WEST COAST AVENGERS # 114

THE WEST COAST AVENGERS GATEFOLD

Previously ... Upon returning to Earth, the WCA was shocked to find Jocasta waiting for them, ina horrible state of disrepair. Councilman Proctor was proven innocent with the help of Falcon and the USAgent, but unknown to anyone, the Councilman was really a member of the Secret Empire. Agent also shocked the WCA by mentioning on SCN that he was leaving the team.

AVENGERS ROSTER

HAWKEYE - Clint Barton is an expert marksman, sporting a large supply of trick arrows; a former outlaw, he's the WCA's founding Chairman and tied to the WCA more than any other person.

QUICKSILVER - Pietro Maximoff is the twin brother of the Scarlet Witch, son of Magneto, husband to Crystal and father to Luna. He is a mutant possessing the power of acceleration.

LADY MERVEILLE - Monica Rambeau is a former Avengers Chairman, possesses the power to turn her body into any part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

WONDER MAN - Simon Williams became Wonder Man when the Enchantress had his body infused with ionic energy; a strong man with human failings, he struggles to live up to his power

TIGRA - Greer Nelson is a former biologst, changed by the Cat People into a modern version of their greatest warrior of legend

CANNONBALL - Samuel Guthrie has served with the New Mutants, X-Force and the X-Men; came to LA looking for direction and joined with the WCA

FALCON - former partner of Captain America and devoted social worker; thanks to his costume, Sam possesses the power of flight - RESERVE

CRYSTAL - a member of the Royal Family of Attilan, wife of Quicksilver and mother of Luna; can command the elemental forces - RESERVE

NON ROSTER CAST OF CHARACTERS

BETA RAY BILL - alien cyborg warrior, adopted of Asgard, Bill wields the Mjolnir-level hammer, Storm Breaker, a gift from Odin

JOCASTA - twisted and tortured by Ultron into becoming the Super-Adaptoid, then forced to face the Avengers who bruised and battered her, Jocasta has come to the WCA in hopes that they can help her regain her form and her sanity

BOVA - the first evolved creature of the High Evolutionary, Bova is an evolved cow that brought Quicksilver into the world; serves as a nanny to Luna

SHAPE - ex of the Squadron Supreme, Shape is a kind-hearted but slow shape changer

LUNA - the young daughter of the mutant Quicksilver and the Inhuman Crystal, Luna is, as far as anyone can tell, simply human

NORTHERN BEAR PRODUCTIONS

Go out yonder, peace in the valley, come downtown, had to rumble in the alley. Oh, you don't know, the shape I'm In -- "The Shape I'm In" by The Band

Simon Williams practically floated across Avengers Compound from his bungalow to the large, Olympic sized swimming pool that was inlaid into the large patio right out the back of the main building. With another high-intensity yell, Wonder Man dove into the pool, causing water to splash up onto the sun deck, dousing Cannonball, Tigra, Crystal and Luna who were trying their best to soak in the hot rays of sun.

"Hey!" Cannonball, Tigra and Crystal screamed as their bodies reacted in shock to the colder water splashing up onto them.

"Whee!" Luna giggled. "More water! Wonder Man is funny!" While the three Avengers weren't exactly inclined to agree with little Luna, they didn't question her.

Wonder Man leapt out of the pool, landing right by the heroes, a wide grin resting upon his face. "Ain't this a great morning?" he asked, not seeming to be bothered by the fact that he had leapt into a pool in full costume and sunglasses. "Hot sun, cool water, gentle breeze," he took his glasses off to look at Tigra and Crystal, "beautiful women."

The Avengers exchanged glances, "Are we in an alternate reality?" Tigra asked. "Or did I just miss something?"

