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Second Chances
(present)Wonder Man is about to board a flight to Los Angeles. Simon Williams has died twice, and owes his life this time to the Scarlet Witch, whom he passionately kisses goodbye. He doesn’t fully believe he deserves all this. Wanda asks him if something’s wrong and, as he thinks back to when he died trying to stop a Kree ion-cannon, he tells her that he owes her everything. Wanda tells him she loves him, but Simon doesn’t feel he’s worthy of that love. Wanda doesn’t want this now. It’s been difficult for them both.
(flashback)When they first met, Wanda was married to the Vision; Simon’s artificial ‘brother.’ The Vision is a synthezoid, programmed with Simon’s brain patterns. They both loved the Scarlet Witch and she loved them, but she was an honorable woman. She denied her love for Simon as long as they were married. This marriage was over by the time she brought Simon back from the dead. He tried to talk with the Vision about this, but it didn’t go smoothly.
(present)Wanda assures Simon that it isn’t his fault that the Vision left the Avengers. Simon thinks it’s just one more thing he has to answer for. She pecks him on the cheek, and asks him not to be so hard on himself. She hopes this trip will make him see that. As she departs, she tells him she’ll be waiting for him, along with the other Avengers. Simon puts on his red glasses as his flight is called. Fortunately for him, an alert member of staff recognizes him and he is upgraded to first class, given his Avenger status. He informs them that he’s no longer an Avenger, but they say it’s no trouble.
As the plane flies to California, Simon feels this is something else he doesn’t deserve. He booked a commercial flight to avoid Avengers perks, but at least they agreed not to announce his presence over the intercom. As he settles into the flight, the passenger sitting next to him apologizes for ignoring him, but the book he’s reading is fascinating. He tells him that Ramachandran writes so effectively about Capgras’ Delusion, and he asks Simon if he’s familiar with it. He isn’t. The passenger explains that it’s a syndrome wherein the sufferer sees friends and family as impostors. Simon thinks this is just his luck; a talker.
(flashback)He turns his mind back to a recent visit he made to his mother in New Jersey as the plane flies over the area. She was obviously pleased to seem him alive and well, and Simon told her he’d have come sooner but the Avengers needed a hand. He also informed her that his brother, Eric, came back too. They don’t know where he is right now. She asked if the Vision was well, and was pleased to hear he is in good health.
(present)Simon’s neighbor offers a penny for his thoughts. Simon turns and sees the guy has morphed into Abraham Lincoln. He then turns into Curly Howard from the Three Stooges, and tells Simon he’s traveling in disguise. He then switches off his Stark Solutions image-inducer and reveals himself to be none other than Simon’s best friend, Hank McCoy.
Simon is surprised, and asks him how he got there. Hank explains that Wanda had recently e-mailed him about his journey, and seemed a bit concerned. So, he arranged some time off from the X-Men, and hopes that Simon doesn’t mind. Simon wishes everyone would stop being so nice to him. Hank realizes he’s still in his ‘I’m not worthy’ mood. He reminds Simon that he’s come back from the dead… twice, and is entitled to a few breaks. Simon replies that he’s had more than a few breaks. He’s royally screwed up all his lives, starting with the first, when he stole from the family business.
(flashback)He knows now that he should have taken the rap, but he was broke and disgraced. A mysterious woman then agreed to pay his bond, and though he didn’t know it, it was his first encounter with the Enchantress. He let her wrap him around her little finger. Before he knew it, he was in a secret lab in South America, being turned into a super-human by a Nazi war criminal. It sounds crazy, he adds, but it all happened, and he became Wonder Man. Of course, there was a catch. The power would kill him inside of a week. Baron Zemo held the antidote and, to get it, all he had to do was defeat the Avengers.
Zemo was clever, setting up a battle so Simon could look like a big hero and, thus, infiltrate their ranks. They threw all their resources into finding a cure for him, which made his betrayal all the worse. He abducted the Wasp to bait a trap for the others, and they walked right into it. He had them all on the ropes, but then Zemo ordered Simon to kill them. Thankfully, he refused to allow that to happen and sacrificed himself to save them.
(present)Simon tells Hank that this was the first time he died. All he recalls is a void; an emptiness. Hank replies by telling Simon how he first got his powers.
(flashback)Hank’s father was a nuclear technician, until he took an especially heavy dose of radiation. It might be a coincidence, but when Hank was born it was clear that he was a mutant. He suspects the radiation might have had something to do with it. His extra-large hands and feet garnered him some unwanted taunts as a boy, but his agility and musculature served him well, winning him a slot at Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. It was a great place for academic and personalized study, and few suspected that they were also the masked, mutant X-Men. Under Xavier’s tutelage, he assumed the nom de guerre of The Beast, joining his fellow X-Men in routine Danger Room sessions to hone their skills.
They fought villains such as Magneto periodically and in time they graduated, but he continued to associate himself with the X-Men for some time. They were heady days. Eventually, he struck out on his own, taking a research position at the Brand Corporation. While there, he isolated a chemical catalyst for genetic mutation. One night, he discovered some skullduggery and, lacking a proper disguise, he quaffed his experimental formula, becoming a real Beast. The effect, alas, was not temporary.
At first, he continues, he tried to hide it and went underground for a while, learning to live with his new hirsute state. By the time he became comfortable with it, the Avengers were recruiting and so he leapt at the chance to become one of Earth’s mightiest heroes. He was welcomed with open arms. Being a mutant, and furry, was never an issue. There was a wonderful bonhomie amongst the Avengers, but then Simon already knows this, as just a few weeks into his tenure Simon returned from the dead, making an impressive entrance.
(present)Hank tells Simon that his attire was somewhat dated, but then he was wearing a mask designed by Zemo. Simon explains that he didn’t have much choice in the matter - not that the outfit Hank designed for him was much better.
Suddenly, a couple of armed men enter the cabin, with one of them holding a knife to a stewardess’s throat. He orders everyone to stay seated and proclaims that the plane now belongs to the Popular Front for Slorenian Sovereignty. Before he can instruct them not to do anything until they say so, Wonder Man changes into his ionic form and strikes. The knife is knocked to the floor, and the second terrorist is smacked in the face by Hank’s book. Hank takes the gun from his hand and punches him in the face, as Simon slams the knifeman’s face into the overhead luggage compartment.
The fight is over almost as soon as it began. Hank admires the pistol. It’s constructed mainly of super-hardened plastic, which must be how it got past security. Simon asks the stewardesses if they’re all right, and asks if there are any others aboard. She tells him there are three more back in coach. They have guns… and explosives.
In coach, the PFSS leader explains to the passengers that the United Nations was unable to stop the American-made robot, Ultron, from ravaging Slorenia. Now, they deny Slorene exiles entry back into their own homeland! This plane’s passengers have been chosen as the lever by which they will force the world to recognize their sovereignty. He assures them they’ll be released unharmed if the U.N. agrees to their demands. A young boy asks if what he’s holding is plastic explosive, because if it is it’ll kill everyone aboard including them if it goes off. He replies that it is, and everyone should heed what the boy says.
One of the gunmen, Johan, feels it’s been too long without an announcement from the cockpit and calls through, asking Rolli how goes it. Rolli pops his head through the curtain, and says everything’s fine, but they could use his assistance. The leader, Mikhel, tells him that he and Leks have everything well in hand, so he can go. Leks is sweating, but knows it will soon be all over. Rolli makes his way into the cabin, and is immediately grabbed by the two heroes. Hank had managed to use his image-inducer to make him look like Rolli, and he clamps his huge hand over the terrorist’s mouth. Wonder Man snaps his gun like it was made of glass. Hank tells him that he’s going to tell them everything they want to know about his buddies, and in return, he won’t do anything beastly to him. He switches off the image-inducer to reveal his true appearance, which shocks Johan.
Moments later, Hank is back looking like Rolli and Simon is wearing Johan’s clothes with a baseball cap covering his face, as they wander into coach to assure Mikhel that everything is under control. Hank says that Matt occupies the cockpit, keeping close watch over the pilot. Leks looks confused. He tells Rolli that the plan is for him to fly the plane. Hank gulps, and realizes that Johan didn’t tell them everything. Simon reacts immediately, throwing off his baseball cap, pushing past Hank and shouting for everyone to get down. He transforms into his ionic form and dashes towards Leks. Mikhel reacts quickly, too. He hurls the plastic explosive at Wonder Man, and cries, “Death before dishonor! Slorenia over all!”
The explosive hits Simon in the stomach, and as it hits, he clamps his hands around it as it explodes. Fortunately, his ionic body absorbs the entire blast, and he remains standing as Mikhel recognizes him as being Wonder Man. “You maniac! You could have killed everyone!” exclaims Simon, before flicking his finger under Mikhel’s chin, knocking him out. He smiles quietly at having so effectively done a good deed.
Hank holds up Leks and tells him he did nice work. The only damage to their side was to his image-inducer, which was broken when Simon hastened him aside. The passengers are relieved, and star struck. Notebooks are offered to the heroes for autographs, and Hank grins as he tells Simon that he never gets asked for autographs when he’s with the X-Men.
(Los Angeles)Some of the passengers get on their phones immediately, and when the plane lands, reporters are waiting for them. An FBI agent informs Simon and Hank that they have a file on this ‘Popular Front.’ They’re extremists who were exiled with the fall of communism. They’ve been trying to claim what’s left of Slorenia. His fellow agent thanks God they were on board. Simon says he was glad to help.
Through the crowd comes a familiar face. “There he is! That’s my hero…!” It’s Neal Saroyan. He explains that he had to learn from CNN that he was coming to town. Simon tells Hank that Neal’s his former agent. “Hey, what’s with this former,” he replies, embracing his old friend. Simon tells him that he’s back in L.A. to deal with some unfinished business. Neal asks what he is; chopped liver? He offers them a place to stay while he’s in town before stepping out of the plane to show them their adoring public.
Standing in front of the airport is a large crowd of reporters and well-wishers, including a couple from the Wonder Man Fan Club. Simon and Hank are astonished that their action has brought so much publicity. Simon thinks he should be flattered, especially with all the negative publicity the Avengers have been having lately, but this isn’t why he came to California. He transforms into his ionic form once again, grabs Hank and Neal, and heads skywards.
He flies them straight over to Neal’s convertible, and asks them to buckle up. They do so and Simon picks up the car and sets off again, rocketing away from the crowd. Neal is understandably nervous, but Hank assures him that Simon never drops anything... well, hardly ever.
