In the City:
Hercules had been holding up the falling hospital building for 15 minutes now. It wasn’t that heavy, he thought but he lacked the raw endurance and strength he had possessed with his immortality. Pushing hard to keep it up, he hung his head in shame, angered with his father Zeus, for taking away his immortality and angry with himself, for having done nothing about it, other than louse around and drink all day."I shall save these people. I shall change my ways and I shall be stronger than ever," the Greek demi-god howled at himself.
Inside the building, Hercules’ new acquaintance Red Norvell, along with Jim Rhodes the former War Machine, now lacking any power but full of spirit, helped the hospitals occupants out.
Norvell, using his hammer’s Mjolnir-esque enhancements, created a portal to carry the occupants safely outside of the city and to various hospitals in the New York state area. Now, the only occupants who were left were the hospital’s ICU occupants.
"We can’t just leave them here! We have to help somehow," Rhodes yelled over the sound of the collapsing hospital.
"I know Jim, give me a second. I’m trying to think of something."
"We don’t have that much time. Hercules is strong but he can’t hold us up forever. I’m going to take those patients out, machinery and all, if it kills me."
"You’re pretty noble, huh?" Norvell asked, not sarcastically or caustically but solemnly, as if he was reflecting upon something.
"Uh…no, I don’t think of myself that way. Why do you ask? This isn’t the time."
"It’s just Odin gave me something before I left. Long story but it wound up in his possession due to some ‘fine print’ in the manual to operating Mjolnir. I’ll tell you about it later but here, take this. Odin told me to wait for the noblest mortal and whether it’s you or not, we need it now," Red grasped the leather pouch on his belt, tore it off and tossed it to Rhodes.
Rhodes could feel power emanating from within. He carefully opened the pouch and found…the Power Prism!
"The Skrullian Power Prism? I read about this in Tony’s Avengers Files. It was supposed to have been destroyed," Rhodes mused.
Grasping the prism, energy licked about his fist and coursed through his body. Energy and…something else, it almost felt like another presence, a voice in his head and an old feeling, something he hadn’t felt in a couple years. Like meeting an old friend again or coming out of a deep sleep. He had no time to worry or think about it now.
Using the powers of the prism, Rhodes dismantled the hospital entirely and suspended it in air. He then isolated the ICU patients and levitated them out of the building. He reassembled the hospital and flew out of a window, with the suspended patients in the air, encapsulated in energy bubbles and feeding their machines power created with the prism.
Down on the ground he created a melting pot and gathered raw materials from the surrounding rubble, he melted the rock down and fashioned supports out of it, affixing them to the building and cooling them with prism-constructed ice.
"Hercules, you can let go, we fixed it for now," Rhodes yelled down. He and Norvell then descended to the ground.
"Good! Now my hands may attend to another matter. My Avengers card hath been buzzing the entire time but I could not pry but a hand away, for fear the dear construct I held would fall," taking out his card, he answered the call from Warbird.
"Herc, there’s some serious trouble going on. Meet at the mansion by 11, bring any help you’ve got. Warbird out," the card went blank and Hercules put it away.
"Alright but before we can do that, Norvell create a portal out of the city, I’ll find a hospital to deposit these patients and then I’ll speed back to the mansion and meet up with you, Hercules and whoever else shows up," at Rhodes order, Red spun his hammer and created a large portal, a wall of seething blue energy that led out of the city, Rhodes entered it dragging the critical patients behind him.
11 o’clock, Avengers Mansion:
"Quite the motley band of superheroes we have here," Warbird said, entering the room and observing the group assembled for the present crisis.
Most were battle weary and sore, giving nothing but a light chuckle to Warbird’s observation. Looking around the table Warbird saw, the Vision, Darkstar, Angel, Union Jack, Hercules, a Thor wannabe, Jim Rhodes and the usually loner urban heroine Black Cat.
"So let’s recap and find out where we are, shall we?" She said, taking on the role of de facto leader for the moment "Vision, Darkstar, Union Jack, Angel and I were at the U.N. when a Watcher, oddly enough, attacked. We attempted to fight for awhile, then Darkstar, Vision and I bolted when Union Jack gave a momentary distraction. The three of us that left flew in different directions, helped out where we could and made a beeline for the mansion."
