Champions #37 (June Year 4)

"The Masters of Evil War: The Conclusion"

Previously: Crimson Cowl and her Masters of Evil laid a trap for Hawkeye. Hawkeye was captured and left to die at the hands of Man-Killer. Fortunately for Hawkeye, War Toy decided to save him. Her reasons are still unknown. The West Coast Avengers arrived and saved Hawkeye from both War Toy and the Masters of Evil. After fleeing their fight with the West Coast Avengers, Crimson Cowl and her evil band of villains were confronted by Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil. Zemo believes that the Crimson Cowl has desecrated the name of the Masters of Evil has come to make her pay.

A few Miles South of Las Vegas:

"Masters of Evil! Attack!! Attack!!" Baron Zemo is in a violent rage at the arrogance of the Crimson Cowl, at her audacity to name herself a leader of the Masters of Evil. "The Masters of Evil were created by my father Cowl! You are not worthy! Your hubris shall be your undoing."

The Crimson Cowl looks for the quickest way out of this mess. Her Masters of Evil have just been confronted by Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil. To make matters worse, her group is tired from fighting the West Coast Avengers. Fortunately, she knew the easiest way to upset the Baron, just call her group the Masters of Evil in his presence.

War Toy watches as the sides choose opponents. All are ignoring her for the moment. She sees Crimson Cowl sneaking away. "So the little witch has decided to run. We'll see how far she gets."

Back at the Champions' House:

"Batroc's Brigade? You want me to reform Batroc's Brigade?" Batroc stands there flabbergasted.

"Oui. Zaran and I would like you to be our employer. I'd like to follow in my fathair's footsteps." Machete' says with a smile.

"Your fathair eez dead." Batroc starts to pace. "I'll not have ze death of heez son on my hands too."

"Batroc. Eet eez what I want to do."

"Will you quite the fake accent? Eet will not help you win my heart." Batroc pokes his finger into Machete's chest.

"What about your fake..."

"Zhut up!" Batroc screams at Machete'. "Zaran. I can't believe you would want to get back into that line of work after what happened to the original Machete'."

"Hey, I needed work and I couldn't take care of the kid. My first thought was working as a mercenary again. We weren't planning on doing crime anymore. We saw you were legit, and wanted to become hired bodyguards or security."

"I will not become a part of zis. If you wish to create ze Batroc's Brigade go ahead, but do eet without me." Batroc drops into a chair. "But I will of course provide you with zome money." He smiles.

Back to the Bad Guys:

The Flying Tiger continues his evasive maneuvers to avoid being struck by Vespid's laser fire. Vespid, one of Zemo's henchmen who was given the stolen Yellow Jacket armor, is beginning to get frustrated. "Listen ya little varmint! I'm gonna blast ya into next Tuesday!"

"Your armor can't protect you from the fists of the Flying Tiger!" The Flying Tiger lands a punch to Vespid's midsection. The blow does more damage to the Tiger's fists than to the one wearing the armor.

"Ready ta give up? I'm gonna cook you like a possum in my momma's stew!" Vespid presses his attack and lands an armored fist to his opponent's jaw.

Man-Killer has Kreature by the scruff of his neck. "You didn't even make me work up a sweat! At least the real Beast would've put up a fight!" She pulls her arm back to throw the Dark Beast.

"Your tactics are as bad as your appearance." The furry fiend grabs Man-Killer's hair as she starts to throw him and uses her own strength against her. The momentum of the Dark Beast causes Man-Killer to fall forwards while Kreature pushes her face down. She lands face first on the ground.

Tiger Shark backs away from Techno. "Listen Fixer... I don't want no trouble. I thought this new Masters outfit was legit. You know I wouldn't go against Zemo."

"Then stay out of the fight. Oh, and don't call me Fixer. I'm called Techno now."

Tiger Shark moves away from the fighting and hopes that Zemo has some mercy on him. It's a slim hope, but it's the only hope he has of living.

"Mon ami, there eez no chance of you defeating me!" Cyclone races around Eidolon. The Vision from a dead world has increased his density so that Cyclone's winds won't affect him. Unfortunately, his increased mass has slowed him down, making it difficult to fight the speedy Cyclone. The whirlwind around Cyclone repulses yet another solar blast from the evil android.

"As usual, you humans allow your arrogance to outweigh your intelligence. I only have to wait for you to tire yourself out. Or I could simply wait for my teammates to come help me." Eidolon smiles.

The Crimson Cowl has snuck away from the fight and is searching for a hiding spot.

"Where did you think you were going?" Suicide Selia emerges from the shadows, almost as if her and the shadows were one and the same.

"Don't be a fool girl! Run while you still can!" The Crimson Cowl turns to face her enemy.

