THE WAR OF ORDER AND CHAOS

Part Four: Crumble the Walls

the 74^th tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

2201 / DECEMBER

THE VOID - MT. OLYMPUS

"It's too creepy for me to look at," Canticle said to the Cosmic Flame as they looked across the great Quad lawn in the center of the new Mt. Olympus.

Franklin Richards stood on the steps of the Hall of Franklin (formerly the Hall of Zeus) with his Queen, Luna, wrapped in his arms.

"Must you go alone?" Luna whispered into Franklin's ear. "He will be waiting for you."

"I must," he answered. "I am ready for him."

"I know what you mean," the Cosmic Flame answered. "Couple of days ago he was a five year old kid; now he's, what, forty? - but with the same mood swings."

Canticle looked at Phil, then past him to the Quad where the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus were once again brawling with each other, then past them to where the Pumpkin King huddled with Astoria, who Franklin had killed then brought back to life to serve as his Aphrodite. "I didn't sign up to be a god, Phil," she remarked, her voice tinged with sadness.

In reply, the Flame let out a small, nervous chuckle. "When I took Johnny Storm's place to become the Cosmic Flame, that's exactly what I thought I was doing. Hasn't worked out as I planned." He gave the shorter Canticle a half-smile, then turned to look out over the top of the Olympian city at the darkness that surrounded them. "I spent over a century in the Dead Corner of Space, Canticle, looking for life. Never found any. I was completely isolated, just me and the stars and the emptiness of space." He shook his head, the memories coming back to him. "But every day I could look in all directions and see something new as my position in space shifted. Even though I was completely alone, I would play games with myself, looking for images in the constellations, pretending what myths and gods people would create if their planet was positioned where I soared. But now … the Void. I almost can't believe we're really here."

Canticle shivered. "I feel that too, but all it takes is one look to the absolute blackness that surrounds us to bring it on home. We're completely alone, waiting for the next age of existence to start, and yet …"

The Cosmic Flame nodded. "For all the isolation, you can feel eyes staring at you from out there, can't you? Your enter your room after a long day out here and it feels like someone's been in there."

"Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah, crazy," Phil answered, though neither quite believed it.

They both felt the presence that watched them from the Void and knew, somehow, they were not alone in the anti-existence.

ASGARD - THOR ODINSON HALL OF PEACE - THRONE ROOM

"I love what thou hast done with thine room, father," Loki grinned wickedly as he entered the Throne Room.

Loki looked to the stone walls along each side of the large hall - on the left side of the room, chained to the wall between long, stained glass windows, were the Ambassadors Kovar and Ash'lin. To the right, Skrull 4 and Cable were chained hard to the wall. Magical devices that he himself had prepared covered their heads, dampening their powers, looking like large metallic starfish sucking on their faces, their eyes free to look out from between two tentacles. Dried blood covered the floor from the opening battle of the Third Army's assault on Asgard, and weapons had been pushed to the corners. In the rafters above, a hundred ravens gathered, looking very much, Loki thought, like a living storm cloud at night.

Milling around the room, many of the Asgardians that had come back to the mortal world with them, as well as many of the living Asgardians who had turned away from the Alliance. Odin had given all Asgardians the chance to join with them, and the masses had been pouring in - some frightened, some arrogant - to spill their guts to Odin about everything they knew of the Alliance.

Odin the One-Eye looked up from his conversation with Skurge to note Loki's entrance. "What dost thou desire, Loki?"

"Thy words wound me," Loki mocked, coming to stand in front of Odin's throne, bowing low as he looked up the small steps. "Have I not, at long last, proven to be thine true son? Or am I mistaken?" He made a show of looking around the room. "I do not spy the visage of mine brother, Thor. Is he about?"

The shortcomings of Thor still bothered Odin deep, Loki saw, as a grimace of disgust and anger and disappointment touched Odin's face briefly.

"Thou should not have brought him, All-Father," Skurge grunted.

Odin raised a weary hand. "Loki is my son, Skurge," he said. "Though he be not the bravest of Asgardians, I hath come to the conclusion that bravery is a double-edged sword. Is it not true that our two bravest sons - Thor and Balder - hath turned their backs on us?" Skurge said nothing in reply; this had become Odin's answer to everything concerning Loki.

