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This Lady Kills
One day Angelica Jones, now aged fifteen, finds herself in the training room of the Massachusetts Academy. She is using her mutant power of microwave manipulation to try to finish her training session. The White Queen shouts telepathically for her react faster, as the last laser blast could have severely burned her. Still maneuvering, Angel apologizes to her teacher, with the promise to do better next time. Frost warns in combat there won’t be a next time, and she can’t afford the luxury of thinking through every action. She must hone her reflexes to react to danger automatically. She must let her microwave energy flow out of her body naturally, and instinctively.
Dodging another laser beam, by flying in circles, she admits she’s trying. Frost warns her not to become too off balance to assault the laser beam properly. She must straighten herself out before it can draw a bead on her. Before Frost finishes her commands, Angel exclaims she’s got it. She does, she straightens herself out and fires her microwave energy at the beam, destroying it. Frost compliments her, but warns her that the session is far from over. Angel looks behind her and screams out “Robots!” Giant robots approach her, firing beams at her. Angel thinks to herself she must pull back, and find a proper position to attack. She flies backwards, then upwards towards the robots destroying one of them. She cheers for herself. Frost warns her not to get over-confident, as the other robot has her in its sights already. Angel sees it and destroys it with ease as well. How’s that for a quick comeback, she brags. Frost is impressed, but informs her in the field, never relax your guard, even for an instant. She turns around hearing what sounds to her like a machine gun. She finds a robot that looks like Professor Xavier firing at her, taunting “die mutant witch,” as he fires a machine gun at her. Hit she falls to the ground.
After lying silent and still on the ground for awhile, Angel looks up to see Frost standing above her. Angel admits she didn’t do to well today, did she? Helping her up, Frost admonishes her if those had been real bullets, instead of gelatin dummies, then she’d be cleaning up Angel’s blood from the walls right now. Asking if she is alright, Angel admits she’s sore, but nothing is damaged, but her pride. She feels like a total jerk for losing concentration enough to fall out of the air like that. Frost tells her that a few bruises will remind her of today’s lesson that she must never hesitate when her life is in danger. Strike quickly and efficiently. Angel adds robots and lasers are easy to destroy, but people are harder. She could never use her microwaves to hurt anyone. Frost thinks to herself, that Angel is weak, but in time that will change. Angel tells Frost she was surprised to see Xavier here, she’d met him once, and he didn’t seem like such a bad guy. Taking a computer chip out of “Xavier,” Frost tells her as she has before that appearances can be deceiving.
Walking away with her Frost admits she knows these training sessions are hard on her, but they are very necessary. Anti-mutant sentiment is growing, and normal humans hate and fear them. Someday she might have to use her microwave powers to protect herself or someone she loves. Angel replies she understands and she’ll try to do better. Frost thinks how naive she is, believing everything she tells her. Entering the room, Randall excuses himself for interrupting. The technos had told him her session was over.
Angel waves, telling him it is, her and Frost were just talking. Randall tells her she better hit the showers, as she has dance class in twenty minutes. Before she is gone, Frost tells her one last thing. She has been preparing a little surprise for her, and she should stop by her office later on this after noon. Happy, she tells Randall that Ms Frost is just the greatest, she wonders what it could be.
Randall wonders to himself what it could be as well. Frost doesn’t give anything to anyone, without expecting something in return. He wonders what is wrong with him, if Frost overheard his thoughts he’d be in trouble. Seeing no reaction, he knows she must have more important things on her mind. He’s safe for now, but he must learn to control his thoughts better. He asks her how the kid’s doing and she tells him quite well. Her progress in a year and a half has been phenomenal, and she progresses more each day. Soon she will be able to use her. Randall wonders use her for what as the White Queen exits the workout room. Sealing the room until the next training session, he walks away pondering over Angelica’s safety. As the other mutant children all train as a group in the Hellions, he wonders why Angel is trained alone.
In the locker room a, his co-worker Bruno Stein taunts him about having feelings for young stuff, and they have laws against that in this state. Randall defends himself, explaining his charge is like his kid sister. Randall turns it around and to Bruno, asking about him and the rest of the Dirty Tricks Squad. Bruno admits he likes to think of them as highly motivated specialists in the Department of Social Improvement. He admits something fun is planned tonight, but he can’t share that with him. Randall knows that the only type of fun Bruno has is someone else getting hurt, badly.
Inside the underground complex Sebastian Shaw states Frost’s last report was rather disturbing. She sits relaxed in her chair staring at him on the monitor. After a few of her Hellions provoked confrontations with the X-Men and their mentor, Xavier, they were lucky no one was hurt. She reports Thunderbird II, one of her students, holds Xavier and the X-men responsible for his older brother’s death. That’s something she has fostered within him. Wishing revenge he kidnapped the X-Man known as Banshee knowing this would bring the X-Men. Two other Hellions, Empath and Roulette decided to join him. Empath using his influencing abilities coaxed Firestar into going along with it. After a confrontation with Xavier, Charles was able to convince Thunderbird they had nothing to do with his brothers death. It appears her months of telepathic work was too subtle. Her real concern lies in how Firestar took the whole thing, as Xavier had tried to recruit her as well. While Firestar worships Frost, she is being trained to be an assassin for the Hellfire Club.
As Frost admits Angel’s too weak-willed to be a killer, she is might have a solution for that mindset. From behind Shaw , a mist forms from behind a chair, and lingers over to the chair he is on. The mist takes the form of a hand, reaching for his wine and filling his glass. As he says his goodbyes to Frost, a voice behinds him startles him, asking just how the lovely White Queen is doing. Looking behind him he sees Selene. She mocks that being the new Black Queen it is her responsibility to look after him, even if it’s only filling his wine glass. If the Lord of the Hellfire Club has no further needs, she shall take her leave, she walks boldly out the door. He curses her in his thoughts, as she is growing to big for her role. He knows she will soon challenge his position as leader of the Hellfire Club’s Inner Circle. But he knows just the way to stop her.
Back at the Massachusetts Academy, Firestar is understanding the importance of her ballet class, as Frost has told her it’s importance for balance. The dance teacher, Mrs. Cohen tells her is her turn up next. Empath whispers to his teammate Roulette to toss a bad luck disc her way. Roulette knows he hates Angel, lucky for him, so does she. Roulette’s disc makes Angel trip, while Empath enhances the teachers natural annoyance into anger. Enraged, Mrs. Cohen lashes out at Angel, calling her a buffoon, and utterly incompetent. Angel knows she is usually calm and understanding. Just then she spins around knowing Empath is to blame. Now angered, Angel has grown tired of being at the butt of Empath’s jokes. Her microwave power emits from her and sets off the sprinkler system. The entire dance class gets soaked.
Later in Frost’s office, she scolds Angel for letting her powers run amuck like she did. She not only put the class’s life in danger, but possibly revealed her mutant status to the others. Still wet, Angel apologizes. Decided the matter is closed, Frost tells her they have one more thing to discuss. The little surprise she had told her about: she’s going home to visit her father in New Jersey. She hugs her teacher, and is extremely excited. soon after she leaves, a masked Hellfire guardsman enters her office. Frost asks if the arrangements have been made. After he says yes, she tells him this particular assignment is of the utmost importance to her. In her room Angel packs her bags while she tells Randall the good news. This being her first trip since she’s enrolled at the school, and going to see her father as well. Randall wonders exactly what Frost’s angle is.
Later that while Angel sleeps, her bracelet, a present from Frost herself, glows brightly. Her dreams grow to intense vivid nightmares. a monstrous elf known as Nightcrawler and a savage man with claws known as Wolverine attack her viciously .She tries to save herself, but hesitates, the monster strikes, causing fury and pain in her chest. She sits up screaming. Frost enters her room quickly to calm her. Angel tells Frost of her dream with Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Frost assures her it was only a dream. Angel is not convinced, she is sure they want her dead. As Angel covers her face to cry, Frost smiles from behind. the hallucinator on her wrist is doing just the job she’d hope for. Angel doesn’t know what to believe anymore, and she grows even more dependant on Frost.
A few days later at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, Angel spots her father. She runs up to hug him, excited, as Randall follows with her bags. She hugs him, but he seems cold and distant. Randall introduces himself, but Frost had phoned ahead of his arrival, in case of any problems. Bart Jones takes their bags and tells Randall not to call him sir, after all, he will be his guest for the weekend. Angel looks onward, hurt that her father pays more attention to a stranger than to his own daughter.
Back at her house, Angel lets out a yahoo, she’s happy to back home. Randall tells Bart he has a very fine daughter, and he is very lucky. Bart looks at the floor and agrees. Angel sees her cat., Pum’kin and quickly picks him up and hugs him. She holds her cat close, telling him they have a lot of catching up to do. Bart quickly grabs her cat from her, afraid she would accidentally hurt him. He quickly knows he was wrong, seeing the hurt within his daughter’s eyes. He tries to hug her, but she smacks his hands away. He hasn’t wanted to touch her since she got off the plane, he shouldn’t try to start now. She knows he’s afraid of her because she a mutant freak. He begs her not to use such hurtful words. She yells back at him running away, that he cannot accept what she is, and he can’t even accept her. she runs upstairs to her bedroom and slams the door. Bart knows he isn’t quite sure to handle her anymore. While he loves her, sometimes he believes she’d be better off dead than a mutant. Randall looks down, and decides their visit was too premature, and they’ll leave in the morning.
Early the next morning, they wait at the airport. Angel, head down, hasn’t said a word to her father since the previous night. Overhead an announcement is made that Randall has a telephone call on the courtesy phone. Believing it to be maybe the school the school with changed plans, he goes to the phone to discover no one on the line. Fear strikes him, and he knows he has to return to Angel at once. Walking backs towards her, he is confronted by Bruno Stein, a co worker. Questioning his reason, Bruno is just getting a paycheck like everybody else, but Randall needs to stay put for a few minutes. Meanwhile a “punk rock” guy walks by Angel bumping into her. He calls her a bimbo and she should watch where she is going. His oversized radio falls out from his hands. Angel knows he walked into her. As the radio smashes on the floor, is starts sizzling. He starts shouting at her, that she just stared at it and it burst into flame. She wonders if her powers are out of control again as they were in dance class.
