New Avengers (2nd series) #10

(Madripoor, 1959)
It’s evening, and Nick Fury is walking through town with a dapper-looking Dum Dum Dugan. Dugan reckons the place smells like a sock. He tells Fury that there’s something he doesn’t get. He already has a rag tag team of howling commandos sitting around knitting booties. Why does he need another team for the president’s project? Fury explains that the president says they need a different kind. They need guys with that extra something. Dugan asks why, then, is he there. “Flavor,” replies Fury.

Dugan knows he needs someone to talk to. Fury tells him they’ve arrived at their destination and Dugan asks if they’re gonna know they guy when they see him. As he speaks, a guy is defenestrated through a bar window, followed by a guy in a white vest.

“Victor Creed?” asks Fury as Creed prepares to continue pounding the guy. He turns and angrily asks Fury if he’s looking to be next. Fury asks him to calm it. Ain’t no one impressed. Creed asks if he’s ever seen his insides. That’ll impress him. Dugan doesn’t hesitate and shoots Creed through the head at point blank range. He falls and crashes into a small carriage as Dugan blows the smoke away from the weapon.

“I had it,” sighs Fury. Dugan says he knows and asks who’s next on the list. Moments later, Creed stands up and looks at the two strangers. He figures someone told them about his healing factor. “He heals?” asks Dugan. Fury introduces himself and informs Creed that he’s there to put him work. He’s there to convince Creed that he’s wasting his time beating on these poor people. He wants him on his black ops initiative. They have full clearance and a hell of a goal post. “Yeah?” replies Creed. “Like what?”

(Barrington, Rhode Island, now)
As one of Doctor Strange’s spell-created dragons attacks Superia’s team, Wolverine and the Thing do likewise with their fists and claws. Some of them ask Dr. Wentworth if they should evacuate because the Avengers are right on top of them. She chastises them on calling her by her real name. She is Superia when in the field. She warns them that she’s going to find out which of them blabbed about their situation and location and gut them dead. She wonders how the Avengers knew they were there.

Ms. Marvel crashes in on them through a brick wall, but Superia blasts her back through it ferociously. As she lands, Wolverine asks if she’s okay. Carol admits that she didn’t know Superia could do that. He asks if she wants back up. “I got this,” she assures him. As Superia’s team of ex-H.A.M.M.E.R. agents fluster, Ms. Marvel flies back and smacks Superia in the face, sending her flying into the trash cans. “Superia? Really?” she asks. She is rewarded for that remark by a burst of green energy from her opponent.

(Paris, 1959)
Dominic Fortune stands on a balcony overlooking the beautiful city of lights as night falls. A redheaded woman appears dressed in very little and asks him what he’s thinking. He smiles at her and replies that he was thinking he was having a wonderful time. She asks him to pace himself. They have all night. She notices that she seems nervous, but he asks, “We have met before, haven’t we?” She replies no, but she knows of his daring adventures. There’s no need for him to waste his ‘come hither’ lines on her. He tells her it’s not a line. He knows he knows her.

They stand facing each other closely and she moves in for a kiss. As they embrace, she pulls out a knife and prepares to stab him. He reaches up and grabs her hand as she screams for him to die. He tells her that it’s really very disappointing. She asks if he thinks he can mock the legend of the Reich. He thinks he can steal from them and not pay for it? “Do you think we would let you live?” she adds. “We?” replies Fortune.

He looks towards the door and another man enters with a machine gun. He opens fire and Fortune asks him to get his own woman. She growls at the man to fire, so Fortune reasons that escaping is probably a good idea. He leaps from the balcony and lands gracefully in the street below. Fury and Dugan are sitting there in a Jeep, calmly. “Dominic Fortune?” asks Fury. Fortune recognizes him. Fury explains that he has a job offer for him. Fortune simply replies, “Cheers,” and jumps into the Jeep to make his escape.

(Barrington, Rhode Island, now)
Spider-Man is holding Mockingbird, who is gravely injured. He calls out to the others, informing them that she’s down and he can’t move her. As Superia’s men run around nearby, he takes one out with a club made of webbing and uses his agility to kick another two into touch. Ms. Marvel, meanwhile, is struggling against Superia. She punches Carol, asking who sent them there. She then slams her against a wall, asking how they could possibly have known about her operation. Another punch and another question about who told them about the operation. She holds Carol by her blonde hair and states that she purposely went off their radar and did this the right way. She reckons she’s smarter than all of them put together. She unleashes another huge blast which blows Wolverine and Ms. Marvel high into the air.

Spidey leaps over incoming gunfire and calls over to Doctor Strange. He soon sees what Spidey’s concerns are. Spidey asks if he can help her. After all, he is a real doctor. Strange bends down and realizes that he can’t move her. They must call an ambulance so he needs a phone. Spidey moves quickly and leaps onto one of Superia’s crew, taking his phone as he knocks him out. Whilst Dr. Strange uses a spell to boost Mockingbird’s health, Spider-Man calls 911 and informs them that they have a problem in front of Coffee Heroes in Barrington’s shopping center. The operator asks his name, but Spider-Man just tells her to hurry. He complains to himself that giving his name isn’t going to help matters. Dr. Strange tries to get something from Bobbi, but her lack of response makes him believe that she’s not going to make it.

