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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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Avengers Assemble!
'AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!' shouts Clint “Hawkeye” Barton, raising his bow above his head, as an echo flows around him. He stands at the edge of a swimming pool which is nestled between a large, sprawling building on one side, and a forest on the other. 'Very impressive, Mister Hawkeye, Sir! But what was that supposed to prove other than the grounds produce a great echo?' Bobbi “Mockingbird” Morse-Barton, Hawkeye's wife, asks as she stands near him. Bobbi tells Clint that she already knew he had a great set of lungs. 'Why do you think I married you?' she jokes. 'I'd assumed it was because you were hopelessly smitten with my boyish good looks and manly charm, Bobbi' Clint tells her, before asking what is wrong with calling the team to assemble. 'Not a thing...if you ignore the fact that we're the only ones on this whole estate!' Bobbi points out.
They turn to walk into the building as Clint tells Bobbi that it isn't an estate, it's a compound, and with California real estate costing what it does, there is a big difference. Bobbi tells Clint not to change the subject, and while they have enough land and buildings here to open a resort, the only Avengers in sight are the two of them. 'And I'm not so sure I'm right for the job!' Bobbi confesses, reminding Clint that the Avengers is the world's mightiest group of super-beings, people like Thor and Captain Marvel. 'And I haven't any amazing powers!' Bobbi declares. 'Neither does Captain America! Neither do I! If I can be an Avenger – anyone can, right?' Clint smiles as he presses a button on the wall nearby. 'And people wonder why you took the code-name Mockingbird' Clint smiles as an elevator door opens, and they step inside.
The elevator begins to travel downwards, as Clint tells his wife that she will be great, reminding her that she has years of experience as a SHIELD agent under her belt, and that even Captain America was impressed by her record. 'So don't think you're getting an kind of special treatment!' Clint jokes, and assures Bobbi that the fact they are husband and wife has nothing to do with her status as an Avenger.
'That's what you think' Bobbi thinks to herself as they exit the elevator and step into a large communications center, where various monitors and computers line the walls. 'Okay, good looking, so now we are two! That's hardly enough to fill the Avengers West Coast Estate!' Bobbi replies. 'Compound!' Clint corrects her. 'Compound!' Bobbi replies. Clint then tells Bobbi that he knows, and that putting together the new team is the first thing they do – just as soon as he lets the East Coast team know they are all set to go.
Clint activates a direct satellite link with New York City's Avengers Mansion, where Edwin Jarvis appears on the large monitor in front of Clint and Bobbi. 'Ah, Master Hawkeye! I take it that everything's operation?' Jarvis inquires. 'All we need now are some warm bodies, Jarv!' Hawkeye jokes, before asking if the Vision is around. Jarvis confirms that he is, and patches Hawkeye through to the android Avenger, the new chairman of the Avengers. The Vision informs Hawkeye that the Wasp left word he called earlier, and that he had been looking forward to hearing from him. The Vision reports that he has gone over the papers that Hawkeye forwarded in regards to the California Compound, and that he is impressed by the speed with which Hawkeye found lodgings and has them modified to fit their special needs. 'You've certainly proven to me that you were the right choice to lead the new West Coast division of the Avengers!'
Hawkeye smiles and thanks the Vision, telling him it was nothing really. 'Right, hon?' he asks, turning to Mockingbird, who smiles and replies 'Oh, no! Not once I'd talked him out of trying to buy Knott's Berry Farm!' The Vision is at first confused, before realizing that Mockingbird is using domestic humor. He gets back to the matter of hand, and reports that he had hoped to visit the Compound to aid in the orientation period, but that Avengers business unfortunately prevents him. The Vision then reports that he has taken steps to contact several potential members for Hawkeye's group, and that he should be seeing the results of his efforts shortly.
One hour earlier, in Downtown San Francisco, the private investigator Jessica Drew is talking business with one such “potential member”. 'You've really been such a big help to the agency while I was getting back on my feet... especially in solving the Enselmo case!' Jessica smiles as she sits on the edge of her desk. 'I was glad to lend a hand, Jess! It was fun!' a woman who is obscured by a long overcoat and wide-brimmed hat responds. 'It was, wasn't it? I still laugh when I think about the way you ran our pigeon up and down Telegraph Hill' Jessica admits. 'That was the best part of the case! After all... bringing pigeons to ground is second nature to a lady who's half-cat!' Greer Grant Nelson a.k.a. Tigra exclaims as she removes her hat, revealing her feline appearance. Jessica then asks Tigra to tell her what her plans for the future are. 'Good question!' Tigra responds, adding that she wished she had an answer. She reveals that she did a bit of modeling before she came West, but that it wasn't very satisfying, and there aren't many calls for models who are covered with fur. 'Well, if you really enjoyed playing detective, I just might have an offer for -' Jessica begins, when suddenly, her assistant Lindsay McCabe enters her office. 'What is it, Lindsay?' Jessica asks. 'There's the strangest sounding man on line-1 and he insists there's someone here named Greer Grant Nelson!' Lindsay exclaims. 'Greer? Hey, that's me!' Tigra replies.
'Who could be calling who'd know my old name?' Tigra wonders as she picks up the phone on Jessica's desk. 'Hello? Yes, this is -! Oh...of course, I should have guessed. No... maybe once, but not anymore! No I really don't want... how much money? Yes, but...uh-huh. I see. All right' Tigra remarks as she listens to the person on the other end of the telephone line. 'What was that all about? Someone trying to collect on an old gambling debt?' Jessica asks. 'Not exactly' Tigra replies, as she collects her hat and tells Jess that it has been fun, but that there is some pressing business in Los Angeles that she really has to attend to – and she has to hustle if she's going to make the next shuttle flight. Jessica asks if it is anything she can help with, but Tigra explains that she has to settle this on her own, and tells Jess not to worry, as she is a big girl and can make her own mistakes. As she leaves Jessica's office, Tigra tells her that she has been great, and that when this craziness is finished, they could maybe talk about that offer. 'Sure!' Jess replies. 'Dynamite!' Tigra exclaims, before bidding Jess goodbye. Jess decides that the call bothered Tigra a lot more than she was willing to admit, and doesn't like the sound of this. She would tail her, but knows she could never keep up with her – but she knows someone  who might. Jess picks up the phone and asks Los Angeles Information for the number for a place called Cat's Jazz Club.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a red car speeds across the sand, dodging bullets fired from several cars that are giving chase. 'Very good, my friend, but not good enough!' the driver of the red car calls back as he fires a weapon that topples one of the cars pursuing him, and causes the shooter to fall from the car. 'Harry!' the driver of the other car giving chase exclaims, while the man in the red car glances back and sees that the driver in the car behind him is preparing to throw a grenade. 'A man with a grenade! Clever!' he remarks, before deciding that he is due for a bit of a shock. The driver presses a button labeled “Power discharge” on the panel in front of him, which releases a blast of energy from a device on the back of the red car, energy which bursts across the sand and strikes the grenade-holding driver of the other car. The live grenade falls beneath the seat of the dune buggy, causing it to explode, with the driver still in the car, caught up in the flames. 'Well, he certainly went all to pieces' the driver of the red car smiles, when suddenly, 'Cut! Print that!' a voice calls out, as men with extinguishers move in to put the flames out. 'Beautiful, Sean! That's a keeper!' a man in a baseball cap carrying a megaphone shouts as he stands next to the cameraman. Other film crew members mingle about nearby.
'Simon? Simon?' one of the men with the extinguishers call out, before realizing that Simon is still in there. 'Bring those extinguishers up! Hurry!' he shouts. Suddenly, 'Relax, Freddy! No need to get all upset!' Simon calls out as he lifts the flaming wreckage of the car up above his head. 'Huh?' Freddy gasps, and then, with the ease of a man tossing a softball, the helmeted figure hurls the blazing wreck 100 yards away from the film crew. 'Simon? You're okay?' Freddy asks. 'I'm fine, but you better bring plenty of water! The fire left me a little hot' Simon replies as he begins to remove the helmet. Freddy and another man then throw water from buckets at Simon, whose clothes have been burnt away, leaving his muscular body only wearing jean cut offs across his crotch and butt, and scraps of a white t-shirt around his neck. When his body is finally cool enough to approach, Freddy goes over to him and gives him a towel and a dressing gown, and tells him that he thought he was a goner. 'You worry too much, Freddy! I told you it's almost impossible for me to be hurt!' Simon replies, drying off his face, he then asks 'Did you bring my shades?'
'Right here!' Freddy replies as he smiles and places the shades on Simon William's face. 'But geez, will ya take it easy? You're gonna put the rest of us stuntmen out of business!' Freddy jokes. Simon then heads towards his trailer, a woman is standing nearby and tells him to watch his step, as some practical joker must have placed something in his grip – it started buzzing at her when she was in the trailer. 'Thanks, Carol. I'll – wait a minute. Did you say buzzing?' Simon asks, frowning. He excuses himself from Freddy and rushes into his trailer, where he pulls his Avengers transceiver from his bag. He supposes that there must be trouble if they are calling out the reserves. 'Hello... Williams here' Simon answers the call.
