Uncanny West Coast Avengers

Chapter 38: Nabbed by the Marauders- Part 2

By

The Uncanny R-Man

Disclaimer- All familiar characters belong to Marvel Comics.

Avengers Complex-

Tigra's first day as leader of the West Coast Avengers had gotten off to a bad start. The band of mutant hunters known as the Marauders had attacked their home.

'I'm giving you psychos one chance to give yourselves up quietly.' Tigra told the villains. 'Otherwise things might get nasty.'

'Heh. Get a load of the kitty-cat.' Scalphunter laughed. 'She thinks she's a badass. We're the Marauders, honey. We don't scare easy.'

'I was hoping you'd say that.' USAgent grinned. 'Avengers assemble!'

The team of heroes charged forwards to defend their home. Beta Ray Bill was the first one to reach his quarry, the gargantuan Marauder known as Blockbuster.

'I had heard that Thor had slain you, fiend.' Beta Ray Bill told the villain. (1) 'It seems that you Marauders are like all the other villains. You are too brainless to stay dead.'

'Hey, what can I say?' Blockbuster grinned evilly. 'It takes a whole more than a fruity god to take out somebody like the Marauders.'

'Then I shall succeed where the Thunder God has apparently failed.' Bill said as he swung his hammer. 'Prepare to be slain once more, monster!'

Beta Ray Bill took off into the air, grabbing Blockbuster by the collar as he went.

'Hey! What the hell are you doing?' Blockbuster yelped in fear. 'Let me go!'

'Are you hard of hearing as well as low on intelligence?' Beta Ray Bill retorted. 'I intend to make sure that you remain slain this time!'

Once the pair had reached a suitable height, Beta Ray Bill let go of his quarry, sending him plummeting back down to earth.

BADOOM!

Blockbuster crashed back down to the ground a short distance away from Avengers Complex. The force of the Marauder's impact created a massive crater in the sidewalk.

Unfortunately, a fall from a great height made little effect to Blockbuster. The colossal mutant-killer stumbled from the crater and dusted himself off.

'Heh. That all you got?' The villain laughed. Then he noticed the sound of the wind whistling behind him. Blockbuster turned around and his face fell once he saw what was coming his way. Beta Ray Bill was flying towards him at full-speed, his enchanted hammer leading the way.

'Not again…'

CRUNCH!

Back at Avengers Complex-

While Beta Ray Bill was tangling with his opponent, the rest of the West Coast Avenger had to contend with the remaining Marauders. Madelyne Pryor was facing off against the gun-toting Marauder known as Scalphunter.

'It's been a long time, Red.' Scalphunter grinned as he opened fire on the redheaded woman. 'Y'know, you shoulda become a Marauder. You got a real annoying habit of coming back from the dead.'

'You bastards had put me through hell.' Madelyne snarled as she defended herself with a telekinetic bubble. 'You took my son and left me for dead.' (2)

'All in a day's work, honey.' Scalphunter shrugged as he reloaded his weapon. 'Nothin' personal.'

'Oh, this is completely personal.' Madelyne retorted as she spun Scalphunter around so he was aiming where his fellow Marauder Prism was battling Tigra. The crystalline mutant paused when he noticed his teammate was taking aim at him.

'Hey Scalp, we're on the same team, remember?' Prism tried to bargain with his teammate, but it was no good. Madelyne had Scalphunter under her control.

BLAM!

Prism shattered into tiny pieces as Scalphunter's weapon discharged of its own accord.

SPANG!

USAgent dealt with the stunned Scalphunter with a shield upside his head, allowing Madelyne to deal with the rest of the Marauders. She set her sights upon Riptide, who was trying to deal with Spider-Woman.

'Hey Riptide, time to have a taste of your own medicine!' Madelyne yelled at the spinning Marauder as she used her telekinesis to lift the razor-sharp remains of Prism up into the air. Riptide barely had time to turn around before the shards of his late teammate were upon him.

SHRAK! SHRAK! SHRAK!

