A HELLUVA TOWN

By Steve Crosby

“By this time next week, you should be ready for field work again.”

Lying in her bed, Silverclaw gave a nod of understanding. Though, by how she felt, Dr. Pym was being kind in his assessment. Her body was covered in stitches and half-healed scars. Her skin, normally a healthy brown, was pale from blood loss. If not for the intervention of Cloak and Dagger, Silverclaw knew those Hand ninjas would have killed her.

“Have we learned anything?” Dagger had managed to take one of the ninjas alive. A rare feat.

“He’s not talking, but apparently his prints are.” Pym grinned at the chance to give cop dialogue. “The criminal history is mostly minor stuff, but until recently he was linked to one of L.A’s major gangs.”

“One of the young men that had gone missing in recent weeks,” Silverclaw deduced. “Well, now we know where they’ve gone missing too. Why go to all the effort training cannon fodder when you can brainwash the dregs of society?”

“Hardly cannon-fodder. It’s remarkable how much skill was programmed into these men.” Silverclaw’s condition was a testament to that. “The police have been alerted. It’ll be up to them whether to inform the general public.”

Silverclaw shook her head. “News like this will force a gang-war, everybody jockeying to increase their holdings as rivals are weakened.”

“That will already be happening. Once they know about a common enemy, maybe they’ll all lay low.”

“And be lambs to the slaughter?” Silverclaw had educated herself on the situation in Los Angeles, aided by her own knowledge of conflicts in South America. “We tell them ninjas are abducting their friends, the first to be hit will be the Asians.”

“We’ll be discussing it at the meeting later today. Just as soon as the others get back from Wonder Man’s deposition.”

It seemed so silly to Silverclaw. A hero responds to a distress call, and he’s being sued for walking out on a party. It was one aspect of Los Angeles she would never understand.

Not for the first time, Wonder Man was glad that he’d lost the function to sweat. It was part of what made him such a favorite on the movie set. Makeup wouldn’t run. He also didn’t get tired, never had to go the bathroom, or have medicinal needs the way other actors did. The only downside was Wonder Man couldn’t cry at all, let alone on demand. Little things like emotion and stress didn’t show on Wonder Man, except in his facial tics.

At that moment, as a studio attorney was asking about the motivations behind his super-heroic activities, Wonder Man was maintaining his composure. The last time he’d been under such pressure, Simon Williams hadn’t had his powers. He’d gotten soaked under the questions, one of many factors that had led to imprisonment.

“The studio has never minded the publicity from Wonder Man’s actions before,” said Jennifer Walters. That was the fifth time she had stepped in, always just before Wonder Man could angrily respond, another factor that had led to imprisonment.

“I was responding to a distress call from a fellow Avenger,” Wonder Man said calmly. “Two dangerous criminals were on a rampage, once which conventional authorities were unequipped to deal with. Acting in such emergencies is allowed for in my studio contract.”

“Really?” the attorney pushed forward a copy of Wonder Man’s contract. “Where, precisely?”

Wonder Man didn’t have an answer to that. The clause he’d enjoyed in other contracts wasn’t in that one. Earlier, Jennifer had given him an earful about not reading his contract closely.

“You have a history of ignoring your responsibilities, don’t you Mr. Williams? What exactly was your role in Williams Innovations?”

Sweating was impossible, but the shift Wonder Man made in his seat was telling enough. “I ran the company.”

“At the age of twenty, that’s quite a young age for such responsibility.”

“My father had just died. His will placed me in control.” Simon had been so surprised at the reading.

“Because he trusted you?”

“Yes.” Sanford Williams had never hinted at such trust in life, when his belt had struck Simon’s back.

“What did you do with that trust, Mr. Williams?”

After a deep breath, Simon said, “My best.”

“What is the status of Williams Innovations today?”

“It no longer exists.”

“And what were you doing as your father’s company collapsed into bankruptcy?”

Jennifer leaned forward to say something. “This part of my client’s history has no relevance to-”

“I was doing my best!” said Simon loudly.

The attorney pounced. “Is that what you call associating with organized crime, Mr. Williams? Is that what you call extortion and embezzlement? Is that what you call leaving thousands of men and women penniless just as their jobs were about to disappear? ‘Doing your best?’”

