MV2 Presents
A-Next, The Next Generation of Avengers!
By Stephen Crosby
Over a decade
ago, the sight of an armored man flying through the air had been common around
Stark Enterprises and it’s various holdings. Now, after many years, that sight
had returned.
However, the
armored man descending towards the corporate offices was not the Golden Avenger
that had been the Invisible Iron Man. Rather, it was Anthony Stark’s
hand-picked successor to the role, and the current chairman to the newly
reformed Avengers. The Mighty Mainframe!
Depowering
his boot jets, Mainframe touched down near the main building of Stark
Enterprises. His emotions masked beneath that cold face of metal, he strode
through the door and towards the elevator. At first, the security guard moved
towards Mainframe, his mouth open to speak. But the sight of the six-foot tall
armored Avenger quickly dissuaded Mr. Harold Hogan from acting any further.
Stepping into
the corporate elevator, Mainframe pressed his palm against a handprint beside
the button panel. A quick whirring of computers, one sharp ping, and the
elevator softly descended.
Finally,
after descending several stories, the elevator came to a stop and the doors
opened. Mainframe stepped out and strode towards the inch-thick adamantium
doors.
“Iron
protocol 11-D T-Stark Alpha-9,”
Mainframe said, not slowing down. The doors automatically opened in response to
the code, allowing Mainframe to enter the most restricted area of Stark
Enterprises.
Mainframe
entered a long corridor. Running along the sides, standing as silent sentries,
were dozens of Iron Man armors. As lifeless and unmoving as they appeared,
Mainframe knew that each one of those old armors will spark to life at the first
sign of an intruder. And they represented only one line of defense among the
many that protected this area’s one resident.
Mainframe
strode past these relics of a past age, continuing towards the doors at the far
end of the hall. As the Avengers chairman did so, numerous hidden security
features scanned and cleared him as one among a handful of individuals
authorized to enter. The last set of adamantium doors opened, and Mainframe
entered the heart of Stark Enterprises.
The room was
not large. Across from Mainframe, resting beneath the trophy that was the
program-less husk that had once been Ultron, there lay a large bed surrounded
by a variety of computers. Hooked up to this elaborate life-support system;
indeed, hooked up to Stark Enterprises itself; there lay a tiny, barely
recognizable human being. Anthony Stark.
Mainframe
strode forward, coming to a stop at the foot of the bed that held the richest
and most powerful man in the United States. Tony Stark, his central nervous
system devastated by years of wearing the Iron Man armor, existed as barely
more than a computer program, kept alive and capable of communicating only
through his miraculous technology. However, as pitiful as the great hero’s
state may have appeared, there wasn’t a trace of pity in Mainframe’s
emotionless facemask. In fact, if any emotion could have been detected at all,
it would most likely have been cold, furious rage.
“I felt
you take control,” Mainframe
stated, spitting it out like a filthy accusation.
Anthony
Stark’s body could only look up at Mainframe, but his mind could and did
answer. As a founder, I have every right. That pathetic excuse for Steve’s
replacement needed to know exactly where he stood. Whether it’s run by Fury or
Gyrich, I will not allow the Avengers to be controlled by SHIELD.
“Of course
not,” Mainframe responded. “Only
you have the right. But is it worth your life? How close did those few seconds
get you towards a fatal cardiac arrest?”
Too close, the computerized voice of Tony Stark said. But
there is still so much to be done. Thor is off playing king, Steve and Hank are
dead, Bruce is gone forever, and Janet... A single tear slid down Tony
Stark’s catatonic face at the thought of what happened to the woman he had once
cared deeply for. Janet is also lost to us. As the last active Avengers
founder, I have a responsibility to guide this new team.
“And I am
charged with safeguarding your life Mr. Stark. You have taken more than enough
steps to safeguard the new Avengers, to ensure that a team will always be around
when needed. I implore you sir, stay out of our affairs unless you are truly
needed, lest we lose you when it really counts.”
