EXISTENCE END

Part Eight: The Falling Sky

the 83^rd tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

THE BATTLE FOR EARTH

The Current State of Affairs:

Chronopolis: Kovar, Dani, Glimmer Girl, Cable, Cosmic Flame, Canticle, Skrull 4, General Van'Rogg and five small space crafts move against the fortress of Doom

The Wheat Fields of Kansas: Captain America, Ben-Vell, and Eshir meet with the mysterious woman, Diana, and unleash the Hulk

New York City: Brono, Angelica, Ash'lin, and the Spider make their way to the United League of Nations. The Olympians (Army of Doom) vs. The White Rider (The Third Army of Franklin Richards), vs. The Army of Kang, witnessed by Michelangelo Stark (neutral)

Paris: The Angelux (AoD) vs. The Red Rider (Third) vs. the Army of Kang

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

Tokyo: Claimed by the Alliance

Hong Kong: Claimed by the Alliance

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

At the Gates of Attilan: Hawkeye, Crystal, K'Zan, Golden Eagle, Dr. H2O, Kendar, and Kendra (Alliance)

2202 / JANUARY

ATTILAN

"Open Sesame!"

Crystal rolled her eyes and smiled at Hawkeye's back. "Clint, did you really think that would work?" she asked. They stood alongside K'Zan, Golden Eagle, Dr. H2O, Kendar, and Kendra at the base of Attilan, the former city-nation of the Inhumans that had been sealed shut. "Once upon a time," Crystal remarked, running her hand over the smooth surface, "the Inhumans left for space, pledging to never return."

"But they left the cookie jar full," Clint reminder her, rapping his knuckles on the hull. He had hoped to hear an echo, but there was none.

"So the legends say," Crystal added.

"Hey, it's worth a shot, right?" Hawkeye asked.

K'Zan coughed nervously at the archer's back. "However you plan on getting inside, it better be quick."

"Why's that?" Hawkeye asked.

"Because the sky is about to fall," K'Zan remarked, pointing heavenward.

All eyes turned to the bright, morning sky to see what looked like a hole forming. Slowly, but perceptibly, the hole began to grow larger.

"What is it?" Golden Eagle asked.

"It's the collapse of the universe," K'Zan said, a knot growing large in the pit of his stomach. It felt the size, he thought, of the black hole in the sky.

PARIS

In the shadow of a half-crumbled Eiffel Tower, Bruunhilde grimaced as her lungs tasted the smell of her own burning flesh. Her left leg was on fire but she hadn't the time to put it out. All around her there was fire - the cause for most of it was the man who stood before her, the Red Rider. In the First Age of Marvels, when Bruunhilde was a Valkyrie, the Red Rider was the Human Torch, Johnny Storm.

"We have come a long way," Bruunhilde mused, "but at least I came to my current state by choice and not as the dog of Franklin."

The Red Rider let his flames grow larger, surrounding him and the Angelux in a ring of fire. Around them, the battle raged through the devastated city. They had been shocked when the Army of Kang entered the fray, but the Angelux and AIM troops had held them to a standstill, and even repelled them in two quarters of the city. On the end, Kang had trusted no one but himself to lead his troops and while he was elsewhere, taking care of other things, his ranks had been broken. "You shall die!" the Red Rider hissed, and then this city shall be claimed for King Fanklin.

Bruunhilde grimaced; it had been a long battle and her flesh had been cut several times. Her left shoulder was starting to go numb and the now exposed flesh of her left leg was starting to melt. She hadn't much time. "So it comes to this," she wheezed, the flames beginning to tighten.

"Die!" the Red Rider screamed, pointing his hand at Bruunhilde and letting flames pour off his body.

Bruunhilde screamed as the unholy flame washed over her. She could feel the metal on her armor start to melt and knew the time was at hand. She let the flames cover her then leapt forward. The move caught the Red Rider off-guard as he was shielded by his own flames. He wasn't aware of what Bruunhilde had done until he felt the sharp blade plunge deep into his heart.

