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[Assistant]
Faith of Our Fathers
The
story starts in the middle of an action scene as the damaged Vision surveys a
possibly dead Scarlet Witch and Whizzer, while a villain drains power from
Nuklo. Vision flashes back….
Vision
and Wanda are visited by Robert Frank, formerly the Whizzer, asking their help
in regaining custody of his son Robert Jr. a/k/a Nuklo. She contacts her
brother Quicksilver for advice, admitting she can’t bring herself to tell Frank
that she is not really his daughter as it would devastate him. She suggests
that if Mr. Frank can get his son back, they can live in Attilan with the
Inhumans who can search for a cure for Nuklo’s affliction (extreme radiation).
Crystal agrees and Pietro promises to take it up with Black Bolt….
Wanda
and Vision accompany Mr. Frank to the hospital to pick up his son in accord
with a court ruling. Hospital personnel think he would be better off remaining
there in “the Nursery,” a protective bubble, receiving the best of care and
being studied by radiologists. Dr. I.S. Bischoff, head of the Nursery has been
able to penetrate Nuklo’s autism and tells Mr. Frank that they are close to a
cure for his radioactivity. Bischoff has been draining Nuklo’s radiation…and
channeling it into himself. Bischoff is really Isbisa, an enemy of the
Whizzer’s from the 1940s who has been waiting this long for revenge. A battle
follows, during which Wanda confesses to Whizzer that she is not his daughter
but grew to love him like one; Whizzer then tells the confused Nuklo that he is
his father and he can trust Vision and Scarlet Witch like siblings. In the
battle, Isbisa melts Vision’s hand, blasts Wanda across the room, while Whizzer
suffers a massive heart attack fighting his enemy. As Isbisa siphons energy
directly from Nuklo, Vision cuts off his damaged arm, and revives Wanda. The
Witch blasts the villain with her hex power, destroying his protective garb;
Isbisa releases all of the energy and the shock drains all energy from both Nuklo
and Isbisa, leaving them normal humans. The police take the baddie away and
Robert Jr. learns his father is dead, having given his life to save his son….


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[Assistant]
Off-Line!

Scarlet Witch and Vision accompany their friends Glamor and Illusion on a trip to New
Orleans for Mardi Gras where the Zarkovs perform each year. Wanda feels free as
she doesn’t stand out in any way among the celebrants….
Back
in Leonia, New Jersey, Crystal and her lover Norm Webster have a romantic
assignation at his home, a regular thing since they met during Thanksgiving at
Wanda and Vision’s house. He raises the issue of divorce but she doesn’t want
to talk about it. She and the baby are neglected by Pietro who spends all his
time with his militia, trying to prove himself to his Inhuman in-laws. As
Crystal is of royal blood, a divorce would cause a scandal so she is happy to
maintain matters the way they are….
At
the theater as the Zarkovs prepare for their show, an insecure Wanda asks if
Vision still loves her even with her looks changing with pregnancy; he assures
her he still does. They leave, promising to be back for the show but as she
reaches the hotel lobby, in that few seconds, Vision has vanished. She asks the
desk clerk who tells her he saw the Vision kissing a beautiful blonde and
leaving with her. Wanda reasons it must have been someone dressed like him for
Mardi Gras and goes to check their room….
And
then we see Vision, captivated by a beautiful blonde, namely Amora, the
Enchantress. Her reason for bringing him under her power: she desires a
fabulous emerald called the Eye of Rajpur and wants Vision to steal it from its
owner, Countess D’Arcy….
Wanda
decides that if Vision left with another woman it must have been under duress.
She enchants a man into telling her where he saw the gorgeous blonde go then
tracks her to a food stand not realizing the proprietor is blind….
On
stage, the Zarkovs are concerned that Wanda and Vision have not shown up for
their act. Illusion chains up Glamor, puts her in a bag, and drops her in a
tank of water and then waits for an impossibly long time. Glamor, using her
powers of controlling the molecules of her body, seeps out of the bag and the
tank, changes her appearance, dashes upstairs to steal the Eye of Rajpur from
Countess D’Arcy’s room and then returns for the climax of the act when she
materializes from the canvas cover, completely unharmed….
Vision
phases into the Countess’ room but is surprised to discover the emerald is
gone. Her command to steal the gem conflicts with the fact that it is not there
creates a cognitive dissonance that snaps him out of the Enchantress’s spell. Wanda
finds him there and learns what has been going on. As Amora waits by the river,
a huge wave flows up and knocks her down, courtesy of Wanda. After a brief
scuffle, Amora reveals that she wanted the enthralled Vision to steal the Eye
of Rajpur simply to show her sister Lorelei who was the more powerful.
Vision
assures her charms worked perfectly. With that, the Enchantress teleports
herself away. Then Vision confesses to Wanda that he wasn’t lying, that Amora’s
powers were hard to overcome. Wanda is miffed but he wants to take the
opportunity to tell her that her love is what made an android into a man. So
they kiss….
Back
in Leonia, Crystal is feeling unwell as the anti-pollution potion which permits
her to visit Earth without harm is wearing off. She starts to take another
drink when she passes out, leaving Norm Webster at a loss for what to do….


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[Assistant]
Trick or Treat!
Having
left the Avengers, Vision and the Scarlet Witch have moved into a quiet
residential neighborhood in New Jersey to be normal people. It’s Halloween and
Vision startles a trio of Trick or Treaters by passing his hand through a bag.
Vizh and Wanda enter their home and find an unexpected Jarvis fixing the place
up for them. Jarvis also gives her a book Captain America found for her; it
turns out to be a magic book written in Druidic runes. They make out and
separately review their histories to bring readers up to speed. Unseen, the
magic tome emits a green light that changes the three kids into a monstrous
trio of Jack O’Lantern, Goblin, and Ghost, who invade the house to carry off
Wanda. Vision fights them but Ghost is able to pass through Vision causing
severe pain. Samhain, eternal embodiment of Halloween, rises from the book, now
free in the world again and he takes on Wanda. Vison frees Jack O’Lantern from
the villain’s control, Jarvis cold cocks Goblin and Vision again does painful
battle with Ghost to prevent Samhain from forcing Wanda into his power. Wanda
combines her magic abilities with her mutant hex power to hurl the magic book
into the fireplace and it is destroyed with Samhain still trapped within. The
three kids go back to normal with no memory of the incident. Wanda and Vision
comfort one another while Jarvis cleans up. There is a knock at the door…and it
turns out to be Robert “Whizzer” Frank, Wanda’s father….


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[Assistant]
Blood Brothers!
Simon
“Wonder Man” Williams is on a subway train that becomes stalled in a tunnel so,
in a hurry, he jumps out and pulls the train to its next station. He then
hurries to the hospital where he is greeted by the Avengers (Captain America, Wasp,
Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, She-Hulk) where he learns the Vision is seriously ill,
having lost a hand to the villain last issue. Scarlet Witch recaps the
adventure and it’s Wonder Man who can save the day….
In
a coma, Vision drifts in darkness encountering the original Human Torch and the
Torch’s creator Professor Phineas Horton….
Simon
is hooked up to a transfuser alongside the Vision, set to transfer life energy
from one to the other. Wasp fills She-Hulk (and the readers) in on the
connection between Simon and the Vision: Simon Williams was transformed into
Wonder Man and died; his brain patterns were preserved and implanted into the
Vision’s synthezoid body (formerly owned by the Human Torch); then Simon
returned from the dead. And now energy is flowing back into Vision….
In
his coma, Vision sees his other creator, Ultron-5, who denounces him and tries
to kill him by merging him with the Torch; Ultron then cuts open Vision’s empty
head to add a brain….
Then
the Grim Reaper enters the hospital, chloroforms Wanda, and sees the
opportunity to slay Simon and Vision, both of whom he considers pretenders to
the name Simon Williams, Reaper’s dead brother….
In
the dream, Wonder Man joins Vision and gives him his brain just before he is
killed by Ultron. Vision battles Ultron but the charred husk of Wonder Man
opens and the new incarnation of the hero emerges….
Grim
Reaper is confronted by the semi-awake Vision and there’s a scuffle until
Wonder Man emerges from his sleep to join in. He is blasted by the Reaper but
Vision, now fully awake, and overpowers the villain to save his brother….
In
both the dream and reality, Wonder Man alerts his brother the Vision to the
impending danger and Vision defeats the bad guys decisively. Wanda awakens to see
the brothers—Vision and Simon—safe and unharmed….


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[Assistant]
Sweet Sister!
In
his New York City office, Luke Cage is engaged in a fist fight with the High
Priest of Zor, who is determined to recover the Idols of Zor and exact revenge.
He fades out, deciding to battle Cage another day. Cage, knowing Iron Fist is
safe in his townhouse, decides to warn Vision and Scarlet Witch….
At
home in Leonia, New Jersey, Wanda is teaching her pupil Holly LaDonna to control
the snow when the baby moves inside her. She calls Vision who can’t feel it.
Crystal and Quicksilver, with baby Luna, arrive for a visit; while they make
small talk and Pietro mentions his plan to go to a New York Library, Holly
recalls seeing Crystal cheating with another man, Norm Webster. Wanda says
she’s planning a quiet day—and then Luke Cage comes crashing through the
window, having been hit by the High Priest and his demonic minions. The
assembly reacts, Cage mentioning it was supposed to be his day off and Wanda
recognizing it as Martin Luther King’s Birthday. Wanda insists on joining the
fight against the baddies; she suggests retrieving the Idols of Zor from where
she hid them and using them to close the portal to the dimension of Zor and trap
the High Priest on Earth….
The
four heroes (Vision, Scarlet Witch, Luke Cage, Quicksilver) fly to Avengers
Mansion where they surprise Jarvis by parking their ship and heading downtown
on foot. But the High Priest creates illusions that render the path
unrecognizable, a forest of gnarly trees and demons to fight, the Priest
appearing occasionally to taunt them. They enter a castle and find their way
through a magic gateway to the subway, where they ride a huge serpent-like
train to their destination, fighting demons and listening to Pietro complain
about everyone else. Arriving at their destination, the World Trade Center, the
High Priest shuts off the electricity, making it exceedingly difficult to reach
the roof. Vision gathers everyone in an elevator while he grabs the cable at
the top and, increasing his weight, plummets, pulling the elevator up. The High
Priest and his thugs are waiting on the roof; Wanda increases a small snowstorm
into a blizzard, blowing the henchmen over the edge. She performs a magic
spell—and the idols appear in front of Crystal at home and she burns them in a
bonfire. And, her job done, she meets with Norm Webster….
Back
at the WTC, Wanda explains to the others that their slow journey downtown was
to give Crystal the time to devise a fire that could destroy the idols. Pietro
is angry over everything that has happened and Cage says he was able to
celebrate the holiday like he wanted: proving his people are part of society,
working together, equal to anybody else….


