Solo Avengers #8

1st story:

'Don't you dare “Hi, Honey, I'm home” me!' Bobbi Morse Barton a.k.a. Mockingbird exclaims as she slams her fist into her husband's face, breaking his shades. Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye's face spins upon the impact of his wife's fist, and Bobbi then calls him a 'Stupid, miserable, lying, deceitful, conceited, mule-headed, inconsiderate, irresponsible, careless, swashbuckling, brainless, sneaky bum!' Clint falls to the front steps of the West Coast Avengers' Palos Verdes Compound, as Bobbi stands over him and tells him that, in case he forgot, he knocked her out with a gas arrow last week so that he could go to Paris – and risk his worthless life in some idiotic, macho goon battle to  the death with his former mentor Trick Shot – and now he has the colossal nerve to come waltzing back here with a big smile on his ugly face! 'Would you have felt better if I had moon-walked in with a frown?' Clint jokes. Bobbi clenches her fists and screams in frustration, before turning and slamming the door as she enters the compound.

'Welcome back, Hawkeye' Simon Williams a.k.a. Wonder Man, who had witnessed that encounter, remarks. He tells Clint that the compound has been a little too quiet and boring since he was gone. 'Thanks a lot' Clint mutters. Simon helps Clint to his feet and tells him that his moon-walk line was a classic. 'Your wife was pretty steamed. Think she'll ever forgive you?' Simon asks. 'Of course she will! Mockingbird is crazy about me' Clint replies, examining his broken shades, and boasting that he knows how to handle women. 'And they call Daredevil the Man without Fear' Simon jokes. 'Sure, but no one knows if he's married!' Clint jokes.

Some time later, inside a florist called “Flowers by Francesi”: 'Hey, pal! Anything bigger will cost you a fortune!' Francesi declares. 'Hey, pal, anything smaller will cost me my life!' Clint tells him, asking the florist to make the card out to his “very loving and beautiful wife”. 'Think we should also add “forgiving” and “understanding” to that?' Clint asks. Francesi tells Clint that from the desperate way he sounds, he could add diamond earrings and a mink coat to that and still be in trouble. 'Well, I was planning on including a box of butter crunch!' Hawkeye remarks. Suddenly, a group of five men wearing masks over their faces enters. 'Hey, Francesi! What the heck are you still doing here?' one of them calls out. 'We warned you to close shop! We told you we don't want your kind in our neighborhood!' one of them shouts as they start to mess up the shop, smashing potted flowers and vases with bats and chains. 'Yeah! Either you get out – or we get nasty! Understand?' one of the thugs shouts, reaching over the counter and grabbing Francesi by his collar.

'Put him down!' Clint calls out, but is told to stay out of this by one of the thungs. 'You punks have been watching too much “Miami Vice”!' Clint tells them, adding that their tough guy routine impresses nobody. 'Keep back, old man! I'm warning you!' the thug tells Clint, holding up a switchblade. 'Old man? Old man? You really know how to hurt a guy! But then, so do I!' Clint exclaims, slamming his hand into the thug's masked face. 'Grab him! He can't stop us all!' one of the thugs. 'I'll scramble his brains!' another boasts, grabbing Clint and preparing to slam his bat into Clint. Other thugs move in, as Clint remarks that he may not be Mister Objective, but that the odds seem a bit lopsided to him! 'What say we even them up a bit?' Clint suggests, flipping the thug who has grabbed him over, slamming him into another. Clint then pushes another thug away, joking that he supposes he would have to tie both hands behind his back and wear a blindfold in order to give them a fighting chance.

Clint finds the thug who was doing all the talking and yanks his mask off of his head, telling him that he seems to be the leader of this pack. Clint is surprised to discover tthat he is only a teenager. 'The Puentes kid!' Francesi thinks to himself, when suddenly, one of the other thugs goes over to Clint and cracks a potted plant across his head, and declares that they might be teenagers, but they can still take out a loser like him. 'Where's your smart mouth now, macho man?' the thug asks. Puentes and the masked thugs then turn and run out of the florist. Francesi asks Clint if he is okay, to which Clint tells him that they only hurt his pride, while thinking to himself that he was careless, and wonders if he is getting old. Clint tells Francesi that the thugs got away, but they can still describe that one punk to the police. Francesi looks concerned, and tells Clint that he doesn't want any trouble – he just wants to run his shop in peace.

