Los Angeles, CA
Located where the historic Watts Tower should have been, now rest a mysterious citadel which certainly overshadowed what was once it's predecessor. It also served as the holding place for Melissa Gold, the former Thunderbolt known as Songbird. A captive against her will, she had awoken to find herself in the company of a man named Robert Reynolds. Though she could sense that there was a great deal of sincerity in his voice, she couldn't forget that this was the same man whom had attacked her and the rest of the fledgling Avengers West Coast team a short time ago. Her interactions with him had been hesitant at best, and it didn't ease her mind as she found herself at his mercy.
"So the Sentry and the Void are in a sense the same being, and you have no real control over either of them?" Melissa asked the man, as she inquired her predicament.
By now she was certain that her comrades in arms were aware that she had been taken captive. From what she understood, as long as she kept this man in a calm temperament, she may be able to provide herself the necessary time for rescue. Her first thoughts were to treat Reynolds along the lines of Bruce Banner, and do her best not to make this man angry by any means.
"Well, my memory of both have become faded over time. It's like I'm aware of everything, yet I'm unable to do anything to stop myself. The Void persona comes off far stronger than the Sentry's, but both have their limits. The Sentry tends to return when the Void has depleted his energy, and is forced to recover his strength. Those are the times when my sanity suddenly returns..." Robert trailed off as he paused for a brief moment.
"Or whatever’s left of it I should say." His mood suddenly became quite somber, and instead of continuing, he chose to remain silent, while Songbird simply stared in thought.
"All I ever wanted was to be one among the stars..."
It was hard to place herself in his shoes, and even harder to pretend that she had the faintest idea how to help him. She knew of people within the hero community that may have been able to help Robert, but at the same time, there were plenty of others that would never let him see the light of day again. Having born witness to both personas, she found it interesting that neither seemed to represent her captor's current state of mind. The Void had came off as a harbinger of destruction. The Sentry was much more regal in his presence, and overcast the Void's shadow with light. Melissa would have assumed that was Robert's primary personality, but the man whom lay before her curled up was far from that.
Robert Reynolds was something of a recluse, barely holding on to his sanity. The confidence, and reassuring composure that she was able to glimpse of the Sentry for that brief moment in time, was but a failed ambition of the man she found herself trapped with.
Why that was, she would never find out, as the surrounding area inexplicably began to shake. The sudden shock that coursed through the fortress startled both Melissa and Robert, as the two were instantly at attention. With no window or transparent hole to see into the outside world, Melissa was unable to search out the source of the disturbance, but it didn't matter. Robert was well in tune to what was transpiring.
"Oh no, it's your friends...They're here, and the Void is going after them. He's going to kill them if they don't stop hi-" and before Robert could finish, his body was engulfed in the shadows before disappearing completely. Leaving Songbird alone in the darkness.
***
A few months ago, the former New Warrior Firestar was convinced that life was good. After leaving the East Coast Avengers alongside her fiancé' Justice, she was eager to begin the next phase of her life. For to long she had found herself chasing after ambitions that were never really hers to begin with. She had thought her days of being heroine were behind her at last, but with the West Coast team being re chartered, her and Justice had taken the initiative to join up once more.
For Justice the decision to rejoin the Avengers was never a question. It was something he had always wanted. Firestar the other hand preferred the civilian life. One without masks, and super villains to foil every other week. At least that's what she had always told herself in the past. Yet, flying here serving as bait for their would be attacker, Angel Jones was beginning to realize that perhaps she secretly enjoyed the hero life. When it was convenient of course.
Which really wasn't how she would describe the current predicament she had been thrust in. Visibly alone outside the fortress which had seemingly appeared in place of the Los Angeles Watts Tower, Firestar was bombarding the tower with intense blasts of energy. She was going at it full force, though her intention was not to cause more damage than was needed to it's foundation. Instead, she was merely trying to lure the serpent out of it's lair.
Mission accomplished.
Unable to react with the speed that her attacker had met her with, Firestar found herself on the receiving end of a flame-powered fist, as The Void came barreling down on her. As she used her instincts to conjure up a reaction, it was unneeded as Justice was already on the move, erecting a telekinetic field between Firestar and the Void.
