Night of the Collector
Original by Steve Englehart – 1973
Revised by Scott Casper – 2007
Cast: (Avengers) Hawkeye (Clint Barton, chairman), Quicksilver (Pietro), Scarlet Witch (Wanda), Black Widow (Natasha Barton, married to Clint), the Swordsman, Hercules; (guest-stars) Mantis, the Vision, Cynthia, Tom Fagan, the Black Knight (Dane Whitman; mentioned); (villains) the Collector, Maha Yogi (cameo), Dormammu (mentioned).
October 30, 1973. Tuesday, late afternoon.
The war was over. The dimension-spanning conflict between the Avengers, the Defenders, and the dread Dormammu had ended, leaving a mind-drained Maha Yogi in the hands of the immortal Hercules. The assembled Avengers exited the XV-15 V/STOL plane they had borrowed from SHIELD. Quicksilver was quick, as always, to help down his sister, the Scarlet Witch. Hawkeye moved to help down his wife, the Black Widow, but she hopped out on her own. The Swordsman watched the captive Maha Yogi. The alien called the Watcher had said the Maha Yogi's mind was that of a toddler's now and may never recover, but the Swordsman had been a "bad guy" too long to trust one and suspected the Maha Yogi might somehow be faking. But the Swordsman was shocked out of his thoughts when the Avengers' ally, Mantis, helped him down out of the plane.
"My love, this one feels pain inside you," Mantis said. "You spoke of a wound?"
The Swordsman shrugged it off, trying to preserve his manliness. "Mantis, you feel too much! One of the facets of being the Swordsman is living with nicks and cuts. Really, I just felt weak for a moment. "I'm fine now."
The Scarlet Witch felt much the same. "Pietro, please!" she said in a hushed voice to her over-protective brother. "You promised me you would not embarrass me like this anymore. I am not a little girl!"
"Then just see it as insurance," Clint butted in, his capable wife almost to the mansion's roof entrance without him. "We got to take care of our prize Avenger who almost beat Dormammu all by herself!"
"Now you are being too kind too," Wanda said, but her blush said that she was not angry anymore.
"Clint," Natasha called out to her husband as she turned around, "is Mantis cleared for rooftop security?"
"Aw, nuts—" Clint said, as turrets began to pop up around the rooftop.
"Watch out!" Natasha called out. "Our rooftop defense is activated!"
"Scatter!" the Swordsman told everyone, but he moved to stand in front of Mantis.
It was too late. Stun beams lanced out and struck every Avenger, except Pietro and Mantis. While Mantis could only dodge, Pietro was free to act. The stun beams might have been faster, but the machines that swiveled to try to catch Pietro in the beams seemed to be moving in slow motion to him. He raced around them with ease to the door, took off his glove, and used his palm print on the wall-mounted ID scanner to make the defense machines all pause. He patted down his costume quickly and lost a precious moment realizing he did not have the roof access key on him! He scooped up the one the Natasha had been holding and used it. At the turn of the key, the defenses all shut down and the stun beams turned off.
"Was this one responsible?" Mantis asked as everyone rose to their feet.
"No, we were all careless," Wanda responded as an admonishment toward all.
"We're all edgy after what we've been through," the Swordsman said. "It was bound to make us forgetful. But we do have some important things to keep in mind…" he said as he reached where Hercules was helping up the whimpering Maha Yogi.
"I understand, Swordsman, and I have already decided what to do with the Maha Yogi." But Hercules would not elaborate further until they were all indoors and boarding the elevator to the lower floors. Clint, the Swordsman, and Mantis accompanied the demigod and his prisoner. "Though his brain is addled," Hercules continued, "still is the Maha Yogi a dangerous man and must be secured. We should secure him in our own holding cell until such time as the authorities of this country can assure us his powers can be neutralized and he can be held in one of their facilities."
"No argument from me, Herc," Clint said. "If he's powerful enough that you're worried about him, that's good enough for me to worry."
When they exited on the ground level, it was no surprise to see Natasha had raced them and won by taking the stairs. But instead of reaching out for her husband, she grabbed Mantis by the arm. "Mantis, I want to speak with you," she said.
"Of course," Mantis said, and waited. "Oh, you mean in private. Very well. This one will return soon, my love," she told the Swordsman. After going through the gallery to the kitchen, Mantis prompted Natasha, asking, "What can this one do to be of service?"
"Well," Natasha began. She was famished after their long mission and the kitchen smelled so good with everything their butler, Jarvis, was cooking for them. Well, no one would miss an apple, she thought, so she grabbed one to tide her over. "So far, all we have is the Swordsman's word that we should trust you," she said between bites. "So far, you've given us no reason to doubt either of you, but we know nothing of your background, and I would like to. Trust me; we're a very understanding bunch. I think Hercules is the only one among us who doesn't have something they are ashamed of in their past -- and even that might not be true if Roman mythology is to be believed."
"Oh, is that all?" Mantis asked. "You sounded so ominous before. This one expected you to ask for my complete personal history, but it would be a most uninteresting recital. I have nothing in my past worth speaking."
Natasha studied Mantis' face between bites of her apple, searching for deception, but could only see a passivity bordering on naivety. When that look did start to fade, Natasha was surprised to see it replaced by one of discomfort. Now Mantis was rubbing her forehead like she had a migraine.
"What's the matter?" Natasha prompted her.
"This one…does not know," Mantis said. "There is a feeling…of danger…but this one can sense no more."
