EXISTENCE END

Part Six: Earth Moves

the 81^st tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

THE BATTLE FOR EARTH

The Current State of Affairs:

New York City: The Olympians (Army of Doom) vs. The White Rider (The Third Army of Franklin Richards), witnessed by Michelangelo Stark (neutral)

Paris: The Angelux (AoD) vs. The Red Rider (Third)

Moscow: The Eternals (AoD) vs. the Pale Rider (Third) vs. the Black Knight (neutral)

Tokyo: Claimed by the Alliance

Hong Kong: Hela and the Snake Army (AoD) vs. Mandarin and the Defenders (Third) vs. Ben-Vell Parker, General Van'Rogg, and Kree and Shi'ar survivors (Alliance)

Alexandria, Egypt: Daimon Hellstrom and the Demons of the Earth Underworld (AoD) vs. Apocalypse and the Avengers (Third)

Wundagore Mountain: Hawkeye and Crystal (neutral) vs. the Hellcat Regiment (Third)

The Florida Everglades: The Alliance of Asgard

2202 / JANUARY

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY

THE GOLDEN CASTLE

"If the Fury Protocols are beyond my grasp," Michelangelo Stark said aloud in the darkness of a sealed-off laboratory, "then there are other weapons available to the son of the Starks." Michelangelo flipped on old switch and listened to the "chunk-chunk" of old machines, and the whirr of electricity coursing through old lines. All around him, silent in their cages of glass, stood the numerous armors of the First Age hero, Iron Man.

"Get in the armor," Wartoy begged of him, her high-pitched voice sounding at the moment like that of a lost child. "The armor feels so good."

Michelangelo ignored her, knowing that Wartoy would like nothing better than to escape her cage and once again fill a suit of armor. "It is not the Iron Man armor I come to activate," he said instead, reaching for the dust-covered control panel at the far end of the room. The board hummed to life and Michelangelo's hands danced easily across the dusty board he had never before used. "To the roof!" he exclaimed, feeling giddy, like a child opening a new Christmas toy. "Earth will play a role in her fate, one way or another."

In moments, Michelangelo stood within one of his towers and watched his pieces move out onto the board. Towering above the city streets, the Iron Sentinels once again walked the Earth.

THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES

The survivors of Asgard had been refugees on Earth, but now they were refugees within their own encampment. With the arrival of Kang the Conqueror came hundreds of troops milling about the encampment, forcing the Asgardian refugees to the outside of camp.

"I do not like the looks of these soldiers," Kovar said, his voice low as he stood in a small group near the center of camp - close enough to Kang to watch the Conqueror's moves, but far enough away to avoid Kang's ear. Kang stood with Captain America - his father, it had just been revealed - and Brono, watching the images of the Battle of Earth that Sigurd had called forth using his powers as a Seer.

Kovar stood with members of the Council: Ash'lin, Skrull 4, Cable, Dani Moonstar; the Orphans: Angelica, Eshir, and K'Zan; and a select group of friends and allies that Brono had requested: Glimmer Girl, the Cosmic Flame, Canticle, and the Spider. The Kree Accuser looked at the men and women around him and wondered how they had failed so badly as to have to resort to calling Kang the Conqueror for assistance. "Where do soldiers such as these come from?" he asked Dani.

"And is it true?" Angelica asked. "Is Kang Captain America's son?"

Dani looked to Kovar first, then turned to Angelica and nodded. "He is … but I do not know if it is my place to say."

"Then he is not your son?" Ash'lin asked, some of the old bitterness coming through.

Dani's eyes flashed for an instant, then fell dull. "No," she said, looking across the swamp to Steve. Her thoughts were interrupted as a group of soldiers, dressed in a purple armor that looked like a variant of the costume worn by the former First Age Avenger, Hawkeye. "Kang's archers," she said, turning back to the group. "To answer your question, Kovar, Kang's armies come from across the Everything. Over the centuries Kang has destroyed the Avengers on a thousand homeworlds, but he has also rescued Avengers from worlds that were about to fall. He rescues one world's Hawkeye and gives him an army to train in his image, then rescues Wonder-Man from another, and gives him an army of his own, as well. He hides them in Limbo, the land that only Kang can navigate."

"Why did you not tell us of this hidden army before?" Ash'lin asked, thinking of the loss of her homeworld.

