12534/Big Trouble on Little Hala: Part 1

Big Trouble on Little Hala: Part 1
Date of Scene:	07 December 2020
Location:	Little Hala, aka Kree Outpost 33904187921.
Synopsis:	It's not really called 'Little Hala', but there IS Big Trouble there.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Detective Chimp, Phantasm (Drago), Captain America, Wild Rose, Winter Soldier

---

Iron Man has posed:
"Of course we're grateful for any assistance the Avengers can provide. Admiral Zal-Dann has authorized your presence in this system, and we are uploading landing coordinates as we speak."

The clipped, slightly aggressive tones of the Commander of Kree Outpost 33904187921 are perhaps to be expected from someone in his position. He's a Kree, for one thing, an alien race not known for their gracious hospitality. If his holographic image is any indication, he's a veteran soldier of advancing years, and he's in the middle of a situation so hopeless that he's had to accept the help of the cursed Avengers.

We'll forgive him if he's a little testy.

The holo-image of the Outpost Commander is being projected into the cabin of Tony Stark's latest spacefaring prototype. A sleek vessel with obvious Quinjet origins, and more than a few Wakandan Design Group parts, but the heated seats were all Tony's idea.

He did not tell any of the people who came along on this voyage that it was an untested prototype. So let's hope nothing horrible happens.

Turning around in his swivel chair up near the front of the vessel, Tony stands up and takes a few short strides closer to the holoprojected image. The predominantly black unitard that he's wearing looks a bit like a science fiction uniform, albeit tailored to Tony's highly specific needs. Clearly, it's meant to be worn underneath an Iron Man armor, with a hold for his Arc Reactor to poke through. He cracks open a can of the latest Avengers-branded energy drink (this one's got a picture of Slipstream on the can, but they're all the same flavor).

"We're happy to help, Commander... Ro-Norr, was it? Planet Earth would very much like to be a good neighbor to the Kree Empire. Just consider this to be Earth dropping by unannounced to drop off a casserole that our wife made."

The Kree Commander looks very confused for a second, while Tony just sips the fizzy chemical-flavored drink.

"Oh, you probably don't have casseroles on the Kree Planets, do you? Or good neighbors... do you have wives though?"

Commander Ro-Norr's shoulders slump ever so slightly.

"I... just have the one wife. She is... a blessing."

Tony smiles sympathetically. "I hear you, bro. Anyway... looks like your coordinates came through, so we're gonna go ahead and land. Sounds like your soldiers are putting up some pretty heavy resistance, but the invaders are about to overrun them, right?"

"That is correct. My troops have taken up a position in the nearby village to halt the Incursion, deflecting their forces away from our main outpost. If they become overrun, the village will be lost, and our Outpost will have to be evacuated."

Tony polishes off his energy drink, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his silkweight base layer. "Yeah, and all those civilians will die too."

The Commander smiles sinisterly.

"Yes, that would be bad."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp just sits back in his seat, chewing on his unlit cigar listening to the two talking back and forth. The detective is making sure to keep an eye on things and reaches up to pinch at his collar, seems the Chimp is more used to t-shirts.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
While not an Avenger (There's like some ceremony or at least an informational letter for that, right?), over time Nick's number has gotten into Tony's contact list for people to call when short on volunteers. And hey, he's already gone into space once before for the guy...Twice? Thrice? Does travel by teleporting dogs count in this?

Either way. He's here now, taking up a back row seat in another spiffy suit. Because, lets be honest, what could be considered his costume is crap. The suit looks nice and it has a helmet. They're going into a battleground. He probaby should have some type of helmet on when he's not phantasmed. Even Cap and Tony have helmets. And- did Tony actually color code the suits to look different? Why yes he did. And Nick chose the one that's not in a bright color scheme. Looks like, something... Grey.

Considering matters, one would think that the idea of traveling to another planet to assist in a battle would be the odd part but. That honor instead is the assortment of travel buddies present. It's been an awkward week already and its only Tuesday. He's quiet as Tony is conversing with the Commander, trying to get a general sense of what they're getting in to. Blinking up as he hears the mention of the usage of a nearby village. A gloved hand clenches as he hears the tone of the commander's voice when he gets called out on the possible deaths. The lack of sincerity is blatant.

