THE WAR OF ORDER AND CHAOS

Part Three: The Maw Stench

the 73^rd tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

2201 / DECEMBER

THE EVERYTHING ENGINE - THE VIEWING TUBE

Franklin Richards stood in the Viewing Tube alongside his love, the Celestial Madonna Luna. Before them, writhing on the ground was Magus Warlock, a being created when Adam Warlock and Magus were forced together through the magic of Luna and the Everything Engine.

"How do you feel, Magus Warlock?" Franklin Richards asked. Warlock looked up at Franklin, surprised to find that a middle-aged king had replaced the young boy.

"It hurts," Warlock moaned, his voice rasping. He spoke out of both heads - the front head of Adam and the back out of Magus.

"I am afraid, old friend," said Luna, her arm wrapped in Franklin's, "that it will hurt a lot more before we are through." Luna turned to the side. "Mantis, bring forth the visitor."

Warlock turned to look in that direction and shivered. "Him?"

"Correct," Luna replied without looking down at Magus Warlock. "Him. The first version of you." Now Luna turned to look down. "Do you see where we are going with this? Of course you do," she smiled. "The three parts of you will now be made whole."

Magus Warlock felt someone lock his arms behind his back. "I am afraid this will hurt," Crystal said to him.

And it did.

ASGARD - THE FOREST OF EARTH - AMORA'S CABIN - BASEMENT

Eshir Maximoff and K'Zan stood at the bottom of a flight of stairs in the damp basement of Amora's cabin, hidden deep within the Forest of Earth. They stood looking to the left of the stairs, where a small communications station - their goal - awaited them. It was what was between them and the com-station that had frozen them in place.

The Fenris Wolf.

The large beast snapped its jaw, growling at the two Orphans. The stench from its maw overwhelmed them, seemingly increasing the temperature of the damp basement by ten degrees with each breath it took.

Eshir was vaguely aware of his surroundings. Near each corner of the too-small-for-comfort basement was a tunnel, leading to destinations unknown. The ceiling in the basement was barely large enough for the Fenris Wolf to stand comfortably. Beside him, K'Zan was saying something, but Eshir could not make out the words. The entire scene had taken on a dreamlike quality and he felt phantom pain in the hands that he no longer had.

His eyes were drawn to the snapping jaws of the Fenris Wolf, and the sharp teeth that had taken his hands from him when he was younger.* The Wolf, it seemed to Eshir, recognized him, and kept it's blood-stained eyes locked onto him as it paced back and forth, back and forth.

* See AGC 30: Jonas

"I see you have found Amora's pet," a beautiful voice came to Eshir through the self-induced fog.

Blinking slowly, Eshir noted a cloaked female figure standing in the tunnel to their right.

"I have been drawn to this moment," Nightmare said to Eshir, her voice taking on a sing-song quality that calmed rather than frightened. "It is rare that the mortal world calls to me to bear witness to reality, young Maximoff. Truly this is a sacred moment, the intersection between nightmare and reality. There is nothing I could create in your dreamscape that could match the horror you now face, Eshir. This is the thing you most fear in all the world - the Fenris Wolf."

"… should we do? Esh? Hey, you there?"

Eshir was brought another step back to reality. "I don't know what to do," Eshir shook his head. "It's …" he swallowed hard, "I just can't believe this is happening."

The Fenris Wolf lunged at Eshir, and the mutant subconsciously activated his powers, speeding across the room in the blink of an eye. Eshir had the power to travel on the electromagnetic fields and could propel his still body along them to any point his eye could see. Suddenly finding himself of the opposite side of the room, Eshir turned to see the Wolf turn its attention to K'Zan.

Snarling, it snapped its powerful jaws at K'Zan, who unleashed the power cosmic onto the Wolf's chest, repelling the attack.

Looking through the large dog's legs, Eshir saw Nightmare looking at him forlornly. He was so drawn to her sadness that he never saw the Wolf's tail slam into his side, knocking him hard to the dirt. Shaking his head, Eshir rose to his knees-

- and came face-to-maw with the sharp teeth and drooling tongue of the Fenris Wolf.

HALA

Mephisto moved through the city with ease, a broad smile upon his red, demonic face. All around him was the chaos of battle. His demon hordes raided the city from the west, smashing into the Kree guard that rose to defend their capital. It was a beautiful city, he supposed, full of bright blue and silver spires. There were treadways and monorails and glimmering panes of glass wherever one looked.

So long as one looked skyward.

