He floated through the void of space, this golden man of fate and destiny. In the great vastness, with no true points of perspective, he appeared to be traveling very slowly. The fact was this man was traveling far faster than the speed of light itself, streaking toward the edge of a solar system. But at even the greatest speeds, time can stretch for the man called Adam Warlock. Time that he used to reflect.

Created without purpose by mad scientists intent on conquest, the man then known as Him destroyed the creators and journeyed out into space. A natural instinct to survive through reproduction led to the seeking of a mate in the form of Sif, and conflict with her sometime-lover Thor, Norse God of Thunder. A later encounter with the High Evolutionary granted Him three things: the new name of Adam Warlock, the cosmic Soul Gem that still sat affixed to his brow, and a purpose as protector of Counter-Earth.

The strange planet had been created by the High Evolutionary and traveled in Earth's orbit, on the opposite side of the sun. Populated by a strange assortment of characters for the purposes of their creator’s experiments, it had been threatened by the terrifying failed experiment known as the Man-Beast. After eventually thwarting the evil creature, Adam Warlock left the High Evolutionary's service and again set out on his own.

The frozen mass of rock and ice called Pluto expanded into Warlock's view. He had reached the solar system's edge, and reflected on another object he'd encountered in space long ago. It had been an outpost for the Universal Church of Truth, ruled by a twisted future self of Warlock's called the Magus. At the time, Warlock had been lamenting his failure to do lasting good, and saw how that desire would eventually corrupt him into committing great evils.

More powerful than his past self, Magus overcame Warlock and sought to direct him into following the path that would lead to damnation. However, Warlock had made allies in the struggle. Pip the Troll, whose life of sin and debauchery countered everything the Universal Church of Truth had stood for. Gamora, the last of a race slaughtered by the Universal Church of Truth. She was found as a child and trained to assassinate the Magus and Warlock's greatest ally, the Mad Titan known as Thanos. It was Thanos who enabled Warlock to defeat the Magus, but at a terrible cost. To ensure he would become the Magus, Adam Warlock destroyed all timelines but his shortest, meaning that in the near future he was to die.

That death had come too soon, ironically enough in conflict with Thanos. Pip and Gamora had also died in that struggle, their souls taken in by Warlock's Soul Gem. The same had been done to Warlock, and in a critical point in the struggle the spirit of Warlock arose and turned Thanos to stone. That was how it should have ended, with Warlock and his allies dead but their souls living forever in a paradise provided by the Soul Gem. Alas, Adam Warlock and died and returned before, while combating the Man-Beast, and would do so again.

It was Thanos that had returned first. Mistress Death, whom the Mad Titan loved, gave him life and the task of bringing death to half the universe. To achieve this, Thanos took the Soul Gem and its brothers, known collectively as the Infinity Gems and amassed god-like power. But inside his Gem, Warlock still had power, and so his soul was released along with Pip's and Gamora's. Returned to living bodies, they teamed with champions of Earth and the cosmos to oppose the almighty Thanos. In the Mad Titan's defeat, Warlock came into possession of the Infinity Gems and that same god-like power, but recognizing his own limitations gave up the power and scattered the gems.

What followed was more conflict, as during his brief tenure of omnipotence Warlock had expelled good and evil from his soul. These aspects took physical form, and undiluted good proved to be as dangerous as undiluted evil. Warlock drew these aspects back into himself, and resumed his aimless wandering of the cosmos.

At last, Warlock spied the object he was tasked with retrieving in the far distance. It was massive in size, comparable to a small moon, but misshapen to better resemble a human being. This was because, Warlock confirmed as he drew nearer, the object was in fact a giant human being known as the Living Monolith, the being he was tasked to collect.

Held at his side during the journey, Warlock raised his Karmic Staff, an object he had created to better channel and focus his natural cosmic abilities. Through the Soul Gem, Warlock sensed that the Living Monolith's mind was dormant but alive, and he dared not risk awakening such a powerful giant. Greenish energy flowed from the Karmic Staff to envelop the Living Monolith, wrapping around it as a blanket but far more durable. His charge now held fast by his power, Warlock slowly towed him back into the solar system. This return trip would take far longer, and Warlock continued to reflect on his engineered life.

