Previously: Minutes after the formation of the newly reorganized West Coast branch of the Avengers, the team sets out to answer a distress call at a local asylum. What was thought to be nothing more than a routine investigation, has turned into far more as the Avengers found themselves on the receiving end of an attack from a beast known only as The Void. After setting up an offensive against the enemy, the Void merely brushes off the attacks, and in turn sets the world ablaze as fires back, as the world around them violently burns to white.
***
The Past:
My name is Robert Reynolds. I am a...or rather I used to be a Professor. A teacher even, as well as a husband, and a father to be. I was well respected in my field, and had a passion for science that knew no limits. It's a wonder how I even wound up in a place like this.
For the past few months, I've been committed to Angel's Gates Asylum in Los Angeles. According to my resident report, I'm suffering from a severe mental breakdown. They say I'm crazy.
They say I'm losing, and that my mind just couldn't take the pressure of living up to my own crazy expectations of perfection.
They say a lot of things.
Horrible things. Things I couldn't ever believe myself to have done, but the courts seemed to think different.
They say I killed my wife. She was expecting our first child.
I loved my wife. More than anyone could ever imagine. The things they say I did to her are obscene...and the worst part about it, I have no argument against it. I don't remember what happened. All I remember was waking in my sleep, with my wife laying next to me in a bath of her own blood, and though all signs point to me, I don't believe...I can't believe what they say.
So as it stands based on what they say, I killed my wife.
And our unborn child.
And then tried to kill myself. That part I remember. Tried to commit suicide multiple times, but I couldn't. The Void wouldn't let me.
He said he would make everything better.
I believed him.
He abandoned me.
The Void is my little secret. Probably the same thing that's made me insane. I can't explain it, but it was supposed to change my life for the better. So I was led to believe.
Yet here I am, locked in a padded cell. Abandoned.
These past few months...My god has it really been months?
Can't even remember the time anymore. Doesn't seem to have much of a significance as it once did to be honest. .
Tired of thinking about this. Tired of the self-evaluations, and more importantly I'm tired of living.
Someone...please help me.
***
The Present:
Angel's Gates Asylum
Los Angeles, CA
Melissa Gold was stuck in a temporary daze, uncertain of what had just transpired. She knew that she had suffered great pain for the briefest of moments, only to be blinded momentarily by The Voids light. As her sight slowly came back to her, she was able to make out her visible surroundings. Laid out on the ground with her face against the dirt, she slowly raised her head as she tried to make out signs that she wasn't the only one of her teammates still breathing.
"Are you ok?"
The voice was certainly not one the heroine known as Songbird recognized as she looked up to see a pair of legs firmly planted in front of her. Still a bit groggy from the Void's attack, her eyes slowly traced over the well built figure who stood before her, as they came to a rest at the face of a male she was positive was not on the battle field five minutes ago. The man wore a costume of yellow spandex, with an 'S' symbol positioned slightly above his waist.
Yet it was his facial features that caught Songbird's attention. His long blond hair and golden smile definitely possessed a charm that seemed to demand one's attention. The man was attractive by the best standards, and had her head not been ringing, she may have even blushed at his question.
"What..I mean, but who..." she started to ask but stopped. She wasn't thinking clearly, and it showed in her hectic speech.
"Who are you?"
The golden man before here simply smiled, as if the question was self-explanatory.
"I am the Sentry, and I'm here to help."
"The Sentry?"
Songbird gave him a puzzled look as he extended a hand to help her up off the ground, but she wouldn't get the chance to accept. While she was in the middle of figuring out who this man which stood before her was, she caught sight of one of her fellow Avengers moving to attack out of the corner of her eye.
"No, WAIT!" she shouted to no avail, as the man called the Sentry found himself on the receiving end of an explosive punch from the mutant Colossus. His fist connected with the side of Sentry's face, as it unexpectedly sent him flying across the immediate landscape. Not allowing this opportunity to slip up, Danny Rand the Iron Fist followed up with his own assault on the man.
"Pardon us Songbird, but a few minutes ago we were at the mercy of a beast called the Void, and this man comes out of nowhere in the same place our enemy was just in." Colossus said as he moved in to assist Iron Fist, who wasn't exactly receiving much resistance.
"Yeah, I have no idea what's going on, but I'm not taking any chances either." Iron Fist said as he delivered a decisive roundhouse kick to the Sentry's head, forcing him to go limp and hit the ground.
By now the remaining Avengers, Falcon, Justice, Firestar, and their leader Photon had managed to regroup after that devastating energy attack delivered by the Void.
"Please stay down." Iron Fist said as he stood over the Sentry, his body instinctively in an offensive stance.