His black, pupil-less eyes went wide as his life began to slip away. He dropped to one knee and all of his flames were pulled back into him in a desperate attempt to save himself in the flames.

It didn't work. The Rider was dead. Bruunhilde was burned, but alive.

Paris had been claimed by the Army of Doom.

Across the city, Kang watched, a frown laid deep upon his face; he would personally have to see to the killing of Bruunhilde. Perhaps then his troops would reform their lines and press their attack. This had not gone well. Since arriving in Paris twenty minutes previous, he had been distracted, the black hole in the sky causing him concern. Perhaps it was time to run back to the safety of Chronop-

BOOM!

His eyes scanned the city, looking for the source of the explosion. He saw nothing. In fact, with the actions of the Red Rider, there were precious few fires left. The entire city was shrouded in an eerie blanket of smoldering smoke. "KAAAAAAANG!" a deep, angry voice bellowed from beneath the blanket of smoke, causing what few windows were left in place to shatter.

Kang's eyes searched the covering, trying to pinpoint the location of the-

The smoke covering burst open and the large, ominous form of the Hulk rose high into the air, his eyes locked on Kang's. "How can this be?" he wondered, thinking that he had killed the Hulk years earlier in the barn of the Kent's. The Conqueror reached for the guns at his side, then saw the bloodlust in the Hulk's eyes. This was not a fight that he needed at the moment. Reaching to his belt, Kang pressed a control button and teleported to the site of another battle.

CHRONOPOLIS

Chaos raged through Chronopolis, causing Doom to explode in anger. In all wars risks must be taken. Doom's gamble was that none could penetrate Limbo to find Chronopolis. He was wrong and he now paid for that miscalculation as five spacecrafts fired at the upper spires of Kang's castle. Despite the surprise, Doom did not panic. That was not the way of Doom.

It was, however, the way of the regiments that had remained behind to protect the castle. Doom watched his monitors as image after image of panicking troops rolled by. He noted that some of the leaders of the regiments were able to rally some of their troops to form some resistance.

They would need it, he noted, as the spaceships stopped blasting. They hung there, like dragons of old floating in the mist, ready to pounce. Doors pulled open on the sides of the Shi'ar crafts and on the bottom of the Kree vessels and hundreds of soldiers jumped out. It was almost beautiful, Doom thought, as the soldiers' parachutes opened and they fell gently to the ground.

His eyes found the monitor that showed the Bomb Room, where Athena and Attumidunn guarded the Infinity and Virus Bombs, and a regiment of Angelux guarded them. "The living," Doom spat. "Always a disappointment." Both of the monarch's hands flew to his consoles, executing separate tasks.

The right hand called to life a hundred Doombots that Doom had hidden away for a moment such as this. Robots built by Doom would never fail to execute their orders.

The left hand opened a portal in the Bomb Room. "Deploy the Bombs," he ordered Athena and Attumidunn, but even this he would not leave to chance. Another command was punched in, and the Infinity and Virus Bombs began to roll forward toward the portal. "My Angelux," he commanded, "make certain Attumidunn and Athena leave with those bombs, then ride out to meet the invaders. War has come to Chronopolis, but we will not let it fall!"

MOSCOW

The Black Knight was hurled across the Red Square, his body slamming hard into a statue of Titanium Man.

"Die!" the Pale Rider hissed from atop her white horse as she charged towards them.

Dane Whitman shook his head, slightly sickened as blood sprayed with the motion. The Pale Rider had shattered his nose before she tossed him like a child's doll across the Square. In his hand, the Ebony Blade cried in pain. Dane had never felt such agony from his weapon and the urge that came with holding the blade, the savage bloodlust, was gone. If anything, Dane thought, picking himself up off the ground, the Ebony Blade feared the small taste it had taken of the Pale Rider.

