BRIDGING THE GAP

Part I

By D. Golightly

Los Angeles

“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod…”

The Scarlet Spider did a backflip off the man-made rock formation that served as the top of a waterfall, which spilled into a luscious grotto. He tucked his legs up and splashed into the ten-foot deep pool, relishing the cold sting of the water.

He allowed himself to drift down for a moment before he kicked off the floor of the pool, breaching the surface and exclaiming, “I love being an Avenger!”

Hercules, lounging near the pool, raised his ale in salute of his fellow teammate. “Indeed!” the Prince of Power shouted. “It’s just like the time I was honored in Athens, just before the Gorgon Sisters destroyed the city, of course.”

“Oh, of course,” the Scarlet Spider said as he started to do a backstroke around the lavish pool.

He still wore his red mask to conceal his identity, but he traded in his grey hoodie and red spandex suit for a simple set of swim trunks. Since joining the Avengers in their West Coast branch a week ago, it had been a whirlwind of activity. Security checks, protocol training, technology classes, and even a physical had all been completed. Today was move-in day, the day he was to receive his official Avengers ID card. Today was also the first day he got to check out the bitchin’ pool.

He had been asked to reveal his identity upon joining, but the Avengers had respected his wishes to remain concealed behind his mask. The question of his identity in particular was a complicated one: the clone of Peter Parker who now went by Ben Reilly, who at one time was thought to be the real Peter Parker. It made his head spin.

He had come to Los Angeles to start a new life, away from Parker. Here he could reinvent himself, just as many others came to L.A. to do. The Avengers was like a golden ticket being offered to him to do just that.

Plus, Hugh Hefner never had a pool this amazing.

“Perhaps,” Machine Man, the self-aware android also known as X-51, said as he approached the side of the pool, “you should behave more appropriately to your surroundings, Scarlet.”

Scarlet placed his palms on the side of the pool and used his proportional spider-strength to life himself up into a handstand. He expertly balanced on his index fingers, rocking back and forth as he made his way to where his towel and daiquiri waited.

“Huh?” he said.

“I believe the children say it this way: act like you have been somewhere before.” X-51 handed Hercules a smart tablet that was scrolling with information about the Avengers compound. “We are not on vacation. You are an experienced Avenger, Hercules. I would expect you to set a better example than to drink during the day.”

“This?” Hercules looked at his nearly empty ale with a curious eye. “But it’s barely twenty proof. It would take much more than this pitiful brew to fell stalwart Hercules. And what is this you hand me?”

“Formations for us to practice during our next drill,” X-51 replied. “We have a strict training regimen beginning tomorrow morning. You should memorize these formations so that when Citizen V calls out audible commands, you will be able to submit accordingly.”

“Oh, aye,” Hercules said with a nod. He set his mug down and began to tap randomly on the tablet’s screen. “This Citizen reminds me much of our good Captain, and more so than just his colors.”

“Yeah,” Scarlet said as he toweled off and joined Hercules and X-51. “Bit of a stick in the mud, though.”

A screech over their heads caught the trio’s attention and all three looked up to see Dinah Soar, formerly of the Great Lakes region and fellow new recruit to the West Coast operation, dive through the clouds toward them. Her pink wings were held tight against her body, but a hundred feet from the ground she spread them wide and her descent slowed to a crawl.

Another twenty feet down, she tucked one wing back in and spiraled toward one of the many palm trees that littered the Avenger’s compound. She tightly encircled it, spinning rapidly as she circumnavigated the large leaves, displaying an impressive amount of aerial control.

When she had gone halfway down the trunk, she spread her wings again and slapped them down with enough force to catapult her another dozen feet back up in the air. She lightly floated over to the three heroes and dropped down between Scarlet and X-51 with obvious precision and control.

“Good morning!” she said gleefully. “Have you done your morning calisthenics as requested by Citizen V as well?”

Hercules glanced at his empty mug and smiled. He said, “Aye. Twice.”

“Good morning, Ms. Soar,” X-51 said. “I see that you have taken your new Avengers status seriously.” He glanced at Scarlet, who was trying to dry off his head without removing his mask. “Perhaps you could give us some pointers.”

“Me? Oh, that would be amazing! I’m just so happy for the opportunity. But I know that the Citizen wanted us to—”

Past the cabanas on the South side of the compound, the large gate that opened to the helipad rattled loudly. With each shake there was an accompanying pounding, like someone was knocking with significant force.

“Are we expecting visitors today?” Dinah asked.

“No,” Machine Man said. “We’re not.”

Before anyone else could respond, the wooden gate that was just as tall as the surrounding compound wall burst open. Shards of wood went flying onto the lawn as a white and green streak rocketed along the path and into the compound.

