3rd POV: 2012:
''You three, congratulations. You were the only ones to receive full marks on the exam,'' Dr. Connors said handing Bell, Gwen and Peter the papers.
''Now, don't forget to do your homework or read up on the material I have give you. It will not come up in the next exam, but in two months you will get a tour at Oscorp. If you want to follow along, I suggest you put in the work,'' Connors told them, only Bell picking up the undercurrent of bitterness in his tone.
''But for now, you should all go and fill your bellies with some food. Take care,'' Connors told them all after the bell ringed. He did raise his voice a little as students began making noise by moving.
---
''Anything interesting?,'' Gwen asked as they sat in the cafeteria and ate.
''Maybe not for you, but Raezen released three new games. Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring and Elden Ring Nightreign,'' Peter scrolled through his phone and shared.
''Still all 30$? You plan on buying one?,'' Gwen asked.
''Maybe. I still have some money from doing all those chores but I also still haven't finished the last game though. I just don't get it. How is this sustainable? 30$ is not enough to pay for all the work that goes into a game. Movies I can understand because of ads,'' Peter wondered.
''It is not about money, I think,'' Bell offered.
''Ok, maybe you are right. But then why make his games so cheap?,'' Peter asked.
''It is not about the money, it is about sending a message,'' Bell told him with faux seriousness.
Gwen began chuckling.
''You walked right into that one,'' Gwen teased Peter. He blew her a raspberry.
''Ha ha. But no seriously, you have to agree that is is unsustainable. He releases too many games at once and for so cheap. How?,'' Peter burst, no longer able to take the mystery.
''Maybe he uses some form of AI. Stark has his J.A.R.V.I.S, maybe Raezen has his own?,'' Gwen theorized.
''Ok, if that is the case, then what about all the people that will lose their jobs? Animators and game developers. EA is said to close soon, people can just compete with his prizes at least not without sacrificing something. Many other companies are losing money as well,'' Peter frustratingly reminded them.
''I'm surprised that, that is what frustrates you and not the fact the government could not catch him,'' Bell said. Both Peter and Gwen looked perplexed at him.
''What do you mean? They said they caught him and now he works with them?,'' Gwen denied.
Bell looked amused at them, but upon seeing they genuinely believed that statement he closed his eyes as if requesting strength.
''The government can not be seen as ineffective, PARTICULARLY when it comes to apprehending someone. People would lose trust or fear in it and that carries problems with it. They issued that lie and Raezen did not bother to correct them. The ones up top form a tight knot. They scratch each others back. You think they wouldn't have put a stop to his practices long ago, if they had access to him? Or if not that, implemented policies that forced him to obey them? Something that would have been easy if they were good enough to hack the 'king of the internet','' Bell mockingly mentioned his title at the end.
Gwen frowned.
''I doubt that is the case, but even so, he should be punished. No one should be above the law and he just does what he wants,'' Gwen murmured.
''Between 1692 and 1693 the Salem Witch Trials occurred. Suspects were dragged to court and the law determined that they were indeed witches. And thus the were promptly punished,'' Bell began letting the silence hang for a bit.
''How about you don't employ whataboutism to change my mind,'' Gwen requested without any heat.
''He is not employing whataboutism. He is building up to an argument,'' Peter told her, listening attentively to Bell to see what point he was about to make.
''Later on there was another set of trials as some of the accusers admitted to have made up false charges. In the end it was determined that the Salem Witch Trials were unlawful. For all the good THAT did. The victims were still dead.
I'm telling you this, because the law sprouts from morals, but the law does not represent morals. Nor does it seek to imitate it. It seeks to further an agenda. Be it either to bring order or give someone control. It has, is and will be wrong at times. Use it, but don't cling to it,'' Bell made his argument. Gwen frowned.
''I mean... he is not wrong. There is a reason more and more people started calling it a legal system and not a justice system. Besides, look at it this way. It is not words on paper that stop me from murdering someone. No, it is good morals and because my aunt and uncle raised me to be good. And if not that then the authority government bodies carry to punish someone. Except, we all know that the 1% uses loopholes and money to avoid punishment. If anything they act as if they are above the law,'' Peter shrugged fully agreeing with Bells point.
