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!  Mon-Dria?! 
Earth's Mightiest Heroes-- the Avengers! 

.

"Time has shifted, Lord Chaos."

"Yes.  Again, Master Order." *

"Indeed.  In fact, I have lost count, Lord Chaos."

"Such is ever the consequence of a Kang in turmoil, Master Order."

"Kang.  Ah.  Yes.  But-- I thought he was dead, Lord Chaos."

"Surely you did not, Master Order.  The Kang who lay at the bottom of the ocean  has vanished, as if he never was--for now, indeed, he never was, never has been." **

"Yesss... I see.  But then, what of this Kang, Lord Chaos?"

"The Kang who even now hobbles, wounded, down a sidewalk in the city of New York, Master Order?  He is now the only Kang in existence.  For reality has reasserted itself and the multiverse's remarkable powers of self-healing-- Eternity's immune system? Someone else's?  No matter-- They have settled things back down to a cohesive, coherent, peaceful whole."

"Alas, Lord Chaos... such a state never lasts for long."

"You are quite, quite right, Master Order.  For, witness, even now, the pieces are placed about the board, the players assuming their preordained roles.  The great menace is moving, and the heroes know of it now, or shall soon enough.  The irrevocable process leading to galactic apocalypse begins again, at the mansion home of the Earth's mightiest heroes..."

[*  The time shifts first occurred in AVENGERS 414, and continued in the I, KANG limited series.  --Van]

[**  He wound up there at the end of AVENGERS 450.  --Van again]

 
New York City:

"Oh, my achin' noggin'," the Thing mumbled, rubbing a rocky hand over his rough-hewn head.  "Feels like the Hulk is tap dancin' in there.  And he ain't never been whatcha'd call a great dancer."

Iron Man nodded.  "I haven't had a hangover like this since, well..." He hesitated, considering his words.  "Since the last time I had a hangover.  Which was, of course, quite some time ago."

"We understand, Iron Man," the Scarlet Witch told him softly.  "And none of us feels very good right now."

"This is true," the Vision agreed.  "For my part, I still have not completely managed to eliminate the aftereffects of the hypersonics upon my own nervous system."

They all glanced over at him.

"Eh, sorry to hear dat, pal, but misery does love company, after all."

The Vision's brow furrowed momentarily.  "Ah.  You are saying you are glad I feel as bad as you do."

Ben shrugged.  "Yeah, pretty much."

"Somehow, I understand this," the Vision replied.

"Well, good," Ben said, followed by, "Y'know, I've never understood why you and Reed don't hang out together, more..."

Iron Man, the Vision, the Scarlet Witch, and their guest, the Thing, walked through the courtyard, in the doorway, and tiredly stumbled into Avengers Mansion.  As it had turned out, they had been unconscious for most of the night, while held captive in Arcade's Murderworld complex,* and now it was morning again.  They had found themselves not terribly far from the mansion, when they managed to blast their way out of the complex, and had decided to simply walk home; only Iron Man could fly and carry someone at the same time, and he hadn't felt much like doing either.

[* In our last two issues.  --Van]

The Thing stumbled through to the outer portion of the living room area and lay back in what was rapidly becoming his favorite chair in the mansion, rubbing his still-throbbing head.  The cause of the irritation gone, however, the pain was receding--replaced by a more familiar ache of having gone three rounds with what turned out to be Iron Man.

The telephone nearby rang, and Iron Man took the call via his internal communications system.  He stood off to one side, conversing with someone in what appeared to the others to be a quite serious exchange.*

[* See last ish.  --Van]

Just then, Jarvis rounded the corner from the rear sitting room, approaching the others, his face ashen.

"Jarvis--are you okay?"  Wanda stepped forward, concerned.  "You don't look so good."

"I--he--" Jarvis motioned with his head to indicate the room behind him.  "He arrived just moments ago, actually...  I didn't quite know what to... um..."

The Vision acted instantly.  Ethereal, ghostlike, he was already moving through the wall and into the adjoining room.  And what he found there evoked a vocal outburst quite unusual from the synthezoid Avenger.

"Kang!"

"What?!"  Iron Man raced through, followed by the Scarlet Witch and the Thing, who hot-footed it along behind them at the mention of that name.

"Greetings," came the voice from the ragged, bloody figure who lay on a sheet Jarvis had draped over one of the sofas.  "Your timing is excellent, as ever."

Iron Man brought all his weapons systems on-line; the Vision increased to diamond density.  A hex hovered just within reach of Wanda; the Thing... made fists with his big hands.

Kang held one hand up defensively before himself.  Circuitry and tattered cloth dangled from the gauntlet.

"Now, now," he gasped hoarsely.  "I am not here for combat.  At least, not combat against you."  He laughed mirthlessly.  "And I am in no condition to attempt it, in any event."

"Then what--?" 

"I need to tell you something," Kang said.  "A story."

"Vision," Iron Man said, "check all our scanners.  Check the whole area.  All the way into space.  See if he has an army lurking nearby."

"If only I did," Kang said, with a dry chuckle.  "But I have no army at all, any longer.  Which is partially why I have come to you."

