Author's Note: Here we go with another original piece! This chapter was inspired by the comics: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #49-52, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #9, and Captain America Vol 1 #312. Give them a read if you like, otherwise enjoy my take on things!
Gideon Mace, a thug formerly in the employ of Darren Cross, has escaped prison to wreak havoc on all of superherokind! Not only that, but Gideon has joined forces with a powerful anarchist, whose machinations put the fate of whole nations at risk! Can even a select batch of heroes stop him in time? And who is this young woman who's got it out for Gideon Mace? To find out, true believers, the Avengers will have to battle-
Chapter 42: A Killer Elite
Popping open the refrigerator door, Carol Danvers selected a jug of orange juice and poured herself a glass with a satisfied sigh. She promptly chugged the crystal cold refreshment and then made to our herself a second glass. "Carol…?" A familiar voice, speaking in a hesitantly-stern tone, drew her attention to the kitchen entrance. There stood Janet, dressed in her Wasp costume (much like she still was in her Miss Marvel garb), standing askance and seemingly in an uneasy state. She appeared nervous, but there was a strength in her eyes suggesting something was bothering her sharply.
"Hey, Jan." Carol greeted nonchalantly between sips of her orange juice. "What brings you around at this late hour?" Her fellow heroine strode closer, fidgeting with her gloved hands.
"Are you and Connor… you know… a thing?" She asked, questioning while also accusatory. Carol quirked a blonde brow.
"Why do you ask?"
Janet swallowed nervously. "Just… curious." She replied, sounding comfortable.
"Uh huh." Carol hummed with a knowing look. "Didn't I hear you tell She-Hulk 'he's just a close friend, a work friend, there's nothing going on between us, nothing at all'?" She continued, miming Janet's voice. "So, sorry for struggling with this, but why are you so interested all of a sudden?" The brunette's cheek took on a rosy tint, curling her lip.
"W-W-What does it matter what I told She-Hulk?" She retorted defensively.
"I heard it. And if I did, Connor probably did too. He didn't look too happy in the training room." Carol responded. Janet's eyes slowly widened in understanding.
"…did he?" She stammered.
Carol inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly. "Look, I'm not trying to guilt-trip you, but don't be horrible to him, alright?" She stated. "I can tell he's upset, something's eating at him. Probably you." She explained, preserving his closely-guarded secret. That was for him to work on. She would not be the middleman in such a sensitive matter.
"But I-"
"Jan… you've got him wrapped around your finger." Carol proffered, holding up her pinky for emphasis. Finishing her drink, she reached out a placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't play games with him. Draw a line in the sand, figure things out, just don't jerk the poor man around like a yo-yo." She urged.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city…
A full moon cast a bright glow across the vacant United Nations plaza grounds, glass and steel reflecting a glowing white across the precincts. Only a handful of hired security guards roamed the otherwise lifeless perimeter, believing they were in for another quiet, uneventful night.
That belief was soon to be shattered.
A dull roar lit the night as the droning overhead drew eyes skyward. A rocket sled, a fusion of high-tech flight propulsion and all-terrain vehicle, dove low and swept across the plaza, barreling down on the decorative fountain in the middle of the courtyard that was surrounded by dozens of flags representing the countries of the world. It's pilot withdrew a morningstar mace and held it aloft, swinging hard and shattering the first flagpole. "The first blow against the nations of the world is struck!" He cried out in triumph. Guiding his rocket sled around, the attacker smashed the rest of the flagpoles in quick succession. "The second! The third!" He words were those of ecstatic glee, a sense of pride taken in the wanton desecration. "And so begins my grand crusade! With each flag I smash, the liberation of the world is one step closer!" The last flagpole, the one bearing the flag of the United States aloft, was the final target of his mayhem. "Join your archaic allies, America! Join them in the trash heap of obsolescence!" With a bellow, the final flagpole was struck down and tumbled to join the masses of fabric lining the ground. The desecrator took flight again, his rocket sled arcing wildly around the grounds as he surveyed his work below. "The United Nations… feeble, pathetic farce! A misguided attempt to promote unity among the peoples of the world. To think that good men with good intentions waste their time with such charades! If only I could open their eyes to the counterproductiveness of organizations like this… perhaps tonight's demonstration will help them see the light!" He scoffed, eyeing the massive building complex with vivid contempt.
Down on the ground, two of the scant security guards discovered his menacing presence and stared in awe. "Hey, Jake… what in blazes is that?!" One of the wondered in shock.
"Someone on some kind of flying cart!" Jake exclaimed in response. "He clipped all the flag poles, that joy-riding sonuva-"
"Think we should risk shooting at him?" His partner queried. Their chance would not come. The pilot of the sled, a man in a black hood, caught sight of their presence.
"It seems my first foray has witnesses." He mused. "Good." Diving low, he tossed a small device over the edge that fell into the heap of fallen flags. Seconds later, the device burst into flames and generated a fiery shockwave that knocked the guards off their feet as it consumed every flag in a wild inferno. As the vandal roared off into the night, he called out to the stupefied guards over the roar of his engine, "Go tell your children that you were privileged to see the first symbolic victory of… the FLAG-SMASHER!"
The next night…
A new wave of terror had come to grip New York City, one that was not so fanciful as an alien invasion or a wave of super-criminals. This struck far closer to the heart, menacing streets and peoples, homes and families.
Blue and red lights backlit dark neighborhood streets, casting an eerie glow of warning to those nearby. Half a dozen police cars as well as CSI vans and SWAT trucks surrounded a ground-level apartment whose windows were shattered and whose brick walls bore ominous bulletholes. Officers milled about as yellow 'crime scene' tape was rolled across the front door while investigators began surveying the home, taking note of broken debris, splatters of blood… as well as the row of body bags assembled in the living room.
With them stood the four Avengers who responded to the grisly commotion.
"Of all the things to encounter while on patrol… this wasn't on the wishlist." Hawkeye muttered as he glanced around the shattered room.
"Some criminal activity is certainly easier to deal with than others." Captain America agreed.
"Anyone else getting the creeps just from being in here?" Wasp wondered, shrunken down and perched on his shoulder. "I mean, a family used to live here. Now they're dead. Just a few feet away from us."
"We must close our hearts to such emotions," Black Panther stated, "and focus on what we know. This crime can be absolved, the killers brought to justice, so long as we move and act with determination."
"Easier said than done." Hawkeye retorted.
"Perhaps. But there is information here that may enlighten us further." The Wakandan continued. "This is the third home to be assaulted in such a matter, albeit with far more casualties, in this neighbourhood."
"Who else has been attacked?" Captain America asked.
"According to police reports, the homes of Delroy Garrett Junior and Miguel Santos. Both known vigilantes; the Three-D Man and Living Lightning, respectively." Black Panther answered.
"So who lived here?" Wasp asked.
"I can answer that." A new voice announced. The heroes turned, spying a man in a dark trench coat and equally dark fedora approaching them. His dark-skinned appearance was framed by a thin scraggly beard, his eyes bright despite the marks of age across his face. He appeared to be in his late-thirties, possibly early-forties. "Avengers. Never thought I'd meet you in person one day." He mused with a deep chuckle. "The name's Detective Nathaniel Byrd, NYPD." He introduced himself, suddenly sobering. "I was a friend of Hector and the Ayala family."
