Earth-717: Avengers Vol 1

Chapter 7: Space Pirates

Within seconds, the entire Senatorium was in chaos. The Dark Revenant opened fire on the

Nova cruisers surrounding the space station, completely taking them by surprise. The two Pariahs also fired their main laser cannons, and together managed to effortlessly slice apart a Nova warship. The smaller Skrull vessels moved in on the defensive fleet, and the Skrull starfighters began swarming around any targets within range.

Adora immediately gathered the Senate members and had them surrounded by Nova guards.

The crowds began screaming and panicking, fleeing in all directions. Adora looked at the heroes as the

Supreme Intelligence's hologram faded.

“I'm getting the Senate out of here! If you want to help . . . . then help.”

Before any of the heroes could respond, the Dark Revenant launched multiple interceptor craft.

These were cylindrical shuttles that struck the hull of the Senatorium and started drilling through them.

While a handful were shot down by the Senatorium's turrets, a few of them still managed to latch on to the exterior of the station. Once holes were pierced by their drills, Skrull and Mekkan troops began flooding inside. Steve turned back to Adora.

“We'll help your people fight them off however we can. Get the Senate to safety!”

Adora hurriedly nodded before rushing off after the Senate and their guards. Steve held up his shield. Tasha equipped her repulsors and locked her helmet in place. Carol charged both of her hands with energy and started to hover. Thor held his hammer at the ready. Bruce sighed and willed himself into another transformation, once again destroying his clothing.

The heroes then rushed through the main doors, and saw that the chaos had extended to the city.

Several interceptor craft had latched onto the Senatorium's hull by this point, and now dozens of enemy soldiers were infiltrating the station. They were led by a man in a red futuristic combat suit that covered his entire body. He had a thin white visor over his eyes and was holding a sword in his left hand. This was Zenith, one of the core members of Nebula's crew. He pointed towards the Senate chambers, and the soldiers headed in that direction. Several of the Skrulls started to gun down random civilians who happened to be in their path. Nova guards fought back, and soon enough there was a heavy firefight going on in the streets.

“Move in and pick your targets,” said Steve. “Focus on keeping the civilians safe!”

“On it, Cap.”

“Let's get crackin'!”

“Thor fights with you, Captain!”

“RAAAAARGH!”

Within seconds the heroes had dispersed, battling alongside the Nova troopers and once again taking down as many Skrulls and Mekkans as they could. Meanwhile, Zenith moved away from the battle and instead headed for one of the side streets that led around the Senate chambers.

* * * *

On board the Dark Revenant, Nebula was sitting inside of her command room. Her hands were folded in front of her, and she was watching the invasion of the Senatorium on multiple display screens, all of which were showing video coverage of the attack from major galactic news outlets. General

Bendolan was standing on the left side of her chair.

While Nebula was relatively silent, the Dark Revenant was not. The ship was firing laser cannon blasts and missile salvos at multiple Nova Corps cruisers. Nova fighters were attacking the ship, but several were shot down by the dreadnought's cannons. Explosions and laser blasts rocked the hull, but Nebula did not seem concerned.

One of Nebula's crew, a Rigellian named Gunthar, turned around from his station.

“Ma'am! Shields are holding steady. They're off balance cause of the Pariahs.”

“Good,” said Nebula. “Any word on our sabotage team?”

“None yet, ma'am. They reported entry to the Senatorium but they're probably not in position yet. I'll keep monitoring their frequency.”

Gunthar turned back to his console. Nebula watched as one of the Pariahs clamped its legs down on a Nova cruiser before firing its laser directly into it. The main section of the cruiser exploded into thousands of shards as the rest of it buckled and started to break apart. Bendolan then leaned in towards Nebula.

“This assassin of yours,” he said. “Are you certain he can accomplish his task?”

“Zenith's a trusted associate,” replied Nebula. “He and I have taken many jobs on many planets.

He knows what he's doing.”

“I have learned not to put my full faith in assassins and mercenaries. This scenario is far too delicate. We have an opportunity here to permanently destabilize the Nova Corps. Without their leaders, there will be discord within their ranks. Chaos. But if the Senate manage to escape . . . .”