"I stayed behind to help out Union Jack. After emptying his gun into the big guy, Union Jack was blasted back a couple hundred feet and landed pretty hard. That’s when Jim Hammond showed up. I led the Watcher away and got him pissed, then flew back and picked up Hammond and Jack. I flew us as far as I could and eventually had to stop a few blocks from the mansion. We walked from there, helping out with a few cases along the way," Angel gave his account.
Now Rhodes spoke up "I met up with Red Norvell, the Thor guy here, he'd recognized me, later telling me he used to be a cameraman. He did a documentary on World Watch a while ago, back when I was in charge and that’s how he recognized me. Anyways, he and Hercules had been palling around the last couple days. I looked out into the street and saw Herc here holding up a hospital, as a big chunk had been taken out of its supporting wall. Norvell and I rushed in to do what we could and he gave me Dr. Spectrum's, the bad one’s, power prism. We fixed the hospital and I took the ICU patients to another hospital and flew back here."
"Aye, after repairing the hospital, I received your call to assemble. Rhodes left, so good Red Norvell here and I trekked through the city, helping any worthy cause and observing the actions of the demented Watcher. At 10 o’clock we made our way over here and seeing the fair Black Cat here in a dire predicament, I aided her with my good right arm and adamantine mace. We offered her respite at the mansion and took her oath of aid, for surely we need all the stout warriors we can find," Hercules added in, building off of Rhodes’ account.
"It’s late now, Vision and I will go out on patrol, see what this Watcher did today. Jarvis will show each of you to a room and we’ll reconvene in the morning. I’ve sent out a distress signal to all of the Avengers but most of them are on vacation thousands of miles away and without their super-heroing paraphernalia, so I’m not expecting help for awhile yet."
After Warbird finished, she and Vision left the room. Jarvis entered and led each of the mansion's occupants to an empty guest room.
After flying around for half an hour and discovering nothing, not even a trace of the Watcher himself, Warbird and Vision retired to the mansion.
In the morning, the chaos would truly begin.
September 19th:
Felicia Hardy had never expected to wake up in Avengers Mansion. Nor had she ever expected to be so privileged as to even enter the Mansion, yet here she was, in the lush bed of a guest room inside the famous Tony Stark owned mansion, awakened early in the morning by the screams and riotous sounds of thousands of New Yorkers.
She quickly donned her costume, a sleek leather number, with a few nice gadgets built in: a couple grappling lines, minute strength and agility altering circuitry in it (courtesy of a little heist she pulled off awhile ago on BainTronics), razor sharp claws built into the gloves and several burgling tools. She hurried downstairs into the Avenger’s conference room.
"What’s going on? I heard the racket outside," She asked Jarvis, who was going about his daily cleaning duties.
"Ah, Miss…Cat, please proceed up to the roof. Most of the others are already there, any remainders will join you shortly," Jarvis answered her question, handing her a plate of breakfast, scrambled eggs, toast and some fruit from the breakfast trolly. She ate what she could quickly and ran up to the roof.
After a few minutes everyone was there, basically ready for the day, some still pulling on gloves and masks. Rhodes, having just recently returned to the superhero business had no costume per se but with the aide of the invaluable Jarvis, he had managed to find some clothes the vacationing Avengers had left behind: a pair of army fatigues, with a matching camouflage jacket (not that the camo was of much use in an urban setting but they were comfortable clothes and capable of taking punishiment), combat boots, gloves and a belt left behind by Cap, along with a bulletproof shirt, made of unstable molecules donated by Reed Richards at some point and topped off by a healthy dose of war paint 'to hide my secret identity' Rhodes had quipped to Jarvis while getting ready.
Now, ready and assembled, Vision spoke to the group "I realize you have been busy with conversation and waking. You have heard the shouts in the city, now turn your attention skyward to see the cause of the disturbances."
There, above their heads and encompassing the entire city was, for lack of a better term, a bubble. A dome covering the city and cutting it off from the outside world; the Watcher had upped the ante.
"So we have to find that Watcher guy and beat the bleedin’ hell outta him? Easy enough," Jack interrupted, performing a faux yawn after everyone had affixed their eyes to him.
"It will be much more difficult than that, Union Jack," The Vision countered coolly.
"Vision’s right, I appreciate your willingness for action Jack but it’s going to take more than that. I pulled up the Avengers files on the Watchers last night, catalogued by Reed Richards and very precise. They have, to our knowledge, no weaknesses," Warbird started to brief the group.
