&

PARIS, FRANCE

With Venus in his arms, Major Meteor flew down from the speeding Silver Bullet and down to the streets of Paris. Once they reached the ground, he gently lowered her and stepped back.

Venus looked around and smelled the air. "Paris, the City of Love, though it has seen many wars over the centuries." Venus noted sadly. "Would that I could establish a city of love in every nation. I went to Moscow a few years ago and tried to use my powers on Premier Stalin after I had heard about the horrible things which that man had done. His heart was so full of hate, there was no love in there for me to reach."

"Stalin?" Major Meteor responded. "On our world, Stalin was deposed by Tzadkiel right after the Axis was defeated. It sounds like it was a good thing that he was brought down."

{Stalin's fall was mentioned in MV1's Liberators: Another World Not My Own #2}

"Death is never the solution," Venus objected.

"Love can't cure all problems," Major Meteor retorted. "You admit it yourself, little miss goddess."

Major Meteor looked around the Parisian landscape. The city was quite similar to the French capital on his own world. He had seen the city during his tour of duty in the American Armed Services during World War Two. The city was a lot quieter now. There were no crowds of Frenchmen cheering their liberation.

"So tell me, Major," Venus said. "Is your title an actual military rank or is it just a name?"

Major Meteor removed his cap to reveal his bald head. He wiped his brow and then put his cap back on. "I was in the Army Air Force during the War. That's where I got my rank. Major was as high as I got before I got discharged." He took the chronocrystal out of his belt and looked at the jewel. Its color and frequency were increasing as they headed towards the Eiffel Tower.

Venus could sense that the Major had a deep love for his country. It seemed to override any other emotions of affection. "Did the government give your powers? You seem to be rather strong."

"They didn't do it, not directly, at least," Major Meteor explained. Something about Venus put him at ease. He could not explain it. "I was on a test flight when my plane was struck by a meteorite. My plane went down, but somehow I survived the crash. I was laid up for months in the base hospital. After I was discharged, both from the hospital and the service, my powers began to appear. The docs say that I've evolved into what man might be hundreds of years into the future."

"No offense," Venus replied. "But I would hope that in a few hundred years, humankind would not have need of a major."

"There's always going to be trouble," Major Meteor shot back. "And there will always be a need for people like me."

Peering ahead with his keen eyes, Major Meteor spotted a disturbance near the base of the Eiffel Tower. It was late, so there were no tourists around. Still, there was one figure standing underneath one of the four supports. He pointed towards the tower. "Look over there."

Venus noted the flowing energy with a humanoid form in the middle of it. "I see something over there."

"My bet's that it's Comrade Future. Come on!" Major Meteor checked the chronocrystal and took to the air. Venus followed close behind.

When they arrived at the Tower, the suspicions were confirmed. It was Comrade Future and he was soaking in ambient temporal energy. He noted the arrival of the two heroes.

"Ah, it appears I have uninvited guests," Comrade Future remarked matter-of-factly.

"Surrender, Future!" Major Meteor ordered.

"I will not, Major," Future responded sharply. "I am having too much fun drinking this temporal energy. There's some to spare, though, and I'll share it with you." Two sparks burst from his hands. When the struck the ground, they began to coalesce into the forms of the modern-day Vision and Black Panther. "A couple of temporal shadows to keep you busy," Future cackled.

{Vision and Black Panther, along with Yellowjacket, were in 1942
Paris as shown first in Avengers #71 and later in Invaders Annual #1}

Major Meteor shot a quick look at Venus. "You have any intelligence on these two?"

Venus studied both of the modern-day Avengers. "The caped one is unknown to me." She paused for a moment. ""The one in the feline garb looks like the traditional outfit of the Black Panther from Wakanda." She had encountered a Panther or two during her immortal life.

Noticing the warrior's crouch that Black Panther assumed as opposed to the stiff, emotionless look on the Vision, Major Meteor decided the Wakandan was the bigger threat. "Fine. I'll take the Panther. You take the redskin."

Black Panther leapt at the flying Major, but the Silver Star was able to swerve out of the way. The Panther landed lightly on his feet and readied himself again.

"You're quick as a cat," Major Meteor admitted. "But not quick enough." He swung at the Panther, but the Wakandan Warrior was able to turn aside the blows.

Venus walked slowly towards the Vision. Though she knew he was only a temporal shadow, she assumed that he was a comrade of the Black Panther, and she knew that those who wore that mantle of the panther fought on the side of right. "There's no need for us to fight. You're a man who is on the side of good."

"I am not a man, I am a Vision." He lashed out with his optic beams. Venus partially got out of the way, but the power of the beams that skimmed her caused some pain to her Olympian skin.

"That wasn't friendly." The goddess of love scrambled to her feet and moved quickly towards the Vision. She could not feel any emotion emanating from him. Perhaps she needed to get closer. However, after she dodged his beams to reach him, her hands fell through his intangible form.

"You cannot strike me," the Vision announced. "By shifting my density, I can become immaterial." He drew his hand back. "I can also become as hard as diamond." He shifted his density again and struck Venus.

The blow sent the Olympian staggering back a step. The momentary contact had told her that her opponent was a man, a mechanical man albeit, but a man.

Putting one hand on her forehead and outstretching the other, Venus concentrated her power. "You may be diamond-hard on the outside, but there is a heart inside of you I can reach."

Tendrils of temporal energy danced along the supports of the Eiffel Tower as Comrade Future continued to consume the ambient temporal energy. A few moments more, he would have absorbed enough. He figured that his created minions would be able to hold off the Silver Star and his beautiful associate long enough.

Major Meteor had settled on the ground and was trading blows with the Black Panther. The Silver Star soon realized that his opponent was a skilled fighter. The Panther was quite adept at deflecting the Major's blows and turning the Major's strength against him. However, Major Meteor was no slouch when it came to the martial arts, either. He had trained constantly to adapt his existing skills to work with his superpowers.

While the Panther had landed more blows, the ones from Major Meteor were much more punishing. The Man of Tomorrow was winning the battle, albeit slowly. He would not rush in for the kill. He knew that if he continued with this strategy, he would come out on top. The Black Panther realized that he was fighting a losing battle and tried a desperate move, but Major Meteor caught both of the Wakandan's arms.

"I am undone," the Black Panther admitted.

Major Meteor head-butted the Panther. "Now you are unconscious." The Panther's eyes closed and his body went limp.

The Vision was unleashing his optic blasts, but Venus was able to avoid being struck by them. She continued to emotionally probe inside of the Vision. It was so cold inside, but it was not dead. She knew there was feeling inside of him. She pushed and probed and then she found it. It was an image of brunette-haired woman, clothed in a outfit and cape of scarlet.

"Wanda," the Vision whispered.

Venus seized on the image and multiplied the magnitude of the feeling. It was too intense for the Vision's circuits to handle, and the synthezoid toppled over.

"That's the power of love," Venus proclaimed. She turned to see Major Meteor deliver the coup de grace to the Black Panther. They both turned towards the Tower to see Comrade Future disappearing.

"We're too late," Venus lamented.

"We might have lost this battle, but there's still the war to win." Major Meteor rolled back his sleeve to reveal his Flashback Band. "This will get us back to Iceland in no time. Take my hand."

"Oh, Major," Venus said coyly. "I didn't know you cared." She softly grasped his hand, and they were gone.