#6 - "Duel with the Destroyers"

Roll Call:

Black Diamond	Enchantress	Firestar	Muskateer
Nightingale	Thing	Guest Starring: Scarlet Sabre	& Microwave

April 6th, 1986: Avengers Mansion

Being one of the many Manhattan tourist sites, numerous cabs often pulled up in front of the Avengers Mansion. They just normally didn't carry actual Avengers in them.

"Damn, that was nuts," Muskateer said, while shaking his head as he exited the cab. "Next time I think I'll just walk if I have to." Muskateer was not the least bit impressed by the New York City cabbies and their driving acrobatics. At least he had made good time and was still alive.

A tired Muskateer made his way through the front gate and up the path towards the front door. He began to pull out his ID card to gain access to the Mansion when he realized that was not going to be necessary.

"I take it you enjoyed your stay on Sanctuary?" Black Diamond was in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb, her arms folded in front of her.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that, Di. The place does take some getting used to though," Muskateer responded.

"Oh, so that's what took you so long?," Black Diamond asked amusedly. Firestar and Nightingale had returned from Sanctuary the previous evening. It was now well past three in the afternoon.

"The place kinda grew on me after awhile. What can I say? It's hard to just walk away from a tropical get-away, you know."

"I bet," she smirked. Based on what Firestar had reported, Muskateer had been found in the arms of a young lady going by the name of Glitter. "Anyway, if you are coherent enough, we have a few matters to discuss."

"I suppose. Let me drop off my gear," Muskateer said, walking past her into the Mansion. "Hey, isn't Sunday supposed to be our day off?"

"Tell that to the bad guys," Diamond stated. "Being an Avenger is a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week job."

"Now I know why there's no superhero union," Muskateer joked. "I'll meet you in your office, okay?"

An hour later, Muskateer was silent as he watched the scene on Black Diamond's video screen. The meeting had started off innocently enough. Black Diamond went over Muskateer's new responsibilities and several related topics. Then she dropped what she thought was a bombshell. However, he had seen the footage before. It was the same scenes that he had discovered thanks to the mysterious 'Hunter' who had been accessing the Avengers computers lately. "Interesting...", was all he said, looking over the shoulder of Black Diamond.

"I had planned on discussing this with you yesterday before you left for Sanctuary. Unfortunately, I overslept and you three were gone by the time I awoke," Black Diamond explained.

"See, I told you that you needed to get out more," Muskateer offered recalling their time out for wings and beer last Friday night. Pointing at the monitor, he added, "I couldn't believe it the first time I saw this. What's the deal here, Di?"

"What do you mean, 'the first time' you saw it?", Black Diamond asked, with a surprised look on her face. Muskateer realized what he said and he tried to buy some time while thinking how to explain his previous clandestine computer searches.

Moving back around the desk, he sat down in the chair opposite hers. "Is it someone impersonating her, or what?", he asked.

"Hold it. No changing the subject!"

"Changing what subject?", Musky asked innocently, as he continued to gaze at the computer screen.

"I can juggle tanks, remember?", Diamond threatened. Muskateer looked back at her, uncomfortably.

"Well, Di, it's kinda like this: you know how I figured out parts of the NSC's thoughts on me?", Muskateer began.

"Go on."

"While I was doing those computer searches, I managed to come across some files on myself and Firestar."

"Why do we even have security clearances around here?!", Diamond said incredulously, throwing her hands in the air. "And what did you find out from these files?"

"Basically, I learned about the NSC's position on my joining the team. The Firestar situation wasn't as clear-cut and I've only come up with bits and pieces," Muskateer explained. "The trip to Sanctuary wasn't very much help, either. Everything she says and seems to believe contradicts the security cameras which showed the event in question."

"She truly believes everything she has said," Black Diamond stated. "Nightingale's surface scans have proven that."

"That doesn't leave many options. It almost had to be an imposter, or someone messed with her memory," Muskateer concluded. "Any ideas about the flaming form that lured the Avengers out of the Mansion in the first place? I couldn't find any direct references in my computer searches, but then I do have lower access. Could pretty much be anyone with flame based powers."

