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| Issue #11 November 2007 |
“Daily Business” Part 1 Written By Derrick Ferguson |
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“Richard, would you please report to me in Tony’s office, please?”
The voice of Captain America, even over a speaker was one that commanded instant action from any and all who heard it and Richard Rider was no exception. He pushed himself up from the comfortably plush leather sofa and thumbed the remote control, turning off the 83 inch HD flat screen. He’d been taking advantage of the downtime to catch up on his TV watching as there didn’t seem to be much going on that day. Captain America, Tony Stark and The Wasp had been closed up in Tony’s office shortly after breakfast. Goliath had shut himself up in the gleaming laboratories of Sub-Basement Two and Rich hadn’t seen him since. Hawkeye and The Beast had departed on some secret mission of their own, with Killeroo in tow. Rich had felt a momentary pang of jealousy that he hadn’t been asked to go along. Especially since he was now an actual, card-carrying member of The Avengers and Killeroo wasn’t. Matter of fact, Rich wasn’t sure just exactly what Killeroo’s status was. But whatever it was, he certainly got to hang out with the big guns and have fun while Rich cooled out, watched Scrubs and wondered just what an Avenger was supposed to be doing when there were no bad guys to pound on.
Andromeda was probably in the Combat Simulation Room. Tony had already yelled at her about demolishing eight million bucks worth of equipment yesterday but today she got right back in there and judging from the way the CSR had looked after her workout yesterday, Rich felt it was a sure thing that yet another eight million bucks had been ripped to shreds today.
He’d been thinking a lot about Carol Danvers, the powerful and oh-so-beautiful Ms. Marvel with who he had shared a kiss before she had flown away on some unspecified secret mission for The United Nations. That kiss had held a lot of promise of things to come when she returned and Rich had to admit that the kiss had had an awful lot to do with him accepting Avengers membership. Not to mention free room and board and a regular weekly paycheck didn’t hurt either.
He trotted up the stairs to the second floor office of Tony Stark. He wasn’t wearing his Nova uniform and was instead causally dressed in his favorite worn out jeans and an Art Adams tee shirt depicting a T-Rex. He knocked politely and Steve Rogers’s voice said, “Come in, Rich.”
He stepped inside the office. Steve Rogers was standing next to Tony Stark who was feverishly going through his pockets. “I could have sworn I put those pain pills in this jacket pocket this morning,” Tony was muttering.
“You ought to lay off those, Tony. Wouldn’t be smart to trade one addiction for another.”
“Says the man who hasn’t had so much as a cold since 1942. You don’t have to live with constant pain. I do. Ah-HAH.” Tony triumphantly held up a prescription bottle. “Okay, I’m cool. And I’m gone.”
“Leaving town, Mr. Stark?”
“Call me Tony, Rich. I’m flying down to Washington. The President has asked for solid plans to find and recover The Infinity. Since Reed Richards and I know more about that ship than anybody else, it’ll be up to us to try and come up with a way for us to get it back. If we can.”
“You don’t think there’s a chance to recover the ship, Tony?” Steve asked seriously.
“Steve, two of the most resourceful men I know are on that ship. If there was a way to bring it back by now, Rhodey and Scott would have.”
“I don’t get it,” Rich said in honest puzzlement. “How come Captain Marvel or The Silver Surfer couldn’t find it?”
“Exactly my point,” Tony reached for his handmade Madagascar rosewood cane. “Just the very fact that Captain Marvel with his Cosmic Awareness and The Silver Surfer with his Power Cosmic can’t find The Infinity tells me two things: Either the ship and crew have been destroyed right down to the molecular level or it’s been taken by a being or race of beings with power so staggering it makes my head hurt to think about it.” Tony headed for the door. “Catch you later, kiddies. Steve, try to keep that big blue Femizon from tearing the CSR to pieces, will you?”
Steve watched Tony Stark leave with a grin. He turned to Rich and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Sorry about leaving you to yourself this morning. There were plenty of Operational Procedures I wanted to go over with Tony before he left. Even though he’s not going to be Iron Man for the foreseeable future I’m keeping him involved in the day-to-day operations as much as possible.” Steve’s smile faded slightly. “Speaking of which, where’s your Nova uniform?”
Rich shrugged. “I didn’t think I needed to wear it if we weren’t doing anything today.”
“Rich, there’s never a day when The Avengers aren’t doing anything. From now on I’ll expect you to wear your uniform except on your days off. You’ve got to be ready at a moment’s notice for-“
An eruption of golden energy burst from Rich’s body, causing Steve to step back, shielding his eyes. When the energy burst faded, Rich was garbed in the royal blue and gold of his Nova uniform. He removed his helmet and saluted smartly. “Nova reporting for duty as ordered, Captain, sir!”
Steve Rogers laughed easily. “Serves me right for trying to lecture some who’s far from being a greenhorn at this. Apologies, son.”
“It’s cool, Cap. What did you want to see me about?”
“As part of your training you’re going to spend the morning with me at the communications center. I’ll teach out how to tie into the major law enforcement databases as well as monitor all major news feeds. And I’m going to be contacting The West Coast Avengers and I thought you’d appreciate the chance to catch up with two old friends of yours: Justice and Firestar.” Steve gestured that Rich should accompany him and they left the office. The expression on Rich’s face was a mixture of delighted surprise.
