Three years ago, an evil entity known as Onslaught attempted to take over the world. Onslaught was a being of pure psychic energy and an amalgam of the minds of Charles Xavier and Magneto resulting from Xavier wiping Magneto's brain years before. The heroes of Earth banded together to stop the creature in New York City where he attempted to set up a base of operations. It took the combined might of the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four and many others to stop Onslaught. The battle was not without losses. The world mourned many losses, but four of those were not a result of the battle as many feared.

Four superhumans were missing after the battle, but they were not dead. This is their story.

Now

Central Park, New York City

She ran.

For Amy Vaughn, this wasn't one of her usual runs through Central Park. Amy usually would make a few laps through the large park each morning. She was a beautiful young lady, tall, blonde, slender. People would ask her about modeling constantly. As such, her morning runs would usually attract attention. She had learned to tolerate the cat calls, the advances and the occainsional uninvited jogging partner. But today was different.

Amy had decided to cut through the park near dusk to reach her dinner destination that night. Her beauty had again attracted attention, but this time, it was more than undesired. This time, it was violent.

Her attacker had already jumped on top of her and grabbed her breasts. She had broken free and began to run. His motives were obvious. He was a sexual assailant, possibly a predator of some sort. Amy was afraid.

She suddenly felt two strong arms grasp her waist. He forced her to the ground and turned her over so she faced him. He was a white man. His head was shorn and a small skull tatoo was above his right ear. He held a knife to Amy's throat.

"Just stay still while Cricket does his business and you'll be okay," he said, fumbling with his belt with his free hand. "This won't take more than a minute. I'll be gone before you could even scream to alert the police." He sat up slightly and looked at his belt as he tried to unfasten it. The knife left Amy's throat. At that precise moment, she heard a whistling sound. Her attacker- Cricket- cried out in pain. The knife fell to the ground. She looked at his hand and saw an arrow sticking through it. A purple arrow.

"Back away from the girl," a voice said, "or you're going to have a matching pair."

"Who are you man?" Cricket said jumping to his feet. "Where are you?"

"I'm her friend," the voice growled. Cricket bent over and reached for the knife with his good hand. She heard the same whistling sound and a second arrow pierced his other hand. Someone stepped out from the bushes. Amy turned and gasped.

Hawkeye drew another arrow from his quiver, notched it to his bowstring, and drew the string taut.

"Wanna make it three?"

Jennifer Walters watched the would-be rapist back down, fear filling his face. She didn't remember how she got to Central Park. The last thing she remembered was fighting Sentinels downtown as the Avengers and X-Men were rallying to fight Onslaught. One of the Sentinels must have kocked her into the park. But traces of the massive battle were gone. How long had she been out? If clean-up efforts had taken place already, why hadn't anyone found her?

"D-dude!" the rapist stammered, staring at Hawkeye. "You've been dead for three years!"

"What are you talking about?" Hawkeye growled. Jen stepped into the clearing and helped the young woman stand. She hugged the young lady and comforted her. Cricket turned and gawked at She-Hulk as well.

"So are you! Am I having some sort of nightmare?" He rubbed his eyes. "I gotta be dreaming."

"Mr. Cricket," Hawkeye said, "you have three seconds to studder out an explaination of what you just said. One... two..."

"Both of you disappeared during that big Onslaught thing! Everyone thought you died! That happened three years ago! You're a pair of ghosts!" Cricket screamed, turned, and started running. A small ball struck him in the chest and webbing exploded all over his body. His momentum carried him forward and he crashed to the ground in a heap. A thin strand of webbing slapped onto his back. He was pulled back up, and set on the ground. A man in a costume similar to Spider-Man's descended from the tree above.

"You know it's not nice to run from a crime scene?" he said. "By the way, did I come up missing too? It's way too big of a cooincidence that they were both and not me..."

"Yes, you did and so did I," a fourth figure stepped into the clearing. He was a tall blone man with a goatee wearing a yellow costume. Large metal wings sprouted from his back.

"Okay, this is a little wierd," Hawkeye said. "I just came to five minutes ago and I don't remember a thing since Onslaught. Then this guy tells me I'm dead. Then She-Hulk pops up, then Spider-dude over here, and now Mr. Yellow. Who are you, how do you know that, and what do you know?"

