reincarnated mutant. Bakuguo then left as well, but went the opposite direction of where the foreigners went. In the classroom, Class 1-A all reacted in their own way to Doom's own declaration.
"Wow, Doom really knows how to command a room. So manly.", said Kirishima with admiration and a tear in his eye.
"He's not wrong. After all we've been through, we have no excuse to let ourselves slow down now. We must try to win just as hard.", declared Tokoyami with crossed arms and a contemplated look.
"He's a cold dude, but he speaks the right stuff.", agreed Sato with his hand to his chin.
"Are you guys serious? He just called out the whole school!", said Denki incredulously to his classmates.
As the rest of the class prepared to leave and had conversations on the boldness of the Doom's words or on the fact that they will be targeted by some of the school, Izuku Midoriya had his mind on other things. His talk with All-Might, Iida's admiration for his brother, and Ochako's goal to help her parents. They culminate in a realization for Izuku that this sport festival is the next big step for him. To show that he could further and push himself further.
… Present - Thursday …
"Are you green? I lost you there for a bit.", asked Creed who nudged Izuku with a touch on the shoulder.
"Oh sorry, I just remembered something. Everyone has their own goals to think about for the sports festival. They're pushing themselves and I want to do just that as well. All-Might, my mom, and my friends. I've been carried by so many people. Even you and your team. For some reason I have SHIELD youths, and the best ones at that, helping me train for this event.", said Izuku with building determination.
"I'll show it. I prove to myself and to everyone that I can go further too. As far as my own way could take me.", said Izuku to Creed with a bright and lively seriousness that made the Canadian smirked proudly.
"Now you're thinking like one of us. Keep it up and maybe you'll beat the competition in no time. Still, it's fifty fifty if we are going to show. So if we don't, don't use that as an excuse to slow yourself down. I'm going to have Logan record the whole thing. I better see you kick some ass.", declared Creed as Izuku stood firmly.
"RIGHT.", proudly declared Izuku with new confidence.
After their training and a brief dinner with the Midoriyas, Victor Creed along with Logan set out silently into the midnight scene of Musutafu where they scaled from rooftop to rooftop for any quick action. Dressed in black and in dark adamantium face masks, the two Canadians scout out for any small-time felons to beat up. As they waited on top of a building that wasn't too high or too low, Creed figured he asked Logan how his day Somei was doing.
"So runt, how's middle school? Made any new friends or enemies?", asked Creed out of the blue.
"Feathers can't run for shit. I mean it's good that he wants to stick around me, but man it is exhausting trying to get him to run. Don't get me started on dumbbells.", said Logan, mentally exhausted.
"At least you have one friend in that cushy upper class middle school. Is he giving you any bitching?", asked Creed slightly amused.
"His motivation is his girl. He knows he's not allowed to when I'm the one getting him out of scrawny to badass. I only got this year and next to get him into Yuuei.", said Logan as thinks of his recent progress with Yokuto's training regimen.
"What about his quirk? Is it any good?", asked Creed curiously.
"Bub can only transform into small birds. From a Bee Hummingbird to a Wood Warbler.", answered Logan in disappointment.
"Yeah, that is kind of shit. Are you training him with his bird forms?", asked Creed unimpressed as well.
"Hell no, it would be suicide for him. He'd break his whole body instantly. No, he gots to get better with his human body before we even think of doing that.", said Logan resolutely.
Just then the two Canadians heard a glass break, they looked down to see two strange men trying to break into a small shop in the corner of an alley. The two reincarnates looked at each other with bored eyes and jumped into the scene. The two culprits were startled by the appearance of the two new interlopers that they sputter in fits of shock and gibberish. Creed and Logan were confused by the idiocy before them, but then their attention focused on the odd syringes in the culprits' hands. Without hesitation, they stabbed their necks with the shots and then things got weird.
The two criminals immediately transformed into humanoid lizardmen. Their slit red eyes turn to Creed and Logan who prepare for the fight they were waiting for. It was simple two on two and the Canadians knew quickly to get the lead on their dance partners. Taking a step, they see the lizardmen pounce and Creed grabs Logan's arm to swing him to his other side. This caused their enemies to be slashed across their chests by the three bone claws of Logan's outstretched right arm. This stunned the scaly runts for a good second for them to then fall victim to a powerful kick that hit both their heads simultaneously. The force of the kick wasn't what knocked them out however, for it was the hard stomps to the reptilian snouts from both Creed and Logan. Steel toe boots always hurt the most.
"That was embarrassingly easy.", said Logan bored. "And weird, I haven't seen anybody use Trigger for while.", said Creed with curiosity. "What the hell is trigger? Was it that stuff these two stabbed themselves with?", asked Logan as he inspected the syringes with his gloved hands. "It's a quirk amplifying drugs. It's supposed to power up your quirk to its max potential. Downside is the stuff makes you a crazy dumb animal with no care for collateral. A couple of months ago, Me and Eddie did a vigilante run one night where we took down a gang that bought a crate of the stuff. We even ran into an old buddy of Trickshot. A tough guy named Knuckleduster. He was the guy who told us about this drug. When we called Trickshot about it, he told us about the first time he dealt with this mess of steroids. Knuckleduster and Trickshot knew each other even farther back than that, but the year when they finally took this off the streets they kinda lost connection after that.", explained Creed as he remembered the events of then.
