AVENGERS NEVER

Part IV

By Logan Polk and Dino Pollard

New York

The massive fists of the large, gamma-irradiated creature slam against the orange, rocky exterior that serves as Ben Grimm’s skin. The Thing as he is known reels back from the blow. He clenches his fist, coils it, and then strikes the creature back. The creature is faster and ducks the blow, before driving another one into the Thing’s chest. As the Thing keels over slightly in pain, the creature delivers another punch forcing him to fall back.

“Y’know…” mutters the Thing, stopping to catch his breath. “I’m gettin’ really sick of this crap…”

“Tough shit,” says the creature. He places a fist in the palm of his open hand and cracks his knuckles. “Ben Grimm, the Thing. I gotta say, I’m disappointed. I thought you’d put up more of a fight.”

“Gimme a sec, I’m just gettin’ started,” says the Thing. “What’d you call yourself again?”

“The Abomination.”

“It fits,” says the Thing. “Y’ got the ugliest mug I’ve ever seen.”

“Check the mirror lately?” asks the Abomination. “You’re not exactly Tom Cruise.”

Baxter Building

“Interesting…” says Reed Richards. “The ice has kept him completely preserved.”

“Only wish we knew more about what’s going on here,” says Hank Pym.

“What this Rick has told us… do you believe him?” asks Reed.

“Tough to answer,” says Hank. “He sounds like he’s out of his mind. But some of these events, the way things are playing out, makes me wonder about it. Plus, when he was talking to us about this, there was a part of me that believed him. The things he talks about, the people I’ve met since coming into contact with him, it all seems so familiar.”

“And now this Captain America,” says Reed. “According to Rick, he was a very public hero during World War Two. But I haven’t been able to find any information related to him at all. It’s as if he didn’t exist.”

“Bruce, any ideas?” asks Hank.

“I’ve been trying to examine his vitals,” replies Bruce. “Something’s not right here, though.”

“Is he dead?” asks Hank.

“No,” replies Bruce. “Quite the opposite, actually. He’s definitely alive in there, it’s just a question of getting him out. I’m worried that a rapid change in temperature would pose a problem for him. But… that’s not all.”

“What do you mean?” asks Reed.

“From what Rick’s told us, Captain America was frozen in a block of ice before the end of the war,” replies Bruce. “But from what I’m looking at, I don’t think it’s possible that he’s been encased in ice for the past sixty years. More like a matter of weeks at the most.”

“But… how’s that possible?” asks Hank.

“It seems there’s something we’re missing here,” replies Reed.

Asgard

Thor steps through the great hall into the throneroom of his father. He slowly walks up to a large throne which Odin, the All-Father and ruler of Asgard, sits on. Thor bows before him.

“I see you’ve returned,” says Odin.

“Aye,” says Thor. “Father, there is something amiss. On Midgard.”

“Yes,” says Odin. “Some manner of villain hast tampered with reality.”

“Time itself has become unhinged,” says Thor.

“Nay,” says Odin.

“What?”

“Time remains constant and unchanged, my son,” says Odin. “I… I cannot be certain. Something is amiss, that much is certain. But it does not seem to involve the tampering of time.”

“Then what?” asks Thor.

“The key to this mystery lies somewhere in Midgard,” replies Odin.

“I shall,” says Thor. “Thank you, father.”

“Do not make haste just yet, there is something else…”

New York

Iron Man circles above in the skies, firing off repulsor rays while he avoids the attacks initiated by Electro.

“These guys are coming out of the woodwork,” he says.

“I know,” says the Invisible Woman, not far off. Her invisible force bubbles fend off attacks from Boomerang. “I haven’t even heard of any of these people before, but I want to thank you for helping us deal with them.”

“It’s the least we can do,” says Iron Man. “Plus, it gives us something to do while Reed, Hank, and Bruce try and figure out how to unfreeze this Captain America.”

Electro rockets up towards Iron Man on waves of electricity. The equivalent of lightning travels from his fingertips and rocks through Iron Man’s system.

“Not good…” mutters Iron Man. He activates his thrusters, causing Electro to give chase.

Elsewhere, the Human Torch finds himself drenched in water from Hydro-Man, preventing him from activating his powers and flaming on. The Invisible Woman watches her brother suffer and reverts to complete invisibility. Boomerang catches one of his weapons and looks around in confusion.

Hydro-Man seems to stop in mid-air as an invisible forcefield completely encases his body.

“What the hell?” he asks.

“Johnny, switch up!” exclaims the Invisible Woman.

The Human Torch’s body bursts into flames, and he directs his attention towards Boomerang. The villain hurls a boomerang at him that the Human Torch melts to slag before it can even reach him. Boomerang throws another one.

“Oh please,” says the Human Torch. He hurls a fireball at it, and upon explosion, the boomerang emits a high-pitched frequency. The Human Torch covers his ears in pain from the intense sound. Boomerang begins laughing before his eyes go wide and he falls unconscious. The small form of the Wasp flies out from his ears and grows to full-size before moving to the Human Torch’s side.

