The Damocles Chamber
The Pentagon
Washington, DC

Only The President of The United States and his cabinet knew of the existence of The Damocles Chamber and they were all in attendance on this day in that chamber. The Chamber had been built some 45 years ago when it was apparent that The Marvels had arrived and were going to stay. Some wag had made a remark to the effect of: “Marvels, my ass. They’re the goddamn Sword of Damocles hangin’ over mankind’s head, that’s what they are!” and so when the time had come to construct this chamber, somebody remembered those words. Nobody could remember the name of the wag that had uttered them. But it was just as well. The Damocles Chamber wasn’t supposed to exist anyway.

It had a sole single purpose: the elimination of superhumans. The majestic computers under the chamber had every bit of information on every superhuman being on the planet. Many superhumans who maintained what they thought were safe secret identities would have been shocked to learn that those identities weren’t as secret as they liked to think. It wasn’t really that hard to figure out the true identities of most of the higher profile Marvels and many of the lesser ones just weren’t all that careful. But there was no reason to use that information since most of the Marvels were doing what they did best, keeping the so-called supervillains in check. And as long as they were doing that, why rock the boat?

The President of The United States looked around the circular table at grim faces. The meeting had been moved here from The Oval Office because a momentous decision had to be made. A decision unlike any that had been made before in recent history. And it was a decision that had to be launched from The Damocles Chamber because of its security. Nothing could be leaked. NOTHING.

“Very well, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s discuss The Avengers.” The President sat back in his large leather chair. “I want somebody to explain to me how America’s premier superhero team suddenly seems to be against us instead of with us.”

The Chief of Staff cleared his throat. “Mr. President, I must advise caution. Despite recent events The Avengers still have an extraordinary amount of good will among the public and—”

“But they don’t have much good will with me, John!” The President barked, slapping the palm of his hand against the polished mahogany table. “Dammit, they attacked Washington! Or have you forgotten that? Not to mention that thanks to them we’ve lost the most expensive and sophisticated orbital satellite ever constructed. The Ohmphalos is gone and it’ll take us another six to ten years to build another one. In the meantime, our defensive network has a huge hole in it. Do you remember how many satellites we scrapped because we had The Ohmphalos up there?”

The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke up, “Mr. President, we’re still not all that clear as to what the attack on Washington was all about. Preliminary reports from Colonel Fury indicates that The Avengers may have been under mental domination by Noh-Varr and not responsible for their actions. And as for The Ohmphalos, the security of that satellite had already been compromised by Noh-Varr himself who had taken it over and was using it as a command post.”

The Secretary of Defense was nodding in agreement. “I don’t think we should act hastily, Mr. President. But I do think we should act. Ever since The Avengers were granted sovereign nation status by The United Nations their actions have grown more reckless. And they obviously don’t feel it’s necessary to inform us of what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.”

“I never liked that idea from the start,” The President muttered. “And after the Luminstan situation and this disastrous Noh-Varr situation…. there’s still dozens if not hundreds of superpowered criminals running amok out there. And then there’s this mess:” The President pointed at a bank of television screens. The particular one he was pointing at showed a live picture from New York. Two massive figures were pounding on each other in what seemed to be a frenzied battle to the death. One was the rocky orange form of Ben Grimm, The Thing and the other was the titanic green skinned golem known as The Incredible Hulk. “I’ve got those two monsters tearing the hell out of Manhattan! You realize that I’m going to have to declare Manhattan a disaster area? AGAIN. Between this, the breakout at The Cube, The Vault and other facilities as well as the destruction of The Ohmphalos we’re looking at a security nightmare. And will somebody tell me where we’re supposed to get the money to repair all of this?”

The Press Secretary said gloomily; “The press is screaming for information, sir. We’ve got to tell them something and tell it soon or they’re going to print the rumors. My advice is that you hold an immediate press conference to dispel the rumors and to assure the American people that these situations are being dealt with. You have to show yourself and let the people see you strong and confident.”

“Set it up, then. But we’re going to need more than that.” The President folded his arms on the table and leaned forward. “Which is why I wanted this briefing held here. People always need and want somebody to blame. And I’m damned if it’s going to be me.”

“Who do you suggest, then?”

The President’s face was quite serious as he said: “The Avengers.”

A ripple of surprise ran through the room. It was The Vice-President who spoke first: “Sir, you can’t be serious.”

“Can’t I? The Avengers have the status of a sovereign nation now, don’t they? Then who’s to say that they haven’t been working in their own best interests and not that of The United States? Due to their status they no longer feel any loyalty to place their powers at the service of the American people and that is why we have the anarchy we have today.”

The Press Secretary shook her strawberry blond head. “With all due respect, sir? Nobody’s going to buy that.”

“They will if you do your job and spin it that way. We’ve got to give the people and the press a target to blame for the events of recent days and if we don’t throw them The Avengers then they’re going to come after us. Now I don’t know about the rest of you but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life explaining how my administration almost lost the whole damned planet. I’d rather let The Avengers have to explain how they almost lost the whole damned planet while I spend my retirement fishing. How do you want to spend your retirement?”

The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs took off his glasses and cleaned them carefully as he spoke, making sure that every word was clearly enunciated. “Mr. President, are you sure of what you’re saying? Because it sounds to me like you’re talking about throwing away a heroic band of men and women who have saved this planet time and time again. They deserve better than to be served up steaming on a plate to satisfy the press.”

“It’s not just the press, man! It’s the entire world! How long do you think it’s going to be before world opinion decides that The United States was again the staging area for yetanother alien invasion? Then they’re going to start hitting us with bills for the damage to their countries. I say that The Avengers are a small price to pay to keep us off the hook.”

