Avengers (1998 series) #7

This is the concluding part 4 of the Live Kree Or Die crossover featuring Warbird, continuing from QUICKSILVER #10.
In Iron Man #7 Tony Stark confronted Carol Danvers about her drinking problem. But they were attacked by the Kree Lunatic Legion who stole a prototype power generator. Warbird chased after them into ...
... CA3#8 where Captain America helped her uncover a Kree genetic testing camp at Cape Canaveral. Her alcoholism aided the Kree to capture Carol and they took her to their base in the Blue Area of the Moon (hence their Lunatic name).
In QS#10 Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch enlisted the aid of Quicksilver and the Inhuman dog Lockjaw to teleport them their where they found the Kree Supreme Intelligence who told them what was going on.
The Legion led by Galen Kor will use the stolen generator to power a giant Omniwave Projector on the Moon. They also stole some Terrigen Mists from the Inhumans, and the combination will kill all mutants and superhumans while turning 'pure' humans into Kree. The Legion's (unsuccessful) genetic experiments were to find the right combination to make the change work. But now Warbird's Kree/Human hybrid DNA has given them the key.
The Avengers destroyed the generator and rescued Carol but not before her drunken state put them in danger.

This issue opens with Galen Kor telling the Supreme Intelligence that the Legion will still find a way to achieve their aim even if it kills them. The Supremor's thoughts let us know that he doesn't want them to succeed. He orchestrated the Operation Galactic Storm event in order to kick-start Kree evolution with a Nega-Bomb (#347 of our original series). He wasn't destroyed then but hid on Earth while his plan unfolded (as revealed in Imperial Guard #1). But the Lunatics found him and will mess up his scheme with their human Kree. Apparently he mentally controlled the Skrull Sensational Hydra (CA#3-7) in order to increase human xenophobia to hamper the Kree's activities.

But we leave that ongoing plotline to view the court martial of Carol Danvers by the other active Avengers Cap, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Thor and the Vision hologram plus Quicksilver. Thor runs the meeting as most of the others are witnesses to her addiction and her attempts to hide the fact that she has lost her Binary powers (but still has her ones as Ms Marvel). They offer their support with her problems, but she reacts badly - saying that she only takes the occasional drink and her remaining powers were enough to make her an Avenger before. And that she's done good work in the new lineup as Warbird. But they unanimously vote her off the team.

Just then Vision, connected to the Avengers' computer system, says they've received a warning from the Moon that the Lunatic Legion is up to no good again. Cap orders IM to fire up the space quinjet. Hologrammic Vision can't accompany them but he'll bring in the reservists Firestar and Justice. Warbird says her experience will be a help but Cap turns her down. So she does the 'You can't fire me, I quit' routine and storms out.

Wanda Maximoff watches Carol exit the building and reflects that they failed her the 1st time she left the team when she was mentally controlled by Marcus Immortus (in #200). And she thinks they're failing her again now. Wonder Man does his ionic appearing act again assure her that it's alright, but vanishes when Vision informs her the quinjet is ready.

The quinjet tries a stealthy approach to the Blue Area but they face anti-aircraft fire until they land. The team are attacked by Kree troops and Cap gets Scarlet Witch to call in Wonder Man to help. She does so despite her misgivings about using him as a weapon. But we see Galen Kor using a normal-size Omniwave Projector. Meanwhile on Earth Carol Danvers decides to fly to the Moon as Warbird and show the Avengers how much they need her.

Our guys are still battling through innumerable Kree cannon fodder, but Justice in particular is exulting at knocking them down. But then 1 of the troops is surrounded by an Omniwave effect (which Wanda recognises from Av#96 in the Kree-Skrull War). He turns to energy, quickly followed by other troopers. Pietro Maximoff leads his sister and companions towards the large Projector they saw in his #10. And Warbird strains to leave Earth's atmosphere.

The Avengers reach the giant Projector which is using the energy of the Kree soldiers to power it to send its Kree-converting ray to Earth. The Lunatic Legion elite are here to defend it and Quicksilver is already down. Iron Man isn't sure he can shut the Projector down so Cap asks Thor to use Mjolnir to create a portal to send it somewhere else. Meanwhile the elite Kree are also converted to energy, leaving only Galen Kor to attack Thor with an Accuser's Universal Weapon. The portal starts to shrink and WM tries to get Kor away from Thor, but the UW's Cone Of Invulnerability stops him. And Warbird starts to fall back to Earth.

No-one can get through the Cone, and the portal's shrinking fast. But Justice suggests that a massive dose of Firestar's microwaves can enlarge it, like she did for a Stargate in New Warriors #41. Angelica Jones reminds him that such a thing risks giving her cancer. Cap says it's up to her, and the young mutant reluctantly returns the portal to its large size. Inside the Cone Thor has Galen Kor on the ropes so the last Kree converts himself to energy to fire the Projector. The Cone collapses, but it is Justice who telekinetically pushes the Projector through the portal. The Projector fires, the portal explodes and the glare is visible on Earth where Warbird lies in the gutter craving a drink.

Later SHIELD and Starcore send a team to take charge of the Blue Area of the Moon. Cap suspects that the Supreme Intelligence sent the message that brought them here, but the Supremor won't confirm it. But we know that it is happy with the results. And Carol Danvers reflect that the Avengers *didn't* need her after all, as she stares at a drink wondering whether she's going to drink it.