Avengers/Thunderbolts #6

Title: “Six: Blood Will Tell”

Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza

Penciller: Tom Grummett

Inker: Gary Erskine

Colors: Brian Reber w/ Chris Sotomayor

Editor: Tom Brevoort

Hawkeye’s arrow hits the Liberator and stops it from draining Karla’s moonstones. Hawkeye says that he is sorry, but that he can’t let them lobotomize her. He says to let him talk to her while she is groggy. Cap says that they tried that, but that she rejected them. Hawkeye says that she rejected Cap and asks if he can blame her. Wasp asks Clint if he can blame them. Hawkeye says that he can’t let them shut down her mind. He says that he knows what she has done… what all the Thunderbolts have done, but that he also knows what they can do and that he won’t give up on them. Stark says that the Liberator still has the transnormal energy, but that it can’t absorb her power anymore. Fixer asks if she is stuck in perpetual PMS. Moonstone flies into the air and shouts for Fixer to shut up. Hawkeye says so much for being groggy. Cap calls for attack formation delta-three. Hawkeye tells him to stop. He says that this is the Avengers fault too and asks how he can be so hard-line especially considering the price Zemo paid to help him.

Vantage tends to Zemo. She says that he is going to need medical attention soon. A stripped down Blackheath walks over. He says that the Green is abandoning him because of how they have scarred her, but that he can still ease Zemo’s pain. Vantage asks if he has any resins or salves that will stop them from getting killed by Moonstone. Blackheath says no. Wasp says that it doesn’t look like she is at full power and cues Vision. Vision tries to phase his hand into Moonstone’s body to grab the gems, but Hawkeye hits Vision with an arrow and drops him to the ground. He asks if they will all stop giving her reasons to freak out. Wanda rushes to Vision’s side. Vision says that the arrow contained a bioelectric scrambler attuned to his phasing frequency. He says that it was enough to disrupt him without damaging him. Hawkeye says that he has an arrow for every single one of them and that he came prepared to take down both teams if he had to. Karla says that it is too late. She says that it is too late for everything. Hawkeye tells everyone to chill for ten seconds. He tells Karla that he got them to stand down so that they can fix this. Karla tells Clint that she is tired. She says, “Tired of trying to be more… of suffering by being less. Tired of failing… tired of failing you… tired of your judgment… just give up on me…” Karla opens a gravitational shunt. Wanda says that this doesn’t end with Karla walking away. She tells Hawkeye that she loves him like a brother, but that Karla can’t be let loose. Wanda uses her chaos magic and it mingles with Moonstone’s gravimetric tear and the improbable hole becomes fact. Everything becomes the gravimetric tear and Wanda says that maybe she overdid it. Cap tells Atlas to get Zemo. Cap asks Tony what is happening. Stark says that whenever Wanda uses her powers that his sensors throw their arms up and surrender. Fixer says that his don’t. He says that what they have is spatial anomalies popping up all over the planet. Cap and Vantage both say at the same time, “So how do we close them?”  Cap tells Hank and Jan to increase in size. He tells Atlas to follow Songbird’s lead and plug the holes with any debris they can. Atlas turns to Hawkeye and he tells him to do it for now. Fixer says that is never going to work. Iron Man says that he has an idea, but that he doesn’t know if he can trust him. Fixer says that he isn’t the one that lied and cheated his way there. He says that when there is a problem that he fixes it and “screw the rest”.

Wanda says that she can’t tell if Moonstone is trapped in the gravimetric bubbles or if she is controlling them. Jolt says that her magic caused this and asks if she can’t just reverse it. Wanda says that she wishes she could. Jolt decides to see if a bioelectric pulse will free Karla. Karla zaps Hallie and says that she has betrayed her enough for one day. Jolt says that answers Wanda’s question. 

Zemo and Blackheath fall through one of the holes. Zemo weakly says, “Not… the way… s-stop fighting her… calm her…” Songbird reaches out with a sonic hook and grabs them. She actually pulls Blackheath out of Moscow where the hole leads. A Chinese style building comes through one of the holes. Cap tells Hawkeye that this is getting worse. Hawkeye says that he knows. He tells Karla that she is stronger than she thinks. He says that he has seen and felt it. He says that she is strong enough to stop this, stand up, and stop running. Karla looks at him thinking.

Iron Man asks Fixer why the spectrum wavelength varies on every phase jump she makes. Fixer says that each phasing stage of her body slides along a different bandwidth of the E-M spectrum. He says combined with spatial and temporal mathematics for the space and time changes that it is like tying Einstein’s brain into a pretzel. Stark asks how she manages it mentally. Fixer says that he figures that the stones do a lot of the brain work for her. Stark says that Fixer has disrupted her phasing before when he fought Graviton. Fixer says that was before she got the second stone. He says that she is working the entire spectrum now. He says that “Witchie” froze her in the middle of a phase and so she is riding every point at the same time. He says that the only want to close them down is to close her.

Hawkeye says to give him five minutes. Hank says that they don’t have five minutes. He says that the entire planet is folding in on itself. Captain America says that the entire world is at stake. Hawkeye asks what if it were Wanda or Jan. Moonstone says that would be different. She says that they are the Thunderbolts and that he can’t give them any chances because it would make his world too complicated.

