February 15th, 2011
When the fuck did living gargoyles become a thing in the Marvel Universe?
Shit, if this is what I get for not reading comics, then I am in for a lot of surprises in the future.
However, I did recognize the creature in front of me, not because of any comic knowledge, but because my ship had a whole treasure trove of information on the different alien species scattered throughout the universe.
That's how I knew the creature in front of me was a Stonian, from the planet Stonus V.
The question was why the hell it wanted to conquer Earth, and how the fuck they got here.
A whoosh of wind snapped me out of my thoughts, and I moved to the side just in time to dodge a punch aimed straight for my face from the massive creature.
That begged another question.
Just how the fuck was this guy so big compared to the rest of his race?
And would his strikes hurt me?
I guess there's only one way to find out.
Gorgolla turned around and growled at his missed strike, just in time for my punch to connect directly with his face, black blood flying from his nose as he soared backward through the air.
Holy shit, this thing's skin is actually made of stone.
Huh. I guess they're called Stonians for a reason.
"You'll pay for that, human," Gorgolla growled, spitting out a glob of black blood before flapping his bat-like wings and charging through the air.
I sidestepped—well, as much as you could step while flying—shifting just enough to avoid the attack.
What I didn't expect was the speed of his follow-up. Gorgolla twisted midair and slammed a second blow into my face.
I flew back a few meters, staring in surprise as the gargoyle charged me again.
Holy shit… that actually stung.
A grin spread across my face as I hovered in place, waiting. He was fast, but definitely not as fast as me.
I grabbed his outstretched fist the moment he reached me, stopping him cold before driving a devastating punch into his stomach.
His stone skin cracked under the force, and he belched out more black blood.
Not giving him a moment to recover, I crushed his enclosed fist in my grip and spun in the air, hurling him high into the distance.
I dashed after him, giving him no time to react as I rocketed forward and smashed my fist into his head, the added velocity amplifying the blow.
The gargoyle flipped violently through the air, but I was already behind him. I lashed out with a brutal clothesline that slammed into the back of his neck, sending him tumbling toward the ground, his impact carving a six-foot crater into the mountainside.
While this whole ordeal unfolded, the Stonians watched in stunned silence as their previously unbeatable leader got his ass handed to him, completely forgetting about the invasion they were supposed to be starting.
I shot downward headfirst toward Gorgolla, arms raised above my head as I aimed straight for his chest.
At the last second, he regained his bearings and tore himself free from the crater, barely managing to dodge the strike.
With my back turned, Gorgolla seized the opening and unleashed a flurry of punches into my exposed rear. The first two didn't do much, but they'd definitely leave bruises. The last one sent me flying several meters back into the mountain.
A rush of wind signaled his approach, and suddenly he was in front of me, moving with surprising speed as he hammered punches into my face.
I brought up a guard, absorbing most of the blows, but one slipped through, cracking against my nose and drawing blood.
Time seemed to slow as droplets drifted from my nose, speckling my suit and the ground below.
Oh… so we're getting serious now.
The next punch he threw, I caught effortlessly. My hand snapped around his fist, and I yanked his arm downward.
Instead of bones breaking, cracks spiderwebbed across his stone-like skin as he roared in pain.
In the same instant, I drove an uppercut into his jaw. The force of it detonated the air with a sonic boom as Gorgolla shot skyward, piercing through the clouds.
To those on the ground, I vanished from sight, only to reappear behind him in the sky a heartbeat later.
I brought both arms down in a crushing blow across his back, sending him hurtling toward the earth again.
It didn't stop there.
I kept moving, appearing from different angles faster than he could track, striking again and again, never giving him a chance to recover.
Finally, I grabbed one of his stone wings.
And ripped.
The appendage tore free with a sickening crack, black blood spraying as the gargoyle howled in agony, his already battered body unable to withstand the loss.
Gorgolla's stone skin was riddled with cracks, divots, and holes. His right arm hung limply, barely attached by fractured pieces of stone. Black blood seeped from his mouth, nose, limbs, and back.
The twenty-foot giant looked utterly defeated in the face of his significantly smaller opponent—who was only sporting a nosebleed.
I descended, grabbing Gorgolla by the back of his neck with one hand and dragging his massive body down before tossing him toward the group of Stonians, who now watched in fear.
"Go home. And don't come back," I said coldly. "Earth is under my protection."
One of the Stonians fumbled with a strange circular device from its belt and threw it to the ground. A beam of energy shot skyward, tearing open into a wormhole. The remaining Stonians scrambled through it as fast as they could, not even bothering to retrieve their leader.
Gorgolla stared up at me in defeat, his black, beady eyes locking, not with mine, but with the gold symbol on my chest.
"Viltrumite…" he whispered.
Understanding flickered in his gaze as I gave a small nod in confirmation.
Seeing as he was in no state to fly, I grabbed him once more and tossed him through the portal. It snapped shut the moment he passed through.
Curiously, they had left the device behind. Without much thought, I picked it up and clipped it to my belt before turning toward the gathered SHIELD and military personnel.
The lead agent approached, looking both grateful and wary. "Our thanks, Guardian. SHIELD will take it from here."
I nodded, a bit hesitant to interact with the organization, knowing it had already been infiltrated by HYDRA.
Turning away, I shot into the sky in a sonic boom.
-
As Guardian disappeared into the distance and SHIELD agents began cleaning up the site, collecting samples left behind by the Stonians, one agent in particular lingered.
He moved to the spot where Guardian had been injured and smiled faintly at the sight of red blood drying against the mountain stone.
Kneeling, he carefully collected a small sample, slipping it into his pocket before standing and continuing his work as if nothing was amiss.
"Hail Hydra," he whispered under his breath, too quiet for anyone to hear.
-
Now we wait.