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Avengers Forever #2 of 12
Title: “Now is the Time for All Good Men…”
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Penciller: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
Colors: Steve Oliff
Editor: Tom Brevoort
The Avengers all look around confused. Kang barks at them, “Avengers! Take action, Avengers… and swiftly… for despite your lack of love for me, you must join me, must fight at my side… to save the life of your companion Rick Jones… and possibly an entire universe!” Supreme Intelligence says that Kang is telling the truth and that they must fight or all is lost. The Avengers hesitate. They recognize both Kang and Supreme Intelligence as Avengers’ villains and don’t know what to do. As Avengers are wont to do, they turn to Captain America, but Captain America stammers out that he doesn’t know what to do. Hawkeye asks Captain America what is wrong, but Wasp flies forward and says to nevermind that. She tells the Avengers to back up Kang for now, and that they can figure out what to do after they “stop this ruckus without anyone else getting killed!” Hawkeye says that he has never heard Wasp bark out orders like that, but that they are with her. Songbird says to Captain Marvel that this must be the start of the Destiny War. Marv says that he has noticed. Giant-Man is talking with Wasp. He identifies Songbird and says that she is one of the Thunderbolts and a wanted criminal. He also says that the Captain Marvel there isn’t either of the ones they know. Wasp says that she knows, but tells him to keep fighting and that they will figure it out later. Hawkeye says that as far he is concerned this is just like all the Avengers fights. He says that he doesn’t have any trick arrows, but that with all the Indians on the opposition that he won’t run out of arrows. As they watch Yellowjacket talk and fight, Giant-Man realizes that Yellowjacket is in fact him. Giant-Man quietly brings this to Wasp’s attention. Wasp says that she knows and tells Giant-Man to look at Captain America. Cap is being deluged with dozens of men, but he is holding them all in the air with his shield. Wasp says that Cap has superhuman strength. Cap flips all his attackers outside the time-sphere and they all freeze as everything else outside the bubble already has. Immortus’ visage appears and tells the Avengers that even though they fight valiantly that they are fighting a pointless battle. He tells them to surrender now and to save themselves the pain. Kang says that only a weak-willed scholar assumes that he is helpless, but that a warrior fights on and finds a way. Kang says that he and the Avengers will never surrender. Rick Jones says that no one is going to have to surrender. They all turn to see Rick Jones levitating in the air and glowing with power. He says that the Supreme Intelligence and the hooded guy awoke the power in him and helped him bring the Avengers there. He says that now he has gotten used to the power and now he can feel the time-sphere. Rick says that he can stop it from shrinking and even push it back. Immortus says that Rick has checked him, but not in the way he thinks. Immortus says that he was trying to prevent Rick from using the power, but that now he is forced to take more severe steps. Kang says, “Take whatever steps you like, scrivener. You will lose.” Immortus says that time is on his side, and that they will see what is lost and what is won. Immortus vanished and takes his legions of soldiers with him.
Hawkeye asks if anyone has any idea what to
do next. Kang says that now the Avengers must leave Immortus to
him. He tells them that they must guard the Jones boy with their
lives. He tells them to get him out of the time stream and beyond
Immortus’ clutches, and that he will do the rest. Kang
disappears. Giant-Man says that he doesn’t get this. He says
that Kang is Immortus and wonders why they would be fighting.
Hawkeye says that he wants to clear a few things up. He says that
Kang and Immortus are the newcomers, but that Rick Jones is there
and the Supreme Intelligence is there. He says that they must be
off in the Kree galaxy and that the Kree/Skrull War is still
going on. Rick realizes that Hawkeye isn’t in a new costume,
but that he is from years in the past. Rick suddenly feels the
power leaving him. Wasp tells Giant-Man to catch Rick. She says
that she suspected as much when she saw that Captain America had
super strength the way he once did briefly. She says that they
have been transported there from different time periods- the
past, present, and future. The hooded man returns and says that
Wasp is right, at least from her perspective. They ask who he is.
The hooded man says that along with Supreme Intelligence that
they are the ones that brought the Avengers there. 
