"I don't know how he's done it, but he's taken the whole team down and sent them somewhere else. I'll hide out here for as long as I can, you need to send help." The audio file from Hawkeye ended.

Nick Fury, Allen Drachen, and Alexander Drake were all standing around a large table with a device that was just playing the audio in the center. The crew of the helicarrier move about their business as the ships hovered just over the river outside the city grounds. The inside was much larger than either of them had expected, and the amount of people needed to maintain it was immense. Nick Fury gave Alex and Allen some time to take in the information they have just heard. "That was our last transmission from the Avengers, and that was a week ago. Loki attacked them somewhere off the coast of Africa while they were on a recon mission. After that just nothing. No sign of Loki or the Avengers. We, need your help."

Alex and Allen both exchanged glances. Allen finally spoke first, "So the whole Avengers team gets taken out by Loki, and your best solution is to send the two of us to fight him? How exactly is that suppose to work, he just took out the world's greatest fighters."

Alex stepped forward, "What my friend here means is if we do encounter Loki, sir, I don't think that just the two of us will be able to stop him."

Nick Fury let out a short, sarcastic laugh, "Well it's a good thing you're not working alone. Just like the first Avengers protocol I've located and tracked down members for a new team that I think should work." He reached into his jacket and produced several files and slid them across the table, "All you guys need to do is find them, and then you guys can go find the other Avengers."

Allen grabbed one of the files and opened it. Inside was a picture of a man in a leather jacket, and next to him another figure who seemed to be literally on fire. He wasn't too surprised some of it had been redacted but the name still stuck out. "Guess I'll take him." He said, grabbing another file. "And...her?" The picture was of a girl with blonde hair, with wings resembling that of an eagle with markings on them.

"Alright. Guess I'll take these two. Twin sisters 'Wave and Whistleblower'," Alex said holding up the two recognized that The sisters each had on the standard X-men uniform. Each had long dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and cheerful expressions that would light up an entire room.. "Guess I know where to look at least."

"We have word," Nick began, "That they're taking their leave shortly and will be arriving in the city within the next few days."

'Ah, even easier." Alex grinned and jokingly punched Allen's shoulder, "At least you're a good tracker."

"Edward 'Eddy' Flames is coming to town also. Intel suggests he's searching for someone and the trail is leading him here...but her…" he motions to the file containing the blonde. Allen opens it again and reads in his mind as Nick speaks aloud, "Rosette. She's a hydra agent, but she may be trying to defect if her past actions are any indication."

"So how am I going to track her?" Allen asked.

"I have faith in your abilities." Fury said turning and walking out the door. Allen sighed and followed Alex to the elevator to leave the massive ship. "Guess we have some time. I'll see what I can find out about Rosette."

Meanwhile, just a couple of miles north in the Xavier Institute, two young adults are standing before Cyclops, each with a packed bag. "I'm very proud of both you two." He began. "I watched you both grow up here, and I'm happy that you're finally going out on your own."

Wave smiled and nodded her head, "Thank you Scott." Stephanie said smiling. "We really appreciate everything you've done for us, without the school and your help we would have never learned to control our powers, but we feel like it's our time to move on."

Veronica, or as she was called in the school, Whistleblower, nodded her head in agreement. They both left out the front gate of the institute, hugging their friends and former headmasters in the courtyard as they made their way out the school, and bound for a nearby train station.

At the same to the west of the city another man was making his way through the state. In an old, run down motel and given the barest of rooms, a man was sleeping on the floor next to his dog, a large husky. The sunlight passes through an open window and it hits his face, causing him to groan and wake up. "Uggh." He slowly sat up and dusted his leather jacket off. "Wake up Max." he said, gently kicking the dogs stomach. The rottweiler let out a yawn and stood up, barking back at his owner. "Good boy. Let's go find something to eat." Eddy said walking out the door.

Alex was standing in the subway, watching the hustle and bustle of people hurry around to each their destination which ultimately forced him to lean against the kept his hands in his pockets and head angled down trying to look as inconspicuousu as possible. Eventually a train began to slow to a stop and unleashed a new flood of people. Maybe they're on this one. He thought as he began to scan across the crowd.