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[Assistant]
Ancestors
In
New Salem, Agatha Harkness has been captured by Salem’s Seven, and is being
burned at the stake. She curses her betrayers but Vertigo, her successor as
High Priestess, assures her followers that, as her grandchildren, they have the
power to prevail over the Scarlet Witch….
Two
months later, Vision and the Scarlet Witch are having an idyllic walk in the
Rocky Mountains; Vision revels in his new-found family though his recently
discovered connection with Simon Williams. Wanda brings up Vision’s suggestion
they have a baby (end of last issue), pointing out the difficult mechanics of
it all. They then discover a village not on the map. It is New Salem and they
are then attacked by Salem’s Seven. The two heroes prevail until Vertigo puts a
mind-bending spell on them—which only affects Wanda. It takes Vakume draining
Vision’s energy that causes the Synthezoid to shut down….
Wanda
awakens inside a cage with the unconscious Vision beside her. The cage is
reinforced with multiple spells to ensure she cannot escape. Vertigo invites
Wanda to join their community—but without Vision as only witches are welcome
there. Vertigo also mentions that it is Lammas when a sacrifice is made as a
tribute to the Corn God and this year it is Gazelle, who opposed trapping
Wanda. Vertigo also casually mentions that they have killed Agatha Harkness
(and also that she is Agatha’s granddaughter). Wanda refuses to join them and
they leave. She then tries to power up Vision but the binding spells prevent
her from using any of her hex power. Wanda appeals to Gazelle to help them
escape but the young witch is proud to be a sacrifice for her people. Vision
quietly reveals that he is awake, only “playing possum.” Gazelle is so moved by
Wanda’s great love for the Vision that she offers her blessing for their
escape….
At
dawn, Gazelle is taken out and burned at the stake. Salem’s Seven (minus one)
bring Wanda and Vision out and tie them to stakes but Vision absorbs energy
from the sun and responds with his eye lasers, escaping and rescuing Wanda.
Vertigo unleashes her magical power on him but Vision repels it, knocking the
High Priestess out and without her to contain all of the magical energy, it
strikes against the inhabitants of New Salem. Wanda tries to contain the energy
and channel it into the mountain but Agatha’s ghost appears, telling her not to
merely channel it but to use it. The mountain explodes and all 666 (actually
665) citizens of New Salem perish. Wanda tells Vision about Agatha appearing to
her and she wonders if her advice to use the magic referred not to the battle
but her desire to have a baby….
“Not
a Text Page, or, Vamping Till Your Letters Come in”Everything:
Fred Hembeck.Synopsis:
Vision and Scarlet Witch appear in a comical page plugging the other projects
of the creative team (including Fred Hembeck) and inviting readers to send
letters.


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[Assistant]
The Others Call It..All Hallow’s Eve
On Halloween night, Vision accepts the invitation of neighbor/friends Glamor
and Illusion to attend their magic club’s Halloween Spectacular; Vision
explains to his hosts that Scarlet Witch will not be there as the holiday is of
special importance to her….
At
home, Wanda makes her preparations for the Witches’ Festival and, seeing has
she has some free time, contacts her brother Quicksilver on the moon. She
informs him that she is pregnant and this news upsets him—until he learns that
Vision is the father, after which he is delighted. She confesses that she
doesn’t know how to tell this to their father Magneto which Pietro understands.
She invites him to her house for Thanksgiving and goes on to her business. In
the attic, she draws a magic circle with candles and summons Agatha Harkness.
Her late mentor appears, warning her that her baby is distracting her from what
she was taught. Agatha fades out; Wanda tries to get her back but a hole opens
and she is seized by the decayed corpse of Thornn of Salem’s Seven. At the
club, Vision feels magick in his head and Agatha’s ghost appears to him,
warning him that Wanda is in danger and telling him to destroy the Druid Tome….
Thornn
drags Wanda into the Land of the Dead where she meets the others of Salem’s
Seven (minus one) who want the baby, who was created by draining their power
and who will be needed to raise them to life again. Wanda tries to escape but
there is no exit….
Vision
arrives home to find Wanda gone. He is confused about Agatha’s warning but
Illusion deduces that the Druid Tome, burned by Wanda, must still exist in ash
form and if Vision can find even one speck of the book, he can draw all other
bits to him. Vision returns to the site of his and Wanda’s earlier home, recalling
that the ash of the burning book must have saturated the sheet worn by the
possessed girl who fought them that evening and that she must be out there
somewhere….
In
the Land of the Dead, Wanda is attacked by other dead spirits: Jean Grey/Dark
Phoenix, Korvac, Dracula, Baron Zemo, Count Nefaria, and others. She is able to
force them back with a powerful hex but Wanda’s mother appeals to her but
cannot help, neither can her foster parents, Whizzer and Miss America. She
finds Agatha a captive, bound to a burning stake, and meets the one behind it
all, Samhain, the Embodiment of All Hallows….
Vision
tracks down the little girl from a few years ago and discovers she is now the
local librarian, Holly LaDonna, who finds the sheet in her attic and gives it
to Vision. Vision takes the sheet to Illusion who uses his power over molecules
to gather the tiny fragments of the Druid Tome from all over and reassemble the
book. As Wanda tries and fails to defeat Samhain, Vision builds up a mighty
blast and totally disintegrates the book. Samhain’s earthly form dissolves,
leaving only his energy; as he tries to possess Wanda’s baby, Agatha Harkness
channels his life force into the Salem’s Seven (minus one) where he will be
forever divided and forever trapped where he is. Agatha sends Wanda safely home
to her husband….


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[Assistant]
A Taxing Time!
Spider-Man
hitches a ride with a group heading to New Jersey because he has an engagement
in Leonia…
…where
Doctor Strange is advising Scarlet Witch to keep things quiet in the eighth
month of her pregnancy, calming her fears and telling Vision to make sure she
rests. After Strange leaves, Vision paces the yard, worried about the baby in
the wake of the stress of dealing with Crystal and Pietro’s breakup. Wanda,
meanwhile, is concerned about Vision while worrying about Crystal and Pietro’s
breakup. Peter Parker arrives, photographer for Now Magazine, to take photos
for an article on Wanda and Vision’s home. Pete envies their ability to be
superheroes and also enjoy a normal life. Pete also asks why Vision decided to
permit this article: it’s because they need extra money to pay taxes. Pete
sympathizes; he took the job because he needs some extra cash too….
In
Antarctica, a scientist on a dog sled is surprised when a man rushes up to him,
seemingly from nowhere and asks him if he has a wife. It is a maddened
Quicksilver, trying to justify his rejection of Crystal; he yells at the man some
more then vanishes, leaving the scientist to wonder if he is going mad….
Holly
LaDonna stops by with flowers for Wanda just as Pete goes upstairs to take pix
of the mother-to-be. When he’s done, Peter leaves, wondering if he can give up
being Spider-Man and support himself full time as a photographer. Pete and
Vision run into Illusion and Glamor, and Peter envies their cool magician
lifestyle—but we are let in on a secret: the Zarkovs are secretly classy jewel
thieves, as seen in issue #9. Then they run into Norman Webster and bad blood
from the scandal is evident, Norm wishing he had Crystal back but regretting
losing the friendship of Wanda and Vision. Vision drops Pete off at the bus
stop and heads home, only to be attacked by Toad in a mechanical battle-suit
while proclaiming himself the Terrible Toad-King. His blows deliver an
electrical charge, threatening to short out Vision’s circuits. Then Spider-Man
arrives, reminding Toad he is supposed to be a good guy and Toad clobbers him
and teleports away. Spidey explains to Vision how he met Toad at a low point in
his life and saved him from suicide, befriending him, and putting him in a team
with two other oddballs. Vision tells Spidey about Toad having stolen
technology from the Stranger and now wants to claim Wanda as his bride. The
Toad teleports back to fight the two heroes, feeling betrayed by Spider-Man and
becoming a baddie again. Toad squirts poison gas in Spidey’s face, knocking him
out. Then he teleports in and out until he is able to seize Vision by the head
and short him out. He then heads to the heroes’ home to claim Wanda. Holly sees
him coming up the walk and tries to fight him off with a baseball bat. He moves
inexorably up the stairs toward Wanda’s room and smashes his way in—and then he
sees hugely pregnant Wanda and is repulsed. Insulted, Wanda blasts him back
down the stair where Spider-Man, arriving with Vision, tries to web him up but
Toad teleports away. Anyway, Spidey is impressed with Wanda….


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[Assistant]
Double-Sized Climax!

Scarlet Witch and Vision are visiting their friends the Zarkovs a/k/a magicians Glamor
and Illusion and talking about Wanda’s impending delivery date. Suddenly, Wanda
has a premonition that the baby will be born that evening and that it will be a
boy….
In
a dark cave, Nekra, Priestess of the Dark Arts, complete a ceremony that raises
her lover, the Grim Reaper, from the dead, as he slowly returns to normal,
confused and unaware that he had been dead….
Wanda
and Vision return home and Vision’s “brother,” Simon Williams a/k/a Wonder Man
shows up for a visit. Then Wanda asks Vision to call Dr. Marino and Simon
regrets his bad timing….
Nekra
unveils for Grim Reaper something he had requested: a corpse resembling Simon
Williams to be filled with Vision’s and Wonder Man’s minds so that Black Talon
could raise it to become GR’s lost brother. Nekra knows the corpse was once
Brady Kent, a gangland hitman, and when she raises him, he will not know that
he is dead….
Vision
and Simon rush Wanda to the hospital where she is surprised to discover fans
have gathered. She remembers that Holly LaDonna was supposed to come over that
evening for a lesson so Simon offers to fly back to the house to tell her,
ecstatic that he can help his good friends….

