NOTE: This takes place after the “Masters and Slaves” story-arc in Thunderbolts

Avengers Island
The White Room

“Clean up is well under way,” said the cool feminine voice. “The Mayor convinced the City Council to employ Damage Control despite their high fees, thanks mainly to his own contribution; an undisclosed amount that I am certain will become a massive tax write off for both the city and himself at year’s end.”

Maria Hill smirked at her little dig. Though she was speaking with her SHIELD contact and direct superior, the Contessa Valentina Allegra Di Fontaine, she knew that others were also intercepting her transmission even higher up in the food chain. She did not know precisely who might be listening in, but she had her suspicions. The Ultra-rich and the Mega-powerful in business and government, not only from the United States but from around the world would of course be involved in re-structuring the super-human community in the wake of recent events. And that was basically what was behind the recent drive to re-establish the Avengers as a trusted and formidable peace keeping force. Men like Osborn and Shaw had to be involved, and she was certain that probably most of the more public Bildeburg Group was at least contributing resources, if not actually part of the core membership.

It was a mystery to be sure, and Maria Hill did love a mystery. Hell, that was part of why she had joined SHIELD in the first place, aside from civic duty to state and country of course. And maybe that ‘hidden agenda/secret society’ mentality about her had been what had singled out a relatively new Agent of SHIELD to be advanced in rank and order and placed in such a stellar position; namely SHIELD Liaison to the Mighty Avengers.

“Of course Stark and his associates are contributing to the Times Square restoration as well. I don’t have access to his financial records, but it doesn’t take a super-genius to add two and two together and come up with a billion when he’s receiving calls from the likes of Van Dyne and T’Challa.”

“And what of the Avengers themselves?” asked the Contessa, her steely gray eyes piercing even on the staticky monitor. Stark had had the White Room set up for various reasons, Hill was certain, though the story he stuck with was that with all the various agencies and representatives from around the world that would be visiting the Island, they needed a source for private transmissions. The room was basically a radio room that allowed 100% security in any form of audio, video and allegedly psionic broadcasts that could be thought of. Hill did not know the exact specs, but she had seen some of the names that had been called in to set up operation; Scott Lang, SHIELD’s own Gaffer, and the purple-haired woman was someone associated with the X-Men. The one ‘bug’ in the room was the static caused by all the conflicting security measures, just enough to be annoying. “Are they taking a physical role as well?”

“Yes,” Hill answered, shifting a bit and feeling just a little uncomfortable. She had no problem with the Contessa’s authority over her, but speaking with one of the world’s most beautiful women was a bit intimidating at times. “At Stark’s urging, most are staying high profile on scene, with the exception of himself and the Vision. They’re both deeply involved in finishing up construction on the Island, the android trying to get the final bugs out of the computer system. He hardly comes out of the Core, as they’re calling the computer’s main base.”

The image of the Contessa frowned slightly, her dark brows furrowing as though lost in thought, or maybe distracted. Hill caught a slight nod as the woman focused again.“Do keep track of the android’s agenda. We don’t want a repeat of what happened a few years ago. And of course keep us updated on the construction schedule with your morning reports.”

“Us?” Hill asked.

The Contessa pursed her lips. “SHIELD, Agent Hill.” And the screen went dark.

Maria Hill smirked as she pulled the Bluetooth plug from her ear along with the temporal band that shielded her thoughts and stood. She stretched, thinking that with the amount of money that Stark had spent on the White Room that he could have dropped a few dollars for a more comfortable chair. She stepped to the door and flashed her ID before the monitor, waiting as she was scanned to varying degrees to confirm that she was who her card said she was before the sealed doors hissed and opened.

No sooner had she stepped out of the room and thus back into the real world, her comm-badge chirped.

“Hill,” she said tapping her badge and feeling just a little like a Star Trek ‘Red Shirt’.

“Agent Hill,” said the snooty voice over the badge’s radio. “So nice of you to join us.” Maria Hill did not know just why Stark’s PA rubbed her the wrong way, but there had been a mutual dislike between the two since minute one. “Mister Stark would like you to join him on the docks… If you can fit him into your busy schedule of course.”

“Why, of course, Pepper Dear,” Hill replied with equal gusto in her sarcasm. “Do tell your employer that I’m on my way.” And again transmission was cut. Agent Hill sighed.