Standing off to the side, Amora the Enchantress made a note of Odin's words. Since the Third Army had arrived, she'd wondered whether Thor and Balder were around. Although she didn't know where they were, at least she now knew they were not here, not standing with them against the Alliance.

"Have thee had any luck in finding the Norn King, Brono?" Loki asked, amused at his father's disappointment.

"Nay," Odin shook his head, seemingly unconcerned. "His location is not a pressing matter. He willst return and then he shall join us, or die."

"What of the Ambassadors?" Loki asked, motioning to the walls.

"The same," Odin shrugged. "Franklin wishes to speak to them. He will offer them a place at his table, or death."

"We should end their lives now," Loki offered, looking to see that all of the Ambassadors had trained an eye in their direction. "Why should they be given a place of glory in the next age of existence?"

"Enough!" Odin boomed, coming off the throne. "Thy insolence continues to plague these halls, Loki! Thou knowest thine orders, and yet thee doth continue to press and push at the way of things!"

An all-too-familiar half-smile came to Loki's face as he bowed slightly in apology as he took a half-step backwards. "Perhaps, father, it wouldst please thee to know that the Norn King is aboard a spacecraft, in search of the Celestial Messiah."

"Eh?" Odin asked, taken aback. "How came you to this information?"

"The purple-skinned slave I hath taken." Loki straightened himself out. "Glimmer Girl. She told this to me last eve before I had my way with her," Loki reported. "The son of Balder is on a ship called the Raven." The god of mischief looked over his right shoulder to Amora. "The Enchantress should have known this. It doth make me wonder where her allegiances lie."

"Still thy tongue, Loki," Odin ordered. "The battle outside is not yet won, and until then, I have no desire to press the search for Brono."

Amora came forward, her face angry and her eyes shooting daggers at Loki. "If I had known Odin desired the information, I would have given it."

"Of course," Loki smiled. "Of course thy would, witch. Thou hast designs on the young King, after all. It will bring us all much amusement in the next age to watch thou and thy sister scheme and fight over the young lad as thou didst scheme and fight over the mighty Thor." Loki's eyes flashed wickedly, "Perhaps if wouldst please thee to know that the inert souls of Thor, and Balder, for that matter, are the prisoners of Franklin Richards, held deep inside the Everything Eng-"

"Enough!" Odin boomed, ceasing Loki's rant.

With his own laughter now filling the hall, Loki departed, his mission accomplished.

EMBASSY ROAD

Ben-Vell Parker, the Cosmic Protector, tried to remind himself that he was not supposed to be enjoying this. This was a battle for the city, after all, a life and death struggle for the humans, Kree, Skrull, and Shi'ar that had come to know Asgard as a home-away-from-home, all for the purpose of, and belief in, the Alliance.

For everything that had happened to him lately, however, from his leaving Asgard behind to leaving the Kree behind, to leaving Thalia behind, to battling K'Zan, to witnessing the near death of Galactus … it felt good to cut loose on the countless giants, Frost Giants, trolls, and ravens that scarred the Golden Realm.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen - a city being overrun by monsters of the darkest nightmares. That it was happening to his adopted home filled him with a huge sense of sadness; but it was countered, not with happiness, but with the knowledge that he could do something about it.

A Frost Giant that stood taller than any building in the city was concentrating on the ground where a group of ten humans tried to race across open ground, looking for shelter. Ben-Vell came up hard behind the Frost Giant and raced hard through the giant's right shoulder, splintering it into a million pieces and sending the arm dropping towards the ground. He blasted away at the falling arm, shattering it into a million insignificant pieces.

The Frost Giant roared in pain, turning to look for the cause of the attack. Ben-Vell was not surprised the giant looked towards the ground since no air attack had yet been launched by the Alliance. Circling around, Ben fired a group of energy blasts at the Giant's open, screaming mouth. The giant was caught unaware and in seconds the blasts had hit something deep inside him, causing him to explode outwards, sending ice and snow shooting out over the surrounding area.

Ben hadn't more than a second to enjoy his victory as a flock of ravens came at him hard, clawing and snapping at him with their sharp beaks. He waved his arms wildly, firing energy in all directions, scattering the ravens. 'Concentrate,' he scolded himself, looking for the nearest Embassy building. He noted the Skrull building was almost directly beneath, and dove for a window on the top floor, smashing inside.

