Avenging Shadows - Part 23

Several days passed of relative peace for the Avengers International team. With the exception of a brief battle with the mutant, The Blob, over in Berlin by Hercules, The Black Knight, and Ms. Marvel, it made for some quiet and lazy days.

"So what's on your agenda for today, Hank", the Black Widow asked Dr. Pym as they sat and chatted over an early breakfast.

"Still working on trying to make sure that Sharon's transformation back to human is permanent. I've got a conference call scheduled with The Beast, Reed Richards and Moria MacTaggert at 11:00am to compare notes and theories. And Barnabas Collins is scheduled to come by tonight for some tests so I can resupply him with more of the serum that allows him to move about during the daylight hours."

"Sounds like you have a full days agenda ahead of you", the Widow smiled.

"Well, I'll be headed back to Los Angeles in a few days and I don't want to leave any loose ends here in Europe", Hank agreed.

"I wish you'd consider relocating here to our team", the Widow said. "We could really use you here."

"You don't need me", Hank smiled. "Dane is perfectly capable of any mechanical and lab work you need and from what I've observed, Sharon has quite the head on her too."

"I'm not doubting their abilities, but I'm just wishing we had full-time access to yours", the Widow said.

"Don't get greedy", Hank Pym laughed. "As a man who's had five seperate super-hero identities, there is more than enough of me to go around."

"Touche", the Widow agreed.

"Besides, as beautiful as Europe is, I'm just not ready for a full time European lifestyle", Pym added.

"How so?", the Widow asked.

"Driving on the left hand side of the road?", Pym remarked. "That takes some getting used to."

"Coming from a man who regularly flies around in a semi-concious, talking ship called Rover", the Widow laughed.

"Robots and flying ships, I can deal with", Pym said. "But people driving on wrong side of the road? It just creeps me out!"

"You're an odd fellow at times, Hank", the Widow smiled once more.

"That's what Jan always said too", Pym laughed. "I think that's why she married me."

"Possibly", the Widow laughed. "But I think those dashing green eyes may have helped."

"Could be", Pym laughed. "I need to call Jan too."

"What's this?", the Widow asked. "Is there something brewing between our resident scientist and his ex-wife, the winsome Wasp once more?"

"Nope", Hank said. "Our marriage is over, but we have resolved most of our differences and become great friends again."

"That's good to hear", the Widow smiled.

"Oh, geez!", Pym said, standing up. "Sorry to rush off, Natasha, but I just noticed the time. I've got to get to the lab and review my notes before the conference call."

"Have fun", the Widow smiled. "And tell Reed and the Beast I said hello!"

"I will", Hank said as he rushed out the door.

The Widow sat back and reflected to herself for a few minutes in the quiet of the small dining area.

"I suppose that I should also get moving", she thought as she stood up. "I've got paperwork to catch up on. Maybe I can get a workout in the Dungeon this afternoon as well."

And with a quick stretch, the Widow walked out of the room and headed towards her office.

**

In one of the recreation rooms of the vast castle that served as the Avengers headquarters, Issac Christians and Sharon Ventura are relaxing, watching television.

"Have you ever decided about doing that movie role I heard you were offered", Sharon asked.

"The one about being a nanny?", Issac asked. "No, I decided that it would be better to pass on that."

"Too bad", Sharon laughed. "It would have been fascinating!"

"It would have been embarassing", Issac admitted. "I'm still not very comfortable in the spotlight."

"I thought you liked doing the talk shows and making appearances", Sharon inquired.

"Not really", Issac sighed. "I was hoping that if I got more used to being in the spotlight, it would make me feel more comfortable as an Avenger, but so far, it realy hasn't worked."

"I know what you mean", Sharon agreed. "When I was with the Fantastic Four, I always felt so insecure...like a fifth wheel."

"From what I understand, you fit in quite well with that team", Issac commented.

"Susan, Reed and especially Ben went out of their way to make me welcome", Sharon admitted. "Working with the team was great, but all the publicity and noteriety... that was hard to deal with."

"I hear you", Issac agreed. "When I was with the Defenders, we were always under the radar and the press never paid us any attention. But since I've joined this team, we're constantly in the spotlight. I didn't like it when I was a politician and I'm not so happy with it now."

