#please tell me it is veranke!!!!

[slayerchick303]

*SECRET INVASION EPISODE 4 SPOILERS!*

I just finished the episode and I have thoughts and questions:

Why was this episode so short? It was like, what, 30-ish minutes?!

Was that freakin' Veranke masquerading as Rhodey?! I'll lose my mind if it is. I mean that in a good way.

I called the G'iah thing. I think we all knew she wouldn't die. As if Marvel would waste Emilia Clarke like that.

Why did Priscilla have to make that huge journey to get that gun? She's a spy. She's Fury's wife. She's a shape-shifter for crying out loud. Surely, she didn't have to access a specific gun from a safe deposit box.

Fury walking away and saying, "We'll never know," when Priscilla asked if he would still have loved her if she hadn't changed was awful. I was furious with him for that.

I fully gasped at the end. I kind of expected it going into this show, though I hoped I would be wrong. I love Talos. I was hardcore shipping Talos and Fury last episode, and after Fury and Priscilla's "falling out" this episode, I was even more invested in Talos x Fury. I know Disney/Marvel NEVER would've made them canon, but I still feel robbed of seeing them together more.

I'm honestly not sure how Talos' death will affect G'iah. Part of me thinks it will drive her further down Gravik's rabbit hole of death-to-all-humans because Talos died trying to save a human president. Another part thinks that because Gravik was the one to kill her father (and possibly mother), it'll make it so she can't bring herself to work with him anymore. I can see that, plus maybe interacting with President Ritson and learning her father's mission was a better route (though it's still an incredibly stupid and naïve plan) could bring her to change. That being said, I'll remain suspicious of her.

I'm still worried about the health of humans in the fracking pods because of the radiation (especially Rhodey).

If we don't learn when Rhodey was replaced by the end of this, I'm going to be mad.

[kiyaar]

My eyes went directly here: caroljess untitled veranke fallout scriv Yes please. Also Tumblr keeps telling me I'm trying to send a link BUT I AM NOT TUMBLR

this one is an auction fic for 2 people, you know who you are, and it is basically jess making her way back to carol's apartment after the big secret invasion fight/prison ship touchdown being absolutely bewildered and fucked up about it and carol being angry and sad and very fucking tired and they have some rough, affirming 'glad you're not dead' sex in carol's blown out building

[wits-writing]

Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective Ep 37: “Infiltration”

(Directed by Roy Burdine, Written by Christopher Yost, Original Airdate: July 8, 2012)

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes season two’s first major storyline, the Skrull invasion of Earth, culminates over this episode and next. I’ve appreciated how the show’s gone about building up the storyline by interweaving moments of build-up with Skrull-Cap into other standalone episode plots to get us here. Episodes where it got more focus, like “Who Do you Trust?” and “Prisoner of War”, have been among my favorites this season so far. Payoffs start coming in strong as this episode opens on a Skrull shuttle crashing near Wakanda. SWORD sends Carol to investigate the crash. The newest Avenger’s shocked by what she finds coming out of the ship, the rest of the Avengers. The apparently returned heroes, who I’ll say now are fakes and will refer to as “Skull-vengers” from now on, claim they were all captured immediately after season one’s finale and only recently escaped.

This obviously isn’t meant to fool the audience, given what we’ve been explicitly shown of the Skrulls’ plans. Its purpose in the story comes down to how it shakes Ms. Marvel’s grasp on the situation. Her job means protecting the planet, whether with the Avengers or SWORD. She’s been at her best throughout the season when she’s certain about what needs to be done. Dents in her resolve keeping her from taking her next move makes sense with her recent history with Mar-Vell selling Earth out to the Kree. It makes the desperate situation this turns into one that escalates so quick she doesn’t know where to aim her energy blast. The Skrull-vengers and her approach Wakanda to be met by the true Black Panther, who’s been preparing his country for war since he was informed of the invasion. We see Wakandan foot soldiers and Dora Milaje decked out in power armor standing next to high-power turrets and mechs as T’Challa tells the imposters to turn back or be prepared to fight.

Once the battle starts, Carol’s caught between two sides that may as well both be her allies in her mind. It’s a well-presented action showcase as the rain comes down while they fight, reflective of the turmoil going through Carol’s head. She spends most of the fight on the defensive in order to deescalate the conflict. She’s trying to find some lull in the fight where she can puzzle her way out of where to aim her energy blasts. Complications increase when Hawkeye and Wasp, the only two human Avengers active on the team at this point, show up and take the factions Carol needs to keep track of up to three. She gets a brief look into her worst fears when the Skrull-Thor’s taken out. Since that only confirms the Skrull-vengers as fakes, Carol finally gets to let loose against the imposters. In the aftermath of the battle, Carol, Hawkeye and Wasp realize the fight was as much to distract them as it was to attack Wakanda. They’re left determined to find a way back to New York so they can get ready to stop the real invasion once it begins, though T’Challa elects to stay with his people.

The two people on Earth most paranoid about the presence of the Skrulls, Nick Fury and Tony Stark, reckon with a lot this episode. Tony starts the episode frantically researching a way to detect Skrulls among humanity. JARVIS informs the audience that he hasn’t taken any calls or taken off his armor in weeks. Iron Man’s anxious solitude gets broken by an unexpected guest, Doctor Doom. The despot lets Tony know what he’s managed to discover about the invading forces and surprisingly offers the hero exactly what he’s been looking for, the components needed to perfect a Skrull detector to interface with his armor. Tony arrogantly chides Doom about not being able to figure it out on his own before being called on by Fury with an urgent message about the Skrull infiltrating the Avengers.