"We're sorry for the loss of your friend, Detective." Captain America replied. "We'll do what we can to help bring the killers to justice."
"You're the ones who reported the mess, aren't you?" Byrd queried in response. "Too bad you weren't a few minutes early."
"We were busy investigating the defacing of the United Nations plaza." Black Panther explained. "It appears the city is becoming engulfed in a crime spree."
"Yeah. That's one word for it." Byrd muttered.
"You don't sound overly concerned." Captain America pried.
"All due respect, Cap, but in this line of work I've seen enough things that would make any average guy lose their lunch." The detective told him. "Doesn't ruffle my feathers much anymore. But this? This is a whole new level of messed up." His words registered and the supersoldier nodded in understanding. As a soldier he'd learned how to keep his emotions under lock and key, to keep the enemy from exploiting raw heart and dealing yet another blow to morale. It appears living a life next to the ever-busy police department in a city with such a high crime rate had taught Byrd the same lesson.
"So… what do you know about the Ayala's?" Wasp asked, breaking the silence. "Why would anyone target them?" Byrd lowered his head just enough so the brim of his hat concealed his eyes and his emotions.
"There's only one really good reason why." He said cryptically. "Hector's big secret."
"You gonna tell us what it is?" Hawkeye pressed, not appreciating the non-answers.
"Well, how about y'all get comfy. It's a bit of a story to tell." Byrd responded. "It's not a real happy story, but just listen…" The Avengers stood quietly attentive, waiting for him to begin. "The whole mess started with three martial arts hotshots called the 'Sons of the Tiger'. Seems they had a falling out one day, they nearly tore apart a whole gym before they called it quits. Once they broke up, they dumped these jade amulets they wore. Something about those amulets boosted their natural abilities. Don't ask me how."
"Tiger amulets?" Hawkeye repeated, arching a brow.
"Made from jade… It appears this group has their origins overseas." Black Panther mused, his mind immediately pondering the significance of jade, the presence of the tiger in the zodiac, and the notoriety of martial arts in Chinese culture.
"So these amulets just laid there in an alley until they were found by Hector. Evidently no one had ever thought about wearing all three of the amulets, and when Hector did… he was transformed into a vigilante. Called himself White Tiger." Byrd revealed. "Whatever's in those amulets must be somethin', 'cause they turned my friend into a regular powerhouse. And more than that, they turned him into a regular kung fu super-star, which must've come in handy when he was cleaning up the street gangs in these parts." Wasp couldn't help but grin.
"Cool origin story!" She remarked. Byrd huffed.
"You'd think he would look at it that way. Being turned into a fancy super-dude. Well, you're wrong." He stated dourly. "At first he couldn't really control the changes. Then he discovered if he took the amulets off, he got sick. Real sick. And then there were the newspapers. Leave it to the Bugle to rip apart the latest costumed character on the streets of New York. As if that wasn't a big enough hassle, becoming the White Tiger complicated his home life. Lived with the whole family, you see. Try keeping a secret like that under wraps from five or six people at a time. Sure, he kept at it, did good, made friends. I'd say he knew the Garretts, Santos, even the Hart family. But there weren't enough friends in the world to save Hector's brother. He was killed in a tanker explosion. Hector took his death pretty hard." Byrd paused, remembering that dark time and the havoc wrecked on his friend's soul. "But he pulled it together. Went public with his identity, started taking night classes, found himself a girl, he became truly happy. Looked like everything was gonna be alright." Captain America looked up, catching the unspoken hanging on the end of his story.
"Until?" Hawkeye pressed, beating him to it.
"Until now." Byrd muttered, gesturing to the body bags on the floor. "If there's such a thing as curses, I'd say the White Tiger is cursed."
"Poor guy." Wasp whispered.
"So Hector Ayala was the White Tiger." Captain America concluded.
"A vigilante." Black Panther added. "Much like Three-D Man, Living Lighting, and Jack-of-Hearts. All were targets, but only Hector has been slain."
"So, we found the pattern. But who'd have it out for vigilantes?" Hawkeye pried. "Sure, we've dealt with a lot of bad guys who're after folks like us. But to target the little guys? Sounds like they're just trying to keep their neighbourhoods safe. Who'd object to that?" None of his teammates could answer him. Neither could Byrd.
"Detective," Nathaniel turned as a police officer approached him with a large notebook in hand, "we've counted the bodies, we're missing one of the family members." She said, turning her notepad over to him. Byrd loosed a low, concerned grunt as he read the names.
"Who's missing?" Captain America asked.
"Hector's niece; Ava Ayala." Byrd answered.
"Where could she be?" Wasp queried. Byrd narrowed his gaze, a thought coming to mind.
"Hang on…" Striding purposefully through the home, Byrd made for one of the rooms in the back, the room of Hector Ayala. Over the course of his visits, he'd stopped in many times and knew what he was searching for. Arriving at the empty bedroom and striding over to the nearby nightstand, Byrd pulled open the drawer and shoved papers and books aside, finding a single case shaped like one designed to hold a necklase. He cracked it open, finding it empty. "The tiger amulet… its gone." He said aloud. The Avengers, having followed him, overheard.
"Did they kill him for the amulet?" Black Panther wondered aloud.
"Maybe." Byrd answered. "The only member of his family who knew about his secret identity was Ava. Given how this has been treated with care and not been ripped open and discarded, there's a chance she's taken it." Captain America nodded in understanding, silently praising Byrd's seasoned detective skills and deductive reasoning. "I don't know what happened to her, but promise me you'll find her." Byrd pleaded with them.
"We will, detective." The Captain promised. "This gruesome string of attempts ends here. Whoever has it out for the blood of heroes is going down."
"Tonight, if we have anything to say about it." Wasp added confidently, taking flight.
"Thank you. I'll do what I can from my angle, see if the police can do something." Byrd replied in earnest. "For now, all I ask is that Ava's safe. Maybe the missus and I can look after her. But she needs to be brought back. That girl's lost and alone out there. Whoever gunned down the Ayala's might seek to finish the job."
Meanwhile, in lower Manhattan…
As the Avengers embarked on their newest most-serious mission, another begins his across the city.
Acme Flag Company; while perhaps poorly-named, was a reputable manufacturing firm best known for their quality star-spangled banners. And such a reputation, while noble, was swift to earn the ire of the vandal Flag-Smasher. "Aha! A suitable target if ever I saw one! If I am to believe their advertisements, they are the largest manufacturers of American flags on the east coast." Aboard his rocket sled, the costumed terrorist charged through one of the building's massive windows, sending shards of glass exploding across the workspace. He wasted no time beginning his rampage, withdrawing a weapon from within his vehicle.
Hooked up to a tank filled with an oxidizing agent, and fed via a chemical hose, Flag-Smasher's firebolt pistol could unleash incendiary bolts capable of igniting most flammable substances. As he was about to prove.
