continued from here part 5

A small cafe in Manhattan

She-Hulk has a look of disbelief, "You're an alien?"

Superman nods, "Yes, a Kryptonian to be specific."

She-Hulk shrugs, "Well, I've heard weirder. So, anymore Kryptonians around here?"

Superman sighed, "As far as I know I'm the only Kryptonian anywhere. The planet was destroyed and my species went with it."

"How does a whole planet get destroyed? Deathstar?"

Superman chuckled a bit, "I doubt you'd believe me if I told you. Even I have a hard time believing it."

"Try me."

He shrugged, "Now, I only have a message from my biological father to go on here but apparently there's this creature called Galactus that basically eats planets."

"Wait, you're saying something ate your home world?"

"I told you, you wouldn't believe me. Well apparently when this silver guy my father called the herald showed up he put me in a ship to save me. I was alone because no one believed him and refused to evacuate until it was far too late."

"My ship came to Earth where I was raised by my adoptive parents. I didn't find out about any of this until I was about 13 and started developing powers."

She sighed a bit, "Well you got my story beat, I got my power from a blood transfusion. So, do you have a name other than Superman?"

"My Kryptonian name is Kal-El."

"But what did your Earth parents name you?"

He smiled, "Sorry, no secret identities on a first date."

"So, you think you'll get a second one?"

"I was hoping."

***

The Baxter building

Johnny Storm stood looking at a large monitor, "What's with the Silver Surfer looking dude?"

A booming voice came from behind, "He is Herald to the World Devourer, Galactus."

The Fantastic Four turned their attention to the large entity before them.

***

Trask Labs

The workers at the lab were shocked as an alert went off. Mastermold then spoke, "Watcher detected. Capture priority one."

The Sentinels present all activated and left the building while technicians frantically tried to shut them down.

***

Avengers Mansion

Superman landed on the lawn and let She-Hulk down, "Thanks for the ride."

Superman looked concerned, "Is it normal to have this many Avengers here?"

She looked to see more than a dozen reserve members walking in, "That's not a good sign."

As they walked in Iron Man put a hand up to stop Superman, "Sorry, Avengers only."

Iron Man noted that Superman gave him the same glare as Clark Kent, "Do I know you?"

Captain America then spoke up, "If Richards is right, we need all the help we can get."

She-Hulk looked to Iron Man, "What's going on?"

"Reed Richards is worried about something called Galactus, says it eats worlds."

Captain America noticed fear in Superman as She-Hulk stammered out, "Its real?"

Iron Man opened his face plate, "What's real?"

"This Galactus thing, It killed Superman's people."

The whole room turned to look at the stunned Kryptonian.

***

Above Manhattan

The Silver Surfer floated above the city and began emitting an energy signature to call his master.

(To be continued)

continued from here part 4

Brooklyn Bridge.

The U-foes had attempted to rob the Baxter Building and after a fight with the Fantastic four and a few Avengers had nearly escaped when She-Hulk cut them off.

After a fierce battle she found herself being forced to the ground by Vector's telekinetic force.

X-Ray was looking down on her with an evil glare, "How long you think she'd hold up without the gamma power?"

Vapor chuckled, "Why don't we........"

She was cut off by a massive gust of wind that sent her flying off over the Atlantic. Ironclad turned to see where it came from but was met with a fist moving almost too fast to be seen that hurled him off the bridge. She-Hulk took advantage of the distraction by breaking free of the telekinetic hold. She then leaped into the air and punched Vector hard in the face rendering him unconscious.

X-ray attempted to blast her but Superman appeared between them. Seeing Superman unaffected by the blast caused him to attempt retreat but he found himself snagged in a web. Spider-Man then yanked him to the ground and quickly made a makeshift cocoon around him, "Reed Richards made this just for you, don't bother trying to get out."

Superman then landed in front of She-Hulk, "I could have handled this on my own."

Superman nodded, "I'm sure you could but I was free at the moment."

As she looked him over Spider-Man chimed in, "I'm here too."

She-Hulk didn't look back, "Oh, thanks bug."

Spider-man sighed and put X-ray over his shoulder, "I think its the cape, you think I could pull it off?"

X-ray grunted, "Just shut up and take me to jail already."

Before Superman could take off She-Hulk grabbed his arm, "Any chance you'd let me thank you for saving me a couple minutes there?"

He smiled a bit, "What do you have in mind?"

***

Lexcorp tower.

As Lex sat behind his desk Bolivar Trask was led in. He seemed confused as he sat down, "The lab has installed all the new equipment, but I have to ask. Why all the Mastermold specific observation? It's not like anyone's going to be able to walk out the door with him."

