To combat those threats against which no hero could stand alone, Earth's Mightiest Heroes formed a covenant to unite in battle to protect all mankind. Now, from their second base of operations on America's West Coast, a new chapter in their legend is being written.

Stan Lee presents.......

The Untold Tales of the

Issue: 3   Author: Lonni Holland    Graphics: Kevin Newburn & Chris Luna

Moonlight sparkled off the gentle waves that rolled up to the beach. A couple were seated beneath a palm tree, their arms entwined around each other in a passionate embrace. As their kisses grew longer and more torrid the slender blonde woman sank back to the sand and ardently pulled her mate down on top of her.

"Aaagghhh! Bobbi, watch the side would ya? That hurt!" Clint Barton, the Avenging marksman known as Hawkeye, grimaced and rubbed gingerly at his bruised ribs.

Bobbi Barton, otherwise known as Mockingbird, laughed softly and murmured, "Oh Clint, you're such a baby sometimes. Shall I kiss it better for you?" She drew him back down to her and kissed his lips instead, as their limbs entangled. "Or maybe you have a better idea?"

"Shut up and come here cutie..." The rest of his comments were unintelligible.

"Okay Pym! Enough is enough. You doped me up so much I've done nothing for the last few days but sleep, but I'm awake now and you are not going to give me anything else to put me out again. I'm fine I tell you, except for some sore ribs. Now when can I get up?"

Hank Pym sighed as he perched on the end of Hawkeye's bed. "Clint, I've managed to reverse the robotizing effects * now, but...."

* Clint was robotized by Ultron back in AWC 66

"But what?" Clint's eyes flashed angrily. "Damn it Hank, I hate being fussed over. I'll grant you I felt pretty miserable a couple of days ago, but I'm a lot better now and I want out of here."

"Well, I can let you out of here right now. Will that make you happy?"

"Now you're talking." Clint swung his legs over the side of the bed to the floor and tried to stand up. He dropped back to a seated position just as fast. "Whoa... dizzy..."

Hank smothered a chuckle. "Now do you believe me? You're not one hundred percent yet. You took a hell of a beating before, you've been flat on your back for almost three days now, and you need some time to get back on your feet." He paused a moment. "Clint, I want you to take a vacation."

"A what???"

"You heard me... a vacation. When was the last time you took some time off? And I don't mean you stomping out of here when the government foisted US Agent on us! * Not just a day or two, I mean a real holiday... no training, no monitor duty, no meetings... a real live, honest to goodness vacation, the kind regular folks have." Hank stopped for a moment and scrutinized his hesitant teammate. He could see that Hawkeye was losing his resolve so he pressed on. "Clint, think of it this way; this could be a great chance for you and Bobbi to have some private time together." He could see he had Clint's interest now. "Think of it as sort of a second honeymoon; maybe you could iron things out between you. I know you really want that, and I'll bet you so does she."

* it happened way back in AWC 45

Clint looked at him intently, and a smile started to flicker across his lips. "A second honeymoon huh?. Hank, my friend, that might be just what the doctor ordered."

Hank nodded and said under his breath, "Yes, I thought you might think that way about it."

Jan called the meeting to order. Although she was no longer a formal member of the team, Mockingbird attended as well, seated beside Hawkeye. Hank rose to update the team on their latest attacker, the Blank.

"Well, so far he's been totally uncooperative. We can't even get his real name out of him. It appears he's never had a criminal record, so a fingerprint search was no help. At least the DA's office has been helping on this one and have agreed to return the Blank to our custody. We have permission to hold him here at the estate until his preliminary hearing comes up in a couple of weeks."

US Agent slammed his fist on the table. "So in the meantime we let this jerk play John Doe for us? What a bunch of wimps! Let me question him for a few minutes. I'll find out who he is and what he's up to."

Clint snorted, "Yeah riiiiiight Agent! You weren't even here when the guy attacked."

"Barton, just butt out! Where I was is none of your business. It's not like I was on duty or anything."

"On duty?? Gimme a break Agent! You buggered off when you knew we were short handed. Since Simon and I were both on the inactive list, the least you could..."

Agent jumped to his feet and slammed the table again. "Inactive!?! Hah! You wusses! Williams was snoozing and then there's you. The carnival kid gets knocked down and it's a national emergency. You even have to have the ex-wife out here to hold your hand!"

By this time Clint was also on his feet and leaning across the table. "You arrogant son of a..." Bobbi tried to pull him back to his seat but he continued, "Some of us get along on a real skill you know, instead of buying our powers from some slimy...."

