Back to GatefoldIssue #63 by Steve Crosby
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“Don’t see much point in us all rushing out here,” said Elsa Bloodstone. The shotgun in her hands was cocked and loaded. “Any burglar trying to pinch our storage, one of us could handle it right enough.”
She wasn’t talking to any of her teammates in particular, but it was Iron Man who responded. “A similar break-in happened in New York. That ended with Ultron back on the loose. We’re not taking chances.”
All six members of the Avengers based in Los Angeles had descended on the storage facility located outside the city. The large facility was contracted exclusively to Stark Enterprises, with dozens of units storing old Avengers equipment and mission mementos. While the others were inside navigating the labyrinth of pathways, Iron Man was soaring overhead, his armor’s systems identifying the exact unit where the alarm had gone off.
“It doesn’t look like there’s been a breach from above. Hawkeye, turn left, go fifty paces, then another left.”
Hawkeye followed the instructions cautiously. Like Elsa, his weapon was primed. The golden bow gave off a soft glow, allowing Hawkeye to see in the dark corridors. He turned, walked, then turned again. Several feet just ahead was a massive door that would have been overkill on a vault, slightly ajar.
“Got it. Moving in.”
“Wait for us,” the Wasp’s small voice said in his ear. “There’s no telling who’s inside.”
“Likely just some pipsqueak hacker,” said Hawkeye. He’d have been concerned if the door was forced, but according to Iron Man an Avengers code had been used to open it. An incomplete code, enough to access the facility and unit but not enough to bypass the alarms. Hawkeye inched forward, grabbed the handle, and tried to pull it open. It didn’t budge. “Then again, some extra muscle wouldn’t hurt.”
“I’m on my way.” Rocket Racer was skating down the corridors on his anti-gravity board, the path ahead of him illuminated by a light from his helmet. As fast as he was moving, it was a surprise when a tiny winged woman flew past his head.
“You mean we’re on our way,” said Wasp.
Elsewhere, Bloodstone reached an intersection and almost blasted at a figure that leaped over her. “A warning would have been appreciated. I almost bagged meself a White Tiger.”
“You would have failed,” said White Tiger as she ran on ahead of Bloodstone.
Less than a minute after his admission for help, Hawkeye’s four teammates had joined him. “Great. Now unless you all want we should heave-ho together, we’ll just wait for Iron Man to come force this open.”
“Not a chance.” White Tiger strode forward and, though it took some grunting on her part, pulled the door wide enough for them to walk through. She gestured at the amulets hanging around her neck, which were carved to resemble a tiger’s head and paws. “Mystical artifacts from a lost city, remember? It also means I can hear one guy breathing fast, and you should be scared because we’re coming to get you!”
“Right.” Bloodstone strode in front of Rocket Racer and his light, creating a silhouette of a crazy British girl with a big scary shotgun. “You must not have read the post. We shoot trespassers on sight.”
Whatever the assembled Avengers may have been expecting, it wasn’t an explosion of multi-colored balls. Appearing in the center of the illuminated unit, his arms raised, was Speedball. Next to him was the unit’s sole item, an experimental teleportation unit.
“Please don’t shoot. Captain America sent me. I told him this was a bad idea but he said it was the best way in case you were being watched.”
Wasp flew forward at the size of a large bird, signaling her newest teammates to stand down. “I think you had better explain yourself, Speedball. Cap already informed us about the card that went off-line.”
Less than an hour ago, shortly before the alarm, the team had been alerted by an identi-card going off-line. Almost immediately after, Iron Man had received a communication from Captain America, explaining that Binary had damaged it in a training exercise.
“Whoever you spoke to, that wasn’t Captain America. The mansion was attacked, the team beaten, and whoever did it is keeping things under wraps.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Iron Man said. He walked between Hawkeye and Bloodstone, both of whom finally lowered their weapons. “This is one of the contingency plans Captain America and I had set up. Should the mansion fall, there’s a safehouse with a teleporter keyed to this one. The intruder alarm is actually a code distress signal. I am impressed you got the door open.”
Speedball gave a nervous smile. “That took a lot of bouncing.”
She wasn’t talking to any of her teammates in particular, but it was Iron Man who responded. “A similar break-in happened in New York. That ended with Ultron back on the loose. We’re not taking chances.”
All six members of the Avengers based in Los Angeles had descended on the storage facility located outside the city. The large facility was contracted exclusively to Stark Enterprises, with dozens of units storing old Avengers equipment and mission mementos. While the others were inside navigating the labyrinth of pathways, Iron Man was soaring overhead, his armor’s systems identifying the exact unit where the alarm had gone off.
“It doesn’t look like there’s been a breach from above. Hawkeye, turn left, go fifty paces, then another left.”
Hawkeye followed the instructions cautiously. Like Elsa, his weapon was primed. The golden bow gave off a soft glow, allowing Hawkeye to see in the dark corridors. He turned, walked, then turned again. Several feet just ahead was a massive door that would have been overkill on a vault, slightly ajar.
“Got it. Moving in.”
“Wait for us,” the Wasp’s small voice said in his ear. “There’s no telling who’s inside.”
“Likely just some pipsqueak hacker,” said Hawkeye. He’d have been concerned if the door was forced, but according to Iron Man an Avengers code had been used to open it. An incomplete code, enough to access the facility and unit but not enough to bypass the alarms. Hawkeye inched forward, grabbed the handle, and tried to pull it open. It didn’t budge. “Then again, some extra muscle wouldn’t hurt.”
“I’m on my way.” Rocket Racer was skating down the corridors on his anti-gravity board, the path ahead of him illuminated by a light from his helmet. As fast as he was moving, it was a surprise when a tiny winged woman flew past his head.
“You mean we’re on our way,” said Wasp.
Elsewhere, Bloodstone reached an intersection and almost blasted at a figure that leaped over her. “A warning would have been appreciated. I almost bagged meself a White Tiger.”
“You would have failed,” said White Tiger as she ran on ahead of Bloodstone.
Less than a minute after his admission for help, Hawkeye’s four teammates had joined him. “Great. Now unless you all want we should heave-ho together, we’ll just wait for Iron Man to come force this open.”
“Not a chance.” White Tiger strode forward and, though it took some grunting on her part, pulled the door wide enough for them to walk through. She gestured at the amulets hanging around her neck, which were carved to resemble a tiger’s head and paws. “Mystical artifacts from a lost city, remember? It also means I can hear one guy breathing fast, and you should be scared because we’re coming to get you!”
“Right.” Bloodstone strode in front of Rocket Racer and his light, creating a silhouette of a crazy British girl with a big scary shotgun. “You must not have read the post. We shoot trespassers on sight.”
Whatever the assembled Avengers may have been expecting, it wasn’t an explosion of multi-colored balls. Appearing in the center of the illuminated unit, his arms raised, was Speedball. Next to him was the unit’s sole item, an experimental teleportation unit.
“Please don’t shoot. Captain America sent me. I told him this was a bad idea but he said it was the best way in case you were being watched.”
Wasp flew forward at the size of a large bird, signaling her newest teammates to stand down. “I think you had better explain yourself, Speedball. Cap already informed us about the card that went off-line.”