Gwen starred incredulously at them. She was after all the daughter of a police captain.
''How about we don't destroy our friendship over this? Peter, you finished you lego death star yet?,'' Peter shook his head and Bell continued,'' In that case let's meet up tomorrow and build it together. You two find that agreeable?''
Peter quickly nodded and Gwen as well. Happy that for once it was Bell that initiated an interaction. He only did it very rarely the past year.
The bell rang.
''That is good. Let's go to class then,'' Bell instructed them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The grind never stops.
It was friday and Bell teleported to the sewers after arriving at home from school.
One thing that he observed from his energy was that it instinctualy obeyed the laws of physics. To use the previous metaphor about bikes. Yes, he provided the energy and the intent, but the rest was achieved by the bike. Except his energy was far more versatile and achieved far more than forward momentum.
With his control and his intent he could make the energy do and achieve something. True.
But that was achieved by his energy molding the world around them by utilizing the laws of physics and bending it to its will. Or his will in this case.
In the grand scheme of things, that may not seem like much, but the better he understands his magic the better and more safely he may use it.
It also opens up possibilities regarding what ROB implied about that 'void aspect' that he possesses. Bell did after all conclude, from what ROB said, that that 'void aspect' was stronger than his reality warping.
The first possibility that sprang to mind was conceptual magic.
Unlike reality warping, it could do things without any rhyme or reason, irrespective of what laws of physics it broke.
It was truth. It was absolute. It was illogical.
Bell knew a bit of FATE lore and it was the only thing that he could semi use as a guide line or instruction manual to push his magic further and further.
Bell assumed that it will take a while till he can properly tap in that field of magic. Possible only once his control has gotten much better. Though he feels his control already was good enough.
Hm. No. That was his hubris talking. One could never stop improving.
And if not that, then maybe it was a distortion. And he needed to change his world view, but that was much harder then the first option. One does not simple gain a distortion that affects the world.
But most of it was guess work, determined by empirical data. He could be wrong about everything or not.
Perhaps ROB was laughing seeing him scratch his head right now.
Bell sighed. For now he had to accept that his void mind was the only thing that was unlocked to him, unlike his other abilities, but know he should really stop his mind from wandering and focus on his training.
He decided to use some stones and let them disappear in pocket dimensions for a while. Meanwhile he used other stones and opened portals under them and let them move around. Bell found that activity good enough for now, giving him just a little more control.
It was actually good that he understands more properly how his magic could be working as the next big step was creating a black hole.
The pinnacle of destruction. At least back in his mundane world.
Though he was gonna prepare a lot before even thinking about coming close to attempting to create one. And study a lot about them too, just in case.
Bur for now? Several hours have passed and he has practiced enough. He willed himself to be clean and after thinking about it for a bit decided to walk home instead of teleporting.
---
''You there! Young man!,'' someone called out and Bell continued walking, not wanting to stop.
''You there with the red eyes. Can you help me?,'' Bell finally turned around and starred a little incredulous.
Bell made sure to avoid the street where 'Papi's Pizzeria' was, ever since he determined he did not want trouble with that god or indulge his curiosity, unless it served a specific purpose for his duty.
And yet, it ... moved. Being in a place, it was not previously. What a way to use ones powers.
Stan Lee waved him over and after clicking his tongue, Bell crossed the street and walked over. It was in the evening, but this was NYC. The city that never sleeps. There were a few more people, he could have called upon and yet he called upon Bell specifically. No reason to risk antagonizing him.
''Young man, could you help me move some of the boxes to the back? The people tasked with delivering them just dumped them here and I fear I no longer have the strength I once had,'' Stan asked him.
Bell rolled his eyes and replied:''Sure.''
After a while of back and forth Bell deposited the final box in the freezer.
