Vortigen Walker was a man who had never felt his age and with good reason.  The life of an Arthurian druid, especially a Proudwalker’s, was by its very nature a regenerative one.  He had lived quite healthily for well over five hundred years and he didn’t intend to stop that streak now, but two very angry Avengers did.  Abyss, as Walker now called himself, had made fools of Justice and Photon.  It wasn’t an insult the two intended to take lying down. 

“Tell us how to shutdown this plan of yours and we might spare you a beating,” Justice said as he surrounded himself in a telekinetic field.

“Then again,” Photon cracked her knuckles, “maybe not.”

Abyss laughed in a way that would easily frighten children.  He pointed his mystical broadsword at Justice and said, “Threats are pointless.  Fight me or don’t!”

Photon rose into the air and transformed her body into light.  “You don’t have to ask twice.”

Monica zoomed towards Abyss and began to circle him at speeds twice that of sound.  Not only was she creating an air-sucking vortex, but also she was blasting Abyss again and again.  Justice was keeping their opponent grounded with telekinesis.

Suddenly, a cold black hand gripped Vance’s throat and lifted him high into the air.  With a voice resonant as an organ and black as death, his attacker said, “Today, this battle is not yours.”

Justice immediately focused all of his telekinetic power on releasing the grip of his attacker, but the man’s fingers didn’t even budge.  Photon saw Vance under attack and left Abyss to crumble to the ground, unconscious.  Moving at near light speed, Monica slammed into Justice’s attacker and both went flying upward.

“I am impressed.  That almost actually hurt,” the man said, his black eyes suddenly glowing blue.  His entire body was black as coal and his long hair littered with tiny sparks that gave him the appearance of a living galaxy.  As the two bodies continued their upward climb, he wrapped his hand around Photon’s throat and shot forth from it the same energy that was in his eyes.

Photon screamed and immediately broke away from the man.  Somehow, he had managed to hurt her in her light form.  How?  The being smiled from above and said, “That was a taste of black matter.  It’s the material that binds the universe together, but I have learned long ago how to use it to destroy.  Even light.”

Monica fired a steady stream of photonic energy into The Fallen One’s chest as he began to approach her.  The attack didn’t seem to be doing much of anything to the smiling, cosmic maniac.  Photon knew that she was in trouble, but she was too proud to call for help.  She knew that this was a big battle and trying to pull people away to help her would have been selfish.  This guy was powerful, but he had to have a weakness.  She’d just have to work to find it.

A recovered Justice flew around The Fallen One’s back and entrapped his head in a telekinetic bubble.  With extreme concentration, Vance closed the bubble around his opponent’s head with the intention of crushing it like a melon meeting a swing hammer.  Justice’s attempt was an utter failure and only caused The Fallen One an annoyance.  He turned his head in Justice’s direction and said, “Your attempts at harming me will forever prove unsuccessful.”

The Fallen One moved to attack Justice but he was given a hard punch in the face by Warbird and tackled from behind by Starfox.  Before he had a chance to recover, Photon zipped above his head and launched a full-blown salvo of photonic energy.  Despite not being hurt, the attack did catch the cosmic madman off guard.  The three-prong attack threw The Fallen One into a mid-air whirlwind.

Finally coming to stop, The Fallen One smiled wickedly.  “You four make a good team.  I am eager to see just how far the limits of your teamwork can be pushed.”

Starfox gulped.  “I get the feeling all we did was piss him off.”

Photon moved next to Eros and sarcastically commanded, “You’re the pleasure guy.  Make him happy.”

“That would be a good idea if he already wasn’t happy as could be,” Starfox replied.

Frowning, Warbird said, “Seems he’s waiting for us to come to him.”

“And Abyss is starting to come out of it,” Monica added.

Energy flared up around Justice.  “I’ll take care of that.”

“No you won’t,” Monica said hardly.  “The four of us must stick together if we’re to have a chance against our new opponent.”

Vance didn’t like getting his legs cut out from under him, but he knew as long as he was with The Avengers he’d have to get use to it.  Monica happened to take her former leadership of The Avengers to the head.  “Let’s be honest.  The four of us have don’t squat so far.”

Warbird put a hand to her chin and said, “We just haven’t been brutal enough yet.  This guy is obviously confident in his abilities.  I suggest we use that to our advantage.  Justice, give him a good heart squeeze.”

“Already tried,” Vance sighed.  “The guy has no internal organs to speak of.  At least none my TK felt.”

Carol was surprised.  She hadn’t expected the usually gentle Vance to cut loose of his own accord.  Maybe it was getting smacked around by Abyss and now this new guy or maybe Vance always had this in him.  Whatever the source, Carol was just glad he had his head in the game.

The Fallen One kept a morbid gaze on The Avengers, prompting Carol to say; “We need to knock that smug little smile right off his face.”

“Agreed,” Photon said, “We hit him hard, fast and keep it going long enough until we can get some help.”

“Just don’t put me out front,” Starfox half-smiled.

Carol rolled her eyes.  “Of course not.  We wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face.”

“It is loved by millions after all,” Starfox replied with a bunch of sarcasm and a hint of honesty.

“I cannot believe your arrogance,” Metron said as a blast from Thanos’ twisted version of the Mobius Chair struck Moondragon in the chest.  “To truly believe you could match me.”

