Marvel Mayhem - Avengers #2 - Darkest before the Dawn
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Last Issue Captain America and Iron man were faced with a difficult decision after Thor 'murdered' the Wrecking Crew, one they ultimately put off due to a break in at Stark Industries. Meanwhile in the future the Avengers plan to honour Steve Rogers and Tony Stark at the tenth anniversary of their deaths only to be called to an emergency breach at the burial site of an old enemy
Sky over Louisiana on route to Avengers Cemetery - 25th July, 2023
The state of the art tilt-jet engine aircraft cut through the sky with barley a whisper as the glow of the dawn was swallowed up behind them as the Avengers headed for a burial ground that contained one of the worst monsters that the team had ever faced, one that had refused to stay dead and had come back time after time only to be returned either to the ground or to prison. The last time the menace had surfaced the Avengers had been even more brutal then their foes by locking the monstrosity in a time released box in a cemetery protected by the strongest magic that Dr. Strange and a host of other magicians could conjure. On top of that the Avengers had placed the serial killer known as the Digger, bound him to the site for ten years and given him the tools required to protect the grave. And while the Digger had retired earlier due to his advanced age he had done a good enough to discourage any attempt at revival, at least until now.
"So do you think this will be the only threat today?" Yellowjacket asked Falcon as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I doubt it." the Falcon answered her, "There is always another threat, and then another until you die, There is no end to the battle until you take your last breath."
"Sam you need to smile." Yellowjacket told him, "Please it's been so long since I saw you happy, not since Redwing died a few years back, maybe not since Steve and Tony were…"
"Enough." Falcon spat pushing her head away and sending her flailing back into her seat. "I don't want to talk about this."
"Save your anger for the enemy Falcon." The bronzed mask covered Black Widow ordered, "Considering who is buried here then we might need that additional strength that comes from such emotions."
"Do we have any idea of what villains tread on such consecrated ground?" Poseidon asked as he sent ambient sparks of lightning across his trident. "Mortals such as you are so fragile and it would be a shame to toast the Captain's memories on the same day as mourning friends."
"Cameras hidden on site picked up matches with the Frightful Five." Black Widow told them. "Not the Trapster's though, this looks to be a completely different unit."
"Thank god." Monet sighed, "The Trapster and his teammates ravaged down town LA for months on the orders of the Wizard. Between them the Trapster, Goldbug, Hydroman, Crimson Dynamo and Killer Shrike made the winter of 2015 very difficult for the West Coast Avengers."
"Well the guys we have to deal with are no less of a threat." Black Widow told her, "We have Eight Ball, Omen, Diamondback, Prometheus and the Dreadknight to deal with. They have been silent for about three years after ripping apart the Black Knight's Men of Arms, Dane is still in a mental institute after the Dreadknight stole his Ebony Blade and subjected him to his worst fears."
"I heard about the exploits of Eight Ball and Diamondback when I was in Seattle, I was always led to believe they were joke." Chen Lu answered.
"They were jokes until they hooked up with Omen AKA the Hooded Haunt. She gave them new abilities and made them a deadly fighting force. We should expect them to put up a fight. We can also expect them to have reinforcements raised from the grave to be fighting with them due to Omen's necromantic abilities."
"Zombies?" The new Iron Man asked, "Do any of us have experience fighting the undead?"
"Aye I have fought the hordes of Hades many a time." Poseidon reassured him, "I will tell you the tale another time."
"I've fought zombies as well." Monet added stretching her arms above her head, "There were hundreds of them infecting Seattle. This will be an easy day compared to that."
"Those weren't zombies." Chen corrected, "They were thralls controlled by the mutant mastermind Emplate."
"Another figure who has been unheard from for what seems like too long." Black Widow stated, "I've asked SHIELD to look into these absences from the criminal underworld but they keep drawing blanks." As she finished the Quinn Jet swung wildly to the left as a projectile shot past the right wing before detonating just behind the engines shattering the aircraft with tiny blue pool balls that locked onto the fuselage, the devices creating a graviton field that sent the plane smashing into the graveyard below.
"Everyone okay?" Black Widow grunted as she activated the jet's emergency fuselage release valves. Her question was grunted by a range of grunts, curses and sarcastic remarks. "You're okay then." She groaned as the top of the fuselage ejected to reveal the inky black sky above them. "Now Avengers Assemble."
**
Stark Resilient Warehouse, Fisherman's Wharf, New York City - 18th March, 2013
The chunky well armoured figure of the Mauler ripped open the doors of the last shipping container before reaching inside and pulling out a slim line glass container, the see through tube holding a single orb of light inside that glowed violet. "Hey Masque." he grunted, "Is this what Robbins wants?"
"No." Madame Masque snapped as she dropped the dark skinned guard she had been threatening. "Doyle if you didn't know what an accelerated particle transistor looks like then don't bother looking for it. Your constant bumbling doesn't please me and it sure as hell won't please him."