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers is testing the flexibility of his space armor, flexing his joints, measuring the rotation of his shoulders and hips. He does a few standing backflips, learning to adjust to the added weight. Not the sort of thing you want to master on the fly. He could, of course, but why not make things easier by being prepared? He had been an Eagle Scout, after all, once upon a time, which is pretty hard to do when you grow up in Brooklyn.

"I'm not particularly thrilled to have ourselves thrust into the midst of an alien war. Kind of hard to know who te good guys and the bad guys are without cultural context. But protecting an innocent village is right up my alley," he says. "Atrocities are atrocities, no need to be relativist about the matter. So long as the Kree don't begin to think we work for them."

Iron Man has posed:
As the space-faring Avenjet finalizes its landing sequence, Tony does a bit of pre-mission prep of his own. His pre-mission prep looks a lot like standing with his arms and legs splayed out like the Vitruvian Man, but it's all with a purpose. Bits of armor form start to assemble over his body, until he's fully-encased in the latest Iron Man suit. If only it weren't equipped with an operating system from 2014...

The Avenjet flies over an active warzone, with thousands of green insectoid creatures swarming their way from a beach toward a small village about a half mile from the beach, up a hill, and surrounded by an honest to gosh stone wall that looks older than the pyramids.

And made of purple rocks, which is trippy-looking.

The insectoid creatures appear to be bursting out of some very large whale-like creatures that are spending their last moments in agony as the insects rip out of them. If the dying whales were their ride in, it doesn't look like the bugs are planning on retreating...

"I don't know, Cap... doesn't look like a lot of moral ambiguity on this one."

A few platoons of Kree soldiers are manning the walls, firing off well-aimed shots at the incoming attackers. They appear to be reinforced by some of the villagers, members of an entirely different alien species who don't look particularly technologically-advanced.

Probably conscripted, possibly forcibly. But at the moment, what's most important is that they survive the Incursion.

The Avenjet lands behind the stone walls, inside the village proper, where there are already Kree soldiers standing by to meet them. As the exit ramp lowers, Iron Man flies out, getting airborne by a few meters as he finishes running the suit through its start-up diagnostics program.

Iron Man's voice comes over the comm systems of all the suits. At least this time it wasn't AC/DC.

"Alright Avengers, and Special Guests..." Thanks for coming, Nick and Detective Chimp. "... like we already discussed, we'll need Two Teams. Team A is heading out to blow up some of these Brood scum, Team B has to hold the fort down here in the very likely event that we fail to blow them up enough."

"So uh... A Team, Assemble!"

Looks like Tony's on Team A.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp looks to the flying man and says "Team B for me, will see what I can find out from the locals and the soldiers while looking for ways to help funnel the troops into traps and kill zones." The Chimp is a detective, but also a rather smart cookie, and though he is tougher than normal folks, fighting is more a second resort for him.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods to Chimp's plan. "B as well." He's more of a defense type.

... No really.

"Probably will be more effective there."

Wild Rose has posed:
     Somehow, Riana's number had wound up on that 'volunteer shortage' list as well, with one trip into space under her belt already. Why on Earth (or any other planet, for that matter) Tony would call her again remained a mystery. In a whirlwind of activity, she was whisked away with the others, bundled up onto the experimental spacecraft, rather unceremoniously stuffed into a space suit, and away they all went.

     What she had not counted on was some of the company. Somehow, thankfully, she had managed to escape notice among the rest of the group, and so thus had escaped being in the good Captain's crosshairs. Good. That would save the awkward fangirl moment she wasn't quite sure she could avoid.

     But he did have the right idea on one thing. So she took her cue, executing a few steps from various tang soo do katas to test the range and flexibility of the space suits. "Hmm. Not bad."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers frowns. He fully intended to take B himself, figuring he'd focus most on protecting civilians. But it's starting to look like Tony's going to be on his own doing the frontal assault and, while Cap is fully confident in Tony's capabilities, if not his personal character, he is loathe to leave an ally out on their own.

