And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born-- to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then-- for now, the Avengers Assemble!

THE MIGHTY AVENGERS!

Avengers #406:
"Battle on Broadway!"

by Van Allen Plexico

No time for flashbacks now, True Believer! Try to hang on, and we'll get you caught up as soon as possible!!

Citizen V stood imperiously before the assembled Avengers, his sword jabbing outwards in clear defiance. "Who do we think we are, Hawkeye? Why, we're the Thunderbolts, of course!"

Hawkeye and Iron Man both started forward. Mach 1 and Atlas instantly took up defensive stances, Atlas growing to even larger size as Mach 1 trained a variety of weapons on the Avengers.

Captain America raised a gloved hand. "Wait."

The two Avengers waited.

Citizen V cocked his head slightly to the side, then seemed to smile beneath his mask. "Yes, of course. We're all 'good guys' here-- no sense in engaging in one of those ludicrous running battles which always seem to occur when heroes first encounter one another."

Cap strode forward. "I couldn't agree more." He reached out, extending a hand.

Citizen V took the hand and shook it firmly. "How can we be of service, Captain?"

Cap considered a moment, unsure of exactly how to broach the subject without offending the Thunderbolts. "We have, as I'm sure you're aware, only recently returned... from a rather long excursion to..." He paused, not sure of how much information to share.

Iron Man stepped up next to Cap. "We appreciate all you've done in our absence, Thunderbolts. But since we've never been properly introduced, we thought we might come and pay our respects."

Hawkeye joined them. "Yeah. And find out a little bit about you."

Citizen V glanced at Hawkeye, regarding him as he might a small, troublesome insect. "I see." He gestured to the others, and they all settled to the ground in front of Four Freedoms Plaza, their former menacing attitudes evaporating.

Jolt moved forward, her face broadening into a smile. She reached out, shaking hands with Wanda and Carol. "I've always been a big fan of yours," she told them. They both smiled warmly, charmed by the young girl's exuberence.

The Avengers and the Thunderbolts intermingled, slowly at first, both sides seemingly suspicious, or at least not yet fully accepting, of the other. The Scarlet Witch and the Wasp blended most comfortably in, talking softly with Meteorite and Songbird, while Hawkeye and Iron Man both kept a bit of distance from the others, as did Atlas and Mach 1. Jolt shook everyone's hand happily, while the Vision remained to one side, accosted only by an odd glance from Techno, which the Vision found oddly and inexplicably disturbing.

After a few moments and some gradually less awkward exchanges, Citizen V spoke up: "Now, you must excuse us, Avengers. We've only just returned from a mission and have a number of pressing matters to complete within our headquarters."

Hawkeye leaned close to Iron Man, whispering, "I knew it! They aren't gonna let us get close to 'em for very long!"

Cap nodded to Citizen V. "Understood-- but can we arrange another meeting in the near future? To compare notes, discuss strategies, and so forth?"

Citizen V looked pained at first, but then suddenly his disposition changed. "Why, of course, Captain. In fact, we'd love to drop in on Avengers Mansion and discuss anything you'd like. It would be an honor to visit your famous base of operations."

Iron Man frowned. "Avengers Mansion--?" He exchanged a look with Hawkeye.

"But as I said, for now, we must go." Citizen V directed the other Thunderbolts into the building, then lingered at the doorway for a moment. "We will be in contact as soon as--"

"DIE, AVENGERS!!!"

The cry came from above, and all the heroes on the street looked up at once.

A squadron of flying figures descended rapidly, jet-packs dropping them down to the street.

Cap recognized them instantly. "The Zodiac!"

Ms. Marvel took to the air, even as the Wasp shrunk to insect size and followed her. The Vision increased his mass and took up a defensive stance, as Hawkeye knocked an arrow and the Scarlet Witch prepared a hex.

Iron Man glanced back at the Thunderbolts; they stood behind the Avengers, seemingly unsure of how to react. Frowning again, he turned back to the Zodiac, repulsors ready.

"You were all too easy to find, Avengers!" cried Capricorn, leading the way. He raised an ugly-looking weapon and fired a blast; the energy beam lashed out, smashing into the Vision and sending even his ultra-dense form sprawling.

"Look out, Cap-- they've got some new toys this time around!" Iron Man unleashed a repulsor blast, seeking to disarm Capricorn, but the goat-horned villain deflected the blast with some sort of energy shield and fired again, just missing the Golden Avenger.

The other Zodiac members rushed up behind Capricorn, each brandishing a new weapon. Saggitarius unleashed a titanic blast from his own gun, narrowly missing a diving Hawkeye. "Leo was good enough to bust us out of jail, heroes," he shouted. "And he's set us up with the power to take you down once and for all!"

The battle raged between the Zodiac in attendance-- Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, Saggitarius, Pisces, Aquarius, and Gemini-- and the Avengers. But after a few moments, it became obvious to the Avengers that they weren't getting any help from a certain other party.

Ms. Marvel soared up above the melee and looked around. "The Thunderbolts-- they're gone!" she cried, even as a blast from Virgo clipped her in the side and sent her tumbling to the street.

"I knew it," Hawkeye muttered, as he exchanged blows at close range with Aquarius.

"But where--?" Cap glanced around, his shield still standing between himself and the double-team efforts of Capricorn and Cancer.

Behind Cap, Wanda went down after being struck by a deflected blast from Pisces. The Vision rushed to her side, solidifying to reach down and cradle her in his arms. A blast from Gemini smashed into the back of his head and knocked him over, stunned.

