Bellville, New Jersey

Called the Cherry Blossom Capital of America, Bellville was a small town with a population of just under forty thousand people. Today, the streets were a bustle of activity, however not from the town’s residents. Rather from the kind of visitors no town would want to see.

A SHIELD emergency response team was called to Bellville following a strange attack that left all the residents standing completely still and glassy-eyed. The response team was dressed in HAZMAT suits, although many had since removed the helmets after it was determined no hazardous gases or chemicals were present. Whatever transformed the people of Bellville, it was no longer present.

Colonel Nick Fury stood in his blue and white SHIELD jumpsuit, observing as his agents gently laid down the various victims, trying to tend to them as best they could. His lips were wrapped around the tip of a Havana cigar while his mind tried to think of the potential cause.

A shadow fell over a large intersection. The HAZMAT team had already cleared all victims from there for expressly these visitors. The small Quinjet lowered and gently touched down on the road. By the time the hatch opened, Fury had already completed his approach.

Iron Man stepped from the craft first. He was followed by two other individuals, both in HAZMAT suits. But once they saw Fury wore no protection, they each stripped their respective gear off.

Of the two, the larger was another Avenger—Josiah X, Captain America. Under the suit, he wore his patriotic uniform, the circular shield worn on his back. The smaller of the two was SHIELD’s Avengers liaison, Maria Hill. She saluted SHIELD’s Director and he returned the gesture.

“At ease, Agent,” said Fury.

“What happened here?” asked Iron Man.

“We’re still tryin’ to figure that out, Shellhead,” said Fury. “State officials received calls from nearby saying that something strange happened in Bellville. Kept going up the chain of the command, eventually to the CDC then the DOD and finally to SHIELD. Near as any of us can tell, everyone here just stopped. It’s like they’re all in a trance.”

Captain America walked around, examining several of the victims. Their eyes were completely vacant. As if, just like Fury had said, they had been put in some kind of trance. Some were drooling. “You don’t know what kind of attack it was?” he asked.

Fury shook his head. “We haven’t found any odd chemical signatures in the air.”

“Could be a telepathic assault,” said Hill. “Or mystical.”

Iron Man visibly groaned at this and Hill shot him a look. “What? You don’t believe in magic?”

“No, I just don’t like it,” said Iron Man.

From the corner of his eye, Fury saw someone approaching. “We’re about t’ find out if this is psychic or not.”

A young SHIELD agent of Japanese descent approached the group. “Director Fury, my unit’s finished our sweep.”

“Avengers, say hello to Sean Watanabe, head of SHIELD’s ESPer Division,” said Fury.

“Call me Brass,” said the young ESPer. “Pleasure to meet you both. Especially you, Mr. Stark. We’ve got a common enemy.”

“Oh?” asked Iron Man.

“The Mandarin.”

Before any more could be said, Hill interrupted. “Brass, we’ve kind of got a situation here. Could we get back on topic?”

“You’re right, sorry,” said Brass. “All the victims share the exact same condition, just as we thought. Autonomous bodily functions remain and the brain is working on the lowest possible level. But the spark of the mind is just…gone. Or to put it simply, the lights are on but no one’s home. These people are empty.”

“Christ, thirty-six thousand empty shells…” muttered Fury.

“Is it a psychic attack?” asked Captain America.

Brass shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. My unit hasn’t had much luck coming to a determination on that.”

The Bluetooth unit affixed to Fury’s ear began flashing its indicator light. He tapped the button and listened to the report from another unit. “Copy that. We’ll be there in a few. Keep the area locked down until I get there.” He tapped the Bluetooth again to end the call. “A recon team’s found signs of life in a warehouse in a seedier part of town. Figure that’s our next stop.”

“Lead the way,” said Iron Man.

THE KEY!

By Curtis Fernlund and Dino Pollard

Avengers Island

Among the various buildings set up on Avengers Island, there was one set aside specifically for research. Carol sat at one of the computers, which was linked to the servers and provided a constant stream of information not only from public sources, but also files courtesy of SHIELD and other superhuman groups.

She reviewed the footage of the Hulk’s rampage in Seattle several weeks earlier. Since then, Damage Control had devoted a substantial amount of their resources to the rebuilding effort.