''Young man, thank you so much. A reward, for your help. I insist. We are closed, but come, come, I will heat up the stove and make you a pizza. Have you had one of my pizza before? The best in town, I tell you,'' Bell drew a breath and just followed him sitting on the counter.
Bell raised an eyebrow, when Stan just continued to stare at him, instead of moving to the kitchen.
''Okaaaay? Why not just give me some money, if you are that insistent on paying me for that partly work,'' Bell asked him.
''Hm. But do you need money?,'' Stan asked him beginning to wipe some of the glasses casually.
''Doesn't everyone? Our whole society is built around that,'' Bell joked a little.
Ah, Bell recognized what Stan was trying to do. He knew that technique. Let the other party talk any implicate themselves.
''Yes. Fascinating what people have all built over the years. Though sometimes they forget to ask weather they should instead of could,'' Stan nodded. Bell had the impression that he was nodding mostly to himself.
''I'm sure others have thought exactly as you did just now,'' Bell pointlessly remarked.
''And you?,'' Stan asked. Bell narrowed his eyes a little. He began tapping his nail on the wood, the noise rhythmically sounding through the restaurant.
''Sapient life has the unfortunate tendency to see the worst of itself in others, sometimes. People will never ask if one should. They will ask how could I defeat, control or neutralize my enemy? And the answer always gets them moving. It is rare that that is not the case,'' Bell eventually said.
Stan smiled pleased. So he had let something slip, Bell cursed in his mind.
''For one so young, your answer reveals a surprising amount of wisdom. What then, if I disagreed with your remark? People are greedy, that is why they never ask if they should. Greedy people seldom think about how their inventions affects others,'' Stan said.
''There is nothing more terrifying for greedy people, then those who are selfless. They ARE the enemy for them. Besides, it is not greed that makes them scoff and disregard virtue. It is pride. There is a reason why pride is the greatest sin. It accompanies all the other sins. Lurks in their shadow, with every breath they take. How else could they so brazenly disregard all other opinions but their own?,'' Bell argued.
''Hmmhm. How then would you solve that conundrum? How would you make everyone virtuous?,'' Stan asked curious.
''You don't. People are self serving. Virtue must come from ones self and even then one should be mindful not to go to the other side of the extreme. Too much virtue can harm just as much as sinning. At best you strike a compromise,'' Bell argued.
''And the compromise being?,'' Stand edged on.
''Hell if I know. I'm not that wise,'' Bell shrugged. When did the topic switch from political maneuvering to theology?
''Indulge me anyway,'' Stan told him.
Bell released a breath through his nose.
''Be monstrous. Be a monster and keep it on a leash. People forget that change is always accompanied by pain. If you want others to mind their manners, they must remember that you could tear their throat out. That is the only way one can make a better place. People have forgotten that. And if not that then they shy away in fear of the pain change brings and seek to cling to the old,'' Bell replied with a bit of melancholy. He wished it were not the case.
Stan nodded melancholic as well. A short silence descended upon them.
''You once passed by my shop and I noticed you looking upon me with recognition. You know who I am?,'' Stan asked him no longer playing the act.
''No,'' denied Bell.
''It is not nice lying to god. I can not read your mind, but you are not yet old enough to lie to me and get away with it,'' Stan chastised him.
''Lying to a god is a great offense indeed. And I yet I stand. Are you not temperamental?,'' Bell asked him, tensing a little.
''I would hardly be the One-Above-All if I would lose control of my emotions. Besides, I am not foolish enough to kill you. Your benefactor might take offense,'' Stan told him.
Bell narrowed his eyes at him a little. Stan ignored that and waved his hands. Things in the kitchen finally began to move, preparing the pizza. So he wanted to talk a little more, Bell concluded.
''You cannot peer into my mind?,'' Bella asked him, wanting to be sure. He already suspected that. If he had an 'aspect' from a proper god, the true gods, then his abilities should be stronger then gods here. Or at least his void abilities, if not his reality warping. But for now he should still be respectful and not risk things too much.