“You son of a bitch!” Pushing away Jennifer’s reassuring hand, Wonder Man smashed a fist down on the contract. The table under it broke apart, and the legal team across from him rapidly backed away. The man operating the camera ducked just in time, as Wonder Man’s backhand shattered the equipment into a million pieces.

This time it was She-Hulk that grabbed her teammate by the arm. Ionic energy passed from Wonder Man into her, sending waves of pain through She-Hulk’s body.

A steam of attorneys flowed into the hallways, screaming that Wonder Man had gone crazy. Entering the hall from a separate room were Darkstar, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Wanda was to be deposed next, and before the mutant sorceress could ask what was going on, Wonder Man burst through the wall. Struggling to hold him back was She-Hulk, in obvious pain from contact with ionic energy.

“What do you think you’re doing, you madman!” Quicksilver said.

By way of response, Wonder Man bellowed in rage. Grabbing hold of She-Hulk, he hurled her in Quicksilver’s direction. The speedster easily dodged the attack, and was about to rush forward when Scarlet Witch put a hand on his arm.

“You should evacuate first,” Scarlet Witch said. “Darkstar can blind and guide him.”

With a nod for his sister, Quicksilver shimmered from view. The attorneys disappeared soon after. Darkstar raised a hand, and from the Russian mutant’s fingers there came darkness. A patch fell over Wonder Man’s eyes, robbing him of sight, while the rest of the darkness became solid around him. Ever-shifting walls of Darkforce became all the blind Wonder Man could feel, and so he was stumbling about in circles.

“Please, Simon, you have to calm down.” A hex made Scarlet Witch’s words echo, so that Wonder Man did not know from what direction they came. “This isn’t the answer. She-Hulk can still help before things get worse.”

“Sure,” She-Hulk said from behind. “I have experience with rampages.”

A powerfully loud crash came within the blackness, followed by a tremendous shake of the building that nearly knocked the three women off their feet. Darkstar avoided this by floating, and lowered the darkness to reveal a hold that Wonder Man had made. There was another below that, and another below that.

“If Simon gets away this will only get worse for him,” said Scarlet Witch.

“I’m more worried about the rest of us.” She-Hulk jumped down through the opening. “Here I go!”

With a gesture, Scarlet Witch hexed it so that a gust of wind blew open a window. Taking the hint, Darkstar flew out, carrying Scarlet Witch behind her on a platform of Darkforce. Outside, a crowd had gathered into the street. Some were onlookers, but most were occupants that Quicksilver had evacuated. Seeing him, Darkstar landed and set Scarlet Witch down beside him.

“The building is empty,” Quicksilver said. “We can do what we must to take him down.” Much as Scarlet Witch hated it, she couldn’t disagree. Wonder Man was too powerful for anything less than their all. Even She-Hulk could barely hold her own without help. “We should call in the reserves. Cloak and Dagger have managed to-”

The words died in Scarlet Witch’s throat as the scene unfolded. Clearly the struggle between Wonder Man and She-Hulk had been causing a great deal of damage. Eventually it must have become too great, too many supports destroyed, because the building could no longer support its own weight. To her eyes it seemed to be happening in slow motion, the building collapsing up floor by floor until suddenly the roof was on the bottom with everything in between.

The three Avengers worked fast, to contain the devastation, protecting the bystanders and neighboring structures from debris. Darkstar erected protective barriers, while Scarlet Witch threw hex bolts to unearth electrical and gas hazards for Quicksilver to neutralize. The thing they were all thinking about took form when She-Hulk emerged from the wreckage. She was unconscious, pulled out by Wonder Man’s grip on her hair.

“I’m not a damn failure!” Wonder Man screamed. “I’m not my father, my brother; that damned imitation! I’m…I’m…”

Wonder Man’s voice trailed off, his eyes now fixed on a point in the wreckage. Scarlet Witch turned to follow his vision, and caught sight of it as he sank to his knees. The small hand of a child.

“No. Nononono.”

Quicksilver had been rushing at Wonder Man, but ground to a stop. “I…I had evacuated. I’d ran the building three times! Everybody was out!”

