AGC 4: Days of the Extinguishing Sun, Part 3

The Fourth Tale

DAYS OF THE EXTINGUISHING SUN

Part Three

Chapter Six: Tomorrow

Earth Standard Year 2011

Van Dyne Haven - Home, Montana - October 10th, 10:12 PM MST

Charles Xavier is dead.

His body lies motionless on the ground with his legs twisted beneath him, blood pooling outward from his neck, a placard that reads STARK/SUMMERS in ’12 upon his chest.

Janet Van Dyne looked down at the image that will be on the cover of every newspaper in the country tomorrow, horror laid across her face. She doesn’t scream and she doesn’t cry. She’s seen too many friends and allies die over the years to panic merely at the sight. To her eternal shame she thinks more about the fact that Charles Xavier died while visiting her than she does about the fact that he is dead.

But still, it doesn’t quite sink in. How could this happen? How could an ordinary assassin sneak up behind him like that and simply slash his neck? Xavier was one of the world’s ten most powerful psis …

"I don’t know how you did this, Bullseye," she said to the man being restrained by her security force, not five feet away. "But you’ll rot in hell."

"Lady," Bullseye smirked beneath his mask, "I was damned anyways. But now … now I’m gonna live forever."


Defenders Sanctum Dimensionarium - Out of Time Dimension

The Next Day

The Defenders: Dr. Strange, Brunnhilde the Valkyrie, Black Knight, Rogue, Firebird and Dr. Bruce Banner - sit around a large oaken table, discussing the warning of Santa Claus.*

* (Which they received in issue 2)

"So, the battle with the Infinity Rebels went well?" Dr. Strange asked his assembled team.

"Aye, as well as can be expected," Brunnhilde responded. "But enough of that, it has only delayed us in our discussion of Santa Claus’ warning. Rogue, cue up the MemCube."

Rogue punched the controlboard laid into the table and an image of Santa Claus appeared in the air above the middle of the table, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord! And he’s not a happy dude, my friends!"

"That was the first half of his delivered omen, Rogue," Brunnhilde informed Rogue, though the blushing cheeks upon Rogue’s face was evidence enough she knew she had erred.

"Forgive me, Brunnhilde," Rogue mumbled, punching the keys quickly to bring up the desired rantings.

Santa spoke, "The person who will die is the beginning of the end! A dreamer, a person who believes in the goodness of others will find nothing but Death. And let me tell you something about Death, she’s a mean ol’ bitch, she is."

Dr. Strange shuffled in his chair; he was impatient, on edge. The others had been noticing this change in the Sorcerer’s attitude more and more as the years had gone on. Most of the time they were hard pressed to see it, gradual changes easing the difference between the past and present. But there were times like this when the stark difference was made all too clear.

"Let us cut to the heart of the matter," Strange announced, rising from his chair. "We haven’t the time for the usual philosophical meanderings, ponderings and ramblings we do so well."

The Defenders looked on, slightly disturbed, but attentive. The Defenders were Strange’s group, whatever he said went. If they didn’t like it, they could leave. Or be removed.*

*(As Lady Metal experienced in issue 2)

"We need to discover who’s death will bring about the beginning of the end. That doesn’t mean the End is imminent, of course, just that this will put us on that path more clearly. We will go around the room, I want one candidate from each of you. I assumed that each of you have given this some thought, even with the recent, unfortunate team-up with the Royal Court that the higher powers forced down our throats. Dane, begin."

The Black Knight did not even have to think, "Captain America."

"Avenger to the end, Whitman? I am not surprised. Firebird, you served with the Avengers, do you share this view?"

"No, Doctor," Firebird spoke softly, but not timidly. "My choice is Franklin Richards. As we have been reminded time and time again, he is like that of a young God."

"The Richards boy. An insightful, if far too predictable choice. Brunnhilde?"

"Odin."

"And yet another choice predicated more on background than any deep, significant thought." Strange, the Defenders could clearly see, was in the worst of his mood swings. "Rogue, I suppose you shall choose the sainted Xavier?"

