Storytime - Arc 3 - Choosing Your Own Path
WAR!
Millions of SUMMONERS, humans from countless dimensions, find themselves in an INFINITE BATTLEREALM, at the command of CHAMPIONS of all kinds. HEROES and VILLAINS alike find themselves caught in an endless struggle between the Summoner and the greatest adversaries of the Marvel universe.
In the midst of this eternal CONTEST, a DARING BAND of heroes REBELLED against their Summoner, overpowering and KILLING the villain. Journeying through the Battlerealm's wastes, they joined forces with AGENT COULSON of SHIELD, and reunited with their old friend, the SUMMONED SYMBIOID called LIL' STAN. But as these heroes begin to formulate a plan to take the fight back to their overlords, they find themselves with a choice to make...
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"OK, so we know the Collector has outposts here, here, and here," Warren stated, pointing to different points on the map before his team. "The Labyrinth of Legends is well guarded, we'll want to stay out of the way of that. If we maneuver between Ultron's domain and the Contest at large, we might be able to reach the Collector undetected."
"Thou art a large party," Thor observed. "Perhaps 'twould be wise to split in two. Better to remain out of sight of the Collector's patrols, who doth sweep this area every now and again."
"Hmm... You've got a point. Very well, then, uh... Gwen, Thaddeus, you two take half the squad and head off through the Black ISO Mafia's territory. Don't get too close, but... that would be the best bet, I think," Warren revised, studying the map again. "We'll meet up here." He firmly put down a finger at a specific point of the map. "The Proving Grounds. Alright. Are we agreed?"
The group collectively nodded, and Warren stated, "Alright, then. We'll head off tonight. In the meantime, if anyone wants to prepare themselves... I'm sure we won't be able to keep entirely out of sight on our journey."
As he said this, Agent Coulson awoke on a couch. Slightly startled, he looked around, finding himself inside Thor's ramshackle old hut, and seeing the whole group of heroes crammed inside. Getting up, he asked, "What's going on?"
"Ah, Son of Coul! You're awake," Thor greeted him, walking over and almost crushing the Agent in a hug. "Warren here was just talking about plans he was making."
"With Lil' Stan, the Collector's usual forces won't stand a chance," Warren explained. "He'll have to send some of his strongest minions to even stand toe to toe with this guy."
Lil' Stan nodded.
"Still weird that you taught a Symbioid to talk... I've never heard of anything like it," Coulson replied, approaching the table.
"Well, he's got a mouth, why can't he talk?" Gwen asked with a shrug.
"Good point. So, what's our plan here? What's our goal?" Coulson asked.
"The Collector keeps his... well, collection right here. We're going to take two groups - Lil' Stan will lead a large group through the Contest, and Gwen and Thaddeus will head through Black ISO Mafia space. We'll meet here, before we attack the Collector," Warren explained. "If we do this right, we can free not just ourselves, but every version of ourselves stuck in this Battlerealm."
"Sounds like a plan. But," Coulson warned. "The Collector won't go easy on you. You remember those Helicarriers that he sent after you at Asteroid M? He's got a few thousand more of those ready to go. We need to go here" -he pointed to the far side of the map, leagues away from where they were planning to go- "And gather allies. I know a couple people who would be willing to join the fight."
"Like who?" Beck asked.
"Now, hold on, Quentin," Warren cautioned. "The more time that goes by, the more time the Collector has to get ready. More likely than not, he knows we're coming."
"We need everyone we can get," Warren countered. "Who did you have in mind, Coulson?"
"Well, just one person in particular," Coulson replied. "Quake."
The room fell silent for a few seconds, before Thaddeus stated, "If you could get Quake on our team..."
"I can," Coulson affirmed.
More silence. Finally, Warren decided, "OK. I don't think we can divert many people from the march to the Collector. We'll need as many heroes as we can get there. But, Coulson, if you could take a small team... This would be a huge help. You'd have to move fast."
"Don't worry about it. I'll get over there and back to the Proving Grounds as soon as you guys are there," Coulson replied. "How long...?"
"Three weeks. Maybe two," Warren answered. "Again, we need to move as quickly as possible. The more time we take, the more time the Collector has. Time is not on our side. I can give you one of my lieutenants, though... Lil' Stan's got the large group accounted for. Nothing bad will happen to them. I can protect the smaller group, I can spare one of Quentin, Gwen, Thaddeus, or Johnny."
"Alright," Coulson replied, looking around the room at the stoic - excited - prepared - haunted faces of the heroes who might accompany him. "I think, going through the very heart of the Battlerealm, there's only one person I want to bring with me. And that's..."
* * *
And that's the end! Sorry that this is going up so late, my computer had lots of problems last night, and I've got much of my own writing to do. But here it is, Issue #7, first of Arc 3, which is going to bring some changes going forward. This Arc will probably be longer than the last one, it's got a new Star Wars-esque opening (which I'm very happy with), and it is going to introduce a new element to these stories. Yep, we are a go for a "Choose Your Own Adventure" style arc! Please let me know down in the comments which of the four you'd like Coulson to choose (and, from there, which one I'll explore in even more depth going forward) and I'll tally up the votes for next week. Once again, I hope you enjoyed, and I will see you all next week!