"No idea who it was," Black Diamond stated. "Whoever they are, they may very well be Firestar's impersonator. To what ends, I also don't know."

"Talk about a couple full-blown mysteries." Muskateer took a deep breath, as Black Diamond looked at him questioningly. "I hope I don't end up regretting it, but I have to be up front with you on a few more things."

"Oh, please go on." Diamond leaned back in her chair, preparing for the worst. "Let me guess, you have the red phone in the White House bugged?"

"Not yet, but thanks for the idea," Muskateer joked. "No, you've been pretty straight with me and giving me this added responsibility, I feel like I shouldn't be so secretive. Before our talk, I wasn't sure who I could trust." Muskateer paused, considering his words. "I first found out about the Firestar Tapes here in your office. Remember when I figured out the workings of that Retaliator?"

"Yes," she answered expectantly.

"Well, you weren't in the office, but the files on Firestar were just sitting on your desk. I probably shouldn't have looked, but I couldn't help myself. Unfortunately, it led me on a long term wild goose chase."

Black Diamond sighed heavily. "Well, I did say I was no good at cloak and dagger. Maybe you should be briefing me? What else is going on around here that I don't know about?"

Muskateer was happy to hear that she wasn't going to kill him. "I guess I'm a little too inquisitive for my own good sometimes. That's not all of it though."

"There's more?", she asked, with a trace of foreboding in her voice.

"Yeah, this is one tangled web. I managed to get the full video scenes by tapping into an outside log-in to the Avengers system. They've been looking around the network too, apparently," Muskateer explained.

"An outside source? Any idea who?"

"None that make sense at the moment," Muskateer began. "The log in and access codes were identified as...," he paused again for dramatic effect, "the Hunter."

"What?!" Black Diamond was dumbfounded.

"Unless someone's come up with a way to connect from the grave, it's obviously not really him," Muskateer quipped. "Someone's gotten a hold of his access codes. They've been pretty active over the last few days. The first log in was on April 2nd. We might want to reclassify that access code, if it hasn't already been protected by our mysterious hacker. Who knows what kinda damage they could do with full access to the system."

"Helena," Diamond stated simply. "It's the only answer that makes sense."

"What's a Helena?" Muskateer forgot that he had briefly met the Hunter's daughter at the hospital, the night that Mechassassin attacked.

"Lane's daughter," Black Diamond explained. "Our mysterious Huntress. She had been badgering me for information. Apparently, she went looking for her own answers."

"Can we trust her?", Muskateer asked. "I could reprogram the access code to lock her out. I mean, what if she jumps to the wrong conclusion? Not that we even know the right conclusion yet..."

"At this point in time, it's probably not a matter of us trusting her, but her trusting us," Diamond said. "We got into a disagreement last Friday afternoon. She must have entered the computer network after that."

"Do you think Firestar may be in danger from this 'Huntress'?", Muskateer asked.

"It's a possibility we have to consider. You better change the access codes. It could get unpleasant if she hacked into any government files."

"How much of all this does Cassie know about anyway?", Muskateer questioned. "Pretty much, none of it, right?"

"That appears to be the case. I haven't told Cassie about it yet. At this point, there's really nothing to tell," Diamond stated. "Just a lot of circumstantial evidence. In spite of the way it appears, it was that strange Crystal which caused the explosion, not Firestar."

"Or whoever appeared to be Firestar." Muskateer considered for a moment, but was at a loss for any further explanation.

"I have a theory," Black Diamond said, breaking the temporary silence.

"Don't let me hold you back," Muskateer quipped.

"The Crystal is magical in nature. The Enchantress has already confirmed that. In fact, it's most likely not even from this dimension."

"Oh, yes, techno-polka...", Muskateer mused, recalling the Enchantress' explanation that compared magic to music.

"Yeah, right. Anyway, because of its nature, we have no idea of its capabilities. Let's review what has already happened. First of all, the three Avengers were all looking at it before being drawn outside. Sargon apparently retrieved another portion of that crystal, while the other two went to investigate. It's my theory that the Crystal created the diversion and then coerced Sargon into locating the additional piece of it."

