THE EVERYTHING ENGINE

Part VII: The Circle Closing

the 50th tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

What You Need To Know: The Everything (the name used to describe all levels of reality) is threatened by the Eternal War - a nearly 200 year war that pits Thanos the Mad Titan against Galactus and the allied forces of Asgard, Hala, Chandilar, Earth, and the scattered Skrulls. On this day in March of 2201, the end of the Eternal War is in sight. The forces of Asgard battle against the rebirthed Olympians in Niffleheim, and Thanos and Death have come to watch the battle rage. Ikaris, leader of the Eternals and the top General in Thanos' army, disobeys an order of Thanos to come to Niffleheim and inform the Mad Titan that both the current King of Asgard (Balder), and the future King of Asgard (Balder's son Brono), are on the field of battle, and that if they can slay both men, Asgard will be left without a King and the Council will certainly fall apart. Before Thanos can give the direct order to Ikaris to kill Brono, Ikaris betrays his leader, sending Thanos hurtling from their ascended perch towards the battlefield below, knowing that the death of Thanos will just as easily bring about the end of the Eternal War. The reasons for Ikaris' betrayal are not yet clear.

Elsewhere, two new allies of Thanos stand revealed: the Pluto-ruled Olympians and Mephisto, the Lord of Lies. Ben-Vell Parker informs his fellow Orphans that he will now stay and train with the Kree and that his allegiances now lie there, and not with Asgard. Galactus comes unexpectedly to Asgard, hungry and ready to feed.

The mutant outlaw Cable has been named Earth Ambassador to the Asgardian Council - in exchange he will receive the prize he has searched the centuries for: the Prophecies of Grey, the mad ramblings of Jean Grey that is considered by many to be the Holy Grail of the First Age of Marvels. As a sign of the trust between the United League of Nations, Cable must first agree to kill one of the following outlaws: the Black Knight, the Black Panther, the Green Gobliness, or Kang the Conqueror.

And far away from Niffleheim, Adam Warlock searches for the Everything Engine, the legendary machine that some say stands at the Center of Everything. He has traveled long and far, pulled along by the Soul Gem that rests at the top of his wooden staff.

Adam Warlock has decided it is time for mortal men to know the secrets of existence.

2201 / March

THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING

It has been a long journey.

Adam Warlock sought all the answers to all the questions. It was a quest that had begun over two hundred years ago, a quest that was propelled by an insatiable mind, and aided by a regenerative cocoon that could extend his life far beyond his peers.

He paused, the Soul Gem that now rested atop his wooden staff carrying him along towards the Center, ironically (he hoped) relegating him, after all these years, to the status of a simple passenger. Returning to the phrase that had tripped his thoughts - life far beyond his peers - Adam mused on how true and false that statement was. Certainly, assuredly, most of those who had lived back at the turn of the twenty-first century had long ago (as one of his favorite writers had phrased it) shuffled off this mortal coil, but many still remained: Captain America was now the Cosmic Protector, and certainly there was none who the Everything would rather have fight its final battles than the greatest hero it had ever known. The Avengers were no more, but their heart and soul still lived on. Dani Moonstar, once a tempestuous New Mutant, now proudly and confidently led the Valkyrior. There were others, too, of course, but also many descendants of the First Age, and many legacies to their lives that continued to bring hope and knowledge to the world of man.

Adam believed that history itself was neutral, but that there were times and eras that stood above the rest, and that First Age of Marvels was such a time. It was, Adam thought now, looking back, as if the Everything had decided right then that these would be the men and women who would fight for life when the time came for final battle.

The Soul Gem flared intensely, causing Adam to squint and step out of his thoughts.

It was the most awe-inspiring sight of his entire life - the Center of Everything.

There were no signs to tell him this, no declarations from some unseen god, but in his heart and in his mind, Adam knew that this sight had rarely been seen.

Contradicting all known physics, Adam saw below him two black holes. The one on the left drew in everything in its pull downward into darkness - the one on the right expunged matter back into the mortal plane, and shone with the colors of a rainbow. Adam watched, breathless, as the sights unfolded before him.

"We are the Guardians of the Gate, Adam Warlock."

"We have been expecting you."

"We have been watching you."

Adam watched as the universe appeared to shake and blur together in three large, oval shaped areas before him, then gasped as three giants stepped out from behind the veil that was the universe and into the mortal plane.

Having lost all religion long ago, Adam was surprised to find an almost undeniable urge to drop to a knee.

Towering over him were three dead gods, looking as Adam remembered them: Odin, Zeus, and Osiris.

"Welcome, Adam Warlock," Odin nodded, "to the Center of Everything."

Adam looked up at the giants, shaking his head," I must be dreaming."

Zeus smiled, letting loose a small chuckle that did, indeed, sound like the rumbling of thunder. "Mortals … you see why you amuse us, do you not, Adam? You will spend eternity trying to find the answer to the question you have just answered.

"This one shall amuse us, I believe," Osiris announced.

"Come inside, Warlock," Odin commanded, motioning to the black hole. "It is time you learn the answers. Perhaps not the answers you seek, but the answers you will need."

"You see," Zeus added, "there is not much time left for this Everything to exist. Now, go, head for the black hole. They are waiting for you. It is time."

"It is time," Osiris repeated as the three Guardians of the Gate watched the Soul Gem pull Adam home.

NIFFLEHEIM

Asgardians and Olympians raged final battle, as Lord Chaos and Master Order faded into existence.

"A dreary place," Lord Chaos shook his head. "Why have we come here again?"

"To witness the death of a dream," Master Order replied slowly.

Below the two cosmic concepts, King Balder fought in the middle of the fray, his sword Twilight slashing and thrusting into anything Olympian it could find. His Olympian counterpart, Pluto, eyed him through the sea of swords, helmets and carnage. They would fight this day, and one would fall.

Brono, son of Balder, King of Nornheim, and heir to the throne of Asgard, fought back-to-back with Kovar the Accuser, the Kree Ambassador to the Asgardian Council. "Why do we fight!?" Kovar asked, yelling to Brono as his Nullifier slammed into the skull of an Olympian. "Any Olympians we slay today will be rebirthed tomorrow thanks to the Kirbyonic energy that courses in their veins! We should make a tactical re-maneuvering!"

"We do not retreat, friend Kovar!" the young King and future-King yelled back, defending an attack with the sword in his right hand as he slashed past the attack with the sword in his left. "We fight to the death!"

Even if it is your own? Kovar thought, but did not speak.

"May Asgard feast on your bones!" The booming voice of Ikaris the Eternal General boomed across the wide cavern, and Captain America and Apollo looked across from their aerial battle to see Thanos the Mad Titan falling to the ground. Standing at the ledge where Thanos had been pushed stood Ikaris, his ionic eyes glowing intensely in the dull light of Niffleheim.

The Mad Titan fell, a look of disgust on his face. Energy began to coalesce around his falling body in a descent that seemed to take place outside of time. Slowly, without provocation, the battlefield turned its collective eyes heavenward, and when Thanos' body hit the ground, the chaos had parted, leaving a clear path for Thanos into the floor itself.

BOOM!

As the body hit the floor, Thanos let off the energy he'd gathered, causing a massive explosion that knocked all those within a fifty foot radius to the ground.

No one quite knew what to do as debris shot up from the floor and rained down on the forces of Asgard and Olympus alike.

"What manner of treachery is this?" Pluto asked, shoving his way forward through the crowd to reach the deep hole blown out.

"I think thou should tell us the answer to thine question!" Balder thundered back.

Eyes rolled skyward again where they saw Ikaris standing, looking down to the combatants below. "I have given you, Thanos, Asgard!" he bellowed. "End his life and end this Eternal War or by the heavens I shall rip out the heart of Brono, your future King!"

"What manner of deviltry is this, Ikaris?" Captain America, the Cosmic Protector asked from mid-air. "Do you betray Thanos for us?"

"Do not be so simple, Captain!" Ikaris sneered. "Your childish notions of good and evil are no longer relevant in this new age! I have given you Thanos, fulfill your role as Cosmic Protector and slay the Mad Titan! End the Eternal War so that we may get on with life!"

The Cosmic Protector looked down from his aerial position to see Thanos crawl out of the wreckage of his impact. The field of battle was silent as all watched one of the most powerful beings in existence, the man who's quest to destroy the Everything had caused nearly two hundred years of warfare, now stood before them.

"Well," Thanos grumbled with rage, "who would dare fight me? Ikaris!" he yelled, his eyes turning to the ledge where his top General and the lady Death stood. "You will pay for this disgrace with a thousand years of torture!" Thanos looked to his left and right, finding the eyes of Pluto, then Balder. "I have been betrayed, King of Asgard. I do not yet know the full extent of this betrayal, but I suspect its origin was the day this Olympian devil joined forces with me. You were right not to trust them."

