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small, officially furnished with desks, wanted posters, and rifle racks, and was obviously
built to comfortably house two men Sheriff Cordell and his single deputy, Kurt Turnbull
as well as the occasional apprehended malefactor. Now, however, the building was
crowded, not only with sheriff and deputy, but also an old Eskimo shaman, five super-
heroes, two construction-company paramedics who served as Bantu Junction's hospital
and emergency service, and a three-by-seven-foot block of unmelting ice. The only one
missing was the Vision.
The cause of the synthezoid's absence was a matter of courtesy. Moments
before, he had stepped outside to act as the Avengers' representative in seeing off the
departing Sub-Mariner. That such an action was mere formality had been evidenced by
the fact that neither party had spoken as the Prince of Atlantis had taken to the air and
flown swiftly southward. Neither had asked for gratitude; neither had given it.
In all, it had been a rather somber leaving, and as such was indicative of the
general atmosphere prevailing in the aftermath of the recent battle. Though the Avengers
had emerged clearly victorious, that triumph had soon taken on an oddly unsatisfying
flavor. At the beginning, they had reacted as might be expected: reveling in the hardy
gusto of conquest, and in the joy of knowing that none of their number had been seriously
hurt. But then they had taken Captain America to the sheriff's office the sheriff having
just returned from settling an altercation at one of the outlying pipeline repair sites and
the explanations had begun. As minutes had passed and mud had been Haired from dirty
costumes, pieces of the puzzle had been put together, and the full story of Aningan
Kenojuak's despair, loneliness, and almost child-like faith had come to light. And the
Avengers had found It more and more difficult to look with anger at the old Eskimo who
had such a short time ago tried to destroy them all.
Their antipathy had been so blunted that when officials from the Amrek
Construction Company had finally found the courage to come complaining about the
destruction of their property, Iron Man had simply told them that his employer, Stark
International, would pay for all damages. The officials had then left, their pomp turned to
eager consultation, and Tony Stark had noted wryly that they were undoubtedly
discussing the most practical way of including a half dozen previous losses on the bill
they would soon be sending him. But that didn't matter much, he thought now as he
looked over at the bent old man sitting on n wooden bench, head lowered and hands
clasped loosely in his lap. Aningan Kenojuak had suffered enough.
Sheriff Cordell, a mustachioed, middle-aged man in law-enforcement khakis,
pulled his considerable bulk from behind his desk and moved past the nervous-looking
paramedics to stand near Iron Man. Looking iktoss at the unmelting block of ice, he
shook his head and said, "It just ain't natural, y'know? I been workin' this territory for over
twenty years, since before ol Seward s Folly was even a state. An' one thing I've learned
to hold as gospel in all that time is that when you put heat to ice, it melts. But that hunk o'
stuff your buddy's trapped in, well, like I said ... it ain't natural."
"Sheriff," replied Iron Man, "I'm afraid you're right.
"I ... I am?" Lee Cordell was obviously pleased with himself. He was the sheriff of
a small wilderness town that had been invaded by bizarre manifestations and super-
powered legends, and quite frankly he didn't know what the hell was going on. But he was
absolutely delighted to think that he looked as if he did.
Iron Man continued. "My armor's sensor system has just completed an analytical
scan of the substance coating Captain America, and that block isn't quite ice. Near as I
can tell, it's more like some form of solidified energy. It shares certain similarities with the
protective glow that Mr. Kenojuak used on himself and the giant bear he sent against us.
But this material is solid, and apparently quite a bit more permanent. I've little doubt that I
could hit it with full repulsor blasts for a week and not make a crack in its surface."
"Holy geez, Shellhead," called the Beast from where he hung, upside down, from
the bars of one of the jail cells. "We gotta do something. The Fourth of July just won't be
the same without Cap!"
"Your humor is questionable, Beast, but your sentiment is accurate." Quicksilver
had moved from a corner to stand next to Iron Man though at such a speed that neither
paramedics nor lawmen had seen him move. They silently decided not to mention it to
one another.
"Captain America could be dying inside that block!" Quicksilver continued. "It is
our responsibility to free him, and if our powers are useless against the substance that
entraps him," he turned his steely stare toward Aningan Kenojuak, "then perhaps we
would do well to direct those powers at that prison's creator!"
"Pietro!" Wanda's voice was stern as she took a step toward her brother. "What
are you suggesting, that we take out our anger on Mr. Kenojuak? Why, without his
powers, he's nothing but a misguided old man. How can you even think "
Pietro put his hands on his sister's shoulders. "Oh Wanda, Wanda, you always
were so naive. That's why you need my protection. I wasn't proposing retribution merely
persuasion. One of our members' lives is in jeopardy, and surely you agree that we must
do everything we can to save him? Everything, no matter how unpleasant or barbaric it
may seem. We are, after all, only human."
"Some of us are."
The hollow tones seemed cold, even in the stifling hear of the jailhouse, and all
eyes turned to see the de-solidified Vision stepping through the door through the closed
door. Instinctively, Sheriff Cordell's hand went to the Magnum bolstered at his hip, then
relaxed. Deputy Turnbull, a younger man, merely sat on the corner of his desk and
cracked a smile hot damn! while the two paramedics wished they were in Bali or
Akron or anywhere.
Restoring his mass to its normal state, the Vision resumed. "I agree that violence
is a very human trait, bill perhaps in this instance it can be avoided. Our common
concern seems to be the restoration of Captain America, and I believe that I've
uncovered evidence that may allow us to attain that goal through intelligence and
reasoning."
Quicksilver's eyes narrowed as the Vision added, "When I first tore the String of
Stones from Kenojuak's neck, my tactile sensors registered an anomaly: the jewels were
far heavier than is normal for solidified mineral ornamentation. That fact triggered traces
of memories that were wiped from my circuits in my initial confrontation with the entity
known as Brother Bear. Thus I returned to the knoll where we defeated that creature's
master and I examined the shaman's broken necklace. This is what I found."
The Vision extended a hand, opening fingers to reveal several cracked and
chipped remnants of the String of Stones. The other Avengers looked at them, their eyes
slowly widening with realization, and then Iron Man stepped forward, taking one of the
broken crystals somewhat awkwardly in his metal-gloved hand and holding it up to his
eye slits for closer inspection.
What he saw astonished him: inside the ostensibly crude religious adornment
were strands of plastic-covered wire, miniature relays, and what could only be tiny
soldered circuit patterns. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]