One of the people in the crowd is Elaine Bosco, and she gets on the phone to Cindy Knutz, informing her that Simon’s in town. Cindy looks up and sees him carrying the car overhead. As Simon flies past the Delazny Studios back lot, the place brings him a lot of memories. There are so many people he’s hurt, and so much he still has to answer for. As he zooms past, a guy gets on the phone to his employer and informs her of Wonder Man’s arrival. She is already aware of his return, and watches him on television, informing her watchman that she’ll call him if needed. She runs her hands through Bob’s hair, telling him they’re going to have to do something about this. He appears to be in some sort of trance.
She tells him that Wonder Man has interfered with her plans far too often, but he ‘died’ before she could exact her proper revenge. If it is truly Simon Williams who has returned, he must be dealt with most severely, and Bob will help her. “Yes, Lotus… I shall,” he replies.


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[Assistant]
Nightmares and memories
(Wonder Man’s dream)Wonder Man and Beast are back in Hades, with Simon fighting for his soul against Blackheart, whilst Lotus eggs him on. They are surrounded by demons, which Beast fends off, but he’s struggling against superior numbers. Simon hits Blackheart as hard as he can and he shatters like a cheap pane of glass. Mephisto grabs Simon and is about to swallow him, which will kill him once and for all, when Simon wakes with a gasp.
(reality)Beast is sat at the kitchen table at Neal Saroyan’s luxury condo, trying to fix his image-inducer. Hank jokes that waking in an agent’s digs can’t be much different from being a guest in Hades. Simon is worried that Mephisto might be messing with his head again. When they were in Hades, he or Blackheart, or both, fed him and his brother, Eric, false memories about the deaths of their parents. Hank points out that his mother is alive. Simon tells him that’s something he couldn’t remember until he was reborn. Hank finds this interesting. He’s no idea why Mephisto would have done such a thing… but he does take great delight in twisting lives. He once made Hank a monster - unless that was an illusion as well.
Simon explains that the most unsettling thing the dream reminded him of was Lotus. She’d claimed to have been working for Mephisto, and had caused too much trouble in his past life. But… Mephisto had her killed right in front of them! Hank doesn’t recall this, and doesn’t remember anything about Lotus. Before the conversation can continue, Neal Saroyan arrives and tells Simon that he knows he wants to keep a low profile, but he’ll change his mind when he sees what he’s put together. From a case, he produces a new poster with Simon’s picture on it, and the caption ‘Wonder Man - Reborn.’ Neal’s lined up the talk shows, the toy deals, T-Shirts and his own Happy Meal. He’s even got him invited to all the A-list events.
Simon rips up the poster and replies, “Absolutely not!” He’s trying to make amends for the wrong he’s done. He doesn’t need more reminders of ‘Hollywood Williams.’ Hank says he shouldn’t be so Spartan. Even Avengers need a little fun, but Simon doesn’t think he was much of an Avenger.
He recalls how he originally betrayed them to the Masters of Evil. “Why anyone let me through the door after that…” Hank reminds him that he was being manipulated by Baron Zemo and the Enchantress. He eventually came to his senses and saved them. He’s made up for that weakness over and over - putting his life on the line against Korvac, Red Ronin and Ultron amongst others. Simon agrees with that, but asks if he learned anything. Hank says that, when he first came to Hollywood, he got caught up in the fast lane, but he always came through when the going got tough.
Hank asks Simon to consider that had he not come to his defense when the Rampage Gang got medieval on his furry hide, he doubts he’d be there to deliver this pep talk. That’s why people are willing to cut him some slack. He’s done a lot of good and saved a lot of lives. The good has always outweighed the grievous.
Simon weighs in by adding that somehow, along the way, he managed to screw up a lot of other people’s lives such as Ginger, Spider Beach and Alex Flores. His mind is cast back to Alex, just before he died. They were engaged to be married. He realizes he should have called her weeks ago, but his rebirth was… complicated. Now, the Scarlet Witch is such an important part of his life. “How do I…?” Neal saves him from having to overly ponder this thought, by mentioning that Alex has remarried. Simon is aghast. He didn’t know this. “Oboy,” remarks Hank.
Wonder Man and Beast pay Alex a visit at her rather impressive home. They are shown to the back, where Alex is with a couple of friends. She’s pleased to see Simon and Hank is more than happy to meet the two friends, who he recognizes as being movie star Diane Cummings and director Felix Simon. He bounds over to them, and tells them he’s followed their careers since Star Lords and thinks Diane is great in the ‘All-New That’s Amazing.’
Alex introduces them to Simon. She explains that she met Felix at the studio, shortly after he… passed. They married a few months later. The two men shake hands, and Felix says Alex has spoken of him often. He’s glad Simon made it back, but thinks that the situation is awkward. After all, when he met Alex, Simon was dead. Alex grabs Simon’s arm and leads him away for a tour of the house.
Hand in hand, Simon asks Alex about Jamie. Alex replies that her daughter’s fine. She’s visiting school friends and will be sorry she missed him. She then changes to the more somber subject of his death. She tells him that, when she heard he had cheated death, she wanted to call, but was afraid of what he might say. She hopes he can forgive her. Simon himself asks for forgiveness. The only reason he didn’t get in touch sooner was… well… he’s found someone else too.
Simon’s face appears in the sights of an ocular device held by Bob O’Bryan. He calls Lotus and informs her that it seems like Wonder Man is socializing with Flores. Lotus asks him to use the directional microphone, and thinks to herself that it’s a shame that her power saps her pawns’ initiative. Bob pulls out the microphone, and picks up Alex and Simon’s conversation.
Simon says he’s glad things turned out well for her and Felix, and asks if she hears much from the rest of the Crazy Eight. Iron Man reported that those he met recently were in good health. Alex replies that they keep in touch. Lahoya and Ginger are out of the country right now, having both landed parts in an action adventure series set in New Zealand. Argus is shooting a PBS documentary on late 20th century super heroes. Aundray is now running his own dance studio - and loving it, whilst Gloria is now Spider’s legal secretary, thanks to a few strings pulled by both she and Neal Saroyan. She knew Simon wanted him taken care of.
Simon is pleased, and reassured. He thought he was a jinx to them. She asks him to stay and have supper with them, but Simon takes a rain check. He still has a mountain of unfinished business to take care of, and there’s an appointment he must keep downtown.
(soon)Simon is back in his ionic form, and flying through the city with Beast hanging onto his back. Hank jokes that he really screwed up her life. How will Alex cope? As conversation turns to the weather, they are suddenly aware of incoming assailants. A blast hits Wonder Man square in the chest, as armored flying goons Armed Response attack. There are five of them, all using jetpacks to negotiate the skies. Hank falls to Earth, and thinks this is going to hurt… a lot. Luckily, Simon recovers sufficiently to grab his ankle and he hurls him back towards their foes; a variant on the Fastball Special. He connects like a bowling ball hitting the pins.
One of the goons feels that their improved blasters were supposed to stun him, not make him mad. Simon follows up in anger. When Armed Response first went public, they were touted as a for-hire security force. However, that was just their cover story and, from what Lotus said, Armed Response was always working for her. He suggests to them that they surrender, now, before he gets really angry.
As he punches someone close, one of the team circles behind him and blasts him in the back, hurting Simon. He explains, as he lays on hurt, that a few more seconds of his ion-scrambler and Simon will be toast… burnt toast. Beast has other ideas and he heads straight for the attacker, smashing him unconscious.
Seconds later, Wonder Man and Beast stand victorious as Armed Response lie on the ground, all out for the count. Simon wonders what their game was. They came loaded to take him out. Were they trying to ‘avenge’ Lotus’ death? he wonders. Hank figures they should turn them over to the cops. It’ll be a while before they’re in any condition to give a straight answer. They also still have an appointment to keep at the L.A. Courthouse.
(L.A. Courthouse)Soon, they are inside and Hank is giving his best Jack Webb impression. Two people enter the room, and introduce themselves as Detective Maria Lopez and Lieutenant David Greer. They’re on special assignment to the District Attorney’s office. Greer says he understands they did the city quite a favor bringing in those goons. Hank says that’s their job - they’re Avengers. His theatrics in introducing themselves embarrasses Simon, and he asks him to stop that. He explains that he’s here to turn himself in.
Greer shakes his hand, and begs his pardon. Simon tells him that he’s responsible for two deaths; those of Brother Thommanom and of Freddie Munson. Maria Lopez says he can’t be serious. He was cleared of both those charges months ago. Thommanom was the murderous monster Angkor, and if Simon hadn’t stopped him, there’s no telling how many more he may have killed. Besides, she adds, he died a victim of his own power. Simon’s lucky he didn’t take him with him. As for Munson, that arrogant street punk was responsible for even more murders that Angkor!
Simon agrees that Freddie was arrogant all right. He was grinning as he fired a bazooka, defying Simon to take it from him. Simon knew that he and his gang had been shooting up whole neighborhoods, and he was so furious. If he’d have hit him, he’d have left a bloody smear. Instead, he struck the pavement all around him again and again, trying to put the fear of God into him. It worked all too well.
Greer knows, as Munson died soon after he was brought in. The coroner’s report showed a pre-existing heart condition, which Simon couldn’t have known about. Simon says he’s still responsible. The lieutenant points out that he was also responsible for saving the whole world from the orbital ion-cannon! Everyone thought it had killed him. Simon replies that it did… but that doesn’t excuse the blood on his hands. Without another word, he flies out the window, informing Hank that he needs somewhere to think.
(twilight - Forest Lawn Cemetery)Simon visits his own grave, marked by a stone engraved with the words, ‘In Memoriam. Simon Williams. Wonders are many and nothing is more wonderful than man. ’ A flame burns on top of the stone. Simon’s impressed. He had been told that the Avengers left a memorial to him there, but he never expected anything like this. The inscription paraphrases Sophocles… from Antigone as he recalls. He wonders who chose it. Captain America maybe? Hank? Wanda?
He thinks that the inscription makes him sound so noble. How could they have thought so much of him after the mess he’d made of his life? How could they forget the mistakes he himself can never forget? Surprisingly, Hank arrives with a couple of people he feels might help. Wonder Man is shocked that he found him so easily. Hank introduces the man as being Father Phim from Thommanom’s order. Phim tells Simon that he understands that he harbors guilt over his death. He assures Simon that Angkor was a lost soul. His death was brought about more by his own rage than Simon’s. In stopping him, he saved many lives. Simon appreciates the comments, but there is more he must answer for.
The woman Hank brought along then speaks up. She asks him to listen to her. She is the mother of Freddie Munson; Claudia. Simon apologizes immediately. Claudia says she is sorry too. She grieves for the baby she carried and for the man she hoped he’d be… not for what he became. Simon doesn’t know how to respond, but Claudia adds that she loved her son and tried to raise him right, but she was alone. Freddie got too big for her too early. He got messed up with drugs and gangs, and he beat her. He beat his own momma! He killed so many people. Claudia covers her face as the painful memories come flooding back.