Her father tries to calm the situation, offering to pay for the radio. He is elbowed by the man, who warns him to back off, this does not concern him. He continues his verbal attack, guessing she’s one of those mutie freaks everyone’s been reading about. A crowd gathers around her taunting her, telling her should be locked up away from decent folk. He father on the ground is being kicked and called a mutant lover. They grab her, as Angel cries out for them to let them go. Her microwave power heats up and shines around her. Some run in fear, as she flies above them. She fires a few blasts, watching where she aims to scare the people not hurt them. The punk who started it all pulls a gun on her, and shoots twice at her. The bullets melt, and Angel can only think she has Emma Frost to thank for this. That woman has saved her life. As his gun is no use against her, he decides to use it on her father. He points the gun at him, and Angel screams out in fear shooting him with her microwaves. He lets out a gut-wrenching scream.
Back at the pay-phone Bruno and his men hold Randall. Randall wonders what could have caused that scream as he sees people run in fear in the background. He demands to know what Bruno and his goons are doing, they at least owe him that. Bruno looks at his watch and knows the mission is complete. He offers to kindly fill him later, but now he should be with Angel. She needs him now real bad. The goons release him, and he wonders what they could have done to Angel.
Later that night, Emma Frost pours her wine. She gloats over he details of the day’s happenings reporting them to Sebastian Shaw, via the Tele-screen. Their people in the airport did well reacting precisely after the radio exploded. After Angel’s excellent “performance”, Randall got her and her father out before the authorities arrived. The agent who she fired upon is in critical condition, but that is a small price to pay for success. Shaw is pleased but wants her to have a real test. Frost slams her glass behind her, telling him a few months at the least. She knows Firestar will not fail them, and their Black Queen is as good as dead!


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Now strikes the assassin!
With a warning cry, Emma Frost pushes young Angelica Jones to the ground, a moment before sniper’s fire comes though the window. Several guards run into the room, asking if Ms Frost is all right. Someone tried to kill her, Frost explains. Luckily, she caught the sniper’s thoughts a moment before he started shooting. The guard, Stein, promises to have his men scout he school grounds. A waste of time, Emma declares, as she touches the injury on her forehead. She’s already mentally scouted the area. The assassin is gone. The name of his employer was clear though – the Black Queen.
Angelica’s private bodyguard, Randall Chase, comes running, inquiring if his charge is all right. Angelica wishes to know who the Black Queen is and why she wants Ms. Frost dead. Frost tells her it’s all rather complicated and asks Randall to escort Angelica back to her dorm.
After Randall and Angelica are gone Stein gleefully remarks that everything went according to plan. Not quite, Emma hisses, as she hurts him with a psi-blast. This was his responsibility. He should have thought to hire a marksman who wouldn’t have scarred her with a piece of flying glass.
Angelica tells Randall that this Black Queen must be a monster. She’d be dead now if it weren’t for Ms. Frost. Randall outwardly agrees but is suspicious. But he’d never convince Angelica. She practically worships Frost. Nevertheless, he wonders how that killer snuck onto their grounds without being spotted. They’ve got more security here than most missile bases. Inside the dorm, another student, Roulette, asks what the ruckus outside was. Some firecrackers, Randall tells her and asks her to go back to bed.
Inside Angelica’s room, Randall asks if she is ok. Angel tells him she’s actually worried about Ms. Frost. He doesn’t know how much she means to her. It’s been almost three years since she’d discovered she was a mutant. She still remembers the fear in her father’s eyes. She felts so alone but that’s when she met Ms Frost, who offered to train her. It wasn’t easy for her but she never gave up, not even when Angelica accidentally killed her horse, Butter Rum.
He can’t imagine how alone mutants feel in a human world. Does he remember when they tried to visit her father and she was almost torn apart by a crowd of mutant haters? Ms. Frost said that mutants have to take care of their own and she’s right. What is she saying, Randall asks. Angelica continues that she hates the thought of turning her microwave powers against another living being. But she’ll do what she has to protect the people she cares about. She shows him the bracelet Ms Frost gave her as a symbol of the love they have for each other. She swears on that love she won’t let the Black Queen harm her.
The next moment her dresser blows up, thanks to the microwave energy she was throwing around. Ashamed Angel wonders what Ms Frost would say.
Perfect, Emma Frost states, watching the display on a screen. The image of Sebastian Shaw appears on another screen. He notices her good mood and states that she must believe Firestar has actually a chance of successfully completing that first mission for them. An excellent one, she replies. What’s troubling her, Shaw asks. Emma states that, since Firestar was expendable, she never permitted her to form bonds with any of her other mutant students. But, so much time and effort went into training her, she just wishes she could get a little more use out of her before sending her on a suicide assignment. That can’t be helped, Shaw replies as they end the transmission.
Walking the halls of the Manhattan chapter of the Hellfire Club, Shaw wonders if Emma actually feels something for the girl. He walks past Selene’s quarters and the Black Queen asks if he likes the new gown she bought for their fancy dress ball. Shaw pays her the expected compliment, while secretly gloating about the surprise they have in store for her.
Two weeks later, in the secret underground complex of the Massachusetts Academy, the White Queen runs Firestar through another test sequence. Flying, she easily evades the missiles or blasts them. Suddenly, Ms Frost enters the room. Worried about her, Angelica doesn’t pay attention, almost gets hit and falls. Emma helps her up and chides her about her lack of concentration. In an actual combat situation, this carelessness could be fatal. But she was in danger, Angel protests. Emma explains that the training room has been programmed to ignore her presence. She is completely masked from its sensors.
She then commends Angel on her progress and announces that she deserves a reward. Does she wish to accompany her to the fancy dress ball in Manhattan next week? Angel loves the idea of being taken to a formal dance happily tells her bodyguard, Randall. He’s less enthusiastic and wonders if it is really wise to leave the protection of the school so soon after an assassination attempt. Is he questioning her judgement, Emma asks icily. Of course not, Randall assures her, but he remains suspicious, wondering if Angelica is in any danger.
A few nights later, he meets a colleague from operations in the bar and buys him a few drinks to loosen his tongue.
Later, he walks home shocked by what he has learned. He now knows that Frost plans to use Angel against the Black Queen. What should he do? The reasonable thing would be to remain quiet but he can’t just let Angel go off to her death. Frost is a telepath. She could be reading his mind right now. “You are right,” a voice announces and, a moment later, Hellfire guards are upon him, while Frost announces that he has outlived his usefulness.
Early the next morning,Angelica waits outside her dorm. Randall usually always escorts her to morning class. Another girl tells her there was a call. She is wanted in the headmistress’ office.
Emma tells her that she received some bad news. Late last night, Randall discovered that the Black Queen had a mole. He managed to learn the man’s identity but the information cost him his life. As Angel cries bitterly, Frost explains that the Black Queen is also going to attend the ball at the Hellfire Club. There’s bound to be trouble, so perhaps Angel should not come. Angrily, the girl tells her that now she has to come more than ever. Someone has to protect Ms Frost. Seemingly reluctant, Frost finally gives in.
A few days later, Angelica walks the fields, wondering about what’s going to happen when she meets the Black Queen. The meadow brings back memories of her horse Butter Rum, who died because of her powers. How can she use them against a human being, she wonders but decides that in this case, she must. Suddenly, she notices that the wall next to her has melted. Even with all of Ms Frost’s training, she still hasn’t full control she realizes and runs away.
A guard sees her running and wonders what she’s doing here. He returns to the shed he’s guarding. Inside is the badly beaten Randall Chase, who still hopes to somehow get free. That night, another guard brings his dinner. As he steps inside, Randall has managed to free himself of the rope and takes the man’s gun. The other guard comes running in and shoots him. Randall shoots back. His blood-loss is enormous but he tells himself that he can’t give up, as he crawls up the hill towards the school.
Inside her room, Angelica is now wearing the new dress for the party, her mood somber. She could be dead the next day. She runs outside to the dorm phone and calls her father, telling him that, while he never accepted the fact that she’s a mutant and that while he’s afraid, she still loves him. She hangs up before Bart Jones can reply, but he smiles.
Angel return to her room and a hand clasps over her mouth, as Randall tells her not to scream. With his last strength, Randall tells her the truth. How Frost meant to set her up as her private assassin. She was the one who killed the horse, not Angel. He begs her to run away. She can’t fight Frost. With those words, he dies and Angel cries out in rage, as she tears off the bracelet Frost had given her.
Meanwhile, Emma is impatiently waiting for Angelica to join her. They are due at the airport. The chauffeur offers to get her. Barely three minutes later, a guard tells Emma that Randall has escaped, while the chauffeur returns to announce that he’s found Randall’s body in Angelica’s room plus her bloody gown.
Frost finds that she can’t locate the girl telepathically. The crowd at a nearby baseball game provides too much of a distraction. She’ll need the mutant-scanner in the underground center.
Frost enters the complex to find that all the men in the control room are unconscious. Suddenly, she senses Firestar, only to be hit by a microwave burst the next moment. Angelica stands before her, dressed in her Firestar costume. Frost realizes that she knows everything and tries to subdue her with a mind blast. Before she can strike, Firestar uses her microwaves to heat the floor Frost is lying on.
Back at the Hellfire Club, Shaw is impatiently waiting but Emma hasn’t yet arrived. Selene walks down the steps mockingly asking if he’s been waiting for someone special. Never missing a beat, Shaw replies he has been waiting for her and offers to escort her to the ball.
Back in the underground complex, armed Hellfire mercs attack Firestar but, with the heat she’s generating, their bullets can’t reach her. Then she melts their guns and topples them over.
She flies straight after Frost, screaming that the woman was only using her. Frost announces that’s not true, as she runs towards the training room. She taught her how to survive, while everybody else abandoned her. Within the training center, she activates all the weaponry at its maximum level. All weapons are trained on Firestar but she doesn’t car, as she makes short work of all of them. Awed by her power, Emma tells her that she’ll never be able to control all of that power without any help. She needs her. She enters the elevator and presses the lock button. Firestar just blasts through the walls, announcing that she doesn’t need Emma. She never did. She walks towards the trapped woman, announcing that Frost wanted her to learn how to kill. She may just get her wish.
She touches Frost’s face and the woman screams, believing the girl to have scarred her face. Actually, she hasn’t. Firestar merely heated up the air molecules to give Emma a feel for what her microwaves could do to her. Why is she doing this, Emma demands. Because she hurt and betrayed her, Firestar shoots back. She just wants to be left alone. Done, Emma quickly agrees and promises she won’t have to ever fear her again. Not so fast, Firestar states. She’ll seal this bargain her own way, just so Emma won’t ever forget Angelica deliberately chose not to kill her. She starts to glow and tells Frost to run for her life. Moment later, the entire complex explodes.