"I'll help keep the balance where it's needed. Whichever team has less volunteers, that's where I'm going."

Iron Man has posed:
As Team A heads out, the Kree soldiers make the most of their knowledge of Earth Languages, which is actually what they call them.

"Thank you for coming, Aven-Jahzz! You are our Ho-Meez!"

"Yes, and you are Phat! Phat, and Fuh-Kenn-Lit!"

"We will shoot the Brood now. With our GATS!"

The Kree might need to update their Earth Idioms database, just slightly.

Iron Man doesn't seem be all that worried about facing down a few thousand Brood shock troopers on his own. Of course, how could anyone tell? He's wearing a helmet.

Still piped into the comm system, Tony gives his version of a Motivational Speech. He doesn't get to do these very often anymore, ever since that incident at the TED talks...

"Awww... you guys are ALL A Team to me..."

As he lifts off, propelled forward by his rocket boots, the Brood Forces have already gotten past the copious weapons fire and have started scaling the walls!

"Just remember, if I don't make it back, tell Pepper that I told her..."

There's the sound of rockets being fired from Iron Man's shoulders and explosions are starting to happen already as he begins unleashing whatever arsenal he had packed into this particular suit.

"... that she should NEVER go through my browser history!"

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will start to head towards the wall to get a look at whats going on. While he did not bring a weapon of his own, he will grab one from a fallen defender on the way. "Ok, do we have any prep for those scaling the wall, vats of oil, big rocks, buckets of slime or anything?" He asks. He will head to look over the wall for a moment, and sighs "Maybe a giant banana peel?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
A brow lifts at Tony's parting comment. But he spins, body and suit shrinking to that of the purplish black avian he's most commonly associated with by the few that know him. He flies up, getting a general assessment of the village layout from overhead, looking for good points for hiding and where the apparent last ditch spot is for villagers to hunker down is.

The bird swoops down, talons picking up a pair of sticks that may serve as stand ins for the escrima ones that got left on earth.

Wild Rose has posed:
     With little to no time to prepare, Riana is forced to improvise a weapon. Thankfully, a metal rod just about the right length for a bo staff happens to be on hand. Don't ask how it got there. It just is. It's got a bit of heft to it, but it's not so heavy as to be unwieldy. A few test twirls and spins are attempted, at a sufficient distance away from her compatriots, and the improvised weapon is deemed suitable. "Right. I'll go where I'm needed the most, because this whole thing already looks like a big mess."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers rolls his neck a bit and slides his shield onto his arm. He isn't likely to use any crazy energy weapons or ridiculous doodad that Tony has designed. He's an old-fashioned kind of guy with an old-fashioned kind of weapon that he'll rely upon regardless of the circumstances.

He glances over at Riana and nods, "Welcome aboard. Steve Rogers. I don't know your capabilities, young lady, but you show a lot of heart coming out this far. As do the rest of - not you, Tony - the team."

Iron Man has posed:
Team A (Tony) makes some headway against the Brood Incursion, with the explosive force of rockets and Repulsor Rays cutting out big chunks of the insect-like swarms. But there are many many more where that came from, making Iron Man's efforts look a bit like a drop in the bucket.

For now, at least. Give him some time, he'll make a dent.

But the Brood are already making a dent in the village's admittedly modest fortifications. There are screams as Kree soldiers are overrun/eaten, and the villagers that aren't actively manning the wall are running toward some sort of religious structure. It's probably the sturdiest structure in the village, but there's not enough room for everyone in there. Plus it smells weird, they have Alien Incense at their weird space church.

"Oh no! This is not Phat! We're being overrun! We must call Command, and get reinforcements!"

A nervous blue guy yells at another nervous blue guy, who apparently outranks him. The higher-ranking blue guy looks pretty glum when he responds.

"Affirmative. It is not Phat. It is the exact opposite. It is whack! The word just came in from command. We are to hold our position, and die like Kree, secure in the knowledge that we will be Avenged! For there are no reinforcements coming this day!"

