Marvel Novel Series 10 - The Avengers - The Man Who Stole Tomorrow
Page 18
The other five Avengers, having watched in silence the incredible scene that had occurred before them, now moved forward. They walked slowly at first, as if still fearful of stepping off into some miscellaneous century, and then faster as they realized that the dimensional doorways were really, truly gone.
“That was fantastic, Beast!” Iron Man slapped a hand on the Beast’s shoulder.
“Exemplary, Beast,” Cap added, offering his hand.
Wanda leaned over and gave her blue teammate a kiss. “You were wonderful, Hank! I still can’t believe it! I didn’t think we’d ever get rid of Kang!”
The Beast exhaled on his fingernails and rubbed them on his furry chest. “Aw, ’tweren’t nothin’. I knew we’d beat Kang all along.”
“You did?”
“Sure,” Hank McCoy examined his freshly buffed fingernails. “It was just a matter of time.”
The groans that followed were inevitable.
Epilogue
The day was still pleasant, and the shoppers and pleasure-seekers had resumed their leisurely strolls down the main street of the plastic city. They paid little or no attention to the maintenance crews who were cleaning up after the recent destruction and, as before, they treated the seven superheroes standing in their midst with an equal lack of interest.
“I cannot help but wonder,” Quicksilver said musingly, “if we might not have been better off saving our energies. Is a future like this, where nothing is more important than cultural inertia and personal amusement, really worth saving?”
The Vision, standing next to him, answered, “There is a theory that suggests an infinite variety of futures. Perhaps, if mankind awakens to the true values it has so long ignored, this particular future may yet be avoided. We can strive for that, and we can hope.”
Iron Man stood with Thor, gazing down the length of pink, shiny pavement. “Are you sure you’re all right, big fella?”
“Aye,” the Thunder God replied, his smile warmer than the afternoon sun, and nearly as wide. “For in sooth, the sole discomfort I yet feel doth be my lingering chagrin at not being able to aid thee in thy recent near-mortal combat.”
“Don’t worry about it, buddy. The next psychotic time thief we run into is all yours!”
Iron Man took one long, last look at the future city-scape, and then motioned to the others. “All right, folks, gather ’round. It’s time to go.”
As before, six Avengers—Iron Man, Captain America, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and the Beast—stood in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, their backs to Thor in the center. As the Thunder God raised his mystic hammer and began to whirl it in a circle over his head, the Beast turned to Captain America.
“Hey, Cap, you want first dibs on the jacuzzi when we get back? I mean, what with you being frozen in that pseudo-ice for so long . . .”
“Thanks, Beast,” the Captain answered, “but you go ahead. I think I’m going to be staying in Bantu Junction for a few days, anyway. There’s a man there, who went through a lot of hell because he thought I was a god, and he’s probably going through a lot more because he found out I’m not. Maybe I can make it a little easier for him.”
As Thor’s hammer spun faster and faster, and the forms of the seven superheroes began to waver and dim, Iron Man felt a warming swell of pride for a second time that day. And then Mjolnir pulled them through the portals of time, closing the door with a gentle pop of displaced air.
The Avengers were going home.
Table of Contents
Back Cover
Preview
Titlepage
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
One
Two
Interlude
Three
Four
Five
Interlude
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Epilogue