"Angel, lay get out of there while I hold this thing off!" Justice shouted to his fiancé' as he soared in between her and their opponent, using himself as a shield.
"Codenames, Justice, you don't need me to remind you about that, regardless of the situation." The Falcon Sam Wilson said as he flew over the combatants.
Sneering at his adversaries, The Void couldn't help but feel a sense of annoyance. He had thought he had disposed of these Avengers earlier, but their resilience was something to be admired. For whatever it was worth.
"You fools were spared once, the gift will not be given again." The fiery beast said as it distorted it's body once more. It now sprouted wings which enabled it to stay in the sky, the molten parts of it's body seemingly having no effect to it.
Justice refused to allow it to gain any momentum, as he lunged for the beast, still taking psionic shots at it's mid section. After one encounter with the foe already, he wasn't going to allow the Void to batter away at him for long. Exchanging blasts of telekinesis against fire was a risky venture, but Justice was wise enough to deflect most of the force which came his way.
Whether his efforts would go in vain would was the question which lingered about. If his teammates Colossus, and Iron Fist had anything to do with the matter, then the odds would be stacked in their favor.
"Colossus, I'ma need to get airborne here. Think you can help me out with that?" The Iron Fist Danny Rand asked of his mutant teammate.
The Steel-Russian smiled at the request, as he already had just the maneuver in mind.
Colossus grabbed Iron Fist by his waist, and began spinning him around in place.
"Here's something a good friend of mine likes to call, a Fastball-Special!" the former X-Man said as he released his grip on his ally, launching him straight into the air.
Danny Rand took advantage of the precious moments that he had, as his mind started directing his inner chi into his outstretched fist. His right arm quickly started to harden, converting itself into the quickly into the name sake that Danny proudly represented. With the Void's back turned and focused on Justice, he was left exposed to the blow as Danny's Iron Fist connected thoroughly with the molten-rock face of the villain. The attack left the Void staggered as it crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, the resulting impact knocking even Danny a bit further in the sky.
"Falling-"
"Caught." Falcon responded as he quickly came in to catch his teammates descent.
With the Void on the ground, and momentarily dazed, Colossus went to work on the beast delivering a two-handed fist to the body of the opponent.
"Let's see if the odds are still in your favor little man." the Russian mutant said as he loomed over the enemy.
***
Inside the Void's tower, Songbird continued to search for a way out of the barren fortress without any luck. Resigned to waiting it out, she was quite disturbed as a light suddenly glistened the area surrounding her.
"Photon?" she said as mixed feelings of surprise and relief suddenly flooded over her.
"Who else?" the brown-skinned West Coast Avenger leader said as she phased through the wall to join Songbird inside.
"Are you hurt?" Photon asked as she powered herself down, eliminating the light she brought forth whenever she actively used her powers.
"No, I'm fine. Bob was rather kind to me, for the most part." Songbird said as she brushed her hands through her red and white hair.
"Bob?" Photon asked, puzzled to whom Melissa was referring.
"Um, oh, yeah The Sentry. Or The Void I guess. Whichever one seems to fit his mood at the moment." Melissa said as she watched Photon instantly take an interest in the surroundings.
"Well, I would have to say your friend Bob is very much in a Void state of mind right now. The others are dealing with him at the moment, but we're going to have to figure out how to get you out of here." Photon said as her hands trailed along the walls, as if she was looking for some sort of trap door that was conveniently placed there for her.
"Already tried, but can't you just do whatever it is you did to get in here to get us out?" Songbird asked.
"Unfortunately, no. When I'm in an energy form all I'm unable to touch anything physical. So you'd basically be holding onto air, assuming your hand doesn't get scorched in the process." Monica said as stood in pensive thought with a finger to her chin.
"Well so much for the easy way out." Songbird said with a frown.
"Yeah, it sucks. So much power, and it's the common things which limit us the most at times." Photon said replied.
The Avengers Chairwoman held a hand up to the wall once more, as if she had detected something inexplicably wrong with it's making.
"I suppose I'll have to find a way to blast us out of here then." Her body had begun to illuminate once more, as Monica began drew forth power to aid in their escape. Unleashing cosmic ray into the center of the wall, instead of her desired effect of blowing it wide open, the fortress itself liquefied and trembled.
