Avengers Vol 1: Masters of Vengeance

by T. L. Veselka

The Avengers are attacked in their own home, by . . . themselves. Tony Stark is framed for murder, Cap's only treasured possessions are destroyed and Thor is gone. Chapter Four is up. It concludes the opening Arc though is only the beginning of the story. This takes place in the same universe as my Fantastic Four, X-Men Sanctuary, and Capekillers titles.

2. MoV 2: Of Science and Magic

Avengers: Masters of Vengeance

#2. Of Science and Magic

Avengers Mansion, Avengers Island

The swarm of emergency workers, onlookers, and reporters had yet to subside. Cap stood with a red-haired policeman, Officer Mulligan. The policewoman he had been working with had been called away to another site. Officer Mulligan was next down the chain of command, though he wouldn't be in charge for long and they both knew it. Shield was going to show up any moment and take over the investigation as the Avengers were a UN team and technically Avengers Island was on UN soil.

As if they had been reading their minds a red flying car came humming over the cityscape, heading straight for the helipad about a hundred feet from the mansion. Mulligan tried to say something as they flew over but Cap couldn't hear him against the loud hum and roar of the engine and rockets. It was a beautiful red 1962 Corvette that had been converted into a flying car. Mulligan whistled appreciatively as it landed.

"Shield does like its flying cars," Cap said.

"That's one of many reasons I am going to be a Shield agent someday," Mulligan confided. "They have the best toys."

"Toys don't make the man," Cap said distractedly as two agents got out of the flying car, one of whom he knew.

"Well here they come," Mulligan said. "I wish I could stay on the case with you but you know how these situations go."

"Stick around for just a moment, will you?" Cap asked.

"Sure."

"Cap!" the Shield agent in lead waved at the star-spangled Avenger. He had a big bushy mustache and wore a black bowler hat.

"Dum Dum, I'm glad Fury sent you."

"Cap, this is agent Coulson," Dum Dum introduced his partner, a shorter man with a receding hairline and a pair of shades on.

"Big fan," Coulson said nervously as he shook Cap's hand.

"Nice to meet you. This is Officer Patrick Mulligan, I asked him to stick around and make sure I gave you an accurate assessment of the situation," Dum Dum and Coulson simply nodded at the police officer, he nodded back. "Who briefs who first?"

"I'll go first and you can fill any holes in my story," Dum Dum said decisively. "Tony Stark has been arrested for the murder of four women, we have him on camera and his fingerprints are all over the murder weapon, yet he insists he had nothing to do with the murders. Then someone starts a fire in your room while the rest of the Avengers were attacked by Thor, also on camera, but Widow told you it wasn't Thor. Is that about it?"

"Whoever started the fire also stole my shield," Cap added. He had seen a report on what had happened to Tony via an emergency worker's iPhone. It had felt overwhelming after all that had happened but then he had discovered his room. Finding his preferred weapon missing was just the icing on the disaster cake that was today. He also had found his shattered pocket watch but didn't think it important to the current situation. The shield, on the other hand, was a powerful weapon in the wrong hands.

"Have you come up with any ideas?" Dum Dum asked.

"The Avengers have been attacked before, even in our mansion but never by ourselves. Widow mentioned the Skrulls. I read about them in Avengers files and they might be responsible for this but as far as I can tell they have never been able to replicate the powers of Thor and why would they steal my shield when they have much more powerful weapons."

"They were the first ones to come up in my discussion with Fury," Dum Dum nodded his head. "It is possible they have discovered a way to replicate Thor's powers or perhaps make it seem like they did. Perhaps it was the hammer that was used that had all the power. There are also magic glamour spells, but that wouldn't explain Tony's prints being all over the gun, that is if the two incidents are related."

"It would seem logical," Coulson added.

"Logic and reason often have little to do with supervillains," Cap surmised.

"Whoever it is that did this it seems to have planned it all very well," Dum Dum pulled out a pad and began to type some notes in it.

"There is something else," Cap said hesitantly.

"Are you talking about the bank robbery you stopped?" Mulligan asked.

"Yes."

"What does a bank robbery have to do with all of this?" Dum Dum asked.

"It was the Power Tools, someone paid them to rob the Timely Bank, and they seemed to know I would be there."

"A distraction?" Mulligan asked.

"Maybe," Cap hated to make such a leap in logic but whoever had paid them never showed up despite having told the Power Tools they would come. "We need to find out who tipped them off."

"Coulson, get someone on that right away," Dum Dum commanded. "Any other clues we might be missing?"

"No, but before we get down to the rest of it I had something else I wanted from you."

"Oh?"

"Officer Mulligan here expressed an interest in joining Shield," Cap told them. The cop blushed. "I was hoping you could help with that."

Dum Dum smiled crookedly. That was Cap for you, even in the midst of all this craziness he was looking out for the little guy.

