Avengers West Compound.

"Just so you know... I'm not gonna go easy on you."

Priscilla Lyons, more and more frequently of late known by her codename Vagabond, smiled. "Who asked you to?"

From across the stretch of open ground that separated them, she heard Hawkeye laugh. He raised a red sash above his head. "You know the rules. Come over here at whatever speed you're able and take the flag away from me. All you gotta do," he added, tucking the flag into his belt, "is cross fifty feet of open ground."

"This shouldn't take long."

"You wish."

Vagabond took a step forward--and Hawkeye's right arm became a blur, flashing back over his shoulder. Almost before Vagabond's brain had registered he was moving, an arrow was flying from his bow. The blunt arrowhead popped open, and a wide black steel mesh net sprang out at her.

Instead of moving aside or ducking, Priscilla leapt forward, throwing her arms and legs out in all directions, making herself as big a target as she possibly could. The net splashed over her, but before it could close and entangle her, she whipped her arms and legs inward, yanking the net into a bundle that she then wadded up and tossed aside.

"Now don't get cocky," Hawkeye warned, twisting a finger in his ear as she continued moving toward him.

"Ew, shouldn't you use Q-Tips for that?"

He didn't reply, but another arrow was flying towards her in the next moment, this one emitting a high-pitched scream that seemed to punch through her eardrums like a railroad spike. She covered her ears and leapt to the side, waiting for the arrow to pass. It did so... but then it circled around, coming by her again. It continued toward Hawkeye, who didn't seem bothered at all by its wail, then turned again, heading directly toward her.

"Ah crap," she muttered, though she couldn't hear herself say it. The noise was starting to do a number on her, messing with her balance. She put her head down, still covering her ears, and charged towards her opponent.

Hawkeye leapt over her, planting his hand on her upper back as he went. She twisted beneath him, just managing to snag his ankle before he could complete the leap.

She couldn't hear him say "Uh oh," but she saw the words form on his lips. Priscilla slung him in the opposite direction, slamming him down to the ground on his back, ripped the flag from his belt, pivoted, and snapped the flag at the arrow as it passed. The shot was perfect, the arrowhead popped open and fell silent just before dropping into the grass.

Vagabond grinned at her victory, but her face fell as she turned back toward her boss.

"Oh god, are you okay?"

"Nothing a little spine realignment wouldn't cure," Hawkeye grunted, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He dusted off his knees and stuck his hand out.

"Why didn't that arrow bother you?" she asked, helping him up.

He stuck his pinky finger back in his ear and twisted again. "Turned my hearing aid off before I shot it."

"You wear a hearing aid?"

"Yeah. I've gotten pretty good at reading lips though." He was eyeing her up and down. "That was good. Really good. Especially that snatch-and-toss at the end. But I thought you said you didn't have any powers."

"I don't."

"Uh huh," he replied, his tone saying just the opposite.

Fortunately, a low trundling sound distracted him before he could press the point. They both looked around as a small white golf cart bounced across the field, coming to a barely controlled halt directly in front of them. After sighing in relief, the middle-aged butler in the driver's seat turned the cart off, mopped his brow, and climbed out.

"Jarvis," Hawkeye said, "how's it hangin', buddy?"

Edwin Jarvis cleared his throat. "It is...erm...hanging well, Master Hawkeye."

"What did I tell you about dressing more appropriately? This ain't New York, you know, and we sure ain't living in the brownstone."

Jarvis' bald head turned pink as he gripped the lapel of his immaculate suit. "Master Hawkeye, this is the dress of my office, and I will not--"

Hawkeye laughed. "I'm just messing with you, Jarv." He patted the older man's shoulder. "Aren't you hot in that get-up though?"

"I hadn't noticed, sir."

"Did the staff pass your inspection?"

"With flying colors, I'm happy to report. But that's not why I braved that horrible machine to come out and see you."

"What's on your mind?" Hawkeye put an arm across his shoulders and began leading him back to the 'horrible machine'. Vagabond tagged along behind, feeling forgotten.

"Well, it's the East Coast team, sir..."