Dani looked at the former Shi'ar Ambassador and shrugged. "Kang wouldn't have come. It is only Earth that he is interested in saving. And only then because conquering it by force would be too easy and too repetitive. He wants to conquer this, the last Earth, through adulation, not enslavement and destruction."

Kovar kicked at a set of roots that had emerged, if ever so briefly, from the ground. "I hate this. We are being rendered meaningless at the end of our own story," he said bitterly. "For 200 years the Alliance has stood at the fore, as the guardians of hope and peace, and now, as the Everything crumbles, we turn to this warmonger to save us."

"That is a mistake of reason, Kovar," Captain America said, as he and Brono returned to them. "This was never your story, or ours. Life itself is the story. It has always been this way, for this world belongs to the living, not the dead. We are only God's children, not gods ourselves."

"Well said, Captain," Brono said, taking a step closer. "But fear not, Kovar, our part is not yet ended." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Kang was occupied, then turned back and dropped his voice even lower. "In fact, it is Kang that is truly the minor player here, not the Alliance."

"What do you mean?" Kovar asked.

"What he means," Captain America said in a voice barely above a whisper, "is that Kang's army may win the Battle for Earth, but that is only a battle, and not the war. Victory over the Armies of Doom and Franklin Richards, while important, are but two fronts of this war. As we speak, Ben-Vell and Van'Rogg are on the edge of victory in Hong Kong, and while that is important to cut the ranks of Doom and Franklin, it means nothing if we cannot win the more important fronts." Cap looked around the small group, infusing them all with a sense of pride and confidence that had been missing. "It is to us, here, that total victory will hinge. We will use Kang's attack as cover to complete a set of missions that, if successful, will win this final war for the Alliance."

Behind them, the Army of Kang began to move to war.

Captain America reiterated his point. "It is now up to us. Listen well, my friends, for we cannot afford to fail."

BOSTON

A beautiful Catholic Church, located in the north end of town, suddenly and violently erupted with no warning. Across the globe, at exactly this moment, forty-four other Churches were lost to explosion and fire.

Aurora Jameson, a tired old woman who had lived a hard life, stood behind the counter of a coffee shop located across the street. Had it been any other building that was caught by such a blast, she would have been on her phone, contacting the police. Because it was that particular church, she didn't bother. She knew the government would already know. Lots of strange things had happened in and to that Church during Aurora's seventy-three years because that Church wasn't an ordinary Church.

It was the headquarters of the Saviors.

She wondered which villain had finally blown it up.

CHRONOPOLIS

Doom watched the events unfolding on Earth with displeasure, though not surprise. The Kree Separatists and the Snake Army were his two weakest armies, which is why they had been sent to Tokyo and Hong Kong and not a more strategically important position.

The battles elsewhere were all yet to be decided. In New York City and Tokyo, the battles raged the fiercest. Franklin had wisely sent the White Rider to battle the Olympians and the Pale Rider to battle the Eternals - strength against strength. When the stakes were this high, there was no reason to do anything else. Paris looked like it would be Doom's by the end of-

Inside the iron mask, a scowl crept across Doom's face.

Kang the Conqueror.

This was unexpected. This deserved contemplation.

THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES

Stephen Strange stepped out of hiding the moment the last of Kang's army had left the swamp. "I can give you what you lack," he said to Brono and Captain America.

"What would that be?" Brono asked, unnerved and untrusting of the sorcerer.

"Communication," Strange answered, looking to Captain America. "There are pockets of resistance that side with you, out across the globe - Wakanda, England, the few remaining heroes of this time."

"The Saviors?" Angelica asked. "Where are the Saviors in all this?"

Strange turned a cold eye to the young woman, angered at the interruption, but answered her question anyway. That youth, even in a time such as this, could still not know their place brought him a small relief of warmth and comfort. "They are trapped inside the Citadel," he answered. "Their masters, the ULN, have ordered them to remain where they are, and while the Saviors, I do believe, would gladly fight to save the Earth, the ULN has broken off their access to this world. The Citadel - their headquarters - is located in the Out of Time Dimension, and they access it through various churches around the globe. All of those doorways have been locked from this side."

"There is no guarantee they would fight with us," the Spider said from the rear of the small group. "The Saviors are not known to disobey the ULN, and the group's leader, Tricolour, is not likely to break her orders easily."

