Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel, the "orphans" also belong to Marvel, except for Zack and Karen, they're mine and will play important roles in the future
Here's another update, with a flashback to a few years ago, I did some research and this Avengers team at the beginning is the 1998 version of the team. Dont worry the flashback is connected, but how is something you'll need to figure out. Enjoy :)
The Hunt
Chapter 3: Orphans
Many years ago the world had faced a crisis that had gone unnoticed by the common people. At this point in time the Avengers consisted of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Hawkeye, Justice and Firestar. This was a time that many would have considered to be lighter, or at least and easier time to live in. Many of the people dead now were alive then and the people hadn't yet lost faith in the community of super heroes. There came a day unlike any other where the Avengers were needed to fight the foes no single hero could face. It all began when the major super powers lost control of their nuclear weapons. Throughout the world messages appeared at the computers that controlled the launch bays. Every major government grew concerned over what would happen to the world if this message of, more like a prediction turned out to be true.
"In eight days, the world as you know it will end!"
He stood at the top of his base, smiling as the Quinn Jet approached. His black armour gleamed from the light of the setting sun as he raised his blade, commanding his troops to attack. The Avengers leader, also a man in armour yelled out the Avenger's call to arms. Both forces clashed that day; Thor shook the ground around him as he clashed with the villain's most powerful lackey. Though no one died the victory was not claimed by the Avengers but by two beings the Avengers would not meet until years later.
Sven Reilly stood on the roof of the fortress his greatest enemy had used to take over the world's nuclear weapons. This enemy was a man who desired the simple goal of mass suffering for every human on the planet. Fortunately Sven, as the hero Fusion had managed to stop his plan. This was thanks in no small part to Cade Hunter. Sven was encased in his armour, which was slowly taking over his entire body. But this was a time when he could enjoy the wind and sun on his face. His helmet was on the floor and his short blonde hair moved with the wind.
"He came close today, I don't think we would have gotten past his guards if not for the Avengers," Sven said.
"You still refer to them as heroes, even though they spend more time smiling for cameras than looking for the danger," Deathblade said as he walked to Sven's side.
They were rivals, yet both men respected each other and had put aside their differences to face a foe neither could beat alone.
"Don't be like that Cade, I still believe that they are at least good people whom truly make a difference."
"Perhaps, but it wasn't them who defeated him, or prevented him from launching those nukes. The world owes us a debt they could never repay!"
"I'm curious, if people did know we existed and that we mattered, if they could repay the debts they owe us what would you want from them?" Sven asked.
Deathblade lowered his head for a moment before he turned and looked his rival in the eyes.
"I would ask them to change, to better themselves and to create a society where evil can not exist. A society where people understand one another, relying not on god but each other. But perhaps most of all, I want people to ensure that they create a world fit for the next generation, the children that I protect. That's why you and I disagree, you think education is best to turn the children into trustworthy members of society, while I think…"
"Sven, are you there buddy?"
Several years later Sven stopped reminiscing and returned to reality. Driver was waving his hand in front of Sven's eyes, trying to catch his attention. Sven grabbed the speedsters hand and gave him a firm look before walking to James's lab. James was currently working on a joint project with numerous charities. His goal was to tackle multiple world issues at once. But his methods were slow, at least in Sven's opinion. The Billionaire genius was standing on his communication platform, a device he used to create phone links to the charity leaders.
"Yes My Lycos I do believe that normalcy and routine is important, but quite frankly right now I don't think the government or the people have resources to repair every major city in the world…. no please don't start arguing all of your projects are important, the reason I'm prioritising Mr Ketch's orphan scheme is because people come first…yes I know Mr Vist…sorry I mean Mrs Vist!"
Driver and Sven both burst out laughing, while James glared at them. Gloria walked into the room, holding a notepad with James's itinerary for the day. James continued to speak with the charity leaders, hoping to make them understand that he intended on giving them all the help they needed. But for now he chose to prioritise with the people, something Sven agreed with.
