Above the Eiffel Tower an Accuser traded blows with one of the mechanical monstrosities known as Parademons.

“Back, creature!” the Accuser yelled as he slammed his fist into the creatures face, caving it in.

All around the Kree warrior, his brothers battled against the armies of Darkseid...and it was the same all across the world.

Over the Sahara, one Accuser lifted a Parademon high above his body and flung him into the ever-shifting sands, creating a large crater that sent dust-flying high into the air above him. The Accuser had to wipe sand from his teeth before he spat into the air, hoping it would hit the electrified body of the cyborg.

“Kree will never be beaten by rotting bags of oil,” the Accuser said.

Shards of glass flew from the building in Mexico City as a Parademon went flying headfirst into it. The Accuser that had attacked him looked on in disgust at the machine. Two more Parademons tried to attack him from behind, but the Accuser had seen them coming and used a burst of telekinesis to blast them back into the air. He was one of the many new genetically engineered Accusers using the DNA of mutants from Earth that had been obtained by the Shi'ar.

There was a sudden puff of black sulfurous smoke next to the Accuser. As the smoke faded he saw two more of his fellow Accusers.

“What's wrong?”

“We have a problem sir. Along with the Parademons we now have clones of the Earth heroine Binary attacking us,” the teleporting Accuser reported.

“Where are the clones localized the most at?”

“Avengers Mansion, sir.”

Avengers Mansion

“Tell me why we're fighting copies of myself again?” Binary asked as she flew high into the air and wrapped an arm around a Parademon. Creating a low field of energy around her body she incinerated the robot.

Machine Man watched as she burnt the Parademon to a crisp, but he was too focused on one of her clones that were literally flying circles around him getting in shots whenever she could. It was quickly becoming annoying to Machine Man who desired a fast way to put his opponent down.

Four ridged metallic tentacles whipped out from Machine Man's knees and wrapped around the Binary clone. The woman was sent flying down into the ground and the android sent electrical blasts tearing through the body of the duplicate. So many volts were delivered from the tentacles that the Binary clone was fried to a crisp.

“Machine Man! What are you doing?” Quasar asked shocked and disgusted at the brutal killing that his newest teammate had just delivered.

“I'm doing what has to be done. You should be willing to do the same.”

“I'd like to see you try and kill him ,” Quasar said with dread as he saw a new occupant enter the battle. He stood at the gate of Avengers Mansion and he wore a grim smile. The wrinkly rough skin added to the dark nature of this man.

“Thanos. Why is he here?” Machine Man asked, getting the same feelings as Wendell upon seeing the Mad Titan.

Suddenly, all around the Avengers, the Accusers that had been battling alongside them abruptly stopped fighting and all of their eyes became a deep black. They stood on the ground and in mid-air with slumped shoulders and lifeless eyes.

Thanos' voice boomed across the lawn of Avengers Mansion as he broadcasted, “MODAM really does wonders. Never did I hope to have my own army of Accusers.”

“When shit hits the fan around here, it really hits it,” Binary groaned as she prepped herself for an even bigger fight than the one she was involved in before.

Thor stood in the hallway alongside Ronan, Photon, and the few Accusers that had come with them. Their mission here on this ship was simple. It was to rescue Scarlet Witch, Karma, and Jack-of-Hearts before Darkseid used all of them for some diabolical scheme to destroy all of creation.

At the present moment Thor and his band were face to face with Darkseid and Jack-of-Hearts.

“What have you done to him?” Photon asked looking over Jack to make sure he wasn't hurt. She saw no sign of injury so Darkseid must have been holding him against his will in some other way.

“Nothing, my dear. He's perfectly fine. Your friend here has just had a change of heart,” Darkseid smiled.

Thor leaned his head over and whispered in Ronan's ear, “I shalt take Darkseid. Find Wanda.”

“Understood,” Ronan replied.

Thor leapt forward and slammed his hammer into the face of Darkseid. The bulky man flew back into the floor with a thud. Thor was on top of him within moments, whacking Mjolnir across the Lord of Apokolips' face repeatedly.