“I didn’t even know they were thinking of rejoining The Avengers! How come they didn’t rejoin us here at the East Coast?”
Steve shrugged, causing the chain mail of his shirt to glitter as it caught the light. “I myself was hoping they’d rejoin us. Apparently Jarvis knew where they were all the time because he offered to contact them and find out their plans. They were already on the West Coast when they learned about that team reforming. I’d bet my shield that Sam Wilson had something to do with that.”
“It’s just good to hear that Vance and Angelica are back in the game. Maybe we’ll be able to get the two teams together?”
Steve Rogers cocked a knowing eye at the younger man. “Oh, I think it’s a safe bet to assume that sooner or later something will cause the two teams to get together. It always does.”
Killeroo looked about the interior of the submarine with something akin to devout worship and said almost reverently; “It’s London to a brick that you’re gonna teach me how to navigate this here sub, Hawk. I ain’t gonna take no fer an’ answer either.” The young Inhuman was strapped into a passenger seat where he could freely look around and marvel at the extraordinary handiwork of Walter Newell, who designed and built the submarine especially for The Avengers
Hawkeye was in the central pilot’s seat, gazing intently through the main observation bubble but he took time to throw a comment over his shoulder. ‘I’m gonna assume that you mean you wanta learn how to drive this thing. I don’t mind at all teachin’ you, kid but right now we’re here on business.”
“That’s what I can’t wrap me head around, Hawk… what kinda business could we be havin’ down here? I would think you’d rather be back at th’ mansion helping out Cap.”
Hawkeye snorted as he made a slight course correction. “Cap don’t need my head gettin’ the new team in shape. And it really isn’t that much of a new team. Nova, Goliath and Andromeda have worked on teams before and none of ‘em are rookies. It’s just a matter of breaking them in to how The Avengers work and that won’t be much of a problem at all.”
“Since we’re on the subject an’ all, can I ask you a question, Hawk?”
“Sure, kid.”
“How come you didn’t speak up fer me joinin’ the team?”
The Beast lifted his massive head from where he crouched at the navigator’s console, his bright yellow eyes behind the granny glasses incredulous. “Surely you must be kidding, my young friend.”
“I’m just askin’ is all. I mean, he spoke up for Nova. But I was right in there fightin’ The Abomination as well. I didn’t do bad atall, did I?” Killeroo spread his huge hands, the expression on his features almost comical since Killeroo resembled a humanoid kangaroo. “If I’m bein’ a stickybeak then just tell me and I’ll be mindin’ my own bizzo, then.”
Hawkeye sighed and turned around in the swivel chair, pushing the control yoke to the side. “Kid, you got what it takes. No doubt about it. But you just ain’t ready to be an Avenger. Not yet. The days when we handed out Avengers membership like they were party favors are over. And besides, you’re just supposed to be hanging out and seeing how we do things and take it back with you to Australia to start up your own team.” Hawkeye swiveled back around and pulled the control yoke back in front of him, signifying that the matter was most definitely closed.
Killeroo crossed his massively muscled arms across his chest and said nothing but the disappointment in his manner was plain. The Beast back flipped out of his chair and landed next to Killeroo. He placed one large clawed hand on Killeroo’s shoulder. “I had thought you presumptuous for asking such a question, Trevor. But I forget that while you’re strong enough to juggle Humvees you’re still quite the youngster. If you don’t mind me asking, just how old are you?”
Killeroo thought about for a minute, scratching the underside of his snout before answering: “In human years, I’m around 20 years old, give or take.”
“Ah. I thought so. Still young enough for dreams of heroism. And of fighting at the side of The Mighty Avengers as one of them.”
“Aw, I’m okay…It’s just that I’ve gotten to like Hawk a lot an’ I thought he liked me, that’s all.”
“Believe me, Trevor…Hawkeye asking you along on this mission is an indication of how much he likes you. And more importantly, how much he respects your talents and abilities.” The Beast gave him a reassuring pat and winked before bounding back to his seat.
“And now that we’re finished with group therapy I can get on with why we’re down here,” Hawkeye said. “You remember that The Prowler came to Avengers Mansion after we kicked The Abomination’s tail, right?”
“As I recall he gave you some valuable information,” The Beast confirmed.
“He sure did. He had a rumble with the green goofball himself. And get this; The Abomination was being controlled by A.I.M.”
“A.I.M?” Killeroo said, obviously puzzled
“Advanced Idea Mechanics.” The Beast answered. “A cabal of brilliant rogue scientists whose goal is to dominate and control the world through the use of superior technology.”
Hawkeye was nodding. “Sums it up in a nutshell. The Prowler wanted us to be aware A.I.M. was up to no good so I figured that the best thing the three of us could do is check out The Hudson River. The Abomination had to come from somewhere and the only thing I figure is that it had to be a secret A.I.M. base.”
“I still don’t get why we’re lookin’ for it,” Killeroo asked with honest puzzlement.
