AVENGERS WEST COAST #106
By Ryan Hunt

Clint Barton couldn't believe it. Everyone had left. Carol Danvers - the heroine named Ms. Marvel - had left because of that Horthans thing*. Monica Rambeau (Photon) left because her father needed help with their marina. "It's not that I don't like being a superhero," she'd said. "But family comes first, in my book. But if you ever really need my help, go ahead and call." She-Hulk was gone, too. She claimed the law firm she'd joined was suffering, but Clint suspected it was because of what had happened between them in the pool - something that scared them both. Spider-Woman had left because she felt being an Avenger took time away from caring for her daughter, Rachel. And everyone who left agreed that the team seemed superfluous because no villains had attacked Los Angeles since they were formed.

(*See last issue, if you're curious about "that Horthans thing". - Not-the-editor Ryan)

The only ones that hadn't quite were Aaron Stack - the Machine Man - and Scott Lang, the Ant-Man.  

"This sucks!" Hawkeye said. He swivelled around in the chair before the Avengers' state-of-the-art computer system and faced Aaron and Scott. "How am I supposed to have an effective team with only three people?"

"The Avengers have an extensive roster, Hawkeye." Aaron said. "Perhaps we could but contact some of the others. Stingray, for instance. Or Demolition Man."

Clint raised an eyebrow. "Walter doesn't like superheroics, Aaron. He doesn't even put on his armor unless Tiger Shark is loose, and that's only because Tiger Shark is his brother-in-law. And Demolition Man…no."

"What about some heroes that have never been Avengers before?" Scott asked. "Think we could get Union Jack to come over to the good ol' US of A?"

"I doubt it, Scott. Look at it this way - do you think anyone could convince Captain America to move to England?"

Scott almost seemed to consider this for a moment. "Good point. Still, Jack was just an example. Maybe Iron Fist?"

"Scott, I don't even know how to get into contact with these guys you're mentioning. Some of the old Avengers, at least, still have their cards - except Moon Knight, who burned his - and we can call them up with those. I don't know, maybe we should just close up shop and I'll go join back up with the primary Avengers."

"Now that's a bad idea," said Bryan Provow, the team's government liaison. "You still have an effective team here, Hawkeye. Not to mention your reserves."

"But that's the problem, Bryan," said Hawkeye. "They're reserves for a reason. Living Lightning is still in college, and Firebird is busy with the Mission. Have you got any ideas?"

"No," said Bryan. "Just remember: you've got room for five more people on the team."

"Yeah," said Hawkeye. "But which five?"

*    *    *

Elsewhere, the man named Graviton - he'd long ago abandoned his true name, in favor of the title he'd taken upon becoming a deity - stood in front of a large machine, working dials and adjusting certain controls. He was surrounded by three-foot-tall creatures with large heads and slim bodies, not unlike the oft-spoken-of "grey" aliens. Graviton had named the creatures the "Ptah", as that was the only word in their vocabulary. It was fortunate the creatures had a limited telepathic capability and mechanical aptitude beyond what he'd expected - they were the ones who'd helped him build this device.

The purpose of the device was to take him back to Earth, the planet he was still determined to rule, upon their final recognition of him as a god. He wasn't sure what city he would end up in when he came back, but he vowed that it would be the first city of his Holy Empire.

*    *    *

"This still sucks," Hawkeye mumbled, laying on the bed in his quarters. He was reading the headline on the front page of the LA Times - AVENGERS BREAK UP! The subheading read, "What will happen to Earth's Mightiest Heroes?".

"We didn't break up," he mumbled. "The roster's not gone - just severely reduced." He set the paper down and went out into the conservatory of the Avengers' Mansion. He found Scott watching TV with his daughter, Cassie, and Aaron was reading a magazine. All of them (except Machine Man, of course) were in plain-clothes, including Hawkeye. "I'm not sure what we're gonna do about this," he said. "All the big guns are over in New York, and the others are part-timers at best. Bringing in part-time heroes was what started this mess in the first place."

"I think you'll have to worry about that later, Hawkeye," Bryan said as he came into the room. "Everybody remember Graviton? Good. He's in LA."

"Great," Hawkeye mumbled. "Bryan, get hold of Living Lightning. He'll be able to show up sooner than Firebird will. Aaron, get the Quinjet started. Scott, let's suit up."

Scott Lang turned to his daughter. "Cass, daddy's got to go to work now." He pointed at Bryan with his thumb. "Mr. Provow's gonna take care of you while we're gone. I want you to behave for him, okay, honey?" Cassie nodded happily. "Good girl." Scott stood up and left after Hawkeye, leaving Bryan behind to take care of Cassie.

"Oh, man," he said. "I'm no good with kids…"

*    *    *

The Avengers - all three of them - had come together in their Quinjet, prepared to take off. Hawkeye wore his classic purple costume, with the mask and loincloth. Ant-Man had on a variation of his old costume that he'd gotten while he was with the Heroes For Hire. It was mostly red, with a black streak going down the front , tapering off a little above the ankles into black boots. The streak branched out to his arms, turning into black gloves a few inches above his wrists. He wore two "stinger" gauntlets on his wrists, canisters of Hank Pym's gas on his waist, framed by a black circle, and the traditional bulky-looking Ant-Man helmet, with two antennae sticking up from the forehead and a piece jutting out of the front over his mouth.