"Anything for you, Cap," Dum Dum said then motioned for Mulligan to follow him and the pair walked away.

"It's an honor to work with you," Coulson said awkwardly.

"Thank you," Cap replied. He looked a little uncomfortable, he had never been very good with compliments or hero-worship.

"Is there anyone else you think it might be?" Coulson asked, trying to change the subject.

"No, but I know someone I can contact," Cap said. "Tell Dum Dum I'll be in the lower levels of the mansion." Cap marched toward the still-smoking mansion leaving Coulson standing alone and unsure of what to do with himself.

Later . . .

Cap had nearly forgotten about the stone Thor had given him, well, given the Avengers years ago when they had first formed as a team. He went to sub-basement level one, to the Avengers Assembly room, and opened a chest of drawers there that stored items that they used for things like surveillance and communication. Most of the things inside looked fairly normal, a few emergency cell phones, a few drones outfitted with cameras and high-tech weapons, a few StarkPads, but one thing stood out as strange. A stone with three ancient Norse runes carved into its side.

"I call upon the mightiest Avenger to answer me," Cap was glad Hulk wasn't around to hear him say it. Thor had been the one to place the incantation Cap surmised. The runes emitted a blue light. Cap set the stone down.

"Captain," came Thor's voice from the rock. "I must admit I am surprised to hear from you so soon."

There was only mild curiosity in his voice, nothing to indicate he had any idea what had happened at the mansion. Cap had to think hard about how he was going to phrase his next questions, the Asgardian didn't take accusations lightly.

"Yes, well, Thor, you see, the Mansion was attacked today," Cap struggled to get it out.

"Are our allies safe? Was anyone severely injured?"

"Nat, Pym, Jan, Clint, and Jarvis are all at the hospital now, I do not know yet what their condition is."

"Who has done this to our friends?" Thor began to raise his voice.

"Well, Thor, we caught it all on camera and they look just like you."

There was silence for a moment, it felt like an eternity.

Asgard

Thor couldn't believe what Cap was saying.

"Are you telling me that the Avengers think I attacked them?"

"No. No, Nat knew it wasn't you who attacked, she thinks it might have been Skrulls but no one knows for sure."

"There is an imposter Thor in Midgard, attacking my friends? I cannot stand for this. Stay safe my friend, I will be with you soon." In Asgard, Thor had been talking into his hammer, almost like a microphone. His face was stony, he slid Mjolnir into its holster and stood. Cap had caught him just as he was rising. Time was different in Asgard.

Thor's room was large with a huge four-poster bed; its walls were made of stone, worn perfectly smooth from millennia of wear. Two beautiful tapestries portraying his two greatest victories hung on his walls, one depicted his fiery victory over Surtur in the fire demon's own realm and the other of him routing the Frost Giants back to their own realm after they had invaded. Large unrecognizable furred skins were placed about his room as rugs, most of them acquired personally on his adventures across the Nine Realms. A few trophies hung on his walls, such as the helmet of the first warrior he had killed in combat and the crown of an ancient king, given to him when he single-handedly defeated the monarch's entire army with the jawbone of a donkey.

Thor was shirtless, his thick musculature covered his frame like thick cords of steel even in repose, his hair was long and golden though his closely trimmed beard was a few shades darker. He threw on a sleeveless leather shirt he wore under his armor. Outside the wind picked up and the clouds darkened, his stormy thoughts were echoed by nature. He gathered together his battle armor, a special armor that he rarely ever used. The golden helmet had eye slits instead of ending at his forehead, his armor also extended to metallic gloves to cover his hands. It had been designed for him at a time when he had been cursed by Hela to make his bones as brittle as an old man's. The armor had been forged and re-forged multiple times over the years, each time growing stronger.

Clothed in his radiant golden armor he stalked swiftly toward Odin's luxurious quarters situated conveniently close to the throne room. Thor knew that now wouldn't be a good time for him to leave but his mind was swirling with unanswered angry questions. Who would dare impersonate the god of thunder? Was Loki up to his usual tricks or was there someone or something else in play? Did his friends believe him when he had said it wasn't him? Most of all, was this a trap? Set to lure him away from Asgard when he was needed most.

Before Thor had a chance to clear his head, he had arrived at the large intricately carved golden double doors that opened into Odin's spacious apartment. Two large guards, he couldn't remember either of their names, stood at attention, weapons at the ready.

"Prince Thor," One of them bowed as the other opened the doors for him. Usually, they tried to speak with him before he entered, but the rage was plain on his face and no one wanted to feel his wrath. In all of Asgard, there was no one more respected or feared than Thor, except of course Odin himself.