Nebula looked at Bendolan with a scowl.

“He'll pull it off.”

Bendolan stared at Nebula for a few seconds.

“We shall see.”

* * * *

Tasha blasted apart another Mekkan soldier with a double shot from her repulsors. A Skrull then fired a powerful blast from his shotgun, knocking her through the window of the restaurant that the heroes had eaten at earlier. Tasha groaned as she landed on her side. Looking up, she then saw that

Mikaela was cowering underneath the broken window, with her back pressed against the wall.

The Skrull then looked over the window and aimed her shotgun at her. Mikaela screamed.

Reacting instantly, Tasha jumped up and kicked the Skrull's shotgun away, and it harmlessly fired at the floor. Tasha then jammed her open palm against the Skrull's chest before firing her repulsor, blowing a hole straight through his heart.

The Skrull's body flopped to the ground as Tasha knelt next to Mikaela, who was hyperventilating.

“Hey, hey!”

Mikaela slowed her breathing and looked at Tasha, who retracted her face plate.

“You okay?”

Mikaela gave a quick nod.

“I think so,” she said. “You, you saved me.”

“Well, I couldn't let the prettiest girl in the Nova Corps get killed now, could I?”

Mikaela's datapad then lit up with a video call from Adora. Tasha looked down at it.

“Mikaela, are you there?” asked Adora.

“I'm here, I'm here!”

“We're being chased. Some freak with a sword, and he has backup! Might not be able to keep the Senate safe for much longer! Are you with the humans?”

“Yeah. One of them is here right now.”

“Tell them I need their help! We're down on the mezzanine near Sybalt Square! Hurry! If that guy gets to Senate, then this is all over!”

The video turned off and Mikaela looked up at Tasha, who opened up a panel on her forearm.

“If you some sort of map of this place, put it in here! I'll get to them.”

Mikaela pressed a few buttons on her datapad, and then the forearm panel lit up as the data was directly transmitted into Tasha's heads-up display.

“Done.”

“Thanks,” said Tasha. “Gotta go.”

Tasha blasted off, flying out of the restaurant and back towards the team. Steve tossed his shield in a circular fashion, and it sliced through the metal beams that were holding a neon sign in place. The sign then fell down and crushed two Skrulls as the shield returned to Steve. Steve then looked up at

Tasha, who was hovering near him. “Got a complication, Cap,” said Tasha. “Senate's in trouble, and we gotta get to them. I know where they're at, but they likely won't be there for long!”

Steve took a brief moment to consider this new info before turning to look at the other heroes, who were still fighting off the invaders. After kicking a Mekkan through the abdomen, Carol looked over at Steve.

“Senate's top priority, but we can't leave these people behind,” said Steve. “Carol! You, Tasha and I are going after the Senate! Hulk and Thor stay here and help the civilians however they can.

Move!”

Thor bashed away another Skrull before holding up his hammer.

“The green beast and I will hold our ground!”

Hulk roared as he stood in the way of a Mekkan missile blast, shielding a group of people from it. The explosion barely staggered Hulk, who then proceeded to charge down the Mekkan who attacked him. Steve turned back to Tasha and held his arms in the air.

“Can I get a lift?”

Tasha grabbed both of Steve's arms and lifted off, with Carol flying behind her.

* * * *

In one of the engineering levels of the Senatorium, a team of Skrulls burst through the doors.

Gunning down the people inside, the leader of the group then pulled a brown satchel off of his back.

Unzipping it, he found a dozen grey spheres inside, which were all detonation charges. Heading for the designated backup generator that had been marked on a map they were provided, the Skrulls started planting the charges all over it.

The Skrulls then quickly vacated the engineering level. Once they were at a safe distance, the leader pulled out the detonator and pressed the trigger.

* * * *

Adora gunned down another Skrull with her energy pistol as the Senate escort raced along the mezzanine. While normally Sybalt Square and the adjacent areas were filled with people shopping or eating, it had now turned into a full-scale war zone. The entire group was then knocked off balance by the destruction of one of the backup generators.

As the Senate and Adora struggled to keep their footing, one of the golden triangles that formed the defensive matrix around Xandar disappeared. Adora looked up at the matrix through one of the windows and watched as two Pariahs and several Skrull transports flew through the hole in the matrix.