Twenty meters … ten … the Pale Rider rode hard towards Dane, a sword drawn in her hand. Of all the people that Dane Whitman had believed would kill him, he never, in three centuries of life, believed it would be Susan Richards. The Knight readied himself in a defensive posture, forcing the Ebony Blade into position.

Five meters … two … Dane could smell the rancid breath of the pale horse … he readied himself for the blow …

In a blurring rush of mass, Ikaris dove down hard onto the Pale Rider, knocking her from her horse. The Pale Rider crashed hard into the ground and Ikaris pressed his advantage, landing atop her. He began to beat the Pale Rider with thunderous blows. Dane ducked out of the way of the suddenly rider-less horse, noting that Ikaris had lost an eye in the battle. "Earth is ours!" Ikaris raged, breaking the Pale Rider's nose and teeth with his hammering fists. The Pale Rider struggled beneath him.

Dane knew he'd never have a better chance. Ikaris was blinded by rage and his back was to him. Moving quickly, Dane drove the Ebony Blade between the Eternal's shoulder blades and started to drain Ikaris' damned soul. "What coward would stab a man in the back?"

"A Black Knight," Dane wanted to say, but this was no time for clever world-play. Ikaris tried to roll and lunge, but Dane held the Ebony Blade deep inside the Eternal. The struggle lessened and Ikaris was felled to his knees. "It cannot end like this," he wheezed, feeling his life leave him.

The Eternal's body slumped forward, sliding off the blade. Dane took three hard breaths before his ribs exploded in his chest. Spinning around, blood pouring into his mouth, Dane saw the Pale Rider, covered in her own blood, her face smashed almost beyond recognition. "Die," she whispered, using her invisible powers to erect a large block that she slammed again onto Dane's armored-covered ribs.

The Black Knight fell backwards, and the vision of the Pale Rider vanished, replaced by the image of the sky, and black hole that grew larger and larger, now five times the size of the moon.

The final thought of Dane Whitman, before the darkness claimed him was this. "The sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky …"

Moscow was claimed for the Third Army of Franklin Richards.

UNITED LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Brono and the Spider entered though the front doors of the ULN Building, leaving the battlefield behind them. Their thoughts were with Angelica and Ash'lin, but there was no time to look for them. Running quickly through the empty halls, they made their way to the Security Council. The Spider didn't bother to press the button that would open the doors; the Venom symbiote slipped between the cracks and forced them open.

The Security Council was a small, circular room, poorly lit. Before them stood four tall monitors. On each was one of the four members that controlled the ULN, and thus, the world outside: the Ambassadors from the United American States, the Confederation of Desert Kingdoms, Pacific China, and Soviet Europe. Four silhouetted heads, all looking exactly the same, looked to the Asgardian King and the human vigilante.

"Welcome, Brono," the UAS silhouette greeted in a flat, monotone voice.

"We have been expecting you," the CDK silhouette said in exactly the same voice. "We know why you come. Your message has already been delivered, and denied. Look behind you."

Brono turned and his heart fell through the floor. Laying still against the wall to his right were the bodies of Ash'lin and Angelica Osborn. "Thou hast-!"

"They are not dead," one of the silhouettes said. "Merely unconscious."

Brono spun, his hand reaching for his sword. "If thou hast harmed them, thou shall pay for thy lives!"

"That would not be possible," the silhouettes said together. "For the four who control this world are not alive. In fact, the four who control this world are really one."

Brono and the Spider watched as the four silhouettes lifted, each non-face replaced by an image of the Vision. "I have controlled this Earth for a century, Brono," the Vision said, his voice soft and distant. "It is not the life I would have chosen, but a machine cannot outstrip it's programming."

"Thou can!" Brono insisted, but the Vision shook his head.

"I cannot. I have tried, but the programming of President Stark is too strong. Any time I make a decision that my central program disapproves of, my operating system is wiped clean, then rebooted to a compliant state."