Shortly, 'Yeah, I like to live dangerously, why?' a man with a cowboy hat remarks to Carol as he lights a cigarette. 'Cause those smokes are gonna kill you' Carol tells him. 'You tell him, Carol!' Freddy exclaims, before Simon calls out to him. 'Yeah, Simon? What is it...?' Freddy gasps, wide-eyed as he turns around. 'Ooooo!' Carol utters. 'You don't need me any more today, do you?' Simon asks. 'N-no, Simon. Your next stunt isn't until tomorrow' Freddy replies, as Simon stands at the edge of his trailer, wearing his black and red costume, he declares 'Good. Something's come up that needs the attention of Wonder Man!' Using his jet blasters to propel him into the air, Simon takes flight, telling Freddy that he will see him back here tomorrow. 'I hope! The Vision was a little vague as to what this meeting is all about!' Simon thinks to himself, before he flies across a mountain range, supposing that the others can fill him in when he gets there. Simon knows that the location the Vision gave him is nearly 200 miles west of here, and so he pours it on, because even with his belt-jets at full thrust, it will take him almost an hour and a half to get there.
One hour later, and some 400 miles to the northwest, an armor-clad figure soars high over Stanford University's Linear Accelerator Center. The red and gold armor is of course the armor of Iron Man, who looks down at the center below him and tells himself that he thought nothing on Earth would impress him anymore, but he was wrong – as that building is two miles long. He decides that Silicon Valley is a lot different from the South Philly neighborhood where he grew up, but that this seems like a good place to make a new start. He adds that now that Tony Stark has gone on the wagon, he and the Erwins should have their new company humming in no time. He thinks that it is good to have the boss sober again, as he wants to see him back on top so bad. Iron Man darts around through the air, hoping that once Stark is there, he doesn't get in any hurry to reclaim this tin suit of his. 'I've gotten real used to being called...' he thinks to himself, when suddenly, he hears someone call out 'Iron Man!' The armored hero realizes that someone is cutting in on his secret radio frequency, 'This is the Avengers! You are needed!' the voice announces.
Following the directions given to him, Iron Man rockets down the Pacific Coast, arriving just twenty minutes later at a complex of buildings situated atop the bluffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. 'Some spread! This looks like the kinda place Tony would've hung out... before he lost Stark International!' Iron Man thinks to himself, remembering that the best part of being his pilot in those days was ferrying him to spots like this. He lands down on the Compound grounds as a blue car drives onto the grounds, 'Who'd have thought I'd ever be invited on my own? Then again, who'd have thought little Jimmy Rhodes would grow up to be Iron Man!?' he wonders as he sees the blue car. 'Iron Man, hi! This place is beautiful! Did you arrange all this?' Tigra asks as she emerges from the car. 'Ah, no...I just got here' Iron Man responds, wondering who the strange woman is, as she seems to know Iron Man.
Tigra places a hand on Iron Man's arm and admits that she didn't feel all that good about coming down here, but that seeing him makes her feel so much better. 'Uh, yeah, likewise!' Iron Man replies, before realizing that this mysterious woman is furry. 'Even with those ocean breezes, it's a lot warmer here than it was in San Francisco' Tigra remarks as she removes her hat, before asking Iron Man to be a doll and help her with her coat. 'Sure, I'd be...glad...to!' Iron Man utters as he helps Tigra remove her coat, revealing her scantily clad body beneath the large coat. 'Oh my-my-my! This just has to be Tigra!' Iron Man supposes, as Tigra thanks him and tells him that the sun feels good. 'And here I thought the Wasp was the Avenger with the smallest costume!' Iron Man thinks to himself as Tigra tosses him her hat, asking him to hold it while she tosses out her hair. She then shakes her hair about, and Iron Man tells her that he doesn't mind, and that she should have a good shake.
'Iron Man... Tigra... welcome to the Avengers Compound!' Hawkeye calls out as he approaches them and informs them that they are the first to arrive. Hawkeye leads Iron Man and Tigra into the building, offering to give them the tour while they are waiting for Wonder Man to show. 'The Avengers own this place? Fabulous!' Tigra grins. 'That we do! And the world will soon be hearing it...now that you're here' Hawkeye replies. 'Say what?' Iron Man asks, as several yards away, the airport limo that brought Tigra to the Avengers Compound exits through the automatic gates, closely watched by an eerie, ebon-clad form which has already evaded a dozen security devices and invaded the Compound grounds!
Minutes later, in a a chamber two levels below the Compound's main building, Tigra, Iron Man and Mockingbird lean on stools or consoles around the room as Hawkeye stands before them and tells them that this is the nerve center of the entire operation, and asks if they have any questions. 'Just one, Hawk...where do we figure in all of this? The message I got just said that I was needed here. It didn't say why' Iron Man announces. Tigra agrees, and remarks that when the Vision called her, he offered her a $1000 stipend just too fly to LA and see if she could “help the Avengers out, and of course she was too curious to turn down an offer like that. Hawkeye tells them that this is the scoop – back when Captain America was group leader, he made a rule that, except in emergencies, the active membership would be limited to six members, and while it was a good rule and stuck, there were still too many Avengers showing up on their doorstep, which is when the Vision took over, and it became a whole new ball game.
Hawkeye continues, explaining that the Vision knows that there is always a need for experienced Avengers – so to keep the group from becoming a mob, he authorized him to set up a California expansion team – which will be them – the West Coast Avengers. Hawkeye reports that they will be operating under the same basic by-laws as the New York team, with the same rights and privileges, and both groups will be closely affiliated, but they will run their own show out here. Hawkeye adds that from now on, if Avengers are needed anywhere west of the Rockies, this team will answer the call. He starts to explain that once Wonder Man shows, there will be five of them, which leaves on spot open. 'I'm hoping to -' Hawkeye starts, before Tigra interrupts him, declaring that he may have more than one vacancy to fill, as she never said she wanted to join. Wide-eyed, Tigra explains that she quit the New York team because she felt she was out of her league, and doesn't see that things would be any different here. 'I may be fast and strong and agile, but I don't have near the experience of Iron Man' Tigra points out. 'Whoa! Hold it, lady! I doubt that you're any less qualified than I am! You see -' Iron Man begins, before an alarm sounds, interrupting him.
'What the -?' Iron Man begins, as Hawkeye announces that it is the intruder alarm, that somebody is trying to break in. He quickly brings up schematics of the main Compound building on a monitor, which shows three areas of concern. 'If those lights mean what I think they do, somebody's done a lot more than just try' Iron Man points out, while Hawkeye is shocked, as the intruder has already penetrated to the first basement level. 'More than that, Hawk! The remote cameras have been blocked out as well!' Mockingbird points reports, motioning to several smaller blacked out monitors. Hawkeye is frustrated, and supposes that this must be some highly organized commando raid – some group hoping to catch them off guard before they get organized. 'Let's see what an infrared scan shows -' Hawkeye tells the others, as the monitor brings up a shadowy figure on the infrared scan. 'There's your “group”, dear!' Tigra exclaims. 'Huh? One guy?' Hawkeye asks, surprised.
Hawkeye narrows his eyes and tells the others that he doesn't know how this guy managed to get as far as he did, but that he is soon gonna be very sorry he even thought about breaking in, as he has just entered a security area, which means that a stunulator is about to put him in his place. But as the heroes watch the monitor, they see the intruder duck the blast that the stunulator fires at him, then dodge another blast, before he leaps up under the stunulator and directs its blast towards a nearby camera, ending their viewing link. 'Son of a - ! I don't believe it! He derailed the stunulator and knocked out the infrared scanners!' Hawkeye exclaims. 'That does it! I want this guy!' he snaps. Hawkeye then presses a button on the console in front of him which seals off the rest of the security levels, meaning they can get out but their intruder can't get in – he can only go back up into the domestic areas, which is where they will get him. “We?” Tigra quotes. 'That's right' Hawkeye answers her, instructing the others to split up, to each take a corridor, and they will surround him before he knows what is happening. 'Come on, let's go!' Hawkeye exclaims.

Goaded by Hawkeye's gung-ho entreaty, each of the heroes head into the building's upper levels by separate paths. Iron Man walks down a corridor and decides that Hawkeye sounds like he is really getting into giving orders. 'Not sure if I like that' he thinks to himself, while Tigra climbs a staircase, telling herself that she must be some sort of masochist to get involved with the Avengers again, as they always seem like they know what they are doing – not like her. 'What am I doing here? What am I trying to prove?' she wonders. Bow in hand, Hawkeye strides forward and wonders whether he should let the others catch their intruder, or rush in and collar him on his own. 'How would Cap handle this?' Hawkeye asks himself.
Making her way through one of the living room areas, Mockingbird thinks to herself that Hawkeye wants so much to be a good leader, she knows he can do it, but wishes he wouldn't try quite so hard. She decides that in a way though, it is funny – his first act as leader was having the team split up. Suddenly, a smoke screen emerges from a capsule that is tossed towards Mockingbird, but she quickly realizes it isn't a smoke screen – it's just dark. Bobbi tells herself that this is flat-out weird. She can't see a thing as the darkness surrounds her, but she can hear something – someone moving nearby. With a single snap of her wrist, Mockingbird activates a spring-loaded mechanism strapped to her forearm, hurling a steel-alloy battle stave from beneath her billowing sleeve at her opponent – but she misses, only just, as the stave crashes into a lamp, the figure next to the lamp thinks that Mockingbird has considerable skill, and given half a chance she might actually give him some trouble getting out of here. He doesn't want to let that happen, he knows he must get away and rethink his strategy, perhaps get help.