On the ground there were burning fires, smashed glass, concrete, and metal, and dead bodies. Hundreds of dead bodies. Nightmarish demons stomped and destroyed everything in their path. The Kree fought well in defense but there weren't nearly enough to stop the demons.

Mephisto smiled. Doom was a man who conquered with precision. Sure, he was sacrificing millions of troops here and on Chandilar, but they were insignificant in the large scheme. When Doom had killed Kang and taken control of Chronopolis, he gained the ability to assault the homeworlds directly, bypassing centuries worth of planetary defenses. None of the homeworlds of the Alliance were fully prepared for a war to be fought on their planet. The overwhelming majority of their defenses were built in space around the planets to ensure that battles were fought in the free range of space.

This led them, as Ochken had showed, susceptible to Civil War.

Doom, trapped away in a prison cell in the bowels of Chronopolis, had already figured this out long before Ochken's fateful decision.

"Mephisto," Pluto's voice called to him across their communications system, "how goes the battle?"

"Fine, fine," Mephisto replied. We have broken into the city's western front and my demons are swarming across the city streets. I believe it is time to dirty the air."

"Excellent," Pluto replied. "Phase 2, begin."

Mephisto moved to the doorway of a building and trained his eyes on the sky.

Jump gates opened all over the top of the city, and the Lord of Lies watched in glee as a thousand Eternal warriors descended from the heavens to attack Hala from above.

ASGARD - THE EDGE OF THE RAINBOW BRIGADE SETTLEMENT

"Dani, look out!" Ben-Vell Parker screamed as an orange-skinned troll jumped at Dani Moonstar.

Rolling to the ground, Dani unsheathed her sword, and as she rose to her feet she swung up hard with the sword, hacking off the trolls left forearm.

The troll howled in pain, but it's wail was cut short as Dani twirled in place, bringing her sword around hard to jam in the troll's throat.

At the edge of the Plains of Ida, near the outside border of the city of Asgard, Dani and Ben-Vell were making their way up a steep rise towards the Rainbow Brigade settlement. The yellow, sandy ground was stained with bodies human, Skrull, Kree, and Shi'ar and the occasional troll. Blood soaked the sand. In places (and much to Ben's horror) it had started to congeal, making sick blood-soaked balls of sand in the wake of footsteps on the steep slope.

"You should've let me fly up there," Ben pressed as the troll fell dead at Dani's feet.

"It would've drawn too much attention," Dani replied, shaking her head. She kicked the troll off he sword and watched as it rolled fifty feet down the slope. "We've got to use all the stealth we can."

They both turned to look up the slope. They were a mere fifteen feet from the top, where the rise evened out, turning to grass and rock. Puffs of green grass shot out over the edge. The battle could be heard clearly from here - metal clashing upon metal, the screams of the wounded, the stench of death. Explosions rocked the city and the Valkyrior were in the air.

"Who do you think they fight for?" Ben asked.

"I don't know," Dani said, her face drawing in tight.

"Aaargh!"

Dani and Ben flinched as a body came hurtling over the edge of the cliff, landing with a sick thud in the sand and rolling wildly down the hill towards them.

"Human," Dani said, and Ben used the Nega Bands of Mar-Vell to bring the body to a stop near them.

"Whu …" the human moaned, looking up blankly at Dani and Ben. She wore the uniform of a Force Works commando. Dani knelt down, placing her hand on the female's head as she looked at the deep gash in the woman's side. "Y-you're … Moon-moonstar," the woman gasped, blood bubbling up out of her mouth.

Dani nodded. "What's going on up there in your settlement?"

The woman's eyes flashed wide. "Th-they came out of … out of n-n-nowhere. T-t-t-rolls, giants, F-f-frost G-giants."

"Is General Rhodes up there?" Dani asked, stroking the girl's head in an attempt to calm her.

The woman shook her head in hard, quick jerks. "No!" She licked her lips and more blood spilled out of her mouth and down onto her chin. "No," she said again, weaker. "It was … his turn to g-go to the K-king's open court. R-rasputin w-went with him."

"Rosalind Gyrich is in charge?"

The injured Force Works trooper nodded.

"What about the Valkyrior?" Ben-Vell asked, looking down at a woman he knew would be dead before dawn. "Do they fight with you or against you?"

"A-against," the woman choked.

Ben watched Dani's face, looking for some kind of sign, but none came - Moonstar's face stayed hard and unreadable.