This actually seems to motivate the Kree a little. But it doesn't help the villagers' morale any. They were mad enough about the Kree being here, let alone getting turned into hosts for a bunch of Brood Eggs.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp is moving along the wall, and as the brood call out something, he looks over the wall, and says "Oh yea, your queen wears combat boots." He takes a shot from the gun and hits one, as another one comes near thee wall, Chimp, does a handstand with the gun on the rampart and kicks the bug off the wall. Over the avengers come channel "They keep shouting something about hosts for the queen, hosts for all."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
From the view in the sky, the raven murmurs a bit of a curse at the large amount of brood he glimpses still coming out of the Starwhales. "This is going to be a long day." Phantasm comments to the uneen comm. "Keep them away from the church. Looks like that's the shelter."

Talons clenching on the sticks he dives down, jabbing the sticks into the heads of a pair of brood trying to get over the wall. And like that he lost his sticks. Right. Fine. Change of course then. The bird shifts to something much bigger, and furrier as a large grey wolf in full winter coat joins the frey, teeth barred and claws ready

Wild Rose has posed:
     Riana reaches out for a brief handshake, though there's that silly little fangirl grin she can't quite keep down. Her grip is oddly restrained somehow, yet even what can be felt through the spacesuit hints at considerable strength; who knew what other gifts she might have? "Pleasure, sir. Riana Mackenzie."

     Looking back at the alien church with it's alien incense and the terrified civilians inside, she frowns. "I'm heading over there. Hope my hearing will buy them a little warning time if anything's heading their way."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Up in his eyrie, the Winter Soldier waits. Keen eyes have seen the enemy, steady hands are preparing the welcome they're going to get. Not his first time fighting aliens, not his first time fighting aliens on alien planets, and certainly not his first time fighting aliens on an alien planet with innocent alien civilians to protect.

    Mental note, write new chapter in the tactical handbook to include this scenario.

    Up on high, in the church tower, Bucky's gaze can see his allies, knows the people he has to defend are in the same building, knows that he's the first and last line of defense at the same time. So far, so normal. Just like Bastogne... and Liège... and what was the name of that village just east of the Ardennes?

    "Hey, Steve, quick question..." it's a flat monotone over the radio, open frequency, because this is the kind of chatter you indulge in just before the storm breaks. "Remember that little village with the half mad priest in 45? With the two churches, just inside Germany. What was the name again?"

    *CLACK* as the box magazine is slotted into the rifle. Stock against his shoulder, cheek resting lightly against the pad, scope set for three quarters of a mile. Up comes the bolt handle, back goes the carrier, and with one final series of mechanical clicks the .950 is fed into the chamber, the bolt comes forward and the handle comes down.

    "Locked and loaded. Eyes on. On your mark, Captain."

    Just like old days.

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers follows Tony's lead, the suit giving him a boost to allow him to fly a bit, even if he wasn't entirely comfortable with it. It functioned almost like anti-grav, giving him surprising agility and ability to m ove quickly. But it didn't save anybody from his punches.

He wades into the Brood with rapid violence, thrashing one with a kick, swinging his shield to and fro to knock into their carapaces, sending fangs teeth spinning aroun dhim like fresh snowfall.

"Feels like old times. You remember that little town in France, Buck, the one near the Mediterranean, where we got overwhelmed by a Panzer squadron? This is like that."

Iron Man has posed:
"Hosts for all? I get the feeling that that's a thing we shouldn't have a good feeling about."

A few kilometers away from the action inside the Ramshackle Base, Iron Man is doing his best to thin out their numbers while simultaneously fighting off the Airborne Brood who are trying to blast him out of the sky and either eat or impregnate him after they peel him out of his suit like an overcooked Easter Egg.

"MWOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Iron Man's on-board co-pilot, the Artificial Ingelligence known to Tony as 'Dummy', lets out a very loud squeal as a few of the Brood's blasters take a big chunk out of Iron Man's shields. Looks like his bombing run isn't going to last as long as they'd have hoped.

"Uh... guys... you remembered that part about the browser history, right? Because Pepper's a fairly progressive person, but I don't think she's prepared to find out exactly how I spend three hours of my day."

