He Is Gone
“Only five of them are alive.”
Friday pulled up the photos of a woman.
“Philippa Sontag. Called Arclight. She can create seismic energy with her hands. Makes shock waves and geo tremors. She has superhuman strength. And I don’t mean like Captain or Winter. More like Hulk. She is more durable than most and more resistant when it comes to punches. She has also more stamina which means that she can tire you out very easily. She is not immune to mental manipulation. When she fights she will keep you at a distance. Even though she is strong she hates hand to hand combat. If you can get close enough it should put her off balance.”
He looked around for questions. Steve was the first one to ask.
“Those shock waves. How strong are they?”
Remy thought for a second.
“I’ve never been on the receiving end of them. I was the kid of the group even though I was the leader. But she did manage to throw Blockbuster down a few times and he had gone against Thor once and lived to tell the tale. So I would advise you to avoid her blasts at any cost.”
“What about me and Wanda? Would our power be able to stop hers?”
Remy shrugged.
“It might be enough. But no one has ever tried. Other mutants tend to not want to fight her.”
When no more questions came he continued while Friday put up the next picture.
“Janos Quested. Riptide. Just as dangerous as Arclight. Maybe even more. He can spin his body at an inhuman speed. But that’s not all. He can also make his bones grow through his skin and leave his body. They mostly form into shurikens or spikes. He then throws them. The speed he uses to do it makes them lethal. I’ve seen myself how they pierced through steel without any problems. He fights from a distance but he is just as lethal in hand to hand.”
The Avengers felt their hearts drop. Remy had only mentioned two of the five and already it seemed that fighting them would be close to impossible. Sam asked slowly:
“Is there ANY way to beat him?”
Remy nodded.
“I can think of one thing. His spikes can’t pierce through vibranium. So I guess the shield would allow you to get close to him. But I don’t know how to get him to stop move. Once you’ve done that it shouldn’t be hard to get him down.”
T’Challa was thinking quickly. Then he spoke up with a questioning voice:
“My suit is made of vibranium.”
That got Remy’s attention.
“All of it?”
The king nodded. Steve smiled.
“Whatever they can do we can beat them. As long as we stay together.”
Some of them seemed to be surprised that Steve had changed so much on so short time but they didn't question it. Remy nodded towards one of the cameras and Friday brought up next picture.
“Shiro Yoshida. Sunfire. He absorbs the sun's energy and transforms it into plasmatic blasts. He can also ionize the air underneath him and blast it to create something like a rocket effect. He can warm up the air around him and melt even the most resistant steel. He can also use the heat and fire he creates to make a force bubble around himself. It makes it impossible for him to be hit by other powers.”
Clint smirked.
“We'll just have to catch him in a dark place.”
Remy shook his head.
“He can change his vision into infrared and see your body heat.”
“Then how can we beat him?”
Remy simply looked at Bruce. The doctor titled his head.
“I know that the Other Guy is fireproof. But I don't know HOW fireproof.”
Rhodey smiled.
“If I fly around him and distract him you will be able to get close to him before he can fully charge.”
A few nods were seen around the room. Friday took that as a sign to continue. A picture of a woman with long green hair appeared. Remy smiled a bit.
“Vertigo. A Savage Land Mutate.”
Clint snorted.
“Vertigo? What will she make us dizzy?”
“Something like that.”
Clint burst out laughing but stopped after a few seconds.
“Wait. You are serious?”
Remy nodded.
“Vertigo is a genetically enhanced native of the Savage Land. She sends out her energy in waves. It affects people’s nervous systems. Can make you dizzy, disoriented, unconscious. She can make you feel nauseous and even throw up. Iggy… Vertigo is another of them that I have not gone against when it comes to powers. But there was one time when me and Vic… Creed were playing quite roughly with each other. She wanted to step in between us and lost control for a few seconds. Got all the Marauders on their knees so dizzy that they couldn’t walk in a straight line for a few hours. My mental shield blocked her power so I was unharmed.”
He smiled as he thought back to those days. When everything was fine. Fury kept his eye on the cajun and then asked:
“And how can we know we can trust you when it comes to them?”
