BIOGRAPHY page 2
Miguel went home to Los Angeles when the first opportunity came. He hoped to explain his new powers and status as an Avenger to his mother, but found much had changed in the weeks he 
was gone. Jose had started running with the Jaguars without Miguel there to stop him, and this led to a drive-by shooting of his home. Miguel's little sister Lisa was killed by the gunfire, and Jose was prepared to join the Jaguars in taking revenge on the Vietnamese. Asuka had moved on from Miguel in his absence as well, and was now dating the Snake leader, Song.
A shootout was starting in the schoolyard when the Living Lightning arrived. He tried to talk down the two gangs, but Song opened fire and hit Carlos, one of the Jaguars. Despite this, Miguel managed to spook the other gang members out of rumbling, and Song confessed to the drive-by. Living Lightning tried to take him into custody, but Carlos recovered from his wound and shot Song in the back, killing him. Miguel managed to get through to his brother, but he knew his threats to the other gang members would only hold the peace for so long. [Avengers West Coast Annual #6]
The Living Lightning dedicated himself to his new role as an Avenger. He fought alongside Avengers West against Thundra and Arkon, the Deviant hordes of Subterranea, Satannish and 
the Night Shift. While visiting a Hollywood movie set with Wonder Man, Miguel met a crew member named Mona. He developed feelings for her and came to her rescue when the Night Shift kidnapped the movie crew to produce their own film. Miguel and Mona began seeing each other after that adventure. [Avengers West Coast #75-79, Annual #6]
Doctor Pym reworked Miguel's power pods and costume to make it more efficient (and presumably removing any elements of the kill switch Doctor Demonicus had installed in the first one). During the Kree-Shi'ar War, Miguel received a boost in confidence as the Avengers treated him as a serious member. He fought and defeated an "alien stormtrooper" from the Shi'ar Imperial Guard on his own, and was selected for his first space mission as part of the envoy to the Shi'ar Empire. The Living Lightning had a troubling start with the team's other rookie, the new Thor, who 
used Mjolnir to control and redirect Miguel in his lightning form to fight Gladiator. Still, the two bonded in subsequent battles with the Imperial Guard and Kree Starforce, and Thor used Mjolnir's lightning to recharge Miguel's powers. Finally, it was Miguel who got sick of Empress Lilandra's saber-rattling counselor Araki and blasted him, inadvertently revealing the Skrull infiltrator who had been pushing the two empires towards war. [Operation: Galactic Storm crossover]
The Living Lightning became a local hero in his neighborhood, serving as an example to the community during East Los Angeles' Cinco de Mayo festival. While visiting with his family, Miguel 
was approached by Lou Denham, another surviving member of the Legion of the Living Lightning, who happened to be off-site when the Hulk destroyed the old base. Denham was eager to restart the Legion and build an army of Lightning warriors like Miguel, once he discovered the secret of Miguel's powers. The Living Lightning passed on the opportunity, having decided to serve his father's memory better by working within the system with the Avengers. Denham tried to force the point by holding Miguel's family hostage, leading to a shoot-out between Denham's goons and the Living Lightning. The criminals were defeated, but a bullet bounced off Miguel's electrical field and struck a girl named Yolanda in the crowd. As Yolanda was taken to the hospital, Miguel vowed to continue practicing with his abilities to ensure no one got hurt because of him in the future. [Avengers West Coast Annual #7]
The Avengers West were called in to provide security for the Presidential debates when death threats emerged towards a third party candidate, Michael Galvan. A political debate naturally developed around the Compound's breakfast table, but Miguel waved it aside, thinking he probably wouldn't even vote. This got him a lashing from Consuela, the Avengers' housekeeper, who reminded him of what his parents had risked in order to make him a citizen of this country. Consuela insisted that Miguel, more than others, had a civic duty to perform by voting. [Avengers West Coast #84-86]
Not long thereafter, Iron Man seemingly passed away after a long terminal illness. The Living Lightning had begun to question his future and what he could accomplish for himself beyond being an Avenger. Consuela and his mother had been pressing Miguel to get an education, and 
he decided to follow their suggestion to enroll in classes at UCLA. The Lightning was concerned about leaving the Avengers shorthanded, but his teammates encouraged him to attend school, pointing out that there would always be some crisis or another to keep him with the team if he allowed it. [Avengers West Coast #87-89]
For a few months, Miguel remained on the periphery of the Avengers' world, ready to return if needed, but more often than not his teammates encouraged him to focus on school. He was lured by the Goddess into her Infinity Crusade, and attended the funerals for Mockingbird and Wonder Man. When the Avengers West disbanded, however, most of Miguel's friends left California, and so he settled in to UCLA and his studies. [Infinity Crusade #1-6, Avengers West Coast #96,100, Force Works #10]