"Let us not count them among our number, then," Captain America said, turning his attention to Strange. "Let's get in contact with everyone, Stephen. We move by nightfall."

ALEXANDRIA

Daimon Hellstrom was not panicking, despite the slaughter of his troops. Across the sandy dunes, he could see Apocalypse and the Avengers closing in on his position at the edge of the city. Within four hours, he calculated, Apocalypse and he would stand and fight and one, if not both, of them would die.

Death did not bother him. He was the son of Satan, after all.

Hellstrom laughed despite himself. If there was one thing he had learned in all his years it was that knowledge was power, and he knew that there was an escape. Whether Doom won or the Alliance won or Franklin won, Hellstrom, if he played the game correctly, would survive.

What were they really fighting for, after all? Power. Al off them, all across the board, it came down to power. Hellstrom knew that Doom knew this, and knew that Doom would betray them at some point. The key would be to betray Doom first, before he had the chance-

There was a sudden, harsh rumbling to the West that shook the ground so violently that the battle stopped. All did what they could to hold their ground.

Hellstrom couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the massive front of a large army rumbling across the sand to meet them. They wore the armor of Yellowjacket, the rumbling caused from the engines on their backs. At the far left of their charge, Kang the Conqueror floated on a platform, issuing orders.

"So much for my supposed brilliance," Hellstrom said quietly to himself as the oncoming rush of the Yellowjackets battered the Armies of Doom and Franklin.

THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES

Stephen Strange stood before the moving images that Sigurd had hung in the air. "Impressive," he said gently, patting the young man on the shoulder, before turning back to Brono. "Let us do this."

Strange extended his arms and closed his eyes. A moment later a spell came to his lips. One minute after that, his mind reached out to seek those who would stand beside them and attempt t save the planet Earth, the last of the homeworlds.

CHRONOPOLIS

Atummidunn stood guard between Athena and the Virus Bomb. On the other side of the Olympian was the Infinity Bomb. Around them a regiment of Angelux watched to make sure neither Toomi nor Athena gave any thoughts to betrayal. Th Orphan didn't know what to do, so she continued to stand guard. She knew what these two bombs meant - the end of the Everything, the collapse of Existence as they knew it.

Was it true what Doom said, she wondered? Did her desire to kill Doom really come down to wanting to rule in his place?

She didn't know, and that frightened her. All those years growing up and playing games with Angelica where they'd daydream about growing up and marrying Brono and becoming Queen of Asgard … when you were a kid you assumed everyone thought the way you did. Until you realized that wasn't the case. Toomi remembered how their childhood fantasies had started to differ when their little girl crushes turned from the unattainable Brono to the attainable Ben-Vell. For Angelica, it was the romance, always the romance. Love conquered all in her world.

But not Toomi's.

As the Inhuman/Atlantean young woman stood here now, the comforts of Asgard and her friends long lost to her, she wondered if she ever would have even noticed Brono had he not been the future king.

Or Ben-Vell if he hadn't been heralded as "the Chosen One" for as long as they could all remember?

Somewhere inside those questions, she realized, laid the answer that would determine her fate.

THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES

Captain America looked at the faces around him. Behind them, Strange's astral form reached out to visit any who would stand with them in final battle.

Brono, the king without a kingdom. The Kree, Shi'ar, and Skrull Ambassadors to Council: Kovar the Accuser, Ash'lin, and Skrull 4. The remaining Orphans: Eshir Maximoff, Angelica Osborn, K'Zan, and Sigurd, son of Thor. Two old First Agers: Dani Moonstar and Cable. The Earther Spider, and the Shi'ar Imperial Guardsman, Glimmer Girl. The two ex-allies of Franklin Richards: Canticle and the Cosmic Flame. Behind them and around them, the Man-Thing, the guardian of the Nexus. Somewhere out there, Ben-Vell, Van'Rogg, the Black Panther, the Black Knight, Crystal, and Hawkeye fought their own battles, as Stephen Strange and the magicians struggled to keep the Wellsprings locked down.

These are the heroes that would battle for the end of the world.

"And Michelangelo," Strange's voice rumbled in Steve's head. Cap pushed those words aside - the years had been long but after all that had happened, Steve didn't know if he was ready to trust another Stark.

"You all have your mission," he told them. "Go to it. Brono, your squad leaves first."