Balder nodded, but offered no sympathies. He had none to give.

Pluto slammed his fist into his other hand, then yelled skyward, "Apollo, slay Ikaris where he stands! The fool hath delivered Thanos into the hands of Balder!"

The crowd watched as a thin smile spread across the Mad Titan's lips. He waved the comments of Pluto aside, and muttered to himself, "Today we shall make history. Cosmic Protector!" he called to the sky. "Fraud to the legacy of Mar-Vell! The day that I will make dust from your soul has arrived! Look about you at the sight of the Olympians, at the revelation of Mephisto, at the smiling form of Ikaris and the still, unemotional form of milady Death! Would it surprise you to know that I knew nothing of Mephisto's involvement? It is true. I fear that my quest has blinded me to the frailty of loyalty, for there is none that could have so blinded me except the one who I will always love." Thanos dropped his head, a frown growing across his grim face. "Yes, it is true, I fear. Death has once again played me for the fool, though I know not the reason why." His eyes turned again to Captain America. "It seems the Everything Engine has decided the Eternal War ends here, today! I challenge you to single combat, Protector! For Mar-Vell will not rise again from the dead to face me until I have slaughtered all impostors to his position. Will you meet my challenge, human?"

All eyes turned to Captain America, who nodded.

But as Captain America shot like a bullet towards the ground, Ikaris the Eternal General let a chuckle escape from behind his cold lips, and he turned to face Death. "They have no idea, milady." His eyes turned to Master Order and Lord Chaos. "No idea."

CHRONOPOLIS

Kang the Conqueror walked into the subterranean prison levels of Chronopolis, searching for a man he had captured long ago. Kang thought of the Eternal War as he walked through the dark alleys of the prison level - heavy on his heart were the most recent words of Immortus. The time was approaching, Kang knew, when he would shun his mantle as Conqueror to become the time-travelling Immortus. Loud noise and hot steam poured in on him from all angles, as the prisoners went about the work that kept Chronopolis alive. Personal interference in the center reality would be the trigger event that would cause him to become his future self, but he would be damned if he would sit idly by and watch Balder and Captain America lose this war because they were too proud to ask for his help.

Thanos might be too much for the forces of Asgard, but not for the forces of Chronopolis. Surely, there must be some way to-

"Milord Kang!"

Kang brushed away the guard's greeting, "How goes your ponderings, Ultron-12?"

"Slowly, sire," the Ultron robot nodded. Kang looked at the horrific being before him; in all the existences he had conquered he had never come across a weapon equal to the Ultron robots of Henry Pym. This model was an aberration, however, as it sought not the destruction of Pym and his family, nor the destruction of the Avengers, nor the destruction of all non-robot life. No, this Ultron robot wanted nothing more than to live and experience life.

Kang had allowed Ultron-12 haven into Chronopolis, in exchange for Ultron's agreeing to let Kang examine the robot's circuitry. Ultron-12 wanted to know why it was different, and Kang wanted to know how best to harness the power of the Ultron robot in order to create a new conquering army.

"Is the prisoner secure? I wish to converse with him."

"He is, milord," Ultron replied in a voice he had created for himself based on tape recordings of Henry Pym's voice. "Milord, before you enter, I must as you a question."

"What is it, Ultron?" Kang asked, his eyes not leaving the door before him.

"I have been … hearing voices in my head. Ramblings from the deepest levels of my programming, urging me to do terrible, terrible things."

"Like what?" Kang asked, turning to face the adamantium-plated being.

"Kill, destroy, annihilate," Ultron replied, shaking his head. "The death of all living things."

Kang nodded, the words barely registering to him. "We shall talk of this later, Ultron."

"Thank you, milord."

Without response, Kang entered the security code to open the door of the cell of the most dangerous being he had ever captured, and walked inside.

THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING

Wherever Adam looked, there was machinery. Large orange, gold and yellow metallic blocks, coils, wires, tubes, panel readings. He stood in the middle of a wide bridge inside a circular machine room that seemed to extend forever upwards and below. The Everything Engine. It was an amazing accomplishment. At what seemed like fifty foot intervals, a bridge would span the empty middle and Adam could see people busily walking across the bridges to the circular walkways that lined the sides of the machine.

"Disappointing, isn't it?" a voice from behind him asked.

Adam turned to see Mantis, the once Celestial Madonna, striding towards him, cloaked in a green and yellow robe.

"It is magnificent," Adam announced, trying to remember how many decades ago Mantis had died.

"Magnificent?" Mantis sighed. "This one is dismayed in your reply, Adam Warlock. She hoped you would find it sad that at the Center of Everything there stood, not heaven, not nirvana, but a machine built by mortal hands."

"Mantis," Adam smiled, scratching his beard, "I have searched for so long to come here that had there been nothing here but cold emptiness of space I would still have been overjoyed."

The Celestial Madonna looked sideways at her friend, "Yes, you always were a strange one."

Adam laughed easily. "But, and excuse my prying, Mantis, what are you doing here? Did you not perish?"

Mantis nodded. "I did, but … instead of Heaven or Hell, Adam, I was given to the Great Purgatory, to the machine at the Center of Everything."

"But-?"

"Always with the questions, this one, isn't he?" another voice came to Adam from behind and he turned to see Luna coming towards him, garbed in robe that mimicked the ceremonial Inhuman Royal Family dress. "Hello, Adam, it is good to see you again. We always thought it would be you who the Everything chose."

Adam's brow furrowed at the beautiful young woman. "What do you mean, Luna? And just how many of my dearly departed friends are here?"

Luna smiled, "There are many who have come here to the center at their time of passing, Adam. But as to your first question, the Center can only be found when it chooses to be found, as you shall see."

Mantis stepped around into Adam's vision. "The time for answers is at hand, Adam Warlock. We must ask you one last time."

"Are you ready for the answers to the Everything, Adam?" Luna asked.

"I am."

"Then please follow," Luna instructed and turned to walk away across the bridge. "First, the Soul Gem that carried you here must be placed back within its true home, to fulfill its true purpose: fueling the Everything Engine alongside the other Infinity Gems. And then, we have someone who you will be surprised to see."

NIFFLEHEIM

Kovar the Accuser, Kree Ambassador to the Council, knew in his heart he would not leave the caverns of Niffleheim alive. Never again would his eyes drink in the beauty of Hala or behold the majesty of the Kree military moving across the battlefields of some soon-to-be-conquered land.

Chaos was the order of the moment, as his Nullifier slammed into Olympian shield after Olympian skull. Brono, the future King to whom the duty of Asgard would one day fall was separated from him by several feet now, though they still fought near enough to each other to stay abreast of the other's actions. Kovar thought of his youth in the early Kree academies as he blocked an overhead slice from an Olympian blade with the Nullifier, then rotated his free right hand through with a solid punch to the Olympian's nose. As the sickening thud of cracked bone and spurting Kirbyonic "blood" came forth from the Olympian's face, Kovar brought the Nullifier down hard, slamming into the side of his foe's head.

The crack that time was of the skull and it was fatal.

Fatal for a time, at least, Kovar grimaced, thinking of the revelation that the dead Olympian bodies and souls were being reunited because of the Kirbyonic energy that coursed through them instead of blood.

Today's slaughter would take the field of battle again tomorrow while the dead Asgardians would be off to Valhalla and the riches of Norse afterlife.

The Accuser's eyes glanced up through the clashing of metal blades to see Hela, the Norse god of Hel, who stood above the fray, aloof and unmoved to action. "Damned gods of death," Kovar groused. "Even at the fall of their own kind, even as their realm is overrun with their mortal enemies, they stand above and beyond our needs."

Hela's face was unreadable as she watched the battle below her. Across the cavern from her, Ikaris and the lady Death stood in silent vigil also. Only minutes ago the Eternal General had sent his lord and King, Thanos the Mad Titan, into a fall to the floor below, and now stood with a smug look of accomplishment, bragging about his deed to Death, who ignored his prattling with silence.

The arrival of Lord Chaos and Master Order was not surprising to Hela, though she doubted that they would do anything but watch on this fateful day.

At the heart of the battle fought two Kings: Balder and Pluto. Hela was displeased to see that Balder wielded the great sword Twilight, the weapon of Surtur. There were things that mortals, even Kings, should not involve themselves with, and the weapon of the great fire demon was one of those things. Hela knew, as much as any knew, the dark heart of Surtur, ruler of Muspelheim, and he was not one she ever had wish to see again.

And yet there was a grace to the actions of Balder, an unmistakable aura of greatness about the man she called King, and if there were any who's heart was pure and true, who could be trusted to stare into the darkness and come out alive, it was he.

Pluto attacked Balder viciously, and the two Kings were lost amongst the battle. They heard nothing of the battle around them, concentrating on the single combatant before them. Balder was the more accomplished swordsman, but Pluto held dark, magical power Balder had never experienced, and every bite of Pluto's blade needed three in response to even the count. Hela did not know who would win this battle.