Heather was flung backwards through the air, but quickly regained her composure.  It was expected of a woman with her level of discipline and training.  Whoever Thanos’ new lackey was, Moondragon intended to put him in his place.  Quite firmly.

A stream of green telekinetic energy came from Heather’s forehead and struck Metron’s golden forcefield that surrounded him.  She had been attempting to break through his defenses since the start of their conflict.  Failing was not an option for her.

Quasar flew above Moondragon and quickly added his power to hers and Sersi did so as well from another angle.  Heather scowled, but did not pull away from the joint attack.  “I can handle this on my own!  I need no assistance.”

Wendell knew just how to humor her.  “We see that, but we need your help with other fights.  The quicker you can move on the quicker we can win.”

If there was any satisfaction from Moondragon, she refused to show it.  “So be it.”

“Okay then let’s take this guy’s chair straight to the dump,” Wendell exclaimed as energy continued to pour out from his Quantum Bands.

Metron was offended by the three-person assault.  He had intended to humble the haughty Moondragon and the appearance of her teammates had put a dampener in that.  Still, the idea of defeat hadn’t entered his mind.  His force bubble would be more than capable of handling the combined attack.  If they thought sheer numbers would make him yield, then they were sorely mistaken.

“I thought you fancied yourself to godhood woman!  Only a pathetic mortal would so readily accept aid,” Metron shouted to a red in the face Moondragon.  He knew that the road to victory was through the pride of Moondragon.

Fighting back her anger, Moondragon gave a mock laugh.  “No god stands alone!  Have you not heard of worshippers?
 

The idea of being referred to as a worshipper didn’t sit too well with Wendell.  Especially a worshipper of Moondragon, who was as much a religious icon as a politician was honest.  Still, if Heather demeaning him kept her calm and out of trouble, he wouldn’t complain.

Unfortunately, Sersi wasn’t inclined to feel the same way.  “Woman, watch your tongue!  I’ve traversed this world long before any of your ancestors were conceived.”

Metron laughed.  “Seems your status as a god is in dispute.”

Moondragon scowled resentfully at Sersi and angrily charged towards Metron.  It was exactly what Quasar didn’t want to happen, because Sersi and him were forced to impede their blasts lest they strike down Heather along with Thanos’ minion.

With a telekinetic field surrounding her, Moondragon crashed into Metron’s force bubble.  “You will not insult me again!”

“Why can’t I, when you make it so easy?” Metron asked as his force bubble dissipated and a beam shot forth from between his legs.  Heather’s telekinetic field shattered from the attack and she was sent plummeting towards the ground

Sersi saw the falling body and shouted, “Wendell!”

Responding to the cry, Quasar shot off at tremendous speed and caught the tumbling Moondragon in his arms.  Metron’s blast had left her unconscious and Wendell distracted from the main battle at hand.  Sersi had been left to face Metron alone.

The Mobius Chair rotated to face Sersi and Metron said, “It seems that is just you and me.  I wonder what results that may yield.”

“One in which I vanquish you!” Sersi shouted.  From her fingertips, green energy erupted that hit the Mobius Chair and changed its molecular structure to sand.  Metron wasn’t able to erect his shield in enough time and now found himself without his prized vehicle.  Instead of falling prey to gravity, the minion of Thanos now floated enraged in front of The Eternal.

“There would have been a time when the loss of The Mobius Chair would have crippled me greatly.  Thanos has assured me that is no longer the case.”

Sersi didn’t make a move because frankly she wasn’t sure just how much damage he could take or give.  Being an Eternal afforded her a great deal of abilities, but there was no telling how many of these Metron could counter.  She now regretted letting her own pride get the better of her.

Metron’s eyes flashed red and his face went pale gray.  “Shall we begin this brief exercise?”

Sersi lifted up her arms as if she was about to cast a spell and replied, “The arrogance of your master flows all through you.  I think you wont’ find me such easy prey, spawn of Thanos.”

Spawn.  The word was inherently inferior to Metron.  It implied that he was birthed form some foul cesspool of utter filth.  The idea repulsed and insulted him.  He had been a god before coming into Thanos and was only sculpted into perfection by bending to the dark lord’s will.  Sersi would be made to pay for her insolence.

Before The Eternal woman had a chance to react, Metron moved at inhuman speed and wrapped his hand around Sersi’ throat.  She was surprised at how tight the man’s grip actually was.  With her arms still raised in the air, Sersi shot Metron in the face with steady stream of green cosmic energy.  It hit with the force of speeding 18-wheeler and sent Metron careening through the air.

Pouncing on the opportunity before her, Sersi flew after the dazed Metron and lobbed blast after blast at him.  It was as if an armada of fireworks was raining down on Metron.  Each blast hit its mark and sent Metron into even more of a wild tumble.  Sersi could taste victory on her breath.

It was a taste that would be short lived as a searing pain tore into her mind.  A recovered Metron tapped the side of his head and said, “A brave attempt, but the mind is my realm.”

Gilgamesh threw a knife and rolled out of X-51’s way.  Their opponent, Mister Miracle, blocked the attack with his black staff, but dodging that attack allowed X-51 to rocket into the servant of The Mad Titan.  The two bodies launched across the Mansion lawn and nearly right into Quasar, who was holding the unconscious form of Moondragon.  Being in some control of the struggle, X-51 directed himself and Mr. Miracle into the ground.  The two’s impact dug up a ditch that would give Jarvis an aneurysm.