"They always have no weaknesses. It’s the supervillian M.O. I’ve been fighting guys with no weaknesses since World War II. You find a weakness eventually; it’s why I’m still here," Hammond interjected, trying to raise the morale of the group.
"Yeah but it gets worse. The dome cuts off not just physical contact but all communications as well. I got out a distress call to all the Avengers last night but there’s no telling when they’ll get here and if they’ll be of any help. It seems at the moment the Watcher is supplying energy to keep the city’s electricity going. I don’t know why he’s doing this, probably to provide the insurrection with more power, so when he beats us, it’s all the more impressive. Standard crazy badguy stuff," Warbird continued.
"And what are we to do?" Darkstar asked, her slight accent emphasizing each word.
"Patrol the city, quell the riots, help the people and reassure them we’re on the case," Warbird answered.
"Who exactly are we, if they ask?" Angel spoke up.
"Governmental sanctions and membership cards are for the damned souls in Hades! Why, hearty warriors, the world shall know forevermore after this day. We are the Avengers! Do the name proud," Hercules answered, his booming voice filling the group with hope.
"I suppose he’s right, guys but we’ve got work to do. Angel come with me and we’ll reconnoiter. The Vision will hand out duties to the rest of you. good luck," With that, Warbird and Angel took to the air.
"Hercules and Union Jack, take the streets and help out whomever needs it," Having heard the Vision’s command, Hercules grabbed his comrade Union Jack, made a comment of glorious battles and fair maidens awaiting and leapt off the building top.
"Darkstar and Black Cat, again, help out wherever you are needed," Darkstar took off with Black Cat in tow, riding on a platform of dark force energy created by the former.
"We four will try to find a way out of the dome," Vision, Norvell, Rhodes and with Hammond riding a prism energy construct, rose into the air. They flew to the inner apex of the dome. Rhodes probed it with energy, he had demonstrated quick control of the prism yesterday but was still new to its myriad uses and could detect no openings or weak spots in the dome. Everytime he used the prism, it felt like there was something inside, nagging at his soul but not just one presence, there was a second weaker one, vying for dominance, trying to put up a fight. He would have to sort this out later....
The Vision proceeded to attempt phasing through but to no avail. Upon feeling the mechanical touch, no matter how much the Vision had reduced his density, the dome created an electrical backlash, forcing the android back.
"Norvell, attempt to teleport with your hammer," Vision ordered the Norseman. Norvell then spun his hammer, creating a portal of seething blue ethereal energy and entered it. A second later he reappeared exactly where he had entered the portal.
"If he can impede even Odin’s enchantments, he’s a dangerous guy," Norvell said a look of astonishment in his eyes. The all-father Odin had been thwarted?
"Many theorize that Thor’s hammer and all Asgardian magic is but highly advanced technology. So far ahead of humans that it seems almost magical and with its origins forgotten by even the Asgardians themselves, they too believe its magic," Vision offered his hypothesis.
"Neither avenues have worked and I’ve been trying to combust the dome for awhile now. I don’t have my full torch powers but I’ve learned some neat pyro tricks. Whenever I try to pyrokinetically set the material on fire, it somehow cools itself down. It’s semi-transparent and the sunlight is still getting through, perhaps we could use that."
"Maybe but I can’t think of any way at the moment. So do we handle crowd control with the others, Vision?" Rhodes spoke calmly.
"No, we dig. We continue to do our best to find a way out of here," The Vision replied.
September 22nd:
It was the mid-afternoon. Over the past three days, the Avengers had managed to quell the riots; most now stayed in their homes and only took to the streets when they needed supplies. The Avengers had done their best to encourage rationing. Currency was now meaningless and to the poor shopkeepers, Warbird had told them the Avengers would pick up the tabs for the good they gave away.
Seeing the good will in man in dark times was an inspiring sight but the cold truth remained. Supplies would not last forever. For some reason, the Watcher gave the city electricity, the Avengers could not figure out why, yet. In fact, they knew little about him.
"Vision, cite the information we have gathered thus far on the Watcher," Warbird snapped, she had largely come to be regarded as the leader of the outfit.
"He disappears for several hours each day, at random periods. He also starts battles with us daily, though the outcomes are always the same. He wins and we retreat broken and bruised. For some reason he supplies the city with power and generally seems to provoke terror for amusement."
The Moon: the Watcher’s abode:
"So the Avengers sit and plot away at me. Provoking terror for amusement, hm? How wrong…or are they? I give myself reasons for what I do but do I even believe them?" he mused, observing his nigh comatose brother, Uatu.
