Ravage screamed in anger as her armour slid over her. Ravage might be okay with wearing armour, but Carol had never needed it. To her, it was just another sign she was weak. It might have been leftover programming from the Kree but Carol knew she didn’t need it. She was strong. She was Captain Marvel, and there was nothing on Earth that could hurt her. Until Rogue. Rogue had broken her powers, and now she needed protecting.
She huffed as it finished unfolding. She would show them, she would show everyone she was still Captain Marvel, not this pretender. Monica Rambeau might be the daughter of her best friend, but today she was a test.
Captain Marvel snorted, “Nice duds. But they won't save you.” Her arms glowed for a second before firing off another beam of blue energy.
Ravage held up an arm, and a shield of adamantium unfolded, letting the beam bounce from it. Carol was a brawler. She could throw energy blasts all day, but she preferred to get close and personal. Her favourite was to move at accelerated speeds and smash through things, so they gave her a battering ram. Peter and Liv both loved their extra arms. Natasha had her supercharged Widow’s Bites and lighter armour. Carol had extra thick gauntlets and a reinforced armoured shield on both arms. She looked more like a beetle than the spider that adorned Venom's chest.
She didn't care though. It was her shield, and Marvel was about to learn her powers weren't infallible. She sped forward and slammed a fist into Marvel's stomach. As she doubled over, she brought up her fists in a haymaker and sent her flying.
“Pretty lights are great when it's Christmas, but let's fight like adults,” she said as she followed after her. She leapt up and grabbed her, spun around and threw her into the ground at high speed.
Following her down, Ravage pinned her to the ground, pushing herself down using her powers. She rained blows on her chest and face, hitting where she knew the Kree armour was lacking. Once she saw Marvel's eyes flutter shut, she flipped back and grabbed her legs. Throwing her back up into the air, she lifted off and sped past her before blasting her at close range.
One fact of life for everyone at the warehouse was a common thread. Peter. And as a game, they devised ways to spend time with him. Carol's favourite was the training.
Once upon a time, a jar existed. It held little pieces of paper, detailing things the women would do for and to him if he reached a target. They had reversed it, and now, he would give out papers with things he would do for them. These were more than the little things they did as a group, they were personal, and Peter had agreed to any request. It lit a competitive streak in everyone. He still spent time with them but these were special. It was silly and stupid but most of all a fun way to bond. So what if everyone, including Peter, tried just a little bit harder because of it? It was harmless and it worked.
Carol trained and to win was to get a prize. Training was hard. Of course it was when your mentor was over a hundred years old. Logan had probably forgotten more about fighting than Carol had learned. To make it worse, her main rival was capable of pulling your lungs out of your ass before you knew she was there. The military, even the Kree, hadn't prepared her to face foes like Logan or Natasha. Right now though, she was grateful for every second spent on the mat with them.
Captain Marvel never knew what hit her as the woman she used to look up to used her as a punching bag. Every counter she had was useless, even her powers were useless. After being blasted into the air, she tried to use them to slow her fall, but Carol was waiting. She felt something give as Carol swung past her and drove both knees into her back.
As she slammed into the ground once more, her powers began to sputter. She knew Carol had a high-calorie diet. They had files on the amount the warehouse ate, all carefully collected and tabulated. They copied it, but they never realised it wasn't enough. Carol danced through the air, throwing punches, kicks, and energy blasts. She was flagging but Carol seemed to barely be breaking a sweat. Her muscles and body were aching. Even her stomach growled in complaint as her powers burned through her stamina to heal her. Carol had her powers for almost twenty years and was used to them. Monica had hers less than a year and now regretted getting up close and personal with her.
Ravage drove Marvel's head into the ground and flipped her over to punch her once more. Struggling to get free, Marvel brought both hands together and blasted her right in the face.
Smoke wafted from Ravage's helmet. “Nice try-” but Ravage never finished as the Gamma troopers opened fire.
Heavier pulse cannons had been set up as she was fighting. Monica provided a distraction allowing them to set up huge turret-sized guns. After driving support legs into the concrete of the sidewalks, they had taken aim. Then, with no care towards their own, fired.
Ravage had hoped her armour would soften the blow, and it did. She huffed in complaint, as Carol had doubted just how tough she was. She was a little shaken, the blast had thrown her and Marvel into the air and across the street into a building.
More soldiers, ordinary Shield agents advanced with rifles drawn, connected to power packs. These were the newer models. Carol had read the old ones went to the ETF. These hit harder as the smaller guns proved useless against more powerful foes. Even with the thick shield over both arms protecting her she was blasted back again and again.
A trooper ran over to Monica and helped her to her feet, “Ma’am,” he said as he handed her a small pack of thick glucose gel. “She appears to be unharmed, and the rifles are having little to no effect. Orders?”
“Forward Fire,” Captain Marvel said. To Ravage's surprise, the troopers clicked their rifles to a new setting they fired, not at her, but at Marvel.
Ravage watched her pulse with each blast, powering her up further. Energy absorption, she tutted in her head, damn cheats.
Captain Marvel sneered and brought both hands together firing a huge blast at Ravage. Raising her shield, it still sent her flying.
As Ravage brushed debris from herself she lifted an arm and dropped behind her shield. Bolts of blue light streak through the store, destroying shelves and stock. With the store stocking clothing, it was soon burning and setting the store alight.
Ravage wasn't in pain but she was hurt. Heat and plasma burned anything, and the Symbiote wasn't immune. “Yeah, now we're mad,” she said as she stood, brushing the last of the dust from herself.
Marvel watched as Ravage stood after being blasted by a force strong enough to blow a hole in the building. During testing, it had melted a tank, and she brushed it off like it was nothing.