Less than an hour ago, shortly before the alarm, the team had been alerted by an identi-card going off-line. Almost immediately after, Iron Man had received a communication from Captain America, explaining that Binary had damaged it in a training exercise.
“Whoever you spoke to, that wasn’t Captain America. The mansion was attacked, the team beaten, and whoever did it is keeping things under wraps.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Iron Man said. He walked between Hawkeye and Bloodstone, both of whom finally lowered their weapons. “This is one of the contingency plans Captain America and I had set up. Should the mansion fall, there’s a safehouse with a teleporter keyed to this one. The intruder alarm is actually a code distress signal. I am impressed you got the door open.”
Speedball gave a nervous smile. “That took a lot of bouncing.”
"Owns the Future"
The night in Nevada was black and cold. Under the stars Captain America crept toward the perimeter of a base he’d thought was abandoned. But that night there was activity, patrols to avoid and a security system to overcome. The outer fence was thirty feet tall but Captain America vaulted it with ease, managing to land silently so as not to alert guards. Moments before a security light lit up his position Captain America ducked behind a building
In his head Captain America recalled the maps he’d seen. The old Hulkbuster Base hadn’t been active in years, most likely adjustments were made to the layout, but what he remembered would be a helpful guide. One change Captain America doubted would be the main security and communications building. Sure enough, as he approached the building he noticed a strong presence, and that these guards were dressed in the same body armor as those soldiers who had taken away the Hulk all that time ago. His suspicions confirmed, Captain America moved.
The shield was thrown, striking one man in the vulnerable area between his helmet and armored vest. By the time his collapse was noticed, Captain America was on the second man, smashing him to the ground with fists to the face. Confident he was down for the count, Captain America leapt to his feet and at the first man, driving his boot against the helmet as he started to groan. With two men down in as many seconds, Captain America dragged them into the shadows to minimize discovery.
As Captain America predicted, the building was locked down, and neither of the guards he’d searched had a key. From one of the pouches belted around his waist, Captain America produced a SHIELD-issued decryption device. Connecting it to the keypad, the device went to work and, after an agonizing minute, clearance was granted and the door slid open. Entering the building, Captain America hoped it would take as little time to access the base records and, hopefully, find his teammates.
# # # # # # # # #
While he was sure nobody enjoyed being restrained, for himself Quicksilver considered it was a thousand times worse. To his mind, honed over the years to keep up with his super-speedy body, the time of unmovement was maddening. Seconds stretched into minutes which stretched into hours which stretched into days. Another few hours and Quicksilver would be convinced he’d been held captive for years, tortured in such a manner that his mind wouldn’t help but snap.
To stave off the void from sanity that was boredom, Quicksilver sought to perceive of any movement. The slightest change he would drink from as though it were an oasis, and salvation came from the unlikely source of Karnak. To Quicksilver’s eyes, his ex-brother-in-law was slowly opening and closing his eyes, though in fact the Inhuman was blinking rapidly. It did not take long from the mutant speedster to notice a pattern and recognize it as Morse Code. Karnak was telling him to flex and Quicksilver did so as fast as he could. His muscles working a thousand times a minute, aching more by each second, Quicksilver put his fetters under visible strain.
That was when Karnak struck. The right muscle movement at the right instant, his and Quicksilver’s restraints shattered. With no support, Quicksilver collapsed. Karnak stepped over him and said, “Rest while I free the others.”
Soon the other captive Avengers were freed. Stingray donned his helmet and checked the armor’s systems. Espirita illuminated the room with a flame in her hand. Binary was pleased that she could power up, while Warbird took charge of the situation.
“As much as I would love to tear through this place right now, they may have Diane and Jarvis hostage.” Edwin Jarvis was the butler at Avengers Mansion, while Diane Arliss-Newell was Stingray’s wife. “We need to learn what we can and find a way to contact Captain America. So long as they don’t know we’ve escaped it’s an advantage.”
Above their heads came a cackling. A large section of the wall lit up, displaying the laughing visage of Red Skull. “Fools! Did you not think you would be watched! My plans called for you to be acting sooner, so in mediocrity you were most effective. Truly, I should not be so surprised considering what I see, the basic nature of lesser-”
Warbird destroyed the image with a blast. “That you, Nazi. 8-8 Epsilon!” Monitored, they would need to communicate with code phrases. The Avengers would fight their way to freedom, then create chaos while Stingray and Quicksilver scouted for specific objections.
Before any of the heroes could act, they heard the main door opened. It still appeared closed however, and no new light entered the room. Then the shadow moved and they saw that it was Hulk. No, not Hulk. His eyes had the mad gleam of the Maestro.
“Oh, what brave and mighty heroes you Avengers are,” said the Maestro in mockery. “So brave, so rush against the Hulk when you learn he’s rampaged again. But alas, this time you were a dozen too short. You died. The world wept. But look, new heroes!”
Maestro cracked his knuckles and smiled. “Come on. We can’t keep your replacements waiting.”
# # # # # # # # #
The air vent was kicked out and clattered to the floor, followed immediately by Captain America. The only other occupants of the small room were Edwin Jarvis and Diane Arliss-Newell, both bound and gagged and reacting excitedly to Captain America’s presence. Captain America pulled away Jarvis’s gag.
“Are either of you hurt?”
“No, sir,” Jarvis said with some difficulty. He worked his mouth for a moment. “Whatever attacked us, it was more psychological in nature. When I saw Mister…Mister Hyde, the shock of fear overwhelmed me.”
While he listened to Jarvis, Captain America was releasing Diane from her bonds. “Where is everyone else?” she asked, meaning her husband Stingray.
“They’re holding back until you’re both clear.” Captain America hoped that was true. But either way he knew he’d just lied to Diane. Soon Jarvis was free as well. Captain America led them out of the room, cautiously making sure the coast was clear before beckoning them to follow him. They were leaving the building when he had a bad feeling. “Get down!”
Captain America had barely raised his shield in time. A powerful burst of energy exploded against it, momentarily blinding eyes that had adjusted to darkness. Not needing to see, Captain America threw his shield in the direction from where the burst had come, and recovered enough to see it strike against the arm of a young woman. That arm was engulfed by a giant gun, and the impact from Captain America’s shield knocked it aside as a second energy burst was fired. The ground in front of the young woman erupted, and she was hurled back.
Hearing a growl from above, Captain America spun around and looked up. A lizard shaped like a woman had jumped from the roof toward him. Grabbing her wrists to just avoid her outstretched claws, Captain America fell back, flipping the lizard over him. Leaping back to his feet, Captain America raised his arm to grab the shield that should have returned to him, but didn’t.
“Looking for this?” A young, well-built masked man was approaching Captain America with a hand raised. Floating over his hand was a sphere of red energy, Captain America’s shield trapped inside. “Two of us repelled in seconds. You are good.”
“One is a troubled girl and the other is overwhelmed by a flawed serum,” said Captain America. “And you just want to help your brother. Surrender now. Things don’t have to get any worse.”
