16 Chapter 16

It didn't take me long to find a place with things I could make use of. Luckily I was in a school dedicated to science and technology and I soon found a room dedicated to engineering that was full of things like robot arms, half-built computers, and something that looked like a laser gun that had married a video game console. Everything was placed on the various tables and counters in haphazard ways, which made sense since any students that had been in there had evacuated out before they could put away their projects.

I didn't stop to admire them. I entered the room as Fasttrack and tapped the Omnitrix. I didn't call out when I changed, the need to be silent overriding the habit.

Something interesting happened when I turned into the tiny form of Jury Rigg this time. As I looked around at all the half-finished projects I could see all the love and care that had been put into them. Someone had clearly tried to build something beautiful with that robotic arm, something that could replace prosthetics. That computer over there had a chip more advanced than anything on the market, but I could see it was made for video games. It was a passion project, not just a school assignment. Most of what I could see was made by people who loved creating things.

So I hopped onto the table and patted the robotic arm affectionately. Then I ignored it, and all the others. Instead, I ran to a shelf full of parts and tore into it, metal shelf included. A calculator had been left on the floor, so I grabbed that too.

"DISASSEMBLE!" I coughed a moment later. "Uh, disassemble," I whispered this time. Hopefully, there were no HYDRA nearby to hear that first cry.

I focused on my work, going through the various objects before finally finishing my first device. Considering the time crunch, I'd been forced to make something less ornate than I would have wanted, just something similar in shape to the Stargate from... well, Stargate. I raised the ring up in my red claws and adjusted it a bit.

"X," I whispered. "You connected?"

"Yes sir," he replied.

"Good, I'm about to activate this teleportation jammer. It'll work, but I want to see if the range is what I'm hoping for."

"...I thought you were going to ask me to self-destruct."

I blinked in shock. "What?"

"It is the common next step in fictional stories when a computer gains sentience despite the creator's wishes. In order to assauge any fears you may have, please know I am ready to self-terminate. I do not wish for you to be in trouble for my creation, nor to lead you to fear that I will hurt you or others."

To that, I could only shake my head. "What kind of angsty... X, those stories are bullshit. If you want, we can discuss it in full later, but know that I trust you. If it helps, focus on Data from Star Trek, or KITT from Knight Rider. Then you'll know why I'm not worried. For now, we've got work to do buddy."

I felt like I'd been very abrupt. But the idea I couldn't trust X was ridiculous. Maybe, if I'd been human, I'd have been nicer. As Jury Rigg, I knew him more than anyone else I'd ever meet. The question of his loyalty was ridiculous.

"Understood sir," he said over the comms.

With that, I activated the ring. The center of the ring ejected several panels that changed the ring into a round disc, 'closing the iris'.

"I can read the range of effect, sir," X said. "It covers every bit of the school."

I tweaked the device a bit.

"It has extended a yard. How far can you have the range of your device cover?"

"Not as much as I wish," I admitted. "But it will be enough to prevent easy access to the school, and defend the rendezvous when we get there."

Placing the Iris Device on my waist, I made one more device before I was finished. I reached for the Omnitrix and changed into Fasttrack, the devices I'd made resting on my hips. I ran for the room, then took a detour to hide one of the devices I'd made, a 'just in case' measure.

"This is Dial, I've finished the device. When they try to teleport in they'll just bounce back to where they came from now."

"Good," Natasha said. "Come back, we're going to need you."

"I'm already here," I said, coming to a stop next to her an instant later. Tomas and his guys pointed their guns at me, but Natasha held her hand up to stop them and nodded. They were a few rooms from the lecture area that HYDRA had taken as a beachhead if they hadn't moved on. More SHIELD agents stood with us, ready to move in, with some downstairs.