"They giving you a hard time for taking some time off to come out here and make sure we're shipshape?"

"No, not at all. And you know I'm happy to do it, sir." He paused as Hawkeye slid into the cart's driver's seat and Vagabond hopped onto the back. After a moment of uncertainty, he climbed into the passenger side.

"I'm concerned," he said, as the cart sprang back to life and Hawkeye turned it back toward the compound, "about the direction Master Thor has taken the team in."

Hawkeye squinted across the seat, taking his eyes off the road longer than Jarvis was strictly comfortable with. His easy smile had cooled somewhat. It wasn't quite a frown yet, but it was moving in that direction.

"That... is not a good sign," he said finally. "Shellhead and I talked about this a couple days ago, but I was hoping it was just distance and us being unfamiliar with some of those characters Thor recruited."

"I've served many different incarnations of the Avengers, sir, dealt with many rough-and-tumble sorts. But one of this new team claims to be the daughter of Satan. And I'm not so certain that it's fancy on her part."

"Satana."

"Yes. Though, that alone wouldn't have been enough to make me voice my concerns. My main worry lies with the Scarlet Witch."

Hawkeye looked at him sharply. "Wanda? What's the matter with her?"

"As you know, she's second-in-command, and her behavior since taking on those duties... I'm afraid she's under too much pressure, and the antagonism between her and Mistress Crystal is quite uncharacteristic of them both."

"Damn," Hawkeye breathed. He guided the cart over a final rise, and the central building of the compound came into view, an oversized, Western style affair that would have looked at home on a resort for the rich and famous. They puttered down the slope in silence, Hawkeye bringing the cart to rest in front of the building.

"I knew it wasn't a good idea for her to stay on the team after what happened to the Vision. And she doesn't exactly have a stellar history of emotional stability after losing loved ones." He turned the cart off and looked around at Jarvis, starting when he saw Vagabond hanging over the seat. He'd nearly forgotten she was there.

"Just talk to her, sir. That's all I ask. There are only a handful of Avengers she's closer to than you, and none of those are available right now."

"I'll do that," he said, nodding. "And maybe I'll have a talk with Thor while I'm at it. I know the big guy has always valued raw power over level-headedness, but--"

There was a loud beep, and Hawkeye jumped again. Sighing in exasperation to hide the blush filling his cheeks, he reached into his belt and drew out his Avengers ID card. Iron Man's face had replaced his own picture on the front of the card.

"Hawkeye, I've finished checking the databases. Do you want to hear the results now or--?"

"No, hold on to them. I'll meet you in the med-lab in two minutes." He cut the transmission and hopped out of the cart. "We'll talk more about this later today, Jarvis, before you head back."

"Of course, sir."

He started to trot toward the building. "And V... get that man some bajas and a tank-top, would ya? He's killin' me with that suit!"

He disappeared into the building. Back in the cart, Vagabond and Jarvis shared a look.

"What if I showed you to the kitchen and made you a bite to eat instead?"

"Jarvis," Vagabond grinned. "Something tells me this is the beginning of a bee-yoo-ti-ful friendship."

"Okay, Shellhead. What've you got for me?"

Iron Man motioned for Hawkeye to join him at the monitor. "Just double-checking the results. Come take a look."

Hawkeye crossed the well-appointed med-lab, nodding in satisfaction as he passed equipment he vaguely recognized from the East Coast headquarters. It was probably unavoidable that the West Coast team would always be seen as second fiddles to the Easterners, but he would be damned if they were going to live like it.

"Looks like you were right. The man staying in our guest bungalow really is the Two-Gun Kid." Iron Man gestured toward the screen, which was running an indecipherable stream of numbers and facts that looked, from where Clint was standing, like a surefire cure for insomnia.

"He knew my name," Clint shrugged. "Not that I've ever worked very hard to keep my ID a secret, but it's not exactly common knowledge either. Besides that, he looks just like Matt Hawk under that mask, and talks like him. No way I'd forget that face or that voice."

"Well, whether you want to go with your gut, or with hard facts, the guy's a winner either way. It took a while, but I managed to dig up our records from the last time he visited our era. This Two-Gun's prints and retina scans exactly match the ones on record. If he's not the real thing, he's one hell of a facsimile."