Doctor Strange is in an alternate dimension, battling a wizard called Colabrun who
threatens the Earth; Strange tricks him, sending his foe into the Dimension of
No Return. Tired, Strange returns home only to have Wong tell him that the
Scarlet Witch will give birth that night. He heads to the hospital….
The
three villains, Nekra, Grim Reaper, and Kent, visit a gun shop where Kent
collects all the weapons he needs. As they turn to leave, the proprietor pulls
out his own gun and shoots Nekra in the back; the witch, spewing hatred, breaks
the man’s neck. Grim Reaper realizes he has found his soulmate….
Norm
Webster looks at Wanda and Vision’s empty house, dreaming of Crystal. Suddenly,
she is behind him and he confesses her love for her. She reveals that she has
been deserted by her husband Quicksilver and if he does not return soon, the
royal family will grant her a divorce and after that they can resume their
relationship….
At
the hospital, Wanda is placed in a large and comfortable room. Dr. Strange and
Dr. Josie Marino concur that the birth would be in about an hour….
At
Wanda’s home, Wonder Man brings Holly up to date on the situation. Holly’s
mother takes time to tell Simon that she and her husband love having the two
ex-Avengers living among them. Holly and her mom drive over to the hospital.
Simon is surprised to see Magneto at Wanda’s house. Suspicious, Simon stands up
to the villain, who calmy wraps Simon in a streetlamp, telling him he felt a
tremor in magnetic field and hurried over, fearing a threat to his daughter and
her baby. He and Simon fly to the hospital where Wanda is going into labor.
Outside, Wonder Man and Magneto see the three villains lurking outside. Battle
ensues while inside the hospital, Wanda and Vision’s son is born. And then the
two doctors discover a second baby on its way, despite Strange having told them
there was only one baby, which even their instruments confirm. Nevertheless….
Outside,
the fight is a stalemate because Simon’s ionic energy interferes with Magneto’s
powers.  Simon spots a bullet hole in
GR’s back and realizes his brother is a zombie, which Eric (Grim Reaper)
stoutly denies. Magneto forces GR to cut into his arm with his scythe and GR is
shocked to discover he doesn’t bleed. Angered, the Reaper seizes Nekra, accusing
her of lying to him, she withdraws her power and he decays before their eyes
and Nekra, drained of her power, also collapses. At the same time, Wanda
delivers another baby boy. A noise outside draws the attention of Drs. Strange
and Marino and they see Simon and Magneto making short work of Brady Kent but
they don’t tell the proud parents….
Three
days later, the babies are home where Mrs. Williams, Vision’s “mother,” is
delighted at having grandsons. The boys will be named Tommy (after Vision’s
“creator,” Phineas T. Horton) and Billy, a link to the Williams family. Magneto
notices that both names come from Vision’s side of the family and realizes he
is not yet accepted by his daughter. Everyone has their thoughts and the story
ends with the babies having the last word: “Waaaa!”


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[Assistant]
Batteries Not Included!

Captain America and the Sub-Mariner are training in the Combat Simulation Room when the
Vision suddenly enters through the wall. Namor is distracted and is clobbered
by a machine. He loses his temper and smashes the mechanical menace. Cap is
also clobbered before he can hit the kill switch. Namor confronts Vision who
responds that Namor should not let himself be distracted. His purpose for
coming: Vision wants to know more about the man whose android body he occupies:
the original Human Torch—and Cap and Namor knew him firsthand. While Jarvis
serves drinks, Namor relates the battles he fought against the Torch; in
response to a question by Vision, the other two confirm that Torch’s voice was
human, not mechanical. Cap describes his adventures with the Invaders. Vision
remembers none of this and isn’t sure what he should be feeling….
At
home in Leonia, New Jersey, the Scarlet Witch is sitting with her pupil Holly
LaDonna and telling her all about the ancient meanings of the Winter solstice;
Crystal arrives for a visit and Wanda tells her that she and Holly will soon be
performing a “for witches only” ceremony. Crystal excuses herself and decides
to go for a walk around the town, returning later….
Vision
goes to Project Pegasus where Agent Raymond Sikorsky agrees to his request to
see the synthetic “evil mutants” he helped capture last month (last issue). Vision
is taken to see the robot Mastermind and asks for a private meeting. Mastermind
knows nothing of his life before the Toad created him but he does know he can
evolve: the robot grows into a giant composed of antimatter, melting Vision’s
hand when he hits the creature. Angered, Vision tears Mastermind into several
pieces but the legs and lower torso leap into the ventilation system. Vision
warns Sikorsky and they, along with the Guardsmen, race to Toad’s cell just in
time for the legs to arrive and crash against the force bars on the cell,
destroying itself but allowing Toad to go free. The villain then brings down a
tractor beam and is drawn back to his ship and away. Vision catches up to the
departing ship, phases inside, and collapses….
Back
home, Wanda interrupts a lesson on the rebirth ritual to wonder where Vision
is. Now that she’s pregnant she finds herself worrying more and more about her
husband’s safety….
After
some weird dreams, Vision wakes up and heads for the control room where Toad is
rehearsing his longtime grievances. He was a pathetic toady to Magneto but once
he was stranded on the Stranger’s planet, he stole a lot of technology to make
himself fearsome. Vision interrupts to present himself as an advanced piece of
machinery. Toad erupts, accusing Vision of having stolen from him the only
woman he has ever loved, Wanda. He presses a button and his levitating chair is
now outlined by an energy field in the shape of a muscular giant. Vision
battles the force giant while Toad demands Wanda. Vision beats him down while
delivering a lecture on love and how to treat a woman. Toad operates his
tunnel-like beam to eject Vision from the ship; as he falls out, he sends back
a solar blast to disable Toad’s ship which goes careening off into space. Vision,
however, is trapped in space; he uses his force beam to push himself back to
Earth. He returns to Wanda, telling her he has come up with an answer to the
question, “How much a man is he and how much a Synthezoid:” he is the Vision….
On
her way home in the snow, Holly passes Norm Webster’s house—and sees him in a
very romantic kiss with Crystal….


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[Assistant]
Vote Loki (Part Two)
Loki is
running on a platform of getting tough on terrorists, claiming that being
beaten up by the Hulk qualifies him for the job and the media is thrilled….
Thor (Jane
Foster at this time) demands to know why Nisa Contreras is endorsing Loki for
President and she asks Thor to read the entire article, showing that her editor
added a positive headline to a negative story. Nisa asks for help, Thor
explains that Loki hasn’t actually done anything wrong and tells Nisa that it
is her battle, handing her a flier hung on her door about Loki’s supporters,
the America the Faithful Fund….
Meanwhile,
Loki holds a rally in a Texas stadium with a huge cheering crowd. He descends
from the sky, jokes about being a liar, then he stirs them up by discrediting
the media for calling them stupid and he positions himself as their champion….
Nisa goes
to the America the Faithful Fund offices and finds hooded priests praying to
Loki as part of a sacred ritual involving a goat. Nisa takes pictures and they
appear in the Daily Bugle, attracting a
lot of negative attention to Loki. Loki responds on television, pointing out
that of course he has worshippers, he’s a god. He then questions Nisa’s
“support” of him and he becomes an even greater hero in the eyes of his
supporters. And Nisa sinks into despair….


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[Assistant]
Vote Loki (Part One)
Nisa
Contreras grew up in a New York neighborhood that was destroyed in an action by
the Avengers against Loki and rebuilding ran longer than expected. As an adult,
Nisa, now a reporter for the Daily Bugle,
discovered that Governor Hitt had diverted the rebuilding funds to his own
campaign. Now, as one of the Bugle’s
star reporters, Nisa is covering the 2016 Presidential debates where she chats
with a fellow named Lucas who has some sharply cynical comments on the
campaigning process. Then, several present reveal themselves to be Hydra
Agents, out to wreak havoc—then Lucas reveals himself to be Loki and he
conjures up magic serpents to subdue the bad guys. As he leaves, a reporter
asks Loki if he is running for President; he denounces the candidates as liars
and then promises that if he were President, he’d lie right to their faces and
they’d love it. The event turns into a lot of media attention and popularity
for Loki. J. Jonah Jameson interviews Loki on his TV show and, while
equivocating on whether he’s running, he casually explains that the current
version of him as the God of Stories was born in the United States, making him
eligible to run. Nisa Contreras calls in to question whether this is yet
another scheme by a supervillain. Loki appears in her apartment, scaring her,
and explains that he is no longer a villain and is considering running for
President. He invites her to visit his campaign office….
Nisa
arrives the next day and meets Angela of Heven, Loki’s sister and security
chief. Loki greets her as a woman and explains some of his/her policies. Nisa
writes a largely negative article, questioning Loki’s sincerity and motives.
The next morning, she discovers that the headline of her negative assessment
has been changed to sound positive and the media is presenting it as Nisa
endorsing Loki, who formally announces his candidacy. While Nisa is raging
about the deception, Thor (Jane Foster) knocks at her door, demanding to know
what Nisa is doing….


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[Assistant]
Vote Loki (Part Three)
The Hydra
Agents who attacked the Presidential debates and were subdued by Loki (issue
#1) are being transferred to another prison, despite all still being in comas.
Reporter Nisa Contreras tries to follow the prison bus through heavy traffic
and find it wrecked,. All passengers dead. She then spies Angela, Loki’s sister
and security chief, at the scene and sees that as proof that the Hydra attack
was all a set up and now he is silencing anyone who can prove otherwise….
Yet he
incident becomes a joke, everyone assuming that Loki had the bad guys killed
and seeing it as a good thing. Then someone suggests Loki handle the situation
in Latveria….
Loki is
invited to participate in a debate with the Republican and Democratic
candidates. They are asked how they would deal with the situation in Latveria
in the wake of Doctor Doom’s being deposed, and the other two candidates
suggest some sort of military response. Loki then manages to discredit both of
them by positioning himself as a pacifist….
Nisa goes
to Latveria to examine the situation firsthand. Doom’s palace is under the
control of the group known as Doom’s Children; agents of the opposition group,
the Latverian New Prosperity Alliance, infiltrate the palace through a secret
entrance and make their way to the secret weapons cache. They are spotted by
Doom’s Children and a force led by the leader Octavio von Bardas approaches the
rebels who are now armed. Then a massive explosion takes place killing all of
them. Loki, who fomented the whole thing, takes on his real form and teleports
back to the US; Nisa has spotted him and gotten this on film. The matter makes
the news, with many in the media condemning Loki for vigilantism only hours
after claiming to reject violence. Nisa returns home to learn that Loki’s
followers now support him even the more for dealing with the explosive
situation in a way that won’t endanger American lives while the media is
conspiring to discredit him….


