Chapter 38: The Masters of Evil

It was a quiet afternoon at New York's Metro Bank. Customers went in and out depositing and withdrawing the money they required. One man in a trenchcoat and a hat walked in and straight up to the teller, bypassing the entire line.

"Sir, you need to move to the back of the line." the teller told him.

"And you need to give me all your money." the man told him.

"Sir, I need you to move to the back of the line before I call security." The teller warned.

"I don't think so!" the man replied, tearing his trenchcoat off and revealing himself to be the Scorpion.

He slammed his tail on the tellers desk, causing her to run away. Scorpion then shot acid at the bank vaults hinges, allowing him to pry it off and move inside. He immediately started grabbing cash and throwing it into two money bags. As he did this, he barely noticed Spider-Man climbing on the ceiling over him. Spider-Man then leapt off and shot out a web, swing towards Scorpion and kicking him aside.

"Sorry Scorpion." Spidey taunted. "You've exceeded your daily withdrawal limit."

"You again?!" Scorpion let out. "You always show up no matter where I go, don't you?"

"It's kinda part of the superhero deal." Spidey remarked, shooting out webs to ensnare his hands. "Now, how about we do this the easy way so you don't end up face first in the cement."

"Sorry, Spidey." Scorpion remarked, using his tail to cut the webs. "But my new friends wanna have their fun too."

"Don't tell me you've joined another Sinister Six." Spidey replied. "The last, what three or so? They didn't work out so well for you."

"Nah," Scorpion told him. "This is a new kind of club."

Spidey's senses suddenly went nuts, seconds before a whip wrapped around his neck. He looked behind him and saw Whiplash holding the whip before he pulled hard and slammed him into a wall. Spidey quickly recovered recovered and stuck to the wall, freeing himself from the whip. Spider-Man then leapt towards them, only for a sonic cannon to strike him in the back. Spider-Man landed on the ground and saw Klaue, using a new robotic arm with a sonic cannon attached to it, shooting at him.

Spider-Man quickly rolled out of the way before his spider sense went off again, just barely leaping out of the way of Executioner's axe. As he rolled on the ground, he was met by a punch from Wonder Man, which sent him flying into another punch from Abomination. Spider-Man hit the ground hard, but he quickly turned towards him and shot two webs at him. Just then, a stream of green magic came out and destroyed them. Spider-Man looked over and saw the Enchantress walking towards him with her hands emanating green energy. He tried leaping to her, but a metal arm grabbed him by the ankle and slammed him to the ground. Spider-Man slowly pulled himself up and saw the Winter Soldier looking at him with cold, emotionless eyes.

"Ok…" Spidey let out. "This is… a little overwhelming. But-"

Just then, he was shot in the back by an energy pistol, which caused him to fall unconscious. Zemo stepped out of the shadows as he and his allies looked over him.

"One down." Zemo declared.

Across town, Steve walked into the VA and saw Sam sitting among a group of veterens in what appeared to be a group therapy session. A woman was currently speaking, ringing her hands as she did.

"The thing is, I think it's getting worse." She admitted, letting out a shaky breath. "A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk... I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED."

"Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back." Sam told them. "It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be in a big suitcase or in a little man-purse? It's up to you."

Afterwards, Steve came up to Sam as he finished talking to the woman who had spoken before.

"I'll see you next week." Sam told her as he saw Steve. "Well look who it is. The running man."

"Caught the last few minutes." Steve replied. "Pretty intense."

"Everyone has problems." Sam said with a shrug. "Sometimes it helps to know someone will listen."

He then took note of Steve's expression, his face softening.

"That extends to you." He offered. "You look like you could use someone to talk to."

"... you know my friend, Bucky?" Steve replied.

"Course I do." Sam nodded. "Your best friend and right hand."

"Well last week, I found out he was alive." Steve shared. "And turned into a brainwashed assassin."

"What?" Sam asked. "How? By who?"

"HYDRA." Steve answered.

"Goddamn Nazis..." Sam swore. "Sorry man. I can't even imagine what you're going through."

"It's… something to say the least." Steve replied.

"Sounds like you could use a drink." Sam suggested. "I know this place that gives out veterans discounts. Pretty sure they'll give it to you for free since you're Captain America."

"Sounds nice." Steve replied as they walked off.

Back at the mansion, Tony was working on some of his suits in the armory.

"They have to be more than just combat ready." Tony told JARVIS as he was tightening a screw. "They have to be interchangeable. So I can have any suit at any time."

"And here I thought you were trying to cut down on the number of suits you had in storage." JARVIS commented dryly.

"Well that's only-" Tony started before cutting himself off. "Why are you arguing with me?"

"You did design me to be a suitable companion to you, someone who could handle your 'wit' so to speak."

"Right." Tony recalled. "Starting to regret that."

"Avenger ID, designation: Spider-Man, has entered the mansion."

"Finally, someone who will listen to me." Tony responded. "Bet the kid would want me to have more suits."

"Error." JARVIS suddenly let out. "Spider-man is n-...-n th-... warn-..."

"JARVIS?" Tony asked, looking up from his work.

Suddenly, an electric whip came out of nowhere and sliced through the suit Tony was working on, causing him to roll back in surprise. Tony then looked over and saw Whiplash, holding both his signature electric whips in hand, standing over him.

