Happy new Year readers, in this chapter I look at the tragic past of my OC Aeon with a little glimpse of his origin and later life before the Hunt. Zack takes up a costumed identity while Sieg's team seeks a new ally.
I've introduced new Justice League inspired characters for the Squadron Supreme. Chem-Man based on Metamorpho, Blue Nova based on Red Tornado, Missile Blue based on Rocket Red (unimaginative I know), H-I based on Mon-El (again unimaginative lol) and Azrael based on Zauriel. I also based the Squadron foot soldiers on DC's the Justifier's.
Disclaimer: I dont own MArvel
The Hunt
Chapter 12: Catalyst
Sven was astonished by how much technology had developed since his death. He marvelled at the disguise Gloria had provided him with. The Bio-suit shell was something that responded to his thoughts. He thought of what he looked like before his armour covered him permanently, and much to his wonder the suit shaped itself into a young man with red hair. Sitting on the bus with Zack, Sven began thinking of everything that had happened to trigger this new darker registration act. People disagreed with it, but in some ways Congress had chosen to take on this more severe approach because of several things. The events included an alien invasion that trapped several intergalactic immigrants, the people losing faith in the Avengers, mutants being instinct (despite not actually being a species) and above all that the manifestation of metahuman genes. But perhaps the one moment that caused the world to dive out of control was the event that took place at Stamford.
"Mr Reilly, how are we going to get close to the Camp without attracting attention?" Zack asked.
"Oh you mean the MH gene, its okay, you don't have the MH gene, your power comes from a different source," Sven smiled, the Bio-suit had even altered his voice, removing the echo effect of his helmet.
He then lowered his head slightly as he thought of everything the Bio-suit couldn't give him. The suit gave him a mouth, but he couldn't eat or taste food, or kiss any woman he was attracted to. Sven was broken from his regretful thoughts as the bus came to a halt. As part of his plan to stake out Camp Hammond, Sven took Zack to an anti-super hero organisation. They had put together a protest that would be carried out at the gate to Camp Hammond. Walking off the buss, Sven and Zack took a separate route from the protest group. They instead opted to walk through the town.
"So where exactly does our power come from Mr Reilly?" Zack asked.
"Our souls Zack, our power comes from the soul, a long time ago a group of scientists created something called a soul harvester. It was based on alchemy and a science that we and every other species alive today are far from understanding. But that didn't stop the scientists from building the powerful soul harvester, they intended to use the souls of the people still lingering on the Earth as a power source," Sven explained.
"But something went wrong didn't it?"
Sven nodded his head as he stopped walking.
"The harvester was drawing in souls, and the evil, insane souls merged to create a monster called Muramasa, there's only one man I can bring myself to call a monster and that man is Muramasa. For years he hid, biding his time until he was in the perfect position to bring suffering to every living thing on the planet. He killed my father and many others in his insane scheme to create a world of chaos."
"But you stopped him didn't you?"
"I played a small role in Muramasa's defeat, he had an apprentice you see, but while the apprentice had been moulded by Muramasa to kill without regret there was still some shred of good inside him. He gave his life to give the other souls time to merge. You see Muramasa wasn't the only result of the Soul Harvester explosion," Sven smiled slightly as he sat at a bench.
He patted the chair, allowing Zack to sit next to him.
"Many other souls came out of the Harvester and sought out perfect hosts, they represented all the good in this world, especially the souls of those who believed in humanity," Sven looked up at the sky, sighing as he imagined the feeling of the sun on his face.
"Who exactly is Cade Hunter? Is he a friend?" The young boy asked.
"Its not what we are, but what we could be really," Sven said.
Zack looked at Sven in confusion. Seeing the boys bewildered look Sven smiled as he further explained.
"Cade and I were both friends with a girl called Laura, she was kind and gentle and always thinking about others. She walks on her own across town just to see Cade, she introduced us once but we didn't get along well then. Lazlo, myself and my girlfriend Faith would hang out with her all day long, but we never caught the signs of the troubles that went on in Laura's house. Her father was a schizophrenic, one day he just snapped and…"
"Mr Reilly, its okay you don't have to tell me anymore if it's too painful," Zack said.
"Its all right, I relived it everyday after it happened. I was the one that found Laura's body, a part of Cade never forgave me for…for not killing Laura's father when I had the chance," Sven explained.
"He was right in front of you?"
