JULY   YEAR THREE  433 "The More Things Change..."  by Adam Di Stefano, with Scott Harris

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!

Captain America walked through the halls of Avengers Mansion heading towards the kitchen. Absently, he wondered where the rest of the Avengers were. Of course, being their leader, he could easily find out, but no, that would not be right. They were having a well deserved moment of respite.

Ever since the adventure on Galador * things had been relatively quiet for the Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Almost too quiet.

(* See AVENGERS #432 by Scott Harris for the conclusion to that epic -ADS )

'Bite your tongue,' thought Steve Rogers as the thought of too much calm entered his mind.

In truth though, although no one would ever admit it, moments of rest were often nerve-racking. If the villains weren't striking, it meant they were planning, and often the longer the planning, the more diabolical and evil the plan.

Captain America hated the thoughts, but he had one of those feelings. One of those feelings that only came with countless years of experience. As great as instincts could be, one always hated when they got that feeling, that feeling of "the calm before the storm."

The Sentinel of Liberty, still in thought, reached the kitchen. In addition to finding Edwin Jarvis, the Avengers' long time butler whom he saluted, he also found someone else.

The form he came across was blue and furry, and although some might consider the man frightening, once you got to know him, he was really nothing more than a big blue teddy bear. A big blue teddy bear with an intellectual acumen that was among the greatest in the world. The man of course, was none other than Hank McCoy, the Bouncing Beast!

"Hank," Cap said, letting a very controlled amount of surprise flow through his words, "I thought you would be off doing whatever it is the others are doing."

"Ah, my dear Captain, it is a beautiful day, isn't it?" asked the Beast, looking almost like a teenager in love.

Cap broke a little smile. "That it is, which is why I'm wondering why you're not out."

"I was outdoors. Doing a little exercise, playing with the children in the park, picking kittens up from a most unreachable tree branch. It's quite fascinating watching a child stare after its pet. Have you ever noticed that Captain? I've helped save the world and most likely the universe on several occasions without so much as a thank you, yet the look of sheer joy on a child's face when he is reunited with his little Mittens makes it all so gratifying."

Cap couldn't help himself from grinning as he watched the wistful blue-furred mutant who still looked like he was head over heels in high school.

"Hank McCoy, I think the fresh air has gone to your head."

The Beast watched as the American legend went over to the fridge to pour himself a drink of some ultra-healthy concoction.

"That it has my dear Captain, that is has," Hank sighed. Suddenly, the furry one's expression changed to a much more somber one.

The change was anything but lost on Cap, "Hank, is there something wrong?"

"Wrong? Oh, heavens no. No one in spandex has tried to blast me into oblivion in over a week now, how can anything be wrong?" asked the Beast almost genuinely.

"Okay then. I'll be training if you need me."

Beast watched as Captain America turned and began to leave. He shook his head slightly. For all the man's tactical prowess, and for all his righteousness, and all his aura of authority, Steve Rodgers was still human and he was not perfect. He was lacking in his interpersonal skills. Anyone comfortable around people would have noticed Hank's need to discuss something.

"Cap, wait," Beast called out as he jumped forward, and somersaulted in front of Captain America's path.

Cap was either puzzled or annoyed, Beast couldn't make out which.

"Yes?"

"There's something that we need to discuss in a more comfortable decorum."

"Where do you suggest?"

"Your office."

Steve Rogers drew from this that the matter was official Avengers business. "Very well."

Central Park in the middle of the day. One of the most famous places in the world. At night it became a haven for criminals, but that was widely known. What many people neglect though, is that crime doesn't only happen at night.

On this sunny afternoon, the park was full of people as usual. Across the street was a somewhat different story. Tons of people bustled along the sidewalk in front of two rather large buildings. The two buildings had a small space of about 4 yards separating them. Large enough to be an alleyway, but too small to be well lit.

A young teen, decked out in the most recent teen fashions skateboarded down the crowded sidewalk and took a sharp left turn bringing him down the alley.

The boy stepped off his skateboard and grabbed it with his left hand as he stood face to face with a great big dead-end.

"Damn. I coulda swore this was the shortcut that Vinny showed me yesterday," complained the youth loudly.

"Guess you swore wrong," shot a voice from behind him.

The young man turned around to find himself face to face, with a slightly older black youth, with four others behind him. The other four were all roughly the same age as the leader. Two were white, another was black, and the last was most likely of Latino descent.