Swiftly, the mysterious man shrouded in a dark cloak closes the distance between himself and Mockingbird, his hand darting out to squeeze certain nerves at the base of her neck – but even as consciousness dims her, the daring adventurer strikes back with her last remaining battle stave – that slams into the escaping intruder. 'Bobby, are you in there? Bobbi?' Hawkeye calls out as he arrives in the darkened room. Hawkeye knows that Bobbi would have come down this hall, but it is black as pitch in there – fortunately, he has a little something that should shed some light on the subject. Hawkeye fires an arrow into the dark room, its magnesium-flare tip emitting a blinding radiance – which is immediately swallowed by the gathered darkness! Hawkeye frowns and thinks that whoever is making with the blackness knows his stuff. 'Let's see how he likes 95 decibels of high-freq sound!' Hawkeye thinks to himself as he fires another arrow into the room, which seems to do the trick, as the blackness melts away. 'But where's the clown who made it? No one here but – Bobbi!' Hawkeye gasps as Mockingbird stirs on the ground before him. 'Honey, are you okay?' Hawkeye asks his wife, he goes over to her, and Bobbi rubs the back of her neck, telling Clint that she will be as soon as he kills this hypersonic arrowhead, as she holds the arrow in her hand. 'Where'd our man go?' Hawkeye asks. 'How should I know? It was dark!' Mockingbird exclaims.
At that moment, in another section of the compound, Tigra is perched on a ledge and notices the blackness floating through the building. She decides that it is no ordinary fog, that it is some sort of dark air – and she knows of only one man who controls the dark. 'Shroud! Shroud, where are you?' Tigra calls out, as the darkness engulfs her, her cat-like eyes unable to peer through the gathering darkness.
At the same moment, Iron Man enters the other end of the wing of the building, and has no problems seeing through the darkness. He assumes it is a gas attack, as the stuff is as thick as pea soup, so seals off his helmet and switches on his radar. 'Bingo! There's my bogey now!' Iron Man thinks to himself as he flies down a corridor. The Shroud lurks behind a corner and sees Iron Man approaching, he wonders what he has walked into. 'No use running any further, sucker!' Iron Man exclaims as he flies towards the Shroud, who turns and flees. 'Where were you the day they passed out brains? Any fool oughtta know better than trespass on Avengers turf!' Iron Man declares. 'Avengers! Then you're Iron Man!?' the Shroud replies. 'Me? Naw, I'm Smiling Jack!' Iron Man jokes as he grabs the Shroud by his cloak, and flies along the corridor, dragging him behind him. 'Wait! This is all a mistake!' the Shroud exclaims. 'Mistake, huh? Let me guess... you're really the meter reader, but you thought that wearing a cape and mask would make you fit in better?' Iron Man jokes.
The Shroud suddenly grabs a alcove and hangs onto it, the act of reaching up causes Iron Man's energy thrusters on his boots to tear through the Shroud's cape, and frees Shroud from Iron Man's hold. 'He doesn't seem to be in any hurry to hear me out...not that I can really blame him under the circumstances!' the Shroud admits. 'Hey!' Iron Man exclaims, as the Shroud leaps towards a window, deciding that at the speed Iron Man is going, he will have to put on the brakes fast and do some fancy maneuvering to avoid smashing up the place. The Shroud is determined to get out of here, and crashes through the window, landing on a balcony, the Shroud tells himself to get undercover and think out his next move – he doesn't want to fight Avengers, that could become a life's work – and he has better things to do. However, the Shroud doesn't notice the arrival of Wonder Man, who swoops down out of the eastern skies. Wonder Man sees the building he was told to report to, and wonders who the hooded figure is. He recalls hearing rumors around LA about a guy who dresses like this – called the Shroud – and that he is supposed to be some sort of crime-lord.
Leaping off the balcony, the blind Shroud doesn't see Wonder Man, his mystic senses only enable him to perceive objects that are closer than 100 feet – but by the time Wonder Man is within that radius it is too late, and the Shroud is knocked to the ground and then thrown against a nearby tree. 'Okay, buddy – why are you snooping around here? Where are the Avengers?' Wonder Man asks, suggesting to the Shroud that he talk fast, or he may do something they will both regret. 'Wonder Man! No!' Tigra calls out from the ledge of the window the Shroud smashed his way through. She then clears 40 feet in a single bound, dropping down on Wonder Man, she tells him that this is the Shroud. 'I know. He's a crook!' Wonder Man replies, but Tigra tells him that the Shroud is a friend. 'A friend?' Wonder Man asks, surprised. Hawkeye, Mockingbird and Iron Man arrive on the scene as Tigra helps the Shroud to his feet, the Shroud remarks that he is certainly glad he is not an enemy – as he would hate to think how he would be treated then. 'Careful... my ribs' he adds.
Soon, inside the sub-basement communications room again, Mockingbird wraps some bandages around the Shroud's waist, as the Shroud explains that Jessica was so worried about Tigra's abrupt departure that she got a desperate message to him, asking him to keep an eye on Tigra, so he picked up her trail at the airport, and here they are. Hawkeye tells the Shroud that he doesn't have to say anymore, and reveals that he checked Captain America's file report on him, which says that he is legit. 'And that makes you okay in my book!' Hawkeye declares. The Shroud thanks Hawkeye and remarks that he just wished he had known the Avengers were setting up shop here, as he would have presented his calling card more formally. Wonder Man assures Shroud that he feels awful about this, that he came charging in like a locomotive. 'And I do mean loco' Wonder Man jokes. Iron Man tells Wonder Man that he isn't the only one, and admits that a lot of this could have been avoided if he himself just stopped and listened.
Tigra supposes that if she is the one who started this mess, if only she had taken time to tell Jessica who called. The Shroud tells everyone to relax, as there has been no harm done – well, no permanent harm. He pulls his top down over his bandages, as Hawkeye tells the Shroud that he is glad he feels that way, because he would like to propose him for membership in the West Coast Avengers. 'Me? An Avenger?' the Shroud asks. 'Sure, why not?' Hawkeye replies, telling the Shroud that the trick he does with the dark is one slick number, and that anyone who can hold his own against them as long as he did obviously has what it takes in the skill department. 'Besides, what you did reminds me a little of how I introduced myself to the Avengers – I broke in, too!' Hawkeye recalls, before asking the Shroud for an answer.
The Shroud announces that he doesn't believe he has ever been more honored, and that a few years ago, he is sure his answer would have been “yes”, but he has spent many months building a false reputation as an outlaw, the better to strike at the gangs from within – and it has worked quite well for him. He believes that if he were to become an Avenger, neither of them would benefit – so he must say no! Darkness billows around the Shroud as he tells the Avengers that he will keep in touch, and that they can always reach him through the Cats Jazz Club. 'Shroud? He, wait!' Hawkeye calls out, but gets no answer. Mockingbird tells Hawkeye to save his breath, while Wonder Man declares that now they have straightened out that, he wants to know why the Vision called him here. 'Why...you want to know why?' Hawkeye asks. He sighs, and tells everyone to take a seat and he will start again from the top! 'That's the spirit, fearless leader! Just remember, it can only get better from here!' Mockingbird smiles.


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

[Assistant]
Blanking Out!
'Okay, Avengers! You think you're so tough. Let's see you survive – the power of IRON MAN!' shouts the armored Avenger as he chases after Hawkeye, Mockingbird and Tigra, firing energy blasts at them as they run through the lush forest on their Palos Verdes Compound. 'His blasted repulsor rays are as deadly as mortar fire! We're too vulnerable if we stick together – spread out! I'll give us some cover!' Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye exclaims as he fires a smoke screen arrow towards Iron Man, while Greer Grant Nelson a.k.a. Tigra climbs up a tree and Bobbi Morse-Barton a.k.a. Mockingbird heads in another direction. Iron Man admits that those arrows of Hawkeye's are pretty tricky, and the smoke screen that he put up would slow down just about anyone – but not him, as he simply switches on his radar, which enables him to see through the smoke, the infrared lenses in the helmet pick up Tigra on a tree up ahead, so Iron Man flies towards her – but Tigra sees him and swings around a branch to evade him.
'What – I didn't know you could move so fast!' Iron Man gasps. 'Fancy that!' Tigra replies, before leaping towards Iron Man and tells him that he should know better than to come roaring through the rooftops, assaulting her tender little ears with his noisy old boot-jets. 'Hey, what -?' Iron Man utters as Tigra wraps her arms around his helmet. 'Mockingbird, now!' Tigra calls out, and below, Mockingbird tells herself that she has to get this right the first time, to strike while Iron Man is momentarily distracted. A battle-stave darts from her billowing sleeve upwards towards the tree, and just a split second apart, her two steel-alloy battle staves find their mark, and slam against Iron Man's helmet. Below, Hawkeye prepares to line up another shot. 'Just a few more feet...' he thinks to himself, while Iron Man suddenly twitches, and dodges the arrows  that are fired his way. 'You really think you can keep a hold on me?' he asks. 'Maybe not forever...but long enough!' Tigra responds, as suddenly, two suction-tipped arrows connect with Iron Man's boots. They rupture, and release a highly adhesive putty – which gums up the air intakes for Iron Man's boot jets in an instant – and the repulsor blasts suddenly stop – and as a result, Iron Man plummets to the ground below, hitting it hard.
Tigra hangs from a tree branch above, before dropping to the ground as Mockingbird and Hawkeye move towards Iron Man. 'There, ladies, you see? It's just like Captain America always told me... “with the proper teamwork, even the strongest opponent can be beaten”!' Hawkeye quotes Captain America.
Iron Man starts to get up, and admits that there is a lot of truth to that, but he bets there is something else that Cap would go along with – namely – never count your enemy out until you're sure he's really out! With that, Iron Man's palms, flat on the ground, trigger the repulsor ray units in his metal gauntlets, shaking the grounds of the Avengers' California Compound with a concussive blast equal to that of several dozen pounds of TNT, and knocking Hawkeye and Mockingbird off their feet, and sending Tigra scrambling up another tree. 'Will that be all for the day, teacher?' Iron Man asks as he stands up, before extending a hand to Hawkeye, helping him off the ground. 'That's enough for one day's workout!' Hawkeye decides.