"I've actually composed several ideas Mrs Vist about solving the energy crisis…I know ideas wont light up houses but I'm hoping to start a project with Tony Stark that'll provide us with clean renewable energy from the sun, and Sir Connors I believe you should hold out on repairs to London's houses of Parliament…yes I know Cameron wont like that but there are hundreds of people who need to be provided with a shelter that will provide them with warmth in place of a building for men to yell at each other about issues that never get solved…no sir I don't think Parliament is a waste of time!"
James crossed his fingers together, causing Driver to cough in order to contain his laughter. Sven rubbed his head, tapping his foot against the ground. He understood why James needed to do this but couldn't it have been at a time when Deathblade wasn't being hunted?
"Thank you everyone, thank you for understanding, for now we'll begin organising shelters for the orphans to stay in as well as search parties for parents and family members still unaccounted for…I'm glad you all agree, thank you all have a nice day or evening depending on what country your in, goodbye!"
The young man finally cut the feed, stepping off the platform and clicking his fingers together. He used his power over the machines he had built to control them, giving them orders with his mind. Mechanical arms circled around him, giving him a suit to wear for his meetings. One arm even combed his hair and sprayed after-shave on him.
"Seriously, you're talking to these guys about getting rid of petty comforts and your still using aftershave," Driver said.
"Actually I recommended they completely stop production of cosmetic products, this is actually my last bottle so I'll make it last," James grinned as he pocketed the bottle of aftershave.
"James…is there a reason you called?" Sven asked.
James raised his hand, signalling Gloria to give him his itinerary.
"In a few hours I'll be meeting with Tony Stark and Reed Richards, we're hoping to discuss some ways in which we can save the world. Don't worry, everything we're doing is in keeping with the to do list you made," James explained.
Sven nodded his head, often he would prioritise goals by making a to do list. Right now he was working on a list of things that would be the hardest in the world to carry out.
"Have you made any progress with finding Gabriel?"
"Sorry buddy but I haven't actually been looking, my attention has been on a project involving orphans. You see a lot of children lost their homes and families because of the invasion. Right now some of them need my help, I'm organising building materials and sites to build orphanages and shelters. I've also composed a series of education and therapy plans."
Sven widened his eyes in astonishment as James went over his plans to help the youth of the nations. He rubbed his head in confusion at some of the ideas his old friend had. But Gabriel Carter was their friend too, he had disappeared years ago and finding him was on Sven's list. Although Sven didn't complain or stop his friend, because he noticed the happiness James felt describing his work. His projects must have had some success.
"And if you can believe me I've actually adopted an orphan myself," James finished with a smile.
…
"Wait…WHAT!" Sven yelled.
James merely grinned as he walked towards another section of his lab. Driver grinned as he saw a girl bending over, making adjustments to the engine of his car. She was wearing a green and white uniform with short sleeves and stripes on the back of her shirt. Again Gloria elbowed the speedster while Sven crossed his arms.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet my adopted daughter, this is Millennia!" James said.
"I'm not taking that as a codename," The girl said.
She turned around, revealing a young brown haired girl. Her face was a little dirty because of oil stains, but when she cleaned herself up she revealed freckles on her cheeks. Her right eye was a blue colour, while he left eye was green. She had cut her hair into a bob cut style; quite similar to what Janet Dyne had her hair like before her death. Sven noted her fighters figure, but Driver was noticing her hips.
"If only I was ten years younger," Driver chuckled.
"Karen Starr-Crowner, "dad" here wanted to call me Millennia, but there's no way I'm changing my name," The girl explained, offering Sven her hand.
Sven looked to James, whom nodded his head. Clearly his old friend was set on taking on an apprentice of his own.
"Nice to meet you Karen, I'm Sven but you can also call me Aeon. And since your now James's daughter your practically family and family hug one another!"
Sven wrapped his arms around the girl, picking her up off the floor and giving her a friendly hug. She quickly joined in, hugging the man back. Once Sven put the girl down she walked with her adopted father and Gloria. When they were out of earshot Sven turned to Driver.
"This seems kind of sudden, I mean he isn't old and right now there doesn't seem to be any need for him to start a family of his own."
"Yeah, I'm fast but even I don't move that fast, James is just being his usual smart self. Although he still hasn't found a woman yet, and not from a lack of trying either," Driver said.