A few hours later, Emma has convinced the fire department hat a faulty boiler was to blame. Shaw has joined her. Emma suggests that, while she has promised to leave Firestar alone, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t… Shaw decides against it. They’ve already wasted enough time and effort on this child. They’d better concentrate on rebuilding her complex. Revenge can come later, if at all. Still, he wonders, where she could have gone…
Back at the Jones’ house, a newly confident Angelica tells her father that the more she cut loose the more she realized that she’d always been holding back. She finally realized that she could control her powers and always had been. It just takes a lot of work. And now she can start getting on with the rest of her life. Bart tells her that he’s glad she decided to give her old man one more chance. He’s missed her. As they hug, he promises that they’ll find a way to make it together.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
My New Life
Angelica “Firestar” Jones flies down through the skyscrapers of the city, microwave energy radiating around her. She pushes her hair back out of her eyes and looks pensive. ‘You’d think I’d be happy. You’d think I’d be relieved. Well, apparently you’d think wrong’ the young mutant hero tells herself. She swoops lower, towards a road, pursuing a speeding car. ‘But that’s not this. This is a couple of joyriding bozos who think life’s a video game. Which, for me, it sort-of is in a way…. but again, that’s not this’ Angelica tells herself. Two teenagers are in the car, one of them cracks open two cans of beer. Angelica knows that this is a pair of dumb kids who blackjacked a man climbing out of his A8 and then took his keys - without bothering to look in the back seat. Firestar can see her reflection in the rear window - and a sign stuck to the window: “Baby on Board!”
Angelica knows that normally a burst tire or an overheated engine would do the trick, but this calls for a quick-and-gentle end, and lucky for her, with luxury cars like this, pretty much everything is electronic. She darts in front of the car, and one of the teens puts his head out the window: ‘Whoa! Dude, that fire chick’s gonna melt us!’ he exclaims wide-eyed.
Hovering over the front of the car, Angelica thinks that despite what the passenger-seat bozo calls her, it is microwaves that she controls. Angelica knows that if she concentrates on a broad frequency range where the control panel in the car ought to be, the ride will come to a full and complete stop - which is exactly what happens, as the car stops just in front of Firestar when she lands on the ground.
‘You two even flinch and I’ll deep-fry your eyeballs’ Firestar threatens the teenagers. ‘Not really’ she thinks to herself. ‘I need to check on the - napping baby’ Firestar remarks as she opens the rear door and sees the baby, fine, and asleep. Firestar takes to the air as the police arrive, jealous that the baby slept through the whole thing.
Soon: ‘Look at you. When’s the last time you got some sleep?’ Monica Rambeau asks Angelica as she opens her apartment door and lets her friend inside. Monica is wearing a blue robe, while Firestar has on her civilian clothes and a backpack. ‘Like, sleep-sleep? Or does it count when I lay down with my eyes closed as the room and the entire world spins around me?’ Angelica asks, flopping down on Monica’s couch. ‘You wen’t out today, didn’t you?’ Monica asks, not looking very impressed. ‘Monica - there was this baby and -’ Angelica begins, but Monica assures Angelica that she isn’t scolding her, not for doing good, but points out that she needs to know that she has to take it easier for a while longer, that she has to let the therapy do its thing so they can be sure she will be around a good, long time.
‘Therapy. When you say it like that it sounds heavenly. Like a sports massage’ Angelica replies, wondering if that is something she can do, become a certified therapist. ‘With my powers I could probably be really good at it, don’t you think?’ Angelica asks her friend. ‘Do what? What’re you on about?’ Monica asks.
‘Nothing, it’s - could I crash here tonight?’ Angelica inquires, pointing out that she is in no shape to fly home. ‘And that train commute…’ her voice trails off as she tells Monica that she just can’t go home, she needs a little break. ‘I get it, you know. The need to keep up appearances. The positive attitude, the getup… they say you’re supposed to do these things for yourself, to help you through it. But you… you’re doing it for everyone but you. That’s just how you were built. It’s how your daddy and your grams brought you up’ Monica remarks. She starts to tell Angelica that she should be really proud of herself, when she realizes that her friend has fallen asleep. ‘Aww. Look at you. You rest, girl. Don’t let the spinning world stop you’ Monica remarks, putting a blanket over her friend.
‘What would you do with a second chance at life? Here’s me:’ Angelica thinks to herself as she starts another day. At 8:50 AM, she rushes in late to a morning lecture. At 10:35 AM she argues over the phone with the financial aid department, and at 11:20 AM, continues note-taking for a treatise on early Byzantine art. At 1:15 PM, Angelica pounds her head on the desk over her third draft of said treatise, and ten minutes later, begins draft four. By 1:40 PM, she is on take three of draft four. At 2:00 PM, Angelica saves a construction worker from a fatal fall, then grabs lunch, and at 2:20 PM she attends an afternoon art-restoration symposium. At 4:45 PM, she is on the Northeast Corridor heading home. Lather, rinse and repeat….
‘We outta that shower yet, Angel?’ Angelica’s father, Bart Jones, calls out from the kitchen where he is making some food. ‘Dad…’ Angelica remarks as she enters the kitchen. ‘Hey, what do I always say?’ Bart asks. “Hot water doesn’t’ grow on trees” Angelica quotes her father. ‘Got that right’ Bart remarks, before telling his daughter that she looks great, that she has some color in her. Angelica takes the sandwich that her father hands her and replies that the train made her sick again, so it might be some sort of upchuck afterglow. ‘That’s my girl. Still can’t take a compliment’ Bart smiles. Angelica lifts up the bread on top of the sandwich and asks her father if he made it for her. Bart realizes that he has made an error: ‘Spicy cold cuts. What was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking, that’s what’ Bart mutters, before telling Angelica to take a seat, but Angelica tells him that it is okay, as she will just nuke some soup.
Angelica is able to nuke some soup with her own power, and sits at the kitchen table with her father, who asks her if she has any plans tonight. ‘I was hoping, ah… I was hoping you’d come out with me to, ah… meet this lady I’ve been seeing -’ Bart begins. ‘You have a girlfriend? When did this happen?’ Angelica asks, wide-eyed. Somewhat embarrassed, Bart tells Angelica that he is sorry he didn’t tell her, but he didn’t want to say anything until he knew ‘It was, you know…’ his voice trails off, before informing Angelica that her name is Janet, Janet Sandusky, she is a widow. ‘We have that, and she’s… well, she’s great’ Bart smiles. ‘Daddy. Such amazing news. I’m so excited for you’ Angelica smiles, getting up out of her seat and putting her arms around her father. Bart adds that there something even better - and reveals to Angelica that she went to school with Janet’s daughter. ‘You mean at the Academy, or…?’ her voice trails off. ‘No, here in Jersey. And Sandusky’s her married name?’ Angelica asks. ‘Uh-huh’ Bart replies. ‘Sandusky’ Angelica declares. ‘Yeah’ Bart tells her. ‘Cassie Sandusky?’ Angelica mutters, glancing away and narrowing her eyes.
That night, Angelica and Bart are at a restaurant and sit opposite Janet Sandusky and her daughter, Cassie. Angelica remembers being bullied by Cassie as a child. ‘Cassie Sandusky’ Angelica thinks to herself, deciding that the trick is to be cool, to pretend those days belong to someone else’s life. ‘So, Cassie… wow, how long’s it been, huh?’ Angelica asks, smiling. ‘Or not’ Angelica decides, as Cassie scowls and looks away, drink in hand.
Janet asks Angelica if her father told her that Cassie is in charge of human resources for the entire Sheinhardt Company? ‘No…  no he didn’t’ Angelica replies, before remarking to Cassie that is a lot of responsibility. ‘What would you know about it?’ Cassie asks, raising her drink to her mouth. ‘No, that’s what I’m saying. I’ve been involved in, you know, team leadership, but I don’t think I could do what you do’ Angelica remarks. ‘Hmp. Prob’ly not’ Cassie mutters, knocking back the rest of her drink.
‘So, Miss Sandusky -’ Angelia begins as everyone starts to eat their food. ‘Janet, please’, Janet replies, before Angelica asks how she and her father met. ‘Oh, it was the cutest thing’ Janet begins, revealing that she was at the work bench looking for some parts to fix her sink. ‘Hey, table drone. This place turn self-service or what’s the deal?’ Cassie rudely calls out to a waiter, holding her empty glass out. Cassie frowns as her mother adds ‘This young employee didn’t know anything, but then your father happened along. He offered to help me out and ever since then we -’ she begins, as Cassie mutters that she is about to heave. ‘Cassie, I thought we’d agreed you wouldn’t -’ Janet admonishes her, to which Cassie snaps that she isn’t twelve, and calling her mother ‘Janet’, she adds ‘Dunno if you know this, but I’m all grown up now. I get to decide for myself what I -’ she begins, as Janet interrupts, asking her to decide to behave like a grown-up in front of their friends. ‘Friends? With Angelica the freak girl? HAH!’ Cassie shouts, standing up. Bart and Janet look on, horrified while Angelica remains calm.
‘Cassie!’ Janet exclaims, starting to stand up, too, while patrons in the restaurant turn their attention to the commotion. ‘Yeah, don’t get your big white panties in a bunch, Janet, old pal… Sandusky out’ Cassie mutters as she turn and walks away, past the waiter who is bringing another drink to her. ‘Wow. Um…you want me to go after her, or…?’ Angelica asks. Janet announces that she has Cassie’s keys, so she is not driving anywhere. Bart goes over and puts his arms around Janet who is clearly upset. Bart reveals to Angelica that Cassie is going through a big, ugly divorce. ‘It’s been really hard on her’ he adds. ‘Oh, okay. Not that that has anything to do with her being all cruel and snarky in the first place…’ Angelica adds.