Everybody had gone still. If he’d wanted to, Wonder Man could have escaped then and there. But he remained on his knees, weeping.

Everything that followed after barely registered to Wonder Man. To his ears it was all white noise, his vision a fog as though a dream. Scarlet Witch had been crying, others yelling. Shackles drained his power, reduced Wonder Man to a shambling wreck in body to match his mind.

Unheard by him, a judge orders Wonder Man held in federal custody until a trial. Guardsmen in their green armor escorted him onto a transport bound for a holding facility. There were two other passengers, one as glazed over as Wonder Man while the other glared at him from an immobile frame. Their restraints weren’t necessary; Scarecrow and Cobalt Man hadn’t moved a muscle since their respective battles with the Avengers, one by choice.

When given the slightest nudge to sit down, Wonder Man all but collapses onto the seat. He leans back, giving no resistance as his shackles are linked to the wall and floor. Beads of ionic energy sweat off his body, dissipating into the air and onto the floor. As the transport moved, Wonder Man felt his strength continue to fade, and lacked the ability to care.

The transport shook and buckled suddenly, then fell to the side with a terrible screech. Lying with his back against the wall, new screams broke through Wonder Man’s reverie. These were blood-curdling, last gasps as life was snatched. Repulsors were being fired and metal was tearing.

During the long minutes that passed, Cobalt Man gathered up spittle in his mouth. Opening his lips slightly, he allowed a long stream of saliva to fall toward Wonder Man, the closest he could get to spitting at the man.

Horrible shrieks of metal on metal rent open the transport’s doors. Were Wonder Man able to turn his head, he would have seen that instrument of such destruction was a long scythe at the end of a man’s arm. The man was his brother Eric Williams, the Grim Reaper.

“I wasn’t expecting guests.” Grim Reaper stepped into the transport and looked up into the eyes of Scarecrow. The burlap sack that usually covered the killer’s head had been removed, not that one would know it from the appearance of the face. The eyes were pupil-less and glazed, reflecting Grim Reaper’s image back at him. “You there’s something about, a feeling I remember from long ago.”

The scythe went up, piercing Scarecrow’s body. The convulsions nearly freed the man from his bonds. They ceased and he became limp. This only lasted a moment, as Scarcrow lifted his head and stared down at Grim Reaper with a renewed vigor in his eyes. And a sinister grin on his stretched and leathered face.

“That’s better.” Grim Reaper shifted his gaze toward Cobalt Man. “And you, I read what you did those months ago. The Avengers tried to hide what Scarlet Witch did to you, but rumors got out, and I see they weren’t false.”

Indeed, the fusion of man and machine that had occurred all that time ago was still evident. While his body had the bulk of armor, the metal seemed to have the texture of flesh, and his eyes were fully visible, sunken in the visor of a helmet that had wisps of metallic hair on top of it. Cobalt Man’s mouth had no lips in the true sense, blocky metal hinged together.

Unsettled by the gruesome sight, Grim Reaper looked down at his little brother. “Hi, Simon. It looks like you got yourself in some trouble again. But don’t worry, this time your big brother is here to bail you out.”

Grim Reaper raised the scythe over his head. Wonder Man could have seen the blinking new device, attached where the weapon was connected to the arm, were he paying attention to the world around him. The world went dark, and he never noticed.

The Avengers were gathered in their conference, everybody except for Silverclaw, Cloak, Dagger, and Wonder Man. The former was still recovering, the two were reservists and attendance wasn’t mandatory, and the latter was on his way to prison. As Chairman, Quicksilver took charge of the meeting.

“She-Hulk, you’re going to need to be available. Once we find the Hand, you will be taking point in any assault.”

She-Hulk nodded. “That’s fine, though this afternoon I’ll be at the morgue. They still haven’t identified that boy.”

Quicksilver frowned at her. “If and when they do, you can learn it with a phone call. Avengers business takes priority over your legal work.”

Hank Pym cleared his throat. “Simon is on this team. Clearing his name is Avengers business.”

“Clear his name how?” Quicksilver waited all of half-a-second for somebody to answer. When they didn’t, he continued. “Was he mind-controlled? Replaced by a Skrull or evil clone? He was being sued, lost his temper, and a child died. We’re better off without him and should move on.”