"But still, what bought all this on?"
"All those women, She-Hulk, Patsy Walker, Black Cat, Janet Van Dyne (before she died of course), Carol Danvers, Julia Carpenter…"
"Jack what are you getting at?"
"All those women and still no kids."
Sven gasped and lowered his head.
"You mean, James is…"
"Firing blanks?"
"Don't say it so casually," Sven growled.
"You know me Sven if I'm not joking I'm crying," Driver sighed as he took off his cap and rubbed his head.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions!"
"Jumped to conclusions about what?" James asked as he and Karen walked into the room.
"Nothing, so apart from the good news what else did you want from me?" Sven asked.
James motioned for Sven to follow him into his office. The window overlooked the city, giving Sven a good view of the half ruined city.
"Part of your plan involves protecting the next generation right? Well that should also be the normal children right?" James asked.
"Protecting everyone is on my to do list James."
"You still calling me that, I figured you'd use my old nickname. But then again the way I messed with Sieg's head, making him think you could lead a normal life, I guess that's something you can forgive easily."
"No, I cant…James I am sorry but I've got things to do," Sven said as he walked towards the elevator.
"Cade once said he wanted to protect children as well, you understand him better than anyone. Most of the heroes are going to dismiss his reasons for fighting, they'll think of him as another villain to fight and insult. If he has gone off the deep end what do you intend to do?" James asked.
Sven stopped and thought for a moment. When he found his answer he turned to his old friend.
"I'll do whatever I have to do to save him, even if it means dying again!"
Sieg wiped his eyes as he recovered from his vision. His mentor's old rival had returned, no doubt with a mission to get rid of all the villains. A part of Sieg wanted to just let him get on with it. But the other half knew that Sven would be doing everything he could to stop him. He turned to his teammates, all of whom had concerned looks on their faces. Particularly Sofia, the girl had become something of a second in command.
"I'm fine," Sieg answered before Sofia could ask. "Hindsight Lad, what did you find on Cash's database?"
Hindsight span his chair round and began typing at his computer. Right now the team was using a long abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house. Steve Rogers and his own Secret Avengers had used it during the Civil War. Some of the equipment there was still working, such as the computer, combine that with Hindsight lad's skills as a hacker and the team was able to hack into the offshore accounts of Bulls Eye. They gave half of the assassin's considerable fortune to charity organisations and the rest they stored away for later use.
"Lets see I've already sent some of these to the police, that should add up the years that Cash'll serve, and I've also found out what was on these encrypted files," Hind Sight lad explained.
He opened the files and skimmed through them, preparing to explain the gist of their contents to his teammates.
"A few years ago Cash got some serious power upgrades from a guy called Neo Cortez. He provided a ton of cash and picked up several chemicals he was prepared to use to make him stronger than the Hulk. But the deal went wrong and Cortez destroyed the chemicals and took the money."
"No trust amongst thieves eh," Michael said.
"But later on Cash provided muscle for Cortez in the city, right up until the time the invasion started the two men were apparently grudging business partners in a project that Cortez was working on. Cash's notes don't detail much, but what I do have is an address."
Sieg put a hand to his chin; Cash had been helping Stryker so Cortez may have had a connection to the Church of Humanity too. He read the address Hind Sight Lad bought up and considered his options. Going after Deathblade wasn't part of the plan, but Cade Hunter may eventually become a threat that would have to be dealt with. Likewise whatever project Cortez was working on it did warrant an investigation. The Avengers would be too distracted with Deathblade, so Sieg made his decision to investigate Cortez's activities himself.
"Everyone suit up and get ready to move out, we'll find out what Cortez is doing and put a stop to it ourselves," Sieg said as he put on his mask.
The team members nodded their heads and walked to their uniform racks. Sooraya kept on her usual clothes while Michael put on his Guardian costume. Laura put on a costume consisting of a black and yellow version of her X-force uniform. Sofia wore a variant of her Wind Dancer costume, except instead of an X she had an "A" on her chest. Sieg summoned his sword and nodded for his teammates to follow him. As soon as they got out of the base, the team took flight. Sofia carried X-23 with the wind, following their leader.
