Two years have passed since the war to end all wars was finished. Two years since Earths best
and brightest and Mightiest heroes all fought off a horrific evil that sought to consume the entire
world. Now , in the year 2011 a new threat has reared its head. One of alien and decidedly evil
design. This time the world is unprepared, but even so the Earths first and best hope lies with the
aging heroes known as ...The Avengers!
Avengers 2011 #6
Infighting,it's not what you think...
By Ralph Angelo.
One after another, two Avengers Quinjets land in the hidden hanger beneath the Avengers
temporary home in West Virginia, in the emergency bunker that has become the Parker home.
Soon, two teams of Avengers disembark, Thor, the recently returned Iron Man, Ms Marvel,
Darkhawk, Nova, War Machine, the injured Wasp, as well as Spider-Man and his young
daughter. Both teams of Avengers having just returned from the debacle in Chicago.*
*see our last three issues
Any victory they experienced was minor at best. The taint of losing two life long members,
Captain America and the Vision, as well as the almost total destruction of the city Chicago, is on
everyones mind. All are quiet and despondent at their loss, and the sorry turn of events .
All but one...
"Alright everyone! Lets get our acts back together and get back out there to kick some more Slug
butt!" Spider-Man shouts , almost joyfully, as he makes thirty foot leaps from the side of the
Quinjet, to land in front of his compatriots. It is Thor who speaks first.
"Stand thee down, Web slinger. There is much that we must attend to. Times are indeed dire."
Spider-Man stops and stares quizzically at Thor, "Why Goldilocks? Now's the time to strike,
while the irons hot."
Thor places his hand on Spider-Mans shoulder "I repeat web slinger, stand down."
"A-all right Thor, for now."
Spider-man pulls his daughter close, her costume mimics his and yet has its own style, as he
wraps his arm around her, and walks away with her held close.
Iron Man walks up next to Thor. "What's going on here with him? He seems so...different."
"Aye friend Iron Man, his wife hath been killed at the beginning of this dire conflict, and he has
not been the same since."
Iron Man pulls back slightly "Mary Jane's dead? No wonder he's upset."
"He is more then upset my friend, he is on a path headed for destruction."
"You think he's suicidal Thor?"
"Nay, Avenger e'en worse then that."
"We've got to do something about this."
"Aye, we-I will anon."
Interlude
The Canadien wilderness, trudging through knee deep snow, a fur covered figure places one foot
in front of the other endlessly. Behind him stretches a trail of his footsteps, over the nearest
ridge, and beyond into infinity. Across his back, the wind sweeps the bear skin away from his
shoulder, revealing a handmade bow and quiver of arrows as he continues to place one foot
ahead of the other. "I'm gettin' to old for this." the man mumbles in a mid west twang, as he
trudges on...
Spider-Man stands in his quarters, his mask slung back onto his shoulders, as his gloves lay on
his dresser, next to a picture he's holding and staring at. A picture of himself, Mary Jane, and
little May, all smiles and happy, as a family should be. As they were meant to be. A tear stains
his cheek.
A voice breaks his silent reverie.
"Daddy? You in there?" Young May enters the room, freshly showered and in a pair of jeans and
light top. "You okay Daddy?"
Peter breaks his concentration and stares at his daughter. "You know, you look so much like
her."
"I-I know daddy." The young girl hugs her father tightly, as another voice breaks through on the
room monitor.
"Spider-Man" Thor's voice begins, "I would see thee, in the Romper room, post haste. There is
much we need be discuss."
"The Romper Room" Thinks Peter,"The teams holographic battle simulation suite. Any situation
can be brought to reality. Maybe we've come up with a new strategy, that'll drive these slugs out
once and for all."
"Okay Thor, I'll be right there." He turns back towards May, "I have to go Punkin' I'll be back in a
little while."
He kisses her forehead, and leaves, pulling on his mask and gloves as he shuts the door behind
him.
