Archangel 2099UG #10

Behold! He put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly...

Job 4:18

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A hundred years ago, there was a proxy of heaven who held the title of Dark Angel (See Marvel's UK book Hell's Angel #1). He was not able to directly influence the affairs under the rule of an Archangel (in this case, Omen), so he decided instead to see his goals met by deluding a young British girl into believing that she was a hero; she did not last long. For my part, I learned something in those days? that the essence of angels could be siphoned off and given to others.

I myself have been called many things; indeed, here on Earth in the year 2099, I too am called Dark Angel. But, unlike my predecessor, I am among the elite of Heaven; I am an Archangel. This means that I am a leader of awesome forces, given authority over all things angelic within my Realm. This, however, is not my Realm; by arriving on this planet, I have overstepped my jurisdiction. Why am I here? I have been charged with the security of my Realm, and I am losing. I came to realize that, as the battle became dirtier, and I had to soil my own hands. Be assured, I am not proud of what I have become, but I have a job to do.

When I saw my Realm falling to armies of the Adversary, I began to formulate a plan. I left my Angelic warriors to stave off the enemy, while I came here to refine and set my plan in motion. You see, I had need of only the smallest portion of the Power Cosmic to save my Reality.

Traditionally, of course, creatures possessing such power are quite reluctant to give it up, but I knew that I could and would succeed. Through meditation, I soon realized that several beings of such power, including the Devourer of Worlds, would descend upon the Covenant-home of Omen's Realm very soon; so I came here to Earth to take advantage of any opportunity that might arise from this confluence of raw primal force.

To say the least, I was surprised to see another of my kind in the palace of the ASKAR (See issue #7 of this title), the place at which I first descended on my sacred mission. I was even more surprised to see that the arriving angel was Omen himself, the Archangel of this reality. I have known Omen for millennia, and, at first, I was certain that he had discovered my plan and had come to thwart it. You see, he is well known for his unwavering purity and narrow, black-and-white vision of how things are.

However, I soon came to realize that he had lost his memory, and that it was probably a divine plan that had brought him to me at this point in time. I came to realize as well that the only way to save all of the Realms was to relinquish one of our number. Omen would be the sacrifice needed to save us all.

He, along with the nun, Avangel, and the former ASKAR, Nemesis, had set out to Halo City in order to find Sister Whisper, who could interpret the Book of Angels. Unfortunately, I was not yet ready for Omen and had to slow them down. I did so by destroying their plane (see Issue #8). I subsequently returned to my home to develop my plan further.

Of course, in the comfort of my own bed, I have had second thoughts about my lethal scheme. But I am only doing this for the good of all. If I only had the time to explain that to Omen, I am quite sure that he would sacrifice himself willingly. Thus, by acting in this devious fashion, I am clearly just skipping a small step.

I am a woman of war and passion; a sleeping suitor shares my blankets. Heedless of this unconscious presence, I gather up my gear. It is at last time to proceed. Leaving my lover there, I don the divine armor and find myself smiling. After all these years, my plan is finally going to unfold.

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Omen is young for an Archangel, only 6000 years old. Although he has never been the most powerful divine soldier in terms of raw force, he is among the best in pure combat skill. In fact, even though several of the lesser Angels actually exceed him in brute power, no one has ever bested him. Some say it is the favor of the Messiah, but I have fought by his side, have been caught up into all that he is, and I know his secret.

The truth is, that no matter where Omen travels, he begins to collect a diverse menagerie of friends and allies. Interestingly, this phenomenon has never been a matter of Omen's conscious design, but rather it occurs as a natural result of how he touches the lives of others and inspires them with his courage. That having been said, I realize that, if I am ever going to defeat Omen, I must isolate him. I mean, look at the facts: Omen has been on this planet for less than two weeks, and he has already obtained two very powerful allies.

The first is Sister Avangel, who resents being thrown in with Omen and losing all that she has worked for as second in command of the Sisterhood. Still and all, she is his staunch ally, as she knows that she is part of something greater than herself. Avangel is probably the best mortal combatant I have seen since Steve Rogers, and she has a force of zealots that can quote the scriptures and fight like demons. I hate her already.

