ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME - April 22, 7:00 UTC
"You've all read the Mission report?" Tony asked the group, to which the five of them nodded. 72 hours to rest and recover for the four that went on missions. And then they were back at it. To James it was even too long.
"James relay it to me." Tony demanded of his team leader. If he was going to be sending kids all across the damn world, he was going to make sure they were prepared for it.
"The Avengers will be headed for the Savage Lands. The trip will be made by Quinjet and should take around 2 hours. The Team's mission? Find Ka-Zar, proclaimed King of the Savage Lands. Shanna the She Devil, proclaimed Queen of Savage Lands. And the mutant known as Wolverine. Main objectives will be to extract information from the Wolverine about the X-Men; the idea is that he knows their whereabouts, and that he can point us in the right direction. With a little luck, he might even want to help us." James took his time to explain
"How do you plan on coordinating the Mission Captain?" Vision asked the young leader of the Avengers.
"We stick together, stay tight, watch each other's back. There are many different colonies in the Savage Land, an approximate of over 50 different human subspecies alone. If we want to find Logan we will need to find the more advanced races who might be willing to help us. Most tribes of the Savage Land however don't really care for outsiders, and are generally hostile. Ka-Zar and Shanna are who we should be targeting to find. Unfortunately they are also harder to track as the self-appointed 'kings and queens' of the Savage Land they are almost always on the move." James relayed the information plainly
"Roles on the mission?" Banner asked offhandedly
"I am the field commander, Francis is second in command. Torunn is our powerhouse, while Pym and Azari will be our main stealth factors."
"Good." Tony nodded "Your ready."
"Of course we were ready. James never messes up the mission. Now can we leave?" Francis said impatiently
"Of course. We want you focused on the Savage Land mission, but we just wanted to let you know that as of this moment...we have no plans on this...supposed takeover, and no new possible intelligence." Tony admitted
The Avengers nodded somewhat solemnly. But tried to focus on the mission. They had more important things to think about at the moment.
"Alright Tony." James spoke. "We'll be heading out then. Hopefully we can come back, and resolve this issue soon."
The team left towards the Hangar being greeted by the early morning Scavengers mostly eating breakfast in the cafeteria and enjoying some general camaraderie. But all of them had time to wish them good luck on the mission. These guys were there Heroes.
"Strap in." Pym called from the cockpit, the seats immediately rising from the ground and the team sat in getting ready for their flight.
"God I hate early morning missions." Francis complained and rubbed his eyes in his seat across from Azari.
"Why?" The Panther asked "You prefer the late night?"
"Of course, night missions are so much better, darker, less tired…" He trailed off
"Maybe." James said from his seat across from Torunn "But don't late night missions just turn into early morning missions? And as an Archer, isn't broad daylight better so you can see?"
"Point." Francis admitted "But I wouldn't be able to call myself Hawkeye if I couldn't shoot in the dark could I? Plus there's infrared, nightvision, and all that good tech stuff that I never had before. I'm fine. It just feels more natural in the night." Francis admitted
"Taking off." Pym called from the cockpit. It was always interesting that the youngest of them all was by far the best flier of them all. He had picked it up with ease.
"Guys, I'm worried." Torunn broke the silence "How can those people actually try to take over the country...I mean it's...so unethical...And cowardly!" She angrily spat
"Yeah well, not everyone follows the same rules, beautiful." Francis explained
"Still she is right." Azari spoke up "Why would the Island of Madripoor think they could take out the USA, even in our state?"
"Madripoor is an Island with a population of 1,055,000. And they want to invade us...Something doesn't really add up." Pym provided
"Unless they have something." James decided "Some secret weapon, or...super powers. 15 years ago no one would dare try this. Because before you even got to the Army. S.H.I.E.L.D, the FBI, CIA, SWORD, D.I.S, would have got to you first. That's without bringing in the superpowered population, you'd basically be slaughtering your people. But now? It seems to be just us. And even we are going to struggle against nuclear warheads, and what? Maybe a couple hundred supers?"
"Asia hadn't been touched by Ultron, scouted sure...but still they got nothing...If people were escaping, why wouldn't some end up there?" Francis added on
"Prior to Ultron, Madripoor was ruled by a woman who went by Madame Viper." Azari provided "I don't think they would be too pressed about super powered people joining."
"And Viper is Hydra." James scowled, That organization had given his family so many problems "But I thought no one had seen her in years?"