Recent conflicts had not go so well for Adam Warlock. He had attempted to save the soul of Genis-Vell, son of deceased ally Captain Mar-Vell. Warlock still had hopes for the long scheme, but for now Genis-Vell had become a lost cause. Just a short time ago Thanos had returned to plague Earth with a collection of cosmic threats, among them the mysterious Abyss. In attempting to combat the ebony villain, Warlock had found his Soul Gem overwhelmed by what seemed to be the consciousness of an entire universe. His presence ultimately had no bearing on the conflict, and Warlock limped away, ineffectual.

No direction. That was what Adam Warlock considered the root cause for his ineffective actions. His future was blissfully uncertain. By decree of the Living Tribunal, the Infinity Gems could no longer be used in junction. There was no longer any real purpose to Adam Warlock's life, and he saw little meaning in these conflicts. Only the presence of Thanos had driven him to aid the Avengers.

What did it really matter of hundreds, thousands, millions of human beings died? If the Earth itself was destroyed? The universe was vast, filled with an untold number of populated words. Every day a species would die out somewhere and another would evolve into being elsewhere. Violence ravaged sections of the cosmos, having no impact on distant galaxies or even other systems in that same galaxy. Unless the Everything itself was threatened, why should Warlock bother himself?

That question brought Adam Warlock to an old ally. One who, while known for occasional misdeeds, had never wronged Warlock and thus remained a trusted individual. He shared Warlock's doubts, and had confided that he'd once attempted suicide, having seen no more point in life on the mortal plane. Then he showed Warlock the possibilities of engineered life, of controlled randomness and a window into what the End of All could really be. Adam Warlock saw merit in these experiments, and agreed to aid his ally in carrying them out.

At last, Warlock and his charge neared the system's center. The hostile asteroid belt was behind them, and ahead lay the blue globe that was Earth. But it was a far distance away still, on the other side of the central sun. Adam Warlock's destination was the planet that shared Earth's orbit, though most of Earth's population was unaware of this. It was not the same one Warlock had defended so long ago, that planet had been destroyed during Thanos' brush with godhood, but it was Counter-Earth nevertheless.

Much as Earth did, its counter also had a moon, with a Blue Area similar to Earth's moon. But while that area was created by the Skrulls and housed a Kree city, this area and its complex within shared the same creator as everything associated with Counter Earth. It was into this Blue Area that Adam Warlock landed, settling the immobile Living Monolith within the center of an intricate ring of pylons.

"His mind and soul remain silent." Warlock's voice carried through the artificial atmosphere He turned toward the area's central citadel, where a figure stood in the open doorway. "Whether he will remain that way once you siphon his energies, I cannot say."

"I have faith in my machines, Adam." The figured stepped into the bright, blue-tinged sunlight, revealing himself to be the armored High Evolutionary. "The Living Monolith will remain aslumber, and the vast stores of energy he has absorbed through the years will feed the equipment used in my experiments."

"By my calculations it will take nine cycles before his size begins to reduce," Warlock stated. "He grew larger as I approached and greater amounts of solar energy were fed into him. Set him outside this filtered area and he will last much longer as a power supply."

"Yes, but the gain is negligible next to the greater risk." As the High Evolutionary approached Adam Warlock, he raised his arm and opened his palm. "Come now, old friend, and bear witness to the first of many experiments."

At first, Warlock could see nothing in the palm of High Evolutionary's hand. Then, he felt it through his Soul Gem, so similar to the experience with Abyss. A universe worth of souls, and he could not see it.

---

“Avengers Assemble!” Captain America shouted at the top of his lungs. The battlecry failed to carry far, however, only being heard through the radio frequency by his teammates. They were deep beneath the ocean surface, battling alongside former Avenger Andromeda and her fellow Atlanteans against the mutated clones of At’La’Tique.