"Are you insane?!?"

Ben landed on the floor in a room filled with twenty Skrulls. One of them, a middle-aged female, Ben guessed had stepped forward to condemn him. "What?" Ben asked.

"You broke the window! The ravens can get in now!"

Ben half-turned to look at the broken in window. "You think the ravens wouldn't have been able to break through that glass?" he snapped, then thought better of it. Calling on the power of the Nega Bands, Ben created an energy field across the opening. "If the ravens come now," he said gently, "they won't get through that window."

The scolding woman had calmed herself and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It's just … we don't know what's going on out there."

"The city's being attacked," Ben said flatly. No other explanation was needed in his eyes. "I need to get to your Communications Center. We've got to call in extra help."

"From who?" the woman asked disbelievingly.

"The Kree," Ben replied. "The Shi'ar."

"They won't be much help," the woman said.

"Why?"

The woman eyed him as if she didn't believe he could be so stupid. "You'd better come with me."

THE RAINBOW BRIGADE SETTLEMENT

Dani Moonstar kept out of open spaces, sticking to the walls of the army barracks. Her sword remained at her side; she'd decided her bow was best at times like this. Seeing a Shi'ar soldier down on the ground, missing half his right leg and about to be killed by a troll, Dani called on her mutant, psychic and pulled back on her bow as if there was a string there. An arrow made of psychic energy was formed. She found her aim on the troll and let the arrow fly. It ripped through the troll's brain, frying him on the spot.

"Moonstar!"

Dani turned to see the object of her search - Rosalind Gyrich, commander of the SHIELD unit that served as part of the Rainbow Brigade. Gyrich was a tall, tough-minded woman, who could have been beautiful if she had decided that was important. She hadn't. What was important to Gyrich was being the best SHIELD operative she could. Dani had met her once, years ago, when she was a junior officer. Her red-orange hair then was long and flowing, and she caught the eye of most men in the organization. That young woman was a long way gone, Dani noted as Gyrich ran across the open ground, firing at the leg of a giant as she passed. Now the hair was cropped short and the soft suppleness of her body had been replaced by hard muscle.

"Gyrich! What's your status?"

"Chaos!" Even standing close together, their backs against a concrete wall, they had to shout to be heard about the sounds of battle. "Rhodes and Rasputin are captured or dead! The trolls came out of nowhere! No one knows who's in charge of which units!"

Dani fired an arrow at a giant, causing his body to seize for just a second - long enough for a Force Works unit to dig deep into the giant's left calf muscle. "You're in charge!" Dani told her. "Assume command of the entire Rainbow Brigade!"

"I've tried!" Gyrich replied, frustrated. "But those damn arrogant Shi'ar won't listen!"

"Retreat to the cover of the Forest of Earth!" Dani pointed to the distant trees. "They'll follow you if you tell them that!"

"Got it!"

Dani tugged on Gyrich's uniform. "Stay near the edge! I don't see any fire demons, but that doesn’t mean they aren't around!"

"What will you do?"

Dani looked heavenward. "I've got to get my Valkyrior back."

EMBASSY ROAD - SKRULL EMBASSY

Ben-Vell stood in the Communications Center, disbelieving his eyes. "Skrull 4 was spying on everyone?" he asked, staring at the video feeds from inside each of the embassies.

"Yes," the middle-aged woman - Hethen, Ben had learned her name was - admitted. "No time for that now. Watch." Hethen nodded to a Com officer who punched up several camera feeds to play out on the screens before them.

"Hala and Chandilar, from cameras mounted on the Skrull Embassy on each world," the officer announced. Ben felt something inside him give way as he saw both homeworlds under vicious attack. "The Army of Doom in action," the officer continued. "We've got Mephisto and Ikaris leading a double-assault on Hala. Mephisto's earth demons swarm the ground and the Eternals raid from the sky. On Chandilar," the officer pointed to the screens to the left, "we've confirmed Set's snake army on the ground and the Angelux in the sky."

'Angelux," Ben thought, his heart sinking. 'Toomi.' He was unaware that at that moment Toomi was in the middle of a desert on Skrullos 2.

