April '08 # 3

STARRING:

Commander Marvel

Iron Man

Goliath

The Wasp

Thor

Photon

ALSO FEATURING:

Scarlet Centurion

Loki

The Jötunn

 

New York, New York

“Hey! I’m talking to you, you little punk!”

The blonde-haired youth that was the target of the comment flicked a look of bored interest to the speaker. Lights flashed behind him through the dirty window as the subway car they occupied rocketed through the underground labyrinth. There were only a few people spaced throughout the car and the teenager had been left alone until now.

He plucked one of the ear-buds out of his ear, filling the immediate area with the heavy thrashing music that brought about visuals of pink hair, ripped pants, and high-pitched singing. “Huh?” he said loudly at the man who had spoken to him.

“You’re in my seat,” the man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, replied. “I always sit in that seat and I can’t do that if you’re there. Get up! Now!”

The man looked like he might have an aneurism if he didn’t get what he wanted. The blonde youth sighed and returned the ear-bud to where it belonged, crossed his arms over his seemingly frail chest, and closed his eyes to enjoy the music. He hated riding the subway. It seemed like every time he had to go somewhere in New York he encountered some crazed weirdo that gave him shit. He didn’t even want to leave his apartment but the strange compulsion to head downtown to the business district made him. It had happened only one other time in his life, when he had been prodded to retrieve the strange stone orb he currently carried in his backpack.

“Hey!” the man exclaimed. “Gimme my seat, you punk!”

The man gripped the youth’s shoulder to forcibly remove him from the plastic seat. To his surprise, the teenager placed his hand atop the man’s, and with amazing strength that defied his thin body, peeled it off his shoulder. The man fell to his knees and whimpered as the youth stood, still bending the man’s fingers back to the breaking point.

The subway brakes squealed and the car began to rapidly slow down. The youth released the man’s reddened fingers and walked to the door, which opened once the car had come to a complete stop. He quietly hummed along with the tune piping directly into his ears as if the altercation with the man had never even transpired.

He didn’t even give the inhuman strength he had just displayed a second thought, nor had he since that first unconscious summons to retrieve the stone orb. It was like second nature to him now, among other things.

The subway platform was filled with people eager to get to their destinations, all pushing by him. Wadded up paper was strewn about the floor beside other refuse, and he frowned slightly when he saw a ragged man curled up on a bench. He hated coming downtown, but what choice did he really have?

He trotted up the stairs and breached the surface, feeling the warm sunshine on his face. More people rushed by him, running down the stairs. In fact, nearly everyone he saw was running by him in the same direction, and some of them looked spooked. He pulled the ear-buds out again and looked down the car-packed street to see if there was something specific they were running from. The moment the the booming music had left his ears it was filled with screams that had been born of nothing but unbridled fear.

“Holy shit…”

He gazed down the street and saw the reason why traffic had stopped, why people were running in terror, and why he had been mentally forced against his will to travel downtown: three monsters that were easily a hundred feet tall stood roaring at the end of the lane.

One of them stomped down onto a car and crushed it easily beneath its mass. Flakes of what looked like ice chipped off of the massive foot, melting in the hot sun once separated from the giant. The features on the giants’ faces were carved out of solid ice, with frost and crystals formed over the eyes and mouths.

“Guess this explains a few things,” the teenager muttered as he walked casually down the street toward the Frost Giants. Where the other citizens looked alarmed and frightened for their lives, he looked interested and excited.

He flexed his right hand and there suddenly appeared a blue-white object made of pure energy. Lightning danced across its surface and it seemed solid enough even though it was translucent. The form it took was another curiosity, although like this great strength, it did not shock or surprise him.

The hammer, made of energy lent to him by the same entity that shared his mind, would be his weapon of choice as the approaching battle commenced…

Marvel 2000 Proudly Presents...

# 3- "The End of Days"
Part Three: Conclusion

Written by D. Golightly

Twenty minutes ago…

“I demand to speak with you in person.”

The now conscious and calm (comparatively) Commander Marvel stood with his arms crossed as the gathered people stared at him. Only moments before the collection of men and women had been atop Stark Tower, fighting with a brunt force that few people in the history of the world could conceive of. Marvel had addressed the floating flatscreen television that showed the visage of Tony Stark himself, and the billionaire looked none too pleased.

“I’m afraid that won’t happen,” Stark replied smoothly. He brushed absentmindedly at his goatee, which was as dark as the thick hair on his head. “But my bodyguard, Iron Man, will be my proxy, if not in spirit then in physicality. I’m sure you remember him.”

Marvel shot a quick look at the red and gold armored figure standing beside the screen. Iron Man had been the one that had landed the final blow to end the fight, although Marvel knew that if the enigmatic red-caped man standing to the side had not appeared that the battle would probably have raged on further.

“Tony,” Bill Foster said, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “We don’t have time for a pissing match. Look at me!”

It was hard not to look at the black scientist. Bill Foster, amazingly, stood nearly fifteen feet tall. When on the roof it hadn’t been a problem to stand up straight, but now that they had come inside to Bill’s lab he was hunched over, barely able to keep his head from bouncing against the ceiling. Somehow a stray blast from Marvel’s wristbands had engulfed him, along with Janet van Dyne, and changed them on the molecular level. Even though the strange man in red and his glowing female accomplice had urged them to heed some kind of warning, all he wanted to do was examine the damage done to his body.