"When I have finished my first campaign in the war against nationalism, Americans will fear to fly their flag!" He cackled to himself as he fired off a stream of high-temperature beams. They struck the various flags of all shapes and sizes, hanging around the building interior. The Star-Spangled banners caught fire instantly, the blaze mounting with such swiftness as Flag-Smasher pumped round after fire-starting round in the Acme building. The inferno spread quickly, consuming all the flammable material in its path and surged throughout the width and breadth of the building. Satisfied to have turned the company building into a roaring fire any first-responders would struggle to put out, Flag-Smasher vacated the premises and took the skies. Behind him, the industrial district was lit up by a menacing orange glow, wrought from the Acme Flag Company slowly burning to the ground. "Some day the people who work at Acme will thank me for freeing them from the hypocrisy of their job! Some day the people of the world will thank me for opening their eyes to the lies which they live!" Flag-Smasher vowed, hellbent on seeing his crusade through to the end.
Elsewhere in the city…
Lou Gunther is what is commonly called a 'source'; an informer, a stool pigeon. Tonight, he was scared out of his wits, because certain information is wanted badly… and he can't deliver!
The blonde haired man cried out as he was flung across the width of an alleyway, his dirty, disheveled form slamming into another brick wall before dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He tried to pick himself up, struggling as pain flared in his shoulder where a bruised muscle viciously throbbed. Glancing across the ground, he spied his discarded .22 pistol and knew he needed it. Lou made to reach, only to have a heel come down on the back of his hand and smash it into the concrete ground. He cried out in pain yet again, only to be swiftly silenced as a hand reached down and grasped him by the jaw. Hoisted up by an intense strength, the wide-eyed Lou looked into the masked face of his attacker.
Pure white, with only a pair of golden eyes to be scene, it matched the rest of her bright white suit; a skintight affair that defined her young curves, revealing a young woman of good physical health. Standing out in contrast to the white was the bright green three-piece amulet around her neck, two paws and a carved tiger's head that all glowed intensely. Her black pony-tail jutted out from behind her head, swishing back and forth as she pinned Lou to the brick wall with one hand.
"Talk, Lou Gunther! Who killed my family?! WHO?!" White Tiger screeched, drawing back her free hand and letting the claws pop from her fingertips. "You know about every dirty deed that goes down in the Bronx. Our apartment was all shot up… my family murdered!" She hissed. Lou knew who the White Tiger was, even if this current version did not match the figure he'd seen and heard about. As such, he had every reason to be afraid.
"B-But I don't know!" He stammered. White Tiger snarled and threw him to the floor, promptly landing a hard kick that cracked three of his ribs.
"Talk! You hear me?! TALK!" She roared, pouncing on him and delivering a punch that sent blood flying from his bruised and battered face. "You'll tell me what I want to know if I have to beat it out of you!" Rearing back her arm, Lou whimpered as White Tiger threatened to use her claws for real this time.
"Hold it, Ava!" A commanding voice ordered, prompting White Tiger's head to jerk up. There, at the entrance to the alleyway, stood the four Avengers tracking her down. "The man won't do you any good if he's dead!" Captain America stated firmly as he slowly approached her. "You don't want to be like them, do you?" He questioned. Ava Ayala, breathing heavily from the intense emotions consuming her, remained frozen in place with her clawed hand still poised to strike Lou.
"If you kill Gunther, you would be no better than those who killed your family." Black Panther sagely added, stepping forward. The words hit home and a disgusted Ava dropped Lou with a throaty huff. The bedraggled man scrambled away from her, seeking refuge from the Avengers.
"K-Keep her away from me, please! I-I don't know who killed her family! I swear it!" He begged them.
"He's hiding something… I can see it in his eyes. I want to know what!" Ava snarled as she stalked forward.
"Everyone knew your uncle was the White Tiger. Anyone could have found you out." Hawkeye cut in. His experience with SHIELD had taught him enough about how to handle situations like this.
"No one would've been crazy enough to attack my uncle!" Ava shrieked. At that, Lou finally had something to contribute.
"W-Word on the street that some big out-of-town muscle is making moves against heroes. The little guys, the neighbourhood vigilantes." He sputtered, earning the attention of the five heroes.
"What muscle? Who? And where can I find them?" Ava demanded, looming over him.
"Easy, Ava." Captain America urged, a firm hand on her shoulder.
"H-Hey, I don't know where they are! They're still holed up in the south Bronx, but I can't be certain! Whoever these guys are, they're being real secretive!" Lou whimpered in reply, feeling very uncomfortable. "I've heard rumors about a couple of places where they might be, but-" He trailed off, hesitant to pursue. Hawkeye knelt next to him.
"If I were you, buddy, I would think very hard about telling us everything you know." The archer pointedly told him, leaving no room for veiled threats.
"The police would not take kindly to you withholding information about the murderer's whereabouts." Black Panther added in agreement.
"Forget the police! My family was wiped out by those killers! I want them first!" Ava growled with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Now, where are these rumoured hideouts?"
"O-One of them's in the old candy store on Davidson avenue… the one that was gutted last spring. The other is a vacant storefront on treemont… a-and that's all I know, honest!" Lou blubbered.
"For your sake, they better be." Ava hissed. The heroine turned on heel and and sprinted towards one of the walls, leaping upon it and sticking thanks to her claws.
"Ava! Wait! Don't go after them alone!" Wasp implored.
"My family's killers are on the loose and you expect me to wait?" She retorted.
"We'll find them, kid." Hawkeye promised. "But you're not thinking straight. You're in no state to hunt them down."
"I'm thinking well enough!" Ava growled back, clambering up the remainder of the wall and disappearing over the rooftop.
"Man! Just when I thought we were talking some sense into her." Wasp grumbled.
"Can't say as I blame the poor kid. Losing her family must've been the worst shock of her life." Hawkeye muttered while crossing his arms.
"She's young, emotionally-traumatized, and impulsive." Captain America "We better get after her before the whole Ayala family is wiped out…"
As the Avengers planned, Ava was on the move. Her mind was a flustered clutter of emotional thoughts, culminating into a single hellbent motivation to repay her family's killers. She knew she was no true White Tiger, not like her uncle Hector whom she'd idolized. But if she could avenge him while wearing his suit, then perhaps poetic justice would be enough.
Her life had become a little more complicated when her uncle had let her in on his secret alter-ego as the White Tiger. Ava, young and eager, wanted to become like him and begged him to tell her more. More she learned and more she retained, enough to know that the jade tiger amulet was the key to becoming a martial arts powerhouse. The moment she found her family dead, overwhelmed with grief and rage, Ava took her uncle's amulet for herself and swore revenge on the murderers. It was a path she was hellbent on following, bounding across rooftops like a great human cat. Her frustration, rage and anger growing with each block she traversed.
At long last she dropped back to street level in one lithe movement, approaching the storefront Lou Gunther described. The door was unlocked, opening at the slightest touch. Ava stepped inside, discovering the outer room to be empty while a light filtered through slivers made by an ill-fitting door leading to the back room. She moved slowly and carefully, flexing her hands as claws popped out of her fingertips in macabre preparation.
