EXISTENCE END

Part Four: Ride of the 4 Horsemen

the 79^th tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

THE BATTLE FOR EARTH

The Current State of Affairs:

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

Paris: The Angelux (AoD) vs. The Red Rider (Third), witnessed by Stephen Strange (Alliance)

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

Tokyo: Kree Separatists (AoD), witnessed by the Spider (neutral)

Hong Kong: Hela and the Snake Army (AoD)

Alexandria, Egypt: Daimon Hellstrom and the Demons of the Earth Underworld (AoD)

Wundagore Mountain: Hawkeye and Crystal (neutral)

The Florida Everglades: The Alliance of Asgard

2202 / JANUARY

THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES

Amora the Enchantress smiled as she lay on her back inside her dingy tent. Incense wafted through the air as a boiling pot held within it the key to a very dark spell. "Sacrifice must always be made," she purred to herself in solitude as she rubbed her stomach, staring at it as if it belonged to someone else.

The Enchantress could not help but be pleased - even at the end of time men were so easily led astray.

CHRONOPOLIS

Doom stared at the screens before him. Here, in the final days of existence, Franklin Richards had surprised him. He had done the one thing so obvious that even Doom had not thought of it.

He had brought the Fantastic Four back to life and made slaves of them. He had turned them into the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Doom had planned for their return but he had counted on them to soften the boy's ego and dull his power with their foolish humanity.

Franklin had not fallen into this trap.

New plans would need to be made. Doom had come to far to lose the Battle for Earth.

WUNDAGORE MOUNTAIN

High above the earth, in a tower of a castle atop a strange and wondrous mountain, Hawkeye and Crystal engage and plot to determine if there is anything two people can do in the face of a world war.

"Clint," Crystal said gently, placing a hand on the archers, "I am glad you are here. Do you have any idea what the past 200 years have brought us?"

Clint Barton shook his head. "Don't know, don't really care," he shrugged. "Didn't even know I'd been gone 200 years until you mentioned it. All I know is that Franklin has brought all of the First Agers back to life and is forcing them somehow to fight for him. He wants me to kill Captain America and he needed the whole me to do it. I know Doom's got an army and Franklin's got an army and I don't want either one of them to win. The way I see it, we've saved the world before, we can do it again."

Crystal smiled through her sadness at her old friend. He hadn't a clue the stakes they were fighting for, that even if they won there was no guarantee the Earth could be saved. So what she said was, "The universe, Clint. We're fighting for the fate of the universe, not the Earth."

Clint smiled. "Even better."

"Is there anything we can do?" Crystal asked, wondering if she'd ever see her daughter, Luna, again. And then wondering if she even wanted to.

"There is," Hawkeye nodded. "There is a place of power, hiding in plain sight. All we've got to do is find a way inside."

"And how do we …?" Crystal's question was stilled in her throat as a wild shrieking wail rose up the mountain to meet their eyes and bring a moment of fear into their hearts. Without a word, the two Avengers went to the window and looked down. "Tear them to shreds!" the front rider screeched. "Destroy all in our path and bring this castle crashing to the ground!"

"What the hell are those things?" Hawkeye asked. "And why does that crazy lady up front look so damn familiar?"

Crystal's eyes were locked on the approaching winged riders. "It is the Angelux, Clint. The Hellcat Regiment. Patsy Walker has come to kill the people of Wundagore."

Hawkeye's eyes looked down to the base of the castle and saw the descendants of the creations of the High Evolutionary - animals of all the Earth that had been evolved into half-animal/half-human beings - slaughtered before the Hellcat Regiment. Clint removed an acid arrow from his quiver and aimed his bow.

Crystal watched, unable to stop what she knew was a foolish sense of hope rise within her, as Hawkeye the Avenging Archer sent his arrow flying. She did not even need to look to know it would find its target. "The Hellcat Regiment will be after us now," she said softly. "We could have escaped unnoticed."

"Change of plan," Clint grunted, notching another arrow. "First we save the people of Wundagore, then we go looking for the place of power. I didn't come back to life just to watch innocents get slaughtered by a bunch of hot looking Valkyrie wannabes."

A smile moved across Crystal's face. "Hot?"

Clint fired his second arrow, then tossed a quick smile to match's Crystal's. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for bad girls. Now come on, show me you've still got some power left in you."

MOSCOW

The Pale Rider sat at the edge of the city of Moscow. The woman known once as Susan Storm, then Richards, the woman who had given birth to Franklin Richards, sat atop a pale horse and prepared to ride into battle.