“The defensive matrix!” shouted Lilandra.

“Nothing we can do about it right now,” said Adora. “The ground defense will have to handle it.

We've got to keep moving!”

As the group ran past another walkway, they then found themselves cornered by Zenith, who was now ahead of them. He was flanked by a squad of Skrull soldiers and had his right hand aimed directly at Adora. His hand was charged with energy, similar to Tasha's repulsors. The Skrulls gunned down the remaining Nova guards, leaving Adora as the only defender of the Senate.

Adora aimed her pistol at Zenith, even though she knew that she would never be able to take out all of the targets in time.

“Stay back,” said Adora.

“You know what I've come for,” said Zenith, his voice heavily modulated. “Hand over the

Senators.”

“Never gonna happen.”

Adora took a slow step back, and the Senate did the same. The Skrulls started to slowly fan out to the sides, getting ready to circle the group. Adora kept her pistol trained on Zenith.

“Whatever they're paying you, it's not worth it.”

“Oh, it is,” said Zenith.

“The Senators are staying with me.”

“Are they now?” Zenith then made a subtle gesture with his neck. Adora raised an eyebrow. A moment later,

Senator Carina stepped out of the group and walked over to the Skrulls. Nova Prime looked horrified.

“Carina?”

“Get me out of here,” said Carina, looking at Zenith. “I'm tired of running.”

“Right away, Senator,” said Zenith. “Your assistance in this matter is most appreciated. Your deal with Veranke will proceed as planned.”

Lilandra's jaw dropped.

“Carina . . . . you didn't.”

Carina pursed her lips.

“I did.”

“Traitor!” shouted Cordon.

“You're the traitors,” said Carina. “Working with the Supreme Intelligence, and dooming the

Nova Corps to extinction. There was no way we were ever going to win this war. It seems I was the only one who realized that.”

Zenith glanced at the Skrulls next to Carina.

“Get her to the Senate's private shuttle. Make sure she's safe. Veranke will want her delivered in person to the Exile's Intent.”

The Skrulls left with Carina, and Zenith looked back at Adora. The energy in his hand started to glow brighter.

“Now, the rest of them.”

Adora gripped her pistol tighter. A moment later, she saw the faintest of reflections in Zenith's visor. The reflection was of Tasha flying towards the group. Adora kept her pistol trained on Zenith as

Tasha then threw Steve forward, with his shield held out in front of him. Zenith only saw this coming at the last second, before quickly aiming upward and firing his hand blast at him.

Adora fired her pistol at Zenith, but her shot was deflected by his personal energy barrier. Steve's shield absorbed Zenith's hand blast before he collided with his chest. Zenith stumbled backwards, but was only off balance for a second, quickly regaining his footing. Tasha arrived next, and fired two repulsor shots at Zenith, who swung his sword to deflect the lasers.

Zenith then fired a repulsor shot of his own at Tasha, who boosted sideways to dodge. Steve tossed his shield forward, but Zenith smacked it away with his sword before lunging towards him.

Steve shuffled back to avoid Zenith's horizontal slash. Tasha landed on the ground and tried to punch

Zenith with her right fist.

Instead, the assassin seized Tasha's arm and sliced his sword down her chest, gashing her armour. He then hurled her over his shoulder, her back smashing against a plexiglass wall. Steve tried a roundhouse kick, but Zenith blocked Steve's leg with his forearm. Zenith then stabbed forward with his sword, but again Steve moved out of the way.

Carol then flew overhead, firing laser blasts from both hands. As Adora saw that Zenith was now completely occupied with the heroes, she waved her hand at the Senate, beckoning them to follow her. Adora and the Senate then ran down the nearby hallway, following after Carina and the Skrulls.

Zenith saw that his targets were getting away, and jumped over Carol's laser blasts.

As Zenith ran after the Senate, Tasha got back up, and she joined Carol in flying after him.

Steve retrieved his shield and started chasing Zenith on foot. Both Tasha and Carol fired energy blasts at Zenith, who performed several acrobatic moves to avoid being gunned down. As he exited the hallway, he saw that Adora and the Senate were not too far ahead of him.