A small squeak replied to Bill’s exclamation, only made audible by the sound equipment she had spoken into. “And what about me?” she said. Now that she was only a few centimeters high, using the microphone and speakers that Iron Man had cobbled together for her was the only way anyone could understand her. “We need to analyze the inert Pym particles I brought and find out—”

“I’d say they aren’t inert anymore,” Iron Man said. He motioned to a Plexiglas cube on the lab table behind him where he had stored the second stone orb that Marvel had brought. It sat humming with silent power next to a duplicate stone that Stark had already found. “I think it’s about high time our new friends enlighten us a bit.”

Bill shook his head and muttered, although with his now enlarged vocal folds and lungs, even speech beneath his breath was easily heard. “Flying guys in Halloween costumes…magic rocks…and now I’m impersonating characters from Gulliver’s Travels…”

“You may call me the Scarlet Centurion,” their watching guest stated. His voice carried well throughout the large lab, almost penetrating each and every one of them. His crimson cloak hung over broad shoulders that seemed too rigid to move, and it was only when he parted the cloth did they see that he wore golden, hued armor plating around his torso. His helmet matched what they would attribute to similar ones from films such as Spartacus and Ben Hur. His mere presence in the room commanded attention, stolen away only by the angelic glowing woman behind him, who thus far had remained silent.

“I have been witness to countless battles across the globe, the majority of which have been fought over those stone trinkets you have eagerly collected,” he explained. “Those stones house a secret that could spell doom to all of us, an Armageddon that has been scribbled down in antiquity under various names, but is rightfully at this junction called Ragnarok.”

“So you said on the roof.” Tony Stark’s screen floated forward, held aloft by magnetic devices that he had invented and patented, placing his face directly in front of the Centurion. “Part of the legend of Thor, if I am not mistaken.”

“You admit to this knowledge?” Marvel proclaimed, his temper flaring. “I sought you out, Stark, when my own stone warned me of the impending End of Days, an end you would cause!”

Commander Marvel’s bracelets began to glow like before, charging the air with energy. Tiny bubbles of bent light formed around his wrists, preparing to be pulled in and unleashed in a torrential stream that could incinerate steel. Before he could level his arm to attack, however, the silent angel behind the Centurion swam through the air almost elegantly between the ticks of a second, grasping Marvel’s wrist. The bubbles of condensed power sputtered and died away instantly, absorbed by her flaring aura.

“You will allow my master to speak,” she said. “Or I will remove you.”

“And who are you?” Marvel ripped his hand out of hers, but did not press the struggle.

“My name is Photon, and I’ve handled bigger children than you. Shut it.”

“My harbinger alludes to the more immediate danger, which is what brought us to you all,” the Centurion interrupted. “Time is short. We must act quickly or all will be lost.”

Iron Man glanced up at Bill Foster and then back to the table where, if he were zoom in using the lenses in his helmet’s visor, he could see Janet waiting patiently. He turned to the screen projecting Stark’s image and nodded.

“I get the sense that we’re in over our heads,” Stark said. “Please. Continue.”

The Scarlet Centurion bowed his head so subtly that they might not have even noticed. “Already an evil descends on this city, homing in on the power that the stones guard. Loki, housed within a mortal body, has called forth the Frost Giants of Asgard to help him retrieve the stones so that he might break the cycle of Ragnarok. If he is able to take the stones and crack them, more than just this world will perish in a hellish blaze of fire. The last time Loki attempted this feat he was thwarted by those like yourselves. Beings of immense power and fortitude that became legends in your history books.”

“The Invaders,” Iron Man stated.

“Precisely. I watched as they all fell to his might decades ago. The stones were taken from him, but if it had not been for the intervention of All-Father Odin, Loki would have secured them within a short time.”

“Odin?” Stark’s pixilated image asked. “The head of the Norse pantheon?”

“Odin’s eye had been watching his sons brawl, which is one of the signs of Ragnarok. The use of the ogre called the Destroyer had also been a part of Loki’s plan, the first catalyst to catch All-Father Odin’s eye, although I do not believe he was aware of it. Regardless, Odin placed Loki on the Isle of Silence where his spells would have no voice. The god of mischief has finally been able to break free for whatever reason and now seeks to succeed where he failed.”

“But why?” the augmented voice of Janet inquired. “What’s the point? Is he suicidal? If this…Loki character actually triggers the end of the world—”

“Not the end of the world,” the Centurion responded. “The end of existence. As the reincarnation of a dead god, this mortal Loki knows that his place in the cycle of Ragnarok will continue on into eternity. He will never know peace. He seeks an eternal slumber and will crush all who stand in his path.”

“And what do you get out of this?” Marvel said. He stepped around Photon, making sure he didn’t brush against her. “I came here because I thought Stark was the one who was gathering the stones. If you knew what was happening all along, and even watched from afar, why are you doing nothing until now?”

“This is my purpose. My curse. I need not say more than that for now.”

Bill shifted unsteadily, trying not to bump his head against the ceiling. “And what about you?” he said with an accusing finger pointed at Marvel. “You’re reckless, egotistical, careless, and you have a stone too! Look at what you did to me and Janet. Look!”

