Pietro Maximoff raced across the backroads heading towards San Francisco. He was tired, crabby, and in a large amount of pain. For what seemed like the umpteenth time today, he mentally kicked himself for accepting Wanda’s offer to join the new West Coast Avengers. Right from the start, he found the Avengers West Compound badly damaged and the Avengers missing, save for Wonder Man. Before he could begin a search for them, some sort of gigantic creature attacked Fisherman’s Wharf, calling Quicksilver to the battle.

Once he was able to get the Tri-Animan away from the shore, he then had to head straight to Mercury Industrial, where he found himself engaged in a battle with a woman who called herself Kuroko. She escaped and Wonder Man had informed him that the Tri-Animan had once more resurfaced.

Quicksilver brought his feet to a stop and watched as the behemoth emerged from the waters with a loud roar that sounded like a combination of several different creatures. He was a chimera, a mix of different animals, that much Quicksilver knew. What the Tri-Animan’s purpose was, or who (if anyone) sent him, were still a mystery. Quicksilver was no idiot, though. He assumed the Tri-Animan’s appearance was connected to Kuroko’s attack on Mercury Industrial. They were probably working for the same person, and Quicksilver would make it his goal to discover who that person was.

Pietro peeled off his olive blazer. He needed his uniform, but he would have to make due with what he had. The blazer would only slow him down. He also took off the dress shirt worn beneath the blazer, revealing his bare chest covered with bandages, a souvenir from his last encounter with the beast.

Taking a deep breath, Quicksilver raced towards the creature and ran up the side of a building to reach the Tri-Animan’s height. He launched his body from the surface of the wall he just scaled and curled his body into a ball. He tried to control his trajectory so that he slammed into the Tri-Animan with his legs.

The blow wasn’t enough to harm the creature, but it got its attention. Quicksilver fell through the air and twirled to slow his descent. Once his feet touched the surface, he looked up at the Tri-Animan, who looked down at him. The creature roared, obviously recognizing the Avenger.

“Wonderful, you’ve gotten his attention.” Quicksilver’s voice was low as he mumbled the words to himself. “Now what are you going to do?”

THE HARBINGER ENGINE

Part III: Pyrrhic Victory

By Mike Rasbury and Dino Pollard

Kuroko’s image fluttered into view as she turned off her powers of invisibility. She walked through the small corridor of the abandoned pier. She opened the door and stepped inside a large room where there were several dry erase boards with various things written on them. There were also photographs of a leopard, gorilla and alligator, as well as a design for a creature which resembled the Tri-Animan.

She was not alone in the room. A man dressed in a purple costume with a blue cape, buccaneer-style boots and gloves stood before several television monitors. He held a remote control in one of his hands. His face, however, was a perfect fit for the name he had chosen for himself. It was deformed, with straggly strands of hair protruding from his skull, a black goatee, horns protruding from his forehead, and a mouth that seemed to have strands of skin fusing his lips together.

“Demonicus,” said Kuroko.

The man who was once Douglas Bierly muted the sound on the monitors and turned to his companion. Kuroko stepped forward and extended her hand. Hanging from her delicate fingers was a CD jewel case with a CD inside it. Doctor Demonicus looked at it and what could perhaps be described as a smile appeared over his face.

“The ICBM plans, I assume?” he asked. Kuroko nodded. “Good.”

“How are the others doing?” asked Kuroko.

Doctor Demonicus looked back at the monitors. He motioned on one which displayed a newscast live from San Francisco. “The Tri-Animan was successful in distracting at least one of the Avengers. However…” He turned his gaze to the second monitor. “These three appeared to battle Amphibion, interfering with his capture of the sub.”

“Those three don’t look like any Avengers I’ve ever heard of,” said Kuroko.

“I don’t believe they are, either,” said Doctor Demonicus. “But since when have heroes made California their home?”

“Do you want me to assist Amphibion?”

“No, he can handle these three,” said Doctor Demonicus. “In the mean time, I want you to begin contacting some of our new citizens. After the destruction caused by that Noh-Varr character, there are plenty of criminals running free who would like amnesty. That’s something Demonica will be able to provide for them.”

Quicksilver leapt back, avoiding the Tri-Animan’s claw as it crashed on the pavement where he just stood. Before the creature could remove its claw, Quicksilver landed on it and raced up its arm. He sprung from the arm and twisted in midair, flying feet-first at the creature’s throat. His feet struck and he bounced off. The creature gagged and cried out, and tried to slash at Quicksilver as he fell through the air.

