Joey Chapman

USAgent

Sabra

Silverclaw

Scarlet Scarab

Cybermancer

Joey Chapman sat in his command chair in the center of Avalon's international emergency monitoring womb, contemplating recent events. It had been little over a week since the terrorists known as the Avatars of the Mandarin had gutted Paris, France in a daringly ruthless attack. Thousands had been butchered and the death toll was still being tallied, hundreds of historical buildings were damaged beyond repair or outright destroyed and one member of Excalibur was even put in a coma.

Chapman tried not to think about that last detail of information too much, lest it demoralize him like it had the rest of his team. Even though no one said it aloud, seeing their most powerful member Hellios badly beaten to the point of near death shook even the most veteran members of Excalibur. Hellios had been the team's rock in many ways, and seeing him laying there in a hospital bed, the doctors surrounding him helpless to even so much as access his situation due to the superman's steel like skin. Hellios' fate was simply out of his hands.

And allowing himself to be demoralized now could prove dangerous. While it had been little over a week since their attack, the final estimates on the death total and damage inflicted upon Paris France had been reported and sunk in to the worldwide consciousness. Chapman knew in his blood that a follow-up attack would come soon, so as to take full psychological advantage of their first attack. To show the world that the Avatars were still free and active despite the best efforts of the United Nations personal superheroes. It was what Chapman would do after all, something that scared him in some ways but made him thankful in others.

It was only after a half hour of waiting before international monitoring stations sent the base's alarms blaring. Thanks to Chapman's foresight, the entirety of Excalibur were already stationed at Avalon, and they were summoned to the HERMES teleport station instantly. In fact, by the time Chapman was able to read the monitor screen, Excalibur was already in the field.

And when he saw their destination, Chapman was never more thankful for it. Because the Avatars had just launched a full scale attack on his home country of England.

"The Avatars are in London?" Silverclaw asked as she sped down the corridor with Eshu close behind, "oh God, of all the places…one of my best friend Jessica's in London! I hope she's not in the area..."

"Yeah, terrorists should stick to killing nameless orphans in third world countries," Eshu remarked blithely. Maria couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or sincere, and didn't know which would disturb her more quite honestly.

The team was at the HERMES teleporter platform in record time, and with no ceremony were teleported into the heart of the disturbance, or at least well within range.

Looking down the block, Excalibur saw the Avatars almost literally tearing the block apart. Foundry casually raked his flames across the store fronts, Quake had a lamp post resting in one hand while the others with less destructive abilities seemed to have been pacing around anxiously up until Excalibur had arrive. No one in Excalibur missed the fact that some of the Avatars that had been slain in their previous battle were now alive along with a few new faces, a man with a shimmering sheath, one with glowing hands and the final one made of solid gray stone, though they all agreed how and why was a matter for another time. Oddly enough however, Tsunami was nowhere to be seen.

If Union Jack was especially concerned about the fact that they were about to engage a group of powerful terrorists in his homeland, nothing betrayed that fact. He barked out orders almost instantly.

"Darkstar, Cybermancer, left right containment and double back!" Rock snapped.

Darkstar and Cybermancer shot forward fast and hard, dodging bursts of flame and water before they lashed out with their abilities. Darkstar created a wall of solid darkforce and powerfully drove it through the sidewalk adjacent to the Avatars like a plow parting dirt while Cybermancer opted to fire a continuous laser beam from her right gauntlet as she flanked her Russian teammate. Instinctively moving to avoid being struck, the Avatars were grouped together in the street where a wall of crimson energy slammed into them painfully, leveling most of the team.

"Good going Scarab," Union Jack complimented. His team had stopped their charge some ten feet from the disorientated Avatars, "Sabra, Scarab, Suzi, Darkstar Butterfly needs to go!"

Sabra knelt down and scooped up the pavement as if it were sand and threw the fragments of street towards her foe. Scarab raised his hands to fire as both Darkstar and Cybermancer took aim and unleashed their respective energies.

Not even Butterfly's much feared ability to alter probability was enough to save her. The fragments of road broke the sound barrier just seconds before they tore through Butterfly's petite body like knives through air, puncturing vital organs without so much as slowing down. Thankfully, crimson energy followed by superheated protons and steel strong darkforce blasts were enough to cauterize the wounds before transforming her into a smoldering pile of once bone and human flesh.