“It’s going to be a long day.”

WRECK AND ROLL!

Part I

By Curtis Fernlund and Dino Pollard

The Damocles Chamber

“I’m still not certain that she was the best choice for liaison,” the Contessa’s voice said, speaking from one of the dozens of monitors encircling the dimly lit room. “She’s a nosy bitch, and her profile suggests a conspiracy theorist. Is it wise to have a Fox Mulder in our midst?”

The Yellow Claw frowned. He did not associate the reference, though he did appreciate the concern in the question, as well as the irony in the situation. It amused him that the Contessa Valentina Allegra Di Fontaine should be his contact in SHIELD. The woman had been a thorn in his side in far too many encounters and operations, mostly with SHIELD, but even in his various business ventures over the years. Payback was also a bitch.

“And who better to feed false information to than someone willing to believe the absurd?” the Yellow Claw replied with a smile. Hill had been the perfect choice in his opinion. As easily malleable as the Contessa herself. The Contessa nodded on screen finally.

“I see your point.”

“Very good. Do keep us informed, my dear Contessa.”

The Yellow Claw’s smile widened as he cut off the feed to his unknowing lackey just as abruptly as the Contessa Valentina Allegra Di Fontaine had done to her own. He could only imagine how frustrated the woman must be to be so close to the hierarchy, yet just out of reach. He knew that she thought she was doing ‘good,’ probably helping her beloved Fury in some fashion, and that made his revenge all the more sweet. He almost could not wait to pull the rug out from under that one.

And she was but one of many…

The Yellow Claw leaned back in his chair and scanned the dozens of monitors, which lined the walls and hung suspended from the ceiling on mobile tracks. All were on constantly, though some were dimmed as those focused on world affairs that the Web Spiders keyed in on because of some word or phrase and logged in the vast computer network they all shared. Others showed locations of interest to the group in one form or another, most notably the Baxter Building, Avengers Island, the Xavier Institute, and even places like the Daily Bugle. Still others were constantly flitting through images of scenes focusing on potential threats of a more ‘human’ variety, though the term was rather broadly interpreted.

One such showed the new Captain America and the mutant freak, Nightcrawler helping in the Times Square reconstruction caught by a live CNN news feed. Another caught the fleeting image of the Spider-Man as he swung past a traffic camera. There were actually two displaying the image of Namor as he and his contingent approached the United Nations Plaza where he was scheduled to give a speech not unlike Doom’s of a few days before. Atlantis, as always would abstain from the affairs of the Surface World and thus, not be an imminent concern of Control.

“What about Genosha?”

The Yellow Claw turned his attention away from the Atlantean’s speech, focusing instead on a monitor displaying information about a recent Sentinel attack on Genosha, one which Magneto had publicly condemned. The President of the United States vehemently denied claims from mutant rights organizations that his country had anything to do with the attack.

“It will keep the mutants distracted,” said the Yellow Claw. “A very fortuitous turn of events for us.”

“And what about Viper?” asked Osborn. “She… chastised Kelly for his stupidity and did as she was paid to do, but is she contained? She has always been a variable that cannot be planned for. Psychotic and sociopathic are never a good mix. And she has access to vast resources; money, devout followers, intelligence. She should be put down.”

The Yellow Claw leaned forward and plucked the cigarette from his long-stemmed filter, dropping the spent butt into the ashtray before him and letting it smolder. He placed his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers before him as though contemplating his words, his long fingernails clicking together.

“The former Madame Hydra has always been a contingency that cannot fully be planned for. Even after all these years I cannot fathom the true depths of her sadism or depravity. Her yearning for vengeance is a burning passion that could well set the world ablaze if left unchecked. I however am her better.

“She dealt with Kelly, and she will deal with any others that need correction. She follows my orders to the letter. Oddly, in a perverse manner, I trust her, and will keep her in check, rest assured.”

“And what about the anomaly?” Geiger asked. “The monitors recorded the doors of her warehouse opening and activity within, but they did not record anyone entering or leaving. What was that about?”

“A technical glitch perhaps?” The Yellow Claw shrugged. “It is being investigated. I doubt it is anything of consequence. Rest your fears about Viper and let us move on. What is next in the Avenger queue?”

