Stygia. City of a Thousand Heartbeats. The Hyborian Age.

The Serpent Society was composed of professionals. Men and women for whom a costume was a uniform. They reacted to Sidewinder’s barked order instantly.

Death Adder leapt for Hawkeye, his talons telescoping to their full, horrible length. Coachwhip lashed out at Red Sonja with her Vibranium cables. Copperhead blocked a blow from Conan and tried to land one of his own. Asp and the others confronted Rama-Tut and the Sphinx. And Sidewinder vanished, only to reappear near Princess Python.

“Now Zelda, let’s not do this,” he said, grabbing for her wrists.

“I agree. Let’s not,” she said. She kicked out, catching him in the belly. He staggered, eyes widening.

“It looks like this little trip has been good for you,” he said, rubbing his stomach. “I almost hate to interrupt what must be the first character growth you’ve experienced in years.”

“Then don’t. Go home, Seth. I forgive you. Namaste.” She gestured. “I’m happy here.”

“Happiness is irrelevant, I’m afraid. We’ve been paid by your old friends in the Circus of Crime to find you. Running across that AIM chronal feed featuring you in a starring role was a bit of a lucky strike. One I intend to capitalize on.” He caught up the edges of his cloak and wrapped it around himself, vanishing.

Princess Python turned, her hand extending. Sidewinder reappeared, his throat fitting easily into her grip. His eyes bugged out in shock. “What-”

“Just remember Seth…I gave you a chance,” she said, lifting him from his feet and hurling him aside.

Hawkeye smiled as he noticed Sidewinder’s plight. With a grunt, he spun his bow, slapping aside Death Adder’s jab. The bow throbbed in his hands, feeling less like wood than-what?

Death Adder hopped back, head cocked. “Something bothering you, Stabby McGee?” The Society member lunged, tail snapping out. Hawkeye jumped back, grabbing for an arrow. He fired, pinning Death Adder’s tail to the ground.

Death Adder went wild, clawing at him. Hawkeye avoided the blows and kicked out, sending the assassin stumbling. But before he could do more, long arms wrapped around him.

Puff Adder hefted him up, jaws widening. “Breathe deep, Avenger. I’ve been saving up a special poison just for you!”

---

In the ruins of old San Francisco.

There had once been a group of people here, among the century old ruins. No more. Those that had remained after the Equinox disaster, had been enslaved by the Deviants. Or, they had joined the black-clad ranks of the Si-Fan.

Now, only devils lived below the city. But not for long.

Faces twisted in expressions of gleeful barbarity lined the top of the hastily built arena-cum-cage. They shouted bets and taunts in equal measure as below, an Avenger fought for his life.

Halifax rolled across the ground, his ragged cloak wrapped around one arm like a makeshift shield. He carried a short staff-one of a set that had belonged to the villainess Joystick-in his other hand. The tiger-man bounded to his feet and turned, slashing the staff across the front of the super-criminal called Bison’s skull.

The bull man stumbled with a grunt. Halifax brought the staff down again, catching the mutate on the back of the head. Bison dropped, senseless.

Halifax stepped back, breathing heavily. Bison was the fifth opponent he’d faced since being confined to the arena. Joystick, Bloodshed, and Jackhammer all lay scattered around in varying stages of unconsciousness. He dropped to his haunches, tail lashing, leaning on the staff. He looked up.

The Grey Gargoyle looked down at him, frowning. The criminal clung to the top of the cage, alongside another member of the Emissaries of Evil-Quicksand. She looked at him.

“Tough kitty.”

“Indeed.” Grey Gargoyle looked at her. “Who’s not topside?”

“Me. That freak Slate. Powderkeg and Shatterfist are on guard duty. The others are all out turning the National Guard into hamburger.” She smiled. “Want me to go in?”

“Hardly a challenge, is it?” The Grey Gargoyle straightened. “No. He is a warrior of great skill. He deserves better than that. I think it is my turn.” He looked at her, smirking. “Feel free to kill him if he beats me, though.”