Union Jack didn't so much as flinch when he saw Butterfly cut down. But, with her abilities to alter probabilities removed from the field as Darkstar and Cybermancer returned to their team's side he was free to shout,

"Excalibur strike!"

Scarlet Scarab was first, rocketing forward like an arrow, his arms extended outwards and knocking down Lich, Lady Deathstrike and Foundry like ten pins before the newest Avatar, made of gray stone, cocked his fist back and swung forward like a Yankee pitcher. The Middle Eastern hero was instantly sent flying in the opposite direction just as his teammates had reached the Avatars.

U.S. Agent leapt forward shield first, his indestructible disc colliding into the blazing hands of Warfist, and to his surprise came to a complete stop. Barely ducking under a fiery chop of the man's hands, U.S. Agent connected with a powerful right hook to the man's jaw.

Silverclaw, shifted into her puma form, tackled the Avatar aptly named Scythe and began clawing like mad as the man struggled to defend himself. Cybermancer chased Deluge with powerful electrical blasts that the creature slithered and dodged through like the snake he was. Suzi wasn't aware of Foundry until her automated defense computers overrode her control over the armor and forced her over a jet of flame. The warrior scientist realized her mistake and locked her weapons systems on the avatar, but only one mini missile was in the air before a water spout made entirely of ice nearly took her head off, again only saved by her automated systems that made her bob under the attack. Pressing their advantage, Foundry and Deluge attacked kept up the assault, hoping to catch the Chinese representative in the crossfire.

To one side, Darkstar kept to the air as she rained down darkforce blasts that Old Woman was only barely able to protect herself from. Old Woman, though faster than her name implied, was constantly on the defensive. Every shield she erected was smashed and every counter attack parried.

Off to the other side Eshu again engaged Lich while Sabra tossed Quake's giant form over her shoulder in a judo toss. This Quake had at least some combat skills Sabra had observed, which combined with his superior strength made it considerably harder for the Mossad agent to just dispatch him like she had his predecessor. She hoped now that she had him on the ground she could end his threat. Unfortunately, the Israeli hero was so focused on completely defeating Quake, that she failed to notice the gray stoned Avatar approaching from behind.

"Foolish witch!" A gray arm extended like a snake from it's hole and the smashed across the back of Sara's head so hard it sounded like a mine exploding. Sabra fell to her hands and knees, her head ring like a bell on Sunday Morning. The only thing her mind could consciously register, barely, was that Quake, Ancestor and this latest Avatar were standing right over her.

"Ignore Fuji at your peril!" The gray stoned Avatar hissed as he molded his left hand into a giant spiked globe.

There was a whistling noise, and the Avatar Fuji exploded into a cloud of dust.

"Duly noted." Scarlet Scarab released a quick burst of energy and sent Quake stumbling backwards to his knees. Scarab instantly reached for Ancestor, hoping to add the elderly and homicidal man's power to his own to finally end this madness. But Ancestor was ready. As the famous Middle Eastern hero reached out, Ancestor chopped down with his right hand. His impressive power was more than enough to break both bones in Scarab's left forearm. With lightning speed, Ancestor gripped his hand around Scarab's shattered wrist and squeezed as he brought the hero up to eye level.

"Please, don't be insulting Arab dog!"

The ground underneath Ancestor shook unexpectedly, and the villain accidentally dropped Scarlet Scarab, whose world was swimming with pain to the cracked pavement below. Sabra then charged forward and flew towards Ancestor's head. With practiced skilled she smashed the flat of her palms against Ancestor's head. It was akin to a bomb exploding inside the elderly man's head, and it too all his impressive strength to only stagger backwards.

"We need to be more careful. These Avatars have obviously learned from those who we killed in the last attack somehow," Sabra said in a quick, business like manner, "old tricks won't work as easily this time."

Scarlet Scarab saw the reformed Fuji lumbering towards their position. With barely a thought, he swept his hand outwards as he released a tightly focused burst of energy, creating an energy scythe that sliced the man in two, "Thus we must teach them new tricks."

