10 years ago
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
Nick Fury sat at his desk, giving the man in front of him a stern look. "Are you familiar with the term Transhumanism, Doctor Hall?"
The Doctor nodded slowly. When the government reached out to him, he didn't expect it to be this division. "You're talking about modifying and enhancing humans to the next level, yes?"
"Indeed. If you recall, Germany was the first to break that barrier, and it was thanks to the defected Abraham Erskine that we perfected their process. You might know him as Captain America.
"I remember reading about Captain America in history class, but I didn't know he was a transhuman. I believed that he was just an above-average soldier but with added propaganda."
"Make no mistake. Captain Steve Rogers is as real as the eye patch on my face. He was the first, and unfortunately the last successful attempt. For decades, the world powers have been researching how to tap into our latent human potential."
"I take it that the conspiracy theory that super soldiers took part during the Cuban missile crisis is false."
"Not entirely. The individuals you are referring to were not only a third party but the mutants that have been popping up more and more lately."
"Really? But aren't the mutants what you're looking for, though? An army of them would surely suffice."
"Perhaps, but there are too many uncontrollable variables in their origin and growth."
"Are their genetics really that complex?"
"Our agents discovered the Canadian government had tried a Weapons project with them in the past, but due to complications, the subjects and research are now lost."
"I guess those Canadians aren't as innocent as they portray themselves to be."
"There's always a dark underside to any human society. In any case, another branch of government is working on the mutant issue." Nick took a deep breath. "And all that leads up to here. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to continue Abraham Erskine's supersoldier formula, and we want you on our team. We can provide unlimited resources and human test subjects. So, what do you say?"
Franklin Hall paused for a moment, taking it all in before smirking. "When do I start?" Little did he know where he would end up ten years later.
Present
Nick Fury glared at his captor. "What do you want, Hall?!"
In suppressed anger and glowing blues eyes, the former prisoner answered. "Really? You're going to say that name and ask me that? Is it not obvious to you? I helped you with your research, and this is how you repay me!"
"You were becoming a danger. Calm down."
"Calm down?! Calm down! Don't you dare tell me to calm down. I just woke up years in the future locked up at the bottom of the ocean. Do you not realize how much of my life you took away from me?"
The director raised a brow in confusion. "What life? You were a scientific shut-in with no other family."
"It was still my life! The world moved on without me. I missed the new millennium. I missed the new Star Wars Trilogy. I missed Friends season 6!"
He struggled to break free as he tried to stall. "Actually, Friends got renewed for 10 seasons."
"Really?" The prisoner raised a brow in interest before shaking his head. "Wait. Shut up! No more distractions. I'm going to take years off of your life!"
Fury rolled his eyes, remembering the incident at the Vault and his new gray hairs. "You wouldn't be the first." Before Fury could continue, gravity warped around Fury, pulling limbs in several directions.
"I could just take them all, but I want to savor this moment." Fury's neck slowly reared back, as his insides were gradually taking a toll.
Hall was so absorbed in the torture that he didn't notice an energy beam and a hammer flying to his chest, releasing the unnatural force around Fury and the Raft.
Before the Director could impact the water, a prospective recruit from earlier came in and grabbed him by the scruff of his suit. "Wasp?"
She started pulling away from the battlefield. "Sorry. No time for small talk. We have to move." Behind them, the entire Raft sank back into the water all while citizens stared at the scene in shock.
Hall recovered and steadied himself. The intruders floated in front of him, both he did not recognize. One was a blond man in classical armor, and the other was some sort of red bipedal manta ray with yellow horns wearing some sort of visor.
Thor examined him carefully. "Your power is impressive… For a mortal."
Jetray continued as Azmuth conducted his own analysis of the situation. "Yeah. You're basically on all the news channels now."
'How much has the world changed since I was gone? No matter.' The man scoffed at them. "I am no mere human, no mere mortal. Not anymore. Now, I am a God."