She holds Simon’s arms and tells him that Freddie didn’t discriminate. He was so full of hate, lord knows how many people he would have killed if Simon hadn’t stopped him. Simon replies that he was out of control. He should have found another way. Claudia finishes by telling him that the world is full of should’ve’s. He has to live with what he did, just like she has to live with what her Freddie did. She asks him not to stop what he’s doing on account of her son.
(twenty-four hours later - Maria Stark Pavilion)The crowds have turned out to see the stars. Winona Ryder and Chris Rock are amongst the guests. Reporter Mac Sanders is telling his viewers that Diane Cummins is inside, mingling with the rest of Hollywood’s glitterati at this gala event to benefit literacy volunteers nationwide. Wonder Man and Beast make their entrance, and Mac asks Simon for a moment of his time. He tells him it’s good to have him back in town, but asks if his refusal to rejoin the Avengers means that he agrees with the recent protests. Does he agree that the Avengers have gone out of their way to exclude minorities?
Simon can’t believe this line of questioning. He tells Mac he can say what he like about him, but the Avengers have done more for the world than anybody! Hank cuts in and agrees, asking what other group has claimed amongst its members both a Wasp and a Black Panther? Not to mention action-adventure longhairs such as he.
They enter the party, with Simon thinking that confrontation could have gone better. Cindy Knutz recognizes Simon straight away and tells the guy she’s with that Simon’s still so… handsome. Diane Cummins calls them over and she introduces them to her husband, Bob O’Bryan. Simon knows Bob as they worked together on Return of the Living Colossus.
Hank gets starry-eyed again, informing Bob that he created the FX on some of his favorite movies. “Y-You know my work,” he asks, surprised. Hank quotes from The Hands of Hundu, as Simon looks around and notices who he believes to be Lotus. Diane tells him it is her. She’s some sort of independent producer, and she asks if he’s met her. “I saw her dead in Hades!” he replies.
Simon storms over to her and asks what in the name of Mephisto she’s doing there. Lotus asks him to take his hands off her and Hank grabs Simon’s collar, asking what he’s doing. Simon replies that he’s quizzing their ‘old friend;’ the one behind Armed Response and just about everyone else who made his life hell. “Lotus!” exclaims Hank, “You said she was dead!” So was I, replies Simon.
Lotus can’t believe he’s somehow learned her true identity. As Simon pumps her for answers, she activates a hypnotic suggestion in Bob O’Bryan’s mind, and he immediately switches into a trance-like state.
In an alleyway behind the pavilion, a heavy-duty truck suddenly shudders, and then explodes as two massive arms form behind it. The rest of the body follows, and the creature stands. “I hear… and obey!”
Inside the party, Hank wonders what the rumble was. An earthquake? Wonder Man asks Lotus if this is some trick of hers, and she tells him he’ll find out. Suddenly, two enormous fists smash through the wall, and the guests begin to panic. “It can’t be,” says Hank. Simon doesn’t believe it, but Lotus says he will ignore the evidence before him at his own peril. Standing before them is a twenty-foot stone giant. “The Colossus lives again!!”


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[Assistant]
It’s Alive
After being summoned by Lotus, the massive stone Colossus tears through the wall and smashes Wonder Man in the face with its huge fist. Simon is more than surprised by its appearance. Bob O’Bryan had told him that ‘It’ had been destroyed. The only ‘It’ he ever ran up against was the robot copy Bob built for their movie. This is no robot, and its fists are extremely solid. “Kill Wonder Man,” says the monster as it pummels Simon into the ground with astonishing power.
Beast jumps into the fray, but is swatted away like he’s nothing. Diane Cummings shakes her husband, and asks if he can hear her. He has to stop this. Bob is oblivious to her presence, repeating the words, “Kill Wonder Man.’ Before Diane can try again, she is karate chopped from behind by Lotus, who stands face to face with Bob. She tells him that her will is his will. He must get them out of there while Wonder Man is down. Bob obeys, and the giant creature picks them both up and takes to the air. Lotus figures she’ll deal with Wonder Man later.
As Hank rushes to check his friend is all right, Mac Sanders reports on the incident. Wonder Man is furious, and asks where they are. Hank informs him they’ve gone; together, one assumes. His view was partially obscured, but he thinks the creature scooped up Bob as well. Diane then appears, and confirms that it did. She says Lotus has him under some sort of spell. Simon asks her not to worry; he’ll save him. Lotus won’t get away with this.
Before Hank can object, Wonder Man flies off at speed, leaving Hank and Diane behind with the other guests. Diane says she can’t believe It is back. “Back?!” queries Hank.
Flying over Hollywood’s famous sign, Lotus wonders how Simon found out. He shouted to the entire room that she had backed the Armed Response attack squad. The only ones who could link her legitimate holdings to criminal activity are either dead, or under her thrall. Somehow, yet Wonder Man seemed to know everything. She thinks it was maddening enough when he disrupted her filmmaking. That production company was the perfect cover, but this… She’d planned to tail him from the charity gala, and then use O’Bryan to use It to destroy him. Her plans have now changed. Her entire operation is in jeopardy, all because of this infuriating Avenger.
Simon’s head is still ringing from the pounding he took, but at least he now knows who’s out to get him. He still can’t get over Lotus turning up, though. He saw the Black Talon kill her at Mephisto’s command when they were trapped in Hades, didn’t he? He knows that Mephisto tricked him with a phony Enchantress and Executioner, and with his parents’ ‘ghosts.’ He actually made him forget his mother was alive. Maybe, he thinks, that he only pretended to have Lotus killed, or maybe he brought her back to life like Wanda helped him. His mind races with possibilities as he pursues the creature.
He knows that Lotus claimed that Mephisto was her lover, just before she boasted about her crimes. He guesses he should have investigated more after he and Hank escaped Mephisto’s realm, but it didn’t seem to matter then. Lotus was dead! However, they’re both alive now and she has plenty to answer for.
Back at the Maria Stark Pavilion, Mac Sanders awaits his cameraman by the news helicopter. Unfortunately, Hank desires the aircraft more than Mac does, and takes it. Diane joins Hank and promises she’ll explain later. Hank orders the pilot, Gus, to follow the statue. They must rescue this fair lady’s husband. The petrified pilot does as he is asked, and the helicopter takes off in pursuit.
Meanwhile, Lotus has a dilemma. She calls for the Colossus to take them to the mountains, as Wonder Man tries to avoid the giant’s flailing fists. She knows that she must allow Bob O’Bryan a little more leeway, but if she loosens her hold on him too much, she could end up helpless in Colossus’s grasp.
Simon remembers how when they worked together at Delazny studios, O’Bryan told him about his experiences controlling It. Maybe he can free him from Lotus’s spell. He manages to get in close enough to finally do some damage. He smashes through the giant’s arm, snapping it free, and he quickly turns around in order to catch it. If he can just break Bob’s concentration, maybe this plan might succeed. He uses the arm as a baseball bat, and Lotus quickly senses the danger. She reasserts her control over Bob and orders him to use his control. He mentally commands the arm itself, which pulls itself free of Simon’s grasp. It then swings around and heads right back at him. He only narrowly avoids being walloped by it.
The helicopter carrying Hank and Diane approaches the battle. Hank asks how the extremities can possibly move by themselves. Diane informs him that it’s something to do with psycho-kinetics. She explains that the Colossus was carved from solid stone years ago by a Russian sculptor. Apart from its size, it was an ordinary statue; until it was animated by creatures from another world.
(flashback)Some months later, Bob was injured in a freak accident. During his recovery, he discovered he could let his mind fly free of his body, and animate the statue through force of will. As It, the Living Colossus, he wrecked the plans of some crazed terrorist called Dr. Vault, and even prevented another alien invasion. Then, the Hulk came to town. Working through the Colossus, Bob tried to stop the Hulk’s rampage but, right in the middle of everything, an outside force took over the stone body. The Hulk wound up turning the statue into so much landfill, and they thought that was the end of it.
(present)As they chat, the arm does some major damage, finally connecting with Wonder Man, who drops like a sack of stones to the highway below. He crashes into the front of a truck and continues into the asphalt. The shocked trucker wonders if it’s a meteor or something. He looks out his window and realizes it was no meteor. He exits his truck and rushes over to help Simon. He helps him up, but is surprised to find Simon has red eyes.
Suddenly, the massive arm comes hurtling towards them, so Simon grabs the trucker and pulls him clear of danger. Hank has listened to Diane’s tale, and realizes that her story still has legs. He leaps from the helicopter and lands on the creature’s back. He clambers across its shoulders towards Lotus, and suggests that she surrenders. Lotus has other plans.
Wonder Man orders the trucker to stay down, and gets airborne again, heading right for the fist. He has a plan. He hits the super-dense fist just right, and it smashes into a thousand pieces. Simon figures that if he smashes up enough of the creature, Bob’s control is bound to slip. Amazingly, the arm’s remnants swirl all around him, before making their way back to the Colossus’s body. It’s reassembling, and Simon wonders if this could get any harder.
As Lotus uses her hypnotic powers on Hank, her control over Bob does indeed begin to falter. Lotus starts to turn Hank against his friend, telling him that Simon hates all mutants, but she loves him. Unfortunately for her, Hank has had his mind scrambled by the likes of Mastermind and Mephisto, and she is hardly in their league. He sucker punches her on the side of the head, knocking her out.
Hank asks O’Bryan to listen up. He has to snap out of his miasma. Simon flies by and asks what he’s doing. Hank realizes that the creature is pretty much discombobulated, and so he grabs Lotus and Bob before leaping into the air. Simon has a problem. The creature, which has no control over itself, is heading right for the highway. “Oboy!”
He follows the giant, grabbing its arm in his fist and redirecting it away from the highway, and into the side of a building instead. Hank manages to save himself, Bob and Lotus by grabbing onto the helicopter’s landing skids upside down. He congratulates Simon on his efforts, but apologizes for not applauding right now.
(shortly)The stone giant is laid flat on its back, motionless. Lotus has been blindfolded, and is led away by police officers. Hank asks them to keep the blindfold on until S.H.I.E.L.D. can whip up something to keep her hypnotism in check. Before they depart, Simon asks Lotus just how she came back from the dead. He saw Black Talon kill her… Mephisto’s henchman. Lotus has no idea what he’s talking about. She informs him that she does know one thing. He exposed her criminal empire, and she won’t rest until she sees him dead - permanently!