“Of course.”

He squatted and ripped the cage top open. Then, laughing, he dropped to the arena below. Halifax saw him, and rose wearily to his feet.

“You.”

“Bon soir, Monsieur Tigre,” the Grey Gargoyle said, stalking towards him. He gestured lazily with his hand. “Now we shall see what we shall see, non?”

---

The Laundry had been a SHIELD base since the Sixties, but in the wake of the Equinox disaster, it had been closed up tight. Or so everyone had assumed.

Moon Knight fell into a crouch as the platform carrying he and Daredevil down from the surface came to a halt. Once, there would have been a titanium bulkhead waiting on them. Now, it was only a set of wrenched hinges and gaping hole.
Daredevil cocked his head, sniffing. “Oil. Sulfur. Sweat.”

“Guards, probably. Nearby?” Moon Knight said.

“Close enough. We’ve got maybe eight seconds.”

“Hh.” Moon Knight reached into his belt, and pulled out a number of tiny spheres. “How long can you hold your breath?”

“A few minutes.”

“On my mark,” Moon Knight said. “Go!” He slung the spheres through the doorway and bounded after them, cloak flaring. As the spheres struck solid surfaces, they exploded, releasing a white mist. The mist flooded the corridor and the Deviants who had been rushing forward began to cough and gag. Moon Knight and Daredevil threaded through them, incapacitating those few still on their feet.

“Effective,” Daredevil said, as the mist cleared. “How did you know it would work on them?”

“Same basic oxygen requirements as the rest of us bipeds,” Moon Knight murmured. He glanced at the cameras high on the wall. “Security systems are down.”

“How did they even get here? I thought SHIELD facilities were impregnable…”

“Know those earthquakes we’ve been having since just after Equinox’s little tantrum?” Moon Knight said, as they moved down the corridor. “Some were the natural result of the geological damage sustained. But the others? Someone was causing them.”

“All this time? You think it was the Deviants?” Daredevil said. They stopped in front of sealed bulkhead.

“Maybe. They’re involved, obviously. But there’s something else. Someone else.” Moon Knight traced the outline of the bulkhead with his fingers, then pried a panel off of the wall. He yanked a handful of wires out and began re-wiring the panel. “My investigations-when I could get to them-revealed that someone has been hitting all of the foreign caches in the city. AIM, SHIELD, all of them. Burrowing up through the lower levels and looting them. I thought it was the Serpent Society, at first. Voelker looking to make a quick buck by looting theoretical weapons technology to sell to the highest bidder, but then I realized that not everything was missing. Just certain items, stolen and passed on to a mysterious source.”

“What was stolen?”

“Parts. Pieces of something that-” Moon Knight shook his head. “I don’t know what it is. But it’s big, and I have a hunch that it’s down here somewhere. And we’re going to find it and shut it down.”

---

Below the Laundry.

“It’s called the ThunderHammer,” Fu Manchu said, indicating the mechanical colossus that occupied most of the space in the cavern below the former SHIELD base. “It was designed by a former disciple of mine-the Yellow Claw. He intended to use it for purely destructive purposes…simultaneously activating all dormant fault lines in the United States. The resulting earthquakes would have destroyed this country physically, economically, and politically. My goals are somewhat more focused. Granted, the recent chronal altercation between Kang and Ultron has forced me to step up my agenda by a few months.”

The Wasp shook her head. Her arms were restrained behind her back, her hands trapped inside power dampening gauntlets. She looked at Tony Stark, where he stood nearby, similarly restrained.

“Tony?”

“It’s a geo-sonic cannon. A big one. Very big. Uses soundwaves to activate tectonic movement,” he said. Fu Manchu inclined his head.

“Very good, Mr. Stark. I’m curious. Can you discern the reasons for my modifications?”

Stark peered at the titan machine, his eyes flicking over its surface rapidly. He froze. “You’ve focused the beam. But that would-”

“Split San Francisco off from mainland California,” Li-Pan said, smiling unpleasantly. “Glorious.”