“Bold words from a man dripping with fear.” Next to the masked man there appeared a young gaunt man with black hair and black clothes. Each of his hands was held by a dead child that Captain America was trying not to look at. “You are alone and in our sights.”
Unseen by Captain America, a sniper hidden in the clouds trained her rifle on his head. What he could see were the two young women recovered, and a heavy-set young man turning the building’s corner to stand almost behind him. Five foes, all known to him thanks to Speedball’s information.
Before the rifle’s trigger could be pulled, the young woman’s vision through the scope was filled with red and gold. Iron Man snatched the rifle away, the light from his chest-plate illuminating the woman kneeling on a cloud. Her form-fitting uniform was blue and white with red trim, covering all her body from the neck down. Covering her head completely was a curved helmet with a breathing mask and tube connecting to the tank on her back.
The barrel of a gun pressed against the back of the masked man’s head, held by Elsa Bloodstone. Wasp flew past Captain America’s line of sight, telling him that friends had arrived. Hawkeye was perched on the building’s rooftop, his bow pulled back with a golden arrow. Rocket Racer and White Tiger flanked the grouping on either side, ready to move in if a fight was called for.
Iron Man raised his arm so that the palm of his armored hand was inches from the sniper’s face. “You shot Jennifer.”
“Your armor isn’t sealed,” she said. Wisps from her cloud, drifted up rapidly, forcing their way into Iron Man’s open mouth and eye-holes.
At the same time, Elsa Bloodstone said, “Drop the ball, and pray the Barnabas wannabe don’t do more than try to look creepy.”
“His name’s Trauma.” His fists clenched. “I’m Hardball. And I’m not scared of guns!”
The red sphere over Hardball’s shoulder expanded suddenly. It would have been called an explosion, except there was no force save for a wave of seemingly harmless energy. Although when this energy passed over Rocket Racer, his hoverboard stopped working. The same happened with Iron Man’s armor, shutting out all of its systems. An automatic fail-safe caused the armor to completely seal, saving Iron Man from suffocation even as he plummeted from the sky.
When the sphere expanded, the shield inside dropped. Hardball grabbed it while he was turning, knocking Elsa Bloodstone’s rifle aside as it fired. “That would have taken my head off. You’re no hero.”
“I hunt monsters.” Bloodstone smashed her forearm against Hardball’s chest, throwing him backwards. “Guess what you lot are?”
“That was an electro-magnetic pulse,” Rocket Racer said. With his hoverboard tucked under one arm, he ran at the heavyset young man. “My systems are fried, but luckily my Rocket Punch is mechanical.”
Rocket Racer’s arm drew back and surged forward much faster than it should have. It struck the man’s face head-on, but didn’t have any effect. “And usually it stops people.”
“Hulk couldn’t stop this one, if he’s who I think.” Speedball jumped onto the back of Emery Schaub and covered his eyes. “But can you see?”
White Tiger leaped high into the air catching Iron Man’s frozen form and bringing him safely back to earth. Luckily the rifle was still clutched in his hand, so the sniper was floating down toward them unarmed. Wasp flew up to meet her, bio-electric stingers firing from her hands. From the rooftop, Hawkeye was shooting arrows at the girl with the arm-gun, keeping her off-balance and unable to focus that gun on his teammates.
As Captain American ran to retrieve his shield, Trauma moved to intercept him. The man’s shape had changed, resembling an older man with long hair and a beard, Captain America’s missing ally Nomad. “Am I dead or alive? You don’t know because you left me behind!”
“That isn’t very effective when someone sees you coming,” said Captain America. He punched Trauma in the face and picked up his shield.
Knocked to the ground but barely fazed, Trauma smiled. “But you don’t see all of us, do you?”
Back inside the building, just short of the door, Jarvis and Diane waited while the fighting was underway. “Iron Man’s team has been called in,” said Jarvis.
“But where are the others?” Diane asked.
Behind them, a lizard-woman crept from the shadows. “In the deep dark hole we put them in.” She knocked Jarvis against the wall with a back-hand. Her other clawed hand reached for Diane’s throat. “Your use was as hostages. Not so useful anymore.”
A red armored hand emerged from the shadows and closed over the green scaled wrist. “You stay away from my wife!” Electricity crept over the armor and passed through the lizard. Stingray’s other hand, clenched in a fist and brimming with electric power, exploded against her face. The lizard-woman smashed against the wall and fell still.
“Walter!” Diane threw her arms around her husband’s neck. “What happened? She said…”
“It was partly true,” Stingray said. “But we’ve escaped. Most of us.”
# # # # # # # # #
If Binary had a chance to think about it, she would have known that she’d fought the Maestro twice before, not once. Neither time had she been successful, the malevolent Hulk having been defeated by others.
“Run!” Binary had cried out when she flew at the possessed Hulk. The sudden savagery of her assault had taken him by surprise, clearing him from the doorway. “I can hold him! I can!”
Warbird had known better than to argue, and she prevented it from those Avengers who had wanted to. They ran and flew past, while Binary blasted and battered at a creature three times her size. Even with power such as theirs, size mattered for a great deal. Twice did Maestro’s flailing blows miss their target, but Binary knew from past experience the helpless feeling of being gripped in those massive hands.
The close quarters worked against her, so Binary pushed off the Maestro’s powerful chest to create distance. Flying away from him she threw burst after burst of plasma that burned hotter than the sun itself. Maestro roared when they exploded against him, the hair he’d been growing vanished along with skin that was rapidly growing back. His hands clapped together over a plasma burst, extinguishing it and unleashing a shockwave that staggered Binary. She crashed through a wall back into the chamber where she had recently been held captive.
The opening made by Binary exposed sparking wires and gushing pipes. Maestro used the door as he had previously intended. “Last time you were well-rested with lots of help. Now you’re alone, and still recovering.”
He was right, Binary knew. Her skin, normally a bright right when she was powered up, had significantly faded and was closer to her natural dark-brown hue. Though she now longer required oxygen, Binary breathed deep, imagining that she was drawing on the distant white dwarf star. She blasted at Maestro with beams of gravimetric force, hoping to keep him back. These staggered and annoyed Maestro, but he continued towards her.
“This time you’re going to die. Alone, abandoned by your teammates!” Maestro raised his arms and brought them crashing down. “As they abandoned me!”
Binary dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding the ground shattering attack. “I am not abandoned!” Gripping her arms together, she struck Maestro with a double fisted uppercut that nearly drove him off his feet. “I’m holding you back, while they deal with the Nazi holding your chain.”
Laughing, Maestro tried a backhand, and when Binary ducked beneath that rather than fly above, his other hand only found air when it reached up. “I’m no naïve girl. Deep inside I feel Banner fight, and I know he’ll either win or this mind will break beyond all use. Red Skull offers me the best use of this borrowed time. After you’re dead, and the Avengers are dead, I will be free to smash all I can before time runs out. I almost hope Banner breaks free with his wits intact, so he can witness the hell I had him unleash.”
Binary raised a palm, firing a tightly focused beam into Maestro’s face. “No! I will…I’m an Avenger! We’re going to stop you! We’re going to…aahhh!”