Like Stingray, Captain America wore a pressurized suit, though not nearly so advanced. As a result is mobility was limited, so he grudgingly stayed at the back lines. Warbird wore only an oxygen mask, her great strength enough to survive the harsh ocean pressure. Her powers enabled her to survive in deep space, so Binary had no need of a pressure suit or breathing apparatus. The same wasn’t exactly true of Espirita, but so great was the heat around her that water became steam inches from her skin, and like Binary she did not need to breathe.

That left Karnak and Quicksilver, whose super-human skills would have been useless under water no matter what they wore. For this reason they were aboard the experimental Quin-Sub. Even from a distance and through thick plexi-glass, Karnak could spot the weakness in his enemies. At his direction Quicksilver could work the controls at super-speed to best exploit those weaknesses. But only if they could work together.

“That blast was off by three inches.”

“It still destroyed the vehicle.”

“Yes, but it also would have destroyed the two near it. No, you should have fired at Llyron three seconds later.”

“I hate twiddling my thumbs.”

The premature laser blast from the Quin-Sub was dodged by Llyron as he plunged into the midst of Atlanteans. “Fools,” he screamed. “This is what the people of Atlantis truly want! With Namor at that surface whore’s bidding I have been freed to lead our people again!”

“Broken out by fanatics you mean!” Andromeda roared. Through the murky water none of the Avengers could hear her or Llyron’s words. “They’ll soon have my thanks. Killing you on the field of battle I won’t have to wait for your execution!”

Andromeda slashed at Llyron with her knife. However, the cloned Atlantean/human hybrid dived over the attack and smashed the butt of his trident against Andromeda’s skull. She floated down, dazed, and Llyron swam straight for Captain America. Around him, the At’Lan’Tique forces were being thoroughly routed by the superior number of Atlanteans and the great power of the Avengers. Still, Llyron knew that striking at the head was a key in victory, and felt it was still in his grasp.

“Now we battle in my element, surface worlder!” Llyron’s roar was indiscernible to Captain America, but he was able to get the meaning behind it. He barely managed to raise his shield in time to deflect the thrust of Llyron’s trident.

A short distance away, Espirita scattered a grouping of At’Lan’Tique clones with a burst of super-heated steam. Only scatter. None were struck directly, were even in danger of being struck. Still, Espirita saw several of her enemy move as though pained, and there was worry in her soul. Her powers were so destructive, if anyone were seriously injured by them…

“There’s something wrong!” It was Warbird who had cried out, her voice carried by the small transmitter in her oxygen mask. She and Binary had just smashed open an undersea tank. The passengers spilled out, the cloned soldiers, but they were limp and with a pale coloring. “They’re almost dead, and we’re not the cause!”

Moving much faster than Captain America was able to, Llyron swam around him and prepared to strike with his trident. But Stingray dived from above, his body coursing with electricity when he touched the villain. Electricity arced through Llyron and the trident fell from limp fingers. His suit powered down, Stingray took hold of the unconscious Llyron, the entire exchange finished before Captain America could even turn around.

“Good work, Avenger.”

“Maybe next time you’ll listen when I suggest you stay in the sub.”

Captain America allowed a brief smile. “Unlikely.” He turned back around, to check Andromeda’s condition. He saw that she had recovered and was treading water. He also saw that the battle was over. Most of the At’Lan’Tique were beaten, and the rest were in shape to fight, stricken by the sudden new illness. “Andromeda, is this a complication of them being clones?”

“It may well be, Captain.” Andromeda still carried her Avengers communicard and was able to adjust her speech through the water so the non-Atlanteans could understand. “And thank you for not suggesting we Atlanteans employ biological weapons.”

“I know that’s not in your general nature,” he replied. “Atlanteans prefer open battle, and accept the defeat of their opponents with honor. I’m sure all of your prisoners here will be given medical attention.”