Life continues, with Angelica going about more of her oh-so-routine. Days pass by, and yet she just can’t shake it. She meets Monica and her other gal pals - Patsy “Hellcat” Walker and Felicia Hardy the Black Cat for lunch, and as happy as Angelica is for a day’s second chance, she is just as unnerved about Cassie. All these years, all the fantasies of her tormentor being tormented - the real thing comes along and Angelica finds herself without the stomach for it. She battles a criminal, and attends a lecture - not just without the stomach, but actually worried over Cassie Sandusky. The lecture ends and Angelica moves on, deciding that Cassie deserves a second chance, too - doesn’t she? Doesn’t everyone? Sitting at the kitchen table back home, Angelica can’t believe she is actually going to do this. ‘Maybe I should get checked for a brain tumor’ she wonders.
Cassie Sandusky sits slumped over a bar. A man approaches her and she tells him to take a hunt and invest in some mints, while he is at it. Her eyes dart in the other direction as she hears someone at the bar ask for a cranberry and soda. ‘Oh, wonderful. Little Miss Sunshine’ Cassie mutters, putting one hand over her head, while holding her glass with the other. ‘Come to cry about how mean I was to you? How you couldn’t hack it so somehow it’s my fault you got no self-esteem?’ Cassie asks, smirking at Angelica, who calmly replies ‘It’s okay, you know. It’s okay to worry about where your life’s headed. Everything turns upside down, nothing’s like it was before… maybe it never will be again. It’s only natural to be scared’. But Cassie scowls and asks ‘What in the hell are you babbling about?’ ‘Your divorce’ Angelica replies. ‘Your Mom told me how it blindsided you. I just wanted you to know that, weird as it may seem, I’m here to listen if you -’Angelica begins, unable to finish what she wanted to say as Cassie reaches down the bar and grabs someone’s glass of beer, which she then throws over Angelica’s face. ‘You don’t get to know me!’ Cassie screams.
Cassie then bursts into laughter, ‘Oh, now that takes me back. Such a loser! You -’ she begins, when suddenly, flames spread around Angelica as she dries the beer away. ‘Wait. What’re you -? No… that’s not fair!’ Cassie screams, she gets up and starts to run out of the bar, ‘Freak girl! Freak! FREEEEAK!’ she screams.
Angelica apologizes to the bar tender and puts some coins onto the counter, ‘I’m really sorry. I hope this covers it’ she tells him, before she runs out of the bar, ‘Cassie! Cassie no!’ she calls out, as Cassie gets into her car. ‘Not the smartest plan I’ve ever had’ Angelica thinks to herself as she flies after Cassie, who has pulled out into traffic. Angelica only wanted to help, but she sees now that Cassie is all over the road. Drivers honk their horns at her as she swerves about. Angelica realizes that if she doesn’t do something fast, Cassie could kill someone - even herself.
Firestar decides that electronic disruption won’t do any good this time around. ‘Sorry about this, Cassie…’ she calls out as she fires a blast of energy at one of the tires, causing the car to swerve off the road and into large pond of water. Cassie steps out of the driver’s door into the water, as Angelica hovers above her and reaches out to her. ‘Cassie, here -’ Angelica calls out. ‘No! Don’t!’ Cassie shouts, she falls over in the water, and as Angelica hovers over her, exclaims ‘This is your fault this happened! You! You did this! And I - I -’ she stammers, before she vomits.
Later, Cassie sits in front of a fireplace, a blanket wrapped around her. ‘Here. Tea should help’ Angelica tells her as she walks over to her. ‘Every time I drive home like that… the next morning I tell myself “Okay, Cassie, this is the last time”. I’m lucky I haven’t been pulled over. Or worse’ she admits, before thanking Angelica dor drying her off. ‘It’s the least I could so, considering’ Angelica replies. ‘These things you can do… I don’t understand any of it. It’s all strange and unsettling’ Cassie remarks, ‘But you must have a pretty amazing life, all things considered’ she adds. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that’ Angelica replies, pointing out that being a mutant comes with a lot of baggage, and that in every other respect, she is still definitely only human.
‘I don’t know what I’m doing’ Cassie admits, remarking that the divorce is taking her down with it, as her ex wants everything - this house, their house. ‘If I had it to do over, I would never have even gotten married. Neither of us knew who we were yet…’ her voice trails off.
Angelica reveals that she was almost married, but that in the end, things didn’t work out between them, and yet, there isn’t a day she doesn’t wish she and Vance were husband and wife. ‘You can’t know how it’ll all pan out. You go with your gut and your heart and… I don’t know. You do your best to make it work, I guess, and if it doesn’t…’ Angelica’s voice trails off, as she raises a cup of hot drink to her mouth. Cassie looks at Angelica, and asks her if she is wearing a wig. Angelica goes wide-eyed, ‘I, uh… I am, yeah’ she admits. Angelica slowly removes her long red wig, revealing her nearly bald head, save for a few small patches of red hair. Angelica looks away from Cassie, who is wide-eyed herself now, as Angelica reveals it was breast cancer. ‘They got it out, but, you know, just to be sure about everything I get the joy of chemo for a little while longer’. She adds that it is a heck of a diet plan, and not much of a sleep aid, though. ‘I don’t know what I’m doing either, Cassie. I really don’t Angelica explains.
‘Angel! Got yer breakfast ready!’ Bart calls out from the kitchen, but Angelica doesn’t respond. ‘Angel?’ Bart asks, knocking on Angelica’s bedroom door. ‘What am I doing, Dad?’ Angelica asks as she sits on her bed, holding herself. ‘Shouldn’t I be - I mean, an art masters, Dad. Spending my days and your money and all this future debt studying for a career that, you know, isn’t important?’ Angelica asks, tears falling down her face.
Bart sits down next to Angelica as she tells him that so many don’t even make it, but that she survived and here she is, living her life. ‘I mean, I’ve been given a second chance and I can’t help but feel I’m wasting it!’ she explains. ‘Angel…’ Bart begins. ‘Angel, most people go through their life never figuring out what to do with it. And those that do, most of them never go for it’. Bart points out that Angelica has a passion and is actually pursuing it - he add that she is selfless and loving towards her family and friends, and that she has helped to make the world a better place countless times with no expectation of any kind of reward.
Bart informs Angelica that, thanks to her, Cassie checked herself into rehab. He puts an arm around Angelica and remarks ‘The life you lived before the cancer? The same life you live now? Honey, there ain’t a single thing wrong with it’. Bart tells Angelica that her Mom and Nana would be proud of her. ‘I’m so proud of you. Now come on down and I’ll heat up your -’ he begins, kissing Angelica’s forehead, when suddenly, Monica Rambeau materializes in the room. ‘Angie!’ she exclaims. ‘Hi. Sorry’ She tells Bart, before announcing that thre is a thing going on up near the city - kinda big. ‘We could definitely use you’ Monica declares. ‘Daddy?’ Angelica asks, turning to her father. ‘You’re a big girl, Angel. If you’re feeling up to it, you do what you need to do’ Bart replies. ‘That’s a great kid you got there, Sir’ Monica tells Bart. ‘Don’t I know it’ Bart replies, as Firestar takes to the air.
Angelica smiles and thinks that if your character dies in a video game, you get a new life. ‘This is my new life. It’s very much like the last one. Nearly exactly’. But the difference is, this time she is going to take her own advice - go with your gut - go with your heart - do your best to make it work - and if it doesn’t…. ‘You think I’d be diminished. You’d think wrong’.


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

[Assistant]
Aftermath
Ventura, where the Hex Craft swings over the Ventura Hills, headed for the gleaming automated structure that was until recently a Stark Enterprises research and development lab. Now however it is the headquarters of the world’s newest super human team - Force Works! However, it is not the happiest of home-comings, as overhead, the Californian skies blaze with a ruddy ionic discharge, legacy of a massive explosion that has just occurred in orbital space. At the controls of the Hex Craft, is Tony “Iron Man” Stark, the founding inspiration of this team, and he is plagued with doubts and fears, and is stricken with grief as he realizes that he may be the only member of Force Works left alive.
Inside the Hex Craft, Iron Man contacts Plato, informing the computer program that he is bringing the Hex Craft into the hangar. ‘Trajectory confirmed’ Plato replies, before Tony asks him to begin a diagnostic search, committing all available systems to it. ‘I want to know the status and location of each of the other team members!’ Tony announces, while Plato replies that the search is underway.
Shortly, in the high-tech Works HQ communication hub, Plato informs Iron Man that the search is inconclusive, explaining that the Scarlet Witch, USAgent and Spider-Woman have either had their locator tags vaporized, or they are no longer In this continuum. Plato explains that, given Wonder Man’s last known position, It is almost certain he perished in the orbital explosion. ‘I’m sorry, Anthony’ Plato tells Iron Man, who exclaims that he cannot accept this. ‘We’ve been functioning for less than six hours! We haven’t even formally inaugurated the team yet…and they’re all dead or missing!’ Iron Man shouts, asking Plato if there is any chance - any at all - that they have missed something.
Plato replies that the Scarlet Witch, USAgent and Spider-Woman were ensnared by the creatures and dragged through some kind of transdimensional warp, while he is still trying to make sense of the warp’s energy profile. ‘As for Wonder Man, I fear there can be no other conclusion than that he is -’ Plato begins, before receiving an incoming transmission from the Avengers, and he puts it on screen. ‘Black Widow. What’s the situation there at Palos Verdes? And how are you?’ Tony asks Natasha Romanova, leader of the Avengers. The Black Widow replies that she will live, and informs Tony that the West Coast Compound is a mess, but the area is secure, and a team from the Vault has arrived to take the Kree terrorists into custody.
The Black Widow informs Iron Man that they also have the Recorder and the alien called Century, and that the Vision has suggested they also be confined to the Vault. With the android Vision standing nearby, the Black Widow tells Tony that she cannot believe what is happening here today. ‘If there’s anything the Avengers can do to assist you…’ her voice trails off, as Tony thanks her, but explains that this is his problem. ‘I was responsible for getting the others into this. And after breaking with the Avengers, I can’t go running back to you at the first sign of a crisis’ he adds.
The Black Widow replies that she understands, but warns Tony to be careful of his bride. ‘You know where we are, so…’ she begins, before exclaiming that Century has just vanished. Indeed, the mysterious alien, once standing nearby, suddenly disappears, and the Vision states that it was some kind of teleport, while the Black Widow suddenly sees on her monitor Century materialize behind Iron Man: ‘He’s there! Behind you!’ Natasha exclaims. ‘Indeed…’ Tony begins, before turning to face Century, and asking Plato to run a scan of their visitor. ‘Ill get back to you’ Tony tells Natasha, who is cut off before she gets to finish what she was about to say.