Jan was banging the table with the gavel. "ORDER!" Both of them looked at her for a moment then sank reluctantly back to their chairs. Hawkeye's face was red with fury, his blue eyes were like ice, but he held his tongue. US Agent's upper lip curled in a snarl, but he also remained silent. "That's just about enough out of both of you. Hank? If you'd like to continue, I'm sure there will be no more interruptions." Her eyes pinned Clint and Jack and they both grudgingly nodded.

Hank shuffled his notes briefly and carried on. "Well, since we haven't found out anything from the Blank, I can at least report that I've made some headway with his force field belt. As I'm sure you all know, the original belt formed a slippery field around the wearer that shut out almost all light reflection, making him appear as just a grey featureless shape. Now I don't have the original for comparison, but, it appears that the frequency has been modified to completely stop all light reflection, making the wearer effectively invisible, but the slippery surface seems to have been sacrificed in the meantime."

"And exactly how does that help us Hank?" Tigra yawned. "This scientific stuff bores me unless we can use it somehow."

"Quite right Tigra." Hank looked mildly irritated at yet another interruption, but he continued. "Unfortunately this doesn't help us much at the moment. It does, however, seem to indicate that the Blank has a new partner as he claimed. These adjustments would have to be made by someone with far more expertise than he appears to have. One thing I did notice was that some of the components * seem to have been made by Stark Industries."

* as related by the Blank himself in the WCA LS #2

Iron Man looked up abruptly. "Dr. Pym, are you sure about that?"

"I sure am Ton... I mean, Iron Man." Hank cleared his throat. "Can you see if Tony Stark, or someone on his research staff, can assist us? The original technology could be a Stark company invention. Any help we can get from that end would be really appreciated."

"Are we just about finished here?" Iron Man rose. "I'd like to get on this right away."

Hank shrugged and looked at Jan. She replied, "There isn't much else, just a few administrative matters. I can bring you up to date later."

Iron Man nodded curtly and left. Jan continued "Simon? You've already said that you're ready to return to active duty." Wonderman concurred. "Pietro, I know you only intended to join us briefly * but can you stay with us for a while longer?"

* Quicksilver joined to battle Magneto back in AWC 58

Quicksilver looked puzzled. "I don't see why not Janet, but I wasn't really sure if I'd be welcome. After all I do have a bit of a history * with the team."

* he betrayed them way back in AWC Annual 1 and Avengers Annual 15

The Wasp smiled. "That was a long time ago. After all, once an Avenger, always an Avenger. Since Clint is still on our injured list we could certainly use your help, and I'm sure you'd like to have a longer visit with your sister too." Seeing that both Pietro and Wanda seemed pleased she continued "Well, now that we've settled that... Clint, I see no reason why you shouldn't continue your recovery away from the compound so, on behalf of the team, I'm going to approve Hank's suggestion that you take a vacation for a few weeks."

Agent rolled his eyes. Hawkeye looked like he was about to say something but Jan banged the gavel and dismissed the meeting quickly, before the two of them had a chance to get started again. She grabbed Bobbi's arm as everyone was heading out, and pulled her off to one side.

"I hope you don't mind Bobbi, but when Hank told me about the two of you going away together I made a few arrangements. I reserved a space for the two of you at a place I know south of San Diego. A bungalow right on the ocean, your own stretch of private beach, but room service and housekeeping just a phone call away from the main hotel. It's a honeymooners paradise so the two of you will have plenty of time to be by yourselves. What do you think?"

"Sounds perfect Jan. We've tried a few times to reconcile but it never seems to quite work out. Maybe a little time as Clint and Bobbi instead of Hawkeye and Mockingbird is exactly what we need."

"Well, that's one of the reasons Hank told Clint this wasn't to be a working vacation. No bow and arrows, no battle staves, just bathing suits and sun tan lotion for both of you. I hope it works out." She hugged Bobbi quickly.

Mockingbird sighed and looked wistfully out the window at her estranged husband as he walked slowly across the compound. "Me too, Jan, me too."

"It's just like you said it would be. He's back at the compound now and he's being held there."

"What do you mean back?? Where was he?"

"In the local lockup for two days, but they transferred him back last night."

"As long as that's all it was. It will take longer than that. Things are proceeding just as I planned them then." He nodded. "Good... good."

And as we leave there is just the hint of laughter, perhaps touched with a bit of madness?