"My son," Odin's tired voice said as soon as Thor had entered. Odin lay in a massive bed made from large magical objects there to amplify Odin's powers and hasten the recharging of the Odin-Force. Already he was laying down and preparing for his week-long rest where he would be mortal as the Odin-Force recharged itself. Next to the bed stood Thor's mother, Freyja, as she always did during the Odinsleep. Several other Asgardian warriors stood guard in full armor and on high alert.

"Hello, Father," Thor said, barely containing his ire.

"What is wrong?" There was no hiding anything from Odin.

"Father, I have just finished speaking with my allies in Midgard," Thor began, trying to choose his words wisely, which had never been his strong suit. "There is an imposter roaming Midgard posing as myself and attacking my friends and allies. I must make a quick journey there and discover who is behind this deception and put an end to it!"

"Thor, Asgard needs you here," Odin began, a frown forming on his regal feature. "You know I am about to enter the Odinsleep. If you left while I am asleep then Asgard would be practically defenseless against the myriad of foes who will come to attack us in our weakest moment."

"I will only be gone a short while, father," Thor tried to reason. "No one can impersonate a Prince of Asgard and get away with it. Besides we have the finest warriors in all the nine realms, no army could stand before the Asgardians."

"No!" Odin barked, his patience already gone. "Asgard needs you here, you can investigate this imposter in a week's time."

"Whoever he is nearly killed all of the Avengers. Midgard is much more defenseless than we will be."

"You care too much for Midgard, your concerns should be here, at home, protecting your family and your people!" Odin was getting angrier by the second, even though the sleep was tiring him more every second.

"If I wait a week there may not be a Midgard to return to," Thor couldn't help but raise his voice in frustration.

"I forbid it!" Odin stated loudly.

"I will return before the sleep has begun then," Thor spun on his heel and marched out of the room.

"Thor!" his father shouted at the Prince's back. Thor didn't stop. He marched out of the castle toward the rainbow bridge. Odin's angry voice still echoed in his head.

Thor was going to find whoever was responsible and make them pay for not only assaulting his friends but for causing him to disobey his father. There would be consequences when Odin awoke again, and they would be heavy.

The Vault

The Vault was a maximum-security prison designed especially for superhumans and built high atop the frigid Colorado Rocky Mountains. Tony Stark himself had helped design a lot of the upgrades that had occurred over the last ten years. One of his most recent upgrades, and one he was particularly proud of, was the specialized suits he had made for the guards that worked there, the Guardsmen. Six suits modeled off his Iron Man armor but specialized for superhuman prison guards. Containment and defense were the highest priority in design. Tony couldn't believe that they would have three of the armored Guardsmen waiting for him as rode in on the prison helicopter.

The mountains below were stunning, the jagged rocky peaks jutted fiercely into the sky, still topped with snow in mid-May. The Guardsmen greeted Tony's helicopter about five miles from the Vault. They escorted them down and suddenly Tony didn't feel quite so enamored with his green, armored inventions.

The helicopter landed on the pad with a bump and almost immediately the sliding side door opened and revealed the hardened face of his warden, Truman Marsh. The man had a reputation as a superhuman hater. That's probably why they put him in charge of the Vault, he would do whatever it took to contain the superhuman threat. That's when Tony knew he was in trouble.

"Hey, Smiley, don't mind me I won't be here long, there's been a mix-up," Tony began nonchalantly.

"Can it," the Warden pulled back a fist and punched him right in the ear. Tony fell sideways and blinked in surprise. His ears were ringing and he saw stars. This jerk was going to have to answer to Iron Man once Tony got out. He was sure he was going to get out. Happy or Pepper must be working on it already.

Warden Marsh grabbed Tony by the orange jumper they had already dressed him in and roughly dragged him from the helicopter. Tony's head hit the metal floor of the helicopter and he was seeing stars again. Two of the Guardsmen grabbed each arm and squeezed down on him like a vice before forcefully yanking him to his feet.

"I didn't think you'd learn to keep your mouth shut that fast," Marsh sneered as they marched Tony toward the massive steel and stone prison. An icy wind helped bring Tony's mind back into focus.

"You're going to learn real fast. I don't put up with anything smart, not any smart ideas, and definitely not a smart mouth. If you break any of the rules we will punish you severely, there will be no warnings, no exceptions."

Tony glared up at what was to be his temporary home. It was built almost like a castle, four tall towers surrounded a large rectangular enclosure with a dirt yard inside and another large building in the center. If he was going to have to escape he had better get a good look at it from the outside, it would probably be his last chance.

Slap! Truman slapped the palm of his hand right across Tony's face. Tears welled up, unwanted, into his eyes, his nose stung fiercely and the stars were back. "You look at me when I talk to you, convict!"

This was going to be one hell of a stay.