Maestro had done it. A large hand enveloped Binary’s right arm and shoulder. “When you blind a man, it defeats the purpose by talking.”
Binary raised her other arm. From the palm there came a stream of plasma that bored into Maestro’s chest. Flesh cooked, gave way, revealed bone that blackened. Genuinely afraid, Maestro screamed. His other hand closed around Binary’s wrist with such force that it snapped. His sophisticated intelligence momentarily forgotten, Maestro roared as he lifted Binary off her feet and smashed her into the floor.
“Aargh!” Lasers shot out of Binary’s eyes. They went past Maestro’s head into the ceiling. The explosion was drowned out by Maestro’s laugh. He planted a foot onto Binary’s chest, pressing down on her body at the same time he pulled up on her arms. Her scream was long and tortured.
“Nobody that hears you will care. Any that answer will be too late. You’re going to die, little girl, in pain and alone.”
“You will kill nobody, demon!” Espirita flew into the room surrounded by her halo of fire. With a gesture of her arms, the flames engulfed Maestro and Binary. But while Binary was made to withstand the heart of a sun, Maestro was only a little less resilient.
“I seem to remember killing you.” Letting go of Binary’s arms, Maestro walked off her and toward Espirita. “Perhaps if I removed your head completely.”
Maestro found that he could not take another step however. He looked down and saw that Binary had grabbed hold of his leg. Meanwhile, Espirita continued to rain fire on him.
“The Lord returned me to life, for a purpose I see clearly now,” Espirita said. “You possess a man already tormented beyond imagining. You would spread death and suffering wherever you go, for another to bear the consequences. It is for me to stop you, here and now.”
“Is that what you imagine some voice tells you?” Maestro reached down and grabbed Binary by the back of the neck. He pulled and squeezed, and she cried out but continued to hold on. “How? I’ve survived worse heat than this. Before my air runs out this girl will be dead, and you…”
Maestro hesitated, feeling a new weakness in his limbs. It was brief and small, a pebble compared to the mountain of his might, yet he noticed it all the same. “What…what are you doing to me?”
“Nothing,” said Espirita. In the light of flames, her serene face bore the features of harsh judgment. “As in all things, your fate is God’s doing. Like all demons, you will suffer in fire.”
“I am no demon!” roared Maestro. “I am God’s cruel joke, and for the punchline I shall destroy all his work!”
He tried to leap, but Binary still held him fast. The more Maestro struggled, the more she was beginning to overpower him. “I’ve killed them all, ruled over the world and I’ll do it again.”
The green was fading. Massive arms shrank. Binary was on her feet now, restraining a man nearly her own size.
“You think this stops me? Soon I will return, for the first time. It will mean the end for all of you!” More human than Hulk, the Maestro collapsed with the flames Espirita called away. His last words before losing consciousness were with Bruce Banner’s voice. “All of you…”
Binary stood over a nearly naked, unconscious man. She stared up at Espirita with astonishment. “You stopped the Hulk?”
“If he had touched me I would have been dead.” Espirita floated to the ground. “We stopped him. I am unsure how exactly, but I pray it is permanent.”
“Is it done then? As the Red Skull and the rest of his been dealt with?”
Espirita shook her head. “Captain America is here, with our teammates from the West Coast. That left me free to aid you, but there was still fighting when I left.”
Binary managed not to cry out when she set her arm back into place. It was already healing, the power of the stars. “Well then, let’s go end it.”
# # # # # # # # #
“This is an absolute failure,” said Professor Power. He, Red Skull, and Centurious watched Maestro’s defeat through the security feed. “You didn’t account for the Avengers West Coast team, and now our strongest ally has failed.”
“Everyone forgets about that second team,” Red Skull said. “With good reason. They won’t be any match for our recruits. While the Avengers are distracted, we’ll make our escape and blow up the base. You have the teleporters available?”
“Yes.” Professor Power held three personal teleportation units. Then he crushed them in his hands. “Oh, no, I don’t. It would appear I only have the teleporter in my exo-skeleton. Centurious, you have a teleportation spell?”
“How dare you!” Red Skull drew a gun. But before he could fire, Centurious sent him hurling against the wall with a gesture.
“Fortunately, I do,” Centurious said in response to Professor Power’s question. “But it’s one of those personal spells. Even if someone is touching me, they’re stuck.”
“Traitors.” Red Skull spat the word.
“We’re simply equals ending a partnership that had gone badly,” said Professor Power. “But don’t despair, Red Skull. Your children may yet prevail, and there’s still that Doctor Dog somewhere. I merely think you’ve lost, and I’m tired of losing.”
“As am I,” said Centurious. He made a gesture, and shimmered away in a pink glow. Professor Power followed immediately after, leaving Red Skull alone with his shattered ambitions.
“Fools, I am not so easily beaten!” Contingencies were planned for contingencies. Professor Power and Centurious were not the only means of escape. Hurrying to the control console, Red Skull typed in his code and activated the program. The countdown had to be extended, so that he could reach the Skull Ship in time, but Red Skull was confident that the Avengers were meet their end.
# # # # # # # # #
The former Hulkbuster base had rapidly degenerated from military order to combative chaos. Throughout the base soldiers were still shooting, and Avengers were still fighting. A thick fog had settled over the area, so that from above Warbird couldn’t see anything. She’d heard the girl with the arm-cannon, Armor, cry out for Cloud 9 to provide them with cover. It made a little sense that the sniper who hid in the clouds would be called that.
Finally, Warbird saw a patch were the fog was thin, and flew towards it. She saw Quicksilver in the center, dispersing the fog with high winds generated by spinning his arms. With him were White Tiger, Speedball and an unconscious young man she remembered was called Boulder.
“I see we got one,” Warbird said as she landed. “I remember him being tough.”
Speedball shrugged. “I don’t know what happened. We were struggling, and then suddenly he collapsed, all shaking.”
“It was a seizure,” said White Tiger. She waved her hand over Speedball. “All of that…those multi-colored balls. I think it caused an epileptic fit.”
“Whatever the reason, I think he’s the only one we’ll find,” said Quicksilver. “I’ve been all over this base twice. Except for that brief skirmish we caught the end of, those young criminals have disappeared.”
“This is to cover their escape,” Warbird realized. “What about Red Skull and his Coalition?”
As though in answer to her question, a large condor slammed into Warbird from behind. She was thrown past her teammates and Speedball, who faced the charging Dr. Animal.
“We aren’t going anywhere without our pound of flesh!” snarled Dr. Animal. At his command animals appeared as though from the ground, lions and wolves and rhinos ready to kill. Even he turned into an animal, a giant black bear that towered over the heroes. “My power allows me to control animals as well. White Tiger, kill them!”
There was a beat, followed by White Tiger turning her head to look at all their enemies, then returning to face Dr. Animal. “Seriously? I’m a human with powers from a mystical amulet, not an evolved cat!”
White Tiger leapt at Dr. Animal, kicking him hard in the face before he realized what was happened. Quicksilver moved at super-speed, grabbing discarded firearms and shooting at the invented animals without compunction. Speedball scared at him, aghast.
“You’re killing them!”