The women of the team were gathered near the pool. It was unseasonably warm for January, even in Los Angeles. Jan had just gotten out of the water and was toweling her hair, Wanda and Bobbi were seated at a patio table sipping coffee, Tigra was stretched out on a lounge chair, enjoying the morning sunshine.

Bobbi set her cup down and ventured, "So ladies, since things seem pretty quiet and all of the boys seem to be doing something, what do you have planned for the day? Clint and I will be leaving soon and I wouldn't want you to get bored without us."

Jan laughed. "Well it certainly is never boring when Clint and Jack are on the compound together, but I think we can entertain ourselves after the two of you leave. I'm going to take Hank out to a movie later, if I can ever get him out of the lab. Funny, he's changed a lot, grown so much more relaxed and self-confident, but my biggest competition is still a test tube. I guess some things never change. Wanda? Tigra? Any plans"

Tigra stretched even farther and closed her eyes. "Mmmmmm! I'm just going to relax and enjoy the sunshine. I spent too long in New York not to appreciate sunbathing in January. It never stays quiet long enough for me to really appreciate living on the west coast. Of course Iron Man did promise he'd take me out later, but since Hank laid that little bomb on us about that stupid belt maybe being from Stark Industries I may not see him for a while."

Wanda stared down into her coffee cup. Finally she became aware of everyone's eyes on her and she looked up. "Well, I thought I might spend a little time with Simon. After all, we did head out for dinner back when the Reaper first attacked, and we never did manage to have any time together. He asked me to go for a walk in Santa Monica with him. I owe him that much at least."

Just then Clint and Pietro came around the corner. "Hey Bobbi! You ready to go yet? Quickie and I were reliving a few old times waiting for you."

Under her breath Bobbi muttered, just loud enough for Wanda to hear "I was ready two hours ago." Aloud she said "Sure am, lover. Shall we?" She rose, walked over to Clint and slipped her arm around his waist. She hid a slight smile as he winced when she touched his sore ribs, but she loosened her hold. "Bye guys, see you in a couple of weeks."

"What do you mean national security.... {click} Clemson?? Clemson??? Damn you........"

The waves sparked with crimson highlights as the sun seemed to slip into the Pacific. Long shadows from the Ocean Boulevard condominiums stretched across the ramshackle frame houses spread along the east edge of the beach. Wanda Maximoff, clad in a delicate peasant style dress, stepped off the sidewalk onto the sands that spread south from the famed Santa Monica pier. She ignored the shops and restaurant that beckoned from the landmark, choosing instead to wander along the deserted beach. Simon Williams walked at her side. Instead of civilian clothes he was wearing his now familiar costume, little more than black slacks and a tank top. They had strolled now, in an uncomfortable silence, for about twenty minutes.

Wanda hesitated a moment. Simon looked at her, momentarily baffled by the pained and confused look in her eyes. Then he noticed what she was looking at..... a children's playground. He wasn't sure what to do then. Agatha Harkness had said that she had submerged the pain of Wanda's memories of her children, but it looked like they were coming back. He touched her arm hesitantly and she turned towards him, then buried her face in his chest. He held her cautiously, and waited for her to speak.

She didn't cry, she didn't shake, she just stood there for long moments, comforted by his gentle embrace, as the recollections slowly slipped back into her subconscious. Finally she raised her head. "Simon, there was something... just a faint thought there... that I should recall something... something about children. Is this something that happened when I was in Immortus's power?"

He nodded but was unable to say any more. Would talking about it send her over the edge?

She seemed to understand. "I know that a lot of strange things happened to me then Simon, not the least of which was the loss of my powers. Perhaps when... no, if they return, the memories will too."

"But Wanda. your powers have returned haven't they?? I mean, you were able to help Quicksilver, Tigra and Hawk back when they were robotized."

She smiled, that quick shy smile. "Yes, I suppose they did somewhat." She hugged him slightly then let go of him. "Thank you Simon Williams. You are just what I need right now, a good friend. I can wait, for my powers and for my memory both. Shall we continue our walk?"

Simon nodded and carefully slipped his arm around her slender waist. She didn't protest, so he left it there as they walked along. A good friend wasn't quite what he was hoping for but it was a start.

Pietro Maximoff ran his eyes rapidly over the dials and displays of the monitor station. He mentally chided himself for using his speed again. Years of practice had almost enabled him to perceive the slow moving world at a normal pace, but he still found it difficult to not be impatient with his normal speeded colleagues.

