J.L.Avengers#4

[Wonderphoenix]

Justice League Avengers #4

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The Skrull Invasion of Earth
Part IV: Massive Strike

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Written by: Kyle Jones (Wonderphoenix) & Co-plotted and scene assist by Luke Nester (Pyrceval)
Edited by: Kyle Jones (Wonderphoenix)




Earth’s Orbit
Aboard an invisible spherical ship . . .



“We shall do something,” one entity said as he watched the Skrull Armada descending toward the planet. He stood there wearing a silver harness which covered his chest and opened to allow his neck, shoulders, and arms to move freely. His lower body was covered as well with the silver metal – creating something like a protective skirt with a golden gem in the middle– while armored pads extended from his shoulders. Draped down his back was a floor length cape of royal purple. On each arm he wore golden gauntlets and golden boots on each foot. “The Earth is falling to the invaders.” He turned to the other. “If we wait much longer, it will be too late.”

This other entity didn’t wear the same garb as did his companion. Instead, he wore a simple white robe with a bright blue cape. This cape, instead of draping down his back, began as an accessory behind his oversized head and was then thrown over the shoulder. The entity held the cape by wrapping it around his right arm. With visible annoyance, he looked at the other. “You know we are not to interfere but only to record the events. That is how it has always been.”

The other entity looked back at the planet and then to the other. “No, that is where you are wrong. It is your race that will not interfere. While we do monitor and record history, my people are not limited by your beliefs. You continue to stand there and watch while one of the most important planets in this universe falls before its prime. I, on the other, shall take action.” With that, the entity pressed a button on his left gauntlet and disappeared.

[Wonderphoenix]

The United Nations




Superman, Wonder Woman and President Ross walked into the room to face Tony Blair and the Secretary General. Another man, dressed as if he had just stepped out of the 1940s, sat quietly in the back typing away on a laptop.

“Your Highness,” Blair said. “It is my honor to meet you.”

Wonder Woman nodded. “Please, I am not on the island. You may call me Diana.”

President Ross looked around the room as if to be looking for someone. “Where is the Black Panther?”

Blair and Ki-Moon looked at each other. But, before either could respond, the man in the back spoke up. “He’s gone to finally start doing something about what is going on out there.”

“And you are?” President Ross asked coldly.

The man stood, smiled wryly, and approached the President. “Captain Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness…along with all of Torchwood…at your service.”

[Wonderphoenix]

Denver, Colorado




The Skrull ground troops were taking to the streets causing people to stay locked in both businesses and homes. Yet, two teenagers stood vigilant as they awaited the approaching army. The girl, dressed in nothing more than a white bodysuit, began to summersault in their direction. As she did, “knives” of white light darted from her fingers hitting several front line Skrulls. Once hit, they collapsed in shock.

The order was given to retaliate.

The young girl, her white hair flowing in the wind, ran behind her partner. He wore a blue stripped garment that covered both his head and his entire body. He was, very simply, cloaked. As the Skrulls began firing, the young man appeared to raise his arms under the cloak. As he did, the fabric seemed to grow and flow toward his attackers. For those who looked at him approaching, they only saw darkness beneath where a body should have been.

The young man’s cloak consumed several dozen before the order to retreat was given. He grimaced and pain and turned to his friend.

“Don’t worry, Tyrone,” she said. “I’ll help.” She closed her eyes and began firing the light into the darkness as the Skrulls trapped inside began to reappear only to run away horrified. Then, the garment returned to the size it was before. The girl looked at people peeking out from behind closed doors and windows and could only wonder if they feared her and her partner as much as the aliens. She again looked at her partner.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Sure,” she replied. The garment began to wrap around them both and then disappeared.

[Wonderphoenix]

Latveria
Castle Doom



“Your Majesty,” the servant spoke.

The man sitting on the throne looked at the servant. “Yes?”

“There is a call from Lex Luthor asking if you are in need.”

The man stood…his emerald cape dragging the floor. “DOOM REQUIRES NO ASSISTANCE!” He slammed his armored fist on the side table causing a bottle of wine to fall to floor and spill onto the floor. The servant rushed quickly to clean it. “He would dare contact me now? Such insolence!”

“What should I say?”

“Say nothing and terminate the call.” The other servant who entered behind the first exited so as to allow the other to finish cleaning the spill. “It is all becuase of these mindless aliens that Richards and his annoying experiments most likely alerted!”

The servant, having finished cleaning, began to walk out of the room after bowing to Doom.

BLAST!

The servant fell to the floor dead. Smoke billowed from the burns on his back caused by the heat beam.

“That is for speaking to Doom before Doom speaks to you!”

[Wonderphoenix]

Keystone City




Wally West has been called both The Flash and The Fastest Man Alive. Well, not just Wally. His Uncle Barry went by those titles as well as his Uncle Barry’s mentor, and the original Flash, Jay Garrick. As he ran through the streets – appearing to most as nothing more than a red and yellow blur – he took out several Skrull troops before they had time to act.