Simon can’t believe that she knows nothing about her own death. Hank tells him to let it go. Clearly, her death was another of Mephisto’s illusions. “Why?” asks Simon, “And why clue me in on her operations?” Hank figures that maybe, it was just to drive him nuts. At least the info was real. Now, thanks to Simon, Lotus is going away for a very long time, which isn’t bad for an evening’s work. As Diane comforts her husband, Simon guesses it’s not.
Bob tells his wife that it’s like a fog has lifted. Lotus contacted him two months ago, supposedly to work on a new film. She used that contact to get him under her spell. She needed muscle for her extortion ring, and figured she could get him to pull It back together. It took two weeks of concentration, but she finally got him to do it. This disaster is the result. Simon assures him that he’s not responsible for this; Lotus is. “This isn’t your fault, do you understand?” Hank cuts in, and asks Simon if he understands. He and Wanda have been telling him much the same thing ever since he rejoined the living. Diane asks why.
Simon tells Hank that his and Bob’s cases are completely different. He was fully conscious and responsible for the mistakes he made, in all his lives. He embezzled from his family, he betrayed the Avengers… but he keeps getting forgiven. He’s even been brought back from the dead. Why him? Why not Thunderstrike or Captain Mar-Vell or Mockingbird? It doesn’t make sense to him. He’s had such a good life, and he doesn’t deserve it.
A car pulls up nearby, and a Cindy Knutz gets out. She tells him she used to think the same thing. Survivor’s guilt can drive you crazy, she explains. Obsessing over it does no good, and she knows all about obsessions. She introduces her self, and says that Simon probably doesn’t remember her, but she remembers him.
Cindy explains that she was about to be crushed by Red Ronin, when Wonder Man flew to her rescue. Another split-second and she would have been killed. She strokes Simon’s cheek, tenderly, and adds that she was lucky. He was there for her, in the right place at the right time. He saved her life in all sorts of ways.
Cindy continues to say that it’s because of him that she moved to California. When he was in show business, she joined his fan club. She wanted to see him, again and again. “Geez, I sound like a stalker,” she grins. She apologizes, but admits she was younger and a little smitten. She’s over that now. She’s seen firsthand how hero worship can get out of hand, but that’s not his fault.
Simon tells her that he’s certainly not worthy of hero worship. Cindy says he’s wrong. Maybe he has screwed up in the past, but who hasn’t? She’s studied his career, and he’s always come through when he was really needed (something Hank has tried telling him already). To Cindy, that’s more admirable than someone who’s impossibly perfect all the time. Sometimes, the past doesn’t make any sense, but its over. We can’t change it. She adds that all any of us can do is to learn from our mistakes, so that maybe we can make better sense of the future. Simon is speechless. He realizes Cindy is right, and she’s given him a great idea.
(The Century Plaza, fourteen hours later)With Neal Saroyan’s help, Simon has called a press conference. He informs the assembled media that Neal has been negotiating for the release of his movies and videos, and countless new projects and endorsements. Today, he’s happy to announce that all proceeds from these endeavors will go to fund hi new foundation - Second Chances. It will provide help to those who have been overwhelmed by forces beyond their control. It will be a non-profit foundation, so he won’t make a dime from it. He’s proud to report that Neal has generously agreed to work for half his usual fee. Neal smiles, and figures goodwill like this - you just can’t buy.
Simon tells the viewers that life can be unfair. It is incumbent upon those who have been blessed with good fortune to help those who have not. We must use all of our second chances. To build a better future.
(later)Walking along a beach promenade, Hank pats Simon on the shoulder, and tells him it was a most excellent presentation. He’s given the Scarlet Witch fresh reason to be proud that she pulled him back from the great beyond. Simon hopes so. He wants to make Wanda proud. He thinks she’s wonderful. He really doesn’t deserve her, but no one could ever deserve a woman as amazing as Wanda. He just hopes he lives up to what she sees in him.
Hank approves of his new attitude. He spent so long lecturing him to no avail, and a sweet thing like Cindy speaks up and all is rosy. What would Wanda say? he jokes. Simon replies that she’d thank Beast for laying the groundwork for the message to finally get into his thick skull. Now back on form again, the two friends grab their surfboards and head to the ocean.


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Possessed by Proctor's Sword!
It was a warm summer morning when the winged black stallion unloaded its languid passenger upon the lawn of Avengers Mansion. The day would soon grow colder....
'What in the world -? I recognize Dane Whitman's horse, Valinor, but this boy certainly isn't the Black Knight!' Janet van Dyne a.k.a. the insect-like Wasp muses as she hovers over Valinor and helps the young man as he falls into the arms of the Wasp's teammate, Crystal of the Inhumans, while a surprised Edwin Jarvis watches from the doorway to the Mansion. Crystal informs Jan that his name is Sean Dolan, and that he is Dane's former squire. Crystal points out that he is so weak, and asks the Wasp to help her get him inside.
Shortly, the women stand in the doorway to a guest room within Avengers Mansion and watch him sleep. 'Look at him now, sleeping like an innocent lamb' Crystal remarks. The Wasp assumes there is a reason to think otherwise and Crystal explains that no man remains innocent under the blood curse of the Ebony Blade. Sean drew the Black Knight's sword from its granite prison while protecting Victoria Bentley, a “guest” a Whitman Manor, from mysterious assailants. Crystal recalls that the Blood Curse affected Sean like no other, transforming him into the menacing Blood Wraith, and the demon wasted no time in slaying the intruders, and the Ebony Blade feasted upon their souls, but it was bitter irony when the Wraith accidentally killed Lady Victoria while duelling the Black Knight. Crystal remarks that the poor boy grew addicted to the power the sword feeds him from the souls it steals.
They enter a living room, where Pietro “Quicksilver” Maximoff, the Vision and the time-lost Swordsman a.k.a. Philip Jarvert are waiting for them. 'But if Sean Dolan is here, then where is the Ebony Blade?' the Wasp asks. Crystal reveals that, according to her royal cousins, it was last seen in the hands of the sorceress, Morgan le Fey. The Vision points out that the blade is therefore trapped within the Negative Zone barrier which recently enveloped Crystal's homeland of Attilan. 'Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say' the Swordsman remarks, announcing that in his reality, the Black Knight revelled in the Hellsword's blood curse, twisting him into the maddened Proctor. 'Great Agon! Proctor's sword!' Crystal gasps, stating that it is downstairs in the artefact chamber. 'Pietro -' Crystal exclaims. 'I'm on it!' her husband calls out as he speeds away.
The other four Avengers follow, and as they wind their way downstairs, the Wasp tells the others that she has a bad feeling about this. 'Pietro?' Crystal calls out.
But they find Quicksilver motionless at the feet of Sean Dolan, who has grabbed Proctor's sword and is now transformed into the Blood Wraith. 'Sorry, lass, he was fast, but not fast enough to keep the enchanted blade out of my grasp!' he exclaims, holding the sword up, as evil energy crackles around him. 'To reward his valiant effort, the speedster's soul, shall be the first to feed the voracious appetite o' the – BLACK WRAITH!'
The Wasp is the first to leap into action, 'Not while the Avengers are still standing, monster -' she warns him. 'Jan, no!' the Swordsman warns her, but she doesn't stop, flying towards the Black Wraith, she blasts him with her wasp's stings. 'Impressive, woman, but I assure you – both circumstances can be easily rectified!' the Black Wraith declares as he is unharmed by the Wasp's attack, and steps forward, slamming his sword into her. The Wasp falls back, and the Black Wraith tells her to be thankful that she positioned herself away from the cutting edge of his sword!
'But perhaps you're right. The Ebony Blade has hungered for too long a spell. We shall seek easier prey – till we're strong enough t'devour the lot o' ye!' the Black Wraith exclaims as he blasts a hole in the ceiling, and leaps through it.
'Take cover!' the Swordsman exclaims as rubble falls from above. Further explosions can be heard as the Black Wraith reaches outside, where the winged steed is waiting.
'Ah, Valinor, old friend – what's this ? E'en my faithful steed rears at the sight of me?' the Black Wraith sees as the horse pulls away from him. 'Fear not, my companion – the enchanted blade holds the power – to make us whole again!' the Black Wraith declares as he casts energy at Valinor, and the horse is suddenly transformed into a skeletal version of itself.
'No, Sean Dolan – you are far from being whole' the Vision points out as he, Crystal and the Swordsman arrive on scene. Crystal assures Sean that they can help him cure this blood addiction. “Sean Dolan?” the Black Wraith asks. 'Ah, yes, the vessel which houses our combined essence'. He tells the Avengers that their concern is touching, but that Sean Dolan is dead. With that, the Black Wraith streak into the sky aboard his steed.
'What sort of horror have we unleashed?' Crystal asks, gritting her teeth. The Wasp flies out to join her teammates and tells Crystal to stop blaming herself. 'What matters now is that we apprehend this Black Wraith – before he grievously injures somebody!'
At a construction site, Peter Reilly stands at the top of the framework to this building, several stories high. He bravely accepted the diagnosis that the cancer was terminal. The prognosis – eight months, possibly longer with intense radiation and chemotherapy, but he refuses to drain his family's meager savings with pointless hospital fees and medical bills. As he steps off the building frame and falls through the air, he knows that the insurance report will read  “accidental death related to employment”. No one would be able to prove otherwise. Sadly, no one would have to, as the Black Wraith reaches out and grabs Peter Reilly's foot. 'Nooo! Curse you super hero freaks! I want to die!' Peter Reilly calls out. 'Of course you do...I just couldn't see letting a good soul go to waste!' the Black Wraith exclaims as his sword drains the energy from Peter Reilly, before he tosses the man's remains to the grounds of the construction site below. He was processed as mere fodder for the hungry blade, his soul screamed more out of the tragic irony, that his insurance policy doesn't cover acts of gods.
 The Black Wraith turns his attention to a female construction worker who rushes along a beam. 'Ahhh, the appetizer was rather weak... but the main course will be oh so sweet!' the Black Wraith grins. 'Oh, $#!%!' the woman shouts. The Black Wraith, still on his steed, hovers over her and tells her to fear not, as she will sacrifice her soul for a greater cause. 'Mine!' the Black Wraith exclaims – but as he brings his sword closer to the woman, there is a KLANG as it comes into contact with another sword.