"I'm guessing alternate reality," Sam Guthrie answered, shaking his head. "Although he was kinda happy on Mil'gromal when he was smashing things to bits."*

"Mmm, what was in your breakfast this morning?" Tigra asked, moving easily from the chair to put herself in Simon's chest. Sam felt a pang of something as she did so - it couldn't be jealousy, could it, he wondered. No, of course not. He was flattered that Tigra was bestowing her affections on him, but it wasn't like he was attracted to her or anything.

Yeah right, a voice inside his own head remarked to him, but he ignored it choosing instead to wonder what Tabitha was up to.*

Simon smiled at his teammates, making them wait just a second for the answer. "Nothing like a dramatic pause, is there?" he asked. "Which is fitting I can do it so well because I just got a call from an up and coming Hollywood producer who wants to hire me for his movie!"

The Avengers all stood to shake Simon's hand and pat him on the back. "What kind of role is it, Simon?" Crystal asked.

"Some bad guy for some movie," Simon shrugged. "But hey, acting is acting and I've got to start somewhere near the bottom. Let's face it, I was never all that good before, so I don't mind starting out small. Some kid just outta college is making it, and he thought I'd be good for this part. He wants me to come down and check it out."

"You don't mind doing a small film?" Tigra asked, frowning. "Are you sure you're Simon Williams?"

"Ha!" Simon laughed. "Hey, indie films are all the rage now. Look at Travolta. His career was nowhere. He does Pulp Fiction and suddenly they're throwing 20 mil a picture at him." Simon looked at all his friends and smiled even broader. "This is going to be the start of something good. I can tell."

Crystal smiled along with the rest of the assembled Avengers but inside she was just hoping that Simon wasn't going to get his hopes up too high.

Down in the second sub-basement of the Compound, Hawkeye, Falcon and Quicksilver were busy in the Assembly room, pouring over the computer systems large files, looking for all relevant information about Arnim Zola. Hawkeye had a million things on his mind, he thought, and seriously needed some time to unwind. With everything that had happened to him lately - the journey back in time to the Old West* and the journey halfway across the galaxy to fight Dr. Doom** chief among them - he didn't really have time to go travelling off to find the missing Jolt and Shape*** or deal with Jack's leaving the team and whatever that entailed.****

"Great. Why shouldn't I be?" Sam smiled. "I came to LA to free my friend from jail - who was only there to begin with thanks to Agent* - and that's what I did."

"No chance of getting you to stick around then, huh?" Hawkeye asked, hopeful that Sam would reconsider. "We could certainly use you."

"Are you mad, Hawkeye?" Pietro asked. "You've got half the western world hanging out here."

"Here, Pietro," Clint rolled his eyes as he reached for a scrap of paper on the counter, "read this. See if you can figure it out."

"He's right, though, Clint," Falcon agreed with the mutant speedster. "Doesn't seem like you've got too many roster concerns these days."

"Sure we do," Clint disagreed. "We've got a base team of myself, Tigra, Pietro here, Cannonball, Lady Merveille and Wonder Man. That's only a six person team. Crystal, Living Lightning and you are only reserves - and you're on the way out the door, and Miguel hasn't exactly been just a phone call away. He missed the battle with Doom entirely. Bova, Luna, Shape and Jolt are basically just living here. Which is fine," he added quickly, seeing Pietro's head jerk towards him. "Beta Ray Bill and Jocasta are both injured, and I'm guessing that Bill, at least, is going to leave as soon as he's feeling better. We still don't have a scientist. Plus, who knows what kind of mental state Simon is in these days."

"Yeah, but a core team of six, plus three reserves isn't too bad," Falcon mused.

"I'd feel better with seven," Clint admitted, "or even eight or nine full-time members. In my opinion, which I know doesn't always count for much around here," Clint mumbled, looking to Pietro, "we need to have a few extra members with the West Coast team. Back east you've got a city full of heroes. If the Avengers aren't around to handle something, chances are the Fantastic Four or the X-Men or the Defenders would be able to take care of the problem. If they're not, you've still got all the solo heroes jumping from rooftop-to-rooftop who might be able to do something. But out here there's no one, really, but us."