"That's true, but it shows Madripoor isn't the most stable place when it comes to world leaders." Pym added
"So would it be possible that heroes are in Madripoor, if so why help them take us down? What is there to gain?" Torunn asked
"I'm thinking people closer to the villain variety, beautiful." Francis provided "We know that Ultron viewed all super powered people as a threat. So I don't think he'd let them survive."
"Unless they struck a deal." James countered "Let them live, and they'd stay out of his way. But he's gone now which means…
"Free real estate." Azari finished for him "That would make sense."
"It could." Pym decided "But then we have to ask ourselves, why now? Why not last month, or last year, better yet why not right after we announced we took him down. Why over two years since his defeat?"
"Pym, If a robot that seemingly killed the Avengers, and built his own palace over the city he basically bombed to ashes. The same robot that seemed to have conquered every other hero, and the entirety of the Western Hemisphere, who just finished his conquering of Europe, would you want to be the idiot who couldn't wait and believed the dumb kids who said he was dead? To be the guy he finds in his Citadel when he comes back? After 13 years of World Domination, and a group of kids stopped him?" James put into perspective
"Fair point." He conceded "Some people wanted proof, so they waited. And the time of planning to take over America probably takes time."
"So we know why then. We need to stop them." Torunn demanded
"Still." Francis said "This is all baseless speculation. There is no guarantee any of this is true. We need answers and if we're going to do that we're probably going to need to go to the source."
"Yes." Azari sighed "Knowing Tony and Bruce however, they'll hold it off for a month or two because they think we need a break."
"And because they're busy." Pym insisted "Look you guys don't work with Tony and Bruce like I do. When we are not on missions I'm with them in labs, basically everyday. Tony and Bruce are doing their best to figure out how to undo Ultra City, they're doing their best to make sure Central America doesn't starve to death without any crops. They're doing their best to make sure schools in every state are up and running, because someone needs to make sure we have a next generation. They don't just push missions back to make life harder for us. They are doing their best guys."
"We know Pym." Torunn sighed "Sometimes it just feels like they are in our way. Even though this wouldn't be possible without them."
"The worst thing is that Tony and Bruce aren't getting any younger. I speculate that Bruce will be fine, being the Hulk and all, he will probably live longer...But Tony…" Pym trailed off
"We will deal with that when the time comes." Azari spoke up in the silence "As much as I hate to say it, it will be inevitable. All we can do is make sure we're prepared when the time comes. And focus on the now."
"Agreed." James immediately decided "That's why from here on out we need to focus on the Savage Land mission. I know we didn't just have the easiest talk, But I need you guys focused and sharp for this mission. It's not going to be a cakewalk, because this is of dire consequence. We need this lead to pan out. Can we do that?"
"Ay ay. Cap'n!" Pym beamed from the front of the plane.
"Verily James, we will succeed on this mission!" Torunn cheered
"You can count on me." Azari smiled
"You know we will do our best Mr. America. Lead us into battle!" Francis joked
James smiled "Alright then...Avengers on 3...1...2..3…
"AVENGERS!" The group called out and pushed on closer to the Savage Land, still closer than ever, and ready to do anything to win. Whatever it takes.
HEROES OF TOMORROW
"Oh man, it smells terrible!" Francis complained as he jumped out of the Quinjet. He stretched his legs and observed the area. Trees and grass did not have the right to smell this horrible. "Biodome doesn't smell half this bad."
"Yeah, well the things in the Biodome aren't real. It's all artificial." Azari provided "Plus...I don't think anyone in the Biodome leaves their...messes around."
There was a faint smell of manure going around, and it was also very musky. But to James they had arguably been through worse, and a little smell couldn't derail them from the mission.
"Stay sharp people." James commanded "Let's achieve our objective and get out of here. I don't think any of us want to stay here too long."
They all nodded and set focus on their goal. James took the lead and started trekking through the dense forestry. Shield at the ready if it would be needed. The Savage Land really was something, a large forest in the heart of Antarctica. It was improbable. A place that had terraformed for centuries creating tons of new subspecies. Dangerous species.
"It is rather beautiful though." Torunn decided as they walked through the unknown wildlife.
"SQWAAA." A group of large red birds crowed over their heads as they flew over to their destination.
"Yeah if you can get over the crude smell, weird ass alien-birds, and the freaking volcanoes everywhere. This place might as well be a prehistoric museum. How is any of this shit even possible?" Francis wondered
"Terraforming, and some clear tampering. From what Tony and Bruce told me, there had been a lot of experimenting going on here. There are so many weird things in this place." Pym said as he kicked some rocks on the ground.