“Breach!” someone shouted, and the group turned to see Citizen V leaping off of the central communications tower. He spread his cape to break his fall, dropping two dozen feet and tucking into a roll like he did it all the time. He withdrew his adamantium sword, swept his cape behind him, and tracked the streak as it circled the wall of the compound.

“Was he just waiting up there for that to happen?” Scarlet asked, but instead of waiting for an answer he leapt into action.

Without his webshooters on, he settled for simply getting into the streak’s path. It had looped the area twice and was coming around again. The Scarlet Spider jumped from poolside onto the path thirty feet away with ease and braced himself as the streak approached.

It bowled right over him like he was a duckpin, blowing him right back into the pool. Machine Man extended his mechanical arms to try and grab the swift assailant, but was nowhere near fast enough to wrap it up.

Dinah took to the air while Hercules threw a lawn chair at the streak, swearing in Greek as he tossed the furniture, shattering it on the concrete path. The streak diverted from its path, slammed into Hercules, and knocked him into the pool just as Scarlet was pulling himself out. The pair tumbled back into the water together with a large splash.

“Pathetic!” the newcomer said as he finally stopped moving at superspeed long enough for his facial features to become recognizable. “You guys are my replacements? Herc here at least has some experience, but the rest of you? C’mon.”

Citizen V approached carefully, his sword pointed at the invader. He said, “Quicksilver! You’re in violation of a number of Avengers’ statutes. Stand down!”

The mutant speedster known as Quicksilver, clad in his classic green uniform, rolled his eyes. “Uh, I did already. Duh. I’ve been standing still for like a whole ten seconds. Why did my ID card not work at the helipad gate?”

“Pietro,” X-51 said as he retracted his arms. “This is a terrible way to introduce yourself to the new recruits.”

“Machine Man, right? Yeah, yeah. Okay, I remember you with that whole Terminus thing a few years back. So, that’s two pros you rookies have, but still…pathetic showing, guys. Seriously pathetic.”

“Who would dare drench the Prince of Power?” Hercules roared as he pulled himself and then Scarlet out of the pool. “I defy the one who would so brazenly…Pietro? Quicksilver! Oh, it is good to see you! Come, friend Quicksilver! We shall regale the others with tales of our triumphs over a pint!”

They shook hands. “Sorry about that, Herc,” Quicksilver said. He glanced at Citizen V. “Just a little peeved about being locked out of my own home.”

“Your home?” Scarlet asked. “Here?”

“Yes, here, cosplayer. Why didn’t my ID card open the gate?”

“Get clear!” Dinah bellowed as she dropped down through the sky, smashing directly into Quicksilver. She spread her wings to catch her fall at the last second, saving herself, but putting all of her momentum into her feet, which plowed into Quicksilver’s chest.

The mutant crumpled under the strike, bouncing several times over the lawn like a skipped stone. When he slammed against a palm tree he wobbled for a second before slumping over, unconscious.

“Victory!” Dinah said gleefully. She turned to Citizen V. “Was this an exercise? Did I pass?”

Citizen V sheathed his sword. “No, Dinah, but you did much better than our compatriots. We should give him medical attention and retire to the war room.”

“What was he saying about his ID card?” Scarlet asked as they went to collect the knocked-out Quicksilver.

“His ID card didn’t open the gate,” Citizen V said, “because he is no longer an Avenger.”

“You’re insane,” Quicksilver spat out. He tried to lean back against the console in the compound’s war room, within the center of the communications building, but winced. His ribs were bruised and even his fast metabolism hadn’t started healing them fully yet. “I’m an Avenger.”

“Not anymore,” Citizen V shot back. Hercules, Dinah Soar, and Machine Man all stood opposite the mutant and their leader, leaving the large holographic display table between them. The Scarlet Spider, back in his full costume, was perched halfway up one of the walls, close to the corner of the room. “When your team abandoned the compound and failed to renew your charter, you effectively disbanded.”

“Disbanded?” Quicksilver yelled. “I’m sorry, who are you again? I’ve been an Avenger longer than you’ve been swatting at flies with that poker of yours.”

“Then maybe you should have answered the East Coast’s summons,” Citizen V countered. “The records indicate that your team disassembled due to a fallout between several of your members. When you, as team leader, failed to report back any further activity to the East Coast, the charter was closed.”

Quicksilver rolled his eyes again. “This is ridiculous,” he said. “I never shut the group down. The others left, yes. Of their own accord. If the team has a charter again, as the only acting West Coast legacy member, I have the right to leadership.”