Interlude 2
High above the Earth, a man is roughly dragged into a cell aboard the alien flagship, his familiar
red white and blue costume is tattered, but still proud, as his mask is pulled back about his
shoulders, and his hands are bound behind his back in crude shackles. Still proud determination
sets his powerful jaw in a grim focus, as he sits down, and begins the long wait for his enemies
next move. He may be down, but he's not out. This man never gives up, there's always a way out
of every situation, it only has to be found. And so , patiently, Steve Rogers contemplates the
future, and prays his comrades find a way to defeat these alien bastards...
Back in the West Virginia Bunker, The Avengers are gathering in their auditorium sized meeting
room, as several begin filing in for a meeting Hank Pym, Yellowjacket has called. Minutes
earlier, another Quinjet, this time returning from a battle in New Mexico, where the Ca' Shu Bak
used a mental control device aimed solely at bending men to their rule, has landed and disgorged
its contents , a team consisting of the Black Widow, Photon, Moonstone, Spider-Woman,
She-Hulk, as well as a recently freed from captivity US Agent. This group joins the others in the
auditorium.
"Where is Thor?" asks the Widow
"He's been detained by something... personal." answers Pym from the podium, a lab coat over his
Yellow Jacket costume. "He'll be along shortly , I'm sure."
"What's the meeting for , Dr?" asks Thunderstrike, from the 5th row.
"I've been in contact with what's left of Shield, and I believe we've found a break in the Ca' Shu
Bak armor."
"Where?" questions The Wasp as she limps into the room, grimacing with every step.
Pym smiles at his wife, and walks over to her, to help support her on his strong ,yet aged
shoulder.
After a moment, he returns to the stage, once she is seated in the front row, next to Iron Man.
He touches a stud on the console before him, and a holographic display of the Ca' Shu Bak fleet
above springs to life.
"Here." he points to a section of a Ca' Shu Bak ship, that instantly enlarges.
"What is it?" Asks Nova
"A plasma venting duct. We believe by placing a charge here, we can destroy the mother ship.
Once that's done, the others will fall pray without the guidance that comes from that ship."
"So you're saying cut off the beasts head, and the body will die?" Queries Natasha Romanoff
"Exactly." Continues Pym. "The only problem being the fact that the ship is heavily defended.
Plus, we believe that a ship that left Chicago landed there, after our battle in the area."
"Which means what?" asks US Agent
"Which means we believe Cap may be on that ship, and still alive." Answers Pym.
"What do we do?" Spouts Darkhawk
"We effect a rescue, search and destroy mission, that's what we do." moans the Wasp in obvious
pain.
"And hopefully the rest will fall into place." Continues Yellowjacket.
"It had better", Thinks Iron Man, "The situation around the world is getting worse by the
moment, and Earth doesn't have much time left."
Across the bunker, Spider-Man walks up to the Romper Room door and opens it. He walks
inside, as a dozen devices verify his identity, and the door swings shut behind him, rendering the
room in total darkness.
"What's going on here?" He thinks
"Thor, you in here? What's this about ?"
Slowly the room begins to brighten slightly, as pinpoints of light fill the "sky" above
Spider-Mans head, and slowly forms begin to take shape around him, buildings, tall and proud
stretch into the imaginary night sky, until they sharply come into focus with vivid distinction.
"Manhattan." He says aloud, "Before alien armadas destroyed it, before World War III changed
its very face. The way it was at least 10 years ago. May was just a child, and Mary Jane..."
He raises his arm skywards, and presses his fingers to his web shooter, as a string of webbing
leaps from his wrist to a far away building, he pulls himself up, and begins to swing through the
brightly lit sky-line of the solid holographic city.
"I used to love this." He muses, "This was my world. It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times. What happened to my world, my life?"
He comes to rest on the side of a building, pausing momentarily to take it all in.
Suddenly his Spider sense screams at him, as he deftly twists sideways, just avoiding a missile
like object, that cleaves the buildings facade in two that he was clinging to.
Ba-KROOM!
"What the? That was Thors hammer!" He thinks quickly, while leaping into the sky once more,
and double clicking his left web shooter.
"Thor! Where are you? What's this all about?" he shouts to empty streets surrounding him as he
swings to a nearby rooftop..
Then , a voice roars from above him.