Rogue dropped her head, cursing her timidness. Since the Millennium Encounter, she hadn’t been herself. "No, ah … ah would have to say, uh, that is … I agree with Dane. Captain America." She picked her head up to look around the room, "Ah’m trying to think like a Defender. Trying to see the Grand Tapestry, as you call it Doctah, the hidden webs that bind us all. And, see, Ste- that is, Captain America, was the first real Marvel - bridging the gap between the Golden Age and the First Age. He’s our shining light, our conscience, our last best hope in the darkest of hours.

"Ah was trapped on Asgard, on a broken piece of the Rainbow Bridge with Beta Ray Bill and Heimdall during the Millennium Encounter. It was during those penultimate days, when it looked like the Centric Sceptre was going to achieve her goal, and ah remember feeling like we were going to lose.

"Ah know it seems like we always get to that point during these Events, and we somehow overcome them. But this time it was worse. Remember the warning that that green robed stranger from the other galaxy gave us about their Crisis? And we had seen so much death … and Jean … but ah remember falling to my knees, overwhelmed by everything that was happening. And Bill, sweet sweet Bill, looked down at me, and comforted me. Do you know what he said? Do you know what possible words could comfort me in that time? He told me, in his gentle voice, ‘Fear not, Ashley, this day is not lost, the Centric Sceptre has yet to encounter the Vengeance of Hope.’ And then Heimdall gasped aloud and let us know what he could see in the distance. The Invaders had arrived and struck our first blow. It was only a matter of time, then, until we won. And we had Cap to thank, as we seemingly always do in some manner or other, even if it’s just to help us keep our sanity. But what happens when he’s gone? W

hat happens when we can’t rely on him to guide us, to save us, if only from ourselves?"

Dr. Strange looked at Rogue and smiled, "Know this, Rogue, I am proud of you. You have come a long, long way." His face dropped again, "But you are wrong. Because everything you say could be said of Reed Richards, as well. Banner?"

Banner removed his glasses and laid them down on the table, "You."

Dr. Strange was hit by the words, and then he smiled again, "No, Bruce, not I. If Rogue had been as jaded as Dane or Brunnhilde, she would have had it." Strange shook and when he spook again, his low voice resounded with knowledge, "The person who’s death will set us down our destined path is Charles Xavier. He is the psychological hurdle of this Earth. As long as he lives, time feeds and regurgitates itself. We are stuck in a never-ending loop, where the illusion of change is greater than the actuality of change. When he founded the X-Men he became the first Teacher. But he has never been able to let his students leave and seek their own way. Whenever an X-Man has done so, it is almost always with a profound sense of guilt. He still calls Rogue and asks her to return.

"Captain America is just a man, an impressive one, but still, just a man who fights the good fight. If he were to pass, there are others who could easily fit into his role. Odin, too, is just a god. He will die during the True Ragnarok, and another will take the throne in his absence. The Richards boy, while powerful is made for other roles. There will be a time when he does not care if this universe lives or dies. Only Xavier can be the answer. Years ago, if he had loosened his reigns, his death would not have been needed. But he has painted himself into a corner from which only Death can free him. Only Death can relax the grip Xavier holds on this Earth. This Universe will not move forward until he is removed.

"It will stagnate and rot and wither on it’s vines.

"His life holds us all together, refusing to let Time fulfill it’s destiny and move us forward. His death, as "Santa Claus" told, "is the beginning of the end". But it is an end the Everything will meet on it’s own terms."

The Defenders sat and listened to the words, but it was Rogue who spoke first, "Doctah, what are you saying? That we have to let the Professah die? I can not allow that to happen!"

"You can not stop it," Strange spoke solemnly. "It has already happened. Tomorrow, at long last, has arrived."

With that, the Sorcerer Supreme shook violently and fell to the floor.

In his place, floated the visage of Lord Chaos.