"We need the Saviors!" the Spider hissed. "We need all the help we can get! How can you sit there and do nothing?"

The Vision said coldly, "I have done all I can. I am sorry, but my calculations give this world's survival a zero percent probability, regardless of whether I free the Saviors or not. Now, please," he said, a touch of sorrow coming into his voice, "take the women and leave. If you know of any rabbit holes, I suggest you jump into them post-haste."

"Will you do nothing to aid our cause?" Brono asked, hating the tinge of desperation that touched his voice.

The Vision's glowing red eyes began to dim. "I am doing more than your mind could understand. I am using every machine in my powers to hold back the Wellsprings, but once the Stark program determines that my actions are not in its best interests, I will … cease … to …"

The red eyes went cold, and an impending sense of doom settled into the room.

"Heck," the Spider said, its symbiotic skin rippling, "what could eight more heroes do anyway?"

Brono shook his head. "Twas not the heroes we wanted, friend Spider."

"Huh? What was it then?"

"The Saviors headquarter, the Citadel, is located in the Out of Time Dimension," Brono said sorrowfully as he walked to kneel beside the unconscious Angelica. The Spider's confusion lasted long enough for the King to check on both fallen women, and then he understood.

"A rabbit hole," the Spider said.

QUEBEC - THE MAGNETO TERRITORIES

In the northern section of the Quebec province, near the ruins of a long-dead dream, the magician Talisman felt the magic behind the Wellsprings swell with a sudden rush. Something had happened, she knew. Something that had helped to hold the Wellsprings together had broken.

Pshhhh! Pshhhh!

A hundred meters before her, what looked like to small geysers burst through the ground, spraying a white substance into the air.

Magic.

She gritted her teeth against the force and quelled the geyser bursts, but she knew she couldn't last much longer. That the Wellsprings would not hold seemed inevitable. She hoped whatever the Alliance was doing to stop this would happen soon.

The black hole that consumed all now covered a quarter of the sky.

KANSAS - THE KENT HOMESTEAD

Captain America stood before Ben-Vell and Eshir, and handed them a small gold coin. "A gift from Stephen Strange," he explained. "Go to New York and rendezvous with Brono and Angelica. Find all the allies you can and then press that read the enchantment on the back."

Ben-Vell flipped the round metallic coin over and nodded. "What does it do?"

"It takes you to your next mission," Cap replied, his eyes glancing skyward to check the size of the hole. "When you get there, you must defeat the foe you face."

"Who?" Eshir asked.

"Franklin Richards," Steve replied, placing a hand on the shoulder of each Orphan. "The Orphans have done it before. You must do it again. Franklin Richards must fall."

"And you?" Ben asked, glancing over Cap's shoulder to Diana.

"Doom," Captain America answered. "Good luck to you. You have made us all very proud of the Orphans of War."

CHRONOPOLIS - THE TRAINING GROUNDS

The towering spires of Kang's castle rose menacingly in front of them as the Alliance battled hard against the forces of Doom.

Dani Moonstar fired two psychic arrows across the training grounds, driving two Angelux into madness. The rolling waves of combat gave her a brief respite and she had a moment to gather her thoughts. All across the training grounds, most of the last remaining survivors of the Kree and Shi'ar races battled fiercely against several regiments of Angelux, Snake soldiers, and Doombots. She felt proud to stand with them, these men and women she had likely never met before, and would likely never meet again.

"Are you okay, Dani?" Skrull 4 asked, materializing before her.

Dani nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "Just thinking, 4," she said. "About how awful it takes war to join so many strangers together under one cause."

The Skrull Ambassador nodded, finding Kovar and Glimmer Girl out amidst the carnage. "An opportunity has been presented to us. Let us enter the castle and find the I-V Bombs and end this threat to Earth."

"Aye," Dani started to agree when something caught her eye. "4, what is that?"