"The Champions?" Pietro interjected. "Have you seen what kind of … opponents they face? We save the galaxy from Dr. Doom, they fight … chimpanzees."*

* You've got to read the CHAMPIONS if you haven't been, it's amazing! - Plug-o-matic Biscuit

Hawkeye ignored him, "I'd still like a couple more people. I'm hoping to convince Bill to stay, but then again," he grinned, "I was hoping to convince you to stay as well and that doesn't seem to be working out."

Falcon grinned back, "Nope, it doesn't. I've really got to get back to New York. There's some … things I need to find out about, but I'll stick around for a bit to help you out."*

* What's Falcon got to find out about? How about a mysterious gift of $250,000 that he received in CAPTAIN AMERICA 484! - Greenback Biscuit

"Luna writes better than this," Pietro Maximoff scoffed, finally tiring of Hawkeye's whining, holding up the note that Jocasta had found.* It read, "JOlt LeVe. LukInG ZOLA. shape FOllO."

"Why don't you save the comments and help us look, Quicksilver," Clint snapped. "Seems with your supposed super-speed you could do this a lot quicker than me or Falc."

"Well, Chairman," Pietro snapped back, "perhaps if you would let me at the controls, I would. But then, you never have anything for me to do, do you?"

"Hey, relax guys," Sam Wilson sighed. "All we need to do is search the net database for the most recent sightings of Arnim Zola and then head off in those directions. Shape can take care of himself."

"I'm more worried about Jolt," Clint sighed, stepping away from the large, wall-sized computer screen. "She's been awfully steamed since she joined up with us* and didn’t take too kindly to my assertion that she be nothing more than a trainee and that she'd have to go to school."**

"I know, that's what I tried telling her," Hawkeye shook his head. "I was never that stubborn as a kid."

"No, you were that stubborn as an adult," Pietro announced, and Clint turned to say something to him, but Pietro wouldn't let him get the words out. "I've found what we're looking for," he said, pointing to the screen. "The last report on Zola placed him in northern Colorado, and, doing a quick search for reports of strange activity in the area, we have a place where we can start looking."

"Excellent," Hawkeye nodded. "Look, Pietro, I know there hasn't been a lot for you to do, yet, but there's-"

"Yes, yes, you needn't explain yourself to me, Hawkeye," Pietro said as he walked out the door. "I'll go round up the team. All six-hundred members. Classic Hawkeye overcompensatinWHOOOOOSH …" Quicksilver took off down the hallway, leaving Falcon and Hawkeye scratching their heads.

As Monica Rambeau sat in the kitchen of her parents, she poured over enough financial statements to cover the kitchen table several times. She hated dishonesty, but she wasn't going to tell Hawkeye her exact reasons for wanting back on the roster full-time unless he came out and asked her. She knew that if she did tell him, he'd offer to do anything to help, but Monica didn't want help. There were some things a person needed to do for themselves.

She didn't want the Maria Stark Foundation swooping down and handing her a check. She had gotten herself in debt and now she'd get herself out of it. It was okay to accept the Avengers stipend of $1,000 a week, she told herself, because she was earning it, but she didn't want charity.

Her father wouldn't allow it and even though Frank Rambeau was getting on in years, he was still head of the family and head of the Rambeau Boating, Incorporated company that he and Monica ran together.

"Afternoon, honey," Maria Rambeau hugged her daughter as she came into the kitchen. "Still trying to work out the finances, I see."

"Yeah," Monica nodded, her fingers clicking away on a calculator. "I've got a meeting with the Bank in an hour and there's a lot of number crunching still to do."

"I hope your father is okay by himself," she said with concern. "He's not as young as he used to be."

"My Avengers Communi-card," Monica frowned. She hoped this wasn't anything too important. "Merveille here. What's up, Hawkeye?"

Hawkeye's face peered back at her from the card's surface. "We're going looking for Jolt and Shape. We think we've got a pretty good lead."