“That’s your opinion,” said She-Hulk.” I’m still going to-”

“She-Hulk, I don’t care when you do to alleviate your guilt so long as it doesn’t interfere with Avengers business.”

Her face was becoming an odd mix of green and red when She-Hulk rose from her seat. “What the hell do I have to feel guilty about?”

Quicksilver counted on his fingers. “Wonder Man got sued because he went to your rescue. He lost his temper because you failed to control the interview. He killed that boy because you failed to restrain him.”

Before She-Hulk could process what she’d just heard and respond, Scarlet Witch spoke up. “Everyone, I’d like to speak with my brother alone.” She put a cautious hand on She-Hulk. “Please.”

They quickly filed out, Darkstar and Pym first. Before She-Hulk turned from him, she gave Quicksilver a look that said he was the luckiest man alive. If he’d noticed, he gave no sign of it. Once their three teammates were out, he turned on his sister.

“Wanda, don’t you dare undermine my authority like that again.”

After a long sigh, Scarlet Witch responded. “Pietro, you don’t have any authority. The team follows you because they follow me and I follow you. Well, not anymore. You were out of line with Jennifer.”

“It’s the hard truth. I won’t waste time on niceties.”

The sound of her slapping the table surprise Quicksilver so much he almost jumped. “And we won’t turn our backs on a teammate without eliminating all possibilities. Or don’t you find that boy’s presence strange? Why hasn’t anyone claimed him?”

That was true. After the incident, Quicksilver had gone among the crowd trying to find who the boy had belonged to. Nobody had spoken up.

“The police can answer those questions,” he said defensively. “The Hand’s activities have been ignored long enough. Titania and Absorbing Man are on the loose. We still don’t know who took control of Pacific Rim. We abandoned the Microverse to a madman and have made no efforts to return. These threats do not take a backseat to Wonder Man’s legal troubles.”

“None of those would be helped by She Hulk breaking your neck.” Scarlet Witch walked around the table and put her hand over his. “If you want this team to work together, you need to treat them with a little more respect and tact.”

The smile Quicksilver gave her was anything but nice. “Sweet sister, that’s what you’re here for.”

Scarlet Witch was fuming when she left the conference room. She wouldn’t have blamed She-Hulk if she had something. She’d been tempted to slap her brother herself. As though Scarlet Witch had been thinking out loud, She-Hulk stepped into the hallway in front of her.

“Wanda, we have a situation.”

Scarlet Witch paused and gave a sympathetic smile. “Jennifer, I’m sorry about-”

But She-Hulk waved her words off. “Your brother’s a dick. I’m over that. It’s him being right I need to work through. But right now Wonder Man’s the priority.” Her face was serious. “His transport was attacked. The Guardsmen were killed.”

“Simon, is he-” Scarlet Witch felt as though her heard had stopped.

“Missing, along with Scarecrow and Cobalt Man,” she said quickly. “And I think I know by who.”

Scarlet Witch hadn’t noticed the papers in She-Hulk’s had until they were held up in front of her face.

“Look at this. One of the film’s backers leads to this company.” She-Hulk ran a finger along one line that may as well have been Kree for all Scarlet Witch understood. “Back when Simon was an embezzler, this was where the money went. It used to be a Maggia shell corporation, run by Eric Williams.”

In Scarlet Witch’s head it all clicked into place. “Grim Reaper is behind this.”

“In case your mind is wondering in there, Simon, yes, I’m behind all this.” Grim Reaper barked a harsh laugh. His one hand was running over controls to the machine he had Wonder Man hooked up to. Reflected in Grim Reaper’s scythe was his brother’s face, as blank as it had been since he’d been taken.

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you put heroics above this stupid movie career,” Grim Reaper continued. “As an investor, my corporation would have standing to file suit when you did. Remember that feeling you had during the deposition? Hell, notice how you’re feeling now?”

With his scythe, Grim Reaper indicated the blinking box that had been previously attached to it. Now it was linked to an apparatus positioned over Wonder Man. The ionic energy seemed to be bleeding off his body, flowing toward the device.