“If your word had any weight around here,” Citizen V countered, “I might actually care what you have to say. As it stands, you’re trespassing.”

“Get Cap on the phone,” Quicksilver demanded, but the other heroes only stared at him. “Herc, c’mon. Remember when we took down Kang on top of that volcano?”

Hercules began a hearty laugh, but stopped cold when he saw the glare from Citizen V. He said, “Uh, yes, Pietro, but that is in the past.”

“I thought you were a warrior.” Quicksilver waved dismissively at Citizen V. “Not a bureaucrat.”

“A true warrior recognizes order,” Hercules stated. “To ignore it is anarchy. I’m sorry, my friend.”

The holographic table in the center of the war room sprang to life, a red blip suddenly forming near the middle. The translucent images depicting a rough topography formed three-dimensionally, creating a wire representation of a landscape. A few rolling hills were on the outskirts of the image, with just a single, large building at the center. The red blip focused there, blinking incessantly.

“What did you do?” Dinah whispered to Hercules. “Did you bump something?”

“Hercules does not ‘bump’ anything unless he intends to,” Hercules spat back. “This contraption is obviously faulty. Man-Machine! Is this not your area of expertise? Talk to this table. Tell it to stop annoying me lest I teach it a lesson.”

Scarlet muttered to himself, “This is the best day of my life.”

“It’s a priority alarm,” both Citizen V and Quicksilver said simultaneously. Citizen V glared at the mutant before he turned back to the table, saying, “There’s a prison break in progress up the coastline. Move, Avengers!”

As Hercules, Dinah Soar, the Scarlet Spider, Machine Man, and Citizen V hurriedly filed out of the room, Quicksilver sighed. “That’s not even the right catch phrase,” he said to no one, and then he zipped out of the room after them, determined not to be left behind.

The Quinjet roared up the coastline, following the beacon toward a desolate area that was at least twenty miles from any other habitat. At the helm, Citizen V deftly maneuvered the aircraft, following the alert signal. Quicksilver had forced himself into the co-pilot seat, but had relented control of the Quinjet to the Citizen, citing that his ribs were still aching.

Thirty miles up the coastline, a distance covered in mere minutes by the powerful Quinjet, Citizen V cranked the yoke to send them careening inland. Minutes after that they were coming over the crest of a steep hill to see the recently completed superhuman prison installation called the Box.

Built to handle overflow from the Vault further east, the Box was supposed to have the latest superhuman captivity technology, but the plumes of smoke rising from one of the sides of the massive building was all the reason they needed to know that something had failed.

“Their defenses are down,” Scarlet Spider said as he tapped the screen in front of his station. “At least, that’s what this is telling me. We haven’t even tripped their proximity alarm. They’ve gone totally dark down there.”

“Not what you look for in a prison,” Hercules said. “Hephaestus should have been consulted.”

Scarlet glanced over his shoulder at the Olympian. “Bro, you know I think you’re awesome,” he said, “but do you listen to yourself speak?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, bug-man. When Hercules speaks, everyone listens.”

“Focus,” Citizen V ordered as he brought the Quinjet around for a landing near the Box’s entrance. “Four hostiles on the north face of the compound. Get ready to engage.”

As soon as the craft landed, the bay door opened and the heroes leapt out, ready to face down whoever had obliterated the Box’s security. Citizen V, sword in hand, pointed at a high corner of the compound’s walls, saying, “Spider! Take the high ground with Dinah! X-51! Side by side with Hercules and progress forward via Plan Alpha. Quicksilver! On my—”

But the mutant speedster rocketed away from the group, rounding the north corner to intercept the four assailants that the Quinjet’s computers had pinpointed. He was moving too fast to be sure, but the Citizen thought he saw one of Quicksilver’s fingers extended in his direction as he sped away.

“Blasted legacy Avenger…” Citizen V muttered as he raced to catch up, opting to fall into formation with Machine Man and Hercules.

A blast of flame twenty feet in height scorched the edge of the northern corner as they approached, blackening the ground and forcing the heroes back. Before they could react, a charged gale force wind slammed down into the middle of their trio, scattering them. Citizen V was pushed forward a few yards while Machine Man and Hercules were propelled to either side of him.

“We’ve been expecting some costumed clowns to show up,” a man in a thick green helmet said as he lowered to the ground to stand over Citizen V. “No idea who you are, though. Doesn’t matter, though. Since you’ll be dead in a few seconds anyway.”

Another burst of flame smacked the surface of the Box, followed by a sharp whistling noise that indicated an incoming projectile. Quicksilver raced back into view, running in a zig-zag pattern as rocket-propelled grenades peppered the ground along his trail. Finally, one impacted close enough to send him flying, smashing him into an outcropping of rocks.