The same could not be said for the battle raging near the ceiling of this grand cavern. The Valkyrior were, Hela could put it no other way, slaughtering the Angelux, their Thanos-created darker half. The Valkyrior leader, Dani Moonstar, was slicing a path directly through the Angelux troops, on a clear path towards the former Valkyrie and now Angelux General, Bruunhilde. Still, the Angelux held the greater numbers as the strategy of Thanos was almost always to overwhelm with numbers instead of outperforming as individuals.

In another area of the floor, Captain America, the Cosmic Protector, and Thanos fought in single combat, and energy poured back and forth across the expanse between them. The Cosmic Protector was a disappointment to Hela - she could tell he had never grown used to his new powers, that he used them tentatively for a bit, then lashed out with them awkwardly when he needed a quick rescue.

"Now it is my turn to fight!"

She heard the proclamation of Ikaris and watched, bemused, as he entered the fray. Hela could not help but think Ikaris a fool. Even when the General thought he was a man of action in control of his destiny - and the destiny of the people he led - the cold truth was that he was still a pawn. There are those who lead, the ruler of Hel knew, and then there were pawns. The worst kind was the pawn who believed himself to be a leader, and Ikaris was just such a fool.

She nonetheless watched as he flew to the ground below, heading straight - and predictably - for Brono, the future King.

"Fight me, boy!" Ikaris yelled. "Fight me to the death!"

Brono answered the call of battle, engaging a man he had never met in a battle to the death.

Such was the way of war.

"What kind of man are thou, Ikaris!?" Brono challenged. "First thou spend the centuries fighting against us, then thou betray and deliver Thanos into our hands, and now thou seek my death? What explanations do you have?"

"I have none but the honor of my people!" Ikaris' deep voice thundered, as he sent his body hurtling into Brono's chest, knocking him backwards. "We are alike in that regard, yes?"

Brono raised himself quickly off the floor, his sword at the ready. "If thou sayest so, Eternal."

"Yes," Ikaris mocked, "I sayest so!"

Brono attacked quick and hard, leading with his sword. Ikaris had no weapon to defend himself, but the future Asgardian King knew that his foe was not helpless. Ikaris did not disappoint. Quickly he lunged to the side and came in at Brono hard from the open side, slamming into him with great forced. Brono grunted in pain, seeing that Ikaris wanted to fight in close in an attempt to negate Brono's sword.

Brono was not going to allow that. Keeping his lower body in place, Brono rotated his upper body, bringing his sword back and down hard where it sliced into Ikaris' lower right leg.

The Eternal screamed in pain and shoved Brono away.

The eyes of the young man caught a glance of his father through the melee, and saw that while he fought honorably against Pluto, the Olympian King had no hesitation to use trickery. Asgardians, Brono believed, should honor the one-on-one principle of the singular battle, and not interfere in the duel of Kings except only to save Balder's life. Balder and Pluto wanted to fight alone and Asgard would honor that pact; none, Brono knew, would dare attack Pluto while he fought Balder, but there were Olympians who did not owe allegiance to similar codes of honor.

Brono watched as Apollo removed a blood-drenched sword from the stomach of an Asgardian, then turned to stride confidently towards Balder's back. He instantly saw how Pluto's actions kept Balder positioned so he would not see Apollo approach.

Not on this day, he thought, and reached into his tunic to grab a small knife. Just before he let the knife fly, Ikaris slammed his fist into Brono's lower back, causing the knife to miss it's mark and graze Balder's side.

"Eh?" Balder said as the knife hurtled past, sinking into Pluto's thigh. Pluto, too, looked surprised at the object that was now imbedded into his thigh. "Who would dare interfere?" he roared, looking around, more angered than hurt by the blade in his thigh.

Balder, too, turned to look, and caught his son's eyes as Ikaris assailed him from behind again.

The momentary distraction was all that was needed.

Apollo focused his power on Balder, tossing several small metallic balls at the Asgardian King. On contact with his flesh, the containers exploded into intense bursts of pure sunfire, scorching the King and burning everything it touched.

Balder screamed, and the whole battle seemed to instantly know nothing would be the same again.

The Asgardian King burned from the unleashed fury of the sun, stumbling backwards and into the waiting, magical blade of Pluto. Using his dark magic, Pluto reached out to grab the white hair of his Asgardian counterpart and unloosed Olympian magic onto the damaged body from above and within, as his hand and sword became the conduit of Balder's demise.

Dazzling, glaring energy of white and purple assaulted Balder's body as the sword Twilight fell to the ground. His eyes rolled back into his head as his body shook mightily under the combined Olympian assault.

There was nothing anyone could do but watch as the life of Balder the Brave came to a horrific, terrifying end.

HALA - KE RETRIBUTION

Ben-Vell Parker walked the halls of the Retribution alone. He had sent his fellow Orphans away and remained behind to stay and train with the Kree. In truth, he had never felt better than he had at this moment. For all the talk on Asgard about him being the "chosen one," the future Cosmic Protector, the heir of Mar-Vell, they had not, he saw now, trained him to meet that end. To Asgard - to Balder and Captain America and Beta Ray Bill - Ben was treated as just another young man coming to manhood amidst the terrible, terrible Eternal War.

In his heart, he held no grudges against them. He was not an angry man, not desperate to prove them wrong. The lessons he had learned at the hands of Asgard were too valuable too ever disparage.

It was simply time for him to move on.

To move on with open eyes, he told himself, thinking of the Supreme Intelligence. Ben knew of the Intelligence, knew that he was not to be trusted, knew that Asgard would look unfavorably on Ben's choice, but, in the least, Ben knew, the Supremor had revealed to him the truth about his origins.

He was a clone of the son of Genis-Vell and May Parker. He was birthed into existence and given to William Parker and Sasha-Ra to raise as their own son.

A clone. A mockery of life, many believed.

Inauthentic.

A fraud.

Frit them, Ben thought.

"Ben, welcome," General Van'Rogg announced as Ben reached the throne room. "I trust your new uniform wears well on you?"

"It does," Ben replied, looking down. He had traditionally worn a costume reminiscent of Mar-Vell and Genis' costumes when they were Captain Marvel, but he had asked, as was given, a new costume by the Kree. The importance of symbols was not lost on Ben, and his new costume would let anyone know who looked upon him that he was allied with the Kree. Once, many years ago on Asgard, Beta Ray Bill had shown Ben an early picture of Mar-Vell in his green and white Kree military uniform.

He spent the next three weeks drawing that costume over and over with crayons taken from Earth. At first, he drew Mar-Vell, but as time wore on, he placed himself in the costume, updating it with each passing drawing.

It was that uniform he now wore: white as a base with green on the boots and forearms, across the shoulders and around the waist. Gold lines highlighted the costume. The symbol on his chest, however, was not the green symbol of the Kree, but that of the Cosmic Protector.

If legacies and whispers wanted to mark Ben as the "chosen one," he would now embrace it fully.

Van'Rogg continued, "I am told there is someone here who would like to speak to you."

"Who is it?" Ben asked.

The Kree military leader's face stayed hard, but his words were kind. "It is the being responsible for your immediate future. Your training begins now."

The door slid open and Ben-Vell stepped into his future.

NIFFLEHEIM

Even Thanos had stopped fighting.

The Everything seemed, to all in attendance, to be hanging on the edge of a very large cliff.

King Balder the Brave, leader of the Asgardian Council, was dead, his lifeless body lying face down on the cold rock floor of Niffleheim, still smoldering from the dual assault of Pluto and Apollo.

Death stood above the King's body, and all watched as the being in simple, purple robes looked skyward, to where the Valkyrior and Angelux now paused in their battle, their winged steeds breathing harshly as their riders pulled back hard on their reins. A single finger of bone was raised from Death, pointing at Moonstar. Nodding in silent accord, Dani kicked her heels into Aragorn and descended to claim Balder's soul for the journey to Valhalla.

"Death will now grant all present a gift of sight to your mortal eyes," Hela announced from her perch along the high cavern wall, and Olympian, Asgardian, human and Kree alike watched the soul of Balder rise from his body, climb aboard Aragorn behind Moonstar.

"He is not allowed to speak or look upon you," Hela informed as Moonstar left the caverns of Niffleheim for Valhalla. "There will be no final words from your fallen King."

Silence ruled all until Pluto stepped forward to stand above the smoldering carcass of the Asgardian King. His eyes found those of Brono. "You are now King, boy. I will give thee one chance, and one alone. Surrender to Olympus now and the Eternal War will be over."

"Never," Brono replied, stepping forward, his voice racked with anguish.

"Never?" Pluto raised an eyebrow. "I see they grow Asgardians no smarter now than ever before, but listen well to my words, new King. Surrender is your only option. Without it, we will return time and time again to slaughter all the warriors in this hall. And then, when you are all dead and burned, we will march on the Golden Realm and wipe all who have Asgardian blood in their veins from existence. It will be genocide on the highest order."