Omen's second friend I have known for quite some time, as I have oft attended the halls of the ASKAR since returning to this Realm. He is the champion, Nemesis, and if Omen had not taken him, I would be worried to face him in battle. His combined combat skill and his ability to negate any other powers used against him had made him undefeated in a kingdom of mutants for over 15 years. Nowadays, he is a man without a home, having been killed and resurrected by Omen and outcast by the ASKAR.

I also fear that if I do not act quickly, Omen will add the X-Men to his list of allies. So, obviously, my first step is to eliminate his support base; you see, I must make the final confrontation purely Archangel to Archangel. Indeed, that is why I am here in Screamtown. The extra time I needed in Halo City (and bought via the plane crash) was partially to create my own power base. I had disguised myself as a young, powerful, 12 year old mutant girl named Ali. Within a day, I had seized control of the second most powerful youth gang in Halo City, the Amazons, a girls-only club. I am in the Ali guise now and about to approach the Amazons' hide out.

When I enter, I am immediately noticed by Slapstick, the former Amazon leader. She is the oldest girl here, 19 to be exact, and next year her gang would probably turn on her anyway. She resents me though, as she should. I signal for her, and, as she comes toward me, the other girls, about 40 in number, all turn to see me for the first time. Some smile; some don't, but I don't care. They are all just pawns.

"I had hoped you would not be back." Slapstick says truthfully. I appreciate honesty. I am an angel after all.

"I have a job for you." I say simply. From my clothes, I pull out a unique crucifix, a gift from Kavis of the ASKAR. I hand it to Slapstick and smile. "Assign your cutest girl to this one. I want it delivered to Sister Avangel at the Xavier Shelter for Indignant Children. Tell her that a woman said to meet her here in one hour. Alone."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, hurry up."

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I hear her before I see her. As I predicted, she is early. It should be noted that Sister Avangel is guilt ridden over the fact that she sent her own sister into the land of the Glass Wastes to find a Jewish prisoner. That mission resulted in her sister's death. Even worse, the Jew that she saved betrayed New Vatican to the enemy. If Omen had not arrived just then, the Jews and the Sisterhood of the Howling Commandments would have been destroyed that very day.

Kavis, ruler of the Wastes, is a man of honor but not of morality. He violated and murdered Avangel's sister, Neboim. However, knowing that I am an angel, he gave me the Christian Crucifix from around her neck. I knew sending the crucifix to Avangel would get her attention. It worked.

She walks in, looking around and seeing only young girls. Finally, she notices me, still in my guise as a human child, at the center of the warehouse, sitting on a makeshift throne. For those of you who have never met the Sister, she is about 5'10" with skin darkened by the sun over New Vatican. Her eyes are hard, and her hands are calloused by years of battle. With the eye of a warrior, I determine that her body is well formed and muscular, but she hides it well beneath her robes. She has at least a dozen lethal weapons within easy reach on her person. She is wearing Neboim's Crucifix.

"It looks good on you, Avangel..." I begin.

A look of displeasure crosses her face. "Young lady, my title is Sister Avangel. How did you come upon this crucifix?"

I ignore her question. "I care little for titles, and you are no sister to me."

"We are all siblings in the eyes of the Lord. Now I asked you a question, and I expect an answer."

"Or what, Avangel?"

She pauses. She sees only a 12 year old girl. What could she do? Shoot me in cold blood? Unlike Sister Nicholas Bridge, Avangel had never dealt much with children, and I have her at a disadvantage here.

I sigh. "I might as well tell you. It was given to me."

"By whom, may I ask?"

"Kavis, Lord of the Glass Wastes."

That gets to her. "Kavis?"

"That's correct; right after he snapped her neck, he turned and gave it to me. You see, I was there." (See Archangel 2099 UG issue #4)

Sensing something is wrong, Avangel crouches and pulls her energy blaster, but she is far too late. Already I am changing. My form grows, and my clothes become ebony armor, my black hair turns nearly white, and my face contorts to become a mask as dark as a black hole. Finally, accompanied by my cry of ecstasy, from my shoulders sprout two great wings of purest white. The young Amazons begin to flee in panic, as I suspected they would. Their erratic movements thus robbing Avangel of a clear shot lest she hit them.

With a word, I summon from heaven my lance of light, and the dark room is suddenly filled with its radiance. My wings unfurl, and I leap, slashing viciously with the lance. Avangel spins and vertically blocks the blow with her gun, which then shatters with explosive force. As a result, she is thrown through the air.

