Avengers #419

Some Say We'll See Armageddon Soon
by Scott Harris

Things are grim at Avengers Mansion. Scarlet Witch lies in a semi-comatose state for no known reason and the Vision is grimly standing by. Hawkeye, meanwhile, has his hands full as an unknown assailant has struck in Baltimore; Hawkeye waits now for the reserves to arrive. He doesn't have to wait long, for mere moments after the issue begins Lockjaw appears with Quicksilver in tow. Quicksilver speaks momentarily with Hawkeye and then leaves to check on Wanda, leaving Hawkeye a bit flustered; he knows they need to leave for the battle but his whole team is huddled in the infirmary. Hurrying to the landing bay, Hawkeye begins to prepare the Quinjet for launch. Suddenly a beamof light shootsthrough the window and takes on the form of Captain Marvel.

"Captain Marvel! Good timing, we need to leave immediately. i'll brief everyone on the way, but for now could you, uh, zip down to the infirmary and get everyone up here?" Marvel nods and vanishes; seconds later Hawkeye gets a message on his communicard. It's Jarvis, telling Hawkeye to open the lauch doors as a couple guests want to speak with him. Hawkeye does so and in flies Ms. Marvel and Namor. Hawkeye expresses a bit of surprise that they answered his call for assistance.

"It was nothing. We were in the area on business when your message arrived; we could do nothing other than answer, for that is our duty as Avengers." Namor says.

"We? Were you in the area for business or pleasure, Namor?" Hawkeye grins.

"Our business is pleasure today" Carol answers, putting her arm around the somewhat stiff Namor. Hawkeye decides to shut up, but has to wonder what's going on between the two of them. His pondering is halted by the arrival of Captain Marvel, Quicksilver and Vision. Wasting no more time, Hawkeye launches the Quinjet and they blast towards Baltimore. The flight is a very brief one (Quinjets have been said to have the capability of travelling from New York to Africa in 17 minutes; Baltimore won't take more than a couple minutes) but Hawkeye does his best to fill them in. Some huge menace has struck in downtown Baltimore; what it is isn't know, but it's believed the Defenders were involved and apparantly weren't up to the task. Namor expresses concern for his old comerades, but it's concern better saved for himself, for mere seconds later the Quinjet is torn apart by a gigantic flaming fist!

Meanwhile, back at Avengers Mansion, Dr. Kincaid is working on the feverish Wanda. Wanda shows no sign of coming around other than the strange, alien tongue she occasionally whispers in. Abruptly Kincaid whirls to find that Agatha Harkness has somehow arrived unnoticed. With a wave of her hand Kincaid slumps into a deep sleep and Agatha approaches the Witch's bedside, an odd, even frightening look on her face...

Meanwhile, the Avengers are scrambling to keep themselves from falling to their deaths. Namor grabs Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel grabs ahold of Quicksilver, but their efforts are hindered by the huge flaming form of Dormammu looming over Baltimore. "Of course!" says Hawkeye, "that's what happened to Wanda. Dormammu remembered how she took him out last time (in Avengers #118 -- Crass Crossover Scott) and...oops!" Not satisfied with his destruction of the quinjet, Dormammu waves his arm and sends a sheet of flame towards the Avengers. Throwing Quicksilver at Namor (who catches the somewhat mortified Pietro), Ms. Marvel launches herself at the fire and, her binary powers flaring on, absorbs all the flames into herself. But...

"Something's wrong...the flames, eating me from inside...aaaarrrgh!" With a scream Ms. Marvel flings herself far off into the sky.

"Carol!" Namor cries, but burdened with two Avengers, Namor cannot follow. Hawkeye calls out for Captain Marvel to keep Dormammu occupied for a few seconds while they regroup; Hawkeye has spotted the Defenders readying themselves for an attack below. Marvel nods her assent and begins buzzing the huge Dormammu, racking him with lightning strikes to no noticable effect. Still, it does provide the distraction Hawkeye wanted, as Namor, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Vision land safely in the street beside the gathered Defenders.

"What the heck's going on, Doc?"