At that moment, a lone figure in black leapt into view, immediately attacking the nearest Zodiac member.

Hawkeye glanced over, saw who it was. "Panther!"

"T'Challa! Thank goodness!" The Wasp smiled at him as she looped around another energy blast. "Where did you come from?"

The Black Panther answered even as he leapt from one villain to the next, his fists lashing out in precise blows. "I was at a diplomatic function nearby, and saw what was happening. I thought I might be of more use here than there."

"You're always welcome with us, Panther," Iron Man told him, just as three energy beams converged on the armored Avenger, sweeping him from the sky and smashing him to the pavement. Another blast just missed the Panther, sending him diving out of the way.

"Regroup!" Cap shouted. "They have us entirely on the defensive!"

The battle was going badly-- with two down, and the initiative all on the side of the attackers, the remaining Avengers scattered, seeking to avoid their immediate threats before returning to the fight.

"Blast it!" Cap hurled his shield, momentarily disarming Capricorn, but was immediately struck by Virgo and sent sprawling. Hawkeye joined him on the ground moments later, courtesy of a blast from Cancer. The situation reached its lowest ebb---

"Thunderbolts-- ATTACK!"

--when the Thunderbolts rushed onto the scene once again, deadly intent glaring from their eyes.

The Zodiac were swept up in a tide of onrushing attackers. Meteorite blasted away at the nearest, taking Virgo temporarily out of the fight; Songbird and Jolt used their speed and maneuverability to outflank the startled Cancer and Capricorn; Atlas swept Aquarius up in his gigantic grasp; and Mach 1 strafed the remaining villains with a volley of rocket-bombs. Citizen V easily dodged a blast from Capricorn, disarmed him with a sweeping kick, and pinned him to the wall with his sword, which hovered mere millimeters from the Zodiac field leader's neck.

Citizen V leaned in, the sword poised. "Surrender!"

Capricorn glared back at the Thunderbolts' leader defiantly. "Or else what?"

The sword jabbed him in the throat, hard. Capricorn gagged. The blade pressed even harder against his throat.

Capricorn's eyes widened in shock. "Akk-- I-- GAKKK!! All right! We surrender! Don't kill me!"

The other Zodiac members stared at Capricorn in shock. "What?! Are you crazy?"

"DO IT!"

"But Leo will--"

"Forget Leo! This guy's gonna kill me right now!"

The Zodiac members glanced at one another. Most realized they were near defeat anyway, what with the intervention of these other, unexpected heroes. Wordlessly, they dropped their weapons. The Avengers, having recovered, took them into custody.

Captain America waited for Citizen V to release his prisoner. Long seconds passed. Finally, Cap cleared his throat. "Um, Citizen V? We have them. You can release him."

Citizen V seemed not to hear.

The Black Panther placed a hand on Citizen V's shoulder. "Release the man."

The Thunderbolts' leader glared back at the Panther, as if about to whirl and attack. He hesitated a moment, then seemed to regain control of himself, and removed the blade from Capricorn's neck. The terrified villain all but ran to where his fellows were being rounded up.

"This isn't over, Avengers," Capricorn shouted as he was being loaded into a police transport. "You think you got us-- but you didn't get us all. And you don't know what you're in for with Leo. This guy's crazy! He's had us all jumping to his tune this time--" His rant was cut off as the police slammed the door closed.

"Good work, Thunderbolts," Cap stated. "We appreciate the assistance."

"Yeah," Hawkeye added, "but where were you when they first attacked?"

Meteorite gave him a withering look, but Citizen V replied, "When I saw what was happening, and realized that the Zodiac was unaware of our presence, I felt it wiser to wait until we could do the most... good."

Cap nodded slowly. "All right. Makes sense. Your timing might have been a bit better, but--"

Citizen V whirled and ushered his team back inside their headquarters. "We will be in touch, Captain. Good day."

The Avengers stared in shock as the door slammed in their faces.

Cap turned to Iron Man and Hawkeye. "Okay. I'm starting to agree with you."

Hawkeye nodded. "I don't like them one little bit."

The Wasp returned to normal size. "But what can we do?"

Cap rubbed his jaw, thinking. "Nothing yet. But we can keep an eye on them. I'm sure Reed and the FF will be doing the same. If they're up to something, we'll find out soon enough."

Nodding, and rubbing their various bruises, the Avengers began the walk home.

*****

In Earth orbit:

Hank Pym and the Beast continued to attempt to gather Wonder Man's dispersed energies.*

[*See last issue. --Van]

The Beast peered at the energy matrix screen they'd attached to the cockpit console. Ionic patterns swirled across it in random blobs and rivulets. "Um, Hank, you're more of an expert at this sort of thing than me--"

"Beast," Pym interrupted, "No one is an expert at this sort of thing. I'm not even sure what we're doing."

Beast nodded. "Good point. But what I'm getting at is, how will we know when we've gathered enough? I mean, I really don't want to leave Simon's right elbow or something out here..."

Pym shook his head. "I really don't know. I wish I did."

The energy matrix screen fluctuated, stabilized. It formed an image. A face.

Simon's face.

It peered back at them for a long second, then vanished.

The Beast and Henry Pym glanced at one another. "You saw that, right?" they both asked at once.

Wordlessly, they set back to their task.

NEXT ISSUE: Nova, the Blue Area of the Moon, and...
WONDER MAN--???

All characters copyrighted by and trademarks of Marvel Comics.

Storyline copyright 1998 by Van Allen Plexico.