“An assault on the Island of course,” David hissed, his voice muffled in the oxygen mask that he was forced to wear at the gatherings. “We must see if Stark’s defenses are up to par…”

Times Square

A young couple huddled beneath the wreckage of a building. They came to New York for their honeymoon, just a few weeks shy of finishing college, when they found themselves right in the middle of a supervillain attack.

The sounds of the battle seemed to stop and they weren’t sure if that meant it was over or if they were dead and just not aware of it yet. They held each other closer, sitting in the small alcove, the one spot where no debris blocked their paths, the only place they could see a sliver of light coming through.

A rumble came next and the couple backed away from the light. The sliver became larger and as more and more light spilled into the small chamber, they could see combat boots made of red leather as well as navy pants. They saw hands clad in red gloves slowly raise the chunk of concrete and then they noticed the red, white and blue chain-mail shirt with a large white star in the center and a red bandanna serving as a mask.

BAMF

The scent of sulfur filled the small chamber and the wife gasped in shock when she glimpsed the demonic creature that seemed to magically appear from the shadows dressed in red and black. He offered a compassionate smile and his glowing yellow eyes seemed oddly friendly.

“Do not be afraid, I’m here to help.” He spoke with a German accent and extended his hands—each one only housing three long fingers covered with white gloves. The young couple looked to each other and then back at the demon.

“This is starting to get heavy, Nightcrawler…” said the man holding the rubble up. The demon looked at them again.

“We must go now.”

They grabbed his hands and the scent of sulfur came again. When they opened their eyes, they were in the middle of the street and a crowd of onlookers applauded as Nightcrawler took his bow.

“You are too kind, friends. Too kind, indeed.”

Captain America came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Nightcrawler smiled and patted his teammate on the back. “And let us not forget the stellar work by our new Captain America!”

The applause came a bit more scattered than before and Captain America just jerked behind him with his thumb. “C’mon, we should get back to the Island.”

“Not the warm reception one would expect for the Sentinel of Liberty, ja?” asked Nightcrawler as they walked back to the Quinjet.

“It’s because they don’t see me as Cap,” he said. “To them, Captain America died with Steve Rogers. In their minds, I’m probably no better than an Elvis impersonator.”

Nightcrawler strapped himself into the pilot seat. “You have proven yourself worthy of that shield, mein freund. In time, they will come to respect you.”

“That doesn’t bother me,” said Captain America, fastening his harness in the co-pilot seat. “I didn’t take this job because I wanted the public to love me. I did it because I believed in what Steve stood for and I would have followed that man into Hell if he asked me to. So when he told me he wanted me to take up his legacy, how could I say no?”

“I have also read you are an imam?”

“Which is another reason I make some people uncomfortable while wearing this uniform,” said Captain America.

Nightcrawler activated the Quinjet’s VTOL systems and the craft slowly rose from the ground. “Then mein freund, if you would permit me, I would enjoy a discussion of our respective beliefs.”

Captain America smiled. “I’d also enjoy that, Nightcrawler.”

“Please, call me Kurt.”

“Josiah,” said Captain America. The Quinjet bumped a little as Nightcrawler rose to an appropriate altitude and engaged the thrusters. “Are you sure you know how to fly one of these things?”

Nightcrawler grinned.

Avengers Island

“So no more Warbird?” asked Tony as he stood overseeing the dock construction of the Island.

“Nope,” said Carol, flying overhead. “No more Warbird, no more Binary—now I’m back to Ms. Marvel.”

“A little surprising,” said Tony. “Why the change back?”

Carol landed beside him and removed the domino mask from her face. “When Mar-Vell returned, I realized I’d been running from my past. Didn’t want to face up to what Rogue did to me, didn’t want to think of myself as a failure.”

“You didn’t fail, Carol.”

She smiled. “I appreciate that, but it’s hard to rationalize those emotions. Binary represented a change in me and then Warbird…” She lowered her head.

“Carol…?”

“Warbird was…a difficult transition,” she said. “I hit the bottle, I was expelled from the Avengers, and when I came back, I ended up killing the Master.”

“You were found innocent of that,” said Tony.

“I know, we were at war and I did what was necessary,” said Carol. “Doesn’t make it any easier.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re back to your old self,” said Tony. “I always thought Ms. Marvel was a much sexier name anyway.”

She offered him a flirtatious grin. “Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Stark?”