"All right, let's move in," Natasha said. "Dial, take out as many as you can while we move in. 3, 2," I leaned into a sprinting position. "1-"

I was gone in an instant. I entered the room and looked around. The HYDRA soldiers seemed confused as to why no more of their people were teleporting in. Apparently, they'd been hoping for more numbers before going on the attack, but there were only about forty in the room now. Some were floating in the air in their armor like discount Iron Men. I leaped towards one at super-speed, smashing my feet into his chest as he floated there. I pushed off from him to jump towards another guy, twisting in the air to punch him in the face. As soon as I hit the ground, I was running again. HYDRA realized there was someone in their midst, and tried to aim at me. But Fasttrack was way too fast. I ducked around a purple bolt by dropping into a slide, then popped up for a blisteringly fast uppercut that sent a guy backflipping to smash into a wall. I did a back kick into another guys knee, shattering his leg, then ran to a man who was taking off. He tried to shoot me, and I was forced to spin around the purple energy bolt. As soon as I was safe, I leaped up and grabbed him as he tried to fly away, pulling him down before spinning around ten times and throwing him at his friends.

At the same time, SHIELD rushed into the room through the upper and lower doors. They charged in weapons raised, yelling for surrender.

That's when the woman who looked like Michelle Rodriguez acted. Her eyes began to glow a bright red, which could not be a good sign. She looked at the SHIELD agents that had entered through the lower floor. They started staring at her with... uncomfortably lustful eyes. Then they pointed their guns at the SHIELD agents on the higher level and started shooting.

"Down!" Tomas yelled, ducking behind some desks. "What the hell are they doing!?"

"Dial, get their guns!" Natasha yelled, shooting a HYDRA agent in the head before her cover was blown apart by a purple beam, forcing her to switch to a different section.

I had a moment of shock before I ran towards the SHIELD agents. I passed through their ranks three times, grabbing their guns and piling them in my arms before running upstairs to drop them next to Tomas and his men. I looked at the SHIELD agents, who blinked at their now empty hands before they pulled out handguns. I was going to run and pull those out of their hands as well when the SHIELD agents held their guns to their heads.

"Stop!" Michelle Rodriguez's double shouted.

The room froze for a moment. Natasha looked at her and cursed. "Davida..."

"Hey, Nat," the woman said casually. The SHIELD agents below, still holding guns to their heads, moved to join the HYDRA soldiers. "You look good."

"So do you," Natasha said casually, pointing her gun at the HYDRA soldiers. "That's a new trick," she nodded towards the SHIELD agents currently threatening to kill themselves.

The woman, Davida I guess, scowled but nodded. "It's something HYDRA gave me. I don't like using it, but I have my orders. Invade the academy and take the students."

"You're HYDRA?" Natasha asked.

"I'm hired by them," Davida corrected.

"Natasha," Tomas asked as I watched alongside him. "Who is she?"

Davida smirked. "Someone you love..." Her eyes flashed red, which could not have been good.

"Damn it!" Natasha attempted to fire her weapon.

But by then, I was already in love with Davida.

Why shouldn't I be? I'd always loved her. I'd only met her moments ago, but she was just so... perfect. Everything about her, from her raven hair to the way her leather jacket and blue jeans hugged her form.

That was when I saw Natasha pulling the trigger and acted before she could. With Fasttrack's speed, I kicked Natasha in the side. Not enough to break her ribs, but enough to push her to the floor.

As she landed, Tomas and the other SHIELD agents grabbed at Natasha. She rolled to her feet, jammed an elbow into a soldier trying to wrap his arms around her, then kicked Tomas in the thigh when he tried to punch her. She leaped over a desk to escape another SHIELD agent's grasp

Then I grabbed her by her hair and pulled until she was bent backward. Natasha struggled against my enhanced strength for a moment, then tossed a taser onto my chest.

"Aaaaagh!" I screamed, letting go of her. Natasha spun away, then rolled when purple bolts and bullets aimed at her. Desperate to please my love, I ran towards her. Natasha got up to confront me, but she was far too slow. I was already-

The Omnitrix timed out. I came to a stop in front of Natasha, who grabbed me by the shoulder and twisted around to throw me out the door behind her, the both of us getting out before bullets and purple beams passed through the air where we were once standing.

"Snap out of it!" Natasha yelled at me, slamming my face into a wall.

"I already did!" I yelled back.

Natasha pressed me harder into the wall. "Wait, what?"

"I have a different brain now, pretty sure changing cures mind-control!" I yelled again. Although I was confused. I had been certain that the Omnitrix protected against that sort of thing... our maybe Davida's powers could overcome that somehow?

"...That's useful," Natasha said.

