(MCU) Arcs Collide: Chapter 34 – Not Drowning

Chapter 34 – Not Drowning

Summary: Hulk vs Cull. Strange vs Maw. Avengers vs Outriders.

Cull Obsidian grunted and lifted his weapon as he slowly began to advance toward Tony.

Tony didn’t take his eyes off the monster as he spoke. “Now would be a good time for the big guy to show up.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Bruce’s skin turning green, but he also looked like he was constipated.

After another moment, the monster began to pick up speed as it kept advancing, and still no Hulk. Tony began to worry, and as he always did in such circumstances, he used humor to mask his fear. “Dude, you’re embarrassing us in front of the aliens.”

Bruce let out a heavy breath and spoke, worry clear in his voice. “Since we installed the link between me and the other guy, I’ve had a hard time transforming.”

Tony groaned. “Now you’re telling me that?!” With a sigh, he stepped forward and tapped the reactor in his chest twice, saying, “I got it.”

His suit became a silver liquid, and within moments, it reformed into the familiar shape of the Iron Man armor. Another second later, the silver turned into the usual red and gold.

Two plates detached from the back of his suit, floating at shoulder height before opening like clamps. At the same time, the armor around Tony’s hands transformed into energy cannons, which he raised toward the monster.

The creature was only a few steps from crushing Tony when it pounced, both legs leaving the ground. Tony used maximum output, blasting energy from both his cannon arms and the floating plates.

The monster was sent flying, landing in a heap just at the edge of the water.

Maw looked shocked at Tony and whispered, “Iron Man.”

The plates reattached to Tony’s suit while the armor reshaped the cannons back into hands.

Tony allowed his head to be revealed, turning with a smirk to declare, like an announcer, “And that’s a home run strike.”

Bruce’s eyes were wide as he asked, outraged, “You said the nanite suit gives you a small upgrade! You just trashed a Hulk-level monster in one hit, and you call that a small upgrade?!”

Tony chuckled. “Well, I might’ve understated a bit.”

Bruce looked like he was about to turn into the Hulk out of pure outrage when Maw opened his mouth again. “It seems we will require reinforcement.”

Two missile-like objects shot out of the hovering spaceship into the forest. Their impact shook the ground, but there was no explosion or fire.

Before anyone could consider it a victory, the objects opened up in a strange way, releasing dozens of creatures.

Nebula and Gamora immediately moved into fighting positions, with Nebula informing everyone, “Those are the Outriders, a race with no intelligence to speak of. All they crave is flesh and blood. Kill them or be killed.”

Everyone was instantly on guard. Sounds of fighting could already be heard from within the forest, signaling that the Outriders had encountered Wakanda’s warriors.

Rhodey was quick to issue a plan. “T’Challa, take Wasp, Nebula, Gamora, Drax, Daredevil, Jessica, and Valkyrie into the forest. Don’t try to take them all on by yourselves; let some through to us here.”

T’Challa nodded once before running toward the forest, his team following closely.

“Bruce, time to go green and face the monster. Luke, Rogers, Barnes, Iron Fist, Iron Man, and Captain Marvel—handle those who reach the coast. Keep an eye on Cull Obsidian’s battle; if necessary, assist the Hulk, but don’t get in his way,” Rhodey commanded through the comms.

The named fighters moved toward the coast. Rogers hesitated but followed Romanoff’s signal to obey for now. Bruce looked focused but still seemed to struggle with his transformation. Tony made a mental note to review the data when they were back at the tower.

Rhodey continued through the comms. “Dr. Strange, Maw is yours. The rest of us will need to multitask while fighting the Outriders. Star-Lord, Rocket, and Hawkeye, use your weapons to distract Maw by shooting at him. Falcon and I will try to distract him from the sky with ranged attacks. Romanoff, see if you can find an opening in his defenses for a sneak attack. Make it count.”

“Hi, Boss Man. What about me?” Scott Lang’s voice came through the comms.

Tony could hear the smirk in Rhodey’s voice as he replied, “I’ve got a special job for you, Ant-Man. You’ll need to hold on tightly.” Then both of them switched to a private channel.

Tony’s focus returned to the fight when he heard a growl from behind him. Turning, he saw the damn monster back on its feet, weapon raised and ready for a fight.

Tony was about to launch another attack when he heard a familiar roar. He turned to see the Hulk, standing tall and ready to fight.

Tony couldn’t stop himself from sighing in relief. “It’s good to see you’re still with us, big guy.”