“Not just that,” Stark said. “It’ll also push the city several miles out past the Bay. Past American territorial waters.” Fu Manchu allowed a thin smile crease his features.

“You’ll destroy the city!” the Wasp said, struggling against her restraints. One of the Si-Fan guards thrust out the butt of the AK-47 he was carrying and caught the backs of her knees. She fell. Fu Manchu raised a hand.

“Enough. No, Ms. Van Dyne. The city will not be destroyed. My alliance with the Deviants has yielded fruit in that regard. For the past three months, we have labored to build a stable sub-structure capable of supporting the city during its-ah-exodus from your delightful constitutional republic.” He raised his hands. “Once Li-Pan’s ensorcelled pawns and the Deviant ground forces drive what remains of governmental authority out of the city, we can begin the final phase.” He brought his hands together in a loud clap. “The ThunderHammer will be activated. San Francisco will be split off, an island-nation unto itself.” He turned towards them. “President Fu Manchu has a delightful ring to it, don’t you think?”

“And what do the Deviants get?” Jan said.

“Why, I thought that would be obvious. An event of this magnitude will severely stretch America’s resources, not to mention endanger the stability of the entire West Coast.” He gestured lazily. “The Deviants will capitalize on that weakness, and carve out a foothold for themselves on the surface world.”

“Why? Why do this?”

“The Si-Fan has become a shadow of itself. A tottering ghost of an organization. My own fault, I suppose. I left it in the hands of others while I indulged my own interests. I wandered the Earth and all of its environs, learning much that was new, and even more that was old. And when I returned, I found new ghosts. HYDRA. AIM.” Fu Manchu sighed and stroked the striped tail of his pet. The marmoset chattered and stretched. “My works, my resources, all gone. Co-opted by petty creatures like the Mandarin or the Red Skull. But I shall rebuild. I shall teach the world to fear the five thousand claws of the Si-Fan again. To fear the Glorious Eight Hells that I alone hold the keys to. To know and shudder at the name…FU MANCHU!”

The surrounding Si-Fan raised their weapons high, bellowing. Fu Manchu folded his arms into his sleeves and bowed his head. Jan looked at Tony.

“That’s it?” she said. “You-you’re doing this so people will remember you?”

“Silence!” Li-Pan shrieked. Fu Manchu raised a hand.

“Enough, faithful retainer.” He looked down at Jan. “My reasons are of little concern to you, my dear. Rest assured that in just little while they will be quite good enough for you. And you and your Avengers West will serve me faithfully and well in the days to come.” He looked at Li-Pan. “Begin with these two. Druid and Ms. Drew can wait until afterward.”

“What of the beast? The Wundagorian?”

“Feh.” Fu Manchu slashed the air with a hand. “Kill it and be done.”

Li-Pan smiled. “Of course, master.”

---

Stygia.

Hawkeye’s head shot back, catching Puff Adder in the face. The Society-member grunted, releasing his hold on the archer. Hawkeye dropped down, driving the end of his bow into the big man’s foot. Puff Adder yelped.

Across the room, Conan was bleeding from dozens of thin cuts as Copperhead fired darts from his gauntlets. The Cimmerian roared and swept his sword out, shearing through Copperhead’s cuirass, nearly disemboweling him.

“Somebody get this lunatic away from me!” he said, backing away.

“Busy!” Coachwhip said. She had her whips wrapped around Red Sonja’s sword blade, but the other woman wasn’t giving it up.

“Release my blade, witch!” Red Sonja said, reaching for a dirk sheathed on her thigh. Coachwhip grinned and retracted her whips, throwing the other woman off balance. Red Sonja stumbled forward, then whipped the dirk towards the white-haired Society member. Coachwhip shrieked as the blade tore through her leg. She sank to one knee, desperately trying to fend off the swordswoman.