Pulling open the single door, Ava was met with the sight of a brown haired man facing away from the door. He was seated at an empty table, under a single light from the ceiling. Pausing to consider her move, Ava was not expecting for him to turn and suddenly greet her with a ferocious look in his eyes.
"Tiger? Last I checked you weren't so short… or so curvy." He snickered. "No matter. Take her!" All of a sudden, the shadows seemed to come alive as White Tiger was suddenly beset from all sides by uniformed men. They were clad in white jackets, with black pants, black hats and dark goggles over an all-concealing mask of white. Ava wasted no time responding with the considerable martial arts prowess gifted her. She was untrained, reckless, throwing power around carelessly. But it was power nonetheless.
And yet it was squandered in the face of Ava's lack of control.
The men pinned her to the ground, strong limbs pressing her limbs tightly to the floor. "We have her now, sir." One of them announced.
"I should certainly hope so! Noe do you see the need for constant training? Our timing has to be much better if we're to rid New York of its so-called heroes." The man remarked as he stood. Revealed to Ava was his prosthetic right arm, which ended, not in a hand, but in a large full-metal mace. "You should feel honored, Tiger. You have the honor of being the second of many super-beings to die at the hands of Gideon Mace!"
"Let me go!" Ava snarled, thrashing in the grips of the men.
"I can read the questions in your eyes, Tiger… you want to know if we killed your family." Gideon continued, stalking ever closer to her. "The answer is yes! In a way, I am sorry. I always regret the loss of civilian lives, but it was necessary. And it did have the desired effect; it brought you here… alone… to die!" With that, he raised his mace above his head, ready to strike a crushing final blow.
Despite her youthful impetuousness, the power of the tiger amulet ensured Ava was still a deadly martial artists with or without training. As the militarist swung his prosthetic down at her head, the nimble heroine suddenly twisted to one side, breaking free of her captors' grasp and avoiding the death blow by mere inches.
And then, in the blink of an eye, she retaliated.
"I've found my family's killers… and I will not show mercy!" She snarled. With one swift, supple move, the White Tiger launched herself into the midst of Gideon's goons, sending them flying in a whirlwind of offensive martial arts fury.
"Don't take any chances, gun her down!" One of the goons cried as they drew their sidearms. The rumble of gunfire filled the air, but their shots always missed their mark.
"Gun her down? How?! She's wading through like it was nothing!" Another gasped in horror. Truly, slipping between the bullets' paths, White Tiger tore into the gunmen like a woman possessed, tossing them about the room like ragdolls. At her throat, the jade amulets softly glow, reassuring and directing her in her steps. Her wild, primal cries deafened her foes as Ava unleashed herself upon Mace's little army, which seemed to grow more numerous as others filtered in. They were all cold, efficient killers, well trained in their awful work.
'Is there no end?' She wondered to herself. 'It's getting too crowded in here.' On a distant wall, Ava spied a window, leading out of the store's back room. 'Get through that and carry the fight into the shadows. I'll have room to maneuver.'
With a leap and a bound, White Tiger dove across the room, aiming for the window. Drawing nearer, she realized too little too late that it was a fake; an image painted behind a false wall! Her shoulder slammed into the brick and Ava crumpled to the floor with a howl. She struggled to rise as Gideon and his men surrounded her. "Like my little trap, Tiger?" The chief villain queried. "Always plan ahead, that's my motto. I figured you might be good, so I had that false exit set up… to get you right where I want you!" Ava looked down, eyes widening as she spied the automatic rifle in Mace's good hand. "You've been a good workout for the men. Now we'll know how to hone their skills for the ultimate mission: the total extermination of every so-called superhero in New York!" With a cackle, Gideon pulled the trigger and spat half a dozen automatic rounds in the span of a second. Ava felt her life flash before her eyes, realizing sorrowfully her vengeance quest had come to an abrupt and bitter end. The white light of gunfire threatened to consume her vision…
But instead, red, white, and blue beat it to the punch.
Gideon's rounds ricocheted off a star-spangled shield and another few fateful seconds passed before the would-be hero killer realized what was afoot. The smoke cleared and a supersoldier raised himself tall. "Avengers, ASSEMBLE!" Captain America cried out
Through the hole he'd smashed in the side wall, Black Panther, Hawkeye and Wasp poured into the room. The archer loosed a quick salvo of electro-arrows that tazed several goons into submission while the winsome heroine barraged biostings that left them cowering for cover. Black Panther waded in with the ferocity of his namesake, landing punches and blows that shattered the uniformed terrors left and right. Captain America quickly joined the fray, hurling his shield to bounce off the walls and take out a dozen of the felons in one go.
Gideon quickly realized the tables had turned and would continue to. His motto kicked in, as did his sense of self-preservation. The goons were oblivious to the way their head honcho slipped out and disappeared from the scene as they continued to crumble beneath the Avengers' assault.
One by one, they dropped to the floor, slumped over walls, an overturned table and lay within smashed crates, strewn about like so much rubbish. The din of battle faded and the four heroes stood triumphant. "Is it just me, or was that too easy?" Wasp asked her comrades.
"Too easy." Hawkeye affirmed. "These punks are nothing more than mercs. Good with a gun but not for much else."
"Very telling of our enemy's strategy; to catch heroes unawares and in positions where only he may win." Black Panther added, shucking two unconscious fiends off his shoulders to the ground.
"What kind of uniforms are those anyway?" Wasp queried as she grew to full size.
"A private army. Whose, I don't know." Hawkeye responded. They paused as a snarl drew their attention to the rising White Tiger, nursing her bruised shoulder.
"You let him get away…" she hissed.
"Hey, we saved your life, kid." Hawkeye immediately retorted. He would have continued, had Captain America not held out a hand to halt him.
"He killed my family! Said so himself! So he's mine… you don't belong here…!" Ava growled.
"Ava, we're going to help you, whether you want it or not." Captain America stated firmly. "Despite what you claim, you're in no state to handle men like these alone."
"Stay out of it!" The girl snapped. "It's my family who's dead! I'm the one who's going to make them pay!"
"Then you are faced with a choice," Black Panther determined, stepping closer to Ava and in front of his fellow Avengers, "either you accept our help or we will subdue you right now and find them ourselves." It was a challenge, one Ava would not back down from. And he knew it.
Ava attacked with a shriek, her lunge kick aimed right for T'Challa's head. Deftly catching her foot, Panther swung her around a slammed her into the floor. Ava rebounded, whipping around and swinging her clawed hands wildly. Both were caught and Ava struggled to free herself, the White Tiger all noise and effort in the face of the silent, motionless Black Panther. T'Challa rolled backwards, throwing Ava into the back wall. She bounced off, barreling ahead with claws outstretched. T'Challa moved, spinning around to catch Ava in midair. Pulling her arms behind her back with one hand, he pinned her to the floor in a submission hold. His free hand trapping her legs with ease.
"Um, aren't we trying to, you know, help her?" Wasp asked.