Twisting in mid-flight, she manages to tumble into a semi-graceful landing. Crouching, she turns, pulls two more handguns and begins to fire, focusing with uncanny accuracy on one of my wings. Her shots are true, and they throw off my flight just enough to allow her to roll away out of the reach of my lance.

I land as she does, and I see the fear in her eyes. This is good; I would have found her unworthy if she was not smart enough to fear me. Yet I also see her grim look of determination. The eye of the tiger, if you will. Mind you, I am not worried; I have seen that look in the gaze of thousands whose eyes are now forever closed in death. It will only serve to make the sport more worthy of my time.

"What the Shock is going on with all the angels lately?" she asks.

"There is a war on, Avangel. There is nothing personal in this; you just picked the wrong side. I need Omen alone tonight, and I can't trust you to stay out of the way."

"This is about Archie? Why?"

"You bore me with your conversation, mortal. You have seen Omen in deadly combat; do you think you can stand against the wrath of an Archangel yourself?" "I'll let you know when I find one."

"Brave words, little sister. I heard much the same from Neboim."

I am impressed when her kick comes without telegraph or sound. With deadly accuracy, her foot strikes my face piece. It does not harm me, but it reminds me not to underestimate this woman.

I twist with the force of the unexpected blow and position my wings appropriately, to allow me to flip around and land gently on my feet. However, to avoid the incoming barrage of energy from Avangel's handguns, I immediately bounce back from the ground into the air.

Avangel is a wise combatant, and I suspect that seeing Omen in battle has given her respect for my power. She continues to keep pressure on me from a distance, as she knows her chances of defeating me in melee are slim to nil. As I begin a flip to close the gap, I throw a barrage of bladed fletchettes to keep Avangel off balance. This stratagem allows me to bring a vicious blow down hard with my lance. As one of the fletchettes catch her in the shoulder, she curses roundly. I have to give her credit, any lesser combatant would have taken all six of the deadly blades to the chest and midsection.

My lance meets empty air, and our acrobatic battle begins to increase in intensity. But, unlike myself, Avangel begins to get winded, and sweat glistens on her brow. Thus, we begin to move closer to my inevitable victory. With a sharp intake of breath, Avangel rolls away firing and blurts out a question. "What do you want with Archie?"

I begin to close with her to eliminate her edge in ranged combat. Yet again, I spin my lance faster than the eye can follow, so as to bring it down hard on this impertinent mortal. The flanged lance flies down and makes a deep but clean cut into her thigh. I bring the blunt end back to crack her skull and end the fight, but, amazingly, she dodges it. Unconcerned, I finally answer. "I know him better as Omen."

"So, we were right about his name!" She pants. "You are impressive, demon, and will probably kill me, but you will never defeat Archie!"

I feint one direction and send an image into her mind via a timely prayer. Too late, she realizes her mistake. She nearly recovers but not before my mailed fist finds a soft spot below her ear. I am rewarded with a sharp *POP* sound. Then, even before her body hits the ground, I thrust out a vicious kick that cracks several more bones. As her limp form crumples onto the warehouse floor, her weapons never leave her grasp. She was a worthy foe.

I stand over her prone body, and my lance vanishes from my hand. "That is where you are wrong, sister. I will defeat Omen..." I pause. "... Indeed, I must, or else all I love will perish."

I order the Amazons that I find hiding in the corners to clean up the mess. Nodding to myself, I spread my wings and fly out of the window into the late morning sky.

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It is now late afternoon, and I have much to do before the appointed hour. The next object I must accomplish is to get the Sisters out of the picture. This will be fairly simple, however, because I have taken Avangel's form and need only get all of the Sisters together at once. I approach the shelter and fall into character. I make sure to enter the building as if I own the place.

Once inside, I see the neophyte Debra Fury. She is young in the Order and still quite sweet and na�ve. She speaks to me. "It is good to see you, Sister Avangel."

"Thank you, Debbi. I need you to call all of the senior Sisters for me. Contact Sister Nick first and then ask them all to meet me in the Private Sanctuary. Tell them I have found disturbing news concerning Neboim, my sister."

"Right away, Sister."