For his part, the Sphinx watched Asp and Rock Python circle him impassively. He crossed his arms and smiled at them. Rock Python hurled one of his egg-canisters, but a flare of energy from the Sphinx’s eyes disintegrated it. “I’d run,” he rumbled.

“Hell with that. Nova took you out,” Asp said, green energy crackling between her fingers. “Figure it’s not that hard.”

“Speak for yourself,” Rock Python murmured.

Black Mamba wove strands of Darkforce around Rama-Tut, who ignored it as it cascaded harmlessly over his force field. “In my time, we use Darkforce to do our plumbing.”

“Glad to hear it. I use mine to eat people,” Black Mamba said, sweat beading on her face. Rama-Tut smiled.

“How quaint.”

Sidewinder dangled from Princess Python’s grip, slowly choking on his own weight. “Seth. I used to admire you. You have this strange sort of petty psychopathy that makes you wonderfully relentless in certain situations. But I’ve seen that the world is bigger than the next score, the next rube.” Her eyes flashed crimson. “I’ve eaten half a star and I’m just not that girl anymore, y’know?”

“Getting-ahk-the picture,” Voelker said, clawing at her fingers.

“Good.” She flung him to the ground. “Now. How about you call off the dogs and we chat like the old friends you like to think we are?”

---

Old San Francisco.

Halifax lurched backwards, away from the Grey Gargoyle’s deadly touch. “You cannot avoid me forever, mon frere!” the French criminal snarled. Halifax didn’t waste breath replying. Instead, he hurled his confiscated staff at the ground in front of the other man, causing him to stumble forward, off balance.

Halifax lunged, his claws raking across the Grey Gargoyle’s side and eliciting a scream of shock and anger. Stone fists caught Halifax in the small of his back and he hit the ground, the breath knocked out of him.

The Grey Gargoyle gingerly touched the thin canyons carved into his side and felt a momentary panic. When he returned to human form, the pain would be unbearable. His face twisted into a grimace of loathing, and he started towards the downed Knight. “I’m going to skin you with my bare hands, freak.”

“Worse creatures than you have threatened such,” Halifax said, rising slowly to his feet, one arm wrapped tightly around his midsection. He could feel something grating within him. He made a looping blow with cape-wrapped arm. The Grey Gargoyle slid aside, and smashed a fist into his chest. Halifax fell backwards, gasping.

“I’ve faced gods, animal. Taken blows that would have crippled any other. You are no match for me.” The Grey Gargoyle reached out, fingers spread. “Surrender, and die painlessly. Otherwise, I’ll turn you to stone one molecule at a time!”

“Surrender? Never!” Halifax swept the Grey Gargoyle’s legs out from under him, and, snatching up his stolen staff, he broke it across the criminal’s jaw. The man flopped onto his back, cross-eyed. Halifax leapt onto him and shoved the broken end of the staff towards the soft part of the criminal’s throat.

“Ding-ding! Round’s over!” Quicksand said, slapping Halifax away. She poured down into the arena and reformed, arms crossed, head cocked. “God. I hate you freaks. You’re the reason I look like this, you know. The Mongoose did this to me, and he was one of yours…”

“A renegade,” Halifax coughed, trying to get to his feet.

“Yeah. Now. But then? When you lot were so hot for Asgardian DNA? Yeah, he was a loyal servant of Wundagore, wasn’t he?” She laughed. “I’m going to enjoy pounding you, yaAHCK!” She reeled back, clutching her head. “What-what-what-”

As Halifax watched, a series of sigils blazed to life on Quicksand’s forehead, growing brighter and brighter. Similar sigils flared to life on the heads of the unconscious villains, and, as one, they rose to their feet like puppets. Halifax’s eyes widened.

What was going on? And was it happening everywhere?

---

“Shatterfist. You’re like a bad penny,” Moon Knight said, dancing back from a blow. The criminal grunted and readied his fist.

“Same to you, Avenger.”