Iron Man remarks that Century recognized those creatures that took his teammates: ‘The Scatter, you called them’ he adds, before remarking ‘I hope you’re feeling a little more forthcoming now’. ‘Forthcoming? No. I feel perplexed. I feel lost / alienated / despised. I feel empty’ Century replies oddly. Plato informs Iron Man that his initial probe results are as follows: ‘Century is an extra-terrestrial in origin. Clothing and physical makeup contain component elements that have no corresponding match in available data’. Plato adds that the preliminary scans show physiology significantly different than any human or non-human known form, and scans suggests however that it has been surgically altered. ‘Further study will be needed to confirm this’ Plato adds.
Plato explains that Century entered Works HQ through a teleportation gateway similar to the one used to abduct the Force Works team members. ‘Further study will -’ Plato begins, before Iron Man shouts ‘Enough!’ and orders Plato to keep scanning, while he will review the findings later. Iron Man turns to the grey-skinned alien and asks Century to tell his side of the story. ‘I am Century. I have told you as much. I journey. I navigate the spaces between dimensions’ the alien replies, before revealing that his staff, parallax, enables him to sunder the fabric of dimensional space, manipulate co-ordinates and open doorways from one reality to another.
‘And these Scatter? They do the same thing? Did they learn the trick from you? Or are you one of them?’ Iron Man demands to know, before shouting that he hasn’t got time to waste. ‘Where did they take my friends?’ he shouts. Century replies that he is empty / ignorant / lost, and asks Iron Man to forgive him, as he has been travelling for so long that his memory has become eroded. ‘I believe / suspect / imagine that I encountered the Scatter a long time ago. That is how I know their name and their evil’ Century adds, explaining that he has sought Iron Man out to help him. ‘Help me? You’ll have to do more than help me, friend. You’ll have to impress me. How do you think you’re going to do that?’ Iron Man shouts.
Century replies that he cannot answer with confidence, but that he does know where the Scatter are. Century explains that parallax observed the Scatter departure gate and has discerned their transfer co-ordinates. ‘I can navigate passage for us both to the Scatter reality’ Century reveals. ‘I have no idea what I’m getting myself into, but if there’s a hope of seeing the others again…’ Tony begins, his voice trailing off as he tells Plato to keep an eye on the place, and telling Century that it is time to go. Century raises his staff above his head and tells Iron Man to stay close and not to make any sudden moves.
‘As I spin parallax, it cuts open the substance of space, revealing a pathway. The traces of energy describe the co-ordinates we must follow’ Century explains as colors light up the room, and Century explains that in a moment they will be drawn through the warp. Century warns Iron Man that he may find the process unnerving, but Tony exclaims that he is ready. Century moans, and explains that he is not accustomed to the additional strain of teleporting a companion. ‘I only hope the -’ he begins, before he and Iron Man are sucked through the portal. ‘Bon voyage, Anthony…’ Plato exclaims as he watches them go.
Elsewhere, Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch feels like she is being torn apart. ‘God’s sake please….are you…? Spider-Woman? Agent? Please -’ she thinks to herself, before regaining consciousness. ‘Ohhh…we’ve arrived I take it’ Wanda remarks, rubbing her head. Wanda asks her teammates Julia “Spider-Woman” Carpenter, and Johnny “USAgent” Walker if they are okay. Walker asks Wanda to give him a minute to clear his head, and he will start pounding an explanation out of the ugly aliens.
But while the three super heroes gather themselves from where they are lying strewn amongst bones and rubble, USAgent suddenly notices the bizarre aliens walking away. ‘You psychos aren’t going anywhere unless you tell us why you’ve dragged us to this hellhole!’ Walker calls after them, but they don’t respond. ‘Maybe you want a taste of this hard-light photon shield! Hey! Come here!’ he shouts as his gauntlets on his stunning new costume create his new photon shield. Wanda taps Walker on the shoulder and tells him to ease off. ‘We don’t know where here is’ she tells him.
‘Yeah - but why were we taken if they’re going to ignore us?’ USAgent asks, while Spider-Woman remarks that she has a nasty hunch they are going to find out soon enough, before suggesting that they follow the Scatter. The Scarlet Witch tells her friends that they should just keep their guard up, before gazing around the sprawling area, and remarking that the place is so ruined and so desolate. ‘One thing’s for sure…we’re a long way from home, my friends’. USAgent turns to the Scarlet Witch and tells her that just before they were snatched back at Palos Verdes, it looked like Wonder Man “brought it”. ‘I just wanted to say…’ he begins, before Wanda tells him ‘Later, Agent…’ and announces that the creatures are descending into some sort of burrow.
‘Guys! We’ve got company!’ Spider-Woman exclaims as a group of aliens appear on a ridge above them. ‘Strange. Stay your weapons. They are not Scatter’ one of the aliens tells his others. ‘They speak out language. But how?’ Wanda asks, while one of the aliens explains that they are of this place. ‘We are The Last’, and asks ‘What manner of alien are you?’. The Scarlet Witch explains that they call themselves Force Works, and that they were brought here against their will. ‘We want only to return home. Can you help us to escape this place?’ she asks. ‘Escape? There is none’ the alien replies.
Shortly, Force Works have accompanied the Last to some ruins, and one of the aliens explains that the ruins house their people. ‘You are welcome here - though it is hardly welcoming’ he remarks as all around, the aliens are huddled for warmth, and appear aimless. The alien explains that the Scatter came from the darkness to feed, and have all but eaten their world. ‘We are all that remain - the final stock in the Scatter’s larder’. ‘But you’re not caged in’ someone points out, to which the alien declares that there is nowhere to run. ‘They come for us when they want to feed’.
USAgent asks where the Scatter are from, to which the apparent leader of the Last replies ‘Who knows? They followed their harbinger to our world. It is he who leads them to new feasts. He is a bloodhound. They call him Century’. Wanda and Walker look at each other anxiously. ‘Century?’ Wanda asks. ‘What? He’s still on Earth!’ Walker declares, while Spider-Woman, standing near one of the female aliens exclaims that they have to get back to Earth, as Iron Man could be in danger.
Suddenly, one of the Last is struck down by the Scatter, who stand overhead. ‘What was it he said? They come when they want to feed!’ Wanda remarks. ‘Then I’m going to spoil their appetite! Shield - ignite!’ USAgent exclaims. One of the Scatter looms over one of the Last, who screams as the Scatter prepares to kill him - only for Wanda to intervene: ‘Away from him, monster!’ Wanda exclaims, blasting the Scatter with a hex-bolt, the Scatter is knocked backwards, and the resulting action shocks Wanda, as countless creatures emerge from the Scatter’s body: ‘Grubs, like putrid spiders or maggots…spilling from the creature’s carcass’, Wanda exclaims.
The Scarlet Witch turns to her teammates and informs them that the Scatter aren’t life forms, but a hosts for colonies of carnivorous insects. USAgent tells Wanda and Julia not to let the Scatter touch them, as their talons inject the bugs under your skin and eat you from the inside out. ‘I’ve seen it happen to two poor saps already!’ Walker declares. ‘Don’t touch them? But that child!’ Julia exclaims as she sees one of the Scatter approach one of the child Last. Julia proceeds to throw a psionic web at the Scatter and when it latches onto the creature, she pulls it back - only to receive a psionic backlash through the psychic web. The Scatter says something in its native language, while looming over Julia, who clutches her head and utters ‘Please…get…get out of my mind!’
Suddenly, ‘Back off, slug!’ Iron Man shouts as he and Century arrive on scene. Tony congratulates Century on bringing them here dead on target, while he fires a repulsor blast at the Scatter who was about to attack Spider-Woman. ‘Iron Man!’ Wanda exclaims. ‘The cavalry’s arrived, gang! Let’s roll!’ Walker declares. ‘Welcome to hell, you two. We could use a hand here!’ Wanda remarks as the five begin battling the Scatter. Iron Man tells everyone to cut a path straight through the Scatter. ‘I hear that, Shell-Head!’ USAgent replies, while Century lashes out at them with his staff, telling Iron Man that he can transport the five of them away from here, but not unaided, as they must reach the Scatter’s transmuter chamber, as its power will augment his.
However, Century suddenly finds a photon-shield smacked in his face, while USAgent tells him to hold it. ‘This could be a trap’ he declares, informing Century that the locals told them it was Century who led the Scatter here. ‘Did I? Then perhaps you should not trust me’ Century replies solemnly, while Wanda tells Johnny that his caution is ill-timed, as Century is their only way out of here. ‘Listen, Witch -’ Walker snaps back, but Wanda interrupts, declaring that they have to trust Century. ‘So, are you coming?’ she asks Walker.
Back on Earth, at Works HQ, Plato remarks that Nick Fury, the Vision, Captain America - the whole world - seem to want to talk to Force Works, but that he is no closer to ascertaining their whereabouts. ‘The traces of Century’s warp-gate are too complex even for me’ Plato remarks, when, suddenly, he is greeted by the Recorder: ‘Salutations’ the Recorder states. Plato turns to the strange being and remarks that his sense-net did not register him. The Recorder explains that he removed himself from the Avengers’ care, as he wishes to monitor Force Works. The Recorder remarks that Force Works offers recordable experiences on a level hitherto un-accessed by his kind. ‘I look forward to chronicling their endeavors…’ the Recorder states. ‘Just what we needed…a robotic Dan Rather’ Plato mutters.
Back on the strange planet, Iron Man flies over his teammates and Century while the Scatter are following them. ‘Move it! The Scatter have regrouped and they’re on our heels!’ Tony shouts, while Walker warns Century that, for his sake, he better know what he is doing. Century explains that the transmuter chamber is just ahead, while Iron Man tells Walker to take the point and clear them a path to the chamber. ‘You got it!’ Walker replies, while Iron Man turns around and exclaims that he will take care of the ones behind them, and blasts the Scatter with energy beams. ‘Man, that feels good!’ Tony exclaims.
Inside the chamber, Walker tells Century that it is time to put his money where his mouth is, and holds a couple of the Scatter at bay, ready to release his photon shield at them, while Century tells everyone to get on the transmute platform. ’Move it! Move it! Do as he says!’ Tony orders, and once everyone is on, Century raises parallax over his head and tells everyone to stay close and make no sudden moves - before they are engulfed in rays of color, and vanish.