Closer to the action, the highest-ranking remaining Kree takes up a position on the wall near the Detective Chimp, firing off as many shots as he can in rapid succession. Now that they're getting overrun, well-aimed fire is getting more difficult, and it's turning into a 'spray and pray' scenario.

"Hosts? They mean to implant us with their eggs and make us like them! A day may come when the courage of the Kree fails, when we forsake our duty and become impregnated by the eggs of vicious insectoids, BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY!"

The Kree fight with renewed resolve, despite their rapidly-dwindling numbers.

But with the Detective taking unexpectedly accurate shots, the Captain blocking their advance with his shield and his body, and the rest of the group helping to keep the Brood out of the actual village, their odds are beginning to improve. In fact, they manage to beat off the entire Brood wave that only moments before was on the verge of overrunning the entire town and killing everyone inside.

But there's a wave after that one. And one after that one. Probably still more clawing their way out of the flesh of the poor beached Acanti Starwhales.

"Hey, uh... guys... we're pretty sure that these whales are... not gonna make it, right? Because I think I'm gonna have to... blow them up."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp looks over to Tony, and says "From they moans, and criies they are making, I think putting them out of their misery would be a think of mercy." He will tell the flying man. HE looks out over the field, and tells the Kree captain "If you have gernades or explosives, hit there and there." He points out two places on the sides to try to bottle neck the brood some.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"We get it Tony, you've been making questionable online choices." The wolf replies back with a hint of a growl as he continues leaping alongside the wall, using claws to slash away at any Brood that get past the gunfire from in front and above (Hey Bucky).

As time goes on, the greyish browns of his coat seem to pick up more of an orange-ish yellow tone. The droplets oddly never fully dripping off. As Tony suggests blowing up the whale, the wolf growls a chuckle. While he sounds mildly amused, the visage of Brood Blood drenched fangs is likely not. "Like the Scorpion monster approach? Don't get stuck again."

Wild Rose has posed:
     Amid all the chaos of battle--the cries of the frightened, the shouts of soldiers who are determined to face death bravely and meet their fate fighting, shots fired, shells bursting in air--there is something else. It's enough to have Riana on alert, taking a few cautious steps towards the cistern near the church. She tilts her head towards the area, covering her other ear to better focus on the ground below.

     And there it is.

     A godawful, spine-chilling chittering, clacking, skree-ing sound, like nails tapping and scraping on a blackboard all at once.

     "Shit. We're about to have company back here! Incoming from the cistern by the church!"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Le Dramont. South of Cannes, we were joking about going to see a movie when the Panther opened up and nearly took our heads off."

    *THOOM* The shot from his rifle is not just loud, it produces a concussive blast that dislodges bits of stone around it and scours away the patina of centuries, leaving a scorched residue around the compensator vents of the muzzle brake. Not that he needs it, Bucky can fire this rifle from the shoulder with ease, but it cuts down on the muzzle blast and helps keep down the dust swirling around which would otherwise obscure his sight line. One Brood soldier finds that no matter what armor they might be wearing, a kinetic shell nearly an inch across goes straight through it... and the next soldier behind... and the next... Before the primer in the shell finally ignites and the casing comes apart, showering the nearest soldiers with hot shrapnel and bits of former Brood soldier. APHE... because today, the Winter Soldier is /not/ messing around.

    Without conscious thought, he runs the bolt to chamber the next round, the brass case of the previous shot thumping on the stone nearby, still smoking. The next target presents itself...

    "Heimbach! That's the village I was thinking about. And I seem to recall, Rogers, that in Le Dramont /someone/ called in a naval barrage directly on top of us."

    *THOOM*

    The bolt runs again, the casing falls, next target is lined up... Bucky smiles.

    "Good times."

    The reverie is broken when someone mentions the cistern. That's his blind spot. Like all cockroaches, the brood have managed to find a way in that he couldn't see.

    "Crap. Rogers, overwatch on hold, position compromised. Back with you when I can." Like a vengeful ghost, the Winter Soldier rises and double times it down the length of his perch, jumps down the ladder without bothering with the whole concept of rungs and draws his sidearm in a dead sprint to the rear of the church. "On my way Mackenzie, don't get dead before I get there."