“I’m not an Avenger,” Moon Knight said, sliding under Shatterfist’s punch and cracking the man across the forearm with his truncheon. Shatterfist howled and stumbled back. Further up the cramped corridor, Daredevil blocked a blow from Powderkeg, but was thrown back by the force of the resulting explosion.

He slid back up along the corridor, and flipped back onto his feet, grimacing. Powderkeg charged towards him, teeth bared. Dardevil fell into a crouch and whipped his billy club out, bouncing it from the floor to the wall, to the opposite wall, to the ceiling and down directly onto the center of the criminal’s head.

Powderkeg staggered forward, carried more by momentum than intent and sank to his knees only a few steps from Daredevil. The red-clad hero darted past him as he fell, snatching up his club as he did so. “Need any help?” he said.

Moon Knight grunted and drove his knee into Shatterfist’s midsection, bending him double. He stepped back and the other man fell to his knees. He looked at Dardevil. “I think we’re good here.”

Shatterfist screamed. The two heroes whirled as a crackling sigil sputtered to life on Shatterfist’s head. He screamed again, and staggered to his feet, eyes glowing like white-hot metal.

“What in the name of God?” Daredevil said, watching in shock as Powderkeg rose to his feet, similarly afflicted. Moon Knight shook his head.

“Not God.”

---

Across San Francisco, criminals screamed.

The Locust watched as a dozen cockroaches the sizes of sedans scuttled through the city streets, driving the forces of SHIELD before them. Beneath his emerald helmet, the sigils sparked and flashed and he staggered, crying out. His insects halted, suddenly confused.

Three blocks away, Aqueduct, riding a wave, swept a barricade made of police cars aside, then faltered as the Chinese characters on his head exploded with light. He screamed and fell, the waters receding.

Sunstroke, clad in white and gold, and the Cobalt Man, in blue, tumbled from the sky, clutching their heads. Dragonfly screeched, rolling around on a rooftop.

Across the city, a dozen other super-villains, all victims of Li-Pan’s mystical machinations, collapsed in sudden pain, then, as one, rose again.

The Chinese characters that had been engraved on their souls twisted and squirmed. Changing. Becoming something else. Characters became runes. And, again as one, they turned on those whom they had been aiding.

Flying Tiger and Shriek shattered a Deviant assault on a SHIELD forward position.

The Porcupine unleashed his deadly arsenal in the midst of a Si-Fan flanking maneuver. Iron Maiden swept her hands through the barrel of a Deviant artillery piece, causing it to explode, the backlash knocking its wielders sprawling.

Icemaster froze the Borers that careened up through the city center, leaving the troops inside unable to join the fray.

Across San Francisco, the tide suddenly turned. Beneath it, alarms began to blare. Fu Manchu spun. “What is going on? Report?”

“Celestial Master! The Emissaries! They’ve turned on us!” a Si-Fan said. A hand the color and texture of obsidian flashed out and seized his head. The man screamed as he was flung aside. Slate, thug, mutant, and bad egg, bounded up onto the viewing platform that over looked the ThunderHammer operation and barreled towards Fu Manchu, Celtic runes burning brightly on his forehead.

Fu Manchu stepped aside with an elegant movement and lashed out with one delicate hand. Slate staggered and nearly fell from the platform. He shook his head, snarling. Fu Manchu looked at Li-Pan.

“Li-Pan! What is the meaning of this?”

“I do believe the phrase is-ah-‘turn about is fair play’,” Li-Pan said. He gestured, drawing a stiffened finger down the center of his face, and the glamour that he had been wearing evaporated like dust on the wind. Doctor Anthony Ludgate Druid smiled at the shocked expressions on the faces of his fellow Avengers. “Hello all.

“Druid?” Jan said.

“And Drew,” Druid said, gesturing again. One of the Si-Fan guarding the two Avengers shimmered, then disappeared, replaced by Jessica Drew, the sensational Spider-Woman!

“Hey guys! Miss me?” she said, flattening the other guards with a sweep of her arms.