He takes off
his hood and says that he is Gustav Brandt, also known as Libra.
Someone asks if he is the Zodiac’s Libra. Libra says that he
is, but that they must come with him now. Captain America tells
him to forget it. He says that he talked with Iron Man via phone
recently, and that he may or may not be Mantis’ father, but
that he is clearly in league with Supreme Intelligence and Kang.
He says that they can’t just blindly trust him. Supreme
Intelligence says that with Kang’s departure that the time
bubble is fading and that soon they will be vulnerable to
Immortus again, and that the SHIELD agents that are holding him
will have questions. He says that logic dictates that until they
know more that the evidence they have suggests that they follow
Libra. Marv says that Supreme Intelligence had better not be
deceiving them, but because he is right they follow Libra out.
Libra leads them down a corridor, around a corner, and down a stairway. As they walk through archway there is a room filled with floating metallic balls. Giant-Man asks what is up with the walls, but Libra says that the walls are unimportant but that they must get around this bend. Songbird says that she has explored the blue area of the moon, studied schematics of it, and that there isn’t anything like this in it. Songbird says that she is with Giant-Man and wants to know where they are. Libra says that they are in between. He says that they are neither here nor there, but in a place between places reachable only by him. He says that this is as good a place as any to stop and catch their breaths. He says that they all have questions and that he will answer them to the extent that he can. He says that most of them know him as a criminal, a part of the Zodiac, but that it is the philosophies of balance that truly interest him. He says that when the Zodiac was defeated and Taurus’ plan to kill all the Geminis in Manhattan failed, that he went to prison willingly. He says that he found that he was less and less interested in crime and more interested in knowledge. Libra says that he escaped prison, but that he followed his criminal interests half-heartedly and concentrated on learning the true power of balance. Libra says that when the Zodiac was killed that he used his new arcane skills to give the impression that he was dead while he slipped away to further his studies. Wasp says that he returned once as Moonraker. Libra says that the only Moonraker he knows is an Ian Fleming novel. Libra says that his wanderings led him to areas of imbalance in reality itself, and that this one is the most dangerous of all. Libra says that it is Immortus’ doing. He says that Kang’s motivation is that he is going to become Immortus and that he does not want to, but that Immortus’ motivations are unknown. Libra says that Immortus claims to be a guardian of the time stream, but that he is the one intruding on it and causing the imbalances that he has found. Libra says that this latest imbalance could affect human destiny forever… the death of Rick Jones. Rick asks why his death would matter. Libra says that he doesn’t know that, but that he does know that he has to stay out of the time stream and out of Immortus’ control. Libra says that he guided Rick to bring protectors that would set the balance straight. Wasp asks what makes them so special. Libra says that he can’t say. Yellowjacket starts yelling at Libra. He says that he is sick of this “meta-physical mumbo-jumbo”. He says that he wants some answers. Libra says that the ways of balance are not always clear. He says that it is just like one can’t describe how to balance on a tightrope but that it just feels right, but that if he wants to fight that he has been trained by the Priests of Pama. Yellowjacket and Hawkeye are ready to fight, but Wasp tells them to knock it off. Yellowjacket says that this is man’s work, but Wasp says that there is no point to fighting when there are still facts to get clear.