“Tin Man needed help. Hulk fight monster. Hulk smash monster like Tin Man did,” came the reply.

Tony gave the green mountain a thumbs-up. “Kick his ass, buddy.”

The Hulk nodded and leaped to face the enemy. The monster tried to punch Hulk, but the green guy caught the fist with one hand and used the other to return the attack, punching Cull straight in the face.

Tony wanted to watch the rest of the fight, but the first wave of Outriders reached the coast. His helmet formed around his head as he turned one of his hands into a cannon again, blasting the first Outsider within reach into ashes.

Tony took to the sky, using his HUD to target a group of Outriders, and sent missiles to reduce them to ashes.

Luke grabbed two Outriders trying to take a bite out of him, but they only succeeded in breaking their teeth. He seized them by the necks and smashed their heads together, killing them both.

Iron Fist avoided direct attacks while using his glowing yellow fist to obliterate any Outsider in his path. Captain Marvel was on the ground, blasting away as many of the mad creatures as she could.

The Hulk and Cull traded punches, shaking the ground with each blow. Neither seemed willing to move the fight farther inland, likely to avoid hurting their allies.

Tony continued battling Outriders from the air, now fighting back-to-back with his fiancée. Together, they unleashed blasts to cover the fighters on the ground.

While doing so, Tony caught sight of Rogers. The blonde swung his shield in every direction, hitting as many Outriders as he missed.

The problem arose when Rogers glanced at the fight near the water. Spotting what he thought was an opening to be a hero again, he charged at Cull. What he didn’t consider was the second wave of Outriders now reaching the coast, taking full advantage of the opening Rogers gave them.

A dozen Outriders leaped at Rogers, burying him beneath their mass and knocking him out.

Barnes was using his weapon to shoot down as many Outriders as he could. Those who got too close were crushed by his Vibranium arm, courtesy of Tony and T’Challa. Noticing Rogers being overwhelmed, Barnes sighed heavily before aiming his weapon at the Outriders piling on his friend, shooting as he advanced.

As he neared the pile, its size began to shrink. Barnes grabbed Rogers by the collar of his suit, dragging him out while shooting Outriders point-blank. Unfortunately, the Outriders began to overtake him as well.

With little choice, Tony swooped down and blasted the creatures away. He grabbed Barnes by his Vibranium arm and lifted him into the air.

The ex-assassin looked shocked, and Tony quipped, “Keep holding onto the idiot.”

Barnes gave a simple nod. Tony circled in the sky and landed both passengers in a clear area on the coastline, free of Outriders.

Once they were on the ground, Barnes bowed slightly to Tony and said, with more emotion than Tony had ever seen from him before, “Thank you, Iron Man. You are a true hero.”

Tony wasn’t sure how to feel about that, let alone how to respond, so he simply flew off without a word, returning to the fight.

He noticed that Hulk and Cull were now battling in deeper water. An idea came to him. Using his comms, Tony addressed Hulk privately. “Hey, big guy, remember our flight in Africa?”

All he got in return was a grunt and a grumbled, “Bad memory.”

“I know, buddy. But how about a redemption experience?” Tony suggested.

Hulk paused for a moment, receiving a punch in the process. “Tin Man has a plan. Hulk will do what Tin Man says.”

Tony smiled at the trust. “Grab Cull and leap as far into the sea as you can.”

Hulk grunted in response, ducking under Cull’s next punch. He wrapped his massive arms around the monster’s waist and used the momentum to leap into the water.

Cull tried to punch Hulk away, but Hulk endured the blows, holding on tightly as they began to fall.

Tony rushed to the landing site, instructing FRIDAY, “Redirect all power to the thrusters and the suit’s skeletal support.”

“Done, boss,” FRIDAY replied.

Just before the two giants hit the water, Tony swooped down. “Hulk, let him go!” he called out.

The Hulk released Cull, causing the beast to grunt in surprise as he plunged into the water. Before Hulk could follow, Tony grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the coast.

Once they landed, they turned to see Cull struggling to stay afloat. The monster was no longer a threat.

Hulk let out a deep laugh. “Good plan, Tin Man. Hulk no swim, too.”

Tony chuckled before turning his attention to the fight against Maw.

Strange was struggling against the telekinetic alien. While Maw had a few scratches on his face, Stephen looked much worse, with bruises marring his features.

With a single flick of his finger, Maw levitated three trees from the ground. He waved three fingers, and the trees exploded into dozens of sharp wooden spears. With a motion of his wrist, the spears launched at Strange.