Iron Man asks how he did playing the bad guy, and whether he pulled his punches too much. 'Hardly!' Mockingbird declares, while Hawkeye assures Iron Man that he did fine. Hawkeye smiles as he tells Iron Man that, in a way, this reminded him of the old days when the two of them used to at it, hammer and tong. 'Uh, yeah, well, I'm glad we're buddies now' Iron Man replies. 'Same here' Hawkeye tells him, before frowning and suggesting to him that next time he try not to knock his group leader back on his behind so  hard. Mockingbird goes up behind Hawkeye and begins to pat her hand against his butt, telling him not to worry, as nothing looks too out of joint – of course, she hasn't taken a good look at his nose yet. 'Gee thanks, honey. I can always depend on you!' Hawkeye frowns. Mockingbird tells him not to be grouchy – to be glad that Wonder Man wasn't here to play bad guy!
As Hawkeye brushes some dirt off Mockingbird's back, Tigra sits on the tree branch and hugs herself, forlorn, she thinks that they joke about it so easily, and wishes she could. She bets that Iron Man could have blown them away whenever he felt like it – he was probably just toying with them during the whole workout. She tells herself that she isn't anywhere near being in Iron Man's league and wonders why she let Hawkeye talk her into joining this new Avengers team. Down below, Iron Man leans against the tree and wonders if he should tell the others that he is not the original Iron Man – that he is Jim Rhodes and not Tony Stark inside the metal suit. He doesn't want to trade on another man's reputation -  but he knows that he is Iron Man now, and he likes it. He has just barely got a taste of what it is like to be an Avenger when he was off in space with them, but that felt good – real good. Jim doesn't want the Avengers to treat him like an amateur, even  if they did show him up today.
As the armored Avenger ponders his future, here in a quiet Los Angeles sub-division, a fellow member of the West Coast Avengers is about to have his day interrupted. 'Number 117...this  is the place. Gee, what a boring neighborhood' the blond stuntman called Freddy thinks to himself as he walks up the path to the house. Walking down the side of the house, he decides that he can see why Simon would be eager to move. 'Hey, Simon!' Freddy calls out, and Simon Williams can be heard calling out to Freddy, telling him to come around the back. 'How's  the packing, going, ol’ buddy? I thought I'd stop by and see if I could give you... a... hand? Holy cats!' Freddy exclaims, wide-eyed as he sees Simon lifting one wall of the house up with his bare hands. 'What're you doing, Simon? Taking the house along with you?' Freddy asks, surprised. Several items are scattered across the grass as Simon Williams a.k.a. Wonder Man wears very short cut-off jeans and a black t-shirt and tells Freddy that this was a good enough place to hang his hat while he was establishing himself in the film business, and the rent was cheap, but he would never buy such a shoddily built house! 'There is one advantage to prefab construction, though... it makes moving out a cinch!' Simon jokes.
Simon then snaps the wall back into place against the other walls and the floor, while Freddy stands behind him, 'Uh-huh. Especially if you're the strongest cuss this side of the Rockies!' Freddy points out. 'Well... yeah. Strength and invulnerability does have its advantages! I haven't owned a hammer in ages!' Simon smiles as he uses his fists to slam the nails back into the house wall. 'You're really serious about going back to being Wonder Man, aren't you?' Freddy asks, sitting on some equipment nearby and watching Simon. Simon then starts to put his belongings into a large wooden crate and tells Freddy that for good or bad, Wonder Man is what he is. He admits that it has taken him awhile to become comfortable with that, but he finally has, and he thinks that being a stuntman these last few months has helped, as doing stunt work day after day has really given him a sense of his own worth. 'You and the rest of the stunt crews helped me find a new life...I owe you a lot! But I also owe the Avengers!' Simon tells Freddy, adding that when Hawkeye offered him an active role in the Avengers new West Coast expansion team, he surprised himself by signing on.
Simon starts to put the crate lid on and tells Freddy that what he is saying is that the Avengers is part of his life, and he found himself missing it more than he expected – and that was before he saw the plush accommodations of the new Avengers Compound! Freddy asks Simon how he is going to get all his worldly possessions that he has stuffed into the crate to his fancy new digs. Simon starts to nail the lid shut and tells Freddy that once the crate is sealed up, he will wrap it with one inch cable from the spool that Freddy is sitting on, that will give him a good handle, and then he will just strap on his new belt-jets and fly away! Simon and Freddy lean against the crate and look at each other as Simon realizes he is out of nails. He asks Freddy if he wants to go to the hardware store with him. 'And leave your crate sitting out?' Freddy asks. 'It weighs over a quarter ton. Who's going to carry it off?' Simon replies. 'Good point' Freddy remarks.
And so, shortly, Simon and Freddy walk down a busy sidewalk and Freddy asks Simon how the Avengers gig is going to affect his stunt work. Simon tells Freddy that he hopes he will  be able to do both, but it will take a bit of juggling. 'With any luck -' Simon begins, when suddenly, he hears a strange sound. 'What's that?' Simon wonders, as he, Freddy and several civilians look towards a corner bank, where Simon realizes the alarm is coming from. He has his account with that bank, and wonders who would be crazy enough to rob a bank in broad daylight.
Inside the bank, a strange blank figure walks past bank customers, holding a bag in his hand, he ignores a security guard who shouts 'Halt or I'll shoot!' 'So shoot!' the mystery man calls back. 'Okay, I warned you!' the guard declares as he opens fire, but the bullet just bounds off the blank man's form. 'Omigod! That bullet didn't even make him flinch! He's not human! He's... blank!?' a woman exclaims as she stares in horror. Another bullet is fired but doesn't stop the mystery man, who tells the guard that he should listen to the lady. 'You can't hurt a blank  - no make it... “The Blank”!' he declares, deciding that he likes that name. He then warns the guard that, on the other hand, he can hurt him. 'I have a gun, too – and it doesn't shoot blanks!' the Blank exclaims, laughing as he fires his weapon towards the security guard. 'Look out, that gray guy has a gun!' a civilian shouts as the Blank walks past them and out of the door. 'That's right, stay out of my way and no one'll get hurt!' the Blank warns the civilians. 'Don't go near him! He's a maniac...and he can't be hurt!' a woman shouts, while Wonder Man rushes through the crowd towards the bank, 'Is that so? Sounds like the kind of man I want to meet!' Wonder Man exclaims.
'Okay, hold it right there!' Wonder Man shouts as he confronts the Blank on the sidewalk. 'Ah, wouldn't you know there'd be one brave boy in the crowd!' the Blank declares as he turns to Wonder Man. 'You picked the wrong day to play hero, pal!' the Blank exclaims as he fires his gun at close range, straight at Wonder Man's chest. 'I don't think so!' Wonder Man responds as the bullet bounces off his muscular chest. 'What the -? Bullets bounce off you, too!' the Blank gasps, shocked. 'Bullets aren't the only thing!' Wonder Man boasts as he slams his fist into the Blank, knocking him back into the bank, straight back towards the rear of the room near the open vault. Wonder Man follows the Blank into the bank and asks him if he wants to give him the gun, or if he wants to waltz around some more. 'No...you can't stop the Blank!' the criminal exclaims. 'The Blank? Is that what you call yourself?' Wonder Man asks as he grabs the Blank and holds him up above him. 'Hey, leggo me! Put me down!' the Blank protests. 'Not until you drop the gun and -' Wonder Man begins, as the Blank thrashes about and knocks Wonder Man's shades off of his face. 'Put me down!' the Blank shouts.
With his shades gone, the rolling energy matrices that once were Simon Williams' eyes are revealed for everyone in the bank to see. 'Good Lord! He isn't human, either!' someone exclaims, while Wonder Man tells the civilians that it is all right, there is no need to panic. He tries to move the Blank into the bank's open vault, while assuring the civilians that he won't hurt them, and identifies himself as Wonder Man, when suddenly, the Blank slips out of his grasp and begins to run back towards the front of the bank. 'What's this character made of? He seemed to ooze right through my fingers!' Simon thinks to himself, while calling out to the Blank, telling him to come back. 'No way, pally – I'm gone!' the Blank declares as he suddenly leaps through a window, shattering glass across the civilians outside. 'The gray man – which way did he go?' Wonder Man asks as he arrives at the broken window. A woman explains that she turned away to avoid the glass, and then he was gone. 'He must have run down the block' she suggests, pointing in one direction. 'Or across the street!' a man suggests, pointing in another direction. 'Naw, he had to have ducked around the corner!' a third person exclaims.
After a few moments of intensive questioning. 'He just sorta dove into the crowd and vanished' Freddy tells Simon as he stands near him, while around the corner of the bank, a man in a blue bomber jacket helps a woman to her feet. 'Why, thank you' the woman remarks, while thinking that he is such a nice young man. But as the police arrive on the scene, no one notices that the “nice young man” silently slips away.
Later, a reporter on the television announces that in a bizarre daylight holdup of a Pacific Bank branch, a man described as “having no discernible description” made a clean getaway with an estimated $75,000 in cash, despite the intervention of movie stuntman Simon Williams, better known as Wonder Man. The reporter adds that an LAPD spokesperson admitted they had no clues as to the identity of the robber who has been dubbed “The Blank”. The man in the blue bomber jacket sits on a chair in a sparse living room, cash scattered across the floor, he laughs when the reporter states that the police have no clues, and that there is no way the 75 thou can be traced back to him. He waves some money in front of his face and declares that after a lifetime of bad breaks, Lady Luck has finally smiled on him – and to think, he owes it to lousy bus service – and the meatball who was stuck waiting with him.
