They sat across from each other at a small table, in the airport restaurant. Drinks had just been served, and Steve Rogers noted that Carol Danvers was drinking black coffee.

 

“I was glad to hear you overcame the latest relapse,” he said.

 

“Thanks.” Carol didn’t look at Steve as she sipped the coffee. They both knew she wanted a drink, had eyed the bottles at the bar with hunger. His mentioning the problem had made her uncomfortable. Aware of how difficult it’d been just to arrange the meeting, and fearful that she would run off again, Steve Rogers kept the conversation going.

 

“That was impressive, how you brought the plane down.” Steve could help but smirk. “When they saw you flying past, some of the passengers exclaimed that you were going to grab the wing. A few were surprised when you didn’t.”

 

“Stupid movies,” Carol remarked. A trained Air Force pilot, she knew how planes worked, was intimate with the mechanics of flight. “Nothing done in those is ever right. Grabbing a wing would have ripped it right off, set the plane off balance and into a spin. Then things would have gotten hard.”

 

“You know I don’t need an explanation.”

 

“Sorry. Maybe it’s just me venting.” Another sip at the coffee. Carol wasn’t going to do anything to help Steve in the conversation.

 

“I’d like you to come to New York City, Carol,” he told her at last. “Warbird should get back to being an Avenger.”

 

Another sip, then Carol sighed. “You don’t want me, Steve. Everything about me has gotten unstable these days.”

 

“The way you brought down that plane and saved all those people, myself included, says otherwise.” Steve finally took a gulp of his own drink, a tall glass of milk. Wiping away the white moustache, he continued. “Not field work, if you’re uncomfortable with that. Training, logistics, communications and monitor duty, things like that. You’re an asset in a lot of ways, Carol.”

 

“Maybe.” But Carol was still unsure. “Quicksilver’s at the mansion. Aren’t you afraid we’ll kill each other?”

 

“I’ve spoken with him about the incident with Rogue. For the time being you’ll both just…keep out of each other’s way.”

 

A laugh couldn’t be helped. Carol gave a light shake of the head, swaying that golden hair. “Kind of hard to do if we’re on the same team, living in the same mansion.”

 

“But it can be done,” Steve urged. “Eventually you can both work through things. Pietro has issues with Karnak, but they’ve managed to put it aside when required.”

 

“Counting on my experience to see me through.” Carol shifted her eyes, almost unconsciously, towards the bar. “Steve, Captain, my experiences are exactly what put me in this state to begin with. I’m damaged goods, and the best you can hope for is that I wouldn’t take anyone else down to the bottom with me.”

 

“I disagree.” Captain America leaned forward and spoke in hushed tones. “You’re one of the strongest women I know, Carol. Come with me to New York, and you can do one of two things. Prove me wrong or prove yourself wrong. Who would you prefer?”

 

For a few seconds that seemed a long time, Carol Danvers stared down at her coffee and didn’t say anything. Then her eyes rose, met Captain America’s. Warbird gave her answer.

 

“Me.”

 

---

 

The Avengers Quinjet hovered over the still ocean water, directly over the spot of Stingray’s last transmission. At first hearing of who was inside the Quinjet, one would almost think the craft had been stolen, as only one of the four occupants had ever been associated with the team for any length of time. And given his particularly impatient mood at that moment, Quicksilver certainly wasn’t acting like an Avenger.

 

“Be quiet, you,” Quicksilver snapped at Diane Arliss-Newell. As a mutant with the power of super-speed, the task of piloting was slow and tiresome. “Your hysterical prattling isn’t going to make us find your husband any faster. Or rather, his body as he’s already most likely dead.”

 

“I’m sure he’s not, Diane,” Andromeda said in a reassuring fashion while staring daggers at Quicksilver. And if he were, she silently promised, those responsible would pay dearly. “Right, Karnak?”

 

“Hmm,” Karnak murmured, who had apparently been lost in thought. “Sorry, but I had just realized, Pietro, that you don’t need working legs to fly this ship.”

 

“In the time it took you to threaten me I could have smashed your head in a dozen times,” Quicksilver remarked in an idle fashion. It wasn’t the first time such threats had been exchanged.