"If we surrender, the Everything dies by thine hand," Brono replied. "We will go out fighting."

Apollo laughed from the side, "Art thou truly that ignorant, whelp, that you do not see what hath transpired here today?"

"I see the death, I see-"

"Silence!" Pluto roared, taking a step forward. "The sun god does not mean the carnage. He talks of greater movements. Look there!" All eyes followed his finger to Thanos. "Can you not see through the deceptions of my past words? Our 'leader' hath been replaced, young fool. Ikaris knocked him to the ground for you to slay, but also to show that we do not follow him. Why would we want to see the Everything end? Thou knowest the Prophecies, aye? The Prophecies of Grey, the madwoman of Earth?"

Brono swallowed hard, "Immortality means nothing when there is nothing."

Pluto nodded, "We hath sided with Thanos to accumulate the power we needed to once again walk the mortal plain. Our battle is with Asgard, not life."

"Why should I believe a word thou sayest?" Brono asked.

Pluto laughed, "Because I am King! Because you are King! Odin and Zeus have already passed on, young King, because they were tied to the past, entrapped by our own prophecies."

"So now you substitute the ancient prophecies for the Prophecies of Grey? Is there a difference?"

Pluto nodded, "Aye, there is. It is a new day, Brono. If we fail to adapt then even gods will be swept aside by the currents of time. Surrender and your people live. Thanos is now alone. Surrender to Olympus and we will leave you alone to finish Thanos off. The Eternal War will be over. You will have won. The price - defeat at my hands, subservience to Olympus - is but a small price to pay. What say you?"

Brono hesitated, "I - I do not know. I would … I would rather die fighting than live with the guilt, and I am certain all those here feel the same, and yet … there are women, children …"

"Not just of Asgard, Brono," Apollo interjected. "After we burn Asgard to the ground, we move on Hala, then Chandilar, then Earth, and drown all of them in hellfire and sunfire. All who pledge their allegiance to the Council will fall."

"Thou think yourselves so mighty that none could stop you?" Brono asked, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

Apollo threw up his hands, then moved them behind his back. "Perhaps some can. But will you risk that? You have the power to assure they live."

Brono's eyes looked around the cavern at the tired, passionate faces of Asgard and Olympus. Already the bodies of those dead closed in on the number of those left alive. This had been a brutal battle and now they knew that the forces of Olympus would rise again and again, mocking death-

"Really, young King," Pluto shrugged, "what harm is there in surrender? Thou know and we know that it is the way of gods to always fight. Surrender today so that you may attack us in five, ten, fifteen years. Certainly Asgard is not so stubborn that she would put herself above the safety of her allies. Is that not right, Accuser?"

Brono turned to see Kovar step forward. "Your words mean nothing to me, Olympian. I would see your death before I exit Niffleheim."

"And do your people share your newfound enthusiasm for Asgard?" Pluto asked. "Given your recent Civil War, I think Hala would be an easy mark for us, agreed?"

Kovar did not respond.

Brono's eyes turned to look down at Balder. It was not the first time, and not the last that he would wonder what his father would do. Pluto was right - they could surrender in word only and be left to kill Thanos and end the Eternal War. Given time, they could regroup and engage Olympus again - none here believed this was the last battle they would ever fight. If it was just Asgard, Brono would fight to the end. That was the way of Asgard. But there were now Kree, Skrull, Shi'ar, and Human allies that must be taken into account. Given the status of each Empire from the nearly two centuries of War, Brono gave only the Shi'ar a legitimate chance of survival.

He looked around the room again, trying to read the faces of his people, but their looks of grim determination said nothing to him. He noted the smiling Thanos, waiting patiently near the edge of the battle with his arms crossed and thought both himself and Pluto a fool for taking the Mad Titan lightly at this moment. There was no guarantee that Thanos would be an easy kill, even with all the assembled warriors here moving against him as one.

"Come, come," Pluto implored, moving slightly to the side. "An answer is needed."

Brono turned to look back at Pluto, "Will you fight with us against Thanos if we surrender?"

Pluto's eyes flashed open. "Truly a wise King, already, Brono. Yes, we will fight with you to slay Thanos."

"Then, although it pains me to say this, Asgard, for the good of all races, will-"

SP-TAANG!

Brono whirled on his heels to see Captain America's shield deflect off the ground at his feet and ricochet up to slam into Apollo's throat.

"Gukkkk!"

From the sun god's hands dropped three more sunfire balls that had taken the life of Balder. At contact with the floor they exploded, unleashing their all-consuming flames onto Apollo himself.

Perhaps surprisingly, given the image of the sun god being burned by his own flame before them, most of the eyes in the room followed the navy blue-and-white shield as it careened off the far wall then sped across the room where it's owner, the Cosmic Protector, stood waiting for it to return to him.

Cap easily caught the shield and tucked it back under his left forearm. He looked across the room to Brono, and his voice was hard and commanding. "You are too honorable, Brono. Too wise and practical and too concerned with lives of those you have never met, and yet now, through tragedy, are charged with keeping safe. You take the words of poison offered to you as truth while Pluto slowly moves you into a position to put Apollo at your back so that they may kill two Kings in one day.

"You are concerned with the billions of lives out there, spread across the Everything. That is wise. You do not wish to cause them harm.

"But this is war, and in war innocents will always pay the price of the leaders. The best we can hope is that those of us entrusted by them to make things right will do so as quickly as possible.

"They offer you enslaved peace. Do not take it. They offer you an end to the Eternal War but that is not theirs to give. Ikaris still needs a home for his Eternals; that is why, I believe, he betrayed Thanos. He still has every intention of invading Earth and if we surrender, we will lose the means to stop him. Surely, you must agree, the Olympians have promised the Earth to him.

"Words are art, Brono. They can create great beauty, they can inspire men and women to great accomplishments, but they can also be inadequate. They can also deceive.

"Who have we fought these past few days?

"Rebirthed Olympians, now led by Pluto, their god of the underworld. Mephisto, the Lord of Lies, and ruler of some Hell. And we find all infused with Kirbyonic energy, the supposed lifeblood of the Everything.

"Do you want to know my true thoughts, Brono?"

"I believe we have been played for fools. I believe Thanos has been played for a fool. That his quest to destroy the Everything in order to force Mar-Vell back to life was used by those who seek a higher order.

"Who betrayed Thanos? Who do we now find ourselves fighting?

"Hell.

"I have watched nearly everyone I have ever loved die fighting in this damned Eternal War and now, at the moment of its end, I find that we have all been used as pawns in some 'larger' epic. I believe that the-"

"You will be silent."

Many Olympians and Asgardians both were knocked to the ground as reality itself shook them violently.

Death had, at long last, spoken. She turned her empty eyes to Brono, who lay on the ground, struggling to regain his footing. "Will you surrender, or will you send all life to my waiting arms?"

Brono moved to his feet.

Death received her answer, but it came not from the Asgardian King, but a man of Earth whose duty it was to protect the universe.

"We fight," Captain America announced. "Against Olympus, against Thanos, against you, Death. We fight."

The world seemed to pause in anticipation of what was to come, and it was the only Kree man in the room who decided the fate of the day. Kovar the Accuser raised his Nullifier in the air, "Asgard, attack!"

The battle exploded in an instant release of unbridled fury.

Only Brono, the new King, stood helplessly by. It was his first moments as King and he had already failed.

CHRONOPOLIS

Cable had decided to kill Kang the Conqueror.

He wasn't particularly fond of the ULN's request that he kill either the Green Gobliness, the Black Knight, the Black Panther, or Kang the Conqueror.

Kang was the only real choice.

Nathan didn't like having to kill anyone, though he had and would do so again. But an assassination mission was not his style, especially for a group of scum like the ULN. Still, if it was the only way to get the Prophecies of Grey, he would do it.

You are too consumed by the Prophecies, he heard his own voice tell himself, but ignored it.

He moved easily through the halls of Chronopolis, heading towards the lower levels. Though both he and Kang were, for lack of a better term, time travelers, their paths had rarely crossed. Cable believed, however, that he could work out a deal with Kang to get one of his masks and place it on the head of some dead body. The ULN wouldn't know if it was the real Kang or not - and if they did, well, that was a valuable piece of information he'd have gained about them. If Kang would not agree to the plan, well, he didn't want to do it, but would kill him. There was always another Kang somewhere to take the place of-

"Please kill me, please kill me, please kill me!"

Cable automatically pressed his back against the wall of the corridor, but he had been spotted. He blinked, disbelieving what he was seeing. Ultron was running to him, and he appeared to be crying hysterically.

"Please kill me! I have done a terrible, terrible thing!"

Cable reached for two large plasma guns and pointed it at the robot. "Stay right there. Explain yourself."