Skrull 4 looked to where Dani had pointed to find a black hole of darkness out past the edges of the city, growing slowly, but imperceptibly, larger. The Skrull's face dropped. "It's the collapse of the universe," he said in awe.

"I thought Limbo would be safe," Dani replied, thinking of the alternate plan to escape into the Out of Time Dimension.

"It appears not," Skrull 4 answered. "Come, we must hurry."

CHRONOPOLIS - THE BOMB ROOM

Attumidunn watched the Virus Bomb roll slowly away from her, toward the portal that would lead it to Earth.

"Move!" Athena ordered, pushing the Orphan in the back.

Dumbly, Toomi stumbled forward, her head swimming. What was she to do? If she stopped the Virus Bomb here, surrounded by Angelux, she would be killed instantly. 'Hell,' she cursed her fate, 'I don't think I can stop it anyway.' Should she try, or should she follow the Virus Bomb to Earth, as was her charge, and hope to disable it there. Mentally locked, she reached out her hand to touch the Virus Bomb, hoping that her answer would come, miraculously, with contact. Closer, her hand moved, closer … closer …

Contact.

Nothing.

"Shrabnit," she swore, thinking suddenly of the last time she had made love to Ben-Vell. Helplessly, she turned around to face Athena. "What do you do," she asked, "when all your dreams have come and gone and you know they will never come back?"

Athena's hard face softened, and her words held the weight that Toomi felt within her own heart. "You fight for Doom," the Olympian replied, "because he offers some form of hope, and hope, no matter how damned, is better than surrender."

Toomi felt her head nod, though she wasn't certain she completely understood. Turning back around, she pushed the Virus Bomb into the portal, and was transported back to Earth.

MANHATTAN - THE GOLDEN CASTLE

"What do you think you're doing?" Wartoy's bone-rattling voice screeched to Michelangelo.

The last Stark stormed through the hallways of his ancestral home, making for the old lab that contained the Iron Man armors. "I'm putting on the armor!" he yelled, his mind racing at the growing darkness that consumed the sky.

"The Iron Man armor?" Wartoy laughed from her cage inside the machines of the Golden Castle. "You've never worn that armor a day in your life. You'll kill yourself!"

"Maybe," he said. "But I can't sit here and do nothing."

"Nothing?" a somber voice said from behind Stark.

"Who are you?" he demanded, turning around to face the stranger. "How did you enter my castle?"

"I am called Stephen Strange," the Sorcerer announced. "What you see before you is my astral projection so the plasma gun you reach for will do you no good."

"What do you want?" Michelangelo asked. 'Magicians,' his mind scoffed. 'I hate magicians.'

"The arrogance of the Starks has always touched too close to home," Strange confided. "The Starks gather gold with the hunger of dragons, and live just as lonely a life. Make a change, Michelangelo. Forget your ancestor's armor. One more weapon on that battlefield means little. There is something else you can do that will do more good for this world."

"Like what?" he asked, annoyed at the tedium of such a talk with all that was going on outside.

Strange answered, "Open your doors. Let in the lost and hurt and confused people of this city. Open your doors and let them in, so that they might find a moment's peace before the end."

KANSAS - THE KENT HOMESTEAD

"Are you certain there's nothing I can do?" Captain America asked, looking to Diana.

"No," she replied, shaking her head as she lifted her robe to show Steve her feet. "My body is reverting back to clay."

"Diana, I … I am sorry for-"

"Don't," she whispered, a tear coming to her cheek. "I am the last survivor of my world. It all must end sometime. Now go, save your world. Live a good life. Do not let what became of our son keep you from having another."

Steve pulled on his mask. "Goodbye, Diana. May you find peace, at the last." Cap reached for his old gold coin, spoke the enchantment, and disappeared.

Diana's eyes went to the sky that was now half gone. In minutes that seemed like hours, she watched the moon crumble into the abyss as her own body reverted to a soft clay. When she felt her mind start to leave her, she closed her eyes and prayed. When her last breath was drawn, she was singing a song from her youth about the sweet grass that grew on a small hill near her mother's home.