Elsewhere, Jocasta was dealing with Scrambler. The former Bride of Ultron had to be especially careful with her opponent as his powers enabled him to disrupt the operation of any system he touched, be they the human nervous system or mechanical systems. Jocasta didn't plan on letting herself be forcibly shut down.

'You're a slippery little tinker toy, aren't you?' Scrambler sneered as he tried to get a clear shot at the robotic Avenger. 'If you quit dancing around, I promise I'll make it quick.'

'I'm not doing this for my own amusement.' Jocasta stated. 'I'm only doing this to manoeuvre you into a suitable position for my teammate.'

'What're you talking about, you overgrown refrigerator?' The Korean mutant blinked in confusion.

The Vision materialised behind Scrambler, half-solidifying his arm through the Marauder's back. The sociopath mutant screamed in pain.

'I feel it prudent that I should apologize.' The synthezoid Avenger stated as Scrambler fell down to the ground unconscious. 'Then again, you were trying to kill us. You do not deserve an apology.'

Unfortunately for the Marauders, the West Coast Avengers were much more difficult opponents than then first seemed. The Marauders were trained to take on the X-Men, not the Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

'Arclight, let's end this!' Harpoon yelled to his teammate.

'You got no complaints from me.' Arclight responded as she slammed her hands onto the ground, sending a tremor that sent the heroes stumbling. 'Let's rab the prize and get out of here!'

Quicksilver was the first back up to his feet, but was soon smacked back down with the butt of Scalphunter's gun.

CRACK!

'Pietro, no!' Crystal yelled out as she tried to leap to her husband's defence, but it was too late. The Marauders disappeared in a flash of light, Quicksilver with them.

'Agon's genes, no!' Crystal cried as she pounded her fists on the ground. 'Those monsters have my husband!'

'We'll get after them, don't you worry.' Tigra reassured her friend. 'There's no force on earth that would stop us from tracking those bastards down and saving Pietro.' The Vision put a hand to his temple.

'Tigra, I have an incoming message from Iron Man.' The Vision stated. 'I believe it is important…'

The Vision's inbuilt holographic emitters projected the image of Iron Man in front of the team.

'Hmph. Wonder what Shellhead wants.' USAgent snorted.

'I wish I could say that I'm calling to give you my best wishes, but I'm afraid that isn't the case.' Iron Man stated solemnly. 'Wanda was kidnapped by Magneto's Acolytes and we're on the way to Genosha to get her back. There's reports that something similar happened with the X-Men as well. Please tell me that everybody's safe back at your end.'

'I'm afraid not, Tony.' Tigra shook her head sadly. 'We were ambushed by the Marauders. They took Pietro.'

'Dammit.' Iron Man hissed under his breath. 'Something big must be going down if three teams were attacked simultaneously.'

'What are we doing standing around for?' Crystal snapped. 'Those monsters have my husband!'

'We'll meet you in Genosha, Tony.' Tigra told the Golden Avenger. 'Those monsters are going to pay for what they did!'

'Over and out.' Iron Man responded as he cut communications. Tigra then turned to talk to the rest of the team.

'Crystal, Madelyne, Bill, Vision, you're all with me to Genosha.' Tigra commanded her teammates. 'USAgent, you're in charge until we get back.'

Usually there would be no end of complaints from the Avengers upon finding out that USAgent was being left in charge. The man just seemed to rub people the wrong way, but now was not the time to make any complaints. Any personal problems the team had with USAgent would have to wait, a fellow Avenger was in the clutches of villains and nothing would stop them from getting their teammate back!

TBC…

Next: While Tigra's Away

While Tigra's team of Avengers are off rescuing Quicksilver, the remaining members of the team set about recruiting some heavy hitters.

Author's Notes-

(1)- Thor did indeed slay Blockbuster in Thor 374.

(2)- The Marauder's attacked Madelyne Pryor, taking her son and leaving her for dead in Uncanny X-Men 206.

As for the adventures of Tigra's team in Genosha, check out upcoming chapters of 'Uncanny New X-Men'.