It was Thor's turn to huff. "My Father would think otherwise. Regardless, we are Midgard's protectors. Should you harm this city or its people, we will stop you."
Hall growled. "Do you think you have authority over me? I answer to no one! I can do anything!"
"I think not, villain." Thor charged first. "HAVE AT THEE!"
When Hall's eyes glowed brighter, Jetray's eyes widened at the incoming data. "Oh, shi-"
In an instant, the force of 1000 times Earth's gravity pulled the hero into the water below with Thor forcing himself to follow through the attack.
A trio stood on the nearby dock, seeing the chaos.
Wasp watched as Thor pushed through the added resistance to fight. In the corner of her eye, a dark blur passed underwater. "This is not good at all."
Ant-Man crossed his arms and turned to the Director. "Anything you'd like to tell us, Fury?"
Nick Fury waved off the question. "Not really." He put a hand to his comms. "S.H.I.E.L.D. command, this is Director Nick Fury. I am declaring an omega-level emergency. Every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, every Hulkbuster unit, the US Armed Forces, they are all now under my direct control."
Wasp and Ant-man exchanged looks. "I didn't know he had that much influence in the military, Hank. Not to mention that he's actually worried."
Ant-Man sighed. "Don't beat around the bush, Fury. This is serious. Who is he?"
Nick sighed in annoyance. "Dr. Franklin Hall. Designation: Graviton."
That caught Ant-Man off guard. "Wait, you mean the physicist? No one's heard from him in years. The last thing I heard about him was his new contract with... S.H.I.E.L.D."
Wasp stepped forward. "Seriously. This is exactly what I was concerned about. Fury, what the hell were you guys working on?"
Nick Fury turned away. "That's classified."
Wasp looked at the man dryly before gesturing to the conflict. "Really? Because the secret literally broke out and is threatening the city."
Above
"Enough. This ends now!" Thor threw Mjolnir, but Hall caused it to halt before impact with a wave of his hand. He smirked in victory only to wince at a burning feeling against his back.
Numerous green energy blasts continued to fire from below as a dark shadow jetted around its target like an underwater vulture.
Understanding his ally's tactic, Thor added on the pressure. He timed his assault, striking at every opportunity several times.
Unfortunately for them, Hall wasn't one to fall for the same trick forever. First, he focused his powers to cover him in all directions.
Thor attempted to strike Hall, but he couldn't break the invisible shield.
Then, Hall slammed both of his fists together, generating a massive gravity well. The distortion pulled both Thor and Jetray into range. The heroes struggled to escape his grasp to little effect. "I grow tired of you pests!" The space around them distorted once more.
"What magic is this?" rasped Thor.
"Magic?" Hall scoffed and thought about what he had become. "No. Science! I am beyond humanity! As SHIELD put it, I am Graviton!"
"Fitting," muttered Jetray under his breath.
Below
Wasp gestured to the abnormal scientist. "How is he even doing all of this?"
"I don't know exactly, but I assume he's manipulating the polarity and magnitude of gravity wells by altering the local gravitational constant," deduced Hank.
"He controls gravity!" she exclaimed. Wasp shook her head. "Well, we can't just stand here and watch. We have to do something. I've seen Thor in action, and he and the other thing can't stop him, he'll keep moving in-land."
Nick Fury slammed his fist against a steel container. "Dammit. Almost all our Heavy reinforcements are being held up out west. The Gamma escapees aren't letting up. I knew they shouldn't have given all of the Hulk-Busters to Ross."
"See!." The brunette started flying only for Hank to pull her back.
"Janet. It's too dangerous for us."
"You can't be serious, Hank. We're talking about millions of people in danger. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if they got hurt when I just sat back and did nothing. I'm not going to let that happen." She shrunk out of his grasp and flew away.
Ant-Man's eyes widened in concern. "Jan. Jan, wait!" Against his gut, he stayed behind.
