Violent flashes of gold and blue as the two celestial beings clashed above the wrecked earth—their strikes splitting clouds and turning the air into molten fire.
Below, Riri Williams, Kamala Khan, and Kate Bishop were fighting for their lives.
Zombies poured from every direction, drawn by the chaos like flies to blood. Their skin hung loose and gray, eyes milky, and mouths filled with black rot. The stench was unbearable. For every one that fell, three more took its place.
Riri's customized Ironheart drone—the one with the teddy bear head—hovered beside them, firing repulsor blasts into the horde. Each shot tore through the undead, scattering limbs and dust. But even the AI couldn't keep up with the sheer number of bodies closing in.
"Keep moving!" Riri shouted, hurling a makeshift energy grenade into a cluster of them. The explosion tore through the asphalt, flinging corpses aside.
Kate released arrow after arrow, every shot precise even as her hands shook from exhaustion. "There are too many! They're everywhere!"
Kamala extended her embiggened arm, smashing a cluster of zombies into paste. "I'm not dying here! Not after everything we've done!"
Above them, thunder cracked again—but it wasn't thunder. It was Captain Marvel and Ikaris.
The zombified Captain Marvel screamed, a guttural sound that made the ground quake. Her face, half-burned and half-decayed, twisted into something monstrous. Her once-luminous eyes now glowed a sickly red. Energy pulsed through her ruined veins, lighting the clouds like veins of fire.
Ikaris, hovering opposite her, looked nearly untouched—his skin still pristine, his expression cold and calculating. The two crashed together once more, a golden shockwave ripping across the valley.
Kamala stumbled as the blast hit, shielding her face. "They're going to level everything!"
"Friday, status!" Riri barked.
"Analyzing," the AI's calm voice responded through her earpiece. "The female combatant—confirmed as Captain Marvel. But she is… compromised. Cellular decay consistent with the zombified strain. The male—identified as Ikaris of the Eternals. Composition is inorganic. He appears to be fighting the infected."
"So one's a zombie," Kate muttered, nocking another arrow, "and the other's a robot. Great. That makes so much sense."
"Focus!" Riri snapped. "They don't care about us—but her blasts will if we're in the wrong place!"
As if on cue, Captain Marvel roared and swung her arm, unleashing a beam of pure energy that sliced through the ground, missing the trio by only a few meters. The heat seared their faces, and the shockwave hurled them backward into the wreckage.
Riri coughed, pushing herself up. "Everyone okay!?"
"I think so—" Kamala started, but her words were drowned out by another explosion.
Captain Marvel had been punched across the valley by Ikaris. Her body crashed through a rock formation, scattering boulders—and as she reoriented herself midair, her crimson gaze locked onto something below.
Kate Bishop.
"Oh, hell—" Kate barely had time to raise her bow before Captain Marvel's hand flared with light.
"Kate, MOVE!" Riri screamed.
The beam hit before Kate could react. A wave of golden fire swallowed her—and when it cleared, there was only a burned piece of meat.
Kamala's breath caught in her throat. "No… no, no, no!"
Riri stared, wide-eyed, unable to process what she'd just seen. "She's gone… she's—"
The moment shattered as the zombies surged again, moaning louder, hungrier. They poured through the cratered road, forming a wall of rotting flesh.
"Riri!" Kamala shouted, swinging her giant hand through the horde. "We have to go back for her!"
"She's gone, Kamala!" Riri yelled, her voice breaking. "You saw it! We can't—"
"I don't care!" Kamala screamed, tears streaming down her face as she slammed another zombie into the ground. "We don't leave friends behind!"
"Kamala—"
"Warning!" Friday's voice cut through the chaos. "Multiple infected closing in from the east. Suggesting tactical retreat!"
But retreat wasn't an option. The zombies had already begun to circle them, hundreds of them forming a tightening ring. The smell of decay filled their lungs, thick and choking.
Riri's pulse raced. She glanced at the device—the tiny, keychain-sized beacon hanging from her neck. The one hope left for humanity. The one thing they couldn't let fall into enemy hands.
Her decision was instant.
She tore the beacon free and shoved it into Kamala's trembling hands.
"Take it!"
Kamala blinked, startled. "What? No! You hold onto it—"
"No time!" Riri shouted. "You're the fastest one here. Friday, get her out of here—now!"
"Affirmative."
The teddy-bear-headed armor swooped down beside Kamala, its repulsors humming.
Kamala clutched the beacon against her chest, shaking her head violently. "No! No, I'm not leaving you!"
Riri stepped forward, grabbing her shoulders. Her face was streaked with dirt and blood, but her eyes were steady. "You have to. You can still finish this. Get to S.H.I.E.L.D. Activate the signal. Save everyone—save us."
"I can't!" Kamala cried. "I won't—"
Another beam tore through the sky, slamming into the ground near them. The blast threw dust and fire everywhere, knocking Riri to her knees.
"Immediate evacuation required," Friday warned. "Hostiles converging."
Kamala looked down at Riri, trembling. "Riri—please—"
"GO!" Riri screamed. "That's an order!"
Friday's thrusters flared, and before Kamala could resist, metallic arms wrapped around her waist.
"No! Put me down!" Kamala shouted, kicking and twisting, but Friday held firm. The AI's calm voice barely rose above the chaos.
"Apologies, Miss Khan. Directive priority: survival."
The armor lifted off the ground, rising through the smoke and ash. Kamala's screams echoed below.
"RIRI!"
She reached out with her embiggened hand, but it grasped nothing but air as the distance widened.
Below, Riri turned toward the encroaching horde, her gauntlets lighting up as she charged her repulsors. Her teeth clenched, heart pounding. "Come on then… let's make it count."
The zombies roared and rushed forward.
Above, Kamala's vision blurred with tears as the armor carried her higher. "No! No, no, no! I don't want to run! I want to fight! Please, Friday—let me go!"
"I'm sorry," Friday replied softly. "But your friend gave me a command. And she trusts you to finish what she started."
Kamala screamed again, thrashing helplessly as the battle below raged on.
Friday leaves Kamala in a place where she detected no zombies.
"Take care, Miss Kamala." Friday said,
"Where are you going?" Kamala asked.
"I already lost one owner; I am not going to lose another one." Friday said, and then she flew away to where Riri was.
~~~
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