Contest Of Champions: A Gathering Of Heroes

It's the unanimous thought in the mind of each assembled hero, but it takes the vocal Spider-Man to make the question heard.

"Beats the heck outta me Spidey," replies Spider-Man's long-time friend and ally the Human Torch, "but there sure is a heck of a lot of us here!"

Casting their gaze around the room, the two friends see both friends and acquaintances gathered inside a large arena. Many of the heroes were catching up with old companions and teammates. Others, such as former teammates Cyclops and Wolverine, were shunning each other due to recent events.

The arena was as long as a football field, and was encased at all ends by metallic walls. It more closely resembled an old style Roman gladiator arena than a football stadium, though, for there were rows and rows of wooden seats. At one end of the arena, a large viewscreen could be seen, displaying the planet Earth below. Covering the arena was a clear dome structure, through which the moon and stars could be seen shining down on the assemblage.

"Holy guacamole!" exclaimed Skin, as he stared up into the inky blackness, "we're in space!"

"Easy son," replied Captain America who was standing nearby, "we'll get to the bottom of this!"

Several of the heroes who could fly had already taken to the air, examining their surroundings for any possible way of escape. Others were searching the walls for exits, and others still had descended to the arena floor to find a possible way out.

Storm hovered in the air at the apex of the dome, staring out into space. She was glad that the dome was clear - if it had been otherwise her claustrophobia may have taken hold of her.

"Hi Ororo!" came a voice from next to her. She turned and saw her old friend Carol Danvers, the ex-Avenger known as Warbird, hovering next to her.

"Carol! It is good to see you again!" replied Storm.

"Wish the circumstances were better!" replied Warbird, "So, any idea what the heck we're doing here?"

"None, although..."

Storm was cut short by a large, silver-masked face that had appeared on the viewscreen. "WELCOME!" its voice boomed. All faces turned to watch the viewscreen, hoping for the answers to the questions they were all asking.