NEW YORK CITY - CENTRAL PARK

With the city in chaos, few came to Central Park. Pluto, King of the Olympians, had a thought to make the green area his base of operations, but thought better of it once he gazed upon the site. He had remembered it to be a large green sprawl, fitting for a final battle, waged on the open plains and not fought on the crowded city streets.

'Twas not to be. The site was too small for an encampment, let alone a battle, so Pluto quickly moved on, and his base was now atop the SCN/Bugle Tower.

So it was that when the Man-Thing appeared in the middle of a small clump of trees and deposited Brono, Angelica, Ash'lin, and the Spider into Central Park, they were barely noticed. A handful of screaming citizens, rushing blindly from one danger or another, all of them too busy to notice that the direction they had chosen to run to was the direction others were choosing to rush from.

"What is that smell?" Angelica asked, her hand coming quickly to her nose.

"It is the smell of burning flesh," Ash'lin replied.

"Is she always this melodramatic?" the Spider asked.

Brono gave the human a sharp reply. "There is no extravagance in her words," he said in a low, commanding voice. "Look to the edge of this green."

All eyes turned to the horrible source of the smell - a funeral pyre. Drawn to the image, the four allies walked the short distance to see a mound of twenty dead bodies piled high atop one another, roasting in the flames.

"Who are they?" Ash'lin asked, her eyes darting quickly to the sky and the sounds of battle that awaited them.

"They are heroes of the First Age," Angelica replied. She thought, for the first time in days, of Beta Ray Bill, who wrote the Histories of the First Age that she had spent so many hours reading in the Dall. And now the Library was gone, with Bill and all of Asgard with it. "There," she pointed to a man in red, "that is the hero this world knew as Daredevil. And there, the woman with the white hair, that is the Black Cat, and next to her, Wilson F-"

"AAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Their hands went to their ears as the Venom symbiote that served as the Spider's costume shrieked in pain into the oncoming night.

"What causes this madness?" Brono asked as Venom slipped off its host, causing Zed Brock to fall limply to the ground, his paralyzed legs unable to support his weight.

Zed propped himself up and his eyes went to the rippling symbiote, whose form danced around the flames as it continued to wail and bellow. "That man, there, the one without a costume whose face is partly obscured by the one Angelica called Daredevil … his name is Eddie Brock. He was the symbiote's second human host, and the one to whom the symbiote is most drawn."

"Can you control the symbiote?" Brono asked, not wanting this human to be a burden.

"Somewhat," Zed answered. "Just give him a moment to grieve."

"It grieves?" Ash'lin asked, horrified and awed by the maddening beauty of the symbiote.

"We all grieve in time," Zed replied.

Brono nodded. "Wise words. The sun has almost fallen beneath the horizon. When it does, we move out. You know of a way to the United League of Nations building?"

"I do," Zed answered. What he didn't say was that he didn't see how the four of them could convince the ULN to do anything. And if the ULN wanted the Saviors to stay where they were, he didn't see what Brono could offer the ULN to change their mind.

As they waited in the shadow of the symbiote's mournful cries, a thought struck Angelica. "Brono," she said, pulling him aside, "what do you think happened to the Fantastic Colonies? And the Celestial Messiah, Green?"

Brono shook his head. "I do not know. But if there e'er was a time when the Messiah was needed, this would be it."

HONG KONG

Ben-Vell zoomed through the corridors of the Kree short-range spaceship, the Revolution. His destination was the bridge, to stand alongside the ship's captain, General Van'Rogg.

"Ben-Vell!" Van'Rogg greeted as the Cosmic Protector landed near him. "A great victory was had this day! You are truly worthy of your position!"

Ben shrugged off the compliment. There was a time, and not that distant a time, when any compliment from one as high ranking as a General in the Kree army would've had Ben's ego rising uncontrollably, but now … they seemed like nothing more than words. "Has the prisoner spoken?" Ben asked, pointing to a large, shirtless man with a deeply scarred face.

Van'Rogg shrugged. "He calls himself Luke Cage. He was found standing over the dead body of Hela. He has said nothing else." The Kree General looked out through the forward windows to see a burning city that looked eerily still. "Only pockets of resistance now, Ben. We did good - Kree and Shi'ar soldiers standing shoulder-to-shoulder, defeating two armies within hours. It is a good day."

"Have you established any contact with Brono, yet?" Ben asked.