“More than words can say,” Jan said, as Spider-Woman ripped her restraints apart. “But how-”

“When the Serpent Society attacked the brownstone, they had Li-Pan with them,” Druid said, weaving a spell to block an incoming hail of bullets. “They were to distract us, while Li-Pan inserted a number of LMDs into our ranks to better control our actions. I managed to destroy one of them, forcing Li-Pan to face me. When he did so, I devised his intent almost instantly. As sorcerers go, he was no Mordo. A hedge-witch with a specialty in geas magics. I defeated him and took his place, even as he had intended to do to me, and convinced the Society that Li-Pan had, in fact, succeeded. When the time came to replace Jessica with the LMD, I did so, camouflaging her in order to capitalize on our ploy and masking Li-Pan with a seeming, so that he appeared to be me.”

“You could have told us, you know,” Iron-Man said. His restraints abruptly fell off and his armor began to flow like liquid around him, re-forming.

“Forgive me, but it was taking all of my concentration to usurp Li-Pan’s geas with one of my own, as well as hide Jessica from sight and convince our ‘captors’ that we were both imprisoned,” Druid said, smiling slightly.

“Which he did long enough for me to put a spanner in the works, so to speak,” Spider-Woman said, balancing on the railing of the observation platform as she kicked a Deviant off the stairs. “I’ve been down here for a week, monkeying with that thing. It won’t run now. I made sure of that.”

“A brilliant stratagem,” Fu Manchu said. The Avengers turned even as he forced Slate to his knees, fingers gently pressed to either side of the mutant’s head. “I see that I underestimated your abilities. Or, perhaps overestimated those of my servants.” He shrugged, and Slate’s neck snapped with a sound like rock shattering. The body slumped and Fu Manchu folded a hand within his robes. “Of course, betrayal, like poison, is a common tool of the Si-Fan.” He withdrew his hand, holding a small, square device. “If I cannot win the game, I shall simply have to upset the board.”

A truncheon struck the device, knocking it from his hand and shattering it. Fu Manchu turned, eyebrow raised. “Ah,” he said. “The dogged investigator. You have been on my trail for quite some time, Mr. Spector, though I daresay you didn’t know it.”

“Doesn’t matter. I know now,” Moon Knight said. He crouched on the railing, his cloak pooling around him. “And you’re mine.” Daredevil squatted on his hams nearby. Down below, Shatterfist and Powderkeg battled their way towards the ThunderHammer.

Fu Manchu spread his hands. “So many enemies, gathered in one spot. Before today, I have had little contact with your kind. Gods and monsters in chromatic costumes. But, that must change, I think, as all things do. You must be taught who the real gods, the real monsters are.”

“You’re not doing a very good job so far,” Iron-Man said. He pointed. “You’re done.”

The ThunderHammer gave out a bellow. Metal began to buckle. Power cells flared and died like gasps of lightning. It began to explode in stages. Fu Manchu laughed. “Done? I’ve barely started,” Fu Manchu said. “But you’ll find that out soon enough, Mr. Stark. For now, zai jian.”

Moon Knight leapt for him, and the Si-Fan leader spun, hammering a flattened palm into the vigilante’s chest. Moon Knight fell. Fu Manchu sprang past him, to the railing, and then was gone, disappearing into the chaos below in a flutter of silks.

The cavern began to tremble as the ThunderHammer entered into its death-throes. Daredevil helped Moon Knight up. “I think it’s time to leave, folks.”

“Ah-yes-I believe he’s correct,” Druid said. He staggered, his eyes glowing for a moment, then fading back to their usual color. “This whole base is collapsing in on itself as we speak!”

---

Fu Manchu watched the doors of the hidden elevator close and allowed himself a small smile as he stroked the marmoset clinging to his sleeve. Everything was going perfectly according to the long plan. The long game.

Billions in resources would be funneled into repairing the city now that it had been exposed as the weak point it was. Stark would see to that, if nothing else. Billions in contracts, farmed out to a variety of construction firms and organizations. Not to mention the black-out bids on repairs to SHIELD installations. Some of that would be diverted to repair the AIM and HYDRA bases as well, as it always was.

