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Avengers Initiative Heroes of Tomorrow – Episode One: Who Mourns the Past?

By

Celgress

Avenger Tower Mid-September 2014, late afternoon

Freshly emancipated seventeen year old Gwen Stacy aka Black Cat was in awe as she exited the stretched white limousine in front of the imposing structure of Avenger Tower. It was the first time she'd been to New York City, her new home. Gwen had grown up in a small town in upstate New York called Cider Falls, dominated first by the fruit industry (thus its rather quaint name) then in her teenage years by two regional tech companies that went global via well positioned IPOs; Oscorp and Fisk Industries.

Born a human mutant with the famed or infamous, depending on whose point of view you were asking, X Gene to local police Chief George Stacy and his accountant wife Helen Stacy Gwen's powers had manifested early. Not wanting their darling daughter treated any different than other children the Stacys had taught Gwen to supress her slowly manifesting abilities, including her probability manipulation talent, whenever possible. Gwen was instructed that under no circumstances was she to share knowledge of her special self with anyone. Her mutant status aside it had been an idyllic childhood. Tragedy struck the young family when Helen died in an automobile accident when Gwen was six. After losing her mother Gwen clung fiercely to her father until his own tragic death at the hands of a professional executioner of super beings Andreva (Ahn-dra-va) the Hunter on Labor Day Saturday. Fortunately Gwen had fallen in love with and agreed to marry once she turned eighteen a young man from her home town named Edward Allen Brock, so she wasn't left completely alone in the world.

Eddie Brock, as he preferred to be called, was a year older than Gwen. Near the end of Eddie's senior year of high school he'd used a top secret mutagenic formula made by his onetime employer Oscorp to gain the abilities of a tarantula. The serum had been created by harnessing residual properties in the blood of Eddie and Gwen's good friend Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man. Peter who had been genetically altered while an infant by his parents, deceased SHIELD researchers Ricard and Mary Parker, had come to the attention of Oscorp CEO Norman Osborn when side effects, namely mounting rage and uncontrollable insanity, from Osborn's own biological enhancement process proved less than desirable for mass producing government super soldiers, as the company was contractually obligation to do in under a year. After joining forces to expose and defeat Norman Osborn, who had adopted the identity of Green Goblin after using his own unstable solution, Eddie, Gwen, Peter, Peter's girlfriend Mary Jane Watson and Peter's cousin Reilly Parker, both of whom had been altered during the multi-month struggle, had several more months of adventure combating injustice together. During which Eddie had come to the attention of none other than Captain America and been offered a position as an Avenger trainee as part of the new Initiative Program. A position he had passed off to his guardian/Grandfather, Englishman Desmond Brock, as being with Army Special Forces thus Eddie had been training in New York City under the watchful eyes of his senior Avengers during the past year. Following her father's tragic passing Gwen decided to join her fiancé and hopefully someday become a full-fledged member of the Avengers.

Black Cat followed the lead of Captain America, Hawkeye and Dr. Bruce Banner aka the Incredible Hulk who entered the building through its front lobby. Like Black Cat all, save Dr. Banner who was attired in casual clothes, wore their official uniforms. After passing through four layers of security, which Black Cat only got through based upon Captain America's vouching for her character, they entered a spacious elevator that took them up more than two dozen floors where their follow Avengers waited in what looked to Black Cat a large lounge.

Black Cat had never been so nervous in her life. She stood frozen in place until Captain America urged her forward with a gentle pat on her back and a warm smile. She smiled back at Captain America then with great trepidation she walked towards the gathered group of semi-legendary heroes. They were all there: Wasp, Yellow Jacket, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, and the rest they were clad mostly in street clothing, other than Thor who stood off stoically in corner alone, Black Panther and the Android Vision who wore their own unique signature garb.

"I can't believe we missed all the fun." Hawkeye lamented zeroing in on a table stacked high with delectable hors d'oeuvres. "An alien invasion takes place and we were on vacation upstate clearing Hulk's name."

"I wouldn't exactly term our experience a vacation soldier." Captain America said.

"Save it Cap, attacking aliens trump most every other type of threat." Hawkeye sighed in exaggerated fashion between stuffing his face.

Dr. Bruce Banner shook his head at Hawkeye's childish whining before muttering. "And people call me the emotional one."

"Indeed, thou variable moods art nothing compared to Hawkeye's own my sometime troll bodied friend." Thor said giving Bruce Banner a powerful yet good natured slapped on the back.

"Thanks Thor, I think." Bruce Banner said rubbing his sore back.

"No need to thank me sometime troll bodied friend, tis the truth." Thor said taking no note of Bruce's verbal jab.

"Worry not Hawkeye, I'm all but certain our world shall suffer another extra-terrestrial incursion in the foreseeable future is past experiences be any guide." Black Panther said.

"Eddie," Black Cat squealed taking off her dominion mask and white whig she ran up to her burly soulmate and practically jumped into his arms.

"I've missed you babe." Eddie said, he was wearing his White Tarantula costume minus mas. He twirled Gwen around holding her tight.

