Avengers

Plummeting faster and faster through the burning atmosphere of the Earth, it would appear to be a small, black meteorite. But as soon as it hit the ground in northern Libya, and obliterated every bit of land and vegetation five miles in every direction, that theory was thrown out the window.

The sky of Libya turned a dark that had never been seen before in Africa. Intense lightning storms echoed through the air and struck the ground with incredible force, leaving small craters in their wake. People ran through the streets panicking and trying to avoid the random streams of electricity that shot down all around them. They said that the Devil had conquered Heaven and now he's fallen from the sky to raise Hell on Earth.

But the Commander-In-Chief of Libya knew better. This was obviously a plot by the white ruled countries of the world to usurp his leadership. He wouldn't have it. He dispatched three hundred of his soldiers to go and investigate the crater. Soon, the soldiers found the crater. Seconds later, radio contact was lost.

Henry Pym had been awake for twenty hours and was still going strong. He had stayed awake for longer periods of time before and was not about to let this affect him. On a large machine in front of him, there were line graphs and bar graphs and all were fluctuating. Hank scribbled on his clipboard in handwriting only he could read.

"Hank?"

"Over here, Jan."

Janet Van Dyne slowly carried the pot and cup of coffee over to a small table where her ex-husband had been working. She set it down and looked around the huge lab in the sub-basement of the Avengers Mansion. It's size never ceased to amaze her. In comparison to the large humming and blinking machines all around him, Hank seemed to be no bigger than an ant. He sat down at the table looking over his charts and not Janet. He absent-mindedly reached for his coffee and took a sip. His eyes widened and he looked at the coffee and then to Jan.

"You're the only person in this mansion who can make coffee better than Jarvis," Hank said to her with a smile.

"You always were the last to notice things like that," Jan rolled her eyes. "What are you working on that you didn't have the courtesy to attend dinner last night?"

"Jack's powers," Hank said, finishing his coffee with a gulp. "They're...incredible. They're killing him and I can't figure out a way to help him. And now, added to this, I've been appointed Avengers co-liaison to the United Nations. I don't know when I'll be able to work on Jack's problem again."

"Don't work yourself too hard." Jan crossed her arms and looked down at Hank.

"I know, I know," Hank said and then he looked at Jan briefly before turning back to chart. "You didn't tell me that you refused membership on the new team."

"I'm sorry--I didn't think--well, I'm on the team now," Jan stuttered but then she put her hands by her sides. "I did refuse at first. I thought the Avengers new position on the UN council would be a good time for me focus on my company and maybe..."

Jan turned away from her husband. Hank cocked an eye at her. Then, he poured himself another cup of coffee.

"What?" Hank asked.

"Nothing." Jan shook her head and turned around to look at all the machinery in the lab.

"Hmm..." Hank was looking back at the charts and flipping through them. Jan smiled to herself and walked back over to him.

"It's almost noon, Hank," Jan placed her hand on his shoulder. "I've got an idea. You get a shower and then I'll treat you to lunch. We haven't gone out in forever."

"Almost noon?" Hank looked at his watch. "Gyrich is supposed to be here by now! I gotta get changed! We're going to work out the remaining five roster spots on the Avengers."

"Oh," Jan said, her shoulders slumping. "Yeah. I guess I'll let you get to it then."

"Jan?" Hank called as Jan was leaving the room. Jan turned back to him. "Could you go visit Jack for a while? I don't know when I'll see him again. This talk with Gyrich could take hours if it's the same Gyrich I know."

"Sure." Jan smiled and she left Hank alone again in the lab.

"Checkmate."

Carol Danvers, also known as Warbird, looked down at the chessboard in front of her. It was true. She had been backed into a defensive strategy ever since she started the game. It had only taken fifteen minutes for her to be beaten this time.

"Has anyone ever beaten you?" Carol asked her opponent.

"Reed Richards beat me once." Captain America smiled. "Once."

Carol sat back and sighed. She didn't have the strength to go again. Cap had beaten her five times now.

"Don't worry, Carol," Cap said, smiling. "I do have a reason for inviting you here. It concerns the Avengers and the ten member roster."

"Yes." Carol sat up. "I was wondering about that myself."

"Why Iron Man, Thor and I refused membership?" Cap asked.

"It's not the Avengers without the three of you," Carol said.

"So I've read in the newspapers," Cap said, looking over at a copy of the Washington Post. "They don't seem too confident about this new team. But I think that's just American hostility toward other countries finally having a say in the roster. It was expected."

"So the UN is controlling us now?" Carol asked. "That's why the three of you left?"