The group continued their trek past a large lake, it seemed with each passing moment it was getting a bit hotter. And there was even more forestry than before.
"So how do we know when we are getting close to civilization?" Azari asked "How do we know we're not just wandering around aimlessly?"
"A lifetime ago there was a S.H.I.E.L.D Outpost in the Savage Lands. It's where we are heading. I've got the rough coordinates." James answered
"You think Wolverine would be there?" Francis questioned "And who's to say he won't be feral when we see him. You all read his file. Dude's a born killer." Francis pointed out
"It would make sense for him to go places to where he is familiar." Torunn said, sounding slightly wary "I have faith we could best him if he is out of his mind."
"Plus honestly, who cares if he's feral? We need all the help we can get, even if he is a little crazy. I don't think we have the privilege to pick and choose right now." Azari stated
"I'm sorry, do you all hear that?" Torunn asked quickly, she narrowed her eyes and seemed to be focused on something "It sounds like rustling…"
Francis grabbed his bow and nocked an Arrow, ready at a moment's notice. Pym had his fists up and was ready for whatever his team would need of him. Azari took a crouching position. Torunn lightly floated in the air with her sword. And James held his shield for protection.
Once again the enhanced individuals tuned in. Azari, James, and Torunn tried to listen for sounds and looked to the bushes for confirmation.
"I don't hear much." James said quietly. He was about to give the all clear, until he perfectly heard a loud SNAP! And tried to find the source, but Azari was even faster
"Ambush!" He whispered furiously and pointed to the bushes. He was right as a group of yellow men came into view and started rushing out of the bushes, surrounding the young heroes. The yellow people wore a few pieces of armor, generally ones on their legs, bracers on their arms, an armored glorified jock strap and leg armor. And to top it off it was a weird shade of burgundy.
"You are trespassing on our land!" One of them said, you couldn't even tell who was the leader "Leave now, and we will let you go with your lives."
James turned to his teammates and gave them the eye to stay alert but not to attack, they couldn't be the hostiles in this "Sir we mean you no harm. My name is James Rogers, Capt-
"I don't care who you are." He snarled angrily "Get off our property now."
James paused and internally sighed, it'd be best for their sake if they didn't play hardball "Listen." James said dangerously "Be smart about this...this doesn't need to end up in a fight. We are not your enemy."
"But...we could be." Torunn added shortly with a glare, That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but it was too late now.
"Golden Warriors, Attack!" The man yelled spittle flying through the air. They had been expecting spears and small knives, and they had got that, but they also were getting shot at with weird looking energy guns. Wasn't this supposed to be the primitive nation?
Torunn blocked the blasts with her sword and Azari created an-electric force field covering himself and Pym. James used his shield to deflect from him and Hawkeye.
"We need to make a move James." Torunn firmly pushed, and it seemed like she was right as they continued to close in and get even closer to them
"Avengers Attack!" James called and jumped into action throwing his shield and deflecting it off of two of the Golden Warriors. Torunn was quick and flew faster than they could see shoulder checked on into the ground before engaging in a swordfight with two warriors. Azari quickly pulled off his makeshift belt turning it into a bow staff, and beat off the warriors attacking him and Pym, imbuing hits with electricity, while Pym shrunk down and hit them with energy blasts.
Hawkeye released two explosive arrows in front of a group of warriors sending them careening into the forest floor. This simply was not a fight the Golden People could win. The Avengers wouldn't be here if they couldn't make it out of the Savage Land.
"Surrender." Torunn demanded of the warriors, easily holding them at bay with her sword skills "We do not want to hurt you."
"We will never surrender." The man struggled "Especially not to the likes of you!"
"You've been warned." Torunn reminded them, she leg swept one and punched him in the face immediately knocking them out before turning quickly and sending a roundhouse kick to another's temple.
As good as they were doing, more of the Golden Warriors were pouring in, and while it felt like a sparring exercise, It was obvious they were wasting time. "Stop bringing your men, we don't want to fight. We just need help."
"Why did you attack us?" One demanded before throwing a spear at him
"Are you insane?" James asked angrily, while blocking with his shield "You attacked first, did you think I'd let you take my team?"
Francis nocked another arrow and shot it a net sprang out and captured three men "Okay, this is getting very annoying now. We need to go!"