 

“You two try not to kill each other while I’m gone,” Andromeda stated. “Diane, think positive thoughts.” Opening the door of the Quinjet, Andromeda leapt out and into the water. Immediately she felt better, feeling the cool salt water around her body and revitalizing her. As a native Atlantean, the ocean was her natural habitat, and also made her best suited to search for Stingray.

 

It did not take long before Andromeda had found clues to Stingray’s struggle. From her years of life beneath the waves, Andromeda was able to recognize unnatural disturbances in an undersea area. The water still faintly tingled with electricity, and there remained a faint haze of sand that had not yet fully settled. There had been a struggle, Andromeda knew. Stingray had fought back, but had been overwhelmed by superior numbers.

 

So many, by Atlantis their scent was everywhere. Andromeda also detected the faintest whiff of blood, and was momentarily frightened. But no, if Stingray had been injured underwater he almost certainly would have died immediately. His armor would have been seriously damaged, and Andromeda couldn’t find any trace of it in the vicinity.

 

Pressing the photograph of herself on her Avengers communi-card, Andromeda reported her findings. “A definite struggle happened here,” she screeched in a horrid-sounding language that, when carried through the water, perfectly translated into human speech. “Looks as though Stingray was carried off.” There was no point in mentioning the scent of blood. “I’m attempting to track them. Will report once I’ve found something.”

 

Just before Andromeda broke the connection, she had heard the muffled sounds of further argument aboard the Quinjet. She’d frankly had enough of it, and if it hadn’t been for this sudden emergency Andromeda would have left the Avengers earlier that day. As it was, only Captain America remained on the team with the three of them, though he was currently out trying to remedy that. For Andromeda, he couldn’t return soon enough.

 

---

 

“Photon.”

 

Captain America found her sitting on top of the levee, looking out over the vast Gulf of Mexico. At their back was the city of New Orleans, better but still in the midst of recovery after Hurricane Katrina. Monica Rambeau didn’t look in Captain America’s direction when she responded. “Steve.”

 

When he was less than a foot from the former Avenger, Captain America lowered himself to sit next to Photon. Together they looked out at the Gulf, not at each other, as they conversed.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me. Turn around.”

 

“Our charter with the government is clear. Unless called upon to assist with emergencies we aren’t to-”

 

“I heard it all before, Steve. When I asked you to help.”

 

“It wasn’t my decision.”

 

“But you could have asked, Steve. Instead of sitting on your hands, waiting for a request, you could have-”

 

“I did.”

 

There was a brief pause before Photon asked, “What?”

 

“When the evacuations first began, I called the President, offering our assistance. He said they had everything well in hand. That…that the levees would hold.”

 

“But you knew they wouldn’t. Forget that you have access to the smartest men in the world, you know structures.”

 

“I wasn’t about to second-guess the President of the United States, the information he has access to. So I kept quiet, held the team in reserve, waiting for a call that never came.”

 

“Sometimes I think that’s what I should have done. What’s the point of flying if I can’t carry anybody with me?”

 

“Monica, you did everything you-”

 

“Have you ever floated outside the eye of a hurricane? Felt the winds moving past you, tearing through you? I tried flying against the hurricane in every spectrum I knew, but nothing could even slow it down. I was helpless against nature.”

 

“We all experience that sooner or later. Even Thor has.”

 

“Then I tried to hold back the water. It isn’t easy, flying around a city fusing cracks to prevent leaks. Eventually it became too much. I collapsed from the exhaustion and nearly drowned. It wasn’t until afterwards that I accomplished anything. Leading rescue teams to survivors and dealing with looters. I used to do the rescuing, when I was in the Coast Guard. Sometimes I wish I could go back to that.”

 

“You’ve never been away from it, Monica. Saving lives, finding justice, whatever the name it’s always the same thing: hero. That’s what you’ve always been, even here, trying your best against impossible odds and still doing some good.”

 

“You didn’t just come here to apologize, did you?”

 

“It was a long time coming, but no. I’d like you to rejoin the Avengers. Officially, full-time.”