"Nothing like a little tough love to help someone think straight." Hawkeye remarked.
"Better he than us." Cap agreed.
Ava thrashed helplessly on the floor, T'Challa's stoic strength keeping her pinned with seemingly minimal effort. "Your enemy is smarter than you. They are trying to lure you away and not give you a chance to think. With every step you take, you play right into their hands!" He chastised as she flailed. "Your uncle would be very disappointed."
"SHUT! UP!" Ava screamed. "I'm the Tiger now! And I want revenge!"
"Wakandan elders say, 'he who seeks revenge seeks his own defeat'." T'Challa retorted. "Continue down this path, Ava, and you will not avenge your uncle. You will join him." With his demonstration of strength fully exercised, Panther lifted Tiger up and set her back on her feet. Ava stumbled back and came to a rest against the wall. Her anger spent, White Tiger was left defeated and frustrated. She peeled off her mask, revealing the soft features of her face. The dark of her tanned skin was outdone by the deep chocolate hue of her brown eyes, which brimmed with tears streaming down her face. Ava did not sob, but her face read of her sorrow and defeat.
"You don't understand…" she grumbled hoarsely, slumping down to the floor. "Do you even know how it feels to come home only to find your whole family soaking in their own blood?" At that, Wasp stepped forward, a sad but sympathetic look on her face.
"I do." She proffered, kneeling next to White Tiger. "We do." She gestured back to her teammates, knowing most of their stories. Ava looked from Avenger to Avenger, suddenly realizing there was more going on than her clouded mental stated allowed her to comprehend. For the first time that night, she was willing to stop and listen. "My father was killed by people who wanted his research. Panther watched his father be killed in front of him in a ritual." Wasp described. "Hawkeye… What is your story, Hawkeye?"
"Not important. But, yeah, I know what it's like to watch someone you care about die in front of you." The archer responded. Ava looked around.
"What about you, Captain?" She asked quietly.
"I've comforted many a friend as they fell." He said. "It's been seventy years since my time. Everyone I knew is either dead or dying. I should be among them. Some days I wish I was." Her gaze falling, Ava sniffled.
"How do you do it?" She asked aloud. "How do you cope? What do you do?" Wasp laid a hand on her shoulder.
"We became Avengers for that very reason." She answered. "We're there to stand up for the little guy who can't fight back. We help those who need help, we save those who need saving."
"And what… what about the ones you can't save?" Ava asked in a whisper. Wasp shot her a small, wry smile.
"We avenge them." She replied. "It's not about doing it, Ava. It's about how we do it. That's why we're a team. None of us could do this alone." White Tiger sniffled again, leaning back until her head touched the wall.
"All I've wanted… all I've felt tonight is a burning need to fight… to win." She confessed, a hand reaching up to touch the jade circling her neck. "The amulet… it's like it's hungry. It wants revenge as badly as I do."
"Then you have to learn to control it. Hector learned how, I know you can too." Captain America proffered.
"Do your uncle justice by becoming an even better White Tiger. Not to surpass his memory, but to add to it. His legacy does not end with a spiteful bullet… it ends with his niece picking up where he left off." Black Panther told her. Feeling a little better, Ava stood with Wasp's aid.
"It almost hurts to say it… but… I need some help." She admitted slipping her white mask back over her head. "I-I don't know about a 'team' thing, but I guess I could use someone in my corner."
"That's what we're here for, Ava." Cap replied. "We're as invested in stopping this hero-killer as you are."
"Now we just have to figure out where he went." Wasp said, hands on her hips.
"Call me crazy," Hawkeye interjected with a growing knowing smirk, "but I think the coorindates are sitting here at our feet." He remarked, nudging one of the unconscious goons.
Meanwhile…
In a well-lit warehouse, countless more of the black-and-white goons oversaw a busy night of moving crates for shipping. Strewn throughout the warehouse were countless weapons of war, ranging from handheld weapons to remote-controlled mobile missile launchers. It was a terrifying display, one that filled Flag-Smasher with glee.
"This is the dream of a lifetime. My lifetime!" He chortled, sounding pleased. "Tonight, under cover of darkness, we shall move enough weapons to arm all of our puppet groups. All of the disenfranchised who seek to overthrow the American government. And when the smoke clears and America is no more, it will be ULTIMATUM in control." He announced. "From this victory we go on to the next until the nations of the world are destroyed and their superhero figureheads are slain, leaving the world… at peace!" At his side, a woman clad in matching black and white with vibrant red hair and a matching red visor over her eyes,
"Sort of chaos out of chaos, huh?" She queried with a grin. "What's my job description here, Flag-Smasher?"
"You shall live up to your alias, Anarchy." Flag-Smasher responded, patting her on the back. "You will fan the spark that we ignite here tonight. You will make certain that our objectives are met." Anarchy smiled.
"Sounds cool to me." She replied with sincerity. Flag-Smasher looked to his right and the other man with them.
"And you… Colonel Gideon Mace…" Flag-Smasher began, only to have Gideon try to explain himself,
"Look, if it's about that new White Tiger, I can-"
"Save it. Even a military man is not immune to a blunder or two." Flag-Smasher said dismissively, waving off his concerns. "When we strike, you'll certainly have your fill of superhero slaughter." Satisfied with the result, Gideon allowed himself to grin maniacally.
"Good. I'm owed a little payback for those freaks that broke up the cushy gig I had going on with Crossfire." He stated, clenching his fist.
"Indeed you do!" Flag-Smasher chuckled. "It would seem I broke you out of jail for good reason. You have done little to diminish my trust in you."
"If chaos means putting more heroes in my crosshairs, it's all good in my book." Gideon replied and Flag-Smasher nodded.
"Oversee the remainder of our loading procedure. I will be in the office finalizing the little things." He. Instructed them both. The caped villain took his leave, his red-eyed black and white figure retreating down a nearby hall and entering through a door at the end. Shutting it behind him, Flag-Smasher collected a tablet and began to stream a late-night news broadcast.
"…with battery and assault on the rise in local neighbourhoods, New York's own celebrated heroes, the mighty Avengers, are moving in to aid local law enforcement in tracking down the culprits. This comes just days after an attack on multiple government buildings and embassies around the city, most notably the United Nations plaza. Captain America himself went on record to say, 'if our civil liberties are under fire then we must fire back in our own way'. No further details have been provided…"
"Did you hear the news, father? The country's nationalistic figurehead is on the prowl again." Flag-Smasher commented, his gaze landing on a small framed photo of a balding gray-haired man. "Sounds like the perfect opportunity to challenge the fool… and crush him along with all his fellow costumed dunces and the ideals they stand for!" He vowed, moving to take a seat at a desk and taking the photo in hand.