“What are you going to do? Ask them to leave the country?”

The President sat back and looked at his cabinet with steel in his eyes and his voice as he said; “I’m going to do considerably more than that. I’m going to declare The Unites States at war with The Avengers.”

The silence that filled the room was ominous and chilling. The Secretary of Defense said quietly: “You mean to attack The Avengers? On American soil?”

“Avengers Mansion isn’t American soil. ” The President said flatly as he looked around the room. “Does anybody have a problem with my decision?”

The Secretary of State was the first one to speak with solemn humor: “I hardly think The Avengers will be in any position to protest. They don’t even have an embassy with us.”

The President nodded and looked at The Chairman. “We have a plan for attacking Avengers Mansion?”

“You know we do, sir. Otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting here.”

“Then I authorize you to activate that plan.”

The Chairman nodded. “I serve at the pleasure of The President,” he said. But what he thought was quite different: And I pray to God Almighty that you haven’t just begun a war that will mean the end of us all. Because I’ve seen first hand what The Avengers are capable of when you piss them off.

PAX DOOM

Part I: This is the One Where Things Start to Get Really Bad

By Dino Pollard and Derrick Ferguson

Avengers Mansion
New York City

Jarvis stepped off the elevator and walked down the long gleaming metal corridor that led to the Infirmary, located in the basement of Avengers Mansion, pushing a large covered cart. The cart was loaded down with food and drink for the present occupants of the infirmary. The door whooshed open and Jarvis wheeled the cart on in, smiling jovially as the occupants looked up with interest.

Prince Namor was lying quite still on his diagnostic bed, massively muscled arms folded across his broad chest. The bed monitored his vital signs and the results were displayed on a screen next to the bed. Namor was scowling, which was nothing new since a scowl was his habitual expression. Jarvis bowed slightly. “How are you feeling Prince Namor?”

“Exactly the same as when you asked me an hour ago how I was feeling. No better and no worse. ”

“You appear to be in poor humor, if I may be so bold.”

“I have been confined to this infernal bed now for some time. I assure you that I am fully recovered from the ordeal I suffered on the shuttle. A Prince of The Blood Royal does not suffer inactivity well.”

“As I know from past experience. However, as a Prince of The Blood Royal you are bound by your word. And you did give Captain America your word that you would abide by the rules and regulations of your Avengers membership. And one of those regulations is that you must be medically cleared after each and every mission. Once I have deemed you fit then and only then will you be allowed to leave.”

“You tell ‘im, Jarv! Don’t let him get away with any of that Imperious Rex crap.” Carol Danvers was rocking back and forth with laughter from her diagnostic bed across the room. She had removed her black and yellow Warbird costume and like Namor was wearing a simple hospital gown. Namor merely glared at Carol as Jarvis uncovered the cart and began serving them.

“For Master Namor we have Arctic Char with Tangerine Habanero Glaze and Meyer Lemon Couscous Broth.” With a touch Jarvis adjusted the bed tray to a level height so that Namor could eat in comfort. Despite himself, Namor found that the tantalizingly delicious smells were making his stomach rumble in anticipation. Jarvis placed silverware in easy reach and went over to Carol’s bed. “And for you, Miss Carol, Beef Tenderloin in Salt Crust.”

“Lemme at it,” Carol said with relish. “You see, Namor? Being laid up in the infirmary isn’t so bad. Especially when you can scarf down Jarvis’ cooking.”

Namor could not answer with his mouth full. Jarvis was pouring iced tea for them both when Carol heard a familiar voice at her elbow. “It is good to see that you have such a healthy appetite, Carol.”

Carol turned to look at The Vision, who was thickening into solidity. He had used his power to control his density to pass upwards right through the floor and he stood quite close, his deep set eyes flickering briefly with a strange light. “Vision! You deserve the biggest medal Cap’s got in his footlocker for rescuing us!”

“I am greatly pleased that none of you suffered any permanent damage from your ordeal,” The Vision said quietly. “Especially you, Carol.”

Carol looked up, surprised. She pushed back her waves of golden hair and looked at The Vision carefully. “Well…thank you, Vision…that sounds awfully personal, though.”

“It was meant to. I have been thinking about you a great deal since our aborted date. I would like for us to finish that date when the present crisis is resolved. If that is acceptable to you, naturally.”

Carol looked over at Jarvis and Namor, both who were pretending to be in a conversation of their own so that they would not appear to be eavesdropping. “Uh, Vision…are you sure you want to be having this talk now? I mean, Armageddon is imminent.”

The hint of a smile flirted with The Vision’s lips. “Perhaps that is exactly why I wish to express my desire to you, Carol. You and I know better than most how quickly life can end. Indeed, a few short hours ago you, Namor and Sam had resigned yourselves to your deaths.”

Carol was now frowning slightly. “Until you saved us. I really hope you’re not going to hold that over my head.”

“You know better than that, Carol.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I suppose I do. But I don’t know what you expect from me, Vision. We’re hip deep in a really big stinking mess right now. It’s not exactly the best time to be talking about dating.”

“Maybe it is the best time. I’ve spent far too long going without listening to what is in here,” The Vision tapped his chest and again, the briefest of smiles was seen on his face. “I would like to change that. And part of that change has to do with being open to explore feelings I have allowed to be buried for far too long. Just think on what I have said for the moment, Carol. That is all. And we will talk more on this later.” The Vision turned away from Carol and strode across the room to where Namor was finishing his meal. “Is there anything you require, Namor?”

“Has there been any word of Captain Marvel?”

“No. He is still missing.”

It didn’t seem possible that Namor’s scowl could get any darker or more severe. Anybody seeing his face would have sworn he was on the verge of ripping the room apart in a fit of sudden rage. But The Vision had been associated with The Sub-Mariner for many years now and knew that Namor was genuinely concerned for Captain Marvel.