"So how did he get here?"

"You tell me. Could be Kang again, I suppose. Two-Gun says he doesn't remember anything. Just went to sleep in his era and woke up in ours, not far from that hangar we were fighting the Sons in. If I didn't know better, I'd think--"

"Now I knew there was a reason my ears was burnin'."

The Avengers turned, and found Matt Hawk himself, the Two-Gun Kid, propped up in the doorway. He had lost the mask and the colorful vest that made up his 'costume', but even with modern clothing to dress in, he'd still gone with blue jeans, boots, and a long-sleeve denim shirt. His guns, as ever, still hung from his hips.

"C'mon in, Matt," Hawkeye replied. "We were just talking about how we're gonna get you home this time."

"I do keep losin' myself in time, don't I?" He straightened and strode into the room. "I can find my way across the most barren stretch of Arizona desert, but give me a chance and I'll end up in the wrong dang year every time."

"Well, we'll get you back to the right time somehow. Kang isn't on speed dial, unfortunately, but we'll find a way."

"No rush, Iron Man, no rush." Matt waved his hands. "I do want to get back, but if I'm gonna be lost, I might as well be lost among friends."

Hawkeye couldn't help but grin at that.

"Regardless," Iron Man replied. "Just be assured we're working on it."

"Never crossed my mind to think otherwise." Two-Gun's eyes slid across the two men, finally coming to rest on the screen that was still active behind them. The screen with his mugshot and two sets of fingerprints on either side.

"Never crossed my mind to think otherwise."

The blonde beauty described a slow, graceful arc in the air before slicing arms-first through the surface of the pool, with nary a splash to mark her passing.

Carol Danvers liked to swim, and she liked to feel the sun on her face and shoulders, two sensations she'd had far too little of while living in Washington State. She still lived there, really--wouldn't do to move 1,000 miles away from her agent and her burgeoning literary career--but she had a feeling she was going to be spending more time here on the compound then back in her Seattle apartment over the coming months. After all... here, she had a bungalow. A bungalow, for crying out loud.

She arrowed across the bottom of the pool, coming up only when she'd reached the opposite end. Eyes still closed, she sluiced the water out of her hair with both hands.

"Nice dive."

Her eyes snapped open. There was a guy crouching nearby, on the edge of the pool. Not directly in front of her, but close. He had dark hair, and was obviously younger than her. Early twenties at the most. She'd never seen him before in her life.

"Thanks."

"Really, I'm not just saying that. That was a nice dive. I had a girlfriend once who was a diver, and I doubt she could have done any better."

Carol tilted her head, took another look at him. "Have we met?"

The kid laughed and tucked a hand into the collar of his shirt. Carol tensed, but the hand came back holding a purple-black amulet, shaped like an elongated diamond.

Carol's eyes narrowed. "Darkhawk?"

"That's me. You can call me Chris, though. Chris Powell." He crabwalked over and extended his hand. She shook it.

"So I see you're not too concerned about your secret identity..."

"Well, I had to tell Hawkeye who I was anyway, for the security clearance. Besides, I just finished moving all my stuff into the compound. If I'm going to be living here permanently, I don't want to have to be Darkhawk all the time."

Carol leaned backward and backstroked smoothly away. "Amen. That's definitely one difference between us and the East Coast branch. It's a lot easier to let your hair down during off-time."

"Got that right," Chris sighed, watching her move. God, she was gorgeous. Obviously quite a bit older than him, but still...

The patio door slid open behind him. Chris looked around, and felt his mood sour as Iron Man strode across the concrete toward the pool. He glanced at Chris twice, spotted the amulet, then nodded curtly.

"Going for a swim?" Chris asked, hoping it came across as a joke and not a jab.

"No," he said simply. Then he looked to Warbird. "I'm getting ready to head out."

"How'd it go with Two-Gun?" Warbird asked from the other side of the pool.

"He's who he says he is, as far as I can tell. We'll have to keep an eye on him, just in case, but I think it's safe to put our swords away for now."

