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: 4   Author: Lonni Holland    Graphics: Kevin Newburn & Chris Luna

Jarvis, butler to the east coast contingent of Earth's mightiest heroes, hurried to the office of Captain America, a very official looking document clutched in his hand. Steve Rogers raised his head from the paperwork spread in front of him. "Jarvis? You look flustered. What's the problem, old friend?"

"Captain," Jarvis handed him the paper. "This was just delivered by two Government representatives. They were quite insistent that it be given to you immediately."

Captain America accepted the document. "That doesn't explain your discomposure, Jarvis. There has to be more than the story than that."

"Well, sir. It was the strip search they insisted on, in order to confirm that I was really who I said I was." Jarvis blushed slightly and left.

A soft buzzing and a blinking red light on the communications console indicated an incoming transmission.

"Avengers West, USAgent speaking. What do you want?"

"Agent, this is Captain America."

"C... Cap? Aww geez, sorry I sounded so snippy. I didn't know it was you." Agent swallowed hard. "Uhhh... the others are out. Can I help you?"

Cap nodded. "Yes, Jack, you can. I'm faxing a copy of a government document over our secure line. The government has requested Avengers' assistance in guarding a visiting dignitary from one of the smaller island nations in the Pacific. I know it's not our usual type of job, but they were rather insistent. Can you make sure the team is notified. The arrival details are all in there."

"No problem Cap. After all we have to do our part for Uncle Sam." Jack cleared his throat and looked downward. "Uhhh, Captain, I just want you to know, how, um, how proud I am to be an Avenger, to be part of the great tradition that you and..." He lifted his eyes and saw a blank screen. "Damn, I should have know that bastard would be too stuck up to stay and talk to me. Him and his tame lapdog, Barton, they belong together... jerks!"

Back in New York Captain America also looked quizzically at the blank screen in front of him and wondered if he would ever understand the Agent. Well, at least he had said he'd take care of the faxed document before he cut the transmission.

In Los Angeles, in the basement of a government building, a Commission communications expert chuckled over his success in tapping and manipulating the Avengers transmissions.

"Bobbi!!! Have you seen my black socks?"

Bobbi Barton whispered to herself, "Of course if you unpacked your bags instead of just dumping them in a drawer..." Aloud, she called from the bathroom, "I put the dirty clothes out for the laundry pickup, sport. Fresh pair, top drawer, right side."

"Got 'em. Hey, aren't you ready yet? I know we decided to go for a late dinner, but at this rate it's going to be more like breakfast."

"Well, I'm ready, and after all you were having a nap earlier, so that did slow us down for a couple of hours." Bobbi walked out of the bathroom, giving her blonde hair one last quick brush. She stopped and posed before her husband. Janet Van Dyne had helped her shop for the occasion. The dress she wore was a long diaphanous grey affair, cut deeply in the front. It was almost see through, and clung to her slender body provocatively. Jan had described it as the dress that you rarely wore, because it rarely stayed on long. From the look on Clint's face Bobbi knew it was having the desired effect.

Clint grinned, took her into his arms and pulled her close to him. "You know, we can always send out for dinner."

"Not on your life, sport. I didn't spend all that time getting dressed up just so you can undress me five minutes later. Of course, there is always after dinner..."

The pair chuckled as they left their bungalow hand in hand and walked up to the main hotel for their dinner. In the bushes two hidden figures watched them leave. The man whispered. "Aren't they just too precious? Of course you know what they are going to be up to when they get back don't you? Why don't we try to sneak inside to get a better look?"

His companion slapped him. "Oddball, you really are a pervert. This is a job. We're being paid well to keep them under surveillance. Use a bit of professional discretion for a change."

"Aw Bombsie, you're just no fun any more." Oddball shrugged. "I suppose this means we have to creep up to the hotel and watch them eat steaks while we crouch outside and nibble on beef jerky again. Okay, lets get to it, but I'm not really sure that what we're being paid is enough to make up for the boredom of watching the lovebirds holding hands and staring at each other. Only time this job has been fun was when they were going at it."

Bombshell just rolled her eyes and headed off through the woods towards the hotel, her companion close behind.

Consuello, the compound cook, was poring the coffee. Most of the team had gathered around the breakfast table and were quietly eating or reading newspapers. Hank and Jan strolled in together. As he sat, Hank asked, "So gang, anything new and exciting this morning?"