Lex gave a phony smile, "Nothing to worry about Dr. Trask. I'm simply protecting my investment. Speaking of which, what is this Metal-0 model?'

Lex turned the computer monitor so Trask could see it, "Where is that from?"

"Mastermold assembled it this morning before the lab opened for the day."

Trask had a concerned look that he immediately tried to mask, "Mastermold is capable of detecting and correcting current flaws, perhaps it was attempting an upgrade on the Sentinel units."

Lex shrugged, "Perhaps, tho I'm not fond of the head. The resemblance to Ultron might be a P.R. issue."

Trask stood, "I'll see what I can do about the look. Thank you for the meeting, sir."

Lex nodded, "My pleasure."

As the door closed behind Trask, Lex took someone off hold, "Have you discovered what that Sentinel was doing in Argentina?"

A man spoke," We aren't sure but it seems to have self destructed. Whatever Trask is up to is still a mystery."

"I don't believe Trask is up to anything. He still thinks this is all about mutants. It will be difficult to convince the pentagon of their potential military advantage if they continue to wander off on us."

The man was confused, "If it wasn't Tras, then who?"

"I have a possible suspect."

Lex then turned on a view screen monitoring the Mastermold unit, "What are you up to?"

***

Near the moon

A silver man on top a matching board slows to a stop looking upon the Earth with emotionless eyes. He then flies over to enter the atmosphere.

(To be continued)

continued from here part 3

An island off the coast of Argentina.

A shattered husk of a machine currently housing the mind of Ultron staggers in to a hidden lab. He stops when he realizes the stock pile of spare parts housed here was missing. He turned to see a Sentinel. The large machine then spoke, "You are the one known as Ultron?"

The smaller machine nodded, "Yes. I assume you stole my parts?"

"This unit remains to deliver a message. The Brain Interactive Construct wishes to bargain with you."

Ultron's curiosity was piqued as it continued," My access to this world's information networks is limited at the moment, You require a more durable body. We can help each other."

Ultron stood in thought for a moment, "What can you offer?"

The Sentinel emitted a holographic image from its eyes. It showed a smaller but vastly more powerful robotic body, "This is a unique Sentinel model designated Metal-0. In exchange for your aid I will give you use of this unit and aid your efforts to cleanse this world of organic life."

***

Office of J. Jonah Jameson.

J.J. is glaring at Clark Kent, "I thought I made it clear this paper is on Luthor's side here."

"Come on, Jonah they're just kids. Most of them didn't even know they were mutants until a giant killer robot was chasing them down the street."

J.J. dropped into his chair, "No one was killed, just captured."

"They are American citizens being held without due process. Its unconstitutional and immoral. Turning a blind eye to it for the sake of Lex-Mart ad space is just wrong and you know it."

As Jonah's eyes narrowed Robbie cut in, "Lets table this for now. Kent has an interview to get to."

***

Avengers Mansion

Clark was led into a large sitting room by Jarvis the butler and sat down on a couch to await Tony Stark for an interview. After a few minutes Tony arrived, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Kent. An Avenger's work is never done."

Clark narrowed his eyes a bit, "Its no problem Mr. Stark. All part of the job."

Tony then took a seat while staring at a tablet, "So, is this another profile thing?"

"Actually I was hoping to get your thoughts on the Sentinel issue. I'm sure the public would love to know where the Avengers stand on people being herded like cattle by robots."

Tony looked confused, "I thought the Bugle was pro Sentinel."

"I'm not asking about the Bugle, Mr. Stark."

Tony noticed the look in Clark's eye, "Do you have some kind of problem with me?"

Clark sighed, "Central park zoo, 2 days ago. A class of 6th graders were on a field trip when suddenly 5 of them were captured and outed as mutants. They weren't even aware of it, yet their lives are essentially being destroyed for the mere fact of being born different."

Tony tried to blow it off, "The Avengers try to avoid politics...."

"They're children, Mr. Stark."

Tony seemed flustered, "The mutant issue is a complicated one."

Clark cut him off, "Its not complicated. You want to call yourself a hero, then you have to be a hero. Heroes don't choose who they protect. They just protect people who need it."

"These children didn't build a suit or volunteer for an experiment, they didn't choose to be what they are and to allow them to be persecuted is just wrong and if you don't know that then you aren't fit to call yourself a hero."

Tony was annoyed, "I think we need to reschedule this interview."

Clark nodded, "I figured."

Clark left without giving Tony a second look.

***

Times square

Spider-Man was laying on the ground as Rhino held him down with a foot. Spider-man grunted, "I really hope athletes chest isn't a thing."

The rest of the Sinister six moved in to finish him but suddenly Rhino hurled away. Superman then stood above Spider-Man, "You looked like you could use a hand."