 

“You need an answer now?”

 

“I’d prefer it, but given you can fly at light-speed, it’s not necessary. And you know, you’d still be able to operate from here.”

 

“I’ll let you know. Thanks.”

 

Captain America rose up to his feet, and left the hero to the city she’d done her best to save.

 

---

 

After awhile, they had stopped hurting him. Had even patched up his armor some, enough that Stingray was still alive deep in the ocean’s depths. But most functions were off-line, including sonar and navigation. Stingray only knew that he was held inside undersea caverns, powerless, chained to rock and coral. Helpless, he could only hear the plans of his captors. Not that it meant anything.

 

Without his suit’s sonar capabilities, sound underwater reached Stingray the way it did most other people. He couldn’t decipher the screeching garbles, but from what he’d heard earlier, before the sonar had been disabled, Stingray was able to guess. The underwater creatures were planning an invasion, and Stingray raged at his helplessness to stop them.

 

A hand suddenly pressed against Stingray’s shoulder, and his head turned to see the Avenger Andromeda! Sparing the imprisoned man a smile, Andromeda started working on the heavy chains that bound him. However many systems may have been disabled, Stingray’s armor still afforded him with terrific strength. Andromeda was every bit as strong, and with the advantage of leverage was able to break a chain link.

 

Stingray stretched at the sudden freedom, a foolish move that sent both ends of the chain out wide. One end clanged against the stone wall, giving off little in actual sound but the vibrations rumbled against Andromeda’s skin. She looked with fearful eyes towards the direction of hidden voices, which had suddenly hushed. They would be coming to investigate, Andromeda and Stingray knew. Taking him by the arm, Andromeda propelled them both through the water.

 

Even as she swam towards the surface, Andromeda pressed the communi-card on her belt. “Found Stingray but we’re being pursued. Find my location and get above me now!”

 

Streams of bubbles were shooting past Andromeda. Jets of compressed air and hard water were being fired on them. Not fatal, but impact would stun them, giving the pursuers time to catch up. Andromeda had no time for evasive maneuvers. She had to hurry, hope that she could reach the surface in time, and hope that her teammates would be there to collect them.

 

The calm ocean surface was shattered when Andromeda and Stingray shot out as though from a cannon. Stingray was dead weight against her arm, and Andromeda reached up with her other arm as though willing them to remain in the air. They had managed to gain twenty-feet, and began to drop.

 

“Aaah!” Andromeda cried in pain as her arm was grabbed. It was Karnak, leaning out of the Avengers Quinjet. Taken off-balance by the combined weight of Andromeda and Stingray, he nearly fell out.

 

“I have them!” Karnak screamed to Quicksilver. “Fly, quickly!”

 

“Not until you’ve dragged them in,” Quicksilver snapped. “There wouldn’t have been much point in rescuing Stingray if he just falls back in the water, along with Andromeda and your worthless-”

 

“Shut up and fly!” Andromeda yelled.

 

Karnak had managed to lift them up a few inches, enough for Andromeda to grab a hold. As strong as the Inhuman was, he wouldn’t have been able to carry them much longer. Andromeda hefted Stingray up and was grateful when Karnak took him. The weight of them both had almost been too much for her. Once her burden had been relieved, Andromeda lifted herself into the Quinjet.

 

With the assistance Stingray’s wife Diane, Karnak was already in the process of examining him. “I see significant damage to the armor, but fortunately no breach. We shall have to remove it to ascertain the extent of his injuries.”

 

“Praise all that you were here to state the obvious,” Quicksilver remarked from his seat at the controls. “Are we ever sure he’s alive? I haven’t seem him move at all.”

 

“He was underwater,” Andromeda was explaining. “We surfaced rapidly, the shift in pressure may have knocked him unconscious.”

 

But in removing his helmet the Avengers saw that Stingray was in fact conscious. However he appeared very weak, his face heavily bruised a swollen. Diane couldn’t hold back a sob at the sight of him.

 

“Hundreds of them,” Walter Newell gasped softly, almost unheard. “Been sinking ships, stealing materials. Planning to…invade.”