The Baxter Building

Reed Richards, known to most of the world as Mister Fantastic, sat alone in his lab. Something had been bugging him for quite some time and it only seemed to be getting worse, a steadily growing number of interdimensional portals being opened to his Earth. Reed was all for trans-dimensional travel, being one such traveler himself. However, it was the growing interest in his home dimension that worried him. Not ten years ago only one portal had opened on his planet from another dimension, his. This year, that they were only six months into, there had already been eighty-five portals opened from other dimensions. Based on the historical data next year there would be nearly five hundred. Such heavy traffic from the other dimensions could very easily soon cause disaster. If only he could discover the why of this equation. Perhaps then he could figure out some sort of solution, perhaps a stable portal built on an artificial island somewhere in international waters.

A communication alarm beeped at an incredibly annoying decibel level. There were few people that had the number that alarm beeped to, firstly his team and family, a few extra-dimensional Reeds, Professor Xavier (for Franklin's sake), and the Avengers. His family was in the building, they would just come knocking, so it wasn't them. The beeping stopped. He turned his head back to the schematics he had been analyzing when it immediately started up again. He sighed.

From somewhere on his person he withdrew something that looked very much like a credit card. It was the source of the beeping.

"This is Reed," he said and turned back to his little pet project.

"Reed, this is Captain America," the voice that came over the phone was strong but kind.

"Hello, Captain, what is it I can do for you?" Reed asked distractedly as he continued tinkering with one of his many inventions.

"I don't know if you have seen the news today but the Avengers were attacked in our own mansion," Cap said.

"Huh," was all Reed gave him as he used his touchscreen to zoom in to almost microscopic levels on his portal design. The smallest flaw in his design could spell worldwide catastrophe.

"Well the reason I am calling you, Mister Richards, is because we were attacked by ourselves," Cap told him.

"Well, I am not sure what good someone like me would be in . . ." Reed's voice trailed off as he finally processed what Cap had told him. "It could be Skrulls, or mutant shapeshifters, or the Dire Wraiths again, or even Loki."

"They had our powers," Cap stated. "Or at least Thor's powers."

"And you need me to help you find out who did this?"

"Tony Stark has been arrested and Hank Pym was severely injured in the attack, Banner is on the run, I don't know who else to reach out to."

"I see," Reed said and frowned. He finally stopped tinkering. There was a long silence, he sighed and saved the schematics he had been working on. "I'll be there to help as soon as I let the rest of the team know where I am going."

"Thank you, Mister Richards, I wouldn't ask if I didn't need the help."

"I know you wouldn't waste the time of one of the greatest minds on Earth," Reed said without thinking how it would sound.

"See you soon," Cap said after just a few seconds' pause.

Somewhere in Arizona

The auburn sand and stone seemed to stretch on forever, barely interrupted by the occasional yucca plant or cactus. Life of any kind was scarce here in the harsh deserts of Arizona. There was a reason the military had bases scattered throughout the Southwest. You could see anyone coming long before they got there. The American government wasn't the only ones who appreciated the desolation of the Southwest. Shield had a number of safe houses and secret laboratories set up all over the desert.

No one would ever guess, with no buildings or even roads for miles, that there was a secret laboratory right in the middle of this barren stretch of lifeless ground. Hidden under a large boulder, was a large manhole colored just the same rusty brown of the desert. Underneath that manhole was a long tunnel with a ladder that ran almost fifty feet below the scorching surface to a cool rocky cavern. The cavern had long been converted into a lab with a massive series of computers and equipment stretched along one wall and a long series of stasis pods stretching along the opposite wall. In the middle were various tables messily decorated with various pieces of scientific equipment.

At one of these tables stood the shabby figure of a man in a stained and dusty lab coat, hunched over a centrifuge that was currently spinning. He was mumbling to himself and looking at his scraped-up cheap wristwatch. He ran his hands irritably through his mousey brown hair and readjusted his glasses over his intensely green eyes. All of this was powered by various solar panels disguised as normal rocks or plants of the desert. SHIELD really knew how to make a secret lab.

The man was so engrossed in his work he failed to notice something on the monitors on the far wall. Outside the normally clear-skied desert was suddenly darkening, thick dark clouds from the East rumbled in with thunder and lightning. Almost supernaturally they boiled and blew across the sky. There had been no chance of rain today.

Great thick drops of life-giving water fell mercifully from the suddenly dark sky and were instantly absorbed by the parched desert ground. Lightning flashed once and then twice, the man below was so deep underneath the surface that he heard none of this. Thunder rumbled and then a particularly large ray of lightning struck the ground next to the secret entrance. When it disappeared it left the massively muscled god of thunder, Thor, in its wake.

"There's nothing here!" Thor shouted into a stone, much like the one Cap had used to call him. "There is no one."

"Move the boulder in front of you aside," a formal voice came from the stone.

Looking doubtful Thor simply swatted the boulder aside, it bounced away as if weighed nothing more than a ball. The manhole, though disguised, was fairly easy to make out as it had been left in the wrong position.

