CHAPTER 2. The Dark Truth and the Last Lights of Hope.
A week had passed. Clint, Steve and Pietro sat in the plane.
"Are you sure we're doing the right thing? Running away, I mean…" Muttered Clint.
"What else can we do? We need to regroup and find out if any of the others made it," replied Cap, "You saw the attackers. There was some serious criminal muscle in that attack and someone's hi-jacked control of the sentinels. So…who could benefit from this? From putting the Avengers on ice… and who could organise such a large operation? Who's capable?"
"Nefaria?" Groaned Clint, though he knew I was unlikely, "Who's got it in for us at the minute? I thought everything was getting peaceful and now… and now this!"
"Well, we'll have to find out," Steve rose from his chair, "The Avengers may have fallen but for one last time… we shall assemble a team… The Last Avengers!"
"Who can we call on?" asked Quicksilver.
"Well, Beast might be able to get some of the X-Men to join, after all, wolverine was in the Temp Avengers a while ago… and I'll try to contact Peter Parker," Sighed Steve…
The three heroes sat in a bar on the outskirts of San Francisco. Clint was looking dejected:
"Well, no reply from Webhead… beast and Logan'll try to get here. She-Hulk can come… but that's hardly a full strength Avengers line up!"
Steve was talking hurriedly on his mobile phone:
"That you, Banner? Great… listen, there's been a disaster. The Avengers… they're dead. Just me, Pietro and Clint left. We need your help. We're trying to track down whoever did this to the team!" Could you help us? Err… yeah, thanks, Bruce. Can you try to get contact with Ben Grimm? What about Namor? Thanks, great… see ya, pal!"
"Any luck with Banner?" Groaned Pietro.
"Yeah! He'll try t get hold of Ben Grimm and Namor too! Y'know, that could work out…but, they'll never be THE Avengers…" Groaned Steve.
Three hours later and the Last Avengers stood together in a rented New York hotel suite. Steve sat on the bed and surveyed the new team, hardly the prime Avengers: Namor the Sub Mariner, Bruce Banner AKA the Incredible Hulk, Jennifer Walters AKA She-Hulk, Logan alias Wolverine, Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) and Dr Henry "Hank" McCoy (Beast).
"Welcome," Said Steve, "You are the Last avengers brought here to punish those who killed nearly all the Avengers. In fact, I, Clint and Pietro were the only survivors of the current role call. We have finally used an undamaged sentinel AI Box to locate the source of our peril and that location is…" the Last avengers listened in concerned silence, "… Latveria, kingdom of one Victor von doom, and a certain Baron Helmut Zemo has recently been spotted near the location. Avengers, we are facing a terrible alliance… an alliance of Victor von Doom and Helmut Zemo… and so, I have called in a specialist as the last member of the Avengers!"
The door opened and a familiar figure entered…
"Ben Grimm… The Thing!"