“Isn’t there something you should be doing to locate him, then?”

The Vision was slowly dropping through the floor as he became intangible, his density reducing. In seconds he was gone without a word.

Namor snorted in disgust. “Such unwarranted rudeness!” And then looked up startled as both Carol and Jarvis burst into laughter.

Castle Doom
Latveria

The world entire was on fire. Whole cities were ablaze, the gigantic plumes of orange-red flames leaping upwards toward the very edge of space itself. Seas and ocean were bubbling and steaming into giant clouds that did not have a chance to form into rain clouds; so intense was the heat of the funeral pyre that had once been known Earth.

The worst part was the screams. Billions upon billions of human beings who were running blindly, begging for someone, anyone to save them. But there was no one listening. And so the people of Earth burned, living torches whose skin turned black and crispy even as the fat of their bodies crackled, sounding like fat pork chops frying in hot oil. Their eyeballs exploded as their smoking hands lifted up to an uncaring sky that was black with soot.

Genis-Vell jerked awake, panting as if he’d been running a marathon. By The Great Coprolite! He’d never had a vision that intense before. Even now, his was still filled with awe whenever his Cosmic Awareness provided him with a vision. His Cosmic Awareness was something else entirely, a near indescribable nothingness that was everything and everything that was nothing, The Stream of Universal Consciousness that flowed simultaneously between the galaxies of the universe and the molecules of the Microverse. It terrified him and it humbled him. It gave him tremendous joy and unfathomable sorrow. And it was telling him that Earth was shortly about to come to a flaming end in the most horrible way possible.

He took stock of his situation. The last thing he remembered was being blasted from behind by a pair of powerful energy bursts. Before falling into unconsciousness he believed he had seen Doctor Doom approaching him. Which meant he was in Latveria. How he got here was a mystery. Even more of a mystery was why his connection to Rick Jones was gone. Usually he could feel Rick, sense his feelings and his thoughts. But not now. Rick was simply…gone…as if he never existed. Genis-Vell fought down his fear at what might have happened to him. Genis-Vell examined his surroundings. He was suspended in a null field of anti-photonic energy that was keeping him firmly immobile, his arms and legs outstretched. The ginormous room he was in looked like something out those old Universal horror movies Rick watched so gleefully. Machines of arcane design and unfathomable purpose were lined up in neat and orderly rows. Most of them were quiet and inactive but a few were obviously functioning, going about their business with quiet hums and an occasional bleep ever once in a while. The stone walls of the chamber were glowing with their own internal luminance, casting a cold white light that lit up the room very well. And since Genis-Vell was hanging suspended some ten feet above the floor he had an excellent view of the entire room.

Hearing a rumbling from the left side of the chamber, Genis-Vell turned his head to watch as a metal clamshell door split in half and with a grating grinding of giant gears, both halves withdrew into the gunmetal gray walls, painfully white light bursting into the chamber, causing Genis-Vell to squint. He could see nothing at first but he heard a rhythmic metal clanging as if The End Of The World had been given human form and was coming for him. And as the clanging drew closer and a huge armored form emerged from the blazing white light, Genis-Vell saw that he was not far off in his assessment. Because the man who was striding forcefully toward him was Doctor Victor Von Doom and if any man on Earth lived up to his name, it was Doom.

Doom was wearing a gleaming silver-white version of his traditional gray armor but he still wore the olive green tunic, hood and billowing cloak. He stopped in front of the hovering Genis-Vell, gathered up his cloak, wrapping it around his right forearm and bowed as if Genis-Vell were an honored guest and not a prisoner. “Doom bids you welcome to Latveria, Captain. I will endeavor to see that your stay is not…too inconvenient.”

“Then you can let me out of this null-field and put me on my feet. What am I doing here?”

Doom lifted a hand. “I beg your indulgence, Captain. I fear that you must remain in that field for a bit longer. I have many preparations to make and I cannot permit you to interfere with those preparations.”

“Any other time I might care what you’re up to, Doom but right now all I care about is getting free and rejoining The Avengers! There’s more going on than you think—”

“And do you truly believe that Doom is not aware of everything that transpires on this planet? And even beyond it?” Doom’s confident metallic laughter echoed in the chamber. “Let me explain: when you and your comrades came to me for help some time ago you used my time machine to locate the source of a temporal anomaly that had created an alternate reality that your Cosmic Awareness easily pierced.”

Saying that he was surprised was something of an understatement. Genis-Vell was quite astounded and it took him some time before he could recover enough to speak. “But…I don’t understand…how do you remember what happened?”

“I am Doom. I spent a considerable amount of time using my resources both scientific and sorcerous to understand the nature of this anomaly. And I saw visions of apocalyptic anguish and terror. Visions that you have also had.” Doom pointed a metal finger at Genis-Vell.

“Impossible! You would have to have Cosmic Awareness as I do and I know that you don’t!”

“Never make the error of underestimating Doom. My resources are limitless and only defined by my will, which is unbounded by conventional human comprehension. For short periods of time I am able to tap into The Stream Of Universal Consciousness and fathom it’s course—”

“Now I know you’re lying,” Genis-Vell said flatly. “Any ordinary human mind would be destroyed in a second if it tapped into The Stream.”

Doom ignored him and continued. “—and I have seen the visions you have seen. The world on fire, the seas boiling away into nothingness, the billions of humans crying for help. Doom is many things but he is not immune to the cries of the helpless. Whatever comes this way that seeks to cause such a holocaust, Doom will prevent it.”

“Why not simply let me go and we’ll go to The Avengers together? We put aside our differences before to work together. We can do it again.”