"Of course not!" Cap laughed, "No, it was just an agreement of sorts. The UN would appoint a liaison of their choice and the Avengers would choose one of their own and they would decide on the roster. After the roster is finalized, the UN will treat the Avengers as though they were their own separate country on the council."

"So why are you not on the team?"

"We weren't wanted."

"What?"

"I am the symbol of America, Carol. If I were on the team it would be favoritism. Iron Man has a close relationship with Stark Solutions so his membership was negated too. Thor is not well received in religious countries such as Israel. But we were allowed to have a say in who gets on the roster."

"So who did you all choose?" Carol asked, "I know that Jan had to stay on the team because the UN wanted one of the founders to be on the roster and I know Jack of Hearts is staying because he needs Hank's help."

"Well, the three of us sat down and discussed it," Cap said, setting the pieces back up on the chessboard, "We all decided to choose one member to a reserved spot on the roster should they desire it. It became more of a 'who definitely needs to be an Avenger?' question rather than a question of friends. Tony chose the Scarlet Witch and Thor chose the Vision."

"Wait," Carol pushed herself back from the table, "You're saying you chose..?"

"You," Cap said. "I felt I had to know that the leadership of the Avengers was in good hands."

"You're making me leader?" Carol stood up. "What about Jan or Vision or even Black Panther?"

"Jan was a bit unenthusiastic she had to stay an Avenger," Cap told her, "so she was fine giving up the reins to the team. Panther is denied membership because of his connection to Wakanda. While Vision would make a great leader, I don't think the UN would advise a leader who is not human. Besides, I think you'd be exceptional and you know you're ready. What do you say?"

Carol was silent and simply stared at Captain America. The greatest man who had ever lived was asking her to take his spot in Earth's Mightiest Heroes. How could she say no?

Kevin Plunder waded through the water. The river was rushing fast all around him and soaking his skin numb. The girl was just up ahead. He could see that her head was above water and he heard her gurgling screams over the other screaming that surrounded him. He finally caught up to the little girl in about five feet of water. She had luckily only obtained scratches and bruises during her fall into the river. Kevin turned to the shore and the many people running alongside it.

"Keep heading North along the river bed!" Kevin shouted, running toward the shore with the girl in his arms. "There will be Red Cross shelters just a quarter mile down the road!"

He stepped out of the water and placed the girl down. She turned and ran away from Kevin and into the arms of her waiting parents. They were citizens of the Savage Land much like all the other people running down the shore. They wore colorful paint on their bodies and furred loincloths. Kevin wore much the same thing. They rushed up to Kevin after they had finished hugging their daughter.

"Oh, thank you, Lord Ka-Zar!" The father of the girl was in tears, bowing to Kevin. "Please, let us find some way to repay you."

Ka-Zar pulled the parent's up. He then picked up their daughter and placed her in the arms of the father.

"You can start," Ka-Zar began as he pushed them into a run, "by following the river bed North to the Red Cross camps!"

He turned back and ran against the flood of his subjects that continued north. He could see the monster just ahead of him and over the trees. Ka-Zar needed to find a way to distract the creature so that his people could get safely to ground where UN forces could protect them. Finally he broke free of the crowd and stood ready for the monster.

Of all the days a monster could have chosen to attack, this was the day. For the past week, the Savage Land had felt rumblings that signaled the imminent eruption of the Burning Triangle, a trio of volcanoes spread about the Savage Land. They were the most active volcanoes in the world and but it had been nearly three hundred years since their last eruptions took place. Now, a monster accompanied their eruption. This was no coincidence.

With a roar, the giant monster crashed through the trees of the Savage Land and into the clearing surrounding the river. Its orange scales glistened in the sun and it's fins and gigantic yellow eyes made Ka-Zar think of something out of an old Godzilla movie. Ka-Zar stepped back into a defensive position. But the creature appeared to do the same.

Then, Ka-Zar spied a small figure in front of the monster. It was short and stubby but appeared to human. He wore all green and the clothes did nothing to hide his girth. He carried a long gnarled wooden staff and wore dark sunglasses.

"Listen here, Ka-Zar, ruler of the Savage Land!" the man called to him in a high voice. "No one shall leave this jungle! For now you heed the will of the Mole Man!"

Jan walked cautiously into the Zero Chamber room, the quarters of Jack of Hearts. Jack's concussive energy powers, known as Zero Energy, were some of the most powerful in the universe…and they were tearing his body apart. Luckily, Hank was able to create a chamber that could control Jack's powers while he was inside of it. It was built even larger than Hank's lab. But Jack was becoming increasingly dependent on the chamber and couldn't stay out of it for more than a few hours at a time. Jan couldn't imagine what he was going through. She flicked on the lights.