Van'Rogg glanced around the room and shifted uneasily on his feet. "Apparently."

"What does that mean?"

"We were visited by a Sorcerer by the name of Strange," Van'Rogg said carefully. The Kree did not trust magicians. "He brought us a message from Brono and Captain America, bringing us up to date on the status of the war and delivering our new orders to us."

Ben nodded, wondering if the orders came from Brono or Cap.

"I am to take the Kree and Shi'ar units to a large forest in Southeast Asia," Van'Rogg explained, shaking his head. He clearly hadn't been told more than that, Ben could see. "And you are to rendezvous with Captain America in the United States. He said your powers would enable you to locate his exact location."

The General looked at Ben, unsure of the moment at hand. Van'Rogg wanted to say something to this young man, but what? That he was sorry the Kree had used Ben-Vell? That he was sorry he assigned his own daughter to become romantically involved with him so the Kree could better spy on, and control him? Ben's face, Van'Rogg noted, looked like a mirror of his own. "In times such as these," the Kree officer said quietly, "there is never enough time to address all the issues that need to be brought to light." Van'Rogg reached out his hand. "It has been an honor to know you, Ben-Vell Parker, if the fates should decree we are never to meet again."

Relief washed over Ben's face and he reached out to shake the General's hand. "The honor was mine, General. I am sorry for your losses, but thankful to all Kree for what they have given me."

Van'Rogg nodded, once, silently thanking Ben for not mentioning Thalia by name, then watched the Cosmic Protector depart.

WUNDAGORE MOUNTAIN

In the shadows of Wundagore Mountain, Hawkeye and Crystal made their way through the sparse woods. "My kingdom for a skycycle," Clint grumbled. "I was positive Wundagore would have some kind of transportation we could use."

"The world has changed much since you were last alive," Crystal said kindly. She was not concerned about the lack of transportation because she knew that's Clint's plan to enter Attilan would fail. There was no way inside. When Black Bolt had sealed it shut to leave for space, he made sure of that. If all the governments of the world hadn't been able to break inside, there was no way one Inhuman and an out-of-time archer were going to enter the city. "The people of Wundagore have all but shut themselves off from the world around them," she explained, glad for Clint's company. "After the death of the High Evolutionary, the United League of Nations recognized Wundagore Mountain as an independent state, so long as they lived upon the Mountain."

Clint was half-listening, half-thinking of what was ahead. "Woulda been nice for Strange to offer to help us get where we need to go. I mean, heck, it was nice of him to clue us in on what's what, but … hell, I suppose we could steal a car, then a boat. With battles raging all over the place I doubt anyone would miss- who the hell are you?" He raised his bow and stepped between Crystal and a small group of people in costumes: a winged woman, a woman with blue hair, and a pair of green-skinned twins. "Wait a sec, don’t I know you?" he asked, the edge gone in his voice.

"By the Terrigen," Crystal sighed. "I do not believe my eyes. Kendar? Kendra?"

"It is us, my lady," the male twin said, stepping forward and dropping to one knee.

Recognition came to Clint. "The Lightship, right? That floating space station from back in my time?"

The winged woman nodded her head. "We are members of the Lighthouse crew, yes, lost to time. I am Golden Eagle, and this is Dr. H2O."

"Blue hair," Clint said. "Cute."

"You should get new lines," Dr. H2O replied without a smile. "I told you 200 years ago I wasn't in to old men."

Clint smiled, "I've gotten younger, you know."

The female twin dropped to a knee beside her brother, then reached in her pocket to show Crystal a flashing metallic object. "Queen Medusa gave this to us the day the Inhumans departed for space. She told us it would signal should the Inhumans ever return to Earth. Two days ago it began to sound the call. We followed the beacon here, to you." She looked around the woods expectantly. "My lady Crystal, are you alone? Have the other Inhumans not returned?"

Crystal placed a gentle hand on Kendra's head. "No, my child, I am afraid there are no other Inhumans here. It is only I."

"Down my lady!" Kendar shouted, jumping up to stand before Crystal. Both hands went to his side to draw long scimitars. "A stranger approaches."

"Another stranger?" Clint shook his head. "Why didn't any of you show up when we were fighting."

"My apologies," K'zan said, dropping silently from the sky. "My name is K'Zan." He looked to Crystal, "The Lady Crystal, I am told, will be able to verify this."