“They were never alive.” Indeed, the animals were vanishing almost as soon as they slain.
As for Dr. Animal, remained in the bear form and had struck White Tiger with a powerful blow. She had not been knocked from her feet however, and was prepared to attack again. But a burst of energy struck Dr. Animal, and he fell with a cry. As he hadn’t changed back, Warbird blasted him again for good measure. He then reverted to human form, unconscious.
“That was a little anti-climatic,” said Speedball. “Aren’t these Coalition guys supposed to be a big deal?”
White Tiger felt her jaw. “He sure felt like a big deal. And thank goodness he didn’t realize people are animals too. I was about ready to do what he said when I psyched him out.”
“Nicely done,” said Warbird. “I guess all that’s left is the cleanup.”
“Think again,” Iron Man flew over their heads and hovered, his armor back on-line. “My sensors are picking up armed charges all over the base. We have time to disarm them or evacuate, but not both.”
“Then direct everyone close to a charge,” Captain America’s voice transmitted over the identicards. “Red Skull isn’t doing this again, escaping with all evidence of his schemes destroyed.”
It got close near the end, and one charge was inaccessible. Captain America directed Binary and Warbird to get as close as they could when it exploded. The blast was powerful, but the two of them proved able to absorb the worst of it. The building they were in did take damage, enough that it collapsed minutes later, but otherwise nobody was hurt. The Avengers were assembled near the rubble that had been the central command center.
Stingray was looking down. “I see what’s left of a tunnel, but it collapsed. By the time we clear things and get down there, Red Skull will be long gone.”
“I saw the computers were at least intact,” said Iron Man. “I’m confident I can get enough useful information from them.”
“Let’s not forget about the prisoners,” said Wasp. “That doesn’t include Bruce, but we’ll need to make sure he’s okay before he wakes up.”
“We’ll need to make sure about this one too.” Elsa Bloodstone was kneeling next to Boulder. “He’s got the stink of magic about him. I sensed it on a few of those others too.”
“Anybody who was coerced we’ll do what we can to help them,” said Captain America. “Our first priority will be to find out everything we can, though. So long as the Coalition and those wild cards are on the loose, we won’t be able to rest easy.”
# # # # # # # # #
To run was to admit defeat. Yet the Red Skull did so, breathing heavy, sweat beading his reddish-hued bald head. The tunnels beneath the Hulkbuster base were vast. Escape was certain. There were contingencies, soon he would recover and scheme again. It was only a minor setback, not defeat.
Still he ran through the growing fog.
Gagging, Red Skull collapsed to his knees. In front of him, the fog parted to reveal the five of them. Armory and Cloud 9 had their weapons aimed at Red Skull’s head. Komodo gave a low hiss. Hardball’s energy globes illuminated their faces in a sinister light. Trauma spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
“You thought you could control us.”
“Nobody controls us,” said Armory.
“Cloud 9,” Red Skull licked his cracked lips. “I order you to-”
“With all due respect sir, you’ve been relieved of command.”
Hardball smiled. “Don’t worry, though. If we wanted you dead, you would be.”
“But we do want him dead,” said Komodo. “There’s this urge that’s building and if I don’t get blood on my claws soon I may just go insane.”
“This one’s not afraid of dying,” said Trauma. “He’s not even afraid of pain. No, he’s afraid we’ll conform, that we’ll take what he’s given us and throw it back in his face.”
“That’s assuming we have a choice,” said Cloud 9. “That we could turn back even if we wanted to.”
“I could,” said Hardball. “I could go topside right now. Plead to the Avengers on my knees, that I was a misunderstood kid forced over his head. They’d forgive me, try to help my brother, maybe even offer me membership.”
“I could probably do that too,” said Armory. “It sounds like fun. Especially the part where I betray them first chance I get.”
“And if that failed, just beg forgiveness again.” Hardball laughed. “And they’d probably accept us again. Over and over, because those heroes are just so gullible.”
“But we aren’t,” said Trauma. “We want more out of life.”
“We want to command lives,” said Komodo. “Take lives.”
“You can help us with that,” Cloud 9 said to Red Skull. “With your guidance, we could become Masters.”
The End
In his head Captain America recalled the maps he’d seen. The old Hulkbuster Base hadn’t been active in years, most likely adjustments were made to the layout, but what he remembered would be a helpful guide. One change Captain America doubted would be the main security and communications building. Sure enough, as he approached the building he noticed a strong presence, and that these guards were dressed in the same body armor as those soldiers who had taken away the Hulk all that time ago. His suspicions confirmed, Captain America moved.
The shield was thrown, striking one man in the vulnerable area between his helmet and armored vest. By the time his collapse was noticed, Captain America was on the second man, smashing him to the ground with fists to the face. Confident he was down for the count, Captain America leapt to his feet and at the first man, driving his boot against the helmet as he started to groan. With two men down in as many seconds, Captain America dragged them into the shadows to minimize discovery.
As Captain America predicted, the building was locked down, and neither of the guards he’d searched had a key. From one of the pouches belted around his waist, Captain America produced a SHIELD-issued decryption device. Connecting it to the keypad, the device went to work and, after an agonizing minute, clearance was granted and the door slid open. Entering the building, Captain America hoped it would take as little time to access the base records and, hopefully, find his teammates.
# # # # # # # # #
While he was sure nobody enjoyed being restrained, for himself Quicksilver considered it was a thousand times worse. To his mind, honed over the years to keep up with his super-speedy body, the time of unmovement was maddening. Seconds stretched into minutes which stretched into hours which stretched into days. Another few hours and Quicksilver would be convinced he’d been held captive for years, tortured in such a manner that his mind wouldn’t help but snap.
To stave off the void from sanity that was boredom, Quicksilver sought to perceive of any movement. The slightest change he would drink from as though it were an oasis, and salvation came from the unlikely source of Karnak. To Quicksilver’s eyes, his ex-brother-in-law was slowly opening and closing his eyes, though in fact the Inhuman was blinking rapidly. It did not take long from the mutant speedster to notice a pattern and recognize it as Morse Code. Karnak was telling him to flex and Quicksilver did so as fast as he could. His muscles working a thousand times a minute, aching more by each second, Quicksilver put his fetters under visible strain.
That was when Karnak struck. The right muscle movement at the right instant, his and Quicksilver’s restraints shattered. With no support, Quicksilver collapsed. Karnak stepped over him and said, “Rest while I free the others.”
Soon the other captive Avengers were freed. Stingray donned his helmet and checked the armor’s systems. Espirita illuminated the room with a flame in her hand. Binary was pleased that she could power up, while Warbird took charge of the situation.
“As much as I would love to tear through this place right now, they may have Diane and Jarvis hostage.” Edwin Jarvis was the butler at Avengers Mansion, while Diane Arliss-Newell was Stingray’s wife. “We need to learn what we can and find a way to contact Captain America. So long as they don’t know we’ve escaped it’s an advantage.”