"Stand thee ready for combat, Spider-Man, the son of Odin hath come to grant thee thy last wish,
death in battle. Verily, will the God of Thunder end thy suffering!"
Again , Mjolnir rockets from above, on a collision course with Spider-Man!
"Uh oh." he almost mumbles, as he twists almost spring-like , to fall from the sky, dropping his
web line, and bouncing off an awning below him, to roll into a ball, kick off the buildings wall
to ad to his momentum and slam into Thor at the building across the streets roof , like a runaway
rocket
Pa-Kwoom!
Thor back hands him away as if he were nothing, but Spider-Man rolls with the blow, and lands
spider-like on all fours, across from the God of thunder, as Mjolnir returns to Thors hand
simultaneously.
"What's this all about Thor? Are you nuts? I don't wanna fight you. Stop this craziness."
"Tis to late Spider-Man, thou hath trod the path of the insane for to long now. Tis time to end thy
suffering once and for all."
Thor once again hurls Mjolnir, again Spidey does a 25 foot leap over head, easily avoiding the hammer, and a quick somersault lands him behind the Asgardian. He taps Thor on the back playfully.
"Knock, knock, who's there?" Spider-Man quips.
Thors answer is a powerful backhand, swung with all his legendary might, that , even though
Spider-Man manages to leap aside from, he still catches much of the blow!
Pa-KOW!
"Unnggghh!" Shouts Spider-Man, as he skids across the rooftop in a heap.
He pulls himself to one knee, shaking his head to get the cobwebs out, as the God of Thunder,
hammer in hand advances.
"Verily mortal, thy time is ended. Thy obvious wish is to perish in battle, then so be it. The last
Asgardian will grant thee a warriors death."
Thor raises Mjolnir above his head to deliver the killing blow, suddenly Spider-Man raises his
head, and beneath his mask, his face contorts, in not fear, or acceptance of his fate, but in anger!
Thor brings down the hammer savagely, but Spider-man is not there! He back flips out of the
way to land on his feet , 20 feet away from Thor.
"Okay Goldilocks, you may be at least ten times stronger then me, and the God of Thunder and
all that, but I'm at least fifteen times faster then you, and I'm no weakling either. Lets see what
you've got."
"Very well then Web Slinger, so be it! Have at thee!" Thor hurls Mjolnir at Spider-Man, who
easily avoids the blow. Throwing himself off the rooftops precipice in free fall, , where he
throws a web line out, and snags a cornice across the street, then he kicks outwards, adding
momentum to his arc, he releases the line , twists in mid air, and connects a powerful right to
Thor's face, even as Mjolnir returns to Thors hand !
BA-Koom!
Thor stumbles backwards a step, from the sheer force of the blow.
"Well struck mortal, the God of thunder didst e'er respect thy prowess in battle."
"Good for you, girly-man." replies Spidey, as he ducks below Thors right cross, and kicks the
Asgardians legs out from under him, landing the Thunder god on his butt.
"Oooff! Verily , will I smash thee for this effrontery!" Yells the angered Thor
"Get in line." Jabs Spidey, as he fires off a quick left jab to Thors Jaw, before back flipping
away.
"Enow!" Roars the God of Thunder as he leaps upwards, and races across the rooftop towards
the Web-slinger, who upon Thor reaching him, drops to the rooftop on his back, and sprays
webbing in Thors face, yanks on the web line, and kicks the startled God of Thunder over the
roof edge in one astonishingly fast move!
"I better get ready, he'll be back in a sec." Thinks Spidey, as he sprints to the other side of the
buildings roof. Then Thor is there, flying over the roofs edge, hammer in hand, ready to strike
the web slinger where he stands.
"Thou wilt die this day , Spider-Man. Thee and thy wife will at last be joined together and they
daughter will be an orphan, in the Avengers care. Such is thy most obvious, fervent wish."
"Shut up!" Howls Spidey, as he crouches low at the opposite end of the roof line.
Thor whirls Mjolnir overhead , preparing to release his mighty weapon, when at the instant of
release, Spider-Man fires his webbing, wrapping a ball of web around Thors hand, and the
leathern handle to his weapon!