Before they could make another move however a large orange tiger jumped out of the forest with a roar. It bared its teeth, with fangs as long as 6 inches. "Nice kitty." Azari walked slowly away from it, he didn't want to harm the cat...but if it tried to hurt him…
"SQWAAA." A large red bird called, it swooped down and it was clear there was a man...boy? On the back of the pterosaur. And out swinging from the forests came two people. One a man with long blond hair, he seemed to only wear a white cloth around his waist. He brandished a knife as well. This clearly was Ka-Zar. The woman wore a thin tiger print sheet that really only covered her more...private parts, and even then you could argue it didn't do a very good job at that. From files it was clear she was Shanna the She-Devil.
The man jumped off the pterosaur and seemed to be a smaller mini me of Ka-Zar, though Tony had said nothing about a son. Then again, they hadn't been to the Savage Land in ages/
"Who dares to fight the Golden People, a tribe under our protection." Shanna demanded
"Hubba, Hubba." Francis whispered "Ow!" He muttered and rubbed his chest from the hit Torunn gave him
"We dare." James made a move, and immediately spears surrounded him and the Avengers, and even Ka-Zar looked like he might strike. "The Avengers."
"Avengers…?The Avengers are dead, and have been for a long time." Ka-Zar stated thoughtfully "Unless…"
"You probably knew our parents. They are dead, but their legacy is not." James explained carefully "Trust me when I say we meant no harm, we never wanted to fight your...Golden People. We only ever wanted to ask for some help."
"What do you need help with?" Shanna asked curiously, she clearly wasn't very trusting "Looking for something?"
"Yes we are looking for something actually." Francis spoke up
"Well then let me stop you right there. If you're looking for our Vibranium you're not going to get it." Shanna said furiously
"With all due respect Shanna." James started "We've got all the vibranium we need right here." He lifted up his shield.
"And you're also looking at the Prince of Wakanda." Francis added "If we wanted vibranium, we wouldn't be looking here for it."
It was funny to Azari because he had been to Wakanada all of twice? Three times? And there was probably no chance they'd ever let them leave with Vibranium. They respected his position as Prince, but he hadn't earned that level, not yet…and maybe, not ever.
Still it made for a good cover up to diffuse the situation "If you're not looking for Vibranium then...what? Need help with Ultron?" the teen asked
"No, we beat Ultron two years ago." James explained "But we're looking for a man, his last whereabouts were said to be here he's a mutant, goes by Wolverine."
"You've beat Ultron?" Ka-Zar asked in wonder "How?"
"You haven't heard?" Pym questioned
"It's not very easy to get new information in the Savage Land. And it never seemed like a good idea to go out in check, in fear of never coming back." Ka-Zar admitted honestly
"Well the asshat is gone now. We destroyed him. The real question is do you know Wolverine, and have you seen him lately?" Francis quizzed
"We haven't seen any foreigners lately. You're the first visitors we have gotten in nearly 3 years." Shanna told them.
Well that was not good news, they were the 'Kings and Queens' of this place. And they hadn't seen anyone new in three years?
"Who came to visit three years ago?" Azari questioned eagerly
"Well…The X-Men." Shanna said reflectively
"The X-Men!?" Pym couldn't contain his shock "But, I, We thought...there not dead?"
"Not as far as I know…" Ka-Zar spoke up "The X-Men were here, and they were looking for something as well."
"What was it?" James asked interestingly
"We should talk while we're on the move." Shanna cut in "You were looking for Logan, and it's clear you were headed in a specific direction. The old SHIELD depot was his favourite spot. We can take you there."
"Good idea Mom." The teen said "Come on, it's not everyday we get foreigners. I'm Matty by the way."
"James." Captain America greeted "That's Azari, Torunn, Francis, and Pym." James pointed to each and every one.
"Or Captain America, Black Panther, Torunn, Hawkeye, and Wasp." Francis added, they walked with Ka-Zar's family, and it seemed like the Golden People just disappeared. What weirdos.
"Please if you could explain how the X-Men...are alive?" Torunn asked the leaders of the Savage Land
"Well, I don't want to get your hopes up, because it's been a long time. I have no clue if the X-Men are still alive. We haven't had contact in a long time, but when they were here, they were looking for a certain herb that grew here. To counteract some virus…" Ka-Zar explained
"The Legacy Virus." Shanna provided, as they walked through some foliage, they were getting close.
"What did it do?" James asked
"I have no clue. The X-Men didn't have much time to explain. They just really needed to check if we had what they were looking for."
"Did you?" Francis questioned
"No, actually we didn't." Shanna sadly stated "We haven't heard from them since so it's possible…"
"That this virus took them out." Pym said in wonder "A virus, and we never heard of it, how does that work?"