"Ah, nothing escapes your sight, Heimdall," Thor looked at the manhole dubiously before picking it up with one hand and tossing it aside as well. "Thank you for your assistance in this."

"I only helped you so that you would return before the Odinsleep is upon us," Heimdall said sternly through the rock.

"I won't be much longer," Thor said absently. He stuffed the rock into a leather pouch tied to his belt. "I don't think I fit."

"Ho! Banner! Come out of your hiding place! It is I, Thor, come to bring you back to the Avengers to aid our friends!"

Down below the scruffy scientist paused for a moment and tilted his head in the direction of the tunnel then shook his head and returned to his work.

"Banner! I do not wish to fight you, or the Hulk, the Avengers are in need of your aid!"

This time Banner must have heard something as he turned and stared wide-eyed in the direction of the tunnel. Sweat broke out on his forehead and eyes began to dart about. He quickly placed two fingers over the bottom of his wrist and closed his eyes. He opened them again and put a hand to his heart. He began slow rhythmic breathing with occasional glances back at the tunnel.

"Why is it that the Hulk is always the most trouble?" Thor grunted and began to fit his muscled frame through the manhole. It was a tight squeeze, he had to let his breath out just to get his chest and shoulders through.

"I should be making my own way to the cavern, I could pummel through the earth almost as quickly as I climb down this accursed ladder. Whoever built this never meant for an Asgardian to use it, that is certain." Thor grumbled as he made his way down the ladder. Below Banner, just hearing a grumbling voice and not the actual words, grew more and more fearful the closer Thor drew. He was struggling to maintain the rhythm of his breathing and feared any moment he would transform into the green behemoth known as Hulk. He was trying everything to keep his cool but all that raced through his mind were thoughts of his many foes trapping him down in this cavern, most likely of all Thunderbolt Ross. The General had been hunting him ever since he had first turned into Hulk, like a dog on his heels. Neither Hulk nor Banner could get any peace with Ross after him.

When he had been an Avenger the American government had forced him to stop but when Hulk angrily quit the Avengers in a childish rage it was open season on the Hulk all over again. How could Ross have found him here? Maybe it was Fury, he reasoned with himself. The man would leave him alone, they had a bit of an agreement. Perhaps the super-spy had noticed the power was back on at his old lab and was coming to check on it. That had to be it, he told himself, trying to keep his mind from the worst-case scenario. His eyes flashed deadly green and he could feel the adrenaline in his veins. No! He forced it back down. No easy feat when dealing with Hulk's pure rage.

"I am not going to climb this ladder all of the way back up," Banner could finally make out the words. That didn't sound like Ross. His fear immediately calmed down a level. The worst-case wasn't this case.

"Banner, I swear you had better be asleep or I don't know why you would force me to crawl down a tunnel like a dwarf!"

"Thor!" instant relief. While he was obviously irritated Thor didn't sound like he was there to fight Banner's alter ego.

"Who do you think came in a thunderstorm and found your little hideout?"

"Look," Banner immediately began to think. "As much as I love the visit, you are only going to attract the wrong kind of attention and I need more time to work down here. Let's have the reunion later."

"Banner, the Avengers have been attacked by some false Thor!" Thor almost spat at that last word. "We need you to come to help us discover who is truly behind this."

"Look, I appreciate the invitation but I have retired the Hulk, he only comes out when there is no one around to hurt," Banner shook his head.

"We don't want the Hulk's help, Banner," Thor told him. "We want your help."

"Wait, really? You're just saying that."

"No, 'tis truth I speak," Thor seemed annoyed. "There was some residual energy from the attackers and also gamma radiation. No one knows gamma radiation like you, Banner. Captain America asked me to come to get you."

"So, you won't expect me to turn into the Hulk?" Banner asked cautiously.

"Did I not just say it is your brains that we require?" Thor barked. "Besides, I have brought enough brawn for this situation, we don't need the Hulk."

Somewhere Hulk's consciousness was aware of what Thor just said. A fit of small burning anger developed in Banner's gut. Angry at not being needed, angry that Thor thought he was stronger than Hulk. Hulk was the strongest. No. Banner fought it down. This is exactly what he had wanted.

"You think they'll call Ross off my tail again?"

"I am sure of it."

"Let's go," Banner grabbed a couple of vials from the centrifuge and stuffed them in an inner pocket of his lab coat.

"I refuse to climb that ladder out here," Thor told him grumpily. "I will fly us out of here."

"Wait! There's not enough room!" Banner said, but it was too late, Thor had a hold of him and they were off. Mjolnir destroyed that ladder, it crumpled like paper.