Fury and his small band of Secret Warriors spend this episode putting the final pieces in place about what’s going on with the invaders. We see a Pepe Silvia conspiracy board of suspected Skrulls and crossed out non-suspects, including still-image cameos for some of the X-Men. Fury looking over all the information he’s gathered gets him thinking over the actions Captain America’s been taking throughout the season. He notices how quick Cap was to attack Ronan in “Welcome to the Kree Empire” and convincing the Hulk to surrender to the Hulkbusters in “Nightmare in Red.” While those expose Skrull-Cap to him, that revelation dominos into another.

When Tony arrives at Fury’s location to learn about Skrull-Cap, Fury’s frantic over who’s been hiding right under his nose. Mockingbird was supposed to inform him about any suspect actions SHIELD was taking, which should’ve included the Hulk’s imprisonment. Mockingbird reveals herself as Skrull Queen Veranke. She knocks out the other Secret Warriors and reveals something else, the Skrull detector Doom gave Tony was a Trojan Horse to shut down his armor with a virus. The Skrull’s needed to make sure they understood Stark’s tech to take it out before beginning their final assault, probably from the information Skrull-Cap gathered in “Alone Against AIM” though it’s not explicitly stated. With everyone paranoid enough to prepare for the Secret Invasion out of the picture, Veranke calls in their flagship as the episode closes out.

“Infiltration” is a strong arc-episode for EMH. Multiple threads get brought together to setup for the ending of the Skrull storyline, while leaving enough for the next episode to take care of on its own. The battle in Wakanda meets the action quota for the show, while Tony and Fury’s stories delve into the more character-driven side of the invasion. The main critique I have for the episode isn’t one of it as a standalone piece, but as part of EMH’s greater whole. While the twist and turns of who’s a Skrull get to play out for the character, none of them get to have the same effect on the audience. We already know the Avengers in Wakanda aren’t the genuine article, plus Cap and Mockingbird’s true identities have been known for even longer. I’m left to wonder whether the tension could’ve been stronger if “Prisoner of War” was saved as a buffer between this episode and the next, leaving the audience to guess if any or all the Avengers aboard the Skrull-ship are real like Carol does.

Next time, the Skrulls announce themselves to the Earth.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

[quakesjohnscn]

@akagoddammit

Lately, the word that Daisy figured was more applicable to the world as a whole was a word she’d grown intimately familiar with over her life. It was one she knew pretty much as well as her own name (which, okay, she’d changed, like, three times now, but that so wasn’t the point here!), and it encompassed life as they knew it pretty well. The word was shitshow, and Daisy had yet to find one that fit her situation better.

Seriously, what else could you call it when the organization you’d hesitantly signed on with turned out to be run by aliens? You’d think she would have learned her lesson after the whole SHIELD/HYDRA thing, but learning had never really been her strong suit. The point was, if Daisy had been uncertain about the Panel before, she had one foot out the door now. She wanted intel, wanted to figure out how deep Veranke’s grasp on this had been, and wanted to know whether or not something like this could happen again. The best way to do this was to hack the servers, obviously, and Daisy was a huge fan of Occam’s Razor. 

Unfortunately, the Panel’s firewalls were good. Like, Tony fuckin’ Stark good. There was no way in hell she was hacking into the server from the outside, no way in hell she’d get through the blocks before she got caught. The only way to get in was through an inside computer. Luckily, Daisy had never let that sort of thing stop her. She wasn’t sure whose desk she was sitting behind exactly, but she’d gotten through their login page with an easy hack and was working on decrypting their files when the door opened. Like a deer in the headlights, Daisy froze, looking up at the person who’d just entered. “Okay,” she said, wide-eyed, “I’m pretty sure this is a dude’s office, so if you don’t rat me out, I won’t rat you out. God, please tell me you’re not coming in here to fuck the guy, because he’s got a picture of grandkids on his desk over here and that’s just... Seriously too much for me. I can’t think of anyone fucking a grandfather, I won’t do it.”

[thcjackpot]

Cold Blooded | MJ & Baclath (Kate?)

Summary: Baclath attempts to replace MJ and it does not go according to plan to the Skrull’s plan.  Featuring: Baclath @futzyou Triggers: Violence

Having the Young Avengers once more a team, fortuitously re-formed only hours before Kate Bishop was replaced, presented several unique opportunities. Reconnaissance on the younger heroes of the city was made suddenly simple. She could gather information on their strengths and weakness, slip bad-habits into their training exercises, and manipulate their naive little minds. They trusted Kate Bishop, and why wouldn’t they? There was no way to expect the wolf hiding amongst the sheep, and certainly no way to find her. No way to stop her from leading these youthful idiots to the slaughter.

They patrolled quite often as a group -- and ran into several other heroes along the way. This city had quite the population of cape-wearers. It became clear to Baclath that a replacement crew would not be able to defeat all the Young Avengers at once, not when they could so easily call on allies if need be. Not with near the amount of secrecy it would require to keep the ruse alive. No, she would have to be patient. She remembered Caden’s lessons, and she would make her mentor proud.