Flashback:
'Well, when's this bus supposed to get here?' an elderly man in a suit carrying a satchel complains as he waits at the bus stop. 'Five minutes ago...but I've been waiting ten' the man in the blue bomber jacket replies, leaning against a lamppost and reading a newspaper. The old man swears and declares that if it is not one thing it is another. 'But it's no wonder the world's in the shape it's in... not with the quality of management today! They're idiots! All idiots!' he shouts. 'You take me...I've been working in research and development at Stark International for five years...everything's dandy! Then, all of a sudden – WHAM! Obadiah Stane, some big wheeler-dealer, takes over the company and turns everything upside down! Well, no more bosses for me! I quit! I packed up my new discovery here and carried it right out the main gate!' the old man reveals, holding up his satchel, muttering that he would have driven out with it, but they had confiscated his company car.
The old man declares that he put too much work into his brainchild to let that leech Stane get it, and claims that he is going into business for himself. 'Where's that bus?' he mutters as he steps onto the road. 'Hey, pally -' the man in the blue bomber jacket calls out, but  the old man ignores him: 'You wait and see! A year from now – I'll be rich enough to buy and sell Stane -' the old man exclaims, before he is struck by a car. The man in the blue bomber jacket watches as others gather around the old man's body. But one man's bad luck is another's fortune, as the old man's satchel lands at the feet of the man in the blue jacket. He picks it up and walks away from the tragic scene.
Present:
The man with the blue jacket that calls himself the Blank stands with a strange red brace-like contraption around his waist and presses the button on a machine that is on the table, he reminds himself that it took him a few months to figure out how to operate this gear that makes his slippery force field, but knows that it was time well spent. He decides that he better give the belt another charge if he is going to pull off that other job tonight, as the last one has just about worn off. Energy seemingly transfers from the machine to the brace-like belt around the man's waist. 'Yeah, baby, that's it...soak up that power. This morning was just a test run – tonight, we go for the big money!' he boasts. But, as he walks away, he doesn't notice the vague form which seems to momentarily flicker above the charging device – a strange figure that calls out 'No... come back... need more... power'.
Meanwhile, in the main assembly of the Avengers Compound, the newly formed West Coast Avengers are gathered, and Hawkeye tells Wonder Man to take it easy, as the LAPD has already assured him that they will be getting full cooperation on this case. 'We'll nab this Blank character and -' Hawkeye begins, to which Wonder Man exclaims 'You just find him, Hawk! I'll do the nabbing!' Tigra keeps quiet, sitting on a console, legs pulls up to her chest, arms wrapped around them. Hawkeye then asks Wonder Man what is eating him. He assures Wonder Man that he can understand that he is unhappy that he let the Blank get away, but that this is an Avengers matter now, and they will handle this as a team. 'Unhappy? I had him in my hands, and he slipped right through them! What good am I to the Avengers if I can't even handle one gimmicky bank robber by myself?' Wonder Man asks, clenching a fist.
'No good at all if you worry more about personal performance than you do about how you work as part of this team! What do you want to do, search all of greater LA on your own? That's crazy!' Hawkeye declares. Mockingbird tells Wonder Man that Hawkeye is right, that the five of them working together can cover the metropolitan area better than he could on his own. Iron Man agrees, and points out that a creep like the Blank is bound to try something again, so if they are all out there, on their toes, there is a better chance that one of them will find him – and when one Avenger finds him, they all do. 'Right, Hawk?' Iron Man asks. 'Right!' Hawkeye agrees, before informing the team that they will each patrol a section of the city and keep in touch by radio. 'What do you say, Wondy?' he asks Wonder Man, who throws his arms in the air, 'All right, all right! I admit that it makes a lot of sense!' he mutters as he turns to leave the communications room, telling his teammates to make sure they keep in touch, as he wants the blank behind bars. Mockingbird turns to Hawkeye and points out that he just weathered his first leadership crisis. 'Why the thoughtful look?' she asks. Clint confesses to remembering how he used to be the one who always blew his stack. 'Honey, all of a sudden I feel old...real old!' Hawkeye frowns.
Night finds the Avengers scattered across the urban sprawl of Los Angeles County. Tigra prowls the rooftops of Chinatown, unseen by civilians on the streets below, while Iron Man soars above the Santa Monica Mountains, scanning the area with the whole spectrum of his armor's sensory equipment. To the south, Hawkeye flies above the glittering high-rises of Marina del Rey astride his sky-cycle, while Mockingbird cruises the city's web of freeways, always keeping an ear cocked for the police radio in her custom convertible. And, in the heart of what Angelenos call Downtown, high atop the LA City Hall, Wonder Man looks out over the great metropolis, searching – always searching. 'You have to be out there somewhere, Blank! Show yourself!' Simon thinks.
But at that moment, just outside the city limits, in Inglewood, the man known as the Blank backs up against a building, while watching an armored car across the street. He knows that the armored guards are here to collect from Emilio's, and are usually carrying quite a haul. He touches his belt, which makes him appear in his gray state, hoping that their customers had a good day, because the better theirs was, the better his night is going to be. With his comforting force field surrounding himself, the Blank rushes forward to the armored guards, 'What the devil?' one of them asks as he sees the strange being approaching. 'It's the Blank! Let's get out of here!' the other guard calls out. The Blank is annoyed, he didn't think they would notice him coming out of the shadows, so he has to work fast now, and opens fire, shooting one of the guards. The driver gets into the van and takes off, but the Blank is able to jump onto the back of the van, as the guard he shot was too shaken to shut the rear door. Two civilians walking out of Emilio's see the Blank and wonder what is going on.
Sometime later, Bobbi is still in her car and hears an announcement over the police radio, reporting that there is trouble heading out of west Inglewood – the Blank is in a vehicle, and officers should exercise caution. Bobbi knows that the next exit will take here where she needs to go, but as she streaks off the San Diego freeway, in the back of the armored car, the Blank speaks through a grate to the driver, telling him to pull over, otherwise his colleague is dead meat. 'Don't do it, Raoul!' the guard calls out to the driver. 'No deal, man! I've already radioed for help! We're headed straight for the nearest cop shop!' the driver announces. 'Everybody wants to be a hero these days!' the Blank thinks to himself, deciding to just take what he can carry and split. With a couple of bags in his arms, he then leaps from the back of the van, protected by his force field, he safely skids to a halt along the road, then gets to his feet in seconds, running down the street – as a car drives towards him. 'I've found him!' Mockingbird exclaims, deciding that the Blank is a weird one all right, as he heads down Sepulaveda Boulevard. One of the others radios back to Mockingbird, telling her to keep him in sight.
The Blank looks over as Mockingbird approaches him, and wonders why he is being chased be a blonde in a sports car. 'I was right earlier. Everybody does want to play hero tonight!' the Blank thinks to himself as he moves onto the sidewalk near a construction site, when suddenly, something is fired at him from above. 'No what?' the Blank wonders, as Hawkeye hovers above on his sky-cycle. 'Hold it right there, Blank! Those magnesium flare arrows were just a warning! If you don't drop those money bags, I'll have to let fly with something a little more persuasive!' Hawkeye warns the Blank. 'I don't believe this!' the Blank mutters, dropping the money bags as another arrow is fired towards him, which shatters the fence surrounding the construction site. 'Yeow! All that from an arrow?' the Blank wonders as he makes his way towards a gas station, where a blinding light stops him in his tracks, 'Running won't do any good!' a voice calls out. 'Oh no' the Blank complains as he looks up and sees Iron Man above him, the light blasting own from his armor as he warns the Blank that he has even more tricks up his sleeve than Hawkeye. 'You really wouldn't want to see 'em!' Iron Man declares.
Hawkeye readies another arrow, and tells the Blank that he is cornered and that there are two more Avengers on their way. 'I think you know one of them...gent by the name of Wonder Man. He's real anxious to see you again!' Hawkeye exclaims. 'This is crazy! I can't fight the Avengers!' the Blank thinks to himself as the headlights of Mockingbird's car join the light beam from Iron Man's armor. The Blank decides that he especially can't fight Iron Man, as his armor is supposed to be loaded with all kinds of electrical armament – he might figure out some way to get through his force field. He knows he has to get away, but wonders how. He suddenly sees the gas pumps and runs towards them. 'Hey, what're you -' the garage attendant exclaims as he looks out from inside the office nearby. Running for all he's worth, the Blank bolts across the station lot, and slams into the nearest pump at full speed, knocking it over. Gasoline spurts from the ruptured pump housing, pooling upon the pavement, and sheared-off electrical cables crackle, showering the explosive liquid with shards of hot metal.
One little spark is all it takes, as the gas station suddenly explodes in a fiery blaze. 'Holy!' Hawkeye calls out as the force of the explosion knocks both he and Iron Man back through the air. Wonder Man thinks her can snuff the fire, and tells Hawkeye, while Hawkeye and Mockingbird rush into the flames and help the gas station attendants to safety. Iron man knows that he has to hurry, as a fire like that could take out two or three blocks in as many minutes. He also knows that water is no good for smothering a gas fire, but that sand works just fine, so at the dropping down into the constriction site, Iron Man picks up the large compartment of a truck that carries piles of sand, then speeds it back to the gas station, where he drops the tons of sand over the roaring fire, and in a matter of seconds, the fire is out. 'Now I've seen everything!' one of the gas station attendants declares.
'Looks like we missed some excitement! What happened?' Tigra asks as Wonder Man carries her through the air, dropping down near their teammates. Hawkeye reports that when they cornered the Blank, he blew the tanks at this gas station, and while they managed to save the station's attendants and Iron Man put the fire out – 'Don't tell me...you lost the Blank, right?' Wonder Man frowns. Hawkeye admits that the Blank disappeared in the explosion, and that there hasn't been any sign of a body yet. 'If he's as tough as I think he  is, there won't be!' Wonder Man declares as he turns and walks away from his teammates.