"Both cities are holding strong, but these are all out assaults," the Com officer continued. "This is exactly the opposite of how Thanos fought."

Ben nodded, thinking of the lessons learned under the guidance of General Van'Rogg. "Thanos was content to hit one planet at a time - the fewer defenses the better. Doom is the opposite. He wants major conflict. He'd rather fight one battle than a hundred. The homeworlds are all that’s really important to him. Kill the center and the edges die. Thanos wanted to kill the edges and starve the center."

"Who knew Doom had this kind of power?" Hethen asked. "Simultaneous assaults on Hala, Chandilar, and Asgard?"

Ben shook his head. "We're not under attack by Doom. This the Third Army, fighting under the banner of Franklin Richards."

"Three armies?" Hethen asked, surprised. "Does Franklin fight with Doom?"

"I'm not sure," Ben shook his head. "No one is." He turned to the Communications officer. "I need to contact Captain America. He's on the planet Madness. And the Raven. We need to contact Brono, as well."

HEIMDALL LIBRARY

Glimmer Girl sat in a golden cage, the prisoner of Loki.

"Greetings, Shi'ar whore."

Glimmer looked up to see Amora the Enchantress enter the open reading space of the library to stand before her cage. "What do you want, traitor?"

"I am curious," Amora said, staring at Glimmer intently, "as to the state of your health. Thou appear remarkably well for a woman enslaved."

Glimmer shrugged. "How'm I supposed to look? Loki doesn't exactly have me scrubbing floors, you know."

"Yes," Amora said, running her finger over a tabletop and staring at the thin sheen of dust collected. "I can see that. What tasks doth the god of mischief have thou performing?"

Glimmer looked at her curiously. "Nothing. I just stand in here all day."

Amora's eyes widened and a grin appeared on her flawless face. "Thou are not used for carnal pursuits?"

"Sex," Glimmer spat back. "You mean sex, right? By the creator you Asgardians are a crazy lot," she mumbled. "Carnal pursuits? Just say sex." Glimmer folded her arms across her chest. "And no, he hasn't."

"'Tis a pity he hath not used you with a tongue like that," Amora remarked, then slowly backed out of the room, her smile growing with every step.

CHRONOPOLIS

Doom watched the dual assault on Hala and Chandilar, pleased but not arrogant. Reaching for his com link, he gave the order to Hellstrom and Pluto. "Start the Third Wave when you are ready. Crumble the walls. The coming of Doom is nearly at hand."

MADNESS - THE OFFICE OF SILAS CROCHOIX

Steve Rogers sat in Dr. Crochoix's chair, listening to Ben's story of the triple assault with concern. It all seemed fantastical, too fantastical even for times such as this. And the news of Bill's death was too harsh a blow; Bill had become Steve's closest confidant over the years. He couldn't even conceive of his friend not being alive.

"I'm on my way back," Steve said firmly, taking some measure of victory in the fact that Odin hadn't brought Thor with him. "Though I need you to do something dangerous, Ben-Vell, in case it is not possible when I arrive. Time is of the utmost essence."

"Name it," Ben said, feeling a sense of pride swell up within him.

Steve said the words he had always dreaded saying. "A long time ago, when the Eternal War was still young, a plan was formulated. It was the ultimate back-up plan, the creation of a last line of defense that could be activated in case we were on the verge of defeat. It is a … a dangerous defense, Ben-Vell. It is doubtful it can be totally controlled, but there are ways we can make it work for our benefit."

"Do you want me to activate that defense?" Ben asked.

"No," Steve shook his head. "Not unless the Everything itself is on the verge of collapse. I want you to find the instruction manual. Those of us who were in on the creation of this defense hid the instructions away. I want you to find them to safeguard."

"Where are they?"

"In the northeast corner of the top floor of the Heimdall Library."

"Bill's workspace?"

"Correct."

"How will I know the manual? What's it called."

Steve felt a line being crossed that he had hoped to never reach. "The Fury Protocols," he said. "It will be easy to spot. We hid many things in plain sight in those days."

"Got it," Ben nodded. After a moment's pause, Ben asked, "Can you rendezvous with Brono and Angelica? Or have them come to you? I tried contacting them while you were being paged, but I'm not getting through."

