Avengers: Vengeance

Mourning the Dead

"Mother fucker," Fury muttered as he stared at the television screen in the center of the well-hidden headquarters of what was left of the Freedom Fighters he led. There, for all of Doom Empire to see, was footage of Captain Doom, Winter Soldier, and the Widows displaying the freshly claimed heads of Daredevil and Guardian.

"Let this serve as a co to universe example of what befalls any who oppose me." Doom was standing on the front steps of his castle, his menacing visage soon filling the camera.

Fury balled his hands into tight fists, his fingernails digging into his skin until blood started to spill.

"This can't be happening," Shang-Chi spoke solemnly from beside him.

Fury shrugged his shoulders and fought the urge to come undone. "What's the point to all this?" he asked before turning to look at Shang-Chi. "Why do we even fight?"

Shang-Chi shivered with discomfort. It wasn't like Fury to lose hope like this. He put his hands firmly on Fury's shoulders and looked into his eye. "We fight because we want to make the world a better place. Doom is a tyrant and he and his people have been oppressing what's left of this planet for far too long."

Fury shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Whole world's gone to shit because of Stark and his weapons."

Shang-Chi clenched his jaw. "As long as there are people to protect, that's what I'm going to keep on doing. It's what we do."

Fury smiled bitterly. "You know, Guardian wasn't just the last member of Alpha Flight; he was the last Canadian. Ever. The entire population's been wiped off the map forever."

"That's why we can't stop. We have to make their deaths mean something." Shang-Chi fought the tears that he could feel forming in his eyes. Doom's relentless oppression had claimed the lives of his family and friends as well. Every time he closed his eyes he saw their dead faces stared back at him. And all the skill, all the power he possessed- it couldn't bring them back.

"It's just us now," Fury sighed. "You, me, Wasp, Hawkeye, Falcon and the kid."

Shang-Chi looked over his shoulder and into one of the little alcoves in the distance and failed to suppress his tears any longer.

"How is he today?" Fury asked.

Shang-Chi shrugged. "Don't know. He's still not talking."

"Maybe...maybe we should turn ourselves over," Fury whispered.

Shang-Chi's eyes widened. "What?"

"I know, I know. I can't believe I'm saying it either," Fury confessed. "Just hearing me say it makes me feel like I'm in some kind of fucked up alternate reality. But we've all lost too much."

Shang-Chi shook his head. "You're actually suggesting that we throw ourselves on Doom's mercy? You think he's going to just forgive fugitives like us? There won't be amnesty, Fury. No, if we do that then it's our heads on display next."

"Maybe it's better that way. Less...suffering."

Shang-Chi scowled at the man and took a step back. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Maybe you're losing your nerve, but I haven't forgotten who I am. I'll go down fighting, not bowing down and begging for mercy. You can count on that!"

Fury watched as Shang-Chi turned and walked away. It felt like things were unraveling and he couldn't stop it. When S.H.I.E.L.D. had existed he'd been in control. But that was another lifetime ago. That was before Stark's weapons demolished half of the planet. Before Doom rose up and took control of the other half. Before Stark's godforsaken artificial intelligence had taken control of what remained of the wastelands his weapons had left behind.

Shang-Chi walked over to the kid and sat down at the foot of his makeshift bed. He forced a smile and tapped his leg. "Your face is going to get stuck like that, Pete."

Peter slowly pulled his eyes away from the wall and rested them on Shang-Chi. "I heard Fury say Matt and James are dead."

Shang-Chi's forced cheer stalled and died. "Yeah, buddy. They are. I'm sorry."

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "It's fine. Everyone leaves. I'm used to it now." He looked over at the crumpled photo on his bed and Shang-Chi followed his gaze.

"Your aunt wouldn't approve of you doing this, you know? Starving yourself. Not leaving your bed."

Peter touched the picture as if it were the most fragile thing on the planet and tears started to spill down his cheeks. "Back in World War II Captain Doom was a hero. He used to help people."

"He still could be if he weren't under control..."

"But I don't care what he could be," Peter said in a suddenly angry tone. He looked up at Shang-Chi, his eyes burning with rage. "He killed Aunt May. He killed her and she was harmless. He just..."

Shang-Chi reached out and pulled Peter in for a hug.

"I'll kill him," Peter whispered. "Some day I'll kill him."

"Peter..."

"I don't care if he's just a mind-controlled slave. I don't care about anything anymore. I just want him dead. And I want to be the one to do it."

The murderous fury in the teenager's voice awakened a fear in Shang-Chi. He stared down into Peter's hate-filled face and once again found himself mourning for the life he should have had. Peter should have been staying up too late playing video games, acing his exams, picking out colleges, and spending time with friends. He shouldn't be fighting an unwinnable war. He shouldn't be watching his family and friends get slowly picked off one by one.

The entrance to their subterranean hideout suddenly slid open and both of them jumped up from the bed, their positions defensive. When Wasp walked in with Hawkeye supported against her, they breathed a collective sigh of relief before rushing forward to help.

"He broke his leg in a fall," Wasp explained as Shang-Chi and Peter helped the archer onto a table.

Hawkeye's family hurried forward at the sight and sound of him. Laura embraced him and touched his face where Romanoff's kick had split the skin open. Cooper and Layla stood a few feet away, their expressions a heartbreaking mixture of relief and fear.

"Daredevil and Guardian," Hawkeye grunted through the pain as he reached for his children's hands. "Did they get out?"

Fury and Shang-Chi exchanged sorrowful looks. Hawkeye closed his eyes and gritted his teeth while they worked to splint his leg. Wasp turned away and buried her face in her hands and began to silently cry.

Hawkeye reached into his sidepack and retrieved the package. He held it up and Fury's eye widened. "You got it," he said in disbelief. "You fucking got it."

"I hope it was worth it," Wasp said as she turned around. Anger replaced her sorrow but her tears continued to fall.

Fury smiled down as he took it in his hands and looked at it. "Trust me. It's worth it." He looked over at Shang-Chi. "Earns a message to Falcon. Tell him to come back to base."

"What's a pager going to do for us?" Shang-Chi asked.

Fury looked up at the others and his smile broadened. "It's not what the pager's going to do for us. It's what the lady on the other side's going to do."

"Lady?" Peter asked. "What lady?"

Fury pressed the button on the pager and the screen was suddenly my illuminated with a pattern of blue, red and gold. "You're about to find out," he said, his voice trembling with emotion.