THE CHALLENGE

The feeling within the people gathered in front of the UN building was that of sheer pandemonium. For Norman Osborn was not only revealed to be alive and well after being presumed dead for so many months but was also the Iron Patriot, the leader of the team of villains turned to supposed heroes, the Thunderbolts. Though Norman expected this kind of reaction, he still had a story to give to the public, and thus held up his left hand to get the reporters attention. "Ladies and gentlemen," he shouted, successfully getting the reporters to refocus on him. "As you can see, the reports of my demise as well as the accusations of me being the Green Goblin, have been greatly exaggerated. I'm sure you would like to know the stories on that, but I assure you, I will give you a full explanation in due time. For now, let's try and focus on the reason why we're all here, namely my team."

Betty, who out of all the reporters seemed to be the most recovered from the surprises so far, is the first to raise her hand to ask her question. "Mr. Osborn!" she called out, successfully getting Norman's attention, much to the anger of Rupert. "As far as your team goes, last I checked, superheroes stop their enemies, but not kill them. So does that mean we're supposed to forget what 'Citizen V' did to one of the Black Panther's attacker's last night?"

Upon hearing Betty's words, many of the reporters were reminded of the stabbing incident last night on the Black Panther's assassination attempt and realized she did make a good point regarding the actions of these new heroes. Peter continued to snap pictures, all the while smiling in satisfaction and thanking God for giving Betty the ability to get through to people, be it as Jonah's secretary, or her true calling as a reporter.

Back on stage, John 'Citizen V' Watkins Jr. raised an intrigued eyebrow, as if Betty's question was a challenge. Once he saw Norman took a step back from the podium to offer him a chance to speak that he took a moment to approach the podium and look down at Betty to answer her, all the while putting or a remorseful expression. "In regards to your question madam," he said, sounding proper. "No, no, you shouldn't forget. Nor should I for that matter for taking such a bold action. Though I acted to protect the King of Wakanda, I realize my mistake, and I assure all of you, it is one that I have learned from." At one point, John held his arm out to address the rest of his unmasked teammates. "Just like the rest of my fellow Thunderbolts, who in their lives have made mistakes and have vowed to atone for them by working for S.H.I.E.L.D. in protecting you. As did our fallen comrade who unfortunately is not with us today."

This answer caused great confusion within the reporters in the conference, especially Peter, who quietly muttered this in bewilderment. "Fallen comrade?"

It was here that John stepped back and allowed Norman to 'retake the stage' as he made this announcement. "And that fallen comrade was that of Alex O'Hirn, who some of you already may know as the Rhino. As he continued, Norman held up his right hand, pressed a button on his gauntlet which made the star symbol on his chest plate project a large holographic image of the Rhino. "He, like many of the brave men and women you see before you, was offered a chance to make amends for his past crimes and was just as eager to use his abilities for the greater good. Sadly though, Alex was unable to act to his full potential, for he lost his life when he was sent to Dry Hollow, New Mexico to try and stop and reason with the Hulk." Norman later changed the video to that of the Hulk pummeling the Rhino, which culminated in the town exploding, causing shock and fear to reporters, as well as the pedestrians watching.

As George and his policemen tried to keep the masses calm after witnessing such horrific imagery, Peter, on the other hand, looked on with disgust, for he knew in his heart of hearts that the Hulk would never endanger people, and saw a few cuts in it to see that it was clearly hastily editing, no doubt done by Norman to paint the Hulk in a bad light. For Gwen, she too was mortified at what she saw, but being a tech and science whiz herself, she recognized the editing for herself and felt that there was more then what Norman and his Thunderbolts were letting on.

On the stage, Norman satisfied that he had the crowd in the palm of his hand, pressed the button on his right gauntlet again to turn off the hologram. "As many of you, I once thought the Hulk was a hero, and in the process, almost forgot that he was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off at any moment. And the reason for thinking this way...was due to the manipulation of Tony Stark and his Avengers. Don't misunderstand me, we recognize and appreciate their part in saving the world from the planet-eating lifeform known as Galactus. However, what Stark calls answering to the beat of his own drum, his negligence in cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the government have placed not just the country, but the entire world in jeopardy far too many times, so much that it's even led to the formation of the Registration Act to begin with.

Stark, as well as other heroes, will not take kindly towards this logical step in creating a new, better way of how superheroes should operate, and the last we want is for this to result in a Civil War between such heroes that will do more harm than good. And thus, with permission from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the President himself, brings me to this." At one point, Norman looks right at the television cameras. "Avengers, I know that you are watching this, and though it pains me to do this, I, along with the Thunderbolts, challenge you to a thirty-two person fighting tournament to determine which superhero team is the best. And should you win, the government shall throw out the Superhuman Registration Act. You know how to contact us, and therefore, we await your answer..."