"Yeah, Laura's mother couldn't get any shots off with the gun they had so I picked it up, that was the first time I felt real fear. I pulled the trigger but the barrel was jammed, he'd deliberately tampered with the gun so Laura's mother couldn't use it. Then he came at me with the knife and I did the first thing that came to my mind, I ran as fast as I could and screamed for my Dad…he beat Laura's father, but he didn't kill him!" Sven sighed.
"What happened to Laura's father after?" Zack asked.
"He was put in a mental asylum and received treatment from several doctors, but they couldn't do anything to treat his illness, eventually he started to get physically ill too. The man got so desperate that he sided with a war lord called Godu and became the bearer of the Right Hand of Destruction, he and I fought and like my father before me I defeated him but didn't kill him!" Sven explained.
"And Mr Hunter hated you for it, for not avenging your friend," Zack said.
"Exactly, in a sense justice wasn't done for Laura because the system simply saw an insane man that needed help. Cade swore he'd never let anyone in front of him go through injustice but he always had that sense of honour and a judgement that held him back. I guess you could say that in time he came to see that Laura's father was a victim of his own insanity, as I did, my father understood it then and that's why he didn't kill him. A few years later Laura's father was killed by Muramasa's apprentice when he rebelled against his master!"
Sven smiled at that particular memory. He felt a small amount of joy, that his faith in Muramasa's apprentice was well placed.
""I knew there was good in you," I had said; that's why I believe Sieg and Cade will do the right thing, because I had placed my faith in them!" Sven said.
"I wish I had friends like that, people I could put my faith in," Zack sighed.
"Sieg is the closest thing I've had to a son…its strange…you give me that same feeling," Sven looked at Zack hesitantly.
He softly smiled down at the boy, patting his head. Zack gripped Sven's arm, hesitation replacing his earlier curiosity.
"I've never known the love of a parent, alls I remember is waking up one day and just existing. I knew what things were, how to do certain things and I even understood others, but I never remembered any parents. Then I learn that I have these powers and suddenly any chance I have of having a family is thrown away when everyone around me rejects me because of the power I possess. Is it true Sven, that all of this is our fault?" Zack asked as he looked at what was in front of them.
They had been talking and walking for so long that they had lost track of where they had been going. The two super humans were now standing in front of the memorial built for the children that had died at Stamford. It was the very epicentre of where Nitro had blown up. Sven knelt in front of the statue, reaching into his coat and pulling out the wreath he had been given by Gloria. Placing the wreath on the ground, Sven then put his hands together, closing his eyes.
"To all the souls that reside in this place, I promise your deaths will not be for nothing, to the New Warriors who gave everything for Heroism, may you and your friends remember the difference you made in life…"
"The difference, Bah!"
Zack turned to the small crowd that had gathered around them. They included local people, mostly men and a few teenage women. Sven remained disinterest as he continued his prayer in silence.
"The New Warriors are the reason our children cant have burials, and the Avengers were no different, everything that's happened could have been avoided by the supposed "heroes", we're better off without them," The leader of the group explained.
"Your wrong, the Avengers cant be expected to know when the next threat is just around the corner," Zack said.
"Kid shut the hell up, we weren't talking to you anyway," A teenage girl said.
Sven continued to ignore them as he continued praying. Zack took a step forward as the ringleader cracked his fists.
"That's enough all of you!"
Sven opened his eye, looking over his shoulder. Standing behind the group, with several others following her was Miriam Sharpe.
"All of you stop fighting amongst yourselves, this is the time to take action against the government, they've twisted everything the registration act stands for," She explained.
She looked at Sven and Zack, assuming that they were father and son.
"You might change your faith in heroes when they get your son killed," She said bitterly.
Sven turned his head, looking up at the statue. As the protest group walked away, Zack walked to Sven's side, kneeling with him.
"Mr Reilly…Sven, why didn't you talk to that woman and help her see sense?" Zack asked.
Sven opened his eyes and looked at Zack with a blank expression.
"You know what I tell people that question the existence of meta-humans…nothing at all," He said casually.
Seeing the confusion on the boy's face, Sven stood up and patted his head. He turned and looked the to the protest group led by Sharpe.
"They'll never understand what its like to be like us, never understand what it feels like to be shouldered with the responsibility of this power and the duty it sometimes demands of you. Tragedy guides us; we are driven by the compelling feelings we feel. Sometimes we are dragged into the life by the desire to protect. Evil threatens our loved ones when we do the right thing, the worst other people get is the loss of their home, job or marriage. They can argue that police, soldiers, politicians and DA's suffer the same scrutiny, the same threat. But the fact is they still don't understand completely, they still don't face the threat we do."