A whistle came from downstairs. We looked down the stairs and I groaned. "Ah, shit."

Davida was down the hall. She smirked up at us, then looked at me before her eyes glowed red.

"You titanic bitch-" I had time to mumble. Then I was in love again.

But this time Natasha was ready. She grabbed the Omnitrix the second it turned green, twisted the dial, and slammed down on it before flipping away.

I grew several feet. Orange and black striped fur grew across my body. I roared, a massive blast of noise that felt like freedom.

"Rath!"

Behind me, SHIELD agents stormed out to start shooting at me. I ignored the bullets bouncing off my skin with ease. "Let me tell you something, Davida-Who-Is-Working-For-HYDRA!" I yelled, grabbing a SHIELD agents gun and snapping it over my knee, before gently headbutting another. "Rath doesn't like getting mind-controlled! Only Rath can tell Rath's brain what to do!"

I got in the way of bullets that would have hit Natasha. She grabbed my head and flipped over me to kick the guy who shot at her, then springboarded off my back to kick another guy.

"Rath's mind is like a black hole that reflects light!" I roared, then sliced a gun in half with my claw before grabbing a HYDRA soldier that had come out of the room to throw him over Natasha as fought two other men.

"That's not how black holes work!" Black Widow pointed out. Natasha grabbed another agent as he walked out and spun him to slam into a wall.

"I will protect my love!" Tomas, yelling desperately, swung a metal baton surrounded by electricity, pressing it against me. I looked down at the baton sending a weak charge through my skin that left me wincing slightly, then grabbed it out of Tomas' hands and snapped it in half.

That's when Davida had made it up the steps. She ran towards me with her soldiers hovering behind her and punched me in the face.

To my shock, her fist sent me through the window behind me, sending me flying through the air with the loud sound of glass shattering. I fell into the courtyard below, and Davida followed, landing on my chest as the concrete below cracked under my landing. She looked into my eyes, smirking as they flashed red.

"You love me," she purred softly. "Don't you?"

I stilled, locking my eyes onto her beautiful face. "Rath... loves you."

Then I punched her in the chest. She let out a startled shout, flying back twenty feet and smashing through a pillar.

Natasha Romanov/Black Widow

Natasha spared a glance when a massive noise was followed by Davida flying back from a punch thrown by Rath. "Huh. Guess he's immune?"

She ducked a punch thrown by one the SHIELD agents and focused on the task at hand. She grabbed the arm of the man who'd tried to punch and elbowed him in the chest with a vicious and quick strike. Then she ran.

Bullets and purple beams flew towards her as she entered a door and ran through a classroom.

"This is Black Widow!" She shouted over the noise. "SHIELD agents have been compromised by a mind manipulator!"

"Ma'am," X said over the comms. "I can see you on the school's cameras. I can mark any SHIELD agents that have been affected by Davida Devito's powers if you wish? I can use the Hercules app?"

"Do it!" Natasha yelled, rolling under a desk when another purple beam sizzled through the air to pass her. "But I'm taking them out before that!"

"In that case, Dial made sure to leave a non-lethal weapon nearby, in case he needed it," X said, surprising Natasha. "Run down the hall, then enter the room on your left, the supply closet."

"He left a weapon for me?" Natasha asked, sprinting at full speed before seeing the supply closet. She entered it and looked around.

"He left it for himself," X noted. "A cautionary measure he did on a whim. It's installed with the Hercules App so that any HYDRA using it would have it explode in their faces. A flash-bang."

Natasha sighed. "I have no idea if I should commend him or be angry at him."

She saw the device instantly. It looked like some sort of ray gun from an old sci-fi movie. Natasha grabbed it and looked it over. "Any idea how to use it?"

"Point and pull the trigger."

"What a time for the robot to discover sarcasm," Natasha said with a sigh. She left the room, holding the ray gun in a single hand. She took her time, listening closely to the area around her. After a moment of walking through the silent halls, she heard footsteps.

Soon three SHIELD soldiers and a pair of HYDRA fliers turned the corner. As soon as she saw them she shot the gun in her hands. A strange green projectile shaped like a ball surrounded in a green ring slammed into one of the SHIELD soldiers, lifting him up and tossing him back. Natasha fired again, taking out one of the HYDRA fliers. As the flier fell out of the air, the other three men started shooting, but Natasha ducked aside into a bathroom. The soldiers rushed after her, entering a small side hallway.