"I think you're the fool. Especially since you're outnumbered!" Selia points to someone behind Crimson Cowl.

"You think I'm going to fall for that old trick? You're a bigger fool than I thought." The Cowl starts to laugh but her laughter quickly stops when she hears the voice of the man behind her.

"Speaking of fools, did you really think that getting me angry would make me lose track of the one I'm here to punish? Do you wish to beg for mercy now, or shall I have Suicide Selia make you beg like the dog you are?" Zemo starts to laugh.

Selia grabs the Cowl from behind and puts her arm around the Cowls neck while she crushes some of the Crimson Cowl's gadgets with her other hand.

"What's going on here?"

The three villains turn to see War Toy making her way towards them. "War Toy attack these two dolts!" The Crimson Cowl smiles, she knows that they are no match for Ultron's creation.

Phoenix Arizona:

The Flash is racing back to the Champions' house. He is surprised at how quickly he found a job on this new world.*

*He found a job as a police scientist last issue - Baloo Barry

While running past the homeless shelter, Barry Allen sees two familiar faces. "Bonita! Rachel! What are you two up to?"

"Hi Barry. We were just volunteering to help the homeless." Bonita Jaurez, aka Firebird, smiles at our resident speedster.

"Bonita thought it would be a good idea for me to get out of the house more. I've been moping quite a bit lately and seeing the situations these people are in makes my problems seem so small." Rachel Leighton gives a weak smile.

"I didn't think you were moping, but I did hear what happened between you and Cap... Steve? I'm sure he'll come around sometime. I remember how long it took Iris to notice me." Barry smiles at the memory.

"Well should we get home? I'm sure Batroc has settled things with his two friends." Bonita heads to their car. "Want a ride Barry?"

Back to the fight:

Cyclone can see that the fight is going badly for his side. "I'll see you anothair day mon ami!" As he starts to fly off, Kreature lands on his back. No matter how much Cyclone spins, Kreature won't let go.*

* See Avengers #165 for a similar scene between the Beast and Whirlwind - Back Issue Baloo.

"You're not going anywhere unless we let you." Kreature pushes Cyclone towards Eidolon. Eidolon grabs Cyclone and slams him into the ground.

War Toy walks towards the Crimson Cowl and her captor. Suicide Selia backs away and lets Cowl go. The female member of Zemo's Masters of Evil stands ready to fight this robotic monstrosity. The Crimson Cowl runs to stand beside War Toy. "If I were you, I'd run! You are no match for War Toy's power!" Once again, Crimson Cowl starts to laugh. Her laugh is once again cut short.

War Toy has the Cowl by her throat. "I'm not your lackey witch! You have broken your promise to me and now you're going to pay!" War Toy throws the Crimson Cowl, who lands at the feet of Baron Zemo. "She's all yours. Just like we planned."

"You... You... You... betrayed me? Why?"

Zemo smiles at the woman lying at his feet. "I promised her Hawkeye."

Aboard the Champions' Quinjet:

"Batroc, this is Tasha! Get the gang outside! Hercules and I just received a distress signal from Hawkeye and the West Coast Avengers! We'll pick you up in the Quinjet!" Natasha sits at the controls of the quinjet. Hercules and her are on their way home from Dane Whitman's party in England. While Hercules went to see his old friend, and of course for the women and to drink, Natasha wanted to get some information for her SHIELD assignment. *

* (See Black Knight #7 for Dane's Party and then go to Crusaders Shadows #16-18 for the Russian Gambit. Note: The Russian Gambit is in Year 5 so Natasha doesn't go straight from the party to Russia.)

Back at the house:

"Outzide! Outzide!! Ze Black Widow has told us to meet her outside!" Batroc is enjoying himself. "Zis eez our chance to zhow up ze Avengairs!! We zhall handle ze zreat zat zey could not!"

"Batroc, this might be serious. The West Coast Avengers are quite powerful, if they couldn't handle this, who says we can?" Diamondback asks.

Bonita walks beside Diamondback and steers her away from Batroc. "You are doing yourself no good by comparing us to the Avengers. We may not be as powerful, but we may have the power needed to overcome this threat. Or maybe the Avengers will be there also. You need to gain your confidence back Rachel. Are you sure you still want to be a part of this team?"

Rachel is shocked at what she's hearing. The worst part is that Firebird's right, she has lost her confidence. "I'm not a quitter Bonita. I'm not a quitter."

"Then don't talk like one." Firebird walks towards the landing Quinjet.

Diamondback hangs back for a second. "I'm not a quitter. Am I?"

Back Outside Las Vegas (a few minutes ago):

"The Champions should be on their way any minute now Eidolon." Techno smiles. His impersonation of Hawkeye was flawless. "It's amazing how easy it is to trick these heroes."