So she waited. Sussed out which member to replace first. Eventually, she decided to target MJ Watson, also known as Spinneret. A stupid name for a stupid Terran. The girl was not remarkable in any way other than influence. Personal assistant to Tony Stark, Young Avenger, well-trained, dating the speedy blue one of the Avengers. It would relieve some of the burden on Veranke as well, as MJ was close to the Drew-host. Eager to please her queen and her mentor, Baclath set her trap, and then made her way to a nearby rooftop.

On Kate Bishop’s phone, she dialed the number. “Spinneret!” she hissed, because Kate Bishop insisted on using these insipid names while they were ‘working.’ “Got a situation, abandoned warehouse at 354 Canal street. I think these guys have gotten their hands on some Syndicate gas -- ya know, that stuff that takes powers away? I figure you and I are blessedly powerless, so it’s probably best to handle this ourselves. What do ya say, Spin?”

Ever since Pietro’s confession and Franklin Storm’s appearance, MJ was unfortunately off her game. As a Young Avenger, she was supposed to be better than this, she was officially a member of a team, an important one, and here she was, more upset about her boyfriend telling her he loved her, and her best friend’s father coming back into his life (despite what he wanted). Regardless, she was doing her goddamn best. Systematically, she patrolled streets, intervening whenever she could, and battled whatever idiotic robber crossed her path. It paled in comparison to the work she did with the Young Avengers, but Kate hadn’t called, and Tony hadn’t mentioned any major changes to the Skrull threat. Because of that, she was going to pray that everything was going as best it could under the circumstances.

Apparently jinxing herself, MJ flinched when her phone vibrated in her pocket, and immediately picked up when she saw Kate’s name on the screen. “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she promised. If it really was the gas the Syndicate used, they needed to get a handle on this immediately. The heroes would suffer irreparable if they allowed it to continue, and the gas to spread across the city. Wasting no time to linger on personal problems, she quickly changed into the Spinneret suit, and swung across New York to Canal Street.

When she arrived at the address Kate gave her, MJ immediately entered the alleyway, and saw Hawkeye standing there. “Let’s catch up later, and kick ass now,” she suggested, touching Kate’s shoulder gently. With that, trusting Kate was directly behind her, MJ kicked open the doors and immediately spun a web to take her to the rafters. She was always deadlier when she got a little momentum going, and it gave her a better vantage point. Gas began spreading throughout the building immediately, although it was nothing like the gas the Syndicate used. Her eyes began watering, and she choked on the fumes. Deadly as she was from up high, the soldiers in question seemed to know that, and shots were fired onto the rafters. Coughing, MJ swung back down into the centre of the action, and tried dodging the blows dealt. Their opponents had gas masks, shielding their vision, and she quick as MJ was, she was already outmatched.

The gas was not a complete lie. The Skrulled soldiers waiting for them in disguise were equipped with a very potent toxin, one that she could tell was already having an effect on MJ Watson. Good, she thought, though she kept the grin off her face. Kate Bishop was supposed to be her friend, it wouldn’t do to drop her disguise now. Even if MJ Watson would only be a threat for a few moments more.

In that spirit, Baclath fired a few shots towards the soldiers. Her aim was not as good as Kate Bishop’s, but that was for the better. She didn’t truly wish to wound her own men, after all. They did not wish to harm her either, but they had to keep up the ruse for a little while longer. So she found herself dodging shots, and firing the ridiculous amount of arrows that Kate Bishop had in her pack. She grabbed one at random, and fired it towards the men -- only to discover that it was not, as she had assumed, a normal arrow. No, this one exploded when it hit the ground.

The soldiers were thrown backwards, and only then did Baclath recall that Clint Barton (very possibly the most irritating human on this entire irritating planet) liked to create his own specialized arrows and give them to his protege. Dammit. She had grabbed one by mistake, and the gas they were employing was flammable. The sparks were already starting to ignite.

Her men were down, though some were starting to rouse themselves. The building they were in, though not in use, very possibly held more explosive materials inside. Baclath lowered Kate Bishop’s bow, coughing on the smoke as she assessed the situation.

It was not going well, that was for sure. “Retreat,” she murmured. She clenched her jaw, beyond furious that her plan had gone so poorly. “Retreat!” she yelled, more for her soldiers’ benefit than Watson’s. Where was she? In all the chaos, she had lost track of where her target was. Caden would be ashamed, and so was Baclath.

Luckily, the soldiers seemed to be focusing more on MJ than Kate. Considering they were all adept at hand-to-hand and she was the one in their immediate vicinity, it was the logical strategy. As tears streamed furiously down her cheeks, she gagged once more on the gas, but continued attempting to dodge blows. Judging from the pain spreading across her body, completely killing the speed she relied on moments ago, MJ knew it was useless. The villains were winning this fight, and she couldn’t evenx see enough to use her webs for emergency aid.

Quickly, one of the soldier’s hands shot out, grasping her wrist, and wrenched it backwards. MJ bit down on her lip to keep from shouting out, refusing to give them the satisfaction. Her leg shot out, attempting a kick to the groin — it was a sound strategy! — but he responded by dodging, and threw her to the ground. Her head throbbed, and her vision ducked in and out for a moment. When her eyes finally focused, sparks were flying, caused by the smoke, and thank god, Kate’s arrow.