Above their heads came a cackling. A large section of the wall lit up, displaying the laughing visage of Red Skull. “Fools! Did you not think you would be watched! My plans called for you to be acting sooner, so in mediocrity you were most effective. Truly, I should not be so surprised considering what I see, the basic nature of lesser-”
Warbird destroyed the image with a blast. “That you, Nazi. 8-8 Epsilon!” Monitored, they would need to communicate with code phrases. The Avengers would fight their way to freedom, then create chaos while Stingray and Quicksilver scouted for specific objections.
Before any of the heroes could act, they heard the main door opened. It still appeared closed however, and no new light entered the room. Then the shadow moved and they saw that it was Hulk. No, not Hulk. His eyes had the mad gleam of the Maestro.
“Oh, what brave and mighty heroes you Avengers are,” said the Maestro in mockery. “So brave, so rush against the Hulk when you learn he’s rampaged again. But alas, this time you were a dozen too short. You died. The world wept. But look, new heroes!”
Maestro cracked his knuckles and smiled. “Come on. We can’t keep your replacements waiting.”
# # # # # # # # #
The air vent was kicked out and clattered to the floor, followed immediately by Captain America. The only other occupants of the small room were Edwin Jarvis and Diane Arliss-Newell, both bound and gagged and reacting excitedly to Captain America’s presence. Captain America pulled away Jarvis’s gag.
“Are either of you hurt?”
“No, sir,” Jarvis said with some difficulty. He worked his mouth for a moment. “Whatever attacked us, it was more psychological in nature. When I saw Mister…Mister Hyde, the shock of fear overwhelmed me.”
While he listened to Jarvis, Captain America was releasing Diane from her bonds. “Where is everyone else?” she asked, meaning her husband Stingray.
“They’re holding back until you’re both clear.” Captain America hoped that was true. But either way he knew he’d just lied to Diane. Soon Jarvis was free as well. Captain America led them out of the room, cautiously making sure the coast was clear before beckoning them to follow him. They were leaving the building when he had a bad feeling. “Get down!”
Captain America had barely raised his shield in time. A powerful burst of energy exploded against it, momentarily blinding eyes that had adjusted to darkness. Not needing to see, Captain America threw his shield in the direction from where the burst had come, and recovered enough to see it strike against the arm of a young woman. That arm was engulfed by a giant gun, and the impact from Captain America’s shield knocked it aside as a second energy burst was fired. The ground in front of the young woman erupted, and she was hurled back.
Hearing a growl from above, Captain America spun around and looked up. A lizard shaped like a woman had jumped from the roof toward him. Grabbing her wrists to just avoid her outstretched claws, Captain America fell back, flipping the lizard over him. Leaping back to his feet, Captain America raised his arm to grab the shield that should have returned to him, but didn’t.
“Looking for this?” A young, well-built masked man was approaching Captain America with a hand raised. Floating over his hand was a sphere of red energy, Captain America’s shield trapped inside. “Two of us repelled in seconds. You are good.”
“One is a troubled girl and the other is overwhelmed by a flawed serum,” said Captain America. “And you just want to help your brother. Surrender now. Things don’t have to get any worse.”
“Bold words from a man dripping with fear.” Next to the masked man there appeared a young gaunt man with black hair and black clothes. Each of his hands was held by a dead child that Captain America was trying not to look at. “You are alone and in our sights.”
Unseen by Captain America, a sniper hidden in the clouds trained her rifle on his head. What he could see were the two young women recovered, and a heavy-set young man turning the building’s corner to stand almost behind him. Five foes, all known to him thanks to Speedball’s information.
Before the rifle’s trigger could be pulled, the young woman’s vision through the scope was filled with red and gold. Iron Man snatched the rifle away, the light from his chest-plate illuminating the woman kneeling on a cloud. Her form-fitting uniform was blue and white with red trim, covering all her body from the neck down. Covering her head completely was a curved helmet with a breathing mask and tube connecting to the tank on her back.
The barrel of a gun pressed against the back of the masked man’s head, held by Elsa Bloodstone. Wasp flew past Captain America’s line of sight, telling him that friends had arrived. Hawkeye was perched on the building’s rooftop, his bow pulled back with a golden arrow. Rocket Racer and White Tiger flanked the grouping on either side, ready to move in if a fight was called for.
Iron Man raised his arm so that the palm of his armored hand was inches from the sniper’s face. “You shot Jennifer.”
“Your armor isn’t sealed,” she said. Wisps from her cloud, drifted up rapidly, forcing their way into Iron Man’s open mouth and eye-holes.
At the same time, Elsa Bloodstone said, “Drop the ball, and pray the Barnabas wannabe don’t do more than try to look creepy.”
“His name’s Trauma.” His fists clenched. “I’m Hardball. And I’m not scared of guns!”
The red sphere over Hardball’s shoulder expanded suddenly. It would have been called an explosion, except there was no force save for a wave of seemingly harmless energy. Although when this energy passed over Rocket Racer, his hoverboard stopped working. The same happened with Iron Man’s armor, shutting out all of its systems. An automatic fail-safe caused the armor to completely seal, saving Iron Man from suffocation even as he plummeted from the sky.
When the sphere expanded, the shield inside dropped. Hardball grabbed it while he was turning, knocking Elsa Bloodstone’s rifle aside as it fired. “That would have taken my head off. You’re no hero.”
“I hunt monsters.” Bloodstone smashed her forearm against Hardball’s chest, throwing him backwards. “Guess what you lot are?”
“That was an electro-magnetic pulse,” Rocket Racer said. With his hoverboard tucked under one arm, he ran at the heavyset young man. “My systems are fried, but luckily my Rocket Punch is mechanical.”
Rocket Racer’s arm drew back and surged forward much faster than it should have. It struck the man’s face head-on, but didn’t have any effect. “And usually it stops people.”
“Hulk couldn’t stop this one, if he’s who I think.” Speedball jumped onto the back of Emery Schaub and covered his eyes. “But can you see?”
White Tiger leaped high into the air catching Iron Man’s frozen form and bringing him safely back to earth. Luckily the rifle was still clutched in his hand, so the sniper was floating down toward them unarmed. Wasp flew up to meet her, bio-electric stingers firing from her hands. From the rooftop, Hawkeye was shooting arrows at the girl with the arm-gun, keeping her off-balance and unable to focus that gun on his teammates.
As Captain American ran to retrieve his shield, Trauma moved to intercept him. The man’s shape had changed, resembling an older man with long hair and a beard, Captain America’s missing ally Nomad. “Am I dead or alive? You don’t know because you left me behind!”
“That isn’t very effective when someone sees you coming,” said Captain America. He punched Trauma in the face and picked up his shield.
Knocked to the ground but barely fazed, Trauma smiled. “But you don’t see all of us, do you?”
Back inside the building, just short of the door, Jarvis and Diane waited while the fighting was underway. “Iron Man’s team has been called in,” said Jarvis.
“But where are the others?” Diane asked.
Behind them, a lizard-woman crept from the shadows. “In the deep dark hole we put them in.” She knocked Jarvis against the wall with a back-hand. Her other clawed hand reached for Diane’s throat. “Your use was as hostages. Not so useful anymore.”