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[Assistant]
Vote Loki (Part Four)
As Loki’s
Presidential run grows ever more popular, reporter Nisa Contreras grows ever
more despondent—especially when she discovers her mother is a Loki supporter.
On live television, a fellow who can turn into a bomb tries to assassinate Loki
but Angela hurls the man into the sky where he explodes harmlessly (to others,
at least)….
Angela
invites Nisa to a secret meeting to reveal some information. She shows up in a
deserted home to find Thor (Jane Foster) there too; Nisa learns that Angela is
opposed to a Loki presidency and has been infiltrating his organization to work
against him. The house they are in was a Hydra meeting place and their
computers reveal that the cell’s leader was Loki, in disguise as “Lucas” (see
issue #1). Nisa publishes this expose and riots break out between Loki’s
supporters and opponents, dismaying the God of Stories….
Just
before the election, Congress hurriedly passes legislation curtailing the
powers of the Presidency and the stock market falls in anticipation of a Loki
victory. Loki stops by to talk to Nisa, confessing that he didn’t mean to cause
chaos and offers to calm the nation by speaking the truth. He teleports Nisa to
a rally of his supporters and offers to answer any question she asks
truthfully. Nisa refuses to play his game, suggesting instead that he let his
supporters ask the questions. A question about health care elicits an argument
between two supporters on opposite sides of that issue. But Loki doesn’t have a
position on that crucial issue, in fact, he reveals he has no positions on any
of the issues and his implication that he wants to represent all Americans
fails to comfort his supporters who want him to fight the half of the country
they don’t like. One of them sums it up as “You lied to us: you said you were
different!”
Loki loses
the election, Nisa becomes a hero, Loki visits her to suggest that he had
managed the entire course of her life and a Presidential campaign as an apology
for wrecking her neighborhood when she was a kid. He then leaves and phones his
concession to the winner….


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[Assistant]
The wages of death
The assassin Deathtoll (Saint Van Sant) is killing some Yakuza in Japan. He gets shot by multiple bullets, falls and bursts into flames. But then he stands up, flames off and kills the rest of the Yakuza. And leaves singing.He takes a call in his hotel room from a businessman who's concerned about War Machine's actions in Imaya (#1-4). Such a loose cannon might interfere with *his* business so he wants him killed. Deathtoll takes the job for a quarter of a million dollars up front. And checks a counter on his wrist which says "14 lives".James Rhodes has returned from Imaya and gone straight to the Worldwatch office where he finds Ranald Jeffries and Rebecca Bergier outside besieged by the Press. They want to know if Worldwatch sent War Machine there to rescue their Director Vincent Cetewayo, and if they were behind the overthrow of Eda Arul's dictatorship, all of which they deny. But given that Cetewayo didn't survive who will run Worldwatch now. Rhodey answers that by saying *he*'s the new Director, and he hustles the other 2 inside where he asks them if that job which Vincent offered him (in #1) is actually still open.Jeffries and Bergier take him to the office and introduce him to Paula Lin, Office Manager, and Travis Berkeley, computer guy. The 1st 2 then take him into what was Vincent's office to bring him up to speed. Worldwatch was designed to expose injustice and abuse of power, and as such had to appear politically neutral. War Machine's attempted rescue of Cetewayo in Imaya has compromised that neutrality. But the 3 of them agree it's worth trying to continue.At the end of a long 1st day at work Jim goes to see his girlfriend Rae LaCoste who he apparently hasn't seen since he walked out of their argument in #1 (which here is said to be a week ago, but #1 said there were several weeks before he went to Imaya - either way a long time to leave it stewing). But Rae isn't actually angry that he hasn't even called. She reveals that she worked out he was War Machine when he fought Living Laser (in Iron Man #289).  Now she's angry that he left for Imaya without telling her what he was doing. From now on he'd better keep her in the loop.Some time later War Machine goes to the UN General Assembly to answer the charges of invading Imaya, killing soldiers and President Arul. But WM points out that the new Imayan administration aren't pressing charges, and recalled their UN delegate in protest at the UN's censure of WM. (Surely it would have been better to send their delegate to support him.) Now he blames the UN for letting Arul get away with his atrocities.1 delegate complains about superhuman involvement in international affairs, like this and the recent actions of the Avengers and X-Men (in the Bloodties crossover in Genosha). War Machine denies any connection to teams like the Avengers and Force Works. He works alone to defend the oppressed, if the UN won't do it.The discussion is curtailed by Deathtoll crashing in through a translation booth window, both guns blazing. He says he's after War Machine but any security and politicians he kills along the way are a bonus. So our hero flies them both out of the building.En route Deathtoll sticks a bomb on WM's back. And when they land he triggers it and starts shooting. But this doesn't stop Rhodey who scrunches the guy's gun up. Then he flies his foe out over the River, but Deathtoll slips out of his coat and plunges into the water. War Machine follows with his built-in air supply. However in the following underwater tussle Deathtoll breaks Jim's air feed so now they're both in danger of running out of air. And Deathtoll won't let WM take them to the surface, so Jim breaks his neck.When War Machine brings the dead body to the river bank he jets off and leaves it there. But as rats investigate the 'corpse' it grabs 1 of them and flames on as it dies. (Rhodey's thought balloons try to ameliorate this unheroic act by saying he's just going off to puke and he'll be back to face the Cops. But we don't know if he does because we skip to the next scene.)Next morning at Worldwatch Dr Jeffries thinks they should make some statement about War Machine's UN speech. But Rhodes fields that by proposing their 1st official assignment - to investigate a recently uncovered mass grave at Catañero (next issue revealed to be in the South American country Corteña).Meanwhile Rebecca Bergier gets a call from Trace Miller of the Top Story TV news show to inform her that they've dug something up about her.Elsewhere the businessman contacts Deathtoll to offer him more money to kill James Rhodes as well as War Machine because they don't want him looking into the Catañero graves. The assassin says he "went through 3 whole lives" tackling WM, a remark which his contact and we don't understand.The next day Rhodey leads his away team into a waiting plane. Among them is Sheva Joseph who resigned from SHIELD last issue to side with War Machine. Now she's got the job he promised her. And Deathtoll is watching them.


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[Assistant]
The kiss off
Last issue Sheva Joseph died in the SHIELD hospital. Her corpse is only just starting to cool when SHIELD Agent Groom and others in Mandroid armour try to take James Rhodes into custody so SHIELD can study the alien Warwear that shares his body. Jim tells Agent Kirby Martell, his girlfriend Rae LaCoste and Worldwatch's Ranald Jeffries to stand back as he offers to 'discuss' it with the Mandroids outside where nobody else will get hurt.Of course when they get outside Rhodey activates the Warwear armour and they fight. War Machine makes short work of the Mandroids but leaves the Agents alive.Then Jim takes a leave of absence from Worldwatch and thanks Agent Kirby for all her help, She replies that since Nick Fury (supposedly) died (Double Edge Omega) SHIELD has got out of control. Then he and Rae drive off into the sunset and a hotel room in Los Angeles where they discuss the past and the future.Rae still hasn't forgiven him for not talking to her since #12, but she mellows as he tells her more about what's happened since then. He covers the time-travel adventure (#15-17) which cost him his War Machine armour and made Sheva age rapidly to death. Then the Warwear armour attached itself to him (#18-19) and dragged him into the Crossover event (#20-23 plus issues of Avengers, Force Works and Iron Man) in a war against Tony Stark and Kang the Conqueror. (He still doesn't mention that their friend Tony is now dead.)They move on to his alleged son. He still doesn't know whether his parents were telling the truth when they told Rae he had 1. Or whether it was just a way of getting rid of her. And if so whether it was because she was white or something else that made them dislike her before meeting her. But he needs to find out what the alien stuff inside him really is before he can deal with the other stuff.So he suggests they disappear for 6 months together. And Rae agrees.Next day Rhodey goes to his apartment to pack up what little he doesn't want to leave behind. But Groom turns up with more Mandroids so War Machine has to fight again. But 1st he releases 1 of the drones built in to the armour with instructions to take his suitcase to Rae. He and his other drones take care of business.Then he meets up with Rae and the suitcase in her car. And they really do drive off into the sunset.