Iron Man has posed:
"What? Sir, I... of course. We will comply."

The acting commander of the still-shrinking Kree company apparently got something in his earpiece that didn't please him. In fact, judging by the expression on his face, it must have been whack.

Outside of the wall, Tony moves his attention from the scattered swarms of Brood to instead target the suffering, slowly-dying Star Whales.

After all, Bucky is thinning their numbers out just fine, and the Acanti seem to be the source of all the Brood.

Scanning the whales, Tony gets a full assessment of the whale's weak points, and somewhat reluctantly prepares to fire on one of them.

But when he sees just how many are still inside the whale, waiting their turn to claw their way out, any reservation he might have had goes away.

He manages to shake a few Brood off of his tail, long enough to line up a shot. His Arc Reactor glows more brightly, building rapidly in intensity, until a highly-explosive Unibeam erupts from his armor, temporarily lighting up the sky while simultaneously lighting up a long-suffering space creature!

Scratch one Star Whale, but like Detective Chimp said, at least it's out of its misery.

"That's it, guys. I'm gonna have to come back and recharge. Power's at like nine per.... Aaaack!"

Tony's comms go silent as he apparently ran into some unexpected trouble out there.

Inside, Riana was correct. Not having much success coming over the wall, the Brood have made their way in through the aqueduct that supplies the little town. Good thing she caught it, too, because by the time that Bucky makes it to the spot, they're already erupting out of it like spiders out of that girl's face in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

That doesn't mean they aren't still trying to get up and over the sides... because they are.

The Kree Commander looks somewhat defeated, but grimly determined to keep fighting.

"Avengers! You must leave! Command has decided that the planet is lost, and they will detonate a Nega-Bomb to destroy the Brood Incursion! Leave us to our glorious death, and go with the thanks of the Kree Empire! You are truly Phat!"

Captain America has posed:
"You're not dying today, Stark. I'm not that lucky!" calls out Captain America, somersaulting over a few more Brood and using the edge of his shield to slash at them. He doesn't like spilling blood, but the Brood are too much to handle and he has to do what he has to do. He doesn't tend to judge on appearance, but the alien horde is as feral as their appearance might be.

"Game over, man, game over!" he calls, recalling a line from the movie that this reminds him of. Invaders? No, that was something different.

"Tell that alien to belay that order, we're going to get some of these people out of here. I hope you have extra snacks, Tony, because we need to evacuate as much of this place as we can before the Kree get trigger happy!"

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp frowns and looks around and says "I have an idea, it may piss a few folks off, but it is the best way to get as many out as we can." He looks to the Kree man "You heard him, and I got a back up evac plan." He tells them man. "Hold the line." And with that Chimp is off the wall, and swinging through the streets looking at doorways, and at finding one the Chimp smiles "I got an exit route, but we will need to make sure no brood get through it. You bring them to me, and we can funnel as many out for as long as we hold the door."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The bloodied canine turns his head to look in the direction of the church, shoving down the urge to run over as he goes back to his current position. There are still others coming this way and a teammate busying himself here. But it's alright. If any of his travel companions were bad at this, Tony wouldn't have asked right?

...

Well. THIS group is fine at least.

As a broody sort gets over and starts running the wolf growls, leaping onto the creature, biting down and ripping off something - vital.

...

It was the head.

Yeah, Phantasm kind of got over the spilling blood thing a few waves ago. The wolf's head bobs up, already having another quarry in sight as Detective Chimp searches for an exit route.

Wild Rose has posed:
     "Aww, HELL NO," Riana growls, taking a few good steps back. The staff in her hand would be useless against a horde of creepy-crawlies like that. She might as well be bringing a fly swatter to a gun fight. There had to be a way to slow down the advance somehow.

     Or to plug the leak of Brood into the church.

     A quick scan of the area around her gave her all she needed. There was a huge chunk of debris that no normal human ought to be able to move. Riana just smiled.

     She was no normal human.

