ouston Street, Dallas, Texas, 12:55 PM, 1963
"Cap! Cap, snap out of it! We got a big problem!"
Steve shook his head, turning away from his downed enemy, just as Iron Man landed next to him, his voice frantic, even through the distortion of his helmet, which worried Steve. Stark was usually so... collected.
"What's going on, Iron Man? Report!"
"It's Radioactive Man, he's about to unleash some REALLY bad shit!" Iron Man said as he pointed towards the battle field. Most of the Masters laid defeated among the wreckage, but Radioactive Man and Sandman were still standing... and the asian man seemed to be glowing ever brighter than at the start of the battle. Steve didn't know a whole lot about radiation, but that seemed like a bad sign.
"My sensors just picked up a spike in radiation levels coming from him, and while I don't know the full extent of his powers, if I had to guess, I'd say we got less than 30 seconds before this whole area becomes outright lethal to those of us who aren't Asgardian or gamma mutates!"
Steve felt his stomach drop. He wasn't afraid to die, he'd already laid down his life for his country once, but to die like this, knowing his failure would condemn god knows how many people to a horrible death, not to mention his friends? That was not acceptable! "Okay, we need to get him out of range from any civilians! Thor! You've beaten him before, can you do it again?"
Thor landed next to him, his expression concerned "Nay, Captain, not the way I did last time we faced eachother. I can feel the gathering energies through Mjolnir, and any physical attack will simply unleash them earlier! Me and friend Hulk may be immune to it's direct effects, but if we were to strike him down... it would simply kill you all the sooner."
"Uh, guys?" Spider-Man said as he jumped down on top of one of the car wrecks nearby "That glowy radiation guy is starting to get kinda bright, and that's usually not a good sign. What's going on?"
"Last ditch attack, kiddo" Iron Man said somberly "And he's got us over a barrel with it. I don't suppose you got any last minute ideas to get us out of this one?"
"...any of you happen to have a vat full of molten lead in your back pockets?"
Flint Marko laughed as he morphed back to his normal shape next to his glowing ally "Hah, I might not get Sunshine just yet, but having him come back only to find all his little spandex buddies as irradiated corpses is a good start! You know what, I'm in a good mood, I'll even let you assholes start running, I want to see if you can scamper away far enough that maybe you won't just get incinerated outright! Maybe you'll get to linger fer a while!"
"Have you lost your mind, Sandman?!" Giant-Man yelled, shrinking down "You won't just kill us, you'll destroy the whole city! Kill thousands!"
Sandman snarled "Fuck Dallas, fuck them, and FUCK YOU!! You'll never-"
Flint Marko never got to finish the sentence. The Avengers were left staring dumbfounded at the spot the Sandman and Radioactive Man had been standing just the second before.
Spider-Man was the first to say what everyone were thinking "Uh, not that I'm complaining, but what just happened exactly?"
...
Somewhere Over The Western Pacific Ocean, 12:56 PM, 1963
I lose my grip on Marko somewhere over the ocean, the sand that makes up his "shirt" slipping between my fingers and sending him plunging towards the water.
Considering what I was hearing just when I arrived back, I find that I don't particularly care. I catch a brief glimpse of a vague mass struggling as it tries to fight against the waves, but it's gone before I can get a closer look. I doubt Marko is much of a swimmer in his current state, and even if he was, there's no land for hundreds of miles in any direction, so whatever his fate is now, they won't have to figure out a jail that can hold him.
And besides, I have something more important to deal with right now.
Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, 12:56 PM, 1963
I drop down just low enough where Chen Lu won't just die on impact when I let go of him, and then quickly dart away again, just as radioactive energy begin to crackle around his body, but out here, there's no one for him to hurt other than the seagulls. Uh, and all the other native flora and fauna I guess. But I think the U.S already beat me there by two decades or so. Luckily the areas where the nuclear tests took place are still deserted, giving me a decent margin of error for containing Lu's attack. Still not happy about putting even more poison into the island, but it was this or Death Valley, and bringing Sandman there seemed like a bad idea.
I stand on a rocky outcropping a few miles away, watching as green lightning lights up the sky and the surrounding ocean, before I turn back into light and head back towards Texas. The authorities can send the Navy to pick him up from here, I doubt he's going to escape, unless he's planning to walk back to China.
Did we win? I think we won!
...
Houston Street, Dallas, Texas, 12:56 PM, 1963
The other Avengers jump back in surprise as I flash into existance in front of them, and I quickly find myself leaning against one of the buildings, wiping the sweat from my forehead. I notice that Clint Hill and the two other security members that I'd found relatively uninjured in the trashed cars have wandered up to the Avengers now that the fight seems to be over.
"Sunshine!!" Iron Man says, zooming up to me "Was that you just now?! What the hell happened?!"
I take a deep breath "Sorry, I'm starting to feel a bit worn out, it's been a lot today. Just give me a second... alright, yes, that was me. I saw Radioactive Man was about to blow, so I brought him to the first place I could think of where he'd do less damage than here."
"What, the Nevada Test Site or something?"
I shake my head "Nah, kinda wish I'd thought of that, I went to Bikini Atoll."
"W-are you serious?!"
"It was the first thing that popped into my head! And there was a bit of a clock on this!"
"Unbelivable..." Iron Man says, shaking his head incredulously "Well, good work anyway, things looked pretty dire there for a moment. Where is he now?"
I shrug "Still on the island, I don't think he's going anywhere"
"We'll have to contact the authorities, organize for someone to go and put him into custody. Better make sure they're armed too, I doubt he's going to come along quietly."
"Not to mention these guys" Wasp says, flying over the prone body of Rhino "I don't think regular handcuffs is going to fit this one."
"Hey, wait a minute" Spider-Man, who's crouching on top of one of the overturned cars, says "What about Sandman? You grabbed him too, right?"
"I... I actually don't know" I say, scratching my head awkwardly as I look away "I dropped him."
"You dropped him" Iron Man says, his voice completely flat.
"In the ocean..."
"THE OCEAN?!"
"Again, sorry, I was trying to stick him somewhere out of the way, but you know how hard it is to hold onto a guy made out of goddamn SAND?!"
"Calm down, Sunshine, no one's blaming you" Cap says, putting his hand on my shoulder "You have any idea what happened to him?"
"No, but I doubt he can swim very well, but he also survived getting turned into glass, so who knows... I don't think he's dead though."
"No, but he might be wishing he was..." Iron Man walks over towards Agent Hill, who's surveying the damage to the street, and the bodies left behind, with an angry look on his face "Agent Hill, a moment of your time?"
"Yes, Iron Man?"
"We'll need to get in contact with the proper authorities so we can turn over the Masters of Evil to the right people, can you get in contact with your superiors-"
He's interrupted by the sound of wings, just as a shadow passes over us from above, and with surprising grace, the Black Knight lands his flying horse in the middle of the street. The Avengers quickly prepare themselves for another fight, Hill reaching for his gun, only for the Black Knight to hold up his hands.
"Eh... I surrender."666