“It’s a little something I had the Leader helped me develop; based off some design he had in mind for Hulk. Exciting the energy bonds of your body starts off by amplifying your emotions, but given enough exposure the bonds start to break apart. That is why you’re feeling weak, and probably why you’re in this state of shock.”

A switch was flipped, causing a light on the device to blink faster. “Or maybe that’s because of the kid you killed.”

It was taking a lot of effort, but Wonder Man’s lips started to move. Seeing this, Grim Reaper inched closer. “What is that Simon? I can’t hear you.”

“You…killed him. Planted…”

His face twisted with rage, Grim Reaper slashed through Wonder Man’s body. It passed right through, seemingly doing no physical damage. Nevertheless, Wonder Man screamed.

“You think I would kill a kid! Your own brother! Maybe you’d like to think that, because it means you didn’t, but I would hope you thought better of me.”

“No…”

As quickly as it came, the rage passed, and Grim Reaper sighed. “Well, I suppose I can’t blame you. Considering that I’m trying to kill you right now. When you came back, Simon, that was when it all went wrong. So far as the Avengers were concerned you died a hero, but to most of the world you were still just a crook. No better than your good-for-nothing brother.”

Turning from Wonder Man, Grim Reaper went back to the controls. “But then you had to come back and continue being a hero. Lives saved, even the world a few times. And when you kept dying heroically, you kept coming back in a blaze of heroism. And each time, you’d get farther away from me. Farther from that last close moment we had, when I helped you embezzle funds.”

“Why…?”

“I’m telling you why!” Grim Reaper shouted. “Think about it Simon. You’ve been sued, gone on a rampage, even killed a kid! Next you escaped from custody, never to be heard from again. That’s the purpose behind this, by the way. You’re going to dissipate into nothingness, not a trace for anyone to find. Ever. To the Avengers and the world, you will be an escaped murderer. That, Simon, is how your story ends.”

Grim Reaper pulled one final lever. The device was now beeping so fast it was one continuous whine, and Wonder Man was visibly fading.

“And when I eventually bring you back, you’ll have no one left but me.”

“There has to be something you can do.” begged Scarlet Witch.

The team was gathered inside Hank Pym’s lab, where he shook his head. “I’ve tried, Wanda. If Grim Reaper is behind this-”

“He has to be!”

“Well then, he’s masking Simon’s energy signature so well that I can’t find it.”

“What about Cobalt Man?” Darkstar suggested. “If he is with them, you can track that signature as well.”

“I’m thought about that,” Pym said. “Also masked. I’ve tried looking for a blank spot in my sensors, but there are more than a few. Most likely other criminals in Los Angeles trying to hide from us.”

“Make a note and we’ll check them out later,” said Quicksilver. “But as far as finding these particular criminals, and Simon,” he added immediately when Scarlet Witch turned to look at him, “what can we do?”

“Right now, the only thing I can recommend is you scout each location and radio back your findings.”

“And once we know the right place, I can teleport us there,” said Cloak. Next to him, Dagger nodded.

“That would take too long,” Scarlet Witch argued. “Not to mention to risk to you. Pietro, if you were to get hurt-”

“It would take just that much long to find Wonder Man,” Quicksilver finished. “I don’t doubt your concern for me, Wanda, but at the moment all you’re thinking about is him. So I suggest you take all that concern, all that love, and you cast a hex as Cloak is teleporting us.”

The idea stunned Scarlet Witch, and she couldn’t suppress a shiver. “No. The risk of that, to all of us… I can’t control it like that.”

Quicksilver gave his sister a hard stare. “You can and you will. Cloak, do it. Try to synch up with Wanda’s hex and close as you can.”

“Wait a minute,” Dagger interjected. “The risk to Cloak would be greatest of all.”

Right on top of her, Darkstar was arguing. “We have no idea what would happen if something goes wrong. The combination of their powers could-”

“This isn’t up for debate. Either we do this now, or a teammate remains in the hands of his psychotic brother. I have faith in you but Cloak, Wanda, this is your decision.”

Scarlet Witch was shaking, but She-Hulk put a calming hand on her shoulder. “You can do this, Wanda.”

Cloak met his gaze with Scarlet Witch, and when he nodded so did she. His cape expanded, spreading darkness around the other six Avengers. “I’m going to shift us into the Darkforce Dimension and back again. That is when you should cast your hex.”