'Aeon, what could your old rival be planning?' Sieg wondered.
He looked to his teammates. They all followed him because they believed he could help them save their friends. Former X-men that had been brought back from the dead and turned into tools for Gothica. But Gothica apparently died, according to James. His men had found Gothica's body on the outskirts of Westchester, just after his attack on the X-men. Sieg sighed as he thought of that incident. Not only had it exposed his friend's to their deepest fears, but also countless X-men and mutants had been bought back from the dead only to be killed again. And in the midst of the chaos not only had more lives been lost but Gothica revealed that Laurie Collins, a girl Sieg had been dating at the time was actually from an alternate reality. The real Laurie Collins's body was still out there, as well as individuals that Gothica apparently resurrected permanently.
'So many events, so many people dying, what the hell could we do differently?'
The young man often dreaded the answer as the image of his corrupt form flashed before his eyes. Lately he had been feeling stronger, but as a result his patience was also thinner. Sieg knew what he was doing, he intentionally injured villains and relied on his team mates to stop him from crossing lines he knew he shouldn't crossed. What scared him was that he was eager to cross the lines his mentor had set.
'Damn it, I've been so lost without your advice Aeon. I'm glad your back, I'm glad you can do good on your own, but part of me misses you talking in my head, guiding me and teaching me what's right. Now I'm just a shell of what I used to be, maybe this power increase of mine is the early stages of losing my powers all together.'
He shook his head, knowing that he would have to stay strong for the sake of his friends. Sieg hovered towards the ground as he got closer and closer to where Cortez had apparently met up with Cash. It was a simple warehouse, but Laura could already smell the chemicals. She popped out her claws as Sieg got closer and closer to the entrance. He motioned to Sofia, whom used her wind powers to listen in on the conversation inside.
"I can't believe this, one of the experiments actually got loose, didn't you create some means to control her?" An apparently middle aged man asked.
"Well where's the fun in controlling them? Don't worry; she'll be dealt with, now Mr Ledger, sit down and relax this operation will be painless despite what'll actually happen," A younger man explained.
"Why am I in the pretty costume?"
"Oh that's all for containment of the Spectrum's energy…Spectrum, I think we just found a good codename for you!"
Sofia widened her eyes before throwing her hands forward. She split the door apart with the wind, revealing the people inside the warehouse. Cortez rammed a crystal of some kind into his test subject's face. The man was dressed in a brightly coloured costume and he yelled as the crystal fused with his chest. Cortez turned to the young heroes and grinned, before grabbing his colleague's wrist and running for the opposite door. Spectrum smiled beneath his mask as the energy of the crystal coursed through his veins. He didn't need any orders, for he knew exactly what to do.
"GUARDIAN!" Sieg yelled.
Michael flew in front of the team and threw his hands forward, at the same time as Spectrum. The two men fired incredible energy blasts from their hands and the resulting explosion tore the warehouse open. Spectrum cackled as he created light constructs from the energy. With a single thought he would create energy hammers and shields to protect him. He slammed a hammer into Michael's chest, throwing him over his teammates. X-23 eagerly ran towards Spectrum, taking an energy blast to the shoulder.
"Is this the best they could give me, Cortez's test targets would have been harder to beat than you," Spectrum said.
He picked X-23 up with an energy arm and slammed her into the ground. At the same time he also created a tunnel that redirected Sooraya's sand form, sending her crashing into a wall. Sieg and Sofia flew straight towards Spectrum, using sword and high-pressurised wind to cut at his shields. Spectrum laughed as the two heroes continued to assault his barriers. Sieg ran a finger across his blade, lighting it up with dark energy. He then swung his blade downwards, creating a crack in Spectrum's defences.
"NOW WIND DANCER!" Sieg yelled.
Sofia concentrated, pouring wind through the gap and increasing the force until it threw Spectrum back. He rolled across the floor, coming to a halt as he created another set of energy constructs. The man fired a blast into Sofia's chest, throwing her back. Sieg flew straight towards Spectrum, pulling his sword back.