Later still: 'Ow! That stings!' Clint complains as Bobbi uses tweezers to clean debris out of his wound. Bobbi tells Clint not to be such a big baby, as it is only his head – and he doesn't use that much anyway. 'You can't even buy flowers without getting into trouble!' Bobbi points out. Clint tells his wife that he is really worried about Francesi, explaining that he saw the kid's face, and he thinks Francesi recognized him. Clint adds that there have been a few reports of an extortion ring in the neighborhood. As she reaches for something in the medicine cabinet, Bobbi suggests to Clint that if it will make him feel better, they can look into the extortion rings, and keep an eye on Francesi in the process.

Even later, Hawkeye and Mockingbird are in their costumes and stand on a rooftop overlooking the neighborhood. 'Well, this is real exciting – but not the way I planned on spending our first night back together!' Bobbi whispers. Clint tells Bobbi that he is sorry about that, before Bobbi asks him if he is worried about Francesi, or that “old man” crack that kid made. 'That's cold, Mock. Real cold' Clint replies, before he notices a car pulling up into the rear entrance of Francesi's florist. 'Limousines?' Bobbi asks as the limo comes to a stop. Two figures in brown suits emerge from the limo, and Clint sees that they have with them a kid who has been bound and gagged – the kid who threatened Francesi. Clint wonders who the goons in the suits are and declares that there is something real wrong with this picture. He suggests they move closer and find out what is going on.

Inside the florist, Francesi is wearing a suit and stands with some other men, as the gagged teenager is brought before him. 'Good evening, my young friend. Your name is Puentes, is it not?' Francesi remarks, adding that he understands Puentes and his associates want to dictate to him how this neighborhood is run. 'You want my people to stop threatening the local store owners, don't you? You believe yourself to be a man of influence! A tough guy! YOU'RE A PUNK!' Francesi exclaims, slapping Puentes across the face. Francesi frowns and exclaims that if the busybody customer hadn't interferred this afternoon, he would have signalled to his boys to waste Puentes.

Up on the roof, Hawkeye and Mockingbird are watching through the glass ceiling covering the florist, 'I don't believe it! Francesi is the bad guy!' Clint whispers, and Bobbi tells him that at least he got the part about the extortion racket right.

'I want the names of all your friends! NOW!' Francesi shouts as one of his henchmen put a gun to the frightened Puentes' head. Suddenly, 'What the?' one of the henchmen exclaim. 'Who's that?' another asks, as a figure drops through the glass ceiling, armed, the mysterious figure in a black costume with blue cape, mask, gloves and boots opens fire at one of the henchmen, shooting him at close range, announcing that he is the true servant of justice – Blind Justice! 'Ralphie! You killed Ralphie!' one of the henchmen gasps, but Blind Justice claims to have merely jolted him into unconsciousness, adding that justice is not served by punishing the servant for the crimes of the king. 'Yeah, well, you're dead, mister!' the hechman declares, raising his gun to Blind Justice, while up above, Hawkeye and Mockingbird drop through the broken glass ceiling.

The henchman opens fire, but Blind Justice barely flinches as the bullets strike him. 'Fall down! Blast you – fall down!' the henchman exclaims. Blind Justice tells him that he is wasting ammunition and that mere bullets cannot stop the cause of justice. Suddenly, the henchman falls forward, struck by an arrow that Hawkeye fired into his back. 'Hmm, it appears that I'm not the only one that uses electro-shocks to stun his enemies' Blind Justice remarks, noting the electro-arrow. Blind Justice thanks Hawkeye for the timely assistance, and offers to return the favor, as he strikes down two henchmen who are crouched behind the counter nearby. Mockingbird leaps into action, confronting two of the henchmen, while Hawkeye fires his arrow at anoher, knocking his weapon out of his hands. Blind Justice demands to know where Francesi is, and declares that justice demands he die for his crimes. 'What!? You can't be serious, pal!' Hawkeye calls out.

