Uncanny X-Men (Marvel Omega)

SuperNova, Part XII

Pain shoots through the body of Tony Stark. He tries to move, but finds himself pinned to the ground by the powers of Graviton. His armor feels like it weighs tons, and the sensation that is coursing through his body is a familiar one. He knows from past experience it could very well be the beginnings of a heart attack.

"Let him go!" exclaims Warbird from her cell. "Look at him, he's not a threat to you!"

"You're right, he's not," says Graviton. Then, he begins to smirk as he says, "But I was one of those kids who liked to fry ants with a magnifying glass."

Graviton's attention turns to one of the cells as he hears the sound of pounding. He leaves Iron Man limp on the ground and slowly hovers over to the source of the noise. He sees Captain America, shield in hand, trying to break the door to his cell down, and Graviton laughs. With a flick of his wrist, Captain America is slammed against the back wall of the cell.

"Now that was amusing," says Graviton. "Trying to save one of your precious Avengers, Rogers?"

"Leave him alone," says Captain America in a defiant tone. "You want someone to push around, then I'm your man."

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, Graviton?" asks Giant-Man. "What good are you doing here?"

"Haven't you learned yet, Pym?" asks Graviton as he begins to increase the gravitational pull on Hank Pym's body. "I'm having far more fun torturing you Avengers."

While Graviton is distracted by Captain America and Giant-Man, Warbird watches Tony Stark fight for his life. From her cell, she calls out to Tony, trying to make sure he's okay. A voice silences her.

"Don't draw attention to him," says the Black Widow from her cell.

"Natasha, he's dying!" exclaims Warbird.

"Take a closer look at his armor, Carol," says the Black Widow. Warbird watches the armor, and notices the faint flickering of the LED lights around the armor.

"No..." says Warbird. "Tony, you need the armor's life support."

Iron Man gives no reply. Instead, with Graviton's powers diverted elsewhere, he finds the strength to lift his arm. He directs his palm at Warbird's cell. She notices the circular device on the palm begin to glow, and she steps away from the cell right as Iron Man fires off a repulsor blast. The door flies open once the blast strikes it. In an instant, Warbird is out of the cell and flies at Graviton. She uses all her strength as she rams into him at full speed. The force of the blow sends Graviton flying through one of the walls of the makeshift dungeon the Avengers are in. With him out of the picture, she quickly frees her teammates and then rushes to Iron Man's side.

"Carol, what's the status?" asks Captain America.

"Oh God..." mutters Carol. "He's having trouble breathing."

***

"Fan out!" exclaims the Wasp. She immediately shrinks down to wasp-size and flies through the air, easily dodging the Constrictor's coils. She reverses her path and flies towards him, this time unleashing her sting blasts at the villain. It grabs his attention, and he attempts to swat her with his coils, but she moves too quickly for him.

"Hey buddy."

Constrictor's attention turns to Ant-Man, perched on a bug, mere inches from his face. If Constrictor could see beneath Ant-Man's helmet, he would find a smile on Scott Lang's face.

"I hope you don't mind, but I brought some friends to the party," says Ant-Man. Constrictor looks down at his legs to see thousands of ants coming towards him.