Deception, insanity, and adventure, along with everything else that goes along with being a superhero in Book Three of the Beyond the Veil Series. Harry/Multi.
World Under Siege Part One
Chapter 01: World Under Siege Part One.
"This is Cat Grant....with Daily Bugle Communications....trying to get to you the news, assuming that there's anyone left out there to get the news to, the.....the Earth has been invaded by a hostile Alien force....they're here and they're.....they're coming for us....they're here."
Cat's eyes tracked upwards as she once again came face to face with what appeared to be Norman Osborn, for the second time that day. Her eyes wide with fear, she couldn't help but notice that Osborn was hovering an inch or two off the ground. He was no longer dressed up as the Green Goblin instead he now wore a set of dark battle robes.
"Ah, the media, well I suppose the rabble will be amused by anything these days," Osborn commented as he placed his hand on Cat's shoulder and the blonde shivered underneath his grip. The blonde closed her eyes as she felt a numbness spread throughout her body. "So, you wish to spread a message but there are no longer any ears out there to listen. The world is blind to your plight and it's even more ignorant to the fact that their heroes are failing."
"There will...."
"The General has not given you permission to speak, worm," one of the guards stated as he grabbed Cat by the hair. "So frail, so fragile, so helpless, I could pop your...."
"Enough," Zod stated. "She's nothing but a cockroach, just like all of them are cockroaches. And they cannot stop us."
"Well the irredeemable Cockroach-Man might not be able to defeat you but how about your friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!"
Zod turned to face the Web Slinger as he flipped off him after trying to drop kick him in the head.
'He's merely a child parading around in a Halloween costume,' Osborn advised Zod. 'I trust you can take him out without any problem.'
Zod nodded at the voice in his head as the Web Slinger bounced backwards and landed in a low crouch against the closest wall. He immediately fired off a web line which latched onto the wrist of one of the Kryptonian soldiers.
The Soldier shifted his hand so he was gripping onto the web line and Peter got the impression that this was not going to end well for him. A loud snap echoed outwards as he yanked hard on the line pulling Spider-man towards him into a vicious clothes line that sent the Web Head flying ass over tea kettle due to the force of the blow.
'Yeah, this wasn't such a hot idea,' the Web Slinger managed as he felt like he was going to hack up his ribs alongside the blood that he did cough up. The super powerful blow that he suffered was proof positive of that fact and the Web Head used his feet to block the follow up attack. He had to fight, no matter what happened, no matter what the situation was, he had to keep fighting until his final breath.
As his new found resolve filled his body, he twisted impossibly in mid-air and delivered a vicious hay maker that impacted against his foe's face with the same force as a semi-truck going at full speed.
'Hmm I can almost see why this gave you trouble. No matter, I was merely caught off guard, he will kneel before Zod like all the rest,' Zod commented dryly to Osborn.
Out of nowhere a massive optic blast from Cyclops knocked Zod backwards a few steps due to it's force.
"Amusing," Zod commented in a bored voice as he blocked another optic blast with his hand. Blurring forwards he nailed Cyclops with a huge punch to the back of his head.
Jubilee sent a stream of fireworks into Zod's face which caused him to back off a few inches.
"YAY, I GOT..."
Before Jubilee could be nailed in the side of the face by an unamused Zod, Nightcrawler bamfed in from out of nowhere and transported her clear of the danger. A look of supreme irritation flashed across the General's face as the young oriental mutant escaped her proper punishment. Taking advantage of his distraction an enraged Logan rushed over his razor sharp adamantium claws extended.
Due to his savage ferocity the Wolverine was able to score a strike across the Kryptonian dictator's chest, though it did little more then leave three long scratches against his skin.
Shifting backwards every so slightly Zod effortlessly dodged the rest of the berserk Canadian's barrage. He followed that up by grabbing Wolverine by the wrists he yanked them hard to the side then used his heat vision to burn off Logan's skin. The mutant gave a loud scream as he felt the agony of his flesh being melted.
Just because he had a healing factor, didn't mean that the pain was negated. He still felt every single agonizing moment.
Storm created a level of fog, hoping that would be able to mask their next attack. However, the Kryptonians were able to see through any fog with their X-Ray vision.
Captain America turned up with a shield in his hand and he flung it at Zod, who caught it within his hand with little effort stopping it's momentum dead.