"Gee, Kang--that's just awful," the Thing snorted.  "We'd love to help you recruit a new army and all, but, really, we got better things to do."

"That, you simpleton," Kang thought to himself, "is precisely what you are going to do--what you have already done for me countless times."  But aloud he said only, "Your sarcasm is brilliant as ever, Grimm."  His eyes moved across the four heroes before him.  "But this concerns you, too--all of you.  All of the universe, in fact."

"When don't it?" Ben growled back.  "When don't it..."

*     *     *

Kang was seated upright, somewhat recovered, and his armor's self-repairing systems had nearly restored themselves to normal.  He had told his story to them for what, to him, was the millionth time, and the Avengers had listened, just like they always did.  Now they sat in a semicircle around him, considering, discussing.

And then something new happened; something that surprised Kang tremendously--and nothing ever surprised Kang.

Jarvis led a new arrival in.  A woman--a blue woman.  A Kree?

She wore a white, tight-fitting flight suit with red and blue trim, and had a vast mane of thick, white hair trailing down her back.  At her wrists and ankles she wore golden metal bracelets and anklets, and she wore a large, golden ring on the middle finger of her right hand.

And she looked very, very upset.

"May I present Mon-Dria, of the Kree Starfleet in Exile," Jarvis said.

"Mondy!"  Iron Man was on his feet and moving forward instantly.  "Are you okay?  From your call--"

"T--Iron Man.  I'm so glad to find you here."*

[*The two first met in IRON MAN #370.  --Van]

Kang studied the new arrival carefully, and felt his spirits reviving.  This was new.  New!  And that, more than anything else, gave him hope...

Introductions were quick and informal, given that no one wanted to take his or her eye off of Kang for even a moment.  They were all still processing what he had said-- that his time-and space-spanning empire had been taken from him by his former aide, none other than Thomas Torquemada, the Inquisitor.  And that Torquemada, in turn, was in the service of something called--

"The Blight," Mon-Dria said.  "That's why I've come."

Kang was on his feet instantly.  "What did you say?"

"The Blight," she repeated.  "From my examinations of the Avengers data recording I was given, I believe they have previously encountered a portion of the Blight--and I believe it is on the move, after eons of dormancy."

"This 'Blight' is precisely why I am here, in the state I find myself," Kang growled. 

"Aw, crap," the Thing muttered.  "I think what we got here is whatcha call 'independent verification,' or somethin'.  An' here I was hopin' ol' blue-puss was just makin' it all up."

Both Kang and Mon-Dria looked at Ben.

"Um, I meant metal blue puss, there, ma'am-- not, um, your naturally blue, um, face, um, which is nice and all and, um... aw, crap."

Iron Man was nodding.  "Kang, your believability just increased tremendously."

"Well, huzzah," the Conqueror replied testily.

"But--what are we going to do about it?" the Scarlet Witch asked.

"Attack, of course," Kang shot back.  "Take the battle to this...infestation, whatever it is."

"Not so fast," Iron Man said.  "From what I've heard so far, we have to move cautiously.  It's not like we're facing Ultron here-- or Kang, for that matter.  There doesn't seem to be any one target to go after, beat into submission, and declare victory."

"Somebody catch ol' Benjy up ta speed, here.  Just what in the sam hill is this Blight thing, anyhow?" The Thing asked.  "Accordin' to Kang, it's some kind of big mind-control thingy.  But from what this lady's sayin'..."

"No one is entirely certain, Mr. Grimm," Mon-Dria replied.  "I have heard stories since I was a small child.  It was always considered a myth, though.  A story to scare children.  Be good, be strong, obey your parents and your military leaders in the preschool academy, or the Blight would come for you."  She shivered.

"I think if I'd been a Kree, I mighta opted for home schoolin'," Ben muttered.

"From everything I have learned so far," Mon-Dria continued, "the Blight could be considered, as much as anything, to be a virus.  It spreads from one life form to the next, and even from one computer system to the next, unifying all of them--all of those intelligences--under the domination of the whole, the Blight itself."

"Yeee--uck."

"Indeed."  Mon-Dria chewed a nail, considering.  "From what I have learned, it may well spread via artifacts; items of power that were long ago infected, or may have been part of the original entity themselves."  She glanced at the Vision.  "I believe the box you kept here in the mansion for some time was one of those artifacts."

"We had it here?"  Wanda cringed.  "But--it's not here now?"

"No," the Vision replied.  "It vanished some time ago."

"And was later seen in the possession of Ronan the Accuser," Mon-Dria added.  "From there, the trail grows cold."

"The fragment you may have possessed does not concern me," Kang interjected.  "Clearly the entity has already emerged, full-blown, elsewhere, and has seized control of an army--mine!--large enough and powerful enough to dominate the galaxy.  Our only goal now should be--"

The Conqueror was interrupted as the front entrance to the mansion exploded in a shower of wood chips and metal.  

As usual, the Vision reacted first, instinctively changing to diamond density to deflect the shrapnel away from Wanda, then switching to ethereal to pass through the wall--the wall that had mostly protected them from the explosion--and emerge on the other side, only to find...