"My name is Mimic and I posess telepathic abilities," he said. "According to the mind of Mr. Cricket here, each of us vanished three years ago during the Onslaught crisis. Of course, the world noticed more with the two of you. The Scarlet Spider here was acting as Spider-Man at the time, and the original Spidey probably replaced him and I was a two-bit former X-Man turned crook who nobody really noticed was gone."

"Dude, that was a mouthful," Scarlet Spider said. "What about our baddie and his victim?" Jen looked at the woman in her arms. Her body still shook with sobs. The poor girl had been scared out of her wits. Had Jen not been the She-Hulk, she would have reacted much the same.

"Sweetheart," she said softly. "What's your name?"

"Amy," she whispered between sobs.

"Okay Amy," She-Hulk said. "You're safe. We're going to find the police-"

"I've already summoned a mounted officer," Mimic said.

"Thank you," Jen said with a nod. "This criminal is going to be arrested and he's not going to bother you or anyone else again. Are you going to be okay?"

"Y-yes," she said. "I w-will be soon."

"No, you're not!" Cricket yelled. "I'll be back out on the streets again soon and then, I'll come after you ag- MMFFF!" A ball of webbing filled his mouth.

"Sorry, but I'm a little annoyed by you right now buddy," Scarlet Spider said. "Rapists are not my favorite people in this world."

Hawkeye looked at the others and shook his head, trying to clear his head. This was strange for the four of them to all happen to show up in the same place at the same time. Something wasn't right. It all seemed so forced. As if they had been thrown together by something else...

"Dammit," Clint muttered. "Spider, take care of our buddy there. She-Hulk, get Amy to wherever she's going. Mimic, uh, hang tight. I've gotta make a phone call."

"Master Barton! Mistress Walters!" Jarvis enthusiasticly greeted the two former Avengers as he opened the door of the mansion. "It's good to see you alive! We had feared the worst all those years ago!"

Hawkeye shook Jarvis's hand. "Thank you, old buddy," Clint said. "Are they gathered downstairs?"

"Indeed," Jarvis said. "Captain America has gathered those that you requested. And I must say they are all pleased to hear of your safety as well."

"Thanks," he said. He motioned to Mimic. "This is Mimic. He appeared in the park the same time we did." Calvin gave Jarvis a nod as he looked around the foyer of the mansion.

"You mentioned there were four of you," Jarvis said. "Where is the fourth?"

"Oh." Hawkeye remembered Scarlet Spider's absence.

"He had some personal business to attend to," She-Hulk chimed in. "He'll be joining us shortly."

Ben Reilly looked out over the New York cityscape. This was truly his city. He loved New York. He had in his past life as Peter Parker, and he did now as Ben Reilly. What had just happened though? Why had he disappeared right in the middle of a city-wide crisis? And why did he wake up in his old Scarlet Spider costume?

"Ben? Is that you?" Ben turned to see a familiar figure standing behind him. Spider-Man.

"Peter, good to see you again," Ben said, taking off his mask. Peter did the same. He smiled at the sight of his clone.

"The same," Peter said. "I was surprised at your call."

"I bet," Ben laughed. "Your powers are holding out? I mean, the clone degeneration...?"

"Oh no, I forgot about that," Peter said. "It's been so long."

"Forgot about what?"

"Ben, I'm the original. The Jackal was hired by Norman Osborn to make my life miserable, including decieving us into thinking I was the clone." Peter stopped, a horrified look on his face. "Uhm, that probably wasn't the best way to break that news to you, was it?"

"I'd say no," Ben muttered. His heart sank. He knew what Peter had just told him was true. He didn't know how- he just did. All along, he was the clone. He was the clone.

"Ben?"

"I'm okay Peter," he muttered. "Really, I am." He turned away.

"Ben, there's room for both of us here," Peter said, reaching out to his clone. "In New York, I mean. There's always plenty to do."

"Thanks Pete," he said. "You've always been there for me."

"You know the number Ben," Peter replied. "MJ and I will help in whatever way we can." Ben smiled and turned back to Peter.

"How is MJ?" he asked. "And your baby? What did you name her?"

"They're both great," Peter replied. "And her name is May. We named her May."

"It's a beautiful name Pete," Ben said. "I'll give you a call when we have this all figured out. We'll do dinner or something."