Hazily, MJ noted several barrels across from her, and the hazy shapes of the soldiers. Without thinking, she lifted her hand — the one that wasn’t lying at a peculiar angle — and shot a web out towards the barrels. She yanked one froward, and watched as the contents spilled over, and immediately caused the sparks to evolve into furious flames. “That’s bad,” she murmured, trying to muster the energy to move. The flames were moving quickly, and their heat was already scalding her skin. Christ, everything was throbbed, and her vision was unfocused.

“Kate?” She called out frantically. Think, Watson, goddammit, she chided herself. Where had the arrow come from? Could she move her wrist? Could she move at all?

There was a loud crash and a splintering sound -- Baclath turned her head just in time to see a barrel come tumbling down, breaking open against the floor. Whatever was inside erupted into flames. Anything coated in the gas or the contents of the barrel was on fire. And if the flames hit the rest of those barrels, the entire building could go up.

She saw Watson, in the middle of the floor, near some of the fallen soldiers. Those who had heard Baclath’s cry were already heading for the exits, but Watson was just laying there. Dazed, her wrist at an odd angle, shouting her name -- her host’s name. Did that mean that Watson saw her too? Even if she hadn’t, Baclath couldn’t let a valuable resource like this die. There would be other opportunities to replace the Watson girl, but only if she managed to get them both out of here.

Grabbing another one of Barton’s ridiculous arrows, this one marked ‘tether,’ in tiny letters on the tape, Baclath shot into the wall right above a window, and swung down, landing next to Watson, one hand still holding the rope. “I’m here,” she said, voice clipped. Surely not even Bishop would be chipper during a battle going this poorly. “But we gotta get the futz out of here. Can you hold onto me?” She tugged on the tether -- still secure. “I know I’m not an official spider or anything, but I’ve always wanted to try and swing out a window. Say that one, right there,” she said, pointing to the broken glass just below her tether.

Kate was still alive, although she sounded far away. Squinting against the flames, she tried to search for her friend, but her vision was still blurred, and she was moving in slow motion. Idly, she wondered if that was how Pietro felt during the power swap, like he was struggling underwater. Hesitantly, MJ struggled to sit up, her wrist, bruises, burns and head made that difficult, but she had never been a quitter. No matter how dire the situation seemed, she was determined to live through it. Philip had been the first test, the Syndicate the next, and this was apparently going to be the third. As she moved, she groaned loudly, and her entire body protested the movement.

In true heroic fashion, Kate appeared right in her line of vision. She had a rope tied securely to an arrow, MJ was guessing, and she was in way better shape than she was. That was a relief, it was one small thing that she hadn’t fucked up in the past week. “Yeah,” she said hoarsely. “I’ll hold onto you.” Even if it seemed nearly impossible, in order to live, MJ would make it work. With her good hand, she held tightly onto the rope, knowing full well that it was no metaphorical lifeline. “Swing out that window and get us out of here,” she requested.

Baclath was taking no chances. Too much had already gone wrong, and if she let Watson die here, it would muddle up her plans. It was lucky that Kate Bishop’s tether was not made of regular rope, but a specialized material, apparently flame retardant. (She would not give credit or say Barton’s invention was impressive -- it was merely lucky.) She reached over and looped the end of the rope around MJ’s waist, tied it securely just in case, and then attached the end to her belt. The window wasn’t far above them, but they would need momentum.

There was no time to think. The flames were spread out all around them, catching on old cardboard boxes, licking at the heels of outdated machinery. Baclath had to focus. She surveyed her environment, the way Caden had taught her. A Skrull always found something to use to their advantage. She just had to think. What was here?

Heat prickling at my skin. Boxes. Machines. The mix of smoke and gas strange and heavy in the air. Arrows. Webs. Flames. Many flames, licking at our heels. A series of catwalks stretching up to each level…

An idea came into her mind, a dangerous one, but she was out of time to decide. “Hey, so, web yourself to me if you have to,” she said, drawing a very specific arrow from Kate Bishop’s quiver. “Because I’m catching us a ride.”

With that, she fired the explosive arrow into the collection of gas and flames. It shot them upward, she kicked off as hard as she could at the same time, and let the tether be her guide through the thick haze. Cold metal slapped against her skin as she hit the catwalk, just below the window. “Holy futz!” she shouted, scrambling to her feet, reaching down to pull Watson up as well. “I didn’t expect that to work!”

Though of course, she had. She had more confidence and more skill than Kate Bishop. Below them now, the remaining barrels were starting to splinter and crackle, so Baclath wasted no more time on foolishness. She hoisted herself up onto the window sill, and checked the tether once more. All they had to do now was climb down before those barrels blew.

Jessica’s lessons never extended to what to do when your vision was blurred, your skin was burnt, and your wrist was potentially broken. Strangely, while her mentor thought of lesson plans, mostly focused on offence and defence, that scenario had never come to mind. Christ, that was hysterical. She was going to die, Johnny would never know he was her best friend, no matter what happened, Pietro was never going to know she definitely loved him, Tony wouldn’t know how greatly he influenced her, and she couldn’t think of anything heartfelt to say to Kate given the opportunity. She was pathetic, a complete failure, and her vision darted out once more. At least that gave her something else to focus on.

It wasn’t that MJ didn’t trust Kate to save her life. Part of being on a team as tight knit as the Young Avengers ensured that she did. If anyone was capable of getting them out of this, it was going to be Hawkeye, but even if she did survive, the injuries she sustained were bad — worse than she’d experienced in the past. There were burns, bruises, oh god, she was going to look hideous. Her head began throbbing once more, and just like that, all focus went out the window (unlike her fucking body). “You got it,” she mumbled. Obediently, she webbed herself to Kate, unable to aim very well. Hopefully it’d be sufficient.