"You must kill me! Death is all I deserve for my betrayal!"

"We can negotiate the terms of your death in a minute," Cable replied curtly. "Where's Kang?"

"The tragedy!" Ultron screamed and ran back the way he had come.

Cautiously, Cable followed, his two guns out in front of him, his telepathic powers searching for signs of a trap, but it was just he and the malfunctioning Ultron robot that now ran into a cell.

An obvious trap, he believed.

Moving to the edge of the room, Cable felt his blood run cold as Ultron kneeled over the dead body of Kang the Conqueror.

"Who did this?" he asked.

"I did!" Ultron screamed. "Ultron-12 killed his master!"

"Why?"

The robot turned to Cable, ionic energy pouring our from his face plate at both the eyes and mouth, "Because the voice in my head told me to! It told me to kill kill kill!"

"Voice in your head, right," Cable nodded, keeping both guns locked on Ultron-12. "Was this an empty cell?"

Ultron wailed, pounding his hands onto the sides of his head. Cable would get no answer from him. Moving quickly to a small display panel in the side of the large, circular cell, Cable searched the records to find the name of its inhabitant.

Data entry after data entry was logged meticulously - all by Ultron-12.

No name.

Backwards Cable ran through the records, until he came across a name that sent a chill down his spine. "No," his voice said as his head shook from side-to-side. "Not him."

In the Prophecies of Grey, he knew Jean had spoken at length about an "Unspeakable Evil" that would one day descend on the Everything, and an "Unspeakable Good" that would rise to fight against it. Long had people wondered just what this Unspeakable Evil was, but as Cable stood looking down at Kang's lifeless body, he knew without question who it was.

As Cable moved into the cell with the crying Ultron, he felt, for the first time in a very, very long time, absolutely terrified.

Evil was once again loose in the world of man.

THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING

Adam Warlock stood in a room of ghosts and concepts and tried not to feel overwhelmed.

He was surrounded by the physical manifestations of the conceptual beings of existence: Eternity, the Living Tribunal, Master Order, Lord Chaos, Galactus, among others.

He was surrounded by the unmoving Celestials.

He was surrounded by friends and acquaintances he had thought lost to him long ago: Mantis, Luna, Crystal.

But it was the man in the center of the room that unnerved him the most.

Standing before him was the one man he was certain to never see again.

Mar-Vell of the Kree.

Adam shook his head, "I … I don't … this is not happening."

Mar-Vell smiled from within his red and dark-blue robes. Like Luna, Crystal, and Mantis, Mar-Vell's robes were reminiscent of the uniform he wore in life. "Oh, it's happening, Adam. Believe it."

"But …"

"Hey," Mar-Vell threw up his hands, "I'm still getting used to all this, too."

"Of all those who have died, you were the one we always believed was truly gone. Even Thanos-"

Mar-Vell shrugged, "I am dead, Adam. I am here because, well, we will get to that. For now, you must be assured that what Mantis told you earlier was true - you are in Purgatory. It was not just an expression; it is, in fact, your destination. At the center of the Everything resides the link between Heaven and Hell. Is it not obvious when you think about it? What, in all those mythological stories you so dearly love, always stands between Heaven and Hell?"

"Well," Adam blinked, trying to take all this in, "Earth. The land of the living between the two realms of the dead."

"And what is Purgatory?"

"The land of those who are yet to be committed to either Heaven or Hell," Adam answered enthusiastically.

"And where is it located?"

"Between Heaven and Hell."

"Correct," Mar-Vell nodded. "So does it not make complete sense, in hindsight, that Purgatory was, in effect, a shared plane of existence with the physical world. Look, Purgatory is just a word. Just like different peoples and cultures and religions have different names for Heaven and Hell, they are explaining the same concept. The truth is that Purgatory goes by another, more common name."

"Limbo," Adam nodded.

Luna stepped forward, "Do you know when the Everything ends, Adam? When the power of the physical supplants that of the spiritual. Once that happens, the spiral towards the end begins."

"That has been happening," Mar-Vell added, "for quite some time. When the genetic potential of humanity began to blossom, the forces of Heaven and Hell recognized that their time was coming to an end. While there were those who displayed power before him, it was Reed Richards who served as the great spark. After he and his associates were doused with cosmic radiation, Earth was opened up to its own potential by those cosmic rays."

Adam's brow furrowed, "You speak of this as if it is a grand thing, and yet, what you describe is the end of Everything."

"No," Luna corrected. "Not the end of Everything, but the end of the Everything."

"I don't understand."

"We are in the fourth stage of Existence, Adam," Crystal stepped forward to explain. "What we have come to call the 'Modern Age.' Time, as you know, exists forever. We can travel back to the 20^th century, back to the first-century, back to the very beginnings of this universe. We can even venture forward in time for several thousand years, but what the scientists here have discovered is that going forward in time is always problematic. The future is unstable while the past is solid. Now, we can move forward a day, a year, a millenium … we can go far enough forward that we can view the end of the Everything.

"But the future is only a possibility while the past is, as much as anything can be, fact."

Mar-Vell asked, "How do you account for this when, if what we believe about time to be true, is true? Shouldn't the future be as stable as the past?"

Adam shrugged, "Isn't it? The past is simply more easily navigated because we have walked along that path. The timestream, as I understand it, is not a smooth ride. But the past is a road already traveled, while the future is still unknown."

"You are correct," Mar-Vell nodded, "but what good is knowing a future instead of knowing the future? Think of time like a river, Adam. We know it moves forward, but it does not do so on a tight path - it finds its own way as it goes forward. Somewhere, up front, the start of the river sets the path, but the water that flows behind it is always pushing forward as well. Water is not beholden to the water in front of it. All flowing water just wants to move forward. When a better path presents itself - say the breaking of a damn - it will follow the new path easily and without regret. The Everything is the river, and each individual universe is a droplet of water pushing forward. Time does exist out ahead of us, but the further we try and venture, the harder it comes to predict that, one mile, a thousand miles, a million miles down the river we will reconnect with our own droplet."

"And at the end of a river," Luna said somberly, "we have a basin, or ocean, where all the rivers flow. Not to stretch the metaphor too far, but the ocean is where our ability to interpret time ends. We can not go back so far as to journey to the Bronze Age of Existence, or the Golden Age, or the Silver Age, or move ahead into the Post-Modern Age. We are trapped within the Modern Age."

Mar-Vell's voice dropped low, "Do not doubt this, Adam. We are fast approaching the ocean. Our journey is almost at an end. Magic has become science. This age of existence will end before long, although that might still be, for the living, millions of years in the future. But in the greater scheme of Existence, we are nearing the end of this Age rapidly."

"What can I do to stop this?"

"Nothing, Adam," Mar-Vell shook his head.

"But the Eternal War-"

"The Eternal War is nothing - it has all been a ruse for the true battle." Mar-Vell looked to the side and an image of the battle in Niffleheim appeared in the air before them. "The Cosmic Protector has recently come to this very conclusion." He turned back to his old friend, "How does the Universe end, Adam? With a madman versus a righteous horde? No, never. The end of the Everything always comes in one way - Ragnarok, Armageddon, Apocalypse. Thanos and Galactus have merely set the stage for the true final armies. Heaven and Hell."

"But … God?"

"Who is God, Adam? He does not exist as an old man sitting in a chair - he does not exist as you think of him at all - he is the psyche of the Everything - in the beginning there was chaos, and from chaos an explosion. The Big Bang. The Everything began to develop from this, Adam, but so did God.

"So did God.

"What is God? He is the other half of reality. What you can see and touch, that is the physicality of the Everything, God is the psyche of the Everything, developing from the initial chaos. He is the Creator of much, but he is not the Creator of all - if such a being, if such a true God exists, he is beyond all our knowing. But the faith people have in God - that is real. Have you not noticed how similar worship is across the Everything? How the names may change, but the story always sounds ever so familiar? There is a God, there is one God, but no one religion knows him any better than another - they all know him in different forms and different with different scenarios. God is the true witness, the true goodness in all. Heaven is built, not by him and not for him, but by those who believe in the freedom of all life. And in the end, it is those forces who fight to save the Everything, Adam.

"The forces of Heaven against the forces of Hell.

"But it goes even deeper than that, Adam - think of all the Heavens you know and all the Hells you know. Do you not now see the truth?"

"My … my word…" Adam's head turned to look at Lord Chaos and Master Order, whose form resided in both Niffleheim and the Center. "Heaven is Chaos and Hell is Order. The Hells of this age are defined by the strict adherence to order…"

"That is right, Adam," Mar-Vell nodded somberly. "The final battle of this age will be fought for the battle between Chaos and Order. Master Order wants this age to end so that he may create the next age under his control. Chaos wants this age to end naturally, so that the next starts again in Chaos."