Zenith was about to fire a repulsor shot at the group when Carol tackled him to the floor. He kicked her off him and fired the shot at her instead. Carol's body absorbed the energy, and she smirked.

Zenith blinked, having never seen anyone survive his powered repulsor blast. Carol took that moment of hesitation to put a charged energy fist right through his chest.

Zenith coughed up blood on the inside of his mask. Carol smirked as her body glowed with yellow energy. “Thanks,” she said.

Carol pulled out her bloodied fist as Zenith's corpse slumped to the ground. Tasha, hovering next to her, bit the inside of her lip as Carol shook the blood off her hand.

“Ouch,” said Tasha.

Ahead of the heroes, Adora and the Senate chased Carina and the Skrulls all the way to the landing platform where the Senate shuttle was parked. The squad of Skrulls provided covering fire as

Carina opened the shuttle door and stepped inside. Adora shot one of the Skrulls in the head before she was forced to take cover with the Senate behind a wall.

Carina sneered as she saw that Adora was still trying to stop her.

“Take her down already!” shouted Carina.

“Why'd you do it?” asked Adora. “Why, Carina?”

“Because Veranke will win either way! She has knowledge of things you can't even imagine!

There's nothing we can do to stop it happening. Nothing! She promised that the Krylorians would be spared if I helped her. I was only trying to save my people!”

“So were we!”

Adora tried to shoot down another Skrull, only to once again be forced back behind cover by a torrent of energy blasts. At this moment, Carol and Tasha flew up to Adora, with Steve not far behind.

“We'll take care of her,” said Carol.

Carol flew out of cover, and the Skrulls opened fire. Carol absorbed the energy of the laser blasts, before firing a pulse wave in response. The pulse knocked three of the Skrulls off of the platform. The remaining ones jumped on the shuttle, and Carina pressed the button for the door to close. At the last second, Tasha boosted forward and launched a sticky bomb from her wrist launcher.

The sticky bomb latched on to Carina's dress as the door closed and the shuttle started to take off. Tasha smugly smiled.

“Say goodnight, pigtails.” Carina screamed as the bomb exploded, splashing her flesh all over the interior of the shuttle as it was destroyed. The flaming carcass of the shuttle then fell out of the air and plummeted to the ground far below. Tasha retracted her face plate as Adora, Steve and the Senate all slowly walked on to the platform.

Everyone looked exhausted.

“Still can't believe it,” said Adora. “Carina, you idiot . . . .”

“She made her choice,” said Nova Prime. “There's nothing any of us can do about it now.”

Steve turned to Adora.

“Can you get the Senate out of here? Get them somewhere safe?”

“I'll have to call another shuttle, but . . . . we should be good from here.”

“Thank you for all of your help,” said Lilandra.

“Just don't forget that when we ask for yours,” said Carol.

Nova Prime, Lilandra and Cordon all nodded in unison. Adora then spoke into her wrist module.

“This is Centurion Adora, on all frequencies. I have the Senate safely secured, but their shuttle's been destroyed. We need immediate evacuation.”

Mikaela's voice came in through the wrist module.

“Copy that, Centurion. Diverting the shuttle I'm on now. We'll get you out of there.”

“Got it.”

“But we have another problem,” said Nova Prime. “Two Pariahs have made it through the defensive matrix. They'll be heading for the shield generator.”

“I can't do anything about that from up here,” said Adora. “That's Tarcel's job. I've got to get you off this station.”

“I just hope the defenders can handle it,” said Lilandra.

“We could try to help,” said Steve. “We'd have to go down there, and . . . .” “No, Captain,” said Cordon. “What we need . . . .”

Cordon pointed at the Dark Revenant, which was visible from a nearby window.

“. . . . is for the Dark Revenant to be destroyed. That's the flagship of Nebula, an infamous space pirate, and it's cutting through our defensive fleet. But if the Dark Revenant is dealt with, then the tide of this battle might turn.”

Tasha shrugged.

“One hell of a demolition job.”

“He's right,” said Carol. “That thing's a monster, and it has to be taken out.”

Steve took in a deep breath as he looked at the Dark Revenant.

“Then that's where we need to be.”