Wally noticed the ground troops returning to their ships in confusion as to how they were being basically beat up by a foe they could not catch or even see. He continued to race through them as they began to run. All were soon back onboard their ships which began to ignite and lift off.

Good! He thought. That might have done the trick. However, wait. What are they doing now? Oh, hell!

The ships began firing laser cannons instead of returning to orbit as The Flash had assumed.

What the hell am I going to do now?

Even running at super speed, Wally felt a breeze rush by his face and noticed a blue and white blur shoot by. Wally slowed and saw his old partner and former fellow Kid Flash, running with him.

“Need help?” the man said.

“Sure,” Wally replied, “If you can still keep up.”

“When haven’t I beaten you?” the man laughed. “It’s only because I wanted my own name that you are able to call yourself Flash today. They don’t call me Quicksilver for nothing!”

The two men – both friends and rivals – began running in circles so to create a wind funnel that began disturbing the ships’ ability to fly. They, then, began to ascend back into space while the two then began running to the next town, Central City, to begin helping there.

[Wonderphoenix]

The United Nations




“Captain Harkness,” President Ross, still annoyed, stated. “I know who Torchwood is but you have no authority here. The Justice Resolution must be followed.”

Blair put his hand on Ross’s shoulder. “Peter, we’ve been friends for several years and we mean no disrespect to either you or to the Office of the President.” He sighed. “We just couldn’t wait on you and Superman any longer to find the former hero…who we know now to be Wonder Woman…to return and finish the resolution. Right now, at this very moment, T’Challa is leading a gathering of heroes against the invaders.”

“Where?” Superman asked.

“Metropolis.”

Superman didn’t speak. He simply turned, exited, and – faster than a speeding bullet – flew toward his home city.

“Well, that went off peachy,” Captain Harkness commented. “Princess? Would you care to join me?” Captain Harkness reached into the left pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a round object with worn leather straps on either side. “We can be there before Superman.”

Wonder Woman reluctantly took the Captain’s hand who, immediately, pressed the center button of the device and both simply disappeared.

[Wonderphoenix]

Buchanan, New York




All he had sought was peace, and now…now war had found its way to him. He heard the commotion outside, as the aliens moved down the suburban street. He rubbed a hand over his stubble covered face as he shook his head. His room, situated above the garage of the typical suburban home, was nearly bare. A small bed, an old television on his lone table and a small chair were all that adorned the room.

He still wore his gray-blue uniform pants, and with a grumbling curse he stood and grabbed the matching shirt from his bed, dropping the open can of beans and the half empty bottle of Jack Daniels to the floor as well. Above the left pocket of the shirt hung a badge declaring him private security for the nearby Indian Point nuclear reactor. The name badge below declared him to be E. Redd. Before he stepped outside, he removed his special wrap-around glasses and retrieved a unique visor from its hidden drawer under his make shift nightstand.

“Damn aliens. Should have known it would be aliens. It’s always an alien that’s responsible for death.” He muttered as he left his small room.

Outside, there was chaos. Locals ran here and there, with some trying to take up arms against the small group of invaders. The man, who had been hiding away in this small place, knew he had no choice but to help or risk the lives of all of these people he had come to know.

“Nathan! Nathan, wait!” He said, as the man who he rented the place from ran by him from the door, carrying an old shotgun.
“Erik? Do you see what’s going on? We have to do something!”

“And we will. But you have to listen to me. Gather up everyone that can fight here, arm them with whatever you can, I’ll provide a distraction.”

Just as he said this, a Skrull warrior, an early scout, was spotted coming around the back side of the neighbor’s house. He raised an energy pistol, but before he could fire, the man who had been living under the alias of Erik Redd reached up to the side of his visor and hit a button, releasing the energy held within. The crimson beam shot forth and struck the alien warrior, sending him flying back across the yard.

“There’s another weapon for you. Now get going!” He ordered in no uncertain terms.

Nathan stared dumbfounded for a moment, realizing the man that had lived above his garage all this time was not what he seemed. Still, it was clear he knew what he was talking about and so Nathan responded as told.

In short order, Nathan had accomplished what he was ordered to do. A small group of civilians armed with everything from the scrounged Skrull weapon, to pistols and shot guns to fire place pokers and shovels, were gathered behind the ex hero.

“Alright people, here’s the plan. Hit and run techniques only. Spread out, use the yards and houses. Lure them and strike at them. Break up into smaller groups, each group will be lead by anyone with military experience. I will take the center, alone.”

He glanced at all the frightened but anxious civilians. For a moment, their faces seemed to change in front of him. A woman with flowing red hair. A blond haired man resembling him. Another blonde man with white wings. He shook his head and swallowed hard.

He turned back to the approaching force, no more than a hundred he believed. “One more thing. If you get in too deep, yell for me…Cyclops.”

[Wonderphoenix]

Metropolis



Lois Lane stood next to her photographer, James “Jimmy” Olsen waiting impatiently. “Jimmy, come on. Hurry up and download the pictures and let’s go. We’re missing the story of a lifetime.”

Jimmy unhooked the camera from the USB port and tucked it in his pocket. He sighed. “I wish Chloe could have been here to see this. All her talk about aliens and meteor freaks – she would have loved this.”

