Groom Lake, Nevada

Signs surrounding the secretive base called Area 51 warn any potential trespassers that they will be shot on sight. The base has long been associated with conspiracy theories about aliens and one-world governments. Whatever the truth held past these gates, Monica Rambeau plans to uncover it.

With her ability to convert her body into any form of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum, Photon rendered herself invisible in the form of radio waves. She easily passed through the gates, but as she passed by the unassuming guards, they found some strange radio interference. It only lasted a few seconds and then their communications returned to normal.

Photon followed those radio waves inside the complex, latching onto them in her current state. Above-ground, the base seemed pretty standard—nothing out of the ordinary. Just a giant airfield with several runways, warehouses, dormitories, water towers, hangars and many other support buildings. All typical of an air base.

But the mountains surrounding the restricted base provided excellent cover. And it was below-ground where many believed Area 51’s most-secretive projects were conducted. Photon moved inside the base, able to travel at her leisure quickly and soundlessly, going right past any of the guards.

As she went through, she found several research departments. Most of the staff had gone for the night, leaving their work unfinished and waiting to resume in the morning. Just on sight alone, she couldn’t determine anything about the nature of these projects.

Some were obvious—experimental aircraft, which was the stated purpose of the base. But the private security who guarded the perimeter raised suspicions in Photon’s mind. Radio waves were blocked at a certain point and she could go no further. She transmuted from radio to electricity and shot up into the lights that ran along. Traveling through the circuits, Photon came to a server room. First, she broke the circuit to the cameras, knowing this would limit her time.

Once that was done, she shot forth from the circuits, transmuting back into flesh and blood inside the server room. Hidden in her costume was a small device with a touch screen. She affixed it to the server and a button labeled “DOWNLOAD” appeared on the screen. Photon pushed and a progress bar appeared.

She heard something coming from outside and her body shifted to infrared energy. The door to the server room opened and two guards armed with semi-automatic rifles entered. They searched the room carefully, keeping their weapons at the ready. Once they were satisfied they were alone, they radioed to their commanding officer.

“Room’s secure. Must just be a camera malfunction.”

“Copy that. We’ll get maintenance on it ASAP.”

The guards left the room and Photon returned to her true form. She checked the device and found “DOWNLOAD COMPLETE” flashing on the screen. Taking her prize, she shifted back and moved through the wall into the next room, simply out of curiosity.

What she found in there caused her to gasp in shock. It was a laboratory of some sort. And in the center were three stasis tubes. Each one held a humanoid being in suspended animation. The creatures were thin, with long, pointed ears and corrugated chins. And these were not the first of these extraterrestrials Photon had seen in her life.

DREAMLAND

Part I

By Dino Pollard

Steranko

When Photon returned to the small Helicarrier that served as the base of operations for this group of Avengers, she found her teammates already waiting for her. She transmuted into her human form and handed the device to the team’s SHIELD liaison, Phil Coulson, without a word. Coulson took the device and plugged it into the computer system. A series of glyphs appeared on the monitor.

“This is a pretty sophisticated encryption,” he said.

“Can you break it?” asked Nomad.

Coulson nodded. “Just give me some time and I’ll have it cracked wide open.”

The Black Widow studied Photon’s face closely. There was something off about her teammate. “Monica? Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not,” said Photon. “Jack, they’ve got Skrulls.”

“…come again?” asked Nomad.

“Skrulls. Three of them.”

The team all exchanged concerned glances. Only the White Tiger, recently returned after being sidelined from injuries on a previous mission, was confused. “What are Skrulls?”

“A race of shapeshifting aliens,” said Goliath. “And they’re not very pleasant.”

“So what, Control’s working with little green men?” asked Ant-Man.

Photon shook her head. “The Skrulls were in suspended animation. I’m not sure, but they may have even been dead.”

“Y’know that whole Roswell story?” asked War Machine.

White Tiger snickered. “You’re joking, right?”

“Think about it,” said War Machine. “Downed alien spacecraft, three bodies, no survivors. The government supposedly covered the whole thing up and Area 51 has long had a connection with that story.”

“Yeah, but it’s all nonsense,” said White Tiger.

“Which would make it a perfect cover,” said Ant-Man. “What better place to hide than in plain sight? Laugh it off as a joke?”

“Seems to have worked,” said Goliath. “A lot of people theorize that the alien myth allows the government to hide the true secrets of Area 51.”

“Whatever’s going on, all we can do is speculate. At least until that data gets decrypted,” said Photon.

“Like I said, it’ll take some time,” said Coulson.

“Maybe I could give you a hand with that,” said War Machine. “I’m not Tony Stark, but I’ve learned more than a little from him.”