MJ was only semi-lucid when Kate propelled them forward, but she definitely realized the second her body slammed into the cold metal catwalk. She hissed in pain, and her arm defensively wrapped around her torso, like it could take away the throbbing on impact. Kate pulled her up, and she stood unsurely on her feet. Her own bodyweight felt like several hundred tonnes, but she’d faced worse, and now they had a shot at survival. Nothing could stop her from taking it. “You did great,” she said, offering her a tense smile.

Their time was undoubtedly limited, and MJ only had one half-formulated plan in mind. “I can web us down from here, it isn’t that high up.” Granted, her idea of heights was skewed in comparison to most people’s. “The tether will work both ways, and we’re already webbed together. You trust me?” Given her nausea and severe lack of balance, she wouldn’t be offended if Kate said no, but they were running out of time.

Watson was still in one piece, despite her dangerously dangling wrist. If there was any victory to be had tonight, it was in that alone. Baclath was already imagining ways to spin this night -- she could not tell Caden or Veranke the truth. She had failed. She was more shameful than her foolish, idiot brother. She was a disgrace to all Skrullkind. And if she did not fully intend to make up for this mistake, she would surrender herself for execution.

But no. She was far too valuable to this invasion, even if she was stuck in a pathetic wimp of a host. She would blame the men. The replacement crew that should’ve been able to subdue Watson much quicker, before everything got out of hand. Only a handful had managed to flee, the rest were still inside. It would mean hunting down those who had escaped, but that was simple enough. Their death was already a bygone conclusion in her mind. Tonight would be full of casualties indeed, but these Skrulls were obviously weak and worthless, or they would’ve found a way to survive. Just as she was, right now.

She was thinking of all this, distracting herself from her inner rage (which burned hotter in this moment than the fire at their backs). So intently, that when Watson spoke, she had to blink and refocus. Trust? No wonder these humans were such a pathetic species. She had just risked life and limb to keep this girl alive, while she pathetically cried out about her wrist and her burns, and Baclath was supposed to trust her?

But in this form, it wasn’t about what she would do. It was about what the host would do. And she knew without even looking into Kate Bishop’s mind, what the answer would be. “Of course I do,” she said firmly, wrapping an arm around MJ’s waist.

Kate did trust her as it turned out, even if MJ privately wondered whether that was a good choice or not. Web slinging took focus, and most of all, it took precision, neither of which she currently had in spades. Unfortunately, the rest of the barrels were seconds from blowing, and wasting time would mean dooming them both. With Kate’s arm securely around her waist, MJ lead them towards the window, and then slung a web across to the other building, as promised. With her vision ducking in an out, and her mind spinning, she couldn’t gauge the exact distance, but intuition told that she would have to release that one, and rely on her bad hand. Halfway across, she did just that, and ignored the blinding pain. Life or death, she reminded herself, and then she clumsily landed on the ground.

Behind them was the burning building, and distantly, she could hear sirens. “We’re alive,” she said gleefully, wrapping a single arm around her friend. As the sirens rapidly approached, MJ ducked into the alleyway, knowing Kate would understand exactly why. Unsteadily, she leaned against the bricks, and began the painstaking process of tearing her Spinneret suit away from her scalded flesh. It was gruesome, but in order to maintain her identity, it was very, very necessary. “I think I gotta go to a hospital,” she muttered as the wooziness set in, worsening by the second. Finally, she was free of the spandex, and she only pulled a (thankfully) long shirt overtop of herself. Stark would definitely understand why after catching sight of her.

“Yeah, I gotta — ” she cut off mid-sentence, heaving for breath. People witnessing her injured had always left her panicked, though her thoughts were far from clear enough to remind herself of that fact. She pulled her phone out with one hand and dialled Pepper’s number, knowing she would be at their location in minutes, and prepare the necessary medical staff. At least she had insurance now. Once the text was sent, MJ’s eyes flitted closed, and she leaned her head against the bricks.

Baclath had only been half-listening to Watson when she mumbled out her plan, so when the girl shot out the web and swung them far, far from the warehouse, she felt her breath catch in her throat. It was not fear, merely surprise. She corrected herself quickly, forced a grin of triumph onto Kate Bishop’s face. For her, something as paltry as just getting away with their lives would be considered a victory.

The tether arrow snapped halfway through their escape, but MJ had already swung again, this time with her bad wrist. Her pain was both amusing, and irritating. What if that wrist was permanently damaged? It could affect her standing with the Young Avengers, turn her from valuable asset to damaged goods.

When they finally landed, Baclath snapped the bow to its harness across her back, and turned to Kate Bishop’s friend. She too slung an arm across the other girl’s shoulders, though the casual touch made her want to vomit even more than the gas-smoke mixture had. But it was MJ who broke the contact first, leaning against the building, stripping away her charred costume. Baclath had to keep her face carefully blank, but the injuries did not look good. Burns. Lacerations. The dazed look in her unfocused eyes. That wrist. All of it added up to trouble.