Mr. Miracle used his knees to push X-51 off of him and rolled backwards to get back on his feet.  Thanos had truly taken him to the next level.  An attack like that would have gravely injured him back in his home universe.  Pointing his staff at Z-51 he said, “You are quite the powerful machine.  A true testament to the ambition of your universe.”

Sneaking up behind Thanos’ servant, Callisto slung her staff across his neck and pulled back tightly.  Mr. Miracle gagged under the strength of The Morlock.  Leaning forward, she whispered in his ear, “All that praise and you didn’t think to pass any my way?”

“Perhaps he didn’t think you were worthy of any,” Gilgamesh joked as he charged forward and flung another of his knives to knock Mr. Miracles’ staff out of his hand.  He stopped behind X-51 and asked, “Do you have some way to finish this quickly?”

X-51 turned his head towards the monster hunter ever so slightly. ::Designate: Gilgamesh I am surprised you would even ask such an elementary question::

Gilgamesh shrugged.  “Never hurts to check.  I know how touchy feely some of you Avengers can be.”

::I don’t deal in this touchy feely:: X-51 said as he approached mister Miracle, who was still struggling against the grip of Callisto.  With one outstretched finger, X-51 shot a blue laser into Mr. Miracle’s chest that knocked him out.

Releasing her grip, Callisto let Mr. Miracle drop to the ground with a thud.  “What’d you do to him X?”

::The beam I emitted paralyzed his nervous system entirely.  I would estimate the effects to last three Earth hours::

“And you couldn’t do this at the beginning of the fight, because?”

::I think you know the term well Designate: Callisto.  It wasn’t as much fun::

The Morlock leader raised an eyebrow and looked to Gilgamesh.  “Fun coming out of his mouth.  Never thought I’d see the day.”

A searing noise cut through any response Gilgamesh could have given.  A falling Metron crashed with a deafening smack between the two Avengers.  From above an enraged Sersi screamed, “Stay out of my head!”

Callisto immediately slammed her staff into Metron’s neck and Gilgamesh pointed a sword at his heart. A stern warning issued from Callisto.  “I strongly suggest you don’t flinch.”

It was then that the visage of Metron faded away to reveal Sersi and the two heroes knew they had been duped.  The real Metron dropped from the sky and knocked the two Avengers away with optic blasts.  As Callisto went flying backwards all she could think was why X-51 didn’t warn them?

Seeing his teammates tossed aside angered X-51, but he was unable to move.  Metron was able to access some unknown function of Mister Miracle’s staff and had used it to lock up all of his systems.  He had to watch helplessly as his teammates were tricked and then attacked.  X-51 was just as helpless as Metron traced the outline of his face like he was some statue on display.

“Miracle spent too much time admiring you to take care of you effectively.  Still, you are quite the beauty.”

Then there was a sickening crack that echoed from behind The New God.  With a swift turn of his head, Metron saw that fully powered Quasar had snapped Mister Miracle’s staff in half.  Realization of the ramifications of that filled Metron with dread, but X-51’s cold first had clocked him before he could even act on it.  The New god went careening through the air and was caught in a Quasar created force field.  Wendell pulled the yellow globe back towards him and dropped Metron’s unconscious form in front of X-51.

“That was a helluva punch!  Geeze we know who got their Wheaties,” Quasar laughed.

The chances of Maestro loosing his powers in the middle of a conflict and reverting to an old man would have been a billion to one.  Such odds didn’t matter to the whore Maximoff and Maestro had discovered that the hard way.  He would make her pay for what she had done.  And quite harshly at that.  But first his attention required the disposal of four Avengers who had enjoyed his disadvantage far too much.

Wasp, Iron Man, and Hank Pym were on their way to help Captain America wrestle down a mind-controlled Bucky.  Their backs were turned to the now recovering Maestro.  Somehow the poor of the Scarlet Witch was not as effective as she and her friends might have hoped.  Before he rise to his feet, an explosion knocked him back down.  Perhaps he was not as recovered as he thought.

Janet looked to the direction of the blast and said, “Dammit!  I could have sworn I saw a packed bus that way not but five minutes ago.”

“You and Hank go take care of it,” Iron Man ordered.  “I’m more than enough to help Cap out.”

Hank nodded.  “Be careful Tony.”

Stark returned the nod of camaraderie.  “You too Hank.”

Maestro watched as the two Avengers left to take care of civilians and the future Hulk smiled.  He’d crack open a can of sardines first and worrying about plucking a couple of wings later.

Once recovered, the first thing Maestro did was clap his hands. All the city felt this, buckling under the shockwave of power. Of everybody close to Maestro at the time, only Iron Man was able to remain on his feet. Still, the blow staggered him, and when he saw Maestro rushing forward Iron Man almost wasn't able to raise his hands fast enough.

"Unh, that's what I get for trusting magic," Stark muttered. Repulsor beams shot out the palms of both hands. Even at full charge, the Maestro remained standing. What was worse, the futuristic Hulk was still moving forward.