"Good to be back, Tony." he told him in a thick Russian accent.

"Whiplash." Tony snarled. "Where's the kid?"

"You'll join him soon enough." Whiplash promised, swinging one of his whips at him.

Tony rolled out of the way and tried to make a beeline for one of his repulser gauntlets, but a laser gun quickly shot the gauntlet out of his reach. Tony looked over and saw Zemo holding a smoking gun, allowing Whiplash to wrap one of his whips around Tony's throat. Whiplash kept tightening his grip on Tony, cutting off more and more of his air supply.

"No!" Zemo told him. "Not yet."

Whiplash narrowed his eyes a bit before swinging Tony into a wall, knocking him out.

"This had better be worth it, Zemo." Whiplash told him.

"Trust me, it will be." Zemo reassured.

In the lab, Hank was going over some blueprints for an old project. Jan walked in, seeing what he was working on and sighing.

"Hank, are you seriously looking at those prints again?" she questioned.

"Just… tinkering." Hank replied. "Seeing if there's something I was missing from last time."

"Well, how long have you been 'tinkering'?"Jan asked.

"I wasn't really keeping track of time." Hank admitted.

"Exactly." Jan replied. "Time to stop. We can order some Chinese. Rent a scary movie. I get frightened and cuddle close to you. What do you say?"

Hank sighed, smiling a bit.

"Sounds like an offer I can't refuse." Hank relented.

As the two started to exit the lab, a streak of purple plowed straight into Hank, knocking him into a wall.

"Hank!" Jan let out, shrinking down and flying towards him.

The purple streak, revealing itself to be Wonder Man, turned towards Jan and, with a look of reluctance on his face, began blasting at Wasp.

"I'm sorry." he apologized. "Truly, I am."

As Wasp flew around the blasts, barely dodging them, she was suddenly swatted out of the air by a green tail. He hit the ground with a thud as Scorpion walked over to Wonder Man.

"That was almost too easy." He remarked.

Wonder Man just turned away in shame.

In the media room, Hulk and Rick were watching TV, munching on some popcorn.

"Stupid commercials." Hulk commented.

"Tell me about it." Rick agreed. "You think Stark would be able to afford Roku or something."

He reached into the popcorn bucket, finding it empty.

"Whoop, out of snacks." He realized, getting to his feet. "I'll get some more. Try not to smash the TV while I'm gone."

"Whatever." Hulk replied as Rick walked off.

The TV continued to play some dog food commercial, the camera panned up to reveal the owner of the dog as the Enchantress.

"Hello again, monster." She greeted.

Upon seeing her, Hulk leapt to his feet and tossed the couch at the TV, destroying it. Before he could do anything else, Abomination came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her. Enchantress then appeared in front of him and opened a portal. Hulk managed to free himself from Abominations grip, but Abomination just punched Hulk into the portal, allowing Enchantress to close it behind him. About that time, Rick came walking in.

"I got some more popcorn." He announced. "Find anything-?"

He cut himself off when he saw the Enchantress and the Abomination. He sighed, then set down the popcorn.

"Just do it." He told them, closing his eyes and bracing himself.

Abomination just smiled before smacking Rick across the face, knocking him out.

Elsewhere, Hulk flew through the portal and landed in the middle of a snowy wasteland. He picked himself up, snarling as he found himself looking up at several Frost Giants. Hulk just smirked in response.

"This is gonna be fun." He remarked.

In the mansions training room, Black Widow and Hawkeye were both engaged in some intense target practice. The two fired numerous shots at the targets, but neither one said a word to each other. Widow kept glancing over at Hawkeye with a pained expression before sighing and lowering her weapons.

"Clint, talk to me." she insisted. "You haven't said a word since Sokovia."

"I figured everything that needed to be said was said." Clint replied. "Besides, thought you were all about non communication."

"That's not fair." Nat insisted. "I did what I did to protect you."

"Really?" Clint replied, finally turning to face her. "Cause it sounds like you were just protecting yourself."

"What does that mean?" Natasha snapped back.

"Sealing yourself off from everyone, thinking you have to do things on your own," Clint remarked. "You act like the last five years never happened!"

Natasha opened her mouth to argue, but that's when she saw a red dot focused on his chest. Her eyes went wide and she acted fast.

"Look out!" she screamed.

She tackled him to the ground, taking a bullet in the shoulder as she did. Blood exploded from the wound as the two fell.

"Nat!" Clint let out.

He looked and saw the Winter Soldier stationed in the training centers observation deck, aiming his gun at him again. Clint took hold of Nat and rolled out of the way of the shot.

"Come on, we gotta move." Clint told her, getting to his feet.

"No… you go…" Nat hissed, clutching her bloody shoulder.

"No way in hell am I gonna leave you alone!" Clint insisted.

"You have to." Nat insisted, grabbing one of her pistols with her good arm. "Now go, while you still can!"

Reluctantly, Clint took off out of the room as the Winter Soldier leapt down. Natasha got off a few shots with her gun, but Winter Soldier just held his arm up to block the bullets as he approached. He then kicked Natahsa in the face, knocking her out as the other villains arrived.

"Well done, Soldier." Zemo commended.

"The archer escaped." Winter Soldier informed.

