Avengers (1st series) #303

 'Awright, big man! Since I don't have the answers you want – waste me! Go ahead! But I've got friends. And if you do me in, you can bet there'll be a reckoning!' Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye, leader of the West Coast Avengers shouts as the giant alien called Super-Nova holds Hawkeye high above the ground.

Clint thinks to himself that perhaps his tough guy bluff will work where the comedy routine failed. As he bends part of the high-rise train track, Super-Nova warns Hawkeye that he shall be given one final chance to tell him what he wants to know. Super-Nova states his purpose for being on Earth once again – that his homeworld of Xandar was destroyed by the she-pirate called Nebula who fled to Earth and has taken refuge as a member of the Avengers. Super-Nova explains that he is the sole survivor of Xandar and has come seeking Nebula in the name of revenge. He tells Hawkeye that since he is the leader of this group, he will reveal her whereabouts, or he will crush him and this puny world. 'Point taken, Star-Head, I'll try to come across for you' Hawkeye responds, while thinking that he has heard of Nebula from the Avengers files, but she is not an Avenger and he doesn't know where she is.

Down on the ground, Hawkeye's teammates Greer Grant a.k.a. Tigra and Dr Hank Pym look up at Super-Nova, and Tigra meows that she wants that creature's blood, and even though he is big, she thinks she will be able to get her claws into his throat. Pym tells Tigra not to talk foolishly, and that if they make any sudden moves, Super-Nova will squeeze Hawkeye like an overripe grape. A police officer nearby instructs his colleagues to get into combat position, that they are going to hit that monster with everything they have got. Pym approaches the officer and tells him that there is an Avenger up there that they can't shoot until he is safe. Super-Nova tells Hawkeye that he gets the impression he knows nothing, and has simply led him on to buy time. 'And to think such a primitive world filled with fools like you survives! And that the glory of the heavens, Xandar, is tragically extinct. Dead' Super-Nova remarks, before opening the palm of his hand, where Hawkeye now stands.

'So that's the bee in your bonnet, isn't it? Sure, you want Nebula for crimes she committed – but you're so whizzed that this world of “inferiors” still lives, you'll use Nebula as an excuse – to pound us into dust to ease your pain and frustration!' Hawkeye exclaims, when suddenly, a blast of energy rises up from the palm of Super-Nova's hand, and Hawkeye vanishes. 'Ohmigod! He – he disintegrated him!' Pym gasps in shock. 'Hawkeye's dead!' Tigra exclaims. 'NO MORE LIES!' Super-Nova booms, shaking his fists into the air, he declares that he wants Nebula brought to him – and now. 'NOW!' he roars as he fires a blast of energy at a skyscraper, destroying it!

Elsewhere, Hawkeye finds himself floating, feeling weightless, he notices the light all around him and wonders if he is dead, before deciding that he can't be, and as he looks up, he notices that someone in a costume is pulling him along in an energy field. 'I sure hope he's one of the good guys' Hawkeye thinks to himself, before calling out 'Okay, fella. Can the angel bit and get me down!' to which Wendell Vaughan a.k.a. Quasar tells Hawkeye that is no way to speak to the man who saved his life. 'Say what?' Hawkeye asks as Quasar sets him down on a rooftop nearby and explains that just as Super-Nova was about to disintegrate him, he snatched him away in a nimbus of light. 'It's the power I have' Quasar explains. Rubbing his head, Hawkeye asks to whom he should say thanks. Quasar introduces himself, and reveals that he arrived here before the Avengers did and attempted to restrain Super-Nova, but he failed and then worked on evacuating people instead, which is when he saw Hawkeye's plight. Quasar asks Hawkeye what strategy he was employing there, to which Hawkeye hesitates before explaining that it was Special Avengers Emergency Tactic 1108 for dealing with giant aliens, before changing the subject and asking Quasar for a ride back to the street. 'Fine. I've got more folks to rescue, anyway' Quasar replies.