"Who the @$%& are you?" retorted the boy with the skateboard.

"Show a little respect. You're lucky I'm in a good mood today. Empty your pockets, leave your board and your shirt and we'll let you go."

The young boy looked at his skateboard, and his new Ecko sweater. He had bought both with money he had saved up over the past little while doing his paper route. Finally, he made a decision.

"Get the *&^% outta here!"

"You're gonna regret that you little runt," said the leader of the gang as he approached the boy.

He was only a few yards away, when a translucent figure stepped out of the wall itself and between the gang and the boy.

The five young men all took a step backwards as the figure took a more solid form. He was green and yellow with a cape, red eyes and a jewel on his forehead.

"Holy $&!+, it's the Vision!" cried out one of the white boys.

The vision's voice was firm, even for a robot. "I strongly suggest you cease your criminal actions and depart from here immediately."

The leader of the gang set his jaw. If he backed down, the rest of his group would lose respect for him. "We ain't takin' orders from no dude in a green and yellow costume. Get 'em guys."

The group of five teenage boys hesitated for a moment, but then leapt into action, drawing unseen weapons from their clothes. Knives, metal sticks, and chains were brandished in the Vision's direction as the group approached the Avenger.

They teenage hooligans swung wildly all at once. The Vision did not bother using force or speed. He became intangible and allowed all the blows to pass right through him. Soon, he saw an opening. One boy was coming at him with only a fist. In a split second the Vision changed his molecular make-up so that he went from being intangible to being diamond hard.

The boy's fist connected with the Vision's head with a sickening crack. Blood seeped down the boy's hand as he howled in pain, clutching his broken hand.

Another boy crumpled into unconsciousness as the Vision punched him in the head, all the while calculating his blow carefully so that the youth would not be inflicted any permanent damage.

Returning to his state of intangibility, the Avenger downed two more boys as he inserted his fingers into their central nervous systems and solidified them somewhat.

The only remaining thug was the leader. The young man was obviously scared, but he would not let it on. He had an image to protect. The Vision returned his body to its normal consistency and faced the youth. His opponent had no intention of turning himself in. Grabbing a chain from one of his fallen comrades, he wrapped it around the hero's neck with surprising quickness and tried to choke him.

The Vision not fazed in the slightest began to levitate off the ground, soon rising almost to the top of the alley. The youth held on to his chain for dear life.

"All that is left for me to do is become intangible and your chain will slide right through me and you will plummet to the ground."

"A… Alright, I get it. I give up. Put me down now… please!"

The Vision returned to the ground and the young man, once on solid ground, fainted. Before the Vision had a chance to round up his vanquished foes his Avengers comm beeped.

He flicked on the device to see Captain America's face.

"Good day Vision. I've called an Avengers meeting for two hours from now."

"I shall return to the Mansion as soon as I've tied up a few loose ends Captain."

"Good. Captain America out."

Carol Danvers changed into her Ms. Marvel outfit still feeling very much annoyed at having been disturbed. She had been spending her day at the Health Club. How often did an Avenger get a day off? A nice relaxing day at the spa was a commodity that she had given up ever since rejoining the team.

The attractive blonde woman checked her reflection in the mirror and exited her room, making sure to properly shut the door behind her. With all the testosterone running loose in the mansion she wouldn't be surprised to see odd things happen.

As Carol turned to walk down the hall, she almost tripped over the nervous form of Mark Amazing.

"Watch where you're going," Carol said, shifting the blame in a tone that could be confused with anger.

"Sorry," Dr. Amazing answered, his shoulders slouched and his head downward, not really able to make eye contact with the intimidating beauty.

Upon seeing his reaction, Ms. Marvel immediately felt bad about her tone. Dr. Amazing had clearly not yet found his niche within the Avengers. Ever since his reappearance, Dr. Amazing had seemed an outcast amongst the group. After all, what else could a guy like that feel? He had been gone for years. All memory of his ever even existing had been wiped from the minds of EVERYONE and it was pretty much for certain that the time he had spent away from the Avengers hadn't been a picnic.

Now, he was thrust into a team that was still uncomfortable with him. In addition, a scientist by trade, he had to co-exist with two of the most brilliant minds on the planet in the forms of Yellowjacket and the Beast.

Carol sighed, "No. It's okay. It was actually my fault, I should have been more careful. I'm sorry if I snapped at you. I'm just a little annoyed at being called to a meeting on my day off."