 

“I got a look at them,” Andromeda told the others. “We need to get to the mansion, call everybody we can.”

 

“Or,” Quicksilver countered as he pressed his communi-card into a slot on the console, “we can make our calls en route. And even have Jarvis prep the medical equipment. Simple things that amateurs wouldn’t think of.”

 

Much as they wanted to respond with bile against Quicksilver, Andromeda and Karnak held their tongues as the Quinjet raced back home.

 

---

 

Upon walking into the building, Steve Rogers was immediately noticed by everyone as being out of place. With his pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes, Steve didn’t at all resemble the many Hispanic men and women. Another contrast was his clothes, relatively new and if not expensive then well made. Everybody else wore garments that were heavily worn and cheap in every sense of the word. Of course, that was generally the case for occupants of a homeless shelter.

 

Walking through the room, Steve gave polite acknowledgement but overall ignored the stares. He was there to see a volunteer, and found her among the beds passing out blankets. Bonita Juarez had always been a kind and compassionate individual, operating as a social worker even before she gained powers and assumed the identity of Firebird.

 

Bonita was well aware of Steve’s approach, and gave him a look as he neared her. “Hello Steven. There’s an office in the back you can wait until I’ve finished here.”

 

Steve nodded. “Of course. If you’d like me to help-”

 

“That won’t be necessary. Please.” Clearly Bonita wanted Steve out of sight, and he could guess why. With his features and clothes, he stood out as a target to the more desperate and ill natured. With this understanding, Steve Rogers didn’t press the issue and went on into the office.

 

Several minutes passed when Bonita opened the door and entered. “What can I do for you Steven?”

 

He got right to the point. “I’d like for you to rejoin the Avengers, Firebird.”

 

Bonita’s first reaction was a shake of the head. “I’ve gone back to being La Espirita, in the few times I’ve put that costume back on. As for the offer, thank you Steven, but I enjoy my work here.”

 

“There are people to be helped in New York City,” Captain America said. “The Maria-Stark Foundation is involved with a number of projects you can be involved with. If none were to your liking you’d be able to start one. This isn’t including all the lives you’d be able to save as an Avenger.”

 

“Avenger,” La Espirita echoed. “There was a time I wanted to be one more than anything in the world. But Clint was more interested in recruiting Benjamin Grimm.” She was referring to Hawkeye and the Thing, respectively.”

 

“That’s Clint. You I would take over Benjamin any day of the week. More than your impressive powers, Bonita, you have a heart more compassionate that anyone I’ve met. That’s what the Avengers need right now.”

 

Captain America’s words seemed to move La Espirita, and she faltered. “May I have time to think about this?”

 

“Of course.” The communi-card beeped inside Captain America’s pocket. “I’m leaving this afternoon, but you have the mansion’s number.”

 

Bonita opened the door to lead Steven out. “I will have an answer before you leave.”

 

---

 

“They call themselves At’La’Tique. It means ‘Fury of the Seas’ in my language.”

 

Andromeda emphasized the syllables deliberately. She was standing at the large round table in the Avengers Mansion War Room, with Karnak and Quicksilver seated across from her. Shimmering over the table was the holographic display of an individual. It was humanoid, with green skin, webbed hands and feet, pointed ears that protruded from its head and noticeable gills at the neck.

 

“This is their leader, Llyron. He’s a Lemurian, the son of their queen Llyra. As you know, the Lemurians are-”

 

“If we already know it, don’t bother telling us,” Quicksilver snapped. Both he and Karnak knew the Lemurians were an underwater race similar to the Atlanteans.

 

“Right. Sorry.” Andromeda continued. “Llyron was a cloned fetus, from the genetic material of Llyra and Namor’s half-brother from his father.”

 

“So this is the Sub-Mariner’s nephew,” Karnak remarked. He studied the holograph’s features. “Yes, I can see it.”

 

“Despite having no claim, Llyron was briefly placed on the Atlantean throne. When he was overthrown, others followed him into exile. Llyron increased their numbers by impregnating the females with cloned fetuses that aged rapidly. These are fanatics who want nothing less than the complete destruction of the surface world.”