"Ok, now that's just weird." Monica said, but the hole she had attempted to make continued to tremble, but it was no longer simply solid. It became a transparent window, showcasing the battle before them. "Or maybe this is exactly what I wanted to happen."
***
"Colossus!" Firestar had shouted as she watched her teammate get flung across the Watts Tower landscape. Quickly she was on the offensive, joined with her lover Justice as the two took turns firing down on the beast they opposed.
Iron Fist was knelt down on one knee, trying to get himself together. He had mustered all the strength that he could to deliver that previous blow to the Void, and by doing so left himself to fatigued to carry on the fight. Fortunately the Avengers refused to relent.
"I will be alright." Colossus announced, as he quickly regained his composure.
"His attacks are not nearly filled with the same intensity as they once were." he said, as he sized the Void up once more.
"Still not to be underestimated in the least." Falcon said as he kept his distance from above. From this Vantage point, the voices of both Songbird and Photon could be heard quite clearly.
"Sam!" the two shouted in unison, as they continued to watch from the inside of the fortress. Abandoning his own position, the winged Avenger closed the distance between himself and the tower, as he was shocked to be seeing his two comrades. From his perspective, they appeared to be speaking to him from the other side of a portal. Never one to leap before he looked, Falcon slowly placed a hand forward into the transparent opening, but instead of clutching the what he hoped to be one of his female teammates, instead found nothing but free space. Somewhat perplexed, he decided to place his head inside the opening. Instead of seeing Monica Rambeau along with Melissa Gold, he saw darkness.
"What is this?" he whispered as he immediately withdrew himself.
Whether the question would be answered or not, remained to be seen.
"Falcon, look out!" Songbird tried to warn him, but her cries came to late. The skies above had darkened, and Sam Wilson had been knocked from them completely, as the result of a thunderous storm which appeared to develop out of nothing.
The Void had taken it's next transformation into a living storm of darkness, ripping the surrounding area with destruction. The Falcon found himself being battered away along with the rest of his teammates. The Void's booming voice could be heard from the eye of the storm, it's arrogance shining through out.
Despite the immense pain being inflicted, the Falcon refused to allow his body to give in to the pressure. He had learned to become a strategist by nature, after years of fighting along side Captain America.
"Justice!" he managed to utter as he tried to maneuver through the air against the Void's torrent.
"Justice, we need you to get us covered, now!" he shouted to the former New Warrior, who was keeping himself afloat by holding onto Firestar. Iron Fist had taken refuge behind Colossus, as the Steel Russian seemed to be the only one whom was able to withstand the dark storm.
"I'm not sure I can, might be to powerful for me t-"
"Just do it!" Falcon snapped as the gale storms brought him crashing down to the ground, clutching at whatever he could get a solid grip on.
In the past, Justice had always shown immense potential in the level of his powers. It was believed that his psionic abilities were quite potent for one such as himself, but Vance had never allowed himself to truly test their limits. Always content with the basics, it had been a dream to explore, but never one he had ever pursued. Until today.
Pulling himself together, he managed to manifest a telekinetic field which covered the surrounding Avengers, including Falcon whom was the farthest away. Once shielded from the Void's assault, they were able to get a clearer picture of the storm from within. The eye of the storm was quite literal in this case, as the Void's face beamed glared down on them, before it pulled itself together into a massive tentacle beast. It's strength seemed to be the focus now as it pummeled against Justice's force field, causing him to direct all of his energy to sustain it.
If all that was needed was for him to keep them all alive a moment longer, then perhaps something would arise to their benefit. So the mutant Avenger had hoped.
***
Inside the fortress, Monica Rambeau had begun to experiment with their window of escape. Their view to the world seemed to react exclusively to light, as the longer she stayed in her energy form, the larger the opening became, until half of the Tower could was now exposed to the outside world.
"This is crazy, it's almost as if we're alive on two totally different planes." an awestruck Songbird said. Just as the two had thought they had come across, Songbird began to notice that something was horribly wrong with their view point. Instead of looking outward at their teammates, it was as if they were watching from behind the eyes the Void itself. From their side, the Avengers were getting attacked from the vantage point they stood behind.