"It matters little." Zemo told him. "He has nowhere to go, and soon, we will catch him. Right now, Black Panther, Thor, and Captain America remain."

He pulled Spider-Man's ID card from his belt.

"Avengers, Assemble." he said as he hit the call button.

At the Wakandan Embassy, T'Challa was overseeing the final additions to the construction. Among his additions was a tree containing the heart-shaped herb. As he admired the tree, he felt a light gust of wind blow on the back of his head, causing a smile to grace his face.

"I had hoped to see you here a bit sooner." T'Challa said, turning and seeing Storm landing before him.

"I am sorry about that," Storm replied. "But things with the X-Men have been rather… busy. The school was attacked and many of us were captured, myself included.

"If I had known, I would've been there in a heartbeat." T'Challa reassured.

"And that knowledge warms my heart." Storm replied, walking forward and taking his hand.

T'Challa held the hand tight as the two looked at each other, intently. Before anything more could happen, T'Challa's ID Card began flashing. T'Challa sighed as he took it out.

"It would appear that I am needed." T'Challa lamented.

"Care for an extra set of hands?" Storm offered.

"I would be honored." T'Challa replied.

With that, the two of them head off into the city, both discretely admiring the moves of the other.

Across town, Thor and Jane were enjoying a nice relaxing dinner together at a restaurant..

"I gotta say, this has been nice." Jane commended. "I can't remember the last time the two of us got a night to ourselves.

"I know how you feel." Thor replied. "It seems the threats the Avengers deal with are growing in numbers, and severity. It feels like I am needed now more than ever."

"Hey," Jane began, taking his hand in hers, "no more talking about work. We came here to get away for the night."

"Right." Thor agreed. "Though after dinner, maybe a return to the mansion would be welcome for… other reasons."

"Hopefully without random strangers bursting in on us, looking for teammates." Jane commented with a snicker.

"That would be preferable." Thor concurred.

Just then, his ID card began flashing. Thor groaned as he pulled it out.

"It is times like these when I hate mortal technology." Thor commented. "Always going off at inopportune times."

"Sounds like you're needed." Jane commented.

"Indeed." Thor replied, grabbing his umbrella. "We'll continue this discussion later."

Thor then slammed the umbrella on the ground, causing lightning to strike and reveal his asgardian self and hammer. He swung the hammer and flew off towards the mansion, leaving Jane still sitting there.

"Check, please!" she called out.

"And he may have been breaking through, but he ran off before I could help him." Steve finished, setting down a now empty mug of beer. "I just… I wish there was more I could do."

"I feel ya." Sam replied. "I know what it's like to… lose a partner."

"You lost someone?" Steve asked.

"My wingman, Riley." Sam shared. "Took a hit for me. We both went down. I walked away, he didn't."

"I'm sorry." Steve said softly.

"Thanks." Sam replied.

Steve's wallet then began beeping. He opened it, pulling out his ID card.

"Spider-Man." He said, hitting the return call button. "What's going on?"

No response came, only static. Steve's eyes narrowed.

"Something's wrong." Steve declared.

Thor flies towards the mansion at top speed, being joined by Storm and Panther upon approach.

"You received the call as well, I see." Thor observed.

"Yes, we did." Panther nodded.

"It is good to see you again, Thor." Storm greeted with a nod. "Do you know why the summons was sent out?"

"Nay." Thor replied as the three landed in the entryway of the mansion. "I can only imagine it is important."

"I would say so, beloved." Amora's voice suddenly echoed through the mansion.

The three of them looked around the mansion, looking for the source of the voice. Thor finally locked eyes with Amora as she stepped into the light.

"What are you doing here, Amora?" Thor asked.

"I have come to claim you once and for all, Thor." she declared. "And, I'm not alone this time."

"Welcome Asgardian." Zemo greeted, coming out next to Amora. "And your highness. The weather witch is unexpected, but a welcome consolation prize."

"And who are you?" Panther asked, readying his claws.

"My name is Zemo." He introduced. "But you… may call me master."

"The son of Odin calls no one master." Thor declared.

Amora then summoned a bit of magic from her hand, opening several portals in the room. Abomination, Scorpion, Whiplash, Klaue, Wonder Man, Winter Soldier, and Executioner all stepped out, surrounding the three heroes.

"Now then… kneel before your masters." Zemo spoke plainly.

The three just narrowed their eyes, Panther drawing his vibranium daggers, Thor raising his hammer, and Storm's eyes turning white. Immediately, they sprung forward. Panther threw two daggers at the ground, knocking Scorpion and Klaue back. Thor threw his hammer at Abomination, knocking him to the ground. Storm flew upwards and shot lightening at Wonder Man and Whiplash, with the latter dodging and shooting out one of his whips at Storm's leg. He pulls her down, but she just creates a funnel of wind, knocking him back. Wonder Man recovered and flew up from behind, blasting her in the back.

"Ororo!" T'Challa let out, trying to run over to her.

Before he could, Winter Soldier came up and punched him to the ground. As Panther rolled on the floor, Klaue hit him with a sonic attacks, causing him to hold his head in pain. Thor saw this and threw his hammer towards Klaue, but the Enchantress caught the hammer in a field of magic, causing it to drop to the ground as the Executioner swung his axe at him, knocking him back. Abomination quickly caught Thor, squeezing him tightly. This left him open for Wonder Man to blast him in the chest, knocking him out.

