Gods and Men
Rick Jones!? (
Avenger Forever)
Henry Pym… Yellowjacket!? (
Stinging like a Bee)
Hector Hall... Sandman!? (
Dreamer)
Illyana Rasputin... Magik! (
Mutant Exile)
Boston Brand... Deadman! (
Dead Again)
Prep-Time
“What the!?” a voice of confusion was heard in the Tower of Fate as the costumed adventurer known as the Sandman suddenly materialized in the main hall.
“Hec?” Boston Brand questioned as he turned the corner into the main hall to investigate the strange voice that sounds an awful lot like his team-mate Hector Hall.
“Me and Magik just saw the others vanish… what the!?”
Boston Brand too was surprised to see the Sandman standing in the centre of the Tower’s main hall. The Sandman was probably a tad more surprised, especially when realizing this ghost had seemingly recognized him.
“How do you know who I am?” the younger Hector spoke as he removed his mask.
“This weird fellow had just introduced himself to Lyta and me in the Dream Stream, and now… where am I?” he questioned out loud as he kept his distance from Deadman.
“I can explain.” another sudden arrival said. Standing to the side was the form of Daniel Hall, the King of Dreams and Lord of the Dreaming with his loyal raven Matthew sitting upon his shoulder.
“You are in the Tower of Fate.”
“You’re, you’re the same guy we just met.”
“Not precisely. He is in some ways my predecessor.”
“Well, send me back.”
“I’m afraid that is not an option Mr. Hall. I’ve recruited you for this tournament, in which you will shortly face another team to combat.”
“Why me?”
“The runners of this tournament have decreed a ‘Theme Week’. Only participants of a certain power level have been allowed to compete. After this match, you will be returned to your place in time and space.”
“And what’s the prize if we win?”
“That is for you to eventually find out. I bid you Mr. Brand to not enlighten Mr. Hall here as to what’s in store for him.”
“Hey, I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.”
“Very well, the best of luck.”
“Hey, wait!” Hector Hall futilely leapt for the form of Dream but missed as Daniel disappeared, and he could swear he heard that raven chuckle.
“What did he mean by ‘what’s in store for him’?” Hector asked as he turned towards Deadman. Deadman did not answer him, miming that his lips were sealed and the key thrown away.
“Great, just great.”
…
“Huh!?” Rick Jones himself wondered as he was suddenly transported away from the battlefield and turned up in the Tower of Fate’s library.
“What’s the matter, Jones? This should be common stuff now.” a chuckling Yellowjacket spoke, who turned around from the bookcase he was perusing before.
“Where are the bracelets?”
“Bracelets?”
“Should’ve figured.”
“What? We were just in the middle of the big battle against the Timekeepers’ forces. Before they plucked me away that is.”
“Yeah, well, consider me Yellowjacket + about 15 minutes.”
“Well, I guess we win then.”
“Yeah, we do.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ll figure out soon enough, bunky. Now, shut up, I was trying to figure out where we are before you came along.”
“And I’d like to know who you are.” Magik took the element of surprise as she suddenly appeared behind Rick Jones and placed her blade near his neck. In an immediate response, Rick grabbed the blade and threw it and Magik on the table before him.
“Wow, I thought I felt the Destiny Force leaving me.”
“I sure don’t feel a thing of that stuff anymore.”
“Seems I got to keep the part of the Destiny Force I still held with me.”
“Let’s not forget about the homicidal dame, huh Jones?” Yellowjacket said with a sneer as he turned his attention to the table, but Magik had already teleported away again.
“Damn.”
…
“Boston?” Magik questioned as she teleported into the main hall. The sight surprised her, as a seemingly younger version of Hector Hall stood before her.
“And company.”
“Fate?”
“Sandman.”
“Boston?”
“He’s cool. Hec, meet your future team-mate Magik.”
“So you are Hector Hall.” Magik replied as she cautiously approached the Sandman and the two shook hands.
“You find any of the others yet, toots?”
“Well, not any of the others.”