“I hear you’ve been spending a lot of time in this room since your recovery.”

Carol didn’t have to turn her head to know the voice belonged to her longtime friend and fellow Avenger, Storm. The incident with the Black Humor had weakened the elegant mutant, but she recently recovered. Just as Carol had recovered after her powers were burnt out when trying to stop a nuclear weapon.

“The Hulk was tearing apart Seattle and where were we?” asked Carol. “We call ourselves Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, so why couldn’t we defend those people?”

“Because we were trying to stop a murderous robot from wiping out humanity,” said Storm. “As powerful as the Avengers are, we cannot be everywhere.”

“You’re right, but I feel like we should be doing more. There are so many superheroes out east, but only a fraction out west. And then there’s the rest of the country between the two…” Carol shook her head. “Maybe I’m just restless after everything that’s happened. Feel like I have to make up for lost time.”

“There is something bothering you, isn’t there?” asked Storm. “Something specifically related to Seattle…?”

Carol turned her chair and flashed Storm a smile. “You know me too well, Ororo. But it’s not something I really wanna talk about.”

Storm nodded. “I understand. But you must follow your own path, wherever it leads.”

“I know…” Carol’s eyes turned back to the screen and her mind started to drift off once more into her own thoughts.

“Sharks,” said Clint as he sipped a cup of coffee.

“You’re crazy,” said Scott, who sat across from him at the small table in the mess hall.

“Trust me, it’ll work,” said Clint. “Toss a bunch of rabid, man-eating sharks in there and you’re all set. Maybe with rocket launchers.”

“Rockets? In the water?”

Clint dismissed Scott’s critique with a wave of his hand. “Please, I bet Tony’s had plans for them just burning a hole on his hard drive for about a decade.”

Jarvis approached carrying a tray. He set a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of each Avenger. The butler glanced between the pair.

“Forgive my intrusion…but what are you discussing?”

“It started out as a discussion about security improvements. Then Clint said what we need is sharks with rocket launchers patrolling the bay,” said Scott.

“C’mon Jarv, tell me you wouldn’t think twice about attacking the Avengers if you had to deal with rocket-launching sharks.”

“To be honest, Master Clint, I’d think twice about attacking the Avengers, period.”

“Unfortunately, you seem to be in the minority. At least these days,” said Scott as he scooped some eggs on his fork.

Clint chuckled, crunching on a strip of bacon. While chewing, his demeanor changed and he seemed to be fixated on something. Scott followed his gaze to the television screen in the mess hall. The scene from the news broadcast showed helicopters flying around an area and the text read, “CHAOS IN BELLVILLE.”

“I believe that’s where Colonel Fury summoned Master Stark and the Captain,” said Jarvis.

“When was this?” asked Scott.

“Earlier this morning. Agent Hill said they would summon back-up if the situation warranted.”

“Volume up,” said Clint.

The television registered the vocal command and raised the volume on the broadcast. Just as it did, the image began to blur before being interrupted by electronic snow. “What the hell…?” muttered Clint.

When the image came back the anchor announced from the newsroom that they lost contact with the chopper and were about to replay the last transmission. That footage involved Captain America, Iron Man, Fury, and Hill with a SHIELD strike team convening on a warehouse. A redheaded woman exited from the front door very calmly, clad in a golden toga.

“Lady looks familiar…” said Clint, scanning his memory.

The woman opened her mouth and seemed to be speaking, but the chopper was too far away to pick up the sound. The men in the group all froze. Hill and the other female SHIELD agents attacked, but their attacks seemed to have no effect. Then, the screen flashed.

“That is the extent of our footage. We have been unable to get any further response from SHIELD on this matter. We will keep you posted with further developments.”

“Time to suit up,” said Scott.

Clint already had his communicard out, activating the panic switch. “Way ahead of ya, buddy. Just wish I knew why that girl was so damn familiar…”

“Bellville also strikes a chord,” said Jarvis.

“Bellville is a town in New Jersey where the Defenders fought the second incarnation of the Zodiac.” The new voice was cold and hollow. It nearly caused the three to jump as it was accompanied by the form of the Vision rising through the floor.