 "I always regretted not doing this the last time I killed you," said the Maestro calmly. There was no rage in his voice, nor in his movements as the Maestro reached both his hands towards Iron Man's. That seemed more frightening to Stark than anything else, that this Hulk wasn't fueled by rage. He genuinely enjoyed hurting others.

 "No!" Firing up his boot jets, Iron Man rocketed into the air, narrowly avoiding the Maestro's grasp. The repulsors had ceased. Too much power had been wasted on something that wasn't effective. Perhaps it was from all the radiation he absorbed in that apocalyptic future, but the Maestro was far more powerful than the present-day Hulk.

Wait, that was it! The thought flashed through Iron Man's head like lightning. There was a way to stop the Maestro, if only Iron Man could-

Being lost in thought was not a smart thing to do at any time, much less in the middle of a fight. Maestro had the Hulk's leaps, and was much more adept at those as well. With Iron Man's attention inward, the Maestro had jumped up and grabbed him. Again, the Maestro squeezed, and along with the blaring alarms Iron Man could feel pain throughout his whole body as the armor began to give.

"Arrogant to the last, eh Stark?" Maestro laughed. That sickening voice still rang in Iron Man's ears as he was hurled at a nearby building.

 Flailing desperately but unable to control his descent, Iron Man crashed through the Wakandan skyscraper. Through the eighth floor wall, then down to seventh, sixth, then finally out through the fifth floor wall. From the brief glimpse Iron Man got as he spun into the ground, the building was falling sideways, demolishing nearby buildings in its collapse.

"No," said Iron Man softly, thinking of those that may not have evacuated. Then he crashed hard against the ground, and inside he felt something break. Against the highway asphalt Iron Man skidded, smashing into cars that flipped away at impact. More than a few would have broken gas tanks, and at the slightest spark-

BOOM! Flames consumed Iron Man as he finally slowed to a stop. His armor's internal systems seemed to still be functioning, as the semi-conscious Iron Man was not being roasted alive. However, he could feel the heat, and he knew that soon his armor would fail completely. He had to stop the flames, get out of there before the Maestro reached him.

With everything he had, Iron Man pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, and promptly collapses. Pieces of the armor's systems were already failing. Stark felt every pound of its weight.

Suddenly, the heat was starting to lessen. With tremendous effort, Iron Man raised his head. Bursts of energy were crashing into the ground all around him, and seemed to be smothering the flames. Just ahead of Iron Man, a figure too small to be the Maestro was walking towards him through the smoke. Iron Man wasn't sure when the man walked out from the smoke, because the Black Panther's raiment was much the same color.

Grabbing Iron Man by one arm, King T'Challa helped his old friend to his feet. "Where is he, Iron Man? Where is the monster that dares to hurt my nation?"

Iron Man turned his head, and raised his other arm to point. Maestro could now be seen in the sky, falling towards them. "Right there. What the Hulk might one day become."

"Yes," remarked Black Panther. "I will need to update my Hulk contingencies." Reaching into the sheath on his boot, Black Panther removed what appeared to be a knife and threw it with unerring accuracy at the plummeting Maestro. Much to Iron Man's surprise, the knife sunk to deep into the Maestro's chest it actually disappeared!

"Yeeaarghh!" The Maestro bellowed in pain as his twisted body crashed into the ground, more than twenty feet away from the two well-equipped humans.

"We should be running," Black Panther urged to Iron Man.

They turned and hurried away, but even with Black Panther's support Iron Man wasn't able to move very fast in his crippled armor. As they were moving, Iron Man noticed that a knife was once again in the sheath Black Panther's boot. Of course, Iron Man realized. They were energy daggers, probably neural based. Still, one wouldn't be able to stun the Maestro for long, and in fact Iron Man did hear a great bellow behind him.

"Panther!" roared Maestro. His arms were raised high. "Your skin will be my new rug!" Maestro smashed both his arms to the ground with tremendous force. The shockwave was focused, running down the length of the highway towards the two fleeing Avengers. Asphalt split and vehicles were hurled to either side. Once it reached Iron Man and Black Panther, they would stand no chance.

"We're clear enough from the smoke," remarked Black Panther. The arm that wasn't holding Iron Man had no been raised, was reaching toward the sky. "She should be able to see us now."

"Who-?" Iron Man had started to ask, but then he quickly realized whom had extinguished the fires. "You mean…?"

"Yes, hold on tight."

As though on cue, right before the shockwave could reach Iron Man and Black Panther, Binary reached them first. Swooping in low, the powerful Avenger grabbed Black Panther's wrist and carried him up into the sky, Iron Man and all. Turning in the air, Binary veered off the highway, and once over safe land slowed and released Black Panther.

Iron Man had fallen less than a second earlier, released by Black Panther. If they had fallen together, Iron Man's weight could very well have crushed the other man.  Fortunately this fall was not so painful as the last, and Iron Man was already standing when Black Panther and Binary and reached either side of him.

"Will you be able to continue?" Black Panther asked.

"Yes," responded Iron Man. "My armor took in a lot of that heat, converted it into energy. Already my systems have rebooted, and I'm almost back up to full power."

Iron Man turned suddenly and raised a gauntly, shocking Binary with a repulsor blast. It sent a hurled car careening away from them. Maestro could be seen nearly a hundred yards away, picking up another car to throw. "Unfortunately I don't think my armor can sustain another hit. Binary, I won't be able to help you trade blows with him."