The look of concern on Ben's Kree-blue face was obvious. "I'm sure Angelica's fine, Ben," he reassured the young Orphan.

"What if Brono is in on the attack? K'Zan and Eshir were going to try and reach her, too. What if they did? What if Brono's chosen to side with Odin?"

"Ben," Steve said sternly. "If he has, then the deed has already been done. Find the manual. Rally the troops you can. If Brono has harmed Angelica … it will not go unpunished, I assure you."

THE RAVEN - THE COCKPIT

Brono, the King of the Norns and supposed future King of Asgard rode in silence, pushing the Raven hard towards Asgard.

He sat alone in the cockpit, his dark thoughts his own.

THE DOOMSTADT - OUTSIDE CHANDILAR

There were now only two Generals on the bridge: Daimon Hellstrom and Hela.

"The battle goes well," Hellstrom remarked as Doom's image faded from view. "Set's snake army has the Shi'ar control of the ground in question, and Bruunhilde's Angelux ride hard across the sky, bringing terror with them." He looked Hela in the eye. "It is time for the minions of Niffleheim to rise again."

Hela nodded. "They will do the Army of Doom proud."

Hellstrom nodded, a smile creeping across his worn face. "The fools in the Shi'ar Senate probably think we're coming for them."

HEIMDALL LIBRARY

When the Orphans were children, they had spent much time "adventuring" around the city.

The adults had called this adventuring various things: "spying," "troublemaking," "pestering," being the most common.

The Orphans had learned much about the city through these activities, and Ben called upon that knowledge now. He knew, for instance, that out near the Rainbow Bridge, where Heimdall had long stood watching, there was a small building. This building held an office, a bed, and a small jail, for use during the busiest days of interstellar travel, when the Alliance was young. In the back of the building, inside the small closet, was a panel.

Pushed aside, that panel revealed a tunnel that led into the city. Specifically, it would lead, if the right turn were made, to come to rest in the basement of the Heimdall Library.

It was that tunnel that Ben had just finished traversing, coming into the boiler room beneath the 'Dall. Extending his awareness outward, Ben felt for dangers.

Nothing.

Pleased, but still not 100% trusting, he moved quickly but quietly through the Dall, up the basement steps, into the main lobby, up the main staircase. It seemed like only yesterday Bill was forcing him and Angelica to read about the death of Charles Xavier.* Well, he amended, forcing him to read it. You never had to force Angelica to read anything.

* AGC 2-4: Days of the Extinguishing Sun

Angelica. He shook his head, praying she was okay. Angelica had come further than any of the Orphans, he believed. While the rest of them had legacies to live up to, Angelica had a legacy to confront. It couldn't be an easy thing for her to live with, knowing the Goblin legacy ran through her veins.

If Brono had hurt her … damn Captain America's justice, Ben thought angrily. If Brono hurt Angelica, he was going to-

Ben slowed his ascent as he came upon one of the upper floors. Looking through some stacks, Ben could see that purple skinned Imperial Guardsman, Glimmer Girl, standing in a … in a cage? So she had been captured. By who?

'I should rescue her,' Ben said to himself, then changed his mind. The Fury Protocol Manual came first. Moving quicker now, throwing a bit of caution to the wind, Ben flew up hard the rest of the way to Bill's study. Entering the small room - a chair, a desk, stacks of books and papers, no window - Ben searched the shelves. "Got it," he said, finding the medium-sized leather-bound manual on a top shelf. Tucking the manual under his shirt, Ben moved quickly back to the cage of Glimmer Girl.

"Cosmic Protector?" Glimmer asked, surprised by her second visitor within the hour.

"Yeah," Ben said, nodding. "Want a rescue?"

Glimmer Girl smiled despite the gravity of the situation. "Might be nice. Watch the lock, though. It's protected by magic."

"Screw the lock," Ben mumbled, using his Nega Bands to cut a whole through the gilded cage, freeing the Imperial Guardsman. "Come on, everyone's retreating to the Forest of Earth."

"Wait," Glimmer said. "We've got to head to the Dungeons. They're holding prisoners there. Torturing them."