"Go to your battalions," she hissed down to her four generals: Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. "On my signal, we ride into Moscow and crush the Eternals."

The four generals nodded to their commander and returned to their troops. The Pale Rider was full of energy and pride as she walked her horse in front of the troops. She had the power of the X-Men at her back to call upon to crush the Eternals. She could see a number of the reanimated mutants in her ranks, though there were two among that number that were not present.

"Where are the ones we knew as Wolverine and Storm?" the Pale Rider had asked her son the King before they departed Mt. Olympus.

King Franklin had shook his head. "They are beyond my reach. Whatever Heaven or Hell they reside is beyond my grasp."

The Pale Rider had nodded and said no more, though a seed of unease had been planted inside of her mind at the thought of her son's power having a limit.

"We are ready, my lady." The voice of Charles Xavier said into her mind. The Pale Rider looked across the multitudes of Acolytes and Morlocks that would serve as the common soldier to see the crippled, bald founder of the X-Men sitting alone at the rear of her troops. An ace, she knew, must always be held in reserve.

The Pale Rider looked out across her troops and drew all eyes to her. Extending her powers outward, she bathed the soldiers in invisibility. "I give you the gift of surprise!" she called, knowing she would not be able to keep them invisible once they engaged the Eternals in battle. "Use it well. We ride!"

Inside the Kremlin, standing amidst the dead bodies of Moscow's ruling class, Ikaris the Eternal felt a shadow pass across his heart as the western half of the city exploded in battle. "And so we are joined on the field by the Third Army," he mused, a smile coming to his face. "We truly are in the End Times."

THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES

It was, K'Zan thought, a wondrous thing to behold, even in times such as this.

Sigurd, the son of Thor and Persephone, was a Seer of Sights of great power. All he had to do was concentrate on what he wanted to see and it would be revealed to all who stood in sight of him. Eshir had thought the sight was dependent on a connection to brimstone, but it was not. The brimstone the Man-Thing had placed in Sigurd's hand was simply the catalyst for the power of sight to pour forth from the teenaged boy.

Hanging in the air before the center of the Alliance's encampment were six images: New York City, Moscow, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, and Alexandria. These were, as far the Alliance knew, the six battles that were being raged for the fate of the Earth. In each city a massive battle raged between the Army of Doom and the Third Army of Franklin Richards.

"What's new?" Glimmer Girl asked, moving to stand beside him.

K'Zan pointed to three screens on the far left. "We're still looking for the fourth Horseman," he replied. "We’ve got the White Rider in New York, the Pale Rider in Moscow, and the Red Rider in Paris."

"Who's fighting for the Third Army in the other three screens?" Glimmer asked.

"In Alexandria, where Doom has sent Daimon Hellstrom and the Earth demons, Franklin has countered with Apocalypse and the Avengers," K'Zan said, remembering the names Dani and Cable had given him. "The Battle for Tokyo is between the Kree Separatists of Doom and a force led by the Pumpkin King and the Red Skull. Hong Kong has Hela and the Snake Army going at it with Mandarin and the Defenders."

Glimmer looked at all six screens and shook her head. "How are we supposed to fight all of this? We barely have enough soldiers in the Rainbow Brigade to protect our encampment."

K'Zan shook his head. "I don't know, Glimmer. But you couldn't tempt me with all the riches of all the homeworlds to be Brono right now."

Ten meters from them, Brono stood beside a sweating, tired Sigurd. "We must ask thee to press on, son of Thor," Brono implored. "Show us the Fourth Horsemen."

THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

England was closed to the world. The country that had once ruled much of the planet had been cordoned off, hidden behind a swirling vortex of storm clouds. Passage in and out of the island was nearly impossible.

Impossibility meant nothing to the boy god of humanity.

The Black Rider stood at the head of a massive wooden ship. His horse, a monstrous creature born from the mind of Franklin Richards, stood behind him on the deck. The storm clouds in front of the Black Rider's fleet of fifty ships meant nothing, for the King of the Third Army had promised safe passage. Turning to his left and right, the Black Rider watched his generals: Sebastian Shaw, the Mole Man, Psylocke, and the Silver Surfer.

With generals such as these, the Black Rider would claim the land of England for the Third Army.

As the fleet came upon the massive column of storm that protected England, a battle raged deep inside the land of Avalon.

"Greetings, Lady of the Lake."