"Good. We haven't been a team long enough to deal with any traitor drama."

Iron Man nodded. "Can I talk to you?"

"You are talking to me."

He flicked a glance at Chris. "Alone?"

"Hey, I'll leave you two alone if you--"

"No need," Iron Man said, firing himself up into the air. Chris watched him climb, then looked at Carol. She was standing in the shallow end, hip deep in water. With a sigh and a flash of transmuting light, she changed into her Warbird costume and shot up into the air after her teammate.

On the ground, Chris mimed throwing a ball up in the air and swinging at it with a baseball bat. "Stee-rike one, Powell. Better luck next time."

He turned and walked off, wondering if there was anything else to do in this joint.

"What is it with you and Darkhawk?" Carol said, pulling up alongside Iron Man as the two of them headed out over the ocean and turned north.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, come on, Tony. We would have had to rename you Ice Man if you'd stood next to him much longer. What did he do that has you so clenched?"

They flew in silence for almost a full minute, Iron Man refusing to reply and Carol refusing to repeat herself. Finally, Iron Man sighed.

I was a bit of a jerk, wasn't I?"

"A bit."

"I'll apologize later. The kid just rubs me the wrong way. Something he said when I first recruited him... and the fact that his past is more than a little shady."

"I think he looks up to you."

Tony's eyes darted her way from beneath his mask. "Oh, that's nice. I get the impression he's got some issues with his father, too."

"You afraid you just got adopted?"

"What's to be afraid of? He's an adult."

"Not by much. I'm not even sure he's old enough to drink yet."

"Yeah, well you and I both know that being legal drinking age is no measure of maturity or the ability to cope with your issues."

Carol was silent for a moment, thinking on this. "So what did you ask me up here for? Something other than rubbing my problems in my face, I hope."

"Carol, that's not what I meant..."

"Don't sweat it. You can just apologize to me later." She pulled up short, and Iron Man rocketed nearly half a mile past before he realized she was gone. He turned back, sweeping up and hovering in front of her.

"Now what was it exactly that you dragged me away from my swim for?"

Inside the armor, Tony Stark sighed. He wasn't going to win this one.

"Captain Marvel," he said. "I still don't understand exactly how he managed to zap all those plague-carriers..."

Carol shook her head. "I don't either. Something to do with how I got my powers from a Kree psyche-magnetron. You'd have to ask him."

"He's not answering his ID card. But that's not what I'm concerned with. I know you never worked with him, but I did--briefly. Something's happened to him. He's harder and more distant now. I was hoping you could provide some insight into that."

"Why would you think I could? You just said I've never worked with the guy."

"No, but I assume you talked when you helped him beat the plague--"

"Barely."

"--and more importantly, you knew his father." He spread his hands. "I don't know what I'm looking for here, Carol. I just want to nip any problems in the bud now, so they don't turn into tragedies somewhere down the line."

She frowned. "He was kind of... abrupt when we were working on the plague thing. He's not as likeable as his dad was, that's for sure, but you can't micro-manage him just because he's a social retard, Tony. Let Hawkeye worry about this stuff. It's his job."

Iron Man waved a hand, as if to say, "Forget it," and turned, angling himself North again. "I'm heading home. You coming?"

"No, I'm going to hang out at the compound for the next couple of days, get settled in."

"Fine. Be seeing you."

"Yeah," Carol said softly, looking away as he fired himself up the coast. "Be seeing you."

"Naw, I haven't seen Rawhide or Kid Colt for years," Matt Hawk said, tugging on the bowstring and sighting the target down the length of the arrow.

He and Hawkeye were standing together in the sub-basement training center beneath the command building. The plain, metal-walled room was capable of flinging everything from holograms to giant, death ray toting robots at them. It was the size of a college gymnasium. The bullseye Matt was aiming for was half that distance from where they stood.

"Years? But you just..." Hawkeye's eyes widened, and he nodded in understanding. "It's been longer for you, hasn't it? Than it's been for us?"

"You mean since I came here last time? Well, that depends, I suppose. Has it been ten years for you?"

