avengers league issue 24

"You all know why I called this meeting," Gyrich said. "You all have been involved with the Avengers League at some point in time. And you all know how I feel very uneasy with the organization."

"Yet you still helped reform it," Valerie noted.

"Simply as a means to an end," Gyrich replied. "But it has not worked out. It's no secret that I don't fully trust those superpowered yahoos, and the Avengers League has shown me no reason to believe otherwise."

"Yes, yes," Luthor interrupted. "We understand. But what is your point?"

"My point is that we need to do something about them. Look at them. They are not the ideal heroes the public likes to believe in.

"Captain America himself has started training mutants, knowing that his primary job is to capture them."

"I told you to put a leash on him," Luthor interjected.

"I know. I'm working on it. Meanwhile, Iron Man is only on the team to generate publicity for Tony Stark. That Batman character was recently seen going around Gotham killing cops . . . "

"Wait." Now it was Valerie that interrupted. "My sources are saying that it was not Batman. And none of the cops will admit it."

"It doesn't matter," Gyrich replied. "Either way, I don't trust him, and who knows how long before he goes off the deep end. Then there was that Hawkeye character, who was a known mercenary."

"Whom I hired to infiltrate the League and take them out from the inside," Luthor added. "That was a waste of money. At least he has left their ranks."

Gyrich continued. "The League is also starting to change their roster without consulting anyone. The new members make me more uneasy, since two of them are god-like in their powers, appearance, and attitude."

"Not to mention that Wonder Woman," Senator Kelly said.

"Again, what is your point?" Valerine asked.

"We need to remind the Avengers League who's boss and what their job is," Gyrich replied. He picked up two folders and handed them to the two sitting across from him. "I assume you received the file in your e-mail this morning, Luthor?"

"I did," Luthor replied. "What about it?"

"I will be sending the Avengers League after this menace to humanity. I will remind them of their obligation to the United States of America." "Gather round, gang," Captain America said. The recently modified roster of the Avengers League gathered for the first time. Martian Manhunter, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Flash, Wasp, Giant Man, Captain Marvel, Thor, and Vision were all seated at the conference table on the Watchtower. Batman was absent, citing "pressing matters." Captain America was standing by a monitor. It was showing the face of a Mexican looking girl.

"I know I said that these full meetings would be rare. However, I fear that this is one of those occasions where we need the whole team informed, if not involved. Gyrich sent the message earlier," Cap said. "Our mission is to take out this "dangerous menace", to use Gyrich's words. She has apparently put countless human lives in danger."

"And what exactly has she done?" Giant Man asked.

Cap shrugged. "What little details we have been given are very sketchy. I don't like it."

"So, it sounds like we're going to be the government's lapdogs again," Wasp said.

Martian Manhunter turned to her. "That's the deal we made when we reformed."

"I'm not sure I like it," Wasp replied.

"Whether we like it or not, we have a job to do," Captain America said. "We are to go and apprehend this girl. We don't need the whole team, so going on this mission with me will be Martian Manhunter, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, and Wonder Woman. The rest of you are free to go, but make sure your League badge is online, so we can contact you at a moment's notice if need be." The QuinJet landed softly in the New Mexico desert. The landing stirred the ground and a dust cloud billowed around the QuinJet. The Avengers waited for the dust to settle before opening the sealed doors.

"So this is it," Iron Man stated as he stepped down the platform.

"Doesn't look like an evil lair. Does it?" Wasp replied referring to the ranch style house in front of them.

"Looks can be deceiving," J'Onn responded.

"By the gods," Thor interrupted. "Even Surtur would be plagued by this heat."

"How we gonna play this one, Cap?" Iron Man asked.

"What?" Cap said. His distraction was obvious. This mission was not sitting well with him at all.

"Should I knock on the door?" Thor asked, swinging Mjolnir.

"Hold a moment, Thor," J'Onn requested placing his hand on Thor's shoulder.

"What is it, J'Onn?" Cap asked recognizing the tone of J'Onn's voice.

"Knocking down the door won't be necessary. The girl is alone and she's harmless."

Cap knocked on the door. Wonder Woman stood next to him. Cap thought the Amazon's presence might be less menacing than some of the other members. A pretty young woman opened the door.

"Captain America?" the girl said startled.

"Yes ma'am," Cap responded. "May we speak to you for a few minutes?"

"Of course," the girl answered with obvious reverence. "How can I help you?"

"We were sent to bring in a menace," Cap said.

"Around here?" the girl gasped. "Who is it?"