Before Andromeda could respond, her eyes rolled back into her head and she began to convulse. Captain America and Stingray moved toward her position, but a number of her Atlantean comrades reached Andromeda first. A number of those who weren’t suddenly experiencing the same symptoms. Reaching the pack around Andromeda, Captain America was allowed to pass through them and took the former teammate in his arms.

“It must be the same thing affecting the At’Lan’Tique,” Stingray insisted.

Captain America nodded, but had most of his attention on the afflicted fellow Avenger. “Speak to me, Andromeda. You’re strong enough to fight whatever this is.”

The gills covering the inside of Andromeda’s cheeks flared as she seemed to be gasping for oxygen. However she seemed to catch her breath, and in shorts bursts answered. “Only a…sudden…discomfort. Not too…serious.” She was pushing for Captain America to release her, and he reluctantly did so. She at least managed to float by herself. “I still feel it, but…mild. Like an ache in all my muscles that’s been around for years.”

“Once everybody gets down to the city we can run tests to see what is going on-”

Quicksilver’s voice cut through the frequency to interrupt Captain America. “Whatever this is, it is happening on land as well. We are now receiving a number of reports. Sudden fatigue and severe muscle ache are affecting thousands at once.”

Hesitation passed over Captain America’s face. He was compelled to go do his duty, but didn’t like to just abandon a comrade in need. Fortunately, Andromeda sensed the conflict and absolved him.

“Go, take care of your own. We’ll take care of ours.”

---

They were gathered in the mansion’s main assembly room, five of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Spinning above the meeting table was a holographic globe of the Earth in a dull red glow except for green at the poles. Captain America took charge, telling his team exactly what they were seeing.

“Over ninety percent of the planet is being affected by this strange ailment. Not just humans, as we’ve seen. All forms of humanoid and animal life are being affected too. So far the symptoms have only been minor and chronic. We’ve had no reports of deaths yet.” Captain America let that last word carry in the air before going on.

“Even members of the super-human population aren’t immune.” He indicated the teammates around him: Quicksilver, Espirita, Binary and Warbird. “You’re all fine right now, and Stingray is okay because he’s remained in his armor. But Karnak was hit especially hard.”

They had all just left Karnak in the medical area upstairs, his muscles nearly useless. Jarvis and Dianne Arliss were there as well, more as a precaution, with Stingray at his wife’s side.

“Have you been experiencing the symptoms?” Espirita asked Captain America.

The Avengers Chairperson nodded. “It was just like Andromeda said. A dull ache in all the muscles of my body. I’m able to deal with it though, as are most people for now. The best scientists in the world are working on this problem, but we don’t know if this will get worse or how much.”

“It has to be a weapon,” Warbird declared. “The way this suddenly struck world-wide in a matter of minutes, including everything in the oceans. Do we know for a fact that residents in Latveria have been affected?”

“There has been confirmation,” Captain America responded. “Obviously, this isn’t the kind of threat we’re used to. To be frank, I expect our only contribution to the investigation will be as a response to the aggressors responsible. But we aren’t the sort to just sit on our hands and do nothing. As none of us have scientific backgrounds, and Stingray’s primary field is in oceanography, I’ve called in a specialist.”

“Then when he arrives you should send him out to assist the other real scientists,” Quicksilver remarked. “We can’t waste resources doing separate studies.”

“Oh, I don’t think anyone will be missing me!” A small voice boomed through the air. All the Avengers saw the small fly that had buzzed into the room, but only the ones with impeccable eyesight could see the insect had a tiny passenger. At this passenger’s command, the fly landed on the table, and the Astonishing Ant-Man hopped off. “I’m really more a specialist in small things than an actual scientist.”

“When restructuring the team I recruited Ant-Man as the second reservist,” Captain America told the team. “He has unique talents for specialized threat, such as this one. If he manages to get small enough, Ant-Man can provide us with a first-hand look at the microbes of this disease.”