"Photon, I think what we're seeing, is exactly how Bob, er, the Void is seeing it. As if we were inside his mind." Songbird said as she started to point out the obvious. Going over everything Robert Reynolds had divulged to her earlier, she felt it was time to share that information with the Avengers leader.
"Earlier, he said that the Void and Sentry were both conduits for their two opposing forces. One represented light, while the Void was champion of darkness. Also that neither could function without the other, and when one took dominance, the other rested. So while the Void is having a field day out there,"
"The Sentry is slowly recuperating it's strength. Meaning my very presence may be awakening it's subconscious, or whatever it is that this thing seems to live by. Definitely not one for the Scientifics, but I get the gist of it." the golden Photon said.
"But if the Sentry thrives off light, then maybe I can bring that to the forefront. Of course, you yourself might wind up trapped here forever if we can't get you out." Monica said to a dismayed Songbird.
"Just kidding girl, bear with me a minute. Oh, and cover your eyes, I would hate to blind you." Photon said as she suddenly erupted outward, lighting up their surroundings with a brilliant display of ultra violet light, violently attacking the walls of their confines. In act reminiscent of the Void from earlier, Photon was indeed returning the favor.
***
The pressure being brought down on Justice was proving to be too much for the young Avenger. Though he would give anything to truly stand out from the pack, and prove that he was more than capable of turning the tide of battle for his teammates, even this mutant had his limits. The Void's torrent had only increased with time, and as shown by the fatigue which stretched across his body, there was only but so much longer that he could withstand the might of their shadowy villain.
"Oh my god, Vance..." Firestar said in a low tone as the strain of holding the force field began to illustrate on Justice's face.
"He's not going to be able to hold it much longer, we're going to have to ride this one out." she said as she feared for the health of her fiancé'. In the end, it was not his lack of trying, but the fact that his body just couldn't endure any more. In the blink of an eye, Justice had collapsed to the ground, allowing entry to the Void once more.
Catching the young hero's weight, the Falcon reassured the unconscious figure.
"It's ok kid, you did more good here." he said as he awaited the hellish storm of molten slag, mixed with dark gales to come crashing down, but no such tragedy befell them. Instead, the skies had cleared up, and the Void had been reverted to a more relatable human-shape once more, as it was now the embodiment of the Sentry.
"But how," Colossus had begun to question, as the Songbird and Photon shot straight out of the Towering citadel, Photon in the lead blasting through the transparent fortress. Their makeshift prison had seemingly given way so to speak, as it was split in half, but instead of seeing the traditional nuts and bolts of a structure spilled out, the barrier instead leaked strands of energy.
"Hope you didn't miss us while we were gone." Photon said as found herself taking charge towards the Sentry. The golden warrior was clutching his head, as his entire body seemed to be writhing in intense pain, only amplified as Photon began bombarding the would be villain with cosmic rays of radiation, focused only on nullifying his response.
The rest would be left to Songbird.
"Ok girl, let's hear you scream." Monica shouted towards her companion, and without any hesitation, Songbird did just that.
Reminiscent of the mythical Banshees of legend, Songbird wailed her lungs out as she directed her ability to create hard-sound constructs towards the head of the Sentry. Her thoughts had manifested a barrage of miniature spikes, probably numbering in the hundreds, as they shot swiftly into the upper region of the Sentry. The reaction they received was not one that the others had been able to bear witness to, as the Sentry had begun to metamorph, but not as fluently as the void. Instead, much like the fortress the two females had escaped from, The Sentry had begun to split in half, and the advances of Photon, and now Firestar ensured that the dividing factions would not rejoin.
"Just keep splicing at this guy, trust he can take it." Photon said.
True to her words, an aura of darkness screamed as it pulled itself out of the vessel of Robert Reynolds, as a corporal form of the Sentry also sprang to life, leaving a motionless physical shell laid on the ground. The two opposing forces sized each other up, until the aura of dark matter attempted to make a run for the now disintegrating tower.
"Now, Void your madness ends here." the Sentry illumination declared as it engulfed the weakening Void in a display of lighting, balling the force up, before caging the darkness within it's lighted self.
