Chapter Seven: When it Rains...
By C.M. King
A squeaking noise down the hall forces Hawkeye to have to quickly hide his detached arrowhead in his mouth so as not to be discovered. But the sight he beholds stings him even more than the arrow’s point against his cheek. Dr. Bruttus comes into the room pushing a bound and unconscious Thor on a large cart past the captive bowman. His hammer is nowhere to be seen.
“Don’t be so lonely kid; soon all your friends are gonna be here too. Hah!” The henchman continues on through another door to place the Thunder God in his strict confinement. Left alone again, Hawkeye moves the arrowhead to his tunic for safer keeping.
“Mrs. Barton’s boy Clint better make like Houdini and soon before there is no team left to be saved. I just can’t believe things can be as bad as they look,” thinks the sullen archer to himself.
Just then Dymium pokes her head into the room. “How’s my favorite wall decoration doing? Poor thing …you look like you need some perking up. Want a soda? I can feed it to you … if you promise to be nice.” However, the villainess’ cattiness is cut short by Red Wind’s voice.
“Dymium, get over here quick! Othello says something important is up.”
The woman exits the room (giving a playful wave) leaving the Avenger alone once more to his urgent scheming.
******
Outside the Union’s hideout, hovering against the blackness of the night, the Falcon radios an urgent warning into his communicard. “I repeat, I’ve tracked some mysterious ‘big bads’ to a building downtown. A downed Thor was taken inside. Repeat: Thor was taken down! Bring everyone you got to the address given, or follow my card’s signal. I’ll keep surveillance until you arrive.”
After finding a good hidden vantage point, the sometimes-Avenger is left alone with his thoughts. “I don’t know who these clowns are. But they must be the worst kind of trouble if they can beat ole’ Goldilocks the way they did. I may not be much of a “team” guy, but it’s a cinch that me and Red Wing are way outclassed here. I just hope Steve has more gods for friends or this could get ugly. And not getting a response to my communication doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. Let’s hope that Hawkeye is on monitor duty and he just wants to make me sweat a little.”
Suddenly the quiet is broken by two flying figures. “Well holy &$#%, Thulkon. It looks like bird-hunting season just opened early this year!” “For sure, Red Wind. Face it, dude, you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time!” The startled Falcon attempts to flee to a more advantageous position. In the meantime, Thulkon erects a mentallium sphere around Red Wing. “The files say that this bird is dangerous, so it must go down too.”
Falcon hides behind a chimney to make less of a target. When Red Wind comes near, Sam props his arms against the bricks and extends both legs in a flying kick to the villain’s jaw. Red Wind rubs his head for a second and then flies himself away at great speed before doubling back (now glowing with crimson energy) and straight at his foe. The human missile then spears the Falcon in the back and both crash through the brick chimney.
Red Wind rises, Sam Wilson does not. “Got to remind myself not to play around with these super dandies.”
“Good thing we hacked the Avengers’ communication system, and can control what messages do and don’t get through, eh Reddy?,” states Thulkon. “Not that I had any doubt about the boss being successful before, but it’s starting to hit home that I’m going to need a list of what I wanna do when we control this whole planet.”
******
Janet Van Dyne walks over to a desk that sits in her home in Cresskill, New Jersey. Her curiosity is instantly aroused by the unexpected sight of a small box with a bow that has been left sitting there. She reads the attached card out loud, “Please accept this token of my appreciation, Love Hank.”
“Geez Hank, your card writing skills are a little dry.” Jan opens the box to find a bracelet of remarkable indigo-colored gems strung together on a loop of white gold. “But your gift-giving skills more than make up for it!” She eagerly clasps the band around her wrist and continues to admire it. “I’ve never seen stones like these before … they’re beautiful! I’ve a feeling I’m gonna be in a very thankful mood when Hank gets here tonight.”
Her concentration is broken up when Othello mysteriously appears in the room behind her. “Good evening, Ms. Van Dyne. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time now.”
A startled Jan whirls around and shoots a bio-blast at her unexpected visitor. “Sorry creepy guy, but you have to see my secretary to get an appointment with me. No Exceptions!” The blast passes harmlessly through Othello’s form and damages the wall instead.
“H-how did you do that? And how did you get in here? I want answers, mister!” Jan shrinks herself to insect size to prepare for combat. Her clothes fall to the ground in a heap. But a slight leotard of unstable molecules, underneath, covers her.
“My projected form is just one of my talents. Another is building the two tiny stun-drones that are following you right now.” Instantly twin flying spheres (roughly the size of tennis balls) enter the room and speed at the diminutive Avenger, firing small energy blasts. The Wasp finds herself unable to shake the constructs off her trail no matter how hard she tries. She also discovers, to her horror, that her bio-stings have absolutely no effects on the drones.
“I’ve learned that you’ve been more formidable on this world than you were on mine. You became a distinguished leader of the Avengers...”
“My commiunicard isn’t working. Who is this guy?” Her desperate gamble to summon help a failure, the inevitable finally happens, and the Wasp is downed by a stun blast.
“…But you still have the same weakness. Your affection for the insipid Dr. Pym. It is always your weak point. Once you placed my ‘clingstones’ on your wrist, they would not come off and my drones could track you no matter how small you became or where you went. I bet you never even questioned that they could shrink with you, did you?”
The real form of Othello then enters the room (accompanied by Dr. Bruttus) and picks up the fallen Wasp with his hand. “No matter how miniscule, no Avenger can be left to assemble if we are to win.”
Othello turns to give orders to his subordinate. “I’ll take my leave now. You wait here for the good doctor to arrive. After you’ve flooded this place with the gas in the canisters I’ve provided, he shouldn’t give you any trouble at all once he sets foot inside.”
“Yes, sir. Consider the insect man as good as bagged!”
NEXT: Sitting Ducks!!
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