Right. Left. A blow to the chin. Thor was getting in a good amount of licks until Darkseid reached behind the Thunder God and grabbed his blonde locks. With a tight tug he threw the Thunder God over him and into the roof. Before Thor even had a chance to come down for his descent, Darkseid fired off Omega Beams keeping the leader of the Avengers locked to the roof.

“You will not easily win this battle. I told you once I liked your fire. You still have that fire, but I will destroy it. Count on that,” Darkseid promised.

Avengers Mansion

Quasar wrapped a group of about a dozen Parademons in an energy shield and threw them into the four charging Accusers who were coming at him.

“This is just lovely. We're completely outgunned here and we don't stand a chance of victory at this point,” Wendell exclaimed.

“Tell me about it,” Binary said.

As Binary contemplated her situation she, along with everyone else, heard a large sonic boom. Suddenly standing next to her was the Emperor of the Shi'ar Empire.

“Remember once, you told me that the Shi'ar have never helped Earth. I intend on changing that now,” Gladiator smiled as the Imperial Guard rained down from the sky, armed and ready for battle.

“Guess my big mouth worked in my favor for a change,” Binary replied.

“Perhaps it did,” Gladiator said as he rose to the air, pointed at the direction of Thanos, and yelled, “Hit him now!”

All the super powered members of the Guard rushed towards the Mad Titan. Starbolt was at the fore of the wave of extraterrestrials and unleashed a stream of burning fire at the worshipper of the living embodiment of Death itself. Thanos backed away from the heat as it began to singe his flesh.

“Infidel!” Thanos exclaimed as he blocked the heat with one hand and unleashed his own cosmically powered blast at Starbolt. The energy swept away the Imperial Guardsman's flames as if they were nothing and slammed into the Shi'ar patriot, sending him spinning into the air wildly.

“I think someone needs to cool off,” Quasar smirked as he came up behind Thanos and battered him with a giant fist composed of energy from his Quantum Bands. The behemoth buckled under the weight of the fist and fell face first into the grass. Wendell continued to repeatedly pound the man into the ground until he was blindsided by an Accuser who possessed the abilities of the mutant Storm.

“Don't touch the master!” the Accuser yelled as he bombarded Quasar with bolt after bolt of lightning. Wendell didn't have time enough to concentrate on forming a sufficient defense and so he was left completely vulnerable against the searing attack.

Binary saw what was transpiring with her teammate, but could not come to his aid because she was preoccupied fighting off four Accusers who all were possessed of the powers of Shadowcat. None of her attacks were having any effect against them because they were simply passing through like they had just hit air. Not to mention they were sneaking in punches and kicks whenever they could, throwing Nicole off of her game.

Emperor Gladiator floated above all this destruction and decided it was time for his secret weapon to make its appearance. Then all of this could be over much sooner and he could return to his empire feeling that it was secure. It seemed that with every passing year Earth's problems were becoming the universe's problems. Kallark, while having many friends on this planet, knew something would have to be done about the situation eventually.

{{Shaper, make yourself known. You know what the plan is!}} Gladiator commanded through the glowing red communication device that was attached to the lobe of his ear like an earring. Now was the time for the real power to be displayed.

Thor was flung high into the air and his body crashed against the wall. Blood trickled from above both of his eyes and across his right cheek. The red liquid drained out of the god's mouth like a hose with a hole in it. Bruises ran across his shoulders and breathing was becoming increasingly hard for him.

Determination, however, was still etched in the Thunder God's visage. Mere injuries wouldn't be enough stop him from finishing off Darkseid. Rising to his feet and holding Mjolnir with an arm that felt exhausted, Thor groaned, “Thou hast strength, but your mighty hand lacks courage!”

“I need no courage to crush an insect like you!” Darkseid yelled as he charged with both of his arms spread wide open. Running forward he slammed one arm into the side of Thor's head and delivered a punch to the stomach with the other. Thor was too weak to hold Mjolnir, so it fell to the ground with a thud.