The mammoth fist moved faster than Marvel would have thought possible, and Bill landed a solid punch to the Commander’s chest. Marvel was flung back against the lab’s wall, slamming into the flat surface and cracking the drywall open. The anger in his eyes flared to life as did the bands around his wrists, but the presence of Photon directly in front of him made him pause.

“Haven’t you been listening?” she said. “All of you! Loki is coming here, and he’s going to kill whoever he has to in order to retrieve the stones. We have to do something!”

“We?” Janet’s voice said. “We? The only thing I need to do is find out how to remove the Pym particles from my system so I can get back to normal. This is not what I signed on for, Tony.”

“Photon is right,” both Iron Man and Tony Stark’s image said at the same time. Iron Man flexed his caged fingers while Stark continued, saying, “Like it or not we’re in this mess. Together. With the power we have at our disposal, we almost have an obligation to try and stop Loki. Even if we did nothing he would still come for us. He wants the stones, and since we know what he’s up to he’ll want to find us and learn out what we know.”

“How much time do we have?” Iron Man asked.

The Scarlet Centurion turned his head to stare at the blank wall. His eyes went out of focus momentarily, only to snap back after a few seconds. He turned back to face them, saying, “He has come.”

“Let your rage run free, my brothers in arms! No man can oppose us and live.”

The battle cry of Loki, heard by the ten towering Jötunn that thrashed down the streets of New York, encased in their vessels of ice and crystal, was answered by an unintelligible and primal response. In their hundred-foot tall bodies they had no breath, or even lungs, but the magicks that had summoned them to this plane made up for such simple things.

Loki flew at the head of the pack, randomly casting stray bolts of magical energy into the city, more often than not striking a stray runaway. One was reduced to a pile of ash upon being struck; another was transfigured into a grotesque semblance of what a human looked like from the inside. The three collected stone orbs that Loki valued so much swung around him slowly as he flew, adding their power to his.

The Frost Giant nearest the front squeezed through an intersection, letting his lumbering feet fall where they may. The streets were barely wide enough to contain them, and wherever they were forced to stoop because of a building’s overhang, they merely swatted it down like so much tinder.

The ten outcasts of Asgard gratefully followed Loki toward his prize. They anticipated his fulfillment of the promise he had made at the cite of their summoning: power enough to overthrow Odin himself, not to mention their freedom. So blinded where they for their chance of revenge that they had not inquired as to the prince of lies’ very nature. But Loki would soon have enough power to conquer even the great Jötunn if they dared to cross him. For now they were a means to an end. The end of all.

Stark Tower, the location of two more of his precious stones, loomed in the distance. He could already feel the pulsing of the orbs, so ready to be picked up by his gloved hand and added to his collection. The third was also nearby, but he could not decipher its location yet. Once the other two were his the last stone would never be able to hide and then the contents would give him the power to escape his own inevitable doom.

Barely a block away from Stark Tower, Loki paused to take in the landscape. He couldn’t help but notice that a few of the surrounding buildings looked to be battle-scarred already. It caused him no alarm, but it did seem rightfully out of place…

“My lord!” one of the Frost Giants bellowed from behind him.

Loki pivoted in midair with a sweep of his purple cloak just in time to see a red and black object soar through the sky and strike the lead Jötunn. So small was it in comparison that it looked to be no bigger than a single person, but how was that possible? Even if it could somehow be a person, he had not known of any of the Invaders surviving to this day to plague him.

Whatever the thing was, it collided with the Frost Giant’s head, caving it in instantly. Shards of jagged ice splintered off of the magically formed body, spilling like lifeblood. Flakes of snow fell to the street, shaved off from the force of the thing’s impact. The head of the Jötunn virtually exploded as the thing pushed completely through and kept flying away.

Magic can only account for so much of a spell, as the being it is cast on must be accountable for its allocation. Once the head of the Giant was destroyed, so to was it’s spirit shattered in a similar fashion. The rest of the frozen body, formed from the Artic landscape and not meant for the hot New York scene, began to instantly melt as the soul entwined within it was ripped back to Asgard. The other Frost Giants were captivated, so sure were they of their own power, and surprised that Loki had not instructed them as to this possibility.

“Who dares?” Loki demanded with a flash of green and golden power. “Who dares assault the army of Loki?”

The red and black thing that had tumbled effortlessly through the first Jötunn slowed and abruptly stopped in the air before moving out of sight. Loki, shocked to see the face of a man he long thought dead, grimaced in reply to the smirk he was given. The costume and bracelets were new, but the facial characteristics of an old hated enemy were still there.

“I dare, Loki,” Commander Marvel said stoutly. “And so do my friends.”

Thump!
Thump!
Thump!

Bill Foster’s huge feet smacked the pavement like piledrivers as he charged down the avenue toward the nearest Frost Giant. With a bit of concentration he had enlarged his size to nearly twenty-five feet, only a fourth of the height of the towering Jötunn, but enough to make himself less of a pest and more of a threat. He had nearly passed out from the exertion of growing so much, but he was pleased to see that he had some sort of control over his condition. He would have preferred to stay back in the lab, but Stark and the Centurion were both right: they were in this together. After all, Loki would come for him soon enough. He saw no sense in hiding.