“Zodiac…?” A thunderbolt of recognition struck Clint and he snapped his fingers. “Virgo! That’s who she is!”

“Doubtful,” said the Vision. “The second incarnation of the Zodiac was made up of Life Model Decoys created by Jacob Fury, the original Scorpio. Fury’s own LMD led the second incarnation to murder their templates.”

“Those LMDs were shut down, though,” said Clint.

“Perhaps the Virgo LMD has somehow come back online, or perhaps this is the original, somehow returned from the dead,” said the Vision.

“Or a clone or alternate reality counterpart or any number of different possibilities,” said Scott.

“Scott’s right, we can work out the details later,” said Clint. “Right now, it’s Assembling time.”

Bellville

Nick Fury woke up handcuffed and tied to a sturdy metal chair. Jake Fury sat a few feet away straddling a wooden ladder-back chair backwards. The Zodiac Key dangled limply in his hands. Glancing about Fury saw a dim, dank basement room in the old, gutted warehouse.

“They’ll be coming soon, Nicky,” Jacob Fury said with a frown. “Your friends; the Avengers at least. Don’t know if I rate the Fantastic Four too. Damn news copters caught the whole thing. Nothin’ I could do about that. Least I didn’t think about it till it was too late. Still, we get some quality time before the world crunch, hunh?”

Nick was groggy, looking up and focusing on his brother. He strained at his bonds a bit, then settled back, glaring at Jake.

“Yer dead,” Fury said eyeing the man seated before him.

“Threats, Nicky?  You’re hardly in a position—”

“Read the report. SHIELD found yer body… Suicide it said. You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I got better.” Jacob Fury smirked, raising the Zodiac Key, waving it. “Seems this didn’t want me dead yet, so it brought me back. Didn’t know it could do that, or half the stuff it does.”

“What’d going on? All those innocent people… 36,000 dead.”

“They’re not dead. But I imagine they wish they were.” Jake Fury brandished the Zodiac Key. “They’re all in here, the essence of their lives at any rate. The Key has a plan, you see- so it says anyway. I’m just along for the ride. The Rick Moranis of this little shindig, the Key Master.”

“Jake…”

Jacob Fury glanced up at the ravaged ceiling and stood. “Gotta go, Nicky. Your friends are here already.” He winked. “I’ll make it quick.”

Nick Fury strained at his bonds as his brother climbed the stairs and left the room…

Once the Avengers disembarked the Quinjet in the town square, Hawkeye immediately took to the role of leader like a duck to water. “Okay, everyone stay on alert. Songbird, Storm, and Vision, want you guys on air recon. Ant-Man an’ Nightcrawler, check the downed vics, wanna know what their status is.”

“What about me?” asked Ms. Marvel.

“Just stay close to me for now,” said Hawkeye.

“You worried my powers might kick out again?”

“That’s part of it,” said Hawkeye, then flashed her a grin. “The other part is if somethin’ happens here, I’d like a powerhouse watchin’ my back.”

Ms. Marvel smiled back at him. “Flatterer.”

Nightcrawler teleported to one of the SHIELD agents frozen in place, examining him. “What’s wrong with them?” he asked an approaching Ant-Man.

Ant-Man looked into the agent’s glazed eyes and examined his body for any sort of device. Finding nothing, he shook his head. “There’s nothing to indicate what could’ve caused this. Whatever this is, I’m pretty sure there’s no tech involved.”

“Good on you for figuring out what we already did,” said an approaching agent. “Name’s Brass, head of SHIELD’s ESPer Division.”

“That mean we’re dealin’ with psychic attack?” asked Hawkeye.

Brass shook his head. “Like I told your buddies, we don’t know what it is.”

“Where are they?” asked Ms. Marvel. “We saw a broadcast—”

“They got a recon report about some suspicious activity down in the warehouse district, but that’s all we know. We lost contact. Haven’t even—” Brass’ words were cut short. He wrinkled his forehead and nose, apparently concentrating on something. “Wait, I’m picking up someone…”

Nearby, Maria Hill came running towards the group. She was panting by the time she stopped in front of the group, trying to catch her breath. “They’re…she’s got them…”

“Got who?” asked Ms. Marvel.