"So what do you do? What do we do?", Sharon asked.

"We just do our best and deal with it", Issac smiled.

"You make it sound so easy", Sharon admitted.

"It's just one day at a time. We can accomplish quite a bit here and do a lot of good for a lot of people", Issac said. "And if that means occasionally having to deal with the press or an adoring public, so be it."

"It's not easy", Sharon agreed. "But I see your point."

"So what are your plans for the future?", Issac asked. "Are you sticking around or what?"

"I'm not sure", Sharon admitted. "Everyone here has made me feel so welcome and I'd like to stay for a while, but I'm not an Avenger so I don't know..."

"Stick around", Issac suggested. "You're more than welcome and I think you'd make a dandy Avenger. It's just a matter of time."

"You think so?", Sharon asked.

"Yeppers", Issac said. "Now pipe down and let's watch this movie that's fixing to start. Have you ever seen Monty Python's Flying Circus?'

"I never have", Sharon admitted. "I've always meant to watch it, but never was able to for some reason or another."

"Well, grab some popcorn and sit back", Issac said as he worked the tv remote and hit play. "Cause it's time you were exposed to one of the classics."

Sharon and Issac sat back in their chairs and remained quiet as the movie began to play, each lost in their own thoughts and watching the images on the TV screen.

**

The Vision was sitting in the communications room, going over information on several moniters, when a voice interupted the quiet of the room.

"Yo Vision. Yon son of Zues would have words with thee", Hercules bellowed as he entered the room.

"Yes, Hercules... how may I assist you", the Vision replied.

"I was wondering how your research into that creature that I didst defeat was going", Hercules said.

"Aside from that obscure reference that I discovered that may or may not have been the creature you defeated, I have not discovered anything new", the Vision replied.

"Hmmmm", Hercules replied, rubbing his hand on his chin. "I was hoping that thou had discovered the creature's origins."

"I have cross-referenced every available piece of information and am still stymied", Vision said.

"What has become of thy creature", Hercules asked.

"SHIELD has it detained in captivity at one of their facilities", Vision answered.

"DIdst thou take cell samples and blood samples to help in your research?", Hercules asked.

"Of course", the Vision said. "And it didn't help at all. I have unable to identify that creature by any scientific means available. There are many different DNA traces with this creature, of a variety of animals. But I'm not sure how the creature is even able to exist."

"This concerns me greatly", Hercules remarked. "If it's not natural, then that suggests it might be of magical origin."

"Which is greatly out of my fields of knowledge", the Vision said. "Perhaps if we contact Dr. Druid or Dr. Strange?"

"That may be needed", Hercules agreed, "but this creature is a mystery that needs to be solved. And the son of Zeus shall continue to endevour to do just that."

"I assume you have an idea", the Vision said.

"My feelings is that the creature is too dangerous to remain on earth, having thus aleady slaughtered several innocent persons. I would suggest that I be allowed to gain custody of yon creature and remove it to fair Olympus, where it may be examined by some of my family. Yon creatures origins would not remain a mystery for long after that", Hercules said.

"That is certainly a most interesting idea", the Vision agreed.

"There are non wiser than the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena", Hercules proclaimed. "If anyone could easily discover the origins of yon creature, she would be the one."

"That is an interesting idea", the Vision agreed.

"And if the creature is one of magic rather than of science or mutation, it might even be possible to trace yon creatures creator as well", Hercules added.

"It is possible", the Vision said. "There are traces of many different DNA types in the creature, but I have not been able to learn exactly what or how the creature was formed or created."

"And thus, unable to identify it's creators", Hercules said.

"If you believe that Athena or anyone else might be able to trace the creature's origin, I concur that we should follow up on that belief", the Vision said.

"I shall make the arrangements immediately", Hercules said. "Will you contact SHIELD and secure custody of the creature for me?"

"I will immediately", the Vision agreed. "This is a mystery I would like to see resolved."

"And the creature slayed many innocents in it's rampage", Hercules added. "I am anxious to see yon cur responsible brought to justice for they have been free too long."

"Agreed", the Vision replied. "I'll contact SHIELD and you may proceed with contacting your relatives. Have you informed the Widow of your plans yet?"

"Not yet", Hercules said. "I see no reason for her to object to this plan of action."