Fixer hands Stark a small tube. Stark asks what it is. Fixer says that it is the fix. Stark looks at it and realizes that it is a multi-phase spectrum scrambler. Fixer says to insert it into her phased form and that they will have about three seconds. He leaps into one of the holes. Stark asks where he is going. Fixer says, “Risk my neck on a three-second window, you think I’m nuts? It’s been lollipops and margaritas, gang… see ya!” Stark turns and asks Cap. Zemo tells Hawkeye that he can’t let them do this to her. The Statue of Liberty’s torch passes through one of the holes. Cap tells Hawkeye that he is done pushing him. He says that it never worked anyway. He tells Hawkeye to make the call. He tells Iron Man to throw it now and tells Hawkeye to make his decision quick. Cap thinks to himself how Hawkeye had an arrow for all of them. Hawkeye tells Karla that he is sorry as he fires the arrow. Zemo says, “don’t…” Hawkeye’s arrow hits Fixer’s fix and drives it into Moonstone. Moonstone screams. Zemo says, “You would… rob her of the very thing that made her so… unique.” Karla says, “I… I might have… loved you…” Vision leaps through Moonstone’s body and grabs the gems out. He is forced to go intangible or be torn apart by the spatial energies whirl pooling around. Zemo leaps into the air and grabs the gems. His voice now is stronger. He says, “You were wrong, America! And Barton… you knew it! And still you followed him… like a good little Nazi. We tried to reshape the world… to save it from its own stupidity. We had a vision… I had one! But the world destroys visionaries, doesn’t it? You will come to regret you actions here today.” Zemo starts to glow and is gone. Atlas asks where Zemo went. Songbird says that he is gone. Hawkeye sees Karla’s nude body lying on the ground. He picks her up and calls to her. Hawkeye says that he thinks she is gone as Karla stares straight ahead blankly. The battle is over.

Weeks later at Seagate Maximum Security Penitentiary, Sam Smithers is turning himself in. Warbird says that you don’t often see them come back voluntarily. Vantage says that she thought that Warbird would come to expect that from the Thunderbolts. She says that Sam escaped from this place, and that while he is figuring out how to put the “man” back in “Plant-Man” that this is where he felt he belonged. Warbird asks what about the Thunderbolts. Vantage says that she only stayed with them out of loyalty to Atlas and distrust for Zemo. She says that they have disbanded. Warbird asks what she is going to do. Vantage says that she doesn’t know. She says that she is a cop, not a super hero. Warbird says that she has some clout with Homeland Security and asks if she wants a job.

At Avengers Mansion, Hawkeye says that they offered her a job as an Avengers’ reservist, one step away from being a full-fledged member, and that she said no. Songbird says that she is flattered and that maybe someday she will join, but that not now… not after this… Hawkeye asks why not. Songbird says that she can’t work with people that she doesn’t trust.

Elsewhere in the mansion, Yellowjacket tells Atlas that this is going to hurt a bit and asks if he is sure. Atlas says, “totally”. Hank says that he doesn’t mind if Atlas keeps them. Atlas says that they are Pym Particles and that they don’t belong to him. He says that Fixer just stole them to give him his powers back. He says that he doesn’t want them anymore and figures that without powers that maybe he won’t have to try so hard to prove himself. He asks Hank if he knows what he means. Hank says, “totally”. He activates the machine.

Still within the mansion, Iron Man asks Jolt if she is sure that she wants to go back to Counter Earth. Jolt says that they need her. Stark asks where he has heard that before. He says that he has his extra-orbital armor prepped so he could dump the Liberator tank into the Sun. He says that he can drop her at Starcore Station. He says that she mentioned that she had a teammate that could pick her up. Jolt says that he is a “short range spatial-teleporter”. Stark asks if ninety-three million miles is “short range”. Jolt says that for now it is. She says that he has to go say goodbye.

Jolt walks into the room where Hawkeye looks over Karla in bed. She says that she thinks Karla tried the best that she could, but that she never really got it. Hawkeye says that maybe she didn’t, but that he thought… Songbird tells Clint that this isn’t on him. She says that he gave them more than they deserved. She says that he gave them what they needed for the first time in their lives… trust. She says that the rest is on them. Hawkeye and Songbird hug.

A news feed is covering the expedited parole of Abner Jenkins. The reporter asks what he plans to do now. Abe says that he wants to do for others what was done for him. He says that he wants to offer men and women who have made mistakes the same chance, the same hope, as he got. He says that he is starting up the Thunderbolts again.

Wasp watches the coverage and says that they have got to be kidding her. Hawkeye says that he had nothing to do with this. Cap says that he had everything to do with it, and that it was a job well done.

Zeulniz, south of Leipzig, 1489, Harbin Zemo walks among his people. They admire and revere him. One person says hello. Zemo turns his head to say hello and is hit by a woman named Maria carrying two buckets of soup across her shoulders. She says that she is so sorry and asks if he is hurt. Harbin calls her a sow and runs her through with his sword. He says, “I am your hero! Your hero! I should be respected… revered! All these years, all I have done for you cattle… you should…” He wipes some blood from his face. As he walks away he says, “I am Zemo. It is through my will that you live. That you labor. That you exist. You will show more gratitude. You will…”

Zeulniz, south of Leipzig, today, Helmut Zemo picks up his mask. He says, “They are cattle. Sheep. Worse. I was a fool to try it his way. To ask their permission to save them. You were right, father. Blood will tell. I will show them. I am their hero. Their savior. I am Zemo.” Zemo pulls his mask over his scarred face. He holds the two moonstones in the air and repeats, “I AM ZEMO.”

Traitors rating: 9 out of 10

Review and picture by the Leader

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