Having faith that she will do as I ask, I make my way back to the area reserved only for the ranking Sisters of the Faith. I assume that this is where they have hidden Omen, but I am not yet ready to face him. Therefore, I actively try to mask my angelic signature. Moving onward, I soon find myself in a place of worship and see simple wooden benches lined in rows before a beautiful stained glass window that bears a prophecy. It shows a man in purple standing in the center of three kneeling figures in red. The prophecy reads "Thus? the three, divided, become one, united." (You can see it too, in Marvel's X-Nation #4). If the mortals only knew what it really meant.

Sister Nicholas is the first to enter. "Avangel! Sister Debbi told me to come. What have you found out?"

"I really am too distraught to repeat myself, Nick. If I could please wait to tell everyone at once..."

Reluctantly, she slowly nods. "All right, but you know I am here for you."

Before much longer, they are all here: Sister Samson, Sister Einstein, Sister Rose, Sister Nicholas Bridge, Sister Tomalyn Innocenzi and Sister Whisper. They wait to here to hear news of "my" lost sister, Neboim.

Nick speaks first. "We are now all here, Sister. Please tell us what you have found out."

I fake a few tears and begin to speak "Sisters, Neboim is dead!"

They all look at each other in confusion. Of course she is dead; they knew that already. Then I begin to chant, and Sister Nick catches on and charges. But before she can take three steps, my erect palm lances out and connects quite soundly with her solar plexus. Almost simultaneously, my hook kick sends her sprawling. She hits the wall hard.

Now, I have not underestimated this group. The years of symbiotic combat have caused them to fight as one formidable unit. Samson crouches, even as sister Rose uses her immense bulk as a launching pad for an acrobatic assault... and both women have handguns blazing. At the same time, Sister Einstein barks commands at the computer to seal off the area and begin anti-intruder measures. Like two lone wolves, Whisper and Tomalyn circle around to catch me from a flanking position. All this happens before Sister Nick hits the floor. I know that the only reason I am not hit harder is because I wear the form of Sister Avangel.

I continue chanting as the next second wave of the attack begins. I also start to twist, thus avoiding most of the shots from the Sisters. This motion also allow me to catch Rose's foot in the air, yanking her down hard into the line of fire. She is hit but not fatally. Unfortunately. At the same time, my robes shoot straight up and spread open, as the Sisters named Whisper and Tomalyn make good their attack from behind. Since they are suddenly unable to see their prey (me) or their allies (each other), they are forced to attack blind. I bring my arms down sharply and tap each of them mid stride. This knocks them off their course, and they hesitate for a heartbeat, not wanting to hit each other. Taking advantage of their pause, I grab and flip Whisper. At the exact same time, I also land a solid knife-kick to Tomalyn's face. Her mouth sprays blood as she goes down.

As I continue chanting, Nicholas gets back up, while Whisper lands on her feet. As things stand, my position is now much better than it was. I have succeeded in taking Rose and Tomalyn out of the fight and wounding Nicholas. Because Sister Einstein is a thinker, not a fighter, I face only three true warriors.

That is when one of Sister Einstein's toys chooses to activate. Although my form is usually much more resistant to stimuli that would affect most typical humans, these devices were never intended to be used against normal invaders... the Sisters themselves could handle any ordinary intruders. What I am actually hit with, I am not sure, but it does slow down my motor reaction time A LOT. I am so slow, in fact, that the 3 pronged frontal attack by the remaining Sisters takes me off my feet. I can't get my wings unfurled, and for, the first time in a thousand years, I am taken down. Nicholas, Samson, and Whisper each grab hold of my legs and twist me into two different directions; my straining limbs feel like lead. Still I chant.

"Get the room unlocked, Einstein! And whip up something to hold Avangel before your neural ray wears off." Nicholas Bridge spits out though broken teeth and a swollen mouth. "Whisper! Samson! Check on Tomalyn and Rose. Give them first aid as needed."

That is when the chanting stops. Sister Nick looks over at me. "What??" Then the mist begins to rise from the floor, and, as each Sister breathes it in, she falls unconscious. Sister Einstein's device also stops, and I stand to face the last of the Howlers... the Atlantean/human hybrid, Whisper. She looks at me with open distrust.

"Why, Avangel?"