"Hey!" Jack yelled, "A bit more warning next time, eh? I may be able to see in the dark but that still hurts like hell."

"Sorry, Jack," Jan walked up to the chamber and spoke through its intercom. "How've you been?"

"Well, it's been thirty-six hours since I've been out of this box," Jack said. "I've finished Anna Karenina, War And Peace, Treasure Island and The Complete Collection of Calvin and Hobbes in that time. You won't believe the parallels I've noticed between Leo Tolstoy and Bill Watterson."

"Yeah?" Jan chuckled. "You want a break?"

"Well, I'm sure Dante's Inferno can wait a while." Jack stood up. "I'm ready."

Jan walked over to a control panel on the wall near the door of the Zero Chamber. She turned a small lever to the right. The machine under the Zero Chamber began to hum. Jack closed his eyes and outstretched his hands. Slowly, Jan saw the Zero Energy begin to pour from Jack's hands, eyes, ears, mouth and nostrils. Soon enough, the entire chamber was filled with the red energy and the machine hummed louder.

But the engines soon stopped and Jan saw the energy begin to dissipate and then Jack kneeling on the floor of the chamber. She walked up to the intercom again.

"Jack?" Jan called. "Are you alright?"

"Yep." Jack stood up again. "Just knocks the wind out of me. I should be good for a while. Your mansion should be able to run for another week."

Jan smiled. It was true. The Zero Chamber had recently become hooked to the Mansion power supply. Hank decided that there was no sense in wasting perfectly good energy. Jan thought it was a bit exploitative of Jack but Jack had said he didn't mind. He said it was good to feel that he was helping in some way.

"You have my suit?" Jack asked.

Jan pointed to one lying on a table near the chamber door. Jack had a specially designed suit to contain his energies. It wasn't as good as the chamber but, now that Tony Stark had made some improvements, he was good inside the suit for up to twenty-four hours. By that time, the suit would be burned out and the technology that made up the suit would be useless.

"Thanks, Jan," Jack said, stepping out of the Chamber once it was signaled as clear of Zero Energy. "Give my regards to Hank."

"That's what I meant to tell you, Jack," Jan said. "You know Hank's been appointed liaison to the UN. He's going to try to work on your problem but he doesn't know if he'll have time to make the progress he and Tony have been making in past months."

"Oh," Jack said and his shoulders slumped a little. He turned from Jan and looked to floor. Nodding his head, he walked out the door. "I guess I'll be needing more books."

Edwin Jarvis walked quickly to door of Avengers Mansion. The doorbell had rung and Jarvis knew whoM to expect. He wasn't happy about it. Sure enough, it was Henry Peter Gyrich standing on the stoop when he answered.

"Ah, Jarvis," Gyrich smiled. "It's good to see you again."

"You're expected in the dining room, third door on your right," Jarvis said, merely standing next to the open door, allowing Gyrich entry and not returning the sentiment.

"Thank you," Gyrich coughed and he made his way to the dining room. He could smell the lunch that Jarvis had prepared. Shrimp pasta. Gyrich's stomach growled at the prospect.

Hank Pym was already seated at the table and was enjoying his pasta. Next to him was a pile of files marked 'Avengers Membership Reports'.

"I apologize, Henry," Hank said, wiping his mouth. "I couldn't help myself."

"I understand completely," Gyrich told him. "One of the best things I remember about being your liaison was Jarvis's cooking. Shall we talk while we eat?"

"Sure. I brought up the files anyway but we probably don't need them, do we?" Hank chuckled after another bite. "Hawkeye."

"No dice," Gyrich said, spreading a napkin on his lap. "He was a wanted criminal and has even led the Masters of Evil, regardless of what they're calling themselves now. Plus, some eastern European countries are still sore over the property damage that Hawkeye's heists cost them."

"He's proven himself as a hero many times before now," Hank sighed. "But I understand."

"Good. Justice and Firestar," Gyrich suggested, sipping on an iced tea.

"They've recently announced that they're going to be parents," Hank told him. "I think they've retired from the superhero game."

"Well, good for them," Gyrich smiled.

"Machine Man."

"As I've stated before, Vision only got on the team because Thor gave him a reserved spot. The countries of the UN aren't exactly privy to members who aren't human. Let's not push their buttons with more technology."

"That's ridiculous."

"I don't make the rules, Hank. I make sure you follow them. Falcon."

"He's declined. I don't know why but I have a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with you being appointed one of the liaisons. He wasn't exactly happy joining the Avengers the first time simply because he's a black man."