The injured woman, summoning what little strength she had left, grabbed Dani's arms hard. "The King is dead! The Ambassadors are captured!" She took a few hard, short gasps, blood splattering out of her mouth as her eyes went wide. "Odin has returned! The … the dead Asgardians have come back with him!"

At that, Dani's face showed her surprise. She looked up to Ben-Vell as the Force Works commando's grip lessened and the woman leaned back into the sand.

"Bill's dead?" Ben asked. "The Ambassadors are captured?" His mind battled over which was the more pressing, shocking development. "How is that possi- No," he said, shaking his head. "What isn't possible, right?"

A shadow passed over them at that moment, and Ben looked up to see a Frost Giant standing at the edge of the cliff, staring down at them.

"More dead humans!" he roared, firing a large, pointed ice shaft down at them.

Scowling, Ben waved his hand before him, drawing on his powers to create a yellow shield to defend them. Without turning to Dani, Ben asked her, "What's the plan?"

Dani thought for a few seconds as Ben's shield held off the Frost Giant's attack. "I'll find Gyrich. I want you to head to Embassy Road. Find out what's going on over there, and contact Angelica, Brono, and Cap if you can." She looked at the young man, worried she was putting too much on his shoulders.

Turning, Ben saw the concern in her face. "Hey, Dani, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm the Cosmic Protector. Sure," he added quickly as two more ice shafts slammed into his shield, "I don't have Cap's skill or experience, but I've got plenty of raw power to make up for it. I'll be okay."

Dani nodded, knowing he was right, knowing both of them had to battle against the feeling of numbness at the news that Beta Ray Bill was dead. "Tell everyone to retreat to the Forest of Earth. I don't think Odin's troops will follow us." She looked up to where the Frost Giant was raining ice down on them. "They seem to be concentrating on securing the city itself."

Ben nodded, looking up to see the Frost Giant become bored and move away from the cliff. "Dani," he asked cautiously, "if the Asgardians are back and fighting against us, do we really want to contact Brono? Wouldn't that put Angelica in danger?"

Her agreement came with a frown. "It's a risk we've got to take, Ben. If Bill has been killed, if Odin is trying to reclaim the throne and break the Alliance, Brono may be our only chance to keep things together. Don't forget, he's also the Norn King. His allegiance to Asgard isn't guaranteed."

Ben's eyes turned to space. "I just hope we're not putting Angelica in danger."

THE RAVEN - FREE SPACE - THE QUARTERS OF BRONO

"I should go," Angelica said, pushing back the sheets of Brono's bed as she swung her legs over the edge.

"No," the Norn King protested softly, reaching his right hand across his body to curl around Angelica's waist. "Stay. Please."

Angel closed her eyes and her body slumped back into the bed. "Brono, I …"

"If thou wish to leave," he said gently, his hand pulling back, "I will not stop thee, Angel. But-"

Angelica silenced him with a kiss as her hand pulled the sheets back over her body.

CHANDILAR - THE SHI'AR SENATE

Majestrix Deathcry watched as Gladiator shouted orders to the Imperial Guard. The Senate had been turned into a makeshift war room as Set's snake army attacked viciously and quickly, flooding the city's streets with battle.

The Senators watched in awe, looking up to the ceiling that served as a large monitor.

"We're holding them back!" Gladiator roared from his wheelchair.

Deathcry turned to place a hand on his shoulder when she saw a look of anger shoot across his face.

Turning back to the ceiling she noted with dread that the sky above them was filling quickly with Angelux.

CHANDILAR - ABOVE THE SHI'AR SENATE

"Ride, Angelux, ride!" Bruunhilde shouted from atop her winged steed. "Bring them pain and suffering and death!"

She watched, pride and awe overcoming her, as fifty thousand Angelux troops swooped down to bring chaos to a besieged city. It was too bad, she mused, that Attumidunn was not here to take part.

SKRULLOS 2 - FIFTY MILES WEST OF VOG CITY

Attumidunn rode with her small unit of Angelux into the desert. "Quicken your pace," she called to them. "I want to return to Vog City by midnight."

She checked their cargo. Four of their horses were pulling a sled. Upon the sled was a large, circular object, twice as tall as Toomi herself. Some kind of machinery, Toomi had been told by Hellcat. The Orphan-turned-Angelux didn't push the question further. Over the past few weeks on Skrullos 2 she'd begun to feel beaten down by everything that was happening, swallowed up by the grand events.

"More water, master?"