…
“…and that is how this game shall be played. You’ll both be returned to your place in time and space afterwards. Also, Mr. Jones, you’ll find that you’ve kept only the power of the Destiny Force that imbued you with enhanced physical capabilities.” the enigmatic Dream told Rick Jones and Yellowjacket.
“Guess we ain’t calling any other Avengers.”
“Correct. Now, your team-mates will be here soon. The best of luck.” and without another word Dream had disappeared as easily he had appeared.
“I see we got in on the tail-end of that conversation.” Magik suddenly spoke as she, Deadman and Sandman teleported onto the scene.
“Uhhh… hey team?” Rick Jones spoke a tad cautiously.
…
After the proper introductions and apologies were made, there was still the coming match that the team needed to discuss, and with that, their opponents.
“So, anyone know who we’re facing?”
“Wait, I’ve… yeah, I thought so.” Hector Hall replied as he pulled out a piece of paper tucked under his belt.
“I felt Dream tucking this into my belt just before he disappeared. I’m supposed to throw it on the ground.”
Hector complied with the command on the paper and threw it to the floor, when a light started to emanate from it and a group of holograms appeared, life-size depictions of the team’s opponents, with their names displayed with it.
The Justice Knights!
Bruce Wayne… Batman! (
The Dark Knight)
Dick Grayson… Nightwing! (
Former Boy Wonder)
Scott Summers… Cyclops! (
Shades of Red)
Steve Rogers… Captain America! (
The Living Legend)
Joey Chapman… Union Jack! (
For Queen and Country)
“Wow…”
“One hell of a team.” Deadman finished off the sentence as the Gods and Men looked at the holograms in front of them. The only two that weren’t impressed were Magik and Yellowjacket.
“What’s the big deal?”
“I’m with the dame. They’re nothing special.” Yellowjacket said with a cheshire grin. The look he got in return from Rick Jones however shut him up.
“Unlike what the brain trust here is implying, these guys are bad news. That’s Captain America, Cyclops and Union Jack there.”
“The other two are Batman and Nightwing.”
“Cap is just about the best tactician on the planet, with Cycke there coming in close as a second. Besides that, Cap is one of the best, if not the best hand-to-hand combatant of our time.”
“That sounds awful lot like Bats here too, and trust me, Nightwing ain’t a slouch either.”
“Luckily, Cyclops is the only one who has any real powers on that team. The others though, especially if those other guys are on par with Cap, are going to be trouble. Not to even speak of Union Jack there.”
“Bah! We just kill them and get it over with.”
“We don’t kill, and weren’t you listening. These guys are tactical and fighting geniuses.”
“All I know is that a headless corpse can’t fight back.”
“Magik…”
“Our best hope is separating them. We’ll need to divvy up.”
…
“I liked your style back there… Magik, was it?” Yellowjacket said as he walked into the room in the Tower of Fate that had since been redesigned to be a training room. Magik was slashing up dummy after dummy, paying no attention to Pym until she was done.
“What do you want?”
“I thought maybe we could… train together.”
“Really, now?” the panting Magik responded with a look that acknowledged that she was seeing through Yellowjacket’s hardly subtle proposition.
“Well, if you feel up to it anyway.”
“Sure.” and she quietly magicked her sword away as she started to undress before his eyes, something that visibly surprised Yellowjacket.
“Oh, Yellowjacket, you charmer you.” Yellowjacket thought to himself as he followed suit.
…
“It seems our time is up. We’ll be going soon.”
“What’s the location again?”
“Place called Providence.”
“Can’t say I’ve heard of it.”
…
“Anybody know where Illyana and Pym are?”
“Here we come.” Yellowjacket replied as he walked into the main hall, or rather, he strutted like a peacock.
“What’s got you holding your head up high, Janet?”
“Bite me, Jones.”
“Where’d you leave Magik?”
“Here.” Magik’s voice was suddenly heard as she teleported onto the scene. Her hair was a little mussed up, and she avoided Pym’s proud glare. Noticing the tension, Rick Jones quickly spoke up.
“I say we go before I even get an idea of what you two did.”