Mount Sinai Hospital, NY

It was a beautiful hospital, perhaps more luxurious than Cap was comfortable with. The waiting area he was in was glass on three walls and glass above, a tree grew in the center, full and luscious as if it belonged there inside a building. He hadn't had time to change out of his uniform and so everyone who took notice instantly recognized him as he walked through the large room. The other half of the people were so wrapped up in whatever it was they were doing that they didn't even see him. He kind of liked that,

A nurse came trotting toward him, a clipboard in hand, "Right this way, Captain." She led him through a pair of doors secured by an armed guard then down a hallway into an elevator then through a long series of hallways that began to feel like a maze by the time they reached a large recovery room. She opened the door for him and motioned him inside.

Six large beds with lots of monitoring equipment occupied the room, each of them had an occupant, Jan, Hank, Jarvis, Clint, and Nat each were in the room while a sixth stranger lay in the final bed, furthest from the entrance. The steady beep of heart monitors and the hissing and clicking sounds of oxygen machines crowded the room and Cap immediately wanted to leave. He had been in far too many hospital rooms in his life and rarely had it ended well, the familiar sounds and smell of disinfectant instantly brought back old memories.

"Hey, Cap, I thought you'd be out hunting down suspects," Nat's voice came drifting over to him, scratchier than usual. He made his way to her bedside. "I hope you listened to me about Thor."

"I did," Cap reassured, placing a hand on hers. "In fact, I contacted Thor for his help in taking down the imposter."

"Any ideas on who it might actually be?"

"None yet," Cap admitted with a sigh. "I have Reed Richards coming over to the mansion to try and help us figure that out."

"That pompous inventor can build a great machine but do you really think he can help you identify the imposter Thor?" Hank growled from his bed. "I was trying to sleep but your talking was keeping me up."

"Sorry, Hank," Cap apologized. Nat rolled her eyes. "How's Jan doing?"

"She's injured pretty badly but she will pull through," Hank answered with a frustrated grunt.

"She'll recover fine," Nat reassured the worried-looking Cap. "Thankfully Jarvis just caught the tail end of it and wasn't hit nearly as hard as the rest of us."

"Clint wasn't so lucky," Hank said darkly looking over at Clint's bed where he was hooked up to several machines.

"He'll pull through too," chimed in the nurse. "He will have some severe scarring but we believe he should be able to regain full muscle function and control given time."

"That's a relief," Cap said, his voice sounding weary.

"Why? You want him to go out and put himself in harm's way again as an Avenger?" Hank asked angrily.

"Hank?" Nat said in surprise.

"You and Cap are more than human, you get hit hard and you can recover but Clint and Jan they're just humans. They could have died."

"They know the risks, Pym," Nat replied with an edge to her voice. She sat up and turned full on to the scientist. "They aren't children who can't understand or accept the consequences of what they are doing. What is wrong with you?"

"Jan nearly died," Hank grumbled fiercely then turned his back to the pair.

"He just needs some time to recover," Nat told Cap. Cap stared at Hank's back in dismay.

"All of our patients do," the nurse said, nodding at the door. Cap understood.

"I've got to go, Richards should be arriving at the mansion any time now and I dare not waste the time of 'one of the greatest minds on Earth'." Cap told Widow with a wry smile. "Keep an eye on Hank for me."

"Go get 'em, Cap," Widow returned his smile.

"I'll come back soon. See you, Hank." Hank didn't utter a word.

Avengers Mansion, Avengers Island

Despite a few remaining CSI and a clean-up crew, the mansion grounds had emptied considerably since Cap was last there. There was one familiar face there, Agent Coulson, whom he had just met earlier that day. Coulson made Cap uncomfortable, the man obviously looked at him like he was something greater than human. He had grown accustomed to working with other heroes, Fury, Agent Carter, people that treated him like an equal. This day held many challenges big and small.

"Captain Rogers," Agent Coulson came toward him before he could dismount his motorcycle. "Thor is almost here though I'm not sure if he was able to get Banner to come along or not. I've been tracking his signature since he left, he wasn't in Arizona for very long."

"Reed Richards should be arriving soon as well," Cap informed the Shield agent. "Did you get the equipment that your science division recommended?"

"Right this way," Coulson smiled a little too much in excitement at being able to help Captain America. Cap tried to ignore it.

A loud boom echoed above them and in seconds Thor landed, fully armored, with a rather disheveled Bruce Banner in one arm. The skinny scientist had his eyes closed and breathed rapidly.

"It is all right, Banner, we have arrived, your feet are on solid ground once more," Thor gave a humorless laugh. Coulson eyed the seemingly weak scientist with a great deal of concern, reaching for the pistol he kept on his side.

"Doctor Bruce Banner, are you going to be alright?" Coulson asked loudly, his voice nearly cracked. Banner simply put up a hand and then bent his head between his knees, continuing his breathing exercise.