The speedster twisted his body and grabbed onto the Tri-Animan’s fur. Quicksilver swung from it and released his grip when his momentum was in an upward direction. He rose slightly, then fell again, landing on the beast’s arm. He ran back towards the Tri-Animan’s head, but this time it spotted him just as he landed. The creature began to shake his arm furiously and Quicksilver found it difficult to keep his balance.

That was when a flash of light suddenly struck the Tri-Animan in the eye. The beast staggered back and Quicksilver turned his head to see a streak of dark and light blue rocketing through the sky. It was a man glowing with energy and sporting a giant red W on his chest. Quicksilver could only smile in recognition of the man and he realized he had never been so happy to see Simon Williams in his life.

“WOO-HOO!” shouted Wonder Man. He slammed his powerful fists against the Tri-Animan’s forehead and the creature’s head rocked back from the impact. Quicksilver lost his grip and fell to the ground. Wonder Man saw his descent and flew over to catch him.

“You could have waited until after I landed before you started hitting him,” said Quicksilver.

“Usually, ‘thank you’ is the customary response after you’ve been rescued,” said Wonder Man.

“At least you finally pulled yourself together,” said Quicksilver.

“Didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun, did you?” asked Wonder Man with a smile. He set Quicksilver down on the ground. “Take a breather, you’ve earned it. This guy’s all mine.”

“Are you at full strength yet?”

“Not quite, but I can at least force him back to sea.”

Wonder Man shot into the air. The Tri-Animan clawed at him, but he flew around the thing’s claws. He raced upwards and balled his fists together, then slammed them against the Tri-Animan’s head. He took another strike and began to batter the creature with his fists. The Tri-Animan swung its arm towards Wonder Man and succeeded in striking him.

The Avenger flew back and Quicksilver raced after his companion. Wonder Man crashed into one of the piers and Quicksilver stood at the edge of the dock. Simon climbed out of the water, his body back to his flesh and blood form. He took off his red glasses and shook the water from them.

“You sure showed him,” said Quicksilver.

“I’m just getting warmed up,” said Wonder Man.

He put the sunglasses back on and leapt into the sky, his body converting to ionic energy as he did so. With his arms outstretched and his palms open, streams of ionic energy fired from his hands. Each blast caused the Tri-Animan to stagger and roar in pain and anger. It swung with its claws and knocked over a building. Wonder Man had to manuever carefully to avoid some of the rubble and even destroyed larger chunks with his ionic blasts.

On the ground, Quicksilver moved as fast as he could to clear the area of civillians, moving them to the sidelines. He watched as Wonder Man continued to battle the Tri-Animan. Although he and Simon Williams had their differences in the past, Quicksilver couldn’t deny that the man was good at what he did. He would never admit it, but he couldn’t deny it.

The Tri-Animan swatted at Wonder Man, but Simon grabbed its claws. Mustering all his strength, Wonder Man spun and hurled the Tri-Animan. The creature cried out as it flew out to seat. Wonder Man rocketed after it, firing ionic blasts at it. The creature cries out and retreats into the sea.

Wonder Man flew back to shore and landed beside Quicksilver. The moment he did, his body shifted from his ionic form to flesh and blood. He stretched out his arms and sighed. “I needed that.”

“Please tell me this is all over now,” said Quicksilver.

“Can’t do that,” said Wonder Man. “But don’t worry, it looks like we’ll have some help with this next one.”

“The Avengers?” asked Quicksilver.

“Well… not quite…”

“If you want the sub, you’ll have to go through me.”

The words came from the vigilante called Cloak, his dark blue cape which he drew his name from flowing around him as if it had a mind of its own. The hood concealed his face, save for the ethereal glow of his eyes.

Qnax, the alien warrior also known as Amphibion, cracked his knuckles as well as a smile to this challenge. “Acceptable terms,” he said.

Amphibion charged forward, his massive hands reaching out to grab hold of Cloak. Instead, the young vigilante’s cape simply opened wide, revealing an infinite black abyss that sucked the alien inside.

In the pocket Darkforce dimension Amphibion found himself in, he could hear the sounds of howling far in the distance. They came from all directions at once. An extreme cold would have chilled him to the bone, but his physiology rendered him almost immune to such things.

For most who were trapped in Cloak’s pocket dimension, the experience was excruciating. Amphibion, however, would not waver. He flailed his fists around wildly, attempting to hit something in the darkness. His hands struck some sort of barrier and he pounded against it. His fist went through the darkness and came out on the other side.

Cloak released a cry of pain as his cape spat out Amphibion. The vigilante was disoriented for a moment, and Amphibion swung a massive fist towards him. Cloak shook it off and quickly shifted his body, making him intangible. Amphibion’s fist went right through Cloak, causing no damage.