“Doom has a better plan in mind.” With a sweep of his arm, a section of the far wall rumbled as it split in half, displaying a screen upon which Genis-Vell saw a room that might have been any child’s room in any small American town. Except for the huge dog that lay in the center of the room, head as wide as the cab of a Mack truck resting on giant paws. A forked antenna on the dog’s forehead occasionally crackled with energy. The dog was asleep and not far from him a young blond headed boy was playing with a sizeable number of action figures. The bright blue shirt he wore bore a world famous 4 insignia.

“That’s Franklin Richards! If you’ve harmed that child—”

“There is nothing on this planet that would make me harm Franklin Richards. I honor his mother and would defend her child’s life with my own.” Doom’s voice changed slightly and even though he couldn’t see Doom’s expression past his metal mask, Genis-Vell could have sworn that Doom was smiling. “In a strange way you could even say Doom is…one of the family.”

“Then what is he doing here? What am I doing here?”

“You and Franklin Richards have titanic powers. Powers that gods would envy. But you both squander them in a hideously irresponsible manner. In the case of Franklin, he has a reason: he is a child and has not the emotional or intellectual maturity to use his powers wisely. In your case, you are simply an idiot.”

Genis-Vell had to forcibly bite back an immediate response. There was a word Rick liked to use a lot when dealing with Doom…a word that strongly implied a male individual having carnal relationship with his female parent…. Genis-Vell would dearly have loved to use that word right about now but it was much more important he fathom what Doom’s plans were so he held his tongue and listened as Doom continued. That was the secret to dealing with Doom. He loved the sound of his voice so much that all you had to do was stay quiet, sit back and listen and Doom would tell you everything you wanted to know.

“In my possession is a device which I once used to siphon The Power Cosmic of The Silver Surfer, greatest and most powerful of The Heralds of Galactus and transfer those powers to myself. The machine is still here and now that I have both you and Franklin I can perform the necessary modifications so that I may transfer your abilities and those of Franklin to me that I may prevent the destruction of The Earth.”

“I suppose pointing out that you’re as mad as a Vermicious Knid would serve no purpose?”

“No. It would not.” Doom bowed. “Again I must apologize for any discomfort. I assure you that you will not be discomforted much longer.”

“You do know that The Avengers will come looking for me?”

Doom turned away to leave the chamber, pausing only long enough to throw over his shoulder: “I assure you, Captain, they will have no problem finding you. That I can guarantee.”

As Doom strode from the chamber, Genis-Vell could only watch him depart and wonder helplessly: I wonder what he meant by that?

The sleek Avengers Quinjet cut through the beautiful blue sky like a silver arrow heading back towards New York. Cannonball was at the controls. Due to his unique External attributes he had recovered from the ordeal in space much faster than either The Sub-Mariner or Warbird and so when the request for a pickup had come from Iron Man, Cannonball took a Quinjet to rendezvous with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to ferry Iron Man and Captain America back to Avengers Mansion.

Iron Man had taken off his helmet, revealing the handsome features of Tony Stark. He was sitting behind and to the left of Cannonball talking to Captain America, who was deep in thought, head resting on his interlaced fingers, elbows on his knees. “Tony, there’s something going on and we don’t have the slightest idea of what it is but it represents a danger of the highest magnitude. Why else would Baron Karza have kidnapped Rick? Why else would The Uni-Power have possessed Rick to manifest itself as Captain Universe? I don’t pretend to know much about this Uni-Power but from what little I’ve read it only chooses a human avatar to manifest itself when there is a danger that threatens The Universe.”

“But in that case,” Cannonball said, puzzlement in his clear, firm voice full of the distinctive Appalachian twang of his native Kentucky, “Where’d this Captain Universe go? Seems to me that if the whole entire universe is in trouble it ain’t such a good time to disappear. And the fact this Uni-Power chose Rick tells me that it ain’t just accidental.”

“Sam’s right, Steve,” Tony said. “We know from The First Kree-Skrull War that Rick has latent powers in his subconscious that were unleashed to bring that war to an end. I’m betting Karza bit off a helluva lot more than he bargained for when he started torturing Rick. It could be that The Uni-Power infused Rick to prevent Karza from destroying his mind.”

Captain America was nodding in agreement. “And due to the unusual bond between Rick and Captain Marvel we can’t rule out that an even further connection there.” Captain America’s face was uncharacteristically moody. “Damn it, Tony, I hate going on supposition and guesswork and maybes and might-bes. We need concrete, reliable information we can use to make solid plans.”

“Let me give you a bit of solid reliable information right here, Captain. I’m not getting any recognition signal from the mansion’s rooftop landing pad.” Cannonball pointed through the curving tinted windshield at the island of Manhattan. There were huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the otherwise clear sky from several key areas of the city. “Looks like World War III, IV and V are all bein’ fought at the same time.”

“See if you can find out what’s going on, Sam,” Captain America ordered. “Tony, you get hold of Jarvis and find out what the deal is with the recognition signal.”

Tony was replacing his helmet on his head. There was a hum and the click click click of the helmet sealing itself to the collar and once again Tony Stark was the perfect combination of man and machine on the planet Earth: The Golden Avenger known as Iron Man. “I’ll fly on ahead to the mansion. And it wouldn’t hurt if we had a visual reconnaissance of the situation there. Sam’s right, Manhattan looks as if it’s under attack.”

“Good thinking. Get back to us with a report as soon as you can.”

Iron Man retreated to the rear of the Quinjet and used a hatch at the rear to exit the speeding aircraft. He allowed himself to free fall for a few seconds until the Quinjet was well clear and then activated his boot jets and turned toward the direction of Avengers Mansion.