Bill slammed into the shin of the closest Frost Giant, catching it off guard and knocking it off balance. It stumbled back and began to tip over, lifting it’s right foot. Bill crouched down and slipped his enormous hands under the foot and pushed up, aiding the Giant in it’s fall. With his increased size came increased strength, proportional to his mass. It fell into another Giant and their arms became intertwined, the screeching sound of ice scraping on ice ringing as loudly as nails on a chalkboard.

“Good job, Bill!” Iron Man shouted as he roared by overhead with his arms outstretched and his palms open. The armored hero channeled the energy generated by his antigravity engine into his red and gold gauntlets, unleashing a torrent of repulsor rays against the frozen creature. The energy was strong enough to punch a hole into the neck of the Frost Giant, severing it’s head completely from it’s shoulders. Like the first, it’s spirit was vacuumed away from it’s body and returned to the damnation Odin had set for it a millennia ago.

“Crazed fools!” Loki exclaimed as he readied an onslaught of spells to launch at the arrived heroes. “Whoever you are, you fight for nothing! I, Loki, am now the catalyst that breaks the cycle, so long as I have my talismans!”

The arcane symbols lining his gauntlets began to glow with life, a side effect of the spells he used when tapping into long forsaken power. With a small gesture of his hands, he manipulated a pair of street lamps near the enlarged Bill Foster, forcing them to snake around his legs and hold him in place. The Jötunn that had caught his brother after being knocked over saw the opportunity and delivered a powerful kick into Bill’s chest, dislodging him from the street lights and sending him flying back. The scientist crashed into the face of a storefront and cried out in agony as he felt several of his enlarged ribs snap under the pressure of the crash.

Commander Marvel swooped under one of the Giant’s arms, saying, “Then we’ll just have to remove those things, won’t we?”

Marvel poured on the speed and ascended for the awaiting Loki, his fists outstretched over his head. Iron Man called out a warning, but the red and black-clad warrior ignored him. The stones around Loki abruptly stopped circling him and formed a thin blue shield around their master, solidifying the very air into an unbreakable wall, which Marvel promptly slammed into. Invisible force rippled out from the collision, smashing nearby windows near the twentieth floor level. Marvel wavered back, woozy, shaken, and disoriented.

Loki took advantage of Marvel’s stupor and pressed forward, reigning down blows empowered by the magical gauntlets. Left and right, Marvel’s head was forced back and forth from the punches before a final uppercut sent the commander sailing back through the air and to the ground.

“None of you can stand against me!” Loki bellowed. “Lay down your lives now or surrender in service to me!”

“How about not?”

Loki swung around but couldn’t see where the voice had come from. “What’s the matter?” it said, almost as if it was directly in his eardrum. “Hearing things? I can fix that.”

Loki’s entire body convulsed as unseen energy powered into his cranium. The power, so sharp and precise, like the sting of an insect, stabbed into his ear canal and burned a small hole in his eardrum. He clasped a hand over his right ear, screaming in pure agony as he lost his altitude. Blood began to gush out of his assaulted ear as he fell and he nearly fell unconscious from the sheer shock of being attacked in such a manner.

Once he had hit the ground and stopped thriving in pain, the stinging stopped and a miniscule something buzzed out of his ear and into the open air. “Looks like these synthetic wings you loaned me are working well enough,” Janet van Dyne said. A pair of thin, almost invisible, wings protruded from a small harness she wore, both flapping nearly as fast as a hummingbird’s. The wings held her aloft and even gave her a semblance of control over her trajectory. “I can’t believe the army didn’t want these things.”

She released her hand from the tiny microphone around her neck and flew a few feet over Loki, watching her handy work take its affects. She had taken more convincing than Bill to join up with the others, but as they pointed out, it was all or nothing. Stark Enterprises had developed the wings to use in conjunction with spy cameras for the military, but they had deemed the equipment too unreliable in strong winds. Even though the Wasps, which was what the devices were referred to as, had proven capable of conducting remote missions the army had still reneged on its contract. Luckily for Janet, Iron Man had been able to adjust the camera harness into one that would fit her sleek body, allowing her a mode of transport for the battle.

The physicist in her was sure that the energy discharge she had used against Loki was a result of her size. It was an elementary principle that told her that matter can never be destroyed, only converted. She assumed that all the energy by way of mass lost when she had been shrunk was now able to be expelled through her hands, oddly enough. She would have to look into it more, but for now she was finding it hard not to enjoy herself.

“I think I just fried this guy’s brain,” she said into the microphone again. She wished that there had been some way for the others to reply, but there hadn’t been time to create a receiver small enough for her frame. She would have to make due using the Wasp’s tiny surveillance microphone to speak directly to Iron Man. “Does this mean I can go back inside?”

Loki stirred suddenly and a flash of light propelled the tiny Janet back, singeing her synthetic wings. “Ignorant little insect!” he screamed. “Did you truly think that the power of Loki would not detect you once I knew of your existence?”

Janet cried out as she was caught in a crosswind and taken even further away. She was terrified and scared of being trampled on by the huge Frost Giants that Iron Man was busy battling, meaning that even though he could hear her, he didn’t dare turn his back to come and search for her.