Seeing no reason to continue the charade, I let my disguise drop. I take great pleasure in the look of surprise and awe on Whisper's face. "This is about Omen, isn't it?"

"You are resourceful. I did not think that you would have discovered who he is so soon."

"What have you done with Avangel?"

"That is none of your concern, half-breed."

She snorts. "I beg to differ."

I smile. "Oh, you will beg all right."

Then the impossible occurs... she strikes me, and it hurts. "It will take more than a backsliding angel to make a master of the ancient Atlantean Martial Arts beg." Before I even hit the floor, she grabs my arm and twists. After thus flipping me, she brings my body down hard at an obtuse angle, one that does not allow me to use my wings. Then, with a shift of her weight, she drives my ebony mask directly into the stone floor. My vision blurs. Desperate to regain the advantage, I lash out blindly and am rewarded with a grunt of pain and the snap of bone. She and I roll away from one another at the same time.

It has been a thousand years since I have underestimated a foe. Omen had taught me never to do so. As I speak through blood covered lips, I feel my anger growing. "I believe it's time for the big leagues, half-breed"

She begins to leap as I chant the spell, and her momentum carries her into the results of the summation. To her credit, she does not scream as the hellfire engulfs her. It burns all who have ever known sin, and this particular Sister has known her share. The attack is made doubly brutal in that her Atlantean physiology makes her particularly susceptible to flame. She hits the floor a charred husk. I turn and leave the room, shutting the door behind me. I have but one last task before I meet Omen.

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Assuming again the form of Avangel, I get Debbi to tell me where Nemesis is staying within the shelter. Before I enter his quarters, I take on my true form and phase through the door. I am pleased to see him ready for me.

"Dark Angel. What are you doing here?"

"I have an old score to settle with Omen. I once told you not to underestimate him. Yet you did, and he thrashed you pretty soundly."

"He has given me a second chance at life, Dark Angel. I will not let you hurt him."

"You could not defeat Omen. What makes you think you can defeat me?"

"I am one of the best there is on this planet. I can negate any power that you may try to use against me."

I smile and pull on a spiked gauntlet. "Then I guess that I just won't attempt to utilize any powers, Nemesis." He eyes me cautiously, and I laugh. "This will be fun."

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The sun has fallen, and finally it is time. The spell I have put on the Sisters should hold for another two hours, and now I have only to confront Omen. I walk slowly to the place I have prepared, a large enough area to suit my purposes in the Xavier Shelter for Indignant Children. I smile to myself; Omen and the others are divided, and you know what they say... divided they fall.

Now, don't get me wrong. Omen is no slouch. In fact, I am very certain that, if I fought him honorably, the battle could take centuries. However, the solution to the problem of swiftly defeating Omen came from the Book of Angels. Even as I deduced it would. You see, I know Omen's true name, his spirit name. Why is this significant? Very simple: each angel has a spirit name that is made of three parts. One part can always be found in the Book of Angels; but, in and of itself, this one nominal segment is not enough to defeat any Archangel. As regards the second part, it is said that, because the Archangel cast from heaven in the ALL SAINTS WAR was also instrumental in naming each of us, so too he has a portion of the name we all possess. Finally, the Messiah, wishing to protect his proxies from harm by those who would abuse such arcana, gave us each a private name, the third part, one that only He and we knew. The key to totally subduing an Archangel lies in the knowledge of these three parts of the Archangel's spirit name.

Centuries ago, when Omen and I fought together in the Host of Heaven, I discovered his personal true name, the hardest to come by. He gave it to me willingly, and I have kept that secret until today. Thus, when I earlier saw Omen in the halls of the ASKAR, I realized that I could at last put my plan to save the Realms into motion and be rest assured that it would work. After all, I already knew that Kavis had the Book of Angels, so I was able to steal a peek. Consequently, I have two pieces of the puzzle solved. Tonight I will gain the final, necessary piece.

"Mistress?"

I recognize the voice, even before the vile being comes out of the shadows. It is the lesser demon, Obe. He will provide the final instrument of Omen's defeat. "Do you have it?"

"Yes! He agrees to your terms. You grant me unrestricted access to this realm, and I will give you the true name of Omen the Archangel."

"Agreed." I hand him the scroll containing the ancient spell he seeks, and I receive in return a scroll with Omen's given name. "You may stay and observe, Obe."