"But then why kill Sargon, when he could have helped locate the last piece?", Muskateer rationalized.

"After Sargon got the piece, then there was another diversion to lure them all back into the Mansion. My guess is things went wrong from there. Valor grabbed the piece and seemed to become possessed by it and merged the shard into the greater whole. Sargon and Tiger then attacked it. The Crystal may have been protecting itself. The end result is Sargon and Black Tiger were killed, Captain Valor is missing, and Hunter was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only hole in this theory is why choose Firestar, a relative unknown, to simulate the diversion."

"An admirable theory, but like you said, there are parts that are a little thin. Why use two different images for diversions too? Wouldn't her presence alone be able to achieve the same effect? And why did it draw the Avengers back into the Mansion? Plus, we don't know the powers of the Crystal. That bit of knowledge would most likely fill in a lot of holes."

"Unfortunately, that's not something we have access to at this moment."

"Exactly, which is why it's just as possible that parts of your theory are correct, like the reason Sargon and the Tiger were killed, but what if it really was Firestar, rather than an image of her? The Crystal may have used her and her flamin' companion as real diversions and then wiped her memory clean. I can't think of a reason to do this, but maybe she's part of trying to find the last section of the Crystal. The whole thing did get her into the team and to New York. I wouldn't rule out some kind of connection, even if the Crystal did use only magical types before. Maybe it's trying to cover its tracks, knowing that any magicians would be noticed by someone. I don't know. The whole thing sounds crazy either way."

"No argument there," Black Diamond said. "I've been racking my brain over this issue for weeks now, with no luck. Maybe you can add a fresh perspective to the case."

"Sure. I just seem to keep moving from one mystery to another. Maybe we should call Agatha Christie?", Muskateer joked.

"That seems to cover everything for the moment," Diamond stated. "Chris and I are going out, so you're in charge. She's eager to be out in public with that telepathy numbing drug she now has. Can't say that I can really blame her that much."

"I'll try to make sure the Mansion's in one piece when you get back," Muskateer said with a wave and a smile forming beneath his mask. He moved behind the desk and tried out Black Diamond's chair. "I could get used to this..."

April 7th, 1986: The Office of Black Diamond

Next morning, Black Diamond is at work bright and early on the latest batch of reports. "This paperwork never seems to end," she mused as she worked the keyboard, pausing only to take a sip of coffee and a bit of bagel. Every Monday morning, the leader of the Avengers was required to file a team status report.

"It is now three weeks since the debut of the new line up," the report began. "The week had been an eventful one. Dark Seraph attacked the Enchantress and damaged the mansion. The repairs have already been completed. Jeeves, our new butler, has performed his duties admirably."

After the general notes were completed, Black Diamond began to update the status of each one of the Avengers.

"Nightingale received minor injuries in the struggle with Dark Seraph, but these did not limit her activities. I am a bit concerned about her use of this the experimental drug, Psychnocaine. While I am glad that it will enable her to assume an almost ordinary life, I wonder just what side effects it may have on her and her telepathic powers. What if her powers are needed at a time when they are neutralized? I can only hope that her desire to lead a normal life doesn't blind her to potential drawbacks from the drug."

"Muskateer has been the biggest surprise this week. I have been extremely impressed with his skills and leadership capabilities. As such, I have named him as the team's second in command. As most of the others appear to be more follower types, I do not foresee any problems with this. It will also take some of the workload off of my shoulders. Besides, now he can dig up facts with my blessings instead of behind my back."

"Firestar still remains something of a mystery. She truly believes that she had never met any of the Avengers or been to New York City until my meeting with her. I am still at a loss to provide a rational explanation for what the security camera tapes show. Otherwise, she has proven to be a solid team player."

"Ben has been recovering nicely. Nightingale has declared him fit for active duty. His wound has completely healed. It'll will be nice to have his strength back in the line up."

"The Enchantress continues to perform admirably. Her knowledge of things mystical has been an asset thus far. She's been quiet on the personal front. Perhaps she needs time before she opens up to the rest of the team."