''No. It is a delight to talk to you. Most people make for boring conversationalists. The drawbacks of omniscience. Still, I can not look into your mind, but I can see what you affect.
Well, almost omniscient. I always wondered if there was someone greater then me. Now I know. Was that how you recognized me? Did you peer from outside into my multiverse cluster?,'' Stan asked.
''Something like that,'' Bell replied.
''Were you someone before coming here? Our previous conversation indicates you were someone of great import,'' Stan asked curious.
''I guess,'' Bell did not want to go more into detail. That is exactly what he wanted to avoid. Someone asking questions. It was one thing to admit things to oneself, another to admit them out loud. And he was uncomfortable with that part.
''Ah, there is history there. I can sense it. I will get you to talk about it yet. But for now, you probably have enough of me. Here, I'll pack your pizza,'' Stan put his pizza in a box. Bell quickly took it, thanked him and made his way out.
''Make sure to visit me next friday,'' Stan called out, purposefully putting him on the spot. He may not be able to look into Bells mind, but he was ... old. He picked things up.
Bell sighed through his nose, but exited without saying anything. With such a direct and blatant invitation it would risk relations not to come.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
''Does Aunt May still want you to get together with Mary Jane?,'' Gwen asked looking at the instruction and selecting out some lego pieces. They trio was in Peters room.
''Yup. I don't get why she is so fixated on us two being together. Ever since her mother and her moved to the next house, she keeps mentioning her name,'' Peter grumbled. They had to make two identical constructs. Peter was doing one and Bell the other.
''Does she know what type of girl she is at school?,'' Gwen asked.
''And what type of girls is she?,'' Peter asked.
''Shallow and vain. She keeps hanging out with the jocks,'' Bell replied.
''Life is not a stereotype. Just because she hangs out with them does not make her shallow. Maybe she has a reason to act like she does,'' Peter argued, being given the other construct by Bell.
''Where do you think stereotypes stem from? Life imitates art, art imitates life,'' Bell shrugged and leaned on the ground.
''You can rest on the bed if you want,'' Peter offered, patting the bed. Bell remained on the ground, well used to worse.
''If life imitates art, then why are we not bullied? In case you two haven't noticed. We are the nerd group and the other nerd groups are getting bullied,'' Gwen reminded them.
''The eighth world wonder,'' Bell supplied.
Gen and Peter deadpanned at him. Was he truly ignorant or was he just pretending to be dumb?
He was quiet popular.
''Oh! I decided to buy Elden Ring after all,'' Peter decided to change the subject.
''Yeah? Is it good?,'' Bell asked.
''It is. It is wild that it is only 30$ It is only my 3rd game from Raezen but I'm starting to slowly understand the hype, even if I'm only in the beginning,'' Peter told them. Though he did hear that the game was massive. So he probably won't be buying another game for a long while, what with all his other duties. He could only play 1 hour every other day.
''Hm. I'm not really a gamer. I still don't think I will buy one. You Bell?,'' Gwen asked.
''Bell, your help is wanted again,'' Peter said, before anything seeing that they needed to make another set of identical constructs.
''Nope. No games for me either,''Bell replied to Gwen, pulling himself up. More like he played the games and made them. At least in this world.
''You know what we should do? Have a movie marathon. We can watch some of Raezens movies and if not that, then classics like Star Wars or Star Trek,'' Gwen suggested, beginning to pick out lego pieces again.
Both Peter and Bell agreed.
''I still can't you enough for gifting me this piece,'' Peter suddenly said. Bell rolled his eyes. This again.
''It was your birthday,'' Bell calmed him down.
''In that case, you won't mind us giving you a gift of our own on your birthday. Do you?,'' Gwen pounced upon seeing the opportunity and challenged him.
''Do what you want. It is a free country,'' Bell replied reluctantly, hiding his sudden onset of misery.
Even so, it... was nice, Bell determined. Hanging out like this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
''You are here early,'' Stan remarked surprised, come the next friday.