"I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to," Spectrum growled.
He clapped his hands together and much to Sofia's shock a pair of rainbow coloured hands slammed into Sieg.
Aeon jumped from one rooftop to another. He knew where he would have to begin his search for Deathblade. His senses then suddenly felt Deathblade leave the city.
'He must have flown, no wait he's been thrown towards the Helicarrier' Sven thought.
Sven rubbed his head as he jumped down to the streets. He walked down the deserted section, towards one of the alleyways. When he reached the area he raised his brow plates, surprised and intrigued by what he saw. Huddled together were a group of children, what intrigued Sven wasn't the fact that they were so young. Nor was it the fact that some were noticeable super humans. What intrigued him was the second oldest of the group, the red haired boy. He had an "aura" of power that the others didn't possess.
"I'm serious guys, I think its about time we got over ourselves and went to look for some adults," The boy said.
"That's ridiculous, you can't be serious about this Zack, you've been telling us that we should trust the adults for weeks. But they're the ones who started this whole mess, you think we should just put our faith in them again and don't even get me started on your sad bit of hero worship," Sven was quite shocked to hear those words coming from an eleven year old.
But he also smiled; this "Zack" boy seemed to be truly responsible. Sven could see a blind boy sitting against the wall. The Eleven-year-old boy had an appearance similar to a dog. Next to him sat a girl with mermaid fins instead of legs. The youngest had black hair and seemed to have no interest in what was going on.
"Its not every adults fault, we cant survive on our own, Watt needs extra because he burns off extra energy and Double Header's got two mouths to feed," Zack said.
"Double Header", a seven-year-old boy with two heads laughed, a sound that echoed because of his heads. Beside him was Watt, a blue skinned boy with electricity sparking around him. Zack still seemed adamant, which meant that he had been caring for this group for a few weeks, bringing up the possibility of pursuing adults to look after them. Time and time again he had been rejected and still he kept on pushing. Sven took a few steps forward and raised his hand.
"Excuse me!"
Zack widened his eyes as Ray flipped his cane up and threw it towards the armoured man. Aeon easily caught the stick, but Ray flipped towards him, aiming a kick for his head. Suddenly, Aeon grabbed the boy's foot and shoved him to the ground.
"That was impressive, your hearing must be good if you could know where I was," Sven said, smiling beneath his helmet as he approached the kids.
"I didn't just hear you, I can smell the dry dog crap on your boot, don't you scrape your shoes?" Ray asked.
"Wait a minute…you know exactly what dog poo smells like?"
Sven looked at his foot, cringing as he saw the stain. He frantically scraped at the mark while Watt charged up a blast. Watt fired a stream of electricity towards Aeon, but much to the boys shock Aeon's wrist armour shifted into a shield. The shield simply absorbed the blast and Sven looked at the shield as if a fly at landed on it.
"Okay, sorry if that disgusted you, I actually get so distracted that I don't often just sit down and check the armour."
"YOU AREN'T TAKING US BACK!" The Dog faced boy yelled.
"Wait, everyone stop!" Zack said.
The young boy stepped between Aeon and his friends, looking at them with concern, an expression that begged them not to fight.
"What are you doing Zack, this guy cant be trusted," Ray said.
"He can all right, he wants to help us."
"How the hell do you know?" Watt asked.
"I can see…that he doesn't want to hurt anyone," Zack said as he turned to Sven.
Sven widened his eyes as the boy exposed his glowing red eyes. Again he smiled as he sat down and looked at the youths.
"How's about we sit down and talk, my names Sven but can also call me Aeon. I'd like to help, no lies I promise, just talk to me and I'll decide for myself whether you truly need the authorities to be involved."
Zack looked to his friends, all of whom regarded the man with suspicion. He sat in front of the man and offered him his hand to shake. Sven shook the boy's hand and took a deep breath.
"Okay, how's about we'll start with questions, I'll ask you something and you get to ask me any question you want. I'll be learning something and you'll be learning something, how about that?"
"That sounds fair, but that counts as your first question so I get to ask the next one right?" Zack asked.
