"Sometimes the good guys don't win"? I say thee nay, nay a thousand times! Every moment of the Vision's life and death was triumph, was victory. Hast thou not taken notice that for every hero, there rampages a whole gallery of villains? That in the history of the champions of Midgard, it is often the appearance of such vileness that brings forth warriors to oppose it, despite the treacher words of the virtueless that imply the opposite?

It is the burden all men bear that there is as much baseness in their souls as there is sterling nobility, and all too many are lured in by the easy temptations of their darker selves. And yet the Vision, though made in darkness, with the mind and soul of a man he embraced virtue. And yet the Vision stood with his fellows as exemplar shining, proclaiming to the world that we can be that better part of ourselves. That we can stand against evil, though it seem about us as the endless sea.

And thou dares't - thou dares't to say that his death had greater power to hurt us, than his life had to teach us? To enoble us? Little wonder that Cinnabar should not respond to thy words, to hear them is to be enraged at the apparent failure on thy part to have let his heroism reach thee.

To judge the measure of a man by tragedy, is easy. Evil, is easy. To rise to the good in us, to be the people we should be, is so hard that it should be seen as the peerless miracle and true wonder of this earth that we so rise. It can be so fragile a grace that without those to show us it can be done, we would be lost.

From his life to his death, the Vision spent nearly every moment so showing. There are heroes now because of it. There are heroes standing before you because of it. The Vision did his part to ensure that good would not pass from this world to let evil stand unchallenged. The blow his death dealt? To the very last, he has given us strength that helps us stand unbowed! Is that not a worthy life? Is that not a worthy death? How can any man dare to rob him of that legacy in how he is remembered?

The true dolorous stroke would be to forget that. The true dolorous stroke would be to let his memory stand not for strength, but sorrow.

It is the doom of the valiant to so rarely leave this world peacefully. But it is their greatest gift to leave it inspired to greater bravery and virtue of spirit still. From the most mortal of local constables to the most cosmic of titans, that is the best of what their heroism gives us. In ever continuing that legacy, in ever rising to the challenge of nobility, in the spite of pain, of trauma, of tragedy, or even at times the world itself, the good guys always win. The fight itself is victory.

It is that, as Avengers, that is the most worthy of the tasks before us that we swear ourselves to. To be the heroes of today. To inspire the heroes of tomorrow. To show always, in life or death, sadness or glory, that we will e'er battle to keep goodness in this world, that so long as we have ensured that there are souls about us fired to embrace their own virtue, it will not matter if or when we pass from this world. We will have won. Let that be what thou commemorate. Let that pledge be what drives us to celebrate this day. Let us as one roar challenge into the fetid sea of evil and send it blasted back, tremulous and craven. So says the son of Balder!

How Arachne feels about the Avengers:

Banner: Um... {blush} He's OK. I guess. {blush} He's a pretty good leader and all. And he looks really hawt in spandex. OMG, did I just say that out loud?

Hornet: He's pretty cool, and he talks to me about science and stuff. I'm not as smart as my dad but I'm still pretty smart, so I understand most of it. Well, some of it. He's also kinda a babe, which is funny 'cause I thought all scientist types were stuffy and geeky and stuff.

Ms. Marvel: Geez, she's... um... wow. When is the boob fairy going to come pay me a visit? Oh, as a team mate? Um. Well, she's really strong, and she likes to hit stuff. That's good, right?

Black Knight: She's kinda cool. She has a horse with wings, which is pretty awesome when you think about it. And she's got this whole "turns things into other things" thing going on, which is really handy when you're fighting a guy made out of adamantium.

Iron Girl: Oh my god, her broom closet is bigger than my parents' whole apartment! I have no idea how anyone could possibly need that much money! Still... I hope she's my Secret Santa next Christmas...

Cinnabar: She's like my big sister. My big, sad, lonely sister. I wish I could get her to crack a smile once in a while. No luck so far, but I'll keep working on it!

What Banner thinks about his current fellow Avengers:

Arachne- "Full of energy,she underestimates herself too often if you ask me. Definitely a tactical asset, she also makes me smile with her good humor. Of course, there are times I realize she probably isn't going to college, and I am going to 'superhero special hell' just for letting her on the team."

Black Knight- "I don't know her that well, but so far she's been an angel and a good team player. Her powers are so versatile as to be scary. She seems to be a natural peace maker, and I'm grateful for it."

Hornet- "It can be very intimidating to lead a team where one of the members has more points in IQ than my height in inches times 3. Still, in many ways, he's remarkably down to Earth for a scientist type. I understand at least half of what he's saying. More seriously, I can talk to him more easily than I can the others especially when a half android half mutant redhead rips your heart out and takes it with her...I know, same old story everywhere. "

Iron Girl- "How does someone have all that on their plate, handle it all so smoothly, and still end up looking fabulous? Seriously, I just don't know. The Avengers would fall apart with out her I think. Sometimes it is easy to forget she's just as smart as Hornet is, but that's a mistake I do not recomend making to anyone. "

Ms. Marvel- "Probably the most physically powerful woman I've ever met, she seems to believe the secrets of the universe can be discovered by breaking stuff. The annoying thing is, thus far, her theory seems to be working out fine. She doesn't always like to share, but that's confidence, not glory hogging and she shoots from the hip. I will admit, arranging tactics around her thus far seems to consist of 'follow through the hole she just made' but so far that works too."

Ms. Marvel's view on her fellow Avengers:

Banner: "Smart guy. Definitely has that 'natural leader' thing going, but a bit uptight, needs to get that big stick he carries around out of his butt every now and then and just let 'er rip."

Hornet: "One of those smart guys. Like, obnoxiously smart. Would be cute if he'd stop talking about DNA and robots and . . . heck, I can't even pronounce most of it."

Arachne: "Was this girl bitten by a radioactive mouse or something? C'mon, sweetie, I know you're young and all, but sheesh, you're a superhero. You're an Avenger. Have some fun with it! Still, damn, she's fast. Don't think I could lay a hand on her if I wanted to."

Black Knight: "Barely know her, but she has a flying horse. A flying horse! As far as I'm concerned, anybody who has a flying horse is automatically cool."

Iron Girl: "Just because daddy left you a billion dollars and a super-suit does not make you better than the rest of us, you . . . . well, let's just say she's not my favorite person around. Stuck-up little elitist . . . never mind."

Not currently playing, but recent enough:

Cinnabar: "She disliked me the moment we met. Which is good, because if somebody like that liked me I'd think I was doing something wrong."