Grabbing Thor's hair, the Lord of Apokolips slammed the god into the ground face first and slung him forward in such a way that Thor's face was grinding against the metal floor for a good ten feet before he came to a screeching stop. The Thunder God's body was no longer moving.

“I no longer feel that fire coming from you, Thor. Where is it now?” Darkseid gloated as he laughed at the broken body of the Asgardian.

All the while, Jack of Hearts had been holding off Ronan and the others to keep them from interfering in his master's battle. Seeing this, Darkseid grinned at the obedience of his new warrior and commanded, “Finish them off!”

“With pleasure,” Jack said, preparing to attack when he was suddenly bombarded by a wave of light. He was thrown high into the air, making contact with the roof of the ship, and came to the ground with a loud crash. Standing next to his broken body was Photon.

“Not this time, Jack,” Photon sighed.

A world away, the Shaper of Worlds made his descent into the atmosphere of Earth. He moved very slowly and the heat of re-entry barely made him flinch. He was, after all, one of the most powerful beings in the universe, but he simply lacked imagination. Someone else had to help him with that. In this case it was Gladiator, and he knew what he was going to have to do to fulfill the ruler's plan.

Upon making his way through the atmosphere, the Shaper of Worlds went to work. Using his immense power, he did what he did best. He changed the world. All across the globe, where mind-controlled Accusers, Binary clones, and Parademons ran amok there were now super powered Aerie there to oppose them. From Mexico City to Paris, the super Shi'ar made their presence known and fought off the dark forces of Thanos and Darkseid.

Feeling the changes he had made pleased the Shaper. Altering worlds was his sustenance. It was what made him whole. After his encounter with Captain Marvel and Quasar, he hadn't been to a world in quite some time.* Things had changed now, though, and he was under the protection of the Shi'ar Imperium. He could only begin to wonder what that held for his future.

(*In an untold story to appear in Avengers Spotlight-Brent)

Binary pounded Thanos with blow after blow in the face. She was doing her best to keep him off balance while Quasar and Starbolt blasted him from behind. If Nicole failed in her attempt, Titan and Oracle were there to move in as the second wave. Either way it went, Thanos wasn't going to get out of this fight unbruised.

“Come on! You're Thanos! You gotta have some more oomph than this!” Binary mocked as she continued to hit the Mad Titan with star powered punches.

“Back, woman!” Thanos yelled as he backhanded Nicole into the air. Her body flew through the sky like a rocket and she landed right into the arms of Machine Man.

“The battle goes poorly,” the artificial man said as Binary slowly shook off the wave of unconsciousness that came from the villain's blow, “and my programming dictates that we shall be overwhelmed in approximately 9.3 minutes.”

“Then it's time to take this fight to the next level,” Quasar replied to his teammate as a wave of golden energy erupted from his Quantum Bands, knocking a platoon of mind-controlled Accusers onto their backsides. Wrapping himself in a shell of solid-light armor, Vaughn - energy sword in hand - jumped to the forefront of the battle, attacking the Titanian demi-god with as much strength as his weary arms could muster.

“I've seen you go this route so many times before, Thanos,” Quasar said as he battered the alien with his light construct, “and you have no idea how sick I am of you. Kree, Shi'ar, cloned warriors…we're the Avengers, not the freaking Jedi!”

“I know not of what you speak,” Thanos replied, a crushing blow from his fist shattering the energy sword in Quasar's hand, “but allow me to state my case for you, Avenger.” With his fingers pulsing from the concentrated cosmic energy that emitted from his body, Thanos dug his digits into the Quantum helmet around the Avenger's head, cracking it in a spider-web design. “I worship Death. My every moment is devoted to her, my every action and my every whim. What Death desires is to see her realm populated, and if that is what she wishes…”

Thanos slammed his hands together, bursting the shell around Quasar's body, the energy feedback causing the hero to cry out in pain. Thanos smiled maliciously.

“If that is what she wishes,” he continued, tossing the spent Avenger to the ground beside him, “then it is my duty - nay, my pleasure - to deliver you all to her arms, one screaming soul at a time.”