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[Assistant]
Friendly fire
James Rhodes is back home from the Hands Of The Mandarin crossover in #9-10 with Iron Man and Force Works, and spending time with his lover Rae LaCoste. She's glad that he's patched things up with their mutual friend Tony Stark (at the end of IM#312 where Tony offered to repair the War Machine armour and in a flashback in IM#313 where he gave him the specs so he could get any more repairs done easier).But Rhodey's still not happy with everything he's done as War Machine. He tried to rescue his friend Vincent Cetewayo from Imayan dictator Eda Arul in #1-4 but saw him killed. In #5-6 the UN tried to sanction him for invading Imaya, and an 'unkillable' hitman Deathtoll attacked him for unknown reasons. And he accepted the Directorship of Worldwatch to honour Vincent's memory but he's not told them he's War Machine even though WM's actions have tarnished their reputation as an independent force for good. (He seems to have given up agonising over having killed Arul and Deathtoll since talking to Hawkeye about it in #7.)Rae points out that *he* made the decisions, not the suit of armour. Jim agrees that he has to take responsibility for his actions. And Rae promises to continue to support him.James goes to Worldwatch intending to 'fess up about his super-id. But the negative publicity and Jim's unexplained absence (during Hands) has made Ranald Jeffries decide to shut the operation down. It seems Jeffries has guessed who WM is. Ranald doesn't know whether Rebecca Bergier has figured it out too so Rhodey decides to tell her next.But when he enters her office she's more concerned about a different big revelation he's missed while he's been away. She tells him how a tabloid TV show tried to blackmail her (#5-6), but she instead shared her secret with the others in Worldwatch and they stood behind her. Jim still doesn't know what she's talking about so she tells him she's a lesbian, which lost her a previous job and some friends.Rhodey is angry for her and blurts out his own secret. Rebecca's response is to laugh her head off. He may have come out too, but he must have had a bigger closet.Rebecca and Dr Jeffries convene a meeting with the other staff Paula Lin, Travis Berkeley and Sheva Joseph. And Rhodey enters in the WM armour, but with the helmet off. Sheva has known since #4, but it's a surprise to Paula and Travis. James asks them all to consider continuing Worldwatch with War Machine as an asset who could step in where necessary. And it will be a joint decision as to when that is. He trusts their judgement because Cetewayo hired them all (except Sheva who Rhodes hired in #4). But it's Sheva who isn't convinced. She's worked with Mossad and SHIELD and she's seen what people claiming to have the world's best interest at heart can do. Jim says he'll go home and let them think about it, and if they don't want him then he won't come back.He and Rae have to wait a week for an answer, but when it comes it's "Yes". Dr Jeffries has arranged a celebratory dinner which Jim invites Rae to (it was *she* who introduced him to Ceteweyo, Jeffries and Bergier in #1). He also suggests that the 2 of them go visit Jim's parents for New Year.In the meantime Rhodey rings Mack Mendelson, Hawkeye's mechanical genius friend who he met in #7, and asks him to be the full-time fixer for the WM armour. But Mack prefers his independence and declines the offer. So he rings up a guy he knows called Archie Park at Stark Enterprises and offers *him* the job. Archie is interested but they'll have to work it out with Tony.Then Rae and the Worldwatch team have their dinner, including a toast to Christmas.


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[Assistant]
Here be dragons
This prelude to the Crossing continues from #18.Jim Rhodes faces an alien monster in the alien suit of armour he found last issue. At his merest thought the suit launches 4 attack drones. He also automatically knows how to fly, and activate the armour's senses.After a pause to make sure the unconscious woman Skye is safe, Rhodey leaps into an extended battle with the dragon.Menawhile in LA Jim's compatriot's at Worldwatch are holding a birthday party for Sheva Joseph at the Planet Hero restaurant. There she runs into Jim's girlfriend Rae LaCoste, who hasn't heard from him in a while.Back at Matlin Lake Rhodes thinks he's killed the monster. He wills the armour to disappear inside him. And finds his body marked with tattoos.Skye has awakened, and now reveals herself not to be the government agent she claimed to be, but actually from outer space. She tells Jim that she had led him to the armour, and now the tattoos nark him as a warrior of the Eidolon. The dragon, called a Lictor, was sent to test him. (Skye says she never dreamt her masters would use something as deadly as that.)At this point Hawkeye, also previously unconscious, joins them. Skye refuses to say any more while Clint is around. But the tense situation is interrupted by the recovered dragon erupting from the lake. However Rhodes calls up the armour again, and really kills it this time.Hawkeye leaves, heading for the Avengers reunion he's heard about (in Avengers: The Crossing). Jim and Skye start to drive to LA, and Skye promises to explain everything.Back in LA Sheva leaves her party and briefly finds herself back in 1970.This strand of the Crossing preludes leads to the first official crossover issue AVENGERS: THE CROSSING.


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[Assistant]
Once Upon a Time in China
Story continues from FORCE WORKS #6.War Machine and Century, apparently disintegrated by the Mandarin (at the end of FORCE WORKS #6) instead find themselves in a rural area of China. Century speculates that the villain's blast interacted with his staff Parallax and teleported them instead of killing them. Mandarin has magically created a zone around his castle wherein technology does not work so they hide Rhodey's useless armor and try to find help for the wounded hero....Back at the castle, Mandarin is torturing the captive Iron Man, who quietly vows to avenge the apparent murders of War Machine and Century....Rhodey and Century come upon a woman being attacked by a pair of soldiers with rape on their minds; the alien hero swiftly takes care of them and Rhodey recognizes the woman as neurosurgeon Su Yin, who had earlier treated Tony Stark. At her hut, she tries to whip up some ancient herbal remedies to treat Rhodey's injuries while explaining that the sudden disappearance of all technology led to her invalid husband's death. As Century has a moment of disorientation, she also tells of the politician who has taken advantage of the crisis to set himself up as a warlord with an army and how they will attack this village any day now. Rhodey wishes he could help and Century has an idea....In Hong Kong, the Avatars have retreated and Force Works (Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman, U.S. Agent) have captured Lich who tells them Iron Man is a prisoner of the Mandarin and gives them directions to his castle....In the village, Century has the local blacksmith enhance the War Machine armor with bamboo and other coverings so that when the ravagers arrives, the two heroes are ready for them. Century has another psychotic episode leaving Rhodey to face a small army on his own....Force Works flies their plane Pegasus to the Mandarin's castle lair but when they enter the anti-technology zone, all power cuts out, sending them plummeting....Story continues in IRON MAN #311.


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[Assistant]
Long weekend
This prelude to the Crossing continues from IRON MAN #319.James Rhodes goes to Matlin Lake for a fishing vacation, which is strange because he's never fished before. He finds the place full of CIA agents, and other agencies. There have been some gruesome deaths (last issue), including an FBI agent (this issue). Their suspicions extend to Jim.In a bar he is accosted by a woman named Skye who claims to be from one of the agencies. They're all there investigating a UFO report. She wants to know what the head of Worldwatch is doing there.Rhodey escapes to his motel room, and flashes back over recent events:- His team-up with Hawkeye and US Agent. And the trip back to WWII where he lost his War Machine armour and killed a Nazi to change the future.When Rhodey gets to go fishing next day he is interrupted by the arrival of Hawkeye. Clint had dropped in on Worldwatch to offer his services, and Sheva Joseph had filled him in on what happened in the time trip. When the CIA phoned from Matlin Lake to check that Rhodes was who he said he was, Hawkeye popped over to support his buddy.Jim admits that he doesn't really know why he came here. He says he feels he's been manipulated.They hear a scream, and Skye appears running from something. She passes out mumbling "I never thought he'd use a thing like ...". And Hawkeye finds a device she dropped labelled Timely WI.An alien monster attacks. Hawkeye tries to hold it off while Rhodey carries Skye to safety. But the alien KO's Clint and follows them.Jim comes across a glowing ball, which he realises called him to Matlin Lake. The light engulfs him, and when it spits him out Rhodey is encased in a new alien armour.All along we have been privy to the alien monster's thoughts. And now it recognises that Jim or the armour is the foe it has been looking for.This strand of the Crossing preludes continues in #19


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[Assistant]
The Last Stand
This part of the Crossing crossover continues from FORCE WORKS #19.This is a big battle issue. War Machine squares off against Iron Man. Century returns from taking Rachel Carpenter to safety, to find Amanda Chaney dead in Stark's secret sub-basement of Force Works HQ. He fights Cybermancer.Iron Man was exposed as a killer in Iron Man #323. War Machine was told in Force Works #19. No-one yet knows that he has been under the intermittent control of Mantis and Kang. He is now fully under their thumb. They sent him to initiate the Siege Perilous in Force Works #19. It doesn't say here that the flood of temporal energy will take the whole Earth to join the missing Vietnam, and swell the ranks of Kang's Anachronaut army, as described in Force Works #19.This is the first time Iron Man has seen Rhodey's new Warwear armour.Century defeats Cybermancer, a new recruit to Force Works (since Force Works #17), who is working for Stark. He finds the secret computer Virgil running the Siege Perilous program, which will flood the Earth with temporal energy in less than a day.War Machine has Iron Man at his mercy, but can't bring himself to kill him. Stark blasts him and flies off. On the way out he instructs Virgil to defend itself with deadly force as per program Mordred.Century brings Amanda's body up from the basement (but foolishly leaves the unconscious Cybermancer down there). Iron Man killed Amanda in Force Works #19 because she found the secret sub-basement.Black Widow and U.S.Agent arrive at Force Works HQ, after following Rhodes by road. Black Widow, U.S.Agent and War Machine were helping Hawkeye defend himself against Iron Man's framing him for murder. Since the truth came out the trio headed for Force Works HQ in case Iron man turned up there. Rhodey flew ahead in Force Works #19.Moonraker, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) and Fisher Todd materialise from wherever Vietnam has been taken to. They have been investigating the disappearance of Vietnam since Force Works #17. This issue only hints at what they found out there about Moonraker, Mantis and Kang, but behind the scenes the various actors bring each other up to date.The Warwear repairs itself and Rhodey.Century takes Black Widow and Moonraker to the Avengers to tell them about Mantis and Kang. Scarlet Witch, U.S.Agent and War Machine invade the sub-basement and run up against Virgil's defences.The Crossing now splits into two legs, and continues in IRON MAN #324 and FORCE WORKS #20.