Cannonball turned to look up at Captain America who had left his seat and was standing behind him. “Got it, Captain. ‘Pears that Ben Grimm and The Hulk are goin’ at it again.” Cannonball paused as he listened to news reports coming through on the earpiece plugged into his right ear. “The Fantastic Four, The New Warriors and S.H.I.E.L.D. are also involved. Should we lend a hand?”

Captain America shook his head. “We’ll wait until we’re directly asked. Sometimes too much help can be just as bad as not enough. Reed Richards is one of the most resourceful men on Earth and I have no doubt he’ll figure out a way to stop both The Thing and The Hulk from rampaging.”

Cannonball smiled and sang; “He did it before and he can do it again, he can do it again…he did it befoooooooore…”

Cannonball’s impromptu concert was interrupted by Iron Man’s urgent voice on his earpiece. “Sam, bring the Quinjet down immediately. I want Cap to see this.”

Avengers Mansion was below and Cannonball angled the craft to land just inside the wall on the front lawn facing 5th Avenue. He couldn’t land on the roof because the roof was a smoking, flaming inferno. Iron Man was standing on the lawn, fists on hips as the Quinjet landed behind him. Captain America and Cannonball who could only look in amazement at the sight beyond the gates shortly joined him.

Avengers Mansion was completely and totally surrounded by thousands of armed troops, loaded down with state of the art body armor, electron bazookas, electron casters and high-powered laser rifles. The barrels of nearly fifty tanks were pointed at the mansion.

“I don’t believe this!” Captain America said. He placed a hand on Iron Man’s gleaming shoulder. “Tony—”

“Go talk to them, Rogers. You get them the hell away from my father’s house before I make them leave.” Captain America had never heard Iron Man’s voice sound so metallically hollow and stripped of emotion. “This is the house my father built for my mother. I was born in this house! How DARE they desecrate it and point weapons at it…weapons I built for them! Weapons paid for with my FLESH!” Iron Man’s armored form crackled with energy. “You’ve got two minutes, Rogers. Or I start talking.”

Captain America motioned for Cannonball to second him as he walked to the gates. “Who’s in charge here?” A man of average height with the insignia of a full bird colonel separated himself from the mass of men and walked up to his side of the gates.

“I am. Colonel Randall Allison. You’re Steve Rogers?”

“I’m Captain America, soldier. What’s the meaning of this? Did you fire on Avengers Mansion?”

“I did, Mr. Rogers. And you’re not Captain America. Not anymore.”

“I’ll overlook your blatant disrespect, mister. IF you order your troops back a full five city blocks from Avengers Mansion.”

Colonel Allison held up a document that he passed through the bars to Captain America. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Rogers. The President Of The United States has ordered me to reclaim the ground on which Avengers Mansion stands on for America. The Avengers are ordered to leave The United States forthwith.” Colonel Allison handed over another document. “And this is a directive from The President himself ordering you to surrender the shield and uniform of Captain America immediately. Steve Rogers no longer is recognized as having the rights, responsibilities and Special Executive Privileges that come with the title of Captain America and as such I am under no obligation to comply with your orders.”

“You can’t be serious! Get me The President. I want to speak to him personally.”

“Once you and The Avengers have complied with the orders in those documents, I will be pleased to contact The President for you. But you must comply with those orders first.”

Captain America looked down at the papers in his hands for a long minute then looked back up at Colonel Allison. “Give me a minute to talk to Iron Man.”

“A minute. No more.”

Captain America and Cannonball turned and walked back to where Iron Man waited. Cannonball said, “Excuse me, Cap…but didn’t I read somewhere that even though you’re a Captain you actually have the authority of a three-star general? Wasn’t that colonel supposed to be askin’ ‘how high’ when you said ‘jump’?”

“Yes. Which means that something has gone horribly wrong.” By now they had rejoined Iron Man.

“Well?” The voice coming from the helmet was ice cold.

“Do you think you can hold them off?”

Iron Man nodded. “As long as you need. What’s the plan?”

“To get inside the mansion, hook up with the others and find out what the hell is going on here. Sam, can you get us inside?”

“Shore. Cain’t promise it’ll be gentle, though.”

“Just get us inside the mansion and I don’t care how you do it. Tony, I know you’re mad and you’ve got a right to be-”

“I’ll be okay, Steve. Sorry about how I snapped at you back there. And I’ll keep the causalities down to a minimum.”

“Protect the Quinjet at all costs. It may be our only way out of here.” Captain America jammed the papers into one of his belt pouches and held out his hands to Cannonball. “NOW!”

Cannonball seized Captain America by the wrists and triggered the thermo-chemical energies in his body. With a thunderous surge of power he sped right at the double oaken doors of Avengers Mansion, holding on tightly to Captain America as he extended his blast shield to protect the both of them as they hit the doors like a thunderbolt, blowing them right off their hinges, the doors exploding into toothpicks under the devastating impact. Cannonball and Captain America crashed into the foyer, tumbling over and over in a cloud of smoke, shattered wood and thunderous sound.

Captain America was on his feet first, holding out a hand to help his younger teammate up. The Star-Spangled Avenger had a boyish grin on his face. “I see now why you get such a kick out of that. Let’s go find the others!”

Iron Man waited until his teammates were inside and turned back to regard the hundreds of weapons being trained on him. Tanks were leveling their turrets on his position. Soldiers were scrambling back and forth to take up flanking positions and one tank rumbled forward, crashing though the gates with a horrendous boom and coming straight at Iron Man.

Suddenly there were a dozen Iron Men in line right in front of the tank. The turret, which had been aiming right at the sole Iron Man suddenly swung back to the left, then the right, trying to figure out which one to hit. Then the Iron Men all streaked into the sky, swooping and diving and arcing in complicated aerial patterns.