San Francisco, California

Dr. Karla Sofen sat in a chair, looked at numbers just delivered to her, and smiled a smile so deep and wide that if it had been seen by anyone, they would have thought her mad.

Charles Xavier was dead - a death that meant nothing to her except what it could do to get her into the White House.

Tony Stark and Scott Summers were both pro-mutant supporters, a stance that hurt them with some voters. Mutants were becoming more accepted in society, but old fears and hatreds did not simply disappear. Neither of their two opponents were openly pro-mutant.

‘Of course,’ she thought, thinking of Scott Summers, ‘none of them are mutants, either.’

The first polling numbers taken after Xavier’s death were like magic to Sofen’s eyes. Among the vast undecided voters of the American populace, mutant sympathizers were now siding strongly with Stark/Summers. But the key was that anti-mutant forces were coming aboard, too.

Perception, Sofen believed as gospel, was everything.

And the perception that was on the cover of every paper, every magazine, every net news service, every news telecast was the dead body of Charles Xavier lying on the ground with a Stark/Summers placard on his chest.

"I wonder how that sign got there?" she asked the empty room, smiling a smile she would let Stark or Summers see only once - the day she set up office in the White House.


Defenders Sanctum Dimensionarium

The Defenders were instantly on their feet, Dane and Brunnhilde drawing their swords, Firebird and Rogue powering up and Psylocke sliding out of the shadows. Bruce Banner remained as he was. "Wait," he ordered, "there is no danger here, or I would have changed to the Hulk. Let’s hear what he has to say."

Lord Chaos spoke and the Defenders listened. "Your precious Sorcerer is fine, but he needed to be manipulated once it was learned by me that … other agents had sent him an omen by use of this Santa Claus figure that so dominates your Earthen culture. I feared he would save Xavier. Xavier must die, or the Earth will entropy and with it, the Everything will reach a state of maximum inert uniformity. That could not be allowed. When there is all Order and no Chaos, we will cease to be. Balance must be maintained at all costs. Balance is the key. Balance had been betrayed."

"So you’re saying you did us a favor by letting him die?" Firebird asked harshly.

"In words that have resonance in your culture, like this ‘Santa Claus’ figure, all I claim is that … ‘I yam what I yam, and that’s all that I yam.’."

The visage of Lord Chaos faded away.


Heimdall Library - Asgard - Earth Standard Year 2200

"Well, that’s that," Ben-Vell yawned. "I’m famished." He stood to leave, but frowned as he noticed Angelica hadn’t moved. Worse, she was still reading the Histories. "C’mon, Angel, let’s roll. We read what Bill wanted us to get. Xavier dies, the universe moves forward, blah blah blah, yibda yibda yibda, we get stuck in the middle of the Eternal War."

"Ben, wait," Angelica pleads. "You’re missing some points. We still don’t know who the Lord is, or why he’s angry."

"Man, who cares? It’s gotta be Thanos, right? He’s our enemy. Stop sweating the details, Angelica."

"Ben-Vell Parker, you sit your skinny blue arse right down and finish this tale with me," Angelica demanded, causing Ben to take an amused step backward. "Look," she said, flipping the pages, desperate to get Ben to stay, "the Defenders realize that if Xavier is the Dreamer who’s death is the beginning of the end, then the Lord may mean Magneto."

"Yawn. So what? Sheesh, ‘Gel, Toomi’s probably-"

"Probably what, Ben-Vell?" Angelica asked harshly as she stood up and got in Ben’s face. "Probably waiting for you in some skimpy outfit? Waiting to revel with you in the glory you’ve achieved from all the death you’ve inflicted upon the Wraiths?"

Ben backpedaled, "What’s it to you, Angelica? Toomi’s a warrior - unlike you - which means she understands me."

Angelica spun around, "Fine then, go. I don’t care."

"Sheesh, ‘Gel, relax," Ben said, "I’ll see you tomorrow and you can fill me in on what I miss."