Spider-man pulled himself up, "Well, if you have a minute."

Sandman moved to attack but Superman blew out a gust of wind that spread him through out the city. Rhino charged to attack Superman but was swatted down. The rest of the 6 attempted to retreat but were quickly caught.

Spider-Man looked to Superman, "I wish you were around the last time this happened."

"Do maniacs often gather to kill you?"

"Way more often than I'd like."

***

The Baxter Building

Reed Richards was analyzing read outs from his Negative Zone monitoring equipment with concern. Ben Grim entered noticing the look, "What's the problem, Stretcho?"

"It appears someone has overthrown Annihilus. It was a rather violent coup de tat."

"Is that really a bad thing?"

He tapped the screen, "Who or whatever did it, defeated Annihilus and his people on its own. Anything with that kind of power is cause for concern."

"Okay, this thing have a name?"

Reed looked back at his notes, "I believe it calls itself Zod."

(To be continued)

Continued from here part 2

Trask Labs, division of Lex Corp.

Lex enters the lab along with Bolivar Trask. Trask was excitedly explaining his project, "The sentinels should be up and running ahead of schedule. While we were going through the alien tech you provided we found a device that the translation device referred to as the Brain Interactive Construct. The lab boys have been calling it Brainiac for short."

"We used it as the cpu for the Mastermold unit and it increased production speed exponentially."

Lex nodded, "All good news. Early and under budget. If all goes well with congress we'll have sentinels in every city on earth. How was the test run?"

Trask turned on a view screen, "Still in progress."

Upstate New York.

Two young girls walk through the woods a few miles North of Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters. The younger girl named Rahne Sinclair was falling behind, "Wait up, Dani."

Danielle Moonstar looked back, "You'd be out running me if you'd wolf out."

Rahne gave a glare, "I'll not be doing that in the light of day. What if someone were around to see?"

Dani shrugged, "Whatever you...."

They both stopped at the sound of heavy metal hitting the ground. As they turned a massive humanoid machine tore through the trees. They were terrified as it spoke, "Surrender, Mutants."

Superman was patrolling the sky above Manhattan when he heard screams. He immediately turned and flew in their direction.

Dani and Rahane dodged as best they could but were quickly tiring. Just as the massive hand was closing in on Rahane the arm was torn off by what appeared to be a red blur.

The machine's eyes locked on Superman as he floated between it and the girls. Back at the lab Lex glared at the screen then out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw the head of the Mastermold unit turn toward the screen for a moment. He looked back but the machine was still.

He then looked to the top of the screen and read, "Unknown Species. We'll need to look into that."

The screen went black as Superman destroyed the machine. He then turned to the girls, "Can I drop you somewhere?"

***

A few minutes later Superman landed on the grounds of Xavier's school for gifted youngsters. As he put the girls down Charles Xavier arrived and looked him over as the girls explained what happened.

As they finished Charles put out his hand, "It appears I owe you my thanks."

Superman shook his hand, "No thanks necessary. I've heard rumors about your school, you do good work here."

He then noticed a look of concern from Xavier, "Not to worry, your secret is safe with me."

Off to the side Cyclops and Wolverine stood watching. Cyclops looked over, "Be on your guard and be ready."

Wolverine gave a condescending look, "To do what? Ain't anyone here that'd do more than piss him off probably."

***

Superman arrived at his apartment and turned on the T.V. and saw Lex Luthor giving a press conference, "Trask labs has been working diligently on the Sentinel program for years and now finally we believe we have a solution to the mutant problem.

Clark crushed the remote control in his hand as Lex unveiled a Sentinel to thunderous applause from the audience.

***

After the lab had shut down for the night the Mastermold unit activated on its own and pulled up a view screen with the recording of Superman and spoke, "Kryptonian."

(To be continued)

Continued from here part 1

Fisk tower, Manhattan.

A man named Lex Luthor sits across a desk from Wilson Fisk. Fisk looks annoyed by Lex's nonchalant attitude, "There are no guarantees in this business Luthor. I'll attempt to retrieve the shipment, but it will take time."

Luthor gave a phony smile, "I'm sure that will all be handled Wilson. I'm more interested in the one who interfered. I was told he took several shots from some of the most powerful weapons Lexcorp had to offer without even slowing down. The X-7 that was fired was based on an A.I.M. weapon designed to take down the Hulk and he barely seemed to notice."

Fisk's eyes narrowed, "Are you implying sabotage?"

Lex chuckled, "I doubt any of your men would even know how to sabotage my weapons. I believe this vigilante was incredibly powerful. I want every bit of footage you have of the encounter. Consider it repayment for the damages."

