Chapter 20

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Just a quick Thank You to everyone who enjoyed the last chapter! I'm glad it lived up to expectations!

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Once Loki had been put in cuffs and the Cube retrieved, the Scepter having mysteriously vanished once the portal closed, things went back to relative normal.

By normal, I mean Stark and the Avengers were looking at me and my team on ground floor and we were all surrounded by SHIELD. Standing off to one side was a man wearing a dark green version of the Atlas 2.0 armor. Explosives at the waist and a pouch at his side. If I was right, then I knew who was wearing it. Standing beside him was the Fantastic Four.

"Now that we've got the business out of the way, who the hell are you?" Stark asks me, wearing his half broken suit of armor. The six hour invasion had done some serious damage and had taken its toll. Stark's suit was nearly busted, missing part of his leg armor, Stark was walking with a noticeable limp along with several gashes that spanned his chest, arms, and back. Not to mention the pit marks and dents made by being shot by the Chitauri energy weapons.

Captain America looked worse for wear himself, sporting a torn costume and holding his left arm close to his body. His helmet was missing and it looked like he had a small graze on the side of his head, cutting off a strip of hair.

Widow and Hawkeye were surprisingly fine. Hawkeye was out of arrows and his bow had broken sometime during the middle of the battle, but the only visible wound he had was a shallow cut on his arm and a tear on his pant leg. Widow on the other hand had a cut on her leg and was using a Chitauri rifle as a crutch.

Thor was the best out of all of them, though he seemed mentally exhausted. His head was hung low, his hammer held loosely in his hand, and his eyes seemed to show his age.

Spider-Man was fine. Tired, but his suit kept him safe, as it was designed.

Hulk on the other hand was glancing between me, Abomination, and Abomination's new weapon, no physical wound on his body.

The Fantastic Four were relatively unharmed. Their unique abilities providing them their protection during the fight, though they all stood with a weary look about them.

My team however had fared the best. Killmonger of course had been stabbed through the chest, but he had regenerated, only the tear in his suit showing his wound. Blink had stayed out of most of the fight, staying at a distance and using her portals to cause havoc on the battlefield, so she received minimal, if any, injuries. Ghost had stayed away from the battle entirely, stealing the Scepter, taking a sample of Loki's blood, and taking out a few Chitauri where she could. Abomination fared the best, even gaining himself a new weapon, one he used extremely efficiently as he tore through the Chitauri and the Leviathans like they were insects.

I received no injuries whatsoever. A perk to being nigh indestructible.

"And I'd like to know why you've got one of SHIELD's AWOL Agents and a Mass Murderer standing behind you. One that had recently broken out of a high security prison?" Fury says, having taken a helicopter to enter the warzone shortly after the portal closed.

"You may call me Ra. My team and I work under Alexander Osborn and Alchemax to protect protect his interests from potential threats." I reply calmly, my hands resting easy at my side. Once my team sees this, they slowly start relaxing as well, though Blonski refuses to let go of his new toy. "Mr. Blonski was found running from various forces attempting to recapture him, my employer wished to offer him a job in exchange for the chance to study him. During these studies, it was revealed that he had a chemical imbalance in his brain that caused his violent outbursts and power lust. The addition of the Hulk's Gamma Irradiated Blood simply enhanced his already chemically imbalanced brain and forced him into a power high of sorts. Instead of dealing with those issues however, SHIELD simply put him on Ice, thus preventing him from recovering. After breaking free, his mental state slowly returned to a more manageable state and my employer is working on a cure for Mr. Blonski's chemical imbalance, something that is already correcting itself, so the cure would end up speeding the process along."

Gesturing towards Ava, I continued.

"Doctor Osborn approached Dr. Bill Foster for assistance on quantum tunneling. Their work opened up a branch of science that Dr. Foster hoped would cure Ghost of her affliction at a rate far quicker than SHIELD. She came of her own violation."

I could see Norman, who else could it be under the mask, glancing between me and Fury. Maybe he could tell I was actually his son? Maybe not. In the end though, it didn't really matter.

"You are harboring a fugitive." Fury replies, "And Ghost went AWOL. Both will be brought under SHIELD Custody immediately."

"One was a mentally unstable individual who was wrongfully imprisoned due to him not being in control of his own actions at the time of his rampage through Harlem. Besides that, it was Ross who had coerced Blonski into taking the original formula. Ghost was being held hostage by SHIELD until such a time as there was no more need for her or her abilities killed her. She found an option that would hopefully cure her within the next year. Completely ignoring that reasoning however, They are heroes for fighting in the Invasion against the Chitauri." I interject.