Zack lowered his head as he listened to Sven's words. He held onto each one as a valuable lesson for his future. Sven sat down again, looking at the boy whom reminded him so much of himself.
"I had a lover once, my beautiful love, she was pregnant with a boy, and around the time she was ready to give birth I was kidnapped by Muramasa and Godu. They were playing one final game with one another, a test to see if I would break my code. Putting me into an induced coma, they put my spirit into a simulation of a darker world. I managed to get free of the illusion, but then Godu launched one more test, and it involved my love!"
The suit even mimicked tears to match Sven's mood. Zack too shed a tear as Sven recounted another chapter of his life.
"I beat Muramasa, but Godu would later attempt to teleport my love out of our apartment. She went into premature labour, when I got to Godu's base she was dead and the baby had disappeared. I wanted to tear him apart for what he did, but Muramasa's original apprentice, the one that betrayed him beat me to it. He said he was doing what I mustn't do, break my code!"
"If he didn't kill Godu, what would you have done, would you have killed Godu instead?" Zack asked.
"There are certain lines both sides never cross, and there's only so much a person can take, even me!" Sven sighed.
"In the end we're only human," Zack said as he patted Sven's shoulder.
Sven nodded his head, wiping Zack tears away.
Sieg and his Avengers flew down the city streets. Citizen V and Prime both looked at the others in confusion as they followed Sieg into a theatre. He walked down the steps, pulling down his hood and removing his mask. After reaching the stage, Sieg tapped his fist against the wood, once, then twice and then three more times in a balanced rhythm. Suddenly the floor of the stage slid open, revealing a circular staircase.
"Prime you've better power down if you want to fit in through here," Sieg said.
Prime nodded his head as he powered down to his human size. The team walked down the spiral steps, with Arachnophillia and Karen widening their eyes in awe.
"Its one of Aeon's old safe houses," Karen said.
"You know about them?" Sieg asked.
"Yeah, my dad had them made for Mr Reilly when he began his war on crime, I had no idea they were still active!"
"Believe me they're still active, I had to do a little work to get them back online but it was well worth it," Hindsight lad said as he turned away from his computer.
"Hindsight lad, how did you get involved in all this?" Citizen V asked.
"Sieg found me and told me that he needed a tech expert, said that his team would be making a difference. After what I did with the New Warriors I felt that I needed to do something to make up for it," Hindsight lad explained.
Sieg walked over to an electronic map and began highlighting certain areas.
"Washington, California, Africa, New York, Stamford and Boston, six locations that news sites have revealed the Squadron to have struck in the past hour. Right now we know that a man named Neo Cortez had been working with Osborn on a project to replace super heroes, to achieve this goal he worked with the Hood and Hydra to eliminate certain heroes, as well as erase the records behind heroes such as Citizen V!" Sven explained.
"We still have no idea where their base might be, though one possible lead might be the Hood," Sofia said.
"Exactly, after the invasion the Hood lost his special abilities and ever since then he's been crawling on his ands knees trying to find someone that can repower him," Karen explained.
"I analysed Tyrone's files, he was working with Cortez at some point, offering his research in Gamma Radiation and muscle growth hormones to the man," Hindsight Lad stated.
Sieg brushed his chin as he thought over the next plan of action. The Hood was the best lead they had to take them to Cortez. But Sieg still couldn't shake off the feeling that the super human kids Aeon had met were linked to all this as well.
"First we find the Hood, he couldn't have gotten far, so we'll start at his last known location, Arachnophillia, can you take us to where he met Cortez?" Sieg asked.
"For you handsome anything," The red skinned girl winked.
"But first I think we need to pick up another possible member," Hindsight Lad said.
"Yeah, he's apparently fought a version of Hyperion before and won, his last sighting was in Africa which actually works out well for us, we got to Africa and sabotage the Squadron's attempts to take the people there whilst also picking up our new member," Sieg explained.
"Who exactly are we talking about?" Prime asked.
"America's first Black Super hero, Blue Marvel," Sieg grinned.