Tigra tells Hank to take it easy, as Hank rubs his eyes and Tigra thinks to herself that Hank is usually the soul of logic, but Hawkeye's death has fractured him. 'My fault. Should have acted to save him!' Hank exclaims, when suddenly, 'Save those tears, people! Your unflappable leader-man's back on the job!' Hawkeye calls out as Quasar drops him down by his teammates. 'HAWKEYE!' Tigra and Pym gasp in unison. Quasar flies back to start rescuing more civilians, while Tigra meows and rushes over to Hawkeye, telling him to give his favorite feline a hug. Tigra wraps her arms around Hakweye, while Hank remarks that he supposes Hawkeye expects them to be grateful he is in one piece, before asking him what that stunt was he pulled that gave him fifty new gray hairs, and who was the guy who brought him down.

Hawkeye tells Pym to give him a break, and jokes that it seemed like a good idea at the time, teleporting, that is. He jokes that he had been learning the technique in his new yoga class. 'I figured with the East Coasters on the way, we could really show -' Hawkeye begins, when suddenly Tigra points upwards, 'Hold it! Speaking of the cavalry...is that who I think it is?' she asks. Hawkeye and Hank see a small aircraft fly overhead, but Hawkeye tells Tigra it is not who she thinks it is – it's the Fantasti-Car, which means the Fantastic Four are gonna throw their two cents in, too. 'Oh boy' Hawkeye mutters.

Up above, Johnny Storm the Human Torch is piloting the Fantasti-Car, and remarks that it looks like a few Avengers beat them to the scene. 'Now that the FF's here, it's time to start stealing the show!' the Torch boasts as Ben Grimm a.k.a. the Thing and Sharon Ventura a.k.a. She-Thing leap from the Fantasti-Car down towards Super-Nova. She-Thing tells Ben to be careful, while the Thing tells the Torch that he can say that again, and from the description they got back in New York, it is High-Pockets there who is the troublemaker. As the Thing lands on Super-Nova, he tells She-Thing, his girlfriend, not to worry, and that she ought to direct her sentiments to Chrome-Dome here. 'He'll be needin' 'em!' the Thing boasts – only for Super-Nova to grab Thing and She-Thing. 'Hey! That's my main squeeze yer squeezin' buster! Leggo or yer gonna be eatin' teeth for a week!' the thing warns Super-Nova.

Super-Nova examines his captives and realizes that they must be some form of mutated homo-sapiens. He adds that he was unaware of such species diversification, as the Thing tells him that the only thing getting mutated around here is his fat face – when he gets through pounding it. 'C'mere!  Just a little closer!' the Thing exclaims, while Super-Nova declares that once again he is mocked, and asks whether there needs to be further demonstration of his power to convince them that resistance is futile? 'What does it take!? What!? WHAT!?' he shouts as he suddenly slams Thing and She-Thing together, 'Thus are two more inconveniences dispensed with' Super-Nova mutters as he drops the two members of the Fantastic Four, letting them fall to the ground below, while a wide-eyed Torch sees that his teammates are down without even getting off a shot. Johnny supposes that brute force isn't going to cut it, but he knows there is lots more to the Fantastic Four than that. 'Flame on!' he shouts as he switches to his fiery form, and flies from the Fantasti-Car towards Super-Nova: 'That was my best buddy and his lady you just dumped, creep!' the Torch shouts as he warns Super-Nova that he just bought himself a bonfire full of trouble, courtesy of the Human Torch!

'Another one – afire!?' Super-Nova remarks as he turns to the Torch, declaring that he wearies of this. 'Do your worst, insect. Super-Nova can survive in any extreme of heat or cold!' Super-Nova boasts as the Torch unleashes a powerful surge of fire against him. 'That's what they all say, bozo, until I start turning up the thermostat!' The Torch jokes, before telling Super-Nova that he better cry “uncle” before he is a puddle. Super-Nova barely reacts though, while the Torch wishes he could hit this guy with a near-nova intensity heat, but he would wind up incinerating most of Chicago – so he will just have to channel his flame like never before.