"Enough." Captain America cuts in with a sigh. "There has been enough fighting for one day. Fury, they did fight alongside us during the fight, and I would gladly fight by their side again should another conflict arise, but right now none of us are in any condition to drag this into a fight."

"I'm still wondering why Bug Bear over there named himself after the Egyptian god of the sun." Stark snarked.

"Verily, when one takes the name of a god and uses it as their own, there are often repercussions if the being is not worthy." Thor replies

"Then let us hope I am worthy." I reply immediately before glancing at the News crews that were slowly starting to surround us. Perfect.

Stepping forward, I casually step by Stark and stand in front of Stark Tower, in front of the News Crews keeping an eye on us.

"I'm assuming this is live?" I ask the nearest reporter, a blond woman.

After receiving a nod, I smile and continue.

"People of New York and Planet Earth!" I boom. "Today we have faced tragedy. Do not be fooled, this was not a cover up, this is not a conspiracy, this is not a bunch of cameras and fancy editing. This is real, and if you don't believe me, ask the people of New York, the people who have been forced from their homes as they watched aliens attack their city. Ask the people who had to watch as creatures from another planet came in and struck when we least expected it."

Making sure that the cameras were on me and that Fury or the Avengers weren't planning on stopping me, I continue.

"We are not alone in the Universe. The question that so many of us have wondered has been answered. 'Are we alone in the Universe?' 'Is there life out there?' The answer has been given to us in the form of war. We are not alone, and we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned. Alchemax sees this and wants to offer a solution. Partnering with Toomes Salvaging Company, Alchemax will be taking the Extra-Terrestrial technology and reverse engineering it so that humanity may have a fighting chance should the threat return."

"Excuse me, Mr…"

"Ra."

"Ra…" The reporter continues. "But you make it sound as if there are more aliens than just the Chitauri. Do they all wish to conquer us? Or are there some friendly faces out there?"

"I would like to assume that there are races out there that have no quarrel with earth." Glancing back at Thor for assurance, I gesture for him to join us. "This is Thor Odinson. Our resident Extra Terrestrial expert considering he's not from Earth."

"Ra is correct." Thor says. "Asgard has no quarrel with earth, nor do the realms under Asgards protection. To most species of the galaxy, earth is considered… no offense intended, too primitive to be of any notice."

"So you're saying that by reverse engineering the Chitauri technology, we'd be painting a target on our backs?"

"I think we've already got a target on our backs." a voice says. Turning to look at the Green Goblin lookalike, he walks up to us and continues. "We've been attacked by an alien force and we fought back. We survived. That shows the galaxy that we mean business. Thor's people may not have a quarrel with Earth, but as we've seen today, there are species out there who would be more than willing to fight us. By reverse engineering the Chitauri technology, we'd just be giving humanity a fighting chance."

"And who are you?" another reporter asks.

Pressing a button on the side of his helmet, the glass retracts to reveal…

God damn it Dad.

"After seeing Mr. Stark take up the suit, I knew that I needed to do the same. Earth needs more heroes. Heroes who can fight back against threats like we faced today. Oscorp would like to officially partner with Alchemax in the defense against extraterrestrial threats." sticking his hand out to me to shake, I merely raise an eyebrow before nodding, engulfing his hand in mine and gently shaking."

Hearing a sigh from behind us, we turn to see Stark limping away from Fury and towards us.

"Ugh, if Oscorp and Alchemax is having a science bro team up, then Stark Industries would like to officially extend an offer of partnership towards Alchemax and Oscorp in order to work on the alien technology."

"I will have to speak with Dr. Osborn before we can finalize anything, but I'm sure he would be ecstatic at the prospect." I reply.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ra. What is your team called? We have the Avengers and the Fantastic Four here, but what do we call you all?"

"You can call us, The Sentinels."

Smiling for the cameras and shaking Iron Man's and Dad's hands, we answer any questions the News crews had before adjourning to our own homes, bases, or otherwise to rest and recuperate.

Besides that, I had a certain green skinned alien to convert.

/

After Blink portals us out and I give a round of well done to the team, I change clothes from my armor to a pair of jeans and a tank top and create a portal to the cell holding Gamora.

Since the cell itself was designed for Killmonger on the off chance that I needed to keep him out of the way, it was built four feet thick of solid Titanium with no windows, a small light, and a bed.