"Nor do I", the Vision said, "but she is the team chairman and should be kept aware of what is happening here at the Castle."

"I shall speak to her immediately", Hercules said. "Is she in the castle?"

"I believe that she's in her office right now", the Vision said. "Shall I summon her?"

"Nay", Hercules said. "The son of Zeus shall stop off and have words with fair Natasha himself."

And with that, Hercules gave a nod of farewell to his synthezoid ally and stepped out through the door to go relay his plans to their chairperson, the Black Widow.

"I shall contact SHIELD immediately", the Vision said to himself as he turned back towards the computer moniters. "And I shall also inform Hank Pym. I think any type of examination of this creature would be of strong interest to him as well."

And with that, the Vision proceeded on with his work.

**

Later that day, the Black Widow sat in her office.

"Time once again to update my log", she thought to herself as she entered her encrypted password on her keyboard.

"The past few days have been quiet for our team, but things here are constantly moving. Hercules approached me earlier about that strange creature he subdued a few weeks ago after it slaughtered several persons. So far, the Vision's efforts to discover the creature's origins have not produced much information so maybe a new approach is in order. Hercules wants to allow some of his relatives from Olympus, the legendary gods of ancient Greece, and most specifically, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, to study the creature and see what they can discover. I've given him the go-ahead for this venture. This creature is a mystery that needs to be resolved and it shall be most interesting to see just what Athena can discover. The souls of those slaughtered demand that we find out who is responsible for this creature and why it was roaming free. Justice demands to be served.

Spitfire has aproached me about a bill coming up soon in the British legislature, of which she is a member of the House of Lords, that is extremely similar to the Mutant Registration Act that was recently defeated in the United States by their congress. She doesn't think it has much support among the British Parliment, but seems concerned that just by existing, it may end up fanning anti-mutant sentiment among the population. And I agree. While the anti-mutant voice isn't as strong here in Europe as it is in the United States, it's still a dangerous thing and must be watched closely.

It appears that both Dane Whitman, aka The Black Knight and Sharon Ventura, aka Ms. Marvel, will be staying with the team for the forseable future. I am glad to see this. The Knight is a very experienced Avenger who is capable and resourceful and definitely an asset to any team. And while Sharon is somewhat of a wild card, her experience with the Fantastic Four makes her a viable candidiate for Avengers membership. Her powers make her a formidable ally and she's quite intelligent as well. The only drawbacks I can see are in her psychological profile which suggest some instability due to abuse in her past, not to mention her fear of being transformed into a monsterous creature again, as she was by Dr. Doom. That concerns me somewhat, but Dr. Pym has assured me that despite her insecurities, she's far more competent and stable than a person has a right to be and he's confident that she could make a valuable asset to our team.

I'm planning on, at our next regular meeting early next week, bringing up the names of the Black Knight and Ms. Marvel for a formal vote and induction to the team. I'l approach both of them before the meeting and make sure that this is acceptable to each of them first, but I suspect that they will be open to the idea of joining, or in the Knight's case, re-joining the team.

Dr. Pym is working hard on Sharon's case to help alleviate any concerns about the possibility of reverting back to her other form, but he will be leaving to go back to California in a few days. It's too bad that he can't stay on as a permanent part of the team. He gives us credibility as one of the original Avengers, plus his abilities in the lab and science department are second to none. Hank has also been working with the vampire, Barnabas Collins, in perfecting and modifying the serum, created by Dr. Julia Hoffman, that allows Barnabas to not only not need human blood to survive, but also to brave the sunlight without fear of death.

Speaking of Barnabas Collins, he has proven to be a valuable ally to our group as well. His knowledge of the dark underworld throughout Europe has proven invaluable, as well as his knowledge of all things supernatural. I wish that there was some way to incorperate him more into our activities and missions, but as he himself has admitted several times, public knowledge of having a true vampire as an associate could be damaging to the Avengers reputation. And also, if word of his familiarity with us was to get out, it could damage his ability to roam freely in obscurity and among the darker elements of the land. It's better for all involved to keep the relationship between our team and Barnabas as quiet as possible."

And with that, the Widow clicked off the page as a slight dinging echoed forth on her computer, indicating a highly secure e-mail.

"Hmmm! From Nick Fury", the Widow thought. "I wonder what he wants."