"No, I think not. I am not entirely sure that you can control him, and he has never looked too kindly on me."

"Go then and delay me no more." As he leaves, I open the scroll, read the name and close my eyes. Slowly I begin to call to Omen with a sound that he cannot resist. The three, divided, become one, united. Omen's true name. I begin to chant:

"Oment-omano-ome"

"Oment-omano-ome"

"Oment-omano-ome"

"Oment-omano-ome"

Whether I chant for minutes or hours, I cannot tell, but, after a time, he answers me. "Who art thou?"

"I am Dark Angel, your nemesis." The circled area around us suddenly lights up. Runes flare so brightly that they are nearly blinding.

"How hast thou called me?" Omen asks.

"I have your true name. All of it."

Weakness immediately claims him, and he goes to one knee. The spell of transferal has begun. You see, we Archangels are the elite of our kind, and we are set apart by something within us. To those deemed worthy is granted a shred of the Universe from when it was new. This scrap of eternity holds the Power of Angels granted to all of us who were present at the creation of the Universe. (As revealed in Marvel UK's Hell's Angel #1). This primal Power Cosmic also slipped into the only being to survive the old cosmos' destruction... Galactus. But, fortunately, that great Planet-Devourer is kept docile through his hunger and will never realize his true potential.

Initially, before the ALL SAINT'S WAR, the power of Angels was divided evenly between three Archangels: Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer. When the Evil One fell, our Lord gave his power, not to a single angel, but a full host. This meant that the very foundation of Heaven was changed, and the Host of Heaven came to be. Each of us, the chosen ones, was subsequently given responsibility over one Timeline and one Realm. For example, this realm is, or was, Omen's.

Yet, herein lies the threat to all the Realms: as the number of Timelines began to increase, our angelic numbers have become spread pretty thinly. My greatest fear, and the spur to my extreme actions, is that, if this keeps up, we will lose the Holy War at hand. I have calculated that, with Omen's sacrifice, I can limit the number of Realities and keep us from losing any more ground.

I look at him and see him grow weaker and weaker. I wish that he would just continue to do so until he slipped away, but such is not his destiny. I can take nearly all of his Power. Nonetheless, in order to sever Immortality from him completely, I must cut it free. As he struggles to his feet, I begin to carve his true name into a holy relic, one that I claimed centuries ago... the sword that David used to sever Goliath's head. With his true name upon it, none of Omen's Immortal Powers will prevent it from claiming his life.

Moving closer to Omen, I sheath the potentially lethal weapon. The blow requires precision, so first I must break Omen to keep him from interfering.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen." I speak, crouching down next to the pitiful Archangel.

"What hast thou done with my friends?"

"A few are dead, I think. Most are alive."

"I shall avenge them."

I strike him, and he falls. "You are in no condition to avenge anyone, Omen."

He then catches me by surprise when he strikes back. "I know not who thou art, but I will not yield to you!"

It is a most valiant effort, I will give him that, but he would have been hard pressed to defeat me even if I had played fair. I summon my lance, and he summons his sword from his right arm. Almost instantly, his eyes glaze over, and he slumps forward. What most beings don't know is that, any time an angel summons a weapon in this way, it siphons off a portion of his/her life force. In other words, Omen just miscalculated his endurance under the effects of the Spell of Transference. He is now powerless to stop me. Although it appears to take all of his rapidly dwindling energy, he looks up at my face and speaks one last time.

"Why hast thou done this? Are we enemies?"

"No," I say. "This is not a personal grudge. Indeed, I know that I have called you 'comrade' in past times. Nevertheless, I have just siphoned off most of the Power of Angels from within you, your Power Cosmic if you will. I need that Power to sever the probability curve at the Nexus of Reality. Once there, I will be able to limit the number of Variant Universes, and the number of fronts that the Hosts of Heaven must defend. Furthermore, the only way I can maintain that lock forever is to use the fabric of your Immortality. Sadly, to do that, I must kill you. If it is of any comfort, please realize that your sacrifice will save billions of lives."

Slowly I switch my lance to my other hand and draw the Sword of David to take his life. I look down on him, and I am amazed at how easy it really has been. I have always known he would be nothing without his friends. Or, perhaps down deep, he knows what a magnificent end will result from his death! The Sword of David begins to fall, to pierce his noble heart from behind... AND I AM STRUCK!!!!