“Allay-oop!” Somersaulting off the table, Ant-Man grew in mid-air and landed a full-sized man. “This situation got me thinking about microbes and Pym Particles. For instance, have you guys ever noticed that giant-sized bacteria doesn’t suddenly appear every time Giant-Man got larger?”

“Yes, because the Pym Particles are too large to attach to the microbes.” Quicksilver sounded bored as he told Scott Lang this. “What does this have to do with anything?”

“Um, well, nothing,” Ant-Man admitted. “Except that it also explains why Hank could never shrink down to microbe size. Insect size is the limit for Pym Particles before the subject is jumped into the Sub-Atomic Universe. However,” Ant-Man was quick to add. “I’ve looked at research claiming that white dwarf star matter could successfully shrink matter to a microscopic level.”

“Where could we find this research?” Espirita inquired.

“Um…” Ant-Man hesitated. “The internet.”

Quicksilver laughed out loud. “Oh please. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Just admit that you’re useless and we can get on with our lives.”

“Hey, don’t be mean,” Binary said to Quicksilver.

Warbird asked the question. “Assuming you could get your hands on white dwarf star matter, what could you do with it?”

“Well, obviously I can’t get my hands on white dwarf star matter,” Ant-Man admitted. Quicksilver barely held back his laugh while Captain America closed his eyes and sighed. “But, we have somebody here who draws her power from a white dwarf star.”

After saying this, Ant-Man directed his eyes to Binary. Captain America, Quicksilver and Espirita followed his line of vision to look at her also. Only Warbird failed to do this. She was looking down at the floor while it dawned on Binary what Ant-Man was getting at.

“Oh? Oh, right!” Her eyes lit up. “Wow, so that’s where my powers come from.”

“Yeah.” Warbird muttered reluctantly. “It’s what lets you do lots of stuff.” She directed at Ant-Man, “What would you expect her to do?”

---

A short time later, the Avengers had gone up one floor to the laboratories and medical area. With her services not required for Ant-Man’s experiments, Espirita went to visit with Stingray and the patients. Jarvis and Dianne both appeared fine if haggard, but the sight of Karnak was heartbreaking. He was often so strong and capable, but due to his weak Inhuman immune system the muscles of his body were becoming atrophied.

“Right now what really worries me is his heart.” In addition to his many doctorates, Stingray had some medical training. “I have adrenaline on hand, but if his heart gives out it may never recover.”

“In time this may happen to everybody,” Espirita observed. “I fear to wonder if the same is occurring in Attilan.”

At mention of the Inhuman city, Stingray glanced past Espirita and lowered her voice. “Best not to. Quicksilver puts on a good front…”

Espirita nodded, understanding that their mutant teammate must be worried about the health of his ex-wife and daughter. Quickly she shifted the subject. “Ant-Man is rigging up something he thinks will allow Binary to manipulate Pym Particles. He seems quite adept at electronics.”

“He should be. Scott Lang used to be a technician for Stark Enterprises and the Fantastic Four. Do you think anything useful will come of this?”

Espirita hesitated, but came to repeat Captain America’s earlier words. “A threat like this, it’s unlike anything we usually face. It helps to at least do something. And there is always a chance that it will be the right thing.”

“Espirita, about things we usually face.” Though Stingray’s face was hidden beneath the armor, Espirita could tell from his body language that he was uncertain with what he was going to say. “Earlier, you were holding back against the At’Lan’Tique. I know what happened at Cape Citadel rattled you, but Mellancamp survived.”

“That doesn’t change the fact I nearly killed him,” Espirita replied with deep regret.

“Burning the oxygen around him was sound, but I could have done it more safely. Instead I took his invulnerable skin for granted and roasted his organs. I know that to question the harm I may do is foolish during a fight, but the alternative…” Espirita suddenly looked very afraid. “If I don’t, my soul is at risk.”

A man of science, Stingray had no argument for Espirita’s religious fears. All he could do was nod in understanding, and silently hope that others better qualified would help his teammate.

---

“Easy, Binary. Just let the power flow through.”