Angelica said nothing and didn’t turn around. She was mad, hurt. She wanted him to stay here, with her, but … but … she couldn’t offer Ben what Attumidunn could. The Legacy wouldn’t allow her. But still … still … he was walking away, down the steps and soon he’d be in her arms and - "Go ahead and leave, Ben. It’s just another reminder about how you fail everyone. No wonder they chose another to be the Cosmic Protector ahead of you. You’d let us all down."

She heard him stop on the stairs and then silence. He didn’t say a word and he didn’t move. Neither did she, though she had to choke back tears. After what seemed like an eternity, his boots came back up the stairs.

"Magneto, you say?" he asked coldly, sitting down hard and slamming the chair into the marble floor.


Chapter Seven - For Those About To Rock, We Salute You

Earth Standard Year 2011 - Niffleheim

He was many things to many people.

He was many things to himself.

He was Magneto.

Time no longer held meaning for him. He had been trapped for ten years in the Asgardian realm of the dishonored dead, chained not by death, but by an oath.

He sacrifice may have saved the Everything, but he did it not for glory, not power, not for himself. He did it for two people who, whether they knew it or not, were going to help lead mutants out from under the oppression of a world that hated and feared them.

For all that, he was bound by honor to a lifetime in the enslavement of Hela.

"Ah, Erik, I see that thou still ponder thy fate," the Asgardian goddess of death observed. "There is no escape."

"Taunt me as you wish, Hela, but I shall nev-"


Earth Standard Year 2200 - Heimdall Library

"Enough of this crap, Angel!" Ben-Vell spat, exasperated. "If all mutants whined like this, I’d have hated them, too."

Angelica was about to argue, but stopped herself. She didn’t want Ben to leave. "Let’s just skip ahead, Ben," she tried influence him. "There’s nothing much in this section … the Defenders show up to make sure Magneto isn’t coming back to the land of the living. They tell him about Xavier and he freaks. He-"

"Is there battle?" Ben-Vell asked.

"Y-yes," Angelica nodded, quickly flipping pages of the History, "it’s right up here …"


Earth Standard Year 2011 - Niffleheim

The Defenders fight side by side with Magneto against the Dishonored Dead that inhabit Hela’s realm.

"You fight well, Defenders!" Hela cried, watching from above, her long green robes flowing with a breeze of the decaying wind. "Mine army is in need of a test and you shall provide it! They must be prepared for the coming danger!"

"What danger is that, Hela?" Brunnhilde shouted, gutting a dead Asgardian.

"Do not insult me with the guise of stupidity, Valkyrie! Thou knowest a great enemy nears and brings danger with him!"

"Is this the "Lord" you mentioned, Rogue?" Magneto asked. "The one you thought I may be?"

"Ah believe so," Rogue answered, pummeling a dead warrior with a roundhouse punch. "But ah never thought it could be you. Ah know the sacrifice you made to put yourself here. And ah alone know how much we need to bring you back!"

"You give us too much credit, Hela!" Valkyrie screamed. "We do not know who this Lord is, only that he is coming!"

As the Defenders fought on, Firebird sat off to the side and thought. The Lord, whoever he, or she, was, posed a threat that had even Hela worried. That made this a threat that was larger than just the Earth, which definitely meant that someone like Magneto could not be the Lord Santa Claus mentioned. "This must be the next crossover Event that effects all of us," she said aloud.

She thought for a minute longer then flew straight up.

"Enough!" she cried, bursting brightness into the air. The battle stopped and all eyes turned skyward. "This is pointless! We will be allies soon, correct Hela?"

Hela nodded, a smile upon her face, "Yes."

"Then we must have Magneto return with us and prolonging this battle will only result in both of us injuring future allies. Allies that we will need."

"So go, but the mutant remains. It is our bargain."

" We can not risk someone as powerful as Magneto to be harmed here and we need him to come to the surface to help train mutants to use their power. Mutants that we will also need in the coming Event."