The source of the assault stepped out from behind the compound: a bulky figure in grey and gold armor, standing as tall as two men, who looked like a walking armory. Smoke still trailed from the arm-mounted flame thrower and new grenades were cycling into place on his shoulder-mounted cannon.

A voice filtered out threw the bullet-shaped helmet. “I recognize the speedster,” he said. “Quicksilver. An Avenger.”

“Avengers?” the man in the green-helmet inquired. “I thought they disbanded on this side of the country. All the more reason to kill them quick.”

“Whirlwind,” Citizen V said as he rolled over. “You’re under arrest, along with whoever is wearing the Firepower armor.”

“Ha!” Whirlwind cackled through his green helmet. “That’s rich. You recognize Firepower, though, huh? You know your stuff. Too bad it’s the last thing you’ll ever know.”

“Have at thee!” Hercules screamed as he slammed into Whirlwind, wrapping his arms around his waist and charging forward. “It will take more than the passing of wind to flatten the mighty Hercules!”

Citizen V sprung up just as Firepower stomped forward, his cannons discharging. Machine Man extended his mechanical arms, shoving Citizen V clear of the blast, the full brunt of which was taken by his own body. X-51 was forced back, his arms punctured and tattered.

Whirlwind struggled in Hercules’ grip, but more from surprise than anything else. Within seconds he began to spin, despite the Prince of Power’s strong grasp, and the resulting friction was rubbing his forearm’s raw. Hercules was forced to release Whirlwind, who rocketed straight upward on a pillar of air that was under his complete control.

“Not so fast, cowboy!” the Scarlet Spider cried out from his assigned perch. He fired both webshooters, quickly entwining Whirlwind, whose own spinning aided in completely ensnaring the villain. “And Herc! Passing of wind? Seriously. You need a life coach.”

“Look out!” Dinah Soar hollered as she pushed off the ledge beside the Scarlet Spider, extending her wings, and jetting off over the webslinger’s head.

She smashed her fist into a scaled, orange head that had poked up over the wall. It snarled at her, flashing knife-sharp teeth, seemingly unfazed by her quick reaction. A muscled arm shot up and grabbed her by the ankle, swinging her down into the side of the wall, where she nearly blacked out before catching site of the creature’s full body.

Covered in orange scales, supported by thick hind legs that had kicked footholds into the compound’s structure, and sporting a slashing tail with angled spikes running down its spine, the creature looked like something from the prehistoric era. He flicked Dinah away and she fell to the ground below, landing at the feet of the fourth prison assailant.

“Stegron,” a feminine voice said. “That’s no way to treat a lady.”

She picked Dinah up, hoisting her by the collar with apparent ease. Her body was toned muscle covered in a red body suit, with golden hair draped over her shoulders. “Although,” she continued, “she doesn’t look like much of a lady, does she? She looks more like you, actually, Stegron.”

Stegron the Dinosaur Man roared in either aggravation or agreement. It didn’t matter which. He pulled himself up to the top of the ledge and charged Scarlet Spider, who backflipped away, latching a webline onto the corner of the compound, and swinging to safety.

Whirlwind slashed through the web binding with the buzzsaws mounted on his wrists, saying, “Kill them all! We have a mission to complete!”

“No problem,” Firepower responded. He unleashed his flamethrower onto both Hercules and X-51, bathing them in fire.

“Boys and their toys,” the woman who held aloft Dinah said. “But I’m probably speaking to the choir, right sister?”

“Who…are you?” Dinah Soar managed to utter.

“Me? I’m Thundra. With my friends? We’re the Lethal Legion, and honey, you picked the wrong day to be a superhero.”

Thundra ripped a sturdy chain from her belt, wrapping it around Dinah’s neck and shoulders, clasping her wings to her back. She let a little slack out and started to spin Dinah around, building up centripetal force after a few rotations before letting Dinah flay loose, smashing directly into the same outcropping where Quicksilver was still recovering.

The Scarlet Spider went back to back with Citizen V, now surrounded by the four villains. Firepower switched off his flamethrower, leaving Hercules and Machine Man charred, and stomped forward to the last two standing heroes. Stegron roared and leapt off the compound to flank them. Thundra cracked her knuckles and appraised her new quarry. Finally, Whirlwind dropped to the ground, his eyes filled with fury.

“Okay, boss,” Scarlet whispered over his shoulder. “Now what?”

NEXT ISSUE: The Lethal Legion is reborn! Will the newly reformed West Coast Avengers be torn to shreds during their inaugural mission?