Down below, the Thing and She-Thing get up from the street which has been turned to rubble following their impact. Ben asks Shary if she is okay, to which She-Thing replies 'I don't have this body for nothing, dear'. Quasar goes over to them and asks 'Benjamin J Grimm?' as the Thing looks up and sees Quasar, remarking that he hasn't seen him since they teamed up to bust some badies at Project Pegasus. Thing asks Quasar how it is shaking, to which Quasar tells him that they will talk  later, as right now he needs to go and aid the Torch. Quasar shields himself for fear of getting fried as he flies towards the Human Torch, who continues to pour a powerful surge of flame against Super-Nova. 'I thought this might get your attention! And I'm just warming up!' the Torch calls out, before Quasar asks him if he can join him. 'You – again?' the Torch asks. 'Mm-hmm. I'm back for keeps, Torch!' Quasar replies as he starts to pour his cosmic energy against Super-Nova.

At the same time, a Quinjet streaks towards the battle, inside are the Avengers – Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America, Gilgamesh the Forgotten One, Thor, Reed Richards a.k.a. Mr Fantastic and Susan Storm-Richards a.k.a. Invisible Woman, along with their ally, Firelord. 'Target sighted, Avengers. It's showtime!' Cap calls out, before telling his team that he wants to check in with their West Coast counterparts and find out why they are not in the action. 'And I know just the man to contact!' Cap declares, before speaking over the communicator, he addresses Hawkeye and asks him what the blazes is going on down there. 'Blaze is the word for it, Winghead! Welcome to the weenie roast!' Hawkeye replies over the intercom on the other Qunijet. Hawkeye tells Cap that he heard they ran into tall and gruesome in space. 'Glad to see you're still among the living' Clint adds, before reporting that the dude has already downed Wonder Man and the Thing, and that the Torch and this Quasar guy don't seem to be having much luck.

Captain America radios an army general and tells him that he must evacuate the city at once, as the giant is capable of nuclear level detonation, but the general tells Captain America, with all due respect, that evacuating all of Chicago in such short notice is simply out of the question, and that they are holding back to see how the Avengers fare. 'If you can't stop him...we're moving in – full force!' the general announces. Cap turns to Thor and Firelord and instructs them to get out there with Gilgamesh and stop the Torch and Quasar from annoying Super-Nova, as they have seen what he is capable of and there is no time to lose. Cap tells the Invisible Woman to use her powers to lower herself to a vantage point and be prepared to surround Super-Nova in a force field should he attempt to detonate the city with one destructive blast. Susan rubs her head and tells Cap that she is still so weak from the ordeal of bringing them back to Earth, she doesn't know if she will be of any help.

Reed tells his wife not to worry, and that he will accompany her, but Cap tells Reed that he needs his assistance in dealing with the authorities. 'Couldn't you handle that yourself, Cap?' Reed asks. 'No! Reed, you're an Avenger now – and I give the orders! Clear?' Cap retorts. 'Yes. Clear' Reed replies, while Cap thinks to himself that Reed is just so used to command as Fantastic Four, that this was bound to rub him the wrong way, before telling Susan that, for the record, if he didn't need her to perform such a vital function, he would never have asked her in her condition, before suggesting that she make her exit now. Susan drops out of the Quinjet, lowering herself with an invisible field, the blast of cold air starts to revive her, she knows she has to concentrate on using the invisible spiral slide to drop herself to a nearby rooftop and keep an eye on Super-Nova. Thor carries Gilgamesh as he and Firelord fly nearby, with Thor asking Susan if she feels able to make the descent. Susan thanks Thor for the offer, but is certain she will be able to pull this one off.