"Young love," Wasp sighed. "Isn't it wonderful?" She asked elbowing Yellow Jacket in his ribs for confirmation.

"It sure is honey." Yellow Jacket said humoring his wife.

"It would appear you two soon won't be the only Avengers joined in matrimony." Black Panther said observing Gwen and Eddie's heartfelt reunion.

"Indeed, thus it would appear." Thor agreed.

"And here I thought it would be Pepper and Tony who'd get hitched next." Hawkeye said with a devilish glint in his eye.

"Hey I think I speak for both myself and Pepper when I say we like our relationship just the way it is thank you very much." Tony Stark said putting up his hands defensively. With the exception of his exposed face he was clad head to toe in his Ironman armor.

"Of course you do." Wasp said rolling her eyes towards heaven.

"Ah Jarvis there you are?" Ironman said watching his faithful long time butler Edwin Jarvis entered the lounge. He breathed a sigh of relief happy for the change in subject matter. "Please see that Ms. Stacy is processed, issued her official Avenger trainee ID and assigned a room at the earliest possible time." Ironman gestured towards Black Cat.

"Very well sir. I shall do so at my earliest convenience." Jarvis said with a curt bow. He was dressed impeccably in a black tuxedo with polished black leather shoes. Jarvis turned his attention away from his direct employer and towards the teenage couple instead. Who had by this time ended their loving embrace. "Where you're technically underage Ms. Stacy we will need to examine and make photographic copies for our records of all pertinent documents relating to your current legal status."

"Huh," Gwen said an expression of utter confusion marred her features. She glanced at her fiancé for possible clarification.

"He means your emancipation documents babe. They want to see them and make copies for their records when they open your Avenger file." Eddie said. He then leaned down and gently kissed Gwen on her forehead.

"No problem," Gwen said her expression now filled with understanding. "When do we get started?"

"Whenever is best for you Miss Stacy." Jarvis said. "We are in no real hurry. Does tomorrow at 1:00 pm after lunch sound good?"

"Sure,' Gwen answered with a smile. "Where should I meet you?"

"Room nine-B of the Processing and Records Center on Floor twenty-three, I look forward to our meeting." Jarvis answered. "Now if you'll excuse me Miss Stacy I must take my leave of your charming company." Reaching forward he took Gwen's white gloved right hand in his own and kissed it.

Gwen blushed. "You're quite the charmer Mr. Jarvis." Gwen giggled.

"Please call me Jarvis, farewell Miss Stacy, Mr. Brock." Jarvis said releasing Gwen's hand.

"Hey Jarvis where's my kiss." Eddie joked.

"Yeah Jarvis don't play favorites." Hawkeye taunted. "While the new girl certainly is cute that's no reason to hold out on the rest of us. C'mon buddy, make the rounds."

"Men, how immature," Miss Marvel said shaking her head in disgist arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Tell me about it." Wasp said as Yellow Jacket bored by the proceedings used his size variability gun to repeatedly grow and then shrink a house fly.

"What," Yellow Jacket said noticing the disapproving looks his wife, Miss Marvel and Black Widow were shooting him. "It's for science, okay."

"If you insist comrade Yellow Jacket," Black Widow said skeptically in her thick Russian accent.

"I fail to see the scientific value in such an experiment." Vision said. "Perhaps if I knew what the purpose was I could make a more accurate assessment of…."

"A guy can't have any fun around here, what a bunch of killjoys." Yellow Jacket grumbled cutting off Vision. He put away his blaster after returning the fly once more to its normal size. He then stormed off out of the room.

"Hank wait, I was only joking." Wasp called rushing out of the room after him.

"I see Pym's temper hasn't improved any." Miss Marvel said unimpressed by Yellow Jacket's actions.

"Da," Black Widow said. "He remains a how you say 'hothead'."

"Hothead," Vision said without comprehension. "Is Dr. Pym's central processor in danger of overheating? If so we must help him take measure before catastrophic system failure occurs."

Miss Marvel couldn't help but laugh at Vision's childlike understanding of the human condition. Unfolding her arms she said. "Vision you never fail to amuse me."

"Thank you ma'am, however such was not my intention." Vision said. "I was simply expressing a genuine concerning for Dr. Pym's functionality."

"I know." Miss Marvel said smiling. "You shouldn't worry Vision. Trust me there is nothing and I do mean nothing we can do to help Dr. Pym work through his, um issues."

"If you say so Miss Marvel, I will concentrate instead on other more potentially productive lines of endeavour." Vision said.

Bruce Banner quietly slipped out of the room. All the good natured banter, laughter and comradery between his teammates was not his cup of tea, at least not these days. He wondered around the complex in silence lost deep within his own thoughts until he found himself gazing out a Westward orientated exterior window. His eyes locked on the setting sun.

Bruce Banner's mind drifted to thoughts he hadn't seriously entertained in years thoughts of his pre Hulk past. He wondered where his old colleagues were today? What had become of them after their final experiment had gone so very wrong? Nearly seven years was a long time, six of those spent as an out of control monster, to be out of touch with everyone he had once cared about and then there was the matter of his dear wife, and love of his life, Betty Banner-Ross. They'd only been married a few short months when tragedy had struck in the form of the gamma explosion which had forever altered his destiny.