“And everyone should be ready for a fight,” Quicksilver said.

The darkness enveloped. Scarlet Witch’s eyes were blind to everything except Simon. With his image in her mind and in her heart, she cast the hex. In the space of an instant darkness became red incandescence then back again. When the darkness flowed away and true light returned, the Avengers were no longer in their compound.

The first thing Darkstar saw was Scarecrow’s burlap-covered head. She struck it with a battering ram of Darkforce, smashing him against a wall. She-Hulk saw Cobalt Man raise an arm and leapt in front of it. The repulsor beam took her full in the chest, and Dagger had to jump to avoid her. At sight of the man she’d warped Scarlet Witch froze, and only her brother’s quick moves saved her from a second beam.

“You deal with these two,” Quicksilver told the team. “We’re going to find Wonder Man.” With his sister in his arms, Quicksilver raced away. The building wasn’t too small, and underground bunker of some kind. It took him three seconds of running before Quicksilver was in the room where Grim Reaper was killing Wonder Man.

“Get away from him!” At sight of Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch leapt out of her brother’s grasp and threw a hex. The sudden shift in velocity caused her to stumble to the ground, but the hex struck true. The device exploded above Wonder Man, showering him with waves of ionic energy.

“How dare you!” Grim Reaper screamed. His scythe was raised over the stunned woman. “You ruined everything!”

“That’s my sister you’re threatening.”

Quicksilver barreled into Grim Reaper, punching him half-a-hundred times as they fell together against the controls. Grim Reaper’s scythe pierced the machinery, and for the briefest of seconds before breaking away Quicksilver was electrocuted. The distracted pain slowed him down however, and Grim Reaper slashed him across one arm and leg. Quicksilver fell to the ground, and Grim Reaper kicked him hard in the side.

“And that was my brother you saved. If there’s anybody a man should have the right to kill it’s his own brother!”

“Funny, I think I actually agree with you!”

Grim Reaper turned toward the voice, and his face immediately met Wonder Man’s fist. He went flying back against the wall, then through the wall. An unholy alliance of magic and technology kept Grim Reaper from exploding into a red mist.

Scarecrow had She-Hulk on the ground in near-convulsions, waves of fear rolling over her. When Grim Reaper smashed into his back, She-Hulk took the respite and leapt to her feet. She was immediately on top of Scarecrow, one hand on his neck and another gripped his arm.

“I read the report about what Ghost Rider did to you.” She-Hulk twisted her arm, breaking Scarecrow’s arm like a pencil. “By the time I’m done you’ll wish it was him you’d pissed off!”

“Maybe another time.” Grim Reaper slashed upward. His scythe glowed with an energy that exploded against She-Hulk, driving her back. “Cobalt Man, to me!”

The light Dagger hurled at Cobalt Man should have left him catatonic. They had no effect, as if he’d become more machine that man. Turning away from her, Cobalt Man halted Darkstar’s advance with repulsor beams and strode toward Grim Reaper. She barely threw up a shield against the attack, and threw up a second one to cut Cobalt Man off.

Wonder Man flew through the holed he’d made. “It’s over Eric. You’re not going to hurt…anyone…” At Scarecrow’s gaze, Wonder Man fell to his knees, actual tears coming out of his eyes. “The blood…oh my god…”

Grim Reaper chuckled. “That’s right Simon. Deep down, you know exactly what you did.” The Darkforce barrier shattered when he slashed it, and Cobalt Man was grabbed with his only hand. “Without my confession, you’ll always wonder.”

A second time Grim Reaper slashed with is scythe, cleaving time and space itself. He pushed Cobalt Man through, and Scarecrow soon followed. Cloak reached out with his darkness, seeking to envelope Grim Reaper before he could escape. Unfortunately, he winked away before a single tendril could make contact.

“No!” Quicksilver reappeared, running through the tear the instant after it disappeared. In a rage, he smashed at the ground where Grim Reaper had stood. Behind him, Scarlet Witch was consoling a distraught Wonder Man.

“Yippee,” said She-Hulk. “We won.”