MT. OLYMPUS

King Franklin slammed his fist into his other hand as Lady Luna watched on, fear growing in her heart. They were losing the Battle for Earth.

"This is not possible!" Franklin screamed. "What has happened to my powers? Why can't I create anything new?"

Luna said nothing but a silent prayer that Mantis' mission found success.

On the other side of Mt. Olympus, the three faces of Adam Warlock were saddened, but not for Franklin.

"It ends today," Him said.

"How do you know?" Magus asked half-heartedly, for he knew that the world would not live to see another midnight.

Adam said nothing. He could find no words to express his grief. If the Alliance could not come up with something, the Everything would …

"What's that?" he asked suddenly, pointing out into the vast darkness of the Void. "By the makers … it's Galactus!"

Adam's head spun on it's axis so that all three heads could look and see the still, floating body of the Planet Devourer.

"It is Galactus," Him said, astonished and suddenly full of hope for a reason he could not discern.

"But … is that a man standing on his chest?" Magus asked. "Who is it?"

Adam's face spun back to the front and the three faces felt their shared heart jump. "The Unspeakable Good," he said, nearly breathless. "Maybe … maybe there is hope for Earth, after all."

ABOVE NEW YORK CITY

Ben-Vell and Eshir flew high above the city, watching it get torn to pieces beneath the heels of Iron Sentinels, Olympians, the White Rider, and the Army of Kang.

"Look, there!" Eshir pointed to the top of the SCN/Bugle Building where Pluto raged battle with the White Rider.

Ben looked then closed his eyes. The powers granted to him as the Cosmic Protector were growing stronger, even as the universe collapsed down onto them. His mind reached out, searching for Angelica. "The ULN Building!" he cried. "Angelica's at the- uuuuuhhhhhhhh!"

Eshir turned from the sight of the White Rider extending his arm out far from his body and shoving it directly down Pluto's throat to see Ben wobble in the air for a second, before recovering. "What is it, Ben?" he asked. "You okay?"

Ben shook his head to clear the cobwebs. "It's Toomi," he said breathlessly. "She's back on Earth."

Surprise blasted onto Eshir's face; he had honestly thought he'd never see her again. "Come on," he said, looking for the ULN Building. "Go get her," he said. "Fly as fast as you can and bring her back."

Ben's eyes flashed for a moment, then dulled. "No. There isn't time. But maybe … maybe there's another way."

QUEBEC - THE MAGNETO TERRITORIES

Talisman turned to see she was no longer alone. An Angelux soldier stood by a large, round metallic ball. "Who goes there?" she called across the whipping winds.

"You must help me!" Attumidunn called. "This is a Virus Bomb! We've got to stop it before it can-"

Talisman blinked. The Angelux soldier had disappeared.

ATTILAN

"Let me try," K'Zan said, pushing Hawkeye aside. "Maybe I can use my powers and-"

K'Zan disappeared.

Hawkeye threw up his hands. "Kids! Can’t trust them to do anything!"

ENGLAND - THE QUARTERS OF THE WHITE QUEEN

Mantis pulled her scimitars from the body of the White Queen, then pried an ancient text from her dead hands. "This one thanks you," Mantis smiled, staring lustfully at the key to victory. She did not see the large pair of eyes that bored into her back.

Mantis' world was rocked as a foot slammed into the back of her head. Sent sprawling, she dropped the ancient, leather-bound text.

Illyana Rasputin reached down and grabbed the text, then moved to the corner of the room opposite from Mantis.

"This one will kill you, whore!" Mantis spat.

Illyana shook her head and looked to the large eyes in the window. "Fry her where she stands, Lockheed."