Stepping off the train, Stephanie and Veronica took a glimpse around the subway station. "Alright sis. Here we are in the big city." Stephanie said, grabbing her sister's hand tightly. They both took a couple steps towards the stairs, but before they could start their climb a man stepped out in front of them.

"Stephanie and Veronica Harper?" A voice called out amongst all the commotion.

"Yes that's us." Stephanie said slightly suspicious. Veronica took a slight step backwards, never seeing this boy before.

"Would you two come with me? There's someone who would like to meet you."

It took a minor bit of convincing them he wasn't apart of anything nefarious, and any concerns they had were washed away when he led them to the quinjet that had a S.H.I.E.L.D logo on it. He then led them across the deck of the helicarrier and to the main hub room where Fury and Allen were waiting.

"About time Alex," Allen sighed, "How long does it take to pick up two people from the train station?"

"A long time, especially if you have to wait for the train when you don't know what time it arrives at," Alex barked back.

"Enough you two," Nick Fury said hushing them. "It's a pleasure to meet you two. I'm Nick Fury, Director of Shield and I have an offer for you."

Around a week later Edward Flames finally reached New York City. He missed the smell of the city air, and prefered it over the dry Texan Desert any day. "Now where are you Johnny boy…" He grumbled looking to his canine companion. "Let's go Max."

After an hour or so of searching he found himself in central park sitting on a bench and having a bite to eat. He looked to his dog who was whimpering at his feet, and tossed him a piece.

A young girl sits down besides him, but was looking the other way when she spoke. "Hello."

He looked at her but couldn't see much. She wore normal enough clothes, but had her hood pulled over her head. "Howdy." He said observing her. She doesn't do anything, just sit there. "Having fun?"

"Excuse me?"

"Watching me eat?" He replied simply, making her partly turn towards him. He sighed and took another bite. In the shadows behind them a figure moved around and hit a switch on his arm.

"My name's Rosette. Are you Edward Flames?"

Eddy was about to take a bite but suddenly stopped. He glared at her out the corner of his eye, "Yeah. Who wants to know?"

"Listen. You're being hunted by Hydra. They've made a deal with Loki and some of the world's evilest villains. They're trying to take out every hero in the world." Her voice carried a degree of panic and urgency.

"That's fine, I can take care of myself. Good day." He said rising out of his seat. "Let's go Max." The dog barked, but turned towards a nearby turns around and see's the figure revealing himself as he walked into the daylight. A metal arm with a red star and a mask. Her expression changed suddenly, and she struck Eddy in the back of the head, causing him to collapse into a nearby garbage can.

Dreadwing sighed as he sat on the rooftop of a nearby building. His legs were hanging off the edge in his human form as he flipped through the two files he had. "Hm. I wonder if I could use his fire to boost myself…" The picture they had on file of Edward Flames was him literally on fire. The other one was interesting too. She had wings, but they didn't look natural, more like they were implanted. "Well, gotta start somewhere." He grabbed the files and placed them in his jacket before jumping off the taking to the sky as a dragon.

His flight led him around the edge of the city and to both islands. The smell of the water was a relief compared to the smog of the city but eventually he went back to patrolling the city. He decided to take a pass over central park when he saw something orange light up the area. He dipped his wing and circled back around and saw a fight breaking off. He tried to focus his eyes and saw three people in a triangle. "Well there's two of them," He grinned thinking it was going to be easy. Something seemed off though. Eddy was on fire and so was a dog nearby him. He was sending his chain out at the two figures dodging around him, and the dog made some attempts too. "Wait that's-" he looked closely. "Winter soldier!" He screamed out charging from the air at him. It seems the Hydra assassin was caught off guard, and went tumbling a couple feet away. Dreadwing turned around, "You Eddy Flames, right?" The man on fire let out a small nod, the dog growling. "I need you to come with me, you too Rosette." She didn't even acknowledge him. "Something wrong with her?"