"Heroes… upholding the values of America. So long as they persist in furthering nationalism, they must burn just like their flags will! Oh, father… if you were only here to see how I have carried on your fight for peace… how I've devoted my whole life to the cause even as you did." He whispered longingly. "Your dream was to foster world peace. A dream I share. It was tough growing up an ambassador's son, moving from one country to another, always feeling like a foreigner… I could never understand the prejudice I encountered." He leaned back, memories of a lifetime flooding his mind as history and seemingly-forgotten experiences returned to him. "And then… that riot outside the Latverian Embassy… right here, in America! Somehow you were caught in the middle. Trampled in the melee. What dark irony… you, a man of peace, killed during a supposedly-peaceful demonstration!" He pounded the desk with one hand, grappling with the emotional fervor wrought from that terrible moment. "But your fortune, my inheritance, has helped me implement my way to bring peace and unity to the world. Your beliefs were absolutely correct, father… but you were too passive about sharing them." He muttered, tossing the photo back on the desk.
"The only way to get the message through to the people of the world is to put it into the only language they can understand; the universal language of violence." Flag-Smasher stated as he stood up. Walking over to the corner of his office, he collected his morningstar and firebolt pistol. "We will bring them the message of peace through world unity… even if we have to destroy every symbol of separatism on Earth! With every resource at our command, we will fight for the glory of a unified mankind… and woe to anyone who stands in our way!" He stated to the empty office with a maniacal grin.
Just outside…
Crouched in a set of bushes atop an overlook, the Avengers spied on a massive warehouse. "Well well, looks like the goon's info paid off." Hawkeye mused as he studied the scene through a pair of micro-binoculars. "Real suspicious how a fleet of rental vans parks out back of an abandoned warehouse." Hawkeye murmured. With him, Black Panther's enhanced optical sensors studied the armed men roaming the exterior grounds.
"Indeed. These are the same uniformed men we encountered when we rescued Ava." He noted. "My scans indicated the micro-dishes placed throughout the building are sending calls on an international level."
"So, we found the rat's nest." Hawkeye concluded. His binoculars swept over the crates and objects being moved back and forth between the warehouse. "Geez, that's a lot of armaments." He muttered.
"What's going on in there?" Wasp wondered, shrunken down and sitting on Captain America's shoulder.
"Looks like this gang is planning for war." The supersoldier mused. "But who are they? And who is their mastermind?"
"You don't think Gideon is behind all of this, do you?" White Tiger asked. "I mean, those are the same goons from his hideout. But are they really his?" Hawkeye adjusted his binoculars for a closer look, spying letters etched across the arm of one of the goons below.
"ULTIMATUM..." He read aloud. "Wonder what it stands for?"
"The 'Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind'." Black Panther promptly rattled off. Hawkeye promptly shot him a glare.
"Show off." He muttered.
"It is your own fault for not searching the bodies of the men we subdued at the storefront." The Wakandan retorted in kind.
"Focus, people." Captain America cut in. "A big operation like this needs to be dealt with and quick. If Mace's motivations are anything to go by then a front like this could threaten countless lives across the country."
"Families everywhere would be in danger." White Tiger murmured.
"You have a plan, Cap?" Hawkeye asked.
"We'll wait until they move. Better to avoid hitting them while they're en masse." Came the answer.
"Breaks up the party, makes targets easier to pick off. Got it." White Tiger affirmed.
"Whatever you do, Ava. Be careful. Gideon Mace may be a tempting target, but he seldom works alone." Captain America cautioned. "There's going to be a lot of heavily-armed fanatics in that place. I suggest we all be on guard. Hawkeye," the archer turned, "contact Miss Marvel back at the Mansion and have her contact the authorities and the national guard. This military-grade stuff needs to be confiscated."
"What about us, Cap?" Wasp inquired.
"We need to move in quickly and subdue as many of the perimeter guards as we can without giving ourselves away. Should be no problem for the likes of you two," he said patting White Tiger and Black Panther on the shoulder, "ready for a hunt?"
Standing stock still as trucks were moved into position to be loaded, the ULTIMATUM goons were completely unprepared for a sudden rush of movement to swarm them. Two shapes, one dark one light, bolted over the chain link fence around them and took them out with swift strikes. The commotion drew the attention of two more guards, but a star-spangled discus took them out in short order.
Captain America, Black Panther and White Tiger hurried towards the warehouse with Wasp flying close overhead. Together, the primal-inspired heroes cut down one ULTIMATUM goon after another, clearing out the area around the main loading door with ease. "Your combat prowess is to be commended." Black Panther praised as White Tiger eased the last one to the ground.
"It's this amulet. It's what gave uncle Hector his abilities." Ava replied, loosely coddling the jade prize around her neck. "Believe me, he didn't even know how to fight before he got this."
"You wear it just as well." Panther added. "Remember what we talked about."
"Fight smart. Don't just single out Mace." White Tiger recited.
"Let's get in there and get to the bottom of this." Captain America stepped up to the closed door and used his shield to shatter the lock, allowing him to stoop down and fling it wide open with one hand. The heroes promptly charged inside… only to find themselves facing a wall of armed ULTIMATUM henchmen awaiting them.
"Uh… okay… there are a lot more guards in here than out there." Wasp noted as the heroes tensed. More of the white-clad footsoldiers quickly formed a circle behind, surrounding them. Not deterred by the show of force, White Tiger was ready for a fight.
"Where is he?" She demanded of them. "Where's your boss?"
"You want the boss? Look up." One of the masked felons answered. The heroes did so, gazes urning up to the catwalks above. There stood three figures, two of which none of them recognized.
"Wait… that's not Gideon Mace!" Wasp remarked, looking dead at the central figure.
"Two more… But who are they?" Captain America wondered under his breath.
"Costumed meddlers. One of which is draped in some obscene flag!" The man in the middle, Flag-Smasher, growled. "You are all in our way, the way of our cause!"
"Who are you? And what are you doing other than endangering lives?" Captain America retorted in a loud and clear voice.
"I call myself the Flag-Smasher, Captain. I represent everything you don't." Came the reply. Cap studied him, noting the plainness of his costume save for the image of the globe emblazoned in black and white on his belt. "Listen well, Americans! What I have to say will be the most important thing you have heard in your lives!"
"Great. He wants to monologue." White Tiger grumbled.
"Can't we just smash him already?" Wasp wondered in complaint.
"This is a free country. Everyone has the right to express himself. But no one has the right to force others to listen if they don't want to hear." Captain America said aloud.
"Don't quote the bill of rights to me! I do not acknowledge the authority that grants it! Sometimes people must be forced to hear what is good for them." Flag-Smasher snapped.
"As such, my mission is to stamp out the outmoded concept of patriotism! I've begun by going out and destroying symbols of nationalism. Those flags at the UN Building, the Acme flag factory, the flags at foreign embassies, I was the one who demolished and defaced them! And they are just the beginning. I am not against America in particular. I am against all countries… I am against the very concept of countries! I believe all men are brothers, spring from the same primal parent. Tribalism, ethnicisim, nationalism, these are all latter-day concepts that in our nuclear-powered world have become outmoded and dangerous! They make people think they are different, special, better than others. This is wrong! All men are equal, no better or different than anyone else.
"When you say 'I'm an American' what you're saying is that you are separate from a anyone who cannot make a similar statement. Every nation fosters the idea that it is better than all the others! This is what has brought us to warfare with our fellow beings… what has brought us to the bring of mutually-assured destruction! If we were to erase national boundaries and accept the essential unity of all mankind, the world would be a better place. Earth should not be divided into nations. We are the world, not separate species!