“We are so boned,” Binary muttered to herself as she charged up with her own form of stellar energy. “Hey, Gladiator!” she yelled, catching the attention of the Shi'ar Majestrix as he casually tossed aside a pathetically overmatched Parademon. “How about a little help with tall, dark, and scary over here?”

With an uncharacteristic smirk on his face, Gladiator hovered in the sky. “You ask for assistance, terran,” he said, his arm outstretched, pointing to the heavens, “and the Aerie deliver.”

Binary and Machine Man both looked skyward, their eyes widening at the magnificent sight before them. Descending from the clouds, their Shi'ar weaponry already blazing forth with righteous justice, were hordes of the genetically engineered super-warriors of the avian empire. The Shaper of Worlds had been good for his word, the Shi'ar deathbirds easily making short work of the Accusers, Parademons, and Binary clones as they took to battle.

“Oracle,” Gladiator called out to the lavender skinned female a few feet to his side, “if you please?”

With no words to form her reply, the telepathic Imperial Guardsman impossibly found herself in a place of inner calm, despite the maddening war surrounding her. Her legs folded in a sitting position, her body hovering higher and higher into the air, Oracle reached out with her mind, her power traversing an immeasurable distance. The artificial mind of MODAM was nothing to the Shi'ar woman's incredible psionic might, and with a show of pure force ripped away all hold that Thanos' aide had on the Kree warriors that had previously been on the side of justice. With the Accusers now free from the puppet mistress pulling their strings, the deathbirds found their grim work to be even easier than anticipated.

“Again I am defied,” Thanos said as he watched the cacophony of violence that so easily destroyed his plans. With a look of sadness that ill became him, the Titan depressed a barely-visible button on the top of his gauntlet. With a brief flash of light, Thanos was gone, teleported back to whatever point in the universe he had came.

With the Shi'ar deathbirds finishing off the remnants of the Accusers, Binary shot a look of disbelief to her mechanical teammate. With a calm hand positioned near his temple, X-51 displayed what one could possibly conceive as a smile. “I am receiving reports from across the globe,” he said with the digital buzz that accompanied his speech, “the alien forces have been defeated at every place they had attacked. The battle has been won, Nicole Ridley…we are victorious.”

Ronan rarely ever felt desperation, but this situation called for it. He, along with a few others, was locked in combat with one of the mightiest beings he had ever faced. This Darkseid's endurance seemed endless. The concentrated attacks of Photon, himself, and a few of his fellow Accusers didn't even seem to disorient him.

“You feeble nothings!” Darkseid yelled as he grabbed the head of one Accuser and smashed it into the metal floor of the spaceship. The Lord of Apokolips locked his gaze on Ronan next and moved to make his way to him.

“Photon, go and find your teammate. I will fight Darkseid,” Ronan ordered. The Accuser braced himself for the fight that was about to come his way when there was a sudden rumbling throughout the ship that knocked everyone to their feet.

Looking out into one of the giant triangular shaped windows, Ronan saw four Kree cruisers opening fire on Darkseid's vessel. Hope had at last come for Ronan and his band of warriors.

“Who dares attack me!” Darkseid roared, no longer even paying attention to Ronan and the others.

“My people,” Ronan replied slamming a fist into Darkseid's face. Before the Lord of Apokolips had a chance to return the favor, the blue skinned alien was gone, as were the rest of his band.

Slowly, realization came to Darkseid as he knew the true reason for the cruisers attacking his ship. Ronan and the others had been teleported away and had taken the Scarlet Witch along with them.

“AHHH!!!”

That yell of frustration was heard from one end of the ship to the other.

Thanos walked down the hall of the ship, his body already broken and mangled from his fight with the Avengers. Everything had seemed to be going so smoothly and then the Kree ruler had to mettle in affairs that had nothing to do with him. Now waiting down the end of this hall for the Mad Titan was the Lord of Apokolips.

“We need to talk,” Darkseid said, his body hidden by shadows. Only his glowing red eyes made him visible, to a terrifying degree.