"Danger, here? To the Avengers?" Natasha prodded.
"This one can sense no more," Mantis repeated, as if annoyed by the question.
"Okay, let's tell the others," Natasha said. She had a good guess that the Swordsman was in the infirmary attending to the injury he kept insisting he didn't have, but that was the last place she wanted to take Mantis. Then she'd have to listen to Mantis cooing after him like a love-sick dove again. She suppressed a shudder and resolved to find her someone else. A quick check with the kitchen intercom revealed that Hercules was at the sub-basement level prisoner cell, Wanda was in her room, Pietro was in their conference room, and Clint was in their room, getting ready to take a shower. As much as she wanted to be there for that, it was yet another situation she did not want to lead Mantis into. That left Wanda and Pietro, and of the two of them…
"Wanda, can we come in?" Natasha asked.
Wanda had doffed her headband, cape, gloves, and boots, trading them all for a robe over the rest of her unitard. "Certainly," Wanda said, rising from her bed. "What's wrong?"
"Mantis had a premonition of danger," Natasha explained. "I know you don't have a danger sense, but you do have good intuition. Do you feel anything?"
"…No," Wanda said, searching her feelings, "but maybe I can help. My hex power might be able to briefly augment your senses, Mantis. Would you like me to try?"
"This one is willing," Mantis said, and she relaxed like she was about to go into a trance.
Wanda placed her hands by the sides of Mantis' forehead and concentrated. Wanda's brow furrowed while Mantis seemed to sink deeper into a trance.
"Danger…tomorrow night…" Mantis said.
After another minute, Natasha said, "Is that it?"
"This one is sorry," Mantis said, coming out of her trance.
"At least we have some warning," Wanda suggested.
"She said what?" Clint said from in the shower.
"That there will be some kind of danger tomorrow night," Natasha said.
"Can't you come in here and tell me this?" Clint asked.
"Oh no -- if I come in there, we'll never talk about anything important."
"How important can it be? 'Danger tomorrow night' isn't a lot to work from."
"But we should be on alert nonetheless. Maybe we should keep more than one person on monitor duty here at the mansion until after tomorrow night."
"As long as it's not us, honey."
"Why not?"
"Because we're going to Rutland tomorrow, that's why!"
"Rutland, Vermont? For the Halloween parade? Honey, we just fought to save the world from two very powerful villains. Don't you want to rest?"
"Not me! You know I live for this stuff!"
Natasha sighed. She knew what Clint would want when he was in this mood. She wouldn't be resting for some time.
Pietro had grown impatient waiting for the others and began his own video report of recent events. He found himself stopping the recorder frequently while he tried to sum up in his mind the horrors of the last few weeks and how close they had all come to the end of life as they knew it. The more he thought about it, the more he wished he was not here at the mansion at all, but off to see his girlfriend, Cynthia.
"I was denied a chance myself of directly confronting Dormammu," Pietro said, continuing his video log, "but could not be more proud that my sister lent her strength to the final effort."
"And well you should be proud, friend Quicksilver," Hercules said upon entering, "for the Prince of Power has admired the bravery of the Scarlet Witch and you on many occasions."
"Thank you," Pietro replied, switching off the recording again. "I'm glad you've come to help log a report, for I grow impatient to leave and see my Cynthia."
"Say no more, for I understand. A hero's place at quest's end is in the comforting arms of womenkind. Would that I could hasten my leave to fabled Olympus and take a sylph or two in hand. But my duty as an Avenger comes first."
Hercules sat down and tried to compose in his mind what oral history he should record about the latest saga of the Avengers. It was a Herculean task – a pun he wished he had thought of before Pietro left. His thinking was interrupted by a ping on the intercom, followed by the voice of their butler, Jarvis, announcing dinner was served. Hmm…Jarvis was an excellent cook as well as butler, and the feasts he prepared after a long mission were worthy of the gods. Hercules decided to file his report later.
Wanda, too, was eager for supper. She could not remember when she last ate. She had showered and changed into a simple red house dress. She was on her way downstairs to the dining room when she met the Vision coming up. The Vision was in a full costume, complete with cape that he always insisted on wearing. Although he had the synthetic body of an adult male, his mind was still equivalent to a five year old boy. Because he was essentially a foster child in the care of the Avengers, wearing costumes seemed normal to him. Wanda was like a mother to him, so he cried out her name when he saw her and rushed up to hug her.
"Goodness, Vision! I've missed you too!"
"Where have you been, Wanda?" Vision asked, as if his feelings were hurt. "I have not had anyone to talk to me but Jarvis."
"Oh, that couldn't have been so bad. As for where we've been, I'm sure you will hear more over dinner."
"I wish you could take me with you more. I am allowed to go out so seldom."
Wanda understood why, though she said nothing. Superheroes had always been admired since the days of Superman, but only at a distance. When superheroes wanted to interact with society, they were expected to blend in and look like everyone else. Wanda was a lucky mutant who looked just like an ordinary human, but she knew other mutants who were not so lucky. The Vision might not be a mutant, but his red skin, black eyes, and hairlessness would always make him stand out.
Jarvis was waiting in the dining room for them and watched patiently as Wanda and the Vision were joined by Hercules, the Swordsman, Mantis, and then Clint and Natasha. Only Wanda, Clint, and Natasha had switched to casual clothes.
"Are you spoiling me with hot dogs again, Jarvis?" Clint said as he smelled his favorite food on the table.