'Hawkeye, you – and others like you – champion the principles of law and order. But I – and I alone – serve the cause of true justice!' Blind Justice claims as he fires his electro-weapon at another henchman. Hawkeye tells Blind Justice to forget it – there is no way he is going to let him kill anyone, even a creep like Francesi. Hawkeye fires an arrow towards Blind Justice, but he misses as Blind Justice dodges beneath the adhesive-tipped arrow. Blind Justice fires another energy-blast at one of the henchmen and tells Hawkeye that he is well-intentioned, but misguided. Blind Justice moves outside, where Francesi is making his escape across the back lot. 'The scales of justice demand to be balanced!' Blind Justice calls out.

Hawkeye turns to Mockingbird, who asks Hawkeye what he is waiting for: 'Go get that loony!' she exclaims, adding that she can easily handle things here, as she kicks one of the remaining henchmen into another. 'Right!' Hawkeye agrees as he races outside, where, behind a fence that surrounds the back lot, 'That's far enough, Francesi!' Blind Justice calls out, raising his weapon as Francesi comes to a halt, and holds his hands up in the air. Francesi asks Blind Justice to take it easy and not to do anything rash. 'Maybe we can make a deal' Francesi suggests. Francesi drops to his knees and tells Blind Justice that he heard all about him, that he is a murderer, a mad dog! Francesi then begs Blind Justice not to kill him. 'I'll pay you anything! Anything!' Francesi calls out. 'You offer me mere wealth? I desire nothing save justice!' Blind Justice declares as he puts the end of the gun to Francesi's head. Sweating, Francesi exclaims that he doesn't deserve to die.

'Put it down, Mr Mask!' Hawkeye calls out as he holds up his bow and arrow, but Blind Justice tells Hawkeye that he cannot allow this criminal to escape his punishment. 'And I can't allow you to kill him!' Hawkeye calls back. 'Then kill me!' Blind Justice tells Hawkeye, while Francesi asks them to stop this, and exlaims that this isn't fair – he deserves a fair trial, a chance to defend himself – when suddenly, he clutches his chest, and collapses. 'Oh my gosh! The strain was too much for him! He's having a heart attack!' Hawkeye realizes, rushing over to Francesi, while Blind Justice turns and walks away. Hawkeye asks Blind Justice where he is going, and points out that they have to get Francesi to a hospital. 'Why? Justice demands that he die! Let him!' Blind Justice responds.

Hawkeye holds up his bow and arrow, and tells Blind Justice that he can't just toss aay a human life like it was a soiled tissue. 'I could stop you – Justice – or whatever you call yourself – with just one quick arrow in the back!' Hawkeye exclaims, before lowering his bow and arrow and pointing out that he has more important things to do. He drops down next to Francesi and tells him to take it easy, that they will get him to a hospital – he swears it.

Soon, sitting on some seats in the emergency room at a hospital, Hawkeye and Mockingbird examine the charges that Blind Justice was using. Hawkeye remarks that they are pretty amazing, and Mockingbird discovers that they contain mini tracking devices. 'Just aim them in the right general direction and they release an electrical jolt on impact!' Hawkeye remarks. Puentes sits next to him, while two police officers stand guard. A surgeon emerges and informs Hawkeye that Mr Francesi has passed on. 'All right! All right!' Puentes exclaims, standing up and smiling. 'That Justice dude has the right idea! Waste the baddies!' Puentes smiles, to which one of the police officers tells him to put a lid on it.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird leave the emergency room, although Hawkeye doesn't look very happe. Mockingbird asks him why he has such a long face, as he did everything he could to save Francesi. Hawkeye tells Mockingbird that that does not change the fact Francesi is dead and Blind Justice got away. He adds that on all counts tonight, he feels like a big, dumb, useless zero. Mockingbird wraps her arms around Hawkeye and tells him that he is a big, dumb, useless zero, but he is her big, dumb, useless zero. 'I love you, Hawk' Mockingbird adds, kissing Hawkeye, who tells her that she is the greatest.

As Hawkeye and Mockingbird pass a nurse's station, they fail to notice a delivery boy from Ajax Florist approach the nurse at the station and tell her that he has a delivery for Mister Francesi. The nurse looks at the floral wreath with a large RIP on a ribbon and wonders who could have sent this, as he only died a few minutes ago. The delivery boy tells her that he isn't a clairvoyant and suggests she reads the card. The nurse opens an envelope and remarks 'Now this is odd' as she discovers a business card that reads “In the service of justice”, and wonders what it means.

