The Avengers: Next Gen Rising

James's Stand! The Adaptable Avenger vs The Adaptoid!

As the Adaptoid headed closer and closer to James, the red headed boy was able to dive out of the way just in time while landing an explosive on the Adaptoid's knee. It went off three seconds later, causing it to slightly stumble before he ran after the boy. "Stubborn like your dad I see. But fine. Have it your way!" Justin called out, still so sure of himself about defeating him. If course he had the right to be sure of himself. This was just a kid. Nothing special about him. Not like Captain America was at least! "I'll deal with you, then get your dad right after. He'll definitely be a far bigger threat than you'll ever be!" He mocked while chasing James, using Hulk's larger size to sprint after James, who was sprinting as fast as he could.

James smirked at how confident his foe was, immediately using his shield to flip up the Adaptoid, using his own strength and momentum from how fast his foe was headed toward him. "Sorry, dad's not here at the moment. Mind if I give you some company instead? Treats are on me!" James quipped as he saw the Adaptoid land on top of some well placed mines, exploding on impact.

Deirdre was even more bewildered by her leader's quick thinking, and his ability to judge what Justin was going to do. She stood by just in case she was needed, but she couldn't believe what she was seeing from him. 'Was he ..... holding back a secret power this entire time?' She thought to herself. But then immediately disregard that, as it already seemed ridiculous to think about.

Meanwhile, the Adaptoid was headed toward James again, preparing to crush him using Thor's hammer and Torunn's sword. "I gotta admit, I admire you're guts taking me on like this. But it's a shame I gotta get rid of em." Justin said, unafraid of giving credit where it was due. Currently, it was indefinitely due to James.

Not long after saying that, James flew out from behind some rubble on a newer looking floating motorcycle and blasted the Adaptoid with a weapon that shot out a makeshift version of his shield, knocking it down again. He then slightly swerved around and stopped, waiting for Justin to make it stand up. "Sorry about that. I was actually trying to knock out this bucket of bolts." He stated jokingly while soon driving off again.

As the Adaptoid chased after him, Justin saw Deidre chase after it and blasted at her with a repulsar blast suddenly, but it missed thanks to Deirdre's quick thinking. "Don't worry. After I deal with your little boyfriend, you're next." He mocked before focusing back on James, soon using the repulsar blasts to run even faster.

Deirdre was about to chase after James, but suddenly, their coms links went off. "Avengers, whatever you do, do not come for us yet! Give me ten minutes first and then come in on my signal!" He commanded the team while driving the motorcycle with ease.

The red headed Asgardian was about to disobey orders, before Ekaterina and Hulk grabbed hold of her. "But-we can't just-"

"Trust me. He's gonna surprise you for sure." Hulk said reassuringly, putting a hand on his ally's shoulder.

Ekaterina smiled at Deirdre, showing she was very confident in her younger brother's ability. "Remember what everyone said before.....and trust his judgement." She said gently while gathering some metal from the mech that had seemed to have fallen off. She then noticed that Deirdre was staring at her with confusion. "I'm a kleptomaniac, but admit it. This can help us somehow." She admitted with a shrug.

Meanwhile, James was driving his bike up to the base again, entering a garage they had and sprinted forward, hoping that the Adaptoid was still following him. Upon closer inspection, it in fact was following him. But it was showing signs of damage throughout the body. Some from the explosions, and others from its harsh landings it's had. But it wasn't enough just yet. There was still lots of fight left in it, and the young boy knew that. "I think I've got it right where I want it! But I need just a little more time....." He mumbled as he jumped up to get to a ladder high up above him that he was just able to reach, thanks to his athletic abilities.