And it would be up to her to fix it. To make matters worse, it seemed that physical injuries were not the extent of Watson’s problems. Why was she breathing like that, as if she were terrified? The danger was passed, they were alive. A mental health issue, perhaps then. It was difficult to say, and even more difficult for her to figure out what to do. The first step was simple enough -- she reached over and plucked the phone out of MJ’s hands once she saw who was being called, and spoke for her. “We need a pick-up at 354 canal. Well, near there,” she said, breathing heavily herself now. Mostly out of irritation, though it might be construed as fatigue. “And a medical staff on standby, please Pep?” The overly-concerned woman on the other end assured her that the Iron Legion was already on its way to pick them up, and that she’d call in a doctor.

That taken care of, Baclath hung up the phone and pocketed it, guiding MJ down to sit on the ground. “Just relax,” she said, biting her lip. “Help’s on the way, and you’re way too pretty to die like this, MJ.” This was the annoying part. Because clearly, Watson would be more comfortable alone, but Kate Bishop would never abandon her friend in a moment like this. No matter how much she wanted to go, she had to at least keep her disguise intact. Especially if she was going to make up for this mess. But how the hell was she supposed to provide comfort for a pathetic creature who had ruined her best plans? “Just relax, MJ. I got you, okay? I got you.” Not yet, she thought secretly. But someday I will.  

[wits-writing]

Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective Ep 36: “Prisoner of War”

(Directed by Steve Gordon, Written by Kevin Burke and Chris Wyatt, Original Airdate: July 1, 2012)

The return of the real Steve Rogers, rather than the Skrull impersonator, to the story of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes makes a strong base premise for “Prisoner of War” to build from and it’s more than up to the task. Steve’s story begins with a flashback to two months ago, creating a solid timeline for how long he’s been replaced. We get a glimpse into the process the Skrulls have been using to perfectly replace their targets on Earth, a ritual that uses both magic and science. It’s confirmed that Skrull-Cap’s mission to prepare for the invasion was to make sure the Avengers fell apart, which he accomplished as of last episode. Steve’s been kept alive aboard a Skrull warship, imprisoned and tortured so the invaders can determine what it takes to break the human spirit. They picked the wrong person to test that on, since Captain America remains resilient no matter what he’s put through. He even sees through a faked rescue by Skrulls disguised at the other Avengers (“How stupid do you think I am?” – Steve)

He manages to escape from his cell to discover see exactly where the prison is for the first time since being captured, somewhere around Saturn. Looking for other prisoners leads him to the victim of the first Skrull infiltrator we were aware of on the show, Madame Viper. The Hydra officer’s in disbelief that Captain America’s standing in front of her, reasonably so considering everything we’ve seen the Skrulls doing to Steve. The two work together despite their usual allegiances, considering it’s their best chance at returning to Earth. Steve holds up the Skrull that tortured him to get information on why the aliens are so invested in Earth. When the Skrull laughs off Cap’s threats because of the hero’s moral code, he says he can’t guarantee the same mercy from his fellow escapee (“I want to see what color its blood is.” – Viper)

Steve and Viper are given the entire story of why the Skrulls are invading Earth. The Skrull’s had a prophecy that eventually their home planet would be destroyed and there’s a prophesized new home planet in the galaxy to serve as the new center of their empire. When Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, completed the first part of the prophecy, it spurred Skrull Queen Veranke to determine Earth as the chosen planet for their new home. The details around this prophecy are the most material we’ve gotten out of the Skrull’s motives this season. We see several Skrulls reference the prophecy in passing this episode whenever they take another step in their plans by the repeated phrase “As it is written.” The Skrull telling Steve and Viper this ends with the warning that even if they escape, the invasion’s already over. They’ve already replaced members of every key organization around the Earth. Once they conquer the planet, makes themselves known and crush any resistance, any humans left will be kept alive to serve the Skrull Empire as slaves.

Captain America doesn’t let this deter him and goes with Viper to the next step in their escape, locating the other captured humans on the ship. When they free them, we get a look at members of different organizations prioritized as targets by the Skrulls. Some we already knew about, including an AIM scientist shown in the episode’s cold open, Mockingbird and Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, kept sedated so she can’t use her powers. Others are newly revealed and noteworthy, including Henry Peter Gryrich, Cobra from the Serpent Society and SHIELD Agent Quartermain, who’s been a recurring presence in the series but such a non-entity that I haven’t felt the need to name him in these recaps until now.

The escaping Earthlings get intercepted on the way to the ship’s shuttle-bay by the Super Skrull, a Skrull soldier gifted with all the powers of the Fantastic Four. The conflicting allegiances of the escapees comes into focus during this fight. Some of them, like the AIM scientist and Cobra, would rather leave as soon as they hijack a ship and it takes Mockingbird to keep them there until everyone’s ready to escape. Steve’s willing to sacrifice himself in a fight against Super Skrull so the rest of them can make it out alive, but he gets saved at the last minute by an awoken Invisible Woman. While the escapees fly the shuttle back to Earth, Viper promises Cap that once the invasion’s successfully driven off, they’re back to being enemies.

The Skrulls left on the prison ship break the bad news to Veranke about the humans escaping, but the Queen sees it as a demonstration for what they can do to guarantee the success of their invasion. Like the true Captain America was able to band together members of the disparate groups imprisoned on the spaceship, they’ll use Skrull-Cap to convince humanity to submit to their empire.