2nd story:

Traffic was murder this night in Los Angeles, so there was only one thing a certain Dr Henry Pym could do. Two police officers are standing near their cars, talking, 'So this guy says “look, I'll give you a hundred if you look the other way” but I said “no” okay?' while a voice calls out 'Excuse me, officer. Can I park here?' a voice calls out. 'Can'tcha read, pal. The lot's reserved for cops only!' one of the police officers responds. 'I don't want to park in the lot, officer...' the voice responds. 'Huh?' one of the officers asks. 'Hol-leee!' the other exclaims, looking up they see Doctor Henry Pym, hovering above them by clinging to two long “feelers” which extend from his handy hover-craft, Rover. 'I want to park up here. Any problem?' Pym asks 'Uh, not a one, pal!' one of the officers replies. Hank steps onto the ground and thanks the officers, before looking up atr Rover and telling him to hover right there. 'Gotcha, Dr Pym!' Rover responds, while one of the officers whispers tro the other 'Hey, ain't that the Ant-Man guy?' to which the other, looking up at Rover, replies 'Never mind that! How do we get the department to spring for cars like this!?'

Pym makes his way into the police station, he hears the comment about his name, but he doesn't have time to set the officer straight, now he has business to attend to. 'Dr Ishmael's office, please?' Pym asks. An officer points down the corridor, giving him directions, but as Pym passes through a metal detector, it sounds, the officer stops him. 'Metal detector says you're carrying arsenal! Though I can't figure where!' the officer remarks. 'An arsenal? I don't -' Pym begins, before remembering something in his pocket, he pulls some weapons out and puts them on the counter. 'You kidding? Those toys?' the officer asks. Pym agrees that they look like toys, but they do a little growing up, as he uses his Pym Particles on the weapons, increasing them to their regular size. He then does the reverse, shrinking them back down. 'Out of sight, if not out of mind' Pym replies. He gives them to the officer, telling him that he hopes they don't take up too much space. 'I think I can squeeze 'em in somewhere' the officer replies.

Pym soon enters Lieutentant Ishmael's office, and shakes his hand, adding that he supposes he is pretty tired of the “Call me Ishmael” joke. 'Yes...especially since I've never been able to make it more than halfway through Moby Dick' Ishmael replies, before instructing Pym to sit down, and asking 'Is it Giant-Man, or -?' to which Hank tells him that “Dr Pym” will be fine, and adds that he will stand, before asking Lieutenant Ishmael why he wanted to see him. Ishmael looks through a file and tells Dr Pym that there have been three robberies committed over the past week that don't fit any modus operandi they have ever heard of – hundreds of dollars of state of the art equipment was stolen from Morganstern Electronics, two nights ago what looks like the same thief cleaned out the jewelry of the Entwiler family, and four nights ago, experimental medical vaccines got heisted from the New Centuries Labs.

Pym tells the lieutenant that it sounds like he has his hands full all right, and asks why he is here. 'If you want the Avengers' help -' Pym begins, but Ishmael tells him that it more serious than that – because in all three robberies, the security systems were either evaded or deactivated – as if the thief was the size of an ant – while the vault door was torn off at the New Century Labs as though the thief had the strength of a giant! Pym looks shocked, and starts to ask the lieutenant if he is accusing him, his comment being a surge of righteous indignation, but Pym knows that the lieutenant is only doing his job, and looking at it from his point of view, he can't blame him. Pym apologizes to Lieutenant Ishmael and sits down, explaining that with his history of mental instability, he can't blame the lieutenant for thinking of him, but assures him that he is innocent. Lieutenant Ishmael tells Dr Pym that he would appreciate it if he could back that up with an alibi.