Taken off my feet by a winged creature at breakneck speed, I am slammed into a stone wall, and the Sword of David slips from my grasp! Who would dare?!? I have eliminated all whom Omen could currently call an ally. Before I can recover, I am then picked up and thrown... a mistake on the part of my assailant. I unfurl my wings and lightly touch down, enjoying a second to assess the situation. My lance whips around, and, by its light, I see the feral countenance of a woman, her lips pulled back to reveal a set of fangs hungering for my throat. HA! Omen's protector is a Vampire! How very rich!

"I will not let you kill him!" She howls, crouched and ready to leap again with her wings held low. I laugh at her.

"I have heard similar professions all day long, Night-Walker. I am an Archangel, and I will not be thwarted by the mere likes of you." My lance goes flying at her, and, although she turns to mist, I know the weapon hurts her. However, as she reforms her material body, she is already flying at what I assume is full tilt across this warehouse toward me. Her momentum lends power to her blow, and she administers a strike to my jaw that sends me spinning down on one knee. I had expected my lance to slow her down, and I am afraid I was ill prepared for so quick a counterattack. This is three times in one day that I have underestimated someone. I do not like the trend I am experiencing.

The little vampire closes with me, morphing her form. She apparently knows that, if I have room to use my lance, she will surely die quickly. She tears at me with her claws, bites at me with her fangs and so keeps me from properly seeing her. I grab her and pump my wings for all they are worth. To her surprise, we break through the roof above and up into the sky. With all my strength, I toss her back down the way we came out. Then, with a slight adjustment of the lance, I dive after her. She bounces below, and my thrust is a hair off; it means that I miss her undead heart.

My holy lance tears through her dead lung and spine instead. She is impaled and held to the ground. I know her stolen blood is boiling, and I have no sympathy. I step back and pick up David's sword. My eyes catch hers as she realizes she is about to die. I grin triumphantly at her. Drawing the sword up, I prepare to drive it down through her inhuman heart.

Without warning, I suddenly feel a sharp jab in my mind and drop my weapon in surprise. I look around frantically for the source of the unexpected assault. Framed by the nearby doorway, I see a woman of the Middle East, and a familiar one at that.

"Cerebra!" I shriek.

Omen must have allied with the X-Men after all. I fire off a bolt of pure hellfire at her, and she dodges much too late. Although still alive, she is thrown into the air by the blast. I move forward in order to catch the winded mutant, but the Vampiress, still impaled on the lance, grabs my leg. I kick at her and stand. Only to be knocked down again. What now?

"Game's over, Angel!!!!!!"

It is then that I see them, led by another familiar woman, this one in the Robes of the Sisterhood of the Howling Commandments. Barely able to remain upright and wounded nearly to death by my hand, Sister Avangel stands there with gun drawn. The surviving Howlers stand behind her, all with a wide array of weapons, the like of which I have never before seen. Not knowing of what they are capable and unwilling to delay the salvation of my Realm further, I decide that the power I have stolen should be enough. Omen will never again be called an Archangel, and my charge will be upheld. I generously decide to let him live, so I grab the box and flee through the roof with two strokes of my powerful wings.

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After flying for nearly 10 minutes, I find a private place. It is not until then, hundreds of miles away from the scene of my battle with Omen, that I dare stop and look at my prize. But then, short of breath and irritated at how things went this evening, I finally begin to notice that there is something amiss. The box should be glowing like the sun, yet it is barely luminous. Upon closer inspection, I realize that it is not even the same box. But how?? The scent on the box at last catches my nostrils, and I suddenly know what has happened.

"Obe," I speak his accursed name. "You have stolen the Power Cosmic from me, Obe, and for that you will die most horribly." My head falls back and I yell with all my might. "Do you hear me, Obe? You will die over a thousand, thousand years!!!!!!"

NEXT ISSUE!!!! See Wulff! Be there when the X-Men discover that Shakti has been keeping secrets and hiding an angel from them! Who lives? Who dies? It is the startling aftermath of the battle with the Dark Angel! It is also a new beginning for the Archangel Omen, as he discovers that he has lost the Power Cosmic... just in time for the Galactus crossover this week!



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