An undetermined time later, inside Works HQ, Force Works and Century are sprawled on the floor, and Wanda remarks that she wouldn’t want to make a habit out of that, before asking if everybody is all right. Iron Man orders Plato to make a full update, past-time, and bio-scan them all as a safety measure. ‘Right away, Anthony. Welcome back’ Plato replies, while Wanda notices that Century is hurt, and asks him if the strain of transporting them all was too much for him. Century replies that he detected machinery in the chamber, readying to open a dimensional gulf for the Scatter’s invading swarm. ‘They are coming here, Scarlet Witch. This world is their next feast!’ Century exclaims. A worried Wanda turns to Iron Man, and tells him that it is not over yet….


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Deathblow
19.40 PM, The Works HQ, Ventura, California, home to the world’s newest super hero team - Force Works. Currently, the team is in a room known as the Chaos Computer Vault, where their newfound ally, the alien Century, is explaining to Force Works about the Scatter - a ravening, merciless, cruel alien race. Century explains that the origin of the Scatter is unknown, but it is obvious they come from an utterly alien facet of dimensional space. Century points out that the Scatter’s speed, strength and reflexes are appreciably beyond human, and their claws can cut through tempered steel, while their bodies are armored in a chitinous metal alloy compatible to titanium. ‘These body shells are actually host structures for insectoid parasites’.
Century tells Force Works that even rudimentary communication with the Scatter is out of the question, and they are impossible to reason with. ‘And they’ll be here in 72 hours’ he reveals. ‘And the bad news?’ Johnny Walker a.k.a. USAgent asks. ‘Are these facts not grave enough?’ Century replies, to which Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch explains that USAgent was joking - inappropriately, before asking Tony “Iron Man” Stark if his armor logged anything that might give them an edge. Julia “Spider-Woman” Carpenter stands by her friend Wanda while Iron Man replies ‘Not much’ and that the Scatter are interstellar scavengers, who move from world to world, devouring as they go. ‘If Century is right, we’re in for one nasty visit’.
‘It is so’ Century replies, revealing that the apparatus he saw in the Scatter’s transmat chamber as they made their escape was designed to open a dimension rift for their invasion host. ‘They have never had so vital a feast before’ Century announces. ‘This is your fault, alien!’ Walker suddenly snaps. ‘You practically admitted their appearance on Earth was your doing!’ Julia tells Walker to ease off, reminding him that Century has told them that his memories of the Scatter are weak. Century adds that it remains that way, but that what he means is simple - the Scatter unusually feast on vulnerable worlds that have been crippled by natural cataclysm. ‘This planet is alive / rich / ripe…’ his voice trails off as he is interrupted by Iron Man: ‘Enough, Century’ Tony exclaims, before announcing that it is time he introduced them all to the Chaos Computer and explained Wanda’s role in it.
‘My role…?’ The Scarlet Witch asks curiously. Tony motions to the Chaos Mainframe and explains that it is a predictor designed to assimilate worldwide data and statistically assess where crisis points will occur. Tony reveals that it will be Force Works’ prime weapon to proactively guard the planet. ‘Its accuracy surprises even me’ he adds, before remarking that if Wanda were to interact with it with her probability altering hex powers, they could achieve and almost perfect success rate. At Tony’s direction, Wanda centers herself in the dataflow - which is basically a stream of purple energy, interjected with colorful shapes. ‘This is weird…’ Wanda remarks, while Tony tells her to concentrate and visualize the Scatter, to manipulate the data solids with her hex. ‘Pinpoint the focus. The focus of the Scatter attack!’
20.15 PM, Wanda exclaims that it is no use, that she cannot clear her mind enough to interact. ‘I…I can’t stop thinking about Wonder Man…’ she explains. ‘Neither can I, Wanda…and the guilt is eating me up’ Tony replies, before telling Wanda that if they don’t get a result here, Simon’s death will have been for nothing. ‘Okay. Okay’ Wanda replies, asking Tony to re-engage the dataflow so she can try again.
20.46 PM, inside the Force Works training suite known as the Vroom Room, where USAgent, wearing a leather jacket with an American flag on the back, and large shoulder pads with authentic tassels, battles some holograms. ‘YAAH! Photon shield ten points, holo-fodder nil!’ Walker boasts as his new photon shield bashes through the Vroom Room’s creations. When he finishes, Walker tells the computer to cancel the program, before turning to Julia, and telling her that she should try this. ‘Sure blows away the cobwebs. Heck, I’ve almost forgotten how little I trust that freak Century’. Walker tells his friend that she looks washed out. ‘What is it? Wonder Man?’ he asks. Julia replies that she wishes it was, but right now she cannot get the Scatter out of her head. Julia explains to Walker that the psychic feedback she caught let her glimpse into the Scatter’s mind. ‘Agent, they absolutely terrify me…’
20.51 PM, on the residential level of Works HQ, Century follows Plato down the corridor, and Plato motions to a set of doors, explaining to him that he has assigned him these quarters. ‘I hope you find them…’ Plato begins, before getting interrupted by the enigmatic Recorder ‘Salutations!’ the Recorder exclaims. ‘Bless me!’ Plato gasps, surprised by the Recorder’s arrival. Plato remarks that he does not know how the Record cloaks himself from his sense-net, but it is beginning to degrade his patience software. The Recorder apologizes to Plato, and remarks that he is intrigued by the alien Century. ‘As a source of experimental data, he -’ The Recorder begins, before Plato announces that Century is receiving a summons from the Scarlet Witch.
20.53 PM, inside the Chaos Vault, Tony helps Wanda down from the mainframe, ‘Steady’ he tells her, while USAgent, with Spider-Woman standing at his side, asks ‘Well, what’s the word?’. A weary Wanda announces that it’s Houston. ‘It’s going to be Houston Texas’.
Shortly, Houston, 21.46 PM, USAgent pilots the Hex Ship, and the Scarlet Witch asks Walker to put them on a landing approach for the city center, before asking Julia for a sensor check. Julia replies ‘See for yourself’ and remarks that there are unseasonal katabatic winds, and dense spiral pattern cumulonimbus cover. ‘These weather formations aren’t natural. There’s also a way hot electro-static focus about a kilometer ahead’ Julia adds, before announcing that local radio and TV are now reporting mass panic, and people are fleeing into the downtown center. ‘Let’s deploy fast!’ someone exclaims as countless civilians rush to the center of Houston city.
Moments later, Force Works and Century race through the crowd, while Walker asks Iron Man ‘When did the alien get voted to the team?’. ‘Later, Agent…much later!’ as the heroes come across the enemy: ‘Scatter!’ Iron Man shouts, pointing out that they have their rift-generating equipment with them. ‘Force Works…it’s time to roll!’. Force Works begin fighting the Scatter, and USAgent shouts ‘Swing that blasted javelin, weirdo! This is my world you’re fighting for now!’ at Century. Century replies that he needs no urging / encouragement / advice. ‘None at all!’.
Spider-Woman darts over the top of the Scatter, kicking them with her powerful legs, as she announces that she counts twenty-five of them, and suspects that they are the advance guard. The Scarlet Witch unleashes a hex-blast, telling Julia that she agrees, and remarks that they are probably setting up a beachhead. ‘Iron Man’ Wanda shouts as she sees one of the Scatter creep up on Iron Man, but she blasts the alien, saving Iron Man. ‘Thanks, Wanda’ Tony replies.
A noise is heard coming from USAgent’s costume, and Walker reports that it is the gauntlet alarm, meaning his photon shield has soaked up it’s energy limit, and he has to dump the photon charge where it will do the most good - and he does so, slamming it into two of the Scatter. ‘Shield re-ignite!’ Walker commands, adding ‘These slugs are gonna take some beating’ as he moves towards more of the Scatter, but Julia tells him to wait, offering to wrap them into a more manageable target. ‘If I can conquer my revulsion of them long enough to cast a decent psi web!’ Julia thinks to herself, before using her psychic abilities to wrap psionic webbing around several of the Scatter.
Iron Man tells Spider-Woman to keep it steady. ‘I’ll take it from here!’ he shouts as he unleashes a powerful repulser ray against the remaining Scatter, who consequently explode. ‘That took care of their infantry. Now their hardware…’ Iron Man begins, before noticing that the generator is coming on line. Century lashes out at the generator with his staff, parallax, and exclaims that the equipment has sheathed itself with an energy field, and parallax cannot cut through it. Suddenly, Tony warns everyone to get back, as he is detecting a massive power surge. ‘EVERYONE DOWN!’ he shouts.
But Iron Man’s words are engulfed in an energized roar, as the alien technology lets rip into the Texas skies, as brittle Time-Space tears open under the onslaught and a giant wormhole blossoms overhead. Almost at once, vast chunks of planetesimal debris begin to hurtle through - an overture to the Scatter’s ruthless invasion. Iron Man asks Century if the hole can be sealed, but Century replies that without access to the Scatter’s machinery he cannot even theorize a way. ‘Not what I wanted to hear!’ Iron Man snaps back as he unleashes a multitude of repulser ray blasts at the falling debris. Tony tells Walker to shield the others with his photon-shield. ‘I’ve got some bad news!’ he announces, revealing that his sensor readings show that the volume of matter on the far side of the rift is immense.
‘The Scatter are collapsing their previous host planet and blasting the debris at us!’ Tony announces. Century suddenly reveals that he remembers this, and declares that this is the Scatter’s way - to use their last victim to murder their next. ‘You know about this?’ the Scarlet Witch asks, shocked. Century replies that they must destroy their energy source, and he must warp back to the Scatter world. Wanda tells Century to get her there and she will hex the life out of their systems if that is what it takes. Tony announces that he is going with them, but Wanda tells him that he isn’t, as he has to handle things here. ‘But…’ Tony begins. ‘Team leader’s call, Tony. You stay. Agent goes with me’ Wanda declares.
Iron Man isn’t happy, but Agent breaks the tension - or adds to it - as he exclaims ‘You heard the chief, Shell-head. I’ll ride shot-gun’. Tony tells them to go and be careful. As Century begins the warp, Walker tells Tony to worry about his own backside. ‘We’ll be fine!’ he boasts. ‘Blast it! I don’t like this at all!’ Iron Man exclaims, turning to Spider-Woman. ‘The potential end of the world, or being ordered around by Wanda?’ Julia asks. ‘Both!’ Tony replies, to which Julia tells him that he shouldn’t have made Wanda the boss. ‘As for the end of the world, if we don’t start swatting these meteors, Houston’s going to end up flatter than road kill!’ Julia points out, before Iron Man exclaims that he has an idea, and asks Julia ‘How are you at working miracles?’