Hours later, the Avengers were standing over the scene of another victory. The black clothing of Hand ninjas lay scattered all around them; the entire team save for Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man. Even Silverclaw was here, in defiance of Pym’s advice. She sniffed at another piled of clothes and snarled.

“Another city native. Not a one has the smell of Japan.”

“They abandoned their scheme and left the raw recruits behind,” said Darkstar. “Likely as soon as they were discovered. I am very tired of cleaning up messes.”

“Especially when they’re bigger than they should have been.” Silverclaw rounded on Quicksilver. “An entire people were ignored, and as a result dozens are dead.”

“My father would tell you it could have been worse.” Quicksilver ran from pile to pile, gathering them up in seconds to lie at Silverclaw’s feet. “It was because of the neighborhood this was the next blank spot we came to. It’s a shame they accounted for Dagger.”

Cloak put a hand on Dagger’s shoulder. She was on her knees sobbing. “Most of these souls were beyond redemption before the Hand took them,” he told her.

“But not all,” she said. “Some still could have gotten out, changed their lives.”

“One of them smelled like a classmate,” Silverclaw said. “A relative, maybe. Damn it, I’ve missed a lot of college.”

“Then take a leave to catch up,” said Pym. “You’ve demonstrated today that you’re still not well enough for a fight, but studying shouldn’t be too strenuous.”

At the suggestion, Quicksilver shrugged. “Take too long and you may find your position filled. I made inquiries after Wonder Man’s incident, and with these blank spots to investigate I’d rather not be short-handed.”

She-Hulk gave him an exacerbated look. “I told you before, we can’t go rushing in like this. Nevermind that we should have warrants and probable cause, some of those places could be legitimate government operations. After the trouble the team’s had with the government, do you really want to tick off SHIELD?”

“Fine then, we’ll scout the areas beforehand.” Quicksilver rolled his eyes. “Another thing you would be useless at. Of late you’ve been a better lawyer than Avenger. Not that that would be too diff-”

This time Scarlet Witch wasn’t around to keep her in check. She-Hulk walked up behind him, grabbed Quicksilver by his hair, and threw him into the pile of black clothes.

“That could have been a wall. And that dust could have been your head after impact.”

Quicksilver leapt to his feet, spluttering. “You…you, you’re out of here! I want you off this team, immediately.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She-Hulk gave a dismissive wave as she walked away. “For once you’ve made a good decision. Any longer and I’ll probably kill you.”

As Pym hurried after She-Hulk to try and talk sense into her, Darkstar approached Quicksilver. “It has been a long day. We should all take calming breaths and revisit things tomorrow.”

“That will give you plenty of time to report to Moscow,” Quicksilver said without thinking. Again, Scarlet Witch could have stopped Darkstar from slapping him.

Scarlet Witch entered his room to find Wonder Man sitting on his bed. He was staring at a picture, and she saw that it was a crime scene photograph.

“He still hasn’t been identified,” she told him. “Now we’re running through missing person reports. The fact is Simon that none of the regular occupants put him in that building, and no appointments involved children. He wasn’t supposed to be there, which means it must have been Grim Reaper.”

“Yeah, maybe he teleported in a dead body,” said Wonder Man. “Or a live one.”

“The good news is, Hank shrank right away and recorded everything. She-Hulk got a judge to hear Grim Reaper’s statement and dismiss all the charges. The law suit’s been dropped to.”

“She’s a good lawyer. What the hell is she doing this for? What the hell are any of us…” Wonder Man angled the photo so that Scarlet Witch could see it. “What was the cause of death?”

Scarlet Witch managed not to look away. “There was blunt force trauma, but now the medical examiner’s double checking. If we can show it was all post-mortem, we can prove Grim Reaper drained away the life force.”

“And I can stop wondering.” Wonder Man couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll know my brother killed a kid to get at me. However you try and spin it, Wanda, I’m responsible.”

“Simon, you can’t think like that. If we blamed ourselves for every madman that-”

“I’d like to be alone, please.”

Scarlet Witch didn’t leave right away. She said a few more words, tried to comfort the man she loved. But he didn’t say a word. Eventually, with a heavy heart, she got up and left. Leaving Wonder Man alone, staring at a photo.