Storychapter: of an Avenger. World saved

Around mid-afternoon, we finally managed to get out of bed. My bad mood was still there, but Jean had managed to improve my mood somewhat. Besides, that had only been a dream anyway. At least she had tried to make that clear to me. But just as we were about to get out of bed, we heard some explosions outside. Immediately we both ran to the window and saw fireworks being launched over New York by SHIELD's helicopter carrier. It was rare for SHIELD to position its base so directly over the city, even rarer that it had deactivated its famous cloaking device, and literally unimaginable that it was launching fireworks.

"Something must have happened!" she said, hastily dressing and running. Unfortunately, I wasn't as quick-witted as she was, so it took me much longer to slip into my clothes. Therefore, I arrived much too late to experience the celebration outside from the beginning. When I came out Scott was standing there leaning against the door frame watching the students celebrate.

"Hey Dean! Finally, here to celebrate too? Better hurry or Colossus will have drunk all the beer already!" he laughed good-humoredly.

"Beer? I thought we students weren't allowed to drink ****? What's the matter? What happened?"

"Well, what do you think? The Avengers will land back on Earth later today. The battle is over. The world saved once again." Said Scott, smiling as he patted me on the back. "Never forget that. Some of the students here may become our successors. They will also have to FIGHT enemies one day just like us."

"Forgive me for asking. I understood very little of this Galactus...but...then why weren't you there too?"

Scott smiled and nodded understandably at the question. "So, you want to know why we weren't up there? Helped out when it was for the good of all mankind, huh?"

"Yes. I heard that the professor tried to help from here... but... why not you? I mean, you're the leader of the X-Men and surely you could have helped, right? I'm not saying that you..."

"Don't worry. I understand. I hope you don't think of me as a coward, there are other reasons why a lot of us stayed here. Simply because there are things you have to protect even here on Earth and also things you don't know yet. Come... we'll talk about it over a beer. You do drink beer, don't you?" As soon as he said that and I nodded, we went to a table and there he pushed a bottle of beer into my hand. "So, Dean. The first thing you need to know in our business is this. You have to know which fights you can fight and which you can't. We X-Men, or rather we mutants, have a lot of different powers, so some people think of us as superheroes. In reality, however, there is more to being a superhero than just having powers. There are students here who could defeat any of us in seconds, but they don't have the will or the desire to use those powers in battle. Do you understand what I mean?"

I sipped my beer thoughtfully, then nodded. "So that means the X-Men aren't the strongest mutants, but the ones who have chosen to fight for those who can't or won't do it themselves?" I asked thoughtfully, and Scott smiled in satisfaction.

"Jean has taught you a lot. I'm proud of you Dean. You've realized it. But that's a bit superficial and sounds a bit like a fortune cookie." Laughed he, amused. "On the whole, though, you're right yes. But there are some things we can't do anything about. And this Galactus... has been just as much of a threat. I think we could have helped. Some of us. However, it was a request from the President himself that we stay here."

"Uh President like..."

"Yeah, just like the President of the United States." Laughed Scott, amused. "You know. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. We... mhmm how do I explain this... Let's just say that each of us holds a part of protecting Earth in our hands. The Avengers usually fight threats so powerful that they need the most powerful heroes in the world. Oddly enough, it's these people who are our most powerful defense. Individually, they're powerful... together, they're invincible. And the world needs heroes like that. The Fantastic Four are a little different in that regard... They protect... the world against very, very specific threats."

"But aren't Dr. Richards and Ms. Storm-Richards really more like scientists? I know they've saved New York many times, but somehow it always sounds like meteors or saving the world. I've never seen them fight super villains."

At my words Scott started laughing loudly and shouted my words to Beast who was standing nearby. Immediately he also started to laugh and tears flowed down his fur.

"Did I say something funny?" I asked, visibly irritated, and Scott smirked.

"Have you ever heard of Latveria?" when I shook my head he laughed briefly and then nodded. "Reed doesn't fight any 'super villains'. He fights legends. He fights monsters among monsters. He fights the monsters that even legends are afraid of. By that I mean people like Dr. Doom, Annihilation... and Galactus... the Kree, the Skrull... All of these things, all of these victories are only possible thanks to Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four. He's not the smartest man in the world for nothing."

"Dr. Doom? That bogeyman who single-handedly threatens the entire world?" I laughed in amusement. I had heard hundreds of stories about this green bogeyman. At one time he was a magician, at another a super-genius like Reed Richards. He had supposedly robbed Thor's father of his power and was a constant threat to NATO.

"No. This specter that is a threat to all life in all nine realms." He replied calmly. "Dr. Doom is as real as he gets. I don't know the true backstory behind him, there are too many, but he is the most terrifying being in this world. He is the king of a sovereign state, a master of occult powers, and is probably intellectually on the same level as Reed Richards. His weapons are equal to Tony Stark's, and he's the only being who's managed to beat the crap out of Hulk."

"Oh..." That's all that came out of my mouth when I heard that. A horrible nightmare of a god-like being was forming in my head right now. "And... what was this Anni... something?"

"Oh? He gave that name to himself. It's some kind of divine being from an anti-matter universe. After destroying everything and everyone there, it is now gunning for our universe. As you can see, the Fantastic Four have their own problems. We X-Men on the other hand.... Mhm, we care more about other mutants and things that are below the radar of these two groups. And then of course there are things like Spider Man or Heroes for Hire and the like. So, I just want to say that everybody has to go their own way. And as long as you stick with Jean, you'll be well prepared."

"Oh. I'm sure I can learn a lot from her!" I laughed and sipped my beer, smiling broadly. "And... where is Jean in this area? she already mentioned that she would be strong enough to stop Galactus by herself? Is that right?"

"We don't know where her limits are.... We only know that she is the most powerful being we know of. At least part of her is. Just take my word for it. No one, not even Doom wants the Phoenix to ever awaken, because we have no clue if it will bring us peace or ****."

"That's right, now come on! It's time for Tony's usual speech." He said with a laugh and pointed to the big screen where an image of Iron Man just appeared. The mask opened and a serious face was clearly seen underneath.

"Dear friends. Today we were able to save the Earth from a terrible fate. As you may know, for the past few days we have been fighting side by side with the mightiest hero and even some of the mightiest villains to protect our beloved planet. The danger has been averted. The enemy has not been destroyed, but he has been taken to a place so far away that we may never see him again. Unfortunately.... we have also suffered a heavy loss."

Slowly and with dignity he bowed his head and the camera panned to a cargo bay of the spaceship. There lay the hammer Mjolnir which was covered with cracks and fractures. Next to it lay a completely dented and torn in 2 parts helmets of Thor.

"Thor, the mightiest Avenger, the son of Odin, my friend...... Has passed away!" the calm, serious voice of Tony Stark was heard. "Today the world has lost one of its most powerful! He gave his life to save us all."

With that, the good mood of the celebration faded away. Even the fireworks in New York ended within minutes. Everyone was staring at the screen, even though it had long since gone dark. No one could believe what Tony had just said.

Thor defeated?

How could anyone kill a god? Nothing in the world had ever been able to even get him in trouble and now he was supposed to be dead? The son of Odin?

I heard many others around me sink to their knees and start crying. Colossus hit a tree in grief. I myself felt my knees weaken and remembered my nightmare again. The world had become darker. Darker. Who would protect us now against beings like Enchantress or Loki?