Not to mention the traps and security measures should they escape.

So, opening the heavy door, I am greeted with a ringing in my skull and a sword aimed at my heart.

Catching the blade, I wrench it from her grasp and toss it aside only for a ringing in my skull to warn me of a slightly smaller blade aiming at my throat. Tilting my head aside, I swat that blade from her hand only for an even smaller blade, the red switchblade given to her by Thanos, stabs me in the chest.

Gently wrapping my hand around hers, I pull the knife from my chest and lift her up by her arm.

"Okay, for starters, love the tenacity, but was stabbing me really necessary?" I ask. Shrugging, I shake my head. "Never mind that, I did kidnap you. Stabbing me is somewhat justified."

Conjuring a table and some cushioned chairs, I very purposely dropped her in her chair and manipulated the chair arms to wrap around her, pinning her to the chair.

"Magic. Love it or hate it, it has its uses." I say as I relax on my chair. "Now, Gamora. Child of Thanos, Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy. How are you?"

Before she could respond, I continue.

"Before you answer that, I should probably apologize about the kidnapping. That was bad form on my part and probably entirely unnecessary, but I couldn't really risk you getting injured on the battlefield or worse, getting killed."

"Why do you care about my health?" She spits at me. "Give me the chance and I will rip your intestines out and strangle you with them."

"Disregarding the sheer impossibility of that statement for reasons you aren't aware of, let's get down to answering your question and why you aren't dead." I reply. "Simply put, you are useful towards my plans."

"You think Thanos won't come for me? His Black Order will return and decimate this pathetic excuse for a planet to rescue me." She snarls.

"The last member of the Black Order that faced me ended up dead." I shrug. "Tall, pale, gangly looking telekinetic? He was a bit of an asshole."

"You killed The Maw?" she asks, eyes wide as she looks at me before schooling her face to indifference. "A pity, but the rest of the Order will still come to save me."

"Corvus Glaive was severely injured by one of my men, burned part of his face off. Proxima Midnight was thrown from the side of a building, so if she isn't dead, she is surely recovering, and Cull Obsidian was killed by his own hammer thanks to one of my men." I list. "So I highly doubt the Order is in any condition to launch a rescue mission."

"You lie! The Black Order are Thanos's finest, Thanos's Children. Earth doesn't have anyone capable of defeating them!"

"Would you stop the act, Gamora." I sigh. "We both know you hate Thanos and want out from under his thumb. I'm offering you a mutually beneficial deal that ends in Thanos's death. A way to finally stop his plan of collecting the Infinity Stones."

"The only way you could stop Thanos from retrieving the Stones would be to retrieve the stones yourself before he gets the chance, and you don't even know where they are!" She yells as she struggles in her chair. "So stop lying and release me this instant!"

"The Space Stone is on its way to Asgard for safe keeping, the Mind Stone is within my grasp, the Reality Stone is currently in an unreachable location, hidden by the prior King of Asgard. The Power Stone is on Morag, the Time Stone is being guarded by our planets mystics, and the Soul Stone is on Vormir." I reply. "The biggest issue in getting them is simply that they are being protected and watched or they have some sort of test or guardian that defends them"

"You know the locations of the stones?" She whispers, staring at me. "But how!? Even Thanos doesn't know where they all are?"

"I know things. So, Gamora, will you join me? Or are you just going to keep trying to kill me? I want Thanos dead, just like you. At this point it's your choice. Join me and help me kill Thanos, or you will be returned to your Cell and stay there until Thanos dies. At which point you will be released and be free to do whatever you wish."

"How do you know I won't betray you?"

"Because you won't survive the attempt." I promise before offering my hand to shake, her chair releasing her from its grip. "Now, do we have an agreement? A mutual agreement to prevent Thanos from taking the stones and eradicating half of all life in the galaxy?"

Glancing at her fallen swords and the arms of her chair, she eventually nods her head and grabs my hand, my own engulfing hers as we shake.

"Alright, with that out of the way, collect your weapons and we can meet your new team." I say as I create a portal to base. "Please try to not kill any of your teammates. They can be assholes, but they are needed for now."

Grabbing her swords and switchblade, she eyes the portal with suspicion before stepping through, checking herself before glancing back at me.

Stepping through the portal myself, I close it behind me and walk over to the P.A. system.

"Attention Sentinels, before you go and get too busy partying, I've got someone for you to meet." My voice echoes through the facility.