"How fortunate then that I am more than willing!" yelled Black Panther and he leapt towards the Maestro. In each hand was an energy dagger, and Black Panther hurled these as he ran. One struck Maestro in the arm, causing him to drop the vehicle. The monstrous villain crouched down, apparently in pain. Black Panther approached rapidly, firsts clenched and ready to strike.

"Panther wait!" cried out Iron Man. "That's not the Hulk! He's smarter and might be playing-"

The upper-backhand blow struck Black Panther squarely in the chest. Wakanda's ruler was sent hurtling through the air, nearly as fast as Iron Man had been thrown earlier. Immediately Binary, who had returned to the air with the intent of joining Panther in the attack, was now rocketing to save him. Leaving Iron Man, once again, facing the Maestro alone.

"Not again you won't," promised Iron Man. Maestro had tensed his legs, obviously with the intent of leaping after Black Panther and Binary. But Iron Man struck first, with a weapon quite different from his repulsors. From his armor's chest shot out the Uni-Beam, an emission of light and force that struck the Maestro square in the face. Iron Man had adjusted the effect, so that it was mostly light that struck Maestro, for the purpose of disorienting him.

"Iron Man!" Binary yelled from overhead. "Catch!" She tossed a semi-conscious Black Panther down towards Iron Man as she rocketed at the Maestro. Iron Man reached out and safely caught his friend, knowing that the vibranium weave of Black Panther's raiment would absorb the impact of falling against metal. Gently, Iron Man lowered Black Panther to the ground, hoping that the vibranium had afforded enough protection against Maestro's blow.

"Thanks Binary," Iron Man called out. "Go keep him busy while we figure out how to stop this!"

Binary gave a salute as she arced through the sky toward Maestro. "Oh, I'll just go ahead and beat him for you.”

Extending both arms straight out, Binary rocketed at Maestro, who had picked up another car with one hand. A swing of that car smashed into Binary as she was mere feet away, the awesome heat of her fiery, cosmic-powered body igniting the gas tank. Flames engulfed the pair of titans, though both appeared unfazed.

"Are you all right, Panther?" Iron Man inquired. "Because without your help, I think Maestro just might kill her. Then us, followed by every living thing in Wakanda. That monster won't stop until we're all dead, and it's got the power to do it."

"Yes, I've read Banner's report on his future counterpart," Black Panther stated. "And aside from bruised ribs, I'm ready to assist with whatever you have in mind."

Iron Man's sensors could tell that T'Challa actually had broken ribs. That one of his lungs was even punctured, but Iron Man knew that Wakanda's monarch would live up to his word. "Most of the components we can salvage from my armor. But there are other things we'll need to find."

Iron Man relayed what would be required, and Black Panther pointed towards a nearby building that appeared to be residential. "Every Wakandan home has a computer and government interface network. Everything we'll require should be inside."

A short distance away, Binary was toe-to-toe with the hulking Maestro. Her blasts of cosmic power had singed away most of the creature's hair, but Maestro seemed otherwise unfazed. One enormous hand wrapped full around Binary's head and smashed her hard into the pavement. For many seconds Binary struggled, most of her body buried, but soon her flailing arms began to slow.

"Binary!" Iron Man cried out as he and Black Panther were entering the building. "You don't have to breath!"

The flailing stopped entirely, not from Binary's lack of life but rather the surge of realization. "Oh, right." She gurgled from beneath Maestro's palm. Power flared from her entire body, barely harming Maestro but actually liquefying the ground around her. Freed, Binary slammed both cosmically charged fists full into Maestro's face, actually staggering the future tyrant.

Inside the building and away from the action, Iron Man and Black Panther put their minds to work. Ripping apart walls and floorboards, they unearthed wires and circuitry required for what Iron Man intended. Removing his helmet and other pieces of the armor, Stark set about building.

"The energy output required for this will be enormous," Stark told T'Challa.

"From here we can draw on the entire Wakandan power grid."

"Even more than that, I'm afraid." Stark then added quickly, before T'Challa could respond. "And yes, I'm well aware of the kind of power your country can generate, Panther. Binary however draws on the power of a star. We'll need to get her away from Maestro-"

The wall in front of the two Avengers crashed in, shattered by the tremendous impact of a bruised Binary. Moving faster than most men possibly could, Black Panther grabbed the device, which closely resembled the Ultimate Nullifier, and carried it clear from the debris. Binary fell next to Tony Stark, battered and clearly pained, with cosmic energy "bleeding" from cracks throughout her body.

"Ooohh, god he hits hard." Thick blood dripped from Binary's mouth. Beside her, Tony Stark rose tall and raised his arm, at the end of which remained an armored gauntlet. The Maestro approached, massive and terrifying, bearing down on the little armored man and broken star.

A thick cable led from Iron Man's gauntlet into the building's wiring. At Iron Man's command his palm flared with power. "Meet the Wakandan power grid." Electric blue in intensity, the thick repulsor stream hit Maestro full in the face. Unprepared for such a magnitude of power, Maestro was hurled back, providing a brief respite.

"I'll see to Binary," Stark told Panther. "Leave me the device and buy us time."