''School ended early,'' Bell replied taking a seat on the counter. He chose to forego training this time around. The quicker they get this over with the better and they may yet talk for a while.
''Well then, let's resume our talks. Who were you before coming here? Hm? Don't mind them, they won't register our conversation,'' Stan assured him when Bell looked sideways at the other patrons.
Yes, he gathered that when Bell looked into their mind and saw them not recognizing anything.
''Before we talk more, how did you know I had a benefactor?,'' Bell asked.
''I assumed an educated guess and you confirmed. Your powers... they have the potential to match mine, but I see that most of your strength still slumbers. You will be terrifying. Though I suppose you already are, with your reality warping,'' Stan was forthcoming with his answer.
Bell hummed.
''I was no one of import. My benefactor judged me by a merit unknown to me and sent me down here,'' Bell replied. Stan smiled a little indulgently.
''I have seen your game Elden Ring. 'The gods are feeble and undeserving of their immortality'. That is the conclusion Goldmask arrived at. Do you share it?,'' Stan asked him. He began cleaning the glasses. His workers moved in the back preparing food.
''No. But faith not tested is brittle. There is no heresy in wanting the truth or asking questions,'' Bell replied diplomatically. Though to be fair, he did share Goldmasks position in a way. Stan may be the One-Above-All but he was no proper god.
Stan was no 'ROB' or his like.
Bell was respectful to them and mindful of their power, but what little faith he had, he reserved for others. He owed the gods in this multiverse nothing more than that.
''Then your position must be brittle indeed, to avoid answering me so fiercely. Unless...Hm. You must have done something that you think I will disapprove of or something that you feel ashamed for,'' Stan guessed.
That ... was not entirely correct, but not wrong either. Bell did not feel shame for what he did. Taking power. His empire was not perfect, no empire is, but things were peaceful and people were well off.
It was just how he did it to go there that vexes him so and that he feels guilt for his sins. The murder of innocents.
''Hmm. Judging by our previous conversation, I would guess that you were a ruler. Maybe. Was your rule one of tyrannical kindness?,'' Stan continued after Bell said nothing for a while.
So he let slip that much? Then again this was an entity trillions of years old. For all that he was good, Bell doubted he could hold a candle to Stan.
''And if I was, would you take issue with that?,'' Bell asked for the sake of asking.
''No. It is not my place to judge you. You were judged by a different merit by your benefactor and he saw enough to determine sending your here was a good sentence. Be it punishment or reward remains to be seen. I will not interfere with that,'' Stan told him.
''Indulge me anyway,'' Bell repeated Stans previous words from last week. Stan gave him a sly smile past his aviators.
''Excelsior. Be better and be yourself.
What care do I have what other people do? So long as they seek to be the best version of themselves that is all that matters. Though between you and I, I am more inclined to side with the heroes. Theirs make for better stories. It is after all harder to create then to destroy and I would know,'' Stan chuckled, giving Bell a wink.
So he was similar to proper gods? Morales meant little to him, more or less. That would make Bells redemption difficult. Must he find redemption and absolution from within?
Bell... doubted he could ever do that.
Also was that an invitation to challenge him? Bell did not care, it was not one he planned on taking him on anyway. Perhaps ever.
''Why do you want to talk with me?,'' Bella asked again, slowly starting to get annoyed.
''As I said, you make for a good conversationalist. I know nothing about you and that is a novelty for me. If you do not wish to talk with me about your life,we can talk about other things. Or you can never visit me again,'' Stan replied sincerely.
''You want a friend?,'' Bell narrowed his eyes.
''It is lonely at the top,'' Stan told him. Bell recoiled slightly.
That hit too close to home.
Before he could reply, both turned their heads as they felt a rift open up in space above NYC. Particularly above Stark tower. Shortly afterward people began running past the pizzeria.
Stan turned around and Bell was already gone. Stan hummed with some amusement and watched as his patrons and workers also bolted after a short while when they began realizing an alien invasion was happening.
It seems he must wait to see what answer Bell would give him.
This uncertainty.
How truly novel indeed.
