Chapter 4
ASSEMBLE
Back in New York the fans gathered at Time Square watched the final match via the large, newly repaired TV screen on Times Tower. As many of the cops still did their best to keep the crowd in check, some of the officers that were taking a break near a hotdog stand were also glued to the large TV screen watching the match of the tournament unfold.
Among the cops watching were Stan Carter and Jean DeWolff, both of whom were tasked with watching over Gwen Stacy, who stood worried as she watched Spidey pick himself back up and continue his fight with the Patriot
Moments later, they were soon joined by Captain George Stacy, who appeared to be physically and mentally exhausted. And with having to deal with a battle hungry crowd, as well as still trying to recover from being mind-controlled and having his daughter kidnapped, who could blame him. Nevertheless, he tapped Stan’s shoulder to get his attention. “Carter, I’m going to need either you or DeWolff to take over for one officer over there,” he told him, pointing his right thumb at one tired officer at a nearby street light. “He looks like he’s about to fall asleep.”
“No problem, Captain, I’ll take that shift,” Stan told his captain, then through the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Spidey now back up on his feet and ducking a punch from the Patriot, all which while holding his chest, wincing as he struggled to keep his stitches from popping out. A sight which left Stan quite worried. “Man, I’ve never seen the Web-Head struggle like that before.”
George turned to the see to see the fight for himself and was also concerned at what he saw. Still, he tried to remain somewhat optimistic for the sake of the morale of his squad. “Yeah well, don’t count him out yet. He’s been through worse.”
Stan responded with both a small smile and a nod, knowing that he was telling the truth in that regard. Afterwards, he proceeded to relieve the nearby officer and relieve him.
As for George himself, he turned to the one person whose well-being was first and foremost on his mind: his daughter Gwen. He knew that she had been through a lot to day and was a little confused as to why she was so invested in this match in particular. Nevertheless, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder to let her know that he was by her side.
Gwen felt her father’s touch and looked up to him. Knowing of his overprotective nature, she gave him a sweet smile as she placed her hand over his. Afterwards, she went back to watch the match, and her concerned quickly returned as she saw Spidey leap to the right side to avoid the Patriot’s repulser blast. “Come on, Parker,” she thought. “Win this without getting hurt too badly! Because whether you like it or not, we still need to talk, and I can’t give you a piece of my mind if you’re beaten into a coma…or worse!”
Meanwhile, back in the brig of the Helocarrier, things were looking grim for the imprisoned Avengers, as all they could do was sit in their cells and presumably wait for whatever insidious plan that Zemo and Osborn have in store for them. However, they all received quite a shock when the forcefield doors of all the Avengers cells soon deactivated, which caused all the confused heroes to walk out of their cells and leaving the still imprisoned Thunderbolts both shocked and angry.
And it was that of a stunned Wasp who said what the rest of her teammates were thinking. “Okay, not that I’m complaining, but what just happened?”
It was here that the cool and collected T’Challa stepped out and is the first to answer. “That would be, Stark. It would appear that he had a back-up to free not just himself, but all of us in case he lost his match against Osborn.”
The next Avenger to speak up is that of Luke Cage, who was soon joined by his fellow Heroes for Hire, Iron Fist and Ant-Man. “Well, I guess Stark is more than just some rich dude in a suit after all.”
Moments later, Hawkeye soon stepped out and chuckled at Luke’s remark. “Yeah, well, believe us, we we have a hard time believing it too,” said the archer, earning him a nod of begrudging agreement from T’Challa. Moments later, Hawkeye is stunned when he looked forward and made eye contact with Black Widow free, and gave his old partner a nod and smile, happy to see that she was free.
Natasha responded with a smile of her own, feeling equally glad to see Hawkeye out of his cell and in one piece.
Suddenly, the Wasp is alerted when he heard what appeared to be metal pieces coming apart. She turned to see where the noises were coming from and was surprised to see Yellowjacket freeing himself from the restraints and walking out of his cell, rubbing his aching wrists. “Hank!” Wasp exclaimed in a happy tone, and through instinct, rushed over to hug him. However, upon coming closer to him, she got a better view of the Yellowjacket symbol on his chest and was reminding of his newer, egotistical personality and stopped dead in her tracks and gave him an angry and bitter look. “Well,” she told him crossing her arms. “I see that the great Yellowjacket doesn’t need any help in getting free.”
Little did Wasp know was that the man in the black and yellow costume was no longer the aggressive vigilante that scorned but was that of the brilliant and peace-loving pacifist Hank Pym, who earlier managed to destroy the Yellowjacket personality to regain control of his body, as well as his life. And though he was hurt by Wasp’s harsh reaction, he couldn’t say blame her for hating him, for he also hated himself for allowing his inner demons to get the better of him and allow such a violent personality take hold and hurt not just Wasp, but the rest of his teammates as well. “Jan…”
Suddenly, the bitter reunion between the two size-altering former partners, as well as would be lovers, was interrupted when Ms. Marvel cam in between them. “Clamp it!” the angry Ms. Marvel told Hank, then turned her attention to the Wasp, giving her a concerned look. “Look Jan, as much as I’d like to see you rip Pym a new one, it’s going to have to wait for now.”
Just then, another Avenger stepped out and his specially made cell to region his teammates, and it was none other than Thor, who at once was frozen in place by yellow energy due to his literal godly abilities. But thanks to Vision’s hacking, the energy that consumed his body had dissipated and he regain his mobility and freedom, as well as feeling livid over how Osborn forced him to admit defeat in their match. “Aye, friend Carol,” said the Thunder God. “It is time we made Osborn and his band of curs pay for what they did to us, as well as stopping what ever sick and twisted plan they have for this world!”
Moments later, all the Avengers present received another surprise when they heard what sounded like a small, almost bug like voice. “Couldn’t have said it better myself, Big Guy,” said the voice, then suddenly, the small disc soon materialized, opened its door and out jumped what looked like four specs, which soon began to grow large. Once they grew to human size, it was revealed that the voice belonged to Steve Rogers, fully recovered and in the red, white and blue uniform of Captain America. With him were that of Sharon Carter, Misty Knight, and Nick Fury, all of whom have successfully infiltrated the Helocarrier so they can free and join their friends in taking it back. And with shield in hand, the determined Cap said this to his teammates once he had their attention. “Avengers Assemble!”