Tony smiled back. “Now Ms. Danvers, you know if I admitted to such an egregious offense, you would surely tear off my arm and beat me with it.”

Carol laughed at this and Tony joined in with her. A loud, obnoxious throat-clearing interrupted their exchange and they both looked at Maria Hill, who stood in her SHIELD uniform and adjusted the reflective sunglasses she wore.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything. Your secretary told me I was needed.”

“Aren’t we a ray of fucking sunshine…” muttered Carol.

“Easy,” said Tony. He turned to Hill with a wide smile. “Agent Hill, so glad you could make it.”

“The charming billionaire routine doesn’t really work on me, Stark,” said Hill. “Did you need something?”

“As our new SHIELD liaison, I thought you’d want to take stock of what we’ve been doing here,” said Tony. “And also because I wanted to introduce you to our chief engineer.”

Hill scanned the area and lowered her glasses. “So where is he? I don’t see anyone here?”

“Maybe you should look closer.”

She nearly jumped at the sound that came right by her ear and turned but still saw no one. Then she noticed the tiny bug hovering nearby and something fell off it, quickly expanding into the form of a man clad in a black and red uniform with a silver helmet obscuring his face. He removed the helmet, revealing a young redhead beneath it.

Tony smiled. “Maria Hill, meet Scott Lang.”

“The Astonishing Ant-Man at your service,” said Scott, offering his hand.

“Another Avenger?” asked Maria.

“Not quite, I’m on the inactive roster,” said Scott. “I got custody of my daughter recently and she can be a handful. Guess that’s karmic payback for my own teen years. But Tony was good enough to get me a job handling the technical side of the Island.”

“How does it look so far?” asked Maria.

“We’re just about finished, that’s why I came to grab Tony,” said Scott and turned to his employer. “Reed wants you to be there to see it go live.”

Tony nodded. “Shall we?”

“Franklin, watch your sister!”

Franklin Richards pouted as he climbed down from the tree and walked over to the grass where his younger sister, Valeria, amused herself by crawling among the flowers. Susan Storm watched them from a distance standing beside Ororo Munroe.

“It’s beautiful here,” said Sue. “I’m sure you had some hand in that part of the construction.”

Ororo smiled. “Tony may be a brilliant engineer and a corporate juggernaut, but he knows precious little about the simple things in nature. When I was chosen as the X-Corporation’s liaison, I spoke with Tony about the layout of Avengers Island and I recommended setting aside this plot for a park.”

“It was a great idea,” said Sue.

“Have you heard from Ben?” asked Ororo.

Sue shook her head. “After his battle with the Hulk, he pretty much disappeared. There are some…vague memories from the reality shift of him, but I’m not sure what’s real and what’s not. He’s made no effort to contact us.”

Ororo laid her hand on Sue’s shoulder. “He’ll return.”

“We always seem to, don’t we?” asked Sue. “How does it feel being an Avenger?”

“There are…pressures I hadn’t imagined,” said Ororo. “And there have been conflicts with some other responsibilities I had.”

“Conflicts with the X-Men?” asked Sue.

Ororo’s expression went blank. “You might say that.”

The Core

The synthezoid called the Vision hovered in the middle of the room, wires connected from his robot body to the various databanks that made up the central database of Avengers Island, what he and Tony had referred to as the Core.

“Intriguing…” he said, the data flashing across his ‘mind’s’ eye. “Data suggests subtle movement within the environs of lower terrorist activity. There is no correlation between flagged recidivists beyond the obvious; above average strength, endurance, and resilience…”

The Core brought up a file image of a man dressed in armor with a scarred face. “The recent activity at the Vault suggests a gathering of brute force, and the abduction of Basil Sandhurst, a focusing, utilizing his abilities as the Controller. But to what purpose?”

He brought up the feeds from the Vault’s databanks but where once there was a clear image of Basil Sandhurst suddenly became nothing but static. “Video records were obscured by whoever infiltrated the prison, unfortunately.”

More records came up, bringing up reports of several recent thefts. “Additionally, noted acquisition of various forms of processed adamantium over the past several weeks from fortified laboratories, including Secondary, Beta and Carbonadium…

“Logic dictates—”

The Vision’s reveries and speculations were abruptly interrupted by the clangor of the Island’s Proximity Alarms.

