New Age of Heroes

All across the country, let alone the state, the public watched a chunk of New York be lifted into the air by a single man. All the villain had to do was let go, and the entire city, possibly the state, would be destroyed. Suffice to say, people panicked.

Hall smirked at the display of his power over the masses; however, his shift in focus allowed a certain God of Thunder to force his way back up through the crust. Bursting from the water, Thor made his return known to the enemy and allies.

After just sharing a look with his newfound allies, they knew what to do. So, with a nod, they went to action.

Gravattack activated his comm. "Wasp, help Thor in any way you can. Ant-Man and I need to bring that city down without breaking it." 'Not even my ultimate form will give me enough range.'

"Got it, Rocky. If we're lucky, Iron Man will be back." Janet gave him a thumbs up and flew off.

As the remaining duo flew, Hank turned to Gravattack. "I hope you aren't expecting me to make the entire city small. Unfortunately, this isn't an episode of Spongebob."

The alien laughed. "Kind of the opposite, actually. I need you on the West edge while I take the East."

Ant-Man deadpanned at him. "You are severely overestimating my strength if you think I can help you lift several city blocks."

Gravattack shook his head. "I don't expect you to. Trust me. I have a plan. I just need you to help guide me."

Thor flew forward and struck against his gravity barrier to no avail.

Hall stared at the god's attempt with indifference.

Not having any of the man's attitude, Thor charged his hammer with mystical lightning and far harder than before.

The sheer force of the blow sent Hall flying back into the floating mass of Earth with a resounding crash. Then, due to the loss of concentrated gravity, the stolen land began falling.

Suddenly, on opposite ends of the city, green and red lights burst simultaneously.

While one side had the familiar Giant-Man, the other was a bigger surprise.

There stood a larger gray humanoid creature with large red fins on its head and forearms. All across the globe, those watching the news stared in shock at the new giant's appearance. But, most notably, fans familiar with a certain Tokusatsu series cheered.

-----

Tokyo

Yoga, City of Setagaya

A young child genius sat on the couch with his mother staring at the television. "Nanite kotoda! Urutoramandesu!" [Oh, my God! It's Ultraman!]

Behind the couch, a tall green, yellow, and white robot watched in interest as well.

Maemi Takachiho gave her boy a soft smile. It had been a while since she saw that genuine expression. He always had it when watching tv with his father on Saturday mornings. Turning back to the TV, she knew it would drag him into this new world of marvels sooner than later. 'Tabun, watashi wa kyasu ni adobaisu o motomerubekidesu.' [Maybe I should ask Cas for a favor.]

-----

Both his fellow allies and even the villain paused the new transformation.

Hank heaved with his hands held onto the Earthly mass. "Wow… I was not expecting that."

Waybig gave a hearty laugh. "I get that a lot."

Seeing the familiar symbol again, the dots connected in his head, he beamed a bit. "You were Stinkfly, weren't you?"

Waybig sweatdropped a bit. "Heh. I was hoping you would find out after the battle."

"If we live through this, please let me examine your wing structure."

The alien groaned. "Fine, but you better buy lunch."

"Deal!"

"Good. Now, we gotta put this thing down easy." The city blocks slowly made their way back to the surface. "We're good. We're good. We're good. We're good. We're good."

"Wait. Move it to the left about five feet."

"... My left or yours?"

-----

Thor briefly raised a brow. 'Must be one of the other Giant races father mentioned.' Then, turning back to his opponent, he grinned. "As you can see, I have impressive allies."

Hall scoffed. "Big or small, they shall fall all the same." He was about to strike, only to feel a familiar sting near his eyes, now rubbing them vigorously. "Agh! Son of a bitch!"

Wasp floated next to Thor with a smug expression. "Gotta say, as one of the small, you fall for that trick too easily."

Taking the opening, Thor threw an uppercut swing. "Believe me, little one. My brother did that to me more than I like to admit."

She smirked. "Let's keep up the pressure. Come on!"