Coulson nodded.

“Good, then you two keep us posted on the progress,” said Nomad.

On the deck of the Steranko, Ant-Man ducked to avoid a strike from the White Tiger’s claws. He countered with an uppercut and followed with a cross. The White Tiger took both those blows, trying to roll with them.

Although the Steranko was equipped with training facilities, these two Avengers felt a sparring match on the deck while the Steranko would be far more satisfying. The White Tiger’s defeat at the hands of the Winter Soldier remained a sore spot for him and his desire to be ready for the next time they met caused him to seek out help from his teammate.

Eric O’Grady was a tough SHIELD agent, sent on numerous wetworks missions. If anyone could help Kasper Cole improve his fighting skills, it was the Steranko’s resident wild card.

The White Tiger back-flipped, putting some distance. Ant-Man jumped forward again, but as he moved, he shrunk down. The White Tiger completely lost sight of his opponent. It was almost as if Ant-Man had completely vanished from sight.

Then, Kasper was struck from behind by a powerful blow. As he tried to get up, he was hit by another. And then another. Even at microscopic size, Ant-Man still retained the enhanced strength granted to him by the armor. He was essentially an invisible target.

The White Tiger concentrated on the environment, trying to rely on the senses he gained from the synthetic herbs of the Panther Cult. He could detect the scent in the air from Ant-Man’s jetpack. As he concentrated, he was able to see the heat trail it left.

He swung an energy dagger in an arc, apparently cutting through nothing but air. Except a visible grunt of pain echoed on the deck. Ant-Man was hit by the attack, returning to his normal size just as he landed face-first on the deck. The White Tiger approached, confident in his victory, and drawing one of his 9mm handguns.

“Looks like I win this round,” he said.

Ant-Man rolled onto his back, but he did so in a rapid motion. One of his hands wrapped around the White Tiger’s risk, pointing his gun at the ground. His other hand was right at his teammate’s neck, his stinger scraping against the vibranium microweave.

“You sure about that?”

The two men relaxed. Eric removed his helmet. “Not bad, Kas. Not bad at all.”

Kasper pulled his mask off, allowing it to hang behind his neck. “Thanks. Wasn’t expecting that last strike.”

“Sneak attacks are kind of a specialty of mine,” said Eric with a wide grin. “You’re gettin’ better, though. Won’t be long before you’ve got Barnes on the ropes.”

“Here’s hopin’.” Kasper flexed his fingers, causing the Antarctic vibranium claws to extend from the tips of his gloves. “Word is you and Coulson used to work together?”

Eric nodded. “Until I went rogue. He was supposed to bring me in. And he did.”

“You were wearing that suit?”

“Yup.”

“And he was using…?”

“No special weapons,” said Eric. “Guy bested me, simple as that. Don’t ever tell him I said this, but he’s good at what he does.”

“Seems you are, too,” said Kasper. “In fact, there’s something I’d like to ask. How’d you feel ‘bout helping me on a job?”

Eric cocked an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

He left the bridge, preceding down the corridor to his quarters. He sat at the desk there and opened up his laptop computer. Once more, he reviewed footage of the Winter Soldier in action, as well as the information they managed to compile on the man who was once James Buchanan Barnes.

Nomad was surprised to hear the door open. The Black Widow entered his office and circled around behind him, looking over his shoulder to see the files he had open. “Obsessing isn’t healthy, Jack.”

“It’s also none of your concern, Natasha.” Jack closed the laptop’s lid.

“My understanding was we were in this together,” said Natasha.

“We are. Why do you say that?”

“Because of Jessica.”

“She compromised us. Revealed us to the Hand,” said Jack. “Makes it harder for us to operate. We don’t know how far Control’s reach is. We already know they had ties to Bakuto’s operation, who’s to say they didn’t also have connections with the other Daimyo?”

“That’s stretching.”

“Then you haven’t been paying attention,” said Jack. “We’re in a war, Natasha. There’s no room for compromise.”

“Be careful, Jack. That kind of thinking can put you in a dangerous position,” said Natasha.

The two Avengers locked each other in a cold gaze. Both waited for the other to break the silence, the tension in the air growing thick. What finally cut through the quiet was the sound of an electronic tone followed by Coulson’s voice over the intercom.

“We broke through the encryption. You’ll want to have a look at this.”

“I’ll be right there.” Jack stood from the desk, still under Natasha’s hard eyes. “Are we done here? Because we’ve got work to do.”

He walked past her and the Black Widow followed. She wondered, not for the first time, if Nick Fury made the right choice by selecting Nomad to lead this group.