"Lightburst has yet to return and I am listing him as missing along with Captain Valor and Supreme. Lightburst is known to have departed the Mansion mid-morning last Tuesday. Shortly before this, he received a phone call that we traced to a pay phone in Central Park. The trail ends there. His Comlink is no longer functioning. We can only guess at the reason why."

"Given the rash of disappearances over the last few weeks, I cannot be sure if this is Lightburst up to his old tricks or something far more ominous. Just last Saturday, Resonator of the Freedom League disappeared. Reports place the creature known only as the Monster in the vicinity. Likewise, our own Muskateer confirmed that Silver Arrow, also of the Freedom League, was kidnapped by the Black Paladin. I have the feeling that all these attacks and disappearances are only part of some more far sinister plot."

"However, Lightburst is known to disappear for stretches of time. He has done so in the past and I have no reason to believe that he will change anytime soon. He seems to be as self-centered and inconsiderate of others as always."

"The fate of Captain Valor, and the mysterious Crystal continues to elude us. I have the feeling that we are missing a few pieces of this puzzle. The ones that will tie everything together and make sense of this situation."

"Likewise, Supreme is AWOL as well. My guess is that he's another one of these mysterious hero disappearances."

Black Diamond leaned back from her report. Her own personal feelings on Supreme were mixed at best. The two heroes had been in the beginnings of a relationship when he disappeared, although this was generally not well known, even to the other Avengers. While Supreme had a huge ego, he was not as inconsiderate as Lightburst. And since his strength was even greater than that of Black Diamond, she did not have to worry about accidentally causing injury when being intimate.

In spite of this, Black Diamond was finding herself somewhat attracted to the upstart Muskateer.

"He is so unlike either Supreme or Lightburst," Black Diamond thought to herself. "I'm really enjoying our time together, but it might be best to maintain a distance. Obviously, he's not interested in that sort of thing since he spent the night with Glitter the very next day after our night out. Besides, more relationship problems are something I should probably try to avoid."

As Black Diamond went to continue her report, the general alarm sounded! Saving the report, she shut down the system and made her way to the Meeting Room. Diamond arrived to find the Enchantress and Firestar already present. As Black Diamond investigated the nature of the emergency, the rest of the team filed in. Muskateer was last to arrive.

"What gives?!", he grumbled loudly. "It's only seven-thirty in the morning!"

"Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week," Black Diamond said as she worked the control panel. "Perhaps you should cut back on your active social life?"

"I think I liked you better when you didn't have a sense of humor," Muskateer shot back.

"Pretty testy there, Junior," the Thing added with amusement.

"It looks like we've got big problems," Black Diamond said, ignoring Muskateer's comment. He sounded like he had just dragged himself out of bed and was naturally irritable. Sanctuary was six time zones away and his very long day there probably threw his sleeping habits a bit off.

"I have reports of three separate sub-way derailments happening almost at the same time. One is at First Avenue and Seventy-Ninth Street, another at Thirty-Fourth Street and Eighth Avenue, and the last in front of the Stock Exchange."

"All three are quite a distance apart from the others," the Enchantress mused. "All over Manhattan."

"Indeed. It could be yet another hero ambush," Black Diamond said, holding her chin thoughtfully. "Nonetheless, we must investigate and render aid."

"What's the plan, oh fearless leader?" The prospect of action had shaken most of the sleepiness out of Muskateer.

"Musky, you and 'Gale check out the one at First and Seventy-Ninth. It's the closest."

"Gotcha, you're with me, 'Gale."

"Right behind you, Muskateer."

Muskateer and Nightingale rose and departed with Black Diamond shouting after them, "And stay in contact with the others!"

"Ben, you and the Enchantress have Eighth and Thirty-Fourth. That leaves the Stock and Exchange for Firestar and myself. Let's go!"

Moments later, Black Diamond was speeding across the New York skyline with Firestar in pursuit. Knowing that she and Firestar were the fastest flyers on the team, Black Diamond had picked the furthest derailment as their target. To make matters worse, it was rush hour. Literally millions of people used the subway every day for commuting. This couldn't have come at a worse time.