“Cap, Stark, Fury and the others. She started singing and all the men just fell into a trance. The female agents, we opened fire but it didn’t seem to do anything to her.”

“Virgo’s song,” said Hawkeye.

“And if conventional weapons didn’t harm her, it looks like Vision was right about the LMD coming back online,” said Ant-Man.

“I managed to get away, but the others…I don’t know what happened to them,” said Hill.

“This was at the warehouse?” asked Hawkeye and Hill nodded. “Alright, you take a breather. We’ll go on ahead.”

“No way…” she panted. “I owe that bitch.”

“Yeah, but you won’t do us any good runnin’ ragged. If Fury’s out of it, then we need you watching over the rescue work,” said Hawkeye. “Avengers, let’s move out.”

The team moved from the town square to the warehouse district. Along the way, they found other victims of the Scorpio Key, left standing in a complete trance. As much as it pained the heroes, they could do nothing for the victims and so, left them as they were. Hawkeye moved carefully, constantly glancing around him, and keeping an arrow notched in his bow at all times. Nightcrawler crouched beside him, also moving at a slow pace. And buzzing nearby was Ant-Man, riding on a flying insect.

The Vision, Ms. Marvel, Storm and Songbird all flew overhead, but at a slow pace. The team moved as one. They had no idea if they were just dealing with Virgo, or with the entire Zodiac, so caution was deemed the best course. That caution was not enough to keep them from being caught unawares.

*KLANG*

The Vision was the first target, taken unawares and knocked from the air by Captain America’s shield. The Star Spangled Avenger stood on a rooftop, catching his weapon as it ricocheted back to him.

“Ambush!” shouted Ms. Marvel.

Hawkeye immediately fired an arrow, but Captain America jumped over it. He pounced from the building and landed on Storm, wrestling with her before springing to the ground. Nightcrawler teleported just as Captain America threw a fist in his direction. He materialized behind his partner, wrapping his body around Captain America’s torso.

“Snap out of it, Josiah!” he shouted. “You must fight this control!”

Captain America offered no response, but threw his back towards the wall of a bank. Nightcrawler teleported right before he could be slammed against it, and Josiah took the full force of the blow. But it still wasn’t enough to down him. He recovered quickly and Nightcrawler teleported, spun a kick into Captain America’s chin, and vanished again.

But Josiah had spent a lot of time training with the former X-Man. Of all the Avengers, there was none whom Josiah was more familiar with. So when Nightcrawler teleported behind to catch him unawares with another strike, Captain America had anticipated it and threw his shield. The disc struck Nightcrawler square in the chest at close range, cracking a rib and knocking him down.

The other Avengers barely had a moment to offer an assist to Nightcrawler, because soon after Captain America’s surprise attack, Iron Man burst onto the scene. A sonic attack threw off both Songbird and Storm’s equilibrium and caused them to collapse to the ground.

Ms. Marvel was another story and she barreled into Iron Man. As the two titans clashed in mid-air, Hawkeye swapped out one of his conventional arrowheads for a specialized one contained in the straps of his costume. He notched the arrow and took careful aim, but couldn’t get a shot off with Ms. Marvel in the way.

“Carol, incoming!”

Ms. Marvel blasted Iron Man at close range, putting some distance between them. With his teammate clear, Hawkeye fired the arrow. Once it struck Iron Man, it released a low-level electromagnetic pulse that disrupted his armor and other technology in the area. This allowed Ms. Marvel to go in even stronger than before. The Vision hovered up behind the fighters and solidified his hand inside Iron Man’s back, disrupting both the armor’s circuitry and Tony’s body.

“Clint, I need to take out Cap, but that EMP arrow disrupted my helmet’s cybernetics. I can’t get in close fast enough without him spotting me,” said Ant-Man.

“You sound like you got somethin’ in mind,” said Hawkeye.

“Remember the Taskmaster?”

A knowing smile crept on Hawkeye’s face. He notched an arrow and Ant-Man shrunk down to size, jumping onto the head. Hawkeye retracted the bowstring and fired. Captain America saw the arrow coming and prepared to block it with his shield. Just before impact, Ant-Man jumped from the arrow and climbed into Captain America’s ear, administering a sting that knocked him out.