"Okay. Be well."

"You too man," Ben said, slipping his mask back on his face. He ran to the edge of the roof, jumped into the air and fired a strand of webbing at a nearby building. The webbing caught hold and Ben swung through the air towards the Avengers Mansion.

Man, he thought. What else do we have in store for us?

"And this is our newest Avenger- the Sentry," Captain America said in introduction. "Sentry... returned to Earth a short time ago, about nine months. We discovered a villian of some sort erased our memories of him. Although those memories haven't been restored, we've come to trust the Sentry." The tall man in blue and gold stood. He offered his hand to Hawkeye first, then She-Hulk, and lastly Mimic.

"A pleasure," he said as he took Mimic's hand. Something cold rushed through Calvin's body. He shivered and looked closer at the Sentry. The man merely smiled and winked at Calvin.

"A mutual pleasure," She-Hulk said. She looked around the room to those assembled there. There was the current group of Avengers- Scarlet Witch, Cap, Iron Man, Thor and Sentry- and Reed Richards, who Hawkeye had asked the Avengers to contact for them. Reed smiled at Jen. The two had been friends for a long time. It was good to see him.

"I'm glad to see you alive," Reed said, standing. "Jarvis contacted me about running tests, see what caused this. Is this your idea?"

"Naturally," Hawkeye said. "I don't know who'd be better for this."

"Wonderful. I'm curious at the cause. It'd be a pleasure." The Avengers greeted their teammates enthusiasticly again as Reed crossed the room. Mimic merely watched the Sentry the entire time. There was something wrong with him. But what?

"The Fantasticar is waiting," Reed said. "Is your fourth person com-"

"This place is so cool! I love coming here! Do you still make great coffee Jarvis?"

"Indeed."

Reed laughed and walked out of the Avengers War Room. Hawkeye, She-Hulk and Mimic followed. Calvin glanced at Sentry again. What was wrong?

"SHULKIE!" Franklin cried. The youngster rushed up to Jennifer and hugged her. The boy had grown quite a bit. She guessed he was about eleven or twelve now. Sue came into the garage, holding another child, a year-old girl who looked just like Franklin.

"Oh Jennifer!" Sue said, rushing to her friend and hugging her. The child cooed. Sue smiled as she pulled away form Jen and kissed her daughter's head.

"Jen, this is Valeria," she said. "She's the newest member of the Fantastic Four." Jen laughed at the joke.

"Dear, I wish you wouldn't make such jokes," Reed said. "Do you really want them to mature and live our lifestyle?" Sue just rolled her eyes and winked at Jen. "Is the lab ready Sue?"

"Certainly," she laughed. "Please, Reed, don't bore them completely. They're not here for a science lesson."

Outside of Raliegh, North Carolina

A humming sound filled the large space. The space was the interior of a military hangar what had been abandoned by the government years ago. The hangar and accompanying runway was placed up for sale and left on the market for some time. Several months ago it was purchased. Gradually, the purchaser began to move tech into the hangar one piece at a time. Two weeks ago, all of the necessary pieces of the machine were together. The purchaser spent a week building the machine and then turned it on. The components were built on earth, but the function had been designed by a malevolent alien race. The builder had turned the machine on the previous week. Its effects were just starting to be noticeable.

Clint stood stripped to the waist in a scanner that Reed had built. The machine used several different methods to analyze the human body. Clint closed his eyes and imagined the invisible energy rays piercing his body. Every time he had such tests run, he tried to picture it happening, the science behind it. Hawkeye was no genius, especially compared to men like Tony Stark, Hank Pym and Reed, but he enjoyed what little he was able to gleen from these men.

"Interesting," Reed muttered.

"Hey Doc," Clint said, "I hate when you brainy types do that. What's so interesting?"

"Well..." Reed rubbed his chin. "I'm crossreferencing the scans to your Avengers files. According to that file you're just over thirty-five years old. Looking at the wear on your skin and the growth of your body, you've only aged thirty-two. It's as if you totally left this plane of existence three years ago." Reed tapped another couple of keys. "The damage caused to your ear by that sonic arrow has been healed, and X-rays show the scars from your various other injuries have been as well. And then there's a strange anomaly in your chest. The only thing I can compare it to is the event horizon of a black hole. And it's growing."