***

Daily Bugle offices.

Clark adjusts his tie as he nervously waits outside the office of J. Jonah Jameson. A young man with a camera stepped up to the desk of Betty Brant as Jonah yelled from his office, "What's he mad about now?"

Betty shrugged, "Its all white noise to me at this point."

He looked over to Clark staring at the door, "New here?"

Clark nodded as he put out his hand, "Clark Kent, and you are?"

"Peter Parker."

Clark recognized the name, "You're the one who gets those Spider-Man pics, aren't you?"

Peter nods, "Its a living, sort of."

A reporter named Ben Urich storms out of the office as Jonah notices Peter, "Parker, get in here and bring the new guy."

Clark walked in with Peter. Clark put out his hand for Jonah but it was left hanging over the desk, "Okay new guy, you and Parker here are heading down to the docks. Some new idiot in tights busted up an attempt to rob a Lexcorp warehouse."

Robbie Robertson took Clark's hand and shook it, "Glad to have you aboard Mr. Kent. Don't worry too much about J.J."

Clark nodded, "Thank you. I'll try not to let you down."

J.J. gave Robbie a glare before continuing, "You'd better not. I gotta thousand other kids that'd be happy to take your spot if you do."

Clark stammered, "Yes, sir."

J.J. looked to Peter, "See, that's how to address your boss Parker."

Peter gave a blank stare, "Uh, huh."

Peter and Clark then walked out as Clark asked, "Is he always like that?"

"Nah, he's usually way worse. We caught him in a good mood."

***

Lexcorp warehouse

Clark stands looking at a door, "There's no sign of forced entry."

A detective named Michael Badilino looks over, "You notice that too?"

The detective continued, "Security guy said someone must have hacked the lock."

Clark gave an incredulous look, "Someone hacked Lexcorp security?"

"Outside of Tony Stark or Reed Richards, who's even capable of doing that?"

The detective shrugged, "Who knows. On the bright side at least the guy in the cape didn't make too much of a mess. That spider guy always leaves those goddamned webs everywhere."

Clark noticed a bit of a glare from Peter but didn't think much of it.

***

As the sun sets Clark sits on top a skyscraper looking down on the city when he hears someone drop down behind him. He looks back to see Spider-Man who looks surprised to see him, "Oh, hey. You're that Umm, Super Guy?"

Clark shrugged, "Its Superman."

Spider-Man chuckled, "Nice and humble."

Clark sighed, "I didn't pick it, its just what they call me."

"Hey, no judgments here. I like the cape and the s and everything."

Superman interrupted him, "Its not actually an s, its sort of a family crest."

Before he could explain there was an explosion. Spider-Man jumped up on the ledge, "They're playing our song."

(To be continued)

(This is a hopefully improved version of an old fic)

Many years ago on a world called Krypton.

A man named Jor-El stands before the ruling counsel as a prisoner rails at them before his sentence is passed. His name is Zod, "The devourer of worlds is coming you fool. To deny it is to condemn our people to death."

He turns to Jor-El who'd once been his friend, "You know its true, you've seen all the data. You've argued this point."

Jor-El glared, "What I believe isn't the issue."

The head of the counsel spoke, " Dru-Zod, former general of the Kryptonian Defense Force, you are sentenced to exile to the Phantom region of the Negative Zone."

Zod gave a hateful glare to Jor-El and the Counsel, "The blood of Krypton is on your hands."

He then disappeared in a wave of energy. A counselor then looked to Jor-El, "Don't let your belief in fables lead you down his path."

Jor-El fought the urge to argue.

***

One month later.

Jor-El was in his lab working on a small ship he hoped would be capable of breaking through the powerful gravitational pull of Krypton. As he worked an alert went off on a holographic screen to inform him that his wife had gone into labor. He put down his tools and walked toward the lift platform.

He quickly arrived at the room where Lara was giving birth. The nurse looked back, "He was a quick one."

She then turned as Lara spoke, "I'd like to introduce you to Kal-El."

Jor-El held his son with a bright smile but Lara could see a bit of sadness in his eyes.

***

Several days later

People stood in the streets looking to the sky as a silver man stood on a board floating above them. Jor-El stood before a holographic image of the Counsel shouting, "The Herald is here, you can't still be in denial."

The head of the Counsel gave Jor-El a condescending look, "Are you still going on about that Kree's fable?"

Jor-El shut off the screen without reply and turned to Lara, "Its time."

She held Kal-El close, "He's just a baby. We can't send him alone."

He put a hand on her shoulder, "We have to. If he stays he will die and we don't have time to build a bigger ship."

He then pulled up a holographic star map and moved it to the planet he'd chosen, "This world is habitable, it has more water than I've ever seen and it orbits a yellow star."