Thor then drops Gilgamesh so that he can fall safely down to the ground, while he and Firelord move closer to Super-Nova, where the Torch and Quasar continue to pour their power on the alien foe. 'What foolishness is this? Must I contend with more of you cretins before the answer I seek is mine?' Super-Nova asks. 'Indeed you must, Xandarian!' Firelord calls out, before he flies over to the Torch and tells him to cease his attack, not to antagonize the giant any further. 'Says who – some half-baked imitation of me?' the Torch snaps, adding that they didn't come to Chicago tyo party. 'Get that straight!' he tells Firelord.

Below, Captain America, Hawkeye and Mr Fantastic meet with the general. Cap apologizes to him for the stridency of his earlier message, and the General introduces himself as Akord, assuring Captain America that they are still holding their troops back pending his discussion with him. Cap shakes the general's hand and informs him that they have encountered this Super-Nova in space, that he is searching for a woman named Nebula who destroyed his home world – he believes she is on Earth. 'And is she?' General Akord asks. Cap reports that she was, briefly, but now she is lost in the Time-Stream. 'Hmmm. Might work' Reed thinks to himself. 'Time-Stream!?' Akord asks, confused. Cap tells Akord that he will have Dr Richards give him an explanation, but as he turns to Mr Fantastic, the scientist suddenly stretches his form and moves away. 'Sure you're still in charge, ol' buddy?' Hawkeye asks. 'Of the number one Avengers team? You bet!' Cap declares, before calling out to Reed, asking him to come down, although he gets no response from the stretchy Avenger. 'How's that class on leadership lessons comin' Cap?' Hawkeye jokes, while Cap wonders what Reed is doing, as he didn't authorize him getting involved in this battle.

Reed looks up at the heroes darting around Super-Nova and decides that with all this frantic activity going on, he needs to find some way of getting Quasar's attention and fast. 'I told you to get off my back, Baton Boy! I'm bringing this baby down!' the Torch tells Firelord, while Thor tells Super-Nova that his size means little to one who has felled the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. Quasar looks over to where Reed has shaped his arm into a Q, and asks 'Are you trying to get my attention, sir?' to which Reed stretches closer to Quasar and tells him that he needs the quickest transportation to Fantastic Four HQ in Manhattan that he can provide. 'As you request, sir!' Quasar replies, wrapping his energy field around Reed, before taking flight and leaving Chicago. This does not go unnoticed by Cap, who wonders why they are leaving the battle.

'You may have faced giants in your day, hammer wielder! But could even they – do this?!' Super-Nova asks as he begins to surge with an energy. Thor tells the others to beware, as Super-Nova shouts 'You believe yourselves attuned to the forces of heat and light! Gaze now at Super-Nova whose very fiber is a part of the eternal stars themselves!' Energy radiates around the cosmic behemoth, while Firelord tells the Torch that only the two of them possess the power to absorb the massive amounts of heat that Super-Nova is releasing. 'If we do not act now -' Firelord begins, to which the Torch exclaims 'I thought you wanted me on the sidelines, fella!' but Firelord just tells the Torch to act now, as they each fly to one side of Super-Nova and start to absorb every iota of energy that Super-Nova begins to expel. Firelord asks the Torch if he can handle this much at once, to which the Torch tells Firelord to just mind his half of the store, while admitting to himself that he isn't sure about this, as he has never had to draw in so much heat at one time.

Super-Nova releases the cosmic energy relentlessly, and Johnny is pushed to his limits – he feels like he wants to explode, but knows that he must hold on. 'We have done it, youth! He's expended his force! Now into the upper atmosphere – hurry!' Firelord calls out when Super-Nova stops blasting them with energy. They fly upwards, the Torch has never felt like this before – every pore is saturated, almost bursting with heat as he and Firelord fly upwards in a flaming stream of energy. The Torch tells Firelord that they have to get as high as possible – there can be no chance of the explosion getting back to Earth. The Torch is unable to fly any higher, so he tells Firelord rhat this is the limit, and begins to expel all the energy he absorbed.