"Yeah. Dolts. When we finish those losers I want to kill the three-headed dog. I owe him big time." Eidolon still fumes over the thought of being shrunk and swallowed by the beast from Hades.

Zemo stands before the kneeling Crimson Cowl. War Toy has her metal knee in the Cowl's back and is pulling her arms straight back. "I said beg! You know me well enough to know that I will make you beg for mercy! Now Beg!!"

"Never!"

"I've already killed you once. Do you think I'll hesitate to kill you a second time?"

"I had as much right to the Masters of Evil name as you." The pain in the Crimson Cowl's arms is incredible.

"What!? How dare you!?"

"Do you deny me my name? The name you gave me?"

"You betrayed that name when you tried to kill me! You never deserved it!" Zemo slaps the cowl across the face. "Break her arm! Break it!!"

<SNAP!>

"Nooooo! Please stop this! Please!" The Cowl's left arm hangs limply at her side.

"So now you beg me for mercy. War Toy, break her other arm."

"With pleasure." If a robot could smile, War Toy would be grinning from ear to ear.

"Noooooooo!!!"

Zemo kicks the Crimson Cowl over and places his foot upon her neck. "Now we end this charade." He pulls off the Cowl's mask so that he can see the face of his wife. "Darling, this wouldn't have been so bad if you hadn't escaped when I left you for dead."

The evil Baron turns away from his prone captive. "Let all of the others go except for Tiger Shark."

Tiger Shark's eyes go wide with fear. "I didn't fight you guys! I thought it was ok to join a team run by your wife! Please don't hold this against me!"

"Shut up you fool! The next time you think it wise to join the Masters of Evil and I'm not the leader, you won't walk away from the experience. Now watch what happens to upstarts who don't know their place."

"Zemo! We're here to put a stop to all of this madness!" The Black Widow stands before the other Champions: The Flash, Batroc, and Hercules are on her right, while Firebird, Diamondback, Ant-Man and Cerberus stand to the left.

"Ha! You got here sooner than we expected. I'll deal with you as soon as I teach my ex-wife the error of her ways." With those words Zemo drives his sword straight through Heike Zemo's chest.

"Noooooooo!!" The Flash starts to run forward when a beam hits the Champions.

"We set you bozos up! Techno had this ray made to send you losers to the Negative Zone! Have a nice death!" Eidolon smiles. He finally has revenge for the indignities he received at the hands of the Champions. His only regret is that since the plan actually worked he won't get to kill Cerberus himself.

While the Champions fade from view, the Flash heads straight towards the source of the ray. His hand reaches into the machine and destroys it, but the process the ray has started isn't stopped. The Champions vanish from view.

"Damn it! I wanted to use that ray on the West Coast Avengers next." Techno looks down at his machinery with a look of loss.

"I'm glad the plan worked Techno. Now dispose of this body." Zemo kicks his dead wife. "Tiger Shark you are free to go. Don't forget what you've seen today." He points to the limp form of the Crimson Cowl.

"Um... Zemo... The ray may not have sent them to the Negative Zone. The Flash destroyed the ray before it finished the job. They could be anywhere in time or space." Techno continues to analyze the machinery.

"Either they are dead or out of our hair. Either way they are not a concern anymore." Eidolon laughs while looking at the smoldering ground where the Champions once stood.

The End

Note to the Readers: This issue ends my run on the Champions. I wanted to go out with a bang and I think this issue does just that. The Masters of Evil War was a lot of fun to write. I liked how Mark Bousquet and Lonni Holland took my simple outline and ran with it in directions I never expected. Good work you two. As I write this there isn't a replacement for me on this title and I'll make sure it doesn't become a dead title. If I need to I'll write an issue here or there to make sure the title stays active.

I've tried to set up the ending of this issue so the next writer has free reign with the characters. The team could be anywhere and they don't all have to be in one place. Heck, they could be back home in Phoenix. I hope the next writer has as much fun as I did writing this series. If it wasn't for my dissertation and a new project I want to write I'd still be writing this sucker.

My new series will be on the Tapestry branch and is called Showcase of Suspense.

It is a series where the heroes of the DC and Marvel universes exist. The DC characters are primarily in their pre-Crisis versions while the Marvel heroes are more towards their 70's versions. I hope you give it a shot.

I'd like to thank Lonni and Bob Gansler for being the great BE's that they were. Both were fun to work with and did great jobs. Lastly I'd like to thank Mark Bousquet for editing my issues. He edited the last 6 or 7 issues and improved each one. So thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy what the next writer does.

Mark Beaulieu

Ulysses and Pandora Productions