Wasp says that since they were all pulled out of time that she wants to know “when” everyone is from. Yellowjacket says that they are about to be married, but from where Wasp is from they must have been in wedded bliss for some time now. Giant-Man grimaces, but Wasp presses on and asks about Songbird. Songbird says that she thinks that she must be from Wasp’s future. She says that if it helps that she was just helping defeat Oort the living comet and his Solar Squadron. She says that they were headed back to the mansion when she found herself there. Wasp knows that it must be true, but still finds it odd since she knows her as an enemy. Wasp asks about Hawkeye. Hawkeye says that the Kree-Skrull War just ended, and that he has hooked up with a carnival. He says that Hercules was having some problems and that they were trying to get him home. Hawkeye says that he guesses that is old news to her by now. Captain Marvel says with a tight face that he was out in space towing the corpse of Eon out of the system. Ego had reanimated him, but the Avengers had stopped him. Rick says that he just figured out who he is. Rick says that he is that twerp Genis, the real Mar-Vell’s no good son. Rick says that there is no justice if he becomes an Avenger in the future. Marv says that he has found that there is rarely justice, and that he is used to it. Before Rick can reply, Wasp says that she and Giant-Man are from around the same time as Rick because they both remember Hank going up to the moon to see if the Supreme Intelligence could help Rick with a strange malady. Rick says that just leaves Cap. Cap says that he was in Washington fighting the Secret Empire. Cap says that he had chased their leader, Number One, into the White House. Cap starts to say what he saw, but he trails off. Wasp says that Cap saw him commit suicide instead of facing imprisonment. Wasp says that he was a highly placed government official and that he was trying to overthrow the government, but that Cap stopped him and Number One took the coward’s way out. Cap says that she must know what he is going to do next even though he himself does not. Wasp tells Cap not to worry about it. Wasp thinks about how Cap, worried that his government was corrupt, quit being Captain America. Wasp wonders how they could possibly be the right choices.
Songbird asks what they should do now.
Yellowjacket says that they should go find Immortus and give him
a knuckle sandwich. Songbird says that Kang told them to stay out
of the time stream. Libra says that he did, and that it is by far
the wisest course to follow. Libra strongly suggests that they
do.
Rick says that
Libra is not an Avenger though so he doesn’t get a vote.
Rick says that he is the target there and so he thinks that he
should have some say, and that he doesn’t want to hide. He
says that he certainly isn’t going to do it because a trio
of old Avengers villains are telling him to do it. Rick says that
they might be a strange group, but that this group are the
Avengers, and that Avengers don’t sit around while others
fight for them. Rick says that he might be a cripple again, but
that he says that they go find out what is wrong and set it
right. The Avengers all seem to agree that they are with Rick.
Hawkeye says that Wasp seems to have elected herself chairman.
Wasp says that it is settled and that is what they are going to
do. Libra starts to talk about the risk, but Wasp says that they
are used to the risk. Wasp says that she has to ask him to lead
them out of there. She says that she can’t force him to, but
Hawkeye says that he is willing to give it a try if he tries to
strand them there. Wasp yells at Hawkeye. Libra says that he is
opposed to their decision, but that they are entitled to make
their own choices. He says that if they want to re-enter the time
stream, that he suggests they go to Kang’s stronghold,
Chronopolis.
On Chronopolis, Giant-Man says that walking
from the blue area of the moon right to Chronopolis violates all
known laws of physics. Libra says that Chronopolis exists half in
Limbo and half in reality and that it touches virtually every era
in human history. He says that each is a slice of another time
period. Libra says that this section should be ancient Greece,
but that these columns should be new and not lying in ruins.
Songbird says that something is wrong here and that according to
the files that they shouldn’t be able to stroll from era to
era without knowing the portal points. Wasp tells Giant-Man that
it is weird how she knows all this. Hawkeye says that it gets
worse. He says that this looks like ancient London, but that
these guys look like they were hit by blaster fire. They turn a
corner to find the Central Citadel under attack. 
Hawkeye asks if
this was really the best place they could go. A giant black smoke
visage of Immortus appears alongside the immense citadel. He
says, “Welcome, Avengers. It seems you’ve saved me the
trouble of searching for you. You have arrived sooner than I
remembered… and you are too late, far too late, to save
Kang. But you are in plenty of time for me to shatter you…
and to take the boy!” Libra says, “It can’t
be… not this fast… not this soon…” Rick puts
his face in his hand and says, “Oh, fantastic. I shoot my
mouth off… and all I accomplish is leading us right to the
bad guy… and dooming us all!”
Avengers Files rating: 9 out of 10
The rest of the players are introduced and the question oh how they could possibly be the right combination of Avengers is brought up. The stage is set and the action begins. I like the interaction between Kang and Immortus. Pacheco does another visually stunning issue. His style and ability are quite remarkable.