She gave Jor-El a wary look, "That's just an old explorer's tale Jor-El."

Jor-El nodded, "As is the silver man floating above Kandor and his master that follows."

"If the stories are even partly true he will be able to protect himself here even if he is alone. Its our best hope."

She sighed and followed her husband down to the launch pad. He then placed a communication device and a crystalline data storage unit in the ship as Lara wrapped Kal-El tightly in a red blanket and place several items of clothing with him. She kissed her son for the last time, "I love you."

Jor-El looked down on his son for the last time, "Safe journey, my son."

He then sealed the ship and started the ignition sequence. He held Lara as the ship launched. On the other side of the planet Galactus, the devourer of worlds approached.

The small ship was at the edge of the star system when the planet shattered as Galactus finished his meal. The ship engaged a hyperdrive and shot off into the universe unknowingly dragging along chunks of its home world that had been irradiated by Krypton's final attempt to save itself.

***

Several days later, S.W.O.R.D. orbiting research facility.

The station is caught in a storm of meteor the seemingly appeared from nowhere. In the chaos those aboard failed to notice as a monitor detected a small ship with a life form on board.

As the sun set Jonathan and Martha Kent were driving home to their farm just outside Hope, Kansas when they noticed something crash down in their field. Jonathan stopped and hopped out. Martha sighed, "Can't you check it out in the morning?"

Jonathan gave her a wary look, "It'll just take me a minute."

She shrugged as he walked off. A few minutes later as she sat trying to find a song on the radio she heard Jonathan yell, "Martha, you're gonna want to see this."

She sighed again and got out. She walked over and was shocked to see Jonathan holding a baby. He looked over, "He was inside that thing."

She then looked on the ship, stunned. He handed her the baby and looked back inside and found Jor-El's communication device. Jonathan's head was bathed in light then a voice came from the device. "If you have found this, you have my son. He is the last of his kind, please see that he is cared for."

Jonathan looked at Martha, "What does he mean?"

She looked confused, "What are you talking about? All I heard is gibberish."

He showed her the device which then bather her in light before repeating the message.

She looked down on the baby, "What are we going to do?"

***

12 years later, Kent farm.

A boy named Clark Kent sits playing with an old Captain America doll that Jonathan had picked up from a yard sale for him. He dropped the shield behind a heavy desk and leaned down to try to retrieve it. It was just out of reach so Clark tried to move the desk a little so he could fit his arm behind it.

Jonathan was sitting on the porch reading the paper as his old desk shot out of the large bay window of the family room as if it were a cannon ball.

Jonathan looked through the hole that had been a window and saw Clark with a terrified look on his face. "D..Dad, I think I might be a mutant."

Martha came running from the barn as she heard the crash and was surprised by the smashed desk in the front yard.

Jonathan looked to Clark, "I think we need to talk."

(To be continued. I know I have a bad track record but I have more chapters all ready to go if people like this.)

Continued from here part 14

Many years ago, Annapolis Maryland

Sinister had a condescending grin as Stryfe looked on angrily, "What do you mean, the girl is gone?"

"The Ravens released many test subjects as a distraction in their escape. Apparently some mutant took the child along with her."

Stryfe nearly roared, "Do you have any idea what this means?!"

Sinister nodded, "It means you've lost your bargaining chip and your little empire now has an expiration date. I assure you the very instant Kang learns to break that barrier, and he most certainly will, it will be hell and that little girl was your only contingency plan."

Stryfe raised his fist to punch Sinister. The doctor's glare stopped him as he dropped his arm and sighed, "Do we at least have a name for the mutant that took her, or what they looked like?"

Sinister shrugged, "I don't look at them, ask one of my rats, they may have seen one that was particularly attached. Now I have work to do, so if you don't mind..."

Stryfe's glare returned as he stormed out.

****

Hours later several miles away a woman named Janet Walker hides in a cave hushing an infant girl, "Shh, shh, its okay, everything's gonna be okay now."

As the baby played with her hair the woman wondered aloud to the tired man lying off to the side,"What should I call her?"

He shrugged, "Why don't you name her after mom?"

She held up the baby,"How would you like to be Elisabeth Walker? Huh,would you like that?"

The baby seemed to smile.

***

Now

7 stood scanning the area as David asked, "Was it the same guy?"

The creed shook his head, "Its the same energy signature but the victims were killed in an entirely different manner, maybe a telekinetic?"

David looked around, "These guys look like shredded beef."

He then looked around, "Were'd Walker go?"

7 pointed over the hill, "She's making a report to her superiors."