"The Void?" Sentry whispered as he shook his hand.
"You’re all making a mistake, you must leave me be, before he returns,"
"What are you talking about? We know as much about this Void character as we do you, so you might want to start talking, because I prefer to know who it is I'm putting my team up against." Photon said as she took back charge of the situation.
"No, there's no time, he's already here..." As Sentry spoke, his eyes shifted from blue to black as his body began to glow once more.
"Uhh, he's heating up again..." Iron Fist said only to point out the obvious.
"Everyone drop back, Justice,"
"I'm on it." Justice said as he flew over the group, erecting a telekinetic force field around his teammates, just as the Sentry unleashed an energy blast of his own, to a lesser effect this time around.
"You should have fled when you had the chance!" The once bearable face of the Sentry said as he was once again mobile, except his face was distorted to resemble a mixture of the beast they had first encountered, and the man whom stood before them only seconds ago.
Unlike the initial encounter however, the Avengers were ready for whatever came their way.
As Justice removed his force field so that his teammates could provide a defense, he took this time to size up the Void. The former New Warrior was hesitant to leap into action at the foe, for risk of yet another unfortunate setback.
"So much for the charming looks, Avengers hit him hard!" Photon said as she illuminated with energy as she focused her hands to deliver a concentrated blast of ultra violet light directly into the chest of the Void. Her attack was joined by concussive blasts from both Songbird and Justice.
Except instead of flinching from the multiple assaults that were directed at him, the Void let loose a series of laughs at each attempt. He was making light of the situation, confident enough that his abilities would not be surpassed. Not by this bunch at the least.
As he embraced the attacks, the Void's body surrounded itself with a dark aura, as he prepared himself for his next series of attacks. It was never a question that he would strike again, merely how.
The answer came within a blink of an eye, as the man formerly known as Robert Reynolds demonstrated his unmatched speed. In a swoop he had taken the initiative to distance himself away from the attacks, and begin his own series of assaults.
"He's on th-" Justice had begun only to find himself victim to a hammering fist slammed across his jaw, the impact alone knocking him out of the sky. Without relenting in his strides, the Void proceeded to manipulate a strand of energy to lash out at Firestar and Songbird to enforce their distance, while firing entangling the light speed enabled Photon with the same effect. The Avengers leader was intangible when she converted herself into a form of energy, but the Void learned to adapt and react. He projected an energy field that managed to ensnare the woman, the shock of the attack forcing her to revert back to her physical state.
Only the agile movement of The Falcon avoided her descent toward the ground as he swept beneath her to make the catch.
"Time to rethink our strategy here, this thing isn't going down easy, so let's try brute strength." Falcon commanded, taking the lead in replace of the unconscious Photon.
The Void wasn't about to be caught in a vulnerable state. As he redirected his sights on the two fighters who found it necessary to sucker punch him, the Void revealed a bit of emotion as he flashed a smile towards them. His body erupted in flames, as his next transformation was that of a man on fire. His skin was smoldered in ember from head to toe, outlined by the fire that outlined his physical features.
He moved with quite the speed as he closed the distance between himself and Colossus, as the steel Russian prepared what was thought to be an inevitable blow. Only the hit never came as the Voids hands instead smashed into a constructed shield, courtesy of Songbird.
"This is child's play." the beast said as it lashed out at the hard sound construct with greater intensity, shattering it in pieces to the shock of Songbird.
"Indeed." With the barrier done away with, this now allowed for Colossus to counter Void's advance as he lunged forward to deliver an earth shattering tackle knocking the fiery beast back. He was the only one that had a chance at taking down the foe at close range, given the intensity of the flames, but even Piotr Rasputin was at a lost for how long he would be able to hold out. For the moment he appeared to have the upper hand with the Void pinned to the ground.
"A little help here would be appreciated." the Russian mutant said in a strained voice as he struggled to keep the Void pinned.
"It won't matter." Void roared as an inferno blew out it's mouth into the steel covered face of Piotr, but the former X-Man was unrelenting in his stance. Yet as confident as he was in his own mutation, the intensity of the attack began to weigh on him. Under normal circumstances such a feat would be deemed highly improbable, but Piotr's was starting to fear that his body was being roasted from the inside out.
"I can’t hold this.."
The hint of weakness displayed by Colossus was just the opening the Void had hoped for, as he self imploded himself, blowing the Avenger off of him like a human fireball. With regained composure the Void was upright once more, but tired of the battle.
"Colossus!" Iron Fist shouted as the mutant appeared to be down for the count.