---
A small part of Bell doubted that he was ready, even with 12 years of training. But that was only a small part. He would listen to it, but not heed its words unless deemed otherwise.
As he once said. Life is pain and life carries risks.
He was going to fight against the invasion anyway.
For one because, he was a good man raised as such by his parents. He needed to protect the innocent and also make up for his sins.
For another, because he was a fighter. That is what he did.
But also because for yet another, the ruler part of him, knew the system would throw a nuke at them and hope for the best.
Idiots.
And more importantly alien technology and alien weapons. Like hell he would permit the governments to have such in their arsenal.
Bell admitted that aside from looking up the names of important institutions and people and keeping an eye on them every now and then, he did not do much. More preoccupied with training. No reason to put the carriage before the horse.
But if he was going to step onto the world stage, that will need to change. He will spy on them much more and either dispose of them, tie them to him or neutralize them.
But first the alien invasion.
Bell had no problem with being perceived as powerful, but directly revealing that he was a reality warper was another matter. Granted not that the government would ever catch him or track him, with all his bases being covered.
But he knew the unrest it would cause among the public and the frenzy and zeal with which the governments would pursue him or turn the public against him. They would do something foolish that will backfire.
Bell had better things to do then deal with that.
...
...
He will give the impression that he was relying on swords to do his heavy lifting and achieve various effects. It would give the IMPRESSION that he had a weakness, when there was none.
The dogs and the leeches would focus on that, thinking themselves clever and seek to exploit that weakness. That will keep them contained for a while and waste time and resources.
Now, all that was left was his 'mask'.
All this, Bell though about as he teleported from the counter into an alleyway. Barely a second has passed. He quickly changed into his costume after some quick thinking and set out to help the citizens.
---
Iron Man starred for but a brief moment as Loki managed to open up the portal through mind controlling Selvig. Above the portal he could see the Chitauri invade earth. He immediately had Jarvis switch over to combat mode and moved to engage them.
''Where are you?,'' Stark asked through their coms.
''We are almost there. Thor might return too. But Banners location is unknown,'' Natasha replied.
Well, he could do that, Stark determined.
He managed to shoot some of them out of the sky but they kept coming like an avalanche and Iron Man moved to disengage them after a while. Once he saw a giant space ship flow through, however he rethought his strategy and flew away. The giant space ship flew after him.
If his reasoning was right which it always was, then Banner should join them soon, all he had to do was lead the space ship to him and let big green take care of it. Wherever he may appear first and if they find him or him, them.
Except, nothing came of it. As the space was cut in two by a energy wave arc, multiple smaller blades buried themselves in the two halves and began lifting it back towards the portals hole.
Iron Man starred surprised, flying in the air for a bit. He was startled as a figure flew past him.
It was a person in a mask with neon orange triangles adorning it. He had his hood up and otherwise adorned a black grab. Black pants, black gloves, black jacket. Several swords were formed in the shape of wings, golden energy flowing from them to the persons back attaching them to him.
The person wasted no time. Swords upon swords began flying through the air, engaging the Chitauri on the smaller space ships.
''We have another helper on our hands. Is he one of your S.H.I.E.L.D agents?,'' Iron Man asked moving back to engage the Chitauri as well. He occasionally watched him as he wrought carnage onto the enemy. Both of them moving back towards the Stark tower.
''No. Is he an ally?,'' Natasha asked, trusting Starks judgement,''We are here by the way and moving towards the tower. We have been shot out of the sky and Banner is with us as well. And there are multiple swords flying around engaing the Chitauri,'' Natasha replied quickly and breathlessly, some grunts and screams could be heard across the coms.
Stark watched as some of the debris fell from a building after being hit by one Chitauri alien with its repulsor gun. Swords slammed into the side of the building safeguarding the people below. Stark could see many such scenes, the swords doing a good job of keeping the Chitauri in the air and most of the danger away from the civilians in the streets.