"Do you remember if...Storm was there?" Azari asked hesitantly. Maybe...Maybe his mom survived this virus, and was just hiding from Ultron.
"I'm sorry, Ororo wasn't there." Shanna confirmed "It wasn't your regular group of X-Men."
"I'm afraid we don't even know what your regular group of X-Men looks like." Torunn sighed disappointedly. Another dead end.
"Still...this fills in the blanks. And if we can find Wolverine, I'm sure he can help us complete it, 100 percent." James ever the optimist said
"While I hope you find Logan...I really don't think he's here. It just doesn't make sense for him to come without telling us." Ka-Zar told them
"Were here." Matty changed the subject "So I guess we will find out if Wolverine is here, no more speculation."
Captain America looked around and it seemed like a generally empty area, just foliage and forestry, maybe someone had been here. But it was barren.
"I'm sorry." Shanna sighed "I know you children must be trying hard."
But James and the team weren't ready to give up yet "Pym?"
The boy nodded and took the lead; he quickly pulled out a small device, scanning the area for clues. The device showed footsteps leading up to a rock. Which didn't make sense at all, especially the radiation readings he was getting off of it.
"I'm getting some weird reading from over there." He pointed to the rock "Cap?"
James wasted no time and hurled his shield at the rock, surprised when the rock didn't crumble but rather dented and sent the shield flying back at him. It was a rather large rock, and it was starting to seem evident that it was doubling as something else.
"Torunn?"
Torunn dashed to the rock and felt it over, looking for a weakness, suddenly she stopped and punched right through the middle, and it seemed it was like a false wall, leading to a doorway under the Savage Land.
"I've never seen this before." Ka-Zar muttered in astonishment "That isn't something I say often, or at all really."
"We need to be careful. I wouldn't want you all getting hurt." Shanna insisted
"Miss your concern is appreciated, but we're the Avengers. We don't deserve to wear these uniforms if we can't even go down there." James said and with that they ventured down into the deep.
It was warm and the smell was even worse and they traveled down the steps, broken bones littered the staircase. The smell was getting familiar for the Savage Land regulars...Rotting flesh, not something they had smelt for a long while.
"Somebody is killing animals down here." Ka-Zar angrily muttered.
"Azari, some light." James demanded, they continued traveling down the dark cavern, and the pungent smell hit them in waves.
"Jeez." Francis put a hand over his mouth "That is rancid."
"It's fresh." Shanna sniffed "Someone has killed an animal recently. Hours at most." As they continued to travel they saw dried blood on the ground that would seem to support this claim, and as they traveled further from the dark corner there was a quick scattering movement to the furthest corner.
"Azari." James whispered, the group waited with bated breath as Azari shone his electricity in the corner. They recoiled back as a large greyish colored man with long blonde hair and blood red eyes smiled largely at them. He wore a red jumpsuit with a headband, the headband seemed to hold the soviet logo. In his arms drenched with blood seemed to be the carcass of a weird deer shaped animal.
"Get back!" Ka-Zar shouted quickly recognizing the man. The man snarled and lashed out with a tentacle but it never reached it's target as James threw his shield at him slamming it back before being dragged away by Shanna "Come on, don't let him touch you."
"Who is he?" Hawkeye yelled as they ran away from the snarling man, he was gaining on them quickly so Hawkeye turned and sent an explosive arrow at him, sending him backwards before they kept running and exited the underground building.
"That man was Omega Red." Ka-Zar explained "He was a long time foe of the X-Men. And had an even more personal grudge against the Wolverine."
"Why are we running, we are the Avengers." Torunn demanded
"I remember Omega Red." Pym nodded "he emits lethal pheromones, or death spores that will weaken anyone in his vicinity. He absorbs the life of people to strengthen himself. He's a killer and he's good at it."
"And I am a Goddess." Torunn unsheathed her sword "No mortal can defeat me." Omega Red came slowly out of the pathway, blood dripping from his hands. And though he looked dangerous, he also looked...on edge. If he needed life to keep strong, it didn't seem he was getting much of it.
"We can take 'em." James agreed with Torunn "Ka-Zar, Shanna, Matty, you should get to safety."
"You can't actually believe we would leave you here child?" Shanna questioned James. "Captain America or not this is our home. And we will protect it."
"Mmhmm." Matty nodded, Ka-Zar simply brandished a knife ready for battle at any time. And it seemed Omega Red was going to give it."Alright then, Avengers try not to get too close." James ordered "Let's beat the bastard and go home."