Sven and Zack had long abandoned the Stamford memorial. They instead made their way over to the gates of Camp Hammond. Hundreds of people were crowded around the gate, making it impossible to see what was going on. Keeping their distance from the crowd, Sven and Zack hid in one of the alleyways. Taking the bag off his shoulders, Sven began digging for the other equipment James had given him. He removed a camera device and a robot bird.
"What's that?" Zack asked.
"The camera is for stealth, I look like I'm recording the people at the gate when in actuality I'm looking at the camera built into the bird's eye!" Sven explained as he activated the bird.
The mechanical bird took off, flying like an ordinary bird. Sven slid open the camera's view screen, walking out of the alleyway and looking at the gate. Instead of recording the crowd, the camera actually showed Sven what was going on inside the base. Transports were landing onto the flight platforms while Hammer soldiers were setting up other machines. Supposed super heroes were also coming out of the transports, leading masses of people onto the platforms the soldiers had created. Sven widened his eyes as the crowds disappeared.
"Teleport pads," Sven whispered.
"They're teleporting the people to another location," Zack said.
"Looks like it, question is what do we do about it?" Sven put a hand to his chin in deep thought.
He pressed a button on the camera, bringing the bird back to the alleyway. After walking into the cover of the alley, Sven pressed the button on the suit's collarbone. It immediately broke apart, revealing his true armoured form.
"I'm programming the bird to go back to Crowner Tower with the recordings, you fly back with it and tell James that I'm going to the Squadron's hideout," Sven explained.
"But sir, how are you going to get there?" Zack asked.
"They're after super humans, I'm gonna turn myself in and find out what they're up to at that base!"
"I'll go with you, you'll need back up when you launch your escape right?"
"Zack I need to keep you out of danger!"
"Then why give me this suit?" Zack asked as he pressed a button hidden on his coat.
It deactivated the hologram hiding the uniform Zack had been given. The costume consisted of a grey short sleeved shirt with red sleeves and red lines travelling down the chest. A red U was stamped to the left breast of the shirt. The costume also consisted of a pair of dark red trousers, with padding on the knees. Zack's gloves ended just inches from his elbows, both the gloves and the boots had padding on them. A red cape hung off of Zack's shoulders and neck and a red domino mask with white-eye lenses completed the look. Sven's armour changed to a grey and red colour as he looked at the boy. He slowly nodded his head as he gripped Zack's shoulder.
"All right, you win…Ulti-Boy!" Sven said.
It was the identity Sven's brother Jason had before he grew up. Now that identity had gone to Zack, another boy that Sven chose to take in. Aeon and Ulti-Boy walked towards the gate, raising their hands as the crowd looked at them in shock. A Hammer Agent looked over the gate, widening his eyes at the two beings.
"We surrender!"
The people backed away as the gates opened. Standing before the gates was Hyperion, Power Princess and Nighthawk, the big three members of the Squadron. Aeon put his hands behind his head, and action Zack copied as they got closer and closer to the three "heroes".
"Bastard super heroes," One of the Protesters spat.
The saliva landed inches from Hyperion's foot. He looked at the crowd with disdain, focusing his attention particularly on Miriam Sharpe. A grin crossed his face as he walked past Aeon. His shoulder brushed past the armoured man, while his eyes remained fixed on Sharpe.
"You," he smirked as he pointed his finger at Sharpe. "You're the one mother in Stamford that couldn't keep her mouth shut, your little spit was what triggered it all. This is the splendid result of your ignorance, your nerve to talk back to the people who are so obviously superior to you."
"I didn't want this," Miriam said.
The crowd cheered as she stepped up to Hyperion. Zack looked to Aeon, whom shook his head, the signal not to get involved.
"I wanted super heroes to be trained, to be held publicly accountable for their actions, I wanted them to take responsibility. But you, you and your "Squadron" have twisted everything good about the registration act and turned it into a dictatorship," Miriam explained.
Hyperion and Zarda burst into laughter. Nighthawk walked past Zack and crossed his arms at Miriam.
"People agree with dictatorships, look at Iraq and Half of the nations in Africa. As for us twisting the registration act consider that there was nothing good about the act to begin with. It simply exposed the super heroes, putting them and their loved ones in danger to the true evil of this world, the threats your policeman and district attorney's face pale in comparison to other evils," Nighthawk explained.
"Congress will never let you get away with this," Miriam said.
