The beam of holy light seemed to draw the Avengers up towards the heavens. Most of them whispered in hushed tones—for all of the adventures that the various incarnations of Avengers have been on, this ranked in the weirdest.
Vision looked around with eyes wide with deep concentration, he was an artificial man; some would say no god applied to him, but Vision was possessed of an innate passion and curiosity to him. Perhaps more than any, he wished to know what lay ahead.
Suddenly the light disappeared, its tractor beam effect halted and the seven mortal figures stood on-guard and wary.
“You have my sympathies for what has befallen you. I truly am apologetic for not stepping in before this,” a humanoid being seemed to float down, while human by shape, this shape had a protean quality, shifting slowly, growing and shrinking, becoming both female and male, its skin cascaded between many different tones. It was a shifting totality of all human traits with its being softly glowing in a pure radiance.
“Are you God?” Vision spoke first, his mechanical resolve urging him on.
“I have many names; Yahweh, Jehovah, Elohim, Adonai, Theos, Kurios, Almighty, the Tetragrammaton and I AM. There are more…I am a god, I am to some God. My true nature, beliefs and actions are not exactly as represented on earth, but all the time you come closer.”
“Why are we here?” Angel spoke up.
“In great crisis you stood beyond your mortal abilities and faced down my dearest enemy. In my sorrow and grief I am neglectful and I tried to cordon myself off,” the being said, head hung.
“What do you mean your sorrow?” Vision asked.
“Iblis once was dear to me. In truth he still is and this breaks my heart. He is a djinn, a being I crafted of smokeless fire, a powerful entity. He resided here in Heaven and worked alongside my angels. When I cast my hand into the creation of humanity and bade that all kneel before you, fondest to my heart, he refused,” the many named divinity explained, its voice an awesome song of beauty, terror and grief.
“Why?” Warbird asked
“He loved you too much, he was so devoted to you that he would not kneel before anyone but you,” Vision interjected. He knew the Quran, in his life attempting to be human he had read and researched the history and cultures of the world.
“That is correct. For his impudence I banished him down to the Abyss. No longer in my glory, forever bereft of my beautiful voice, he turned twisted. I could not bear to watch my petulant child, my wayward one. And so he attacked you and hurt my dear earth. I am sorry.”
“What have you done with him?” Vision asked.
“I have him under watch by a legion of Seraphim until I know exactly what to do. I fear he may be too warped for heaven now, his mind too far gone and twisted but I love him and will do all I can for my child, but let me call your friends first: Metatron! Bring the others,” he finished with an order.
Immediately a many winged angel descended. Metatron: the only other being in heaven allowed a throne after God, the powerful heavenly scribe escorted Thor, Red Norvell, Hercules and Quetzalcoatl.
“That is it then? We just go back to earth now?” Rhodes asked, somewhat angry.
“Yes, I have fixed the problems, the demon invasion is done. I alerted the other gods to Mephisto, Hades, Hela and Ahphuch’s actions and they have ceased. Your world is safe again.”
“What about answers though?” Rhodes replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Why all the wars, the famine, the poverty. How come some have super powers and others don’t. Of all the holy tomes are any really true?”
“That is up to you to discover. I was not the only one who had a hand in creating you. All the pantheons and belief systems have their own creation myths, and all have a little truth to them. You are a grand experiment, you are the next step and we all watch with anxiety. To intercede would ruin you. Adversity is what breeds nobility and wisdom. To have the answers with no work…what would they be worth? I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but you simply are not ready to know the reasons why.
“Now I must send you back however. I have fixed things a bit for you all, go now to your friends and celebrate. Many hardships await you but you will see them through. You must recognize that you all sin and that is natural—but you must also forgive, only through unity will you survive the hardships I have referred to,” He finished and lifted his hand, bright light emanating forth and transporting the Avengers and their godly friends back to earth.
Earth:
Soon after the current team of Avengers had been taken up by the heavenly light, the hell lords disappeared along with their demonic horde.
However the Squadron Sinister remained and were at war with the remaining Avengers: Iron Man, Justice, Firestar, Wonder Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Quicksilver and She-Hulk. Outnumbered and with no demonic forces to back them up, the Squadron Sinister was failing fast.