Omega Red jumped forward trying to attack Azari but was sent flying back from Captain America's Shield. Azari took the chance to power, his eyes turned blue as he released a large strike of lightning done on Omega Red
"He doesn't seem to be as strong as he usually would be." Ka-Zar explained as he threw a knife that embedded itself in the man's skin. "It shouldn't be this easy."
Torunn flew forward and slashed at his skin many times causing the man to scream, Pym grew to his giant size and to cap it all stomped on him, hard. When he removed his foot the man was unmoving, his nose bloody and face mashed up. He didn't even have a chance to use his whips.
"That was underwhelming." Hawkeye spoke up. He had his arrow trained on him, but the man wasn't moving at all.
"Give him a tranq arrow. Just in case." James decided quickly "We wouldn't want him to wake up. Pym cuff him and Torunn carry him to the Quinjet."
"You're going to take him?" Matty asked
"He's probably our only chance at more information. And I assumed you had no use for him here. I hope I didn't assume wrong?"
"Usually we would have him tried by Savage Land law. But I can tell this means a lot to you." Shanna spoke seriously "You can take Omega Red. I hope you children find what you're looking for."
"Thank you Shanna." James said seriously "But I'd like you to know that we are not children. And we haven't been for a long time. Avengers let's move out."
And with that the team trekked back, leaving the Savage Land
ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME - April 22, 13:00 UTC
The Avengers watched Omega Red from the other side of the one way glass. All of them in particularly bad moods.
They hadn't gotten any important information from Omega Red, regardless of who was interrogating him. The only answer he had given was that he had no clue where the X-Men were. In other news. This was a bust.
"This mission was a waste of time." Francis spoke up angrily "A colossal waste of time."
Azari sighed "I have to agree. Our time in the Savage Land wasn't nearly as important as we were hoping."
"Not necessarily." Pym told them "We learned that the X-Men were around at least three years ago. Plus I took this weapon, and it has a lot for me to learn from."
"Still it's not what we were expecting." Francis insisted
"Team." Tony's voice boomed over the speakers "Report back to the meeting room."
"Come on guys." James looked away from Omega Red "Hopefully Tony's got better news for us."
"Alright guys." Tony watched as they all rolled in "Once again we have much to talk about."
"I assume it's bad news?" Torunn called as they walked in…
"A little bit of bad and some good." Tony took his seat at the table
"More like a lot of bad and a little good." Banner mumbled "Let's not pretend Tony."
"What's the situation now?" James asked as they watched Vision slip into the room. No tricks from the android today either.
"Good or bad?"
"Might as well hit us with the good." Azari sat in his seat.
"The good? France was one of the last countries in Europe needing liberation. At this rate we estimate only 22% of Europe still currently needs liberation. Even less when you consider that countries like England and Germany plan on helping liberate the smaller countries left, like Bosnia, and Lithuania."
"Well that is good news!" Torunn smiled "The earth is slowly returning to form."
"Yeah but there is one thing." Pym spoke up "Every country in Europe was willing to accept our help. Every country but one...Latveria. They were desperate that we came nowhere near the country. Even Russia allowed some help."
"And they might just be the smallest of them all." Francis considered "What's up with that?"
"That's because Latveria isn't a normal country. It's ruled by Dr. Doom. Or at least it was. It makes sense that Dr. Doom wouldn't take any help from anyone and could survive Ultron's wrath. Honestly it's even possible that he had a deal with him." Tony hesitantly explained
"Why are we just learning this now?" James questioned
"Because Doom is different from your everyday baddie." Tony explained
"To be fair, we wouldn't know that would we?" James countered "All we've known is Ultron, the guy who took over the world? And we kicked his ass."
"Fact." Azari smiled "Tony I see no reason for you to hide stuff from us anymore. Anything you know, you should just say it."
"I think we should visit this Doctor Doom." Torunn spoke up "Maybe he has valuable information. Plus if he is a bad person, why should we let him get away with what he's doing?"
"N-No!" Tony stuttered, these kids were getting too active for their own good. They were going to get themselves into an issue, running into everything headfirst like that. "Regardless of what you think, you're not ready for that. Let's just file this information away for later."
"Fine Tony." Torunn huffed
"Still makes me wonder. How was Doctor Doom able to keep his whole country away from Ultron? Especially since I read that his Doom Bots was one of his country's main defense systems. Ultron should have been able to take control of any robots, right?"