 

“Clearly Namor is sympathetic to their cause,” Quicksilver stated in a dry tone. “Otherwise he could have rooted them out by now.”

 

“Two-thirds of the world’s surface is a lot of space to hide in,” Andromeda reminded him. “We in Atlantis have been doing what we could against them, including a few raids on their cloning facilities. But most of the At’La’Tique are mobile, making it difficult to eradicate them. However, it looks like they’ll be coming to us.”

 

“An assault here on land?” asked Karnak.

 

“Over the past few weeks they’ve been attacking ships, dismantling them for raw materials. They’ll have vehicles and weapons, but that’s not the worst. Intelligence from Atlantis indicates Llyron has been splicing human and Atlantean DNA, meaning a lot of his soldiers will be able to survive on land.”

 

“Can they inform us of when and where?” Quicksilver inquired. Andromeda shook her head. “So completely useless, then. I can’t very well run up and down the coastline looking for little green men.”

 

“We should awaken Stingray,” Karnak said. “Properly utilized, his sonar technology could provide an early warning system.”

 

“You go do that,” Quicksilver told his former brother-in-law. “Andromeda, contact Atlantis. Even if Namor agree to help, they’ll likely arrive too late, but it would polite to ask. If see if anybody else is available, or if they’re off on missions as is generally the case in world crises.”

 

“And Captain America?” Andromeda asked. “Shouldn’t we let him know he’ll be needed?”

 

“If he wants to be leader, he should keep appraised of these things.”

 

---

 

“Thank you Jarvis. I’ll be there soon.” Captain America pocketed his communi-card and continued into the community center. A fundraiser of sorts was going on. The banner over Captain America’s head said something about urban housing renewal in Philadelphia. While it was certainly a good cause, Captain America was there for other things, and paid no mind to the attention that was suddenly focused on him.

 

Only one other person in the room was being showered with as much attention as Captain America, and it was the woman he’d come to see. Nicole Ridley was surrounded by young children, making them clap and cry with delight. As Binary, Nicole had cosmic-level powers, and she was currently using them to create small fireworks.

 

Somebody stepped in front of Captain America, a local reverend who often been on the news. Being polite, Captain America paused and shook the man’s hand, nodded at the thanks for attending for a good cause. He gave an excuse and got away from the reverend. Children were between him and Binary, but at the sight of Captain America a few of them stared up in awe.

 

Binary noticed the presence of her leader in the Avengers, and smiled. “Steve, hi!”

 

“Binary, I was just informed of an emergency situation.” Captain America smiled down at the children and patted one on the head. “Your leave needs to be cut short, and we have to get to New York City now.”

 

Binary’s smile vanished. “Steve, I can’t just leave now. Everybody here is expecting-”

 

Captain America paid no mind to Binary and turned to one of the children. “Hi, young man. What’s your name?”

 

“Jeffrey!”

 

“Well, Jeffrey, as great a time as my friend and I are having, we need to leave.” Shouts of “no” erupted from the children. “There’s a situation, enemies to America and freedom that we need to deal with. If you watch it on television, you’ll all hear a special message from me.”

 

That excited the children, and they all eagerly wished Captain America and Binary farewell as he led her out of there. Captain America deftly dodged the adults and ignored words from them, and Binary’s own protests.

 

“Steve, you can let me go!”

 

“In uniform we use codenames,” Captain America told her in a low voice.

 

“But our identities are-”

 

“It doesn’t matter. So long as we act professional we’re considered to be professionals.”

 

“Alright, Captain.” There was some snark in Binary’s tone. “What’s the situation?”

 

“We aren’t discussing that in public.”

 

“You just told those kids-”

 

“Younger people get excited. Older people panic.”

 

“But those kids will be telling-”

 

“And they’ll be dismissed. Come on.”

 

Captain America threw open the door that brought them out of the building, into the parking area out back. Only then did he let go of Binary and slow down, while Binary sped up and angrily spoke at him.