Looking down, Toomi saw the Skrull slave that had been assigned to her trudging along wearily beside them. "No, Jakool," she brushed his offering aside. "And if I catch you stealing another sip you'll be cleaning my tent this eve with your tongue."

The Angelux riders under her charge laughed loudly at that, causing Toomi's stomach to churn in disgust. In truth, she didn't want a slave, but all of the officers were taking them and to refuse would cause her troops to question her motives. She was half-worried she'd been sent out here to die by Hellcat, but after a restless, sleepless night and no move to kill her, she allowed herself to relax.

"Tell us, Lieutenant!" one of the Angelux called to her. "Is it true what they say about the Skrull males? That they can mimic the appearance of anyone? That their shape-shifting abilities even apply to their-"

"I wouldn’t know!" Toomi shot back, then forced herself to grin to continue the ruse. "I'm above rutting with Skrulls - even if they look human at the time."

Her soldiers laughed hard. One of them spit at Jakool, "I'm not above rutting with Skrulls, especially if he looks like the Cosmic Protector when it's happening." She turned her eye towards Toomi. "If the rumors are true I could get you to make sure he's anatomically correct, Lieutenant!"

Lashing out in anger at the thought of Ben-Vell, Attumidunn ripped her sword out and shoved the point up hard against the soldier's neck. She resisted the urge to run the sword through, horrified at the immense want within her to watch this woman choke to death on her own blood. Sensing the tension in the troops, Toomi flicked her sword quickly to the right, causing a small gash to appear on the Angelux's throat, and forced a laugh. "Your mouth outstrips your rank, private, but your words ring with some truth. Remember them when you look in the mirror and see the size of the small cut upon your neck. Anatomically correct is not always what it's cracked up to be."

The Angelux roared loudly with delight and Attumidunn pushed her steed to the head of the column, where none could see the look of pain that crossed her face.

She wondered if she'd ever see Ben, or the other Orphans, again.

CHRONOPOLIS - THE LIBRARY

The adopted son of Doom entered the Library, excitement racing through his veins.

"Asgard is under attack!" he shouted across the great hall to the man in iron who sat at the other end, deep in thought.

"Lower your voice, Kang," Doom commanded. "This is a library. You would do well to spend more time here."

"What need have I of a library?" Kang asked. "Your computers fill my mind and infuse my body with all the knowledge I could ever need."

Doom studied the young man, now twenty-two. 'The power of Chronopolis,' Doom mused at the sight of the man who had been an infant a few months previous. "A library is not just for thought, Kang, but for contemplation. Knowledge without the ability to use it is wasted."

"Of course, sire," Kang said, not caring to discuss it further. "As I said when I entered-"

"Asgard is under attack," Doom said from his seat. "Yes, I am aware of that. It was one of the last images I was able to view inside the Everything Engine."

"Can't you still do that?"

"No," Doom replied. "It appears as if the Richards boy has taken that ability away."

"We should attack him at once," Kang pressed, placing his hands palm down on Doom's desk and leaning forward.

"Why?" Doom asked. "He does our work for us. If he wants to remove Asgard as a threat, why should we stop him?"

"He's planning something. I can feel it!"

Doom looked at the young man, feeling troubled. "Of course he's planning something, Kang. He wants us to win. He wants the Everything to collapse, so he allows his Third Army to assist us at this moment. But do not dwell on your disappointment, " Doom raised a hand. "We shall fight them in time."

"But they are at their weakest right now!" Kang pressed his case, anger rising within him. "I can feel the battle calling to me!"

Doom rose from his chair, his way of telling Kang the argument was over. "We are at our weakest now, as well. It is the weakness of overconfidence that costs many an army its victory, Kang. We are committed to crushing Hala and Chandilar. Let us fight those battles before we pick another." Doom walked around the desk and began the long walk to the front door.

"But-"

"You are late for your lesson, Kang," Doom turned to remind him. "It is not many a young man who would delay an afternoon with his harem."

Kang let out an aggravated sigh. "Anything done every day for two years leads to boredom, Doom. The women there, as beautiful as they are, have become as routine to me as brushing my teeth."

"That is the point of the lesson," Doom said, turning to leave. "Think of women as objects and your heart shall evermore be protected from their enchantment. Now bother me no more," he said, opening the door. "Doom has a deal to offer."

ASGARD - THE FOREST OF EARTH - AMORA'S CABIN - BASEMENT

Slop from the jaw of the Fenris Wolf pooled at Eshir's feet.