"Let's roll," said Hawkeye.

*    *    *

Graviton was pleased. He'd returned in one of the greatest cities in Earth's most powerful country - Los Angeles, California. "Bow down to me!" He commanded to the fleeing masses. "Bow down to me, and you will be saved! Defy me, and you will DIE!" He used his gravitational powers to hurl a minivan across the street, making it crash through the wall of a nearby office building. Fortunately, the building had been evacuated. Graviton smiled, and continued his rampage

A few blocks away, a stand-up comedian named Griffin Gogol stood on stage in front of a small crowd in a comedy club. He was doing his bit - making fun of superheroes. Of course, there were some heroes that were off-limits - Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers - but there were still plenty that weren't (after all, no one likes Spider-Man or those damn mutant teams). And all villains were free game.

"Y'know what I'd like to see?" He began. "I'd like to see Doctor Doom at a high school reunion. 'So, uh, what have you been doing these last ten years, Victor?' 'Oh, the same old stuff…I've almost killed the Fantastic Four innumerable times, I became the monarch of a small European country, even fought some of the Avengers. You?' 'I'm…I'm a banker.' 'Oh, that's good. That's good.'"

The crowd laughed. At least, they laughed until a Volkswagen crashed through the main window of the building. Then, they started screaming.

"Alright, everybody!" Said the club owner. "Everyone out!"

Griffin scowled and sneaked off backstage as the crowd evacuated. He opened up his shirt, revealing a red-and-yellow tunic, with a black design on the front that was vaguely in the shape of a U. "This looks like a job for…Captain Ultra!" He quickly removed the rest of his suit, revealing the costume he wore underneath. It was mostly yellow, with red gloves, blue trunks, and green boots. A blue cape hung from his back, and he pulled on a green-and-yellow mask with a blue visor over the eyes. Captain Ultra posed dramatically for no one in particular, opened up the building's emergency exit, and flew outside.

*    *    *

Graviton glanced upward as he felt the Earth's gravitational field shifting. The shift corresponded to something of immense size. And said thing was exactly what he'd been hoping it was - an Avengers quinjet. He smirked. This was what he'd wanted. A showdown with Earth's mightiest heroes. If he could defeat them, that would prove his superiority. No one would question the man who destroyed the Avengers.

The quinjet hovered aboveground, and the entrance hatch on the side slid open, revealing the purple clad form of Hawkeye.

"Avengers assemble!" He cried, hefting his bow over his head.

Graviton's smirk turned into a smile as he saw Machine Man leaving the quinjet, arms and legs telescoping outward. The mad god extended his arm, his fingers curled into a fist. Quickly, he opened his palm. A look of shock came over Hawkeye's face as Machine Man was ripped in half!

"My God!" Said Hawkeye. "Graviton must have caused conflicting gravitational fields around Aaron, and…oh, God! He could do that to any of us!"

"Don't worry about it, Hawk!" Scott Lang's voice, filtered through the mouthpiece of the Ant-Man helmet, seemed to come from nowhere. "He won't have the chance!" Graviton's back suddenly arched, as though he'd been hit in the small of the back. But there was no one there to hit him. The form of Ant-Man finally appeared, growing from his infinitesimal size to his normal height. Graviton turned to face his attacker. A string of saliva was knocked from the deity's mouth as Ant-Man slammed his fist across Graviton's jaw. However, that was the last thing Ant-Man was able to do, as he was hurled across the street by an invisible force and slammed into the concrete wall of an office building. He tried to lift his arm to shoot a stinger bolt, but couldn't. He was stuck.

Through all of this, Hawkeye had been nocking one of his trick arrows - a net arrow, to be precise. He took aim, drew back the bowstring, and let fly. The arrow turned around in mid-air and the net deployed around Hawkeye, tangling him in a web of rope.

"Is this the best you have to offer?" Graviton said. "You three are Earth's mightiest heroes? Where is Captain America? Where is Iron Man? Where are the true heroes? Eh?"

"Yo, Graviton!" The young voice, literally crackling with energy, came from above. Graviton looked up and saw a blue lightning bolt with arms and a head staring down at him. Living Lightning had arrived! "What're you gonna do to somebody who's not affected by gravity? Huh?"

Graviton barked out a laugh. "Pathetic child. Even energy is subject to the universal force of gravity. However, this will be a far easier way to defeat you." He turned to face a fire hydrant that was roughly beneath Living Lightning, and the top of the hydrant popped off. Water shot skyward, and Miguel was barely able to switch back to his human state before the water hit him. Fortunately, the constant stream kept him from slamming into the ground, but as long as he was wet, he couldn't change, either.

"This is truly sad," Graviton said. "I came to this world expecting to be challenged! And what do I get? Third-string heroes have replaced the Avengers!"

"Hey! I resent that!" The newcomer's voice came from a rooftop. Graviton rolled his eyes. Why did these idiotic "heroes" always have to make such dramatic entrances? "I may be third-string," the voice continued, "but I am NOT an Avenger!" Graviton turned to face the newcomer. What he saw was a brightly-colored man in a cape. He barked out another laugh.

"Your costume is hideous!" The mad god said. "Are you color blind? Get out of my sight!" He waved his arm, and Captain Ultra began falling upward.

"Oh, this isn't good," said the obligatory guest hero.

To Be Continued!

NEXT: Graviton versus the Avengers and Captain Ultra!