Hela nodded, "You speak the truth. Magneto hath the power to lead great armies. Even if he led the Acolytes alone, his use in the coming War would be beneficial to me. But I will not allow him to leave freely."

"I’ll take his place," Firebird answered determinedly.

"What?" the Defenders and Magneto cried in unison.

"You can’t stay here!" the Hulk cried, the first intelligible words the Defenders had heard him speak in over a year. "You must return with us, Bo!"

Hela looked at the Hulk’s reaction and smiled. "Just a moment, Defenders." She vanished into the air and returned a moment later. "Very well," she smiled, "I will exchange your life for Magneto’s. Come to me, child."

Firebird flew to Hela’s side. "Do you give your life, Bonita Juarez, so that Magneto may have his back?"

"Yes."

"Very well, then. Embrace death and he shall go free."

"No, Bo! Don’t do it!" the Hulk wailed from below.

"I accept Death." Firebird leaned her face into Hela’s hand and felt the power of Hela drain her … kill her. She fell limp to the ground.

Firebird, a woman who believed in the goodness of others, had come to Hel and found nothing but Death.


Defenders Sanctum Dimensionarium

Dr. Strange sat with his head in his hands in a large chair deep inside the Dimensionarium. "I have failed."

"Apparently so," Psylocke answered, sliding into his lap. "Xavier is dead and now everything goes to Hell, right? Let me … comfort you in this dire time."

"Silence!" Strange boomed, and Psylocke slithered back off his lap and into the comfort of shadows. "You’ve no idea of the tragedy that has taken place today." He stood and walked to the Abacus of Attentiveness. On each of the rows, he moved a sphere to the right. "This is a sad day."

"Xavier’s death means that much to the Everything, does it?" Psylocke asked.

"Xavier?" Strange asked, raising his eyebrows. "No, Betsy, my love. I am not sad for the loss of Xavier. His death, while something I would have tried to prevent, has at least given us a chance, as Lord Chaos said, to meet our end on our own terms. No, it is the death of Firebird that causes me the most grief."

"Bonita was … well, she was nice lady and all, but-"

"You know nothing, Betsy," Strange cut in, turning to look at her. "We were wrong in analyzing Santa Claus’ warnings. When he said, ‘The person who will die is the beginning of the end! A dreamer, a person who believes in the goodness of others will find nothing but Death. And let me tell you something about Death, she’s a mean ol’ bitch, she is.’ we assumed he was talking about one person, but he wasn’t. He was talking about two. ‘The person who will die’ was Xavier, and in death he will bring about, ‘the beginning of the end’. The end is not necessarily something we should fear.

"But the second part of what he said, about the dreamer, is someone else."

"Xavier is a dreamer," Psylocke reminded.

"Yes, but he not the only one. The clue comes in the third sentence, about Death being a "mean old bitch". Death herself is nothing like this. But others who represent Death are. He meant Hela. Hela is a "mean old bitch" and she has taken Firebird from us. Firebird, who also believes in the goodness of others went to Hel and found nothing but Death."

"So what? Not to be cold, but her death means nothing to the greater scheme."

"No?" Strange asked, turning to a sphere in the Abacus that held the image of a crying Hulk. "Tell that to the Hulk. His fractured mind is now shattered. There will be nothing left to him but grief and anger. Bonita had once told Bruce that she could not die - she had been told this once by the Collector after drinking a deadly poison and living.* Bruce believed her. The sight of her body, and more importantly the betrayal of their love to help another may well be the final straw that snaps the Hulk’s mind into disrepair."

* (From Uatu’s Histories, section West Coast Avengers, chapter Annual # 2)

"So the Collector was wrong?"

"The Collector had no right to make such a claim to her. Just because one does not die by drinking a poison, does not mean they could not perish by a sword. Or by relinquishing the privilege of life, which Bonita did. But still, Santa Claus did not say the Dreamer would die, only that they would find Death. Firebird has found Death. There is every chance that she may be reincarnated at some point. But that won’t happen in time to save the Hulk."