"Closer to three or four since the last time I saw you."

Matt released, and immediately barked "Damnit!" when he realized the shot was going wide. The arrow missed the edge of the target by a good two feet, sailing on to bounce harmlessly off of the back wall.

"I suppose that's why I stick to my irons," he sighed good-naturedly, stepping back and letting Hawkeye take his spot. Hawkeye stepped up, one of Matt's six-shooters in one hand, and leveled it at the target.

"Ten years. So what've you been doing in the meantime? Hey, what about that girl you used to talk about... Nancy? Did you ever make an honest woman out of her?"

Matt didn't reply, and Hawkeye took his eye off the bullseye to glance at him. Matt's shoulders had slumped and there suddenly seemed to be more lines in his forehead. If the difference in his age from the last time they'd met hadn't been obvious before, it was now. Hawkeye lowered the gun.

"Oh, c'mon. No..."

"I made an honest woman out of 'er. But she died in childbirth, and then our little girl got sick and died when she was just four. Of rubella. You know, that sickness that you can fix with a shot in this day and age."

"Matt, I'm sorry. I--" Hawkeye collected himself. He wasn't much for the warm, fuzzy part of friendship between two men, but he also couldn't let it go without letting this man know that he understood. "I got married too. Well, you remember her. Mockingbird. The one you helped me save from the Phantom Rider after he went bonkers."

Matt nodded.

"She died too. Was killed, really. While I watched. It almost destroyed me."

"It did destroy me. For a while, anyway." Matt put the heel of one hand in his eye and swiped moisture away. Their eyes met, and something seemed to pass between them, an understanding. Hawkeye knew now why Matt hadn't expressed any great desire to get back home.

Then the cowboy laughed. "What a couple o' sad sacks we are, huh?"

"Yeah."

Matt swallowed, and pointed at the bullseye. "You gonna shoot that thing, or are you gonna let me be the only one who makes a fool out of himself today?"

"Can't let that happen."

"No way, no how."

Hawkeye raised the gun and fired. Missed it by a mile.

"The truth is I never really cared for guns," he said, tossing the pistol back to Matt. "I suppose if I did, I wouldn't go to the trouble of carrying around all these arrows."

"Always worked for--"

They both felt it at the same moment. A sudden heat in the room, followed a beat later by a glare of white light. They turned as one, Matt tossing the bow back to Hawkeye while he brought up the six-shooter that was already in his hand.

A man--or a woman, it was impossible to tell the being's sex--had appeared between them and the bullseye, draped in a robe so white it hurt their eyes to look at it. His face was hidden in the dark folds of the hood, and a slender hand was raised to point in their direction. More specifically, to point directly at the Two-Gun Kid.

"You see that Clint?" Matt muttered, keeping his gun level.

"I see it," Hawkeye replied. The cloaked figure was hovering inches off the floor, the bottom hem of its cloak flapping aside and hiding his feet.

"Matthew Hawk," the figure said, and its voice was as undistinguished in sex as its appearance was.

"That's me, pard. Who are you?"

"I am Sayge, and I have come to make you see the truth that you would not be willing to see on your own."

"Uh huh." Then, through the side of his mouth. "You know this guy, Clint?"

"Never seen him before in my life," Clint said, slipping his hand into his belt and punching the panic button on his ID card, the signal that would bring all available team members running. "But keep him talking."

"Get out of town!" Vagabond crowed. "They did not do that to him!"

"I promise you its true," Jarvis replied, smiling as he poured her a cup of tea. "Master Simon--Wonder Man--had performed several successful pranks on Master Beast. So, while the others kept Simon busy one day, the Beast snuck into Master Simon's room and bathed all of his undergarments in Pym Particles."

Vagabond laughed out loud and took a bite out of the ham and cheese sandwich Jarvis had put together for her. "So how'd Wonder Man react?"

The butler returned the teapot to the stovetop. "Oh, the worst part was that he didn't realize what had happened at first. Master Beast hadn't shrunk the clothing down much--not enough to be apparent to the naked eye--so Master Simon simply continued wearing them. After an entire day, his... discomfort was starting to become apparent, so Master Beast finally broke down and told him what he'd done." He sighed. "Those two are the best of friends. A true example of the camaraderie that comes with being an Avenger."