"I can't fault you for wanting to see the world a better place, Flag-Smasher. Lots of people do! But does your desire for peace justify your acts of violence and terrorism?" Captain America retorted. "The people you've injured, the families you've destroyed… do you expect them to heed your words and ignore your deeds?" He questioned.
"Yeah! Go back to China you commie-hippie!" Wasp snidely remarked. Flag-Smasher balked.
"What? I'm not a communist!" He cried out.
"You know what they say, if you can't take the red, white, and blue, get outta the country!" White Tiger added. Flag-Smasher loosed an annoyed growl.
"What are you heroes? Warmongers? You like feeling superior to Italians and Swedes and Poles and Africans-?"
"As an African I object to your statements!" Black Panther interjected.
"Bah! You want to see this planet torn apart because of petty abstractions? You're all pathetic fools!" A seething Flag-Smasher roared. "Kill them, ULTIMATUM! Today we draw first blood against the superhero menace!"
"Avengers! Attack!" Captain America called out, loosing his shield in a wide arc that promptly knocked the weapons from the hands of the henchmen. White Tiger and Black Panther sprang into action, tearing into the monochromatic goons with gusto. But while T'Challa saught to thin their ranks, Ava was making a beeline for Gideon Mace on the catwalks above. Cap was also interested in taking the fight to them. "Get down here, Flag-Smasher! If you really believe so strongly in your principles, then come down here and fight for them like a man!" He challenged.
"You cannot stand in our way. You are like a pebble in the path of a juggernaut!" Flag-Smasher retorted, leaping down with morningstar and firebolt pistol in hand. "You will be crushed and we will go on!" He took a few potshots at Cap's shield, the indestructible metal warding off the heated rounds as Cap closed the distance.
"I've listened to guys like you mouth off plenty," he growled, "you all make me sick!" Spinning around he built up momentum to hurl his shield with enough force to shred the connector hose powering the pistol. Closing the gap, a right hook sent spittle flying from Flag-Smasher's mouth. "You think you've got it figured out for everybody. You think you know what's best for the whole world." Discarding his lost weapon, Flag-Smasher shrugged off the pack and gripped his morningstar with both hands, bringing it down on Cap's recently-retrieved shield.
"You think world peace a selfish goal, Captain?" He demanded.
"You're waving a weapon in my face while you ask me that?" The supersoldier retorted, promptly rebuffing him. "You need to take a look in a mirror, Smasher! You don't achieve peace by killing everyone who disagrees with you!" A rising knee caught the vandal on the chin and a left cross sent him spinning.
Wasp dove up the catwalk to tango with Anarchy, the madwoman firing off automatic rounds as the heroine nimbly dodged each one. "The seventies called! They want your outfit back!" The heroine teased as biostings rippled across Anarchy's body.
"Hold still you little pest!" She snarled, flicking her weapon to burst fire mode. Janet continued to dodge with ease, diving in so close Anarchy could see her grinning expression.
"Girl, visors are soooo nineteen-seventy-six!" She jeered, planting a two-handed biosting right on her forehead.
Having waded through the ULTIMATUM troops, White Tiger scaled up to the catwalk with ridiculous feline ease. Gideon Mace was still there, waiting for her when she landed. She was at last face to face with her quarry. "You and I have unfinished business." She hissed.
"That we do." Gideon agreed. "The staining mark the White Tiger has left on this city will finally be scrubbed out. I take you down, your legacy goes and I get to make my stand against heroes everywhere." His smug grin was enough to make Ava's blood boil. But this time, she refused to give in to it.
"I don't know how many fights you've been in, but there's never this much talking." With that, she charged him, claws out. Mace back-peddled, moving quickly enough to avoid her wild swings.
"At least the publicized speed of the White Tiger was not exaggerated. Even as a lacklustre copy, you fit the name well." He teased, retorting with a swing of his prosthetic mace. White Tiger backflipped away, avoiding his heavy handed blows. She could feel the rush of air with each narrow miss, sensing the weight and heft of the weapon in question. "Give me a real fight! You think yourself lucky? You'll die yet!" Mace promised.
"I'm not going out to some military mental case!" Ava retorted, promptly catching his weapon in both clawed hands on the next swing, surprising him. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" Using her newfound leverage, White Tiger reefed Gideon in close, spinning her body around to land an elbow strike that crushed his nose, a knee strike that cracked his sternum, and finally a palm strike that drove him into the nearby wall.
Ava landed on her feet in perfect posture, loosing an animalistic growl in readiness. Such was the skill of the White Tiger.
Wasp had managed to force Anarchy to ground level where she could rely on the numbers of ULTIMATUM to give her an advantage. Linked up with Black Panther, the two heroes quickl adjusted their strategy. "Circle them! Don't play with them, just gun them down!" Anarchy bellowed to her underlings. "You hear me? We're playing for keeps now! You masked freaks are ours now!"
"Wasp," Panther gasped as they sheltered behind a rapidly-splintering crate, "your giant form could take them all out."
"Just because I'd be big doesn't mean I'd be bulletproof!" The heroine retorted.
"Your heroics end here!" Anarchy sneered. "We're already moving out. No matter what you do, you can't stop us!" Wasp and Panther turned to look, spying a few loaded trucks making their way out of the yard. If the weapons were distributed, all hell would really break loose!
But then, the lead truck was destroyed in a ball of fire, transformed into a smoldering wreckage right at the front gate and blocking the way for others to get past him. They were also destroyed in rapid succession, cabs detonating in fiery plumes one by one. "What?" Anarchy gasped, horrified by the turn.
At once, one of her goons fell unconscious as a shock arrow took him down. Then a net arrow engulfed three and left them a tangled mess on the ground. A third adhesion arrow glued one more goon to the floor while a fourth ice arrow froze two more solid. Anarchy opened fire, shock and rage filling her. But a single razor-sharp arrowhead became lodged in the barrel, resulting in an explosive feedback that destroyed the weapon in her grasp. She recoiled with a yelp, only for an explosive arrow to go off in front of her face and knock her out cold.
A flashbang arrow blinded the rest of the ULTIMATUM goons and a teargas arrow left them hacking and coughing on the floor, unfit to fight back as Hawkeye strode onto the scene.
"Here I come to save the day. Again." He dryly remarked.
Gideon Mace was getting the thrashing of his life as White Tiger pitched him across the catwalk surface. But the felon still had one more trick up his sleeve. Raising his prosthetic arm, an internal component loosed the mace like a rocket-propelled bludgeon, striking the unsuspecting White Tiger in the face and taking her down with a cry. "Fool! You're just like all the rest!" Gideon barked as he clambered to his feet. "All bravado, all flash and no substance. Nothing more than a symbol of pride and overconfidence!" He strode forward slowly, drawing a sidearm from behind him. "That's why I'm going to wipe out all you costumed types! We get rid of countries and their superhero status quos and maybe people will know normalcy again."