'Not this day, demon – you've had more than your fill for one lifetime!' the Swordsman exclaims as he appears on his atomic steed. The Black Wraith turns his attention to follow the Swordsman through the air, 'Ah, the valiant Swordsman, is it not?' he asks, remarking that he has endured many tales about the Swordsman's wondrous deeds from his mentor, whose atomic steed he sees that the Swordsman has appropriated. The Black Wraith adds that it seems one of those tales about the Swordsman's tragic death has been gravely exaggerated. 'Alas, that can be easily rectified' he declares. 'Perhaps – but only if I'm fool enough to allow you to get within striking distance!' the Swordsman replies, as he casts a surge of energy from his sword, which strikes the Black Wraith and his steed.
'Nice shot, Philip – you've disarmed him and dismounted him!' Crystal exclaims as the Black Wraith drops his sword and falls from the transformed Valinor. Crystal levitates herself skyward, while the Vision and Wasp fly nearby, and Quicksilver races along the construction beams. Crystal lands on Valinor and announces that she has to get the poor thing under control before the Wraith can summon Valinor's aid. 'VALINOR!' the black Wraith shouts as he plummets to the construction site ground below, where he lands among some equipment.
'Randac's genes! What's happening!?' Crystal exclaims as she and Valinor are suddenly surrounded by energy – then disappear. 'Crystal and the stallion – have vanished!' the Vision points out.
'Hellspawned monster – what have you done to my wife!?' Quicksilver shouts as he speeds across the construction site to confront the Black Wraith. The Wasp flies over to Quicksilver 'Duck!' she tells him, pushing him down and preventing the Black Wraith's blade from striking him, as the blade is returned to the villain. 'T'blazes with your wife – what did the bleedin' wench do to m'horse?' the Black Wraith asks.
There is a glow of energy, as Crystal and the skeletal Valinor re-appear. 'Where have you taken me?' Crystal asks as she sees that she is in some sort of underground cavern. Crystal follows another glow, and sees a lower level of the cavern, where some yellow-skinned creature are battling something. Crystal decides that they look remarkably like Alpha Primitives. 'Great Agon! They're Inhumans. We're in Attilan!'
'Fight, brothers! Our former masters must not be allowed to reach the orb!' one of the Alpha Primitives calls out. 'Curse your fledgling independence, Primitives – and curse our unaccustomed weakness' one of the Inhumans remarks, as several of them walk off into another part of the cavern. 'We shall return in greater numbers and force you to release us from the barrier which subjects our people to the ravages of the Terrigen!' another declares.
Crystal suddenly finds a spear thrust at her face, and someone tells her that she should have followed her brethren, before the rather large Alpha Primitive realizes that it is Crystal who is crouched before him. 'Lady Crystal?' he asks. 'Praise Avadar, the Terrigen Mist did not alter your idyllic form!' he tells her.
'You are an Alpha! But your appearance!' Crystal gasps, before informing him that she has just come through the barrier, and asks him to tell her what is going on. 'Impossible! Nothing can penetrate the barrier which protects the outside world from the mutating mists within!' the Alpha Primitive declares. 'The Terrigen Mist has been compromised?' Crystal enquires, wide-eyed. She declares that should her people risk a second exposure to the mutagen, the effects would be catastrophic. 'Indeed' the Alpha Primitive agrees, before informing Crystal that her people christened him RN-62 when they were slave drones in the mines of Attilan, but then the mists changed all that, and his people were bestowed with benevolent mutations by the airborne mist. 'Your people, I'm afraid, did not fare as well. The secondary exposure was generally disfiguring to a majority of the population' RN-62 adds, before revealing that now, a faction of Inhuman dissidents seek to escape further Terrigen mutation by destroying the device which maintains the Negative Zone barrier – the Orb of Agon. He points at the orb, and tells Crystal that only his Alpha Primitives stand between them and the contamination of the entire planet.
'And beneath the orb – could it be? The original blade of the Black Knight?' Crystal wonders as she sees a blade sticking up from the rocks next to the orb. RN-62 tells Crystal that it is the sacred Sword of Might, and informs her that his people have created a legend that the one who extracts the blade from its unrelenting berth is destined to be their chieftain, but thus far, even their strongest have proven unsuccessful. Crystal places her hands on the handle of the sword, and thinks that no others have possessed the elemental ability to vibrate the surrounding bedrock, loosening it enough to yank it free – which is exactly what she does, pulling the sword free, she holds it up, and the Alpha Primitives kneel before her, 'All hail Lady Crystal!' they call out. But Crystal tells them not to, and explains that she did not intend for this to be a bid for power. But the sword suddenly glows with energy, and Crystal's voice is changed: 'Yes, power! The sword calls to me. It demands a life-force to replenish its lost energy!' Crystal declares as she turns to the Alpha Primitives and pointing the sword at one of them, declares 'You will satisfy that hunger nicely!'
'NO!' RN-62 declares, before coming between Crystal and the other Alpha Primitive, he begs her, and declares that if their new queen requires a sacrifice, to allow it to be him, for this is his wife, and she is the first Alpha to ever conceive. 'Within her womb rests the salvation of our entire race!' RN-62 pleads.
Crystal hangs her head, free of the supernatural grasp holding her, 'C-conceive?' she asks. 'Merciful Agon! Dane, I never realized the terrible burden you had to bear all those years...' Crystal utters, thinking of the Black Knight, a man she cared for very much. Crystal climbs back on to Valinor, and tells RN-62 that she has no time to refute this silly “legend” of his. 'But if you insist on appointing me your queen, I charge you to continue protecting the orb from marauding Inhumans!' Crystal remarks that she hates to abandon her plagued kingdom, but she won't be of any help if she continue to subject herself to the ravaging mists. She realizes that Valinor brought her here for a reason, and tells the Alpha Primitives that she must first honor that commitment, as she and Valinor disappear.
Half an ocean away, as Quicksilver lies motionless on the ground, and the Vision has been taken out near him, the Swordsman battles the Black Wraith, telling him to give it up, as the Black Knight was second only to him in handling a sword. 'You don't think I'd allow his squire to defeat me... especially when my blade possesses abilities far greater than any other!' the Swordsman declares as energy is blasted from his sword towards the Black Wraith. 'Touché, Swordsman!' the Black Wraith responds, before pointing out that the mystical nature of his sword has some pretty unique abilities of its own as well, as he slices through the Swordsman's own sword, and knocks the Honorary Avenger back. 'Not as unique as you might think, demon!' Crystal calls out from above as she and Valinor re-appear. 'So the witch returns – with my steed and my steel!' the Black Wraith remarks, asking her if she expects him to roll over and beg her to give it back to him, well, he dances to the beat of a different drum. He then picks up a large drum that is on the construction site and hurls it towards Crystal, knocking her from Valinor. She falls to the ground and lands among a pile of other drums.
The Black Wraith rushes over to Crystal and holds his blade to her neck. 'At last we're on equal ground' he tells her. Crystal goes wide-eyed with fear, as she sees her reflection in the blade that looms over her. 'Y'know, Crystal, dear, I must confess – of all the souls this blade has consumed throughout the Multiverse – yours has always been the sweetest!' Suddenly: 'Eh?' the Black Wraith calls out as he senses someone behind him, and turns to see the Vision. 'Those memories of alternate Time-Streams are not yours, Sean Dolan' the Vision declares. The Vision holds the Black Knight's blade and tells Sean that, like himself, the blade he truly covets belongs to this reality. The Vision warns the Black Wraith that if he does not release Crystal and relinquish Proctor's blade, he shall solidify his arm to osmium-strength density. The Vision holds his arm to the blade, and points out that though hr will likely lose an arm, the sword, too, shall break – destroying the initial source of Sean's affliction. 'You're bluffing' Sean replies. 'Androids do not bluff' the Vision states matter of factly.
'What do I care about my former blade when Proctor's contains the power of the Multiverse?' the Black Wraith exclaims as he throws Proctor's blade towards the Vision, 'Let's see how your density holds up t'that!' he declares. But before Proctor's blade can strike the Vision, 'I don't think anyone cares to find out!' Quicksilver exclaims as he speeds into action and takes hold of the blood. 'Final score – Avengers, two, Black Wraith, zero!' Pietro declares. 'Nice catch' the Wasp tells him as she walks over to him. At that moment, Valinor kicks the Black Knight's blade from the Vision's grasp – and it lands in the Black Wraith's hand. The Black Wraith is pleased, when suddenly, something is wrong. 'Like I'm being cast into oblivion by -' the Black Wraith begins, as Sean Dolan appears, in his human form, alongside a restored Valinor. 'Thank the Blessed Mother this nightmare is finally over' Sean exclaims, before thanking the Avengers, assuring them that he has learned much this day. He points out that Valinor could have brought him the Ebony Blade at any time, but he was trying to rid him of its treacherous curse.
Sean climbs onto Valinor and remarks that even in his mutated form, his faithful steed chose the lesser of the two evils and brought about the original sword's return, returning him to his original form as well. Quicksilver tells Sean that he can't just expect them to let him go, to which Sean tells the Avengers to please not force him to unsheathe the cursed steel again. Valinor takes flight with Sean on him, and Sean assures the Avengers that, like his teacher the Black Knight, he will endeavor to master the sword, and will not let it control him like it did Proctor. 'Farewell, Avengers!' Sean calls out.
The Wasp offers to fly after him, but Quicksilver asks her why bother, pointing out that the immediate danger is safely back in their custody. Crystal tells Pietro to put the sword away, but Pietro asks her to calm down and asks her what the problem is. 'I – I'm sorry. I just can't shake the feeling that I'm linked to that sword somehow' Crystal replies. She looks concerned, and adds 'As is the fate of my homeland...'


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Untitled (first story),  Untitled (second story)
First story:‘Do we have a clear shot?’ a strange voice calls out as Secret Service officers on motorcycles escort a procession of cars down a quiet street. ‘The Wakandan ambassador is escorting Dr Udaku in his overstuff motorcade and is en route to the Pentagon as we speak’ comes a reply. Civilians leap back from the street as cars pass them. ‘Then the word is given’ the first voice calls out. ‘Proceed’. ‘Proceeding with caution’ comes the reply. ‘Obviously’ the first voice declares. The target is in sight, when the second voice reports that the Secret Service has seen them. ‘Good. I want them to see us’ the first voice announces as the hideous MODOK comes into view. ‘I want them to see every second’ he adds. ‘Holy--!’ one of the Secret Service officers gasps as the procession of cars crashes into each other, and he is knocked from his motorcycle.