“You okay?” she asks.

“Just dandy…” mutters the Human Torch. “What’d you do to him?”

“Little wasp sting took him right down,” says the Wasp. “He’ll wake up with the equivalent of a hangover after a heavy night of drinking.”

Baxter Building

Namor, the ruler of Atlantis, sits in a state of zero gravity in the laboratory of Reed Richards. The chamber makes it impossible for him to move around at all. The door to the laboratory opens and Namor takes this opportunity to make his feelings of his imprisonment known.

“Release me!” he exclaims. “I demand it!”

“Shut up,” says Reed Richards. He walks right up to the zero gravity chamber and crosses his arms. “Your attack was unprovoked and could be considered an act of war. I’ve spoken with the President, and he’s agreed to withhold on declaring war on Atlantis for now, as long as you’re brought to trial for your crimes.”

“Unprovoked?” asks Namor. “The surface world attacks the oceans on a daily basis! Nuclear testing, pollution, you would willfully destroy the oceans.”

“I’m aware of the enviromental dangers posed to your home, Namor, and I plan to do something about it,” says Reed. “But all-out war is never the answer.”

“If you truly believe that, then you’re extremely naive, Richards,” says Namor.

“If you believe otherwise, then you’re extremely bitter,” says Reed. “You’re going to remain here until the matters of your arrest have been finalized.”

New York

Captain Marvel rockets into the Abomination, pulling him away from the Thing. He slams the creature down into the ground. Genis-Vell looks down at the Abomination, and he notices something is odd about it.

“Wait…” he says. “This isn’t right…”

Suddenly, several Abominations surround him and the Thing.

“This really isn’t right…” says Captain Marvel.

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,” says the Thing. He runs at one of the Abominations and attempts to drive his fist into him. He goes right through it, though, as if it weren’t even there.

“Stop…” says Captain Marvel. “It’s… an illusion…”

Captain Marvel closes his eyes and concentrates on his Cosmic Awareness. When he opens them, he fires an energy blast into what seems to be nothing. The blast strikes someone who cries out in pain. Suddenly, Mysterio begins to flicker into view.

“An illusion, of course,” says Captain Marvel. “Ben, you wanna do the honors?”

“With pleasure,” says the Thing as he cracks his knuckles. “Guess what, bubblehead – it’s clobberin’ time.”

High above the city, Iron Man flies, seemingly to avoid his pursuer, Electro. He banks to the right and then dives. Electro follows. Iron Man pushes his thrusters to their limit to try and keep at least a step ahead of Electro. He pulls up, then banks to the right again before diving once more. Electro increases his speed and electricity flies loose from his fingertips. Electricity that invades Iron Man’s armor and begins to short-circuit it. He falls to the ground and Electro lands right by him.

“That was fun,” says Electro. “I don’t know who you are, an’ something tells me I don’t really care. But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna kill you. I’ve got a job to do, buddy, and that job means you die.”

“Ahem.”

“Huh?”

Electro spins around and suddenly, the form of Hydro-Man suspended in mid-air comes into his sight, appearing almost out of nowhere. Without a warning, whatever force that holds Hydro-Man gives and the water-based villain collapses onto Electro. Electricity flies as Hydro-Man shorts out Electro and the two foes wind up unconscious. Iron Man watches and smiles beneath his mask as the water seems to seep around him, never touching him at all.

“Thanks for the help, Mrs. Richards,” he says.

“My pleasure,” says the Invisible Woman.

Baxter Building

“We’ve been hard at work with the heating instruments, but nothing substantial yet,” says Reed. “I’m not sure how long it will take before we can bring him out of the ice. And once we bring him out, there’s no guarantee how long it will take for him to regain consciousness.”

“That’s not good enough!” exclaims Rick via his telepathic link with Genis. “Tell them that’s not good enough, Genis! Isn’t there some way to speed it up?”

“Are you sure there’s no way to speed it up?” asks Genis.

“None that I know of just yet,” replies Reed. “But Doctor Banner came across an interesting discovery.”

“Which is?” asks Iron Man.

“Captain America hasn’t been encased in ice for the past sixty years,” replies Bruce. “As far as I can tell, it’s been at the most, a matter of weeks.”

“But… but that’s not possible!”

“I’m not surprised,” says Genis.

“You’re not?! Why aren’t you surprised, I sure as hell am!”

“Why’s that?” asks Hank.

“I came across something during the battle,” replies Genis. “When I was fighting Mysterio, I had a sense that I was fighting illusions. And it made me think that the illusion might be a lot bigger than any of us could have predicted.”

“What are you talking about?” asks the Wasp.

“Think about it this way, why is it that so many things from the world as I know it are the same as they are here?” asks Genis. “How is it possible that Rick and I are still bonded together, how is it possible that you all have your powers still? Thor was bonded with Jake Olson, when he should’ve been bonded with Donald Blake. How is all this possible?”