"Amusing, a hallow symbol of hope," Osborn stated with disdain, spinning in a rapid three sixty he hurled the shield back at Captain America who jumped over it at the last second in order to avoid it. The Star Spangled Avenger landed on his feet, staying calm, cool, and collected.
A huge punch from Captain America was blocked was Zod hoisted off of the ground by his neck. His feet were swinging back and forth as Osborn drove him into the ground then dragged him forwards before lifting him back up into the air and tossing him to the side like the piece of trash he thought the first Avenger was.
"Alright, that's it!" Hulk growled as he went for Zod and he nailed him with a huge punch.
The General's jaw was knocked back and he felt the pain. He had to wait for the healing factor to kick in but the Hulk nailed him in the ribs. He blocked a third punch but the Hulk's strength was good.
He saw two of his Kryptonians having trouble with a blonde woman who exhibited Kree powers. That annoyed Zod and he would kill her just for that.
"Are you about to give up, monster?" Zod asked but Hulk shoved him back. Blood splattered from Osborn's mouth as Zod looked at him.
"Never," Hulk growled as he tried to smash in Zod's skull but he used speed and agility to get around the brute's attacks.
"I've enjoyed a challenge," Zod stated as he grabbed Hulk around the head and smashed him into the wall. The Hulk smashed into his chest but Zod picked him up and hurled him across several states with a great force. His ribs were cracked but the General still managed a few cutting words, despite the sudden shortness of breath "Or I would if you were one."
"You've seen nothing yet," Iron Man stated as he blasted Zod.
"Inferior man of iron," Zod growled out with supreme annoyance as he slammed his hand into the chest of his enemy causing the chest plate to buckle inwards as time seemed to stop briefly before Iron Man blasted backwards due to the force of the blow. "You waste my time."
Iron Man skidded to a halt as he was able to use his repulsors and jets to arrest his momentum. Wasp tried to fire at Zod but her attempts to stop him were futile. Her Wasp sting having the same effect a pea shooter would have on a tank.
Spider-Man nailed him across the back of the head causing his head to snap forwards briefly. The crazed Kryptonian responded by grabbing the Web Slinger by the ankle and throwing off to the side through the closest window.
The two exchanged punches that rocked each other back and forth, as they tried to take their enemy down.
"You will kneel before Zod," The General ordered as he tried to drive Steve Rogers to his knees.
Needless to say, Captain America wouldn't kneel before another man any time soon and his action spoke louder than any words as he nailed his enemy with a rocket buster of a shield slam to the chin that sent him flying back a few steps.
Zod stepped backwards into a defensive stance in order to collect himself.
'Well you've got this one under perfect control,' Osborn stated to Zod in a bored tone. 'I'd fry him if I was you.'
'Just wait and watch for the master to take control,' Zod stated as he refused to be rattled by this Green Goblin even though he was making several unhelpful comments from the other side of the link as he blocked the Star Spangled Avengers fist as he attacked once more by catching it in the palm of his hand.
Steve Rogers, super strong as he was, was pushed backwards several feet by the Kryptonian General director.
Zod felt like he was just getting warmed up despite the fact that these heroes were bringing the fight to him on a level he'd never experienced before. The longer he was under the embrace of the yellow sun, the stronger that he would get and the weaker that he would be. So he merely needed to fight a defensive battle.
"Is there anyone who wishes to pose a challenge to General Zod?" he asked.
"You know talking in the third person is a sign of insanity, don't you?"
Karen flew in, dressed in a white top, jacket, and dress pants. Her old costume didn't quite fit her anymore but that didn't stop her from drilling Zod in the side of the head with a huge punch. She had to stall him until Helena got the contingency plan in place.
Her old costume didn't quite fit her anymore but that did not stop her from drilling Zod into the side of the head with a huge punch.
"Faora, take care of her," Zod ordered and a dark haired blur shot through the sky that tried to nail Karen in the side of the face. She dodged the punch and nailed Faora in the side of the face.
The two of them struggled as the battle continued on the ground.
The Phantom Zone was not a friendly place to be in, no matter how anyone looked at it.
"So on a scale of one to we're really screwed, how bad is this?"
Kara looked at Kitty with a raised eyebrow, a strained smile and an expression on her face like she'd been asked the stupidest question in the world. "What do you think?"