Outside from an adjacent rooftop, Steve was looking through the windows with a pair of binoculars with Sam standing next to him.

"That's not good." Steve dreaded.

Sam looked through his own pair, wincing at what he saw.

"Hostage situation, multiple targets, enclosed area." He listed off. "This was well planned, probably well in advance given the variety of assailants."

"It's gotta be." Steve replied."Question is, who-?"

Steve cut himself off as he saw Zemo walking past as the villains carried Thor, Panther, and storm off.

"Zemo." He growled.

"Zemo?" Sam repeated. "Jesus, just how many people followed you to the 21st century?"

"Too many." Steve replied. "Baron Zemo was a chemist who worked for the Red Skull back in the war. His lab was one of the HYDRA facilities we took down."

Italy, 1944

The Howling Commandos charged through the HYDRA castle, shooting down any soldiers that got in their way. As they fought their way through, Cap broke off and went up a nearby flight of stairs, leading him into a laboratory with various vials and chemicals everywhere. Before he could take another step, he heard a blade coming towards him, forcing him to roll out of the way. He got back to his feet and pulled his shield off his back, only to see Zemo standing before him with blade in hand.

"You must be Zemo." Cap deduced.

"Indeed, Captain." Zemo confirmed. "I've been looking forward to testing my blade against you for quite some time."

Zemo then tried stabbing Cap, but he quickly brought up his shield to block it before kicking him back. Zemo skidded across the floor as Cap ran up, trying to swing his shield at him. Zemo ducked under it and slashed Cap's side. Cap grunted in pain as Zemo ran up and kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

It is over Captain." Zemo declared, standing over him. "I have completed the ultimate weapon, Virus X. Once I unleash it against the Allied Forces, this war will be won by HYDRA!"

"That's not gonna happen." Cap swore.

Zemo just sheathed his sword as he grabbed a nozzle, aiming it at Cap.

"I'm afraid it is, Captain." Zemo told him. "And you get to be the virus' first victim. Farewell."

On instinct, Cap hurreled his shield at the container behind Zemo. It shattered the glass like it was nothing, dousing Zemo in the chemicals it contained. Before the deluge could hit Cap though, Bucky came swinging in, grabbing hold of Cap's hand and pulling him to safety.

"Even after your growth spurt, I'm still pulling your ass out of danger." Bucky quipped.

Cap just smirked as they went off, hearing Zemo's cries of pain from the virus.

"We never heard from Zemo again." Steve concluded. "He survived somehow."

"Guess his chemical bath gave him the strength to keep going." Sam mused. "If he's the one behind this, then there's no way you can do this alone, even if you are Captain America."

"Then what do you suggest?" Steve asked. "All the other Avengers are captured, and if we bring in S.H.I.E.L.D, people could get hurt in the crossfire."

"I suggest we make a detour for a moment." Sam answered. "I need to make a call."

They walked away from the Mansion as Sam pulled out his cellphone, dialing a number.

"Hey Colonel Rhodes." He greeted. "Listen, I need a favor."

Inside the mansion, the captured Avengers and Storm were restrained to chairs by magic in the Assembly Hall. As Spider-Man slowly stirred from his unconsciousness, he was greeted by Scorpion standing over him.

"Aw, nuts." Spidey let out. "I was hoping it was a dream."

"Dream come true for me." Scorpion taunted, his tail coming underneath Spidey's chin so the point was pressing into his flesh. "And I'm going to savor every minute of it."

"Enough, Scorpion." Zemo warned. "You're not to kill him yet."

Scorpion growls before retracting his tail.

"This better be worth it, Zemo." Scorpion told him. "You promised me his head. And me out of this stupid suit!"

"Trust me, Scorpion." Zemo reassured. "Once I have what I'm after, you will have your humanity back. And Spider-Man."

Scorpion smirked at the concept. Spider-Man looked around and saw Natasha, still nursing her bullet wound from before.

"Widow!" Spidey let out. "You alright?"

"Bullet in my shoulder..." she winced. "They left it in too."

"Guess it would be too much to ask for medical attention." Spidey guessed.

"She won't be needing it." Whiplash insisted, putting his hand on her injured shoulder and digging his thumb into the wound, causing Widow to grunt in pain. "This will be nothing compared to what we have planned for all of you Avengers."

"Hey, back off!" Spidey told him.

Whiplash chuckled, then removed his hand, Widow gasping slightly when he did.

"Savor your last few minutes of life." Whiplash told them.

From the vents, Clint was watching the whole scene unfold, and gritting his teeth in response.

"Hang in there." He whispered. "I'll get you all out somehow."

He then started crawling through the vent, making his way towards the sublevels. He kicked off a grate and climbed out, landing in the middle of the science labs.

"C'mon, there's got to be something down here I can use." Clint let out.

Just then, the doors to the lab opened up, forcing Clint to duck behind a table as Klaue and Winter Soldier entered the room.

"You sure he came in here?" Klaue asked. "From what I recall of the guy, he's not exactly the brightest bulb."

Winter Soldier just wordlessly walked forward.

"Right, then." Klaue remarked dryly. "Can tell you're going to be fun."

