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!

MV1 Presents:
Iron Man!  The Vision!  The Scarlet Witch!  The Thing?!
Earth's Mightiest Heroes-- the AVENGERS!

.

"Okay, I'm all in."

"I don't want to hear about your sex life, Pym.  Just play cards.  Haw!"

Giving Ben Grimm a dirty look, Hank Pym laid his cards on the table.

"Two pair, Ben," he said, smugly.  "Sevens and fours."

Pym once again worked out the total he was about to win in his head, silently, as Grimm gnawed on his cigar.

"Well, howzabout that.  Hmm."  Grimm set his own cards down, miraculously unscathed for having been clutched in his rocky paws.  "But this here's a flush--mebbe they don't teach you big-brain types this kinda thing in big-brain school, but a flush beats two pair."

Grimm reached out to drag in the pot, a grin showing on the other side of his cigar.

"Um, excuse me, gentlemen, but I believe that my hand bears closer examination..."  And Jarvis set his own cards down on the table.  "This is a full house, yes?"

The others' jaws hit the table.

"Don't be so surprised," Jarvis said as he scooped up his winnings.  "A full house is something I am quite used to having around here."

Making sort of "yeah, he's right" faces, the others leaned back, seeing their stakes vanish, and with them the poker game itself.  

"Impressively played, Jarvis," came the flat voice of the fourth member of the game, the Vision.  "I had expected that I might possess some sort of advantage in the contest, but it would appear there is more to this game than I had anticipated."

"What he's tryin' to say, Jarvy, is ya done cleaned us out," Ben said amiably.  "Nice work."

"Perhaps some sandwiches, now, then?"  Jarvis finished scraping his winnings from the table into a bag and then headed for the kitchen.

"I'm heading back home to the lab," Pym said, standing and stretching.  "I've been putting off some important work, but it's time to get caught up."

"Ah, all you smart guys are just alike," Ben said.  "Ya can't stand to be away from yer beakers and bunsen burners more than a couple hours."

He shook hands with Pym.

"Thanks for the invite.  I reckon I'll hang around a bit, and have some o'that grub Jarvis mentioned, if it's all the same."

"Sure, Ben," Pym said, walking out.  "Good night."

Ben dropped into one of the larger leather chairs in the gaming room, one probably designed originally for Thor or Hercules, and kicked his rocky feet up on a footstool.   

"Hrmm.  The night's young... I don't much feel like headin' back to the Ponderosa just yet..."

He looked around, seeing only the Vision standing nearby, as if lost in thought.

"Aw, what the hey.  Vizh!  You wanna go out on the town?"

The Vision turned, regarding him coolly.  Ben braced himself for some kind of high-falutin' put-down.

"Certainly, Ben.  Just let me get my hat and coat."

Ben's eyes widened.  "Well, how 'bout that."

*     *     *

They closed the gate behind them and headed away from the mansion, Ben polishing off the last of his sandwich on the way.  

"A couple'a studs like us oughtta have no trouble wit' da ladies," Ben snorted.  "We'll paint the town red."  He instantly grimaced.  "Um, no offense, there, pal.  Nothin' personal."

The Vision regarded Ben with his deeply crimson visage.  "None taken."

Just then Ben fell to his knees, clutching both sides of his head with both of his hands.  A tiny moan escaped his lips, and he pitched forward to the sidewalk.

The Vision looked at him, then whirled around, looking for trouble.

"Ah," he said to himself.  "Hypersonics of some variety.  Adjusting for--AGGGH!"

Something in the frequency changed rapidly--too rapidly for him to adjust to--and the Vision joined the Thing on the pavement.

*     *     *

The Thing awoke to find himself wracked with a serious headache, lying on a plain metal floor in a plain metal room.  The walls of the boxlike enclosure stretched up some fifty feet to the ceiling, and ran ahead of him a similar distance.  The room was otherwise empty, save for a figure lying at the far end.

As Ben pulled himself to his feet, the other figure did likewise.  They regarded one another.  Ben could see that this person wore a brown trenchcoat and hat, but quickly tossed these aside to reveal a dull, greenish skin surface, with no details visible, including the face.

"Hey, pal-- who're you, and where the heck are we?"

No reply, except for a humming that filled the room.  Suddenly the other figure grew in stature, to about fifteen feet tall, and began taking on the outward appearance of metal armor.  

"Hey, I know dat look," he muttered.  "Ah, jeez.  I know who you are."

Ben found himself facing a tall, green imitation of Iron Man.

"The Super-Adaptoid.  Great."

The repulsor blasts smashed into him, sending him sprawling.  The Adaptoid advanced, its hands raised for another attack.

*     *     *

The Vision awoke and was on his feet instantly, only to find himself in a fifty-foot by fifty-foot boxlike room.  Ahead of him, a figure he instantly recognized as the base form of the Super-Adaptoid was rising to its feet.  Within moments, as the Vision watched and prepared for battle, the Adaptoid assumed the appearance of none other than the Scarlet Witch, before advancing on him.