“The power will still be ours, my ally,” Thanos said, cutting off Darkseid's speech, “the Avengers languish in throes of false victory. They are too weak to withstand another assault.”

“We are much alike, Thanos,” the stone-faced lord of Apokolips replied, his ocular energy pulsing in an almost soothing display, “but you forget your place. I traversed across dimensions because of you, and I am ashamed at the way I so eagerly jumped at your promises. I know not how you learned of me, or how you learned of Apokolips, but suffice it to say…you will live to tell nary another soul.”

“Do not pursue this avenue,” Thanos warned, taking a cautious step backward despite himself.

“You know much of me,” Darkseid continued, “but what know you of the Omega Effect?”

The villain's pulsing eyes then exploded with crimson energy, twin beams of energy firing from his sockets. Thanos attempted to move out of the way, but found the energy to follow his every moment. In a desperate move, Thanos released a blast of his own cosmic energy, just as the power of the Omega Effect reached him. The resultant explosion rocked the spacecraft, blowing away a sufficient chunk of steel. One part of the area damaged by the explosion was the ship's reactor core, which responded to the blast with a violent eruption of its own energy.

The spacecraft folded in on itself, creating - for lack of a better term - a wormhole in space. With the force of a vacuum, the resultant implosion caused the universe to tremble, and after a ferocious moment of devastation, the worm hole closed.

The ship was gone, with nary a trace left of the villains that had occupied it.

Hala

Taras Vol had been alive since before the fall of Lemuria on Earth. His time in Lemuria had been spent as an expert geneticist. He had been involved in conducting many experiments on primitive man, to see what potential they held within them. Then his people failed in their own survival and he managed to escape by jettisoning himself into space.

There he created a tiny fleet of ships throughout the thousands of years, so he would have places to continue his work. He managed to keep himself relatively obscure from the prying eyes of the universe. It wasn't until Thanos contacted him that Taras found himself wrapped in the ways of the ever changing universe again. Now, here, he was about to be taken into the company of the Supreme Intelligence. One of the most powerful rulers in all of the cosmos.

Accusers were all around him as he marched forward to the chamber where the Intelligence made his home. Nervousness was hardly the word to describe what Taras was feeling at the moment. It was more like a bit of anxiousness mixed in with paranoia, times a thousand.

So this is the Taras Vol who has been such an annoyance to me. Leave us!

At the Supremor's command, all of the Accusers left the chamber, leaving the Lemurian alone with the centuries-old being.

You have great skill, Taras Vol. It is to be admired. I will spare your ancient life if you agree to one thing I ask of you.

The Lemurian knew that the Supreme Intelligence was not a creature who ever gave another the easy way out of a situation. Whatever it was he wanted, it would be costly for Taras, but in truth he had no other choice. Here he was on the Kree home world, all alone and nearly defenseless. He wouldn't survive for long at all if he refused the Supremor.

“I'll do what you ask of me,” Taras Vol answered.

You will be the head geneticist of my grand empire. Just as you constructed a great army for Thanos, so shall you begin construction on my people. You will make them greater in the fires of creation. You will do as I command and never can a thought of betrayal stray across your mind.

Taras Vol nodded humbly in reply, as he knew that life had suddenly become a lot more complicated for him.

Avengers Mansion

“I don't trust the Supreme Evolutionary either, but my people have felt great pain. And if the Supreme Evolutionary can prevent that from happening, I will work and fight alongside him, against all odds," Deathbird replied passionately. She had felt the doubts Quasar had felt a hundred times over, but her people needed to be protected from the conflicts of the universe.

Wendell was the only one whose distrust of the Supreme Evolutionary ran deep. The Inhuman woman, Crystal, also had a great disdain for the man. He created the dimension from which the Armageddon Star hailed from. It was a being that nearly destroyed all of the Great Refuge and her people. Nonetheless, there she was in the sub levels of the Mansion after many days of isolation.