"Normally I'd say yes." Tony agreed with the young genius "But Doom was and is smarter than people realize. He was a master of the arcane arts, with what I know he probably used some of that to help his Robots be untouchable, that would make invading Latveria a terrible decision for Ultron."
"Arcane...You mean Magic?" Francis questioned
"Exactly." Tony nodded, he seemed to be thinking of something else "Like I said we can file all this information away for later."
"I agree. We need to focus more on home anyway." James told the group "Restoration project information shows that only 42% of America has truly been 'restored' to truly livable levels. We need to do something to make this go faster."
"Also accounting for the fact that we had to lower the living standards to make it look more acceptable. We're not in the best place right now."
"There's not much we can do." Banner retorted "As of right now? We are going as fast as we can, and there isn't anything we haven't thought of to make things go faster."
"He's right. Being honest, if it weren't for the fact that it's nearly been twenty years since Ultron's takeover and the subsequent technological advancements we wouldn't be able to move at the pace we are now." Tony told the young leader
"It's unfortunate James." Vision told the group "But this is how things are going to work for a while."
The information Tony, Bruce, and Vision gave the team wasn't much different from what Pym had told them in the Quinjet. But hearing it from them made it even harder for James to accept.
"I'm sorry but there has to be something we are not doing. 3-5 more years of wide scale American Poverty is simply not acceptable. We need to fix things and fast. There has to be a way to speed up the process." James told them "When we first beat Ultron, I never thought it'd take 7 years before we could start living again."
"Things are different!" Banner exclaimed "It's not like all those stories Tony told you. Things were never that easy then, and they are not that easy now. Without T'Challa, Reed Richards, Hank McCoy, Hank Pym, Peter Parker, without that genius ...It's-it's just not possible for Tony and I to manage a war torn country on our own. Then you add you kids to the mix and the Scavengers. And were doing everything we can not to just save America, but the Western Hemisphere, some third world countries that don't have the luxury that we do."
"If you can even call it luxury." Azari pointed out
"Exactly!" Banner threw up his hands in exasperation "Look kid I understand you care. A lot . You're like your father in that regard. But when Tony and I say were doing the best we can. We really are doing the best we can, and you questioning it doesn't help anybody."
James sighed and nodded. There wasn't much more he could say, was there? He just sounded like the annoying kid who was trying to make the impossible happen. Not Captain America liberator of half the world.
"It's true you know." Pym spoke up in the quiet room "Tony and Bruce are carrying the load, they basically have to solve every problem in the USA. Forget stuff that happens outside of the country, realistically you can only dedicate so much brain power to one issue before you have to move to the next one. But maybe it doesn't have to be like that."
"What do you mean?" James asked immediately
"Well I mean the answer is simple. Barring Tony and Bruce, and probably Vision they are currently the only ones we consider super geniuses. Of course I can humbly say I'm on my way to super genius, and Azari is easily smarter than the rest of you, but it's not really clear if he has super genus potential. Regardless, the answer is simple. We need more geniuses, so let's get more geniuses."
The New Avengers shared a look with each other going over the words their young friend had said. And it was hard to believe the young kid wasn't just messing around. It sounded too stupidly simple to be true.
"Really?" Francis questioned skeptically
"Pym…" Tony started
"No, no hear me out!" Pym demanded, this wasn't going to be another case where everyone dismissed him because he was young. He knew what he was talking about "Think about it. Bruce. 80 years ago, who would everyone think is the smartest man in the world?"
"Well...Probably Einstein." Bruce answered, he thought he knew where this was going.
"And Tony just 10 years later?" Pym asked his old mentor
"Well probably Abraham Erksine. Or the up and coming Howard Stark." Tony reminisced
"Yeah and 20 or 30 or 40 years after that?" Pym asked giddily
"It's probably Reed, or Tony. Science had expanded so far however that there were many experts in various fields. I was widely regarded as the world's best on Gamma Radiation." Banner explained
"Exactly!" Pym smirked "Though none of that really matters, the point is no one stays the smartest forever. And at some point in time, the so-called smartest in the room was taken over by someone else. And so on, and so on. And as cool as it would be, I find it hard to believe I am the last smart person ever in the world. So I maintain what I said, we need to find more geniuses because no doubt they're around."
"That seems like sound logic Pym." Torunn smiled and ruffled his hair "Great job!"
"Thanks!" Pym grinned "And if I'm right, which I'm sure I am then this just means we need a way to test people to see if they're smart or not."
"A comprehensive test would take time to make. Though I do admit I agree with your analysis Pym." Banner sighed
"Heh, but it wouldn't Bruce. Think about it, the Banner B.O.X. We can use that to test anyone who believes they're smarter than normal."