That
sounds like something Vision would say. Ironic, I suppose. You’re right. I’ll
give the new Avengers the space they need, entrust Edwin to guide them through
these early stages. But when I am needed, I will act, consequences be damned.
Mainframe
nodded. “Of you sir, I would expect nothing less.”
___________________________________________________________________________________
“This is so
boring!” Cassie Lang, the Avenger known publicly as the Stunning Stinger, cried
out. She leaned over the computer console, peering at the monitors through
half-closed eyes. “What’s the point of having a sophisticated computer system
if it can’t keep us out of monitor duty? The minute this thing is contacted
with a threat, it can just sent a priority signal to our ID cards! Why should
we be here?”
“Computers
can screw up Cassie,” Henry Pym, son of the late Dr. Hank Pym, responded.
“We’re supposed to keep up to date on these things ourselves anyway, stay in
practice so we don’t let our guard down or something. I don’t know.
Shieldbearer was making some big speech about working on patience and studying
about old enemies, but I wasn’t really listening.”
“Yeah, me
neither,” Stinger said. “Except for the stuff about reading the archives.
Having grown up around heroes, I’ve always been a little interested in the old
days.”
Running her
fingers over the computer keys, Stinger brought up a variety of images on the
monitor screens. Among them were images of the Black Widow, Batroc the Leaper,
Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, and the Grim Reaper. “Take the Champions for
instance. They had some of the funniest adventures ever!”
Henry Pym,
the Giant Man, nodded. “Yeah, I’d heard that they something of a joke. I mean,
they fought more monkeys than all the other heroic teams combined. Even the
Fantastic Four!”
Stinger
laughed. “Those chimps were awesome! Every time I saw them, I had to keep from
laughing. It was even harder whenever Batroc used that stupid fake accent.”
Stinger’s smile quickly turned to a frown of sadness. “It was a real shame
about him. Of all the reformed villains I’d met, Batroc was the last one I had
imagined going back to crime.”
“That was
after he’d lost a fight with the Toad, right?” Giant Man asked.
Stinger
nodded. “Batroc never could live down that moment. Then after the Toad did all
that psycho stuff later on, Batroc felt like he’d allowed it to happen because
he hadn’t stopped the guy early on. He just kept on pushing himself, forcing
fights with everybody he saw, even teammates.” She shook her head sadly. “It
was the beating Guinea Pig had given him that really drove Batroc over the
edge.”
Giant Man
motioned at the image of the Black Widow. “He was finally killed by Black
Widow, wasn’t he?”
“I-I’d rather
not talk about that,” Stinger finally said after a long pause. With a push of a
button, she removed the images of Black Widow and Batroc. “Needless to say, it
tore the Champions apart. All because of that damned Toad.”
“He got his,”
Giant Man encouraged. “What about the final battle between Wonder Man and the
Grim Reaper? I was too young at the time to really experience it as it
happened.”
“You were lucky,”
Stinger said softly. “Grim Reaper had thought he could win his brother’s love
by killing the Scarlet Witch, then trying to resurrect her as a zombie that
would feel nothing but love for Wonder Man. Taking the death blast meant for
Wanda had probably been the most self-less thing Simon had ever done. This was
the real, permanent death of his soul, but he gladly took it because he loved
Wanda. Even when she didn’t return his love, Wonder Man had still loved her.”
“That was
when the Grim Reaper transported New York City to Hell?” Giant Man asked.
“He’d killed
his brother,” Stinger answered. “Erik had managed to retain some semblance of
sanity because he saw Simon’s good deeds as making up for his own evil. When
Wonder Man died from Grim Reaper’s hand, that was the end of the justification.
The Grim Reaper had gone face-to-face with all the terrible things he’d done
over the years, and that experience left him with one hell of a death wish.
“So he tried
to kill himself,” Stinger continued. “The problem was, he tried to take a whole
city out with him. He went like it was all a mission to journey into Hell for
Wonder Man’s soul, an attempt to bring his brother back, but it was clear that
he was trying to do out in a blaze of glory. In the end, it was the Vision that
got through to him. He’d convinced Erik that if he sent New York City back to
Earth, saving millions of lives, that he’d be able to die with the weight of
all his evil deeds swept away. So Grim Reaper, fighting for his life against an
endless swarm of demons, used the last of his power to send the city back.”
