"I don't like this," Batman muttered. "The League should not be a place to reform criminals."

"Batman, I believe that they have already reformed. They just want a chance to prove themselves," Captain America replied, standing up and facing his teammate.

"It's bringing bad press. You know, we're already under a lot of government influence as it is. If we start letting criminals in . . . "

"Reformed criminals . . . "

" . . . then we'll raise the hackles of our government supervisors, and they'll see the need to take more of a hand in our affairs. You don't want them making the decisions as to who our members are, do you?"

Batman walked out. Captain America sighed as he wondered whether these two new members would be worth the trouble they were causing in the group. Only time would tell.

"Are you all ready?"

Below were Hawkeye, Swordsman, Wonder Woman, and Quasar.

"We're ready, Pym," Wonder Woman said.

"I'm starting it up," Pym responded.

The otherwise blank environment began to change. The walls seemed to shape themselves from whiteness to a barren, rocky landscape. A muscular, helmeted figure stood on a hilltop, his brazen stance challenging the Avengers League.

"So, Avengers League, you choose to challenge Arkon the Imperion once more!"

"Who is this guy?" Hawkeye muttered. "Is he real, or . . . "

Wonder Woman found Hawkeye's lack of seriousness about the training exercise frustrating. His wit and aptness with snide comments dug into her, but there were times when the archer's natural charm pleased her.

She knew her part in the Praxaeum simulation. She had to get the battle rolling.

"Yes, we do challenge you, Arkon! Prepare to face the might of the Avengers League!"

The team fanned out as Arkon generated energy bolts from his quiver. He sent a scarlet energy bolt at Quasar, who was fast enough to generate a light-shield that allowed the bolt to bounce away harmlessly. The Swordsman picked up his Makluan sword and fired a bolt straight at the Imperion. But Arkon was quick with his huge shield, and the bolt bounced away, blasting the ground at Hawkeye's feet.

"Watch out, Swordsman! No need to get me killed, you know!"

Wonder Woman leapt at the Imperion, who grabbed her in mid-flight and used her momentum to send her slamming into some rocks.

"A pity we meet in battle, fair maiden. I would far rather have a beautiful one such as thee amongst my courtesans!"

Hawkeye didn't see any way the four of them would be able to defeat the Imperion in a straightforward manner. He was too strong for a slugfest, and too fast with the thunderbolts to take down with an energy attack. But maybe if . . .

Hawkeye drew his bow silently, allowing Arkon to be distracted by the constant barrage of light blasts from Quasar. He waited until the precise moment when Arkon reached into his quiver to create another energy bolt.

Hawkeye fired.

The incendiary arrow blew up in Arkon's hand just as he was generating a quiver bolt, resulting in an explosion which scalded the Imperion. Even a powerful being like Arkon could not shrug off such a blast with ease. Hawkeye was glad Wonder Woman was pretty nearly invulnerable, or she would have been hurt by the blast, too.

But Wonder Woman got up and slugged the reeling Arkon hard across the face. The Imperion went down.

The Avengers League regrouped, and the Praxaeum simulation faded, to reveal the blank room that had been there before.

"Excellent work, Hawkeye!" Wonder Woman exclaimed. "One who can make such a skillful battlefield decision is a great addition to our group!" Quasar also praised his teammate's skill.

"Nice work, Hawkeye," Swordsman said as he sheathed his sword, but Hawkeye could detect hints of sarcasm and jealousy in his voice.

Hawkeye, the veteran mercenary, almost felt like he was blushing. Wonder Woman had that effect on people--it was like Aphrodite telling a guy that he was attractive.

The thought of her beauty and poise made Hawkeye feel bad for what he and Swordsman were going to have to do to the Avengers League, to fulfill the plans of Lex Luthor.

"I'm glad you've decided to work with the good guys, Hawkeye," Iron Man commented.

"It feels good to be standing for something, to be protecting people, instead of robbing them."