Everyone’s heads snapped over to the director. Remy sat up straight and pulled his hand away from Wanda. Now THIS, this was what he had been expecting. Before he answered Tony spoke up.
“I trust him Fury. With my life.”
But it seemed that Fury would not be backing down.
“The way he speaks about them. The nicknames. If he doesn’t feel any connection to them then I am not Fury. How can we trust that he won’t hesitate when he fights them?”
Tony stood up.
“Because I say he won’t. I know him better than any of you. And I know that he won’t join them again.”
Fury stood up he too.
“You know him? What do you know. The things he told you? He is a thief and a liar. He can fool you if he wants. He should never have left Sinister. He is one of them. We CAN NOT trust him unless he gives a good reason to why.”
Suddenly Remy stood up and went over to the elevator. The doors opened but before he stepped in he turned around and said with a calm voice.
“You are right. I should never have left.”
Then he went into the elevator. Tony turned to Fury. The blue power was now surrounding him. Fury took a step back.
“Stark.”
But Tony didn’t hold back. The power exploded sending Fury flying through the room. Steve, Sam, Bucky and Clint were met by the same fate when they stood up to try to calm Tony. The rest of them were sitting completely still. Slowly Tony calmed down.
“If something happens to him you can count me out of the Avengers and this group. Friday. Where is he?”
“I’m sorry boss. He took his motorbike and left.”
Tony swore so violently that some of the Avengers looked at him with horrified expressions.
“Call Logan, Fri.”
They heard a few signals go through the room and then a gruff voice answered.
“This better be important Stark.”
Tony immediately went to the point.
“I had Remy in the Tower. Some asshole told him that he was maybe better off with Sinister. Now Remy is gone.”
There was silence on the other side.
“Logan?”
“I’m here. Gumbo is a grown up. He can take care of himself. Sinister had been gone for some time now. He will be fine.”
But Tony shook his head.
“Ross is putting the Marauders back together. Creed will be there.”
“Victor? Damn! All right. I’ll look for him. That boy has a spicy scent. I should be able to find him soon.”
The line went dead. Tony looked around with anger in his eyes before he marched out. Natasha got up and followed him quickly. When they got into the elevator Tony swayed and had to sit down. Natasha sat down next to him.
“He’ll be fine Tony.”
But Tony didn’t seem to believe her.
“I don’t wanna lose him too. I lost Jarvis, mom, Winter, Ana, Yinsen, then Jarvis again and almost lost all of you.”
She leaned against him a bit and put her head on his shoulder.
“You won’t lose him Tony. I promise. He’ll be fine.”
They were quiet for some time and then Tony whispered.
“I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”
She felt sadness at the hopelessness in his voice. She had to admit that she felt a bit uneasy with the thought that Remy may have some connection left with the Marauders. She had noticed how he had slipped with the nicknames and looked almost longing when he talked about them. But she also saw the anger in his eyes when he talked about the massacre. And she knew that whatever happened he would not side with them. They had missed their chance to have him on their side. Now Natasha was wondering if the Avengers hadn’t lost that chance too. And then there was Tony. He seemed to have a very strong connection with the thief. Natasha realized suddenly that even though they had seen a big part of Tony’s childhood, they still had no idea who the man really was. And then she realized something else. Remy had known. Remy even knew how to change the reactor. And that was one of the things Tony never showed anyone. They seemed to understand each other.
“How did you meet him?”
Tony smiled.
“The idiot tried to steal one of my suits. He wanted to sell it for information about Creed and Stryker. Jarvis caught him. He was scared. I think he thought I would kill him or lock him down. So I told him about myself. I told him everything. From beginning to the end. He relaxed and told me about himself. I gave him the possibility to stay here and offered my help in finding Stryker. He accepted and stayed.”
Natasha understood. They were two broken people that had found each other at their lowest. Tony after Afghanistan and Remy after Stryker. Then the door opened and the whole team and Pepper went inside. Fury was gone. They hesitated for a second but then Wanda went over to the two sitting and sat down on Tony’s other side. Slowly the other Avengers sat down in a big circle. No one spoke. No one needed to. For the first time since the Civil War they felt like a family again.