Clint just curled himself tighter behind the table, mentally cursing over and over again. Seeing no other way out, he leapt over the table and fired a flashbang arrow at the ground, disorienting the two of them as he made it to the elevator. As the doors started to close, Winter Soldier's metal hand grabbed them and forced them open. Hawkeye tried kicking Winter Soldier in the face, but ended up getting his foot grabbed by the Soldier's metal hand. He threw Hawkeye to the side, forcing the archer into a roll. He fired an explosive arrow at the roof of the elevator, blowing part of it off before firing a grappling hook arrow that carried him away.

"Dammit." He cursed. "Cap better get here soon."

Sam and Cap met Colonel Rhodes at a decommissioned Stark Industries Weapons Storage.

"So, what are we doing here?" Cap asked.

"Picking up my suit." Sam answered.

"Your suit?" Rhodes repeated with a knowing smirk.

"As I recall, Stark did say I could keep it." Sam replied. "I just gave it to you because I didn't have room in my basement for it."

"A suit?" Cap questioned. "What like one of Stark's?"

"Not exactly." Sam replied.

Rhodes opened the trunk of his car, showing the contents. Sam smiled widely as Cap took a look. It was a silver backpack with red tinted goggles. Sam took the backpack out and pressed a button on it, allowing a set of large metal wings to extend. To say Cap was surprised would be an understatement.

"I thought you said you were a pilot." Cap told him.

"Oh, I never said pilot." Sam remarked.

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam." Cap insisted. "You got out for a reason."

"And now, Captain America needs my help." Sam countered. "As far as I'm concerned, there's no better reason to get back in."

Rhodes looked at the two, shaking his head.

"Do I want to know?" he asked.

"Probably not." Cap told him.

"Just be careful." Rhodes insisted.

"Always am." Cap reassured.

Back at the mansion, Clint was huffing it as fast as he could through the hallways, trying to avoid his pursuers. Klaue continued shooting his arm cannon at him, missing every time. Hawkeye fired several arrows at one of the pillars in the lobby, and used them as steps to get upstairs. Once on the second floor, he fired an explosive arrow, which Klaue shot at, causing a blast that knocked him back and concealed Clint's escape.

"Get that archer!" Klaue snapped.

As he and Winter Soldier continued their pursuit, two shadowy figures entered the mansion. One took off after Klaue and Winter Soldier, and the other went off in the opposite direction.

Back in the Assembly Hall, Thor struggled to free himself as Amora stood over him, brushing her fingers across his arms.

"What are you doing here, Amora?" Thor asked. "Have you become so obsessed you've resigned yourself to be a lacky for a mortal?"

"I bow to no one, Thor." Amora declared, playfully tracing the designs of his armor with her nails. "Zemo is but a tool, one to be disposed of when his usefulness has run its course."

"Then why?" Thor snapped. "What are you planning?"

"What I've always wanted." Amora answered. "You and me, together. Like we always should have been. Come with me and we'll leave Midgard and Asgard behind."

"I say… nay!" He declared.

"What are you doing, Enchantress?" Zemo questioned.

The Enchantress' expression hardened as she pulled away from Thor.

"Merely enjoying my much desired triumph." she answered.

"We have not triumphed yet." Zemo reminded.

"What are you talking about?" Abomination questioned. "The Avengers are captured and the mansion is ours. As far as I'm concerned, this mission is over."

"The Hulk is still alive, and Hawkeye is still loose in the mansion." Zemo reminded. "But the bigger threat, is Captain America."

Abomination snorted.

"A washed up hero with a frisbee." He sneered. "I fail to see how he's such a-"

Zemo responded by kicking him on the side of the knee, causing him to kneel over before smacking him across the face with the hilt of the blade. As Abomination tried to pull himself up, he was greeted by a sword in his face.

"Captain America is the last Avenger unaccounted for." Zemo told him. "And as long as he remains active, the others will not lose hope for escape. He's a threat. More so than you will ever be."

He pulled his sword back, sheathing his blade.

"So don't question me again." Zemo told him.

Abomination got to his feet as a snort rang out from the imprisoned Avengers.

"Trouble in paradise?" Rick quipped from his chair.

Abomination snarled, stomping over to Rick and grabbing the chair, lifting it so he was face to face with him.

"Watch it kid." Abomination told him. "Once we're done here, I'm gonna take your head and-"

Abomination was suddenly cut off by a shield hitting him in the face, knocking him back down and making him drop Rick. Everyone turned and saw the shield return to Captain America, who was standing in the doorway.

"I heard you were looking for me." Cap quipped. "Well here I am.

On Jotunheim, Hulk stood over a pile of beaten Frost Giants, holding one of their maces in his hands. He was breathing heavily, still more than a little angry about being sent away.

"Where am i?!" He shouted into the eternal snow storm. "Send me home!"

Just then, a beam of rainbow energy shot down around him and carried him off. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a large, golden room with a sword sticking out of an anvil-looking thing. Holding the hilt of the sword was Heimdall, who looked at Hulk with glowing golden eyes.

"Hello there." He greeted plainly.

Hulk looked at Heimdall, dropping the mace he was holding.

"Who are you?" Hulk asked. "Where am I now?"

"I am Heimdall." He introduced. "And you're in Asgard."

