Issue Four: Do You Believe In Magic?

"Well actually now we are THE Avengers East Coast team. Until we find the old East Coast team, at which point I guess we suffle back to Buffalo, yes."

"Nice to meet you." Maelstrom replies, then he feels the need to clarify, "I'm not really anyone. I just tag along and they gave me a com-card. It's awfully kind of them."

Energystar looks at Maelstrom, "No one!?! You are a reserve member of the Avengers for cripes sake. That's a big something. And you have done more in the 2 weeks I have know you then I did in a year in Buffalo. Quit knocking yourself down."

"Oh. Sorry." Beorn replies humbly, looking a bit embarassed - quite a feat in a man made of glass.

Blackbird offers the glass-covered man a hand. While not one of the people of the sort he directly attempts to influence, Beorn appears to have at least one of the problems he commonly finds among the Brooklyn youth.

"And I would hardly see 'anyone' covered in what appears to be glass. Nice to meet you, too - I am Theo Kinnison, although I also go by the name of Blackbird." His regular name is becoming fairly common - but still, this manner of revelation probably isn't common among superhero-types.

Nodding his head in Energystar's direction, he goes on, "I stand corrected, ma'am. Yet, I still do not understand how I ended up in this destiny...nor do I have an inkling about this Thanos you mentioned. I think my most notable press worthy event prior to today was the occasion when an ill-placed pumpkin bomb dropped me in the Daily Bugle newsroom."

The Buffalo Team i am from Buffalo too. This is great! bubles sais as he starts grinning ear to ear. So gang does that mean i am part of the team

”He just beat Venom!”, Cap interjects, motioning towards Maelstrom with his thumb.

Cap, still wearing a shredded shirt, turns to address Maelstrom. ”Apparently there’s never a good time to stop by the Bugle.”

Cap looks at EnergyStar with a mixture of apprehension and dread on his face, almost as if he fears what she might say next…

CUT SCENE

Several individuals clad in bright yellow outfits stand around a wooden crate while one of them attempts to pry off the top with a crowbar. Finally freeing it, two others assist in removing the wood panel and several layers of packing material that lie underneath, revealing numerous packages of soap, bubble bath, skin creams, and beauty products.
”Wha…? This can’t be right…”, one of the agents says, searching through the crate.
”You IDIOT!”, another one shouts, looking at the black painted stenciling on the side of the crate. ”This doesn’t say AIM! It says AVON! It’s just smudged!”
”Oh, man…this isn’t good…”, a third individual states.

END CUT SCENE

"Really! What brought you to NYC? I am not sure the AEF is still in existance. Maybe when this is all cleared up we can talk about it."

The Captain, unable to resist the opportunity, pipes in with a subtle smirk on his face. "His bubble collection was stolen...it...uh...scarred his family..." The observant among the party will notice Cap biting his upper lip and his shoulders bouncing up-and-down, ever so slightly...

Dr. Strange continues, "From what I have learned, you will all be present when Thanos returns, but that your abilities alone will not neccessarily be enough to defeat him. I believe you will need magical assistance to do so. As the Sorcerer Supreme of this dimension, it falls to me to be your aid. Until that time, I will monitor the world for his return. For your part, it would be best to familiarize yourself with this enemy you are apparently destined to encounter. If you have done so already, do so again to be certain there is nothing you may have missed..."

CUT SCENE I

The-man-in-the-green-fez watches an image of the previous scene unfold in a crystal ball before him. As Stephen says the phrase "Sorcerer Supreme of this dimension", the-man-in-the-green-fez says the words "pompass pajama @$$".

END CUT SCENE I

"Why don't we all head back to Avengers mansion? We can bring Bubbles and Blackbird here up to speed on what we know by reviewing our files. Two new, fresh sets of eyes looking over the info wouldn't hurt", Cap suggests to the team before looking down to notice the similarities between what's left of the upper half of his costume and a cutoff belly shirt. "I'm going to need a new costume...", he muzes to himself.

"An excellent suggestion!", Dr. Strange responds. "Until the time is right, I will take leave of you and prepare what I must - good luck, my friends!" The good doctor incants some sort of spell and disappears from your presence.





CUT SCENE II

Several yellow-clad AIM agents stand around an open crate of exotic soaps and bath products and rifling through its contents. "This has to be the right crate - it says 'MODOK' on the side!" one of the agents points out. Moving some packing material out of the way, another agent reveals the stencil characters actually spell out "Mail Order - Destination OK".
"We are so screwed", another agent announces to his companions.
"Oooh!", yet another agent speaks up, holding something in his hands, and drawing the rest of the agents' attention. Brandishing a tall, thin bottle of body wash, he continues "this one smells like lavender with a hint of jasmine!"
The other agents stare on in dumbfounded disbelief.
"...What?...", he asks, after several seconds of uncomfortable silence.

END CUT SCENE II

CUT SCENE III

Dr. Strange sits in his sactum sanctorum, musing aloud on the events of the past hour or so. "These heroes are all relatively new...many of them inexperienced...none of them weilding power on a truly cosmic scale, except maybe for the one known as Maelstrom...I don't know why they play into my visions of the events to come..."
A large humanoid creature stands in the shadows behind Stephen Strange. "I think one of them knew I was there with you, Doctor..."

END CUT SCENE III

Now, this was heady stuff. The Avengers mansion - and access to their files as well!

Blackbird couldn't help but sneak a peek at the quinjet designs while reading up on Thanos. Now that was a plane...

The euphoria quickly faded as the magnitude of Thanos' actions and powers became apparent, replaced by no small amount of bewilderment.

Finally, "This character is something else again. He's more messed up than most of Brooklyn's trouble kids put together...if he shows up as Doctor Strange indicates he will, how exactly are we supposed to put a stop to whatever he's planning?"