Crystal hadn't left Wanda and Karma's side the whole time since she came to the Mansion. She felt responsible for Karma being captured since it happened under her watch, and she had sent Karma away thinking that she would be safe. Now, though, the Inhuman woman had been called by the Supreme Evolutionary for some conference concerning an item called the Celestial Puzzle.

The Evolutionary had gathered all the Avengers in the place where all major affairs were handled. Exodus was seated next to Crystal, holding her hand tightly. She had come out to his base in New Mexico and summoned him to her side. He couldn't be sure why, honestly, but he trusted Crys. Fusion and Sersi were seated across from the couple, and at the head of the table was Thor. Deathbird and Quasar were seated on opposite sides of the thunder god. Hanging on the walls behind the Avengers leader were Callisto and Gilgamesh.

The Supreme Evolutionary walked forward and placed the Celestial Puzzle on the table. Looking out at the Avengers he called together, he simply declared, “We have to talk.”

"What did you learn from Numinus?" Deathbird asked.

“Enough.”

“Okay, I think it's time you give us some definite answers here. We've been traveling from dimension to dimension with you and the entire time you've been mysterious and cryptic. We deserve some upfront and positive answers, like right now,” Quoi demanded.

“You're right, Sequoia. You all do need answers, and I'm about to give them. For quite some time now, I've been testing the heroes of Earth against threats in case the Celestial Messiah fails in his quest. I implanted the Children of the Dark with the notion to come after Crystal and Sersi. Also it was I who freed Thanos from his prison in the Negative Zone,” the Supreme Evolutionary explained, getting a mixture of shocked, surprised, and angered looks from everyone in the room.

“So you mean to tell me that Wanda and Jack are laid up in the infirmary because of you wanting to “test” us. You're a piece of shit,” Crystal exclaimed, nearly leaping up out of her seat if it wasn't for Exodus restraining her with his telekinesis.

“How could you do that to us? Have you no shame?” Photon asked, her voice laden with such disgust that some actually felt pity for the Evolutionary for having to endure such a verbal assault.

“There is more, I'm afraid. This Celestial Puzzle will indeed unlock the powers of the Messiah, but it will require great sacrifices.”

“You might as well cut the crap and get to the point,” Exodus said.

“There are a few select individuals who must all touch the Puzzle in a certain sequence for it to activate. Sersi, Deathbird, and Fusion are the first who will receive the Puzzle. Then Exodus and Crystal must hold the Puzzle together. This is where the sacrifice comes in,” Supreme Evolutionary explained.

Bennet's heart began to race faster as he anxiously asked, “What do you mean? Explain yourself.”

“I am in possession of the Mankal Rings. The four rings represent different things. The red ring represents Hate, the light blue one is Love, the black one is War, and the white one is Might. Each of them grants the wearer great powers. I have used these rings on occasion. In one instance involving you and Crystal. With the power of the Love Ring, I made you two fall for each other. Now that love must be given up to the Celestial Puzzle,” the Evolutionary replied, feeling yet another wave of emotion sweep across the room.

“You're a monster! How could you do that to us?” Crystal asked, enraged at the thought of all the love she felt for the man sitting next to her being simply a fabrication by some ring.

"The universe will survive at all costs. I had to make hard choices. Now Exodus, I never had any intention of causing you and Crystal pain, but I did what I had to. Now the choice is ultimately yours,” the Supreme Evolutionary said.

Exodus knew the harsh reality before them. The two of them were going to have to give up their love in the name of the universe. At that moment, neither cared about saving the universe, but only preserving the love that was so dear to them. With his telepathic abilities, Exodus opened up a psionic rapport with Crystal, so they could talk with privacy.

<I love you with all my heart, but it's not love that I chose to have. And I just can't live with that. I wouldn't be able to look at you without thinking about how we were manipulated. It's just not a way I can live.>

<Neither can I, Bennet. It hurts like hell having to do this, and I'll make Evolutionary pay for his vicious act one day, but for now we have to go through with this.>

So, slowly, the Puzzle was passed to everyone that it was meant to be passed to until it reached Exodus and Crystal. Staring at each other, the two somberly gripped the glowing golden box and quickly felt their feelings melt away into a pool of cosmic manipulations. After holding the box for a minute or so, the Celestial Puzzle changed from its golden hue into a blazing blue.