     "I've got better things to do than die today!" she yelled into the comms, diving for the fallen mass of stone. It looked to be the size of a millstone--and just about the right size to cap that well.

     Wrapping her arms around the outside of the stone as far as they would go, she growls, the stone grating along the ground for a moment as she struggles to lift it. But, lift it she does, and somehow, carries it over to the cistern.

     A resounding /THUNK/ rings out, coupled with the screeching of Brood caught halfway out of the cistern as the stone is dropped on top of them, crushing them and sealing the entrance. "Don't know how long that will hold them, so we'd better work on getting these people out of here!"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    There is a flurry of fire, or so the saying usually goes. Those who are close to such a fusillade usually wouldn't use quite that word to describe it, not when .50 Action Express is being flung around and making a mess of targets. Gory. Messy. Bloody awful. Supremely violent... those are usually the epithets they'll ascribe to the Winter Soldier laying down a barrage with a Desert Eagle. He felt obscurely as if he had to bring the largest caliber weapons he could get his hands on, representing humanity in an alien war...

    But the drawback is obvious. Large rounds means less capacity, and after a mere twelve dead Brood soldiers, the swift death stops coming. He doesn't even break stride when the pistol goes back in the holster and a large combat knife is drawn with the opposite hand.

    But the melee is brief, no more soldiers coming through after a short while... and Bucky looks around, blinking at the casual display of strength. O-kay...

    Mental note, never get Riana angry. Ever.

    "Cistern's as secure as it's going to get." he mentions in the comms, looking at Riana with a curious smile and a nod as one between professionals. "But can you tell our esteemed alien friend that we don't do glorious last stands, and I'll be damned if I'm starting at my age. And I don't like anything called a 'mega bomb' as a solution that's going to include civilian casualties. They want our help, they'll damn well stand and fight without any of this mass destruction because things look a bit bleak crap."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers sprints towards Tony's last known position, using the helmet homing signal to get in close to him (he can't call it GPS because it isn't based on satellites, ha, see, he does pay attention to that stuff sometimes). He careens over a few fallen enemies and, if he finds Tony in an untoward state, will fling him over his shoulder, armor and all, and haul the proverbial ass of America back towards the rest of the team.

Iron Man has posed:
After leaping over a few Brood, Captain America is rewarded with the sight of Iron Man laying flat on his back in the beach sand, getting clawed at by some savage Brood members. Sure, his armor is tough, so it'll probably take them a while to crack him open, but they're clearly trying to find some sort of way to shorten the process.

Meanwhile, Tony's just kind of flailing awkwardly on his back while he waits for Dummy to recharge the repulsor rays.

The unmistakable, slightly panicked voice of Tony Stark pops back on the comm channel, saying something to the effect of "GEDDUM OFF! GEDDUM OFF! GEDDUM OFF!"

The sound of screaming Brood is almost as bad as the sound of crunching Brood, as Riana is no doubt learning. Even worse is the smell of crunching Brood, which will probably hit her in a minute. However, it seems to have sealed of their entrance into the town, at least for now.

The Kree seem pretty well resigned to their fate, but that doesn't keep them from firing their blasters. Still, the commander looks a bit confused why the heroes haven't started running to their ships yet.

"You don't understand! You MUST go! Once activated, the Nega-Bomb can not be stopped! In a few moments, this entire solar system will be gone, leaving nothing but a black hole and tales of our UNDYING GLORY!"

Some of the villagers have caught on to Detective Chimp's idea, and seem more than ready to go through a mysterious door, not knowing that it'll take them to the equally-mysterious Oblivion Bar. But they get the general gist, what with Detective Chimp speaking All Languages, including whatever one the aliens on this particular planet speak. A few of them have already made their way through the door, where they will be shocked and appalled by the state of the place, no doubt.

With the bugs temporarily off of him, and his Arc Reactor working on recharging itself, Iron Man gets back to his feet and prepares to launch himself one more time back behind the wall, probably with one Star-Spangled Avenger in tow. But then, he picks up on some of the commotion on the comm channel, and the franticly-chirping Dummy.

"Hold on... I'm going above this dude's head."