"If this stuff was taken off the streets, then why is it back?", asked Logan as he took a look around the corner of the alley. "Maybe the distributors are back. SHIELD kept tabs on them from time to time, but with the Asian territories being stuck up dicks with their own brand of doctrine and strict international law making. SHIELD was simply told that it wasn't their problem to solve. Especially now, we should leave this to the authorities. I ain't going to get in trouble like Arthur with breaking policy.", said Creed resolutely.
As they piled the lizardmen together and wrapped them in a long torn cable, Creed and Logan then heard sirens close by. Without a word, they leave the scene by climbing up to the roofs and scaling several buildings to return home.
… May 3, 2174. Friday, SHIELD Helicarrier - Med Bay …
There wasn't a lot that the legendary Black Knight does for the world. He often scours the world for the globe for ancient maps of long dead civilizations in attempts to one day find his true home, Camelot. If it leads to a dead end, then he would sell the map to some high paying parties for millions and tattle to Punisher if those buyers were bad people. He often switches to different assignments from both SHIELD and their sister organization, SWORD, where he is known as their most famed alien hunter. Whether they wore advanced DNA masks or simply hiding the darkest crevices of the earth, Percy Scandia always finds his quarry. Poor unfortunate travelers get put in the secure sanctuary of Area 51, while malevolent invaders get put to the sword. Death by the Ebony Blade. And when he is not hunting aliens, he's a part of the elite three man team of the Thunderbolts with the Punisher and Trickshot. Containing the civil wars of Europe from spreading to the rest of the world, but in truth fighting in a secret war for SHIELD against Hydra. A war that has lasted for over two hundred years.
Okay, so he has done far more than expected.
But he always ends his day with a nice cold ale with friends. Unfortunately for Percy, that one available friend was unconscious in a medical bed with several med bags and bandages wrapped around him. Barney Barton and Percy have always fought side by side. A brave sword with a trusty bow standing with him. They both respect the medieval weapon they represent. There had to be some variety to go with all of Frank's viscous gunplay.
In that medbay room on the Helicarrier, Black Knight sat next to the resting Trickshot. Cold ale in his hand, he stared at the ceiling as he listened to the beeping of the heart monitor. Frank was off somewhere in Europe getting his bloody kicks. Literal bloody kicks, the last time Percy called Frank he swore he could hear the sound of a man's head being crushed by Punisher's adamantium toed white boots. Other than that Carter was having an intense meeting with the Wakandan king, both were not satisfied with the results of the Lionfish mission.
And thus, Percy sat with his partner. He took a chug of his ale and breathed out in satisfaction. He turned to his right at Barton and let out a chuckle.
"It ain't fun without you, Robin Hood. Drinking these six packs ain't the same without friends.", said Percy as he finished his fifth can. He looked to his left to see the digital calendar and realized what day it was.
"That's right, today was when I had that really bad time in the states. The day I got driven out by my home country by the same government that Hydra ruled over. Nobs had the gall to frame for murder. To be fair, they leaked footage of me killing a disguised Badoon. Everyone fell for it all the same.", explained Percy as he had gotten excited from the memories of that day. Not getting a response from Barton, he sighed and with a smile he decided it would be best to tell the tale anyway to his sleeping audience. After all, the best way to keep a will strong for a downed soldier was to tell them a good story.
"Alright, you poor bastard. I'll tell ya damn fine tale. The first time I ever stepped foot in America and met All-Might. Man to man.", said Percy excited as he popped open another ale can.
… California, USA. 12 years ago - Casino Plaza …
"Day 23 in America. The wounds I suffered back in the United Kingdom have nearly healed. I pulled out the last of five bullets and put fresh ointment on a stitched up blade wound. The alcohol rub still burns, but it's scotch so drinking it helps. What hurt most was that my own home drove me out by setting an ambush at my hideout. It was certainly a wake up call when the British armed forces used an RPG to open my door. Vowing to never use my sword to kill another man, I merely beat to a bruised mess any man in front until snuck onto what could be the last public ship to ever sail near the European seas. The civil wars got worse. Thank god nukes weren't used at any point. After weeks of surviving off-shipping military MRE's, I arrived in America and settled in the slums of California."
"For a while, I kept a low profile and started to go after small-time criminals. I would steal their wallets and take any cash or cards they held to get food and a motel. It's nearly a month and I have not a single plan to return to Europe. I fear I might as well just give up defending that place and start over in the Americas. After all, there's bound to be more Aliens here. I might be the only one among all of Earth that can see through their disguises. Another week had passed and my luck got the better of me for I had caught the trail of a creature that called itself a Skrull. From what I remembered, it had used a DNA mask to become a human scientist that worked at a facility owned by a brilliant man named David Shields. Stealthfully infiltrating the compound allowed me to see many technological marvels of science."
"But, it seemed the Skrull was not interested in any of them. They instead stalked around what appeared to be a medical science wing of some sort. There, the creature took a keen liking to what seemed to be DNA samples. Using the mystical enchantment in my Black Knight helmet to peer further with my sight. The samples were labeled under 'Prisoners under life sentences'. The Skrull then pulled out an odd gun looking device to which he inserted a vile of blood. The alien technology in the device had spun the red liquid so fast that it glowed a bright blue. He then injected himself with the blood. With an intimidating smile, he showed satisfaction with the injection and spread his arm wide, almost like basking in the power he received."