As soon as the roads touched back down to the ground, people tried to get the hell out of there. People attempted to flee the chaos, packing the freeway. Sadly, their efforts were in vain as an explosion erupted in the medium, crashing several vehicles before lifting them in a gravity field. Graviton crashed, and he was pissed. Their only reprieve was a magical hammer smashing the intruder away. "Why can't you all just die!" Several abandoned semi-trucks launched at the Thunder God and Wasp.

Wasp sliced the closest one in half while Thor batted two of them away. "Yeah… How about, no. I still have more than a hundred items left on my bucket list."

Thor glared. "I suggest you stay down, mortal."

Graviton laughed. "You may slow me down, but do you think you two can stop me? The power of the universe flows through my veins. I've beaten you two before. I can do it again."

Wasp crossed her arms. "If it were just Thor and me, it would be a hard maybe."

Annoyed, Hall lept toward Thor, ready to strike.

A voice came through Janet's headset, and she smirked. "Then again, it never was only us."

Suddenly, a massive blue beam of energy struck Graviton down. Recovering, he glared at the assailant.

Iron Man hovered above the duo. "You should really listen to them. No one wrecks my city without getting an ass-whooping."

The familiar flying red manta ray and a swarm of ants arrived in the corner of their vision. "Sorry, we're late. Considering what happened so far, we had to rescue and evacuate the leftover people in the city."

Giant-Man looked at the former scientist with empathy. "You gotta stop this. You're sick, Franklin. You need help."

Wasp flew next to her boyfriend and narrowed her eyes, "I'd be more than happy to give a bit more zapping. I hear shock therapy is still legal in some states."

The stressed Graviton looked around him. He was surrounded. If he fell, he would likely never see the light of day again. He'll never get to ride the Skyway buckets and Motorboats at Disneyland. Worst of all, he would never know if Ross and Rachael got together. "NO!" He blasted them all back into the buildings and held them there. "I shall not be locked up again." Charging up, he seethed through each breath. "Don't you all see?! I'm stronger than all of you. I'm the strongest one there is!"

Almost all the heroes present rolled their eyes, getting ready for another round; however, a loud crash cut off their train of thought.

A large green beast had landed right on top of Hal, pinning him to the ground.

"You sure about that?!" Hulk lunged and tackled Graviton through a nearby building, leaving the others at a pause before quickly following behind.

"Huh. I did not realize that there are ogres on Midgard," Thor said aloud.

Iron Man shook his head. "That ain't an ogre, that's the Hulk. If he were, I'd be playing some Smash Mouth. My friend said that he was locked up, but it seems he escaped along with everyone else."

Wasp raised a brow at the Hulk grappling Hall to the edge of the city. "Why is he helping us? Isn't Hulk, you know, the bad guy?"

Ben made a face. "The Hulk is complicated. He just has a real problem with military types."

They see Hulk punt Graviton through another wall with a vicious roar. "Not to mention anger issues," remarked Tony.

Ant-Man interjected. "Still, shouldn't we be stopping Hulk and apprehending Hal."

Wasp shrugged. "Maybe after a few more punches on his dumb face."

They all followed the trail of destruction to the harbor, where Hulk was again attacking Graviton savagely.

Iron Man approved of the current beatdown. "I'll take any help we can get. Plus, he's good enough in my books."

The energy field around Graviton fluctuated, sinking Hulk into the concrete.

Seeing the readings, Iron Man widened his eyes. "Oh, shit. Quick, take him down!"

Jetray shot ahead toward their target before disappearing in a flash of green light. A large red humanoid with four arms and eyes appeared. With a wide swing in mid-air, all four arms reared back for four supersonic punches.

The fists clashed against the shield. Then, while two nearly penetrated through, a sudden burst launched him and the others into the ground. The increased gravity affected them all.

Graviton raised his fists, gathering more of the universal force. "Look at you fools! "All shall fall to my Gravity Bind! I possess the power of the universe itself" He flew up, "I AM POWER!" To prove his point, he raised his arms. Numerous buildings, shipping containers, and clouds swirled around the battlefield like a hurricane.

Iron Man's armor joints locked up. "Can anyone move?"

"Nay." Even Thor struggled against the overwhelming force.