Thor is yanked from his feet, in total surprise, and in stunned silence, is dragged awkwardly
through the air, out of control, and in the general direction where Spidey was.
Spider-Man ducks below the blow, and rises up with a thunderous right to Thors jaw, as he
passes overhead.
Poom!
The God of Thunder slams into a building across the night dark holographic street
Pa-Kram!
The building crashes down on top of the Asgardian, as Spidey watches from his vantage point.
All is silent momentarily, and then...
Ba-Kow!
Thor smashes free of the building rubble, to fly towards Spider-Man once more
"Let us end this foolishness, Web Slinger. Hela's cold embrace doth await thee."
"Not me golden boy, but maybe you should take the final plunge and join your family."
The barb hurts Thor in ways no physical blow could, but he ignores it, landing far enough away
from Spider-Man, to begin circling him warily.
"Thou art a canny warrior, for one so puny, the bards will sing of thy glory for all eternity, Thor
will see to it."
"Yeah, do your worst, slow poke. Lets see what you've got."
Thor thunders forwards, as Spidey leaps to meet his charge, head on!
Thors right misses ,as Spider-Man ducks beneath it, to deliver two faster then the eye can follow
blows, one a left, one a right to the God of thunders Jaw.
Pow, kow!
Thor catches the web slinger with a strong left, that Spidey rolls away from, only absorbing a
glancing blow from, but still, a glancing blow from Thor is like being hit by a truck to
Spider-Man!
Thoom!
Spidey stands on shaky legs as Thor approaches.
"Stand thee down Spider-Man, the God of Thunder will end thy suffering. The embrace of the
forever awaits thee."
"Bite me, Sister Golden hair." Growls Spidey, as he leaps forwards, over Thors head, grasping
him by the head, and hurling him over his own body, to smash him down upon, and through the
damaged roof!
Ta-Krrooom!
"Uh-oh!" mumbles Spidey, as the roof shatters, and falls away beneath them both.
Both men land in a heap. Thor is the first to his feet.
"Thou art a valiant warrior true, Spider-Man, but thy time is ended, as Thor will grant thee thy
most fervent wish. Thor will grant thee death."
"W-what are you t-talking about?" Moans Spidey painfully as he extricates himself form the
rubble .
"Since thy wife died, thou hath done nothing but race into hazardous situations unheeded. Thou hath leapt into battle whilst pushing others out of harms way, e'en myself thou didst shove aside ignominiously at our recent battle in Chicago* gainst the enemy. Thou art not acting fearlessly, but as one who doth long for the embrace of death, to end thy suffering, and to die as a warrior true. Verily hath I seen it many, many times in my long life. Thou doth wish to join thy wife in the afterlife, and leave this madness behind. Only thy daughter holds thee here. Only thy responsibility and love for her doth drive thee on."
*See last issue
Spider-Man stands and says nothing, listening to Thor, his hands drop to his sides, as The God of
thunder finishes. Both men stare at each other, and Spidey reaches upwards, pealing his mask
back.
"Y-your right Thor. I hadn't realized. I-I was trying to, to end my pain the only way I knew how.
In battle. My God, what have I done? Poor May, no wonder she stowed away on that Quinjet.
She must be beside herself in fear for me."
"Aye, my friend. The time hath come for thee to heal."
As Thor speaks, the building they stand in shimmers from view, to become a blank , black
walled cube.
"Thanks Thor. I appreciate what you've done for me here."
"Think naught of it,... Avenger." Is the God of Thunders smiling answer.
Interlude three
The Ca' Shu Bak command ship
Captain America is roughly dragged into a darkened room, and tossed to the ground. Instantly ,
lights go on all around him, as he sees it's actually a huge arena, with the stands filled with Ca'
Shu Bak. Suddenly a second combatant is led to the arena , and unfettered. The creature displays
tentacles which writhe from its body, as a hood covers its eyes. One tentacled claw reaches up
and peels the hood back, and Cap is stunned by what he sees! He mutters one word, a name as
the leering visage bares sharpened, pointed teeth in his direction, with maddened eyes!
"Wanda!"...
Next: The conclusion!
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