AUGUST   YEAR THREE  434 "On Your Mark, Get Set..."  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!

NOTE: This issue takes place after the events in WEST COAST AVENGERS #107, and immediately after the events in CHAMPIONS #27.

A few minutes later. Both teams have assembled in the living room of the Mansion.

Cap starts to speak. "We're going to split up into teams and ruin Nefaria's plans. Here are the teams we will use..."

The next morning, three teams, nineteen heroes, and one three-headed dog were assembled in the Avengers conference room. All present were gathered around the same legendary table, all listening to the legendary Captain America.

Captain America looked around the room. He had quite the assemblage. First and foremost were the Avengers. His team-mates were probably the best trained to work together, nevertheless, he could not get overly-confident. The Avengers consisted of: Ms. Marvel, Namor, Quasar, Vision, Yellowjacket and Dr. Amazing.

The next group to be gathered into the mansion was the Champions. They had broken into the mansion ready to kill the Avengers while under mental domination. The team of Ant-Man, Batroc, Black Widow, Cerberus, Diamondback, Firebird, and Hercules had only succeeded in making a big mess before the Avengers put an end to the fiasco.

The last team assembled was the West Coast Avengers. Cap had called in the Whackos when he had learned of the severity of what they were going up against. Of course, after seeing the state of the team, his hopes sank a little. He had much faith in his friend Hawkeye as a leader, but the team had only very recently been assembled, and even then it was just barely a force of six. In addition to Hawkeye, five other Whackos were present.

Wonder Man was sitting in a corner all alone looking very melancholic. Tigra was being her usual flirtatious self with Hercules. The USAgent was being arrogant with anyone and everyone. The newest, could-be member, Cannonball was being quite sociable, not at all looking nervous about being around such big names. Finally, the Living Lightning had been called out of reserve status quite early.

Ms. Marvel looking sceptical turned towards the Avengers' leader. "Cap, if Nefaria and his Disciples are as much a threat as the Champions say they are, do you really think this group is going to cut it?"

Steve Rogers stared back into the beautiful eyes of Carol Danvers. In truth, she had just verbalised his own doubts, but he could not let that show. "The Champions and the West Coast Avengers may not be the most glamorised super-teams right now, but most of them are experienced heroes, and I would trust any of them with my life."

"Except for me, non?" asked Batroc with a wicked smile. He had somehow overheard the conversation.

"You never know Batroc. I think you may have gone soft on me," Cap answered the former villain with a grin.

Batroc was not at a loss for words. However, Captain America left him no time to answer as he decided it was time to get serious.

He stood from his seat. This caused everyone to stop their chatting. In his mind, Captain America couldn't believe how similar this scene seemed to the previous day when he had spoken to his team about the change in the roster. The differences were present though. He had a much larger audience, and to his right and left were his two co-leaders, Hawkeye and Black Widow.

"Okay folks, here's what we know. Count Nefaria is alive and well. We don't know how, but he is. We also know that by some incredible underground work, he's managed to start a cult known as the Church of the Risen Son."

"Wait, let me guess, Nefaria's the Son!" interjected USAgent.

Hawkeye shot a look at John Walker that could have cut through steel. John just smiled.

"Yes, that's right Agent," answered Captain America. "Now, from what we can tell, this cult has a very large world-wide following. Any super-powered individuals who join become part of Nefaria's Disciples. This band's pretty powerful."

"You mean to tell me someone was actually stupid enough to follow Nefaria. That must be a bright lot," interjected Tigra.

"Thou shouldst not underestimate the power of thy enemy. They are formidable foes indeed," said Hercules showing a rare amount of humility.

As the room became somewhat surprised, the demi-God righted himself. "The Lion of Olympus will show them the price to be paid for crossing his path."

Of all the facial expressions across the room, none looked more exasperated than Firebird's.

"If we could continue, please," broke in the Black Widow, annoyed at her team-mate's lack of respect.