Suddenly, Ava snapped her head up, revealing a mask torn from forehead to shoulder and skin marked by several red cuts. Underneath, her expression bore the vivid glare of a young Hispanic woman… powered by the tiger amulet. Her visible eye glistened with fervour and, with an audible, feline growl, she lunged with claws out. Before Gideon could even get a shot off, her claws had sliced his sidearm to ribbons. Pouncing on him, White Tiger tackled Gideon off the catwalk to the chaotic warehouse floor below. Their fall was broken as Gideon crashed into a crate and fell still underneath her, leaving White Tiger awake to rear back her clawed hand.
"Ava!" Captain America shouted, catching sight of her while still grappling with Flag-Smasher. She paused, sensing the look in his eye. She wanted to kill him so badly. The tiger wanted to feed, to claim justice in the name of its fallen former owner.
She heard more footsteps and looked up to see Black Panther drawing silently closer. He said nothing, she did nothing. "He who seeks revenge seeks his own defeat." His soft-spoken words grappled with Ava's inner desires. "Kill him and you are no different from him."
After another tense moment, Ava relented, standing up as her claws slipped back into her gloves.
"I won't…" She whispered hoarsely. "As much as I want to, I won't." T'Challa nodded.
"Your uncle would be proud." He said.
A hard punch from Captain America sent Flag-Smasher spinning again. Broken free from the melee, he surveyed his crumbling organization. Anarchy and Gideon were down, countless ULTIMATUM soldiers stopped in their tracks, their equipment and weapons left burning and useless. "I'll escape and rebuild." He vowed. "I will triumph. America is the cornerstone. Once it falls, the others will follow." Drawing one of his incendiary grenades from his belt, Flag-Smasher rigged a short timer and hurled it at Captain America. The following blast threw the Captain off balance as the vandal dove in to strike. A hard kick knocked his shield off his arm and Flag-Smasher raised his arm high to deliver a death blow. But Captain America recovered quickly and moved even quicker.
"Drop it, Smasher, if you value the bones in your wrist!" He commanded as an inhumanly-powerful grip snatched his forearms. The supersoldier forced his arms between them, the pair now grappling for control over his morningstar weapon. Cap moved quickly, gripping the visible handle with one hand as he held Flag-Smasher at bay. For almost a minute, the mace trembled within two powerful grips. Neither man dared to even speak, sensing that the outcome of their struggle will be decided right here and now!
One grip prevails.
Throwing the weapon aside, Cap stomped down on his discarded shield, flipping the discus end over end and striking Flag-Smasher in the jaw. Catching his weapon in the air, Captain America spun around and delivered a broadside blow right to his enemy's face, Flag-Smasher seeing red, white and blue before he crumpled into unconsciousness.
Later…
Authorities moved in to clean up ULTIMATUM, taking the untouched weaponry as evidence while rounding up the footsoldiers, Anarchy, Gideon Mace and Flag-Smasher to be incarcerated. Revealed to be Karl Morgenthau, son of the late great Ambassador Ludwig Morgenthau, Flag-Smasher was going away for a long time.
"It better be a long time." Wasp huffed, crossing her arms. "They all killed people they didn't like in the name of world peace. How crazy is that?!"
"Call the loony bin, found three more for 'em." Hawkeye remarked.
"We can certainly agree their motives were unsettling." Black Panther chimed in. "Even more disturbing is their twisted approach to it all. How does one man even think of such a path and deem it correct?" He wondered aloud.
"Worse yet, how many other people think he's right?' Hawkeye wondered offhand.
"He was wrong. There is nothing harmful about having a sense of national identity or ethnic heritage. America is made up of a multitude of different ethnic groups, each of which has had its own part to contribute to American culture." Captain America stated. "We should be proud of our heritages, but not so proud we forget that beneath it all, we are all human beings who have the same wants and needs and deserve the same respect and dignity." He glanced to look at his fellow heroes. "At least, that's how I see it."
"Well put, Captain." Black Panther concurred.
"Some ideas never go out of fashion." Wasp agreed with a smile.
"Never change, old man." Hawkeye remarked.
With the matter settled, the heroes looked to young Ava, a little worse for wear but still standing tall as the new White Tiger. "I'm not going to promise you that you'll feel better after this. But I hope you take some solace in the fact your family's killers have been brought to justice. They won't hurt anyone else." Cap told her.
"I know." Ava quietly replied with a slow nod.
"Detective Byrd is on his way over. Stay with him. He and his family will treat you well." He urged.
"I know. They were good to my uncle Hector." She affirmed.
"And if you feel like you need a little more, well, you know where Avengers Mansion is." Hawkeye proffered.
"Oooo great idea!" Wasp concurred, grinning from ear to ear. "I'll introduce you to my friend Miss Marvel, we could always use another girl for girl's night!" Her enthusiasm made Ava smile, her first one of the night.
"I'll think about it." She answered.
That same night, back at the Mansion…
"…so we beat them up, took down the whole operation and saved the country." Janet recounted to Carol as they shared a late-night bowl of ice cream.
"Wow. And here I was stuck on monitor duty. You guys have all the fun." Carol lamented.
"Just watch you get the next alien invasion when you're out on patrol." The brunette responded, savouring a big spoonful of mint chocolate. Carol's phone suddenly beeped and she flipped it over. After a moment's tapping, she smiled and snickered.
"Talking about having a long night. Those two must be having the time of their lives." She mused, staring fondly at something on her phone.
"What? Let me see!" A curious Janet urged, scooting around the table. Revealed on the screen was a selfie taken by Connor at none other than the 'Set the World on Fire Tour' upstate. The technopath looked quite happy to be there, but not nearly as happy as his brother, with Matthias having been pulled on stage by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley to sing along, both of them evidently rocking out to KISS.
"Matt's been talking about this concert for weeks. Looks like they're both having a real good time." Carol mused. Janet, however, was more struck by the fact Connor had sent this selfie to Carol instead of her. The brunette checked her own phone, seeing no message notification.
"Why…?" She trailed off. "He always sends me stuff like that…" Her gaze remained on her empty, seemingly lifeless, device screen. The LCD display was an excellent way to hide the reflection of her sad eyes. It was a strong enough reaction to damper any jealousy she felt. "He heard me… didn't he?" She wondered aloud, to no one in particular. Carol answered anyway.
"It's like I said, Jan. Maybe you two aren't a thing now, maybe you won't ever be. But you need to make it clear to him where you stand and what you want." The blonde proffered. "Otherwise, every little thing you do, even if it's unintentional, will just break his heart further." Janet sighed and lowered her phone, remaining silent.
"I… I don't… Carol…" She whimpered, struggling with herself.
"I can't make it clear for you, Jan. You'll just have to do that yourself." The blonde continued. "But if you ask me? Don't let him be the one that got away."
"Like Hank?" Janet wondered.
"Hank didn't get away. He cut ties and left." Carol responded with a slow shake of her head. "Let him go, Jan. Move on, clear things up, be you again." She urged. It seemed like good advice, but to Janet it was easier said than done.
How could she be clear to Connor when she didn't even know how to clear herself up?