Veranke’s not wrong to take that lesson away, since “Prisoner of War” gives Captain America his best showcase in the series so far. It gives us everything that makes Steve Rogers great; resilience, leadership, thinking his way out of a situation when his backs to the wall and improvising a new shield out of whatever’s nearby. Partnering with Viper in order to escape gives a glimpse into what lines Cap will and won’t cross in the face of certain doom. The promise of him finally reuniting with the other Avengers soon makes a promising note for his arc in this episode to end on.

Next time, the Skrulls begin the final phases of their Secret Invasion.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

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Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective Ep 33: “Who Do You Trust?”

(Directed by Gary Hartle, Written by Brian Reed, Original Airdate: May 13, 2012)

I enjoy the place “Who Do You Trust?” starts the team and how it sets up for the tragic conclusion for the team this time around. Since Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is often a show about the heroes dealing with one major crisis after another, we don’t get a lot of the characters hanging out casually. Having the heroes, namely Tony, Clint, Janet, Carol and Skrull-Cap, getting pizza together to celebrate Carol’s joining the team makes a pleasant moment of them at their closest. Bonus points for juxtaposing this by cutting to Hulk in the mansion on monitor duty while “Black Panther’s on Hulk duty” to quote Skrull-Cap. It’s useful contrast to what ends up being an episode built on the everyone’s paranoia. The journey towards the breakdown starts when the team all need to leave their meal to stop the supervillain Griffin. While everyone else suits up and rushes out, Tony stays behind to pay the bill and ends up knocked out by Black Widow and taken to see Nick Fury.

We haven’t seen Fury since “Widow’s Sting”, when he discovered the first signs of Skrulls infiltrating Earth through the deceased Skrull that was disguised as Madame Viper. Fury’s new character design stands out from his first reappearance in the cold-open, in Maria Hill’s living quarters on the Helicarrier. He has a clean-shaven head and goatee now making him look closer to his Ultimate Universe and MCU counterparts. It’s believable that he decided to change his look while investigating the secret invasion of the planet, so that’s all I’ll say about it.

He spends the episode telling people like Hill and Tony about the Skrulls and how they’ve already infiltrated multiple high-profile targets, SHIELD and the Avengers. Fury’s clever enough to know he can’t be certain if the people he’s talking to are Skrulls themselves, but with the fate of the planet in the balance he’s willing to take that chance. He assembled his own crew to help him deal with this away from any major organized force, including Black Widow, Mockingbird and Quake (making her first appearance in the series.) They were the ones who organized Griffin’s rampage for the other heroes to deal with while Fury pulled Tony aside to give him the full rundown on the invasion, namely that they suspect Skrull-Viper had Hawkeye replaced while they were on Hydra Island. Mockingbird noting how the time they spent separated after Viper said Hawkeye “could be useful.”

Since Tony’s not great at the art of subtlety, he immediately confronts the entire team with this suspicion. The situation degrades into physical in-fighting quickly, especially since they can’t know if Tony’s telling the truth or if this is exactly the kind of thing a shapeshifter would say to rile people up. They can’t rely on personal knowledge, since Widow (who spent a year close to Viper) mentioned to Tony that the Skrulls have a way to copy memories. Tony runs down various reasons to not trust anyone else, like Cap could’ve been a Skrull since they found him, Hank’s connection to the Ultron incident and Hulk’s powers tie into changing form anyway to name a few. Things get bad enough among the team that Tony decides to leave them behind, since he can’t be certain of the few people he trusted anymore. He’s not the only one to exit, Carol decides she’d be better off prepping SWORD for the invasion and T’Challa prioritizes preparing Wakanda.

Before the team completely disassembles, Skrull-Cap gets the chance to reinforce his cover by rallying who’s left with an inspirational speech. He tells them that this kind of paranoia is what the Skrulls would want to tear them apart and leave the world defenseless. The other’s left; Wasp, Hulk and Hawkeye, agree to not stop fighting the good fight over this, leaving the Avengers as a unique twist on Cap’s Kooky Quartet. We’ll see in the next few episodes how this will only be the first in a series of key moments of Skrull-Cap taking the meaning people ascribe to the image of Captain America to his advantage to make the heroes of Earth more vulnerable.

“Who Do You Trust?” closes on a series of events based around the characters dealing with their feelings about the Skrull infiltration of Earth. Tony’s stewing in anger over what seemed like the best thing he’d ever done becoming a casualty in the invasion, T’Challa’s ordering the Dora Milaje to prepare Wakanda for war and Carol hesitantly doesn’t answer when SWORD agents ask her what’s wrong. Fury’s looking over the situation at Avengers Mansion with Quake, who can’t believe Tony blabbed about his suspicions immediately. The former SHIELD director thinks he’s done exactly what was needed to throw the Skrulls off their game. Though the end of the episode reveals he might have been the one getting played all along as Skrull-Cap makes a rendezvous with Mockingbird, revealed as the Skrull Queen Veranke.

This marks the place where the first major plot thread of season two, the Secret Invasion, begins ramping up the drama. Moments before and after paranoia overtakes the Avengers highlight the bonds the characters share and how they get tested. My two favorites are the rest of the Avengers leaving the newbie Ms. Marvel to fight Griffin on her own and giving her a chance to show off her power level and Hulk as the first to defend Hawkeye once Iron Man brings up his suspicion. The gradual build to the characters becoming aware of the invasion and tearing them apart almost completely build tension to whether they’ll be able to come back together once the situation demands it.