“Fire! FIRE!” Colonel Allison bellowed. “Shoot ‘em all out of the sky!”

One Iron Man swooped upwards above the massed soldiers and a high pitched whine filled the air, knifing into the ears of the soldiers as if a spike made of Arctic ice had suddenly been shoved into their collective heads. The dropped their weapons, blood gushing from their ears and noses, forcing them to drop their weapons. This particular Iron Man, who was the real one, could dimly hear screams and profanity. The others were holographic duplicates whose only purpose was to confuse and confound the enemy.

Iron Man flew back over the first tank that had breached the mansion grounds and he extended an armored hand and a repulsor blast pounded into the tank, blowing it into the air and it came back down to earth onto its side. Iron Man landed and drew back a fist, blasted it into the exposed bottom of the tank with a mighty WHA-RAM!

The tank flew like a flipped poker chip, spinning over and over, tearing up the ground, sending chunks of dirt flying to join with the jagged pieces of metal ripped out of the tank by Iron Man’s punch. He whirled around, extended both hands and azure colored pulse bolts flew, tearing into the ground in front of the troops, driving them back. The pulse bolts were an exceptional weapon in that the further they had to travel, the more powerful they became. Concrete was turned into powder, filling the air with choking, blinding clouds of dust. The holographic Iron Men were drawing fire as they were supposed to and laser bolts were passing harmlessly through them as the real Iron Man flew back into the sky, targeting another two tanks and again the fury of his repulsor blasts slammed into two more tanks, skidding them backwards, digging trenches into Fifth Avenue as the overwhelming power of the repulsors drove them back. Soldiers yelled as they dove out of the way of the tanks.

A new sound came to Iron Man’s ears as his on-board sensors indicated a new threat and the battle computer identified the cause: Apache attack helicopters. Two of them approaching him rapidly from the south. Slots in his shoulder guards opened up and a dozen capsules dropped into the middle of the army, bursting into clouds of dense smoke as he turned and with a thrust of his boot jets he angled upwards to confront the helicopters.

Captain America and Cannonball reached the infirmary and the door whooshed open. Jarvis turned and the relief on his face was obvious. “Captain! Thank Heavens you’ve come!”

“No foolin’,” Carol Danvers had donned her Warbird costume and she also looked as if she could have kissed Captain America. “The Vision and I have been having a helluva time trying to keep Namor from going out there and ripping the army to shreds!”

“What base madness now rules this misbegotten country, Captain?” Namor raged. “The Avenging Son will not stand idly by while he is threatened in such a manner! I demand to know the reason for this!”

Captain America shoved the papers that had been given him by Colonel Allison into Warbird’s hands. “Carol, look these over and tell me if they’re authentic, please.” He turned to The Sub-Mariner. “The U.S. Army is outside and they claim that they’ve been ordered by The President to reclaim the ground the mansion stands on as American soil.”

“Can they do that, Captain?” The Vision asked.

In answer, Captain America turned back to Warbird. “How do those papers look to you, Carol?”

Beside himself, Warbird was the only other Avenger with military experience and he wanted her confirmation before taking his next step. Warbird looked up at him, her face troubled and confused. “They’re genuine, Steve. These are official documents from The President.”

“How can you be sure?” Namor demanded.

“Whenever The President drafts an official document, certain code phrases are inserted so that the person or persons they are intended for will know that they did indeed come from him.” Warbird held up the documents. “Both of these contain the proper code phrases for all Presidential orders to The Avengers. These documents are orders from The President Of The United States. There’s no doubt about it.”

“I was hoping I was wrong,” Captain America said slowly. “That means we’ve got no choice but to abandon the mansion and make a run for it.”

Warbird said slowly; “Cap…you of all people are going to disobey The President?”

“I’m not going to disobey any order from my Commander-In-Chief but I have to be sure that he was not forced or coerced in some way to issue them. I’m also not going to fight American troops for American soil. We’re moving out and regrouping elsewhere until I can get in touch with Nick Fury and he can get me a face-to-face with POTUS.”

“But this is not American soil any longer!” Namor raged. “This land was deemed sovereign ground and we as Avengers should defend it with the last drop of our blood! I shall not brook—”

“What you’ll do is follow orders, Namor! Whatever your disputes are I’ll hear them later but for right now I need you to respect my decisions and carry out my commands to the best of your ability! If you don’t want to do that then go back to Atlantis right NOW! And if you do, don’t EVER come back to this team!”

There was probably no other surface dweller that could have spoken to the true Sub-Mariner in such a manner and not have found his back broken except for the man who Namor had trusted to follow into battle for nearly sixty years. Despite the rage that filled his soul he said in a voice barely above a whisper; “Very well. But there shall be a reckoning later, Captain.”

Captain America turned away from him and snapped out orders; “Cannonball, you’re up first, disrupt and disorganize. Namor, Iron Man is going to need help carrying the Quinjet to safety. Warbird, you see to Jarvis. Your only job is to get him clear.” Captain America turned to The Vision. “And you’ve got the hardest job of all, old friend. Activate the self-destruct and then join us.”

Jarvis reached out a hand to touch Captain America on the shoulder. “Is that truly necessary, Captain?”

“We’ve got no choice, Jarvis. There are many secrets here that can’t be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. And if the U.S. government has been compromised there’s no telling what damage can be done with what we have here. Avengers Mansion must be destroyed. I don’t make this decision lightly. This has been just as much a home to me as it has been to you.” Captain America looked at the grim faces around him. “Let’s do this, people.”