"K'Zan, you okay?" Eshir asked, keeping eye contact with the Wolf.

No answer.

"K'Zan?" Esh risked a quick glance to see his friend picking himself up slowly from the ground. A wave of his hand told Esh K'Zan was okay. "Why don’t you do what needs to be done?" he asked, stepping back slowly, his eyes returning to those of the Wolf. "I can handle big and nasty here."

The Fenris Wolf took a step towards him at that and Eshir kept backpedaling slowly. He was even now with the back of the stairs at the midpoint of the room. Using his magnetic powers, Eshir began to prod and poke at the Wolf, agitating him.

On the now free side of the room, K'Zan watched for a moment as the growling Wolf hunted his fellow Orphan. He wanted to say something but didn't - if Esh had a plan K'Zan would follow it because he had no clue what to do. Moving quickly to the small communications unit, K'Zan froze at the keyboard.

"Get it together," he scolded himself and his hands began to dance over the keys, punching in the coordinates of the Raven as he risked a look back across the room towards Eshir and the Fenris Wolf.

"I wish I had something witty to say," Eshir said to the Wolf, "but I don't." He stopped and the Wolf did as well, preparing to lunge.

With a shout, Eshir jumped at the Wolf, smacking him hard in the nose. The Fenris Wolf roared in anger and snapped his powerful jaws down onto Maximoff, biting him hard.

Struggling not to pass out, Eshir noted with an almost insane moment of glee that he wasn't hurt. He'd drawn the magnetic field to him, wrapping himself tightly in their bind. The Fenris Wolf could grab him up in his jaws but the magnetic field served as a force field, keeping the sharp teeth at bay. The Wolf began to shake him hard as its large head whipped back and forth, and Eshir extended his powers quickly, just enough to break free.

His body went hurtling to the ground but he was ready, and rolled with the fall, coming only momentarily to his feet before he shot into the corner tunnel behind him.

When the Fenris Wolf bounded in, Eshir shot out of the tunnel and turned to create a magnetic force field that held the Wolf in place. The young mutant was breathing hard, but took satisfaction in what he had done.

"Very well," Nightmare said to him, placing a cold hand on his shoulder.

"K'Zan?"

"Huh?" The Herald turned back to the small monitor to see Angelica's face looking back at him.

"Is that you?" Angelica asked.

"Um, yeah," K'Zan said, noting that Angelica's body was wrapped tightly in a silk sheet. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Yes," Angelica admitted. "Actually you did. If this can wait-"

"Itcan'twaitnotatall," K'Zan said hurriedly, stepping back from the screen so that his camera would pick up the back of the Fenris Wolf. "Asgard is under attack. There's Frost Giants and trolls all over the city. Odin's come back and-"

"Odin!" a voice roared from beside Angelica, and the Herald's eyes went wide as the naked form of Brono entered the screen.

"Um, yeah, uh, Brono. Odin's back," K'Zan said, surprised at just what he'd apparently interrupted. "Listen," he said, focusing, "we're not sure, exactly, what's happened. Ben and I had just come back to Asgard. We were towing Galactus to the Plains of Ida. He's unconscious, but that's not important!" He waved his hand at the look of shock he received from the two of them. "We saw Odin and a whole group of dead Asgardians - Loki, Warriors Three, Skurge among them - walk through the city. The whole city is under attack. Frost Giants, trolls, regular giants, ravens … it's pure chaos up there."

"Where are thee now?" Brono asked.

"Amora's basement. Esh and I came here to try and contact you. Dani and Ben have gone to the city to try and-"

Brono's eyes went wide, "Is that the Fenris Wolf?"

K'Zan turned to see Eshir use his magnetic powers to hold the Fenris Wolf trapped inside a tunnel. "Yeah. Look, all hell has broken loose here. We're not sure if the Kree of Shi'ar have been notified yet, but we need help or the city is going to fall."

"To Asgardians," Brono replied flatly. "Tell me, K'Zan," the Norn King said, straightening his back, "what makes thou believe I wouldst do anything to hinder the plans of Odin?"

"Well, I -"

K'Zan's words fell away as Brono disconnected the transmission. "Oh, hell," he whispered. "Angelica, what have I done … ?"

THE WAR OF ORDER AND CHAOS to be continued …

Think of women as objects and your heart shall evermore be protected from their enchantment.

Y G G D R A S I L

comments to bousquet22@earthlink.net

Mark Bousquet

20 June 2003

Northern Bear Productions