Over an hour later, a frightened little man in a blue bomber jacket returns to his apartment. 'Oh, man! That does it! I'm getting out of this town!' he thinks to himself, covering his face with one of his hands. He tosses his blue jacket onto the floor and walks over to the contraption on the table, deciding that he never wants to go through another night like this, as that gas explosion blew him a good three blocks away from those Avengers, but even with his field going, the impact of landing knocked him silly for about five minutes, everything kept spinning, he was scared to death that somebody would find him. Touching the contraption, the Blank declares that he is taking the money from this morning's job, and going someplace where people don't come flying through the air at you. Standing over the contraption, he gives his belt one last charge before he hits the road, just to be on the safe side. Energy crackles from the device to the belt, as a figure begins to take shape, and calls out 'No! Don't turn it off! I need more power!'
'Holy geez!' the Blank gasps, falling backwards, as he is thrown out of the recharging field, he looks on in horror, as another man takes form within his tiny apartment. 'At last...at last, I am free!' the other man in a blue and white costume gasps, dropping onto the floor. The Blank apologizes for all he has done, and offers to give back the money. 'You can have the gizmos...I'll even go to jail! Just don't call your Avenger buddies on me!' the Blank pleads. 'Avengers? Are you mad? I'm no Avenger!' the mystery man replies. 'You're not? But I thought -' the Blank begins, to which the mystery man tells him to be still, and reveals that he has been through a great ordeal and is very weak, that he needs help.
Shortly, the mystery man sits on a chair with a blanket wrapped around him, as the Blank hands him another mug of soup. The mystery man claims that he hasn't eaten food in months, to which the Blank asks how that is possible. 'You'd be dead!' he exclaims. Sipping the soup, the mystery man tells the Blank that there are more things possible than he could imagine, before reminding him that he said he had run afoul of the Avengers. 'Yeah, that's why I'm leaving LA' the Blank replies. The mystery man tells him that there is no need for that. 'Help me and you'll never have to worry about Avengers again!' he declares. Smoking a cigarette, 'You think you could do any good against the Avengers?' the Blank asks, confused. Suddenly, the mystery man levitates the cup of soup he was holding, and narrowing his eyes, he boasts 'I don't think...I know! You see, I control the most powerful force in all of creation! Men call me... Graviton!'


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

[Assistant]
Taking Care of Business!
The sun shines down over Southern California, but for the past week, it seems that the whole world has been in the grip of some unusual weather, and members of the new West Coast division of the mighty Avengers have their hands full seeing that things return to something resembling normal. Iron Man carries a car with a woman in it through the air, above the snow-covered ground, which Simon Williams a.k.a. Wonder Man is currently trying to move with a large piece of metal, turning himself into a makeshift snowplow. 'That's the stuff, Wonder Man! At this rate, we'll have the Santa Monica Freeway cleared in no time!' Iron Man calls out, assuring Wonder Man that he will give him a hand as soon as he has the last of these cars moved. 'Wonder Man? Hey, you reading me?' Iron Man calls out through the communicator when he gets no response. 'Loud and clear, Iron Man. No need to hurry on my account... I never get tired!' Wonder Man replies.
Iron Man continues to fly the car through the air, deciding that he has never been so glad to see the sun in his life – and while there is a time and a place for snow, Los Angeles in the summer isn't it. Iron Man knows that this weather has done some strange things to people's heads, and that it seems like it has gotten to Wonder Man, too, as he is so quiet lately. Scantily clad people speed down makeshift ski fields below Iron man as he decides that he is probably worrying about nothing, and that “weird” is a way of life for lots of folks around these parts.
Halfway across greater Los Angeles, an alarm sounds within a Radio Shack store, as several looters make their way out a large broken window with stolen goods. 'Come on, let's get outta here!' one of them exclaims. 'The cops are snowbound just like everybody else! Who's gonna give us any grief!?' one of the others calls out. 'Well, for starters, me!' Bobbi Morse-Barton a.k.a. Mockingbird exclaims as she drops down among the looters. 'Huh? Who the heck are you supposed to be?' one of them asks. 'That's Mockingbird... I saw her picture in the paper last week. She's an Avenger!' one of the other looters explains. 'So what? We outnumber her six to one!' a blond man grins, warning Mockingbird to step aside, otherwise they will have to take those sticks away from her. 'Oh, that's okay. You can have them!' Mockingbird exclaims as she throws one at one of the looters, while slamming her other stave into the blond man's face, knocking him back. 'She flattened rick and Boz like they were nothing! Run!' another looter calls out.
But, just around the corner, Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye descends on his sky-cycle, blocking the other looters from escaping. 'Let's see those hands, nice and high gents!' Hawkeye calls out. 'Cripes, another one!' one of the looters mutters. 'Hawkeye's the name! The arresting officer will want to know!' Hawkeye jokes as he fires several arrows, which pin three of the looters to a nearby wall. 'Yow!' the remaining looter gasps as he drops the television he was carrying, and runs towards a car, 'Jason... get the car started! Hurry!' he calls out to the driver. 'Where's the others?' the driver asks. 'They're where we're gonna wind up, if you don't get us outta here fast!' the remaining looter shouts. The driver asks if it's as bad as it sounds. 'Worse! Will you move it!' the looter exclaims. The driver starts to put his foot on the accelerator, but is surprised that he isn't getting any traction.
'Oh, no' the looter utters, looking out the back window of the car. 'Holy cats!' the driver shouts as he gets out of the car and sees Greer Grant Nelson a.k.a. Tigra, wearing boots and leg warmers to accompany her tiny bathing suit, holding onto the car bumper. 'It's nice of you to say so, but I'm really not that religious' Tigra jokes, before telling the driver that he should never floorboard the gas on wet snow. The driver begins to run, so Tigra leaps over the car and lands in front of him, asking him where he thinks he is going. 'You...you are some kinda cat!' the driver utters. 'A cat-lady, if you please' Tigra corrects him, before pointing out that her didn't answer her question. 'Where do you think you're going?' she asks him again. 'Uh...jail?' the man replies, holding his hands above his head. 'Good guess! And how about you? I notice you didn't even try to run!' Tigra remarks to the remaining looter, who sits on the edge of the car, as Tigra carries the driver over her shoulder. 'What's the use? Just take me away. I wanna serve my time and forget this ever happened!' the looter mutters.
By midday, the West Coast Avengers regroups under the shadow of a well-known landmark, the Hollywood sign. Mockingbird declares that it is incredible, there is not a trace of snow left to be found, as if it were all whisked back to wherever it came from. Hawkeye tells his team that whatever happened to it, they can all be proud of the job they did over the past week. 'You put in a lot of long hours and saved thousands of lives' he smiles, suggesting that they have earned a little time to unwind, which is why he proposes they host their first annual Avengers barbecue, commencing tonight at sunset back at the Compound. 'Oh, that sounds like fun!' Tigra grins, and Iron Man smiles as he tells the others that he can get behind that. 'If we can keep Hawk from scorching the steaks, it should be a blast!' Mockingbird jokes, before turning to the back of the group, where the silent Wonder Man frowns. 'You can make it tonight, can't you?' she asks him. 'Tonight? Oh, sure. I'll be there' Wonder Man replies before his jet pack blasts him into the air. 'See you later' he calls out to his teammates.
The others watch Wonder Man disappear, and Hawkeye wonders what his problem is. 'Don't tell me that he' still upset about that Blank character getting away from us... that was a couple of weeks ago!' he thinks to himself, before deciding that Wonder Man probably has some personal matters to take care of.
Hawkeye gets onto his sky-cycle and suggests he get moving and pick up some steaks. He then asks Mockingbird to make her famous guacamole salad. Bobbi tells him that she would be glad to, before turning to Tigra and asking her if she wants to hit the farmer's market with her. 'Some other time' Tigra replies, telling Bobbi not to let her hold her back, as Iron Man has promised her a lift. 'I have?' Iron man thinks to himself. Mockingbird then departs in a Quinjet, headed towards West LA, leaving Tigra and Iron Man at the Hollywood sign. Tigra apologizes to Iron Man for that white lie, but she has something she wants to talk with him about in private. 'What's on your mind, lady?' Iron Man asks.
Tigra tells Iron Man that she's worried about Wonder Man, that she thinks something is bothering him, and she thought that since he has known him longer than the rest of them, he might be able to get him to talk. 'Uh... not really, Tigra. I hardly know the man' Iron Man replies. They walk side by side down the hill, as Tigra asks him what he means. She calls Iron Man “Tony” and reminds him that he has fought alongside Wonder Man dozens of times. 'Tony – oh, you think I'm Tony Stark!' Iron Man realizes. 'Well, of course! Don't be coy...you know that I learned your identity when we fought the Molecule Man!' Tigra reminds him. Iron Man suddenly informs Tigra that Tony Stark has not worn this tin suit for months, as he had some personal problems, so turned it over to him. 'As to who I am...well, “Iron Man” will do for now. But as you can see, I'm most definitely not Tony Stark!' Iron Man remarks as he removes his glove and reveals his dark skin. Wide-eyed, Tigra apologizes and assures Iron Man that she didn't know. Putting his glove back on, Iron Man tells Tigra that not many do. He offers to talk to Wonder Man, but suggests that if it was him, he would open up a lot faster to a face that was prettier.