(Emerald Coast, 1959)
Nick Fury, now wearing a pink shirt to fit in, meets Aquaria on the beach. She informs him that he isn’t allowed to call her that. He asks if she prefers Namora. “And who the hell are you?” she enquires. He replies that she knows who he is and he has a proposition for not only her, but her boyfriend, too. She asks how he knew where she was. Fury explains that they knew where her boyfriend was. He asks if she can tell him to stop pointing the rifle at the back of his head. Namora looks to the trees and assures Sergei that it’s all right. Fury is surprised that his first name is Sergei. He thought it was Kraven.

Kraven emerges from the greenery and asks Fury to state his name and business. “And stop looking at my girl,” he adds. He then recognizes one of Fury’s crew - Victor Creed. “You,” snarls Creed. “I know you,” replies Kraven. He wonders where he knows him from, but Creed tells him it’s from Africa. Namora asks Kraven to put down the gun, but he shoots Creed right through his chest. “Bloody hell!” swears Dominic Fortune, but Fury asks him not to worry about it. “Don’t worry about it?” he gasps. “He heals,” replies Fury. Namora asks her boyfriend how he manages to embarrass her everywhere they go.

Nick Fury calms the situation down and informs them both that they’re needed for a mission; the kind that needs men with their particular talents. “Big game hunting,” adds Fortune. Fury says first, he needs them to bury the hatchet. Whatever their beef, he needs them to put it away or he’ll leave them in a ditch. Creed warns Kraven to keep one eye open. Kraven accepts the challenge. Fury asks Namora if they know they can hear them.

(now)
Luke Cage finally arrives back at base, having carried a truck all the way from Superia’s base. Iron Fist asks how it’s going over there. Luke is sure everything is fine. It’s just a bunch of grunts and an Amazon against the damn Avengers. Jessica wonders if they should go back and help out, but Luke reckons they’ve got it. He’d rather see what the jokers were getting up to. “Jokers?” asks Jessica, surprised. Luke admits that he’s trying not to swear so much. Jessica thinks she’d rather he swore than say ’jokers.’

Luke rips the side off the truck but is immediately shot in the face. He growls at his assailant that he has unbreakable skin. One of Superia’s grunts, a female, warns him to stay back but he reaches over and yanks the weapon from her grasp. He asks if she knows who they are. They’re the damn Avengers you dumb &$*%@#.” Luke tells her he wants to know everything. As he speaks to her, Danny informs them that they’ve got company. The cops are whizzing past in force along with an Ambulance. Luke thinks it’s not them that are in trouble. They’re the good guys. Danny says he’s more concerned about the ambulances.

(Boston, Massachusetts, 1959)
Ulysses Bloodstone is sitting in a pretty square reading a book when Silver Sable approaches him. They exchange greetings and Silver Sable asks how he knew how to contact him. Ulysses has no idea what he’s talking about. “Are you my contact?” asks Silver Sable. Ulysses introduces himself and Silver Sable admits that he’s heard of him. He’s the monster hunter. He explains that his name is Ernst Sablinova, and Ulysses says he knows him as Silver Sable. He replies that no one really calls him that - not since the war.

Ulysses shakes his hand and tells him he’s a man after his own. He heard that Ernst tore those Nazi bastards down all through Europe. Ernst admits that the money was good. “Isn’t it though,” replies Ulysses. “And you didn’t call me here?” he asks. The two men immediately looks around suspiciously as he replies that he was called there himself. Ulysses suspects that they may have been set up.

Fortunately, they are approached by Fury, Dugan, Fortune, Creed, Namora and Kraven. Fury tells them that they were set up, but not for anything that they can’t handle. In fact, it’s something that’s right up all of their alleys. He introduces himself and welcomes them to the Avengers. Ulysses finds that rather presumptuous and Ernst asks what they are avenging. Fury explains that, according to people who know better than them, the Red Skull is very much alive and the Third Reich is officially the Fourth Reich. Namora finds that quite disappointing. Fury adds that this isn’t the bad news. According to those who know, there’s some kind of secret something that is empowering them into play. They have to find out what it is and try not to accidentally blow up the world while doing so. The good news is… they were born for this.

(now)

Superia blasts again and then leaps to the roof. Once out of the way, Strange explains to the paramedic that he didn’t see what hit Mockingbird. Her breathing is shallow and she’s non-responsive. He asks which one she is. Ben Grimm informs him that her name is Mockingbird. She’s an Avenger. They’re all Avengers. The paramedic tries to get Bobbi to reply to him, but Superia doesn’t care a jot about their problems. From the rooftop, she unleashes a massive blast, which blows everyone and everything high into the air.