It was empty. For a moment, the three men looked around the small hallway in confusion, walked into the hallway.

"Hey boys," someone said, prompting the three to look up. Natasha had a smirk on her face as she held herself against the ceiling with her feet and hands against the walls to apply pressure and keep her in place, pointed her ray gun downwards.

Three loud shots rang out, followed by three bodies hitting the floor. Natasha dropped to the floor and went around the corner. Tomas stood there, looking surprised as they almost bumped into her. He swung a fist at Natasha but she ducked it to gut punch Tomas. He fell back, then received a kick in the head that brought him to the ground. Tomas went to rise up, but Natasha shot him in the chest, knocking him unconscious.

"Well, just a few more to go," Natasha mused to herself.

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

I rose to my feet and growled when seven HYDRA soldiers floated out of the window I'd broken to start shooting at me. "Let me tell you something, stupid HYDRA Iron Man knockoffs!" I roared as they shot at me. "Dumb purple beams aren't enough to stop true love!" I leaped up, trying to pull one down so I could probably beat his face in, but he rose out of the way. "Stand still so Rath can beat you up and present your broken bodies to Rath's beloved!"

To my frustration, they responded by shooting me in the face and chest with bright beams of purple light. "All right, that's it! Now Rath's going to have to improvise because Rath left his giant fly swatter at home!"

I took a page out of Creel's playbook and ran to a vending machine, grabbing and tossing it with great speed. "HAYLEY'S FLIGHT!" The HYDRA soldier I threw it at tried to dodge but fell out of the sky when the vending machine full of candy bars and gummy bears slammed into his legs, shattering them. I grabbed another one, but HYDRA separated to make it hard for me to aim. I roared.

Then a hail of bullets came out of the sky. They hit one of the HYDRA men shooting me, sending him to the floor in a pool of blood.

"Hey, kid!" Rhodey flew over to me, firing two repulsor beams. "These the guys?"

"Yeah!" I yelled happily. At the same time, Davida rose up from the remains of the pillar I'd sent her through and started striding towards us. "And that's the woman Rath loves!"

Rhodey looked at me through the facemask of his helmet. "Wait, what?"

"Hey, shoot her!" I yelled. "Rath wants to see if she's bulletproof!"

"You need to work on your romance," Rhodey mumbled. Then his minigun spun around and shot at Davida.

She walked through the hail of bullets, letting them bounce off her skin with no effect. Her leather jacket was torn to pieces, her tank top and jeans were ripped, but her face was unchanged. Then she started to grow. Slowly, she rose in height and weight until she was only an inch shorter than I was, her body expanding with muscle, growing denser in general. Her jeans and tank top stretched as well, but held strong despite her growth, leaving her looking kinda badass.

She looked over at Rhodey with a familiar smirk. I moved in front of him and smiled at her, not affected when her red eyes hit me. After all, I already loved her.

"You take HYDRA!" I said.

"Seriously, what is going on?" Rhodey asked as he rose up to start dogfighting the HYDRA soldiers now trying to kill him, dodging their purple beams to fire his repulsors.

"Let me tell you something War Machine!" I yelled joyfully, rushing towards the now massive Davida, who raised her fists up. "Rath's about to ask her to marry Rath! If you're lucky, Rath might just ask you to be Rath's best man!"

Davida dodged around my charge, then grabbed me by the waist and spun to throw me through a wall. I crashed through the concrete and landed in a classroom. She ran after me, punching at my face as I rose up, but I blocked her fist on my arm. I clawed at her face, and she winced as the razor sharp weapon on my fist bounced off her chin, though it did leave a small cut in the process. I grabbed her by the shoulders and headbutted her. "VREDEFORT HEADBUTT!" She took the blow, then returned it with a headbutt of her own.

With that, we began punching each other, our massive forms tearing through the school.

Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes/War Machine

Rhodey shook his head as he watched the giant tiger and woman throw themselves into the school. "I miss normal sometimes," Rhodey said to himself.