Motioning for her to wait a moment, I simply stand and wait for the team to arrive.

After a few minutes, they began to arrive, Blonski and Clarice first with Sarah sitting precariously on his left shoulder, Ava next wearing a regular tank top and sweats, her quantum stabilizing jewelry on full display. Next came Erik wearing a pair of faded jeans, a band t-shirt, and a denim jacket, kind of like what he wears at the British museum in Black Panther.

However once they saw Gamora, they were instantly in combat mode.

Blonski gently passed Marrow to Blink and stood in front of them, Killmonger getting into a combat pose and Ava turning invisible.

"Hold it, everyone. She's an ally." I quickly intervene. "She was working for Thanos against her will. She will be assisting us in forming a defense in case something like that were to happen again."

Slowly they calmed back down, though they stayed wary.

"Ain't that the chick you kidnapped?" Erik asks as he points at her.

"Yes she is, and I will allow her to introduce herself. In the meantime..." I say as I gesture for them to introduce themselves.

"Erik Stevens. Codename: Bronze Tiger, though Killmonger works fine too." He introduces himself after realizing the others were hesitating.

"Ava Starr. Codename: Ghost."

"Emil Blonski. Abomination." He rumbles.

"Clarice Ferguson. You can call me Blink though."

"My name's Sarah Rushman. You can call me Marrow if you want."

After everyone introduced themselves, I shrug. "And I'm known as Alexander Osborn, but you can call me Ra in this form."

Saying that, I shift back into human form and gesture for Erik to follow me.

"Everyone get acquainted, I need to speak with Erik for a moment."

With that, we walked to my office and let the rest of the team get acquainted with Gamora.

/

"Sit, please." I say as I gesture across my desk towards his chair, the wards in my office activating once the door shuts.

"What's this about?" He asks, resolutely ignoring the seat offered.

"Future plans, stuff I feel you should be privy to due to your future involvement in said plans." I reply. "Is that alright or would you rather me just throw you into the situation with no prep time?"

Scowling at me, he sits in the chair and reclines.

"Thank you." I sigh before creating magical illusions of the scepter and the Tesseract along with the face of Thanos. "The being who sent the invasion is an intergalactic warlord named Thanos. Many people call him The Mad Titan. He sent the invasion down because of a deal with Loki, Earth for the Tesseract. Obviously Loki failed and Thanos doesn't have the Tesseract or Loki's fancy walking stick. Now, the reason Thanos wanted the Tesseract and the walking stick back is because they are actually containers."

No longer reclining, he leans forward in his seat to stare at Thanos's face. "Containers for what?"

"Cosmic Ingots of Reality." I reply, shifting my hands, Thanos's face split and shifted into the other containers of the Stones. Each one in a loop of them opening. The Soul Stone one showing a picture of Vormir.

"Each stone by themselves possess absolute control over a fragment of reality. The Tesseract houses the Stone meant to control Space. The wielder of that stone could theoretically travel light years in an instant. They could teleport, they could move space, fold it onto itself, etcetera. Due to the cosmic energies flowing from it, it can also, like its brethren, be used as an energy source." I explain to the superhuman. "The Scepter holds the Mind Stone. The Orb holds the Power Stone, that one is capable of blowing up planets, the amulet holds the Time Stone, the stone pillar holds the Reality Stone, and the planet holds the Soul Stone. Alone they are planetary threats. United they could wipe out all life in the entire universe with a snap. Thanos wants them so as to wipe out half of all life so as to create some sort of balance. Keep supply of food and nourishment equal with demand. It's kind of stupid, but that is what he wants. My plan is to stop him, however two of the stones are in space. One is heading to Asgard, two are on Earth, and one is in an undisclosed location and will find its way to Asgard and then outer space withing the next year or so."

Before he can speak, I continue, shifting the illusions to show Groot, Rocket, Star Lord, Valkyrie, and Yondu.

"Now, to the part where you come in. Stark Industries, Alchemax, and Oscorp will be developing working spacecrafts so as to develop a space based armada capable of protecting Earth. I feel as if that won't be enough. So besides that, I will be sending a team into space to collect certain individuals for me while I deal with the bureaucracy and paperwork here on Earth."

"And you want me on that team?" He asks as the eyes the illusion.

"I want the Sentinels to be that team, plus Gamora acting as your guide. Each individual possesses skills, knowledge, and firepower that we will need in the upcoming fight against Thanos. He will return, but next time he will come himself with an even larger army. He will return with his children we didn't kill and he will come in force. We need to be ready for when that day comes."