“It’s okay,” a voice boomed over her, “I’ve got you. Just go limp.”

A burning sun in the shape of a lithe woman moved in front of Janet and caught her gently in one hand. Janet placed her hands down on the palm that had caught her and pushed up, trying to stand under her own power. For such a small specimen she still fond it difficult to lift herself up. After shaking her head clear of the cobwebs she looked up into the blazing face of Photon, the enigmatic proclaimed harbinger of the Scarlet Centurion.

“I can trace energy signatures,” Photon explained as she cupped her other hand over Janet to protect her. “You stick out like a sore thumb with that stinging attack.”

Photon zipped away in a flash of light, taking Janet along with her. She moved at the speed of light, slipping between the rays of the sun across the battlefield. Iron Man was holding his own against the Frost Giants for the moment, having taken down another two. Even given her speed, hopefully by the time she could help the armored hero she wouldn’t be too late to help.

Reaching the spot where Bill had fallen, Photon stopped and bent down, opening her hands. Janet flew out, her synthetic wings buzzing. “Take a breather,” Photon said. “I’ll try and wrap this up. See if Goliath here will be okay.”

Before Janet could respond, Photon had vanished. Her body had converted to a streak of golden energy and she zig-zagged back down the avenue, twisting through the legs of the remaining Jötunn. Janet hovered in the air, looking at the enlarged Bill Foster and wondering if there was anything that she could actually do.

Photon’s body was comprised completely of energy, enabling her to see various spectrums of light. The Centurion had been the one to empower her years ago, for a price. A price that she was becoming more and more uncomfortable with each passing day. When she looked upon Loki with her energized pupils she saw a remarkable cascade of gold, purple, and green hues that seemed to manifest from his garments. His horned crown, his cloak, his gauntlets, and his necklace were all funneling power into his very soul. On top of that, the three stones hovering close to him were streamlining another power source directly into his talismans, fueling his rage and hatred.

She angled herself accordingly and sizzled through the air directly for him. Photon closed the gap between them in less than a second, grasping his wrists once she was close enough. Loki scowled in surprise from her sudden appearance, but his discontent quickly changed to one of glee once he realized what she was doing.

“You seek to usurp my power,” the reborn god stated. “Fool! You cannot possibly absorb the might of a god.”

Photon screamed as Loki forced more energy into her than she was prepared to handle. The backlash assaulted her more than just physically, as her mind crumbled from the overwhelming power being channeled into her form. Loki finally ended the transfer, flipping his hand around hers to that he held her in the air by one wrist. The glow of her aura died away and her physical body, her mass now returned to her, went limp in Loki’s grasp. Smoke billowed from her form as her dark skin became burned in several places. Monica Rambeau, for all her power, had failed to stop the dark god.

Loki released her, letting her drop the twenty stories back to the pavement. He cackled as she fell, watching her descend faster and faster, eagerly awaiting the pulpy impact of her flesh smacking against the unforgiving terrain.

A red and gold blur dove past Loki and accelerated for Monica. The magician scoffed as he readied another attack to thwart Iron Man from racing to the woman’s aid, but suddenly his entire field of vision was filled with light, blinding him. “What treachery is this?” Loki demanded as he covered his eyes and lost track of Iron Man.

“Lights out for you, Loki.”

A fist struck Loki’s face, smashing his nose inward. He tumbled back in the air as the blinding light died away, and he was able to make out the form of Commander Marvel, cocking back his other fist to let fly. His bracelets still burned with a fire that had blinded him, searing his vision again even though the light erupting from them was no where near what it had been moments ago.

Loki lazily raised another barrier, this one encapsulating Marvel completely before he could throw his fist. “I think not, commander. I do not know how you survived our last encounter, but I am sure of one thing: I shall enjoy killing you all over again.”

A barrage of repulsor rays bombarded Loki, the concussive force wrecking his concentration and the bubble around Marvel evaporated. Iron Man appeared beside Marvel, propelled by the twin jets erupting from the soles of his boots. Blood oozed out of Loki’s ear where the bothersome insect woman had scarred him, his nose was swollen and broken, and his cloak had been torn to shreds. He glanced quickly to the background and saw that only three of his Giants still stood, and that they had turned to leave him, crashing down the boulevards.

He had apparently underestimated these heroes.

But he still had yet to unleash his full power.

“Give up,” Iron Man said through the filter in his helmet. “You can’t win.”

“Oh, but I can.”

Thin streams of energy poured out of the floating stones into Loki’s torso, filling him with cosmic power that the Earth had never known. Untapped forces more primal than nature itself answered Loki’s lustful call, darkening the sky. Marvel and Iron Man both lunged forward in the air, acting on impulse, but Loki discharged a mere portion of the power he had fed upon, flinging them back as easily one would a pair of gnats.

Loki bathed in the power of the stones, letting it fill him completely. “This ends now.”

The battle had brought them closer and closer to Stark Tower, and with a flick of his wrist the two stones hidden in the building emerged, shattering glass and mortar as they rocketed toward their new master. Energy mimicking that of the other stones began to pour into the cocoon surrounding Loki, feeding his bottomless well and increasing his power another tenfold.