To the shock and dismay of the Avengers at large, the Sentry allowed the Void to scream one final time, as it's screech could be heard a mile away, forcing them all to shake at the deafening sound, until finally there was nothing but silence, accompanied with a flash. Blinded by the light, everyone conscious at the moment gently rubbed their eyes as sense tried to be made of the predicament, before suddenly even the Sentry was no longer before them. Only a stirred Robert Reynolds, whom was certainly not in the best of moods to say the least.
"Robert?" Songbird said as she reluctantly approached the man, whom looked up at her with a smile.
***
Later
Once the separate forces which had made up the Sentry had been fully restored into the form of Robert Reynolds, had the truth been divulged. The being which harbored the power of a million exploding suns was merely a host. Robert was simply a pawn in a game which was far larger than he could have ever imagined, but the root of such a mystery was beyond even him. Having dabbled in research centered around the Negative Zone, Robert was able to assess that the energy he harbored was indeed a representation of that, though to what extent he had never been able to learn. It had been suggested that he answer for the crimes he committed under the influence of the Void, but there was nothing that could be done.
Robert instead wanted only to be left alone. With a more stable grasp on reality, he had told the Avengers that he was sorry, and that he was ready for it all to end. In light of the terror that had been caused, the former Professor had accepted that there was nothing left for him in this world.
So to the dismay of one Melissa Gold, the Sentry chose to turn himself over to the custody of SHIELD, whom had taken the initiative to address the situation. The official story for the media would indeed leave out key details, but all parties involved were content with that.
Once back at the newly furnished Stark Tower, they were able to treat themselves, making use of the medical facilities their benefactor had provided the newly re chartered West Coast Avengers. The media of course had hounded them on the site, and were quite disappointed when Photon told them more would be addressed within the coming days. They were going to be forced to address the public sooner than they had hoped, but at least now they could be sanctioned officially.
While the majority of the Avengers chose to take a moment to gather their strength back at their base of operations, Melissa Gold chose to visit the Sentry's holding cell alongside Monica Rambeau. Both were in their respective costumes, maintaining their sense of identity, more so the latter on this issue.
"They're keeping him heavily sedated, and they say they're going to run extensive tests on him. Possibly even bringing in Reed Richards to look over him, so that they can get a full breakdown on the nature of his abilities." Monica said to her companion.
"Not really a fan of places like this, but at least he looks at peace." Melissa said somberly. Life in prison couldn’t have been what Robert wanted, but it was his decision to turn himself in.
"He has a lot to answer for, regardless of whether he was in the right mind or not. They'll look after him here anyway." Photon said.
"I guess." Still unsure, Songbird had opted to let the discussion go. Tracing her steps, she motioned to leave the facility, having seen enough.
"Look, I know it's not going to make you feel any better, but sometimes this is how things end. No stunning conclusion, or parade that we saved the day. Hell, sometimes battles aren't won, they just simply end. That's just the way it is at times, and all we can do is pick up the pieces as Avengers. Hope whatever happened this time, doesn't go down again." Photon said as they walked together.
"As Avengers huh?" Melissa said rhetorically, as if the very idea seemed to intrigue her more.
"So, is that your yes?" Monica questioned.
"Well," Melissa thought about it a bit longer. Was the life of an Avenger really what she had wanted?
"It's definitely not a no. That I can be certain of." she stated with a half-smile.
As grin developed along the face of Monica, she simply let out a soft laugh.
"Welcome to the team Songbird."
The End
***
Next Issue- If the West Coast Avengers thought they would get a break after dealing with the Void, then they were dead wrong. Now they'll be forced to face their toughest adversaries yet, as they go toe to toe with, the media?! Tune in next issue as the Left Coast Saviors meet their new government liaison, and finally go public.
***
Author's Note
Well here is the conclusion of the first arc the story. Hope you all enjoyed Into The Void as much as I enjoyed writing it. This may not be the last time we see the Sentry/Void, but I certainly won't be bringing him up anytime soon. From here we'll be getting to know the various personalities of the team a bit more, as we build towards a direction which I think will spark a lot of interest in readers. Well, let me know what you thought, and the next issue will be coming shortly.
-Eric Roman~ 6/11/08