"You said some of the rocks were in space? Why aren't we going after them?" Erik asks as he crosses his arms at me.

"One of them would burn you alive with the sheer power it produces should you touch it and is protected by a near impenetrable force field similar to what was guarding the Tesseract. The second, the Soul Stone, requires a sacrifice. A soul for a soul. In order to get the Soul Stone you must sacrifice someone that you love in order to get it. I'm not doing that. I'm not forcing any of you to do that. If Thanos somehow gets it than he gets it, but the rest of them I can get rather easily within the span of a few years." I explain. "However, to get back on track, the first prototype spacecraft will take several months to design and produce. In that time period, I will be sending the Sentinels to Wakanda."

"Finally." he scoffs.

"The Stones can not be held bare handed by normal humans. I'm hoping my own augmentations will allow me to do so, but I'm not betting on it. Hence my sudden focus on Wakanda, or more importantly, Vibranium." I explain. "Originally I was going to use the Adamantium to create a device that would allow me to use the stones without killing myself, but unfortunately, Adamantium simply doesn't have the energy absorbing properties I need. Vibranium however… Vibranium would allow me to create such a device."

"And you're going to steal it from Wakanda?" He frowns.

"No. I'm stealing it from the man who stole it from Wakanda. Ulysses Klau. He has a stash of Vibranium he stole in the eighties, I think. He also knows the way in and out." I reply. "However, I am absolutely clueless as to how to mold and use it to its full capacity, so while you confront King T'Chaka in the throne room, Ghost will be breaking into the lab and copying the databanks of all their information regarding their research on Vibranium and how to use it to its fullest potential as opposed to simply making a glorified frisbee."

"So you're using me as a distraction?" He asks. "Not bad, and I guess we're using Klau to get into Wakanda?"

"They've been hunting him for thirty years, imagine the justice of you bringing him before the King, showing him that you could do what they've taken decades to do." I shrug. "Obviously, I would like you to stay on as part of the team, but if you decide to stay in Wakanda as the new management, I won't stop you. I just ask that we keep an alliance until Thanos has been defeated."

"I guess we'll see when we get that far." He shrugs. "Now, I need you to tell me something, and I don't want no bullshit. How in the hell do you know all this shit?"

With a grin, I tell him my story.

Something I needed to do with the rest of the team as well.

/

Later that night, it was already late when I introduced the team to Gamora and my talk with Erik took a few hours at that, so around midnight, I finally found myself back at my penthouse.

"God, what a day..." I groan as I open the door and flip some lights on. I wasn't necessarily tired physically, but mentally… God…

As I opened the fridge to grab a soda, an inflatable octopus arm reaches by me and grabs a Sprite.

"Hey, Olivia… it's late, shouldn't you be at home?" I ask as I turn to face her, popping the lid off the bottle and taking a swig of the root beer. Sitting at my dining table, she seemed to be contemplating something.

"I… I came to apologize. I didn't want to wait til tomorrow, so I used the key you gave me back before we started on the Oz Formula… The point is, I was wrong. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did when you told me the truth. I thought you were lying to me and I should have trusted you."

"Thank you, Olivia. That means a lot to hear you say." I reply as I sip at my soda. "You'll find it funny though, I told Erik what I told you and he looked at me like I was absolutely insane. It wasn't until I pointed out the aliens that he really started taking my word for it."

Chuckling slightly, she sighs before standing up.

"There was one other thing I wanted to tell you before I lost my nerve." She says as she walks closer to me until we stood almost nose to nose, her arms lifting her into the air until we were at eye level with each other.

"Umm…? What's up?" I ask as I slowly lean back until my back hit the fridge door. And then suddenly she leaned in and kissed me.

And I, the dumb fool that I was, froze before she pulled back and smiled.

"Goodnight, Alex."

"I...Uhh… ummm..." I stumbled over my words as my grip on my soda bottle and reality seemed to slip.

With a small smile and a chuckle, Olivia Octavius seemingly floated from my penthouse leaving me a stuttering mess with a broken bottle and root beer all over the floor.

What just happened?

/

AND THAT IS THAT! We get a few things wrapped up, Gamora joins the team, Alex brings Killmonger and soon his team into the fold, they will be going for Wakanda soon and boy howdy do i have a plan for that trip…

Then SPACE!

And Olivia kissed Alex.

Anyway! ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Hope you enjoy!

The Nameless Scribe!