The outside of the sub-station was a chaotic mess as Black Diamond came in for a landing. Literally hundreds of stranded commuters filled the area, most trying to arrange other means of transportation. To top it off, traffic was bumper to bumper.

Diamond could see that Radiance and the Scarlet Sabre of the Freedom League were already there, along with PRIMUS Silver Avenger Jake Koweleski. Black Diamond had worked with the Scarlet Sabre several times in the past, but not as frequently with Rad.

Rad was a black man of average height who wore an orange costume with aquamarine trim. He had the power to absorb energy, including radiation, into himself and release it in a safe, controlled fashion. Like all the members of the Freedom League, he was a scientist as well as super hero.

"Di!" Scarlet was pleased to see that they were going to be receiving some assistance in this matter. What her teammate had relayed to her was very troubling.

Black Diamond landed close to the Freedom Leaguers and the Silver Avenger. "Scarlet, Rad, Jake, any idea what's going on here? We heard there was a derailment?"

"A very good idea at least, Black Diamond," Rad said. "This is no accident, the Destroyers are behind this."

Rad had been one of the numerous passengers on the subway during rush hour this morning. In spite of his super powers, which did include flight, Rad preferred to do things in a normal fashion. He took the sub-way back and forth to work.

When the car ahead of his derailed, Rad used the confusion to switch into his heroic garb and investigate. What he found was that several members of the infamous Destroyers had caused the accident.

"The Destroyers?", Black Diamond repeated. She was familiar with this particular team of villains, having crossed paths with them before. They were a group of villains with grand designs and bad results. The group was founded by the twin mutants called Deathsinger and Frost. Later they added the insect-like Stinger, Arrowhead for muscle, and the mercenary Death Commando.

Firestar flew in and landed close to the others. "At least the odds will be even this time," the Silver Avenger said, noting Firestar's arrival. The program that created the legendary Golden Avenger was deemed too risky and expensive to produce others like him. The procedure was toned down and used to create the Silver Avengers. The Silver Avengers were free agents of PRIMUS, the Primary Response and Interdiction Military United Service. PRIMUS was the government's answer to all super powered threats and were given cutting edge technology to do the job. Each major city in the United States had a PRIMUS base and most had their own Silver Avenger as well.

Koweleski was typical of the Silver Avengers. He was above average in height, and extremely athletic in build. His blonde hair was cut short in military style. The Silver Avenger uniform was red, white, and blue with a large white star emblazoned on the chest. The Silver Avengers did not conceal their identities.

"I came upon the accident first," Rad explained. "While trying to help some of the trapped commuters, I was ambushed by Stinger and forced to withdraw. That's when I ran into Silver Avenger Koweleski."

"Correct," the Silver Avenger continued. "We returned to engage the enemy and managed to free more of the civilians. This time Stinger and Arrowhead attacked us. We were forced to make a strategic withdrawal until support units could arrive."

"And here we are," Scarlet added. Rad had alerted the rest of the Freedom League as to what was going on much earlier. Like the Avengers, the Freedom League had split up to investigate the sight of each accident.

"This time we shall overpower the enemy." Silver Avenger Koweleski was confident of victory in this next engagement.

"Perhaps," Black Diamond said thoughtfully. "But just in case, I have a plan..."

A scant five minutes later, Black Diamond flew along the deserted passageways that lead from the street to the subway station. Normally these tunnels would be filled with a literal sea of humanity, but on this morning they were deserted. Only eerie silence greeted her.

At the end of the tunnel was the huge transfer area where the subway trains would stop and allow passengers to board or disembark. Several subway cars had been derailed. One was laying on its side, while several others were more or less upright, but blocking the tracks. Black Diamond could see several people still inside the car that was on its side.

On the other side of the tracks, Black Diamond noticed Firestar arriving to the station as well. With multiple entrances to this particular station, it was decided to split up and come down all of them. Further down on the other side, Rad slowly flew into the arrival station. Silver Avenger Koweleski and the Scarlet Sabre were coming down the last major entrance. None of the Destroyers were visible.