Secret hands dipping into secret funds.

But what really mattered was whose hands held the purse strings. His smile grew. As if he had truly wanted to rule a shattered island city. Ha! Foolish. Infantile. Plans within plans. Wheels within wheels. Ghosts within ghosts.

He had seen from the beginning the opportunities of the situation. A city brought low by circumstance. But not low enough. Not for his purposes. So he had moved his pieces on the board. Allowed certain elements in, encouraged others.

Dracula, resurrected. Vampires, driving the population to flee. Super-villains summoned, to further weaken the Federal government’s hold on things. The Avengers sent whirling, chasing their tails, until the right moment. One threat after another, a rain of terrors. All leading to one goal. His goal.

And now, the stage was set. San Francisco was to be rebuilt at last, rather than simply left to fester. Rebuilt better. Stronger. A shining citadel to the future. But it would be Fu Manchu’s future. Fu Manchu’s citadel.

In his years of silence, he had encouraged the Si-Fan to infiltrate every level of the political and economic spectrum of American society. Every repair, every change would be made to his specifications. San Francisco would rise from the ashes a new city.

Fu Manchu’s city.

And, when the time was right, it would be revealed as the greatest weapon ever conceived. And then, then…

Fu Manchu smiled as the elevator sank down, down, carrying the devil back to his Hell. But not for long.

---

Thirty minutes later, the streets sank inward in a cloud of dust. Buildings, long abandoned, collapsed like dominos as the Equinox Zone went flat in parts. National Guardsmen and SHIELD operatives were already setting up bulwarks against further destruction. Damage Control was already on the move, choppering in the equipment needed to brace the surrounding streets.

“Hell,” Iron-Man said, surveying the devastation.

“It’s two blocks. It could have been worse,” Moon-Knight said, rubbing his chest. “Punch like a mule.”

“Consider yourself lucky. He was pulling his punches,” Daredevil said. “His heart was barely beating.” He cocked his head. “Granted, neither is yours.”

“Zombie,” Spider-Woman said. She sat on a dust covered HumVee, kicking her legs. “How’s the ribs, Garfield?” she said, looking at Halifax. The Knight sat on an upturned ammunition crate, allowing an Army medic bind his torso with gauze. He growled.

“It hurts, Lady Drew. But I will survive. Thanks to the Doctor.” He nodded at Druid. Druid, for his part, shook his head.

“Do not thank me, my friend. If I had been stronger, you would not have had the unenviable task of keeping the Emissaries distracted. The least I could do was use the last of my strength to remove you from the peril I had placed you in.” He sighed. “As it was, I lost control of the criminals not long after. I’m sorry to say I was only able to force a few of them into custody. The rest escaped, I’m afraid.”

“They always do,” Jan said, stretching. “We’ll just have to round them up, I suppose. That’s our job, after all.”

“Is it?” Iron-Man said. He flexed his gauntlet, watching the metal resume its bright cherry coloration. The Nth Metal was already repairing his systems, putting everything back in working order. “How long have we been here? How long has it been since Hawkeye brought us out here?” He looked at the others. “And in that time, what have we accomplished?”

“A lot, frankly,” Jan said. Iron-Man turned away.

“Not enough. Clint put us at a disadvantage when he brought us out here. Away from our support staff, our communications network, away from potential recruits. He took us into a warzone, undermanned and outgunned and we’ve been getting our rears kicked ever since!” He closed his hand into a fist. “We’ve been on the back foot since we got here. This is just the latest incident where proper organization could have alerted us to what was going on before-”

“What, exactly, are you saying?” Jan said, interrupting.

“We need to go back. Back to Los Angeles. I want it put to a vote right now.” He raised his hand. “Who’s with me? Yea, or nay?”

---

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

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Next issue: One to go. Who’ll stay, who’ll go? How do things end? Be here in thirty for ‘ALL ROADS LEAD HOME’!

 

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