The rumbling in the ground was a tell-tail sign of Quake's approach. Scarlet Scarab created a forcefield around his broken wrist, the pain a dull roar by now, and nodded to Sabra. Silently, she launched herself at Quake, wrist needles blazing. His body protected within an energy shell of pure mystical energy that made him appear four sizes bigger, Scarab flew like a bullet towards Ancestor. The impact rattled the teeth of everyone within a two-block radius.

At the head of the battle, almost detached from the chaos of Silverclaw ducking underneath the mystic weapon of Scythe or U.S. Agent being on the receiving end of a round house kick, were Union Jack and Lady Deathstrike.

The battle had lasted all of a minute now, but the two stood there immobile, their eyes locked one each other like the two deadly predators they were. As much as Union Jack wanted to help his team by coordinating them against the Avatars, he knew Lady Deathstrike would cut him down in an instant the second he took his eyes off her.

Lady Deathstrike herself cared little for her teammates, but there was little she could do to fight the insidious programming that corrupted her body and mind. It dictated that she fight Excalibur, though thankfully didn't completely control the how.

Union Jack moved first to break the stalemate, removing two ebony riot sticks from behind his back. They were barely in place before Lady Deathstrike slashed forward, his lethally sharp fingers ready to separate Rock's head from his shoulders.

Union Jack parried the lethal blade fingers with his night stick, and with a spark Lady Deathstrike screamed. Union Jack's sigh of relief was inaudible as he brought the night stick down across the cyborg's face with his left stick and then swung through with a swing that would impress any coach with the right. Deathstrike's head snapped back, and saw stars on the edges of her vision.

"What…on earth…"

Union Jack's smug smile was visible beneath his mask. It was a combination of pride in his handiwork and his own skill, "The nightsticks are specially made. Hollowed out with electro-magnetics attuned to your neural net." Jack deliberately left out the fact he'd studied Lady Deathstrike's fighting styles for days. Combined with his specially created weapons, he held a definite edge.

"Preparation. That's a small step away from fear," Yuriko Oyama observed.

"Actually, it's a large step in the direction of kicking your arse!"

Union Jack ran forward and swung at the Samurai cyborg, who easily sprang over the attack. Union Jack was barely fast enough to cross his weapons in front of his face as she lashed out with both steel feet at his flesh and blood head. Of course, by touching the weapons Lady Deathstrike was overwhelmed by waves of agony. Dropping to the ground in a heap, Union Jack was on her in an instant. As much as his every instinct as a man and hero loathed the idea of pounding on a defenseless woman, his common sense never let him stop for a second. Fat blue sparks flew off his batons like a Fourth of July of electrical fireworks.

Deathstrike defended herself as best she could, her systems threatening to crash as each blow rained down. With desperate speed, she gripped the ground beneath her, her indestructible claws sinking into the street with ease. Then, using her superstrength to brace herself, she pivoted on her arm and lashed out with both feet, striking Jack's sternum. Union Jack's impressive and personally designed body armor prevented his chest from caving in, it couldn't stop him from being thrown back. Before he'd even struck the ground, Deathstrike shakily rose to her feet.

"Avatars, fall back!" With a single bound, Lady Deathstrike managed to clear the entire distance of the battle and landed further down the street, safely away from Union Jack, "Fall back now!"

As soon as Eshu heard that order, he knew it was time to stop screwing around. He'd been sparring with the second Lich (who was no smarter than the first) who was hacking and slashing at him like there was no tomorrow. But all good things had to come to an end, Eshu knew. Several cables of malleable, putty like flesh shot out and grabbed Lich in an inescapable hold.

"It's been fun, buddy, but this is where you get off," Eshu stated in friendly, conversational manner, "your claws are impressive, but I'm sure you Asian guys here this a lot," Eshu's left arm morphed into a steel, spiked pinchers. He pulled his fist back, and punched straight through Lich's chest out the other side like it was an overripe fruit. He popped the wet, sticky organ in between his pinchers like a grape while the body of the skeletal warrior Lich twitched as it hung limply on his massive limb, "…mine is bigger."

"Oh my God in heaven!"

Silverclaw's concentration snapped like a dry twig and she was in her knees, in human form and fought back dry heaves, wishing she'd never glanced in Eshu's direction. Scythe, his mystic sickle in hand and fully charged, couldn't complain. He raised his weapon high and took aim towards the animorph's exposed neck.