"Think of religion," Luna implored Adam. "Death brings about what? Not the end at all, but the passageway to a higher plain. Simplistically realized, if you are good, you go to your Heaven. If you are evil, your eternity is spent in Hell. The Everything operates on the same principle, we believe. Life is but a mirror of the greater story. Odin, Zeus, and Osiris greeted you upon your arrival here. They are mirrors of the 'true God,' and it is through them that we study the ways of the Everything. We know much but we do not know it all. There is every possibility - every conceivable possibility - that all we think to be the truth is a fairy tale. That is the way of science - you know what you can prove until a greater proof comes along. But make no mistake, as we understand it, the death of this Age will lead into the next Age."

Adam struggled to grasp all that was being said, "But how does the next age-"

"When an Everything dies, we theorize," Luna said slowly, "it determines how the next Age begins. As Mar-Vell just explained, how this Everything ends is how it will be judged, for lack of a better term, and how the next age is molded. If the Everything ends naturally - as it eventually must - the next age will begin in Chaos, and from Chaos the new Everything will grow naturally. Perhaps it will be one marked by peace, perhaps by war, but it will be one that the citizens of its age determine for themselves."

"Order wins," Crystal explained, "by ending this Everything before it's time. The next age becomes stunted and controlled in its growth."

Adam looked around at the universal concepts, and up at the Celestials, "If all this is true, then why are you three here? Why do you act and they remain silent?"

Luna answered, "Because life always finds its own path. Life is the greatest power in the Everything, Adam."

"We have been chosen," Mar-Vell said, "by the Everything to fill certain roles. Mantis was the Celestial Madonna, who gave birth to the Celestial Messiah."

"But a Messiah is a savior of the time he is in," Mantis announced, her voice barely above a whisper.

"And why is a Messiah needed?" Crystal asked. "The presence of the Messiah is only needed when it is needed, after all. In practice, there are two Celestial Madonnas, one to birth the Messiah, and one to birth the Moment."

Adam nodded. "You are that other Madonna, Crystal, and Luna, your daughter, is the Moment."

Luna nodded, "In simplistic terms, yes. I am the sign of the Everything coming full circle. We explained that the Everything starts its final march to the end when the power of the physical world overtakes the spiritual world; in short, when man no longer needs God. I am that sign. My mother was an Inhuman. My father was a mutant. I am nothing but an ordinary human. I am the circle closing, Adam Warlock. I am the Moment the spiritual world saw as a sign that the power of life was at its highest peak. From my birth on, the powers of mankind - both physical powers as well as scientific achievements - would increase exponentially. How longg did it take humanity to invent the light bulb, Adam? Yet how quickly did we leap from the light bulb to nuclear energy and ultimately time travel? Why did it seem as if every new mutant was infinitely more powerful than all previous mutants? Because they were. Because all the power of life was running rampant, looking for conduits to pour into. The Everything is alive, Adam, as alive as the Earth itself. It knows things instinctively. It knows its days are coming to and end, but the Eternal War is nothing more than a prelude to the War of Order and Chaos."

"Will Order and Chaos lead the armies?" Adam asked.

"No," Mar-Vell shook his head. "They merely push the pieces into place."

"Then who? If not Thanos, who will lead the armies of Order?"

Mar-Vell dropped his head and Adam turned to see the screen change from an image of Niffleheim to an image of Necropolis, where the undead armies of Thanos shook their world with the repetitious pounding of drums. Adam's face dropped, recognizing the call for what it was. "By the heavens, no." He shakes his head emphatically, "No, no, no. Not him. He is dead, gone, buried in the sands of time-."

"He is the greatest Ordered mind that has ever existed, Adam Warlock," Mar-Vell announced somberly. "He has never been killed, has barely aged in body thanks to his entrapment in Limbo, and the forces of Hell now swear allegiance to him. It is he who can recreate the Everything under the most rigid order. Who else would be left to lead this army, to fight this battle? When the fate of the Everything is on the line, Adam Warlock, there is but one who can lead the armies of Order."

Mar-Vell locked eyes with his old friend, "And he has returned."

NIFFLEHEIM

Asgard came close to losing two Kings in one day. As the chaos of battle once again erupted, Brono stood helplessly still, numb and shocked by what had almost happened. How could he have even thought of surrender? Even if it would guarantee the safety of all life, what guarantee would there be that it would be a life worth living? And what of the Cosmic Protector's words about a greater battle? What-?

"Wake from your daze, boy!"

Asgard owed the life of its King to a Kree Royal Accuser. The muscles in Kovar's body strained as it held back the sword of Pluto, stopping it mere inches from Brono's neck.

Brono looked at Kovar and blinked. He looked at the hatred on Pluto's face and blinked. He looked at the Olympian sword that was stopped just before it would end his life.

It was then he became Asgard's true King. Lunging to the ground, Adam dove at the carcass of his dead father and claimed the sword Twilight. He turned confidently, leading hard with the sword's edge. Perhaps the Kirbyonic energy would allow Pluto to return to life, but he was removed from the field of battle for this day.

Kovar watched as the two halves of Pluto fell to the floor. His face came up, and locked eyes with Brono. "We have a War to end."

"Agreed, friend Kovar," Brono nodded, then turned to engage any who would stand against him.

Kovar nodded at the young King's back and turned to move in the other direction, his eyes catching a glimpse of the battle between Captain America and Thanos.

"You are not used to this fight, America!" Thanos leered across the ten feet of blazing energy that stood between him and his opponent. "All these years you have held the power of Mar-Vell inside his Nega Bands you wear, and you still yearn to fight hand-to-hand! You are a blasphemer of the highest order!"

Steve Rogers didn't answer Thanos' taunts. He was never one to talk in battle when it could be avoided, although there were often times - as with Bucky or the Avengers - when it could not be helped. His shield - his now ancient but still unbreakable shield - took the brunt of Thanos' assault and Cap came out from behind it, firing energy from Mar-Vell's Nega-Bands. This was not the kind of fight he liked to be in - there were too many variables. Hundreds of people fought around him and their ultimate success would depend not on him, but on any number of outcomes.

It wasn't that Steve didn't trust others to hold up their end, it was just …

This was all he could control. Not having control over something that you depended on was not an area Steve liked to dwell on. The sun came up every morning - good enough for him. As the years rolled on he cared less and less about why things worked - he was now concerned with outcomes and failures of battles. Intellectual pursuits were becoming more and more a thing of the past - the Eternal War left no time for personal pursuits. You did your mission, whatever that was, and you moved on to the next one.

Right now, his mission was to take Thanos off the board.

At some point during their exchange of blows, in-between the massive charges of energy they hurled at one another, or perhaps as far back as the slaying of Balder, Steve Rogers had come to realize that this really was the end of the Eternal War.

Either he or Thanos would not leave the caverns of Niffleheim alive; there would be a victor this day because all wars, great and small, have a beginning and an ending.

This was an ending. Perhaps a new, more dangerous beginning lay just on the other side of nightfall, but too many good people had given their lives in the Eternal War and Cap was going to make sure none died in vain.

The look of hatred and rage in Thanos' eyes let Steve know that death was inevitable for one, if not both, of them.

The Cosmic Protector did not take killing lightly - even a being like Thanos, who sought the destruction of all living things, was not one whose life Steve Rogers could easily decide to take.

But this was war, and this was battle and Steve knew that there were times when killing was part of the deal for putting on the uniform.

Across the rippling, searing energy, Steve no longer saw Thanos, but a young German man garbed in his Nazi uniform.

The first person Steve Rogers ever killed in battle.

It was, in truth, an accident. Steve Rogers had been dropped into Poland on a test mission. He was to move into occupied territory and steal a set of plans. It was more a spy mission than anything else, and he was sent in without his red-white-and-blue uniform, without his shield, without anything but a black sweater, black military pants, three rounds of ammo and two knives.

On the second floor bathroom of a small building, Steve Rogers came across a group of German soldiers who were waiting for him. They attacked, he fought back. Steve felt one at his back and shot his elbow back hard and crisp.

The man fell dead on the spot.

"You are distracted!" Thanos jeered, slamming his clenched fists onto Cap's shield.

The blow rung Steve's bell and when he looked back he saw one German face after another, then some British and Polish and Dutch and American: the countless multitude that had died from ricocheted bullets off his shield.

Steve still felt sick every time he thought of Holland. There were at least ten American soldiers over a three-hour period whose death he could directly link to a bullet that was meant for him. The bullet comes, the shield goes up … and to his left, an American soldier takes the bullet in the side of the head and falls into the Dutch mud, never again to rise. After his first few months he learned to hold his shield at angles that would either send the bullets or knives high into the air or directly into the ground, but for those initial missions he was terrified of saving himself only to see another fall.

This was how Steve saw war, in the accidental deaths of those whose lives were taken by chance, of those who fought because they had to, because war had come to them and demanded their participation. Or those who went off half-cocked with delusions of grandeur before they were ready.