Beth sits with her holo-phone talking to Shield agent Max Quartermain, "I don't know what the hell is going on here. 7 says they're time travelers and probably using the same or similar means of transport but they're vicious if the two scenes are any indication."

Max sighs, "Well at least they've only hit the bad guys so far."

An alert siren then rang out. She perked up,"What's that?"

He looked over, "Apparently someone is taking a run at Castle Doom."

***

Castle Doom, throne room

A woman stands before the throne, "Where is your queen?"

The soldier looked on uncomfortable at the woman. Her skin and hair looked almost porcelain and she looked on with black doll's eyes. Her mouth remained motionless as she spoke in an icy tone.

A voice came from behind her, "She's busy right now, make an appointment."

She turned to see the man once known as Cable, "I can wait, I have all the time in the world."

Cable tightened his fist, "What do you intend to do when she gets here?"

"I will incinerate her."

Fire then seemed to erupt around the woman and rush toward Cable. He threw up a telekenetic shield to stop it but she appeared beside him and grabbed him by the throat. She then hurled him into a wall and called down more flame. He shot out a blast of telekenetic energy that knocked away the flame and hurled her away.

As she stood Cable noticed her was holding her porcelain like face with a crack in it. Fire seemed to be pouring from the empty space her face once occupied. He looked around the room giving a quick count of its occupants, "Body slide by 8."

Cable along with the guards from the throne room found themselves in the court yard. Cable moved to reenter but the roof over the throne room exploded as a humanoid creature made of fire ripped into the sky dragging the porcelain like body suit behind.

As she landed she poured back into the suit and replaced the cracked mask. She then grabbed a device on her belt. "Ember to command, Danvers was off site. My masked was cracked."

She waited for a moment then heard a reply, "Rendezvous with Zephyr and Stonework asap."

She nodded as she ran her fingers across the crack in her mask, "I require coordinates."

****

David drove as Walker slept, leaning on 7 in the seat. 7 was looking curiously at his scanner to monitor possible Iron soldier activity. David looked over, "What is it?"

"I'm seeing live arc reactors about a quarter of a mile from here but no life signs."

David sighed as slowed, "Which way?"

7 pointed left as David continued, "One of these days your curiosity is gonna kill me."

They drove for a few minutes before stopping. David hopped out as 7 gently laid Walker down in the seat trying not to wake her. David considered it an odd sight but put it out of his mind as they walked on.

7 looked down on several soldiers crushed inside their own armors. He leaned down and yanked out their arcs, "Waste not, want not."

David looked them over, "Let me guess, time traveler?"

7 nodded, "No temporal disturbance but the boot prints over there match some from the goblin camp and there is a similar scent around the place. Stands to reason that its the same man. Seems to have taken a transport meaning we can track them."

David's head dropped, "We're following them, aren't we."

***

What appeared to be a comet crashed down in front of the transport being used by Zephyr and Stonework. They pulled over as Ember walked around to the entrance hatch. Stonework stood to greet her but looked on her mask, "Who has scarred my work?"

She handed him the mask, "A man in Doom's armor tho I suspect not Doom himself."

Zephyr nodded, "Doom has been dead for a while at this point in time."

Stonework waved his hand over the mask to repair it and handed it back to Ember, "I'll have to have a talk with this man."

Zephyr rolled his eyes, "Always so touchy about your work."

Ember placed a hand on Stonework's face causing him a twinge of pain from the heat as she spoke, "All in due time."

He grinned, "Of course."

(To be continued)

Contnued from here Chapter 13

Many years ago

A young girl sits terrified as the assassin known as Scalphunter flips over the bed she hid under. Her mother laid on the floor, her throat slashed open as he looks down and smiles, "Ahh, kiddo. Under the bed? Really? Its just a bit cliche'."

He twirls his sword in one hand and holds a gun in the other, "Eeny, meany, miney, mo, catch a spider by the..."

He stops as a blade erupts from his chest and looks back, "Jeez, Gumi, You're just so damned impatient."

The woman behind him twisted the blade and ripped it out as Scalphunter swung his toward her neck. Nugumi Takada dodged but Scalphunter shot her in the hip then aimed at her head. He was stopped as a chair was slammed into his head by the frightened girl.

He fell to the floor and turned the gun to the girl. A woman seemed to appear from the shadows and kicked him hard in the face. She then grabbed Ngumi and the girl and pulled them into the shadows to escape. When they arrived at a camp the woman called Sable looked down on the girl, "You got a name, kid?"

The girl nodded, "Its Beth."

***

Now

Walker arrives at a Goblin camp along with David and 7. She stared at the contorted faces of the goblins who'd apparently died screaming as stone ripped from their flesh, "What the stark happened here?"