With their attackers felled, Ms. Marvel and the Vision tended to Storm and Songbird, while Ant-Man and Hawkeye checked on Nightcrawler. Although injured, Nightcrawler still managed to stand, albeit with some assistance. Sudden illumination caught their gaze and Scorpio and Virgo emerged from the warehouse. Scorpio raised the Key over his head, the source of the light.

“You’re too late, Avengers,” he said. “Now join the rest of the town inside the Scorpio Key!”

The light grew brighter, but then fizzled out and the Key returned to a dull color. Scorpio watched the Key in surprised and attempted again. The Key offered no response to his mental commands.

“Forget to check the batteries, Scorpio?” asked Hawkeye.

“We may have a problem,” said Scorpio.

Virgo just smirked. “No problem, lover.” She opened her mouth and began to sing. As the lyrics flew from her mouth, her body started to shimmer with light and give off pheromones. The standing male Avengers, with the exception of the Vision, grew glassy-eyed and fell under her spell.

“Destroy the Avengers, my darlings,” said Virgo.

Storm, Songbird, Ms. Marvel and the Vision found themselves surrounded by their teammates.

Ms. Marvel rolled her eyes and groaned. “Didn’t we just go through this with the Enchantress?”

Hawkeye launched an opening salvo with an arrow that wrapped the Vision’s head in a kind of sludge, cutting off his ability to absorb solar energy. Before the Vision could phase through it, another arrow shot several thousand volts of electricity through his android body.

A swarm of insects fell on the field, surrounding both Storm and Songbird. As Songbird tried to keep them at bay with a shield, Storm used her powers to lower the temperature, freezing the insects to an instant death.

Ms. Marvel was struck multiple times by Nightcrawler’s teleporting kicks. Virgo’s song had made him disregard any safety with his wounds and so Carol was even more wary of overpowering him. But his constant strikes were beginning to get on her nerves, and that annoyance triggered her body to flare into her Binary form, and knocking Nightcrawler back in a burst of stellar energy. Once she saw what she’d done, Carol gasped.

“Kurt!”

Hawkeye gave her no chance to check on Nightcrawler. Instead, he launched another arrow. This one caused bands of lead to wrap around Ms. Marvel, quelling her stellar radiation. She fell to the ground with a loud crash.

Songbird and Storm were the only Avengers left standing now, surrounded by the insects from Ant-Man. Hawkeye notched a new arrow and both Captain America and Iron Man were rising to return to the battle.

“This doesn’t look good,” said Songbird.

Storm said nothing, her eyes a foggy cloud. She tried to think of what would be a good move to make next. Virgo gloated with a grin at her lover. Scorpio smiled back. “Very impressive, my love. Only these two left.” Scorpio started to approach, the Key beginning to hum with energy once more.

*BOOM*

Virgo’s lifeless body fell to the ground, her neck sparking where her artificial head once sat. Scorpio ran to his lover in shock, and grit his teeth as he raised his head to see the person who caused it.

Maria Hill stood a few feet away, a shotgun in her hands. “Explosive rounds. Next one’s got your name on it, Jakey-boy.”

“VIRGO!” he cried, raising the Key and firing bursts of energy. Hill jumped from the path and rolled across, but it was difficult to get clear. With Virgo gone, the male Avengers were freed from her power. But they were groggy and could barely register what was happening, and the Vision and Ms. Marvel were still incapacitated.

Storm cut loose with gale force winds that threw Scorpio against the side of the building. Songbird used her sonic structures to pry the Key from his hand, but he kept his grip on it. The Key began to pulse with even more energy and Scorpio could hear its voice in his head.

I will deal with these.

“’Bout damn time!”  Scorpio raised the Key over his head, its aura growing larger and brighter. And then…

“ENOUGH!”

The booming voice drew the attention of all the combatants. Hovering above the scene was the form of a giant, bald man in a toga. Uatu, the Watcher. He paused for a moment, as if for dramatic effect, and then waved his hand. The Key began dematerializing from view and a high-pitched wail of Nooooooooooraked through the minds of all present.

Jacob Fury collapsed to the ground. Without the Key to sustain his life, his body quickly withered, returning to its previous state of decomposition. Songbird slowly stepped towards the Watcher, her eyes bulging in surprise.