At this Dr. Amazing straightened up and smiled widely, doing a very poor job of trying to hide his happiness.

"Hmm…" Ms. Marvel thought, "So, what do you think this meeting Cap is calling is about?"

"No clue actually, but it's been quiet for a while. I don't remember too many times it's been this quiet."

"Right," Ms. Marvel answered, still uncomfortable with the idea that Dr. Amazing had been a member of the Avengers for a while. "Well, it better be important or that big lug in the blue suit is going to be sorry," Carol smiled warmly thinking of Captain America.

"Err… right," said Dr. Amazing more than a little confused. Mark Amazing still hadn't gotten back into completely understanding romance. Apparently, that was one thing that didn't come back naturally like riding a bike. Mark had forgotten how complicated love really was.

As they were talking, the two Avengers had been walking and they now came to the stairs. As the two went down the stairs, Dr. Amazing finally broke the silence.

"Carol, what do you feel… I mean how… I mean… me, what do you think of all of this?"

Carol was slightly taken aback by the use of her first name and stopped in her tracks in the middle of the stairs. Dr. Amazing didn't fail to notice that.

"Well… umm… Mark. It's good to have you back."

Mark Amazing looked a little disappointed. "Carol, I always remember you being one of the most confident and together Avengers. Even in your worst moments, you still managed to get it together."

Carol lowered her head.

"That's why I want you to tell me exactly how you're taking this."

Carol looked back up into Dr. Amazing's eyes. She took a deep breath, and let loose. "To tell you the honest truth. It's been sort of hard to get used to it. I mean, I have all the memories, I mean, they're back. I just don't feel connected to them, you know? Like the emotions that go along with the memories just didn't come back."

Amazing's shoulder's slumped and he nodded his head. "That's what I thought, so even though everyone thinks they remember me, they really don't feel like they knew me…"

"Something like that… but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we can reconnect the memories with the feelings! You'll see, it'll be okay," said Ms. Marvel as she put a hand on her teammate's shoulder and led him down the stairs.

A few minutes later, the Avengers sat assembled in the meeting room. They sat around the legendary table which was emblazoned with the legendary "A".

To no one's surprise, Captain America stood at the head of the table with Ms. Marvel seated at his right and Namor to her right.

Finally, the good captain cleared his throat and all of the little conversations that were being had around the table ceased.

"Avengers, I called this meeting so I could give one of our members the chance to speak, so without anymore time wasted, I hand the floor to the Beast," Captain America said and then sat down.

The Beast for his part, stood from his seat on the Sentinel of Liberty's left. Immediately, a look of uneasiness crossed the faces of most of the Avengers.

"Judging by your facial expressions I get the feeling you already know what I'm going to say. Who knew that the living American legend couldn't keep a secret?" Beast flashed a smile. "I've come to the decision that is time for me to take my leave from the Avengers for a little while. I need to use that time to continue my research, and maybe try and pick up a few babes, because there really isn't enough wealth to go around here."

The look of uneasiness on the Avengers' faces lifted as they began to chuckle, leaving only Namor out.

As the chuckling died out, Hank Pym spoke, "Sorry to see you go Beastarino, but I guess we all get the point. I guess this means we've got a spot on the roster to fill up."

Captain America from his seat proclaimed, "It's already been filled."

Quasar who had remained with the team after the adventure on Galador, stood from his seat. "I'm signing on as a permanent member. It seems Epoch has decided to give me some time off. I don't know how long I'll be able to stay, but it'll feel good to be on this rock for a little while."

A look of approval was splashed across the face of every Avenger.

Cap spoke again, "Good to have you aboard Quasar. Meeting adjourned folks, you can all get back to whatever it was you were doing."

As the Avengers all stood to go bid their farewells and their welcomes to Beast and Quasar respectively, the Beast made a hasty exit.

"I've got a plane to catch!"

As the Beast left the room, there was a knock at the door and Jarvis entered.

"Masters, there's someone here to see yo - "

Before Jarvis could finish his sentence he was practically trampled by Diamondback who burst into the room out of breath.

Captain America left Ms. Marvel's side and rushed over to check on the Champions member.

"Diamondback, are you okay?"

Rachel Leighton tried to speak, but simply fainted in her former love's arms. Captain America carried the girl into the main hall and tried to reanimate her.

"Diamondback? Diamondback!" he yelled.

Suddenly the front wall of the Mansion exploded, and the rest of the Champions broke through with a decidedly glazed look in their eyes.