Iron Man lifted the second helicopter and threw it on top of the first and they both exploded in a frighteningly massive thunderball of orange-red flame. He had ripped the two crafts apart, allowing the crews time to escape and they had both crashed to the front lawn of the mansion which was now one huge inferno of blazing oil, gasoline and tangled metal. Laser bolts were striking him left and right and now the electron bazookas were coming into action, slamming into his chest, back and sides, slamming him around as if he were a man of straw and not iron. Electron energy danced and coruscated over his body in spiderweb patterns. Roaring in rage, Iron Man spun like a top, discharging pulse bolts and repulsor rays in alternating firing patterns, knocking men off their feet, sending them flying into the smoky air. He heard the voice of Captain America in his ear: {Tony, we’re coming out. Can you do something to neutralize their weapons?}

“My EMP. But my armor needs six minutes to reboot after I trigger it. But the computer systems on their tanks will be knocked out and their electron bazookas and casters won’t work.”

{Do it. Cannonball will disorganize and disrupt. You trigger it then get to the Quinjet. Namor’ll carry it until we get clear.}

“10-4.” Iron Man landed and mentally triggered the Electro-Magnetic Pulse. There was a thrum of power as a concentric wave of power exploded from his armor and extended outwards shutting down all electrical power for a one-mile radius. Unfortunately his armor was also shut down except a shielded back-up solar energy converter that allowed him mobility but that was all.

Soldiers were consternated to find that their weapons no longer would fire and the tanks came to a grinding halt. Iron Man ran laboriously to the Quinjet, masked by the thick, billowing black smoke.

From the inside of the mansion something like a thunderbolt emerged with a jubilant; “WAH-HOOOOOOOOOO!” and Cannonball streaked through the battlefield, slamming right into two tanks that flipped over like playing cards, spinning wildly through the air to come crashing back down to earth. He punched right through a third as if it were made of cardboard and continued through the mass of soldiers, knocking them flat as he angled his flight to take him upwards. Once clear he again trigged his power and a fresh burst of energy sent him zooming higher into the air, toward the north.

Captain America burst from the flaming doorway and ran lightly to the Quinjet. So fleet was he that he actually passed Iron Man and gained the hatchway before The Golden Avenger. Warbird flew out, heading directly upwards, Jarvis held safely in her arms. Namor was next and he glided with the grace of an air born dolphin, flying under the Quinjet and with a thrust of mighty thews that were powerful enough to rival those of The Hulk or The Thing, he lifted the entire vehicle into the air and followed Warbird, bearing his load as if it weighed no more than a piece of paper.

Amazingly, there was a silence that now fell over the battlefield that was eerie in it’s own right. Even the crackling of flames was muted as if Manhattan itself was waiting to see what would happen next.

And what happened was startling and sad.

Great geysers of flame burst from the windows and doors of Avengers Mansion. Explosions were triggered in sequential order starting from the lower levels and reaching upwards, shattering foundations that had stood since 1932. Walls collapsed, destroying precious memories, trophies, and souvenirs. The portrait of Howard and Maria Stark that had hung in the library was consumed in an instant by the overwhelmingly intense heat. Computers containing years of Avengers history burst into irreplaceable shards of melted metal and plastic. The Quinjets on the now weakened rooftop fell through the mansion, destroying everything in their path as they fell into the basement levels and their fuel tanks ruptured and exploded, contributing to the cataclysmic destruction of Avengers Mansion.

Colonel Allison watched from a safe distance, his mouth agape in astonishment. “Son of a bitch. I never thought they’d actually do it.”

A hollow voice at his side asked in a sibilant whisper. “I take it you are the officer in charge?”

Allison whirled to find himself staring into the deep-set ebony eyes of The Vision. He stepped back in surprised shock, unable to say a word.

“I judge by your insignia that you are indeed the superior officer in charge here.” The Vision extended a ghostly hand. “I would very much like to deliver a message on behalf of a friend of mine.” The Vision’s hand reached into Colonel Allison’s chest and then he solidified it just the slightest.

Colonel Allison screamed as if he had been plunged into the hellish funeral pyre that had once been Avengers Mansion.

“I know you don’t much approve of women who use profanity, Cap. But in this case I think my saying the shit has hit the fan is justified,” Warbird muttered.

“And I can’t say as how I blame you, Carol.” Captain America replied. They had flown upstate to The Catskills and the Quinjet now sat in a narrow gorge between two imposing mountains while The Avengers planned their next move.

Iron Man was standing by himself, gazing into nothing. Namor had walked over to say something to him and Iron Man had replied in such a tone so devoid of emotion that even The Sub-Mariner was taken aback and wisely chose to leave the brooding man of iron to his own miserably bleak thoughts.

“So what’s our next move, fearless leader?” Warbird asked. “Straight to The White House?”

“No. We need a base of operations where we can rest and plan our strategy. Options?”

“You are all more than welcome to come to Atlantis,” Namor offered.

“No. We can’t go there. Or to Wakanda either. We can’t compromise your kingdom or that of T’Challa’s. If we go to either one, the declaration of war on us will be extended to Atlantis and Wakanda. This is our fight and I won’t see your people or T’Challa’s dragged into it.”

Warbird’s laughed grimly. “I’d like to see The U.S. try and declare war on Wakanda. T’Challa’d be sitting in The Oval Office inside of a week.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. In either case we’re not going to put it to the test.” Captain America looked at the open hatch of the Quinjet where Jarvis stood. He had a compact headset on as he had been trying to contact Nick Fury. “Any luck with contacting S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“No, sir. All our channels have been disabled. I can get nothing but orders for us to surrender on all of them. A recorded message that plays over and over again. Your dedicated private communication channels to The President and Colonel Fury have both been totally disabled.”

“Damnation,” Captain America muttered. “This frosts the stinking cake.”