“Just what is going on here?”

Uatu stared at her and seemed to smirk before vanishing from sight. Songbird simply blinked and looked to Storm for an explanation, but her teammate had nothing to offer.

After recovering, Nick Fury stood over the withered husk that was his brother. He focused his good eye on the corpse, not sure what to make of the entire ordeal. A fresh cigar was placed into his field of vision, held by Maria Hill.

He accepted the gift and placed it in his mouth. She lit it for him, too. “Townspeople are beginning to recover from the effects,” she said.

“Good, but I want Guardsman and ESPers on the scene until further notice. Bellville’s still under quarantine for now,” he said.

“How are you doing?” asked Hill.

Fury glanced down at the corpse one more time. “I made peace with my brother’s death a long time ago. This doesn’t change that.”

Iron Man lowered himself beside the pair of agents. “Quinjets are ready to go. I assume you’ll be riding back with us, Hill?”

Hill nodded.

“Hey Stark,” said Fury. “Way Storm an’ Songbird tell it, this girl saved your bacon.”

Hill arrogantly smiled. Iron Man fixed his gaze on her for a few moments, then turned his back. “Not bad,” he said before walking back to the Quinjets.

Fury smirked and patted Hill on the shoulder. “That means ‘thank you’ in Starkese.”

In a chamber of ruby crystal the façade of Uatu faded away and Aron the Rogue Watcher stood in his domain. He held in his hands a field of force containing a golden key with three prongs, one jutting straight and two arched. He smiled as he heard the ravings of sentience within, ignoring the tirade.

Aron placed the encased Key on a crystalline shelf, one trinket among many and turned, contemplating the myriad bursts of varying radiance and red, wondering which next he should afford his attention.

“Soon,” he whispered as his gaze fell upon the image of a small planetoid lost in the cold folds of space. It was a cold and barren rock, the spark of elemental gases swirling in the dim atmosphere, volcanic activity raging as a tempest swept the primordial world drenching the ragged, tumultuous stone. “Soon, Gast, revenge will be mine…”

And Aron, the Rogue Watcher laughed…

The Hokano Building
The Financial District
Manhattan, NY

Amora the Enchantress muted the wide-screen television set in the recess of the wall and leaned back in her plush leather chair. She re-crossed her legs with a soft ‘shish’ of nylon, tapping a fingernail on the smoothly varnished mahogany desktop as she turned away from the screen, the same scene replaying over again from a different angle.

She knew that the old men of the Key’s home dimension were up to something, but did not know what. She sensed however that the Scorpio incident in New Jersey was coincidental and not connected. Odd that, that two so obscure things might rise at the same moment.

Odd too that the Watcher might appear, she thought, popping the heel of her black stiletto from her heel and dangling the shoe, twisting her ankle about as she absent-mindedly considered. She heard the groan of her thrall and smiled, turning towards him.

The tall, muscular man stood immobile at her whim, silent for the most part as she did not require his input. His wounds were healed, and he was dressed in the leathers of his predecessor, Jackie Lucas, sans helmet and holding the mystical axe of the Executioner in a tight, white-knuckled grip. He was sweating, struggling against her hold, his red hair matted to his head and his face a twisting grimace shifting between anger and submission. Though his mind was not strong his will was will was nearly overwhelming. But like every other male she had encountered over millennia, he could not resist the seductive magicks of the Enchantress. Amora laughed.

“Soon, Mark,” she said laughing louder to see the man tremble with rage. She knew that he was Zhib-Ran, sole survivor of the sub-atomic world destroyed by the scientists of Midgard when the world came into the Atomic Age, made a villain by the Grand Master for a game against the Warlord Kang, patterned after Mark Milton, the true Hyperion from another dimension. Zhib-Ran hated that association to the leader of the Squadron Supreme.

“Very soon we will both have our revenge,” Amora purred, turning to the computer screen inlaid in her desktop. She tapped a button onscreen and let the accumulated news feed collate with her other files, trying to find a common thread within all. She knew that something was happening in the fringes and background, but as yet could not find the overall link.

She would though. And then she would release her avatar on the unsuspecting Avengers and gain her revenge…