“Heavy,”
Giant Man said. “A shame he didn’t get to see Wonder Man return.”
Stinger gave
a wry laugh. “Yeah, but boy was Simon mad at the Vision. As a result of the
whole thing, Wonder Man exiled himself into space, while the Vision reduced
himself to a simple computer program. An anti-virus, meant to track down and
destroy every vestige of Ultron that still existed. None of the them have been
seen since.”
“Damn,” was
all Giant Man said. “I’m part of one screwed up family, even excluding Scarlet
Witch and Quicksilver.”
“Tell me
about it,” Stinger replied. “After working so hard to disassociate themselves
from Magneto and become solid Avenger names, they die in some huge mutant
conflict. Most folks don’t even associate them with the Avengers anymore.”
Stinger shuddered. “Then there’s what happened to Wasp.”
“God, I don’t
even want to think about it,” Giant Man said.
Stinger
nodded, looking a little sick. Before she could say anything, the computer console
suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree, complete with a blaring alarm that
caused Stinger and Giant Man to jump out of their seats.
“What the
hell is that!” Giant Man started. But then an image appeared on all the
monitors, the scene that was the cause for the alarm going out. Giant Man’s
words stuck in his throat.
“God, I hate
monitor duty,” Stinger muttered.
______________________________________________________________________________________
“And that’s
it for today class,” Kevin Masterson declared. “Remember, your first art
project is due Monday.”
The students
gathered their supplies and began to file out. Professor Masterson stood by the
door, greeted each student as he or she left the classroom. About halfway
through a discussion with a pretty young arts major, his wallet started
beeping.
“Damn pager,”
Kevin said. “Excuse me. Continue on.”
Stepping back
from the doorway, Kevin took out his wallet and opened it up. It was his
Avengers card that was beeping, and the words “Priority One!” were flashing in
big bright letters.
“Shit,” Kevin
muttered. Putting his wallet back away,
Kevin moved to leave the classroom with the remainder of his students.
Unfortunately,
just as Kevin was out the door, a young man stepped in front of him with his
hand outstretched.
“Professor
Masterson,” the young man said. “Pardon me, but I am new to this class, and
would like to introduce myself. I am Peter Nereel.”
Kevin
accepted the hand and nodded. “Oh, the exchange student from the Savage Land.
Yes, I’m sorry I didn’t greet you earlier, but I’d only received the notice
this morning.”
Peter
shrugged with a smile. “It is no big deal. Also, I wanted to personally commend
your lecture on technique. I only took this class because my mother insisted,
but you are making it much more interesting than I had anticipated.”
“I’m glad to
hear that Peter,” Kevin said. “Look, I’d love to talk more, but there’s
somewhere important that I have to be.”
“Yes yes, of
course,” Peter replied quickly. “I am very sorry for taking up your time.”
“It’s all
right. I’ll see you in class Monday, Peter. Goodbye.”
The students
left behind, Kevin Masterson jogged out of the building. Looking around, he
found a secluded area of the campus.
“Thunderstrike,”
Kevin whispered.
A great
*KRAKA-TOOM!* echoed out. Suddenly, Kevin was gone, and there stood
Thunderstrike. His costume was a slight variation of the original
Thunderstrike’s, his father. It was a simple spandex costume of light orange
and brown, with the emblem of a warhammer over the left breast. Thunderstrike’s
hair was long and in a pony-tail, as opposed to Kevin Masterson’s simple
crew-cut.
Thunderstrike
looked down at his hand, where his Avengers card was clasped, still beeping.
“Priority
One,” Thunderstrike mused. “That would mean an assault on the museum itself.”
Thunderstrike
then looked at both his hands. “Thor and my father traveled by throwing their
hammers, then allowing themselves to be carried along. I may not have a hammer,
but I hold the power of one. Perhaps if I concentrate my thunder blasts towards
the ground, but with only a minute amount of force....”