"Again, Hank, I don't make the rules." Gyrich sighed, taking another bite. "Besides, that was a long time ago. I was a different person."

"You do seem a bit more...calm. We've gotten farther in the few minutes we've been talking than I thought you'd let us get in a week," Hank said with a grin. "Hercules."

"Hank, you need to start keeping track. No gods. That means no Thor and no Hercules."

"Come on, Henry," Hank said. "You do realize that out of all the members of the Avengers that we've had over the years, we've dwindled the number of acceptable entries down to just over ten people."

"Really?" Gyrich asked stunned. "Only ten others can commit full time to the Avengers?"

"Well, only ten former members that I know I can contact," Hank corrected. "All the others have either declined because of other commitments or have been denied membership by the UN."

"Name the ones we've got left."

"Stingray, Moondragon, Tigra, Rage, Quasar, Magdalene, Quicksilver, Crystal, Mantis, Living Lightning, Deathcry, Wonder Man, U.S. Agent, Darkhawk and Starfox," Hank said staring at Gyrich.

"That's some memory," Gyrich said, wide-eyed.

"Comes with being a genius," Hank smirked, "Now, who do you want?"

"Stingray is still connected to Stark-Fujikawa so he's a no go," Gyrich explained. "Moondragon, Deathcry, Mantis and Starfox are as well. After the Skrulls and Galactus, the UN doesn't trust anything from outer space. And U.S.Agent was a creation of the United States Government, much like Captain America, so that's another no."

"Darkhawk and Living Lightning are trying to complete college," Hank told Gyrich. "Crystal is raising her daughter on Attilan so we're obviously going to be hard pressed to find five more--"

Suddenly, there was a loud wailing that could be heard throughout the mansion. Hank stood immediately, dropping food all around him.

"What's going on?!" Gyrich shouted, rising from his chair.

"That's the UN emergency alarm that was recently installed!" Hank told him in a serious tone that Gyrich had never seen. "But, the problem is, this siren only goes off if there's more than one emergency!"

Gyrich and Hank stared, deadlocked, for a moment. Each knew what needed to happen.

"Wonder Man."

"Fine. Tigra." Gyrich wasn't always the easiest to get along with but he wasn't stupid.

"You got it," Hank said, dashing out of the dining room, "I'll get in touch with them quick. We'll work out the remaining three members later. Follow me to the Comm Room."

"I can't! I've got to get in contact with the UN Council! They'll need to know about this!" Gyrich said with a look to Hank. Hank frowned and sighed.

"Yeah, you're right," Hank conceded. "But they better not get in our way."

Gyrich stopped running out of the Comm Room and looked at Hank for a moment as though he was about to say something but he stopped.

"I won't let them," Gyrich nodded.

Jan, Jack and Jarvis were already in the Avengers Mansion communication room. There were dozens of screens in the room, each hooked up in an emergency frequency in each country around the world. Hank noted that two on right now were Libya and the Savage Land.

"Hank! Here!" Jan called to him. "Ka-Zar said he could wait and I don't think this message from Libya can do the same. You have to see this."

Hank ran over to where Jan and Jack were standing. The screen was mostly just static but every so often they could make out the image of a black man talking at a desk. There had to be some major electrical interference.

"Avengers! I have -KRRRSHHHKKK- a state of emerg -KRRRRSHHHHHHHKKKK- there is a madman -KRRRRRSSHHHHKKK- and killing my army! He fell from -KRRRRRSHHKKKKK- we must have your help! Please! I don't -KRRRRRRRSSHHHHHKKK- longer! Please! -KRRRRSHHHKKKK- It's the devil! My god! The devil is here to kill us all!"

The feed went dead.

"Oh my god," Jan whispered.

"Jan! Get on the feed to Ka-Zar and find out what he needs!" Warbird shouted from behind them. She had been standing behind them for a while now. "Where are Wanda and Vision? I need them here now!"

"I'm on it!" Jack yelled, flying out of the room.

"I'll get the Quinjet ready!" Jarvis yelled and the trusty butler ran from the room to hangar.

"I got Tigra and Wonder Man active for you, Carol," Hank told her.

"Good. I need Ka-Zar on screen and then everyone in here for a course of action meeting to figure out what we're going to do," Carol said slowly.

It wasn't the devil but the people of Libya were close enough. Among the scattered, bloody remains of what was once the Libyian army, through the loud thunder that crashed in the darkened sky and in the middle of the chaos of lightning that flowed from the sky like waterfalls, a lone figure could been seen at the center of the crater.

Black Bolt was not pleased.

To Be Continued...

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