Captain America, continued once more. "Nefaria's Disciples are all people we've met before. They're being led by Nomad who I'm afraid is under some sort of mental domination. Nefaria's Prophet is Mentallo which explains how Nefaria's been able to control people. We hope to counter this with Dr. Amazing's powers."

All eyes shifted to Mark Amazing, and the man felt better about himself being looked upon in this way.

"The other members of the team are the Gatherer's Ben Grimm who somehow met up with the Disciples, Spiral, Speed Demon from the Squadron Sinister and a new Dr. Spectrum that we know next to nothing about."

Captain America looked over at the Black Widow as if to indicate it was her turn to talk.

Natasha took the invitation. "There's one more member of the Disciples. Somehow, Nefaria's team was able to break into a SHIELD warehouse and steal a very important piece of equipment… the Super Adaptoid."

"Damn it. Can't those idiots keep anything under lock and key," blurted out the USAgent, not to anyone in particular. His position with the government made him more sensitive on this particular topic.

Ignoring John, Captain America spoke again, "The nature of Nefaria's plan is simple. Putting it into action is probably more complicated. By accumulating a number of artefacts from around the world and across the universe, he's planning on robbing all the super-powered beings on Earth of their powers, leaving only him and his Disciples to act as a 'police force' of sorts."

"I don't see very much promise in that idea," said a voice somewhere in the room, but Captain America couldn't make out who it was.

Yellowjacket, the biggest scientist of the group was intrigued. "And how exactly do they plan on just taking everyone's powers away? I mean, you can't just take a bunch of things, put 'em in a pile and expect all the super-heroes to roll over. There's got to be some sort of catalyst."

"There is. There are three 'bombs' spread out across the city. At least that's what our intelligence told us."

"The Avengers have an intelligence unit?" asked a very surprised Scott Lang, the Ant-Man.

"We have a hotline and Team America," answered Yellowjacket with a smile.

"Each bomb is being guarded. The first is being guarded by the Super Adaptoid. The second by a team of mercenaries Nefaria hired. Finally, the third, and the largest one, is being guarded by Nefaria himself."

"So, how are we splitting up the group?"

"Each team will stick with each other. Some may question this decision, but I think the fact that we're most familiar with our team-mates, will give us the edge."

"Which of these 'bombs' are we supposed to attack?" inquired Namor, speaking for the first time.

"Before I cover that, I just want to make sure you all understand how serious this mission really is," Captain America deliberately slowed his pace, "If we do not deactivate all three bombs, and they go off, we will be left powerless, at the mercy of Nefaria and his Disciples. If we do not defeat them, there will be no one strong enough to stop them. They will have won the war."

Captain America paused, and looked around the room sternly to make sure his message had got through. The sullen expression on all of the heroes' faces indicated that it had. They were perhaps a rowdy bunch, but when it came down to business, they knew what their job was.

"Now, I'll assign each team a target. Black Widow, you and the Champions are to take on the Super Adaptoid. Hawkeye, you and the West team are going to take on the mercenaries. The East team is going to go after Nefaria and the Disciples."

From the other side of the room, John Walker saw his team's leader's jaw get much more defined. It was obvious Clint was feeling just as indignant about having been assigned to take on a bunch of thugs as John was.

"You're all dismissed to make whatever preparations are necessary."

As the heroes filed out of the room, only Hawkeye and USAgent stayed behind with Cap.

Hawkeye turned to his team-mate and knew immediately what was on his mind. "Jack, go."

John considered ignoring Hawkeye for a moment, but then decided it was best not to.

Resignedly, he sighed, "Okay, I'm going." Then smiling, in a whisper he added, "You give 'im hell boss."

Clint Barton shot yet another dirty look at the Agent as he walked out of the room. How many cold stares had he given in the past days?

"Clint? Don't you have to go prep your team?" asked Captain America surprised that his friend had stayed behind.

"Look Cap, I don't know what the deal is here, but how come Tasha gets to go after the Super freakin' Adaptoid, and I get to take on a bunch of hired thugs?"