Black Diamond landed next to the railcar on its side. She motioned for those inside to move back. Once they were clear, she embedded her fingers into the car's metal roof and began to rip it back like it was nothing more than tinfoil. Once the opening was large enough, she motioned for the passengers to start coming out. "It's okay, we have everything under control. Move in a quick and orderly manner to the exit."

The frenetic crowd moved briskly towards and through the impromptu exit. Some of the passengers rushed for the station's exits, while others milled about confusedly in the tunnel. Black Diamond peered into the cramped confines of the capsized car, looking for injured or unconscious victims. Everyone appeared to have exited from the cabin, except one man who huddled behind a seat. He appeared to be shaking uncontrollably from fright.

"It's all right, you're safe now," Diamond said, as she reached for the unsteady man.

"Th- Thank you," the man stammered. He then stood straight up. "But you're not safe." He then screamed a horrible shrill sound. It built to a near-deafening crescendo as the sound immediately took on physical force. Black Diamond was blasted out of the subway car before she even knew what hit her. She slammed into the wall of the tunnel and was unconscious before hitting the ground. The man stepped forward to inspect his handiwork and was quite pleased with the result. "Not even the mighty Black Diamond can withstand the God-like powers of the awesome Deathsinger!"

Nearby, Firestar had heard the terrible shriek and rushed over to see what had happened. She saw Black Diamond lying on the ground, unmoving.

"Oh my God, Di!" Firestar was astonished that someone could take out the powerful Black Diamond so quickly. She landed nearby, but before she could even inspect the condition of her teammate and leader, an ice-ram slammed into her back. The brutal attack drove Firestar forward and crushed her against the station wall. Slowly she slid down the wall, joining her teammate in dreamland.

"Hot damn! We're going to get plenty of points for this!" Firestar's assailant had been one of the crowd milling about outside damaged car. At this attack and the one on Black Diamond, everyone had run for cover as fast as they could. The man ripped his normal clothing asunder to reveal the alternating white and blue costume of the infamous Frost. He replaced his mask and strolled gleefully over to his brother.

"All is going perfectly. Just as I had planned," Deathsinger stated. He chose to remain disguised as one of the sub-way passengers for the time being.

"But of course, Brother. Now we're one step closer to progressing through this stage of the contest," Frost answered. "The prize will soon belong to us!"

The two villains turned to observe the nearby combat along the ceiling of the subway tunnel. There, Radiance and Stinger were battling it out, without a clear cut winner. Stinger was mostly man-like in appearance, but his multi-celled insect-like eyes and antenna belied his inhuman aspects. His costume was primarily dark red, with black boots and gloves. A black pattern covered his chest as well.

Stinger was adhering to the curved ceiling over the tracks, while Rad flew about around him. Stinger's sticky, and somewhat disgusting, entangles could not hold Radiance for long and Rad was unable to seriously hurt the insectoid villain. Deathsinger turned away to observe the rest of the area as Stinger spewed forth another glob of sticky secretion at the radioactive hero. Radiance would blast it away in short order and the two would be back to square one.

Elsewhere, the Silver Avenger and the Scarlet Sabre entered the scene from the furthest tunnel entrance. They scanned the area and saw the continuing battle between Stinger and Radiance. Part of the tunnel was obscured from their vision by the derailed cars. However, Arrowhead stood conspicuously in plain site in the center of the tunnel, as if daring the new arrivals to attack him.

Arrowhead was a large, powerfully built man. He stood six feet tall and tipped the scales at over three hundred pounds. His costume was primarily purple with arrowhead patterns on his chest, forehead, gloves and boots in crimson. At one time he had been a mob enforcer in Chicago. Faced with the threat of super heroes interfering with mob business, the crime lords decided to create their own super muscle. Arrowhead was the result. Later, he became the primary muscle of the Destroyers.

"Doncha just hate it when they start the party without you?", Scarlet quipped as she moved into position to assist Rad.

"If we concentrate our efforts on a single opponent, it should be sufficient to overwhelm and apprehend these felons," the Silver Avenger said.