As Four Arms struggled to move, Azmuth spoke through his headset. "If you wish to reduce its effect on you, I recommend reducing your mass."

Ben mentally slapped himself for not doing it sooner. He turned his head to Wasp and Ant-Man. "We gotta shrink!"

Hank's boys seemingly disappeared before a swarm of ants started to gather. "Already ahead of you."

After shrinking herself, Wasp stared at the sight before her. "Uh, I think Hulk found his own way."

True to her words, Hulk pressed on to Graviton. Each step resisting the weight of a mountain.

Hall snarked. Even if he was tired from earlier, the enemy should not resist him easily. With one thrust after another, the increased gravity did not deter the green beast. "Impossible!"

Hulk glared at him before smirking. "Is that all you got?!" He pulled himself out of the crater only for a hailstorm of shipping containers to rain down. He punched away the first wave, but he was soon buried under a pile of metal.

Not far behind, Nanomech and Ant-Man weaved through the battlefield for their target. "Gotta say. You get more and more interesting every minute." Then, finally, he caught a glance at the biomechanical insectoid marvel next to him.

Nanomech groaned. "Focus, dude. My eye is up here."

"Seriously, how many things can you turn into?" Wasp and Nanomech grouped with Ant-Man preparing his swarm.

"Less talking, more shooting." He and Wasp swerved around Graviton, firing numerous bursts as a distraction. Meanwhile, numerous flying ants latched onto the man's jumpsuit outside his field of view. It didn't take long for them to invade his clothes and lock their jaws on their target.

Hall's expression immediately shifted to one of pain, screaming out to the world as he grabbed his crotch.

The heroes in the know of the plan cringed at its success.

No longer held down, Hulk burst from his temporary prison and tackled Hall into the asphalt.

"This isn't possible!" Graviton yelled. He raised a hand, blocking several slams from the Hulk. Then, with a hard push, he sent the Mutate flying. Similar to before, he shot a barrage of Shipping containers. Suddenly, he was distracted by the arrival of the freed Iron Man.

Hulk punched through the first container, but the second was cut in half by yellow and green energy beams, allowing him to slip through. He turned his head to the person in question. "You're helping me?"

Wasp smirked. "Yeah, now hit him!"

"Just like last time, dude," declared Nanomech.

With the added support, Hulk traversed through the storm, gathering momentum to his target. Thanks to the cover from Iron Man, Hulk took his free shot, slamming himself and Graviton.

The villain recovered, pushing the behemoth away with a rising slab of Earth. However, Iron Man took the opportunity, unleashing a full-power Unibeam blasting him into a crater in a daze.

Nano-mech, Ant-Man, Thor were grouped, exchanging words before Thor flew to the clouds.

In a flash, the speedy bi-pedal feline re-appeared. "Giant-Man, set him up!" He quickly sped over the water.

Ant-Man grew and grabbed Graviton as fast as he could. Then, mimicking the Mets, he reared back and threw his own fastball. Needless to say, the added whiplash did not help in Graviton's recovery.

Far enough away from the mainland, the alien transformed once again into the gray titan. Timing himself just right, he swung his arms like a bat, launching Hall straight into the sky. For the follow-up, he quickly crossed his arms, increasingly glowing blue. 'Remember, not too much.'

Graviton screamed as he flew upward, unable to focus his power. Further above, Thor waved Mjolnir, summoning godly amounts of mystical lightning. "FOR MIDGARD!"

Waybig yelled out a breath of release. "SHOOTING STAR STREAM!"

Simultaneously, portions of Cosmic Power and the Odin Force clashed with the unfortunate victim in the middle of it all.

As the explosion of light faded, the heroes and the rest of the populace starred in brief shock at the finishing moves. They could see the smoking lug falling, landing like a rock on the remains of the Raft. An arm reached out toward the afternoon sun before falling from exhaustion.

Hulk leaped onto the floating piece of metal with a satisfied smirk. "Who's strongest now?"

Giant-Man, a newly changed Fasttrack, and the others made it to the Raft before reverting to his original size. Hank shook his head at the drained man. "Dammit, Hall, you had the power to change the world."