"You!" Cap said flatly.

"Oh," the girl replied. "This is about my powers isn't it?"

Cap nodded.

"Well, I won't fight you," she said sadly. "I'll go quietly."

Cap turned to escort the girl out when a photograph caught his eye. The photograph was of a Hispanic gentleman wearing an American army uniform. The name Juarez was proudly displayed above the pocket. Then he made the connection. The girl's name was Bonita Juarez. She was this man's granddaughter. Cap looked at the picture for a long time remembering the man. He had met him during the war. The young private had only been an American citizen for a few months but he insisted on fighting for his new country. He insisted on fighting so his children would have a better life.

That was the last straw.

Cap motioned to Martain Manhunter. "Let's go," he said through gritted teeth.

The rest of the League was ready to follow, but J'Onn motioned them to stay. Iron Man, however, continued to follow his two teammates. Captain America climbed on the QuinJet; Martian Manhunter and Iron Man right behind him. Within seconds, he was in the air, and it didn't take long to fly cross country to Washington DC.

Cap landed the QuinJet on the Mall. From there, the trio flew under their own power to the building which housed the office of Henry Peter Gyrich. They marched in. The entire time they were in silent. Both J'Onn and Iron Man could sense the rage building up inside Captain America, but they did nothing to try to calm it, because they were beginning to feel some of the same rage themselves.

Captain America banged on the door. "Gyrich, open up!" he shouted before throwing the door open.

Gyrich was on the phone. "I'll call you back," he said to whoever was on the other end of the line. He put the phone down. "Captain America! What a nice surprise!" he exclaimed with false sincerety.

"You heartless son of a bitch," Cap hissed. That was enough to convey Cap's feeling to his teammates. When he started acting and talking like that, they knew he was really ticked. "You sent us on a mission to kill an innocent girl!"

"She's a mutant. By definition, she is hardly innocent," Gyrich replied.

Captain America banged down on his desk. "That's crap, Gyrich. She is an American citizen, and deserves the basic rights guaranteed her by the Constitution. Above all, she's a human being."

Gyrich was looking at his computer screen, unamused, and unfazed by the protest.

"Are you listening to me?" Cap asked.

"Yeah, American, human, yadda, yadda, yadda. Bottom line is, she's a mutant. They're trying to separate themselves from our species. That's enough right there."

"One egotisical fascist mutant dictator does not represent the wishes of the whole!" Cap shouted. "Just because Magneto wanted to be superior to us, doesn't mean all mutants do. Most of them just want to lead normal lives! And I'm tired of being sent on these missions. I didn't want to fight the X-Men, and I don't want to capture this girl."

Cap cooled off a bit, and stood up straight again.

"Are you done?" Gyrich asked a few seconds later.

"Yes," Captain America replied.

"Good. I want you to go out there, get that girl, and take her to a mutant processing center. The coordinates are already in your QuinJet."

Cap was silent as he turned and left the office.

Walking down the halls, Iron Man asked, "So, what are we going to do?"

"I guess we're turning that girl over to those butchers."

"Why?" Martian Manhunter asked. "Why did you give in to Gyrich?"

Cap's voice lowered, and one could almost see a tear in his eye. "Because I'm a soldier, following my orders." Under his breath, he added, "So help me God." His stomach was started to feel tight.

"Yeah," Iron Man said. "And the Nazis were just following orders too."

The feeling in Cap's stomach got worse, and chills went down his back. Cap, Iron Man and J'Onn were returning in their jet to the southwest. As Iron Man piloted, Cap sat silently, his mind torn in a thousand directions, his conscience torturing him. He had served his country for so many years. He had never doubted his duty before. But things had changed. The morality of his actions escaped him.

J'Onn could sense the torment in Cap's mind. He wished he could say something to make the living legend of World War Two feel better, but there was really nothing to say that would make such a man feel better about going against his beliefs. Why, J'Onn wondered, were the most noble humans always the most tormented by doubts? Later, Cap and his two companions returned to the little southwestern town they had left earlier. Firebird, the woman who the Avengers League had come to find, sat frustrated, with her arms folded. Why was this happening to her, she wondered. She glanced over at Thor who was guarding her. He retained his regal composure, but did she see a hint of reluctance in his majestic eyes?

As Cap stepped off the jet, he was met by Wonder Woman and the Wasp. For a moment, when he first spotted the Amazon Princess, he thought he was seeing her mother, Queen Hippolyta, who had been Cap's ally back in the 40's. Cap sadly longed for those lost days. Things were so much simpler then. Things were black and white. Nazi bad, America good. Now there were too many shades of gray.