"We could certainly use you," Hawkeye answered honestly. "But we don't know what we're going to find-"

"Monica, there's a man here from the Bank to see you," Maria Rambeau announced from behind Monica.

"Yes," Monica snapped, a little too quickly and Hawkeye caught the edge in her voice.

It was apparent that not everything was okay. "Tell you what, we've got Miguel here," Hawkeye lied, "and his powers are somewhat similar to yours. We can probably handle this. I'll give you a call if an emergency comes up. With your powers you can be there in half-a-second, anyway. That cool?"

"Okay," Clint started, looking around the room at a table full of people. Wonder Man, Cannonball, Tigra, Falcon, US Agent, Quicksilver and Crystal looked back at him. "We're going looking for Shape and Jolt. Agent and Merveille aren't available. Bill and Jocasta are still too injured to do field work. Crystal, are you up to doing monitor duty? With the new computer system we had installed, you can do it from your bungalow if you'd like."

Hawkeye thought, then nodded. "Anybody else have any pressing reason why they can't go?"

"Because I feel I owe the team an explanation," Jack began and Clint let him have the floor. "After the entire business with Councilman Proctor, I've got to reassess where I'm going as a hero and where I can do the most good. This isn't it. I've got things to follow up on that the Avengers can't help me with."

Jack pulled his mask on and turned to go. "See you folks around. Jack'll be back someday."

With that, USAgent left the building, leaving the team standing uneasily in place. Clint wanted to say something, but it could wait until later when he and Jack could talk privately.*

"I've got an appointment with a movie producer in an hour, Clint," Simon added to break the tension. "I'd hate to miss it, but I will if you need me."

"Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting," Bova said meekly as she entered the room, carrying a package.

"Not at all," Quicksilver said before Hawkeye could open his mouth. "What is it? Something with Luna?"

"No, nothing like that, Master Quicksilver. Luna's in the medlab with Beta Ray Bill and Jocasta. I hope that's alright?" Crystal nodded and Bova continued. "This package came for Master Guthrie."

Clint, who was standing next to him, smiled, "A copy of SUAVE magazine? Really Sam. You're an Avenger now, you can't be buying magazines of naked women. Or, at least, you can't have them delivered here."

Sam's face was ashen white, "I gotta leave, Hawkeye. Like, right now and I don't know when I'm coming back."

"Whu- why?" Hawkeye asked, wondering just how bad this day could turn out to be. He was feeling more rejected than the tall girl at a sixth grade dance. "Just because we caught you with some pornography?"

"No," Sam stammered, his face losing even more color. "Remember I was telling you guys about Tabitha, my ex-girlfriend."

"Luna!" Bova yelled, entering the room. "Where are your manners? That's not a nice thing to say to Mr. Beta Ray Bill."

The cyborg-alien warrior who was the champion of his people laughed heartily. "That's okay, Bova. We mustn't dim the child's honesty. It's such a hard trait to find as people get older."

"I … I don't understand, Bill," Jocasta, the dark green robot said softly to Bill. "She makes jest with your features and you are … okay with that?"

Bill looked at the misshapen robot and his smile lessened. Jocasta had come here to the Compound looking for help* after her creator, Ultron, had updated her as the Super-Adaptoid.** Her body had rebooted itself, but it wasn't fully operational, yet. Her form still looked like a child's crayon scribblings. Her left arm had been Captain America's shield instead of an arm, while her right was hugely muscled with a copy of Thor's hammer Mjolnir sticking out of the end of her arm. Slowly her body was taking on a more human appearance, but with no real scientist on hand, things were progressing slowly. Physically, she was better, but mentally Bill couldn't say how long it would take for her to recover.

He knew he had to proceed gently, "We all have to laugh at ourselves sometime, Jocasta. And if we must laugh at ourselves, better to laugh at our outer shells then the person inside. If little Luna thinks I have the face of a horse, I can laugh at her innocence because what I look like has so little to do with who I am on the inside."