"No idea, that guy just showed up and she started attacking me"

"That 'guy' is Hydra's top fighter, the Winter Soldier. If they did anything to her, we have to stop- Argh!" An explosion hit his back and made him stumble. "That's it!" He roared, fire sparking in his mouth.

On the Helicarrier Nick was in the meeting room with Veronica and Stephanie. "So basically," Stephanie began, "This Loki guy is gonna destroy the world and he got rid of the Avengers. So now, you want us to go against a god who took out another god, along with the world's greatest heroes."

Fury sighed. "If there was someone else suitable for the job, trust me, they would be here. You two are the only hope we have left."

The two looked at each other and started to think. They just left the X-men to be on their own, but now they were being dragged into this. "Alright." Stephanie said. "We're in."

Central Park was quickly turning into a combat zone. Dreadwing had switched targets to Rosette while Ghost Rider and Hellhound were tackling the Winter Soldier.

"Let's see if you can really fly." Dreadwing taunted as he jumped backwards, avoiding a strike by her and taking to the air. Once she saw him fly up, her own wings came out of her back and through her clothes, and she took after him. "Ah, so you do have wings." He grinned hovering in the air, but she flew past him, striking him in the head. The wings swept past him and collided with his head sending him spiraling to the ground dazed and leaving an impact crater. His form shrunk to his half dragon and he writhed briefly. "Heh, strong metal." He spat.

"Hey buddy! How about a little help here." Eddy called out, holding the Winter Soldier off him.

"Kinda busy here myself, woah!" He dodged another dive bomb attack from Rosette who only spun around and charged back at him. It seemed her only real attack pattern was to use her wings as her only real way to attack. Doing his best to change his own methods, he let out a roar and fire blew out of his mouth and aimed at her. She folded her wings and the fire burnt out around them. Letting out a low growl he hissed, "Vibranium metal wings. Nice." Ugh how can i beat her without hurting her too much? Still suppose to be an ally. He barked at her then flew high and in front of the sun then turned to charge her. His silhouette was the only thing visible as he dove straight at the blonde. He angled himself at her and just before the two collided he drew his fist back then used his full force to punch her in the gut. The impact caused her to let out a scream of pain as he grabbed her shirt and then threw her back to the earth. She landed with a thud and created an almost perfect outline of her in the dirt.

Dreadwing floated to the ground at her feet and inspected her. Hmph. Still alive. Guess that's a bonus. "Hey! Little help here!" He looked over to Eddy who was lifted off the ground and being choked by the winter soldier's one metal hand. The flames dissipated and he was forced to shift back into his normal self as he gasped for air. He tried hitting his arm and even Max latched on with his jaw but nothing seemed to bother the Soldier. Dreadwing dropped to all fours and dug his claws in the dirt. He let out a loud roar and lunged forward catching the Soldier by his legs and forcing him to free his grip on Eddy. "Thanks," he coughed kneeling on the ground.

Dreadwing struggled with the soldier on the ground before he was kicked off. He rolled on his side then jumped to his feet again, brandishing both claws and snarling. "No problem.". The two readied for a fight but a sudden roaring of engines above them drew their attention. Two quinjets circled around them then took position behind Eddy and Dreadwing. Quickly realizing he was outnumbered the soldier quickly ran into a street and throwing a grenade in the middle of the street. Several cars swerved around him as the explosion sent a manhole flying into the air and he jumped down into the sewers.

"Did he just...know what that's the least that surprises me," gasped Allen as he caught his breath shifting back into his human form. He fixed his jacket and looked at the passed out winged person. She groaned and began to rise up and looked at Allen. "I don't think so." He moved his hands and went to grab her wrists, pinning her to the ground when something flashed in his head. It was like a white blur and he was forced to stagger back and shut his eyes. It was just like what happened with the X-Men. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as the pain in his head receded. When he opened his eyes again he saw Rosette, but her arms were now encased in rock and her wings were weighed down the same way.