"This battle bores me." the beast declared as it extended it's arms, and generated a whirling inferno which whipped through the area, setting the surroundings ablaze, violently battering against the Avengers still standing.
At the center of the inferno, the Void's eyes focused on one of the West Coast team's member in particular. The one whom the Sentry had taken an interest in, Songbird. Yes, the Void too had a desire, off set by the formers particular attraction. Much fun would be had with this woman.
"This ends here." Slamming his fist directly into the ground, the Avengers were unable to fall back as the earth exploded beneath him, scattering the group to the sides. Content with this effect, Void made his way to the fallen Songbird, whom struggled to recover from the massive attack.
Fearing for the safety of her comrade, Firestar screamed out in desperation but her own fatigue limited her voice to compressed muffles.
"No, he's going after Songbird." she strained, but her teammates weren't in the best position to make a move. Refusing to rely on help that may not come, Firestar forced herself up for one last act of desperation as she made a charge for the Void, to protect her teammate.
Unimpressed by the effort, the Void ended her actions before they could begin, swiftly backhanding the airborne woman with a super powered swipe of his arm. The blow proved to be decisive, as Firestar was added to the list of the fallen.
"I'm done here, but you...we're going to have some fun." the Void said as he reached down for Songbird, as he repeated his act of generating a blinding flash once more. Except this time when the light faded, the Void was nowhere to be found, and neither was Songbird.
***
Forty Minutes Later
Stark Tower
Monica Rambeau was at a loss for words. The brown skinned African-American woman's morale at the moment was at a low. As the official leader of the Avengers West Coast branch, she had effectively failed in her first mission. One could argue that the team had only been together all of a hour at most, but no one present was new to this business. Least of all not her. Yet she was still at a lost at how she led her team to not only a beating against some foe she's never heard of in her life, and was also missing a member of her team. At this point things couldn't have possibly of been any worse.
"Any word from Sam?" she asked as she entered the monitor room, where the Iron Fist and the fellow Avenger Firestar were both stationed.
"Not yet, but he's keeping us up to speed as best he can. In the meantime I've been going through the Avengers files provided to us from the East Coast team, and I haven't found anything on this Void guy, or the Sentry." Angie said as she turned her attention to her leader.
"Go figure, the debut of a new omega level threat and we have nothing to help us figure out how to beat them." Monica said as she leaned against the table, which was placed in the room.
"Guess that just means we handle him the hard way right? Hit him with everything we got, and figure out his weaknesses." Iron Fist suggested to a disapproving Photon.
"Easier said than done. Besides I'm more concerned with getting Songbird back alive. Definitely not what I had in mind for an orientation induction into the Avengers."
"Well at least you can't say we weren't entertained on the first day." Danny said with a shrug in an attempt to make light of the situation.
"Joy." Monica muttered as she wasn't feeling any better about the situation. It had been so long since she had served with the Avengers, and even longer since she had been leader of the team. Monica had forgotten just how much of a burden the position carried.
"Should we make contact with the East Coast team? Let them know the situation? Perhaps have them assist us here if needed?" Firestar asked.
As she pondered the question, Monica decided to make the first decision today that she knew was going to reflect her future as Chairwoman of this branch.
"No, alert them that there is a situation, but that we have it covered." Whether her decision to keep her teammates on the East Coast out of the loop was the right choice, it was one that Photon was going to stand by. As much as she would love to turn to Captain America at the first sign of trouble, she knew she was going to have to ride this one out. For better or worse.
***
She wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious, or where she was. All Songbird remembered was being on the receiving end of a rather intensive assault from the villain known as the Void. This was outside in the open space of Los Angeles. From what she could make out, she was definitely in doors now, but her location was still a mystery. As she slid her fingers through her red and white streaked, she focused on making out her surroundings. She was in a vast open space of nothing. Nothing but darkness, and more space.
"Great, as bad as Zemo was, I never had to worry about getting kidnapped while I was with the Thunderbolts." she muttered to no one but herself.
It was at that moment that she realized that she wasn't alone. In the silence she could hear low whimpers coming from the nearby corner of the room she was placed in. Squinting her eyes in the darkness, she slowly raised herself off the ground.
"Who's there?" she asked, while he checked to ensure that she was still in possession of her equipment. She was, which meant the former Thunderbolt could at least put up somewhat of a fight if she had to, though she still had no clue how she was going to escape from...what ever this place was.
The whimpers merely continued, and Songbird slowly stepped forward as there was a man curled up in a ball, hugging himself tightly. She recognized him as the human the Void had turned into. The one that called himself,
"Sentry?"
The man stopped his whimpering and slowly turned towards the voice that had called his alias, and shook his head.