"Jack of Hearts?"

From out of the rubble crawled a figure clad half in black, half in red, the dividing line down the center of his suit.  The suit itself was heavy-looking, substantial--but form-fitting.  Some sort of advanced armor...or containment suit, perhaps.  His face was also divided between black and red, but opposite of the layout of the costume.  A red heart surrounded the eye of the black half of his face.

Iron Man rounded the corner less than a second later, and heard the Vision's identification.  "Jack?  That's you?"

"It is him.  I recognize the unique Zero Fluid-energy signature," the Vision replied.

Jack had crawled up out of the wreckage, but whirled and ran back out into the courtyard.  Directing one hand and then the other skyward, he released blasts of energy at...something.

The Avengers, Kang, Mon-Dria and the Thing all raced out into the courtyard, staring wide-eyed.

At the far end of the courtyard stood their old foes, the Living Laser, Whirlwind and Klaw.  

The Living Laser fired a blast into Jack of Hearts's chest, sending him tumbling backward again, even as Klaw unleashed a huge elephantlike creature of solidified sound from his soniclaw.   

"Now here's an enemy I can wrap my li'l ol' brain around, an' my mitts, too" the Thing growled, running ahead.  "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!!"

Ben met the pink elephant halfway across the courtyard and absolutely clocked it with a haymaker punch.  The shimmering beast staggered backward and dissolved in a shower of sparkles.

"Haw!  Take that!  You don't make 'em like ya usedta, Klaw!"

"This is a distraction, at best," Kang cried.

Iron Man glanced at the Vision and Wanda.  "He may be right, but we can't just let these guys run loose."

"Indeed."

But, as the Avengers and their associates prepared to do battle, the three villains froze, unmoving.

Jack of Hearts hesitated, hovering some distance from them, his Zero-energies suspending him aloft.  

"What are they doing?" Iron Man shouted up at him.

"I don't know, Shellhead," Jack replied, "but it's not the first time they've done it, since they jumped me a while ago."

The three villains appeared to be listening to something.  Then, in unison, they turned about and fled.

"Yeah, you'd better run," the Thing shouted, racing after them.  Jack followed.

"Oh, no," Mon-Dria said softly.  "Wait!"

The Vision, Iron Man and the Scarlet Witch hesitated, and turned back to her. 

"What?" asked Wanda.

"The symptoms.  I recognized them, from the records."

"Symptoms?" The Vision asked.

"It's here.  They've got it."  She pointed in the direction of the oddly-behaving villains, where they retreated, still pursued by the Thing and Jack of Hearts.

"The Blight is here."

 
NEXT ISSUE:  TORQUEMADA STRIKES!

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

Lotta talkin' going on, this issue, I know, I know.  Hope everyone's still awake, here, for some more chitchat with our first letter-writer.  Take it away, Curt:

Van,

Quite a surprise to see not only an updated MV-1 on the Heroes List, but
you in the ranks as well...

I arrived in Fanfic well after you left, but found Fanfic through your
own 'Avengers Assemble' site (when it was on the old server), and then
thru the MV-1 Link there.  Thank you for that.  I've been writing Fanfic
around the variuous sites that sprang up after MV-1 for about 4 years
now- and even had one story on MV-1 before it went down.  I enjoy
writing a lot, and writing Fanfic even more as I have been a comic fan
from the 60's.  Thanks much for creating the outlet...

That said, welcome back!  Glad to see you in the ranks again and happy
as hell with the stories you've produced.  Your Iron Man was of course
legend, but I really enjoyed the current issues of Avengers.  I won't
even try to play that I know the MV-1 continuity- but then I don't have
to.  The story arc- so far at least- stands alone, with the Avengers vs
Arcade (sort of).  A nice touch.  there are of course some things that I
do not have a clue and need to reread, but all in all I enjoyed the 2
Avengers issues.  It was also nice to see I Kang wrapped up to a decent
point.  It's been so long...

Looking forward to seeing just what the BLIGHT will bring...

Welcome back...

Curt Fernlund
EIC
JLU: 2001

Thanks so much for the many kind words, Curt.  For whatever small part my earlier efforts might have played in getting you into fanfic writing and reaching an audience, I am humbled and gratified.

You said it about wrapping up I, KANG.  Every so often I would go and look at it and think, "I need to finish this."  But I was shocked when I realized it had been over four years since I wrote the first issue!  I honestly didn't think anyone had ever read it, so I've been quite happy to hear in recent days that it did find an audience--and one that has waited patiently for me to get my act together.  I know the way it plays out is not the way many expected--including me-- but then, I never expected to get to continue it in AVENGERS, so there seemed no point in dragging things out much further than they needed to be in the limited series.  I think it now stands on its own as an experiment in getting inside Kang's head from the first-person POV, and was definitely fun to write.

Next issue, things get rolling in a big way, as we move full-speed into the saga called, "The World in Chains."  See you then!

As always, Avengers Assemble!

--Van Plexico
Singapore, August 2005