Uncanny West Coast Avengers

Chapter 37: Nabbed by the Marauders- Part 1

By

The Uncanny R-Man

Disclaimer- All familiar characters belong to Marvel Comics.

Avengers Complex-

It was morning at the home of the West Coast branch of the World's Mightiest Heroes, and Tigra was about to begin he morning briefing. Hawkeye had left her in charge while he and Mockingbird took a leave of absence to spend some time together. Tigra intended to prove that Hawkeye had chosen his choice of replacement well.

'Good morning, everybody.' The feline Avenger grinned as she lay down her mug of coffee with her tuna sandwich on the table in front of her. 'Now, first of all…'

'Greer, is this really necessary?' USAgent yawned. 'I mean, I'm all for getting up bright and early to begin fighting the good fight, but do we have to do it now?'

'Hey, Clint appointed me to be the leader of the team and I intend to take my job seriously.' Tigra explained. 'Now, if everybody's finished…? Good, I'll continue.' The tiger-woman turned to a monitor screen where images of various other heroes were being displayed. 'It has come to my attention recently that this team is seriously under-powered. No offence to you Bill and you Vision, but we still lack heavy hitters. How are we supposed to survive when we have to fight the East Coast Avengers? You know it's only a matter of time before one of our enemies tries to control them into attacking us.'

'That's nonsense.' Quicksilver scoffed. 'How likely is that to happen?'

'How many times has one team of Avengers been mind controlled into attacking another, Pietro?' Crystal asked her husband. 'Greer makes a good, if a little paranoid, point.'

'Okay then, if it's not mind-controlled allies, then what about a heavy-hitting villain like Galactus or Loki?' Tigra suggested. 'The East Coast Avengers have people like Thor, She-Hulk, Wonder Man and Ms. Marvel on the team. All we have is Beta Ray Bill and the Vision.'

'Not that I mean to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm not exactly a pushover, you know.' Madelyne Pryor piped up. 'What about Crystal? She controls the elements.'

'No offence guys, but we need more than that.' Tigra continued. 'I've drawn up a list of possible new team members. I wanted to get your opinions before we start recruiting.'

'Well, what are you waiting for?' Ant-Man asked.' Who have you got in mind?'

'At the top of my list is Prince Namor.' Tigra explained. 'It might be kind of difficult to recruit him, though. He's not exactly on the best of terms with the surface world. That's why I want you to go talk to him, Walker.'

'Why me?' USAgent blinked in confusion. 'Steve Rogers is the only one Namor's ever treated with the tiniest bit of respect.'

'I'm sure you'll think of something.' Tigra responded. 'Next on my list is Doctor Strange. We need a magic user to counter the Scarlet Witch if needs be. Who better than the Sorcerer Supreme?'

'Would the fair doctor not be too busy with whichever cosmic menace threatens the Earth?' Beta Ray Bill enquired. 'Even the Sorcerer Supreme cannot be in two places at once.'

'Okay, I've got a back-up magic user just in case.' Tigra explained. 'Sersi of the Eternals.'

'Sersi of the What-Now?' Spider-Woman blinked.

'Sersi is a member of the race known as the Eternals, a species diverted from humanity via Celestial experimentation.' Jocasta explained. 'She is rumoured to be over five thousand years old. She entered legend in 1300 BC when she encountered the Greek hero Odysseus, where she turned his crew into pigs. She has often interacted with humans in the past, most notably visiting Rome during the reign of Nero, and in Camelot where she…'

'She also has prior history with the Avengers, having been a member of the East Coast team.' Tigra said, cutting short Jocasta's explanation.

'What about that Genis guy?' Spider-Woman remembered 'You know, the son of Captain Mar-Vell.'

'Genis-Vell has had a history of mental instability.' The Vision explained. 'It would not be wise to have a teammate whose sanity we cannot rely on.'

'Then that's my shortlist so far.' Tigra said. 'I'll let you all know once I find more possible recruits.'

The briefing was cut short as alarms began to blare all through the complex.

BREE-BREE-BREE!

'What on earth?!' Quicksilver yelped as he jumped to his feet. 'Are we under attack?'

The silver-haired speedster soon got his answer as the whole complex was shaken by a series of tremors.

KRABOOM!

'It looks like our recruitment drive will have to wait.' Tigra nodded as she too got to her feet. 'Just when I thought my first day as team leader was going to be a quiet one.'

Outside-

'Come out, come out wherever you are!' The super-strong Marauder known as Arclight called as she pounded the ground with her fists. 'Come out to play!'

KRABOOM!

'You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?' Scalphunter noticed.

'Hey, you gotta enjoy your work.' Arclight shrugged with a grin. 'It's a pity I can't bring the while building down. Well, not yet at least.'

'That's right.' Scalphunter nodded. 'We've got our orders. We want the speedster unharmed. After that we can have our fun.'

'These losers're gonna be pushovers!' Blockbuster grinned as he cracked his knuckles. 'They ain't got nobody strong enough to beat me!'

Blockbuster was soon proven that he should choose his words more wisely as an enchanted hammer flew through the air and hit him right in the face.

SKRANG!

'Famous last words, villain!' Beta Ray Bill crowed as he and the other West Coast Avengers charged out of the complex to face the villains. 'You will not the Avengers so easy to defeat…'

The orange-skinned alien's boasts were soon cut short as a wave of dizziness swept over him. 'What trickery is this?'

'Not boasting so much when you can barely stand, are you?' The Marauder known as Vertigo laughed.

'Well, the heroes are all here.' Scalphunter grinned as he loaded a gun. 'What do you say we play a little game? A little game I like to call... Death to the Avengers!'

TBC…

Next: Nabbed by the Marauders

The West Coast Avengers vs. The Marauders. 'Nuff said!