Meanwhile, in warp space, Century apologizes to Wanda and Walker, telling them that this close to an active wormhole the dimensional currents are violent / distressing / exhausting. ‘Next time, fly me first class. This is knocking my guts for a loop!’ USAgent declares. ‘Not to mention the mind-blowing view’ Wanda adds, pointing to the Scatter world which is pouring away through the rift, like sand through the neck of an hourglass. Century notes the Scarlet Witch’s observation, before telling Wanda and USAgent to brace themselves, as they are about to exit the warp.
Moments later, the trio are back on the planet they recently escaped from, ‘What do we smash first?’ USAgent asks, before Century explains that the power core is their target. ‘But take caution - these pods contain the Scatter elite, held in protective stasis for the rift-transit!’ Century explains, to which Walker remarks that he will be sure not to wake them, when suddenly, several of the Scatter elite burst through. ‘Holy!’ USAgent shouts, before telling Wanda and Century to take the power core. ‘These mothers are mine!’ Walker exclaims as he ignites his photon shield.
Walker begins taking down the Scatter, thinking to himself that he has to keep this fast and loose - ‘Keep these ugly suckers reeling and diving…and a photon shield at high velocity is a good start!’. When he has finished destroying the Scatter, Walker asks Wanda and Century how it is going, to which Century replies that it is not going well, as neither of them can disrupt the energy flow, and the transfer is about to occur.
Back in Houston, the accelerating planet debris continues to tumble through the rift - straight into a massive catch-net of psychic webs! ‘Your psi-web’s doing the trick!’ Tony tells Julia, telling her to keep at it and hold it steady. Julia replies that she doesn’t know how long she can hold it, as she has never spun a web this size before. ‘It’s just a question of tolerance! Sooner or later, the debris mass will exceed my webbing strength!’ Julia exclaims. Under immense pressure, Julia tells herself to reinforce her web with layer after layer and mend and patch any splits. ‘And do anything I have to keep those creatures off my world!’ she adds.
Back on the falling planet, Wanda tells Century to think, and asks him how the Scatter steer their planet-ship during these rift jumps. Century replies that they use automatic systems and pre-program their navigation controls, and duplicate the routes that he takes. ‘They observe my instrumental journeys and plot their course along the same paths’. Wanda tells Century to use parallax to plot another pathway and she will hex the specifics right into the heart of the Scatter’s control core. As Johnny is grabbed by some of the Scatter, he shouts ‘Move it, you two! Move it!’, to which the Scarlet Witch, conjuring her hex, tells her friend that she is almost there, but it has to be precise if she is going to override the Scatter navigation system. ‘I only hope that -’ Wanda begins, but she is cut off as the rift transfer in space suddenly drops away.
Everything inside the rift transfer is plunged into the void, stretched out into infinity by the seething vortex of the gravitational rift. The mass of the enter Scatter planet accelerates to the threshold of light speed, and exits from it’s native reality through the wormhole brighter than a billion suns. And in its wake, the outraged forces of nature surge in to repair the brutal cosmic wound.
In Houston, the Time-Space rift slams shut with massive force, and Iron Man pushes Spider-Woman to the ground, covering her with his armored form to protect her. ‘Theories?’ Julia asks. ‘The wormhole collapsed. Violently, The others must have managed -’ Tony begins, when suddenly, Walker, Wanda and Century return, ‘Right. To send Scatter world to the other side of creation’ Wanda exclaims, interrupting Tony. The Scarlet Witch explains that they could not prevent the rift-jump, so they gave the Scatter a new place to go instead. Wanda adds that she doesn’t pretend to appreciate the scale involved, but that Century assures her the Scatter have ended up on the other side of Space-Time.
The Scarlet Witch adds that they gated out at the last moment, before declaring that they need to impound the Scatter survivors and start the clean-up. ‘Thanks, Wanda. It’s great to see you, too…’ Julia tells her friend.
Meanwhile, at Works HQ in Ventura, California, serene and quietly perfect, the structures automated systems tick away in the empty afternoon. They have pre-programmed work to do. They get on with it. The Chaos Computer for instance is constantly sweeping the planetary data net for high-profile singularities - like the one it has just found - an imminent crisis in Slorenia, a Baltic State, with a 97% certainty that there is  something wrong there. Suddenly, someone presses a button on the Chaos Computer, cancelling the priority-1 alert. It’s the enigmatic Recorder. ‘Interesting…’ he states as he strikes his chin….


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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Ignition (First Story)<br>Familiarization (Second Story)
First Story:
Tblunka, the divided capital of the Baltic nation known as Slorenia. Beneath the night sky, the sound of mortar-fire rolls in on the mountain mist. In the ragged northern quarter, urgent voices cut the chilly air - the peasant families do not want to leave, but the state troops have evacuation papers. The civil war is moving this way and will engulf them if they stay. ‘Get them out of here!’ growls one of the officers, before he heads upstairs to search for more peasants. He is tired and his stomach is empty. He is thinking about hot soup and his warm bed back at the barracks. He hears his colleague stammer out an old folk curse, and suddenly feels the aching cold - and sees the last thing he will ever see - a mysterious being with green energy flashing around him suddenly lash out with sharp claws and slice the soldier apart.
Meanwhile, half a world away, inside the Vroom Room, the high-tech training suite at the Works HQ in Ventura, California. Nineteen hours have passed since Force Works’ baptism of fire in Houston. Now, the Scarlet Witch a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff, exorcises as she exercises. Hard-light holograms of Master Pandemonium’s horde reel as she gets rid of her angers and anxieties. At least some of them do - others, like her father, Magneto, haunt her - as does Wonder Man, whose sudden death  has robbed Force Works of a priceless element, and Wanda of a long-time friend. Am image of Wonder Man appears in Wanda’s mind - she cannot center the hurt and deal with it. It consumes her.
Wanda calls out to Plato and tells him to end the program, adding that she is going to the Chaos Chamber. Suddenly, the enigmatic Recorder approaches Wanda. ‘Early riser, I see’ the Recorder remarks, to which the surprised Scarlet Witch replies ‘What? Recorder! Yes…good morning’. The Scarlet Witch tells herself that she hates the way the Recorder lurks around the place. ‘We must decide what to do with it!’ she adds. Moments later, Wanda enters the Chaos Computer’s data flow, telling herself that she will deal with the Recorder later, and begins to use her hex power within the Chaos Computer as Iron Man showed her.
Wanda reminds herself that Wonder Man claimed he was immortal, that it was impossible to disrupt his ionized form in any permanent way. ‘If there’s any chance that’s true, maybe I can locate his -’ Wanda begins, when suddenly, an alert appears on the Chaos Computer, informing Wanda of an emergency in Slorenia. ‘What on Earth?’ Wanda gaps, before calling out to Plato. The hologram appears and tells Wanda that he sees it - a major spike in the probability curve. Wanda declares that it came out of nowhere as she was probing the dataflow, before ordering Plato to get the others here now.
In her quarters, Julia “Spider-Woman” Carpenter sits at the breakfast table, while her daughter, Rachel, stands nearby, and Consuela - Rachel’s nanny and former housekeeper to the Avengers West Coast - busies herself in the kitchen. Suddenly, Plato appears, apologizing for the intrusion, he informs Julia that there is a situation. ‘Hi, Plato. Want some toast?’ Rachel asks the hologram, while Julia tells her daughter that duty calls again, but Consuela will fix her breakfast. ‘Okay, Mom. I guess I’ll see you later’ Rachel replies.
In the quarters of the handsome Johnny Walker a.k.a. USAgent, the aggressive hero is woken by Plato, who informs him that he is to report to the Chaos Vault. ‘Find. Good morning to you too, neon boy’ USAgent mutters as he gets out of bed, which is under a large poster of the United States flag, the words Long May She Wave written on it.
In his newly assigned quarters, the alien Century is watching Beavis and Butthead  on television. ‘I will go there directly, Plato’ Century declares after Plato informs him of the situation. Century then vanishes via teleportation, and Plato remarks to himself that it really freaks him when Century does that.
Meanwhile, in the foyer of the Works HQ, Tony Stark is introducing Veronica Benning to Amanda Chaney and Fisher Todd. Stark explains that Amanda will be handling all of Force Works public relations, while Fisher is the technical chief. ‘Hello’ Amanda remarks. ‘He there, Miss Benning’ Fisher smiles. Tony is about to announce when they are going to run through the introduction briefing, when Plato suddenly materializes. ‘What’s up?’ Tony asks, to which Plato announces that something requires his immediate attention. This causes Veronica to shout ‘Enough!’, telling Tony that he is driving himself too hard. ‘Even Felix agrees…remember him? Your COO back at Stark Enterprises?’. Tony smiles as he tells Veronica that sarcasm doesn’t suit her, and declares that he has to tend to this matter. He bows as he tells Amanda and Fisher that he will see them shortly, and welcomes them aboard, adding that Plato will supervise the briefing in his absence.
Shortly, the aircraft known as the Pegasus streaks across a cloudy sky, and Spider-Woman announces that it is cruising at mach three, with the course logged and status green. ‘Cozy…the whole gang’s here! The alien, too. Just like he was a member of the team already, eh, Century?’ USAgent remarks as he pilots the aircraft. The Scarlet Witch tells Walker that she understands the liveware helmet he wears allows thought control of this hex ship provided he is concentration. ‘So concentrate and keep quiet’ she orders. USAgent just scowls at Century, who grimaces in return.
Iron Man tells everyone that the Slorenia crisis is a real surprise, and he cannot understand why it peaked so high without alerting them. Wanda declares that she only stumbled on it because she was trying to ascertain the certainty of Wonder Man’s death. ‘Do you think he might still be alive?’ she asks Iron Man. Tony replies that he believes Wonder Man’s statement that his ionized being was virtually immortal, that it could self-repair by reconfiguring its energy pattern. ‘But when that Kree warship went up, it discorporated him at an atomic level. His energy still exists, but the essence that gave it structure is gone’. Tony pauses before adding ‘Simon’s dead. If only -’, but Spider-Woman urgently interrupts him, telling everyone to hold on, as they are about to enter Slorenian airspace. ‘What’s the story here?’ Julia asks.