Meanwhile, not too far away, in the Santa Monica Mountains, a long figure gazes out over the vast metropolitan sprawl. 'It would appear that our unseasonable weather is over. Good!' the villain known as Graviton thinks to himself as he stands on a balcony. He tells himself that the unnatural snow provided convenient cover for quietly taking control of this estate, but that he prefers starting his empire in a warmer climate – which will make the victory all the more satisfying. 'Victory... the very sound of the word is sweet' Graviton thinks to himself, as his memory wanders back, causing his blood to boil as he thinks of how he was defeated by Thor and exiled to the interdimensional void. For months, he drifted in a state of suspended animation. He fears that he would still be there, if it weren't for a sudden influx of an energy released by a bizarre construct passing though the void, and while he didn't know what it was, it's power restored his consciousness, so he was able to home in on the charging field that was used by the criminal Blank, and then return to Earth.
Graviton decides that it was surely fate that led him to this most hedonistic of world cities, for too long he has been without the creature comforts which a man of his power deserves. His thoughts are suddenly disturbed by the arrival of the Blank, who steps out onto the balcony. 'What is it?' Graviton asks, to which the Blank informs him that his orders have been carried out – the messages are being delivered. 'Excellent! By this time tomorrow I shall... eh? What is it, Blank? You seem nervous?' Graviton remarks. 'Nervous? Who... me?' the Blank, cigarette in hand, replies, before admitting that he is a little antsy about starting something this big with those Avengers in town. Graviton reminds Blank that he told him not to concern himself with them, and boasts that he has dealt with the Avengers before. 'Yeah, and got your head handed to you, from what I hear!' Blank retorts. 'You... hear... wrong!' Graviton shouts.
Graviton admits that his first defeat was due to his own inexperience, and exclaims that his control over the forces of gravity had the Avengers as helpless as the Blank is, as he uses his power to slam the Blank to the balcony, 'Lemme up! I feel like I weigh...a ton!' the Blank exclaims, as Graviton levitates the Blank out over the forest surrounding the house and exclaims that even the mighty Thor had to rely upon trickery to beat him. 'Were he here, I could send him flying off into space as easily as this!' Graviton boasts. 'Space? Oh no!' the Blank utters, while Graviton explains that gravity is the fundamental force of the universe, and as the master of that force, his power is limitless. 'If I wish – I can even switch of your protective force field!' Graviton reveals, as he does just that, the Blank suddenly reverts to his human appearance. 'Okay, so you can handle anything the Avengers dish out! But I'm not used to working this way!' Blank explains, informing Graviton that everything he ever came by, he came by the sneaky way.
“Sneaky?” Graviton quotes. 'This from a man who robbed a bank in broad daylight?' he asks. 'I did that as the Blank! Nobody knew it was me!' the Blank explains. Graviton supposes that there is something to be said fro caution. He lowers the Blank back onto the balcony and boasts that with his level of power, he thinks the Blank can agree that they are being more than cautious enough. 'Sure, whatever you say!' the Blank replies. 'Your confidence overwhelms me' Graviton mutters as he switches the Blank's power source on. 'Sorry, but like I said, this is a whole new game for me! Without my blank-out field, I'm just another shmoe!' the Blank exclaims. Graviton suggests to the Blank that he get used to their “game” and to do it quickly, as his plans call for speed as well as stealth! Graviton announces that by the time the Avengers learn that he is back on Earth, it will be too late for them to raise as much as their voices against him!
A few hours later, on the private beach of the Avengers' Palos Verdes Compound, Wonder Man walks along the beach, as a voice calls out to him, 'A pebble for your thoughts, big man? Sorry, but I'm all out of pennies'. A small pebble falls down from the cliff that overlooks the beach, and lands in front of Wonder Man, who looks up and sees Tigra perched on the cliff. He asks her how long she has been there. 'Long enough to watch you wear a small trench in the beach' Tigra replies, before asking Simon if he has a lot on his mind. 'Well, I...' Wonder Man's voice trails off, to which Tigra exclaims 'Me, too!' and asks him if he wants to compare notes. Simon climbs up the cliffside and tells Tigra that he doesn't know if he should burden her with his worries. Tigra smiles and tells him not to be silly, after all, what are teammates for. 'I'll tell you my deep dark secrets...if you tell me yours!' Tigra offers. Simon replies trhat there is not much to tell, and admmits that mostly he has been wondering if he did the right thing in joining Wonder Man's new Avengers team – and that he sometimes wonder if he ever did anything right where the Avengers are concerned.
Memories flash though Simon's mind as he informs Tigra that he received his powers from a group of the Avengers' enemies who used him against the original team when he discovered that they intended to kill the Avengers, he turned the tables on them – at the cost of his own life, or so it seemed. But, a few years later, he came back from the “dead” more powerful than ever – it seems that his death had actually been a dormant stage of his body's adjustment to his increased strength and stamina – and the Avengers welcomed him back to their ranks – only, that taste of death had done things to him, and he was uneasy with the role of super hero, and so, when the opportunity arose, he stepped down from the active roster to see if he could make a name for himself as Simon Williams, as acting was an old love of his, and the Olympian Avenger Hercules promised to introduce him to some producers he had met in his travels.
Wonder Man tells Tigra that Hercules' contacts didn't work out, and for a while he worked as hired muscle for a couple of scientific research groups, but that didn't work out, either. Tigra can tell by the tone of Simon's voice that he doesn't want to talk  about that period at all, and as waves crash against the cliff they sit on, Tigra asks Simon what brought him to California. More memories flood Simon's mind as he tells Tigra that it was a very strange series of events – a former agent got him a gig on David Letterman's show, along with some other Avengers, where they were attacked by some boy genius, and while the show was pre-empted in New York, it did screen in California, and a director out here saw it, liked the way he handled himself, and cabled him to come out and work for him as a stuntman, so he has been here ever since. Simon explains that it is in the past month that he has doubled for some of the biggest stars in the business, and while it is not “King Lair”, it is acting of a sort.
Simon tells Tigra that he is good at it, and it has been good for him – there is nothing quite like surviving certain death day after day for building confidence. He admits that he was so confident that he took Hawkeye up on his offer to join the West Coast Avengers – he really wanted to do things right this time – but right off the bat, he let the Blank get away from him. 'Some Avenger' Simon mutters. Tigra tells Simon  that she knows how he feels, and reveals that her first hitch with the Avengers was a disaster. Tigra stands up and admits that she isn't sure why she joined the new team, but she knows she doesn't want this to be one more thing she blundered into in her life. 'What do you mean?' Simon asks. Tigra suddenly leaps backwards off the cliff, down onto the beach below and tells Simon that so much of her life has been just one darned thing after another – everything from becoming Tigra to signing up with the Avengers seems to have happened to her by accident. She adds that she made plenty of decisions along the way, but she has never really felt in control – not now, and certainly not in her pre-furry days. Suddenly, Tigra appears as a normal looking woman with dark hair.
'What? You've turned normal! Uh, I didn't mean that the way it sounded' Simon calls out as he slides down the side of the cliff. 'But how -?' Simon starts to ask. Tigra tells him that it is okay, that she knows what he meant. Tigra explains that it is all just an illusion, that she is still her, but that the amulet on her bikini top lets her look like her old pre-Tigra self – a parting gift from the Cat People. 'Cat People?' Simon asks, perplexed. Tigra explains that they were a hidden race that had evolved from cats, and they transformed her into Tigra in order to save her life. She adds that they are all gone now, over a year ago. Tigra takes her hand off the amulet and realizes this has been the first time she has used it, and supposes that she is more comfortable as Tigra.
Tigra looks at Simon and tells him that at any rate, this is her now, and she is a lot less easy about being an Avenger than he is, as she still doesn't know if she is ready. 'You must be kidding!' Simon replies, telling Tigra that she was terrific during the snow emergency. Tigra places her arm around Simon as they walk along the beach, and she tells him that he was, too, that they couldn't have done it without him. 'Thanks for saying so...but that doesn't help ind the Blank' Simon remarks. Tigra realizes that Simon isn't going to feel right until they catch the Blank, and Simon supposes that is right. He begins to wonder if he shouldn't dwell on  that one little failure, but Tigra knows that he will, and tells him to come on. 'Where are we going?' Simon asks as they head up the long staircase back up to the top of the cliff. 'To see a man about filling in the blank!' Tigra jokes.
Later, on Sunset Boulevard, Wonder Man and Tigra, wearing a long overcoat and wide-brimmed hat, pull up outside the Cat's Jazz Club, and Simon asks if this is the place where the Shroud said they could reach him. 'The very same!' Tigra replies as they enter the club. 'If there's anyone who might have a lead on our man, it's...oh, my!' Tigra gasps. 'What happened here!?' Simon calls out as they stare in shock at the club which looks like it has been ransacked. A man sits on a chair, his arm in a sling, while a woman with a black eye stands next to him. 'Nothing much, m'man. Just a bit of impromptu urban renewal' the man replies, telling Wonder Man and Tigra that they will excuse him for not getting up, as he has had a rough day. 'What do you want?' the woman asks. Somewhat hesitantly, Simon announces that they wanted to find the Shroud. 'Never heard of him!' the blonde woman with the black eye snaps, before telling Wonder Man and Tigra that if it is trouble that they want, they already gave. The other man calls the woman Mouse and tells her to take it easy, suggesting that maybe these people just want to talk.