Ben touched the book through his shirt, almost telling Glimmer to forget it. Cap had wanted him to get and protect this book, and flying into the Dungeons would put it at risk.

But then, he thought, Captain America would never value an object more than a person.

"Let's go," he announced.

As they exited the room, Loki stepped out of the shadows, a very large smile upon his mischievous face.

CHRONOPOLIS

Kang sighed loudly at the sight of the robot Ultron Mark-12. The would-be Conqueror found the robot to be pathetic, a condition that should have been programmed out of it years ago. For some reason, however, Doom seemed to enjoy its presence. Senseless ego gratification, Kang believed. A robot so clearly inferior to Doom's own being would be kept just because of it's patheticism.

"What do you want, machine?" Kang asked.

"The master wishes to see you," Mark-12 replied nervously, then turned to lead Kang down the hall.

JOTUNHEIM

Eshir and K'Zan soared across the ice sheets of Jotunheim. They hadn't said much since they left Amora's basement and the Fenris Wolf trapped inside one of the tunnels. Both of them were too wrapped in their own thoughts about Brono and Angelica and too concerned with finding Persephone's cabin to bother with conversation.

Glancing across the open space between them, Eshir felt the distance was more than just physical. The closeness he had felt to K'Zan this morning, when they were giggling like schoolboys about seeing Amora's bed, was gone. K'Zan had reverted back to the kid Eshir never really bothered to get to know.

K'Zan looked over at him, catching his eye and pointing down.

Persephone's cabin. A solitary speck of brown in an endless plain of ice and snow.

Coming together as they descended to the cabin, they were surprised to find Persephone opening the door for them.

"Come in," she said. "I have been expecting … not you, exactly, but someone."

"Why?" K'Zan asked.

"Because the Asgardians have come back," she said as they entered the cabin. She shut the door behind them, and looked them over. She was beautiful in the way only legends can be beautiful, Eshir thought. There were lines just starting to form on her face, and tired circles around the eyes. Her hair was black, but graying, and her shawl was nice from a distance, but slightly tattered up close. Her voice, too, seemed beautiful, but with the beauty of memory and not of the moment. This was the woman Thor had loved at the end of his life, and it was not hard to see why, although she was not beautiful in the way that Amora was beautiful.

"Dani Moonstar sent us," Eshir explained.

A small, but genuine smile came to Persephone's face. "I miss Dani. She was always kind to me. How is Bill?" Persephone motioned for them to sit down, and poured them each a cup of team. The two Orphans exchanged a glance - neither wanted the tea, but they wanted less to refuse.

K'Zan coughed into his hand. "Bill is … we don't really know. We were outside the city when the attack came." He glanced nervously to Eshir. "But if Odin has come back to reclaim his throne …"

Persephone nodded. "He is most likely dead." The Olympian placed her elbow on the table, then her head in her hand. When she raised her head, the Orphans could see that she had momentarily fought back tears. "You have come for the weapon, then."

The Orphans nodded.

Persephone rose from the small table. "It is not here." Moving away from the table, she walked down the cabin's short hall. Out of sight, Esh and K'Zan could hear her open a door and whisper gently to someone unseen.

"I don't wanna!" a voice cried.

"You must," Persephone said, though the words were hollow and forced.

Esh and K'Zan waited, their tea untouched, as Persephone led a raven-haired boy to stand before them. The boy - no older than 15, they guessed - had long, black hair, but pale white skin and bright blue eyes, giving him an appearance that was more than slightly unnerving. He looked strong for his age, and tall, but the smell of youth and fear was too obvious not to notice.

"The weapon is not here," Persephone repeated, her arm on the boy's shoulder. Her voice, just under the surface, shook with trepidation or sadness that was matched in her eyes, but this was a strong woman, and she would not shed tears in front of strangers. "But Sigurd can lead you to it."

"Sigurd?" K'Zan asked.

Persephone nodded to the boy. "My son," she explained. "Thor's son." Pause. "He will show you the way to the weapon that can win this war for you."

THE WAR OF ORDER AND CHAOS to be continued …

Have I not, at long last, proven to be thine true son?

Y G G D R A S I L

comments to bousquet22@earthlink.net

Mark Bousquet

23 June 2003

Northern Bear Productions