Agent looked up from his plate of bacon and eggs. "Did you bother to read the message I left for you?" On seeing the blank look on Hank's face he continued, "Yeah, I figured as much. Why do we bother with these fancy procedures if no one pays attention to them? We got a government request in last night, faxed by Captain America from the east coast. You just might want to take a look at it, since the government visitor it talks about arrives in about two hours."

Hank dashed to retrieve the fax and returned just as quickly. His face was flushed, whether from rushing or from annoyance was uncertain. "For pity's sake Agent, this is important stuff. This representative, Hiroshi Tanaka, will be here in just a few hours and we still have security checks to be made. Couldn't you have made just a little effort to make sure we were notified?"

Agent bit back a retort as he reflected 'Yeah, like you guys have ever noticed when I made the extra effort.' Aloud he snapped, "Hey, I posted a message, exactly as I was supposed to, just before I set the comm board on automatic and went to bed. It was 2AM after all, and none of you party animals were home yet. Some of us like to be up and functional at a reasonable hour you know. How was I to know you wouldn't check when you got back" He rose abruptly, snagged the last piece of toast from his plate and continued, "Now if you'll excuse me, I want to get in some training before our pet diplomat arrives. If you need me for anything I'll be in the gym, doing my job!"

The others watched his retreating back in stunned silence. Hank shook his head. "Never! Never will I understand what makes that man tick."

Tigra rose from her place. "Let me talk to him. Maybe he just feels as out of place with the Avengers as I used to." As she left, she thought, 'and perhaps still do.'

Jan had assembled a make shift 'honor guard' and awaited the diplomatic delegation. Iron Man had assured them he would arrive later. Hank had gone to check on the Blank, who was still being detained in one of the AWC holding cells. Tigra and a rather subdued USAgent had left to make a perimeter sweep of the expansive grounds. Wanda and Simon talked quietly together as they waited at the gates. In the distance they could see the police escort and limousines approaching along the winding road that led to the compound.

Jan turned to Quicksilver. "Well Pietro, things never seem to change with the Avengers, do they? Of course usually it's some super-powered foe, so I suppose that diplomatic baby-sitting will seem pretty dull."

"Perhaps Janet, but I have to wonder why the government has asked us to handle this. Los Angeles police security would be sufficient. Perhaps there is some threat that the powers that be haven't informed us of. It wouldn't be the first time that our government has withheld information from us, information that we really need to know."

Wasp shrugged. "You're probably right, but there's not much we can do about it now." She raised her voice so her other teammates could hear her. "Look sharp people, here they come."

The gates of the compound opened and, with sirens wailing and flags waving, the entourage entered. As the vehicles halted, heavily armored police officers surrounded the door of the limo and stood at attention. A small man in formal attire stepped out. Jan approached to welcome him to the compound when all hell broke loose. Swarms of small craft, only about a foot in length, zoomed in over the walls and began firing stun blasts at the diplomatic party. Perimeter stunulators shot back in return but were quickly nullified as literally hundreds of the drone attackers darkened the sky.

Quicksilver, dodging and twisting between the beams, shoved Tanaka back into his armored limo and slammed the door behind him. Wanda aimed her erratic hex powers at an incoming wave of drones and managed to short out a few of them but was stunned by several bolts from the ever increasing numbers. Wonderman hesitated a moment, in shock at the sight of the Witch lying unconscious at his feet. He then dove into the oncoming attackers, smashing them with reckless abandon. Jan had shrunk down and was flitting between them, firing her Wasp stings at their machinery and trying to avoid being hit herself. She fervently wished the others would arrive soon.

On the ground the police had ringed the limousine and were firing their weapons at the spinning craft, stun bolts bouncing off their bullet-proof vests. Jan reflected that perhaps the Avengers should start wearing more protective clothing too. Just as she thought they were about to be overrun she spotted Hank racing from the building complex and Agent and Tigra approaching rapidly from the farthest reaches of the grounds. It was a mistake to let her attention wander, because an unexpected blast caught her and sent her tumbling to the ground. Pietro grabbed her, and his sister, and whisked them out of harm's way as Wonderman continued the battle and the others joined into the fray.