MODOK hovers in the air, and several creatures with robotic appendages float around him. ‘Let them see what happens when a scientist of AIM betrays his brothers! Let them see what happens when someone tries to sell our secrets. Let the world see that MODOK will not allow it!’ MODOK calls out to Dr Udaku, beckoning him to come out and spend his last minutes as a man. A large dinosaur-head on a floating projectile looms over the Secret Service officer, while inside one of the cars, Dr Udaku shouts ‘It’s MODOK! I told you. No one escapes the conclave of AIM. No one escapes!’ The door is ripped open, and MODOK moves down towards him, telling Udaku to spend his last breath with some sort of honor. ‘NO? Fine with me!’ MODOK decides after getting no response. ‘Burn!’ MODOK calls out and prepares to fire an arrow weapon from the side of his armor.‘What? Why am I misfiring? How could I possibly -?’ MODOK mutters, when suddenly, the answer comes from up above, as the mighty Scarlet Witch a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff appears, casting a hex-spell. ‘Surrender’ the powerful mutant warns MODOK.
‘Or I’ll make you’ Wanda adds, as she releases the hex-spell, causing all of MODOK’s lackeys to malfunction and fall to the street. MODOK sprouts some spider-like legs and gasps ‘What is this? Who are y - wait! I know you! You’re the Scarlet Witch. The disgraced Avenger!’ ‘My goodness, I’ve heard rumors that - the rumor was that you’d lost your mind and turned on the Avengers’ MODOK declares as his legs extend upwards, reaching the same level as the Scarlet Witch, who stands ready on top of one of the cars. ‘Oh no. You’re going to talk a lot, aren’t you?’ Wanda sighs as she easily deflects some weapons fire from MODOK. ‘Rumor has it you’re the reason that mutants are no longer a concern’ MODOK adds.
‘Please, I’m begging you, if I wanted to hear a crazy monologue, I’d move back in with my father’ Wanda tells MODOK, who orders his lackeys to attack. The creature-robots move towards Wanda and surround her, as MODOK declares that Magneto’s baby girl needs to learn to stay in her place. Wanda casts her mutant hex power at the creatures, while MODOK tells her that she should have stayed hidden under whichever rock she came out from. ‘I wonder, dear, if there’s some sort of reward for your head. It would seem you did more to hurt the world than anything any of us so-called -’ MODOK begins, before the Scarlet Witch suddenly finds herself in danger, as the creature-robots begin to overwhelm her. MODOK smiles and orders his lackeys to end this quickly. ‘We don’t want to have every broken hero lining up to -’ he calls out, when suddenly, a fist knocks him over, as Ms Marvel a.k.a. Carol Danvers and Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman , burst down and attack MODOK.
‘Broken? Who’s broken?’ Carol asks. ‘I’m a little broken’ Jessica mutters. MODOK lands against a nearby car, ‘Boom! I won’t lie to you ladies, I kinda needed this’ Spider-Woman remarks as she releases her venom-blast at two of the creature-robots. ‘Oh, I know. I don’t know if it’s the uggo AIM scientist beekeeper outfits or the uber smelly bioengineered creepy bots, but I just want to smash the crap out of all of this’ Carol agrees as she flies straight through one of the AIM trucks, shattering it, and causing several AIM soldiers to rush from it. ‘I’m sure there’s a whole back story here, but good Lord, do I not even -’ Spider-Woman begins, unaware that one of the AIM soldiers has snuck up behind her and aims a weapon at her back.
The Scarlet Witch casts a spell, and the soldier’s weapon breaks as he tries to fire it. ‘You dare -’ MODOK begins as he tries to get up. Spider-Woman fires another venom-blast at him, and puts a foot on his face, telling him to shut it, as he slips into unconsciousness. ‘Killer save, Scarlet Witch. You still got it’ Spider-Woman calls out as she and Carol turn to Wanda, who is standing on the sidewalk nearby. ‘Wanda. It’s me, Carol. Carol Danvers. You remember Spider-Woman…’ Ms Marvel calls out. ‘Uh, hey’ Jessica mutters, waving at the Scarlet Witch. Wanda looks at the women and remarks that she thought she could handle this on her own. ‘What are you talking about? Job well done’ Jessica tells her. Wanda supposes that she is a little rusty, and not ready yet. She turns away from Ms Marvel - who was once her best friend - and walks away.
‘Hey, where are you going?’ Carol calls out. Wanda tells Carol that it was good to see her, and that she looks good, healthy. ‘Where are you going?’ Carol calls out again. ‘I’ll see you around’ Wanda replies. Carol calls after her, telling her to hold on, and rushes over to her, putting an arm around Wanda’s shoulders, and tells her that she is coming back to the Mansion with them. ‘Oh, no’ Wanda replies. ‘Of course. Come on’ Carol tells her, but Wanda explains that she is not ready for that yet. ‘Ready for what? Your friends?’ Carol asks, telling Wanda that everyone has been worried about her, and suggests she come back and say hello and get her hugs and let everyone know she is okay. Wanda replies that she is better off flying solo for a while. ‘That’s fine. Just come say hi’ Carol tells her. ‘I really don’t think -’ Wanda begins, until Carol asks ‘You do get the whole “I’m not taking no for an answer” part, right?’ ‘Carol…’ Wanda replies.
Soon, ‘Ugh, this is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea’ Wanda exclaims as she approaches the Avengers Mansion front door. ‘Everyone’s been worried about you. Everyone will be very happy to see you’ Carol assures her as she and Spider-Woman stand nearby. ‘But…’ Wanda begins. ‘Hey…Once an Avenger, Always an Avenger’ Carol reminds Wanda, telling her to just come and say hello. ‘Seriously, you should see how they -’ Spider-Woman begins, when suddenly, the Vision materializes through the front door.‘Vision’ Wanda utters. ‘What are you doing here, Wanda?’ the Vision calls out as he stands coldly on the front stoop. ‘I thought it would be nice if -’ Carol calls out, but the Vision interrupts: ‘I’m talking to my wife. Why did you come here?’ he asks.
Wanda narrows her eyes, and the Vision just stares back at her. Suddenly, the doors open, and Wolverine, Thor, the Beast and Iron Man are standing there. The Vision informs Wanda that he has empathy for her struggles, and empathy for the many manipulations that she may have endured, but what he does not have compassion or understanding for is the idea that when she was at her lowest, she chose, out of the millions of choices and variables in front of her, to overpower him and use his body as a weapon against his friends and home. ‘That I cannot forgive’ the Vision states. ‘You’re right’ Wanda replies. Wolverine frowns, Thor looks surprised. Ms Marvel looks concerned, while the Vision just continues to stare at the Scarlet Witch. She half-smiles back at him, before pulling her cloak around herself and telling him that she is sorry.
‘This is not your home anymore. You don’t belong here’ the Vision tells Wanda. ‘Vision, come on…’ Iron Man calls out, but the Vision ignores him and tells Wanda ‘If that’s what you came here to discover, now you know’. Wanda looks upset and replies that she already knew, before turning away, and covering her face with her hands. ‘Wow! Could you be any more of a -?’ Ms Marvel begins, but the Vision tells her that this is none of her concern. Carol picks Wanda up and flies away with her, while Iron Man tells the Vision that he was a little rough on Wanda. ‘His call’ Wolverine points out. ‘I know’ Iron Man replies. ‘I get it. I just - I always liked them together’ he adds, while the Vision walks away, tears in his eyes.
Second story:Utopia, off the coast of San Francisco, home to one faction of mutantkind. The young mutant called Hope Summers climbs to the edge of the island in the dead of night. ‘Let’s not try to hit any buildings this time’ Hope tells herself. ‘This has to stop, Hope’ a voice calls out from behind. Hope turns to see Scott “Cyclops” Summers standing behind her. ‘Whatever the hell this is, it has to stop’ he repeats. ‘Fine. Okay. You can have your stupid jetpack back’ Hope mutters, to which Cyclops tells her that she knows that is not what he is talking about. ‘Though, yes, I would like my jetpack back’ Scott adds, before pointing out that Hope has been sneaking out every night for almost a week now. ‘Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?’ he asks. Hope doesn’t answer as Scott explains that at first he let it slide, hoping she would come to her senses. ‘I wasn’t doing anything wrong’ Hope points out. Scott asks her why she is sneaking around in the middle of the night.
‘Because I knew you’d act exactly like you’re acting. All I do is fly around .There are times I just need to…to clear my head’ Hope explains. ‘That’s not all you do’ Scott adds, pointing out that two muggers were beaten half to death in the Tenderloin last night, and the night before that, a child molester in Corona Heights had his legs broken. ‘Tell me you don’t know anything about that. Or that’s not a police scanner strapped to your belt’ Scott adds, motioning to the scanner. ‘Protecting a world that hates and fears us. Isn’t that our job?’ Hope asks. ‘Not when it means needlessly putting yourself in danger’ Scott tells her. ‘And here I thought this place was called Utopia. Funny name for a prison’ Hope shoots back.
Cyclops tells Hope that she is now being childish, and declares that she has never been a prisoner here. ‘You know that. But you also know how dangerous it is for you to be out there on your own. You’re too big a target’ Scott points out. Cyclops tells Hope that she is important to everyone here, most especially to him, but Hope declares that she can take care of herself, and that she is not the delicate little flower everyone seems to think she is. ‘No. You’re not. You’re the mutant messiah’ Scott reminds her. ‘You’re the one who brought us back from the brink of extinction. You’re the one mutant in all the world we can’t afford to lose’ he adds. ‘But why?’ Hope asks. ‘Hope…’ Scott begins, only for Hope to exclaim ‘No, for once, tell me the why and the how! How am I different from any other mutant out here? All I’ve done my whole life is run from people who were trying to kill me. And then I turn around and everyone tells me how amazing I am’ she exclaims.
‘Why? What makes me so special?’ she asks. ‘Everything’ Scott tells her. ‘That’s not an answer. I want the truth. Just tell me. Please’ she begs. ‘Tell me about the Phoenix’. Scott looks worried, and asks ‘How did you hear about the -’, but Hope tells him that she knows more than he thinks she does. ‘I know it’s some big-time cosmic firebird. And I know it’s coming for me. Just like it came for your wife, Jean. I know everybody gets crazy scared whenever it’s even mentioned. Most especially you’ Hope adds. ‘So…would you like to tell me what happens when it gets here?’ Hope asks. Cyclops turns away, frowning. ‘That’s what I thought’ Hope mutters, folding her arms. ‘Hope, wait…’ Cyclops calls out, but Hope tells him that if he won’t tell her, she will find her own answers.Suddenly, an announcement comes over the police radar on Hope’s belt: ‘All units, 10-30 in progress at the Isotope Bank and Trust, 326 Fell Street…’ the announcer calls out.
‘Don’t even think about it’ Scott tells Hope, who tells Cyclops to not even think about trying to stop her. Scott puts a hand on Hope’s shoulder, ‘Just listen, please…’ he tells her, but Hope turns around, and her eyes glowing red, replies ‘No. You listen’, and she releases a powerful beam of energy from her eyes, knocking Cyclops backwards. He lands hard on the ground, and Hope takes off using the jetpack. Scott looks up as Hope disappears from view, and mutters ‘Well…that probably could’ve gone better’.