"Be quick about it." Black Panther leaped through the hole that Binary made, a dagger of energy in one hand and claws extending from each fingertip of the other. Maestro had just stopped skidding along the pavement when Black Panther jumped off a large chunk of stone. The dagger was thrown, pierced Maestro's left eye.

Suddenly half of Maestro's body had gone numb. For a being of his strength, half mobility was enough, as Maestro dug his left hand into the pavement and hurled a large fragment at the rushing Black Panther. Not only did the Wakandan King successfully dodge the projectile, he jumped into the air over the pavement and rebounded off it to further propel towards Maestro.

"For the brave soldiers you have killed," intoned Black Panther. He landed fast before the Maestro, slashing his claws across the murderer's chest. The vibranium tore deep gashes in the muscular flesh, further paining the Maestro.

The punch Black Panther saw coming. He by no means took the brunt, but rather a glancing blow that he rolled with. That, along with the vibranium weave of his raiment, lessened the blow considerably. Blood spattered and bones splintered, Black Panther's jaw disintegrating and teeth smashing up against his skull, but it could have been much worse. The fallen king collapsed, unmoving as Maestro raised a foot.

"Put your hand here Binary," Tony Stark told the barely coherent Avenger. Her hand guided by Stark, Binary touched the device. It charged with a notable whir, and Iron Man addressed Maestro as it activated. "Give my regards to you."

Maestro could only widen his eyes as the temporal pulse engulfed him, and the future Hulk disappeared. Black Panther rolled over on reflex, in shock from the pain and barely moving. Limping from his own injuries, Tony Stark emerged from the damaged building approached T'Challa. Binary had also reached her feet, and followed.

"Oh my god. We have to…I can fly him…"

"Moving him would just make it worse." Stark pointed towards the city's outskirts. Specks that were vehicles could be seen. "Emergency crews are on the way. They'll treat us, at least enough so we can return to the fight."

"Okay." Binary couldn't look away from the spot where Maestro had vanished. "Did you…kill him?"

Thanos broke free of the pink tendrils that Quoi had locked him in and wrapped his hand around the Celestial Messiah’s throat.  Adam Warlock began to pummel him across the head and back with blows, but Thanos would not loosen his grip.  This pathetic alien thought himself so much better than the Mad Titan that he could contain him!  It was beyond foolish and Thanos would not suffer such a fool.

“Let him go!” Warlock yelled as struck Thanos with a karmic blast that brought him to his knees.

Still, his grip on Sequoia would not weaken.  He would see the pest crushed underneath the weight of his fist.  The Mad Titan was so blinded with rage that he never saw the projectile coming towards his right side. 

In an instant, the arrow had shot clear through the side of Thanos’ eye and right behind the bridge of his nose.  He screamed out in agony and immediately let go of Quoi.  That damnable human had attacked him!  But how could his tiny arm have mustered the strength to penetrate his skin?  It wasn’t possible. 

Bloodied and intense pain, he turned to see his attacker with his one good eye and was surprised to find Sersi holding the bow with another arrow poised for attack.  Hawkeye was limping on the shoulder of Quasar and his face was plastered with a wide grin.

“Betcha didn’t see that one coming,” Quasar said.

Shooting a finger at Thanos, Hawkeye pulled it back and blew.  “Bullseye.”

“I walked among The Greeks.  What made you ever think I would be incapable of shooting an arrow?” Sersi asked, addressing the mix of shock and pain that was on Thanos’ face.

“Oh by the way,” Hawkeye added, “That’s an electric arrow.”

Activating by voice command, the arrow unleashed the full power of a lighting bolt into Thanos.  His jaw locked from the intensity of the attack and a gasping Quoi reached out to touch Thanos’ ankle.  Using his powers, Sequoia intensified the blast a hundred fold.  The still naked Thanos’ skin began to sizzle as he screamed and fell to the ground unconscious and smoking. 

Sersi lowered the bow.  “Too bad I didn’t get to use the second arrow.”

Hawkeye laughed.  “Kinda glad you didn’t.  I had been hoping to save that TNT arrow for something else.  Ya ain’t a bad shot tho.  Almost as good as Dani.”

“And besides, the last thing I want on my costume is Thanos chunks,” Quasar added.

The ground cracked and grass decayed under Centurious’ feet as he walked towards Scarlet Witch.  His face was emotionless and his white locks billowed from an unnatural wind born of death and dark magic.  The Soulless man grew ever closer to Wanda and he could feel her nearly realized power.  Still, he was confident because he had defeated her once before.  All he had to do was call upon his superior magical skill to do it again.  Of course he was not so foolish to underestimate the forces at her command.

“It would seem that we’ve come into combat with each other again,” Centurious said across a burning street to an unflinching Scarlet Witch, whose eyes had begun to flash crimson.  He knew she was mustering whatever strength she could because he was doing exactly the same.

Wanda kept her gaze locked intently on The Soulless Man, feeling the foul nature of his magicks polluting the very air around her.  In the back of her mind, she almost wished that she could have disposed of him back in Japan. There was no telling how many souls he had ravaged since that time.  It took everything not to hear the screams of those he had already taken in through his dark magic.