"My dear Betty I wonder where you are? I wonder if you ever think about me?" Bruce Banner whispered observing the darkening sky as the first stars became visible in the heavens. "I hope you're well. I'm sorry I had to help bring your father General Ross in recently. I hope you don't believe his lies he's spewed about Hulk, about me these many years. At my least controlled Hulk was never the blood thirsty monster General Ross and his cronies made him, me out to be. I could never do the things they claimed, not on my worse day. Such actions aren't in my nature, they never have were nor will be." Bruce Banner went silent. He didn't know who long he had stood there alone stargazing before he felt a familiar presence.

"A penny for your thoughts my friend," Captain America said stepping up beside Bruce Banner.

Bruce Banner smiled Steve Rogers, more popularly known as Captain America, was his only real friend aside from the late Rick Jones since becoming Hulk. "I've been thinking a lot about the past recently. How it effects the present. How it makes us who we are today. How we can never truly escape it no matter how hard we try or might at times wish we could. Do you ever think about these things?" He then added with a chuckle. "Look who I'm talking to, of course you do."

If Captain America took any offense at his friend's comment he didn't show it. He gave Bruce's questions some thought before replying after a lengthy pause. "While one should never forget one's past neither should one let the past define one's future. One may not know what the future holds but one should not let one's past blind one to possibilities yet to be because the past is not today but yesterday."

"That makes a great deal of sense, thanks Steve." Bruce Banner said. "I hope one day to be as wise as you."

"In many ways you already are soldier, more so in certain respects." Captain America said setting his hand on Bruce's left shoulder. "Come let us rejoin the party, our friends are waiting."

"Yes lets," Bruce Banner said in much better mood. He and Captain America walked off in the general direct of the ongoing boisterous gathering.

Border of Navajo Tribal Lands in West-Central New Mexico, afternoon

Deep underground beneath the dark orange soil of the harsh semi-desert that dominated the parched landscape above a sprawling compound had been etched out of the red rock in complete secrecy. Within its maze of honeycombed chambers and dizzy array of corridors labored a gruesome, inhuman workforce. These man sized mutant animals, primarily arthropods and reptiles, were all colored various shades of greens, browns and a few greys. Even their widely variable eyes glowed with unsettling pigmentations of yellow, green and red. Each wore a gleaming silver computerized collar to ensure obedience around what passed for its neck.

In a huge roughly circular central chamber filled with similar toiling creatures and four entrances spaced at equal distances from each other, the walls of which were covered floor to ceiling in highly advanced computer banks, on raised brown leather command chair sat a green skinned man of average build and height. He possessed a thin blackish-green mustache above his narrow lips and long nose. He was clad in an orange jumpsuit, with high yellow boots matching long gloves, belt and shoulder pads, a wide black stripe ran up the torso of his jumpsuit from waist to neck a corresponding stripe was found on his back. His human name few knew his minions, willing and unwilling, however called him by his chosen title, Leader.

To the right side of this Leader's platform stood a grotesque red eyed dwarf dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit and high brown boots with grey skin and a bulging bald headed known as Gargoyle. To the left side of Leader's platform stood a towering behemoth of a monster that was the stuff of nightmares. He was called Abomination and more than lived up to his name more than anything else he resembled a cross between a green skinned gremlin and spikey crustacean of some ill-defined sort with neon feline pupiled yellow eyes. Other than his nether regions which were covered by black trunks he stood naked.

An average sized figured whose features were concealed within the confines of a pale purple hooded cloak entered the chamber and made its way forward. The figure stopped only when it was directly in front of Leader's platform. It then spoke in a soft feminine voice.

"You summoned me?"

"I did." Leader said in his typically pompous tone of voice. "I am close to replicating the power of the so called Red Hulk."

"May I ask how close?" The mysterious female figure said an undercurrent of excitement evident in her words.

"Within two to three months I should be ready for human testing." Leader answered beaming with pride in his latest accomplishment.

"Excellent," The mysterious female figure said happily. She had literally waited years already a few more months were nothing at this point. She simply must remain patient for the time being, and then all would be as it should.

"Now that the hour of final decision approaches I must know do you remain fully committed to our cause?" Leader inquired pointedly. "I cannot have you backing out at the last possible moment without notice. That would set my work back months or further. Do I have your renewed commitment?"

"Of course," The mysterious female figure replied without giving Leader's words a second or even a first thought. Her voice then changed in tone it became more serious and far darker. "Long have I awaited the chance for retribution against those who took away my happiness. Who mercilessly crushed my world without hesitation. I would never turn down the power I need to make my dreams of vengeance a reality."

"Ah music to my ears," Leader said lacking his fingers together and grinning wide. "Together the Earth will be our oyster. I see great things ahead. It is a pleasure working with you."

"Likewise my Leader," The mysterious female figure said with a respectful bow of her hooded head. It wouldn't be long now. Those who had ruined her life would learn the true fury of a woman scorned, as would all of humanity.

To Be Continued