"No, not the Sentry." Adjusting himself so that he was in an upright position, the man slyly wiped his face, before he addressed the woman once more.
"No I'm not the Sentry. The Void won't allow me to be anymore. My name is Robert." as Robert spoke, he recognized the woman as the same one he had spoken to earlier, before the Void had returned.
"And if you don’t mind, you are?" he asked, his fear overcome with curiosity.
"My name is Song...my name is Melissa." she said, not feeling a need to stick to procedure here. From what she could tell, her and this Robert fellow were in the same predicament.
"Robert, what do you mean the Void won't let you be the Sentry. Exactly what is the Void, and the Sentry for that matter, and where in the world are we?" She was asking a lot at one time, but it wasn't as if she didn't deserve to know as much as she could.
"The Sentry is...me, I think."
"You think?"
"Well, it's hard to explain, but he's me, when I need him to be. Like subconsciously, he comes to enforce the greater good, but it's hard to determine when he'll show up next."
Songbird looked the man over in disbelief. She was obviously dealing with a head case, but a dangerous one regardless.
"Could you explain how that's possible, and this Void thing you also seem to be able to do."
Robert simply looked at her at the mention of the Void and shook his head.
"We shouldn't talk about him. He'll come back if we do, and the Void doesn't like the Sentry. He punishes me for liking the Sentry,"
"Robert...you are the Sentry. You’re being punished for, liking yourself?"
"I can't explain it,"
"Try. Like seriously, cause I refuse to be somebody's captive."
Robert's eyes met Melissa's, and she could see the sadness in them. He no longer had that handsome look of someone in the prime of their life. Instead Robert appeared run down, and fatigued. She couldn't help but feel for him, even if he was indeed the reason she was even here.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this...."
***
High above the streets of Los Angeles, Sam Wilson, the Avenger known as The Falcon was on the prowl, searching for clues on where his lost teammate Songbird had disappeared to. It was a frustrating situation to say the least, but being able to roam the skies certainly eased his mood. It was here that he felt the most comfortable, though he hated to admit it. Here he had no dilemmas, not a care in the world. Unfortunately such bliss could only last but so long, and he couldn't allow his content to blind him from his mission at hand.
He was accompanied by his right hand, his trusted bird, Red Wing. Red Wing provided him with an extra set of eyes, picking up on clues that Sam may have over looked in his own rush. He was being tailed by fellow Avenger, Justice, while the new addition to the ranks Colossus scouted the grounds by foot.
"Gotta admit, this city does give you quite a change of scenery compared to New York don't you think?" Justice asked his fellow flier, making light conversation.
"Can't argue with that. Of course it's probably going to take some getting used to for me. Certainly is a long way from Harlem." Falcon responded as the two began to fly over what was considered the Watts District of Los Angeles. Just a quick glance of the scenery, and he almost felt a need to take back his words. The Watts District almost resembled some of the slums he had been brought up in, and the Watts district was infamously high for crime. It was a wonder Los Angeles didn't have more people protecting it, before. Now that he really thought about it, perhaps New York was a bit over populated in regards to the Super Hero community that based itself there.
Lost in his own thoughts, Falcon snapped back to reality as Red Wing made a screech, alerting him that they finally had a lead.
"Looks like we got something, come on." Falcon said as he took the lead and pushed forward, allowing the winds to carry him aloft.
"What is it, what do you..." Justice stopped as he caught sight of what his field leader had been referring to.
"Oh...wow."
Located where the historic Watts Towers were supposed to be, was now an entirely new construction. It was certainly not one that was a part of the historic tour guide of the city Lose Angeles. Standing in it's place was a new tower which looked far from man made, and the fact that there was a golden globe illuminating over it didn't necessarily help it blend in.
<This is Falcon here, and I think we've found something that you all might want to come see.>
***
To Be Concluded
***
Next Issue- As The Sentry makes a revelation about himself, the Avengers prepare to make their last stand against the Void. How will they fare a second time around against this enemy, and will all of them be left standing when this is over? Find out as "Into The Void" comes to its conclusion.
Author's Note~ Well my apologies for the delay, but here you have the anticipated (so I hope), third issue of the West Coast Avengers. As the first arc will soon be coming to a close, I will make the effort to keep this series coming out as regularly as possible, but as we all know in the fan fic business, things can and undoubtedly will come up. Still if I can help it, this will be coming out on a much more enjoyable basis, so we'll see how that goes.
As always, feedback is greatly appreciated, so if you like what you read, or didn't, drop a line on the message boards, or email me at triplestunna@yahoo.com with your thoughts.
-Eric Roman 1/17/07