"I'm afraid I there isn't time for a full run down right now, Hawkeye, "Dr. Strange replies. "To be brief, we were trying to locate the demon Zarathos in order to possibly secure help for our dying comrade Ghost Rider but somehow freed Dormammu. So far we've managed to keep him from destroying the city, but Valkyrie has been gravely injured and we've done nothing to turn the tide." (Doc is keeping it short, but you can read the whole story in Defenders #170...now on sale! -- Sales-Happy Scott)

Hawkeye suggests they try attacking from two fronts, the Avengers on one side and the Defenders on another as a distraction, to allow Dr. Strange to ready the spells he needs to once more banish Dormammu from Earth. Strange readily agrees and the two teams split up as Captain Marvel rejoins them. "My strongest strikes didn't even phase him."

"Don't worry Captain, we've taken this goon down before. Avengers Assemble!" With that cry, Hawkeye leads the charge towards Dormammu...

...meanwhile, back in Avengers Mansion, we see Agatha Harkness looming over the still prone form of the Scarlet Witch; Harkness has places the Witch inside a pentagram and now begins chanting in a dark language over her. The room grows dark and Dr. Kincaid groggily comes to just in time to see the horrifying result of the spell. "Oooh...my head, what...Good Lord?!" Wanda's eyes snap open, glowing with an unholy light.

...and, in outer space, Ms. Marvel unleashes a mighty flare of power (spied, of course, by boggled Russian astronomers). Drained but free of the hellfire she absorbed, Ms. Marvel wearily turns and flies back towards Earth.

"Foolish Avengers!" Dormammu is shouting, back in Baltimore. "You may have defeated me once, but she is not with you this time! Die!" With another wave of his arm, Dormammu creates a dozen powerful demons who descnd upon the Avengers gleefully. Namor's stregth is ebbed by the mystic flame of the demons, but Quicksilvertears open a hydrant, dousing Namor with strength-restoring water. Meanwhile, the Vision fights in grim silence. The battle see-saws until Ms. Marvel suddenly arrives in a burst of power. The Avengers quickly subdue the demons, and we see on the other side of Dormammu that the Defenders (Gargoyle, Hellcat, Blue Shield, Colossus and Ant-Man) have done the same. Again the teams strike at Dormammu, in concert. Dormammu begins striking about him with a fiery staff...

...and Dr. Strange siezes his moment. "We have fought so many times over the years, Dormammu and I, that I have prepared a large number of special spells designed to defeat him." Dr. Strange thinks. "But I had no time to prepare myself for such an undertaking; his attack was too sudden and surprising. Now, though, the Avengers and Defenders have bought me the time to prepare; now, Dormammu, begone!" Rushing forward, Dr. Strange launches a mighty mystical barrage; Dormammu, already staggered by the combined attack of the two teams and distracted enough so he did not notice Strange's approach, can offer no mystical defense. The spell strikes him full on and for a moment, everyone is silent and motionless, their breath held as they wait for the spell to take effect...an effect that never arrives.

Straightening himself, Dormammu looks at the shocked Strange. "Valiant effort, fool. Valiant...and pathetic! Die!" Now Dormammu rears back, the flames atop his head firing high into the sky and in a thunderous mystical voice begins to chant the spell that will surely spell the end of life as we know it.

"Halt, demon! Turn and face your doom!" Shocked, Dormammu cuts off and looks at the Scarlet Witch, standing wreathed in power before him.

"It is not possible!"

"All things are possible, Dormammu. Or rather...Chthon!" The name brings a howl of pain from Dormammu's huge form. For it is not Dormammu at all, but a transformed and disguised Chthon again intent on conquest of all life. "I have been one with you, Chthon, I know your every secret..."

"Noooooo"

"Begone." Chthon rears back for one last attack but the Witch's hex strikes him full force; directed by her arcane knowledge, the hex pulls Chthon in upon himself and with a despairing cry he is sucked back to the dimension from where he came. The Avengers and Defenders gather and brush themselves off, with Dr. Strange thanking Wanda for getting them out of the mess they started; after parting, the Avengers return to Avengers Mansion, just in time to meet the other group of Avengers returning through the basement door.

Cap and Hawkeye look at each other and say in unison "You won't believe what we just went through."

"Yeah, but..." the Beast interrupts, looking at the full living room around him. "What're we going to do with 14 Avengers?"

Avengers #420

The Old Order Changeth!