Then he was flying after a HYDRA soldier. The man tried to shot Rhodey as the pair flew in the air, but Rhodey dived around the glowing purple and fired a single repulsor blast into the other man's chest.

As though signaled by the death of the first soldier, other HYDRA came out of the building.

"All Quinjets!" Rhodey yelled as he fired the machine guns on his arms and shoulder at the dozens of men rising into the sky. "Prepare to engage hostiles, ones in power armor!"

"Roger that, War Machine!"

Several aircraft spun to face the school. Rhodey dived into the HYDRA fliers and smashed one in the chest with a hard kick, spinning to shoot another one with a repulsor blast as his minigun aimed fire at several more, hitting one in the legs and another in the chest.

A HYDRA agent flew into Rhodey's back and held on, shooting him in the back with his gauntlet weapon. War Machine yelled in pain as his HUD sent him warnings, and spun in the air to throw the guy off him before his minigun spun around to kill the man.

War Machine rose up and fired off repulsor blasts and bullets as fast as he could. HYDRA soldiers spun around in the skies and tried killing him, their purple beams sometimes slamming into him. Rhodey grunted as he took a couple hits to the chest that scared his armor, but thanked god for Tony when the suit held strong.

The Quinjets joined in and started shooting as well. Some of the HYDRA fliers swarmed one of the Quinjets, their gauntlet fire tearing the aircraft apart.

Rhodey dived down suddenly when he saw a group of HYDRA fliers trying to get to the parking lot. He went under a bridge while shooting one in the back with a repulsor, stopped to grab one by the leg and spin the HYDRA flier around to throw him at a stone bench, then flew forward shooting with every bullet he had.

The men in the parking lot that had been turned into an evacuation point saw the HYDRA fliers coming towards them and began firing upon them. Bullets and purple beams flew back and forth between the two groups. Rhodey joined in, shooting at the HYDRA soldiers. One of them flew at Rhodey, screaming.

"One head falls, two shall rise!" Rhodey blocked the punch the HYDRA soldier threw at him, then fired a hail of bullets into the chest of the man, the HYDRA fliers armor shattering under the bullets before he fell.

"Guess I should take out two more," War Machine quipped. With that, he raised his arms and kept shooting, sparing a moment to wonder what the massive booming noises behind him were.

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

"You're good at this!" I complimented, hoping she liked me as much as I liked her. "STEDIZIAN REVERSAL!"With a twist of my hips, I threw her to the ground and started punching her in the face. She took a bunch of blows that shattered the floor under her, then raised her legs up and kicked me in the chest. I flew up and crashed through the ceiling. She leaped up after me through the hole I'd made, punching me in the face.

"Yes!" I roared in joy. "Rath knew you liked Rath!"

"Are you a masochist!?" Davida replied, giving me a kick to the rips that sent me flying through some desks.

"Rath doesn't know what that means!" I replied honestly, rising up as she ran towards me. I punched at her, and her fist smashed into mine. A shockwave was released by impact, destroying the area around us. "Rath would be honored if you married Rath!"

"There is something wrong with you!" She yelled, stepping back.

"We're all crazy when we're in love!"

Davida dropped low and wrapped her arms around my waist, pushing me back and slamming me into a wall, then through it. I raised my arms up and slammed my claws into her ribs and back, over and over again. She yelled in anger, lifted up and pushed me through another wall. I back-flipped as soon as I was through that wall, and rose to look at her.

"Damn it!" Davida grabbed a teachers desk and threw it at me. I punched it out of the air, ignoring the shattered pieces with ease. "You're supposed to be in love with me! Why are you fighting!?"

"To prove Rath's love! How else would Rath do that!?" I shouted back with a grin. I leaped forward and she did the one thing that could have made me like her even more.

She slipped under my attack, grabbed my waist, then bent backwards to slam me into a suplex that sent me down through the floor.

I landed on the next floor with a massive smile on my face. "You're a wrestler!?"

"Yeah," Davida dropped through the floor and glared at me. "So?"

"Let me tell you something, Pretty-Lady-Who-Looks-Like-Michelle-Rodriguez-But-Is-As-Big-As-Me," I rolled to my feet and rushed her. "It means Rath can fight for real!"