"You just did," Sven said.
They both chuckled innocently as the other kids sat down. The group ignored the two of them and looked at the limited amount of food they had. Zack had been right, feeding Watt and Double Header had been draining their supplies. Ray kept his ears sharp, listening out for any other potential intruders. But he lacked experience with his powers, so he was nowhere near the level of the man he hoped to one day become.
"Right, you guys have obviously been here for a while, I hope you don't mind the bluntness of this question but what happened to your parents?"
"I never had a family, the others have either lost their parents because of the invasion or they were killed by Osborn, now it's my turn right?"
"It is, but you wasted the question again, sorry Zack. So Osborn was killing people off during the time he was in charge of the Avengers, I'm assuming he then took you guys into custody, what did he do to all of you?"Aeon asked.
"He put most of the others into a project called "Replacement", he and his top scientist experimented on everyone and gave them powers, I think it was so he could gradually replace the worlds super heroes. As you can see Ray is an obvious replacement for Daredevil, Dog Face, Mermaid and Double Header were meant to be put into a group that replaced the X-men and I have no idea what Élan was meant for, she's the black haired girl over there, now its definitely my turn, do you work for the government or the Avengers?"
"Nope, in fact I don't work for any organisation."
"But will you report us to them?" Zack asked.
"If there's a need to yes, like if you were committing crimes, endangering yourselves in someway then I would report you but I don't think you've got the wrong idea Zack, there's only so much children like yourselves can do on your own."
Zack nodded his head; he knew that if he kept stealing food for the others then it would eventually lead to the police stepping in. At the same time he knew that they needed an adult presence in their lives, not just for the sake of food and comfort but for the sake of their development as well. What kind of people would they become if they didn't have role models of some kind? That was a question Zack considered asking, he felt like this man could answer that question at least.
'Maybe I should ask him, no that's too personal' Zack thought, shaking the possible question aside.
"Your all incredible to have survived like this, but at some point your going to have to find adults to help you, not just to get food and a place to stay but to look at you as well. I'm not talking about experiments but tests to check whether Osborn did anything to your health. Your friends do realise that right?"
"No they don't, and I've been trying so hard to convince them otherwise. I know that I wont be able to understand what they went through, Osborn didn't experiment on me though, would the Avengers be able to find out where my powers stem from?"
Sven thought for a moment about whether he should tell Zack what he knew. The boy seemed like he'd react calmly and he had certainly proven to be a reasonable listener.
"I already know your powers, the glow in your eyes and that awareness you have, it's called a Dojutsu. Would you like me to tell you more?"
"Yes I certainly would, how do you know about this power?" Zack asked eagerly.
"I've met people who have this power before, my adopted brother has it and so does a friend of mine."
Aeon stopped and lowered his head, images of Cade and his glowing eyes flashed before his eyes. His rival was out there laying waste to the Helicarrier, but here he was talking to orphans.
"It's a power that manifests in certain individuals, sort of like a luck of the draw. I'm no expert but I do know is that each Dojutsu is unique to certain individuals. Tell me do you want to understand people's motivations?"
"Yes, I've always wanted to understand other people," Zack's smile dropped as he remembered a particular feeling he really wanted to understand, having parents of your own.
"That's what I thought, you see my brother wanted that too, but his power involved understanding the dead and their own thoughts on the world they leave behind. Its you turn to ask a question now!"
"Can you help me? Can you help me to control my power and convince my friends?" Zack asked hopefully.
"I guess we can start, but why don't you just walk away, they don't seem to value your opinion, why do you stay?"
The boy answered without hesitation.
"Because they need help and even if they hate me for it, I'll continue to tell them what the right things for us are."
"The correct answer, you're a good kid Zack, they're lucky to have a friend like you," Sven said as he got up off the floor.
"Thank you, thank so very much, but I would hate for this to interfere with your other work."
Sven thought for a moment as he considered his options. He had to help people in front of him, but saving Sieg and Cade from themselves was a long-term goal. Yet there were still people in front of him that he could help. Sven strengthened his resolve and made his decision, he'd help these kids. Cade was of no concern and Sieg had lasted this long on his own, now he had a team to back him up. What was the worst that could happen?