A red armored hand emerged from the shadows and closed over the green scaled wrist. “You stay away from my wife!” Electricity crept over the armor and passed through the lizard. Stingray’s other hand, clenched in a fist and brimming with electric power, exploded against her face. The lizard-woman smashed against the wall and fell still.
“Walter!” Diane threw her arms around her husband’s neck. “What happened? She said…”
“It was partly true,” Stingray said. “But we’ve escaped. Most of us.”
# # # # # # # # #
If Binary had a chance to think about it, she would have known that she’d fought the Maestro twice before, not once. Neither time had she been successful, the malevolent Hulk having been defeated by others.
“Run!” Binary had cried out when she flew at the possessed Hulk. The sudden savagery of her assault had taken him by surprise, clearing him from the doorway. “I can hold him! I can!”
Warbird had known better than to argue, and she prevented it from those Avengers who had wanted to. They ran and flew past, while Binary blasted and battered at a creature three times her size. Even with power such as theirs, size mattered for a great deal. Twice did Maestro’s flailing blows miss their target, but Binary knew from past experience the helpless feeling of being gripped in those massive hands.
The close quarters worked against her, so Binary pushed off the Maestro’s powerful chest to create distance. Flying away from him she threw burst after burst of plasma that burned hotter than the sun itself. Maestro roared when they exploded against him, the hair he’d been growing vanished along with skin that was rapidly growing back. His hands clapped together over a plasma burst, extinguishing it and unleashing a shockwave that staggered Binary. She crashed through a wall back into the chamber where she had recently been held captive.
The opening made by Binary exposed sparking wires and gushing pipes. Maestro used the door as he had previously intended. “Last time you were well-rested with lots of help. Now you’re alone, and still recovering.”
He was right, Binary knew. Her skin, normally a bright right when she was powered up, had significantly faded and was closer to her natural dark-brown hue. Though she now longer required oxygen, Binary breathed deep, imagining that she was drawing on the distant white dwarf star. She blasted at Maestro with beams of gravimetric force, hoping to keep him back. These staggered and annoyed Maestro, but he continued towards her.
“This time you’re going to die. Alone, abandoned by your teammates!” Maestro raised his arms and brought them crashing down. “As they abandoned me!”
Binary dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding the ground shattering attack. “I am not abandoned!” Gripping her arms together, she struck Maestro with a double fisted uppercut that nearly drove him off his feet. “I’m holding you back, while they deal with the Nazi holding your chain.”
Laughing, Maestro tried a backhand, and when Binary ducked beneath that rather than fly above, his other hand only found air when it reached up. “I’m no naïve girl. Deep inside I feel Banner fight, and I know he’ll either win or this mind will break beyond all use. Red Skull offers me the best use of this borrowed time. After you’re dead, and the Avengers are dead, I will be free to smash all I can before time runs out. I almost hope Banner breaks free with his wits intact, so he can witness the hell I had him unleash.”
Binary raised a palm, firing a tightly focused beam into Maestro’s face. “No! I will…I’m an Avenger! We’re going to stop you! We’re going to…aahhh!”
Maestro had done it. A large hand enveloped Binary’s right arm and shoulder. “When you blind a man, it defeats the purpose by talking.”
Binary raised her other arm. From the palm there came a stream of plasma that bored into Maestro’s chest. Flesh cooked, gave way, revealed bone that blackened. Genuinely afraid, Maestro screamed. His other hand closed around Binary’s wrist with such force that it snapped. His sophisticated intelligence momentarily forgotten, Maestro roared as he lifted Binary off her feet and smashed her into the floor.
“Aargh!” Lasers shot out of Binary’s eyes. They went past Maestro’s head into the ceiling. The explosion was drowned out by Maestro’s laugh. He planted a foot onto Binary’s chest, pressing down on her body at the same time he pulled up on her arms. Her scream was long and tortured.
“Nobody that hears you will care. Any that answer will be too late. You’re going to die, little girl, in pain and alone.”
“You will kill nobody, demon!” Espirita flew into the room surrounded by her halo of fire. With a gesture of her arms, the flames engulfed Maestro and Binary. But while Binary was made to withstand the heart of a sun, Maestro was only a little less resilient.
“I seem to remember killing you.” Letting go of Binary’s arms, Maestro walked off her and toward Espirita. “Perhaps if I removed your head completely.”
Maestro found that he could not take another step however. He looked down and saw that Binary had grabbed hold of his leg. Meanwhile, Espirita continued to rain fire on him.
“The Lord returned me to life, for a purpose I see clearly now,” Espirita said. “You possess a man already tormented beyond imagining. You would spread death and suffering wherever you go, for another to bear the consequences. It is for me to stop you, here and now.”
“Is that what you imagine some voice tells you?” Maestro reached down and grabbed Binary by the back of the neck. He pulled and squeezed, and she cried out but continued to hold on. “How? I’ve survived worse heat than this. Before my air runs out this girl will be dead, and you…”
Maestro hesitated, feeling a new weakness in his limbs. It was brief and small, a pebble compared to the mountain of his might, yet he noticed it all the same. “What…what are you doing to me?”
“Nothing,” said Espirita. In the light of flames, her serene face bore the features of harsh judgment. “As in all things, your fate is God’s doing. Like all demons, you will suffer in fire.”
“I am no demon!” roared Maestro. “I am God’s cruel joke, and for the punchline I shall destroy all his work!”
He tried to leap, but Binary still held him fast. The more Maestro struggled, the more she was beginning to overpower him. “I’ve killed them all, ruled over the world and I’ll do it again.”
The green was fading. Massive arms shrank. Binary was on her feet now, restraining a man nearly her own size.
“You think this stops me? Soon I will return, for the first time. It will mean the end for all of you!” More human than Hulk, the Maestro collapsed with the flames Espirita called away. His last words before losing consciousness were with Bruce Banner’s voice. “All of you…”
Binary stood over a nearly naked, unconscious man. She stared up at Espirita with astonishment. “You stopped the Hulk?”
“If he had touched me I would have been dead.” Espirita floated to the ground. “We stopped him. I am unsure how exactly, but I pray it is permanent.”
“Is it done then? As the Red Skull and the rest of his been dealt with?”
Espirita shook her head. “Captain America is here, with our teammates from the West Coast. That left me free to aid you, but there was still fighting when I left.”
Binary managed not to cry out when she set her arm back into place. It was already healing, the power of the stars. “Well then, let’s go end it.”
# # # # # # # # #
“This is an absolute failure,” said Professor Power. He, Red Skull, and Centurious watched Maestro’s defeat through the security feed. “You didn’t account for the Avengers West Coast team, and now our strongest ally has failed.”
“Everyone forgets about that second team,” Red Skull said. “With good reason. They won’t be any match for our recruits. While the Avengers are distracted, we’ll make our escape and blow up the base. You have the teleporters available?”
“Yes.” Professor Power held three personal teleportation units. Then he crushed them in his hands. “Oh, no, I don’t. It would appear I only have the teleporter in my exo-skeleton. Centurious, you have a teleportation spell?”
“How dare you!” Red Skull drew a gun. But before he could fire, Centurious sent him hurling against the wall with a gesture.