Suddenly, Norman's speech was cut short when what appeared to be the sound of a small fighter jet filled the area. Seconds later, it's revealed that the source of the sound was that of Iron Man, who comes flying down from the sky and lands hard on his feet, causing reporters and camera operators to surround him and photographers to start shooting pictures.

Betty, like many people, stood in awe at what was transpiring, until she noticed Peter not taking pictures, causing her to whisper this into his ear. "Peter! Pictures!"

"Oh, right, right!" Peter replied and then watched as Iron Man walked towards Norman, then waited until he stopped right in front of him as if in a stand-off with him before snapping pictures, all the while worried for the fuming Iron Man. "Tony, please keep your cool!" he thought, taking another shot. "Don't give Norman what he wants by turning this into a slugfest in front of all these people!"

Meanwhile, as Iron Man looked at Norman, he mentally retracts his faceplate, revealing a furious Tony Stark. "I'll give you this Norman; you know how to work a crowd, but let's cut the crap! We both know there's more to this little superhuman registration bill that you and Hill are backing, and don't worry, I'm not going to bore everyone here with the details. But let me state for the record that you've hit a new low! And as much as I'd like to see you and your little posse here be put in prison where you belong, I'd also like to see you eat a nice piece of humble pie served by me, as well as the rest of my team of REAL superheroes! So yeah, as far as your little challenge goes...you're on!"

Immediately, cameras started flashing, and the presses surged forward with a barrage of questions.

Peter at first hesitated for a few moments before resuming snapping pictures of Tony and Norman staring down at one another, knowing that he, along with everyone else present, were being part of history in the making. But for Peter, it was more of a cold dark feeling more than a pleasant one.

Gwen also watched what transpired and felt completely horrible seeing Harry get mixed up in all of this. For one of her reasons for staying by his side was to make sure he didn't do anything rash and might put him at risk. And seeing him as the 'Scarlet Spider' was a symbol that she had failed.

Meanwhile, back at the lounge of the Avengers Mansion, the Avengers themselves saw Tony accept Norman's challenge on the TV designed like a painting, and it is Hawkeye, who rolled his eyes in disappointed at what he saw. "Great, not only did Stark accept Osborn's challenge without consulting any of us, but he also let Osborn get inside his head...on national television no less!"

Among the people in the room watching the conference, Nick Fury stepped and approached the hot-headed archer. "Maybe, but Stark might've also done us a favor by barging in accepting Osborn's challenge, Barton. We need to let Osborn think he's in the driver seat before we nail him."

Cap, being the only Avenger in the room understanding Nick's words, nodded in agreement. "That's affirmative," said the Super Soldier, but still looking displeased about Tony's face to face confrontation with Norman. "But I will have to have with Tony about him thinking before acting."

Nick could only scoff at that comment, especially when it came to the abrasive Tony. "Good luck with that, Captain."

Meanwhile, the Wasp was also troubled, but mostly out of worry for a certain Jade Giant. "Speaking of 'acting,' I wish we'd act on finding Hulk!"

Nick soon turned his attention to the worried Wasp, all the while still looking calm. "Don't worry Wasp; I've got some people I can trust handling it. They'll find him."

It was here that Hawkeye, after sighing reluctantly, walked over to Wasp and tried to provide comfort, even though he was never quite good at it. "And besides Jan, we all know that an exploding town can take down Jade Jaws. So, I'm sure he's fine."

Elsewhere, in a vast forest, what appeared to be a flaming meteor comes falling and crashing into the ground, creating a massive shock wave that leveled nearby trees and causing animals to flee in terror. As the dust settles around the large crater, the meteor is in actuality the Hulk, laying on his back and still smoking from the explosion of the trap that was set for him in New Mexico. After a couple of minutes, the Hulk began to stir and rolled on to his stomach and began to sit back up on his knees. Moments later, his slow breathing soon turns to anger once he remembered what happened to him. "I've been in a lot of traps before," he said to himself. "But whoever made this one tricked me into thinking I was seeing Betty. And for that, I'm find em'..." With his rage both consuming and re-energizing him, the Hulk raised both of his giant fists over his head and smashed them into the ground, which caused not only a small earthquake but a loud bang that could be heard for miles. "...AND SMASH EM'!"