Hank hastily enlarged a piece of metal from one of his many pockets and used it as a shield in front of the diplomatic vehicle. As Agent started smashing at the attackers with his fists and shield he bellowed. "Hey, Pym, you got another of those things?" Hank nodded and Jack continued, "OK, so make one even bigger for me and I can use it as a fly swatter against these stupid metal bugs. Better snap it up man, cause here come some more."

"You got it, Agent." Hank pulled another small piece of metal from his pocket and started to enlarge it. "Okay, here it comes." He tossed it towards Jack, giving it one last dose of Pym particles as he did. By the time Agent caught it, the metal sheet was about ten feet wide and fifteen feet high.

Jack laughed and yelled "Batter up!" He swung his new weapon and cleared over twenty of the small attack craft from the sky in a single blow. As he continued to brush the enemy to the ground, Wonder Man shifted to take up his flank position. Between the two of them, they soon managed to clear the sky of most of the attackers, as Quicksilver and Tigra took out individual aggressors and Hank guarded the limousine.

In just a few moments the ground was littered with smashed and twisted metal and the remaining invaders were rapidly departing. Jan and Wanda , both groggy, but back on their feet, joined their teammates as they clustered around the diplomatic envoy. Jan turned to Hank. "What on earth was that all about?"

Hank shook his head, "I'll be damned if I know, but I think we better find out."

"Hey Bombshell, it's about time you got back. I've been here alone all night. Man, you should have seen what those two were doing after they got back from dinner. I never knew the Hawkster had it in him, or in her, as the case may be. C'mere baby, have I got a new position or two to try with you."

Bombshell shove him roughly backward and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small round objected and started flipping it up and down. "Oddball, unless you want to eat this mini bomb, I'd advise you to keep your filthy hands off of me. Maybe we were lovers before, but now we are co-workers, that's all, and if you don't smarten up we won't be working together either. If you want to get laid then wait until this job is over and then go hire someone who can put up with you and your bizarre tastes, the way you usually do."

"But Bombsie....." He saw the resolve in her eyes and decided not to press his luck. "Okay, but you know I only want to make it with you because I still love you." Seeing that his words were having no effect he shrugged. "Well, if that's the way you want it..."

"It is! Now stop bothering me with the sexual escapades of those two spandex misfits, we have a job to do and we have new instructions." Oddball looked quizzically at her and she continued, "He's upset that they are staying away from the compound for so long so we have to get them to go back. An attack seems the easiest way. After they come back from lunch we take them."

"Oooooo boy, action at last. I am gonna enjoy this."

Bombshell shrugged and pocketed her mini bomb. "Whatever turns you on, just as long as it's not me."

Hank Pym sat quietly in one of the main floor lounges and rubbed at his temples. He had a headache that just wasn't getting any better. The assault on the compound seemed pointless. There had been no one with the small machines, and seemingly no one behind the attack either. Hopefully they would be able to get to the bottom of things once they had a chance to talk to Mr. Tanaka, who was resting in his rooms. Right now Hank just wished he could lay his throbbing head down and rest for a few minutes, Maybe then he could get rid of the pounding behind his eyes.

Down the hall USAgent made a secretive phone call. He drummed his fingers impatiently against the table top as he listened to the seemingly interminable Barry Manilow medley that was playing in his ear as he waited to be taken off hold. Finally his call was put through.

"Clemson here."

"Okay Lew, what's the deal here? You asked us to watch this guy and before he even gets his feet out of the car the compound gets attacked."

"Really Jackie? My, that is a shame. I trust your security was up to it?"

"Yeah, it was, and stop calling me Jackie, damn you. Did you know anything about this?"

"Me? Jack, if I had known don't you think I would have warned you? Tanaka is from a small nation, but a strategically positioned one. His safety is of paramount importance to our government."

"Well, you better not be shitting me, man. Wasp and the Witch got hurt in that fight. Not badly, but if they had, and if I found out you had held out on me...."

"Jackie, that sounds a lot like a threat, and the Commission doesn't take kindly to threats. I'll talk to you later, when you've cooled off, and come to your senses."

Agent fumed at the abrupt dial tone and slammed the phone down. "I swear Lew, if you've screwed the team you'll pay for it, I promise you that." He stormed out.