“I’m…not used to being subtle with this,” Binary said with difficulty. Soft white light was shining out of her hand, into the lantern-shaped device that Ant-Man had built. Inside were Pym Particles, and hopefully Binary’s power was altering them to do the task at hand.

On the other side of the lantern, there was a needle standing upright on a glass slide. Also on the table was a sophisticated microscope. All the Avengers gathered around were waiting patiently, except for Quicksilver, whose foot was tapping rapidly.

“How much longer until we know this is going to work?”

“It might as well be now.” Ant-Man flipped a switch on the lantern, opening up one side of it. White light with tiny flecks of Pym Particles shot out, bathing the needle. Almost immediately it vanished. “Let’s take a look at the slide.”

Carefully, the glass slide was placed under the microscope. Ant-Man put his eyes to the scopes and slowly worked the dials. “Okay, I think…there, I’ve got it!” He lifted his head up. “Captain America, come take a look.”

The Avengers Chairperson peered into the microscope. “There it is, all right. Kind of big. What setting are you using?”

“Through there we should be able to see one-celled organisms. That’s about the needle’s size. What I’ve not sure about are those flowing waves around it.”

“I can almost make them out. Whatever it is seems to be moving too fast.”

“Luckily,” Ant-Man reached for a switch on the microscope. “This baby has a built in camera.” A sheet of photo-paper shot out of a slot in the side. “A quick freeze-frame, and we’ll have a better idea of what-” Ant-Man’s eyes fell on the photograph, and his words caught in his throat.

“My god,” Captain America breathed. “We need to assemble against this, now.”

---

Once again, the Avengers had assembled in the War Room, including Stingray. Captain America was leaning against the table, one hand on the photograph Ant-Man had taken. The needle could be seen clearly, but surrounding it was something that couldn’t have been there. A city existed around the needle, dwarfed by it but still massive, apparently built in a late-Victorian style. Tiny dots couldn’t be properly made out, but it was obvious to everyone they represented people.

“We’re dealing with a microscopic civilization,” Captain America informed everyone present. “To give you all a sense of what we’re against, this city covers an area smaller than a pin hole. As far as Ant-Man can determine, the entire world is covered by this.”

“We’re talking a trillion-trillion beings,” Ant-Man added. “All smaller than one-celled organisms without being sub-atomic. Just by existing, they’re affecting us and it’s unlikely they know we’re here.”

“All right then.” Warbird crossed her arms. “Whatever we do about this, it has to affect them all at once, right? How do we go about it?”

“That would be genocide,” Espirita stated. “These people aren’t even aware of what they’re doing. We can’t just wipe them out.”

“The same can be said for lice. That doesn’t stop me from washing my hair.”

“Espirita is right,” Captain America said. “We have here evidence of culture, of civilization. They can be reasoned with, once we find a way to communicate. Working together, we should be able to solve this problem non-violently.”

“And if not,” Quicksilver interjected, “we’ll have made an enemy aware of us. This,” he indicated the entire afflicted world, “is them living normal lives. If they tried, we could all end up dead.”

“Nevertheless, we need to try.” Captain America addressed the team. “Working in concert, Ant-Man and Binary will shrink us all down. Stingray, I would like you to remain behind, to let everybody know about what we’ve found. And we’ll be leaving immediately.”

“Everything is set up.” Ant-Man patted the lantern filled with Pym Particles and Binary’s white-dwarf energy. He then indicated his belt. “And I have pouches filled so we’ll be able to get back, hopefully.”

“Then let’s go,” Warbird said. “Stingray, if we’re not back in…” She looked at Captain America. “What, an hour? Two?”

“We should give it a day.”

“All right. If we’re not back in about a day, fill the rest of the team in about this. And the Fantastic Four.”

“I won’t wait that long,” Stingray told them. “But we’ll try to hold off taking action until then. Good luck.”

Five of the Avengers and reservist Ant-Man grouped together at one end of the table. As the lantern was opened, Stingray saluted his teammates as they vanished. Once they’d gone, he was about to turn to check on his wife and Karnak, and then to contact everybody he could. Not even a second had passed.