"Maria!"

Sabra turned away from Quake and fired her wrist needles towards Scythe as soon as she heard the young woman cry out. Almost instantly, Scythe was impersonating a pin cushion, his nerves and muscles utterly immobile if only for several minutes. But in doing so, Sabra had left her back exposed to Quake. The huge, gray skinned beak nosed Avatars raised his fists above his head, and slammed them down on Sabra's shoulders with a -thoom!-. Had the street not sagged underneath the sudden impact forming a crater underneath, Sabra's spine might have been shattered. As it was, her left collarbone had been broken.

"Be thankful my orders don't allow me the time to finish you!" Quake spat as he looked down at the fallen warrior before turning away to leave. Sabra dragged herself into a sitting position. She hurt like nothing else, but she'd fought the Hulk and survived, and if she had to she'd fight these monsters with nothing but her teeth! But before she could go that far, the Israel representative noticed a long shadow suddenly fall over the battle field.

"Excalibur, look out!" Cybermancer yelled from above.

U.S. Agent stopped fighting Warfist long enough to see a fifteen foot wall of water bearing down upon him. The water parted around his foe and washed John Walker, and then the rest of his teammates half way down the block like children's toys.

"Excalibur…*cough!* …regroup!" Percival Rock ordered as he spit up water from his suddenly flooded lungs.

"Jack, I am sorry, Foundry and Old Woman distracted me," Darkstar explained as she and Cybermancer touched down.

"Don't worry about it luv, lets just get after them! Stay together and stay alert!"

Excalibur took after the fleeing Avatars at full speed, with Laynia creating a darkforce platform for the non flying members. The terrorists had already reached Westminster Bridge, and Union Jack cursed their speed. The monsters would be half way across by the time they reached the bridge!

"Should we cut them off?" Sabra asked as she flew alongside, almost reading Rock's thoughts.

"No. They're terrorists. Their best tactic is divide and conquer," Rock answered. The second they reached the bridge, Rock knew something was wrong. The steel upon the bridge shimmered with a transparent gloss, the air held a chill while the windows of the abandoned cars were fogged up.

"Why'd they freeze the bridge?" U.S. Agent thought aloud.

"Incoming!" Eshu yelled. A fireball the size of an SUV was falling towards their position and falling fast. Union Jack, Eshu and U.S. Agent dived off the darkforce platform and rolled onto the street. The other members of Excalibur used their flight abilities to pull away while scarlet Scarab met the fireball head on. It exploded against his chest like a water balloon and doing as much damage as one to him, but the flame burned brightly enough to ignite several cars on the bridge.

"….help us…!"

"…my baby! My baby!..."

A cold shiver went down the British hero's spine the instant he heard the cries for help. Obviously, some people had chosen to hide inside their vehicles rather than flee unprotected and exposed.

"Scarab! Laynia! Get everyone off the bridge!" Union Jack roared, "Sabra, U.S. Agent! Front and center, lets get these bastards and teach them a lesson!"

Lady Deathstrike observed Excalibur racing across the bridge dispassionately. Her programming wouldn't allow anything else. Beside her stood Ancestor, Quake and Fuji, in readiness for their next attack.

"Deluge has done his part, are you three ready to do yours?" She asked in perfect English, the only insult the programming infecting her mind would allow.

"Very much so," Ancestor answered for the three.

"Foundry, continue to run interference while your teammates do their work."

The flaming Avatar smiled wickedly, "Of course."

U.S. Agent ran through a short wall of flame, his suit protecting his body from the worst of the heat. He could see the Avatars only a hundred yards off, and this short sprinting was building up his battle lust. He was certain by the time he reached the villains he'd be pumped enough to take them down by himself.

It was then that the bridge itself seemingly rolled up and pitched the once Captain America from his feet and onto the ground face first. Once down, his heart plummeted as he realized he could feel the bridge swinging. He didn't have to see Quake, Ancestor and Fuji acting in union at the end of the bridge, using their incredible strength to punish the bridge. The steel and concrete bed reacted like an oversized, thin water bed, flowing back and forth.