Pym points out that he is not the only guy around who can change size – there is a new Ant-Man, and a new, evil Yellowjacket. He suggests that Lieutenant Ishmael could check with the East Coast Avengers as to their whereabouts. Lt Ishmael agrees that is true, but as he stands up, he reminds Pym that he was the first to shrink, and he is here in town. 'Two obvious clues that anyone who wanted to frame would know!' Hank exclaims. Lieutenant Ishmael assures Hank that he thought of that, and remarks that it must burn him up that someone hates him that much. 'Would make me want to go out and -' Ishmael begins, but Hank tells him to save the psychology 101, as he has already decided to help him find whoever is behind this. 'Huh? You think that's what I wanted all along?' Ishmael asks. Hank lets him talk awhile longer, all the time thinking about possible suspects – there was another, less obvious clue that Ishmael seemed to have missed.

'Let's go home, Rover!' Hank remarks once he is inside Rover and takes to the skies, 'Next stop, West Coast Avengers Compound, Dr Pym!' Rover responds. Rain begins to fall that night, during which time Hank got to work, realizing that by the thief's established pattern, the next score would be tomorrow night. Hank thinks this gives him more than enough time to do a little planning of his own. He gets to work with wires and circuitry – it feels good to him, although his mechanical partner doesn't share his enthusiasm, as Hank sits at a work station in his lab, Rover points out that they have been sitting around all day, that he is getting rusty and all Hank is doing is working on those dumb gadgets! Hank puts the small gadgets into his hand and explains to Rover that if he is correct, then the “gadgets” will prove valuable tonight, adding that until he needs them, he should put them out of harm's way. He then announces that they are ready to go. 'Satisfied, Rover?' Hank asks. 'You bet – but what about the other Avengers? Aren't you gonna tell them?' Rover asks. As Hank flies Rover off the Compound, Hank explains that the thief behind this has made it personal, and he is more than happy to accommodate him.

After running a few errands, nightfall finds Hank and Rover high above Los Angeles, and Rover as patient as ever, until he tells Dr Pym that this is boring, and asks when something is going to happen. 'Tonight, I hope, Rover. But if not we'll just wait until -' Hank begins, when suddenly, an alarm sounds, and Hank declares that is what he has been waiting for. 'Which bug is it?' Hank asks. 'I'm getting a fix on it now, Dr Pym...let's see...it's the big you planted in Eckman's Electronics, Dr Pym. It's picked up cybernetic impulses inside their plant!' Rover reports, as the small hovercraft descends towards a large warehouse. 'Good! I knew he'd stick to his pattern!' Hank remarks, but Rover doesn't understand, and asks Dr Pym how he knew. 'And why only plant those cybernetic sensors in places beginning with “e”?' Rover enquires. Hank instructs Rover to blast the garage door to the warehouse with acid spray. Rover does so, but asks if it will set the alarm off. Hank tells Rover that he is counting on it to bring the police so they can see him bag this guy.

As Rover flies into the warehouse, he tells Dr Pym that he is talking like he knows who is behind this. 'Just like I knew to plant the sensors in places beginning with “e” Rover! The man framing me was signing his name to the robberies....he robbed New Century Labs, Entwiler Jewellers, Morganstern Electronics.... Eckman's Electronics begins with an “e” - and that's the next letter in the name of -' Hank begins, before telling Rover to put the spotlight on. Rover does so, as a figure skulks between large crates of equipment, 'Right, Der Pym!' Rover responds, as the spotlight suddenly shines across the figure: 'Dr Nemesis!' Hank exclaims, as the man wearing a green, yellow and red costume comes to a stop when the spotlight shines on him. 'Looks like a slight change of plan is in order, Dr Pym! Instead of framing you, I'll have to humiliate you!' Dr Nemesis calls out. 'That's right, Nemesis. Try to convince yourself that you still have a plan – that it hasn't gone up in flames!' Hank calls back, pointing at Dr Nemesis. 'Such hostility, Pym! Aren't you even curious as to where I've been all these years?' Dr Nemesis responds.