The sorcerer moved his hands in a complex series of gestures, and with a spark of magic, the spears transformed into butterflies that fluttered away.

Maw sneered. “Your powers are quaint. You must be popular with children.”

Stephen glared at him. “At least I can be around children without making them cry. Are you sure you’re the right alien to talk about what children like?”

Tony grinned proudly. He’d been trying to teach Stephen the art of combat snark for a while, and though the sorcerer claimed he had no use for it, he’d clearly been paying attention.

Maw scowled, raising his hand to launch another attack, but twin blasts distracted him.

Spinning in the air with anger, he locked eyes on Peter and Rocket, both aiming their weapons at him.

They shot again, but this time, Maw levitated a boulder to block the attacks. Once they stopped firing, Maw hurled the boulder at them with high speed, forcing Peter and Rocket to roll in opposite directions to avoid it.

Stephen took advantage of the distraction to trap Maw in a cocoon of magical ropes. The alien tried to resist, flying erratically and dragging the sorcerer with him. But before he could regain control, Falcon appeared out of nowhere, cutting off Maw’s path and blasting him with missiles from his wings.

Before Maw could recover, War Machine joined in, sending a barrage of blasts at the alien. Maw barely managed to protect himself using his powers.

Snarling in frustration, Maw unleashed a telekinetic burst, destroying the magical ropes that bound him and knocking both Falcon and War Machine off course.

From his vantage point, Tony noticed Romanoff whispering something to Barton. Clint nodded, smirking, as he knocked an arrow and aimed at the floating alien.

Rhodey’s voice came through the comms. “Black Widow, your plan will fail. The enemy is on high alert. Focus on fending off the Outriders.”

Romanoff ignored the order, as did Barton. As the arrow closed the distance to Maw, an Outsider leaped at Barton from the shadows, knocking him to the ground. Clint’s scream was cut short as his head hit the dirt, leaving him unconscious.

Romanoff seized the opportunity and leaped at Maw, her Widow’s Bites charged and ready. Maw spotted her and waved his hand, causing the arrow to explode midair and hurling Romanoff into a tree. She hit hard and crumpled to the ground, motionless.

Maw turned his attention back to Strange. Pulling four trees from the ground, he shredded three of them into dozens of spears and launched them at the tired sorcerer. Strange summoned his magic shields to block the barrage, but he didn’t notice the fourth tree creeping toward him like a serpent.

The tree wrapped itself around Strange, squeezing tightly and pinning his arms to his sides. Only the necklace holding the Time Stone remained untouched.

Maw sneered, triumph evident in his expression. “At last, Thanos will have his prize, and I will prove Iron Man was no threat to his mission.”

Stephen snorted, making Maw frown. “What’s so funny, Terran?” the alien demanded irritably.

The sorcerer smirked. “We have more than just Iron Man on our side. We have the people he trained as well.”

Maw’s eyes widened momentarily before narrowing. He reached for the necklace, but the moment his hand touched it, his skin began to burn. With a hiss, he pulled back, glaring at Strange.

“Protection spell,” Stephen explained smugly. “Simple but effective.”

Furious, Maw waved his fingers, causing a branch of the tree to wrap around Strange’s throat. Tony considered stepping in, but he heard Strange whisper through the comms, “Now, Scott.”

Like a missile, Ant-Man launched himself from where he had been hiding on the amulet, shooting straight between Maw’s fingers and landing a full-force punch to the alien’s face. “Yippee-ki-yay, ugly-butt alien!” Scott shouted.

Tony couldn’t help but groan internally. Scott’s one-liners still needed work.

Nonetheless, the plan worked. Ant-Man’s punch caught Maw completely off guard, and the alien wasn’t fast enough to shield himself. The hit knocked him out cold.

As they landed, Scott returned to full size in a hero pose. He seemed ready to secure the alien, but a massive splash from the water drew everyone’s attention. Cull Obsidian leaped from the sea and landed beside Maw with an earth-shaking thud.

The impact created a shockwave that sent Scott sprawling. When the dust settled, Cull was holding Maw in his arms. With a grunt, he activated another light beam from the hovering ship above.

Within moments, both members of the Black Order vanished into the beam. The ship began to ascend, lifting the ominous shadow it had cast over the battlefield.

Tony hovered in the air, scanning the battlefield. The Outriders still swarmed the coastline, but their numbers were thinning as the team worked together. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. One fight was over, but the war was far from won.