What followed was hardly unpredictable. The snapping of the giant steel cable sounded like the cracking of a whip only a thousand times louder while the bridge rumbled and cracked with a deafening sound. Union Jack was snatched into the air by Sabra while U.S. Agent caught a ride with Cybermancer.

"Oh man, Rock and Chapman are both gonna be pissed," muttered U.S. Agent as he watched Westminster bridge fall into the Thames River.

"I just hope Scarab and Darkstar got everyone off before they dropped the bridge!" Cybermancer countered.

"Heads up!" U.S. Agent barely brought his indestructible shield up in time to deflect a fireball that would have burned his chest like a match. The sky around Excalibur came alive with gouts of flame from Foundry, knives of ice propelled high into the air by Deluge while Scythe projected blades of energy towards the heroes and Quake clapped his hands at the heroes, producing bubbles of pressurized air that sliced through the air like an arrow.

Unprepared for such an onslaught so high in the air, Excalibur found themselves forced back. And vulnerable to even more attacks.

And all around Excalibur, media helicopters from CNN, the BBC and even Fox News watched the battle with their cameras, transmitting the heroic struggle into homes all across the United Kingdom.

Chapman watched the battle on several monitors, the feed provided by several different stations. He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. He knew something was wrong. Somehow, Excalibur and all local news media had been alerted to the Avatars long before local law enforcement. In fact, according to reports he'd just received, the local police hadn't even known the Avatars were rampaging in London until they saw it on the telly, indicating the phones had been jammed.

This meant that whoever was behind the Avatars wanted Excalibur and the media to be there. And Chapman knew that if he could figure out why, he'd be able to save as many lives as Excalibur in the field.

"Whoa!" U.S. Agent, hanging from Suzi Endo's armored hands, barely managed to raise himself over a ball of fire that was on a crash course with his little John Walker. Excalibur had been subjected to this barrage for a total of thirty seconds, and things weren't looking up.

"Okay, screw this. Throw me at those bastards!" Jack shouted.

"What, are you crazy?!"

"What, you think is sane?" Agent blocked a chunk of ice that made him swing in Suzi's grip like a child on the monkey bars, "You got some superstrength in that armor, right? Use it or drop me already!"

"Fine!" Letting her anger and frustration get the better of her for a second, Cybermancer pitched U.S. Agent at the terrorists in a strong, under hand manner.

Marine training took over instantly as a directed free fall took over. U.S. Agent tucked his arms, included the one with a shield strapped to it, to his side in an effort to decrease wind resistance, the air whistling in his ears as he fell like a bird of prey towards his enemies. By shifting his weight to the left with a shrug, he avoided a stream of flame. Nodding to the left, he avoided most of a burst of razor-sharp ice. Large and long painful cuts sliced into his arm, but he gritted his teeth, his eyes locked on his target.

John Walker fell for almost six seconds before he reached his target, the oversized smoke stack known as Foundry. During the last two seconds, he brought his shield up and held it firm with both hands and braced himself for the impact.

The crash was sharp and sudden, like getting rear ended only a dozen times worse. The crash was worthy of the best of NASCAR as Foundry was slammed backwards onto his back, his steel form screeching as it was forced back and sparks not produced naturally by his body were produced. Both U.S. Agent and Foundry were knocked senseless, though U.S. Agent had sense enough to roll off the super-hot Avatar before he was burned.

Of course, there was little he could do about the fact that he was surrounded by enemies who bored holes into head with their looks of hared.

"Eh," Agent shrugged, "at least my boots are on."

"Not today, Walker you insane bastard!"

The area exploded, energy bursts, grenades and explosive bullets turning the area into pure, confused chaos. The attack was too sudden and unpredictable for the Avatars to mount a proper defense, and they followed Deathstrike as she retreated. U.S. Agent smiled as he saw Union Jack, Cybermancer, Sabra and Eshu running towards him. The pure energy of their anger and hate was enough to drive the terrorists away from their easy prey.

"Come on Walker, we got these tossers on the run!" Jack shouted as he ran past his U.S. teammate. The former wrestler didn't waste a second.

The Avatars made it just past the world famous Big Ben before Darkstar, Scarlet Scarab and Silverclaw dropped down like avenging angels directly in their path.