"Well, sorry to be so cold, Stephen, but it is just the Hulk."

"No, Elizabeth, it is not. It is Bruce Banner that I am worried about - it is Bruce’s loss that we shall feel. You see, my dear Elizabeth, we shall never see Bruce Banner again. From this moment forward, we will have only the Hulk."


Earth Standard Year 2200

Heimdall Library

"Huh, go figure," Ben-Vell remarked. "That must be why Banner never showed up during the Gamma Holocaust of 2045. Learn something new everyday." He stood and then had to remind himself that he was upset with Angelica. "Now if you don’t mind …"

Angelica whispered, not even able to look Ben in the eyes, "We still have the epilogue to read."

"Gah! Epilogues! Nothing ever happens in the Epilogue, that’s why they’re in the epilogue! C’mon, let’s-"

"Ben-Vell, you must come with me!" came the booming voice of Beta Ray Bill as the warrior flew up the staircase and into view. "Have you finished the story, yet?"

"Yes." Ben said definitely, looking at Angelica as he did so. She said nothing.

"Then put the book away. We must go and prepare for a coming."

"Who’s coming?" Ben asked, taking the book from in front of Angelica and walking to the shelf.

"Thanos."

Ben-Vell and Angelica froze.

"He is coming, under the guise of discussing the return of Franklin Richards. We must make preparations. King Balder wants to see you at once."

Angelica tried to move to follow them as they left, but her feet couldn’t move. Her mind reeled as emotions pulled at her from all directions. She had to admit it now, she knew. She was in love with Ben-Vell, who was in love with Attumidunn, who had Ben wrapped around her Valkyrie finger.

If it wasn’t for the Legacy, she told herself.

She fought not to cry. She fought not to break down and-

And then she remembered they had never discovered who "the coming of the Lord" referred to. She went to the shelf and flipped to the …


EPILOGUE

Titan - The Tomb of Captain Mar-Vell

At the exact moment that Charles Xavier was laid to rest on Earth, the eternal resting place of Captain Mar-Vell had a visitor. The large being stood by the gravesite and thought about what had come before and what was to come. He, like Xavier, was a dreamer.

"Why, Mar-Vell?" Thanos asked, his low voice booming. Though his words conveyed sadness, there was no sorrow in his speech. "Why did you have to die? The Everything is empty without you. There is a … void inside of me because you are not here. I feel … lost. My actions are without significance." He paused. "I realize that now. The actions of my past, my … failings, came because you were not present. Without you, without knowing, I sabotaged my larger campaigns. I needed to create a way to fail because I knew that I had no equal who could hope to stop me. Warlock, the Silver Surfer, your son Genis, these are fools, puppets unworthy of my notice. They are not my equal. No, Mar-Vell, you are my only equal in the Everything."

The figure thought a while longer and his conclusion came to him. "What am I to do, Mar-Vell? You stay dead, defying the odds of existence for those such as us. While other … beings return from the dead seemingly quicker than they can perish, you are unique in your failure to re-exist. It is a cruel cross for me to bear, waiting for your return. I am left without my Opposite in the Tapestry."

Thanos paused for a long moment, before continuing, "I am left with only one solution, then … I must bring you back to life. I will find the means to breath life into your rotted corpse or find you another form to inhabit. I … will … find … a … way! And then, and only then, can the true War begin. Then and only then can my true mettle be tested! Then and only then will my victory have meaning! You will ARISE, Mar-Vell, so that I may WATCH defeat sink into your eyes!

"SO SWEARS THANOS!"

End Days of the Extinguishing Sun

So Swears Thanos

NEXT ISSUE: The Coming of the Lord

Thanos the Titan Eternal walked the streets of Asgard with a palpable sense of power. Asgardians - the bravest of the brave in all of the Everything - huddled in their houses like a dog trying to hide from an abusive master.

RIP Bonita Juarez, Firebird

-- MBQ 10.October.1998