'That's no mystery, Nemesis!' Hank declares as he jumps out of Rover. 'Oh no?' Dr Nemesis asks. Hank tells him that he knows he was caught in his experimental shrinking beams when he tried to rob his house, and that he also knew it would wear off – like it did – and return him to his normal size. 'Right, as usual, Pym! I decided to take my revenge by framing you for my robberies – after all “Nemesis” is another word for revenge!' Doctor Nemesis snarls, before remarking that he prefers taking out his revenge on him personally, as it is unscientific, but certainly satisfying. 'I was just thinking the same thing, Nemesis!' Hank agrees, before remarking that he intends to be the one who walks away. He then shouts 'Rover! Take him!' and Rover fires some sort of cloud at Doctor Nemesis, who cries out as the cloud strikes him. 'Gone! Rover! Did you see where they went?' Pym asks, but Rover tells Dr Pym that he thinks Dr Nemesis shrunk.

Pym figured as much, which is why he brought along a few more cybernetic sensors to give him an edge. He pulls them from his pocket and starts to increase their size, noting that they are the 1988 model, and he doesn't have time to wait for Nemesis to come to them. 'Go get him, guys!' Pym exclaims as he controls the sensors with a remote, as they hover around a large stack of boxes. 'Found him already? Good work, boys!' Pym remarks, before telling Nemesis to surprise him, to surrender and save them all some grief – but he had forgotten that even reduced, Nemesis still had the proportionate strength of a full-sized man, and the stack of boxes is pushed towards Hank, who suddenly falls over, as something – or someone – grabs his ankle. Hank jokes that he has something better than flea powder and uses the remote again, and, as he hoped, he is able to create cybernetic feedback which channels through the size-changing circuitry in Nemesis' helmet. 'Don't go away mad, Nemesis!' Hank calls out as the tiny Dr Nemesis can be seen leaping from Hank's boot after the cybernetic feedback hurt him, but Nemesis boasts that he is not going away at all.

'My lord!' Pym gasps as he looks up, Nemesis shifts his form into giant-size, towering over Hank, 'I just wanted to give you a look at the last thing you'll ever see!' Dr Nemesis exclaims, fist ready to strike Hank. 'Talk about turning the tables! Over the years, some cynics asked me how just “being big” put me in the league of thunder gods and super soldiers. If they could see Nemesis now, they would realize, as I did for the first time, what it is like to face an opponent taller than a dinosaur!' Hank thinks to himself. For the briefest second, he even freezes, but then remembers how far he had come since his breakdown – how much he had regained that he thought he would never have again – and he finds the strength to move, leaping just as Doctor Nemesis slams his fist down on him. 'Rover!' Hank calls out, as the hovercraft soars down towards Dr Pym, releasing a rope which Hank grabs onto as he instructs Rover to go into evasive maneuvers – and let Nemesis clutch at straws for a while. Rover darts around the still giant Doctor Nemesis, and as Pym tells Rover to keep Nemesis busy, he leaps from Rover onto Doctor Nemesis.

Pym knows that he could give Nemesis another shot of feedback, but decides that would only anger him, and he wants this to end quickly – he has an idea of how to do that, and pulls a small knife from his pocket which he enlarges as he climbs onto Nemesis's shoulder. 'Blast it, Pym! All you're doing is delaying it!' Nemesis calls out. Pym tells himself that Nemesis has never spoken a truer word, though not quite in the way he thought. Pym then uses the knife to slice open the sleeve of Nemesis' costume. Nemesis notices this and asks Pym what he is doing back there. Pym then uses his Pym Particles to reduce Doctor Nemesis back down to his regular size. 'Stop it! Stop it! Or I'll -' Nemesis calls out, but it's too late. Pym knows that Nemesis' power is in his helmet circuitry, and once he is out of contact with that helmet, Pum punches him in the face, knocking Nemesis over.

Pym then uses a single thread from Nemesis' costume, enlarged, he turns it into a rope, to bind Nemesis and keep him out of trouble. At that moment, the cavalry arrive. 'Oh, here you are!' Lieutenant Ishmael calls out as he sees Pym tying up Doctor Nemesis. Ishmael asks who the other man is, and Pym tells him that he is called Doctor Nemesis, and he is sure Nemesis will be glad to tell him more. Another officer pulls Nemesis up and starts to lead him away, as Ishmael thanks Pym for the good work, and tells him he is sorry for the hard feelings. 'Hey, aren't you that Goliath guy!?' the other officer asks. 'I was. A long time ago' Pym replies, before he gets into Rover and they fly away, with Pym calling back 'But now I answer to the name of Pym Dr Pym!'