“This business ain’t all about poundin’ the piss outta the bad guys, kid. If there is an A.I.M. base out here chances are it’s stuffed with the kinda tech we don’t want anybody else getting their hands on.” Hawkeye turned back to his piloting while he companions fell silent.
Thanks to the extremely powerful searchlights of the Avengers sub, the water was illuminated clear as day. Killeroo had heard a lot about polluted New York rivers supposedly were but The Hudson appeared to support an awful lot of sea life that apparently were quite happy and contented where they were. The sub was skimming just above the bottom of the river, the powerful engines smoothly propelling the slim silver shape through the water with no problem whatsoever.
A pinging noise caught the attention of The Beast who swiveled around in his chair. “Sonar picking something up about a thousand kilometers dead ahead, Hawkeye.”
“Keep your fingers crossed,” Hawkeye muttered and brought the sub in closer.
It appeared slowly, as if through a dissipating fog. A gigantic gray dome, the ten foot wide metal braces studded with massive rivets. Hawkeye chortled with glee. “That, my friends, is your standard bad guy underwater base.”
“How are we gonna get in, Hawk?” Killeroo asked.
“Hell, that won’t be a problem. A.I.M. used subs to get down here. There should be a…”
The Beast interrupted. “Hawkeye. Look.” He was pointing to a gaping tear in the curving wall of the dome. Plainly something from the inside had smashed out into the river. “It appears as if this is where The Abomination made his exit. Apparently he was in too much of a hurry to use the appropriate exit.”
Hawkeye snorted. “Too stupid, more like it.”
“But won’t the dome be flooded, then?” Killeroo asked.
The Beast pointed again. “It looks to me as if there’s something on the inside blocking the water. Perhaps the dome has automatic bulkhead sealers that activate in the event the dome is breached.”
“Well, we’re gonna find out,” Hawkeye said grimly. “Strap in guys. Time to go to work.”
“Damn you, Wendell! One day you’re going to get me killed!”
Jack of Hearts was not a happy Avenger. Floating in space, encased inside an energy bubble that had been created by his near unconscious partner, Quasar was not his idea of an exciting time. They’d been in pitched battle for the past hour with an alien fleet of nearly unimaginable power that had managed to do something that Jack of Hearts would have thought impossible that morning: they had kidnapped Uatu The Watcher. And considering that The Watchers were damn near omnipotent themselves…well, any alien race that could do that was a threat to be reckoned with.
Quasar had thrown up an energy bubble to protect them from the world destroying force of their last volley but such an effort had taken a lot out of The Protector Of The Universe. He was now unconscious, his face gray and drawn with exhaustion. The oval jewels of his Quantum Bands were usually golden and quietly pulsed with the immense energies contained within. But now they were a pale ivory and the pulses were erratic and weak.
And now the protective sphere was fading away. Jack of Hearts wrapped one muscular arm around his friend and used his other hand to fire a bolt of energy that propelled both of them back toward The Moon. If Quasar had been conscious he could have teleported the both of them to Earth in an eye blink. But now Jack of Hearts would have to make the trip under his own power and that was going to take at least two hours. By that time there was no telling where that alien fleet would take Uatu.
Jack of Hearts softly landed on the surface of The Moon, about eleven or twelve miles away from The Blue Area where Uatu made his home. He didn’t even have the strength right now to even fly over there. The battle had taken more out of him than he realized. The cloud of moon dust he had raised with his landing swirled around them and Jack lifted his hands, a gentle wave of energy pushing it away from him and the silent Quasar.
A flash of something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Something that had been exposed by his kicking up the moon dust with his landing. Something flashing crimson. Jack of Hearts slowly walked over to the flashing object and reached down. He looked at what he held in his palm like a drop of blood from a god’s heart.
It was an oval crimson gem. Sparkling brightly now that it was free of the dust. It throbbed with power that Jack could feel in his very nerves. And Jack knew what power was. But THIS…
“May I be of assistance, Jack?”
Jack whirled upon ‘hearing’ the cultured, refined voice. Of course outside of The Blue Area one couldn’t ‘talk’ or ‘hear’ but Jack still tended to think in those terms. Upon seeing the speaker his face lit up with a huge grin of relief. “Man, am I glad to see YOU!”
He stood upon a gleaming board of purest silver. On Earth it was this mode of transportation that had given the board’s owner his name. Like his board he also gleamed silver. A slender humanoid seemingly of the brightest silver. His stance was one of supreme confidence. And why not? He was easily one of the most powerful beings in the known universe and entire stellar empires feared his Power Cosmic. And with good reason. For he was once The Herald to Galactus himself.
He was The Silver Surfer.
“I saw an anti-matter flash and came to investigate. It was one of the largest I have ever seen. Is Quasar injured?” The board, responding to the mental commands of its master dropped lower toward Quasar. Jack quickly closed his hand but not quickly enough.
“Jack…what is that in your hand?”
Jack of Hearts heard the ‘voice’ of The Silver Surfer in his mind but he heard another ‘voice’ as well: Do not let him take me and ultimate POWER will be yours…
And instinctively, Jack knew that the voice came from gem that he now held tightly in his fist…To Be Continued
