Marvel: Death Dealer

Captain Marvel design, don't really like mcu one

Nothing about SHIELD had felt right to Carol Danvers since the day she returned. It started with her old friend Nick Fury. He had lost an arm in some “conflict” he refused to explain. Then there was the matter of the mutants.

SHIELD’s operations regarding them were almost dehumanizing. Mutants were treated as threats first and people second, unless they happened to be under the banner of someone too powerful to touch. Them being Xavier’s school, Emma Frost’s circle, Erik’s Brotherhood, and the mystery known as Skullfire.

The skull-faced man was the greatest enigma of Earth. He drew power from the sun itself, wielding strength on a scale that made everyone else feel small. The time reversal scene was something she still couldn’t wrap her head around.

But today, Carol had stumbled onto something new. Something that made her doubt SHIELD’s operations even more. SHIELD had caged their best agent. By some accounts, they had done it with guns trained on the woman’s family for leverage.

This wasn’t the SHIELD she had left behind.

Fury had always had his gray areas, his necessary evils, but he had never, ever treated his own people with this level of ridicule. Carol had to see the prisoner with her own eyes. So she made her way down into the containment unit.

The redhead sat in a chair at the center of a specialized containment unit, one leg crossed over the other, reading through a thick, ancient-looking book.

“Natasha Romanoff.”

Natasha glanced up without hurry. “Do I know you?”

“I’d be concerned if Fury let anyone know about me.”

“Another one of Fury’s deepest, darkest secrets.” Natasha revealed a sarcastic smile. “Are you here to gawk at the rarest animal in the SHIELD zoo? Careful. Don’t tap the glass. This Widow bites hard.”

“Widow? But you never got past the bride status,” Carol murmured to herself before raising her voice. “Natasha, I’ve read your files.”

“Want me to design a quiz for you on my life?”

Carol stepped closer to the transparent barrier. “We both know files lie by omitting information. I want to hear it from you. Why did they decide this was the right way to treat their best agent?”

Natasha put the book on the table and rose from the chair, stretching her arms over her head until her joints popped. “Honestly? I kind of deserve to be here.”

“Is this about your past?” Carol’s voice softened just a fraction. “I know what the Red Room made you do, but that was hardly your fault. You were brainwashed and conditioned since you were a child.”

Natasha shook her head. “Half of SHIELD dies if I lose control. Or seventy five percent. Sorry, I’m terrible at maths.”

“You underestimate SHIELD.”

“Or you’re underestimating me.” Natasha crossed her arms, studying Carol with open curiosity. “I still don’t know your name.”

“Carol Danvers.” Carol looked around the containment unit. This was a rather boring place to be in for anyone. “If control is the concern, then explain something to me. Why isn’t Skullfire boxed here? From what I know, the entirety of New York ceases to exist if he loses control. Why is he walking free while you’re treated like a prisoner?”

The instant the name Skullfire left her lips, every trace of mischief drained out of Natasha’s face. “They would have if they could. That’s beside the fact I won’t let it happen.”

“Is he really that strong?”

Natasha let out a chuckle. “Don’t mean to sound like a cultist, but if that man decides someone needs to die… no one can stop him.”

Carol listened intently even though every word sounded absurd.

“The Council is terrified of making him an enemy,” Natasha continued. “I’m the submissive one. I’ll be a good girl to protect my people, but he will burn down everyone who so much as looks at his people the wrong way.”

“Aren’t those the characteristics of a villain?”

“Or maybe just don’t provoke the slumbering beast, stupid. Our Director,” Natasha said, patting her right arm. “He got a little taste of consequences recently.”

Carol finally understood why Fury had been so tight-lipped about losing his arm. He was afraid of what she might do with the truth. Afraid she would go poking at Skullfire for revenge. SHIELD and Skullfire currently shared one critical interest: protecting New York. So Fury wanted to avoid any kind of conflict between them.

“You speak very highly of him,” Carol said, looking at Natasha’s face. “Is that why everyone flagged you as his bride?”

Natasha’s expression turned wry. “Do me a favor and never let Skullfire hear you call me that. He’ll beat you so hard you’ll wake up back in whatever secret organization you crawled out of.”

“Ah.”

Carol took that as confirmation of a falling-out between Natasha and Dante, a relationship that had curdled. That would explain why a man powerful enough to destroy a city block hadn’t lifted a finger to break his “bride” out of SHIELD’s prison.