"Goldilocks place?" Hulk questioned before snorting.

"Yes." Heimdall confirmed. "I saw you on Jotunheim and brought you back here."

"Can you send me home?" Hulk wondered. "I left a mess that needs smashing."

"Of course." Heimdall answered.

Clint meanwhile, ducked into one of the bedrooms to take stock of what he had left in his quiver. Unsurprisingly, he was beginning to run low.

"Damn." he let out. "Gotta make each shot count."

At that moment, the door was blasted open, and the two villains entered. Hawkeye immediately grabbed an arrow and shot it, but Winter Soldier simply caught it and snapped it.

"Oh come on!" Clint let out. "How is that fair?!"

Hawkeye quickly ran forward and slid between the two, making it out of the room and ran down the hall. Both Klaue and Winter Soldier began firing at him, Hawkeye weaving to avoid before vaulting off the banister and onto the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Klaue fired a sonic wave at the chandelier, shattering it and causing Hawkeye to drop to the ground. He landed hard, feeling the arrows in his quiver snap on impact.

"Welp, that's not good." he lamented, sitting up.

The two villains began closing in on him, only for Sam Wilson to come smashing through the skylight, landing between Hawkeye and the villains.

"This a private fight, or can anyone join in?" He quipped.

Before the villains had a chance to recover, Sam swung one of his wings, two of the metal feathers shot out and pinned them to the wall. Sam's wings retracted as he turned to Clint and offered him a hand.

"Hey." He greeted. "I'm Sam."

"Clint." he replied, taking the hand up.

"I'm a friend of Cap's." Sam elaborated.

"Good enough for me." Clint replied, picking up his bow.

The two villains then freed themselves from the wall, earning the attention of the heroes.

"Got a plan?" Sam asked.

"Workin on it." Clint remarked.

Back down in the Assembly Hall, Cap and Zemo began circling each other, neither taking their eyes off each other.

"It's been a long time, Captain." Zemo spoke.

"Not long enough." Cap remarked. "Especially considering you're supposed to be dead."

"It seems the virus wasn't as strong as I had hoped." Zemo retorted. "While it left me deformed and fused this accursed hood to my face, I have been able to adapt and maintain my body over the years. While you remain the same as you ever were."

"You don't sound too disappointed." Cap jeered.

"Actually Captain, I was overjoyed to hear you had survived your bout with the Red Skull." Zemo told him, drawing a sword. "Now I have the pleasure of killing you myself!"

Zemo then charged forward, slashing his sword at Cap as he brought up his shield to block it. Cap then spun around and hit Zemo in the back with his shield, causing him to roll on the ground before getting back up. Zemo turned back to him and swung his sword again. Cap blocked the attack and tried to punch Zemo, but he just grabbed Cap's hand and swung him aside. Cap tried moving towards him, but one of Whiplash's whips shot out and caught Cap's arm. Cap saw this and took hold of the whip, pulling hard and bringing Whiplash in close enough to kick him in the chest.

Scorpion shot out some acid from his tail, but Cap quickly leapt over it before tossing his shield at him, knocking him to the ground as well. Abomination got back up and charged at Cap, just as he reclaimed his shield. Cap ran towards Abomination before leaping at him shield first, knocking him back down before Cap flipped back onto the ground and tossed his shield towards Amora. Just before the shield could strike, Skurge swatted it away with his axe before turning to Cap. Cap took a fighting stance as Skurge ran up to him and tried swinging his axe at him, but Cap ducked under it and began socking Skurge in the face over and over. Before Cap could get another punch in, green magic surrounded his hands and pulled him back, slamming him into a wall before dropping him to the ground.

"A noble effort Captain." Zemo commended. "But I'm afraid you have lost."

At that moment, the doors opened, with Klaue and Winter Soldier bringing in Sam and Clint. They were both shoved onto their knees, looking around the room with disdain. Natasha saw the captured Clint and gasped in shock, struggling for a brief moment before her injured shoulder cut off that action.

"Finally, the elusive Hawkeye." Zemo mused. "And a friend. You should have walked away from the Avengers before it came to this."

"Yeah, well, cab fare in this city is ridiculous." Sam quipped.

"I will give you a choice, Captain." Zemo told him. "Which of your allies will be the first to taste my blade. Your new compatriot, or the archer?"

"You know what, let me go first." Hawkeye snarled. "I'm tired of listening to you talk."

"Amusing." Zemo replied. "Did you really think the three of you could defeat all of us?"

Clint and Sam couldn't help but chuckle in response. They got to their feet, amused smiles on their faces.

"Defeat you?" Clint repeated. "Sam did you hear that?"

"Man, we weren't trying to defeat you." Sam corrected. "We just needed you to lead us to where the rest of the Avengers."

Hawkeye then pulled something out of his pocket, throwing it at Hank. It hit him and he instantly shrunk, Amora's spell now powerless to hold him.

"He shrunk down!" Zemo let out. "Klaue!"

"Workin on it!" Klaue replied, activating a scope on his arm cannon.

After scanning around, he managed to get a lock on Ant-Man, opening fire on him. Ant-Man easily dodged the blast before beginning to grow large.

"Come on, bug!" Abomination challenged, only to see how big Giant-Man became.

Upon reaching him, Giant-Man kicked Abomination and sent him flying out of the room.