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[Assistant]
... a time to keep, and a time to cast away
War Machine has been sent back to 1943 Germany to stop the Nazis from winning WWII with weapons from his present. He and 1943-Captain America have gone to Meinz to capture Commandant Grinz who's scheme the Zeitkrieg/Time War was. (He arranged for a secret Nazi base in Chile to wait for time-travel to be invented.) Last issue ended with the duo facing a Division of tanks ...... which WM has demolished between issues. Now they take Grinz hostage and use him to access his personal transport - a helicopter. Of course Cap has never seen such a thing before. But of course James Rhodes knows how to fly it. They get away, with the War Machine armour confusing German radar.Meanwhile the Howling Commandos, Bucky Barnes and Sheva Joseph have captured the Time-Drive Base in Berlin. The chopper lands. The Commandos hold off German troops while Cap and Rhodey try to persuade Grinz to tell them how to operate the time machine. He says he doesn't know. The Nazi from WM's present, Raeder, designed it at that end.Jim and Sheva fall back on Plan B. They'll take Grinz to the future and try to solve the problem from there. Sheva gives War Machine a cohesion monitor so that he won't get separated from his armour as he was on the trip down. The 3 get on the time-platform, and Cap says he, Bucky and the Howlers will escape through the sewers. Jim reminds them that if it works time will be reset and all this won't have happened. Nick Fury will still be alive (he was killed in #15), the Nazis won't be winning the War and they will go on to the destinies he knows about.But as the 3 are left alone with the time machine Grinz grabs Sheva's gun and threatens to kill her. But as he tells War Machine what to do he mentions that Raeder is his future son. This give Rhodey an idea how to solve the whole problem. Grinz and Sheva realise what he's going to do too. And War Machine shoots Grinz dead in cold blood. Now he can't have a son Raeder to create the Time-Drive and bring advance weapons back to 1943.(Surely taking Grinz to the future and keeping him in prison would prevent Raeder from being born too?)The Time-Drive takes WM and Sheva Joseph back to their future. But for Jim the return journey is different from the original trip, and much worse.He wakes up in a hospital bed in a SHIELD medivac copter with Nick Fury still alive. His gambit worked and the Santiago Nazi base was destroyed by a time-quake (which also caused the bumpy ride home). SHIELD scientist Kirby Martell (we met her in #15) gives him something to counteract acute time fatigue. Sheva pops in so she made it too.But then they drop the bombshell. The time-quake messed with the cohesion monitor so he lost his armour *again*. And they have no idea what's happened to it. Fury suggests he ask Tony Stark for another 1. Sheva says that's not going to happen. (I don't know why because Jim and Tony are best friends again now.) Anyway Rhodes prepares to face life back as a civilian.5 days later he's working late at Worldwatch, still haunted by guilt over the man he killed. Rebecca Bergier thanks him for saving her brother Luke in San Revilla (in the Brothers In Arms flip book tale in Force Works #12, our #15 and Iron Man #317). She suggests he take a vacation.Next Sheva comes to talk to him. She again suggests he talk to Tony about new armour. Or get Archie Parks to build him something new. But he say he wants to try to put his life back together. He's had no contact from girlfriend Rae LaCoste or his parents since their disastrous meeting in #12-13. So he says he's going to take a long weekend fishing, which Sheva didn't know he was into. After he's gone she rings up Fury to tell him she's worried about Jim.Rhodey does drive out to the country, and we get an epilogue set in what is presumably his destination. 2 Federal Agents accompany Mitch McGill to where he says he saw lights in a lake. Something is watching them and it sounds like they get killed.


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Friendly Fire
Story continues from IRON MAN #309.As he dons the War Machine armor, James Rhodes looks back over his history of clashing with Tony Stark/Iron Man: their first meeting in Vietnam (IRON MAN #144), Tony asking Rhodey to be Iron Man the first time (#170), facing the Mandarin (#181), angrily quitting as War Machine (#291), and their recent spat over the specs for the armor (#309). Now he is headed to the Stark building for the confrontation.....At Worldwatch headquarters, Rebecca Bergier, Ranald Jeffries, and Sheva Joseph are debating whether War Machine's association with the organization is now becoming a liability and why Director James Rhodes is not commenting on it. Rebecca is called to the phone by tabloid reporter Trace Miller, threatening to reveal her secret life on his TV show. She hangs up and decides the revelation will be on her terms; she calls everyone to her office.... [Her secret is that she's a lesbian, mentioned in later issues.]At Stark as they are discussing War Machine's latest troubles, Mrs. Arbogast tells Felix Alvarez that Tony is drinking again....War Machine arrives at Stark Enterprises and is met on the roof by Bethany Cabe who warns him not to start trouble. He heads to the main office where Tony meets him in his Iron Man armor. Rhodey demands the specs for the suit; Tony demands he surrender it, citing his latest “misuse.” Rhodey jets off angrily and Tony follows. They battle in the sky, unaware that the Mandarin is watching via the Heart of Darkness, plotting his revenge against them both and gloating about it to his unseen minions. The battle moves to the ground and Tony distracts Rhodey with talk while he secretly interfaces with Rhodey's armor, shutting it down. War Machine stiffens then topples to the ground. Is this the end?Story continues in IRON MAN #310.


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Between Deathlok and a hard case
War Machine has come to Imaya to rescue Vincent Cetewayo from the clutches of President Eda Arul. Cable has come to stop him from causing an international incident which will derail a future peaceful outcome (he's from the future so he knows). Deathlok arrived at the end of last issue also intending to rescue Cetewayo, but pausing to stop the other 2 fighting.But now he decides to leave them to fight and just get on with the job, but Cable blasts him in the back. Now it's James Rhodes turn to stand between the other 2, except Cable just shoots *him*. Deathlok finally figures out which side he belongs on, but WM holds *him* back from attacking Cable - which confuses DL again and allows Cable to shoot *both* of them. Rhodey punches Deathlok into Cable and blasts *them* both. He makes it clear to DL that they both want to rescue Vincent, and Cable can either help them or go away. Nathan Summers chooses option 3 and raises his big gun again ...... but then they are all attacked by the Imayan army. Cable teleports away and leaves the other 2 to deal with them. They launch into the soldiers and tanks. Deathlok makes sure the computer controlling his weapon is obeying the 'no killing' order. Jim connects to DL's comms frequency and they discuss tactics. Deathlok says they should abandon the fruitless battle and head to his Dragonfly airship. WM picks him up and flies where directed.But when they get there Deathlok sends the Dragonfly off on automatic to head to the ocean. Imayan jets chase it, and the ground troops follow. The duo stop the last vehicle in the convoy and KO the only occupant. Then Rhodey takes his armour off and disguises himself in the man's uniform.We now look in on Vincent Cetewayo in his prison cell. He's visited by Arul's Advisor, and then Arul himself enters to beat him up. The Pres is angry about the 'lies' Cetewayo wrote about him in his book, and he leaves to arrange for torture. The Advisor remains and Vincent is sure he knows him from somewhere. The man enigmatically says they've shared many trouble spots, and shows he's something more than human by pointing at a candle which spontaneously ignites. Then leaves Cetewayo to his fate.On their way at the rear of the convoy Rhodey and Michael Collins compare reasons for being here. Jim says he met Cetewayo last issue and didn't treat him the way he should have. Collins attended a lecture by the man in college and was impressed. As they pass through a devastated village the natives throw rocks at the convoy. Their parlous state makes Deathlok reconsider his non-fatal stance.The chief torturer arrives with his equipment in Cetewayo's cell. But Cable is right behind him and knocks him out. (So he didn't just abandon the problem.)The convoy reaches a checkpoint and DL and WM's cover is about to be blown. Rhodey turns the vehicle around and heads back where they came from. Deathlok jumps out to hold off pursuit while Jim puts his armour on. A shoulder-launched missile destroys their transport. But War Machine comes blasting out. The pair shoot their way through the soldiers and head for the Presidential Palace.Eda Arul rants at them from the palace steps until his Advisor advises him to retire to a secure location. Then the Advisor surprises our heroes by offering to take them to Cetewayo. He does lead them to the right room, but they find it empty. And when they leave the room they are faced with a S.H.I.E.L.D. team led by Agent Sheva Joseph (from last issue) there to arrest them.


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Streets of Philadelphia
A guy referred to as Loco shows a hologram simulation of Quarry, the latest armour he has designed, to Aaron and Carson. Apparently it is to be used by someone who has agreed to be hunted by them. Carson is enthusiastic about the sport this new armour will provide, Aaron less so. Loco isn't happy that this hunt will be near a city, but the candidate insists on the venue and Carson thinks he'll be worth it. He's Owen Segar who used to be a Navy pilot and SEAL but is now living in a Vets' shelter. Aaron just hopes he'll give them a better chase than most previous candidates, which Carson says is exactly the point.James Rhodes is flying his War Machine armour over Los Angeles, exhilarating in the improvements Tony Stark has made since they regained their friendship after the Hands Of The Mandarin crossover. Now he heads off to see his parents in Philadelphia for the New Year. And girlfriend Rae LaCoste will be joining them by plane tomorrow. Worldwatch will have to manage without him.In the Worldwatch offices Ranald Jeffries welcomes their newest member Archie Park. Rhodey recruited him last issue from Stark Enterprises to maintain the War Machine armour. Archie doesn't know that JR and WM are the same person, and Jim only confessed to the rest of the team last issue. Meanwhile Sheva Joseph is setting off on a mission to Santiago, Chile to investigate reported human rights violations.Rhodes arrives in Philly, hires a car and packs away his armour before approaching his suburban family home. He gets a frosty reception when he mentions Rae. They think he could do better, even though they've never met her. At 1st it seems they disapprove of her being a beautician, even though she actually runs a chain of stores in LA. But then it becomes clear it's because she's white.Jim leaves in a huff and drives around town. He finds his High School boarded up, but Otis is still around to sell him a coke, and Marilyn to serve him a burger. She directs him to the Vets' shelter where he'll find an old army buddy Joe Barnes. And Joe tells him how another pal Owen Segar had 2 weeks ago gone off with Carson Rowntree, who Rhodey has less fond memories of and who has seemingly done well for himself.Owen Segar is now in an abandoned industrial site in Penn's Landing, Philadelphia on the banks of the Delaware. He's wearing the Quarry suit and facing Rowntree in his Gunship armour. They fight for a while and Quarry is losing until he unleashes a mighty blast and then flies away. He messages back that he only agreed to this in order to get the Quarry armour, and now he's taking it. Rowntree calls in the other 2 as they chase Segar into the city.Jim Rhodes has booked into a motel in Center City, the heart of Philly, remembering how Carson Rowntree was a thorn in his side through High School and then into the Marines. Then an alarm in his stored armour signals trouble reported on the police waveband.Outside Gunship knocks Quarry out of the sky into the night-life of Philly's city centre. Loco tries to abort the game and call Rowntree off because of the danger to civilians, but Gunship won't quit. Quarry gets up and back into the air but it's War Machine who knocks him down again. So Gunship attacks *him*, figuring he'll put up a better fight. WM fires off some of the bigger guns Stark has equipped him with, and then crushes part of Gunship's armour before tossing him to the ground. Then Rhodes turns his attention to Quarry, who is confused by the current developments.Another interlude. Rae LaCoste caught an earlier flight and turns up at the Rhodes' doorstep the night before she was supposed to get there. She gets a stony-faced reception.War Machine rips off Quarry's mask and adds to Segar's confusion by recognising him. But they are both attacked by all 3 members of the Rush Club (so-named because of the adrenaline rush they get during the chase). Loco occupies giant armour under the name Locomotive Breath. And armoured Aaron has claws and a crossbow as Sanction.