“Men, Protocol Firefly.” Her Gamma troopers nodded and stepped back, moving away. “I'm sorry, but you forced me to do this.” Floating up, Captain Marvel began to glow once more. Light pulsed and danced over her skin as she powered up. “Stand down. Your last warning.” Captain Marvel said, and as she started to float her skin began to pulse with blue light. It started at her eyes but soon rippled across her uniform. Slowly at first and then in faster and faster flashes until she was glowing, Never thought I’d have to do this.
Ravage recognised it, she had her own Binary form, and copying her powers gave Monica one too. Ravage shook her head, what was the point? She must know that she could do that too, and the gap in their abilities would still remain.
Ravage stood, holding both shield arms in front of her waiting for the next blast to hit her. Marvel exploded into light and zipped forward through her shield as if it wasn't there. Ravage felt every muscle in her body contract as the full force of energy phased into her and stayed there.
Captain Marvel’s now pure energy body phased into Ravage. She passed through her armour and tapped into the arc reactor on her back, draining it dry and powering her up more. The pure energy flowed into every cell of her body, and while Ravage could absorb some, there was simply too much. Even flaring off blasts of power Ravage couldn’t contain all the energy. As she burned from the inside, she screamed in agony. Her Binary form flared into life and Marvel took its energy as her own, adding to the pain. With each passing moment, Ravage felt herself slipping into the black.
It was not without effect though, and even as Ravage burned, Marvel screamed in pain as well. The strange alien biology Carol possesses was absorbing her. The longer she stayed in her energy form, the more she felt herself growing weaker and weaker. As her vision faded, she knew she could no longer hold her Binary form.
Exhausted, Marvel fell backwards. Her body returned to normal and she scrambled away, too tired to fight anymore. Thankfully, Ravage slumped onto the ground. She was breathing, a slow steady rhythm but so far she hadn’t moved.
Monica blinked, letting the sweat and tears run from her eyes. “Containment! Quick, before she recovers,” she shouted at the troopers.
They had remained outside and only came back in after it was safe. One prodded Carol's still form with the barrel of his rifle and she slumped onto the floor. "Safe," he yelled. Several stood guard as she was cuffed with power-dampening restraints. They fitted a pair to her wrists, and ankles, and then added in a collar for good measure. If he could have fitted more onto her, he would have. Nobody doubted she was strong. The reports Carol Danvers had been weakened by an attack were grossly exaggerated.
As a medic looked over Monica he shook her head. “You won but your bioenergy levels are so low you're a normal person, Cap. You’ll need a long rest to recover.” As he helped her to her feet she looked over at Carol being taken away on a stretcher. “It's fine. We got her, and we can get the rest too.”
This was a shit show as her old commander used to call it. They had gotten one. She already heard that the robot failed and Stark was on the field. Ross only got Rogers, and the other Avengers had been driven off by a lawyer of all things. The New Avengers were off to a rocky start, and they hadn't even been teamed up.
Looking at the wrecked clothes shop, she knew this would be blamed on her as well. Some first mission this was, she thought. She groaned as she stood and held her ribs, trying to ignore the ache from using too much power. Thankfully the medic offered her an arm to use as a temporary crutch to get back to the unit's ATV.
She nodded as the medic helped her into the ATV, gave her a shot of serum and then checked her vision. Her energy form was dangerous to use, not just to those around her. She was stuck as a floating ghost for a week when she first tried it, giving off massive amounts of X-rays. It was only through training for the Avengers Initiative that she finally got a good grip on her powers. “Hey, remember to take blood and tissue samples while she’s out,” she told the medic. He nodded and collected a tray from the back of the ATV.
The Formula they used, and the radiation they bathed her in were all from Project Pegasus. It wasn't perfect, and she knew the risk. With new fresh samples, they could refine the process, and maybe even fix her.
Leaving back and closing her eyes, a soldier nudged her gently and she was handed two things, a ration bar and a radio.
“Go for Rambeau.”
“Blonsky ‘ere. You get the firefly?”
“Affirmative. Carol Danvers has been neutralised. Do you need help?”
“Nah, I'm bored. Colonel Crew Cut an' 'is clone got the cushy jobs. Us regular idiots are in reserve.”
Monica tutted. “Blonsky, I know being a Hulk makes you stupid, but only supposed to be when you’re transformed. Don't bother me while I'm out on a mission.”
“Fine, fine.” She could hear him curing as the radio squealed. “I will request backup if Hill and her companions prove difficult. Blonsky out.”
Maria shook her head and closed her eyes again. She wanted to sleep but knew there would be no rest until she was debriefed. Instead, she unwrapped an energy bar and ate it in three bites. It tasted foul but was high in sugar and caffeine, just what she needed. So she ate four more, ignoring the strange chemical-laced chocolate fudge flavour.
Emile had made it perfectly clear he was attracted to her, and while the man was attractive, the beast was not. She laughed to herself. The barracks were a minefield of jokes about Hulks and what did or didn't grow. Very few Gamma troopers were female and those that were had to endure the jokes that followed. Of course, Betty was fine. Nobody wanted to see Bruce get angry, even if the reports he had managed to de-power himself were true. She had to snort at that. If the Gamma troopers were reversible, Ross would have kicked Blonsy out of his unit months ago. Everyone hated him, but Abomination was a lot stronger than a regular Gamma trooper.
She let her head rest and closed her eyes. This had gone badly. Parker’s little Enhanced group was proving difficult to take down. Once more a well-trained, well-armed small force could do exactly what the Senate was afraid of. It was funny that was exactly what Ross used as an argument for the formation of his unit. They needed people like Parker, and just as well trained. It was just a shame they didn't want to follow orders. Monica was glad her mom wasn't here to see what kind of monster Carol had become. She just hated that to fight the monster, she had to become a monster herself.
Edeol· May 10, 2024
dr4cos· Apr 29, 2024