The Lady turned to see that enemies had come to her door. "Luna," the Lady answered. "Mantis. What brings you to Avalon?"

Luna smiled as Mantis unleashed two scimitars. "Death, my Lady," Luna replied, as Mantis beheaded a legend. A blinding flash of light erupted from the Lake of Avalon and swept hard across the realm of England. All who stood were knocked off their feet, as the concussive wave ripped hard into the protective storm clouds.

Back upon the ships, the fleet of the Black Rider watched as the storm clouds dissipated and the shores of England were laid bare before them. "Row hard for the shores!" the man once known as the Thing roared across the waters.

THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES

"Should I still depart for space?" Ben-Vell asked Brono.

Brono nodded. "We need an army, Ben-Vell. You are our best hope at bringing one to us."

Ben nodded, started to turn, and stopped. "Brono, about the hard words that passed between us …"

Brono raised a hand. "Think nothing of them. If I were to cause undue harm to Angelica, my life should be forfeit."

Without response, Ben left the King to ponder his strategy. He looked around the camp, watching everyone watch Sigurd's display, knowing that Brono only trusted Sigurd so much. Behind them, in the tent, members of the Rainbow Brigade were busy scanning several laptop computers for any information they could learn about the Battle for Earth.

"Ben," Eshir called to him. "A moment of your time."

Ben sighed, but followed Esh into the woods. "You leave for space?" Maximoff asked.

"I do."

"Ben," Esh asked hesitantly, "there is something I must ask you. Sigurd's visions … we assume they are true, that he shows us the present that is and not a future that may be. The net feeds seem to confirm this power, but … his first vision. I would like you to confirm it."

"Esh, I haven't the time to travel across the globe to-"

"You don't have to do anything but answer a question."

"What?"

Esh let out a half-smile, "Earlier today … were you … sharing a bed with Amora?"

"What?" Ben asked, a bit too quickly and loudly.

Esh shook his head. "I can't believe it. Amora. After all these years you, me, K'Zan … Jonas," he said, his voice dropping low at the mention of their long lost friend, before returning to its natural volume, "after all these years we all lusted after her it was you who got to have sex with the Enchantress."

Ben didn’t know what to say as Esh shook his head.

"You know something," Esh let out a half-laugh. "If this had happened a month ago I probably would've hated you for your fortune, but now … standing at the edge of total death …" Esh let his voice trail off and silence fell upon the two friends. "Best of luck in space," Eshir said, meeting Ben's eyes for what he hoped wasn't the last time. "We'll try to make sure there's an Earth here when you get back."

Ben clasped Eshir on the shoulder and nodded. "Thank you," he said, then blasted off the ground and quickly out of sight.

THE CONGO

Stephen Strange could feel the Wellspring about to break as he searched his mind for the spells that would hold back the onrushing tide. If the Wellsprings burst to soon, the world would perish and the childish war between Doom and Franklin would be rendered meaningless. If Doom won, he would unleash his Infinity Bomb to destroy the Wellsprings and let magic loose into the world, then quickly detonate his Virus bomb to contaminate the magic and cause the final collapse of the Everything.

"Tell me, Stephen," a friendly voice asked from behind him. "If Doom destroys the Earth, how can he ensure that he survives into the next Age?"

Strange turned. "I do not know, Wong," he answered honestly. "Truth be told, I have not given it much thought."

Wong crossed his arms across his chest. "I have. I think we have forgotten about a place we should not have forgotten about."

"What place would this be?" Strange asked.

"Limbo," Wong replied.

Strange kicked the dirt beneath his feet. "We have been fools, Wong," he scolded himself. "There is another name for Limbo in the ancient texts."

"Purgatory," Wong surmised. "The Place Between Places. Doom will wait in Purgatory, in Limbo, for this Age to fall and when the Void is first kissed with life, Doom shall enter it from the Place that Has No Place."

Stephen Strange nodded as he looked at Wong with great affection. "You were twice the Sorcerer Supreme that I was, old friend."

Wong shrugged off the compliment. "None of that changes anything, though, does it? We still cannot let the Wellsprings burst."

"You are correct," Strange replied, "but we must bring this information to Brono. Perhaps he can make use of it."

"Then go, old friend," Wong said. "I shall hold the Wellspring of the Congo shut."

Strange looked at Wong with a hint of doubt. "The magical seas are rough behind these gates."

Wong smiled. "For one who was twice the Sorcerer Supreme as you, Stephen, it should not be an impossible task."