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A Little Muscle
This part of the Crossing crossover continues from FORCE WORKS #17.James Rhodes and Skye have driven from Canada to L.A. after the adventure in the last 2 issues where Rhodey obtained his new armour, the Eidolon Warwear. Skye has explained that the armour is alien, and that it chose Rhodey to wear it. But she won't explain who or what she herself is, or why he and the armour are important.Their journey is interrupted in Santa Monica by Wolfgang, a man whose body has been super-enhanced by an unknown drug. While War Machine deals with him in the Warwear, Skye slips away.The next day Rhodey returns to work at Worldwatch. He asks them to investigate the drug.Sheva Joseph is off sick, and asks Jim to come to see her that night. But he doesn't make it, and instead she gets help from Kirby Martell, a SHIELD expert on time-travel. She is worried about the effects of her time trip in #15-17. She experienced a timeslip to 1970 last issue.Rhodes doesn't come to see her because U.S.Agent drags him off to help Hawkeye. When we last saw U.S.Agent in Force Works #17 he was about to phone Rhodey. But he comes to see him instead, saying he can't trust the phone. Agent comes to Rhodey for help because they teamed up with Hawkeye in the 'Brothers in Arms' backup stories in Force Works #12, War Machine #15 and Iron Man #317. Although they actually spent most of the time fighting on 3 different sides of the conflict.He explains how Hawkeye has been accused by Iron Man (in Force Works #17) of murdering Marilla and Rita DeMara (in Avengers: The Crossing). And how Iron Man and his new protege Cybermancer tricked Agent into leading them to Hawkeye. Scarlet Witch threw Iron Man off the team after they brought Hawkeye in unconscious.We have known since Avengers: The Crossing that Iron Man actually killed Marilla and Rita, but he did it in a blackout under the control of someone else. In Iron Man #321 he cleaned up a security tape of Marilla's murder, and presumably saw himself as the killer, but then had another blackout. In Force Works #17 he presented a version of the tape and other forensic evidence that pointed to Hawkeye.Agent takes Rhodey to Force Works HQ, where Cybermancer is guarding Hawkeye while the rest of the team are off on a mission investigating the disappearance of Vietnam.Rhodey doesn't believe Hawkeye is a killer, so the evidence must be false. He tries to contact Iron Man, winding up eventually talking to Black Widow at the Avengers temporary home in Jan Van Dyne's house. Jim can't get at the forensic evidence against Hawkeye in Stark Enterprises. But U.S.Agent gives him the video evidence, which Rhodey takes to his tech guy Archie Park. The video appears genuine. Archie claims only 3 people could have doctored it so undetectably:- himself, Reed Richards and Tony Stark.Cybermancer tries to stop U.S.Agent from taking Hawkeye's comatose body, until War Machine knocks her out with the Warwear. Agent and War Machine take a Force Works jet and escape with the recovering Hawkeye, while Rhodey explains about his new armour.The Crossing continues in IRON MAN #322.


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War-time
A bunch of SHIELD troop carriers and air-cavalry are over Santiago, Chile accompanied by War Machine. Codename Crosspatch (Nick Fury) coordinates with codename Tin-Top (WM), WM and the air-cav strafe the target, the Forbidden Zone, to soften it up before Fury and the troops land. As expected the enemy are dressed in Nazi uniforms so everyone goes all-out, but James Rhodes still uses rubber bullets - not wanting to kill again.Now we have a flashback which follows on from the last page scene in last issue where Nick Fury invaded the offices of Worldwatch to confront WM/Rhodey, Rebecca Bergier, Ranald Jeffries and Paula Lin. Fury 1st lambasts Rhodes for his 'trouble-making' in Slorenia (last issue) and San Revilla (the flip-book story here and in Force Works #12 and Iron Man #317). But he's really come to warn them that their agent Sheva Joseph may have walked into a big Neo-Nazi problem in Santiago that SHIELD is already monitoring. Jeffries confirms that they haven't heard from Sheva for several days. And War Machine insists on going to the rescue, with or without SHIELD.In the present Fury goes as far as to thank WM for his assistance because the Nazis were better-armed than expected. Fury introduces Rhodes to Agent Kirby Martell who has examined the enemy's machinery and confirmed that it is a time-machine. They've been sending men and weapons back in time, and Fury can guess when to - WWII.Nick wants to be sent back to deal with it personally, but Jim warns of the problems that could be caused because he's already there. He says he'll go himself because his armour should protect him from whatever dangers this time-drive poses. So that's what they do ...... but Rhodey is surprised to find that he arrives in 1941 Berlin without the armour (but still with his white undersuit). He's immediately arrested by Nazi soldiers. But immediately rescued by Sgt Fury and Izzy Cohen and Reb Ralston of the Howling Commandos. Fury takes him to the resistance's sewer base where he's greeted by Sheva Joseph, which clues Fury in to the fact that Jim is another 1 from the future.Sheva explains how the Allies have almost lost the War. A Nazi scientist named Grinz hatched a plan he called Zeitkrieg/Time-War. He established the Forbidden Zone base in Chile where he hoarded the best new tech until time-travel was invented. Then he sent it back to 1941 enabling the Axis to win the War. She herself was sent back for interrogation after she broke into the Zone (last issue), and Fury & co rescued her as well. She also explains his missing armour by saying that inorganic material is displaced unless you have an electronic stabiliser.Then Captain America and Bucky Barnes arrive to tell them that the German's are examining an armoured weapons suit, which Rhodey assumes is his. Cap and Fury know they've got to get that suit out of the Germans' hands for the sake of what's left of the War.Cap and Bucky attack the guards on their target as a diversion while Fury and Rhodes sneak in. They find the War Machine armour and Jim suits up. But unfortunately the time-trip has scrambled the onboard computer and it will take 6 minutes to reboot and give him weapons control. But they don't have that long as a huge Nazi armoured figure calling himself V3 attacks them. (Surely they haven't had time to copy the WM design?) WM tries to hold him off but gets batted aside. And then V3 kills Nick Fury. And the WM armour is still rebooting.Story 2:- Vicious circle part 2: Face of the enemyScript Dan Abnett. Pencils Carlos Franco. Inks Sam de la Rosa. Letters Jack Morelli. Colours Ben Sean.Flip cover pencils Fred Haynes. Inks Johnny Greene.Continued from the back of FORCE WORKS #12.War Machine is in San Revilla, Central America dealing with a revolutionary group called the Shadows who are attacking government sites without regard for civilian casualties. And he's just discovered that their leader is Hawkeye.Hawkeye tries to talk James Rhodes into backing down, but 1 of his men Striker attacks and damages WM's weapons system. While they fight Clint Barton tells his other super-powered operative Sundance to cloak them while they retreat. He fires a flame arrow which ignites some oil drums near Rhodey. He knows this won't damage War Machine but it allows the 3 super-chars plus the regular Shadow troops to escape.However now he knows that Sundance's cloaking device is laser-based Jim can follow them by watching for distortion in his field of view. And he waylays Hawkeye in his tent. Clint claims that the US Government is backing the rebels and sent him here to train and lead them. He took the job to show what he could do, as part of climbing back from his grief over his wife Mockingbird's death (Avengers West Coast #100). Rhodey says his men have been killing innocents, but Barton says he's trained them not to do that. WM leaves but says he's got to stop them.Rhodey monitors the groups comms and hears their orders to attack an airstrip at Preto which allegedly is receiving mercenaries for the Government. When he gets there he discovers that the planes on the ground are refugee flights, and 1 of the refugees is Luke Bergier who he came here to find last issue. He also tracks the source of the comms and learns it comes from the capital Ciudad Revilla.He breaks into the Government buildings and locates the source - the Advisor he met in #1-4 in Imaya. The Advisor readily admits to stoking the flames in this country until it explodes. As before he claims to feed off conflict and destruction. And as before he suggests that he is a supernatural entity. He lets War Machine's blast pass through him, and then fades away with a parting taunt.The Shadows are already at the airstrip. Hawkeye makes sure they only fire at planes not people. Then WM arrives and tries to persuade Clint he's being fed lies. But U.S. Agent shows up with Hazzerd and Troubleshooter (from last issue) to restart the fighting.Concluded in the back of IRON MAN #317.