Davida's Michelle Rodriguez face twisted into horror when I reached out and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back. "ANTARIAN ARM BAR!" I sprinted forward with her in front of me, slamming her through a wall, then pressing her face into another one. "OPHIUCUS FACEPLANT!" She yelled, twisting to throw me down the hallway we'd crashed into. I grabbed her arm to try and flip her, but she pulled a perfect counter to send me flying instead. I backflipped in the air and slammed my claws into the floor, slicing through the linoleum to come to a stop. Davida grabbed a water fountain out of the wall and threw it at me. I took the blow to my head and let the metal and plastic shatter around me. I ran towards her and slipped around a punch to go for a suplex. She countered by dropping from the grab before I could complete it, spinning to slam an elbow into my neck.

I eyed her, trying to look unfazed by the blow. Then I pointed at the spot she'd hit. "Wanna try again?"

Davida's eyes widened. Then she grinned.

Boom!

I grinned as she stepped back, the shockwave that followed her hit sending a crack of noise in the air. She stood still when I stepped forward and swung my elbow at her.

Boom!

She smiled in challege, not moving an inch.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Back in forth, in a game of dominance, we slammed our elbows into each other's necks, chaining our attacks as we grinned at each other. After a bit, we stepped back. My neck hurt like hell, but I didn't react to it. Neither did she.

I rushed forward with a running knee, and she stepped aside and clotheslined me. I slammed into the floor and rolled aside when she came with an elbow drop. I rose to my feet and grabbed her as she tried to rise up from the floor. At a disadvantage, I got her head between my knees, squeezing, then grabbed her hips. With a lift I raised her up so her legs were on my shoulder, then began to throw her back first towards the floor.

"PORTIA POWER BO-"

Her legs wrapped around my neck. She spun around, pulling me with all her strength. "TITANIA HURRICARRANA!"

With a picture perfect counter, I was sent flying, slamming into a trophy case, past that through another wall, then into a desk. I blinked for a second, then rose up and walked towards the hole my entrance made. Davida stared at me as I walked up.

"Titania like the moon?" I asked.

She shook her head, panting. "No, it was my name when I wrestled."

I nodded seriously, then groaned slightly in pain. She was strong, stronger than even Creel in his vibranium form. But I knew I could beat him even then, that only the Omnitrix timing out had stopped me. Rath was unbeatable. And I knew I could beat her now, bruises or not.

Rath had to prove he truly loved her after all.

I ran at her, and Davida tried to duck my outstretched arms. But I grabbed her by the hair and used my vicious grip to knee her in the face. Over and over, until blood dripped from her nose. As she looked at me blearily, I got behind her and wrapped arms around her stomach. "Finishing move!"

One suplex. "FINAL!" Another one, this time shaking the academy. "ATOMIC!" I leaped upwards, crashing through three floors before we ended up outside of the school, in the open air. I could see Quinjets battling HYDRA soldiers, War Machine flying by to shoot one in the face. Then we began to drop. "BUSTER!" Floor by floor, Davida's head leading, we crashed through the school. Finally, we came to a stop on the bottom level. I rose up and looked down at Davida. As I watched, she slowly began to shrink until she'd returned to her former size. When she didn't move, I took her pulse, actually showing a bit of intelligence beyond fighting. Her heartbeat was there, she was just knocked out.

"Rath wins! When you wake up we should get married," I said idly. "Although, if you say otherwise, Rath will respect your decision!"

Feeling warm towards the love of my life, I placed her on my shoulder and walked away, leaving the various holes in the ceiling and the crater we'd created behind.

When I got outside, there were dead or injured HYDRA everywhere. A few of them had been captured, however, getting pushed into a Quinjet. Two of the Quinjets had been downed, but I didn't see more than a fraction of dead SHIELD soldiers compared to HYDRA. Natasha was speaking to an embarrassed looking Tomas when I walked up, still in Rath form. Tomas glared at Davida, who was still unconscious on my shoulder.

"She dead?" He asked angrily.

I shook my head. "Naw, just sleeping off the beating Rath gave her."

He scoffed. "She deserves a bullet in the head. I don't know what she did, but I don't like having my mind played with."

"Davida Devito," Natasha said with a sigh. "An Enhanced with the power to grow in size and strength. Making people fall in love with her is new though, otherwise, I wouldn't have gone in there with so many," Natasha looked at me. "Do her powers not work on you?"