MT. OLYMPUS

King Franklin laughed as Luna returned to him. "I have brought you a gift, my love," she said, tossing the head of the Lady of the Lake at his feet.

"Ew," King Franklin replied in the mock tones of a child, before kicking it aside.

"How goes the Battle for Earth?"

"It goes well," Franklin replied, taking Luna into his arms. "Battles are engaged on all fronts that Doom has placed upon the chessboard of Earth, and we have two secret missions to places Doom has not dared to attack. England, as you know, is key to my plans. If Mantis is successful, we shall gain a power that, by itself, can bring Doom to his knees."

"And the other secret mission?" Luna asked. It was at times like this when she worried Franklin had not shared their full plans with her, but there was nothing she could do. She had no chance for victory without him.

"It is about to start," the King said with a large grin.

"Where, my love?" Luna asked as she held him close.

King Franklin answered. "Wakanda."

WAKANDA

Like England, Wakanda had shut itself off from the world. Unlike England, Wakanda had achieved this end through decades of political, social, economic, and technological maneuverings.

Wakanda was the realm of the Panther God, and the Panther God would tolerate no fools.

Wakanda was under the rule of the Black Panther, and T'Chazza, like most of his ancestors before him, would tolerate no fools as well.

T'Chazza stood in the ceremonial garb of the Black Panther, sans facemask, and looked out across an army of 1,000 troops. His had not been an easy rule, though it had lasted less than twenty years, and he was a man barely past his 30^th year. Inside a closed system such as Wakanda, trouble would always lurk at the edges of society. Made worse was the poverty. The vibranium mines that had, for so long, offered the people of Wakanda wealth, were drying up. That led some within the massive vibranium walls to call for the destruction of those walls, but for four generations the Black Panther had refused. T'Chazza was the first male to rule Wakanda in fifty years and he was forced to watch the standard of living for his people dwindle more and more as each year of his life rolled by.

Old ways die hard in any land and the growing voices of discontent that had for so long called for a male to return to the throne now looked upon the light-brown skin of T'Chazza and saw an even greater weakness. It was bad enough for the hate mongers to have a woman rule them, but at least they had been of full Wakandan heritage. T'Chazza's father was from the outside world, and even worse, a white man.

And even worse, T'Chazza knew, his father and mother had never married, making him, to some, an illegitimate king.

"Hatred," one of his ancestors had written, "will be found in all places. Do not expect it to be logical, for it will likely never be anything but irrational. Anything can be called a weakness, but so long as the heart is strong, Wakanda will always have a strong ruler."

"We stand at the edge of dark times!" T'Chazza called out to his troops. "By now all know that the world is once again at war. It is a great war, fueled by impostor gods and dictators, by those who care not for the people, but only desire the land! War will come to Wakanda, my brothers and sisters! Though we care not for the United League of Nations, I fear we will not be able to-"

T'Chazza's words were lost as a deep rumbling shook the ground beneath their feet. Within moments all had been knocked to the ground as the rumbling grew worse and worse, louder and louder until it seemed it could get no worse.

And then it stopped, and a voice they had never heard spoke down to them from on high.

All eyes were drawn to the image of a man floating above them.

These were his words:

"I am Magneto. Bow to me."

Wakanda could hide from the world no more.

MT. OLYMPUS

Warlock watched the events of the Battle of Earth unfold before him, his three faces taking in all that there was to see. For three days following the arrival of Magneto in Wakanda, Warlock did not move. He simply watched. As the world faced its final destruction, he could do naught but watch.

His primary face, the face of Adam, watched closely the happenings of the Alliance. In his heart, Adam wanted the Alliance to find a way to achieve victory, but they had no army to match the might of Doom or Franklin.

He also paid particular attention to the plight of the Orphans of War. They were favorites of Adam as the days passed, but they had little success either. Ben-Vell zoomed through space but his Cosmic Awareness was rendered nearly blind by the collapse of the Everything. There were troops to be found that could aid the Alliance, but not even they would be enough. K'Zan had been given the charge to secure food for the encampment. With the world given over to Chaos, looting had become the norm all across the globe and K'Zan, though he was not proud of it, could find few farmers or merchants to pay for the food he took. And when he could, what was there really to offer? Money no longer meant anything. Angelica was becoming a trusted voice of wisdom in Brono's ear, though she was not allowed to sit in on the Council meetings. Still, he shared much with her and sought her advice, and she had a way of bringing peace and calm to the children and non-soldiers of the Alliance's encampment. More than once, Brono noted to himself that she would make a better Queen than he would a King. Eshir, like all Maximoffs before him, took orders uneasily and Brono soon stopped asking him to perform tasks for the good of the Alliance. Eshir, left to his own devices, knew how to employ his powers. Though he wanted none to see him, he spent his days performing all sorts of menial tasks that helped the people of the encampment. But his was a restless heart, Adam could see, and would not let the Battle pass without joining it in full.