"And it's good!" Sam cheered.

Sam then activated his wings and flew into the air, firing one of his metal feathers at Amora that hit her right on the side of her head. She fell to the ground, her concentration broken. The second she fell, the spell she had keeping the other Avengers bound disappeared, allowing them to get up and fight.

"Alright!" Spidey cheered. "I was afraid I'd have to sit this one out."

"JARVIS, activate remote armor recall!" Tony called out, running off to the armory. "Mark 7!"

"On its way, sir."

Once free of her confines, Storm flew above the battlefield and spun down towards the villains, sending lightning strikes that knocked Klaue and Whiplash back. Clint immediately ran over to Natasha and helped her up.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Fight now, worry later." she insisted.

Clint nodded as he and Natasha ran into the fray. Scorpion meanwhile was trying to nail Black Panther with acid, but the Wakandan king managed to evade every attack.

"Hold still!" Scorpion yelled.

"Incoming!" Spider-Man yelled as he swung in and kicked him aside.

Instinctively, he spun around and managed to catch an oncoming punch from Winter Soldier, much to his surprise.

"You have a metal arm?" Spidey let out. "That is awesome, dude."

Winter Soldier immediately responded by spinning around and tossing Spider-Man into a wall. Suddenly, Mjiolnir crashed through the ceiling and returned to Thor's hand, much to Amora's dismay.

"Thor!" she gasped. "You wouldn't harm me, would you?"

"No." Thor replied before the Bifrost shot down, delivering the Hulk. "But my friend here might."

"Hulk!" Rick cheered.

Hulk saw Enchantress and immediately roared in fury.

"Executioner, I need you!" Amora called out.

Skurge immediately came up and intercepted Hulk, knocking him aside. Klaue tried firing at Storm, but she easily evaded the blasts before sending a bolt of lightning towards him, knocking him back. Whiplash tried using his whips to swat Wasp out of the air, but she was too quick and nimble to get hit.

"Is that the best you got?" She taunted. "I've fought tornadoes with better aim than you!"

Whiplash just growled in response as he pressed his attack. Sam meanwhile kept flying around the room, trying to avoid Wonder Man's attacks. Before he could get off another shot, Spider-Man swung in and kicked him aside.

"Nice moves." Spidey commended, sticking to a wall. "Those wings carbon fiber?"

"Carbon fiber mesh, actually." Sam informed.

"That would explain the agility-flexibility ratio," Spidey pieced together. "Which, gotta say, that's awesome."

"Kid, I don't know how fights usually go for you, but there's usually not this much talking." Sam pointed out.

"You've got a lot to learn around here." Spidey remarked, swinging off.

As Wonder Man hit the ground, he got back to his feet and grew to about Giant-Man's size, prompting Pym to confront him.

"Simon, what are you doing here?" Pym asked. "You're not a villain like these people."

"I don't have a choice." Simon lamented. "These people are keeping me alive right now. And if I want to stay alive, I do what they say."

"I'm sorry Simon." Pym apologized. "I'll try not to hurt you too much."

"Same." Simon replied, shoving him against the wall.

At that moment, Iron Man crashed into the room, dropping a quiver of arrows right in front of Hawkeye.

"Here, Legolas." He said.

"Thanks." Hawkeye replied, strapping the quiver on.

Iron Man then blasted Wonder Man away from Giant-Man, forcing him to join the other villains on one side of the room as the Avengers stationed themselves on the other.

"Alright team," Iron Man declared, landing next to Cap. "I don't know about you, but I'd like this scum out of my house."

"Agreed." Cap replied. "Take them down!"

With that, the Avengers charged forward, signaling the villains to do the same.

"Destroy! Them! All!" Zemo declared.

Finally, the two teams clashed, and the fight truly began.

In the hanger, Sam once again was forced to do some fancy flying to avoid Wonder Man and his blasts. Thinking fast, Falcon retracted his wings and dove down, allowing Thor to come up and hit Wonder Man with his hammer, knocking him into the water. Sam quickly opened his wings back up and floated up to Thor.

"Nice hit." Sam commended.

"An undesirable outcome, I assure you." Thor replied.

In the lobby, Spider-Man continuously dodged Scorpions tail swings. As Scorpion shot out some acid at him, Spidey backflipped onto one of the pillars, dodging it. Iron Man then came down and began firing repulsor blasts at him. Scorpion managed to dodge them, firing acid up at a dangling chandelier overhead. The Chandelier chain snapped causing it to fall and crash down on Iron Man. He managed to lift it off, only for Scorpion to be standing over him with his tail at the ready. Before he could fire, Spidey came swinging in and kicked him in the chest, knocking him back. As Spider-Man landed, he fired two web lines at Scorpion, allowing him to spin him around before swinging him towards Iron Man, who quickly closelined him, causing him to hit the ground hard.

"Can see why he gave you so much trouble back in the day," Iron Man noted.

"And yet, he's so much easier in a tag team," Spidey remarked, walking over to him. "Maybe next time I face the Sinister Six, we can make it the mildly annoying three."

In the armory, Widow let out a few shots at Klaue who dodged them and fired in kind. Widow hid behind one of the armor cases, clenching her shoulder wound as Klaue pressed the attack. He was so focused on Widow that he didn't see Wasp flying up to him.