Meanwhile, Graviton held Thor and Jetray in place. He growled at the two. "Can't your brutish minds understand what I'm telling you? I control one of the four fundamental forces of reality! I can remove gravity's effect on you, sending you hurtling into space." An idea popped into his head. "or I can drag you to the Earth's core!" This time, a stream of energy wrapped around Thor. As soon as it settled, a weight unlike any before to the god dragged him into the ocean. He lost his grasp on Mjolnir as his body began sinking below the sand further and further.
Jetray's eyes hardened at the act. "Thor!" In a flash of green light, Jetray was replaced with a large, bulky, reddish-brown alien with rocky skin. He wore black shorts with green stripes, a green belt with white stripes and the Omnitrix symbol. It curled his body to a planetoid sphere. It's natural abilities canceled out the current level of gravity attempting to hold him. "Gravattack!"
Graviton felt his opponent's manipulations of his gravity wells fluctuating back to normal. "What?! Impossible!" Once more, his energy surged, attempting to regain control of the battlefield.
The alien hero grunted at the increased resistance. "You're stronger than I thought."
"My revenge on Fury will not be denied!" A sudden sting to his side caught his attention. "What? More pests?!"
Wasp flies over the man's shoulders. "Thanks. I don't know how you became... whatever it is you are now, but you made it much easier getting up here." She glared at the escapee. "Franklin Hall, you give theoretical physicists a bad name. Now knock it off before we make you."
As the gravitational waves between Gravattack and Graviton canceled each other out, he laughed at this attempt of backup. "Are you joking? With the power at my disposal, I- AHH!" He immediately covered his eye because of sharp pain. "You bitch!"
"Nice shot." Feeling the opening, Gravattack quickly dragged himself and Graviton toward the docks, temporarily throwing off his control. 'What even is this guy?'
All the while, Wasp continuously shot Graviton in the face, ears, and neck.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Aah!"
Unknown to the trio, a famous armored suit entered the fray. On Tony's HUD, he noticed a strange creature with a familiar hourglass symbol and an acquaintance fighting Graviton. "Janet?"
The gravity duo crash-landed into several walls and storage containers, now taking a short pause.
"Please tell me you're ready to give up?" Wasp put her hands on her waist only to be forced back.
From the corner of her vision, Iron Man charged in and socked Graviton in the jaw and then fired a repulsor blast, sending him into the ocean. "Hey, Janet. I knew we traveled in some of the same social circles, but I didn't know you came to parties like this." He turned to the third rock-like being he met in his life so far. "So, who are you and the crazy old guy?"
"Nice to see you too Tony. Been a while since we were at the UN. As for the other guy, he's a madman with the power to destroy the world," grunted the alien.
Wasp rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's Some crazy physicist Nick Fury hired. Anyways, Tony, am I glad to see you. I wasn't sure if you were on the West Coast or... Wait." The two turned to Gravattack with suspicious looks. "You transformed from that red thing earlier, and you fought with Tony at the UN." She pointed to his belt. "SHIELD showed us that exact same symbol." Her eyes widened. "Are you telling me that you are that purple living crystal, Stinkfly, and the dinosaur thing?!"
Ben blinked at her conclusion before nodding. "Yes. Yes. I am."
She simply stared gobsmacked at the dry admission.
In contrast, Iron Man took it much more casually. "Huh, a shapeshifter. Cool."
Wasp pinched the bridge of her nose and slumped with a sigh. "Whatever. Hank was looking all over the city for you... Don't let him know just yet."
Gravattack shook his head. "I wasn't planning on it. He seemed too enthusiastic."
"Anyways, now that we're all here, we can.. Oh, no. Thor!"
Tony crossed his arms. "Who?"
"Thor. You know, the dude with the hammer? He's way below the ocean by now."
"That's actually his name? I thought he was just a superpowered cosplayer."