“Fortunately, I do,” Centurious said in response to Professor Power’s question. “But it’s one of those personal spells. Even if someone is touching me, they’re stuck.”
“Traitors.” Red Skull spat the word.
“We’re simply equals ending a partnership that had gone badly,” said Professor Power. “But don’t despair, Red Skull. Your children may yet prevail, and there’s still that Doctor Dog somewhere. I merely think you’ve lost, and I’m tired of losing.”
“As am I,” said Centurious. He made a gesture, and shimmered away in a pink glow. Professor Power followed immediately after, leaving Red Skull alone with his shattered ambitions.
“Fools, I am not so easily beaten!” Contingencies were planned for contingencies. Professor Power and Centurious were not the only means of escape. Hurrying to the control console, Red Skull typed in his code and activated the program. The countdown had to be extended, so that he could reach the Skull Ship in time, but Red Skull was confident that the Avengers were meet their end.
# # # # # # # # #
The former Hulkbuster base had rapidly degenerated from military order to combative chaos. Throughout the base soldiers were still shooting, and Avengers were still fighting. A thick fog had settled over the area, so that from above Warbird couldn’t see anything. She’d heard the girl with the arm-cannon, Armor, cry out for Cloud 9 to provide them with cover. It made a little sense that the sniper who hid in the clouds would be called that.
Finally, Warbird saw a patch were the fog was thin, and flew towards it. She saw Quicksilver in the center, dispersing the fog with high winds generated by spinning his arms. With him were White Tiger, Speedball and an unconscious young man she remembered was called Boulder.
“I see we got one,” Warbird said as she landed. “I remember him being tough.”
Speedball shrugged. “I don’t know what happened. We were struggling, and then suddenly he collapsed, all shaking.”
“It was a seizure,” said White Tiger. She waved her hand over Speedball. “All of that…those multi-colored balls. I think it caused an epileptic fit.”
“Whatever the reason, I think he’s the only one we’ll find,” said Quicksilver. “I’ve been all over this base twice. Except for that brief skirmish we caught the end of, those young criminals have disappeared.”
“This is to cover their escape,” Warbird realized. “What about Red Skull and his Coalition?”
As though in answer to her question, a large condor slammed into Warbird from behind. She was thrown past her teammates and Speedball, who faced the charging Dr. Animal.
“We aren’t going anywhere without our pound of flesh!” snarled Dr. Animal. At his command animals appeared as though from the ground, lions and wolves and rhinos ready to kill. Even he turned into an animal, a giant black bear that towered over the heroes. “My power allows me to control animals as well. White Tiger, kill them!”
There was a beat, followed by White Tiger turning her head to look at all their enemies, then returning to face Dr. Animal. “Seriously? I’m a human with powers from a mystical amulet, not an evolved cat!”
White Tiger leapt at Dr. Animal, kicking him hard in the face before he realized what was happened. Quicksilver moved at super-speed, grabbing discarded firearms and shooting at the invented animals without compunction. Speedball scared at him, aghast.
“You’re killing them!”
“They were never alive.” Indeed, the animals were vanishing almost as soon as they slain.
As for Dr. Animal, remained in the bear form and had struck White Tiger with a powerful blow. She had not been knocked from her feet however, and was prepared to attack again. But a burst of energy struck Dr. Animal, and he fell with a cry. As he hadn’t changed back, Warbird blasted him again for good measure. He then reverted to human form, unconscious.
“That was a little anti-climatic,” said Speedball. “Aren’t these Coalition guys supposed to be a big deal?”
White Tiger felt her jaw. “He sure felt like a big deal. And thank goodness he didn’t realize people are animals too. I was about ready to do what he said when I psyched him out.”
“Nicely done,” said Warbird. “I guess all that’s left is the cleanup.”
“Think again,” Iron Man flew over their heads and hovered, his armor back on-line. “My sensors are picking up armed charges all over the base. We have time to disarm them or evacuate, but not both.”
“Then direct everyone close to a charge,” Captain America’s voice transmitted over the identicards. “Red Skull isn’t doing this again, escaping with all evidence of his schemes destroyed.”
It got close near the end, and one charge was inaccessible. Captain America directed Binary and Warbird to get as close as they could when it exploded. The blast was powerful, but the two of them proved able to absorb the worst of it. The building they were in did take damage, enough that it collapsed minutes later, but otherwise nobody was hurt. The Avengers were assembled near the rubble that had been the central command center.
Stingray was looking down. “I see what’s left of a tunnel, but it collapsed. By the time we clear things and get down there, Red Skull will be long gone.”
“I saw the computers were at least intact,” said Iron Man. “I’m confident I can get enough useful information from them.”
“Let’s not forget about the prisoners,” said Wasp. “That doesn’t include Bruce, but we’ll need to make sure he’s okay before he wakes up.”
“We’ll need to make sure about this one too.” Elsa Bloodstone was kneeling next to Boulder. “He’s got the stink of magic about him. I sensed it on a few of those others too.”
“Anybody who was coerced we’ll do what we can to help them,” said Captain America. “Our first priority will be to find out everything we can, though. So long as the Coalition and those wild cards are on the loose, we won’t be able to rest easy.”
# # # # # # # # #
To run was to admit defeat. Yet the Red Skull did so, breathing heavy, sweat beading his reddish-hued bald head. The tunnels beneath the Hulkbuster base were vast. Escape was certain. There were contingencies, soon he would recover and scheme again. It was only a minor setback, not defeat.
Still he ran through the growing fog.
Gagging, Red Skull collapsed to his knees. In front of him, the fog parted to reveal the five of them. Armory and Cloud 9 had their weapons aimed at Red Skull’s head. Komodo gave a low hiss. Hardball’s energy globes illuminated their faces in a sinister light. Trauma spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
“You thought you could control us.”
“Nobody controls us,” said Armory.
“Cloud 9,” Red Skull licked his cracked lips. “I order you to-”
“With all due respect sir, you’ve been relieved of command.”
Hardball smiled. “Don’t worry, though. If we wanted you dead, you would be.”
“But we do want him dead,” said Komodo. “There’s this urge that’s building and if I don’t get blood on my claws soon I may just go insane.”
“This one’s not afraid of dying,” said Trauma. “He’s not even afraid of pain. No, he’s afraid we’ll conform, that we’ll take what he’s given us and throw it back in his face.”
“That’s assuming we have a choice,” said Cloud 9. “That we could turn back even if we wanted to.”
“I could,” said Hardball. “I could go topside right now. Plead to the Avengers on my knees, that I was a misunderstood kid forced over his head. They’d forgive me, try to help my brother, maybe even offer me membership.”
“I could probably do that too,” said Armory. “It sounds like fun. Especially the part where I betray them first chance I get.”
“And if that failed, just beg forgiveness again.” Hardball laughed. “And they’d probably accept us again. Over and over, because those heroes are just so gullible.”
“But we aren’t,” said Trauma. “We want more out of life.”
“We want to command lives,” said Komodo. “Take lives.”
“You can help us with that,” Cloud 9 said to Red Skull. “With your guidance, we could become Masters.”
The End