'That's what I call a sweet release!' Johnny thinks to himself, while Firelord suggests that this far up, the expended energy should dissipate harmlessly. 'Well done, my friend. Well done' Firelord remarks, while thinking to himself that the strain of such temperature absorption on the Torch's human frame should have been more evident. Firelord wonders what manner of human he is, while the Torch thanks him, and once he has released all the energy, he starts to fumble in the air, spots appearing in front of his eyes. Firelord tells the Torch to go limp and that he will catch him. In Firelord's arms, the Torch apologizes to him in case they got off on the wrong foot earlier. 'I didn't -' the Torch begins, while Firelord tells him that no apologies are necessary, for they are one with the flame – and that transcends worlds.

Below, Thor hovers near Super-Nova, while Gilgames is nearby on a rooftop. 'Thou hast cooled, giant!' Thor calls out, as Gilgamesh agrees, and points out that he is now but a “normal” behemoth, like so many he has conquered in his day. Even further down, the Thing and She-Thing grab on to one of Super-Nova's feet. 'It's amazing, Ben – all these super-powered folks working together, cooperating with -' Sharon begins, but Ben interrupts her and tells her to start lifting before Stumbo here notices what is going on. 'And just what is going on, Thing?' Simon Williams a.k.a. Wonder Man asks as he goes over to the Thing, who mutters 'I'm fittin' him fer Hush Puppies! What kinda stupid question izzat' before seeing that it was Wonder Man who asked the question. 'Must be old home week fer my West Coast buddies!' the Thing remarks, before asking Wonder Man where he came from. Simon jokes that he was part of the “underground” effort here for a while.

The Thing maintains his hold on Super-Nova's foot and tells Wonder Man that he doesn't know what he is talking about, before asking him to grab a handful. 'My pleasure! This guy trashed me once and I owe him for -' Wonder Man begins, but the Thing interrupts him, telling him 'This century, Wondy!' The Thing and She-Thing begin to lift one foot, 'That's it! He's still swatting at Goldilocks so we got a chance to put him on his duff!' the Thing remarks, while Wonder Man starts to lift the other foot, adding that with his jet belt smashed, he has to stick with ground tactics. Thor sees what his allies are doing and tells them that it is an excellent strategem as he adds his own weight to the situation, slamming against one of Super-Nova's legs. A soldier nearby calls out for someone to give the order to get everyone back, as he thinks the giant is going to fall. Suddenly, 'What the -' Super-Nova begins, before he plummets forwards down to the empty street beneath him. 'Thar she blows!' Thing jokes, as Super-Nova lets out a mighty roar as he slams into the ground.

Thor hovers over Super-Nova's face: 'At last you see that even one such as thee may be toppled – may fall before the righteous wrath of those you belittled!' Thor exclaims, while Super-Nova looks up at him nervously. Cap, Hawkeye, Wonder Man, Gilgamesh, Thing, She-Thing and Firelord father around as Thing declares 'Enough speeches! Pile on him while he's shaken up! If we give him everything we got...it might be enough ta keep the bum down!' Thing exclaims. 'Aye – there must be no letup or we – and this great city – be lost!' Thor agrees.

Meantime, just over Manhattan, Quasar flies Reed towards the Fantastic Four's home and headquarters, and once inside, Reed rushes into a lab, as Quasar asks him what he wishes to do here. Reed reports that he has something in one of his small labs that could be the answer to their very formidable problem. He presses a control panel, and a door to another lab slides open as Reed remarks that since he and Sue took a leave of absence from the Fantastic Four, they haven't been back here in months, he hopes he remembers where he left it – before noticing a crate up ahead. 'Is that all you need, sir?' Quasar asks. Reed stretches his arm up and grabs an over-sized adapter unit, then tells Quasar that they can be on their way. Quasar flies back out over Manhattan, carrying Reed and his equipment behind him, Reed hopes that the others have managed to stave off Super-Nova's attack, wondering if any them realize the incalculable forces they are dealing with. 'Hold that thought, Dr Richards! We'll be arriving in Chicago in minutes!' Quasar calls out.