''He is killing the enemy. That makes him an ally to me,'' Iron Man replied. If the now dubbed King Arthur or Arthur continued to have his way with the Chitauri, keeping them occupied, then the others could make their way to the tower quickly.
''Stark, we can see you, the one fighting alongside you. The one with the wings. That is him?,'' Popsicle sought confirmation, ever the soldier and needing to know who their ally was so not to attack him. He sounded barely out of breath, compared to others.
''Yes. He is bottling them up,'' Iron Man shot some repulsor blasts towards the portal, killing some Chitauri and helping Arthur keep the invaders contained. For now no more Chitauri got too far away from the portal, before being sent back into it in a bodybag.
''Do you have any idea who you are interfering with mortal? I am Loki, God of Mischief and soon enough I shall be King of this rock. I will have your head for your insolence,'' Loki called out from the balcony of Stark tower.
Bell, having settled for the name Nexus in this disguise, had half a mind to simply shoot a sword through his head. But having read Starks mind when he passed him by, he knew that the heir and prince Thor Odinson wanted him back and 'to face Asgardian justice'.
Though he hated nepotism, Nexus knew well how to play the game. He could not agitate a conflict between earth and Asgard. Nexus was more politically inclined then that.
There was also the matter of Nexus feeling some sort of energy coming from Loki's brain. One not belonging to his own.
Nexus shot a sword towards him anyways. Not enough to kill by cut or explode in his face and turn him into mince meat, but enough force was used that he went through multiple floors of the Stark Tower until eventually stopping. Loki starred dazed upwards and groaned in disbelief and pain.
''You are paying for that,'' Iron Man said to him.
Nexus ignored him and flew towards the portal device inspecting it.
''You can not stop it. It is self sufficient now,'' Selvig boasted. Nexus scoffed. It was clearly some form of mind control as he felt the same energy from Selvig as he felt from Loki. But that was a double edged sword, as he found out the way to deactivate it from Selvig as well. Some swords brought the discarded Scepter from the balcony and he pushed Selvig away from the device.
Iron Man watched this all while continuing to assist bottling the portals opening. He also watched as swords carried technology back into the portal. The ones discarded by the Chitauri after being slain.
Before Nexus slammed the scepter into the device, he shot another sword. This time into the portal. A fare well gift from Nexus to the Chitauri.
And a warning that earth was not theirs to conquer. A shame Nexus would not get to see the spectacle, but for now the invasion was stopped only shortly after it began.
Before Iron Man could do anything Nexus grabbed a sword and slashed the space in front of him. A rift opened up and he walked through, closing after him.
Just in time the rest of the Avengers burst onto the balcony with Thor landing on it.
''You didn't change into big green?,'' Stark asked a little disappointed at seeing Banner still ... humanish. He wanted to see the Hulk himself.
''Where is our ally?,'' Steve called back, biting back the frustration at his childishness.
''Gone. As quickly as he came he left,'' Iron Man shrugged his arms before putting them back at his side.
''Where is Loki?,'' Thor asked firmly.
''His body was used to destroy multiple of my floors. No clue on which one he stopped. Jarvis?''
''He stopped on floor 43, sir,'' Jarvis informed and Stark relayed the info.
''Is it just me or does anyone else feel a little disappointed?,'' Banner suddenly asked.
The rest simply turned to him and blankly starred at him. Banner cleared his throat.
''Ignore me,'' Banner quickly back tracked.
...
Loki starred at the Avengers, though one person was less imposing then the others.
''If it is all the same to you, I will have that drink now,'' Loki amended.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd POV: Almost a week later:
''Do we finally have the numbers? How many dead?,'' Fury asked.
''As a matter of fact none,'' Maria informed.
''None?,'' Fury asked not completely managing to hide his incredulity form his voice.
''Well, a few people did die, but their autopsy did not reveal any battle marks. Their medical reports indicated that they had a history of heart problems. They died from shock. There was also a few people injured, but none critically so,'' Hill replied dutifully.
''What of the Avengers?,'' Fury asked.