Next time, Thor gets his first season two spotlight when he encounters a worthy opponent.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

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Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective Ep 38: “Secret Invasion”

(Directed by Boyd Kirkland, Written by Christopher Yost, Original Airdate: July 15, 2012)

“Secret Invasion” opens on a montage of Skrull infiltrators taking out their key targets, including SHIELD, SWORD, AIM, the Baxter Building and Avengers Mansion. Maria Hill stands out amidst the destruction of these high-profile targets. When she’s confronted by the Skrulls impersonating SHIELD agents aboard the Helicarrier, she orders all human agents aboard to evacuate and takes the time to taunt the aliens for good measure. Hill took Nick Fury’s warning back in “Who Do You Trust?” seriously, revealed when the infiltrating Skrulls open fire on her and she’s revealed as an LMD. Her ability to overcome the odds to save the people under her command makes a showcase for what she can do when she’s not being used as a stubborn authority figure standing against the Avengers. Hill even gets the best line in the episode while looking at the crashing Helicarrier. (“I’ve had the same car since I was nineteen-years-old, never had a problem. And yet this thing falls out of the sky every other Thursday.” – Maria)

Tony Stark and Nick Fury are stuck in the same position we saw them in at the end of the previous episode, collapsed and at the mercy of Skrull Queen Veranke. The Queen points out how each of them let their paranoia get the better of them, which left them vulnerable to the Skrulls’ schemes. Her communications with her soldiers about the invasion’s progress reveal the truth about Skrull-Cap to Tony as he overhears it while overcome with pain from his virus-infected armor. Maria Hill gets to make the save for these two when she arrives and drives Veranke off. Hill gets to work restoring Iron Man to fighting form, while taking instructions from Stark. It’s a close call as Tony walks her through removing and repairing the arc reactor powering his suit and heart. When he’s repaired, he prioritizes completing his Skrull detector and “calling in a friend” before heading to the center of the invasion, Washington, DC.

The only human Avengers left, Wasp, Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye, end up there first, under Skrull-Cap’s orders. The false hero’s plan for them goes into motion once they arrive, as the heroes are surrounded by a group of Super Skrulls. Each of these new attacking aliens has a different set of powers and designs that pull from characters that have appeared on the show, though one’s an amalgam of different X-Men. It turns into a losing fight as the amount of power in any one of the Super Skrulls could be enough to overwhelm the three heroes. They end up captured by their enemies and brought before Veranke and Skrull-Cap ready to play their trump card. The aliens get the fake Captain America broadcasted across the globe and he delivers their message telling humanity it’s for the best if they surrender and “Embrace Change”, a line pulled directly from the event comic this episode’s named after. We get a look at dumbfounded crowds around the world reacting to their greatest hero selling them out to an invading force.

On the verge of the Skrulls’ victory, the tide turns with three major returns. First up is the true Steve Rogers with some of the other prisoners from the Skrull ship seen in “Prisoner of War.” Veranke tells him no matter what happens, the damage has been done and his image will forever be tainted by Skrull-Cap’s speech. Her assurance rest on humanity’s overreliance on judging by appearances, a statement she makes right as Iron Man arrives with a perfected Skrull detector that doubles to make sure the shapeshifters remain in their true forms. The final arrival assuring the Avengers’ victory against the invaders is Thor, finally back on Earth and sporting a new outfit closer to his movie look but thankfully keeping his helmet.

For all the Skrulls efforts to make sure the heroes fell apart, the Avengers still managed to rally back in Earth’s time of need. The team’s more complete in the final third of this episode than its been since season two began and it’s a showcase for why they’re stronger united. The centerpiece to this story arc’s climax ties back into what’s been driving it throughout the season, a battle between Captain America and Skrull-Cap. There’s a noticeable shift in the shade of blue Skrull-Cap’s wearing as the two fight to further differentiate them on top of the different costumes and the fact that one of them’s an alien. Captain America beats his imposter while expressing rage at everything he’s done to Earth and the Avengers while bearing his face. By the time that fight’s over, the rest of the team’s left to knock Veranke out and take her into custody.

The remainder of the episode’s spent on taking care of loose ends. A lot of the farther-reaching consequences of the mass Skrull infiltration of Earth gets set aside in narration from the characters. The Damocles was destroyed but SWORD’s working on a new base, while their agents use Tony’s Skrull detector to locate any remaining aliens on the planet. The Baxter Building was recovered by the returned Invisible Woman. Finally, Veranke and the Super Skrulls are being kept in stasis within Prison 42. Having a massive event get the consequences rattled off in a tell-don’t-show manner like this is frustrating, but also an inevitable byproduct of this show being about the Avengers above all else. So, their perspective on the invasion was always going to be what fell into focus.

This episode and the story throughout the first half of EMH season two building to takes cues from the event comic Secret Invasion. That event happened to be the first Marvel event I read as it came out when I was getting into comics. While I mostly avoid direct comparisons to the source material in this retrospective to keep them from going off-topic, I want to say I prefer this show’s version to that comic up to a point. The narrow scope mentioned before is the primary thing I’d hold against version and a couple plot points that get resolved so easily I didn’t bother mentioning them.

The Skrull’s invasion dealt damage to the trust between the heroes and people’s trust in the heroes that won’t go away easily. We’ll see some of that next time, as Captain America deals with the lost faith of the public while teaming up with a certain Wall-Crawler.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”