In a flash the absent Avengers plus the four gods returned and the combined force, now numbering three times that of the Squadron Sinister, the Squadron decided to scatter.
“Scatter! Rendezvous at beta site in two weeks. We’re in the wind until then,” Blackwing shouted to his team mates. Speed Demon raced off immediately with Quicksilver going off in pursuit.
Hyperion and Power Princess landed on the ground protecting the other members from assault with a Dr. Spectrum shield erected in front of them. Dr Spectrum created an energy platform for U-Man and Blackwing to ride on.
Hyperion, Super-Skrull and Power Princess flew around their team mates trying to keep the Avengers off of them. The Squadron made for the Atlantic ocean with all of the Avengers fliers following them, Hyperion and Super-Skrull laid down cover fire but the massive force of Avengers was returning better than they got.
Then the Squadron turned invisible, thanks to the abilities of the Super-Skrull. Iron Man kept after the invisible force though, using his sensors to track them while others followed him. However the Super-Skrull started releasing a 360 degree blast of heat overriding their body heat signatures. Unable to track the villains, they were soon gone.
The Avengers reconvened at the mansion. Quicksilver was already back there, saying that Speed Demon looped back and started across the Atlantic before turning invisible. They conjectured that the speedsters trajectory must have met back up with Squadron when Super-Skrull cast a net of invisibility across them.
“You stopped a demon invasion, the world is safe and you went to heaven. That’s a good day in the Avengers,” Captain America said, patting Warbird on the shoulder. She had to smile because she knew Cap was right. Some of the bad guys got away, but the Avengers would take them down another day.
Later that day:
Jim Hammond looked across the table at the beautiful woman in front of him. Her piercing blue eyes bore deep into him, returning the gaze. She wore a low cut silver dress that accentuated her figure exquisitely.
They were seated at a table in a fashionable five-star restaurant. An expensive meal sat before them and neither had touched their plate.
“No one else has mentioned this but I damn well know they heard it. We’re both pretty knew to this team so I’m not sure just how they’ll want to handle this but it concerns me and I’m doing it my way.
“Now, that red devil, Mephisto, mentioned a chemical compound to make hard water. He said you took my blood to make it. My father created hard water and he hid the final component within me. I liked you. I trusted you. When did you take that final piece from me and why?
“I brought you out to this fancy place because if this turns out bad, I want my last memory of you to be a beautiful one and a good one,” Jim Hammond finished and took a sip from his glass of wine. “You look ravishing tonight and I really want you to give me a reason not to hate you.”
“Prastite, Dmitry,” she began, so overwhelmed she lapsed into her mother tongue.
“I can’t quite accept your apology yet,” Hammond replied.
“From our talks I know you understand something about difficult fathers. My father is known as The Presence. He is a terrible man but still, he is my father and he needed my help,” she took a drink of her wine, “oh, Dmitry, Ya tibyA l’ublyU. It hasn’t been long but I love you so much. I do not want to lose you but I had to do it to save my father’s life. I will tell you everything. Please do not hate me.”
“Go on,” Hammond perked up, ready to listen. He was still unsure how he felt, but Laynia was heartfelt in her sentiments and he did care for her.
She began, “there is something rotten in Russia.”
The Mansion:
Although a few Avengers deaparted, the bulk of them remained and were anxiously awaiting one of Jarvis’ famous meals.
Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Justice and Firestar were sitting in one of the lounges as Warbird came in with a tray of cups and a pot of coffee. A shimmering light glowed behind them and the Avengers turned, ready for a fight only to find a friendly form.
Crystal, the Inhuman, stood before them, in a flash Quicksilver was by her side.
“I’m sorry I missed the battle earlier, the Royal Family was caught up in an adventure with the Fantastic Four. We just got back and I received your message so I had Lockjaw teleport me down,” she reported to her teammates as she linked her fingers with her husband Quicksilver.
“Well you’re welcome to relax with us, dinner should be ready soon,” Warbird replied with a smile. A terrible day had turned into an impromptu party and she felt like the host. She was chairman of the Avengers now and the others recognized it.
In the great room another portal opened up, Thor and Hercules bounded through, each holding aloft a large barrel sure to be filled with wine and mead.