Feeling somehow uneasy, even absurdly betrayed, the Vision advanced to meet the robot, his density rising to that of diamond.

The hex blast caught him flat-footed and sent him crashing backwards into the wall.

The Adaptoid advanced, its hands raised for another attack.

*     *     *

Iron Man, his head still pounding as it had been since he woke up here, waited for the Super-Adaptoid to get up again.  He'd never seen it assume the appearance or powers of a member of the Fantastic Four-- just the Avengers-- but he wasn't too concerned about it at the moment.  

"C'mon, Tony," he said to himself, "get it together.  You've beaten this guy before."

But it wasn't quite acting like it had before, somehow.  What could--

No time to think about it now-- the robot was coming again.

Raising his arms, he unleashed another repulsor blast, sending the green, rocky behemoth staggering back again.

*     *     *

The Scarlet Witch watched carefully for what the Adaptoid would do next.  If it truly had the powers of her ex-husband, along with his appearance, it would be extremely dangerous.  Fortunately, it didn't seem to have adapted her own hex power, or that of any other Avenger.

As the Adaptoid rose again, this time becoming ethereal and floating above the metal floor, she unleashed another hex, attempting to solidify him and bring him down.  It clearly had some effect--he cried out in pain and fell to his knees, now indeed becoming solid again.

Nodding in satisfaction, she prepared to strike once more.

*     *     *

The Thing gathered himself up and stood, uneasily, his head pounding even louder.  How had he come to be here?  He could scarcely remember.  He and the Vision had walked out onto the sidewalk, and then.... nothing, till now.  But his head had hurt like this ever since.  

The Adaptoid was advancing again, and its repulsor-like powers had done a number on him so far. 

"Come on, robot," he growled.  "No fair just zappin' me from over there, like ol' Tin Britches would do.  Come over here and let Unca Benjy get his delicate li'l mitts on ya."

The Adaptoid hesitated, as if confused, then shook its head and strode forward.

Ben met it halfway, and their fists raised simultaneously.  

The blows hurtled both of them away and sent them sprawling to the far ends of the room.

*     *     *

Iron Man lay where he had fallen, gathering his wits.  

"Wow.  That robot hits just like the real Thing," he thought, followed by, "For a second there, I could have sworn it was talking to me.  But--"

The Adaptoid-Thing was on him suddenly, fists crashing down, and there was no more time for thought.

*     *     *

The Vision was on his knees, in agony.

The Adaptoid's hex power had nearly ripped him apart, catching him in his ethereal state and somehow trying to...rearrange....his internal organs.  Synthetic though they might be, he preferred them to remain in their proper places.

Looking up, he could see the Adaptoid advancing, hands raised to unleash another hex.  

"No..." he gasped.  "Must not...be...allowed..."

Surging to his feet, overcoming intense pain, he willed himself to diamond-density and reached out, grappling with the Adaptoid.  While the robot was powerful, it seemed to lack any great physical strength in this incarnation, and he seized it by the throat, holding it up at arms' length.  With a start, he realized it had somehow shrunk back down to human-sized, though he could not remember seeing that happen, and now its boots dangled a foot above the floor.  With some sense of satisfaction, feeling the battle was at last turning his way, the Vision tightened his grip on the Adaptoid's throat.  It felt strangely yielding, vulnerable.

"Good," the Vision thought, lashing out with his solar blast from his forehead jewel as one of the hands came up to attempt a hex.  

He tightened his grip further.

*     *     *

The Thing smashed at the Adaptoid with blow after titanic blow, driving it back.

*     *     *

Iron Man reeled under the Adaptoid's assault, but regrouped and prepared to unleash a deadly, full-power repulsor blast the next time the robot came within range.

*     *     *

The Scarlet Witch dangled in mid-air, the green robot's hand locked around her throat, squeezing tighter, tighter...

*     *     *

And in a control room nearby, surrounded by video monitors and controls, sat an unmoving figure in a white tuxedo, the crazily shifting colors of the monitors reflecting wildly off his face from all angles...

  
NEXT ISSUE:  PRELUDE TO CATACLYSM!

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

Guess who?

Yes, I'm back, and writing the book that started it all, way back in 1997.

Now, whether that's an occasion to celebrate or send folks running to the hills, or (worst of all) to simply yawn, I will leave to each of you to decide.

But this run will allow me to bring the storyline I was building up to, back in the day (and in the pages of the finally, mercifully completed I, KANG limited series, among other places), to a fitting conclusion--and in the pages of AVENGERS, no less.

I'm excited.  I hope you'll stick around, and by all means let me know what you think, as we go along.

As always, Avengers Assemble!

--Van Plexico
Singapore, August 2005