"Are you licensed to do marriages?" I asked suddenly instead of answering, focusing on the real issue.

Natasha and Tomas stared at me, surprised. "Uh... no, no I am not."

I wilted in disappointment.

"Hold on," Tomas said. "If you're in love with her, why did you still fight her?"

I scoffed. "Let me tell you something, Agent Tomas Calderon of SHIELD! Appoplexians like Rath know the best way to show true love is to show off your FIGHTING SKILLS! Throwing a punch is how we show we care! Whoever wins gets to marry the other one!"

"Wait, you mean you get married no matter who wins?" Natasha asked, looking confused.

"It's a WIN-WIN!" I shouted proudly. Then I got worried. "Unless she says no. Then Rath will be respectful."

Right about then is when I timed out and became human again. I dropped Davida in surprise and blinked. I looked around.

SHIELD agents were staring at me. A couple were trying not to laugh and failing outright. Rhodey was floating nearby, his faceplate up so he could grin at me. "...Well that's embarrassing." I stated.

Understatement of the freaking century. Rath, why do you cause as many problems as your fists solve!

Natasha grinned at that. "I can't wait to tell Tony about this."

Yup. Any respect I'd gained from my fellow heroes had gone down the drain. I sighed and decided to start finding a nice place to dig a hole for me to live in.

"Thank you so much," Jennifer Weaver said as her students ran out of the school to head to Quinjets moments later. Davida had been placed in a cryo unit I'd turned into Jury Rigg to make, suspended animation until we could jail her someplace she couldn't physically break out of.

"Not a problem," Tomas said, a band-aid on his head from where Natasha had apparently kicked him while he'd been in love. "Is this everyone?" Tomas said, ushering the students into the Quinjets.

"Almost," the grateful look on Weaver's face became a scowl. "All the members of HYDRA are going last. I'm not putting them together with the others," Despite her anger, there was some sadness in her eyes.

Tomas nodded, though he also had a sad look on his face as he watched some of his men get put in body bags.

I watched from a bench nearby, Rhodey standing next to me. "Man, that was a lot crazier than I expected," I admitted to Rhodey.

"Yeah," he said. "I haven't had a routine mission since the day I put this thing on, to be honest. And my adventures still aren't that crazy. Sometimes I try to tell Tony about some crazy mission, and it's like he's trying to stay awake."

"Well you did just fight a small army of HYDRA soldiers while flying around Quinjets over a school of geniuses while a giant tiger and giant woman fought inside of it," I noted. "That has to earn a few points."

"Nah, pretty sure the Battle of New York still beats that," Natasha said, walking up to join us.

Rhodey nodded in annoyance, though he clearly didn't mind that much. "So what now?"

"We go back to the helicarrier," Natasha said. "You going to join us?"

"...I should report to my superiors... But I can do that at the carrier," Rhodey said. "I'm still needed in this fight if you all will have me."

"Well, it's not up to me," I noted, rising from my seat. "But it's good to have you here. So," I pressed on the Omnitrix and pressed on the dial.

"Upgrade!"

Standing up I looked at Rhodey and Natasha. "Wanna fly back in style?" I asked.

The pair shared a look. Natasha grinned.

"You just want to distract us from telling Tony anything, don't you?" Natasha said.

"...Do you want to fly in an Upgraded Quinjet or not? Jerks." I turned and walked away as Rhodey chuckled.

Author's Note: So a couple of things to address. First, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. The idea of a giant tiger and giant Michelle Rodriguez fighting through a school and devolving into old wrestling tropes out of the sheer joy of it made me grin.

So yeah, Appoplexians don't see romance the way humans do. If someone shows interest, it's through fighting, much like handshakes. That isn't to say Rath wouldn't have respectfully backed off, but the combination of Davida's mind-whammy and his natural instincts made him want to fight. The way I figured it, it was just how warriors like him court each other, and Rath respects people who say no. RATH RESPECTS A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE!

I also really liked writing Davida Devito. As for why her powers worked despite the Omnitrix, it's more the source of her mind powers than anything. Remember, she didn't have those abilities before, so something gave them to her.