“It’s not…” says Reed. “If this was the cause of time travel, there would be far more differences. From what you and Rick have told us, the Avengers had a dramatic impact on the world. If the Avengers never formed, then the ripple effect would be massive.”

“Exactly,” says Genis. “That means this is all some sort of elaborate illusion.”

“That doesn’t sound right,” says Hank. “From what you’ve told us about Kang, it doesn’t seem like something he’d do. What would he gain from some illusion?”

“There’s something else going on here,” says Genis. “I can feel it.”

“The lad speaks true.”

The deep, loud voice comes from Thor who enters the room.

“Where have you been?” asks Iron Man.

“Asgard, in counsel with my father, Odin,” replies Thor. “Whomever be responsible for this state, he hath not affected time. An illusion, yes.”

“So now what?” asks the Wasp. “How does this help us?”

“My father said I must find the key,” replies Thor. “I believe I know what that key is.”

“What?” asks Reed.

Thor approaches the block of ice containing Captain America. He raises his hammer as it begins to glow, and slams it against the ice. A flash of energy and the ice shatters. The form of Captain America nearly falls over, only to land in the waiting arms of Thor. His eyes slowly begin to open.

“Ugh…” mutters Captain America. “Wh-where am I?”

Thor helps the Living Legend to his feet and he uses the God of Thunder as a crutch for a few moments until he can regain his footing. Captain America looks at the gathering of people before him before he speaks again.

“What did I miss?” he asks. “The last thing I remember, I was at Avengers Mansion and then…”

“Listen, did you hear that?” asks Rick. “He just said he was at Avengers Mansion!”

“You know…” replies Genis. “You know about how the world is supposed to be.”

“Of course I do,” says Captain America. “What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

“It’s Kang,” says Genis. “Somehow, he’s made the entire world forget that the Avengers ever existed. It’s created some sort of illusionary world. My Cosmic Awareness left me immune to the effects of it.”

“Kang?” asks Captain America. “But why? He’s a conqueror, he lives for battle. Why would he do something so… subtle? It doesn’t seem like his style at all. More like Immortus.”

“I’m not sure what the true story is behind this,” says Genis. “But what I do know is that something is going on here, and it’s not right.”

“Then we have to take the fight to Kang,” says Captain America. “We have to get to Chronopolis.”

“That means we need a time machine,” says Genis.

“And where are we going to get one of those?” asks Iron Man.

“…Doom,” replies Reed.

“What?” asks Iron Man.

“Doom has a time platform,” replies Reed. “We have to find it.”

“Great, now we’re planning to invade Latveria?” asks Hank.

“No, we go in peacefully,” replies Captain America. “We explain the situation to Doom, and we hope he sees it our way.”

“And if that doesn’t work?” asks Iron Man.

“Then we take what we want,” replies Captain America.

“I DEMAND RELEASE!”

“…who was that?” asks Captain America.

“Someone we apprehended,” replies Reed. “An Atlantean, he attacked New York with his military.”

Captain America walks towards the source of the voice and he finds himself in Reed’s laboratory, before the zero gravity chamber housing the Sub-Mariner.

“Namor!” he exclaims. Once the others enter, Captain America turns to Reed. “Let him out.”

“Are you insane?” asks Reed. “This man is awaiting trial for crimes he commited.”

“It must be the effects of the illusion, I know Namor, he’s a good man,” replies Captain America. “Namor, do you recognize me?”

“Is this some sort of joke?” asks Namor.

“Namor, just answer the question,” replies Captain America.

“Of course I do,” says Namor. “What is going on here, Captain?”

“What’s going on is we need your help, Namor,” replies Captain America. “The world is in danger from a massive threat—and that means your kingdom is in danger, too.”

“This is insane…” mutters Reed.

“Will you help?” asks Captain America.

“In the interests of my people, then yes,” replies Namor.

“Do I have your word that there will be no more attacks?” asks Captain America.

“…yes,” replies Namor.

“Let him out, Doctor Richards,” says Captain America.

“No, this is insanity,” says Reed.

“Doctor, don’t make me repeat myself,” says Captain America.

Reed looks into the eyes of Captain America, and then reluctantly opens the zero gravity chamber.

“We have to get to Latveria,” says Captain America. “Given your history with Doom, I think it best that the Fantastic Four remain here, though.”

“Understandable,” says Reed. “We can provide you with transportation, though.”

“There is one other matter we must discuss before we depart,” says Thor. “I believe that Kang has an ally…”

Chronopolis

“NO!”

“Something amiss, my friend?” asks Kang.

“They’ve released Captain America!”

“Ah, then their memories will begin to return in short order,” says Kang. “They will come here next.”

“We have to stop them!”

“No, we won’t,” says Kang. “You’ve proven quite helpful up to this point, Loki. And now is where the game truly begins.”