Cursing in Scottish Gallic Doyle threw the device he had removed up in the air and blasted it with his shoulder mounted plasma Gattling guns. "So where do we find one of these transistors?" he asked.
"Well you could try Radio Shack." A sarcastic voice announced from where the adjacent loading bay causing both the villains to turn around to see the new speaker.
"Iron Man?" Madame Masque spat in surprise.
"See that's what I never got." Tony told her, "This is my building; you surely didn't expect to get away with this without running into me."
"Actually I was planning on it." Madame Masque purred, "There are roughly fifteen accelerated particle transistors in your armour and we only need one."
"To bad for you." Tony announced, "I don't plan to…argh." Before he could finish his taunt the Mauler opened fire with the 30mm canons hidden under his arms, the depleted uranium tipped shells embedding into his armour's outer plating as its owner activated his shielding. "Okay you just broke rule number one of super conflicts, you always let the hero finish his witty comebacks." He lectured the Mauler as he returned fire with his Repulsors, the blasts of energy simply rocking his enemy's suit as Madame Masque un-holstered a scoped Maser pistol and locked onto the area that Doyle had already compromised. Thumbing the trigger she heard a noise and turned before gracefully dodging the incoming shield decorated with a star as Captain America emerged from the security office, his trademark weapon returning to his hands.
"You should know better then to take on the Avenger's Masque." Cap stated, "There is more to this then simply looking to cannibalize parts from Tony's armour."
"On the ball as ever Captain." Madame Masque replied as she fired her Maser pistol, a focused blast of microwave energy streaking towards the Avenger who quickly raised his shield to block the shot, the discharge scorching the concrete around him as she ejected the cartridge that powered the weapon only to see the shield fly towards her again and knock both the weapon and ammunition from her hands. Smiling behind her mask she removed a pair of flachette revolvers from her belt before opening fire all around the warehouse, incendiary darts igniting the packing crates. "Hmm looks like Stark forgot to install the mandatory sprinkler systems. I should report him to the building commission for a breach in safety."
"I'll escort you to the courtroom but it won't be Tony in handcuffs." Cap replied as he ran at her. With a wry smile Madame Masque opened fire only to see her target run up the side of one of the containers past her field of fire before springing off and smashing her in the face and knocking her down to the floor, her mask falling off to reveal a pale face with piercing green eyes and bow lips curtained by long red hair. Blinking twice Cap watched as Madame Masque got to her feet and pushed her mask back on, her hair darkening back to ebony and her eyes lightning to a pale blue as she removed a grenade from her belt, the warning sign for high levels of radiation plastered on the side of the bomb. "If I activate this isotope bomb you and I may die, those two will survive," she stated before nodding at Iron Man and the Mauler, the later blindly firing sticky grenades at his enemy, the half destroyed wall a sign of how poor his accuracy was. "But he," she continued motioning to the security guard, "will certainly die. I would have to tell his widow that you with your shield couldn't save him when his death is easily presentable."
"What do you want Masque?" Cap spat.
"A way out" Madame Masque answered. "The failure to acquire the particle transistor is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things."
"Tony stop fighting." Cap ordered as Tony begun to charge his uni-beam at Doyle, the later hiding behind a broad arm mounted energy shield. "They win this round."
"As expected." Madame Masque purred, "You are a man of your word." she added, "I look forward to seeing the day you break your morals and really learn what it takes to get the job done."
"Trust me you don't." Cap answered as Masque and the Mauler trotted over to the loading bay.
"For being such good sports." Mauler growled before firing a football sized rocket into the middle of the warehouse, "Have a parting gift." he added before taking to the air. Madame Masque stayed a few seconds longer, conflict showing behind her mask before activating her own thruster pack and taking off after her comrade. As soon as they were gone Iron Man strode over to the rocket and ripped out the detonation core before crushing it and throwing it away across the floor.
"What the hell were you thinking Steve you let the pair of them get away?" Tony snapped, "And while I appreciate that you saved one of my employees there is no telling what they will do, between them they could do who knows what."
"It's covered Tony." Steve replied calmly. "But we need to talk to Commander Hill, she has something to do with this. And while you do that you can track the isotope in the grenades Madame Masque had on her."
"Why do you think Hill knows anything about a simple robbery?" Tony asked as he followed Steve out into the loading bay.
"Something Masque said made me think." Steve told him, "Call it a hunch."
"You want to share." Tony asked. Steve shot a glance at the security guard before shaking his head. "I'll tell you back at the mansion." he stated before heading along the waterfront. Back in the warehouse the security guard removed his radio and slid the battery case off before removing an ear piece.
"Director Hill this is the Falcon." He croaked, "Iron Man and Captain America are involved in Operation Skeleton. I repeat Iron Man and Captain America are now in play."
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