"A black hole in my chest?" he asked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know," Reed said. "It's surrounded by some sort of shell, but it's absorbing energy at an incredible rate."

"Can you remove it?"

"I don't know what it is Clint," Reed said. "I'd run the risk of hurting you."

"What will happen though?"

"The hole will continue to grow, until it consumes your entire body."

Calvin, Clint, and Jen sat with Sue, Ben, and Johnny in the living room of the Four Freedoms Plaza. Clint had buried his head in his hands. Jennifer closed her eyes and tried to sleep a little. Calvin played with Valeria happily.

"Hey, some wild party you guys are throwing out here!" the Scarlet Spider said. He walked from Reed's lab happily. "Crank up the tunes Hawkeye!" Clint looked up and grinned.

"Where's Reed?" Sue asked.

"Said he had a phone call to make," Ben said with a shrug.

"What did he tell you?" Jennifer asked.

"Probably the same as you guys," Ben said. "Black hole in an energy shell eating my body?"

"I missed the energy shell part," Clint said.

"What do you remember from...?"

"Absolutely nothing," Mimic said. "It's like a three-year long nap."

"Last thing I remember is getting backhanded by a Sentinel," Hawkeye said. "Then all of the sudden all four of us are standing around a rape attempt."

"Each of you were last seen in different parts of town, fighting Onslaught in some way," Sue said. "Then you were gone. We didn't know what had happened. We thought..." She paused, not knowing what to say.

"We thought y' were dead," Ben said.

"But now you're not and that's important," Reed said, walking from his lab. "The black hole is an egg. It's an energy-based being. They are slowly consuming your bodies and transforming them into this alien creature." Each of the four returned heroes gasped.

"How long before that happens?" Mimic asked.

"The rate of transformation is different for each of you," he replied. "Mimic has only a matter of weeks. Scarlet Spider has at least three years."

"Why the difference?" She-Hulk asked.

"I don't know," Reed said. "But I know someone that can remove them."

The next morning, Clint looked out of the car window as the Suburban pulled up Graymalkin Lane. The grounds of the mansion were always impeccable. In each of the few times Hawkeye had been there, he was impressed by how good the property looked.

The gate opened and Mimic steered the car up the long driveway. He pulled up the U and stopped the car in front of the doorway. Three people stood in the entry way of the mansion. Charles Xavier sat up in his wheelchair. Alex Summers stood at his side, his arms folded. To the other side of Xavier stood a man in a metal helmet. He wore a Kimono and held his hands at his side. Energy seemed to radiate from the man.

The four heroes each got out of the car. Xavier smiled.

"Good morning," Xavier said. "Welcome to the Xavier Mansion."

"I can't believe after all of this time, Jennifer is really alive," Sue said to her husband. Reed was fixing breakfast, one hand turning bacon, other searching for orange juice in the fridge. He stretched his body across the kitchen and kissed Sue softly on the lips.

"It's astounding isn't it?" Reed replied. "It really-" A tremor suddenly threw both heroes to the ground.

"What th' hell?!" Ben yelled from the living room. "What just happened?" Valeria began crying in her room. Sue rushed into her bedroom as Reed rushed to his lab. He worked furiously, trying discover the epicenter of the quake. A holographic globe materialized. Ripples spread from various points of the globe. Reed frowned. He began typing again. What was causing all of this seismic activity?

"No..." he gasped.

"What is it Stretcho?" Ben growled as the Four rushed into his lab.

"The Earth's orbit is deteriorating," he said.

"Wotta revoltin' development," Ben growled.

"How?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling it has something to do with this anomaly in North Carolina." Reed pointed at the strange ripples on the globe.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Johnny said.

"Yeah!" Ben exclaimed, punching his left fist into his right palm. "I'm in the clobberin' mood!"

In The Awakening #2: Xorn and Xavier discover what happened to Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Mimic and the Scarlet Spider while the Fantastic Four learn what the device in North Carolina really is. Who is the cause of the imminent disaster to the planet? Find out next week!

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Welcome to the begining of the new Revolution. I know this issue is kind of choppy, but first issues are always tough. I hope there wasn't a lot of confusion, and I hope the next issue explains more. This is my first major fic attempt in two years and I'm looking forward to the results. I hope you enjoy it.

Tony