"Well… the Champions have fought the Adaptoid recently." *

(* Back in Champions #18-19 -ADS)

"So did half of New York!"

Captain America looked the purple-garbed archer up and down.

"Listen, I know that the Whackos' roster looks a little… odd, but we're Avengers. Top-notch. We might not set the world on fire, but we're the real deal. Tasha and the Champions have been spending their time fighting monkeys!"

"Clint, I know it's hard to lead a super-team, especially one that has a legacy to live up to the size of the Avengers, but I think you're doing a great job."

"Huh?" the Avenging Archer answered a little too dumbly to his taste.

"Considering what you guys have been through recently, you've done an exemplary job of keeping the team together."

"Thanks, but…"

"These mercenaries, we don't know who they are, how many there are or what they're capable of. That's why I'm sending the West team. I think you guys are best suited to deal with the unexpected."

"Really?" asked Clint seriously trying to claw his way back to an intelligible position in the conversation.

"Yes."

"Thanks Cap." Hawkeye turned to leave and was almost out the door when he turned back. "Cap?"

"Yes?"

"You're seriously going to have to show me how to do that."

"Do what?"

Clint Barton simply smiled and left the room.

Count Nefaria watched over his Disciples as they assembled the bomb. He also watched as scared people scurried away in every which direction. What was an incredibly busy piece of land only moments earlier was now all but empty save for the Disciples and the apparatus that they were mounting.

Mentallo approached his leader.

"Is everything in place?" asked Nefaria.

"Yes, the Avengers should probably be arriving any moment now."

"Excellent. Do the Disciples know the plan?"

"Yes."

"Perfect," Nefaria said with a grin that sent a chill down Mentallo's spine.

Nefaria thought to himself, 'It's a beautiful day in Central Park.'

Less than two hours later, all three groups are assembled once more, this time in the main room.

Captain America took centre stage yet again. "You've all been prepped by your respective team leaders. Now, it's time to get to work," lowering his voice, he turned to the other two leaders, "Tasha? Clint?"

They both responded by nodding. They were as ready as they were going to be.

"Let uz go forward!" cried Batroc, failing miserably at igniting the room's passion.

Captain America smiled inwardly, there were still some things he could do that no one else could. With a nod of his head, he succeeded in doing what Batroc could not with a catchy phrase.

Avengers and Champions alike departed for their destination. Some by their own means of transportation, others on sky-cycles.

Captain America rode his sky-cycle, with Dr. Amazing behind him on the bike.

"We're closing on Central Park," Cap said through his comm.

"Talk about wanting to make an impression, Central Park!" said Yellowjacket with a whistle.

"From what I've heard, Nefaria's not one to do things on a small scale," said Quasar who was riding a platform of light. He had to slow his progress in order to wait for his team-mates.

The Park was now in sight range. All of the Avengers settled on the ground. They soon noticed the large device in the middle of the famous site. However, Nefaria was nowhere to be found.

"This is without a doubt an ambush," said Namor, "Can Nefaria possibly underestimate us this much?"

"I don't think he's really underestimating us. He knows we know it's a trap. He also knows there's nothing we can do about it. We have to get after that bomb. The rat's a coward too. He won't come out and fight us face to face," Ms. Marvel retorted.

Captain America turned around to look at Dr. Amazing. "You know what you have to do right?"

"Ya, Cap. When mind control's involved, I'm the man to go to."

Cap nodded and then turned to Hank Pym. "Hank, you're going to have to tackle that thing, see if you can defuse it or something."

Yellowjacket started towards the mechanism with the other Avengers flanking him.

Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, the Disciples appeared and made their move.

Dr. Spectrum erected a large barrier separating Dr. Amazing from the other Avengers. As Dr. Amazing levelled his psi-gun to fire, Spiral appeared behind him, and hit him in the back causing him to stumble forward and lose his concentration.