"If this hurts too much, just keep in mind Panther wanted to claw your eyes out." Wasp remarked before zapping him.

The sting knocked him out and caused him to fall to the ground.

In the library, Storm sent out several lightning shots to Winter Soldier, only for him to evade each one. Once he reached her, she managed to hold her own, blocking some of his attacks before he punched her in the stomach. She gasped, the air knocked out of her as she fell to the ground, trying to regain her breath. Before Winter Soldier could make another move, Panther grabbed Winter Soldier's metal arm and stabbed it with his metal claws. Before Winter Soldier could react, T'Challa threw him into a bookshelf, causing several books to fall on top of him as Panther went to check on Storm.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded, still holding her stomach.

In the training room, Hawkeye notched an arrow as he stared down Skurge as his axe shined bright red. He slammed it into the ground, sending a wave of fire towards him. Hawkeye rolled out of the way and fired an arrow at the axe itself. Once it connected, itsent out a surge of electricity which shocked Skurge long enough for Hawkeye to shoot an explosive arrow at his face, knocking him to the ground..

"Bullseye." Hawkeye quipped.

In the science lab, Ant-Man shrunk down and began evading Whiplash's constant strikes. Ant-Man runs into his lab, with Whiplash following suit and striking with every step. With one strike, Ant-Man leapt out of the way and allowed Whiplash to strike an ant farm of bullet ants. Ant-Man landed on the ground and commanded them to attack Whiplash. They crawled past his whips and up his leg, onto his exposed skin.

"You know, you really should be careful where you aim those things." Ant-Man quipped. "Don't you know how irritable ants get when their nest is disturbed?"

They then began biting all over his arms and neck, causing Whiplash to spaz out and try to get rid of the ants. This left him vulnerable to a swift punch from Ant-Man, knocking him out cold.

"Very irritable." Ant-Man quipped.

After crashing through the walls of one of the bedrooms, Amora picked herself up, adjusting her headdress as she prepared to defend herself. She then noticed one of the pictures on the stand, seeing it was of Thor and Jane. The two were holding one another, both smiling widely. Amora scowled furiously, blasting it with her magic. At that time, Hulk came in, punching his fist into his palm.

"I'm not done smashing you yet." He sneered.

"Do you think you scare me, creature?" Amora snarled. "I am Amora, the Greatest Enchantress of Asgard! I will not cower before a simple minded troll like-!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of shattered pottery as Amora was cut off. She crumbled to the ground to reveal Rick, holding the remains of a clay pot in his hands.

"Man, do all Asgardians monologue?" He quipped. "They leave themselves open far too much."

"They talk too much." Hulk remarked.

Down in the Assembly Hall, Cap and Zemo were going at it once more. Zemo furiously swung his sword at Cap, only for Cap's shield to block every blow. After one strike, Cap leapt back and threw his shield at Zemo. he quickly ducked under it, only for it to bounce off the wall and hit Zemo in the back of the head. Cap then ran forward to grab it and smacked Zemo across the face with it, knocking him to the ground.

"Give up Zemo." Cap told him. "It's over."

"Hardly Captain," Zemo taunted. "It's barely begun."

"You've invaded my home, enslaved my best friend, and hurt my other friends." Cap listed off. "All of that just to get revenge on me?"

"Yes." Zemo confirmed, getting back up. "But more than that, I've been promised the world. And maybe I will let you live long enough to see me have it. Enchantress! We are leaving!"

Amora shook her head and summoned some magic to teleport herself away. One by one, each of the other villains were also swallowed up by her magic, teleported to safety. Cap tried to run towards Zemo, but he disappeared before he could.

Later, the Avengers convened in what remained of the library. Part of Natasha's catsuit was pulled down, allowing Clint to patch up her bullet wound. She grunted as he pulled out the bullet, biting down on the strap of his quiver as he worked.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she mumbled into the leather.

"Actually, I'm over it." Clint reassured. "You took a bullet for me back there. Sorry."

"Let's just call it even." Nat suggested, holding out her good hand.

"Deal." Clint agreed, taking the hand and shaking it. "Although, I think I'm gonna be the one ducking out next. Not sure I want to be on a team I have to rescue every week."

"Perhaps they will elect you team leader now." Panther suggested from behind the couch.

"Really?" Clint let out. "Ya think?"

"I'd sooner have Hulk be in charge." Tony quipped.

"Hey!" Hulk exclaimed.

"Easy big guy." Rick warned, holding an ice pack to his head.

"Gotta say, you showed some moves out there, Sam." Cap commended.

"Just doing what needed to be done." Sam replied nonchalantly.

"That's what brought us all here today." Cap told him. "And there's always room for one more, if you're interested."

"More than." Sam confirmed, shaking Cap's hand. "Sorry about Bucky, though."

"I got through to him once, I can do it again." Cap reassured. "What I want to know is what Zemo's planning."

"Seemed pretty obvious they wanted to kill us." Tony remarked.

"Aye." Thor replied. "Defeat does not sit well with some."

"It was more than that, though." Cap responded. "Even when he was beaten, Zemo was sure of himself. As if he had the world in the palm of his hands."

"How do you figure?" Tony asked.

"He said someone promised it to him." Cap replied. "The question is… who?"