Behind him a door opened and Tigra entered bearing two steaming, fragrant cups of coffee. She extended one to Quicksilver and pulled a chair up for herself near the monitor station. "Mind if I spend a little time with you Pete?"

"No, please do. I'm glad of the company." He raised his eyebrows slightly. "Coffee?? I didn't know cats liked coffee."

She laughed, a throaty, sensual sound. "No, I don't think they do. But when I was Greer I always enjoyed my morning coffee and now that my cat and human souls are merged... well, I guess now I can enjoy the best of the pleasures of both worlds." She leaned forward slightly, and, as she used both hands to raise the mug to her lips, her arms pressed against her torso, making her cleavage even deeper. Quicksilver flushed slightly and turned his attention back to his dials. Tigra laughed slightly again. "Sorry about that. I'm really not coming on to you. It just seems to be one of those cat things. I automatically preen near a man, especially a new man. You should see Agent blush! It clashes terribly with his uniform."

They both laughed at that, and then settled back into a companionable silence. Perhaps it was their shared adventure against Ultron or perhaps it was that they both felt slightly out of place with the others of the team, but sitting together in the monitor room felt very nice.

Finally Tigra spoke again. "So, why are you on monitor duty again? It's the dullest part of being an Avenger, but you keep volunteering for it."

"Perhaps, but in a way I owe the team at least this much and I want to make myself useful. I'm no good in the lab, I'm certainly not going to act as chairman, so I can do this for them instead." He closed his eyes a moment, lost in thought. "I have quite a spotty history with the Avengers and I'd like to repair that somehow. I can't do it on the east coast. Crystal is there and I'm just not ready for that yet. But I can start to rectify some of the damage here. Clint and Wanda and I were the first real set of replacements. I certainly wasn't at my best back then, but I want to be here with them both now, even if only for a short time. My sister has been hurt, badly hurt and I'd like to be here for her. I only hope that Clint is getting his life back together now that he's off with Bobbi, alone for a while. " He sighed longingly. "Would that I could be reconciled with Crys."

Tigra leaned forward and touched him softly. "Quicksilver, you don't have to atone for your sins you know. The team isn't like that. I was a pain in their collective butts long enough. I know."

"I know that Greer, but thank you." He smiled. "But perhaps if I make my own personal peace with the team, then I can, at last, make peace with myself. Maybe then I can try to also make my peace with my wife."

Moonlight glinted in the window and reflected off the sweat-soaked naked bodies of the bed's occupants. Still entangled together, basking in the after-glow of their lovemaking, and catching their breath, they were oblivious to anything around them.

"Mmmmmm. I love you Bobbi." His voice still husky from exertion Clint nibbled his wife's ear a moment, then continued, "You know that don't you?"

"Yes Clint, I know that and I love you too." She returned his kisses. "This is what we needed. Just the two of us, alone, together."

"Uh huh." He took a deep breath and then kissed her again, lingering a moment before he spoke, his hands gently caressing her. "And this time we're going to make it work. I don't ever want to be without you again."

She answered him with renewed desire, and as their hands explored each other, their passions rekindled, neither noticed the figures at the window, watching them. One of the voyeurs pulled the other back and into the woods that surrounded the bungalow. She half dragged her companion away.

He protested, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"We've seen enough now, and the time isn't right. We'll be informed when it is."

He pouted. "Aww! But I wanted to watch them, again."

She rolled her eyes and derided him. "Pervert!"

And so we leave our friends and lovers for this month. Next issue, the Commission's plans come to the forefront and where will US Agent's loyalties lie? Can Simon and Wanda be just friends? Will Quicksilver finally make his peace with the Avengers? And what of Clint & Bobbi... will they end up in a fight, in a bed, or on the front page of the Enquirer?? Be here in thirty to find out in our next story "To Everything There is a Season..." But first... our lettercol:

Hey Lonni!
Yet another great issue! I'm glad that you brought back the Blank: I always thought his death was wasteful. I can't wait to see where you are going with this Hawkeye/Mockingbird stuff and the US Agent's secret mission. Anyway It should be fun. Can't wait until next issue!!!
TJB

Thanks again TJ. Always glad to hear from one of the MV1's most faithful reader. Now I know a little secret about TJ that I'll be delighted to devulge in our coming attractions box below. If you want to have your letter in our next lettercol just send your mail to: lonni@paratime.ca.

MV1 is happy to welcome TJ Burns, one of their biggest supporters, as he joins the rest of the madcap authors. TJ's new series The Destroyer has already been posted and begins at issue 10. Be sure to check it out, you won't be disappointed.