Gravattack interjected. "Thor will be fine. We just have to ease the focus off of him. Get ready for round two" He pointed in the direction of the gravitation distortions he was feeling. Pillars of water erupted as Graviton rose to the surface. As soon as the two met gazes, he curled into a planetoid. Several shipping containers floated around him, accelerating faster and faster than before. Only to slam against the invisible shields.
With a wave of Graviton's hands, the metal creaked as the sheets folded into themselves. The collective mass grew denser and denser into a shrinking black mass. Slowly, light started to distort around his creation.
Understanding what was happening, he acted fast, hoping to cancel out the growing well. As the two forces of nature clashed against each other, the light between them started to bend, leaving a black spot at the epicenter of their combined energy.
J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke from Tony's helmet. "Warning. The gravitational field is in flux. Extreme caution advised."
Iron Man's eyes widened at the readings. "Uh, Jan, the energy they're putting out, the only comparison is a black hole. That's not good."
"Come on!" Wasp and Iron Man quickly flew into range and fired bolts as many bolts as they could.
Feeling the pressure coming from all around him, the enemy screamed in rage. "I will crush you like the insects you all are." A small pulse emitted from him, striking Tony.
Immediately, Iron Man fell upward with no sign of slowing down. "Whoa whoa whoa! Holy Crap!" Iron Man struggled as he hurled farther and farther into the upper atmosphere. "Don't let up!"
Graviton growled in the ongoing struggle. "That's one less pest to deal with."
Suddenly, a giant boot crashed down upon him. "That's for calling my girlfriend a bitch!"
Snapping out of their stupor, Wasp smirked as Gravattack breathed a sigh of relief, decompressing the sphere. "Thanks, Hank. I see you went big."
Ben looked up at the formerly small hero. "Heh. When he said his name was Ant-Man, he really meant Gi-Ant-Man. I was not expecting that."
Giant-Man looked at her in concern. "Janet, you need to get out of here. I handle Graviton."
"I have my doubts on that," frowned the alien.
Wasp stood her ground. "What? No. We're in this together."
Before Hank could retort, his entire body was uplifted, sending him back first into the water. Gravattack closed his eyes and focused on finding the physicist. "Get up, he's on the move."
Meanwhile, Nick Fury was attempting to regroup with SHIELD forces only to be stopped in his tracks once again. The Director was turned to face his old acquaintance once more. The trio of heroes was not far behind, coming across the confrontation.
"This is between us, Hall. Do what you want with me, Hall, but no one else needs to get hurt."
Graviton laughed. "No, you wanted me to create a Super Soldier but I've become so much more, I'm beyond human now, I'm going to crush you and then show the world their new master's power." Then his eyes glowed, "Destroying the city would be a good demonstration, goodbye, Nick Fury!" However, before Graviton could have his satisfaction, Nick Fury exploded, not of blood and gore but a burst of flames and sparks. "What?! Fury!" Crushed the remaining head. Realizing the deception, Graviton discarded the remains and flew towards Manhattan. He would commit to his threat.
Several hundred feet away, the real Fury watched from the shadows, detonator in hand. "That could've gone better," he muttered.
Ben nearly fell over just as he was about to transform again. "Uh… Was that supposed to happen?"
"I always called him an emotionless robot, but I didn't think I was right," snarked Hank.
Compared to ten years ago, Manhattan seemed to be missing something, but he pushed those thoughts away. Outstretching both arms, Graviton unleashed his power over the entire city.
The friendly neighborhood hero carried a mother and daughter back to the street just outside the city after webbing up some looters. A black-haired woman pulled her pillow and blanket over her head in a vain attempt to relieve a hangover. The leather jacket was still stained from the bar fight during the previous drinking binge. The Baxter Building was on automatic lockdown as a violet portal within a lab hummed from recent use. The vintage mansion of Greenwich Village glowed in mystic runes, invisible to the average mortal.
Everyone felt a rumbling. Seconds later, a shadow cast itself over the state below, to the civilians, heroes, and villains that evacuated or remained, one thought hung through the air. "Fuck..."