''They have decided to stay as a team, recognizing your words that sometimes extraordinary people are needed to combat extraordinary threats, sir. Though because of King Arthur, as Stark calls him, no friendship was forged in the flames of war. It still remains to be seen, if they actually stay together as a team,'' Maria Hill supplied.
The two of them were together in an office, discussing what happened recently and making moves for the coming future.
''King Arthur? If I remember my history well, the King only had one sword, not several thousands,'' Fury argued.
''Not quiet. As instructed we looked up everything about this person. With how little we had, we decided we might just as well look up the name Stark called him. Caliburn was the sword of selection. But after a battle it got destroyed or lost, the legends vary. Then Vivian, The Lady of the Lake gave him Excalibur,'' Maria supplied.
''That is still only two swords,'' Fury pointed out sarcastically,''Fine then. Write him down as Subject King Arthur. Be ready to change it at any time however, I'll not let Stark the honor of having any say in S.H.I.E.L.D business.''
Maria gave a small smile but noted something down on her papers.
''Did we manage to get our hands on any alien technology?,'' Fury asked.
''No. Again, courtesy of 'King Arthur'. Each sword carried out a piece of technology back into the portal''
Perhaps that was for the best, the man in Fury thought. But unfortunate for future prospects. They still don't know what is out there and have no way of combating them, the spy part of him thought. Not truly. At best they only had a few prototypes.
''And we really caught nothing. Not before and not now? Especially now. We have ears and eyes everywhere,'' Fury ground out.
''No, Sir. Our people are looking 24/7. But as quickly as he appeared he disappeared. No sign of him ever since,'' Maria replied.
Fury took the folder and read it again. It contained all the information they had so far, from 'King Arthur'. Fury suppressed a wince, they really need to change that name into something more appropriate.
-Male, possible teenager to middle aged.
-various abilities centered around swords allowing him to:
>fly
>shoot energy from them
>engage in long range combat
>engage in close range combat
>possible very intelligent, possible genius intellect.
>city wide spatial awareness, swords fought Chitauri far away from him
>extremely versatile
-Threat: To Be Determined.
Fury put the folder back down, thinking a bit.
''Sir, I still think it would have been a good idea to have involved the X-Men,'' Maria remarked, as his trusted confidant, she was allowed certain liberties.
''Xavier and I have an agreement. The world will tolerate mutates. But mutants are another matter. I will keep their existence secret and they will not cause chaos. Unless they wish to involve themselves personally. Until then our agreement keeps people civil,'' Fury denied her idea again.
Worse. In spite of their best efforts to hide their existence, the 'Friends of Humanity' emerged. They were a very small group now, but they had zeal and fanaticism. They will only grow when the X-Men was finally revealed to the public.
''Classify 'King Arthur' as an Alpha threat, but a potential ally, unless proven otherwise. meanwhile have our best mind come up with a way to sever him from his swords to neutralize him,'' Fury commanded and Maria quickly nodded before writing another thing down.
The two departed after having concluded their business.
---
Bell drew his focus back from his clone puppet back to his main body. He was scouring all of S.H.I.E.L.Ds servers with his technomancy. And when he found out that the two would meet, he couldn't help but overhear in the hopes that he will find out more.
And frankly after all he found out he wanted to kick himself. He did passively spy on most important people, but he should have done so much more aggressively.
No.
He was now putting the carriage before the horse.
Life carried risk, but there was such a thing as being reckless. What would he have done if something had gone wrong before he had proper control of his abilities?
Still, he was a little disappointed. He was hoping for Beta Class, instead he was classified as an Alpha. Then again Fury was paranoid.
Bell scoffed.
He was right in every one of his prediction. The world security council was pushing to send a nuke to NYC. People were trying to get their hands on alien technology and not just S.H.I.E.L.D.
He was just glad no one died. A good step in atoning for what he did.
Well, aside from heart attacks.
But now?
Now he was going to be more active, far more so then he already was with Raezen.
First order of business.
Paying the dear world security council a visit.
And then Bell will see from there after he peeks into their minds.