As Hope flies towards the city courtesy of the jetpack, she mentally writes in her journal: ‘Tonight I shot Cyclops with his own eye blasts. Felt good. He just doesn’t get it. I spent 15 years of my life on the run. Does Scott now expect me to just sit in a corner and wait for him to tell me what to do? I’m tired of waiting. Tired of being left in the dark’.  She approaches the city, and flies down amongst the buildings. ‘Everybody always tells me I’m special. I’m this. I’m that. Sometimes I have no idea who or what the hell I am. All I know is…I have to figure that part out for myself’ she decides, as she releases the jet pack, and drops on to the roof of the bank. ‘Whoops. Musta slipped’ Hope mutters as the jet pack crashes into another building.
Down on the street below, a police officer radios the thieves, informing them that the bank is surrounded and that they are ready to hear their demands. ‘Just do not hurt the hostages!’ he pleads. Hope climbs into an air duct and tells herself that she was raised in the future by the bravest man she has ever known, Cable, the ultimate soldier. ‘He taught me everything I know. Which is always just enough to get me into trouble’ she decides. ‘Whoa. As a mutant, I sure hate to judge someone based solely on appearance…but something tells me you’re one of the bad guys’ Hope calls out as she reaches the end of the air duct, and pushes the grate away, where inside the connecting room, the Serpent Society member Bushmaster is waiting. The villain curls upwards over Hope, his snake-body taking up much of the room, and the two sharp “fangs” on his wrists ready for action.
In another room, which houses the vault, bank employees are tied up by the other members of the Serpent Society - Asp, Anaconda, Cottonmouth and Puff Adder, who is currently spitting venom around the outside of the vault door. Asp hears a loud WHUMP and turns her head to the other room. ‘What the hell was that?’ the sultry villainess asks. ‘What?’ Anaconda calls out as she extends one of her arms to hold the head of a bank employee down while she ties her up. ‘I heard something like a whump’ Asp reports. Anaconda suggests that the cops might be trying to sneak in the back, and that Bushmaster can handle them. Turning to Cottonmouth, who is holding a sack to collect the loot, she asks him how the door is coming. Cottonmouth reports that Puff Adder has got it, and just needs a couple more minutes.
Asp turns and walks to the other room, calling out to Bushmaster, asking him if everything is all right back there, only for Asp to be sent flying back into the room. ‘What the hell -’ Anaconda mutters as she looks up. ‘Hands in the air! Or snake arms! Or whatever the hell you got!’ Hope shouts as she enters the room. Anaconda, Puff Adder and Cottonmouth turn to Hope, and Anaconda exclaims ‘Boy, the super heroes just get young and younger these days, don’t they? What are you, the new kid from Power Pack or something?’, while Cottonmouth tells her to run home and leave while she still has a good story to tell her friends. ‘How’d you get past Bushmaster, anyway?’ one of them asks. Holding up a bloodied knife, Hope replies ‘You mean your friend with the tail and the big spiky arms? Did you know those arms are cybernetic? I didn’t. Until I cut them off’.
Anaconda lunges forward and extends her arms, wrapping them around Hope as she declares ‘You’re a feisty little thing. I hate feisty little things’. ‘HHRRGH’ Hope mutters in reply as Anaconda tightens her grip, telling her that the Serpent Society doesn’t usually stoop to killing teens, but that she pretty much asked for it. Hope leans forward and smacks her head into Anaconda’s. Anaconda isn’t bothered, she simply declares ‘The head butt. I’ve never understood the head butt. Hitting someone with your own head. Doesn’t’ that just hurt you as much as it does me?’ she asks. Hope smacks Anaconda again and again, eventually drawing blood, until finally, Anaconda falls to the floor. ‘Next!’ Hope calls out. Puff Adder steps towards her.
‘Puff Adder. I can see why they call you that. Tell me something, Puff…you wouldn’t happen to be a mutant, would you?’ Hope asks him. ‘Yeah. What’s it to ya?’ Puff Adder replies, only for Hope to inform him that her power only works on mutants. ‘Your powers? What powers?’ Puff Adder enquires. Suddenly, Hope’s form grows larger than Puff Adder, in the same shape as his. ‘That’s the same power I got!’ Puff Adder declares. ‘Maybe you’ll figure it out after you wake up’ Hope replies as she punches him hard in the face.
Suddenly, an optic blast cuts the door open, and Cyclops and Emma Frost, the White Queen, enter. ‘Hope!’ Scott calls out. ‘Hope!’ he shouts again as he finds Hope pummelling Cottonmouth in the face. ‘Hope, that’s enough’ Scott tells her as he grabs her by the wrist, pulling her away. ‘Yeah…I suppose you’re right’ Hope mutters, as Emma looks around the room and sees the members of the Serpent Society lying in pools of their own blood. Emma announces that ambulances are already on their way, and Hope, looking at her blood-stained hands, reports that Cottonmouth just tried to bit her head off. ‘Back to Utopia, Hope. Now!’ Scott orders, adding that he will deal with the authorities and then deal with her.
‘I know why you’re scared’ Hope declares. ‘What?’ Scott asks. ‘You think the Phoenix is going to kill me or drive me crazy. Or maybe both. Just like it did Jean. But I’m not your dead wife, Scott. That’s not my story’ Hope exclaims, before announcing that the Phoenix is coming, she knows that, and is not afraid. ‘I want it to come. I’m ready’ Hope boasts, before turning and walking away. Emma tells Scott that this is too much pressure, and reminds him Hope is just a kid. ‘No. she is most definitely not a kid. In the end, she’ll save us all. I know that’ Scott declares. ‘Or perhaps kill us all’ Emma suggests. ‘Either way…that makes her something special’ Scott replies.
Back on Utopia, Hope washes her hands on the shore, the blood is gone, and she looks up to the sky - up - into space. Where, deep within the galaxy, unseen by those on Earth, a massive cosmic energy soars the stars - the Phoenix Force!


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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Untitled
Bales of hay are scattered across a field. Farm buildings loom over the field. A small boy with a strange appearance stands on the porch of the farmhouse, and watches as the color of the sky begins to change - to a brilliant yellow luminous haze. The boy turns to another on the porch, and in a strange language, calls out ‘Father?’. The father puts a hand on the boy’s shoulder, as a cosmic phoenix appears overhead and decimates the farm in spectacular display. The Phoenix Force rises from the alien farm, and spreads upwards into the cosmos.
Earth, specifically Avengers Tower, where Ms Marvel drops down onto the roof, as several members of the various Avengers teams have gathered - Wolverine, Hawkeye, Thor, Black Widow, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man and Protector. Standing next to some machinery, Iron Man tells the Protector that you don’t put a coupling drive next to the power source. ‘With all due respect, Mr Stark, did you forget I’m a technologies expert from an advanced civilization light years ahead of -’ the Protector begins, but Iron Man interrupts and states ‘Not sure what I’m more annoyed about - that you’re being so condescending, or that you are -’, however he is interrupted by Spider-Man who tells them that Ms Marvel is here. ‘Please stop fighting’ Spider-Man adds.
Ms Marvel drops down beside Iron Man and the Protector and asks ‘What’s going on? Never mind. I don’t care’, before asking if they are having an Avengers meeting. Iron Man turns to Captain America and reminds him that he is the leader, ‘Tell Protector to stop touching my stuff’ Iron Man asks. ‘Play nice, Tony’ Captain America tells his long-time friend and teammate.Suddenly, the heroes look up and notice a brilliant light streaking across the sky. ‘Guys…we got a thing here’ Iron Man announces. ‘What is that?’ Ms Marvel asks. ‘Incoming!’ Captain America exclaims. ‘What madness?’ Thor remarks, when suddenly, the energy, whatever it is, crashes into a large commercial airliner above the city. ‘AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!’ Thor shouts as he, Ms Marvel, Iron Man and the Protector take flight.
The energy streaks downwards and crashes into the Empire State Building, while the plane begins to spin out of control, plummeting downwards, its right wing already fallen off. Thor begins to swing his mighty hammer and tells Iron Man to make sure the wing doesn’t fall into the city. ‘On it!’ Iron Man exclaims as he flies downwards, and Thor announces that he has this, as he creates a whirlwind. ‘Guys, I could use some back up!’ Ms Marvel exclaims as she flies towards the falling part of the Empire State Building. ‘Father, guide my hand’ Thor utters as he moves closer and closer to the falling plane. ‘Come on!’ Iron Man exclaims as he approaches the flaming wing.
Thor catches the plane in the whirlwind, while Ms Marvel reaches the top of the building, and holds it up in the air. She screams in agony, before declaring ‘Got it!’, while down below, Spider-Man creates a massive web all over the street, to catch falling people and debris. ‘Aaaand you’re welcome!’ Spider-Man exclaims, adding ‘Those are official Spider-Man spider-webs, by the way. Not sold in stores’, as he perches on a lamppost. ‘Wow. That’s it. I’m moving. I’m done’ one of the civilians mutters. Iron Man releases a repulser ray at the plane wing, reducing it to dust, which falls down to the streets below. Thor has the plane completely engulfed in his tornado, and with complete control, he lowers it to the nearby harbor.
A Quinjet lands near the street where the burst of energy landed, and Captain America, Hawkeye and the Black Widow rush forth, while Protector drops down beside them. Captain America radios Iron Man and informs him that they are headed to the point of impact. The heroes are surprised when they see a certain someone lying amongst the debris, the young hero called Nova. ‘Get a medical crew over here now!’ Captain America shouts, while Hawkeye remarks that he thought Nova died. Cap calls out to Nova, asking him if he can hear him, but the young hero only utters ‘It’s - it’s coming’ before he passes out. Spider-Man asks what the “it” is, as he, Thor and Iron Man join their teammates beside Nova. Iron Man announces that there is nothing on the interstellar radar. Captain America asks Thor to do them a favor and see if anything is following Nova, then he looks down at Nova and frowns.
Meantime, on Utopia, island home of some of the X-Men, off the coast of San Francisco. Cyclops is giving the young mutant Hope a combat lesson. ‘Again!’ he orders. ‘Get up, Hope. We’re going again’ Cyclops tells her. Hope asks what she is supposed to be training for, to which Cyclops snaps ‘Life’. Hope gets to her feet and exclaims ‘This time with powers’, but Cyclops tells her ‘Absolutely not’. Hope tells him that he is no fun. Cyclops tells her that he is training her to be better than that. ‘Better than my best?’ Hope scoffs. Cyclops explains that powers don’t define you, and reminds her that right now there are humans looking for ways to take away her mutant powers. ‘How are you going to fight them then?’ he inquires. ‘Is this how Professor X trained you?’ Hope asks as she raises a leg to kick. ‘Absolutely’ Cyclops tells her as he fires an optic blast, knocking the brash girl back.