The great purpled dragon exhaled fire, ending Franklin's quest for the ancient text. Illyana looked down at the text's cover as the heat from Lockheed's flame washed over her. She shook her head, disbelieving this would work, hating that they had to trust in such silly scribblings by such a despised character. The flames ceased and smoke from Lockheed's nostrils filled the room as Illyana walked to the window to climb upon the giant dragon's back. The sky above them was three-quarters gone. She doubted this ancient text held their salvation, but Illyana saw no other choice. As Lockheed beat it's great wings, headed for the United States, her eyes glanced down at the title again:

HOW TO SURVIVE THE END OF THE WORLD

As witnessed by Maximus the Mad

KANSAS - THE KENT HOMESTEAD

Kang the Conqueror stood above the melted clay that was once his mother. "This is as good a place as any for a final stand, is it not, mother?" he asked. Kang turned his head to the sky; it was all but gone. "What's this?" he asked, as pieces of blue began to fall, raining down softly and slowly. "It's not possible!" he exclaimed, but, in fact, it was highly possible.

The sky was falling.

CHRONOPOLIS

A body materialized inside Doom's control room.

"Captain," Doom said, showing no surprise. He didn't need to look around to see who it was because Doom had watched the monitors, had seen Captain America tell the Orphans where he was headed. "I have been expecting you."

Doom pointed to his monitors, then to a depressed set of buttons. "You are too late. The final four Infinity and Virus Bombs have been activated. Two will end the Surf, and two will end Earth, and then this Age of Existence will end and Doom will walk into the next age as the unquestioned God."

Cap growled.

Doom thought that odd and turned to face his visitor.

The absolute need to be the ultimate architect of Doom had brought him to this point. He thought, as he looked into a set of horrific eyes, that he should have been more prepared for Chaos. Twice in the past day he'd been caught by surprise, and now, this. He wished his control room was larger. He wished he'd had the time to completely outfit this castle as he had Castle Doom back in Latveria. In all of his life, Doom had never been as afraid as he was at this moment. Even as he recovered, his eyes locked onto his visitor's, he could not deny that fleeting sense of terror.

It was not Captain America who had come to fight.

It was the Hulk.

KANSAS - THE KENT HOMESTEAD

"Hello, son."

Kang whirled on his heels, his eyes ripped from the sky, to find his father standing five meters away. "What are you doing here?" he asked, suddenly angered and ashamed at the sight before him.

"I've come to stop you," Captain America answered. "I am sorry, Kang, about a great many things." He shook his head. "Your mother and I were in love once, though it did not last. Duty brought us together, then tore us apart. In better times …" Cap shook his head. "It does not matter now, does it, son? We used you, Kang. We used your army to buy us the time we needed. The universe is collapsing but your armies have bought us the time we need to make our final moves. Doom falls. Franklin falls. You fall. Then we hope against hope that the words of Maximus the Mad are true, and we can find some way to stop the collapse of the universe."

"Stop me?" Kang replied indignantly, hurt more that he had been tricked than he was at being used. "You think you can stop me?"

"Don't know if I can," Steve answered, "but I must."

As the sky fell around them like oddly shaped light blue snowflakes, a father and son prepared for battle against one another.

THE VOID - MT. OLYMPUS

The three faces of Warlock watched the floating body of Galactus float out of site, the Unspeakable Good still standing upon his chest. "There goes the hope for us all," Adam said reverentially.

"And here comes our demise," Magus remarked. "Look to King Franklin."

King Franklin and the Lady Luna stood side-by-side as a ball of light grew in the air on the opposite side of the grassy quad. The ball expanded, and five stepped out of the light:

Ben-Vell Parker.

Angelica Osborn.

Eshir Maximoff.

Attumidunn.

K'Zan.

King Franklin felt his resolve shake, then steel itself for what was happening. The Orphans of War had come to kill him.

EXISTENCE END to be concluded …

"A rabbit hole," the Spider said.

YGGDRASIL

Comments to bousquet22@earthlink.net

Mark Bousquet

8 January 2004

Northern Bear Productions