"I hope the news is good," Wonder Woman said. "My sister warrior, Firebird, has done nothing to deserve punishment."

"No. She hasn't," Cap said. "And we, the great Avengers League, are about to participate in an unconstitutional act. Our orders are to take her to a place known as a registration and detention center."

Thor overheard this. His eyes narrowed. "By Odin, I like this not!"

"Nor do I, Thor," Cap answered. "But I have my orders. Bring her."

Wasp sighed. "There's no chance of changing the VIP's mind's about this, huh?"

Cap shook his head. Thor took Firebird gently by the arm. "Come, milady," the Thunder God said to her. She offered no resistance.

Cap watched her enter the jet. "I used to fight for liberty and justice. What am I fighting for now?" The League and Firebird arrived at the registration and detention center. Cap got a look at it. It was a fenced in area, with both mechanoid and human guards surrounding it. A force field also encircled the area like a dome, stopping any ariel escape. Inside, a group of mutant wandered around, broken in spirit. Their faces were masks of loss and misery.

They wore metal collars. "Those things around their necks must be the X-1000 Control and Restraint collars," Iron Man said. "They can be set to explode by remote control. Tony Stark's company was supposed to build those for the government, but Stark rejected the contract. Lex Luthor's company completed the project. Any inmate who tries to escape will have his head blown off."

"Monsterous!" J'Onn hissed, disgusted.

"They're all just like me," Firebird said. "They're all mutants. Have any of them committed a crime, or are they all just guilty of being mutants."

No one answered. Captain America closed his eyes. He couldn't look at the place. It reminded his too much of the interment camps of World War Two, where innocent Japanese men were locked up for no other reason then that they were Japanese. Or worse, the place reminded Cap of one of the most horrible things in his experience...The Nazi Concentration camps. They were both unjust. Everyone today agrees with that. Why were we making the same mistakes again, he wondered. And why, Cap wondered, was he a party to it. Participating in an act that takes the freedom and liberty away from innocent people was unacceptable. It went against everything that Cap represented.

Cap whispered, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

"What?" Iron Man asked.

Suddenly, Cap was no longer torn. He knew where his duty lie, and what he had to do. No more blindly following orders. No more debating whether he should do the wrong thing or not. He knew the answer to that. He had always known the answer to that. He was like and arrow from the bow, straight and steady to the target. The target was justice!

"Everyone . . . Back into the jet!" Cap ordered.

"Huh?" The Wasp quizzed.

"You heard me," Cap commanded. "We're not locking this girl up in that place! Sometimes law and justice can't be reconciled together. And when that happens, we have to decide whether we serve the letter or the spirit of the law. I don't know about the rest of you, but I serve justice. And what I'm seeing here, is not justice! Anyone disagree?"

No one argued.

"You're not going to lock me up?" Firebird asked, hopefully.

"No way in Hell!" Cap said.

"You realize we're setting ourselves up for a world of trouble," Wasp said.

"Since when does the Avengers League run away from trouble?" Cap asked.

"You're right," Iron Man said. "We're all with you."

Cap nodded and led the team back into the jet, taking Firebird with them. They left the Registration and Detention Center behind. The Thangarian ship raced desperately through space. Hell was coming five steps behind him!

The pilot, Katar Hol, had been chased by the alien ship for nearly a light year. He didn't know why the ship was after him, but he knew whose spacecraft it was. The unique design was legendary . . . and feared far and wide.

It was the ship of Thanos!

The hostile ship fired on him again. He tried to avoid the lasers but he had been damaged by the previous attacks and could not maneuver too well as this point. They struck his engines. Katar Hol's ship lost power. He could no longer steer. His momentum kept him flying in a straight line. Try as he might, he couldn't change direction. Thanos' ship passed him and placed itself in his path. They opened their shuttle bay doors and the Thangarian ship headed straight toward the opening. The docking tractor beam activated and slowed Katar Hol's ship, guiding it gently into the shuttle bay.

Once inside, the shuttle bay door closed and the bay filled with oxygen. Inside his useless ship, Katar Hol observed the shuttle bay through the windows. The bay was beginning to fill up with aliens of all sorts. Skrulls, Badoon, all types of space scum. The mercenary wretches of the galaxy, all here at the beck and call of their master, Thanos! Katar Hol realized that there was no escape. They would break into his ship in a moment. But they wouldn't take him without a fight.