"What you said, Captain America," the Scarlet Sabre said to her patriotically attired companion. She used her energy sabre to raise her into the metal grid work at the top of the station. With Rad distracting the insect-like villain, she swung on her sabre-line and slammed hard into the Destroyer. "Raid!!"

Stinger lost his grip on the ceiling and fell to the station floor. There Silver Avenger Koweleski was waiting for him. A powerful right/left jab combination had Stinger on the ropes. "Surrender, villain!"

Rad flew in and fired yet another energy blast, but Stinger avoided it with ease. Scarlet swung in, but he managed to leap away before she could administer the coup de grace.

"Get back here, Bug boy!", Scarlet shouted frustratingly. Stinger stood on the wall above her. He spewed a sticky mass in her direction, but she easily avoided the disgusting projectile. "That's really, really sick!"

Just then, an eruption of blaster fire lit up the area around the heroes. Death Commando had arrived on the scene, seemingly from out of nowhere, in his own inimitable style, gun blazing. The Silver Avenger was dropped by the surprise attack and Radiance flew off for safety in one of the nearby tunnels. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Sabre cartwheeled for cover behind one of the wrecked cars, blaster fire from the silver and gold armored villain dogging her the entire way.

Arrowhead approached, flexed his muscles and shoved the subway car with a mighty heave. "Let me have a try, D.C.!"

"Yikes!," the Scarlet Sabre screamed as she saw the huge mass closing in on her. Scarlet latched onto a support beam in the ceiling with her sabre and used it to lift herself to safety as the car slid by, sparks flying from the friction. "Close but no cigar, Dunderhead!"

"Why doncha try someone yer own size, 'stead o' chasin' little girls?!" Arrowhead and Death Commando turned at the gravely voice. Another new arrival had appeared at the entrance behind them and to the left.

"Whataya know? It's the Thing," Arrowhead observed. Death Commando leveled his blaster at the monstrous hero, but Arrowhead pushed the barrel down. "You take care of the red broad. The Thing here is mine!"

"Come an' get it, Sweetums!", the Thing said as he awaited Arrowhead's arrival. The rock-like Avenger was ready to release some of the frustration that had been vented up since his stabbing at the hands of the murderous Mechassassin.

Arrowhead, who loved a good fight, was eager to oblige. He approached the Thing and landed a roundhouse right on his jaw. The Thing took the blow with ease and smiled at the surprised Arrowhead. His punches usually sent people flying backwards and here the Thing wasn't even budged!

"Not bad, kid," the Thing said as he cracked his knuckles. "But yer in the big leagues now." Before Arrowhead could react, the Thing struck, sending the villain rocketing back and partially embedding him in the far wall!

Meanwhile, Death Commando took aim at the now vulnerable Scarlet Sabre. Before he could fire, a ghostly costumed figure floated up through the ground at his feet. Death Commando stepped back, momentarily startled, and aimed at this new threat. But it fired first, knocking him off his feet. He returned fire, but it just went harmlessly through the apparition.

Death Commando could now see that the form was that of Microwave, the leader of the Freedom League. She wore a magenta and white body suit with navy blue trim. Death Command realized that things were starting to get out of hand.

"Deathsinger! Get yer butt over here! We got more a' those damn do-gooders showin' up!", Death Commando shouted as he lobbed a few smoke grenades between himself and the massing heroes.

However, Deathsinger had his own problems at the moment. In truth he was lying on the ground, unconscious. Nearby, Frost was also reeling from an unseen attack. The Enchantress appeared some distance away, quite satisfied with the results of her invisible mystic assault. The attack had given Firestar enough time to recover. Black Diamond was beginning to stir as well.

"It appears that your plan was relatively sound, Black Diamond," the Enchantress said, as she helped her teammate to her feet. Before entering the sub-way station, Black Diamond had called the other Avengers and Freedom Leaguers for back up.

"All except for having my fillings rattled by Deathsinger," Black Diamond said. Her ears were still ringing from the sonic shriek. "I figured it was an ambush, so why not ambush them back?" The heroines quickly rejoined the tumultuous conflict.