Vagabond set her sandwich down and aimed a smile at him that Jarvis was utterly charmed by. "I'll bet you have all kinds of stories like that, as long as you've been with the team. I wish you were staying for a while, because I'd make you tell me every one of them."

"Yes... well I do have several hours until I'm scheduled to go. Perhaps we could--"

Vagabond's ID card, tucked into the inside pocket of her brown leather Avengers jacket, began to wail. She nearly dropped her sandwich, then, realizing what the noise was, pulled the card out and silenced it.

"Hawkeye," she said, springing to her feet. "Something's happening in the training room."

"You are all on the cusp of the greatest danger you have ever faced," Sayge said. "The threat is not a new one, but you will face it this time as you never have had to before."

"Is this a joke?" Hawkeye demanded. He had a concussion arrow at the ready, though he saw through his peripheral vision that Two-Gun had lowered his pistol. "You still haven't told us what the hell you are, or how you got in here, or why we should even listen to you."

"I am Sayge. I go where I please, and you should listen because I am the only one who can show you the truth."

"No matter how cryptic, right? You tell us we'll face a great threat. Yeah, that's an intellectual leap, ain't it? Like telling an accountant he'll have to look at a spreadsheet sometime soon."

"He said my name," Matt said. "How did he know my name?"

"Because I know you, Matthew Hawk. I know the long path you took to reach this place." Pause. "And I know you are not who you claim to be."

"Shows what you know," Hawkeye said, pulling the bowstring tighter. "We confirmed his identity just this morning, Madame Chloe. Guess the Tarot isn't working for you today."

"There will be three harbingers. Three destructive messengers--the parasite, the revived one, and the caretaker of ages--and then...the end of everything. You must be prepared."

There was a noise from behind them, and Hawkeye glanced back long enough to shake his head at Warbird, Darkhawk, and Vagabond as they came roaring into the room. Getting the message, the trio hung back.

Matt Hawk's eyes never left the apparition. "What do you mean I'm not who I claim to be? I am Matthew Hawk, you crazy--"

"Yes you are," Sayge replied. "But you are also not who you claim to be. And you must accept this before the lives of all your comrades and all the world are put into your hands."

"You're lying!" Matt bellowed, and even Hawkeye jumped at the sudden rage in his voice. "You're a goddamn liar, tryin' to slander me in front of my friends!"

"Your anger is no more true than you are, Matthew Ha--"

Matt's left hand vanished, and Hawkeye barely had time to understand what that meant before both of the man's pistols were roaring. Hawkeye leapt at him, eyes wide, shouting for him to stop, but it was far too late.

A hail of bullets whizzed through the air and found their mark, punching through Sayge's cloak, bubbling it back in waves as if there wasn't actually a body occupying it. As if the intruder was only composed of what could be seen--the cloak and his slender hands.

"Jesus, Matt!" Hawkeye cried, laying his hands on the guns and pushing them down. He looked into his friend and hero's eyes, and, for just a second, saw only mindless fury.

"What the hell are you doing, man?"

"Doing? I--" Matt looked ready to pop Hawkeye in the jaw... but then it was like a hole opened somewhere in him and all the rage drained away. He looked from Hawkeye to his own raised hands, confused.

"What... what did I--?"

His eyes darted over Hawkeye's shoulder, to where Sayge still hovered, ragged holes punched in his cloak, but apparently none the worse for wear otherwise. One of his hands was still extended.

"Accept," he/she said. "And prepare."

Then there was a flash of light and he was gone, leaving four Avengers and one time-lost frontiersman with more questions than answers. Hawkeye looked at Matt.

"What did I do?" he asked.

Hawkeye couldn't answer. He was too busy hating himself for the small seed of doubt that Sayge had planted in him. He hoped it wouldn't flower into distrust toward this man, his friend.

But he thought maybe it was going to.

First letter this month includes comments on the first three issues, and is from David Ingram. David writes New Warriors and Force Works, both of which are killer reads. Check 'em out.