"You'll find that being an Avenger, if you stick with it, gets you in a lot of doors, and takes you to some interesting places. Asgard, Latveria, back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. Have you ever been to another dimension, Hawkeye?"

"Would I want to go to another dimension?" Hawkeye wisecracked. "I don't even like the thought of using teleporters, much less finding myself on another plane of existence. Blecch!"

Iron Man chuckled. "Well, you'll get the chance someday soon, and you'll probably enjoy it. When the moment comes for the Avengers League to put their trust in you, I know you won't let us down."

Hawkeye wished that he felt the same way.

"Uh, Mr. Luthor. I hate to have to run out on the job and all . . . but I'm starting to wonder if this is a good idea . . . " Hawkeye finally said.

"Why, my archer friend, it is. You have nothing to worry about," Luthor replied in his most soothing voice. "Together, you, Swordsman, and I will destroy the Avengers League. I trust you won't let me down."

"Very well, Mr. Luthor," Hawkeye sighed.

As soon as the door was shut behind Hawkeye, Luthor set down at his desk and placed his chin upon his hands. Maybe a back-up plan is in order . . . I've failed once at destroying the Avengers League, and I won't give up until they've gone down.

"Swordsman!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Luthor called me in. He supposed to give me some details about his plan for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. The League will be making a personal appearance for a Wetland charity. Luthor wants something to happen."

"Doesn't working with Luthor make you feel uncomfortable?" Hawkeye asked.

"Of course not! I'm just here for the money, and Luthor is giving us a lot. I could care less about the Avengers."

Hawkeye sighed. "You better get up there. Lex Luthor is not a man who likes to wait."

Hawkeye was walking by an electronics shop, when a flash of red, white, and blue caught his eye. He looked up, and saw Captain America smiling on television. After listening for a couple of minutes, he found out that it was a retrospective on the life of Captain America. He watched for a few more moments in awe. After realizing how great Cap was, he knew he couldn't betray a man that great, and he definitely couldn't betray Wonder Woman. He turned back around, and headed back to LexCorp

"Are you questioning me?" Luthor asked as he turned around. At first Hawkeye tensed up, realizing that Luthor was one of those people that did not like to be questioned.

"Yes, I am."

"Well," Luthor said, smiling. "I hired someone with a little backbone. That's nice. But it still doesn't give you an excuse for coming in like that."

"Just for once, let me in on what is going on. I feel like you're doing the deal with Swordsman, and I'm just tagging along. So, I'll ask once more: Why are you so intent on taking down the Avengers League?"

Luthor relaxed, and quieted. "Hawkeye, come over here, please."

Hawkeye walked around the desk, and stood beside Luthor, looking out the window.

"You see the city down there?" Luthor inquired. "I own it. What parts of it I don't control, I am working on gaining their control. Control and power are the two things I am about. And if there is one thing I don't like, it's wildcards."

"Wildcards?"

"In this case, the so-called 'superheroes.' They get in the way of things. Several of my plans have been ruined because of them."

"So, you choose to eliminate the Avengers League just because they are superheroes?"

Luthor nodded. "I guess you could say that. I tried the direct approach of hiring a villain. But that didn't work. So, I focused on infiltration. I picked you because of your close ties to certain members, and you are considered one of the best mercenaries."

Hawkeye looked down. He didn't want to betray the League, but he knew that if he betrayed Luthor, he would be in so much trouble, he'd never lead a peaceful life ever again. He decided to play along for a while, but try to avoid too much trouble.

"So, what about your plan?"

"It's already in place," Luthor said. "Swordsman is on his way to the spot in the Wetland where the League will be appearing tomorrow. He is to pour Spectroxin into the marsh, which will cause anyone who breaths the air in that area over the next seventy-two hours to get Spectrox Toxemia. Everyone at the ceremony, including the Mayor and the Avengers League, will die a horrible, sickly death.