The Vision turned to see the Odinson and the Prince of Power come through the portal, he had been looking in on the lounge where his ex-wife sat. Much had happened in his short android life. He had been given the brain engrams of Simon Williams, Wonder Man. His mind had been wiped and he’d turned into an emotionless being. He had been re-imprinted with human brain waves but was trying to figure out who he was.
In the mirror he was the synthezoid Avenger, Vision, however, he had a burgeoning synthetic soul that was growing and learning. He was maturing as a person and relearning how to live with emotions.
“Ah, Vision! Grab a mug and share this gift of Dionysus!” Hercules invited his team mate.
“I don’t…no, I think I shall, thank you Hercules,” and the Vision grabbed a mug full of a powerful dark red wine. The Vision didn’t need to eat, but his body was capable of breaking down organic matter into energy and sometimes he ate to make others comfortable and to seem more human. Recently, he discovered he simply liked food. Flavors and textures and how to combine them appealed to his human sensibilities.
The Kitchen:
“We need to talk to them,” Cap said.
“I don’t know, Cap, I think they’re all set. They’ve handled a lot of stuff so far, it’s up to them,” Wasp replied.
“No, Jan. I’m sorry but it’s not. It’s tradition,” Iron Man interjected. Yellowjacket nodded his head in agreement with Tony as he sipped some coffee.
“It’s just embarrassing,” Jan tried to convince them.
“Most traditions are, Madame Wasp,” Jarvis cast his vote in disagreement with Wasp.
“Fine, but if anyone complains it’s not my fault and I wanted nothing to do with it,” Wasp finished the conversation in annoyance with the others.
“Come everyone, dinner is ready,” Jarvis yelled out to the rest of the house.
As over 20 superheroes sat down at the table, all were accounted for except for Darkstar and Jim Hammond. Jarvis had prepared an amazing meal and soon the assorted crew were midway through their dinner.
“I would just like to make an announcement: most of the other founders and I have been talking and there’s something we have to do with this new team—“ Cap started.
“Whatever it is: no. This is my team and we’re the Avengers now. I’m sorry, I know this is a team that’s bigger than me or any of us, it’s an institution that has helped millions but just because a line-up has come up without the Big Three in it doesn’t mean we can’t be as good,” Warbird interrupted Cap.
“Haha, no, that’s not it at all. There’s just something missing from this team…”
“They want to do the big new line-up press conference. They’re embarrassing but…they are tradition,” Wasp interjected, finishing Cap’s thought and putting a smile on Warbird’s face.
“That’s all? No changes?” Warbird asked.
“No, none at all. You’ve done an exemplary job and you have a fine team. Yes, the new team is a big departure from the last one, but you and Vision are still here. You’ve both been noted Avengers before and Vision has been the heart of the team for years. Angel and Black Cat have been offered membership before and I’m glad they accepted this time around. Jim Hammond is one of the finest men I’ve ever known and he served on the West Coast team for a spell. Rhodes has served before, the only new face is really Darkstar but she’s well known in the superhero community and trustworthy,” Cap replied.
“The only thing we want this team to do is to keep doing what it’s doing,” Iron Man added on.
“I think I can speak for everyone here, we’re…elated to hear that,” Warbird replied, the other current Avengers perked up, they had all feared being shut down in favor of the classic team.
“Glad to hear it. All of the founders are here, so we’re going to set a conference up tomorrow, these are usually pretty big, so it should come together quickly. After dinner, I’d suggest you all go out and have fun, you’ll have tomorrow to rest, then the most grueling challenge of your lives…the press,” Stark finished with a smile.
Later that night:
Carol Danvers and Jim Rhodes had decided to go out on the town and have a good time as Stark had suggested. Since Carol was a recovering alcoholic and Jim usually had no use for the hard stuff, they decided on a more unconventional night out: a few rounds of bowling.
“I’m not feeling well,” Jim said clutching his stomach, “I’ll be right back; I’m just going to hit the bathroom.”
“Was it the nachos, you think?”
“Either that or the corndogs, god, you’re a bad influence,” Rhodes said with half a smile.
He made his way to the bathroom, there were a few stalls but no one was there so he locked it and screamed. Claws and tendrils of white black and red living metal and plastic erupted from his stomach.
TO BE CONTINUED