A gas-like substance escaped from Cloak’s being, enveloping Amphibion. The edges of his cape shot out like tendrils to try and trap the Xantarean. They quickly bound Amphibion’s legs and arms, as they did before. This time, however, more tendrils shot out from Cloak’s cape, almost completely enveloping the villain. Amphibion tried to pull away, but Cloak was able to hold his ground.

Dagger leapt back into the fray, holding a large light knife in each hand. She came up to Amphibion and sliced through him with the knives, yet no physical wound marked the entrance of the blades. Instead, Amphibion let out a howl of pain and tried to grasp Cloak’s tendrils.

He pulled a few off, tearing the fabric of the cape. Cloak’s nerve endings exploded with agony. It was as if his own skin was being ripped from his body. Cloak’s other tendrils reacted almost instinctively, sliding off Amphibion’s form.

The alien warrior turned his attention to Dagger and rushed her. She leapt over his head and while in midair, released a series of knives from her fingertips. Each one struck Amphibion and caused him incredible torment. The more her knives pierced his body, the more he was reminded that what he was doing was wrong. Yet he pushed aside those thoughts—he knew he had no choice.

A concussive blast of Darkforce energy struck him in the solar temple, courtesy of Darkstar. She continued with further blasts, trying to stagger the creature and keep him off-balance. For the most part, it was working.

Amphibion leapt from the path of Darkstar’s blast and landed near a parked car. He picked it up and hurled it towards her. She quickly encased it in a force bubble, yet the weight was an incredible strain on her. She dropped it just in time to see Amphibion leap towards her and swat her from the sky. If not for her forcefield, he would have easily taken her head clean off her body.

Darkstar fell fast, but someone caught her before she struck the ground. She groaned and opened her eyes to see a man with a lean build and silver hair looking down at her.

“Quicksilver?” she asked.

“Relax, the Avengers are here,” he said.

Quicksilver set Darkstar on her feet and she saw Wonder Man streaking towards Amphibion, exchanging blows with him. Her eyes surveyed the rest of the area, but all she could see was Dagger helping Cloak to his feet. She looked back at Quicksilver.

“So where are they?” asked Darkstar. “All I see are you and Wonder Man.”

“That’s all we have right now,” said Quicksilver. “It’s a long story, I’ll explain later.”

Wonder Man held his own against Amphibion, going blow for blow with the Xantarean. The warrior called Qnax was resilient, however, and able to keep pace with Simon Williams. He was able to fight the Hulk to a standstill on more than one occasion, and although Wonder Man’s strength was impressive, it wasn’t as impressive as that of the Hulk’s.

Amphibion drove his elbow into Wonder Man’s chest and then grabbed his head. He slammed the Avenger down on the ground and pounded on him with both fists. Another Darkforce blast from Darkstar caught his attention.

The alien took stock of the situation. With the arrival of Quicksilver and Wonder Man, this battle would now grow even more difficult, especially if the heroes organized and presented a united front. He needed a distraction. He drove his fingertips into the base of a six-story building and using all his strength, pulled a massive chunk of it out. Without the support, the building began to collapse.

The heroes quickly raced to contain the damage. Darkstar tried to hold the building up with a forcefield while Quicksilver, Dagger, Cloak and Wonder Man rushed to move the bystanders from harm’s way. While they were busy with that, Amphibion dove back into the water and pulled the sub free.

Wonder Man’s eyes caught a glimpse and he attempted to give chase. Amphibion swam too fast for his flight, however, and it wasn’t long before the sub vanished into the horizon. He silently cursed himself and returned to the rest of the group. As soon as he landed, his ionic form converted to flesh and blood.

“So what now?” he asked. “Someone wanna fill me in on the details? And why the three of you are in California?”

“He stole an experimental submarine, one which is powered by the Darkforce,” said Darkstar. “The sub itself is causing a disturbance in the Darkforce and it has to be addressed, it’s why I’m here.”

“Agreed, it’s why Dagger and I came here from New York as well,” said Cloak.

“Whatever this thing is, it’s been causing Cloak a lot of pain,” said Dagger.

“Think this is connected to our furry friend and the theft at Mercury?” asked Wonder Man, glancing at Quicksilver.

“Most likely,” said Quicksilver. “I understand your concerns, but we have another order of business. Simon? Would you care to brief us on what happened?”

“There were some disturbances in the Avengers West Compound,” said Wonder Man. “Not long after we arrived, the clocks started turning backwards and things were flying in the air. I felt incredibly weak all of a sudden and I released an explosion of ionic energy. When I came to, a good portion of the compound was in shambles and the rest of the team was missing.”

“The theft of the sub is important and I promise you the Avengers will investigate it,” said Quicksilver. “However, we have to find them first.”

NEXT: Steve Crosby and Eric Faynberg come onboard!