Smiling, the Supreme Evolutionary said, “Now the time has come. Avengers, be ready if the Celestial Messiah and his soon to be formed Celestial Guard fail. It will be up to you to stop the great evil that is before us.”

Outside the room was the Avenger's technician Neal Xhi, who had been listening to the entire conversation and now had all he needed, no longer required to maintain his disguise. Slowly, his yellowish skin morphed into a pale white and his hair became a tangled mess of black. His dirty blue dickie suit turned into a black bodysuit, complete with a cloak.

Holding the disc in his hand that had copies of all the information on the Avengers database, Proctor smiled, “Xorr should be happy with what I've managed to obtain. Very happy.”

Before anyone had time to exit the room that Proctor had been spying on, he was gone. Off to parts unknown.

New Chandilar

Gladiator sat next to his love, Oracle, as they were carried down the streets of the new planet that the Shi'ar had made their official home world. Kallark had to get used to being the one that was carried on the elegantly decorated cart instead of the one that was doing the carrying. He could plainly see that the royal guards carrying him and his lady were struggling under his weight. The sweat pouring down their faces was evidence enough of that. The ruler could easily understand their plight. After all, you don't knock Juggernaut into orbit and battle Thor by being of a light weight.

“You look troubled. What's wrong? This should be a happy day,” Oracle said wrapping her arms around Kallark.

“I'm not yet used to royalty, Sibyl. It feels wrong that I'm the one being lifted up high for all the people to see.”

“Your dilemma is not an unexpected one. For all your life you have done the serving. Having confused feelings is understandable, but don't you think you've earned this? A final reward for all your long years of serving the Aerie. Now the Shi'ar can finally be one unified people with you ruling us,” Oracle predicted as she squeezed Kallark tighter.

“Perhaps you are right,” Gladiator said as he eyes locked onto the man he had been looking for, the source of the reason why his people were celebrating.

“Starting the party without me, Gladiator? For shame. Is this how you treat all your guests?”

“Ronan, your stay here is a brief one,” Gladiator replied as he pulled himself from Oracle's grip and floated down to the ground to meet Ronan the Accuser.

“Is there not peace between our people, Emperor? Why do you insist on holding grudges?” Ronan asked.

“Peace between our people, but certainly not peace between us , Accuser. I hear rumors of the Supremor being angry at your actions in the battle against Thanos and Darkseid. Would that be why a warrior such as yourself has been sent as a peace emissary?” Gladiator prodded as he walked closer to Ronan, until they were only mere feet from each other.

“You shouldn't listen to everything you hear. So are we going to make the peace treaty between the Kree and Shi'ar official, or do you need to have a dozen more parties first?” Ronan asked impatiently, holding back the urge to attack the Shi'ar emperor .

“We'll sign it soon. I have some guests to invite to the ceremony first.”

Apokolips

The halls of this great castle had yearned for their master's return for many days. Finally, their cries were answered as the footsteps of a gargantuan man made their way down the tall and wide halls full of nothing. Just the way the master preferred it to be.

"Lord Darkseid! You have returned! We thought you dead," Kalibak said, running swiftly down the hall to meet his ruler.

"Such thoughts are foolish, my son. I do not kill easily, but this one might," Darkseid said, holding up the unconscious body of Thanos for everyone to see.

"Does that mean Granny Goodness and I get to have some fun?" Kalibak asked.

"More than your fair share," Darkseid sinisterly smiled.

New Chandilar

It was a sight that made the Avengers look on with unyielding disbelief. The Kree and the Shi'ar, two alien races that seemed to be bred for warfare with one another, were in the process of signing a treaty of peace that would be honored by both races. The Shi'ar throne world, still in the process of construction, served as the setting, with Gladiator's own imperial hall used as the place of celebration. At the heart of the procedures sat the Avengers themselves, presidential guests of the Shi'ar, honoring them as heroes of both empires.