“Five of the six,” Loki said with a sneer. “Only one remains and it shall soon be mine. Then I shall break the cycle of Ragnarok and free the universe from this insane fate, ending my own immortal misery.”

FWASH!

Loki paused, the familiar noise catching him off guard. He turned to face it, horrified at what he knew it signaled.

FWASH!

Blue and white light descended from the darkened sky, answering the summons of a lone warrior. He saw the second of the three remaining Frost Giants fall, its frozen body smashed to pieces with a single strike. The last lone Jötunn roared in defiance of the youth that somehow destroyed it’s brothers, raising a lumbering arm to swing down on top of the menace.

A young, blonde man returned the roar with a battle cry as he ran up the kneeling leg of the Jötunn, smashing the flat end of what looked to be an ancient hammer against the creature’s torso.

FWASH!

The Jötunn broke into half a dozen pieces and the spirit of the Frost Giant was forced from the icy vessel. The youth fell back to the street below, gracefully landing on both feet without so much as a grunt. He swung the warhammer in his hand almost playfully as he matched the looking gaze of Loki. While the body of the youth was unrecognizable to Loki, the eyes were a perfect window to the soul, a soul that Loki was all too familiar with.

“Thor.”

“You got that right, bitch,” the teenager replied.

Thor sprung into action, dodging the spearing spells that Loki tossed in anger. The rage that filled him upon seeing his most hated foe, despite him being masked by another body, disrupted his aim. Even though his power was beyond comparison thanks to the stones, Thor was too quick to be targeted.

The pseudo god of thunder leapt into the air, striking his mallet against Loki and smashing the necklace around his neck. The feedback of the energy unleashed by the strike shattered his gauntlets as well as his helmet, the bits of which sliced into his already bruised skin.

When Thor landed Loki was gulping for air beside him. The youth walked over and tore the shreds of his cloak away, discarding them on the street. “Try casting a spell worth a damn without those,” Thor stated with a smile.

“I still…have the stones. They will be more than enough to kill you!”

Loki rasied a hand feebly toward the hovering five stones, reaching for their power. “What?” he muttered in astonishment when nothing happened.”

Thor shook his head. “Correction. You had the stones.”

The teenager slipped the backpack off his shoulders and reached into it, pulling out the last of the six stones. It pulsated with a white glow in reaction to being touched by Thor’s strong hand. He placed it on the ground, much to Loki’s horror, and smashed his warhammer on top of it.

The outer shell cracked open and split down the middle, revealing the glimmering red gem inside. “If you had bothered to learn anything,” Thor said as he bent down and picked up the glowing gem, “you would have noticed that the stones react much better when you don’t abuse their power.”

All five of the remaining stones split open at Thor’s silent command, and the gems encased within all flew to his side. Green, purple, blue, yellow, and orange, each the color of the gem that housed a specific purpose, joined the red one in his hand. “These gems could give someone infinite power over the universe,” Thor said. “But not you. You’ll have to relive being defeated over and over again. Ragnarok isn’t happening today, but it will someday. And when it does, I’ll be right there ready to make sure you get what’s coming to you.”

Loki scowled and tried to stand in defiance of Thor’s words, but the youth kicked him back over. He raised his sacred warhammer over his head, saying, “Sucks to be you, huh?” and slammed the electrified weapon down onto Loki’s chest.

The once possible destroyer of the universe screamed in agony as his body was vaporized on the spot, dissembled at the smallest level by the power of Thor’s strike. Once the blinding light faded all that was left of Loki was a few cinders of ash on the street, which were quickly blown away in the wind.

Thor stood back up to his full height and held up the hand holding the six gems. One by one they each left, shooting off into space and the unknown. Colorful trails were left in their wake, but those soon dissipated as the darkened sky returned to normal. Thor lowered his hand, smiling and content at his act.

“What did you just do?” Commander Marvel asked as he approached cautiously. Iron Man and Photon, who was nursing a broken leg but otherwise unharmed, marched beside him.

“Killed Loki and commanded the gems to hide themselves across the galaxy,” Thor said without looking at them. “Loki’s not really dead though. He’ll be back. That’s how it goes. Never-ending story.”

THUMP!
THUMP!

Bill Foster stumbled down the street with one hand carefully balanced in front of him. He had managed to shrink himself down to a mere twelve feet, but it was obvious that he was still having difficulty walking with his new sense of balance. “Everyone okay?” he asked. “I’ve got Janet here. She’ll be alright, I think.”

“So the stones—” Marvel began to say.

“Gone,” Thor replied. “Just like me. See ya, kids.”

“Hold it!” Iron Man stated coldly. The armored hero stepped in front of Thor and placed his covered palm on his chest. “You’re not going anywhere. We’ve got questions and you’ve got answers. Look at all the damage done here! We have to regroup and figure out what the hell just happened.”

“End of the world type stuff. It’s cool, man, I took care of it. Okay? We good?”

“No, we’re not—”

“Iron Man!” a new feminine voice called out from the background. “Excuse me! Iron Man!”

The group turned to see a woman at the head of a crowd of people slowly, almost pitifully, walking toward them. They looked ragged, scared, and curious. “What’s happening?” she said. “Is it safe? Are you here to save us?”