Clint and Bobbi Barton sat together in a wicker loveseat, relaxing after lunch and enjoying the soft breeze from the ocean. Clint's arm around her shoulders, Bobbi rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, the drubbing of his heart a comforting sound in her ear. She had finally summoned up the courage to speak, when her husband beat her to it.

"Well cutie, as much as I'm enjoying the side benefits of this trip, I really think we need to do some serious talking about us."

"Yes we do, Clint. You know, there is something I've been trying to tell you for a few days now." She swallowed deeply but was determined to continue. "Remember when we took over the Great Lakes bunch, and we were sort of... getting reconciled? Well, there's been something I've been meaning to talk to you about..."

Clint raised her head until their eyes met. "Uh, Bobbi, what are you talking abou...OWWW!" He grabbed at his shoulder as a green object bounced off it and rolled under the porch.

"Clint?" Bobbi jumped to her feet and looked around. Seeing nothing she turned her attention back to her husband who was clutching his shoulder and grimacing. "Lover? What happened? Are you all right?"

"Not really." He grunted and rotated his arm. "Something hard got me right on the top of the shoulder."

"Oh, you mean something like this, Hawkster?" The voice from the distance was followed by the colorfully garbed Oddball, who lobbed another ivory sphere at the couple.

"Oddball?" Clint leapt to his feet and threw himself and Bobbi out of harm's way. "What the...."

"I'm baaaack!" The brightly garbed juggler raced towards them and did a couple of backflips Landing with a flourish he continued, "Just when you thought it was safe to sit on the porch..." He laughed and renewed his attack.

Clint continued to try to shield his wife. He grunted as another of the balls hit his newly healed ribs. Wrenching from his protective grasp Bobbi dove for the side of the porch where some firewood was stored. Grabbing two pieces of the wood she jumped in front of Clint and started batting away the projectiles, trying to direct them back toward Oddball as best she could. As Clint struggled to his feet she muttered, "Well, these aren't as good as my battle staves, but they'll just have to do. See if you can find something to arm yourself, lover. It doesn't look like he's going to give up easily."

"Yes, lover," Oddball crooned, "Come on, lets see if you have the balls to fight me. Of course I already know what kind of balls you really have."

"What the hell are you talking about Oddball, and why are you attacking us?"

"What am I talking about? Oh Clint, darling... I've seen you perform. And such enthusiastic performances they were too. And the way you made her pant and moan..." In a falsetto he continued, "Oh Clint, now baby, oh God yes" He snickered. "And then there's that cute little quiver in her voice when she finally starts to..."

Hawk leapt towards him, livid. "You depraved son of a bitch! You were watching us?!?"

Bobbi urged, "Clint, don't let him get to you. You can't beat him if you're mad and besides you don't have your bow."

"Oh, don't I? Well you just watch me."

Hawk raced towards their car which was parked beside the cabin. He dropped to his knees as one of Oddball's balls got him in the back of the leg, but pulled himself back up and limped on. Bobbi whipped one of the pieces of wood at their colorful opponent and grabbed for a few more. Oddball ducked but pressed on. By this time Clint had grabbed his bow and quiver from under the seat and nocked and fired a smoke arrow towards Oddball.

Just then Bombshell made her appearance. Hawk was following up with a bola arrow and she started to toss one of her bombs at him while he was concentrating on his target. Bobbi knocked it from the air with another well thrown scrap of firewood. As Oddball fell, tangled by the bola around his feet Bombshell threw yet another of her mini-bombs at Mockingbird. Although Bobbi batted it away, it still exploded close enough to her for the concussion to throw her backwards. Hawkeye saw her fall and ran to her side. While his attention was diverted Bombshell grabbed the bound Oddball, tossed him over her shoulder and retreated to the woods.

Clint knelt beside his wife and cradled her limb body in his arms. "Bobbi? Bobbi?!?" He kissed her gently and flinched as he tasted the blood that trickled from the corner of her mouth. "Oh my God, Bobbi, please wake up! Please!" He hugged her limp form close to his chest and wept.

And so we leave the Whackos again, true believers. I know it has been four long months since our last issue and for that I apologize and plead the lure of other projects but, like Oddball, I'm baaack and working hard. Thanks for your patience. I'm going to take a break from the letter column this time and get busy right away on issue 5 'And a Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven'.