"I seek knowledge…I think, yes, through conquest I shall gain knowledge. Or is that so—I can’t even remember my name. My fellow Watchers, dear brother included imprisoned me. I can’t remember my name, or how I got out…or how long I was in there. Dammit Uatu!" and with energy arcing and pulsing around his body he raised his massive alien fists, bring them down to bear on the energy cocoon holding his brother’s unconscious form, over and over.
"Brother! You should have killed me! But you didn’t. No, you put me in the heart of a dying sun and there I laid, imprisoned, robbed of my mind for millions of years. The sun finally died, it went nova and cascaded back into a black hole. The reversal of energies woke me up, shorn me free of the prison. I know my station, my race, my bloodline—but I don’t know ME!" Still pounding his somniferous sibling, the maniacal, nameless, Watcher started weeping. Not liquid tears as a human would but indescribable energy, radiation, electricity, black matter and plasma formed a crackling deluge from his eyes.
"I will rape this planet. I will bury you in its core. I will shunt it into the sun and you will know my pain and desperation."
Across the planet earth, each major city sprouted a dome like the one covering New York City.
Morning of September 24th:
The Avengers had gathered at the large mahogany dining room table for a morning conference over a sparse breakfast. They were careful with their rationing, though the Avengers’ larder was quite full, as Tony Stark had made provisions to withstand and wait out anything from nuclear fallout to the end of the universe, they still felt uneasy and conserved foodstuffs. Those that required sustenance ate meagerly as Warbird addressed the group.
"It’s been a week now since the Watcher first showed up. We’re trapped in the city with no way out, can’t teleport, phase or blast through it. The dome has a flat bottom 100 feet into the ground, as the Vision discovered while phasing downwards. We need a way to beat this guy, we need to disable the dome and get out. I need ideas, people."
Then it got worse. The power went out; Avengers backup generators restored power to the mansion but citywide there was now a citywide blackout. Unbeknownst to the occupants of the Avengers dining room, the rogue Watcher had erected similar domes across the world at major cities. He was starting to spread himself too thin, his power was strained.
The blackout had a silver lining though. As the sun went down, the lights of the city no longer obscured the night sky and on patrol, Vision and Warbird saw a flashing of light.
"Vision, can you adjust your ocular sensors to the pick up anything, the picture’s blurry through the dome. We can make out light and colors sometimes but not an exact image." Warbird asked.
"Yes…I’m attempting to, it’s actually…Photon. She’s speaking…I can read her lips, she’s saying ‘Morse code’." Vision answered his leader’s request.
"Of course! We can make out light flashes, so we can communicate via Morse code. Vision, you talk with her, see what you can find out. Uatu, the regular Watcher is based on the moon, right? Tell her we’ve got another Watcher down here, maybe have Monica go to the moon, find Uatu, get his help. Formulate a plan and Vision, it had better be good," Warbird told her android friend.
"I shall, Carol. However, why don’t you converse with Photon? You’re time in the Air Force has made you adept in Morse code, has it not?" Vision replied inquisitively.
"Yes, it did but you’re the better strategist, so I’m going to fly around the city, see if I can make out any other energy flashes, potential Avengers trying to help out. I’ll lead them back to Monica and we can make a plan with the outside world." She replied, taking off across the city.
Turning towards the dome, the Vision’s eyes started to flash, sending illuminating dots and dashes to his team-mate Photon through the dome. Through the helpful coding, the conversation went:
"What has taken the Avengers so long? It has been a week since the distress call."
"I and the others hurried here but there were weird disasters keeping us from reaching the city. Unnatural earthquakes, dormant volcano’s acting up and the like and just earlier today, dome’s like this one sprouted up around each major city on earth. But what’s going on in there?"
"A Watcher has taken control of the city. Warbird instructed me to formulate a plan with you and any others space worthy. Uatu, the Watcher for our space sector is based on the moon. Attempt to find him and enlist his aide. I do not believe that this Watcher is acting on behalf of his race. He seems crazed and rogue by his actions."
"Living Lightening, Wonder Man and I can be there the fastest."
"Good. Find Uatu and return with his help."
After exchanging goodbye’s and wishes of luck to one another, Photon departed to gather Wonder Man and Living Lightening. Vision radioed Warbird with the progress. Returning to the Mansion, they sat and hoped for the best.