"Oh, that bad, huh?" Kitty asked and Kara nodded.
"Yes, Kitty, it's that bad, actually it's worse than that bad," Harry offered as he did a head count, all of his girls were here. "Well I've got bad news and worse news."
"Isn't it always that way with you?" Gwen asked with a slight smile but she was silenced by the exasperated look on both Kara and Harry's faces, the looks Jean, Kitty, and Rogue where given her weren't much better. Sighing softly, Gwen tried to contact the outside world.
"Won't work, the Phantom Zone blocks most external forms of communication," Harry said to the group.
"And you say most because...." Jean offered as she trailed off and allowed Harry to answer the question.
"I say most because Zod found a way to communicate with his underlings on the other side of the Phantom Zone," Harry told the girls and they all nodded in understanding.
"I figured as much," Jean offered but she could sense the Phoenix was getting uneasy which never was a good thing. 'What is it now?'
'There are things in this Phantom Zone that....well I'll put it bluntly, I'm not too fond of,' Phoenix offered Jean and she knew that if Phoenix was disturbed by what was happening, then there was cause to be really worried.
"We've got to keep moving," Rogue offered them and that was a statement that all of them could agree on as they continued their trip through the Zone.
"There's got to be a way out of here," Wanda stated as she raised her hands but stopped. "And my powers don't work."
"Powers seldom work in the Phantom Zone, well in certain parts they work better than others," Kara informed Wanda and the smile on her face faded. "It's kind of hard to explain and by hard to explain I mean worse then trying to explain the mathematics involved with time travel and the creation of new time lines based on the events that may or may not have been changed by something as simple as sneezing or theoretical cross-dimensional portal physics."
"I see....I see," Wanda offered as she bit down on her lip in frustration but Harry grabbed her hand.
"We'll find a way out, don't worry," Harry told Wanda and she was not worried, well not completely.
Kitty's eyes nearly bugged out and it was for a good reason as she stepped on a dried up husk that was on the ground in front of her. Her stomach twisted into a knot and there was one word that escaped her mouth.
"Um, no offense, but EWW! ..So totally EWW!" Kitty exclaimed loudly as Gwen and Wanda exchanged a nervous look with each other.
"Yeah....I agree with that....that thing was alive once," Laura offered as she sniffed the air. "There's decay....and something else out there....but we can't see them."
"Phantoms," Kara whispered as she looked up and they heard the eerie screams of several haunting voices all around them.
"Listen to me, in the Phantom Zone, it's kill or be killed." Harry ordered them as calmly as he could be in this situation and the girls nodded. "Don't hold back, not even for a minute, or we won't make it out of this alive!"
Kara wished she could fly as did Harry. This area of the Phantom Zone was not conducive to using their powers.
Jean dropped to her knees and screamed in pain. Her mind was being bombarded by the tormented thoughts of those who died here and where now damned to haunt this place for all time. Rogue and Kitty grabbed Jean by her arms and lifted her up to her feet, even though she was pretty much dead weight.
"The exit portal is around here somewhere, isn't it?" Harry asked Kara and the blonde nodded her head furiously, looking like a blurring bobblehead as she did so.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, exit portal, it's over there, where all of those Phantoms are," Kara commented with a rapid intensity that made it sound like she was on a sugar high though there was a certain meekness to her tone.
"Of course it is," Wanda offered wishing that she could use her powers but punching them out seemed to work out fairly well. Her knuckles cracked against them satisfyingly enough. "Is there any area of this Phantom Zone place where I could use my powers, a bit more easily?"
"I wish...yeah around here somewhere. But considering what your powers did to Riddle it might turn them into massive beach balls of death," Harry offered to her as his heart pumped at a steady pace within his chest.
He saw it, as it dreaded it, there were civilians on the ground, which was going to make this far harder to deal than he hoped. Harry kept taking tentative steps forward.
A barrage of arrows from Hawkeye did very little to deter the Phantoms although Harry supposed that it was better than nothing.
"Hey, Arcane, could do with a bit of that hocus pocus right now!" Hawkeye yelled.
"Sorry, I would if I could," Harry stated and Agent Mimic blasted one of the Phantoms with her wrist gauntlet.
"Well, we need something to even the scales because these things...."