"Listen to Master Bill, Jocasta," Bova spoke gently, placing one of her bovine-evolved hands on Jocasta's metal skin. "Our insides are so much more important."

Jocasta bowed her head and wondered if they were right. The words sounded right, but inside … inside Jocasta thought they felt all wrong.

The WCA stood by the Quinjet, saying good-byes. Simon headed off to his movie interview, while Cannonball shot across the sky, clutching the magazine (re-wrapped in brown paper) to his chest. USAgent was nowhere to be seen.

Hawkeye opened the Quinjet door and Tigra, Falcon, Quicksilver and Crystal boarded. 'Not exactly the heaviest hitters the Avengers have ever rolled out,' Hawkeye sighed inwardly. 'God, why does the roster have to be such a concern when I'm in charge … I can almost hear Bobbi laughing at me ...'

Hawkeye, Falcon, Quicksilver, Tigra and Crystal rode in silence, checking instrument read-outs, scanning the ground below, thinking quietly to themselves. They needed to find Shape and Jolt and, if Arnim Zola was involved, stop him from doing whatever it was he was up to. Tigra paced in silence, hating the closed quarters.

"Thanks, Falc. Let's go check it out." Hawkeye steered the Quinjet west as night was just beginning to fall. Within seconds they came over a ridge and saw a large gathering below them. Lights flooded upwards as a throng of people stood in front of a large stage. "I want an audio and visual lock on that stage," Hawkeye ordered and Crystal immediately set to the task.

"I'm bringing it up on screen," Crystal answered and half the front windshield became a monitor. Hawkeye lowered the Quinjet to the ground as he watched the monitor. This may not be what they were looking for, but he could feel that something was wrong here. "What is that they're chanting?" Crystal asked.

Tigra answered, "This is the way … the way to the light … the light to the future … oh, pooh, just turn the blasted volume up."

Tigra playfully stuck her tongue out. They listened to the crowd, whose voices were growing louder and louder, "This is the way … the way to the light … the light to the future … the future to Paradise … this is the way … the way to the light … the light to the future … the future to Paradise … this is the way …"

"Of course not," Quicksilver snapped, "all upstanding churches meet out in the woods in the middle of the night."

The Quinjet landed and they exited the craft, moving slowly through the woods. They reached the edge of the camp, the chanting loud enough now that they couldn't talk to each other without leaning in close.

"AND NOW!" came a booming voice, cutting above the chanting, though they couldn't see any speakers. "THE MAN WHO CAN LEAD YOU TO TOMORROW!"

A man in all white robes walked out to the center, his head covered. "Oh, yeah, definitely the Hate Monger." The man pulled his robe open at the chest to reveal …

"ARNIM ZOLA!" Hawkeye shouted, but no one heard him as the crowd erupted in adulation.

"Welcome, my children!" Arnim Zola yelled from the stage, his face grotesquely sitting where his chest should be. "It is so good to see you all again! Let us welcome forth our newest brother!"

The crowd hushed as a tall, thin man walked proudly to the center of the stage. He was nearly naked, covered in only a pair of speedo shorts. His physique was flawless and there appeared to be no hair on his body.

"Thank thee for thine glorious welcome!" the tall man's voice boomed in English theatre accented rhythms. "It is an honour to walk amongst my fellow brothers! Truth is the glory and the glory is in all of you!"

"I present to you," Zola wailed, moving to stand next to him, "the newest convert to our way of life … SHAPE!"

The roster is, believe it or not, actually taking shape. Cannonball will be leaving the title, I'm afraid, but it seemed a little selfish of me to have all these characters and not let Shawn have him for the excellent X-Force. Sam will stop by now and then, but for now he's back in X-Force. Check it out on the Four Corners Branch. I'll miss Sam and now that he's not here his appearances don't really serve much of a point, but I know he'll be in good hands with Shawn.

