SHE | Marvel's Avengers [10]

Chapter 15 - Breakout

"Welcome to Venture Ridge, Wyoming. This was one of AIM's go-to holding sites for Inhumans before the prison was built. After they moved in, most of the residents were evacuated. Keep an eye out for AIM patrols--they won't take kindly to your presence. With any luck, we might be able to capture intel that could shed some light on what they've been doing to your people," We jumped out of the quinjet as it flew to a safe location, the town glowing in the dark ahead of us.

 "Thank you," Dr. Pym said. 

"It's the least we can do. You guys kept me going when things seemed hopeless. Just knowing the Resistance was out there meant we had a chance," Kamala said.

 "The odds finally seem to be tipping in our favor," we smashed a few AIM bots on our way into the town. 

"Do you think we'll find something to prove that AIM's been hurting Inhumans?" I asked, looking around for the facility.

"AIM keeps their data well guarded. We haven't been able to get anything solid. We just have the word of the Inhumans, and I'm afraid that's not enough," Dr. Pym admitted. 

"One of our Resistance allies is nearby and could use some help," JARVIS reported. We headed over to where someone was trapped inside a crate. SHE wrapped a tendril around one of the Riotbots, flinging it into the mountainside. 

While the other two demolished the other bots, I ripped the power supply from the crates, deactivating the forcefield.

"That did it. Theo, work your magic," Theo, the man behind the portals, appeared and took the Inhuman away with him.

 "Research labs usually hold them in specific containment units. They like to have them nearby while they're running their tests. Don't ask why," when we arrived at the facility, enemies teleported in with some kind of whirring sound. 

We knew we had to defeat them all before we entered the facility, otherwise, an alarm would be raised. "They've initiated emergency procedures," JARVIS reported. I let SHE out to play, the darkness enveloping my body.

She was thrilled at the aspect of having full control, but mentally I had the reigns. SHE had a field day, flinging bots far off into the distance. 

I bet this was like a game to her, like whack-a-mole. 

"Come on, SHE, playtime is over," I said when all the bots were defeated. Grumbling, she gave me full control, the darkness seeping back to where it stayed. Kamala bopped a button, but that only caused enemies to appear.

 "That did not go as planned," Dr. Pym admitted. 

"What do we do?" I asked. 

"If you destroy the two terminals on the upper level, the elevator doors should open. I used a tendril to pull me up to the upper level, ripping the protective casing in two and pulling out the place where the core was kept.

My two tendrils wrapped around it, crushing it into a pancake. I did the same to the transformer on the other side. "That did it. Let's get in there," Dr. Pym said, and we filed into the elevator as Kamala entered the code. 

"So you were a prisoner too? Why'd they capture you, if you weren't Inhuman?" she asked on the way down. 

"According to Tarleton, anyone with powers is a threat. They made sure I'll never use mine again, altered my physiology so if I change size, I'll die," Dr. Pym admitted.

"I'm so sorry," I said. I was slowly warming up to SHE ever since Golden Acres when she proved she could fight for the right side. It was a slow process, befriending her, but it was one I was willing to go through if I could be at peace again.

 "So, where to?" Kamala asked. 

"Records show a secure lab at the end of this hallway," JARVIS reported.

We found a console, using it to get through to the next area. "Where's the lab?" I asked. 

"You sure this is the right place?" Dr. Pym asked JARVIS. 

"I've nearly breached AIM's network--they're hiding something. Standby, and see to the AIM forces," JARVIS stated. 

"Oh, they'll get seen to," Kamala said as I let SHE take over again.

"Please work fast, JARVIS," Pym requested. 

"As fast as my processor allows, sir," JARVIS responded. There was a large, dangerous bot with a blue coating around it. Now that I looked around, every bot had that coating. SHE grabbed a bot, trying to rip it in half, but failed.

 The coatings had to be taken down first. She turned the bot around, slamming a tendril into the back and knocking out the forcefield, then ripped the bot in half.

 I was getting tired; keeping SHE under control took a lot of energy, and she was taking a toll on my energy levels, having never been out this much in a long, long time. 

The little bots were easy to take care of; the biggest took all of our combined efforts. "It seems AIM intends to physically remove some kind of research samples from their experiments. An automated transport ship is preparing for takeoff," JARVIS reported.

"Whatever's on that ship, I want it captured! Get to it before it leaves!" Dr. Pym ordered. We got on the elevator, taking it to the correct floor. 

"How do we stop that thing from taking off?" I asked.

 "I don't know if we can, but I could attempt to divert the transport from its intended destination," JARVIS suggested.

 "Excellent idea. See if you can reprogram its destination to the Ant Hill," Dr. Pym said.

"Looks like we made it just in time. Get me close to those terminals so I can infiltrate their network. We must control all three to override the transport's navigation systems. Be on guard. AIM will try to regain control of the terminals," There were three spots with scanners in front of them. Kamala went to the first one, it scanning her as she fought against a bot, and an Avengers A was projected. I moved to one of them, letting it scan me and switching it over to our control. An AIM bot hacked into the third scanner, but I regained control and took it out.

It was like Capture the Flag, but deadlier.

 "It's taking off!" Kamala said, pointing out the obvious. 

"JARVIS, tell me you got it," Dr. Pym begged.

 "Yes sir, with .4 seconds to spare. The transport should be arriving at the Ant Hill within the hour," as JARVIS spoke, the quinjet appeared with the ramp lowered, allowing us to get on. We all filed on, Dr. Banner returning to his normal self as we took our seats and I regained control.

"Excellent work, everyone. Head back here and we'll begin digging through those AIM research samples. Well, that didn't go quite according to plan. We got some valuable research samples, but AIM is far more powerful than I had anticipated," Dr. Pym said.

 "They've got so many of me and Ahmi's people. We have to stop them," Kamala said fiercely.

 "Agreed, Kamala. But we need some time to regroup. When Tony gets here with the Chimera, we'll be in a much better position to go on the offensive," he said. 

"Okay...but we can't wait too much longer," she said. I leaned back, tired from the battle.

"Okay, head back to the Ant Hill and we'll talk about next steps,"