Commander Marvel cocked his head at Iron Man, motioning for him to reply. Iron Man looked between the gathered heroes, realizing that there was a whole other perspective to the situation, and that was the aftermath. Two days ago the world had only legends to remember in the way of heroes. Now the world was forever changed by what had transpired there today.

As Iron Man removed his hand from Thor and cleared his throat to answer, the Scarlet Centurion watched on from the sky, just as he was cursed to do. “The new age of heroes has begun,” he muttered, wondering if given what he had witnessed that day if he would be able to change his own fate for the better of mankind…

MAIL CALL

That wraps up the very first arc of ULTIMATE AVENGERS. A lot happened here, some obvious, some subtle. Loki’s down but not out, the team is together (sort of), the gems have been hidden, and the Centurion has a secret. I wonder what will come next? While you wonder about that, I’m going to answer some quick mail:

Dave,

Finally read your Ultimate Avengers. Here's what I thought:

Ultimate Avengers 0 and #1

There's plenty going on in your Ultimate Avengers yarn here. Throwing in the Invaders was a logical step that I'm surprised Marvel didn't add in their own Ultimate interpretation. The 'steampunk' Human Torch was an especially fine addition. I hope there's more of him/it in the future. The questions begin here. What were Loki and Lady Liberty doing in Asgard? What happened in France? I can see your Norse research here. Tip of the hammer.

Being familiar with your other Iron Man efforts I knew that things were going to be well in hand here. Your Tony stark is spot on. I'm looking forward to more Rhodes too. The new treatment of the Pym/Foster/Van Dyne dynamic is fresh and thankfully interesting. I've never been fond of Pym or his ex. I'm curious to see where you take them as we got but a brief taste of the pair here. I hope Foster will relax some in the future, he's too uptight and is going to have a heart attack if he doesn't chill some.

You've done a fine job of inspiring many questions about this Marvel individual. Who is he exactly? Why is he still alive? I want to read about the Kree invasion too, damn it. Nice cliff hanger there on the end too.

Ultimate Avengers #2

Superb attention-grabbing opening. Solid characterization. (Always a concern when someone goes the Ultimate route.) There's a goodly balance of characterization, action and drama here. Especially liked the airborne combat scene. And of course we have the interesting take on Loki and the frost giants. Loki is always fun to read about. No exception here.

One question on my mind is whether or not this is a Ultimate version. It's a good read, no worries on that. Maybe I don't know the difference between an Ultimate version and just a good alternate universe.

I hadn't been reading this series because I have a hard time following up on so many fan fiction stories. Clearly I was remiss here because Dave has hit another home run with Ultimate Avengers.

-C. William Russette

Thanks, CW! Those questions about Lady Liberty being in Asgard will be answered eventually, probably in a back-up story. It was more an allusion to a previous adventure of the Invaders but there is some history there worth exploring. The mystery of Marvel will only deepen as time goes on, but fear not! I have a really big story planned for when I reveal his dark secret. And we may see those pesky Kree pop up sooner than you think…

Defining an ‘Ultimate version’ might be a bit trickier than your other questions. Typically, the way I interpret the meaning, is to create an updated, more logical approach to the origins of classic characters. Make them modern and see what would happen in the real world if these guys were around. Maybe that’s different than other people.

Thanks for the feedback! Now on to the next letter:

Sorry it took me some time to get to it, I've been busy with work and stuff.

Anyhoo I'm liking this title. Firstly for the different team of Avengers, we so often get one thing and one thing only so seeing this different team really sets it apart.

The writing which is so well done doesn't hurt it either. Each character is getting their own individual voice and back story which have all been really good so far.

The things which really have me interested in the story is 1) Captain Marvel...hence me kicking the idea around in my head (also been Reading Starman again and I'd love to see a series like that exploring Legacy). 2) The mysteries what's Loki up to? Who is the man in red...even though I know that one already. What happened to the Invaders?

The third thing I'm loving btw is the Invaders! I love Golden age so seeing these versions of the Invaders and them being a big part of the uni and a focus/driving force behind it rather than simply a footnote is really great.

-Anthony Crute

Hopefully this issue answered your curiosities, Anthony. I’m having a blast mashing all these characters together in new ways. Look for more Invaders awesomeness in the back-up feature of this very issue. Thanks for reading! Now, we just have one last letter:

Hey Dave, playing on my brothers computer currently, i decided to try and amuse myself and check out some of your writings. Dude. Ultimate Avengers, is really cool. I particularly like the Invaders section, but even more so your choice of cast members is blinding. Particularly Black Goliath. Nice.

However, what i wanted to ask was - How long did it take for you to Map out your vision for the Ultimate Avengers, you say you've "plotted" 26 issues. Is that actual detailed plots, or just ideas for each issue, and characters etc? The reason i ask is because im intrigued and have been slightly inspired to do an Ultimate Book for a while now, trying to reinvent something is basically what i do with every series anyway, but im actually a huge fan of the Ultimate concept.

Hell, basically at the moment, im in sort of an "X" high, from the end of the Messiah complex and spending three hours explaining loads of Xlore to a friend of mine last night over KFC and Pepsi. Interesting life i lead, heh.

But, yeah, original question - How long did it take you and how much detail do you have? Is it reems and reems of stuff, or is it a rough outline that you're going to adhere too?

Cheers mate!