 

“You don’t have to talk down to me like this. I’m an Avenger just like you with responsibilities-”

 

“Yes you are,” Captain America agreed. “I apologize for snapping but you’ll notice that I didn’t disrespect you as publicly as you disrespected me. Binary, you need to trust that I wouldn’t have come here if it weren’t for a pressing reason. This was an important responsibility for you, but something has happened that takes priority.”

 

Binary didn’t have an immediate response. She knew that Captain America was right. The way she’d acted inside hadn’t been responsible at all, not befitting of an Avenger. “Captain America, I…”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Captain America told her. “We need to meet the others at the mansion. It will be fastest if you carry me to the airport. A Quinjet should be waiting by the time we get there. On the way to New York I’ll fill you in on what I know.”

 

---

 

Hours later, Captain America was back in New Orleans, looking out at the still ocean waters. Not still for much longer, he knew. Standing on either side of Captain America were his fellow Avengers, Karnak to the left and Quicksilver to the right. Floating higher in the air behind them were Binary and Espirita, both sheathed in fiery energies. Several yards ahead, Andromeda had just surfaced.

 

“They’re maybe ten minutes out,” Andromeda reported. “Hundreds of them, at least.”

 

Stingray surfaced seconds later, in his spare armor. “Sonar confirmed the number at closer to a thousand. And they have heavy ordinance.”

 

“That was a good idea, Karnak,” Captain America told his teammate. “Dropping sonar packets along the East Coast gave us plenty of warning. If not for that we would have still been in New York City, waiting for an attack that would never come.”

 

“Let’s not forget who had to run along the coastline,” Quicksilver said.

 

Light flickered in the vicinity of Captain America, and Photon appeared at his side. “Authorities are handling the evacuation. The military has mobilized, but holding back on your word.” Photon turned to head, looked out at the ocean knowing what would soon emerge. “This Llyron isn’t a fool. New York may be high profile, but it’s an easy victory he wants.”

 

“We’ll give him a hard defeat instead,” Captain America returned. “Photon, does this mean you’re back with us?”

 

“Here and at any time you might need me,” Photon assured him. “But full-time I think I can do the most good here. Can you settle for reservist?”

 

Captain America nodded. “With your power that’s as good as permanent.” Hundreds of yards out, the still waters were beginning to froth. Soon the enemy would be at the gates. “Binary, fly down there. Damage the breathing equipment of as many as you can. Andromeda, Stingray, use the distraction to reach their heavy weaponry and knock them out. Leave the vehicles. Anything that surfaces, the rest of us can take.”

 

“You’re got it!” Binary dove and the water sizzled at her submersion. Stingray and Andromeda had also disappeared from sight. Captain America moved his eyes to the shore, where Carol Danvers was standing in the shadow of a small tower. Her eyes were fixed on the spot where Binary had vanished underwater.

 

“Warbird, I need you focused.”

 

She reacted to Captain America’s words, giving a brief nod and lifting off the ground. Meanwhile, the surface of the water exposed the chaos that went on underneath. Espirita flew into a position opposite from Warbird, establishing an airborne pincer. Photon shifted her form back into light and flew straight up. When the attack came, she would power straight through, a being of intense heat and light against foes accustomed to murky darkness and cold waters.

 

Humanoids of varying deformities, either blue or greenish in hue, could be seen skimming just under the water’s surface. Then the surface itself was broken as vehicles of small to medium size emerged. Also out of the water was Llyron himself, half-human and therefore able to breath air. Holding a long trident in his hands, the would-be heir of Atlantis flew at the Avengers, his mouth gaping open to expel a thunderous roar.

 

“Death to the surfacers!”

 

Raising his shield in front of him, Captain America leapt off the hard concrete to meet the charge of the At’La’Tique. Quicksilver and Karnak were already in motion, and the three flyers went on the offensive. While it was hardly necessary, Captain America said it anyway, because to the wrong people they were the two most terrible words imaginable.

 

“Avengers Assemble!”

 

---

 

NEXT ISSUE: In the aftermath of the battle with At’La’Tique, the new Avengers liaison unveils their new lineup to the world. But outside of world-shattering threats, can these Avengers get along with each other? Find out in 30!