Iron Man explains that Slorenia is an ex-soviet satellite that gained independence when the USSR busted up. ‘It overthrew the communists and set up a free market economy governed by the heads of state’. Iron Man adds that the new regime has been petitioning Stark Enterprises for industrial aid and investment. The Scarlet Witch tells her friends that Slorenia borders Transia, where she and her brother Quicksilver were born. ‘I knew it well’ she adds, before revealing that there are two very distinct ethnic groups - the ruling Slorenes and a fiercely independent minority called the Dudak. ‘There have been racial tensions for years’.
Tony tells everyone that they are still in the dark about the nature of the crisis the Chaos Computer picked up, but his guess is that they are walking into the middle of a civil war. ‘Head’s up, gang!’ USAgent announces, declaring that they have two Slorenian air-force on a shadow intercept. In their native tongue, one of the Slorene shouts something over the communicator. ‘Yeah, right…uh, Wanda?’ USAgent mutters. Wanda replies to the Slorene, who responds in kind. ‘Doi, but I would prefer English!’ the Scarlet Witch announces, informing the soldier that they are inbound from the United States as emissaries of Stark Enterprises. Wanda adds that they request a dialogue with their government.
The soldier replies that they will escort Force Works to Tblunka Airport, where representatives of the council will meet with them. Suddenly, the two air-force jets are blown out of the sky by ground ’Sweet Lord! Ground fire! Tearing into us!’ USAgent announces as he steadies the hex craft. Julia announces that the liveware is down and that they are losing peripherals. ‘I know it!’ Walker declares, asking Spider-Woman to cut him to manual. ‘Everyone else…hang on to your lunch!’.
Moments later, the hex craft bounces along the rocky ground. ‘Ow, ow, ow!’ someone exclaims, before the door to the hex craft opens and Force Works emerge. ‘Nice landing, Agent’ Spider-Woman exclaims, to which Walker snaps back ‘We’re alive, ain’t we?’ Wanda tells Johnny that Julia was being sincere. ‘Your crash control was superb’ she tells him, before ordering everyone into a tight formation. ‘Let’s find out wh -’ Wanda begins, before they discover several soldiers scattered across the terrain, their vehicles upturned behind them. ‘These warriors…they are non-functioning / dormant / desta -’ Century begins, before Iron Man interrupts, telling him that the world is “dead”.
Wanda announces that it is a Slorenian army unit. ‘Torn to pieces…what in Heaven’s name did this?’ she wonders solemnly. Iron Man reports that there are no traces of conventional weaponry and that the blast which took them down wasn’t started ground-to-air technology either. ‘What the? The air temperature just dropped ten degrees!’ Iron Man announces. Indeed, frosty breath can be seen coming from Force Works, while Century declares that he believes they should rotate their attention to the contrary position. ‘I think he means…behind us!’ Spider-Woman exclaims.
Green energy ripples around them and fire burns, as the mysterious super being who earlier killed the troopers stands amongst the dead bodies of these soldiers, and shouts something in his native tongue. ‘I never took Slorene 101, but your meaning’s clear enough!’ USAgent exclaims as he ignites a photon shield from each of his gauntlets, and slams the energy into the mysterious villain. But Walker’s photon energy shields have no effect, the villain just shrugs them off, before casting his own energy towards the heroes, slamming USAgent into Century, both men are knocked against a large structure, which begins to crumble. An instant later, Century has teleported himself and Walker to safety. ‘You transported us clear?’ Walker exclaims. ‘Indeed…cool, was it not, you dumb jerk?’ Century asks, picking up language he learnt from Beavis and Butthead.
‘We have got to censor that guy’s TV viewing…if we ever get home again!’ Julia exclaims as she leaps into the air, and casts some psi-webs at the villain, narrowly dodging his energy claws, which shred through her webbing. The villain shouts something at Spider-Woman, who lands on the other side of him, ‘Now I’m a sitting duck!’ Julia tells herself. The villain shouts something else, when the Scarlet Witch jumps in front of Julia, telling her friend to stay behind her, as she has hexed-up a barricade of debris, which should slow him down - but he just smashes the debris aside.
Iron Man hovers over the villain: ‘That’s four of my team you’ve swatted like bugs. I don’t need a better excuse to take you down!’ Iron Man blasts the villain with phased plasma streams. ‘Hurts, doesn’t it?’ Iron Man asks, while the villain screams in agony, blood spills from his mouth, while green energy continues to flow from his eyes and hands, and he shouts something else in his native language, before he begins to block Iron Man’s second assault with his own energy weapon. Tony continues to fight back, thinking that the villain’s power is abnormal, supernatural. ‘My suit system’s already overloading - can’t discharge the energy!’ Tony thinks to himself, before his system shuts down, and he falls to the ground, where his teammates have gathered.
After a time of unconsciousness, Tony asks them if they are okay, ‘Or is that a stupid question?’ he asks, before USAgent asks ‘What happened?’. Tony replies that his systems overloaded, and the energy backlash hit them all hard. ‘Whoever…whatever he was…I’ve never encountered a force of that type before’ Iron Man remarks, while Century adds that he has not either, but points out that their foe seems to have vanished during their unconsciousness. Century announces that he does however sense something else approaching them, and the heroes look up, where they see a turbo-copter gunship with Slorene markings.
‘Let’s not be undiplomatically shall we?’ Tony suggests. ‘Who, us? Besides, it’s only an army chopper…full of killer robots!’ USAgent exclaims, surprised as several armored beings approach Force Works, one of them looks different to the others, and exclaims ‘Attention…foreign interlopers. You have violated Slorene air-space. You downed two air-force migs. You decimated a national army unit. You were give no provocation for these acts’. The armored being reveals that he is appointed protector of the Slorene nation. ‘I am Black Brigade. And now I make you pay!’ he booms….
Second Story:
Works HQ, in the conference room, Plato addresses Amanda Chaney and Fisher Todd who sit at the conference table, various files laid out in front of them. Plato informs them that Mr Stark regrets that he is unable to conduct the briefing in person, and hopes that they will not mind being lectured to by he, a hologram analog. ‘I think we can contain our disappointment, Plato’ Amanda Chaney replies dryly, while headshots of Iron Man, the Scarlet Witch, USAgent, Spider-Woman, Wonder Man and Century appears on a monitor.
Plato begins by introducing the Scarlet Witch a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff, explaining that her mutant hex power allows her to manipulate probabilities which she supplements with a knowledge of applied magicks. Various images of the Scarlet Witch over the years are displayed, as are headshots of her father and brother. Plato announces that Wanda’s father is Magneto and her brother Quicksilver, to which Amanda interrupts, declaring that the Scarlet Witch’s family background is public knowledge, before commenting that the Scarlet Witch has been made team leader. ‘Indeed. A job which she is amply qualified for’ Plato replies as an image of the Scarlet Witch alongside Captain America, Hawkeye and Quicksilver appears on the screen, and Plato remarks that as an Avenger, the Scarlet Witch served with one of that team’s earliest and most illustrious line-ups.
USAgent is next on screen, and Plato introduces him by his alias Jack Daniels, opposed to his true name John Walker, and reveals that he acted as a replacement for Captain America for a time, before becoming USAgent. Plato points out that upon joining Force Works, USAgent ditched his old costume and shield, both of which had been modelled on the Captain’s originals, and Walker’s new Stark-designed armor boasts gauntlet-mounted photon shields. ‘According to the file, this guy is notoriously difficult to handle’ Amanda remarks.
Next up on the monitor is Spider-Woman a.k.a. Julia Carpenter, and Plato explains that she derives her arachnid power from a latent psionic source. Headshots of her daughter Rachel and the child’s nanny, Consuela are projected as Plato explains that they are also stationed at Works HQ. ‘Wow!’ Fisher mumbles, eyes-wide, as he checks Spider-Woman, whose image is making a striking pose, out.
‘Iron Man…surely needs little introduction’ Plato remarks as Iron Man in various armors that he has donned over the years appears on the monitor next. Plato remarks that as an Avenger and guardian of Stark Enterprises, Iron Man’s exploits are world famous. He adds that the latest generation armor suit is the most capable yet made. ‘So who is he?’ Fisher Todd asks. ‘Mr Todd?’ Plato replies, taken aback. Fisher declares that he and Amanda have the highest possible clearance, and know the names of the others. ‘Why not Iron Man?’ he asks.
Plato simply replies that he cannot discuss that, and moves on to Wonder Man, whose image appears next on the monitor. Plato explains that Wonder Man was to be the fifth member, but he was tragically killed in action during an attack by a Kree hit squad earlier this month. ‘Tragic is right. Bad publicity like that is the last thing a new team needs’ Amanda remarks.
The alien Century appears on the screen and Plato explains that he is a mystery who appeared by dimensional teleport during the aforementioned Kree incident. ‘Nothing has been made official as to his status’ Plato points out. Amanda Chaney points at the screen and states that she hopes that changes soon, as the public will react badly if they find out an untested - possibly illegal - alien has been casually inducted into the team. She adds that she will have to talk to Stark and Iron Man about this, before telling Plato that she would like to interview Century without delay.
Plato informs Amanda Chaney that such meetings will have to wait until the team returns from its current mission in Slorenia. ‘Slorenia? That’s a non-NATO affiliated country with serious internal problems!’ Amanda screams furiously, adding that Stark Enterprises has steered clear of it for months. ‘How am I expected to run smooth PR if they recruit aliens and gatecrash foreign wars?’ Amanda asks. Fisher tells Amanda to take it easy, to which Amanda exclaims ‘Easy, Fisher? This is -’ she gets out of her seat, but before she can continue, the doors to the conference room open. ‘Hi, I’m Rachel! What are you doing in here?’ Spider-Woman’s curious daughter asks, smiling.
Amanda Chaney tells Rachel that she should not be in here and that this is an important meeting. Rachel apologizes and explains that she just got back from school, and is bored. Fisher asks Rachel if she would like a tour of the complex from someone who knows how it works. ‘Neat!’ Rachel smiles, to which Fisher tells her ‘Then let’s go!’ and introduces himself as he leads her out of the conference room, telling Amanda to hold the fort here. ‘Public relations is your department, anyway…’ Fisher calls out as he leaves the room. ‘Darn!’ Amanda mutters, before telling Plato to run the introduction once more, as she sits down at the table, and an image of the Force Works team appears on the monitor.