Fleeing Wakandans ran between the two rivals, carrying what little they could and shouting obscenities the entire way.  Even in the dust they kicked up, Centurious was still able to see the eyes of Maximoff.  Something about her was different from their last encounter.  The lay lines of magic were bristling around her.  Centurious could both see and feel it, but he wasn’t quite so sure about his opponent.  He could only hope she didn’t. 

Wanda could feel Centurious examining her with those icy cold eyes, but she felt no fear from him.  She had never felt more in tune with her powers.  Maybe it was her confidence that he saw?  She only hoped that was indeed the case and Centurious might choke himself on the revelation.  Honestly, she knew it was a pipe dream at best.  The man she had faced in Japan was too ruthless to be intimidated by simply a confident woman.  Still, it never hurt to dream

Finally, the stream of feeling men, women, and children had ceased.   The two were alone once more.  Even though their allies waged war all around them, the two were stuck in a moment.  It was in that moment the two would do battle with each other.  If either one had their way only one would be alive at the end of it.  Centurious saw Wanda’s potential and she saw The Soulless Man’s cruelty.  Both feared what they saw and felt it had to be eradicated for selfish and selfless reasons.

Centurious charged forward with green eldritch energy overflowing from his hands, creating tiny streams of it running away from his body.  He stopped only a few feet from Wanda and thrust his arms forward, sending a pillar of energy on a collision course with Scarlet Witch.  Quickly lifting up her arms to shield her face, Wanda created a crimson net of power that not only deflected Centurious’ blast, but sent it back at The Soulless Man.

Returned energy blanketed Centurious and sent him rocketing across the street and straight into the railing of a highway.  Green smoke emanated from his body.  With a pained expression, he rose to his feet with aid from the railing he had only moments ago slammed into. Getting to his feet only took a few seconds, but felt like forever, as muscles cramped and bones cried foul.  His first move had been countered and he was spaying for it in spades.  It was only the first play of many.  The game had just begun.

Before he would get his bearings, a crimson spear careened through he air and stabbed Centurious right below his heart.  The force of the impact sent Centurious right over the railing and crashing into another highway only fifty feet below.  The Soulless Man slammed into the concrete and both his hips were dislocated from the impact along with a broken arm.  Pain ran up and down his body, not only from cracked bones, but from the searing energy Wanda’s spear poured into his body.  Uttering a spell in an archaic langue gave Centurious the ability to rise to his feet as his body knitted itself back together.  One of his many captured souls had to be sacrificed to perform the spell necessary for healing.

As he was healing, Wanda descended down from the air with bolts of crimson lighting firing randomly from her body.  Pointing a hand at Centurious, Wada unleashed a tidal wave of blood red power that knocked the still healing Centurious into a highway concrete pillar. Centurious fell to his feet and coughed up blood.

“I see that you’ve decided to not play cat and mouse this time around,” Centurious said as he gasped for breath and gripped the dirt with his hands.

Wanda landed on the ground and began to approach Centurious.  Everything from her hair follicles to her smallest toenail was trembling with power.  Centurious felt it and knew the h would have to match it.  The souls within him whimpered and rejoiced that thought of being sacrificed for Centurious’ gain.  The sight of the fallen Centurious was almost pitiable as the souls trapped within him, but the Scarlet Witch reprimanded herself for such thoughts.  The Soulless Man was not deserving of her pity.

“I cannot afford to be gentle here,” Wanda said as she fired a hex bolt at the ground in front of Centurious’ hands.  Dirt began to shift and quake underneath the necromancer as hundreds of spiders burst forth from the ground.  They commenced to crawl all over Centurious, sinking their teeth in along the way.  Poison was being rushed through his immortal blood, but despite the numerous painful bites, he did not cry out.

In fact to Wanda’s surprise, he was mumbling an incantation..  Before she could do anything to stop him, the spiders took on a green hue and melted off of Centurious’ body.  It was a disgusting sight, but the green slime coalesced uniformly at Centurious’ feet.

“I’m beginning to understand. Improbabilities and magic work hand in hand.  If there was ever a mutant that could be called a gift to magic, it’s you.”

“You speak nonsense!” Scarlet Witch exclaimed as she waved her hand outward and knocked Centurious on his back with a hex bolt.  To be completely honest, she had no idea why she lashed out the way she did.  It wasn’t as if Centurious had insulted her.

Rising to his feet, Centurious threw his head back and laughed.  “It is as I thought.  You know the truth, but refuse to admit it.”

Spreading his feet at an equal angle from his shoulders, Centurious clasped his arms across his chest and looked skyward.  His eyes began to glow green and a thousand screams erupted from his mouth.  The slightest of glowing slits opened in his back and it quickly grew to allow the one thing his magical captives wanted- freedom. 

The angry souls rose from the necromancer and began to circle him wildly, while Wanda watched in horror.  The green ethereal beings were mere skeletons whose facial bones had been contorted permanently into expressions of terror.  Centurious had damned them in much the same way he had been cursed centuries upon centuries ago.

Mieko saw the shocked expression on the faces of Swordsman, Falcon, and Tigra.  The three Avengers thought they had her dead to rights, but Ko didn’t become the leader of HYDRA by acting stupidly.  She had plenty of back up in Greenland and one of those people just happened to be someone who had held his own against the Fantastic Four and Black Panther without too much trouble.

His name was Emperor and like a true royal of his time he properly respected women in power.  “Your strength is to be admired Mieko Ko.  Let me vanquish these infidels for you.”