Spectrum laughed as Sieg's teammates looked in shock at his energy hand. The man knew Cortez could give him power, but he never imagined he would become this powerful. Now he was wiping the floor with wannabe Avengers and he'd just killed their leader. And to think Cortez told him to be careful.
"Easy Laura, he hasn't won yet," Dust said.
"What a joke, I've just killed your leader, what do you think I'll do to the rest of you?" Spectrum asked.
The Avengers team smirked before two blades suddenly ripped through the energy hands. Sieg yelled, releasing the condensed energy in his swords and ripping the construct apart. As soon as he landed he ran as fast as he could towards Spectrum, jumping over his energy blasts and swinging his swords towards the villain.
"NO SIEG DONT!" Sofia yelled.
Suddenly, a miniature missile slammed into Sieg's side. The projectile worked like a beanbag, knocking Sieg to the side, leaving him with a bruise beneath his costume. Sieg looked towards where the missile had come from, growling at the new arrivals. Tigra looked at the group in disapproval, while Grasshopper kept his wrist blaster aimed at Spectrum.
"Where's Neo Cortez?" Tigra asked.
"Sorry babe, but these guys scared him away, what's you beef with him anyway…no wait I know, you think he'll lead you to the Hood. I see you just cant get enough of him," Spectrum chuckled.
Tigra growled and extended her claws. Spectrum continued to laugh, but stopped as he felt something touch his head. He looked up, his nose just touching the blade of a cutlass. Citizen V stood on his flight platform, glaring beneath his mask.
"Looks like we were all led to the same place, now answer the ladies question," Citizen V growled.
Spectrum grinded his teeth together, knowing that despite his power he'd be no match for the combined might of a full roster of Avengers. X-23 sniffed at the air, turning towards the warehouse as a portal opened. The other team members kept their guard up as more potential opponents stepped out of the portal. Spectrum smirked, seeing that his back up had arrived.
"I see you were ready later than the rest of us Spectrum," A brown haired man said, his gold cloak flapping in the wind.
Sieg narrowed his eyes at the new arrivals. Leading them was a man with thick muscles and a face that would normally make the girl's blush. He wore a short sleeved red shirt and trousers with gold boots and armbands. A symbol resembling a star was emblazed on his chest, with a gold armoured belt just below it. Practically clinging to him was a woman Sieg assumed to be the "superman's" lover. She wore silver wristbands and a purple costume that left her legs exposed. Her black hair hung out of the back of the mask she wore, a purple mask designed after a helmet. She had an athletic body and her lips were coated purple like her costume.
The other members of the group were also dressed up like super heroes. A blonde haired woman wore a silver costume that left the middle of her chest and cleavage exposed. She also wore a white cloak and a silver tiara, the design of which went around the face, sort like the Scarlet Witch's headdress. Beside her stood a man wearing a blue padded costume with a red cape. He had a utility belt and gadgets built into his costume, the cowl slightly resembled a hawk's beak, with yellow goggles covering the man's eyes. Flying over him was a brown haired woman with angelic wings. She wore a pair of fingerless black gloves and gold sleeveless uniform. Strangely a Skrull was also on the team, wearing a purple uniform and a green cloak. A member that Sieg found hard to take seriously was a "Golden Archer" of some kind. He wore a bright yellow costume, complete with a hood, domino mask and a high tech bow. The final member twitched uncontrollably, as if he was eager to rush into the imminent fight. He wore a yellow and blue costume, with a lightning symbol on his chest and thunderbolt ornaments on his mask's ears. Spectrum flew to his teammates, crossing his arms together as the make shift Avengers team joined together.
"Wannabe Avengers versus the New Squadron Sinister, place your bets," Neo Cortez said.
He sat watching the scene from his office. Just as he sat back, the teams rushed forward. Each member went for their own single opponent and much to Cortez's delight; the fight consumed the whole district.
Next Chapter 4: Supreme Hand
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time we return to Deathblade as he fights Daredevil and the Hand, while Sieg and his expanded Avengers team face the Squadron Sinister