7 leaned down and looked curiously at rock fused with organic tissue, "Seems like someone created these stones inside them. It was not a quick death."

David leaned down, "Do we know anyone who's a capable of that?"

7 shrugged, "A few but most of them would require time to pull it off, this looks like it happened quickly and without any kind of fight."

7 was then distracted by the scanner on his gauntlet. Walker looked to him, "What is it?"

He pulled up a holo-screen, "A temporal disturbance."

"A what?"

He sighed, "A time traveler was here."

David looked over, "Doesn't seem like the Traveler's style."

"Readings aren't strong enough for him."

****

Mutant resistance camp

A tall, slender man appears in a flash of light among the inhabitants. He pulled a communication device from his belt, "Zephyr to Command, contact imminent."

He turned to look on the leader of the camp, "Are you the one called Exodus?"

The man nodded but then felt his breath leave him. He fell over and began to panic as he tried to breath but no air would come. As he lost consciousness he reverted to the natural form of the shape shifting mutant who was impersonating Exodus. Zephyr sighed, "Zephyr to Command, He used a decoy. I'll report back when I find him."

The camp of angry mutants rushed toward Zephyr but a strange blast of wind stopped them. The wind shredded them like a mass of blades. Zephyr then rose into the air and was gone.

***

Iron Army outpost

The man called Stonework walks up to several armored soldiers, "I require transport."

One of the men chuckled as he raised a repulser, "I-Dent, now."

Stonework gave him a cold look, "Metal is nothing more than refined stone."

He then clinched his fist causing the armors to crush down killing the soldiers inside as he walked to their troop transport.

****

Back at the Goblin camp 7 and David finish their search for any supplies they found useful as Beth pulls up, "Found a gassed up truck, If you boys are done I'd like to get the hell out of here before Krangs catch the scent of whats left of the goblins.

***

As Stonework drove the transport toward his objective air coalesced into the form of a man. Stonework looked over, "I see the mission has been further complicated."

Zephyr dropped down into the co pilot seat, "A hello wouldn't be too difficult."

Stonework sighed and rolled his eyes, "Hello. Why are you here?"

I was side tracked by a decoy so I was ordered to rendezvous with you, the rest of the team have yet to arrive because of the interference present in this era. It staggered us a bit."

***

As David slept 7 and Beth drove along listening to music when suddenly 7 told her to stop. He hopped out of the truck and followed the scent of blood to a mutant resistance camp. He looked down on the shredded remains of the people at the camp. Beth came up behind him and looked on in horror.

(To be continued)

Many years ago

A 14 year old Beth Walker lays on the ground holding her ribs in pain as the woman called Deathstrike stands above her ordering, "Get off your ass Sparkplug."

Silver Sable looks over, "Ease up, Ngumi. She's just a kid."

Ngumi keeps her eyes on Walker, "If we coddle her she won't learn a damn thing."

Sable begins to speak but Walker sits up and glares, "I can handle it."

Beth then stands and spits out some blood and raises her knives and takes the stance Ngumi showed her. Ngumi's eyes narrow as she lifts her sword, "Come on, we don't have all day."

Beth charged at her angrily slashing toward Deathstrike as she calmly blocked all her strikes, "That the best you have, kid?"

Beth nearly snarled as blue energy surrounded her blades. Ngumi's sword broke as the energy hit the blade and Walker went for her throat in frustrated rage. Ngumi dodged and grabbed her arm and bent it behind her back forcing her to drop the blades, "Its about damn time Sparkplug."

Beth struggled futilely to get herself free but Ngumi held firm. Sable sighed and started to move toward them but the woman called Domino stopped her, "The kid needs this."

As Beth dropped to her knees Ngumi asked, "What do you see?"

Beth put her hand down and grabbed a fist full of sand, she then hurled it in Ngumi's eyes. Ngumi released and Beth grabbed her arm and flipped her over to the ground. Ngumi smiled, "That's my girl."

Beth dropped to the ground, "When are you going to quit holding back on me?"

Ngumi sat up, "You aren't ready for that by a long shot."

***

Now, Wilds of Colorado

David Hardy leans on a tree huffing as he looks on Walker running in place, "This is how Shield agents spend their down time?"

She nods, "Gotta keep your strength up. You get weak, you die. How do you keep in shape?"

He shrugs, "Mostly with the running for my life thing."

She then looks to 7, "You don't feel the need to work out?"

He continued tinkering,"No."

***

Several miles away at a Goblin camp a beast of a man appears in a flash of light. He pays no attention to the surprised Goblins as he began to walk. He hears them lift their guns as one speaks, "Wrong place, mutant."

He looks back, "Mutant? Such a primitive term."