"We are acting on orders of congress," Hyperion laughed as he hovered off the ground. "You pathetic fools, fools whom declared the words of their government righteous simply because it was their government. Fools whom looked at a tragedy and pointed their fingers at the wrong catalyst now question the methods of their government. Who dare to walk up to the only gods they will ever know AND TALK TO THEM AS IF THEY ARE EQUALS! YOU ARE NOT EQUAL TO US!" Hyperion yelled.
He fired his optic blasts, cutting a line in the ground. Aeon turned his head, seeing the people scurry away.
"All men are not equal," Zarda said as she walked up to Sven.
She pulled her fist back, slamming it into Aeon's helmet. The force of the blow sent him flying back, his feet dragging across the floor. A crack ran across Sven's helmet as he landed feet away from the gate. Nighthawk grabbed Zack's arms and cuffed them together. Pushing the boy into the camp, the Squadron laughed as the gates closed. Aeon got up off the floor, rubbing the chip on his helmet. He then turned to Miriam Sharpe's crowd as they gathered around him.
"What the hell were you thinking, going up to that door was suicide," One of the men said.
"You should be ashamed of yourself, putting that boy in danger, idiots like you should go to prison," Sharpe glared at the hero.
Her frown deepened as Aeon turned his back to the crowd, walking away from them.
"Do you think your better than me? Just because you have some costume?" Miriam asked.
Aeon stopped for a moment as he looked back.
"Its never about thinking or knowing that your better, but being better!" He said.
He squeezed his hands into fists as the Squadron members Arcanna, Skymaster, Nuke and Whizzer surrounded him. Everything was going according to plan. Zack smirked as he was led onto the teleport pad. It wasn't just out of respect for Jason that Zack was given the costume. He also wore a camera attached to the belt. Aeon wouldn't see what was going on at the Squadron's base, but Zack was willing to bet his life so that everyone else could. That was the choice he had made.
Africa had a surprisingly high number of potential super humans. Children and young adults were dragged out of their villages by the Squadron's private troops. The Justifier's covered their bodies with black armour based on a skeletal frame. Their helmets had red visors across the eyes.
"The world order has changed, all men are no longer equal, from this point forward you either have power or you don't," A Squadron member said.
His skin consisted of multiple elements, giving him the appropriate name "Chem-Man". Beside him stood an angelic Squadron member. He rested a gold sword on the dirt, his red wings wrapped around his body. His face was covered by a shining red helmet, which had Egyptian markings on it. Temptress smirked as she watched the Justifiers gather some of the regular citizens.
"Our actions are justified because of our power, justify your existence and grasp power!" One of the Justifiers said as he dropped a helmet at the feet of the people.
Temptress threw in some of her animal pheromones, driving the people into a mad state as they wrestled for the helmet. Two blue figures soon landed on the field, helping the Justifiers gather the people onto transports. One was a robot with a cloak wrapped around his neck. The other was a man in battle armour with numerous missile launchers on his back.
"Missile Blue, Blue Nova, load them all up," Doctor Spetrum said as he floated above the group.
Seconds later, another figure crashed into the ground. He quickly stood up, revealing himself to the Squadron. The African American man wore a blue suit with a white M on his chest. Energy crackled off his body as he looked at the people hovering towards the ground. Hyper Girl flew next to another that shared Hyperion's powers. He had been named H-I and wore a simple yellow uniform with a red cloak and boots. Blue Marvel stood up, looking between the crazed people and the children being loaded onto the transports.
"I wont give up," Adam growled before he flew forward.
The wind blew, throwing the Justifier helmet away from the crowd. Temptress widened her eyes as the people were snapped out of their crazed state. Her pheromones were blown aside as the wind turned into a miniature twister. The twister slammed into Chem-Man, distorting his chemical form. Blue Marvel looked in the direction the wind came from.
"AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" Sieg yelled.
He and his Avengers flew at the Squadron. Citizen V fired laser blasts from his glider, hitting the Justifier's watching the civilians. Prime dived towards Hyper Girl, grabbing her arms and taking an optic blast to the face.
"Blue Marvel, I'm a big fan of your work, you wouldn't mind helping us after this would you?" Sieg asked as he flew to Blue Marvel's side.
"Always happy to help, but lets not get too comfortable," Adam said.
Sieg nodded his head, summoning his sword while Karen twirled her spear around.
"AZRAEL! KILL THEM!" Spectrum yelled.