“How ‘bout we head to the west coast compound?” Cannonball suggested.

“I’m guessing we’d find troops surrounding the compound as well. And I’m not going to fight American troops if I can avoid it.”

“We are not going to solve this situation by avoidance, Rogers!” Namor snapped. “Open your eyes, man! Your country and your President have betrayed you! Betrayed us all! The thing to do is storm The White House and make your President see reason!”

“You never change, do you, Namor? No matter what the problem is you always think you can solve it by bellowing ‘Imperious Rex’ and punching it until it does what you want.”

“Better than running like a frightened minnow! We are THE AVENGERS! And we do not cower like children in the dark!”

“That is more than enough, Namor.” The Vision gently floated to the ground and joined his teammates. “I think I speak for everybody when I say that we grow weary of your ranting.”

Captain America nodded at The Android Avenger. “Is it done?”

“Yes.” The Vision turned without another word and walked over to where Iron Man stood. He whispered something in Iron Man’s ear that they couldn’t hear but it obviously meant a lot to the man in the armor because he reached out a hand and firmly gripped The Vision’s shoulder in a brotherly manner.

Captain America turned back to Namor. “I know you’re mad, Namor. I’m mad as well. But this situation isn’t going to be resolved by beating the tar out of it. Some enemies you can’t fight toe-to-toe and-” Captain America frowned as he looked again at the open Quinjet hatch where Jarvis was waving for attention. “What’s wrong, Jarvis?”

“Come inside, Avengers! All of you! There’s someone who wishes to speak to all of you and I don’t think you would believe me if I told you who it was!”

The metal face of Doctor Doom was incapable of human expression. But somehow the silver-white mask seemed to have a twisted self-satisfaction as The Avengers gazed upon the screen that was filled with his visage.

{Greetings, Avengers. I know that the day does not go well for you but I hope to alleviate some of the grimness of your situation.}

Iron Man’s voice was full of brittle harshness as his metallic voice snarled; “Goddamn you, Doom. I should have known you were in back of this. You’ve gone too far over the line this time you gutless son of a—”

{You have the word of Doom that I had nothing to do with the current situation you now find yourselves in.}

Iron Man quieted. He folded his gleaming metal arms across his chest and turned away.

Cannonball was perplexed. “That’s it? Doom says he didn’t do it an’ we take his word for it?”

Namor spoke quietly; “Despite what you, I or anybody else may think of him, Doom does not lie.”

“Namor’s right, Sam,” Captain America affirmed. “Doom’s a lot of things but he’s no liar. Okay, Doom, you didn’t turn The President and the army against us. So what do you want? If you want to gloat we don’t have time for it.”

{Not at all, Captain. I wish to offer The Avengers sanctuary in Latveria.}

The silence in the Quinjet was deafening. Captain America was the first to speak: “Either we’ve all gone mad or you’re trying to develop a sense of humor.”

{Captain, where else can you go? You cannot go to Atlantis or Wakanda without involving them in this conflict and that surely would mean a war that no one wishes. You could seek asylum from Lord Plunder but The Savage Land is so far away that you would be out of touch with events in America. Here in Latveria are the necessary resources for you to monitor events in your country and you can make your plans in comfort and security.}

“We’d be better off making plans in Mephisto’s bedroom,” Warbird muttered.

“Give us two minutes to talk it over,” Captain America requested.

{Certainly.}

Captain America made a slashing motion with his thumb across his throat and Jarvis muted the sound, then turned his back to the screen so that Doom could not read lips while Captain America said: “I think we should take him up on his offer.”

Namor snorted. “Madness.”

Cannonball shook his head. “Now I know how Bones McCoy felt in that Star Trek movie when Cap’n Kirk said they hadda go back in time to get some whales.”

Warbird’s full lips quirked in annoyance as she said, “I don’t think that’s funny, kid.”

“You see me laughin’?”

“Hear me out. Doom says he has nothing to do with what’s happened today and I believe him. But at the same time it’s no coincidence he’s calling us and offering us help. He knows something. And the only way we’re going to find out what he knows is to accept his help.”

Warbird groaned. “God help us. Can this day get any worse?”

The Vision said quietly; “Your logic is sound, Captain. I vote we accept.”

“Namor?”

“I fear not the plots and plans of Doom. We go to Latveria.”

“Tony?”

“I don’t like it…not one stinking little bit…. okay, maybe Doom didn’t have anything to do with what happened today but there’s still plenty of yesterdays he hasn’t accounted for. But if the majority says go, then we go.”

“Cannonball?”

“If you say go, sir, then I say go.”

“Warbird?”

“What the hell. I’ve never seen beautiful downtown Latveria.”

Captain America turned to Jarvis. “Jarvis, we’ll drop you somewhere and you can make your way to Washington. I’m sure that you won’t be held responsible for-”

Jarvis did something nobody had ever seen him do: he interrupted Captain America. “Why, whatever are you talking about, Captain?”

Captain America blinked in surprise. “Well…we’re going to Latveria.”

“So I gathered. If you will all be so good as to take your seats and buckle in I will make the craft ready for take-off.”

“Jarvis…we can’t ask you to go. There’s no telling what Doom has planned.”

“I serve The Avengers, Captain. Wherever that may take you.”

“Jarvis—”

“With all due respect, Master Steven, that is my final word on the subject.”

Captain America allowed himself the first laugh he’d had on that dark day and gestured at the screen. “Then let’s speak to Doom and tell him that The Avengers accept his kind invitation. We’re going to be guests of Doctor Doom, people. If you know any good prayers, now’s the time to say them. You may not have a chance later.”

NEXT: “Pax Doom” continues in the pages of Fantastic Four #14!