"Protect the civilians," Natasha stated in a fierce voice as she tried to nail her enemies with all that she had. The Widow's Bite managed to back them off just a slight bit but they were not out of the woods yet.
The Phantoms bounced back and there was a huge crack that resounded all through the Phantom Zone as they kept at them, never yielding once in their attack.
They encountered more dead bodies of the criminals that had been banished into the Phantom Zone but had long since been consumed by the Wraiths. It was a grisly sight for certain and it turned the stomach.
Harry suddenly found him able to access the full scope of his abilities.
"Power's back!" Harry yelled and he decided to strike whilst the iron was hot, using the heat vision to propel into them.
'It's useless if we can't get to the escape portal,' Kara thought frantically as she propelled herself into the Phantoms, using a combat dagger she'd found near one of the bodies to stab at them.
'We'll find a way, we always do,' Harry thought to her, and Kara nodded.
As long as there was life, there was always hope.
The phrase "if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again" was something that was applied to the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in spades. He was going up against the dastardly combined entity that was Norman Osborn and General Zod.
Needless to say, the first attempt to take Zod down did not work so well but Spider-Man was not a quitter, he kept trying again and again, to the point where it was almost absurd how many times he went back and forth to that well.
"Just give up, you're embarrassing yourself," Zod stated. "Come to me, kneel before Zod, and you'll be spared."
"You know, you can just come out of the closet already. We won't judge, it's obvious you get off on getting other men to kneel before you," Spider-Man managed but it was hard to quip with busted ribs.
"Do you ever shut up?" Zod asked.
'No,' Osborn commented lightly from deep within his mind but Zod refused to acknowledge the voice in his head.
Faora and Karen had their hands intertwined as they pushed back and forth attempting to gain leverage on the other.
Karen gritted her teeth as her suit jacket was ripped open by Faora, who then knocked Karen back a few inches with a huge rocket buster of a punch to the ribs. The blonde fired back with one of her own and they sent their heat vision against each other.
"You know, a fine specimen like yourself, there is no need for us to be fighting. If your a good girl and play nicely perhaps the General will let me keep you," Faora offered as her eyes were fixated on a certain part of Karen's anatomy. "It's a pity that the General sent the Star Child away, I'm sure he would have been fun to play with as well."
"More so than an obsessed nutcase who gets off on making other men kneel before him," Karen offered as she grabbed Faora in a headlock but Faora countered by flipping her out of it with a backdrop driver, intending to drive her into the pavement head first.
Karen was able to shift just enough that she gracefully landed on her feet. Faora grabbed her and ripped the front of her shirt open, causing a large hole to appear where her breasts were.
"Nice armor, you'd look better without it, though," Karen offered as she aimed a punch but Faora blocked it.
"I never give up that much on the first date," Faora countered as she knocked Karen back but the top half of the armor was slightly damaged by Karen's latest attack.
Karen could see that her pants were slightly torn, but clothes were the least of her worries. Faora spearing her into the giant billboard with J. Jonah Jameson's face on it was far more bothersome.
The two females crashed into a huge puddle of mud and they rolled over, exchanging punches with each other.
Karen's clothes where mostly drenched and torn now as she was soaking wet with mud, mud that Faora was trying to drown her in. Faora sat on her face and gripped her thighs around her head tightly as she held her down beneath the water, but Karen fired back by rolling Faora over into a pinning predicament. Grabbing hold of her armor she ripped it off her with savage roar. Faora responded to this by using her heat vision to launch Karen back, burning open the front of her shirt and revealing her bra clad mountains to the world in the process.
Karen rolled Faora over and pinned her down, removing her armor but Faora used heat vision to launch Karen back, burning off part of her outfit.
'That contingency would be good any time now,' Karen thought as she saw Emma and Selene discreetly make their way onto the scene, although what they will be planning she could only pick up.
"We'll take care of the rest....keep the female as a souvenir for our Lord."
"My thoughts exactly, Emma."
Elsewhere on the ground, more guests had joined the battle.
"IT'S CLOBBERING TIME!"
The Thing rushed forward, barreling over several of the soldiers like a freight train before a combined effort was able to knock him back.
"A creature made of rock, the humans must be desperate to have such a primitive and pathetic warrior," one of the Kryptonians commented in a snide voice.