"And what of the last Orphan?" one of the other faces would ask, and Adam would point to the image of Attumidunn, standing guard over the Virus Bomb, afraid to act, and hating herself for doing nothing. Adam did not know what role she would play in the Battle of Earth, but knew it would not be insignificant.

The face to Adam's right was the face of Magus, Adam's future, evil self. Magus' eyes were locked onto the movements of the Army of Doom. The face to Adam's left was that of Him, his first form. Him spent his days watching the Third Army of Franklin Richards.

Magus saw in Doom one who could control the masses, something he longed to emulate.

Him saw in Franklin the ability to create life, something that touched the heart of Him.

They would argue, from the left and right of Adam's face, about the Battle for Earth. When the Pale Rider killed Apollo, Him spent a half-day laughing at the fall of one of the strongest Olympians. When, that night in Paris, Bruunhilde of the Angelux buried her sword in the heart of Cannonball, Magus taunted Him with equal vitriol.

The three faces of Warlock all watched and somewhere their shared minds kept tally:

New York and Moscow, where the most powerful armies (Olympians/Eternals and White Rider/Pale Rider) waged war, all sides looked equal.

In Paris, the Angelux held the upper hand on the Red Rider.

In Alexandria, Apocalypse and the Avengers were busy routing the forces of Hellstrom while in Tokyo, the Kree Separatists were losing ground to the Red Skull and Pumpkin King.

Most surprisingly was the battle for Hong Kong where the Snake Army of Set, now under the rule of Hela, was winning against Mandarin and the Defenders.

"Two-two-and-two," Him mused. "Two battles even, two battles tipped in the favor of Doom, and two tipped in the favor of Franklin. The Third Army, however, does well in its quest to capture England and Wakanda, though I will grant Magus that the Army of Doom is on the verge of capturing Wundagore Mountain. I am surprised the Snake Army fares so well against the Defenders, however."

"I am not," Magus replied.

"You would say that, Doom lover," Him scoffed.

"He is right," Adam interjected, "but he should take no pride in that outcome. Look to the ranks of the Defenders. There is no Dr. Strange, no Hulk, no Silver Surfer, no Hellcat, no Namor, no Black Knight. Who do you see? Nighthawk? Rogue? Lady Metal? Moondragon? It is a mere skeleton crew of who the Defenders once were."

"You are just jealous," Him challenged.

"Him is right," Magus sneered. "What of your Alliance? They cower like insects in a hive as the world moves mountains around them. They have nothing to offer. They have no chance at … by all that is unholy, what is that light above the skies over Tokyo?"

The three faces each called up an image of Tokyo before them. It was noon, the midday sun at its highest and brightest peak. The city beneath this sky was burning hard as the Kree Separatists and the Red Skull and Pumpkin King led forces sought the other's destruction.

As they watched, the sun seemed to explode in a streak of smaller stars that shone just as brightly.

"The sky is falling," Him said, breathless.

"What an odd time for a meteor shower," Magus remarked, just as breathless.

"It is neither the sky nor the stars," Adam answered. "It is hatred and vengeance given form. Watch closely as the Alliance makes a move."

TOKYO

The Red Skull was standing atop one of the few remaining towers in the city when the daytime sky exploded in light. The battle had been going well and victory would be there's within three nightfalls. Nothing save reinforcements, he thought, could save the day for the Army of Doom. In truth, he had not considered that the Alliance would even enter this battle.

As his eyes readjusted to the blinding light, the Red Skull knew he had been wrong.

Falling to Earth in a sight that could not help but remind him of the bombing raids of World War II, were several hundred Ultron robots.

Even worse, the Red Skull noted with dread, falling with them inside a one man space craft, was his most hated of enemies.

Captain America had returned to Earth.

EXISTENCE END to be continued …

The magical seas are rough behind these gates.

YGGDRASIL

Comments to bousquet22@earthlink.net

Mark Bousquet

31 December 2003

Northern Bear Productions