Mieko laughed at Tigra who had mocked her allies only moments ago.  “My help is far from gone wench.  Meet Emperor.  He will be your doom.”

Swordsman looked to Falcon and said, “Take Greer out of here.  I’ll hold off this guy as long as I can.”

“You gotta be crazy!” Tigra exclaimed.  “I have a feeling this guy is more than you can handle.”

Jarvert shot a sharp eye at Tigra.  “I’ll be able to handle him a lot better with a wounded teammate out of my way.”

A blue blur passed in front of the Avengers and Quicksilver stopped only feet in front of the three Avengers.  With the stern voice of a battle tested leader, he said, “Swordsman’s right.  Falcon get her out of here now!”

Tigra resisted Falcon’s attempts to get a good grip on her.  “You gotta be out of your mind if you think I’m going to leave you two alone.”

A pink telekinetic wave flew forth from Emperor’s body and knocked all of the Avengers on their backs.   Quicksilver rose to his feet and moving at speeds well over that of sound, he battered Emperor with blows that dented his golden armor.  Swordsman knew a distraction when he saw one and said, “Greer you have to get out of here.  You’re only hurting us by staying.”

“Besides I’m involved now,” US Agent said coming into view with Darkhawk and Rage behind him.

Tigra rolled her eyes and said to Falcon, “Get me out of here before I die of an overdose of ego.”

Sam grinned and looked to his friends.  “Be careful”

Agent saluted Falcon and gave his typical cocky smirk.  “Don’t worry.  This guy doesn’t have anything on Russell Crowe.”

None of them watched as Tigra left in the arms of Falcon because Emperor had Quicksilver lifted off the ground with a metal hand clasped around Pietro’s throat.  Swordsman charged forward and stabbed his sword through Emperor’s forearm, causing him to drop Quicksilver.  With an angry eye, he telekinetically lifted Swordsman in the air and flung him backwards into a swarm of HYDRA soldiers nearly a hundred yards away.

Pulling Jarvert’s sword from his arm, Emperor used his telekinesis to fling the weapon in Darkhawk’s chest.  Powell took the blow and skidded across the ground.  He pulled the sword from his chest and jumped to his feet.  His alien armor had protected him from what should have been certain death. 

“You don’t get rid of me that easy Julius,” Darkhawk said as ran forward and swung the sword at Emperor’s other arm.

Emperor erected another telekinetic field and blocked the blow of Darkhawk, but that attack was only meant as a diversion.  A powerful darkforce blast exploded from Powell’s chest and sent Emperor careening through the air.  Unfortunately, Chris wasn’t able to keep up the assault as he had to temporarily switch back to human to allow his armor to repair itself.

Coming to Powell’s side, US Agent said, “You could have let me at least get one lick in.”

Suddenly a telepathic voice roared in their heads, <I have tired of these games!>

Both men saw an angered Emperor flying full speed to where they were.  Rage walked up behind the two and cracked his knuckles, “Guess we’ll be getting those licks in after all.”

“We have to have a strategy,” Quicksilver said zooming in front of the three heroes.  His attack against Emperor had been reckless, but he needed for Tigra to get away safely.  He wouldn’t have any dead Avengers on his head.

“How about some help for starters?”

Looking upwards the four saw Sersi, Quoi, Adam Warlock, and the other Avengers that had been defending the Avengers Mansion.  Quicksilver noticed one of them was missing and asked, “Where’s Quasar?”

Sequoia pointed above Emperor.  “About to drop a little surprise on your friend.”

Everyone looked to where the Celestial Messiah had pointed and saw what looked like a blazing meteor slam into Emperor.  The impact sent out a blinding wave of light that forced everyone looking to shield their eyes.  US Agent groaned and said, “I almost forgot how flashy you Avengers could be.”

“Comes with the territory,” Darkhawk replied.

Landing on the ground, Hawkeye put an arm on Pietro’s shoulder and said, “I think it’s pretty much a safe bet that your friend is out of the game.”

Quicksilver looked at the unscathed Clint.  “I would have figured you all would have taken more of a beating.”

“We did,” Hawkeye answered.  “But we just so happen to have this Celestial Messiah guy on our team.  Able to do anything his pee brain can think of, including patching us all up.”

“He overstates my abilities.  If I could do anything, I would have ceased his mouth a long time ago,” Sequoia joked as he approached the two men.  “Seriously, I have used up more energy than I intended to in this conflict.” 

A group of angry komodo dragons had surrounded Beast, but Sundragon telekinetically flung them in every direction.  Landing beside McCoy, she said, “The assistance is appreciated, but I do believe I can take it from here.”

“I respect your abilities to the utmost Pamela, but that,” Beast pointed to a coming stampede of lions, “is not something I think anyone should handle alone.”

Pamela surrounded the two of them in a purple telekinetic bubble and said, “Agreed.  But we can’t keep fighting these creatures like this.”

Hank nodded.  “We have to find where Dr. Animal is.  I wonder from where that name derived?  Somewhere Dr. Monreau weeps at the rip-off.”

“I know nothing of this Monreau.   Is he a friend of yours?” Pamela asked as the two flew high above the stampede of animals that was waging through Wakanda’s capital.

The spirits twisted around Centurious with