Tigra removes her hat and tells him that is right, before she introduces Wonder Man and herself as Avengers. She asks Mouse and the man who did this to them, and what they can do to help. Tigra goes over to check on the man's arm and he tells her that he doesn't know that they need help – they just had themselves a little business dispute. 'Business must be rough' Tigra remarks. Wonder Man brings a seat over for Mouse and suggests to her that she has a seat, too. Mouse thanks him and starts to say that there is really nothing to tell, when suddenly, a figure emerges from the shadows – 'It's all right, Mouse! These people are friends! You can tell them anything you'd tell me!' the Shroud announces as he materializes. The Shroud apologizes for his trip to San Francisco keeping him away so long, and asks who is responsible for this. 'That's a good question, boss! We were hit by a half-dozen muscle boys from the Galeno Gang...only they're not working for Galeno anymore!' Mouse announces, rubbing her head. She recalls that they knocked her around and said it was a message from their new boss – that anyone who wanted to “do business” in town, had to do it with them!
Tigra picks up a phone and tells Mouse that if she can identify the men who did this, then they should call the police, but the Shroud tells her that the other gangs in LA believe him to be a crime lord and that he intends to maintain that fiction as long as it is to his own advantage. The Shroud states that the Galeno boys should be easy to track down no matter who they are working for – that he will find them and settle accounts on his own. Wonder Man puts a hand on the Shroud's shoulder and tells him that he won't be alone, that he will help him. 'Thank you, Wonder Man, but -' the Shroud begins, to which Wonder Man tells him that he still owes him for cracking his ribs a week back. The Shroud assures Wonder Man that he appreciates his offer, but explains that he doesn't want the Galenos to suspect that he associates with the Avengers. 'Don't worry. We can take care of that!' Simon replies.
As the skies over LA start to show streaks of scarlet, the upper crust of the city's low life gets down to some serious partying at what was on e the home of one “Lucky Max” Galeno. 'Lenny! Didn't anyone tell you that disco died?' a woman calls out to Lenny, a man in a white suit as he dances among other party goers. An older man presses up against a blonde woman and tells her that he has lots of great contacts at the studios – all the studios. 'No, really, I was all psyched to get into group, when suddenly, I thought...' a woman begins, as suddenly the room fills with a black substance. 'What's with the smoke?' a man asks, while a woman tells him that it isn't smoke, it's more like some kinda black fog. The crowd goes deathly still as one end of the room fills with the impenetrable gloom, and then, from out of the heart of the darkness stride two defiant figures – the Shroud, and Wonder Man, disguised with a blonde wig and a brown jacket. 'Don't stop the music on my account, children! I just want to talk to your leader!' the Shroud announces.
Outside, Tigra hangs by her feet from a ledge and looks into the room, grateful that the Shroud and Wonder Man let her tag along, but she wishes Simon had let her call the other Avengers about this, only he was so adamant about helping the Shroud on his own, and it did get his mind off the Blank. Back inside, a man in a blue suit approaches the Shroud and tells him that he hopes he isn't mad about that little fracas at the Jazz Club, and while they didn't want to do it, they had their orders. The disguised Wonder Man lifts the man in the blue suit up into the air and tells him that the Shroud doesn't want to talk to him – he wants to talk to his boss. Suddenly, a door to another room opens, 'You wanna talk to somebody... you talk to me!' a voice calls out. The Shroud and Wonder Man turn to see a gray figure standing in the doorway, and through the window, Tigra realizes that it is the Blank. She looks over to Wonder Man and realizes that he sees the Blank, too, but doesn't look any more surprised than the rest of the crowd. 'What an actor!' she thinks to herself.
Cigarette in hand, the Blank steps out into the larger room, 'So you're the Shroud, huh? Well they call me the Blank! So what can I do for you?' he asks. 'You know why I'm here. I don't like having my people beaten' the Shroud declares. The Blank folds his arms and explains that with the change in management here, they had to establish their credentials. 'Credentials? For what?' the Shroud asks. 'Uh... for the consolidation of all the West Coast mobs!' the Blank explains. 'Under your leadership? Hah!' the Shroud laughs, before asking Simon to teach him a lesson. 'With pleasure!' Simon responds as he drops the man in the blue suit and leaps across the room towards the Blank – but suddenly, Simon comes to a half mid-air. 'Sorry, pally. But you're not teaching nothing to nobody!' the Blank exclaims. The Shroud looks on, surprised, he wonders if his senses have gone haywire – surely Wonder Man can't be frozen in mid-air. As the Shroud tries to spring to his friend's air, he discovers that he can't move his feet. He feels like his feet weigh tons, and tells himself that this is insane. 'Blank! What are you -' the Shroud calls out, as Simon is suddenly spun around mid-air. 'Nothing to worry about, Shroud! I won't hurt your muscle boy much...I'm just taking him for a little spin!' the Blank laughs, as Simon is hurled across the room towards the Shroud, falling on him. 'See? He's good as new!' the Blank exclaims, while Simon tells the Shroud to look out.
'So help me, Blank. If this man has been seriously hurt -' Simon begins as he clenches his fist, while the Blank notices that Simon's wig has come loose. 'You... you're no ordinary muscle! You're that Wonder Man guy!' he exclaims, just as Tigra bursts through the window, 'You have more than him to worry about, Little Boy Gray!' she snarls. 'Huh?' the Blank replies, confused. Tigra lands on the Blank and introduces herself, warning the Blank that if he takes on one Avenger, he takes on them all. 'She's got me! Somebody do something!' the Blank pleads as he tries to shake Tigra off of his back. 'Must I do everything for you, Blank?' a voice from behind some doors calls out. 'Help me...please!' the Blank exclaims, before the doors are flung open, and Graviton reveals himself. 'Very well!' Graviton mutters, before instructing everyone to put their guns away, as they won't be needed. 'And who are you supposed to be?' Tigra scowls, not willing to release the Blank. Wonder Man runs forward and tells Tigra to get back, as this is Graviton, one of the most dangerous men the Avengers ever fought.
'Nice of you to acknowledge that, Wonder Man' Graviton replies, but points out that it is sad Wonder Man can't heed his own warning. 'Oh, yes...I know. You're one of the most powerful beings on the face of the Earth. But mere strength is useless against the crushing power of my localized gravity field!' Graviton boasts as he causes wonder Man to drop to the ground, then fall through the floor. 'So falls the Wonder Man! So will fall anyone who dares oppose Graviton!' the villain grins. 'Anyone, Graviton? How well can you fight that which you cannot see?' the Shroud asks, as darkness begins to surround Graviton, until Graviton warns the Shroud that his darkness won't protect him, as his mastery over gravity is complete – he can set this whole room spinning as easily as he did Wonder Man. Sofas, people and other objects begin to float around the room at Graviton's command, then he slams them all to the ground.
Graviton notices that the darkness has begun to retreat, and while his new-found followers are somewhat the worse for wear, their momentary loss of equilibrium is a small sacrifice. 'Boss, help!' a voice calls out, and Graviton looks over to see a corner of the room still cloaked in darkness. 'Boss, please do something! They've got me!' the Blank pleads. Graviton decides that the Blank is rapidly becoming an embarrassment to him, and decides that he can see how well the Shroud can control the dark when pinned to a wall. Graviton aims his gravity-altering powers towards the darkness, clearing it, and slamming the Shroud, Tigra and the Blank to a wall. 'Ah-hah! Not very well at all it would seem!' Graviton realizes. But, as Graviton moves towards the figures pinned to the wall, 'You're... not... beating me that easily!' Wonder Man shouts as he bursts up through the floorboards.
Graviton turns to Wonder Man, finding it remarkable that even though Wonder Man  is under the effects of his intensified gravity field, he continues to resist. Graviton blocks Wonder Man with a column of gravitic energy, escaping his grasp. 'You are persistent, aren't you?' Graviton remarks, hurling Wonder Man across the room, he declares that they will have to do something about that, but for the time being, a small dose of anti-gravity should keep him from annoying him further. 'Hey, Grav! Lemme down, will ya?' the Blank asks, still pinned against the wall. Graviton frowns and tells the Blank to shut up, announcing that he must come up with a suitable punishment for their guests. 'Well, what about me? Why do I have to stay stuck to the wall while you do that? I'm supposed to be your partner, right?' the Blank calls out.
Graviton tells the Blank that he is wrong, very wrong – at best, he was a go-between, a figurehead in his plans to organize California's criminal element. 'Did you say... “were”?' the Blank asks. 'I did indeed! There is no room in my organization for whiners, Blank!' Graviton declares as he suddenly hurls Tigra, the Shroud and the Blank through a window, and out into the late afternoon skies – where, in mere moments, thanks to the gravitic energy, they are far out of sight, and out of land, as plummet into the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
Miles away, at the Avengers Compound, Hawkeye stands over a barbecue, while Iron Man sits on a balustrade nearby. Hawkeye announces that the charcoals are just about right. He tells Iron Man that this is going to be a night to remember, that he can taste those steaks already. 'Yeah, Hawk...me, too' Iron man replies, while wondering how he is going to eat through the helmet, and wonders if he should ditch it – he is among friends, after all. Mockingbird approaches Hawkeye and Iron Man and suggests that they hold off on the steaks for a few more minutes, as Tigra and Wonder Man haven't shown, and she can't raise either of them on their radio transceivers. She adds that she hopes they haven't run into any trouble. Iron Man suggests that if anything was wrong, they would have activated their emergency signal beacons. 'Uh-huh. If they had the chance' Mockingbird replies. Hawkeye points out that Tigra is one tough lady, and that Wonder Man is up there in Thor's league. 'What could possibly threaten him?' Hawkeye asks.
At that moment, in the Santa Monica Mountains, Graviton stands over a swimming pool with two scantily clad women and tells them that sending the other three out to sea was a rash move on his part. He blasts some gravitic energy into the pool and states that revenge is much more satisfying when you can actually witness your enemy's demise, and adds that it is fortunate that they still have Wonder Man around – for now. He bursts into laughter, as Wonder Man is trapped under the pool water, pinned there by Graviton's energy... and running out of air!