Deathstrike's computer like mind evaluated her team's predicament. To one side Scarlet Scarab's hands glowed with power while Silverclaw had assumed her puma form, a bestial growl in her throat while Darkstar hovered towards the back, her hands crossed disapprovingly.

To the other, Union Jack was loading another clip into his gun, Sabra and U.S. Agent had assumed fighting stances, Eshu had spikes formed all over his body and Cybermancer's body language screamed hate.

Things did not look good at all. And Yuriko couldn't have been more relieved.

"Let's squeeze these guys like the pimple on the ass of humanity they are!" U.S. Agent snarled as he ran forward.

The two sides of Excalibur charged towards their foe with such speed and power that victory was assured. Only Darkstar held back, with orders to contain the battle and the subsequent damage. So it was quite the surprise when the Avatars faded from sight only seconds before Excalibur would have slammed down on them like the hand of God.

And so, for a moment, Excalibur stood there bewildered and enraged in the shadow of Europe's most famous clock, Big Ben. Finally, Silverclaw broke the silence.

"Is it just me, or is it too dark for this time of day?"

Scarlet Scarab, Union Jack and U.S. Agent all crooked their head upwards to observe the thick, gray skies that congealed over the city. The clouds were literally as thick as pea soup and flashes of lighting and booms of thunder could be heard in their massive belly, producing a storm cloud quite unlike anything even the most well traveled Excalibur member had ever seen.

Twin lighting bolts stabbed down from the sky and struck the base of Big Ben, only a few dozen yards away from the international superteam, who threw themselves to the ground to avoid being struck. Subsequent explosions followed almost instantly, bombs placed well beforehand now triggered by the lightning strike. The centuries old clock tower lurched forward with the loudest -crack!- most the team had ever heard, just like the saboteurs knew it would. Union Jack looked up just in time to see the face of his people's most famous monument crashing down towards him.

"Nooo!" Darkstar shot towards her team like a bullet, but even from down the block she was too far away. The debris and stone of the clock tower fell like gravel out of a dump truck onto her comrades, who were buried underneath the rubble in an instant. Instincts of self preservation kicked in automatically as smaller pieces of debris and dust rushed towards her like an avalanche.

High above in the clouds, the once human woman now known as Tsunami congratulated herself on a job well done. She'd been gathering her strength since long before the Avatars made themselves known, consuming the wind, the ambient energy, the very air around London for power. It took considerable effort, but she possessed the power of two and a half hurricanes inside her gaseous body. And with one great mental push, she released it all towards the exposed power lines below.

Chapman's jaw hit the floor when he saw Big Ben, a landmark first introduced to him by his grandfather, fall like a house of cards upon the team he commanded. But when the screens that had been following the battle went blank, for reasons he couldn't explain to himself, Chapman dove to the ground like a soldier into a foxhole. It likely saved his life as the monitors exploded with horrendous force, turning the glass into ultra sharp projectiles traveling at unheard of speeds, killing a quarter of the staff present and maiming the rest.

And it was the same all throughout London. Tsunami had converted all her power into magical lightning that surged through the power lines like a tornado might through a sewer. A computer serving the porn needs of a middle aged man, a T.V. that conveyed information to a lovely blond haired mother of two, the laptop of a casual internet surfer, all exploded like cluster bombs, maiming their owners, and this scene repeated itself a thousand times over, both in London and whomever was unfortunate enough to be watching the battle itself. Those maimed and killed were random and indiscriminate. Most were innocent. Some were deserving, others old, most young. All random victims of cruel fate.

"No, it won't end like this, it can't end like this!" Darkstar created giant shovel after giant shovel with her power as she tore into the rubble that had fallen atop her friends and teammates were last seen. The dust hadn't even settled yet and she had already displaced several tons.

Suddenly, Darkstar noticed that the rubble was beginning to move itself. She stepped back, and a scarlet sphere of energy rose up from the corpse of the clock tower, her teammates safely inside.

Darkstar let out a sigh of relief as Scarab set his sphere down and dissipated the bubble.

"Sometimes I forget I am not the only one who can create forcefields," Commented Laynia.

The members of Excalibur broke apart somewhat to survey the damage. Already emergency vehicles had arrived alongside policemen and military personal. Excalibur slowly drifted apart to see what they could do to help, although Union Jack could feel their eyes upon him as he stood there with quacking fists.