Issue1

Well, I've got to say that I like what I see so far. Some classic Avengers (Iron Man, Hawkeye) added together with a very odd bunch of other Avengers. I've always been a fan of Warbird and Darkhawk, and it looks like they will shine in this series. I wonder if there's still any friction between Iron Man and Darkhawk still. When they first met, Iron Man attacked Darkhawk unprovoked to see if his armor was created from Stark tech (can you tell I'm a Darkhawk fan? Darkhawk Annual 1, BTW). Vagabond seems like an odd choice as an Avenger, though. Maybe five people have heard of her, and I can't say (to me anyways) she's ever done anything all that impressive. Why not Free Spirit (if it's because she is going to be killed by the Lady Killer in Thunderbolts, I'm gonna be pissed. She's got to much potenial to die like that)? I hope her 'Scourge in training' comes back to bite her in the ass. But still, a lot of characters were no names when they first started out.

Keep an eye on V, David. Chris and I both know we're working with a character that has absolutely no emotional appeal to anybody (well, except for Chris, who picked her for the team, but he's pretty wierd like that), so we'll be working twice as hard to make her likeable and sympathetic.

As for why V was picked instead of Free Spirit... well, you'll have to ask Chris about that. I suspect it was because Vagabond is more of a blank slate, giving us more freedom to mess around with her. Or maybe Chris just didn't think of her. Whichever, you're stuck with V now, mister!

As for the villains, damn! Sons of the Serpent are classic choices, and it looks like they've smartened up a bit (not much, since they're still racist) and I hope their leader is who I think he is. Lame villains made cool? Sounds like fun. All in all, I have to say that you're off to a strong start.

I'm guessing their leader wasn't exactly who you expected, since we made him up.

Now for issue 2

Well, I wanted two more members and I got them. Captain Marvel and Two Gun Kid sure as hell seem like odd choices, but I suspect they'll work. If a pissed off crab can work, so can Cap and 2 Gun. The issue was pretty solid with good action. Amazing how all villains have a budget for super armor, eh? The actions carries most of the issue but one barely notices. No real complaints thus far, though I was hoping that Seth turned out to be Seth Thor foe and god of death. Two powerful villains screwing with the Avengers would have been pretty cool. Oh well. I know the answer is likely no, but any chance of the Fallen Angels showing up (for such a great concept, they get too little exposure)?

Whoa! That last question came out of nowhere! Um... don't look for the Angels anytime soon in this book. Besides the fact that they don't really fit the tone, I'd hate for FA writer Alex Cook to feel like somebody else was keeping his characters in the spotlight for him, thus ensuring that we won't see a new issue for another five months or so.

You reading this, Alex? People wanna see the Angels, man! Hop to!

And since I'm here, I may as well give you some feedback on issue 3.

With due respect, there's not much to say. It kicks all kinds of ass, but that's a given when it's the brainchild of Russ Anderson and Chris Munn. Damn you for raising the bar! Anyways, I what I liked most in issue 3 was that Vagabond, the 'always wanted to be a hero type' was actually useful and NOT tripping over herself to impress the old timers. Now that the roster's set, I have to say it's got that whole 'wacky' feel the old Avengers West Coast had. So, time for two fanboy questions/requests

1) Is Darkhawk using his second armor or first. IMO, the second was the coolest, what with invisiblity, heat beams and flight, among others.

Um... probably his first, since that's what he was last seen in in the "real" Marvel U, to my knowledge (unless he's appeared since Avengers vol. 3 #1-3, that is). Fortunately, since this isn't a visual medium, as you point out, Chris can overturn this decision in the next arc if he likes.

2)As much as I like Brad's Cap. Marvel, can you give the guy another costume? Yeah, I know fanfic isn't a visual medium but still starlight costume doesn't work, IMO.

No way, man. I dig that costume! It's not going anywhere.

Thanks for the feedback, David. Now where's the next issue of Warriors?

Next letter is from the question man, Jason Trenner.

Interesting issue. Though I thought Seth was really the god Seth (guess not). Anyway on to the questions:

1) Any chance of the Scarlet Spider joining the team?