Lois could feel her friend’s pain. “I miss her, too, Jimmy. But, right now, we have a job to do and we both owe it to Chloe to make this story a front page headline.”

Jimmy stood and watched Lois grab a pad and pen and walk quickly to the door; her light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She turned. “Are you coming or do I need to get the camera and do it myself?”

Jimmy smiled and ran behind his friend. The duo reached the bottom of the stairs and walked outside the Daily Planet.

Dozens of heroes lined the streets. “Damn, Jimmy. It’s like a super-hero convention out here.” She looked around. “But no Superman.”

Jimmy began to zoom in and take pictures. “Wow, it isn’t every day that you see the Black Panther, The Wasp, and Batman in the same photograph.” He clicked again. “Power Girl and Marvel Girl.” He smiled. I will have to enlarge that one and keep it.

“Stop drooling over her breasts.”

“Hey, what’s a red blooded American boy supposed to do?”

“You would say that. I imagine Smallville would be going ga-ga over them, too.”

“Have you been able to get in contact with him?”

“No, but it isn’t for lack of trying. I’ve sent texts and tried to call the farm and his cell. No answer. I did finally get in touch with Mrs. Kent and she said he was on his way to be with her. So, I guess he is ok.”

Jimmy looked overhead and saw three winged warriors flying into battle. One of the two men wore an outfit similar to the woman’s while the other male wore a blue and red striped uniform with a golden halo emblazoned on his chest. Jimmy clicked the picture. The Hawks and the Angel.

There was movement and the heroes appeared to be organizing and making formation. She looked at the far end of the street, beyond the billows of smoke, and saw the Skrull ground force doing the same. Something big was about to happen.

The heavy hitters – the heroes with strength and/or invulnerability but could not fly – took the front line. Lois recognized Luke Cage, Wolverine, Liberty Belle, and the alleged Amazon called Grace, Colossus, the Thing, Juggernaut, and several others she could not or didn’t immediately recognize.

The flyers took to the air to provide both air support as well as protection to the front line. Jimmy had already taken a shot of Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and the Angel. A few clicks and shots of Storm, another of Power Girl, Ms. Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Hawk & Dove, Wonder Man, Iron Man, the Vision were added to those he had already taken.

Behind the front line were several dozen more heroes ranging from the Invisible Girl, Black Canary, Robin, Kid Devil and his mentor Daredevil to Black Lightening, Spiderman, Zatanna, and Moon Knight.

Shoot! I can’t get close ups of them as good as I can the others.

The league of heroes began to advance upon the Skrull army.

BOOM!

A blue and red streak flew into Metropolis breaking the sound barrier as it did so. Superman had arrived. The gathered heroes looked up in the sky and saw Superman hovering there. At the same time, Captain Harkness and Wonder Woman appeared.

Superman moved to lead the charge and locked eyes with the Black Panther. Both men, leaders in their own right, knew that it was time to strike back. The Black Panther nodded approval as Superman flew towards the Skrull army.

[Wonderphoenix]

Earth's Orbit
Aboard the invisible ship . . .




The watching entity had not moved since the departure of the other. He had, quite simply, continued to watch. Suddenly and as quickly as he disappeared before, the entity not content to simply monitor reappeared.

“You’ve returned.”

“Yes.”

“What have you done?”

“Quite simply, I may have saved the planet. At least, that is my hope.”

“Where did you go?”

“An alert was given to those who may be able to offer aid.”

The Watcher glared at the Monitor. “My people will not take kindly to this. Understand that your actions today may have caused irrevocable harm to centuries of peace and cooperation between our races.”

The Watcher returned the glare. “Do not threaten me, Uatu! I simply wish to continue my assignment of monitoring this planet. Should the human race be destroyed, there would be no reason for the two of us to remain here.”

[Wonderphoenix]

The lead Skrull Warship




Reports of the resistance reached the lead ship. “This is not good.” Kr’ylln complained. “They were supposed to be simpletons. Cretins even. This resistance was not anticipated.”

“What would you have us do?” N’Karm asked.

“Perhaps we should move forward and abandon this lowly planet?”

“If that is your wish.”

“MY WISH IS FOR A NEW THRONEWORLD!”

“I understand, sir. But, some of the planet residents are of non-terrestrial origin like us. Do we dare to anger other species until we discover and recover from what has been done to the Empire?”

“Perhaps you are correct, N’Karm. Perhaps.”

“Again, what would you have us do?”

Kr’ylln contemplated his next move. “Contact Emperor Sk’all.”

“Right away.” N’Karm quickly turned to leave. “What are you planning to do?”

“It is time to move on and abandon this cause. Even with all the destruction, I am not going to lose more of our subjects to these extra powered defenders on the planet.” He paused. “With the Emperor’s approval, we will destroy the planet and prevent word of our invasion from ever reaching any other advanced civilizations.”

[Wonderphoenix]

Deep Space




They numbered in the thousands and, around them; a bright green hue could be seen.

They are coming.

TO BE CONCLUDED!

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