Crystal nodded, her days in the Everything Engine seemingly a hundred years in the past.

"I come from Captain America," he said, looking to Hawkeye. "He said you wouldn't trust me without proof." K'Zan's face wrinkled in confusion. "He said to tell you … 'when this over, I fully expect to be invited to the world's greatest barbecue.' Does that make any sense?"

Clint smiled. "Hell, yes, it makes sense."

K'Zan let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I am to take you to Attilan. Captain America says there's no chance this will work, but if anyone could pull off such a 'hair-brained' plan, it would be you." K'Zan looked Hawkeye up and down. "You don't look very powerful."

Clint shook his head, then cocked it to Crystal. "No respect. At least that hasn't changed."

VIETNAM

THE BURNING FIELDS

Kovar, Dani, Glimmer Girl, Skrull 4, Cable, Cosmic Flame, and Canticle watched as five interstellar spacecrafts hovered in the air above them. "Van'Rogg is ready," announced Kovar as a series of lights flashed along the bottom of the lead ship.

"But is the Man-Thing?" Glimmer asked, looking at the swaying fields of grass that surrounded them.

The small group watched as the reeds of grass began to twist and bend, tying knots with one another then freeing themselves and tilting to one side.

"Flame," Cable ordered, "recon flight."

The Cosmic Flame nodded and lifted himself twenty feet off the ground. "Amazing!" he called down to them as he watched the Man-Thing form himself across the fields. "He's 100 square meters large, at least!"

"How will we know when the Man-Thing is ready?" Canticle asked. "He doesn't talk, right?"

"We wait until everything stops," Cable answered, as a gaping hole emerged in the ground. "That is when he will be ready." In moments the time to move was at hand, and the group of heroes made their way to the edge of the abyss.

"It looks like you fall forever," Canticle remarked.

Dani said, "Not forever. Just to Chronopolis. Let's take this battle to Doom's door."

And into the abyss the Alliance jumped. Aboard the Revolution, Van'Rogg gave an order he never imagined giving, and five spaceships shot themselves into the ground, enveloped by the darkness of the Man-Thing.

KANSAS

THE KENT HOMESTEAD

Fields of wheat as far as the eye could see greeted Captain America and Eshir as they stepped out of the Man-Thing's gate. Cap turned to the two large trees and thanked the glowing red eyes as they disappeared back to where the Man-Thing lived.

"What place is this?" Eshir asked as they started out across the field, heading towards a farm house. "What are the secrets of these fields of wheat?"

Captain America replied. "We are here to resurrect legends of the past."

Eshir looked sideways at Rogers. "Isn't that Franklin's gig?"

"Franklin knows nothing of sacrifice," Cap replied sadly. "He plays with Life and Death as if they were toys, with no understanding of what it is he does."

They watched as an older woman exited the farmhouse and walked out to meet them. Eshir had no idea who this woman was, she carried herself with a grace and dignity that age could not diminish. Her hair was an icy grey but her eyes shone like beacons of light in total darkness. Though the woman wore a white robe, Eshir could sense the power beneath.

"Captain," the woman said in a deep, rich voice as she approached them. "I wondered if you would come."

"Hello, Diana," Cap greeted, removing his mask. The two looked at each other and smiled, then gently embraced in a hug that hinted at a grand, shared history.

"It is so good to see you, Steve," Diana said breathlessly, giving Cap a last squeeze before pulling herself away. "I did not know if I would ever see you again."

"How is he?"

"He's dead," Diana pointed to the two large trees the Man-Thing had used to deliver Cap and Eshir to this place. "Fifty years gone, but time hasn't dulled the hurt. The truth, as you know, was that he died a long time before his heart stopped."

Eshir could see the equal parts pain and joy in both of their faces, and coughed gently, giving them the out he could see they wanted. "This is Eshir," Cap said, remembering he was not alone. "Eshir, this is Diana."

"It is a pleasure, ma'am," Eshir said, bowing slightly.

"The gods have all died," Diana said to Cap, her voice a haunted whisper, "and I am fading away, as well. You must come to the barn. There isn't much time." Diana turned and led them off to the large red barn to the north.

"Captain," Eshir asked cautiously, "I know it is not my place to ask, but tell me, who is this woman?"