"Thor, you know Bruce can't get excited," Cap chided and Thor threw him a quick icy look but nodded. Coulson was still watching Bruce recover but Cap was unworried. He had seen Bruce transform many times before, he was out of the worst of it, he wouldn't Hulk out now. If he were going to do so he would have started already.

"Thor told me you didn't want the Hulk this time," came the first words from the scientist's mouth after arriving. Coulson finally relaxed and holstered his pistol.

"And he told you the truth," Cap said. "Reed Richards is on his way here now to help you and Thor with figuring out who truly attacked us. A Shield team was able to discover some residual energies which look like they may have used either a portal or some teleportation device to get here."

A loud whooshing sound suddenly drowned out whatever more Cap was saying. Above them arrived Reed Richards in the Fantasti-Car, a flying contraption straight out of a sci-fi movie. It had four seats for each member of Richards' team, two of them were seated on each wing, it seemed so clunky it shouldn't fly, especially with the heavy rocky Thing in one of those seats. This time Reed Richards or, Mister Fantastic as he was commonly called, was piloting it alone. He landed the thing on an empty helipad and stretched his way to the ground.

"Bruce Banner, it has been quite some time, it is good to see you," Richards said warmly, which was unusual to hear the man speak to someone almost like an equal. Reed was quite possibly the smartest man on the planet and the problem was he knew it.

"The highest concentration of residual energy is this way," Coulson motioned for them all to follow. Reed stretched ahead of him right to the array of energy detectors and rad readers Shield had supplied.

"Interesting, this energy is comprised of a unique combination of radiation that I have never seen before," Reed stated before everyone could even arrive.

"Let me take a look," Bruce had to shove past the brawny Thor to get to the advanced machinery. It didn't take him long to make an assessment either. "They were right about the Gamma radiation but I don't recognize all of this either."

"I'm afraid it does look somewhat familiar to me, but I am afraid we will need to bring in another expert on this," Reed Richards admittedly sheepishly, much to everyone's surprise. Coulson and Cap looked at each other in shock. Reed admitted he needed help on solving a problem? This truly was a day for the history books.

"And who might this expert be?" Thor asked.

"Do any of you know Doctor Stephen Strange?" Richards asked. They all did, except Coulson.

"I hate magic," Banner groaned.

"It's not magic, just unexplained science," Reed insisted.

Sanctum Sanctorum, Greenwich Village, NYC

In the heart of Greenwich Village in New York sits a stately mansion on the corner of Bleeker Street and Fenno Place. You can only see it if you really need it. It was once said that the place was haunted and it sat abandoned and rotting but then a new owner purchased the place, rather than build the historical building back up they bulldozed it and now it is an empty lot. So long as you have no need to see it that is.

Thor and Cap both knew the place for what it was, the home of the Sorcerer Supreme, the greatest magic-user on all of Earth, Doctor Stephen Strange. Cap didn't know if Reed or Bruce had ever been to the mansion but Bruce definitely seemed familiar with Strange. "How do you know Doctor Strange?"

"We were part of a team, sort of, a non-team, the Defenders," Bruce begrudgingly admitted. "It didn't end well."

"Was it you or the monster who was part of these Defenders?" Thor asked.

"Who do you think?" Bruce snapped back. Cap gave the bickering pair a look and they silenced themselves as they climbed the steps leading to the front door. Coulson was with them as well, quietly taking it all in.

"Good evening," the door opened as Cap raised a hand to knock. In the doorway stood a strong-built man of Asian descent with a shaved head and a knowing smile. "I am Wong, Strange has been expecting you."

"That's funny considering we didn't call ahead," Coulson observed.

"You know," Wong said looking at Cap. "The doorbell works just fine." He nodded at a modern doorbell right next to the door. Cap flushed. Wong motioned them all to come inside. It was quite a sight to behold. It was like someone had taken the Avengers Mansion and turned it into a museum of ancient artifacts and weapons. Neatly organized but becoming crowded everything seemed to be hundreds of years old if not much older.

"We have the largest collection of mystical curios in all the world," Wong told them as plainly as talking about a nice library or even a stamp collection. "Of course, most of what you see here are the more harmless items, the scary stuff is kept out of sight."

"Are you scaring the mundanes again?" a stoic voice came down the hall. "You'll just tempt one of them into stealing something so they can study it."

In front of them came a man in blue and black robes with a large red cloak that seemed to be moving on its own as if it was affected by forces they could not feel. Doctor Strange had always given Cap a case of the heebie-jeebies, mixing his life into the occult and the dark corners of the world few would enter.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Strange asked, though to Cap's ear this was anything but a pleasure to him.

"The Avengers were attacked," Thor declared boldly as if that explained everything.

"It certainly wasn't me who attacked them," Strange said in a bored tone. "Is that what you are here for?"