-Ed

The plots for all those planned issues are pretty tightly written. I typically write a bio for each new character introduced and then write a summary of the main point of that issue. The twenty-six issues I have planned took up about thirteen pages worth of paper. Not too long, to be honest. I could have written up more detail but I’m prone to change ideas mid-issue. Thanks for the question, Ed!

As always, feedback is greatly welcomed and appreciated (even if it’s negative). Hit me up at h4hdave@yahoo.com and be sure to let me know if there’s anything I can do for you in return of the time you took to drop me a line. And now, that back-up Invaders story I promised!

-D. Golightly
4/20/08

Presenting the world's greatest heroes of yesteryear!

"SHOWDOWN WITH THE MASTER!"

STARRING:

Captain America		Sub-Mariner		Human Torch		Commander Marvel		Lady Liberty

ALSO FEATURING:

Agent 13		Master Man

France, 1944

“I hope you are armed, Agent 13,” the android said. “We will hold this monster back as long as we can. Start running and don’t look back!”

The vaguely humanoid features of the Human Torch stared at the smoking crater that his fellow Invader, Commander Marvel, had been tossed into. The evil Master Man had torn through their ranks before, and it seemed like this time would be no different. The team had been charged with escorting Sharon Carter, otherwise known as Agent 13, to her destination within the heart of France. They were only a few miles from the small town where the French Resistance held a secure and secret base, but the Nazi super-soldier had intercepted them.

Lady Liberty stepped in front of Agent 13, placing herself in the way of any attacks. Even though she would have much preferred to run to the aid of Marvel, her duty always came first.

“If Master Man took the commander down that fast,” Lady Liberty said to the Torch, “it looks like the Nazi scientists have perfected their version of the super-soldier formula!”

“My ocular lenses can see the Sub-Mariner putting up quite a fight, but Captain America has vanished,” the Torch replied as smoke continued to chug out of his twin smokestacks. “We will need our full strength to avert this disaster and ensure victory.”

The blonde Master Man, proudly baring the symbol of his regime, traded blows with the lost prince of Atlantis, Namor. The blue-skinned Namor maintained his position in the air, but only barely. His protective suit that enabled him to breathe water and not asphyxiate on the atmosphere was still sealed, but with every punch landed it came that much closer to tearing and leaving him vulnerable.

“Our intelligence did not report that you were such a fighter!” the Sub-Mariner exclaimed as he blocked another right cross from the airborne Master Man. “Perhaps the Nazi pigs have finally learned something from the famed Namor!”

Master Man retorted with a thick Germanic accent, saying, “Or perhaps your American comrades have been misled, not only as to my capabilities, but to my identity as well!”

Before Namor could question the mysterious comment, Master Man plowed through his defenses and sent him tumbling through the air head over heels. As they were wont to do, however, the very moment that the seaborne Invader had been forced from his position, two more took his place. Lady Liberty and the Human Torch swept in to attack, blanketing Master Man in a two-pronged assault.

The flammable liquid that was stored deep within the Human Torch's gut sloshed out of the nozzles on his wrists, covering Master Man completely. The gel coated him, only to explode in a blaze of fire a moment later thanks to the Torch's flame-throwers.

Never fearing the heat of the fire, Lady Liberty connected a solid punch that sent Master Man to terra firma. The ball of flame that was the evil villain fell to the ground, rolling frantically to try and extinguish himself. It had been a nearly flawless execution of their combo attack, a tactic they had used many times before against their foes.

Master Man screamed in unbridled fury as he stood, the remains of the costume around his torso falling away in charred tatters. “I will not be denied, Invaders!” he hollered as he charged along the ground directly for Agent 13.

His speed was great, nearly faster than Lady Liberty. His proximity was much closer to the fearful Sharon Carter than any of the other Invaders, even the arousing Commander Marvel, who was just now beginning to peel himself out of the ground. Within mere moments he would be atop the SHIELD agent with his infinitely strong hands around her throat.

A slight whistling sounded from somewhere overhead, but Master Man and the others ignored it. It grew louder and louder as the villain approached, and just before he grasped the startled Agent 13, a mere second before his fingers reached out and wrapped around her, a meteor of red, white, and blue colors slammed directly on top of him.

Master Man flattened out on the ground under Captain America's shield, which the sentinel of liberty had used to break his fall against the villain. The captain stepped off of Master Man, his blue facemask slightly askew. What appeared to be wind scars shown brightly on his cheeks.

“Captain America!” Agent 13 proclaimed as she flung her arms around the hero. “Where did you come from?”

“Master Man had thrown me straight up into the air,” the captain explained. “I was luckily able use my shield as a guide when I started falling again.”

“Lucky indeed,” Commander Marvel said as he approached. The other Invaders all began to gather around the unconscious Master Man. “If you had taken any longer, captain, Agent 13 would not be able to finish her mission and warn the Resistance of the coming Nazi airstrike!”

“Aye,” Namor added. “Luck seems to always be on the side of the Invaders! But I can’t help but wonder what Master Man meant when he said we knew not his identity…”

“Let SHIELD worry about it,” Lady Liberty replied. “We’ll turn him over to their custody just as soon as we help Agent 13 finish her mission.”

“Viva la France!” Sharon called out.

THE END?