Thanos was now that Ultimatum agent he killed back in the day. Now the Red Skull. Now Hawkeye and Jan and Hank and Simon and Reed and Sue and Bucky and all the faces of all those who, in his dark moments, Steve felt guilty about. Some who fought and died because he told them to fight. Some who died because they listened to him, others because they did not.

For over 250 years Steve Rogers had been consumed by fighting and killing and homicidal furors from political ideologues who saw the world not as the beautiful mixture of life, but as a corrupted sameness that only death could correct.

It ended today. Right now.

The Mad Titan wanted this to be the endgame? Fine. "I am going to kill you," Steve Rogers thought to himself as the face and form of Thanos reappeared before him. "I am going to take your life, end this war and then return to Earth and sit in the ruins of Yankee Stadium and Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, eat hot dogs until I get sick and find some way to grow old traveling the States on a vintage Harley and never think of the Everything again."

He pushed at Thanos, moving in and pushing the Titan back. He saw that look wash across Thanos' face, the look he'd seen on thousands of faces over the years - the look that said his opponent knew he was going to lose, that there was no way he could win. The Red Skull, Zemo, the Beyonder, Onslaught … he'd seen it on all their faces at one time or another.

Even Doom. Just once, but it was there, during the Secret Wars, when even Dr. Doom's face flashed the recognition that he was going to lose.

Steve lost track of time as he pummeled Thanos and the Titan pummeled him. The energy that being the Cosmic Protector afforded him was no longer a hindrance, no longer an either/or proposition. Using it in synch with his field training, Steve felt, for the first time, like Captain America and the Cosmic Protector were one. His body moved faster and hit harder than it ever had before. Adrenaline mixed with the released energy from the Nega-Bands.

Thanos landed a hard blow on Steve's side, shattering a rib. It did not even hurt. Steve's efforts were redoubled.

He thought of Balder, lying dead behind him, and pushed at Thanos harder.

He thought of Brono, and how, as fine a young man as he was, he was not yet ready to lead Asgard and the Council in the Eternal War, and hit harder.

He landed a blow on the side of Thanos' head and knocked the Titan to one knee. Leaving himself open, Steve gladly took a blow to the stomach in order to come in over the top behind it to slam a clenched fist into Thanos' face, knocking him even further off balance. Thanos swept at him with a leg and Cap easily jumped over it, then used the defensive move to launch his next offensive assault, bringing his legs down hard onto Thanos' shoulders. Something in at least one of the shoulders broke with an audible crack.

Thanos howled in pain, then rolled over into laughter as he took punch after punch, blow after blow. "You are strong, Protector, but you are not the man Mar-Vell was!" Thanos roared through shattered teeth. "Your blows inflict pain, but they are designed to subdue me, not kill me, and until you-unnnnnngh!"

A boot to his temple caused Thanos' world to spin black, and he fell to the ground with a lifeless thud.

There was a pause in time at that moment, when Steve could feel, literally feel, the eyes of the caverns upon him for their battle had been so great, and the Olympians so distracted as they learned of Pluto's death, that all had simply decided to watch. They knew there was only one fight that mattered.

Captain America looked down and saw Thanos was not dead. He saw, as the Titan rolled over onto his stomach, gasping for air and spitting out teeth and blood through wheezing gasps, that he had merely momentarily knocked him unconscious.

He could take Thanos prisoner.

The thought came to him like a clarion call of pure and crystal clear thought.

Instantly behind him a doorway opened. "You hesitate. You are unworthy." Without turning Steve knew the voice to be that of Eon, the being who had given him the mantle of Cosmic Protector and the Nega-Bands of Mar-Vell.

"Aaaaaaaarrrrrgghhhhhhhhhhh!" Captain America's body was rocked in pain as he felt the power drain from his body slowly and painfully. His hands were forced by unseen powers above his head and the Nega-Bands of Mar-Vell were removed from him. In a silent flash, the world stopped, and Steve felt completely empty.

Rather, he felt normal, again, then gasped for breath and collapsed to his knees.

"You are the new Cosmic Protector," Eon's voice intoned angrily. "Save the Everything. There is not a person in existence right now who is not seeing what transpires from here out before them. The Everything needs a hero. The Eternal War needs an ending. The eyes of all are on you now, on the new Cosmic Protector. Fulfill your destiny."

Steve heard and felt a surge of energy, then watched helplessly as Ben-Vell Parker strode past him. He watched as Ben-Vell raised his arms aloft, the Nega-Bands of Mar-Vell glowing brightly on his wrists, sending sharp reflections of light out across the room.

The Everything watched as Ben-Vell Parker, the Cosmic Protector and heir of Mar-Vell's legacy now as much as the heir of his blood, brought his hands down onto Thanos' throat and raised the battered Titan into the air.

Ben's voice was cold and rehearsed. "The Eternal War ends now."

His fist went back and forward in a blurred burst of motion, and when it had stopped on the other side of Thanos' body, the Mad Titan was dead and the Eternal War was, in fact, over.

The last thought in Steve Rogers' mind before the darkness claimed him was a silent prayer for guidance and protection for Ben. The fact that the war he had spent two centuries fighting was now over, and his side won, did not even enter his final thoughts.

This was why, the Everything itself knew, Steve Rogers was life's most shining knight.

THE END OF THE ETERNAL WAR

THREE DAYS LATER

EPILOGUE ONE

THE FANTASTIC COLONIES

"You know the Chosen One!"

"Get back, all of you, get back!" Eshir Maximoff lashed out angrily with his magnetic powers and pushed the mob of hundreds back. Three days ago he, Angelica, and Attumidunn had just arrived at the Fantastic Colonies when an image in the air appeared before them. As they learned, the same image appeared before all who were awake, apparently, as hard as it was to believe, throughout the Everything.

They watched as Ben was given the powers and position of Cosmic Protector.

They watched as their friend took ten steps and killed Thanos the Mad Titan and ended the Eternal War.

Since then they had lived with that fact. Instantly numbed by what they had seen, they stumbled to their quarters. Sometime that night they had been recognized as friends of the Everything's newest hero and since then they had not gotten a moment's peace.

"You must get us out of here!" Eshir fumed at the FC's chief of security, John Francis Saint.

"Can't do it, Esh," Saint shrugged, pulling Toomi away from the crowd. "It's not safe to transport you. We leaked that message earlier that you three were leaving in order to give you some peace but the ship we told everyone you were on was surrounded by well-wishers and never made it beyond the FC's outer rim. "For now you three have just go to make do here."

Eshir said nothing, wishing he was K'Zan at that moment, safe back on Asgard.

EPILOGUE TWO

THE TAA X

Aboard Galactus' world-ship, a young man lay curled up on the floor, violently shaking with a high fever. The Planet Devourer looked down at his newest Herald and soothed him with words of comfort, "Be still, K'Zan Strange. Your body will need time to adjust to its new powers and abilities. Soon you will be ready to serve, which bodes well for the planets of our allies.

"For great pains wrack my body.

"I hunger, and it is your duty to find me sustenance."

EPILOGUE THREE

THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING

Adam Warlock walked the corridors with Mar-Vell. "I am still not sure what I am supposed to do with all this new knowledge."

Mar-Vell nodded. "None of us are, Adam. As best we can figure, it is our duty to watch the end of the Everything, to gather as much knowledge as we can to prepare the next Age of Existence. Maybe that is our duty, maybe something else entirely is our purpose. As the Tribunal told you, the more knowledge you have, the most questions you are plagued with."

"Tell me," Adam stopped walking to ask a question. "If Crystal and Mantis are here because they are Madonnas, and Luna because she is the Moment, why are you here?"

Mar-Vell smiled, "We have long wondered that, but we now believe it is because of you."

"You lost me."

"Throughout myths of all worlds, patterns emerge. As we mentioned earlier, the mirroring images. The old gods come here, we believe, so that we may learn from them. But there are other similarities in the stories, and some representatives find their way here." Mar-Vell kicked nervously at the floor, "You mentioned how few believed I would ever rise from the dead, like so many 'heroes' and 'villains' have in the past. This lessening of the break between the physical and spiritual worlds is yet another sign of the increasing power of the physical world in relation to the spiritual."

Adam let loose a quiet laugh. "You're King Arthur."

Mar-Vell looked slightly embarrassed. "Apparently, I am. Maybe it was the way I went out, with cancer taking me instead of some foe in the middle of a battle, I don't know. But my death resonated. Why? Was I truly any more great than any of the heroes who so desperately tried to save me? No. Not even close. But my death became, in some ways, a sacred passing. It gave people something to hold onto, some sign that death still mattered and that, if I ever did return, it would be in their time of greatest need."