"To top it off, he will be leaving an incriminating Stark Enterprises canister on site. After the League is dead, I'll find the canister, and blame Stark for illegal dumping. That way, I knock out two birds with one stone."

"Two birds?" Hawkeye was confused.

"Oh, yes. I've been trying to get control of Stark for a while. When my most recent plan* failed, I formulated a new one."

*(Iron Man #1-10)

"I see," Hawkeye said, as he turned to walk away.

"J'Onn, are you all right?" Henry Pym asked, turning around in his chair.

"I do not now," J'Onn replied. Then, he grunted, as he fell to the floor.

"Hey, is there some kind of trouble up there?" Cap asked over the intercom system.

Pym looked at J'Onn, who had stood up, and was shaking his head.

"Uh, no, Cap. There's no problem up here."

Swordsman leaned the container over, and it lay on its side. Hawkeye could see the Stark Enterprises logo as he placed the two arrows against the string of the bow. Swordsman slowly unscrewed the cap, and let the toxin come out.

Just as soon as he pulled his hand away, two arrows came flying in. One hit Swordsman in the left shoulder. He clutched his shoulder and leaned back. The other arrow had an unusual tip, and corked up the toxin container easily.

"Hawkeye, you son of a - UNN!" Swordsman shouted, the pain coursing through his arm.

The archer stood up, and faced his former partner. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that to the Avengers League. You may still be a mercenary, but I'm . . . not . . . " Hawkeye slowed down as he finished the sentence, unsure of if it was true.

It did not matter whether it was true or not, because out of nowhere, a massive pair of legs slammed itself into Hawkeye. He attempted to get to his feet as he saw a proud and cocky-looking mercenary staring down at him.

"So, you sook! You tried to betray Luthor, did ya? Well, the Kangaroo will fix you!"

Hawkeye groggily tried to notch an arrow as the Swordsman tended to his arm.

"Watch this one, mate!" the Kangaroo bragged to Swordsman. "My leap's a killer!" The Kangaroo leapt into the air; when he came down, he knew the force of his blow would break Hawkeye's neck.

But he was blasted away by a bolt from the sky.

"Crikey!" Kangaroo shouted. He turned, and leapt away as Quasar zoomed down at full speed.

"Are you all right, Hawkeye?"

"Yes," the archer responded as he got to his feet. "Swordsman has betrayed us! You've got to stop him before he and Kangaroo get away! I've got to figure out a way to clean this mess up!"

Quasar used his quantum bands to fire another bolt at the two mercenaries. Hawkeye used his membership card to call the rest of the League.

Cap and Batman confronted Hawkeye while Wonder Woman watched the captives.

"Hawkeye, what happened here? Why did we just take down one of our own?" Cap asked.

"He never really was one of our own," Hawkeye explained. "He was only in it for the money. I was duped just as bad as you guys."

"How come you seemed to change your ways?"

"Seriously?" Hawkeye asked. "I was planning on helping Swordsman. But, after spending some time with you guys, I kinda liked it." The archer looked down and mumbled, "And I kinda got a crush on Wonder Woman . . . "

Cap chuckled at the comment. "Go ahead and get on the jet. We'll be up in a few moments."

After Hawkeye had boarded, Captain America turned to Batman. "So, what do you think, should he stay?"

"He's obviously not telling us something."

"Oh?"

"Someone hired him. Who? And why does that can say Stark Enterprises?"

"Interesting . . . " Cap pondered. "I'm guessing you want to kick him out?"

"Actually . . . no."

Cap was stunned. He hadn't prepared himself for that answer.

"You changed your mind?"

"In a way," Batman replied. "I'm just remembering an old saying: 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.' I'll be watching our archer friend."

Just then, Quasar came up. "Cap, Batman, sirs. Everything's taken care of here. We can go whenever you're ready."

Captain America and Batman turned and boarded the jet. A minute later, it took off and fly into the sky, headed back for the Hall of Justice.