That's a good idea, but I think Scarlet's pretty happy in Baltimore right now. If Will Short and I had stayed on Defenders for a while longer, Scarlet would have shown up there, but don't expect to see him in this book.

(Of course, everything I say should come with a disclaimer: This is only my take on this. Chris may and probably will overturn some of my calls. And the book will probably be ten times as bitchin' for that. However, since I'm writing Scarlet Spider these days, I feel pretty confident about this one.)

2) Is there any chance of the Pacific Overlords coming back and fighting the Whackos?

Probably not. The Overlords never did much for me.

3) Is there any chance of Tigra rejoining the team?

Nah. Somebody oughtta mention her to Brent, though, as I think she'd really fit in to Mr. Lambert's current take on the East Coast team.

4) Is there any chance of the team fighting a new Evilhawk?

If so, Chris'll have to write it. I'll tolerate a Darkhawk, but not an Evilhawk, thanks.

5) Is there any chance of O-Force showing up and trying to take the media spotlight away from the Avengers?

Haha... Jason, you do this to me at least once in every letter. I have no idea who these guys are. :)

6) Didn't Two-Gun die in Blaze of Glory?

Yup. But how can you be sure that (a) this isn't a Two-Gun from before that point in his history, and (b) this is even really that Two-Gun? Stay tuned.

7) Is there any chance of the Whackos fighting Halloween Jack?

Aren't we like a hundred years too early for that? Or are you talking about another Halloween Jack than the one from X-Men 2099?

8) Is there any chance of Rage joining the team?

Probably not. I've got a short list of characters I wouldn't mind eventually seeing on the team, but Rage is nowhere on it.

9) Is there any chance of the Whackos fighting Godzilla?

Nah, Godzilla's busy over in Marvel Fanfare, last I checked. You wouldn't believe how close we came to using Fin Fang Foom for our third arc, though.

Thanks for the letter and the questions, Jason. Hope you keep reading.

Last letter was posted as a review to the Heroes discussion list, and it comes from the writer of this book's parent title, Avengers. Take it away, Brent Lambert.

Avengers West Coast #3 by Chris Munn and Russ Anderson

THE GOOD: Captain Marvel is by far my new favorite Avenger. The way Russ writes him is downright fun. I have to thank Brad for making all those bold changes in Genis's character. I also liked how he creatively utilized Ms. Marvel's powers. Vagabond has definitely grown on me some, as has Darkhawk. He had some really worthy lines in this issue that shows he's a heavy hitter waiting to be born. Iron Man of course continues to be a fave under Russ's pen.

Thanks, Brent.

THE BAD: The ending to the story seemed a little unnecessary IMO. But that's just me though.

Maybe. It was important to me that the Sons out in the field, the ones getting ready to release the virus, weren't just a bunch of faceless minions that you couldn't give a damn about. I may have overdone it a little bit, but I wouldn't cut the interludes out altogether.

OVERALL: A spectacular, action-packed ending to the first arc of this new Avengers West Coast Team at M2K. Check them out and give them reviews. I must support my fellow Avengers writers at M2K.

Haha. Damn skippy. Thanks for the review, Brent.

Letters concerning this issue can be sent directly to me or Chris at RussLee74@comcast.net and Ixnay0002@aol.com, respectively. They can also be posted to the Marvel 2000 mailing list (you can join at Yahoogroups), or on the M2K message board, accessible from the M2K main page.

- Russ Anderson
April 14, 2002

- See current issues of M2K's Avengers to see what's going on with Thor and the East Coast team.

- The Two-Gun Kid previously came to the modern era, and briefly joined the Avengers, beginning in Marvel's Avengers (vol. 1) #173.

- To find out why Iron Man's concerns about Captain Marvel might be justified, see M2K's Captain Marvel #X, and #13-15.

- The Two-Gun Kid helped Hawkeye and Mockingbird out against the Phantom Rider in Marvel's West Coast Avengers #22-23.

Story © 2003, Russ Anderson and Chris Munn. Most characters presented are property of Marvel Entertainment Group.