Wasp walked up to the man. "Yeah, and you chose to be a total dick about it." Then, wanting the last laugh, she zapped Hall in the crotch again for good measure, eliciting another groan of pain.

Happy with today's victory, Thor walked up and pulled everyone into a hug, "The day has been saved! Come! Let us celebrate with food and merriment!"

The brief smile on everyone's faces dropped a sudden interruption.

"FREEZE!" They all looked to see the SHIELD navy and the air force aiming at them, "Step away from the Hulk and the shapeshifter!"

Fasttrack deadpanned at the numerous soldiers. "Really. It's because I'm an alien, isn't it." A few soldiers on the ground gave nods and shrugs. "I swear movies like The Thing give people like me a bad rep… No relation to that orange rock guy."

Hulk snarled, ready to fight his way out alongside his alien friend; however, both he and Ben were surprised by their recent allies standing up for them.

Iron Man raised his helm to show his annoyance. "Seriously? They helped us stop the guy who nearly destroyed the whole state."

Janet pumped a fist in determination. "Yeah. If SHIELD wants you two, then they'll have to go through us!"

After being on his own for so long, it was heartening that more people cared at least a bit for him."

Thor gestured Mjolnir to the duo. "The blue one helped me defend my home from invasion. The Hulk did the same for the people of New York. They are both heroes as well as any of us!"

Fasttrack smiled at the support before turning to the agents. "If you hadn't noticed, we had to carry a bunch of your slack saving the people and stopping the bad guys. You need us."

"Stand down!" Fury pushed to the front of the military detail with a firm expression. "As much as I would like to take them in, we've got bigger problems. Seventy-Four Supervillains are now on the loose. Who knows where they are now? Canada? Mexico? Across the ocean?"

"How did this happen, Fury?" asked Iron Man.

Fury held in his irritation at not having an answer. "We don't know, but we can find out together." He held out his hand. "You can all come work for us. As SHIELD Agents, you can make a real difference."

It was Wasp's turn to deadpan. "You're actually gonna ask Hank and me that again after everything that's just happened today?"

Ant-Man walked forward. "My answer is the same as before, Fury. No, and now I have more of a reason why." The other heroes turned to him. "I do not doubt that 'this' was SHIELD's fault. SHIELD's recklessness gave Hall his powers, but it was your treatment of him that created Graviton. I won't stand for any more lies if it's going to endanger people."

Fasttrack raised his arms in exasperation. "Yeah. Thor and I were just having lunch with a friend, and all of a sudden, the city started exploding."

After hearing all that, Tony smirked. "You know what, Fury's right!"

Heads snapped to the armored hero.

"What?!" Wasp gaped. "You, of all people, are going to work for SHIELD?"

"Hell no! I'm talking about us making a difference together!" Iron Man said with fervor. "One-on-one, we can each take down a villain or two, but seventy-four and new ones popping up every day? None of us can do that alone. Together we have a chance. What we did here, we can change things. The world needs us-." Maria Hill went to interrupt, but Fury held her back, "-but not as SHIELD agents. Together we can avenge all the wrongs caused by all of these villains."

Wasp looked thrilled. "We can be Avengers."

Hulk grunted, "Good name."

Fasttrack smiled at the comradery. "You know what? That's not a bad idea. We can talk about it over food." His expression turned Cheshire. "In fact, it just so happens that Ant-Man here said he'd treat us all to lunch."

Hank's eyes widened. "Wait, that's not-."

Wasp grabbed onto his arm and beamed. "Awe, thanks, Hank. This is the first step for the future. I know this great place on Twenty-fifth street."

Thor cheered. "Huzzah. A round of ale for us all, Man of Ants."

Tony laughed along. "Normally, I pay for my own food, but if Hank's offering, who am I to say no.."

Hank slumped in defeat with a nervous smile. "Yeah… Huzzah…"

Fury watched the heroes go off to eat as Maria Hill walked up to him. "Director Fury, we have the security footage online. Graviton didn't wake until after the security systems shut down." She frowned. "He couldn't have been responsible."

A hollow feeling grew in his stomach. "And if he wasn't, who was?"