Mar-Vell looked sideways at Adam, "Stories have power. Real power. The Everything operates as the greatest story ever told and some of us are chosen, either by Chance or Fate, to play certain roles. When Crystal, Mantis, and Luna died, they came directly here. That was not the case with me. I wandered for a long time in Purgatory, until one day I came across the Center of Everything. You see workers mulling about this place, the story with them is much the same. We were wanderers in the afterlife until one day we came here and, suddenly, we seemed to know what to do."

"And what is it you do, exactly?"

"I started watching the ways of the world. I didn't know why, but I watched everything having to do with the heroes and villains - and how archaic do those terms now feel? But when you arrived, I knew why I had done it. I'd done it so I could pass the information on to you. As much as anyone can tell, you needed me here to tell you the things we told you."

"How can you know that?" Adam asked disbelievingly.

"Because I am growing weaker with every passing moment," Mar-Vell smiled. He pulled the robe covering his forearm back, "Look at my skin, I am fading away."

Adam looked and saw it to be true. "Where will you fade away to?"

Mar-Vell laughed, "Hopefully up. You've noticed how much of the machines here in the Everything Engine travel seemingly forever both up and down?" Adam nodded. "Well," Mar-Vell continued, a smile playing across his face, "where do you think they go?"

Adam's eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Really. At least, we believe they do. But enough of this," Mar-Vell shook his head. "There is still much for you to learn here, and when the time is right, you will know what you need to do. Come, let us walk while I still have the legs to do so. If it means anything, Adam, I do believe we will meet again in the future. I do not think my story is yet at an end."

Four stories above them, Mantis, Crystal, and Luna watched the two men walk casually away.

"This one is glad to see Adam Warlock," Mantis sighed, "but does not think he is the one we have waited for."

"No," Crystal nodded, "he is not."

"We can wait no longer," Luna announced flatly. "Somewhere lost in Existence is the Celestial Messiah. He must be found, and we must find the one who will take that journey for us. The Evil that has been unleashed forces our hand."

"But who?" Mantis asked.

"There is always some foolish hero willing to risk his life for the service of a beautiful maiden," Luna explained slowly. "It is my guess I shall have my choice of champions."

SEVEN DAYS AFTER THE END OF THE ETERNAL WAR

ASGARD

Skrull 4 huddled within his robes as he walked the streets of Asgard alongside Steve Rogers, dressed in a faded pair of blue jeans and ratty blue tee-shirt. "You are well? I am told many thought you dead."

Steve shrugged, feeling wonderful in his old clothes. "Reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated."

Skrull 4 smiled, "You seem well, oddly enough, old friend, for a man who has been stripped of his powers."

"I am happy, despite all the deaths we experienced. The past week of funerals has done us all good, however. The Olympians are out there, somewhere, but are licking their wounds and there are no signs of imminent attack. Our injuries are healing. Thanos is dead and the Eternal War is over." Steve walked in silence for a few steps. "It feels like a good time to be alive."

The Skrull Ambassador nodded, "It does, even though your words and the actions of Ben-Vell after you passed out have raised uncertainties. He spoke of greater enemies and a greater struggle."

"Yes," Steve nodded in agreement. "Though it is much as I suspected. Thanos and the Asgardian Council were played for fools. The Eternal War is over, but a new battle begins. A battle where we don't know the opponents or the cause, though we do know, unfortunately, the battlefield. More pain and death are coming to our homes, I am afraid, but we will be ready for it, as we always are. I only hope Ben is ready for what's coming his way. There are many who will come after him."

"Steve," Dani's voice called to him as they approached the Rainbow Bridge. A large crowd had gathered to view the official ascension of Brono to King. "I would like you to meet the new Earth Ambassador, Nathan Dayspring Summers."

"Hello, Cable," Steve offered a hand. "Welcome to Asgard."

"Thank you," Cable nodded back politely. "When you have a moment, I believe I have some information you would-"

Dani's eyes sparkled as she looked across at Skrull 4, "Oooh, can you feel the tension already? This one," she crooked a thumb at Steve, "doesn't like the fact that Earth sent a maverick up here. His mind is already spinning trying to figure out why Cable was sent. And this one," she crooked her other thumb at Cable, "doesn't like the fact that his former student - that would be me - is sleeping with another member of the Council, even though, technically, Steve can't be on the Council anymore because he's not the Cosmic Protector. Can you feel the brainpower churning, 4? It's going to be like watching a big game of Stratego around here."

Skrull 4 looked blankly at Dani's wide smile, "What's Stratego?"

"What's Stratego? Don't you Skrulls have any fun at all?"

The sounding of trumpets called everyone's attention to the Bridge, where Brono came to stand before them.

"Young for a King, isn't he?" Cable asked, taking in the image of the Kree and Shi'ar Ambassador walking together to the assembly.

"Don't remind us," Dani groused.

"Truly, this is a unique time and truly we are blessed to have as allies and friends those who stand with us," Brono announced. "The Eternal War is over and a new day, against a new enemy has come to us. My friends, despite our success, I hath a heart that is heavy. As those who fought in the final battle of the Eternal War will tell you, I doth failed. When the eyes of Asgard turned to me, I was not ready. If it weren't for Kovar the Accuser placing his body in harm's way, I may hath died.

"Next to me stands Amora, the eternal beauty of Asgard holding the crown of our people, and perhaps, just perhaps, for once all more eyes are on me than on her.

"I am your King, but in truth, I am not yet ready to ascend to the mantle of leadership and so I abdicate the throne."

"What?" Dani asked as a murmuring ripped through the crowd.

"Two hundred years ago my father, Balder the Brave, left the Golden Realm to go on a journey of self-discovery. It is that journey I will now take. I have been contacted by …" a smile broke out across his face, "a beautiful young maiden in need of help. I feel, in my heart of hearts, that I must heed that call. I must prove myself worthy to be your King. And so I say to you, on this day, that I refuse the mantle of leadership. All my life I have wanted to be your King, but my day for that ascension is still in the future. This is a time of sacrifice, a time of thinking of the larger whole instead of the individual glory. One day I will take this throne, but not today. Instead, I pass this crown to the one man who will best lead us, the one man who we will all follow. One who has already proven himself to be equal to Asgard's greatest son. Asgard shall have a new King this day, and his name shall be … Beta Ray Bill!"

The crowd roared in acceptance. There was only one among them whose thoughts were elsewhere and that man was Captain America. While others cheered, he wondered just who it was they now faced, and if what Cable wanted to tell him had anything to do with this new threat.

He would try not to let his concerns ruin anyone's celebration. By the look of the faces around him, Asgard was ready to celebrate.

THE UNDERWORLD

Somewhere, drums beat loudly. For one solid week, the Everything had begun to notice the beating of these drums. It started slowly, as a mere cosmic whisper, but now, deep in the Underworld where all worlds connected, gods kneeled before their new leader.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM went the drums.

Pluto, ruler of Olympus and god of the dead dropped to one knee in servitude.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…

Hela, ruler of Niffleheim and goddess of the dead dropped to one knee in servitude.

… BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM...

Mephisto, Lord of Lies, knelt to one knee in servitude.

… BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…

Ikaris, Eternal General, dropped to his left knee in servitude, as his right still ached from the blade of Brono.

… BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…

Bruunhilde, Angelux General, pledged her allegiance as she dropped one knee to the floor.

… BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…

An Egyptian death god, Set, dropped to one knee in servitude.

… BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…

Damion Hellstorm looked at the collection of gods and generals around him already kneeling, then he, too, dropped to one knee and pledged total allegiance to their new master, the new ruler of Order. The so-called Unspeakable Evil had risen to lead them and Damion wasn't about to let this opportunity pass him by. Even if those ominous drums were beginning to bother him.

… BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM.

The clanking of steel metal boots on the hard rock heralded the man who would lead them to the destruction of this Age of Existence and create the Iron Order of the next Age.

The drumming, all at once, ceased completely, leaving an echoing silence reverberating throughout the cavern.

"Rise," the voice commanded to his generals. "We have work to do."

All eyes were upon the armored man as he spoke his chilling oath.

"So swears Doom."

At that moment, a chill ran down the spine of the Everything and the Great Gears shimmered to a pause, then began to turn even faster in the heart of the Center of Everything.

THE END OF THE SECOND BOOK OF ALL GOD'S CHILDREN.

Y G G D R A S I L

Comments c/o northern022@hotmail.com

For a subscription to AGC, send an email to me and I'll add you to the agcverse mailing list at yahoogroups. You will receive every issue of AGC as soon as it is ready for print.

Fifty issues. I won't bore anyone with long-winded blather about where we've come in 50 issues except to say that I am very satisfied with where this series now stands, and I hope you are, too. I do think, however, that it's the great irony of MV1 that as our stories get better, we have less and less readers. I am thankful to all of you who've read any part of this story, and especially those who've taken the time to send some comments my way.

It's been a fun trip.

-- Mark Bousquet …

Northern Bear Productions

26 August 2002