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Natural born killers
It's New Year's Eve in Philadelphia and War Machine is celebrating by fighting a trio of armoured foes:- Gunship, Locomotive Breath and Sanction. They are the Rush Club who get their kicks hunting people who they've paid to be their quarry. They give their victim armour too, and the current 1's armour is actually called Quarry. WM interrupted a battle in the city between Quarry and Gunship, and discovered that that the target is Owen Segar, a homeless army Vet James Rhodes used to know.Now the Club just want to end the battle and retreat with the Quarry armour. But to do that they'll have to put War Machine down. Heavyweight Locomotive Breath smashes our hero with his armoured fists, doing a lot of damage to the man inside the suit. Agile Sanction leaps on him and tries to jam metal claws through his eye slits, but Rhodey blasts him off with his chest uni-beam. Then Loco is on him again. But WM's latest armour has a large backpack which holds a variety of weapons. He triggers a pulse cannon which emerges and fires over his shoulder at Loco, which Rhodes combines with repulsors and uni-beam. Locomotive Breath is thrown 60 feet.But following Loco's orders the flying Gunship is about to kill Segar with his own shoulder cannons. He blasts the Quarry armour, and Loco orders a retreat. War Machine is still standing so Loco does a Hulk and slams his fists into the ground, burying Rhodey in rubble.When he emerges the villains have gone. But he finds the Quarry suit is empty. A heat trace leads him to Owen Segar who got out before Gunship trashed it. So he takes him to St Vincent's Hospital and then Jim Rhodes visits his old army buddy in his sick bed. Rhodey says the staff believe Owen was just an innocent bystander, but he wants to know what was really going on.Segar tells him how Carson Rowntree, a mutual old Marine acquaintance, offered him lots of money to be the next candidate for the Rush Club's hunt. They wanted him because his training would make him a quarry worth hunting. But Owen just wanted to steal the Quarry armour. He relied on their need for secrecy stopping them following him into the city. But Gunship wouldn't let him go, and the Club tried to kill him in the end. So now he gives Jim a way of contacting Rowntree in Baltimore.Next day (New Year's Day) Rhodes meets Rowntree in a restaurant in Baltimore. He gets straight to the point and tells his old 'friend' to shut down the Rush Club or else. But Rowntree puts some clues together and tells him he knows he's War Machine. The prospect of the adrenaline rush of fighting a superhero again makes Carson challenge Jim to a battle outside Baltimore. And our hero agrees.Rhodey came to Philadelphia last issue to spend the New Year with his parents. His lover Rae LaCoste was going to follow by plane the next day (today) to meet them. But James stormed out when he realised they objected to him dating a white woman. Now he rings up to see if she's arrived. His father tells Jim she arrived last night instead, and then she left. We see her crying on a hotel bed.Carson's Rush Club partners aren't at all happy with his plan. Loco is concerned about the increased risk to their secrecy. Aaron doesn't want to attract the attention of the super-crowd. But Loco tells Carson he can take WM on alone as Gunship. After Rowntree has gone Aaron opines that War Machine will probably win the bout. However Loco reveals that he has a bigger plan. He shows his partner an e-mail from the Tabissara in Tblunka, Slorenia. They say that their Civil War means that they can no longer give him access to The Program.Now we get an interlude building up a subplot that will lead to the next storyline. Last issue Sheva Joseph of Worldwatch went to Santiago, Chile to investigate stories of human rights violations. Now she meets Jorge Mantone at the office of The Eternal Flame, a left-wing magazine which he runs practically single-handed. He is sceptical that she isn't just someone who'll listen to what he says but do nothing about it. He tells her about a no-go zone that the government have set up in the past year, and she asks him to get her in there. But their conversation is being recorded in sound and vision by long-range instruments.War Machine and Gunship meet in an abandoned redevelopment project outside of town. Rowntree thinks he's here alone but Aaron is watching in his Sanction suit. The armoured warriors spar on the ground then take it to the air. Carson is enjoying himself up until the point Rhodey crushes part of his armour (again) and blasts him out of the sky. This is the moment for Sanction to act. He unlimbers his crossbow and fires an EMP arrow which fries WM's systems. And Loco in the Locomotive Breath armour stands over him.


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Human rites
Last issue War Machine fought the armoured Rush Club (Gunship, Locomotive Breath and Sanction) in Baltimore which ended with his suit disabled by an EMP weapon. Since then he's been unconscious for a long time.James Rhodes wakes to find himself still in the armour but chained up in an ancient tower. He breaks free and breaks out to see the rest of the old stone building. Getting in touch with the GPS satellite system he discovers he's in Tblunka, capital of Baltic state Slorenia. Detecting someone above him he flies up to confront Locomotive Breath, who says he doesn't want a fight.He claims to have closed down the Rush Club and handed his 2 partners over to the police. But he's brought War Machine here to his homeland Slorenia to help his people. He takes off his helmet and introduces himself as Laslo Magzel (so Loco in the last 2 issues was a nickname, a shortened version of his armoured id). He claims to be a virtually-immortal mutant with a skill with machinery. Governments and corporations pay him for those skills. And he built armour for the Rush Club because the thrill of battle alleviated the boredom of a long life. But now WM has inspired him to use his abilities to stop the atrocities the Slorene government was doing to its own people.Magzel takes War Machine to the ghetto of the Dudak minority population where they see innocent people being slaughtered by crazed beings he calls the Targoth. Some of the people are rounded up and taken to Camps where they will be genetically mutated into more Targoth. Rhodes can't stand by and watch this. He wades in and KOs the Targoth, and then turns to the human troops that accompany them. Rubber bullets take them down. This leaves only a tank which the giant armour of Locomotive Breath quickly crushes, along with its crew.In the catacombs below the building of the ruling Tabissara council Black Brigade and his drone robots report to the Supreme Commander that Locomotive Breath has returned with War Machine in tow. BB figures that Magzel needs access to The Program to refresh his energy reserves. Apparently Magzel created The Program for them, along with Brigade's armour (and his Drones?). He relies on The Program for his extended life, but so does the Commander so they're not going to let him have it. The Commander sends Brigade to deal with the intruders.It's time for this issue's Sheva Joseph bit. She's in Chile for Worldwatch investigating human rights violations. Local journalist Jorge Mantone leads her into the Forbidden Zone of Santiago to find out what's happening. Jewish Sheva is horrified to find swastika symbols. And then the pair are discovered.War Machine tries to report *his* HR violations to Worldwatch but atmospheric conditions make communications impossible at the moment. Instead Magzel leads him out of the city to the abandoned Winter Palace where he believes the Targoth are created. Armed guards suggest he's right. LB charges them, and they report his presence before fleeing in terror. Black Brigade and his Drones take their place, and battle commences. But Magzel leaves WM to fight them alone as he heads into the Palace. BB suggests Magzel's motives aren't as pure as he made out. Rhodey suspected that all along, but he's quite happy to shred Drones until Brigade lets him go see what Locomotive Breath is really up to.Magzel is in ruined cellars searching for something, detecting it by its power output. He unearths the Eternal Triptych (that we saw empowered Ember, champion of the Dudaks, in Force Works #5). He's going to use it as *his* source of power now that the Tabissara have cut him off from The Program. Locomotive Breath had used  War Machine to hold off Black Brigade while he achieved his task.War Machine attacks Magzel before he can open the Triptych. But LB's blows damage the weapon pack on WM's back. Magzel opens the artefact, but its power is too much for him and he and the Triptych are destroyed in a blaze of light. War Machine emerges from the rubble to tell Brigade what happened.But when they've left there's no-one to notice another figure rising. It is the resurrected Ember (possibly occupying the body of Laslo Magzel).The next day Jim Rhodes is in Berlin. He rings up Force Works HQ and talks to Scarlet Witch because he knows they fought Black Brigade and Ember in their #4-5. He tells her about the Targoth. Then he checks in with Worldwatch and talks to Ranald Jeffries who tells him he's needed back there. Angry (when isn't he) Nick Fury wants to talk to him.


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Wish Upon a Star
This leg of the Crossing crossover continues from FORCE WORKS #20.War Machine flies up to the Starcore satellite that Stark built to secretly house Kang's chronographic weapon.Stark built the satellite in Iron Man #319. The chronographic weapon is intended to shift the whole of Earth out of its timeline, as has already happened to Vietnam in Force Works #17. The shifted Earth would create superbeings whom Kang would use in his Anachronaut army, as seen in Force Works #19.When Rhodey breaks in he finds the mystery woman Skye already there. She explains that her undisclosed cosmic boss wanted Rhodey to oppose Kang and Iron Man's plans. So when he lost his War Machine armour, she was sent to give him the alien Warwear armour in #18. Jim was supposed to kill Iron Man, but he let him get away in #22.Skye promises to tell Jim more about her boss after they destroy the weapon. It seems the weapon could still fire, even though War Machine helped Force Works destroy the control system under Force Works HQ in Force Works #20.They are opposed by Dirge, an alien guard in another Warwear suit, different from Rhodey's. He fatally wounds Skye.During the battle between Rhodey and Dirge, the Warwear suits also fight each other by intermeshing. From the resulting mind link Jim learns that Dirge has served Kang in his suit for decades. The suits themselves were designed long ago by and for the alien Eidolon. The suits have long outlasted their makers.Despite Jim's inexperience, his Warwear suit defeats the other one, killing Dirge. Dirge's Warwear self destructs, taking the satellite and chronographic weapon with it.Before the end the dying Skye shows Jim where in space the Warwear came from. And warns him that her cosmic master is coming. War Machine escapes back to Earth.Meanwhile at SHIELD, Kirby Martell is waiting with the ageing and dying Sheva Joseph. She is ageing because of effects of the time-travel she and Rhodey did in #15-17.This leg of the Crossing joins the other leg in AVENGERS #395.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Time will tell
James Rhodes has rushed to the SHIELD hospital bedside of Sheva Joseph as soon as he heard she was dying. She's under the care of SHIELD Agent Kirby Martell. She started experiencing timeslips in #19 and these left her dying of old age in #21. Kirby tells Jim that it's time fatigue, a result of the time quake Jim and Sheva experienced during their WWII adventure (#15-17). Meanwhile Sheva has another timeslip/hallucination of the day she met War Machine in Imaya (#2) where she went with a SHIELD squad to arrest him.Martell has Rhodes scanned by Agent Clayden to see if he is suffering from the same problem. The scans detect the alien Warwear that is now integrated into his body (since #18). And it's the Warwear that is keeping him healthy.When they've finished Jim is confronted by his angry girlfriend Rae LaCoste who came here to see Sheva but now wants to know why he hasn't contacted her since #12 where they were going to meet his parents. But 1st Rhodey explains what's happening to Sheva. Then he says that he's been very busy, and doesn't manage to tell her that their friend Tony Stark just died (in the Crossing event he's just got out of).They finally get to compare notes on #12. War Machine got dragged off into something after Jim discovered that his parents weren't happy with his girlfriend. Rae turned up later and was sent off crying. Rhodey believed the were biased against her being white. But Rae says they told her he had a son. Which is news to Jim!Their confrontation is interrupted by Kirby with news that Sheva has made a miraculous recovery. They go to see her and find her back to her correct age. But Kirby tells Rhodey and Rae she isn't sure it will last.Next day Jim is wheeling recuperating Sheva around the grounds in a wheelchair. They discuss his relationship with Rae and his parents and this surprise son. And he tells her about the Warwear armour he's now got.But Clayden has reported Rhodes' alien infection to a superior Agent Groom, much to Martell's disgust.As Jim and Sheva chat she is suddenly old again. Rhodey calls for help and they rush her inside. Kirby says Sheva's dying and asks Jim if there's anything he knows about the Warwear that could help her. Rhodey says he knows very little, but alien woman Skye who claimed (in #19) to be responsible for him getting the suit told him (last issue) he'd die if he ever removed it. Ranald Jeffries drops in from Worldwatch where Sheva and Jim work just as Rhodey agrees to let Kirby investigate the Warwear.But then Groom and a bunch of Agents turn up to take Rhodes into custody to determine the threat posed by his alien infection. War Machine  shows them that threat by manifesting his new super-suit. He bulls his way in to Sheva's room to tell her their may be a way to save her. But she dies.