“Well. Since you clearly know the man better than me.” Carol considered for a moment then decided to reveal the threat they would soon be facing. “Do you think he’d cooperate with me against Earth’s enemies?”

“Define Earth’s enemies.”

“I have confirmed intel that the Brood Queen and her army will target Earth. Well, rather than Earth, they are a calamity for all humans.”

“Brood Queen? What the hell is that?”

“Think of Brood as a swarm of savages that drift between universes, hunting for hosts to infest with their spawn.”

“Space pirates?”

“Galactic predators,” Carol corrected with a grimace, recalling the fate of planets where the Brood succeeded. “They’ve evolved to reproduce through other species. If their Queen implants her eggs inside you, the embryo will eat you from the inside out.”

Natasha’s expression hardened. “Like a parasite?”

“Worse than a parasite. The newborn Brood will inherit your knowledge and abilities.” Carol took a pause. “And they come in swarms of millions.”

Natasha crossed her arms, closing her eyes. The quiet was her calculating a solution. “Find Skullfire. He’ll be able to help you.”

The sheer faith in the woman’s voice was quite surreal. This was the Black Widow. SHIELD’s strongest agent at the moment, yet she spoke about a man like he was the last spark in the darkness. Carol couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to make Dante walk away from a friend this loyal.

“Where do I find him?”

“He is the CEO of Silver Sable International. New York branch.” Natasha looked into her eyes. “Just don’t go with the attitude to manipulate or strong-arm him into cooperation. Lay every card you’ve got flat on the table and tell him the plain truth. He doesn’t respond kindly to threats or manipulation.”

Carol never intended to do that.

“And please,” Natasha said wryly. “Don’t mention my name. Tell him Coulson or Clint sent you. Either makes for a reasonable story.”

Carol nodded slowly. “Got that. I’m curious to see him myself.”

Just as she turned, her communicator suddenly buzzed. She pressed it. “Danvers speaking.”

“Carol,” Fury said. “We’ve confirmed sightings of Broodlings in multiple locations across New York.”

Carol’s face went pale. The Brood ships hadn’t been sighted by SHIELD’s space satellites. Either the Brood had landed on Earth a long time ago, or they had got their hands on spaceships that could turn invisible. Neither bode well for Earth.

“Fury, how many?”

“Roughly eight thousand, spread across four areas. They’re just… hovering. I don’t know what the hell they’re waiting for.”

Carol clenched her fist. “They love playing with their food. Filthy parasites.”

It could be a psychological blow to let four thousand nightmares in the sky to shatter morale before the real assault began, or a probe to test their defenses. Every civilization that ever made the fatal mistake of dismissing the Brood as mere insects had either been wiped entirely or paid a heavy price. The price of surviving as Brood’s livestock to reproduce and work for them.

“Fury,” she said, locking eyes with Natasha through the glass. “I’m taking Romanoff with me.”

“Are you sure you can handle that many?”

“I might’ve gone to help other galaxies, but Earth is still my home. I’m not letting those filthy insects run rampant.”

“Then good luck, Carol. I’ll try to assemble agents to support you.”

With a soft beep, Fury’s voice was gone. PSSST. The heavy locks of the containment unit disengaged with a hiss, and the door slowly opened on its own.

Natasha walked out. “Give me your phone.”

Carol handed hers over without hesitation. Natasha’s fingers flew across the screen as she dialed a number from memory, then pressed it to her ear.

A moment later, she lowered the phone. “Out of service range.”

Carol arched her brow. “Did he ghost you?”

“It’s your phone. You really don’t think things through, do you?”

“...”

“Carol, I’m sure he has his reasons to be wherever he is. I’ll try his girlfriend.”

Natasha made the call and put it on loudspeaker mode. “Felicia, it’s Natasha Romanoff.”

“Nataaaaashaaaa!” The voice that purred out of the speaker was teasing and playful. “To what do I owe this rare and precious honor? Ooh, wait, let me guess. A thousand bucks says this is about him.”

“Where is he?”

“Egypt, darling. Whisked himself off on a little getaway with Emma and Sharon.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes. “Is he and Emma—”

“Nope! One in a million odds Emma swallows her enormous pride to be with him. Oh.” Felicia let out a delighted gasp, “And fun fact, he and Emma adopted Sharon. Isn’t he a responsible man?”