‘What the hell, man?! You said no powers!’ Hope protests. ‘I said no powers for you’ Cyclops points out, before telling her ‘Again’, only this time, Hope kicks her leg back, and trips Cyclops up. She gets up and punches him in the face, before Cyclops plants his knee into Hope’s face. The girl falls backwards and then onto her knees. ‘Again!’ Cyclops orders, while, on a balcony overlooking the outdoor area, Magneto watch the training session.‘How’s the show today, Magneto?’ asks the White Queen as she stands in the doorway behind him. ‘Your man is in quite a mood’ Magneto tells the Emma, who replies ‘Well, you would know better than most: there’s nothing wrong with taking your training seriously’. Magneto replies that he also knows better than most that there is “taking it seriously” and then there is “compulsion”.
Cyclops kicks Hope in the stomach, causing Hope to shout ‘Come on!’ and ask Cyclops why he is riding her so hard. ‘I’ve been training all my life - I’m ready!’ she declares. ‘AGAIN!’ Cyclops booms, uninterested in what Hope has to say. ‘What do you think is going to happen to me?’ Hope asks. ‘AGAIN!’ Cyclops shouts, ignoring her. ‘ANSWER ME!’ Hope screams, pleading, as a burst of fiery energy, in the form of the Phoenix, surges from Hope, and knocks Cyclops several feet backwards. Magneto and the White Queen stare down from the balcony in horror, while the flames and smoke subside around Hope, who asks ‘Okay. What was that?’ Cyclops gets up, and stares back at her, concerned. ‘You saw that, right?’ Hope calls out, shocked.
Later, at the White House, Captain America and Iron Man stand before the President and various military and high-ranking officials. Captain America greets the President of the United States, who asks ‘What do you have for us?’ Captain America reminds the President that since the Skrull invasion, he has asked to be kept abreast of any interstellar situations that they come across. Iron Man reveals that last night, they intercepted the arrival of a member of the intergalactic Nova Corps. ‘He came with a rather vague, yet alarming, warning and then lapsed into a coma’ Cap adds. Motioning to a recording of the fallen Nova, Iron Man informs the officials that the scorch marks and wear and tear on his uniform lead them to believe that he survived a conflict with an immense energy source.
Captain America reports that both Thor and Iron Man did personal and satellite interstellar recon, to which Iron Man declares that what they found was disturbing, reporting that they discovered an energy signature on Nova’s uniform. ‘And, as luck would have it, we’ve actually been searching for this exact energy signature since the Jean Grey incident’ Iron Man reports. ‘Jean Grey of the X-Men’ Captain America explains, as a computer image of Jean appears. Iron Man reports that once he locked on to the energy signature, he was able to backtrack Nova’s arc of travel. ‘I have run the math on this fifty different ways…it is coming here. The Phoenix Force is headed towards Earth’ Iron Man announces.
Iron Man tells those in the room unfamiliar with the Phoenix, that it is a destructive, parasitic force of cosmic proportions, that latches on to a biological host, and then uses that vessel to lay waste to the environment. ‘If it finds a host - when it finds a host - we need to deal with this immediately’ Captain America announces. Images of several Avengers appear on the monitor, as Captain America announces that they are sending a team of Avengers to try to intercept and destroy the Phoenix Force before it gets here - Thor, Ms Marvel, Beast, Captain Britain, the Vision, War Machine, Protector and Valkyrie. ‘We should be clear, though, it’s a suicide mission’ Iron Man announces.
‘While it’s true that there is a -’ Captain America begins, before the computer image of the Phoenix flares up. ‘Oh my God’ Captain America utters. ‘What was that?’, to which Iron Man explains that he set the programs to alert him if an energy signature similar to the Phoenix Force flares up anywhere on the globe. ‘And it just did’ Captain America remarks. ‘Yes’ Iron Man tells him, before Captain America asks him if he knows where.
Shortly, at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, ‘Are you sure?’ Wolverine asks as he sits in his office. ‘We’re sure’ Captain America tells him. ‘The Phoenix’ Wolverine remarks, looking down at his feet. ‘You were there when the Phoenix first came to Earth’ Cap reminds his fellow Avenger. Wolverine states that Jean Grey did everything she could to try to contain it, but eventually, all said and done, she had to kill herself to stop it. ‘Kill herself. And it didn’t even work’ Wolverine states. ‘It’s coming to Earth. But where?’ Cap asks. Wolverine declares that he knows where it is going, that everyone in the mutant community knows where it is going.
Captain America states that he needs Cyclops to work with him. ‘I need the X-Men and the Avengers to work -’ he begins, but Wolverine interrupts, ‘This thing killed Summers’ girl and with it any chance he had at any sort of happiness’. Wolverine points out that if this thing is coming back, then Cyclops is going to have an agenda, but he won’t even see it that way. ‘I know him. He don’t exactly let go of things’ Wolverine adds. ‘Then can I count on you and the school -?’ Cap asks, to which Wolverine reminds him that he founded this school to keep the kids out of the fighting. ‘Can I count on you?’ Cap asks, but Wolverine offers no response.
On Utopia, Cyclops is confronted by the White Queen, Magneto, Sub-Mariner and Colossus. ‘What are you thinking?’ Magneto asks him. ‘He’s thinking that Hope as the Phoenix might be the game-changer for the mutant people’ Emma declares, adding that it could turn the tide. ‘How?’ the Sub-Mariner asks. Cyclops states that it is power, true power to put the world back on track. ‘You’re sounding like me now, Scott’ Magneto tells him. Cyclops tells his team that what happened to their people was unnatural, 99% of them stripped of their powers, and fewer than 200 of their kind left. ‘We’re an endangered species when we were supposed to be the next step of human evolution’ Cyclops announces, adding that there has to be a reason the Phoenix keeps coming back to them, here, to the X-Men, looking for something. ‘Why does it keep coming back to us?’ he asks.
‘It brings with it death and destruction’ Colossus points out. ‘And rebirth. Always rebirth’ Cyclops adds, telling Colossus that the last time they dealt with the Phoenix they were young and foolish. ‘Now we’re -’ he begins, but the Sub-Mariner interrupts: ‘Still young and foolish’ he declares. The White Queen asks Cyclops what he would have Hope do, to which Cyclops replies that they train her, body and mind, all of them, prepare her. ‘And if we can’t?’ Magneto asks. ‘We can’ Cyclops states, determined. ‘What if the Phoenix is not to be trained?’ Magneto inquires. Emma tells Cyclops that it is up to Hope, when suddenly, a wind blows through them. The White Queen frowns, before realizing that they have a visitor. ‘Huh. You’ll, um, you’ll never believe who just showed up’ she announces.
Minutes later, Magneto, the White Queen, the Sub-Mariner and Colossus stand on the shore that surrounds the island, while Hope crouches on a nearby rock, and Cyclops walks out into the water that laps sat the beach, where Captain America is waiting. Colossus asks what Captain America is doing here, to which Emma points at Hope and states ‘He’s here for you’. Colossus asks the White Queen if she can hear them. She folds her arms and replies that Scott can handle it, so everyone needs to stay back, as there is no need to ramp this up. The Sub-Mariner points out that he knows the Captain better than almost anyone, and adds ‘If he is here, it’s already, as you say, ramped up’.
‘Cyclops’ Captain America calls out. ‘Cap’ Cyclops replies, before Captain America announces that they need to take Hope into protective custody. ‘Because…?’ Cyclops asks. Captain America explains that the Phoenix Force is coming to Earth and all of their experts feel it is headed towards her. ‘Your experts? You mean Wolverine’ Cyclops remarks. The White Queen telepathically informs Cyclops that Captain America is not leaving without Hope. ‘It’s not going to happen’ comes Cyclops’s reply. ‘She’s a mutant. This is a mutant problem. We’ll handle it’ Cyclops tells Captain America, who points out that this is not a mutant versus human problem, and that if Hope is the Phoenix’s vessel, they need to take care of this.
‘One could argue that the Phoenix coming here…in the right vessel…is maybe mutantkind’s last, best hope’ Cyclops announces. ‘What?’ Cap replies. ‘It’s a force of rebirth’ Cyclops explains. Cap begins to protest, but Cyclops interrupts, stating that it may be the rebirth of his people. Cap tells Cyclops that he is too close to it, and remarks that Wolverine told him he would have issues in him coming here. ‘I was hoping you and I could come to an understanding’ Cap explains. ‘Man to man, leader to leader…I need you to trust me’ Cap tells Cyclops, who points at Cap and asks ‘I’m too close to it? You’re too far away from it. As you always have been’. Cyclops adds that it occurs to him, seeing Captain America here, ‘Where were you for us? For the mutants? Except now, when you need something’ he adds.
‘Respecting you’ Captain America declares, before asking Cyclops if he wants to have this discussion, and telling him that it is fine, but that it will have to wait for another day, as there is a destructive force headed towards Earth, and they have to figure out a way to stop it. ‘Respectfully, get the hell off my island!’ Cyclops tells Captain America. ‘What?’ Hope asks. ‘The gauntlet has been thrown’ the Sub-Mariner remarks, adding that Cyclops is going to force Captain America’s hand. ‘You do understand I wasn’t asking’ Cap tells Cyclops, who replies that he understood that completely, and releases a powerful optic blast, which Captain America blocks with his shield, though the force of the impact sends him careening backwards into the water.
The White Queen close her eyes and frowns, while the beachgoers are joined by Warpath, Domino and Danger. ‘Avengers Assemble’ Captain America utters as he looks up, and a SHIELD helli-carrier drops down over Utopia. Onboard is Wolverine, along with an assemblage of various Avengers - Dr Strange, the Thing, the original Spider-Woman, Giant Man, Hawkeye, Luke Cage, the Red Hulk, Mockingbird, Iron Fist, Iron Man, the Black Widow, Spider-Man, Daredevil and the Black Panther.
Cyclops looks at Emma, who reads his thoughts: ‘Emma, get Hope. Protect her at all costs’. Emma reminds Cyclops that it is Hope’s decision, as she grabs the girl by her wrist. ‘Not anymore!’ comes Cyclops’s reply, while Magneto, the Sub-Mariner and Colossus rush forward, and an image of the Phoenix appears in Hope’s eyes.