"Nice trick, how'd you manage that?" Alex asked stepping out of a nearby quinjet that just landed. Allen looked and saw his apperal took a slight change, and it looked slightly more like S.H.I.E.L.D armor now. Several other agents moved around them setting a perimeter while two doctors moved to the downed woman and sedated her.

"You mind letting her go so we could get her on the ship," Fury asked stepping off the same ship.

Allen shrugged looking back to her, "I have no idea how I even did that." He pointed to her and the rocks trembled and broke into small pebbles. "Okay maybe I do."

Rosette went on the second quinjet that looked like a mobile prison fitted with a couple guards while the the rest took the first. The two shimmered briefly as they took off and Allen noticed that the craft underwent some style of cloaking. The trip back to the Helicarrier was short enough with blue skies coupled with silence to keep them company. Once they landed on the deck multiple squads were there to greet them, or more specifically, the girl that was fighting medics carried her away on a stretcher with four guards flanking them at all times. Alex, Allen, and Fury followed them but broke right a couple doors before the other team did the same. Allen took a quick glance at the sign etched above them. Medbay. The room was bare with several monitors giving off several numbers, letters, and other medical stuff he couldn't understand. There was a giant screen in front of them and inside on the side it seemed to be the operating room. Inside Rosette was still sedated and on her stomach as a team of doctors were picking at her neck with scalpels and pliers. It took a couple minutes but eventually they removed a small chip from the base of her neck and placed it on a tray. "Director, we found the tracker."

"Good. Do me a favor and throw it overboard," he announced before turning to the new agents. "When she wakes up we'll talk again. Until then I suggest you familiarize yourself with the layout of this place. It'll be your new home, and all of them follow the same format. Mr. Drachen, might I recommend letting our medics take a look at you?"

"I'll live. Whatever doesn't kill you," he spoke before leaving.

Alex let out a small sigh, "Don't worry, Sir, he'll grow on you."

Around half an hour later over the loudspeaker each of their names were called out and told to "Report to the CIC for mission briefing." Whether it was a pre recorded robot talking, or just someone reading off a memo Eddy couldn't tell but he got up out of his chamber and went to the briefing room. He and Max each managed to reach the room but everyone else had arrived before them. The room was filled with screens detailing different areas of the world with several markers and a long desk in the middle of the room. Fury was at the far end of the table with Alex and Allen on either side. Allen was leaning back against the wall but his presence was still felt throughout the room by his gleaming orange eyes, and Alex had both hands on the table looking at several holographic maps. Standing beside runner was the two twins he heard about,Stephanie and Veronica who each seemed intimidated by his presence. Standing near the door was a blonde with a torn brown leather jacket and jeans. She wore several bruises on her face, and both exchanged death glares before a voice called for both their attention.

"Now that we're all here," Fury began, "Allow me to make the introductions. Your team leader, Alexander Drake-"

"Or just call me Alex or Runner. Whatever is easier." He quickly glanced at Stephanie before looking back to the rest of the team.

"Your co-leader Allen Drachen or as he prefers Dreadwing." He took a brief pause expecting Allen to interrupt but instead he just nodded. "Eddy Flames," he motioned his hand towards, "the new Ghost rider. Stephanie and Veronica Martinez who are known by the X-men as Wave and Whistleblower. Hydra agent-"

"Former Hydra agent, "Rosette interjected rubbing the back of her neck. "Name's Rosette Matthews. Call me Twilight." Since the meeting began Allen's head was downcast and his eyes shifted to each member as they spoke, but they lingered on her for a moment longer. A thought crossed Eddy's mind but he couldn't think any further as the director began to speak again.

"Am I going to be interrupted again or can I get the reason why I called you all here?" A hush fell over all the attendants and Fury let his superiority sink in before he started again. "All of you have been called here today to serve one purpose. The Avengers have gone missing. That means there are people in danger and no one is there to protect them. We need a second team, a backup if you will. A group that can be here when the other can't. That is why we at S.H.I.E.L.D came up with the New Evolution of the Avengers Protocol, or as Alex likes to so fondly call it, the Neo Avengers. We need you guys to do what no other group can.

"We need you to avenge the Avengers."