He then suddenly appears before the man who spoke and grabs him by the throat lifting him in the air. The man started convulse in pain as the massive man calmly held him. The other goblins were shocked as the man seemed to begin swelling. Stone started ripping out of his flesh as the mutant dropped him. As he writhed in agony on the ground his attacker leaned down and the rest of the goblins fell over in pain as the various minerals in their bodies began to solidify and expand.

He calmly explained, "One should never threaten a stranger without cause."

He then leisurely strolled away from the camp.

***

Hours later

Beth was filling a canteen from a stream as she noticed the massive man a few yards from her scooping some water up before taking a drink. He looked to her and spoke, "Could you tell me where I am?"

She shrugged, "Colorado, I think. Sorry I can't be more specific."

He sighed to himself, "Coordinates were off a bit."

She was curious about that but he was gone before she could ask any questions.

Back at their camp David was laying on the ground as he spoke to 7, "Next time I agree to Walker's work out, I want you to slap me really hard."

7 nodded, "Just remember you asked for it."

***

The large mutant sits on a fallen log and pulls a communication device from his belt, "Stonework to command, Coordinates were off by a few dozen miles, I will attempt to obtain means of transport."

(To be continued)

(Sorry this chapter is a bit weak, just needed to establish some things.)

Many years ago

A 14 year old Beth Walker lays on the ground holding her ribs in pain as the woman called Deathstrike stands above her ordering, "Get off your ass Sparkplug."

Silver Sable looks over, "Ease up, Ngumi. She's just a kid."

Ngumi keeps her eyes on Walker, "If we coddle her she won't learn a damn thing."

Sable begins to speak but Walker sits up and glares, "I can handle it."

Beth then stands and spits out some blood and raises her knives and takes the stance Ngumi showed her. Ngumi's eyes narrow as she lifts her sword, "Come on, we don't have all day."

Beth charged at her angrily slashing toward Deathstrike as she calmly blocked all her strikes, "That the best you have, kid?"

Beth nearly snarled as blue energy surrounded her blades. Ngumi's sword broke as the energy hit the blade and Walker went for her throat in frustrated rage. Ngumi dodged and grabbed her arm and bent it behind her back forcing her to drop the blades, "Its about damn time Sparkplug."

Beth struggled futilely to get herself free but Ngumi held firm. Sable sighed and started to move toward them but the woman called Domino stopped her, "The kid needs this."

As Beth dropped to her knees Ngumi asked, "What do you see?"

Beth put her hand down and grabbed a fist full of sand, she then hurled it in Ngumi's eyes. Ngumi released and Beth grabbed her arm and flipped her over to the ground. Ngumi smiled, "That's my girl."

Beth dropped to the ground, "When are you going to quit holding back on me?"

Ngumi sat up, "You aren't ready for that by a long shot."

***

Now, Wilds of Colorado

David Hardy leans on a tree huffing as he looks on Walker running in place, "This is how Shield agents spend their down time?"

She nods, "Gotta keep your strength up. You get weak, you die. How do you keep in shape?"

He shrugs, "Mostly with the running for my life thing."

She then looks to 7, "You don't feel the need to work out?"

He continued tinkering,"No."

***

Several miles away at a Goblin camp a beast of a man appears in a flash of light. He pays no attention to the surprised Goblins as he began to walk. He hears them lift their guns as one speaks, "Wrong place, mutant."

He looks back, "Mutant? Such a primitive term."

He then suddenly appears before the man who spoke and grabs him by the throat lifting him in the air. The man started convulse in pain as the massive man calmly held him. The other goblins were shocked as the man seemed to begin swelling. Stone started ripping out of his flesh as the mutant dropped him. As he writhed in agony on the ground his attacker leaned down and the rest of the goblins fell over in pain as the various minerals in their bodies began to solidify and expand.

He calmly explained, "One should never threaten a stranger without cause."

He then leisurely strolled away from the camp.

***

Hours later

Beth was filling a canteen from a stream as she noticed the massive man a few yards from her scooping some water up before taking a drink. He looked to her and spoke, "Could you tell me where I am?"

She shrugged, "Colorado, I think. Sorry I can't be more specific."

He sighed to himself, "Coordinates were off a bit."

She was curious about that but he was gone before she could ask any questions.

Back at their camp David was laying on the ground as he spoke to 7, "Next time I agree to Walker's work out, I want you to slap me really hard."

7 nodded, "Just remember you asked for it."

***

The large mutant sits on a fallen log and pulls a communication device from his belt, "Stonework to command, Coordinates were off by a few dozen miles, I will attempt to obtain means of transport."

(To be continued)

(Sorry this chapter is a bit weak, just needed to establish some things.)