Katar put on the war-wings that were standard for Thangarian warriors. He picked up his shield and his energy-whip, and prepared to repel boarders!

The door to the Thangarian ship burst open. The alien mercenaries rushed in. Katar Hol defended himself and his vessel. He did well. He held them off for quite a while. He managed to fight his way out of the Thangarian craft into the docking bay. He hoped to be able to steal one of the other ships in the bay and escape! He had to reach Earth. He had to reach the group called the Avengers League!

Katar Hol had scattered his foes and almost reached the nearest ship, when he spotted someone entering the docking bay. The newcomer was large, with a frightening face. He wore blue and gold armor. His identity was unmistakable!

It was Thanos!

"You fight well, Thangarian," Thanos said. "But the fight is over. Look well, Katar Hol. For soon you will learn the meaning of fear at the sight of your future monarch! Thanos, king of Titan, and soon, Emperor of the Universe!"

Katar swung his energy-whip at the space tyrant, but with a flick of his fingers, the whip was disintegrated. Katar was surprised. He hesitated before he attacked again. "What do you want of me, Thanos?"

Thanos' stony face broke into an unaccustomed grin. "I want your mind, Thangarian. With the hidden knowledge you possess, a special door shall open, first to Earth and then the stars themselves shall follow!"

Katar Hol sneered. "If you think a Thangarian warrior will break under torture, you . . . "

Thanos' chilling laugh silenced the winged warrior. "Torture? There is no need for such crude methods. I have better means at my disposal. You will give me what I want."

Enraged, Katar Hol swooped at Thanos, hoping to kill the space tyrant. Thanos casually pointed and blasted an energy beam at Katar Hol. The Thangarian was thrown backwards across the docking bay, and crashed unconscious to the floor.

"Take him to the science lab," Thanos ordered his henchmen. Thanos walked out of the bay, followed by his mercenary lackeys who carried the unconscious form of Katar Hol. "Before we get started," Cap began, "I want everyone to understand that what we are about to do is very illegal. If anyone wants out now is the time to go. I fought against this in Europe. I won't allow it here in America. Not on my watch."

He waited silently looking each one of them in the eye one at a time. Everyone remained.

"Good!" Cap smiled. "Before we go any further I think we should take a vote on bringing Bonita into the League on a probationary basis."

The Avengers all nodded in agreement.

"How 'bout it?" Cap said. "Want to be an Avenger?"

"Yes," she replied.

Cap winked at the girl and continued. "Next, I want to make this very clear. There are to be no fatalities on this mission. I will not accept the loss of a single guard or a single prisoner. Nor will I accept a loss among our ranks. We've got to do this by the numbers." There was no moon that night. The only illumination was the floodlights that bathed the compound with an eerie glow. The guards watched the mutants with disinterest. The mutants were all silent. They had already given into their fate. Everything was calm and quiet and then it hit the fan.

Fire filled the sky on the horizon. Every guard turned watching the display. None of them noticed the circular disc that flew through the sky and cutting the chain link fence. The disc returned making the hole bigger. The process continued until the fence had been severed.

Thor and Martian Manhunter flew to the fence each grabbing a side and pulling it back. Cap strolled up into the center and motioned for the prisoners to remain for the moment. Iron Man flew directly over the compound and activated the device in his armor. An EM pulse surrounded the area disabling the collars and the security devices. Unfortunately the device also shorted out his armor. As Iron Man fell, Thor flew forward and caught him. He quickly carried the armored man to safety.

By this time, the guards turned their attention back to their wards. Cap gave the signal and the mutants began running out of the compound. One of the guards got trigger happy and opened fire on the fleeing mutants. Wonder Woman stepped forward and deflected the bullets with her bracelets. Wasp fired her stings at another of the guards keeping him too disoriented to strike.

The alarm sounded calling more guards out. Thor flew down and struck the door to the barracks preventing the re-enforcements from entering the compound. Slowly the prisoners followed Captain America into the desert and to their freedom. "This is unacceptable!" Gyrich exclaimed as he looked over the statistics. "Nearly eight hundred mutants escaped last night, and no one was able to stop it!"

"How could they have possibly gotten out?" Lex Luthor asked over the videophone.

"It was Captain America," Gyrich spit out. "I know he's behind it, but I can't prove it."

"Gyrich, remember what I told you? You need to keep him on a leash," Luthor reminded.

"I know," Gyrich replied. "But I can't do anything without proof!" Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. "Or can I?" he wondered. "I think I may have something here that will solve our problem . . . "