Diana turned to Eshir and smiled a sad, lonesome smile. She slowed her pace and dropped in beside Eshir as Cap fell behind them. "I am from another world," she said, placing an arm around Eshir's shoulder. "An alternate Earth that was also filled with heroes and villains. Two centuries ago, in a battle recorded as the Millenium Encounter, a woman named the Centric Sceptre came to your Earth from the deep reaches of space. It was her quest to destroy the multiverse. She was defeated by a reformed supergroup from this world called the Invaders, but even in defeat, the Centric Sceptre won. For when the Invaders banished the Sceptre, she was sent, unknowingly, to our world"

"Diana's world fell," Cap said suddenly from behind them, the hurt evident in his voice. "Over the next decade, their universe collapsed. The Centric Sceptre had learned her lesson. Here, she had come to Earth, recognizing it as Commonality across the multiverse."

"A commonality?" Eshir asked. "A place that exists in all universes?"

"All or most," Diana said, withdrawing her arm from his shoulder. "Enough to make it a statistical certainty that you would find the planet Earth in whichever verse you entered. When she came to our Earth she was drawn to one called the Anti-Monitor. Together they discerned more of the Commonalities, and they started to collapse the multiverse at locations where there were no heroes or armies to oppose them. Had they come but a year earlier, before the dissolution of the Green Lantern Corps …" Diana took a moment to regain her voice and Eshir felt his heart break as a lone tear slowly dropped down her cheek. "By the time they reached Earth," she continued in a whisper, "there was nothing we could do. You cannot stop a universe from collapsing."

Eshir shook his head. "Then what are we to do? Aren't we faced with a similar scenario? What hope do we have?"

Neither Steve nor Diana answered Eshir's questions. Steve continued on with the story. "There were great and powerful heroes on that world," he said, looking to Diana's down-turned face with sympathy. They came to the Avengers for assistance and we went to their world, fighting beside them for over a year. In the end, we could offer them no hope."

Diana's voice was shaky, but Eshir felt a tangible sense of pride shine through as she explained what followed. "Imagine darkness coming at you from all sides, Eshir. When the collapse reached the moon, we ordered the Avengers away." She looked to Steve. "They did not want to leave, of course, but we tricked them and sent them back to their world so that they may live and save their own universe."

"That was one of the reasons we 'abandoned' the Earth for space. Thanos was inspired by the Anti-Monitor and Cosmic Sceptre," Steve explained, the Eternal War a distant memory.

"How did you come to be here?" Eshir asked, knowing it was probably wrong to do so, but unable to stop himself.

"A mother's love," Diana explained, her eyes looking up to see that they were mere meters from the red barn. "I was created by the gods from clay and as my Earth fell, I was called home to Olympus. My mother, believing she was doing me a favor, brought with me the man that is buried out by the trees. You see," she said, stopping before the barn doors, "I was pregnant. My mother believed the baby to be Clark's. It wasn't. Clark and I … we did not love. The loss of everything we knew was too great. Do you know what it is like to see everyone you love die, Eshir? It is a horrid sight." Diana's eyes were losing their brightness, and Eshir could see, for the first time, the lines of age that snaked out from the corners of her eyes and mouth. "In a short time, I gave birth to a son, and he was raised among the gods to be a champion that could stand against any foe and protect the Earth. I suppose, in the end, that is what he has become."

Diana's eyes locked onto Eshir's. "His name was Kang."

Eshir felt something inside him drop and speech was robbed from him.

"Kang killed Diana's mother in her sleep," Steve said, his hand going to Diana's shoulder. "The Amazons drove Kang, Diana, and Clark out of her world to ours, so that he could wreak vengeance on the world of his father."

"On our world, Clark and I had great powers," Diana explained helplessly, "but on your world they quickly faded. Oh, we were stronger than the normal human, and we lived much longer lives, but our powers quickly disappeared. Steve bought for us this farmland because it reminded Clark of his adopted parents. For several years we tried to raise Kang here, but he outgrew us. Before the Ascension, Steve came to visit us one last time. He asked us to look after something of utmost value."

"What is it?" Eshir asked.

Diana turned and opened the barn doors. "The Fury Protocols."

EXISTENCE END to be continued …

But if there e'er was a time when the Messiah was needed, this would be it.

YGGDRASIL

Comments to bousquet22@earthlink.net

Mark Bousquet

6 January 2004

Northern Bear Productions