Carol frowned, trying to remember the names being casually flung around. Natasha had called Dante’s girlfriend. Said girlfriend mentioned another woman Emma, who had feelings for him. Emma and Dante had adopted someone named Sharon. The girlfriend in question acted like it wasn’t wrong for Dante to do that. For Carol, this relationship dynamic seemed more complicated than the galaxies.

“That’s… very sweet of him.” Contrary to Natasha’s words, the smile on her face felt forced in a way. “Everyone else is still in Manhattan?”

“Yup—okay, what the hell are those?! Mom—MOM, don’t panic! Just hold me tight. I’ll get us out of here.”

The commotion on the line needed no explanation. The Broodlings had appeared in Felicia’s location.

“Nat,” Felicia’s voice came back. “Was this a call for help against those disgusting things crawling all over the sky right now?”

“Those freaks are about to become Earth’s biggest crisis.”

“Shit. Okay. I’m turning around. I’ll get my mom somewhere safe and join the team. Where are you?”

“Still at SHIELD HQ,” Carol spoke for the first time since the call. “Felicia, get in touch once you’ve helped your mother.”

“Don’t know who the person is, but this works for me. See ya kittens on the battlefield.”

Felicia ended the call.

Carol reclaimed her phone. “How strong is her team?”

Broodlings were concentrated in four or five regions at the moment. Natasha and Carol could handle one region each. Felicia’s team would need to defend three zones, which was a tall task for Earth’s heroes.

“Can’t say that for certain.” Natasha slipped her hands in her pockets. “But I can promise you they won’t be a liability. They proved that against the symbiote army.”

***

Illyana Rasputina was sprawled sideways across the couch, her legs kicked up on the armrest. She had a half-eaten cupcake in one hand and the remote in the other, and a smear of frosting at the corner of her mouth.

She was utterly absorbed in watching Chip and Dale causing mayhem.

By any honest accounting, her mental age was in her thirties, but she still found the cartoon show charming. Simple but full of charm and chaos. Best television, frankly, and she would die on that hill.

She threw the cupcake in her mouth and reached for the last cupcake in the tray, only to be spooked by the loud thump of her door swinging open.

Her mountain of a brother, immovable as a glacier, looked rattled. The rare expression on his face got Illyana to sit up solemnly.

“Illya, we have an emergency. Turn on the news.”

Illyana fumbled for the remote and flicked over to the broadcast. The very first news channel made her gasp. The screen had been split clean down the middle, each half showing live drone footage from a different corner of New York.

On the left side, a blonde woman in a brilliant red and blue costume flew through the sky, battling these large insectoid horrors. Every punch of hers burst the aliens apart in a spray of insect flesh and disgusting green blood. She occasionally stopped and pointed her hands at the army of insectoids. The beam of golden energy from her hands would erase a cluster of them before they could let out a last shriek, their bits and pieces raining down over the streets.

On the right side, Ghost Rider Natasha rode a flaming motorcycle through the chaos. Her fiery chain lashed out in huge arcs and incinerated swarms of alien insects.

Even though they looked unstoppable, the victory was far from theirs.

For every insectoid the two women obliterated, five more flew in from somewhere. The writhing tide of alien insects had completely blotted the sky. They weren’t merely flailing prey for two women either. They fired sci-fi rifles that were clutched in their clawed limbs. Every missed blast left a molten crater in the pavement. The damage wouldn’t hurt Natasha and the flying powerhouse, but it would certainly rack up in a long, drawn-out battle.

Illyana frowned. A brand-new race of aliens crawled out of the sky and a brand-new superwoman stepped out to help them. It happened the very next day Dante left the country.

‘Too big of a coincidence.’

She got to her feet and donned herself in her Limbo armor with one thought. “Get everyone to the lobby, brother. We are not letting Earth get swallowed by a bunch of overgrown space cockroaches.”

“On it. Do we—”

Illyana shook her head. “We can’t rely on him for everything.”

As Piotr left, she looked at the blonde superwoman erasing dozens of creatures with blasts. The dominant power set reminded her of Dante’s solar radiation power. She wondered who was stronger, but one thing was clear—the blonde would definitely be stronger than herself even with Darkchylde fully awakened.

A fierce smile tugged at her lips.

“There is always a bigger mountain.”

The thought didn’t discourage her. If anything, the sight lit a fire under her skin. Now, Illyana had even more reason to push herself further.