The holographic image of Commander Ro-Norr materializes in front of Iron Man, courtesy of the suit's holoprojectors, and the conversation is patched in through the Avengers' (and Special Guests') comm system.

"Hey, bro, what's this I hear about you setting off a Nega-Bomb while we're still on this crappy planet?"

Ro-Norr looks taken aback for a second, as if Tony wasn't supposed to know about this.

"Ro-Norr... don't be like that. Come on... don't be a dick. Are you really planning to blow us up with a Nega-Bomb after we came all the way out here and did you guys a major solid?"

The 'taken aback' look is replaced with a frown.

"Ro-Norr... how big of an explosion are we looking at? There's more than one inhabited planet in this solar system, right?"

Commander Ro-Norr's holographic face turns to a sinister grin. Probably never should have trusted that guy.

"There are only thirteen inhabited worlds in this system, Terran! A small price to pay for the continued security of the Kree Empire!"

Iron Man's shoulders visibly slump forward for a second, before he squares himself back up and calls over the comm system.

"Hey there guys... great job with the whole Brood Incursion thing... but... who wants to go with me into space to defuse a bomb?"

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp calls out over the com. "I will come but we need to get the folks into the bar, and let Jim know it is only temporary, you may be getting one hell of a barbill after this by the way." He will tell to Stark and can be told "Yes, it will be safe, please do not piss off anyone with extra eyes or horns. Listen to what The Man with the sword and the horned man with the trident tell you." He tells to the folk as they make their way into the bar.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The brood-blood covered wolf shakes off its newfound coating. Oddly enough not causing for anything to spray as the color just eeps away from the fur. He momentarily ends up channeling the spirit of a puff ball before the fur settles. "Do what now?"

A claw snatches another brood member who REALLY wasn't learning from its bretheren's mistakes. Phantasm slams the creature down.

Right. Bomb in space. Like the space station all over again. "Have I turned you down yet?"

He's keeping the suit dammit.

Wild Rose has posed:
     The general sounds of battle, sure, Riana could tune those out to a point. It became more of a background rumbling, punctuated by the occasional explosion. But the high-pitched screaming of dying Brood, in /very/ close proximity? That was another matter entirely.

     And then there was the stench.

     Both had the martial artist reeling backwards, reaching for her discarded staff to steady herself, coughing and gagging on the comms. With something of a nod and a sheepish grin up at Bucky, she quips...

     "And I thought they smelled bad on the outside!"

     Tony's voice seems a little muffled to her on the comms, her own reply a bit louder than normal to compensate. "What's that? Defuse a bomb?" Cue in the eyeroll, the headshake, a sigh, and a chuckle. "We're with you."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Bucky is already halfway up the ladder to resume shooting at the Brood, determined as always to finish the mission and /then/ have a flaming row with superior officers about how much of an ass they've been. Turns out you can get away with that sort of thing when you're a Howling Commando and best buddies with the Captain himself. But now he also has the advantage of technically being outside of the chain of command, meaning he can say what he /really/ thinks.

    "If I ever see that face in my scope, I'm shooting it." You can't be discreet over an open comm system, and the Winter Soldier doesn't bother to try. "I trained a long time to shoot one murderous maniac, I'll happily apply those skills to a different one. We can deal with the intergalactic diplomatic consequences later."

    Back in his sniper nest, he takes stock of his equipment and starts to dismantle his perch. "Sounds like the first round is on you, Stark." Rifle, slung. Ammunition, stowed. Visor, packed. Satchel charge... oh yes, satchel charge. Packed and ready. Pausing only to pick up his brass, Bucky descends the ladder one final time.

    "I'm normally philosophically opposed to stopping big explosions, but this time I'll make an exception. Bad enough to sacrifice one village, but thirteen worlds? Not on my watch."

Captain America has posed:
Steve Rogers shakes off a liberal amount of Brood goo, flicking his shield to the side and potentially splattering a few bystanders, "Still having some deep questions in regards to this alliance with the Kree, Tony. I think you can understand why. I do hope we haven't signed any unbreakable treaties, because it's abundantly clear to me at this point, to use the kids nomenclature, that these guys are assholes."