Only U.S. Agent with his famous (lack of) tact was willing to approach.

"Rock…"

"I don't want to hear it," Union Jack said sharply, "they are going to pay, John. If I have to fight the devil himself…I will make them pay."

Silverclaw and Sabra waded through the lines of emergency workers aimlessly. Triage centers had been set up in the middle of the street as the wounded poured onto the street. Both women knew their powers were of little use, but could do little else. Tsunami had unwittingly destroyed their communication lines to Avalon, leaving them stranded in London for the moment. Maria kept her eyes and ears open however in the off chance that someone might need them. It was all she could do to prevent herself from breaking down in the face such tragedy.

"Maria?"

Maria de Guadalupe Santiago's skipped a beat when she heard that voice. Her head and eyes darted around frantically until she realized the person she was looking for was five feet directly behind her.

"Jessica!"

Maria threw her arms around the five foot eight, blond, middle class born twenty something college student that easily held the title of 'best friend'. Jessica was dressed accordingly for the weather, but Sabra noted several cuts and tears in the clothes as well as slight burns.

"Man, I leave New York and the craziness…Maria, you're crying, chill out!" Jessica said, looking at her friend in an odd manner, "I'm fine! Besides, I think we should be more worried about you! I saw on the TV how you and Excalibur were in the thick of it! I mean, wow!"

"Did something happen to the television while you were watching it?" Sabra asked carefully. Up until how, Maria had completely forgotten she was standing there.

"Yeah. I was watching the footage of the battle at a local when a T.V. literally blew up in my face!" Jessica answered, "I feel fine, but I was lucky the thing didn't kill me!"

"Indeed," Sabra answered in a remorseful tone, "Silverclaw, come with me. We need to search for additional victims from the sky."

Maria looked at Sabra curiously. After all, if all the victims were injured while inside their homes, what good would looking for them from the sky do? Then Maria heard a thump, followed by Sabra cursing under her breath.

"Jessica?"

Jessica was lying face down in the street, utterly still.

"Jessica!"

Maria checked her friend's neck for a pulse.

"Oh God, Jessica! Medic!" shrieked Silverclaw so loud her throat hurt. Two emergency workers began to sprint to the young women's side, but were stopped short by Sabra's raised arms.

"She is beyond help. See to someone else."

"Sabra, what are you doing!?" Maria demanded, "Jessica needs help!"

"You're not a bloody doctor, let us help!" One of the emergency workers protested.

"According to information she gave me only moments before, it's the Butterfly Effect."

The emergency workers understood instantly, and turned and left.

"Where re you going, come back!" Maria begged, still standing over her friend's body.

"Maria, there's nothing they can do…"

"You don't know that you cold hearted bitch!" Silverclaw was in her puma form instantaneously. Silverclaw leapt towards Sabra with dangerous intent, but Sabra easily grabbed the younger woman by her wrists and held her firm. Using instead the claws on her feet, Silverclaw scratched at Sabra like a wildcat, but to no effect, "Let me go! Let them help her, please!"

"It's called the Butterfly Effect," Sabra began, "it's where the force of an explosion travels through a person's body. It causes no visible, but ruptures internal organs. Lungs, heart, kidneys…there is no way to save her."

"No…no…" Maria only stopped struggling for the briefest second, "…no… you're lying! You have to be…!"

"You know I would never lie to you, Maria. I know it when I see it because…" Sabra swallowed hard, "it's exactly what happened to my son."

The makeshift walls Maria erected around her grief came tumbling down. Her strength lost, she returned to human form and cry into the chest of the only person who could understand her pain.

"It's not fair, it's just not fair…" Was all she could say.

And high in the air hovered Scarlet Scarab like a guardian Angel over the two women. His eyes scanned the historical city, taking note of the many columns of smoke wafting into the air. Each one likely indicating another innocent person harmed. While Scarab held no special love for the British people, but this was something he would never wish upon them. And it chilled his heart to think what these beats planned to do next.

Next Issue: Once again, the Avatars lay siege to a famous city. Only this time, they attack the very foundations of the Free World! Why does this bring a smile to Joey Chapman's face?