Back in Chicago, Susan has found her brother, the Human Torch and tells him 'if you'd been injured badly, I don't -' while Johnny tells his sister that she is talking to a charter member of the Fantastic Four, danger is their business. Johnny looks woozy, so Susan tells him to be still, while Pym and Tigra rush past them, Tigra notices that Super-Nova looks peeved. 'Away with you all!' Super-Nova shouts, swiping his hand through the heroes, knocking several of them over, as his hand destroys the bottom of a nearby building. Super-Nova start to stand up, claiming that once more he feels the power surge and swell within him, seeking releases for the explosive force called super-nova. She-Thing falls off of Super-Nova as she tells the Thing that his body is starting to get hot. 'What do we do?' she asks. Thing tells Sharon that firstly he will get his tootches back on Earth, then they will put the kibosh on him.

Firelord calls Super-Nova his “Xandarian brother” and asks him to cease his aggression, suggesting that they can talk. 'No more talk – DEATH!' Super-Nova shouts. Wonder Man goes over to Cap and deferring to his leadership, asks him if he has any eleventh hour ideas. Cap tells Simon that they go back at him and hit him again and again until he is beaten – tackling him high and low, all at once. 'Now!' Cap shouts, while, up above, Quasar follows Dr Richards' instructions and flies down in front of Super-Nova. Reed notices that Super-Nova is enraged, but tells himself that he must reasons with him, it all depends on this – he must be made to see. Reed stands on a device that is suspended in the air near Super-Nova's face thanks to Quasar's power. Reed introduces himself to Super-Nova and tells him that he has been known to his home world, that he has met those in the Nova Corps and knew them to be honorable. 'You are one of them – listen to me! Listen!' Reed shouts.

Reed informs Super-Nova that Nebula is outside this time-stream, that she is not on Earth, however she can be sought with this time machine that he has brought here from New York. 'Time machine?' Super-Nova asks. Reed explains that it belonged to the Fantastic Four's greatest foe, years ago, but they possess it now, and tells him that it will allow him to slip into the time-stream to seek Nebula. Super-Nova asks Mr Fantastic how he will know that he is not being deceived. 'You have my word, Xandarian' Reed replies. Super-Nova tells Reed that he was known on Xandar and that he has heard he is a man of his word. Reed tells Super-Nova to step onto the platform that has materialized at his feet. 'What happens now – a soft shoe?' Wonder Man asks, as the platform begins to rise upwards, engulfing Super-Nova, as Reed explains that he will be dimensionally displaced and sent into the time-stream itself. 'To continue my search for the murderess' he remarks, before he is completely engulfed by the time platform, Super-Nova tells Reed that his planet owes him a great debt. 'For in my anger, I surely would have destroyed it. But in the end... reason has prevailed'. 'May your search bear fruit' Reed replies, bidding Super-Nova farewell.

As the time platform closes, Reed wonders what Super-Nova's chances are, and whether they will ever find out. 'Yeah! Way to go, Professor!' one of the heroes gathered below calls out. Quasar looks at Mr Fantastic and asks him where he actually sent him. 'Exactly where I said. But it'll be a miracle if he finds her' Reed replies, while Thing thinks to himself 'Saving the day again, huh, Big Brain? More things change...' while Firelord remarks that Super-Nova spoke true – they are all in Reed's debt. 'Aww, world saving routine for mt blushing brother-in-law' Johnny Storm jokes, while Cap watches Reed from nearby and frowns, thinking 'And you did it without clearing the plan with me. That's not how we play ball on the Avengers, Mister. Not at all'.