War Room

Jack and Natasha joined the rest of the team at the round conference table. Coulson stood before them all, a tablet in his hands. Jack sat beside Eric and Kasper, but Natasha remained standing near the door.

“With Rhodes’ assistance, I managed to crack the encryption code,” said Coulson. “Once we determined the correct algorithm, it was fairly simple from there.”

“Don’t keep us in suspense, Coulson. What’d you find out?” asked Eric.

“Turns out Rhodes’ suspicions were correct, an alien craft did crash in Roswell in 1947. Three bodies were recovered and they were, in fact, Skrulls. Extensive studies were done on the bodies and their unique physiology suggested they possessed superhuman abilities. The technology recovered from the craft allowed for the development of advanced aircraft by the government’s top defense contractor,” said Coulson. “Howard Stark.”

“Stark was also one of the founding members of Control,” said Jack.

“Were the Skrulls attempting an invasion?” asked Bill.

“The data’s sketchy on that,” said Coulson.

“The Skrulls built the Blue Area on the moon centuries ago,” said Monica. “They created an artificial atmosphere there for the Kree.”

“Maybe these Skrulls were trying to get back there?” asked Rhodey.

“Possibly,” said Coulson. “It would also explain another event in 1958 when NASA test pilot Chuck Chandler was captured by Skrull invaders. The experimental XF-13 he was flying was reverse-engineered from the Roswell wreckage.”

“The Skrulls wanted to know where he got their technology,” said Jack. “They probably came here trying to locate their missing ship.”

“Right. But Chandler escaped and in the process was exposed to radiation. It transformed him into a hero known as the 3-D Man,” said Coulson. “Chandler fought Skrull invaders on several occasions, preventing them from sabotaging America’s space program.”

“So the Skrulls wanted to keep the Blue Area a secret,” said Bill.

“Chandler was also recruited by Jimmy Woo and other heroes to rescue President Eisenhower from the Yellow Claw,” said Natasha. “But the group was disbanded and all information on their activities classified.”

“Eisenhower didn’t like the idea of superhumans. He saw how the unstable Super Soldier Serum Burnside and I were given affected us. It’s why he put us and the Weapon Plus program on ice and why he rejected the Control proposal,” said Jack.

“The data Area 51 researchers recovered from the Skrulls allowed Weapon Plus to accelerate their processes for developing persons of mass destruction,” said Coulson. “It influenced the research of a number of scientists. It’s likely that without this initial find, many of the superhumans now populating the world wouldn’t exist.”

“What have they been doing lately?” asked Kasper.

“More of the same,” said Coulson.

“And what if we could destroy their data and facility?” asked Jack.

Natasha stormed towards the team’s leader. “Are you insane?”

Jack ignored her. “Coulson?”

Coulson avoided the glare he received from Natasha. “If we could destroy Area 51, it’s likely we would deal a significant blow to Control and their operations.”

“Then that’s what we do,” said Jack.

“It’s a suicide mission,” said Natasha. “We have no idea what’s waiting for us inside.”

“The Widow’s right, our data is mostly about Area 51’s history. What kind of security they have is another question,” said Coulson.

Jack stood. “This is what we signed up for, every last one of us. I need to know who’s on my team and who’s not.”

“You know I’m onboard,” said Ant-Man.

“The kind of information Control has access to, we can’t let that continue. The potential effects could be disastrous as they learn more and more,” said Bill. “I’m in.”

“I’ve been itching to get back into the saddle since I was sidelined. I’m in,” said Kasper.

Jack looked to the three remaining members. “Well?”

“I believe I’ve made my thoughts on this clear,” said Natasha. “If this happens, I won’t be part of it.”

“Fine,” said Jack. “Monica?”

“If Control has been drawing attention from the Skrulls, then who knows where that could lead? We can’t just stand by and let that happen.” Monica offered a sympathetic glance at the Widow. “Sorry Natasha, but I’m in this fight.”

“Rhodey?”

Rhodey sighed. He was clad in his armor, but with the helmet off. “Natasha’s got a good point. A job like this is extremely risky. But not impossible. We’ve gotten a lot of intel from Control on just a simple recon. Imagine what more we could get if we know what else is going on behind the scenes. So you can count me in.”

“Then let’s get to work on developing a plan,” said Jack. “Widow, you can excuse yourself.”

Natasha said nothing, just left the War Room. Once she returned to her quarters, she opened a secure connection on her laptop. “Agent Romanoff. Access Code: 52-1964.”

An image appeared on the screen of SHIELD’s grizzled Director, Nick Fury. “Thought we had an agreement about radio silence?”

“We have a problem, Nicholas,” she said. “With Nomad.”

To Be Continued…