"It isn't that," Reed finally said. He had been studying the curios on the walls and in display cases with great scrutiny. "We are analyzing the residual energy signature of a portal they had used to get onto the mansion grounds without setting off any alarms and we discovered a form of energy that neither myself nor Bruce Banner was able to identify. We thought you might be able to."

"You think it was magic?"

Reed cleared his throat. Cap knew that Reed's first response was to deny the existence of magic and yet here they were, in the home of a wizard, unable to identify any other form of any energy in the portal. "We do not know what it is, you are the only person that I know that understands forms of energy that I do not."

"You still don't believe in magic." It wasn't a question from Strange but a statement. He and Richards stared at each other in the eye for a moment, both of their faces were emotionless but Cap could feel the tension slowly filling up the room.

"What?" Thor burst out in a deep throaty laugh. "With everything that Richards has seen and done only a fool wouldn't believe in magic and Richards is no fool. You believe in magic, don't you Richards?"

There was a pregnant pause, everyone stared at Reed. "I know that there are forces in the universe that I do not understand. Yet."

A small smile flitted across Strange's face so quickly that all but Cap missed it. "Very well, let me take a look at your analyses."

Reed handed the wizard something that resembled an IPad. With a flick of his wrist, Strange brought up a display and then projected it over the pad. What came up was beyond Cap's understanding. It looked like several charts all stacked on top of each other, each of them more different than the last. At first, Strange's face remained bored and stoic but then Cap saw subtle differences in the Doctor's features, a slight tightening of the mouth, an intensifying of his stare, a flare of the nostrils, Strange had found something that bothered or intrigued him. Strange gave a quick glance over to Reed who was staring at him in curiosity then closed the display.

"Well, you were right, it is magic," Strange acquiesced after a moment's silence. He sighed. "I have some . . . things that need to be attended to. I will meet you all at the mansion once I have everything I need to help you."

Cap squinted his eyes. Whatever Strange had noticed he was keeping it a secret from them. Steve supposed this was just the way of wizards. He had met a few in his lifetime and none of them had been particularly forthcoming individuals.

"I'll show you to the door," Wong said gently and raised a hand in the direction of the front door. Reed also seemed to be a bit suspicious as he glared at Strange who now had completely taken his attention from them as if they were already not there. He supposed they wouldn't be getting anything more from him until he came to the mansion. Cap turned and headed out, the rest followed.

"Well that was productive," Banner bemoaned.

"Don't worry, Banner, Strange will help us. Wizards have always been a strange lot and none more so than Strange himself," Thor dismissed but managed a glance backward at the crimson-cloaked sorcerer who was now floating in place with his legs crossed and his face glowing.

"Bruce, let's get right back to it," Reed seemed lost in thought as he said this. "I'd like to make some progress before we have to depend on magic."

"I'll get the mansion prepped for Gandalf the Red," Coulson joked without a smile.

"If you don't need Thor for the moment I'd like to take him to see the team," Cap touched Reed's shoulder. It felt like touching a whale.

"Yes, we won't need him until we are ready to try and trace it back to its source," Reed already had his face buried in the pad he had shown to Strange. Cap was surprised Reed had even heard him. Wong opened the door and Cap was the only one to wish him a good night as the rest broke out their tech devices.

Wong sighed the second he closed the door on the Avengers. Something they had shown him had bothered Strange very much. The others hadn't worked with the former surgeon for a decade as Wong had. Both had studied under the Ancient One and while Wong had been a pupil longer than Strange it was the former neurosurgeon who had been chosen to take the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. While it had bothered many of the Ancient One's other students Wong had never been a man of ambition, instead, he found satisfaction in study and self-improvement. That was why it had been he, among all the other magic-users, who had been chosen to help guide the new Sorcerer Supreme to greatness. They had rarely been apart since.

"Doctor," Wong called out as he made his way back to the sitting room. "I noticed that something they showed disturbed you."

He got no reply. Typical. He rounded the corner into the room and was surprised to find the wizard simply sitting on the sofa, a faraway look in his blue eyes.

"Strange," Wong said, worry beginning to creep into his voice.

"I'm fine," Strange said after a moment, but his tone of voice was heavy.

"Then what is bothering you?"

"Their suspicions were true," Strange said vaguely.

"I know, you confirmed it was magic."

"No, it was me. I helped create that portal."

"What? How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure yet, Wong, but I intend to find out," Doctor Strange's face turned grim and he stood to his feet. Wong was glad he was staying behind. This was going to get ugly. "I need you to come with me, just in case."

Damn.

Next in Avengers #3 Origin of the Masters of Vengeance: The portal is opened and the Avengers go to the universe of the Masters of Vengeance and learn their dark origins. Meanwhile Banner is back at the mansion, unwilling to let the Hulk out to help his friends, but he might not have much choice. Someone is taking advantage of their weakened state and invading the mansion.