The angelic Squadron Member pulled his sword out of the ground, revealing his red armour as he opened his wings. He flew at Sieg, knocking Karen back as he slammed his sword into Sieg's. Their swords clashed in a brilliant show of light, pushing one another back. Guardian fired his energy blasts, knocking H-I back before swooping towards the Justifiers. Michael punched and blasted his way through the soldiers, making his way to the prisoners.
"All of you go now," Guardian said.
"I will cover your escape," Sooraya said, her sand form flying around the prisoners. "Just keep walking forward, I will guide all of you to the road, take that road to Wakanda!"
Wind Dancer blew several Justifier's aside, while Arachnophillia hit them with blasts of acid. She jumped over one Justifier and kicked him across the head. X-23 ran towards Temptress, roaring with anger. She slid across the ground, dodging Temptress's kick. Jumping over the woman, X-23 slashed Temptress across the back. Then she span around and kicked Temptress round the back of the head. Sieg slammed his sword into Azrael's and pulled his head back to dodge the counter strike.
"You wont hurt anyone ever again!" Blue Marvel growled as he punched H-I across the head.
His punch was so powerful that it shook the ground and knocked the wannabe Hyperion out of the sky. Guardian flew in between Dust's sand cloud and the Justifier's. Gathering the power into his hands, Michael fired a blast that threw the soldiers back. Wind Dancer lifted Missile Blue into the air, and then threw him on top of Blue Nova. She promptly flew to Guardian's side.
"Are the people safe?" Michael asked.
"They're okay, you know your really good at this hero stuff," Sofia said.
"Yeah, if I didn't meet Sieg I'd probably be a villain again," Michael smiled.
Karen span her spear around before firing a blast into Azrael's back. The blast knocked him out of the sky; he landed in Dust's sand cloud. He got up off the floor and pointed his sword at one of the super humans. Dust quickly flew at the angelic Squadron member, knocking him back and flying in the gaps of his armour. The sand cloud disappeared as Sooraya focused on her target. She widened her eyes in horrific realisation as she reappeared in front of the angel.
"It can't be," She whispered.
She looked at the man with a mix of pity and affection. He recovered and swung his sword towards her.
"PAY ATTENTION!" Citizen V yelled as he blocked Azrael's strike.
"ALL OF YOU RUN!" Blue Marvel roared at the people.
They ran as fast as they could, making their way to the road to Wakanda. Sieg nodded his head at Blue Marvel as they watched the people retreat. A blast suddenly flew into Sieg's back, knocking him to the ground. Spectrum created an energy hand and used it to slap Blue Marvel aside, knocking him into Prime. Citizen V deflected Azrael's sword and kicked him in the chest. Blue Nova threw Missile Blue away and began marching towards Sieg. Spectrum gathered energy into his hand and threw it towards Sieg. Suddenly, Guardian flew in front of Sieg and deflected the energy blast.
"I don't think so pal, you and I still need to have a rematch," Michael growled at Spectrum.
"Indeed, I would relish at the opportunity, but unfortunately I'm on a tight schedule, Blue Nova!" Spectrum said as he raised his hand.
Blue Nova opened the palm of his hands, revealing blasters of some kind. Guardian braced himself while Karen pulled Sieg away. Spectrum and Blue Nova fired their blasts. Rainbow energy joined with the raw heat of a sun and slammed into Guardian. Michael Pointer widened his eyes as the flames burned through his barrier and set his suit ablaze.
Sieg's Avengers widened their eyes as they watched the new Guardian burn. Tears ran down Sofia's eyes while Sooraya remained shell shocked. Prime turned his face away as X-23 and Citizen V solemnly lowered their heads. Karen gripped Sieg's shoulders, keeping him from moving forward as they watched the hero burn inside the fire dome. Sieg's eyes remained wide, listening to Michael's screams of agony. The screams passed and time seemed to slow for Sieg as bones and charred fabric fell onto the dirt.
"G-Guardian," He whispered.
He extended his hands, as if he could grab the bones. The bones suddenly crumbled like coal and Sieg dropped his sword.
"GUARDIAN!"
Next Chapter 13: Assaults
Having gained one member only to lose another, Sieg and his team retreat to fight another day. Next time Aeon engages the Squadron Supreme alone to buy time for Zack as he infiltrates the inside of the Squadron base. Deathblade also returns and launches an assault against Count Neferia, with Tony and a small team of Avengers trying to stop him. Meanwhile Luke Cage and his own Avengers endure an attack by Victoria Hand as she demands an alliance.