“I just can't get over this,” Quasar said as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed against his chest, “these two actually speaking sentences with the word peace in the middle. The Shi'ar destroyed most of the Kree galaxy only a few years ago.”

“I know, Wendell,” the Scarlet Witch responded after a sip of her drink, “I keep expecting a Skrull envoy to show up with gifts at any moment.”

“How are you holding up, Wanda?” Photon asked softly, placing a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. The Witch merely smiled.

“As well as can be expected, Monica,” she answered, “even if I'm still unclear as to what that madman wanted with me. And though I appreciate your concern, the one that worries me at the moment is Jack.”

The aforementioned Jack of Hearts was moping, his arms resting on the table and his head hung low. “I can't believe how easily I was turned against you all. My mind, my independence, it was all stripped away so easily.”

“Trust me, Jack,” Crystal said, a hint of sadness in her voice, “none of us have come through this affair unscathed. Even Thor has been silent ever since he recovered from his battle with Darkseid. I have a feeling we're all going to be looking at ourselves in the mirror for a long while, not recognizing who we see in the reflection.”

“This is a party, guys,” Binary enthused as she downed another alcoholic Shi'ar drink, patting Machine Man on the back as she spoke, “so everybody cheer up. We won, didn't we? Thanos went off to lick his wounds, two of the most war mongering races in the universe have sobered up and decided to work together…what's the problem?”

“Thou hast not been an Avenger but for a short time, Binary,” Thor said grimly, “but knowest thou this: when'eer dark times befall our mighty assemblage, the Avengers always fight on…but that dost not mean we not suffer in the process.”

All of the heroes fell silent after Thor's cryptic statement, but only one was silent for a reason. Machine Man scanned the signing of the treaty between the two interstellar races with his mechanical senses, and while he humanly wished that good would come of the event, the statistical probabilities could not lie.

With a firm shake of a hand, Ronan and Gladiator had sealed the treaty. But while neither race was fit for war at the moment, every one in the great hall knew that peace…peace was fleeting. But hatred and war?

Those, Aaron Stack knew, were forever.

Next Issue: The Avengers return from space and find a big surprise awaiting them at Avengers Mansion! “New Order Changeth…” kicks off under the pen of the new co-writing team, Thomas ( Ghost Rider ) Deja and Derrick ( Hulk ) Ferguson!

Author Notes

Man this is definitely not how this issue was suppose to have looked. It was originally 15 pages worth of material and had a lot more stuff going on and things fully explained, but I lost every last bit of it. So I had to start over from scratch and I hate writing issues a second time hence why you got this issue before you. I did the best I could, but man it was just too hard trying to write this thing over again. Anyway I'm done. My time with Avengers is over. I had a whole mess of fun with this title and some of my ideas and what not from here are being carried over into my upcoming project AVENGERS: CELESTIAL MESSIAH (and I will make sure to have three copies of each issue lying around for this one). Look out for it! Anyway my time with this title is done and I need to thank some folks who have been nothing but a positive help to me. Chris, Russ, Derrick, Oliva, Logan, Jason, and whoever else I forgot to mention, you guys were great.

Over and out!

-Brent Lambert

Editor Notes

I usually don't like to stick my big nose into the comment sections at the end of other writers' issues, but this time deserved an exception. I want to thank Brent for the time he spent on AVENGERS, and I think he deserves a hand for his long tenure. The boy had lots of ideas, and while some worked much better than others, no one can deny that he poured his heart into writing this series. Kudos to you, Brent, and everybody definitely be on the look out for the upcoming Celestial Messiah mini-series!

Now, since this is Brent's last issue, you may be wondering just who's going to be filling his shoes as the chronicler of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Well, we've got not one but TWO of Earth's Mightiest Writers coming on board as a spectacular co-writing team: none other than Derrick Ferguson and Thomas Deja! Yet another change is in store for the Avengers, and you'll kick yourself in the throat for a month if you miss it!

-Chris Munn