The Avengers were suddenly back.

They had reappeared at the exact same spot, but that was the only similarity Stingray could see. Everybody’s uniforms had been mended several times, and was dirty with extensive wear. Ant-Man’s uniform was covered with tape, blood crusted at Captain America’s side, and Quicksilver appeared to have lost more than twenty pounds. Warbird’s hair was cropped close to her red scalp, and indication it’d been burned off. Binary and Espirita just looked weary, so weary.

“What have you been doing?” Quicksilver demanded. “Why hadn’t anyone come to help?”

“You…you all had just left!” Stingray sputtered out, flabbergasted at what he was seeing. “I swear, not even a second a passed.”

Quicksilver and Warbird both looked furious, but Captain America just nodded. “That’s what we’d figured, ever since we were told about the needle’s history.” He told Stingray flat-out, “we were gone eight months.”

“What? How?”

“Time seems to flow differently at microscopic size,” Ant-Man theorized. “What’s been little more than a day to use has been tens of thousands of years for them. A civilization larger than our known universe, at this point more advanced than we’ll ever become.” He turned to Captain America. “Just in the time I’m explaining this, everybody we’ve met has died of old age.”

“Were you able to talk to somebody?” Stingray asked. “Explain things?”

“It didn’t matter.” Binary explained. “They have…had, no central authority. We’d found an ally, tried to set him up in a position to help, but…” She looked about to cry.

“We’ve basically been fighting a war,” Espirita explained. “And it’s likely already been lost in time.”

“So we need to do plan B,” Warbird declared. “Scorch it all and-”

“That won’t work,” Captain America stressed. “Setting aside morality, we would need to annihilate everything at…not even second…at the quantum instant. Worldwide, or in less than an hour we’d be right back here. That is impossible.”

“So what do we do?” Warbird asked. “Track down and beat a solution out of-”

Captain America shook his head. “No. I’d like to confirm this with Mister Fantastic, but I think there’s only one course of action available to us.”

---

It took eight hours. As near as they could tell, nobody died. Even those hit as hard as Karnak had made a completely recovery. Another photograph from the microscope confirmed everything.

They may never know exactly how it happened, but the civilization, the entire species was gone, as all are inevitably destined too. Maybe not died out, exactly. They could have ascended in some fashion, given the level of advancement that could be identified from the ruins. The details didn’t exactly matter. The threat had past, and all that remained was for the Avengers to respond.

Ant-Man looked at the photograph he’d taken while in the micro-verse. It was of a massive statue, recognizable as the High Evolutionary. He’d been behind it, and the Avengers were going to make him answer for the deed. Not with Ant-Man, though. He wasn’t needed for that kind of mission. Which was just fine by him.

Before he’d left, a message had been playing on Ant-Man’s answering machine. The ex-wife, about a time to pick up Cassie. Ant-Man figured he’d call her back in less than a second, provided he didn’t break his own neck.

But that was later. Now, Ant-Man pulled the rope taut, and started climbing a needle to get a better view of the ruins of a city long dead.

---

Next Issue: His latest experiment threatened the entire world, and the Avengers aim to make the High Evolutionary pay for it! But to reach him, they need to get through Adam Warlock! Plus, a slumbering giant awakens!

---

Author’s Note

To be honest, I feel a little like I’d just written an issue of Fantastic Four. High-concept, exploration of a new, strange world, fairly heavy in terms of science fiction with a meaningful message at the end. Now, if I’d focused on the war the Avengers fought, or had the micro-verse inhabitants figure out a way to grow and invade the macro-verse… But no, that’s not what this issue was about. Maybe down the road, I’ll do a special dealing more in-depth about what happened to the Avengers. But for now, it’s enough to know that it was all meaningless, kind of like the majority of stories.

But okay, enough of the high-concept stuff. Next issue is mega-action…along with some more high-concept stuff. Then, who knows what kind of mega-epic will be coming our way.