Thunderstrike did so, and was himself surprised by his sudden propulsion through the air. In a high, long arc, Thunderstrike was carried off the Empire State University Campus, through the air of New York City itself.
Straight
towards a tall building
“Whoa!”
Thunderstrike cried out. Quickly he brought up his hands, and released another
slight thunder blast just as he was about to crash into the building.
With an
astounding crash, the glass windows around that immediate face of the building
shattered. But Thunderstrike had succeeded in altering his trajectory,
ricocheting away from the building.
“That was
close,” Thunderstrike thought aloud as he careened through the air. “I’ll have
to get some practice in, but nows not the time.”
Altering his
route twice more, Thunderstrike finally managed to propel himself in the
direction of Avengers Museum and remain on the course. Once he caught sight of
the museum, Thunderstrike released another powerful thunder blast so that he
could land directly on the rooftop, where he could clearly see Giant Man’s
twelve-foot tall, bright red-garbed frame.
Thunderstrike
crashed on the rooftop. He gritted his teeth as tremors of pain shuddered
throughout his body. Thunderstrike also looked around, and realized that he,
Giant Man, and the small flitting form that was Stinger were the only ones
there.
“Where’s this
threat you called about?” Thunderstrike asked.
“The computer
did that, not us,” Stinger passed by Thunderstrike’s ear and said. “It had
registered some kind of weird energy over the museum. Probably some kind of
malfunction, because do you see any freaky energy?”
“No,”
Thunderstrike began. “Then he noticed that while the tremors had lessened
throughout his body, they hadn’t ceased. “But I feel something. It’s like
a...resonance of some kind, as though the magic of my powers is reacting to the
presence of another form of magic.”
“Like a
tuning fork?” Giant Man asked. “Well, that’s some help at least. Maybe you can
pinpoint where it’s coming from, because it looks like we won’t be able to see
it until its....too....late....”
Looking up at
what had Giant Man’s attention, Stinger nodded. “Yep, I’d say it’s too late.”
Over the
heads of the three Avengers, a slash of purple energy had sliced through the
air, creating a rapidly-widening portal of some kind. On the other side, the
air was red and stormy, and the three Avengers felt an almost-unbearable wave
of heat permeate through.
In the center
of the portal, glowing scythe poised to strike, there stood a figure
long-believed dead. A man who had battled with the Avengers almost from the
beginning, even from beyond the grave.
The Grim
Reaper had returned.
“Bring me my
brothers!” the Grim Reaper declared. “Now, before I reduce this city to ashes!”
“Of course
you will,” Stinger replied. “Not two days after we reassemble, one of our
greatest enemies returns. And you’re probably more powerful than ever, right?”
“Doesn’t
matter,” Giant Man said. He cracked the knuckles of his huge fists. “We’re
three to your one, Reaper, and we’re no slouches in the power department
either.”
The Grim
Reaper grinned menacingly. “You’re a bunch of kids, unworthy of my time,” he
cackled. “Fortunately, I didn’t come alone!”
With those
words, the otherworldly portal opened by Grim Reaper widened. To his left, a
bright white light blinked into existence. To his right, the ashes and embers
of hell swept into the air, whirling about in a small tornado.
While above
the Grim Reaper, along the top of the portal, a giant skeletal hand appeared.
Grasping the top of the portal, this hand of bones lifted it up, pulling the
portal farther open. There, towering behind the Grim Reaper, was a gigantic
skeleton, easily twenty-five feet in height.
“The Living
Laser, Whirlwind, and Goliath,” the Grim Reaper declared. “Years dead they may
be, but my power has allowed them to rise again! They are my Lethal Legion of
the Unliving!”
______________________________________________________________________________________
Next Issue: The Grim Reaper is back, but a little behind! Can the new Avengers stop
him before he makes good on his threat? Maybe. But can they stop the Grim
Reaper’s new Lethal Legion of the Unliving? Probably not.