Staten Island, New York
St. George

Moses Magnum did not understand exactly why he had been teamed with the Wrecking Crew, as they were idiots, with the exception of Thunderball. He could see the obvious connection, as his powers did indeed ‘wreck’, but he did not see the purpose. It was foolhardy to assault the Avengers, as much as he would love to see them humbled, but he could only imagine the outcome would be against him and his new team.

Still, he had been paid very well, and assured that his time in prison afterwards would be minimal, so he focused on the task that he had been commissioned to perform…

The Tri-State Area was not known for its seismic instability, though there were several fault lines within range, and it was these that Magnum tapped into for the initial assault. He concentrated, his mutant powers probing outwards and influencing geothermal pressures, letting the land shift and shiver at his beckon call. He could feel the power building within him and within the area and grit his teeth to help maintain focus.

“Yo, Mo,” Piledriver asked, grating nerves with his stupidity. “You okay?”

“Shut up, fool,” Magnum snarled as he let the fires rage and swirl within, the power building…

“Hey! Ain’t no reason ta be snide, boy. I was just askin’. Yer sweatin’ bullets.”

“Who are you calling ‘boy’?” Eliot Franklin snarled, his hand gripping the chain of his wrecking ball even more tightly. Moses Magnum tried to ignore the guttural banter as he gathered energy.

“Shut… Up…” he hissed, his gaze focusing on the Island there in the harbor, “and get ready… Go!”

Thunderball sneered but did as he was told, whirling his wrecking ball in a wide, swirling arch, which opened a portal once velocity was attained, and enveloped the three original members of the Wrecking Crew, and transported them to the edge of the Avenger’s Island proper, setting them well past Stark’s defenses, which were not quite up to mystical standards as yet.

“Go!” Franklin shouted, sending his wrecking ball smashing through the cranes and derricks that were set up along the docks, obliterating days of work within seconds. At Thunderball’s command, Bulldozer charged forward, head down and rammed through anything and everything that stood in his path. Finally, Piledriver simply started hitting anything within reach; crates, buildings, Guardsmen, his massive, pounding fists smashing whatever they came in contact with.

And back on Staten Island, Moses Magnum struggled to contain the energy that he had gathered until the very last moment. Finally though he thrust his hands forward. The waters of New York Harbor churned as his mutant ability surged forth, waves spraying in the wake as seismic energy roiled towards Avengers Island. He was shivering as he tried to focus the force of his assault, aiming at the main structure on the Island; the reconstructed mansion…

Avengers Island

“Ah Tony, we’re about to go live,” said Reed Richards when he saw Tony approach, flanked by Carol, Scott and Maria. The man called Mr. Fantastic turned away, focusing on the console he faced and entered some commands.

“What sort of defenses are we looking at here?” asked Maria.

“We have numerous scanning devices installed in the bay about halfway from the mainland,” said Reed. “With them, we can scan almost every area of any incoming vessel, either by sea or by air. And for unauthorized vessels…”

He entered a few more commands and the computer spoke to him: [EMP Online.] Reed smiled and turned to Maria once again. “Electromagnetic pulse, capable of disabling their electronic syste—”

The Island shuddered and Stark looked up from his clipboard. “What the hell?” he said, looking about and saw that everyone was looking about in confusion, the techies grabbing hold of whatever was near and stable as the island began to shake. Carol and the nearby Guardsmen rose into the air a bit, all glancing about. Maria fell. Only Reed Richards seemed unaffected by the apparent seismic shock, his rubbery body swaying with the abnormal vibrations.

“Earthquake?” Scott shouted as he grabbed hold of a railing.

“I don’t believe so,” Reed shouted in retort over the localized rumbling, his body stretching skywards to gain a better view. “There is a direct line running through the island’s surface terraform, starting at the beach and running directly inland towards the main complex. Obviously an assault.”

They all yelped in shock as Thunderball’s wrecking ball passed nearby, shattering through crates and boxes that had been lined up on the docks. A moment later they all saw Bulldozer bulling his way through, down the line and smashing whatever still remained. And behind him came Piledriver…

“Tony?” asked Carol.

“I know,” said Stark, reaching for his comm-badge—a stylized A in a circle pinned to his lapel. “Avengers Assemble!”

NEXT: The Avengers go toe-to-toe with the Wrecking Crew and Moses Magnum!