Hey Mark! Wow! Well, I still wish that Doom had won, but I suppose I can live with him only inspiring one planet to rise up against the Sh'iar! I have to admit, I expected cutting off Wonder Man's hand would blow up the whole ship. I wonder what that ionic radiation leak could do to those Sh'iar. I expected Deathbird to weigh in on Doom's side, but ultimately I'm glad she didn't. I can't wait to see the conclusion of the subplot involving the councilman soon. It took me this long to realize he was named after the Mike Proctor of the old AML! Anyway, keep up the great work Mark!

I wanted Doom to win, I really did, but the way things fell externally, it wasn't really possible. I hear some others have some plans for Doom, so we'll have to keep our eyes peeled. And a rebellion has to start somewhere. I don't think we've seen the last of Doom's handiwork inside Shi'ar space. And now another letter from TJ!

Hey Mark! Well, I loved the very untraditional ending for the Proctor story arc. I hate that Agent is leaving as he's the only member of the current team that really ranks among my favorites. I hope that Falcon doesn't stick around either... it wouldn't be nearly as fun without Agent. I like the Cannonball/Tigra thing, and having Wonder Man get back to his old self is great! Here's hoping Beta Ray Bill joins... Keep up the good work!

Thanks TJ. I hope you like what's coming. With this issue I really get to start working on the stories I want to tell. Thanks for writing, TJ! (And yes, Falc won't be staying without Agent.)

Hello Mark

You might recognize me - I wrote to you about your Inhumans series (which is, by the way, getting more interesting with every issue and which I would love even more if you promise me you aren't going to kill off Black Bolt). Now that I discovered that you're writing for Avengers West Coast as well, I had to write to you about that one too.

Thank you so much for the great roster! I love Tigra and she and Cannonball would make the most amazing couple. Pietro has always been one of my favorite characters, just please don't make him the unredeemable bastard people tend to think he is. I think I can get used to Hawkeye and USAgent. Flacon and Wonder Man are fine by me, and Monica's new code name is cool. Lady Merveille. It sounds so nice!

The Worlds Without thing was nice but messy. I didn't quite understand it all, but I liked what I did understand. Oh, is Beta Ray Bill (where did they scrap THAT name off???) staying with them Whacokes or does he have other fish to fry? (Please forgive me, I read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy too many times).

Currently, you open up many storylines, and I need time to figure them all out. So Greer and Sam are an item, that robot, what was her name, is deformed, something's wrong with Wonder Man, and Quicksilver doubts his place in the team. Some troubles these super types have! Well, anyway, know that I enjoy AWC very much and I'm with you all the way. Keep up the good work. And until Lady Merveille discovers that she isn't really from New Orleans but from Micronezia and would have to change her code name once again, make mine MV1! (Wait, that didn't come out quite right... argh, never mind!)

Your faithful reader
Joannie Milligan

Kill off Black Bolt? Never! He's one of my very favorite characters. Someday I'd even like to do a Black Bolt LS …

Quicksilver isn't an insufferable bastard. He's just insufferable. ;-) I think I'm enjoying writing Pietro over any other character right now. He's such a complex guy that he never gets boring to write. Beta Ray Bill is sticking around for a good long while. Where'd they get the name? Hey, he's a Walt Simonson creation - he has to be cool. Thanks for writing Joannie, everything will make sense in time. Just keep reading!

NEXT ISSUE: FREAK SHOW! The WCA vs. Arnim Zola and Shape? Simon on the set of his new movie, he's feeling great, so why's he fainting?

Plus, check out HAWKEYE 17 for more tales of the Avenging Archer! Written by Lonni Holland, Hawkeye and Jack have a chat about Jack's decision to leave the team!

FEB. YEAR 4	MV1 Presents ... Earth's Mightiest Heroes!!!	AVENGERS
		And there came a day when the foes became too great for Earth's Mightiest to handle alone! On that day was born the West Coast Avengers!
# 114	NORTHERN BEAR PRODUCTIONS	# 114