Dr. Amazing stumbled right into the path of Ben Grimm, the lizard-man KO'd the good doctor with a single punch.

The Avengers by now had made their way to the other side of the barrier. Captain America cursed himself for not seeing this aspect of Nefaria's plan. Dr. Amazing had ruined his plan with the Champions, he wouldn't let it happen again.

The Avengers and the Disciples took formation, and without anyone having to say a word, the two teams struck at each other.

Dr. Spectrum and Quasar battled in a display of constructs being formed and then dissipating and continuing onwards.

Ms. Marvel drew Spiral. The only two females present squared off with Ms. Marvel's temper flaring. She lunged at the six-armed beauty, only to pass right through her as Spiral teleported away. This continued on, again and again. Finally, with Ms. Marvel's patience at an end, she lost her concentration. Spiral was able to take the opportunity to teleport behind the beautiful blonde and strike her unexpectedly.

Namor was taking on Grimm. The two collided in a display of brute strength. This gave Grimm the clear advantage. He reeled his arm backwards and struck Namor, sending the Atlantean flying.

Namor shook his head to clear the cobwebs. This reminded him very much of his earlier battle with Hercules. This time though, Jarvis wasn't around to spray the hero with water.

Speed Demon, meanwhile, was running circles around Yellowjacket. Hank Pym's size-altering capabilities were of little to no use to him as he could not land a blow on the speedster. While, on the other hand, the Disciple was landing a dozen punches per second.

Hank staggered under another flurry. He kept his balance and once again tried to focus on the battle. He wondered if he could keep this pace much longer.

Captain America faced off with Nomad. Steve Rogers looked at the man standing across from him. He would have liked to see his eyes, but Nomad's eyes were shielded by his shades. Cap was sure there had to be a way to reason with him.

"Nomad, can you hear me?"

Captain America's only response was Nomad lunging towards him. Cap countered the move with a judo throw. Nomad landed on his feet. Cap through his shield in Nomad's direction. His opponent easily dodged the toss, but that was Cap's intention. He had wanted to get him into position to hit him with a kick. As Captain America jumped into the air, he felt something nudge at his mind. He found it very hard to concentrate and his reflexes felt dulled. While still in the air, it was as if Steve Rogers could no longer control his limbs.

As a result, he was not able to catch the shield that was coming back to him, and Nomad took advantage. He delivered a blow to the hero while he was still in the air, knocking him hard to the ground.

Captain America concentrated hard and was able to regain control of his body. Nomad was already on top of him though, throwing punch after punch. Cap felt like he was fighting through mud. His reaction time was slower, and Nomad kept landing punches.

As the American icon staggered backwards from a right uppercut, he realized what was happening. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mentallo smiling from ear to ear.

The Vision looked over the battlefield and decided that Mentallo was in fact a threat. He flew towards the villain, but in mid-flight he was struck by a heavy body from down below.

Between trading blows with Namor, Ben Grimm had managed to body slam the Vision. Vision was only slightly shaken up though. However, the assault was not over. Spiral teleported onto the android's back and struck him several times.

The Vision became intangible and Spiral fell to the ground below, but she easily recovered. A small red dot appeared in the middle of the Vision's intangible form. The dot grew bigger and bigger, and soon the Vision was screaming in agony.

Dr. Spectrum had only needed to look away from his battle for a moment to take advantage of the Vision's molecules being further apart. He had stretched them even further apart with his spherical construct.

The Vision shuddered in mid-air and soon fell to the ground below, hitting it hard with a resounding crash. His red eyes dimmed and then went out.

Captain America looked around the battlefield. Things were not looking good. He somersaulted backwards to avoid a blow, only to be hit with another one just as he landed, his shield inches away. He reached for it, but yet it seemed as if no matter how much he stretched, the shield was just barely beyond his fingertips.

As he was sprawled across the grass, another thing caused Steve Rogers to shudder. Standing beyond all the Avengers and Disciples was Nefaria.

He had yet to lift a finger.