"True but It's never been solved. I created it to be unsolvable, I can't even solve it." Banner explained
"And that's fine. We don't need people to finish, we just need to evaluate them on how far they got and compare it to the times of certified geniuses."
"And...this would make things go easier?" James questioned hesitantly
Pym shrugged "It definitely couldn't hurt, the more smart people we can bounce ideas off of the faster things would be. Having different perspectives, and just different people Tony and Bruce can handle giving tasks will lighten their load exponentially."
James nodded, liking what he was hearing "Sounds good then."
"Hmm, well I think I have something as well then." Azari spoke up, surprising everyone a little bit.
"Go ahead kid." Tony sighed, what else could these kids possibly think of?
"I was thinking about us sending a team to Wakanda. Just to see what we could find. Wakanda has always been a technologically advanced country. They might be able to help a little, because...I'm pretty sure everyone is supposed to be a genius over there."
"No way." Tony denied "Wakanda can be hostile, and they don't like letting anyone in. You know that Azari."
"True." Banner spoke up quickly "But Tony let's be honest, last time we went with Azari they wanted nothing to do with us because we were there. The ones they blame for their King and Queen's death. If he went by himself, or even with one of the others, he might have a little more luck. After all regardless of everything that's happened, he's next in line to be King."
This quieted the room substantially, as none of the Avengers really thought of their friend as Wakandan Royalty, as he never acted that way. But everything Bruce said was true.
"Bruce-
"Let's do it then." James interjected quickly "It's sound so why not?"
"James it's not good to rush into everything."
"We also don't have time to waste. And let's be honest, it's not like going to Wakanda can make things any worse than they already are."
"Didn't you two say you had bad news to tell us? Can we learn what that is first before we go on a trip to Wakanda?" Francis questioned
"Yeah we did." Tony typed something into the computer and brought up a bunch of information. "It seems the 'invasion' was a little worse than we thought. Information shows a breach at our borders and unidentified travel down in California. Years ago it would never be this easy, but now we are struggling, and without the Iron Legion covering the borders were really low on defense."
"Who is it?" James questioned
"Initial scans aren't sure I'm being forced to use the database from long ago and it's not new enough to catch everything, we plan on updating it, but for now our closest match is William Cross an old Mercenary involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and assassinations."
"Just him?" Torunn asked
"It seems so." Tony confirmed "But it shows the possibility that Madripoor is not playing around. This is the first sighting of a villain that's actually in US borders in years. We need to cut this out fast."
James nodded already thinking of strategies, truthfully he didn't think this mission was where the 'money' was, but they couldn't take any risks. But going to Wakanda and getting some technology that could benefit them would be huge, and would probably help them in the long run with dealing with guys like William Cross
"So we split into three teams." James nodded "First we have Banner and Pym who will figure out how to get more smart people on our side using their Banner BOX they stay here. Next we have Torunn, Azari and I who will head off to Wakanda and see what help we can find. Finally we have Barton, Johnson, and Bradley who will head the mission against Cross. There are some of our highest ranking Scavengers and we can always bring more if we need strength in numbers."
"Vision?" Tony asked the robot for confirmation on a sound plan
"High success probability sir."
"I don't know." Francis immediately opposed "Why not bring Torunn with me, and you take the Scavengers?"
"We never leave the country with less than 3 Avengers, you know that." James countered "This is the most efficient way to get things done."
"Just seems like overkill when going to a country that's supposedly our allies. You expect me to do a mission against a Merc with Scavengers-
"That was enough for you two years ago wasn't it? Situations were 10x worse against Ultron weren't they?" James cut him off "Look I know what I'm talking about. Daisy and Eli aren't your regular Scavengers there head and shoulders above the rest. And I'm sure if you really need help, we could send Vision on the mission too. Right Viz?"
"I could make some time on my schedule Captain." Vision nodded, with Viz you never really knew if he was just messing around
Francis sighed angrily "Whatever, I'll do the mission, and I don't need Vision either. But just know I trust you, but you're not always right and your plans aren't infallible."
Tony sighed, there was nothing worse, and more annoying when the kids fought. First off it reminded him too much of his own Avengers, and second it was very counterproductive.
"Well then I guess that's the meeting." Tony stood and rubbed his eyes "Get something to eat and will start mission prep afterwards."
As they exited the meeting room Tony could only think one thing. There was a looong week ahead of them. A long annoying week.