Arrowhead pulled himself out of the wall and saw that the battle was going badly against the Destroyers, but he was mistakenly confident that he could stand up against the heroes, alone if need be. "Come an' get it, chumps! I'll mop up the whole lot o' ya!"

"Housework'll be all yer good for when I'm through with ya, Chuckles. It's Clobberin' Time!" The Thing had caught up with Arrowhead once more and landed another devastating blow. Arrowhead went flying across the war zone and right into the waiting arms of Black Diamond. She caught the villain by the leg, whirled him around, and then slammed him hard into the reinforced concrete floor with all her might. Arrowhead would be out for a very long time. "Nice catch, Di! You'd make one heck of an outfielder for the Yanks," the Thing observed.

"Thanks, Ben, but you know I'm a Met's fan."

"No one's perfect."

Elsewhere, Stinger was fleeing from the combined efforts of Scarlet Sabre and Radiance. He had taken refuge in the air duct shafts and sealed them closed behind him with his expectorating secretions.

Scarlet stood before the duct, her miniature sonar device in hand. "I'm not getting anything, Rad. His spit is blocking my scanner."

"You may have to do some modifications," Rad mused as he observed the devices readout over Scarlet's shoulder. "Perhaps choose an alternate method of location instead of sound reverberation?"

"Perhaps," Scarlet offered with a tinge of annoyance. "Regardless, Bug Boy got away from us!"

Death Commando, likewise, decided that retreat was a wise strategy and disappeared through the same hidden underground shaft that he had ambushed the Silver Avenger from. Using more smoke screen grenades for cover, he easily slipped away from Microwave undetected. The heroine's microwave bursts had been only able to sting Death Commando, but not slow him down.

Frost was not so lucky however. He had been weakened by the attack from the Enchantress and now had to face the full fury of Firestar.

"Sneak attack me, willya!?" Firestar didn't hold back and let Frost have it with a blast of fire. The cold-wielding villain launched icy projectiles back at the hovering heroine. Both were near exhaustion from the confrontation of elemental opposites.

"It looks like you could use some assistance," the Enchantress said as she began spell casting. She finished off the cold-wielding villain with a mystic blast, then wrapped him up in thick, crimson bands of magical energy.

"Thanks," Firestar said as she sat down to catch her breath.

"That's what teammates are for."

Nearby, the stirring Deathsinger attracted the attention of Black Diamond. "Oh, no, I've had enough of your singing for one day!" Before he realized what was going on, she put him down again with a powerful right hand cross.

"You call that singing?" The Thing had come over to offer assistance, but found that the Destroyers were already under control. "I've heard cats in trash cans that sounded better."

"No argument there, Ben." Black Diamond surveyed the sub-way station. "All in all, not a bad morning's work."

"It could have been better," Microwave said as she landed nearby. "Death Commando and Stinger got away. But perhaps one of the remaining three can shed some light on the reason behind this attack?"

By now the station was full of activity. PRIMUS agents had arrived and were securing the area. Special restraints were applied to Deathsinger to prevent his lethal vocals.

"Hey!" Turning, the heroes could see Muskateer and Nightingale making their way towards them. Being the furthest away, the two Avengers took much longer to reach the Stock Exchange. "We missed all the excitement!"

"So what was the big idea, Frosty?" The Scarlet Sabre leveled her energy blade at the prone icy villain. "Why all the destruction?"

"Why do you think we're called the Destroyers, ya dumb broad!" Frost just laughed as he was led away.

"Oohh, the big bad villain insulted me," Scarlet said with amusement. "How, oh, how shall I sleep at night?"

"Regardless, they must have had an agenda," Black Diamond mused.

"It has the trappings of all the recent disappearances," Microwave offered. "Villains lure the hero into an ambush, hero disappears."

"But they didn't even try to lure any one hero in particular. Just caused a disaster and laid in wait for whomever showed up," the Enchantress observed.

Rad spoke up adding, "Maybe they didn't have a particular target in mind?"

"That doesn't make any sense." At least not to Firestar nor to the rest of the assembled heroes...

The End?

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