AGC 28: Ascension / Abandonment, Part Six

Ascension / Abandonment

Part VI: The Final Christmas

the Twenty-Eighth Tale

ASGARD - The Residence of Ash’lin

2200 / December

Kovar the Accuser looked at Ash’lin of the Shi’ar contemptuously, "Surely, Skrull 4 can not be the traitor."

Ash’lin’s face was expressionless, "Surely."

The Shi’ar and Kree representatives to the Council, the Alliance brought about by the Eternal War, Ash’lin and Kovar had an uneasy relationship - though neither trusted the other, they knew they were outsiders on the Council, mistrusted and mistrusting of the Asgardians, Skrulls and Earthers.

"It must be a Council member," Kovar continued, "because only the Council knew of the mission to retrieve the war reserve of gold from Olympus.* That there is a spy among us is no longer a question. Perhaps the spy had nothing to do with the disappearance of Olympus itself, but clearly the traitor delivered Moonstar into the hands of her former mentor, Bruunhilde. And surely …"

* AGC 22 - Poisoned Moonlight

"You are in favor with that word today," Ash’lin smiled at the blue-skinned Kree. "Why are you so sure that the Skrull can not be the traitor?"

Kovar scoffed, "Skrull 4 has not the heart to betray the Council. The only hope for the Skrull race to leave their welfare state lies in their alliance with the Council."

"Is that so, Kovar?" Ash’lin asked, her hand reaching for an exotic fruit imported from Chandilar. "Shi’ar intelligence reports that the Kree are using Skrulls as slave labor."

Kovar eyed her harshly, "The Kree are doing nothing the Shi’ar are not, Ash’lin." *

* As seen in AGC 18, both the Kree and Shi’ar are guilty of mistreating the Skrull refugees.

Ash’lin laughed, "An astute political observation, Kovar. But if not Skrull 4, then who? Could the new Earth Ambassador betray the Council so quickly?"

"Empire? No, though his assistant, the infuriating Miss Almond-"

Ash’lin cut in, disliking when Kovar talked of other women, "Or it could be you, Kovar. The Kree do not have a history to sticking with their treaties."

"And the Shi’ar do?" Kovar countered. "The spy could be any of us."

"Which, I would imagine," Ash’lin frowned, "is just what Thanos would want."

---

Attilan

2022 / December

"You can’t be serious, Steve!"

President Tony Stark stood with Captain America in a private room inside an Attilan church, where the heroes of the world had gathered for the funeral of Crystal; a victim of the Deviant / Eternal attack on the now destroyed Titan.*

* Last issue

Steve Rogers sighed loudly, letting Stark know that he wasn’t happy to be having this conversation. "You don’t know what it’s like out there, Tony." Steve’s eyes went to the window, looking out on the glorious city of Attilan, "The Eternals and Deviants are hitting planet after planet, seemingly at random, destroying a city or a village. Destruction follows them, and we follow a step behind that. If it wasn’t for Crystal, many of us never would have returned."

Stark slammed his fist down onto a table, "Listen to yourself, Steve! This is madness! Captain America is turning his back on Earth to go dancing around the stars?"

Steve turned around, eyeing Tony hard, "I’m not turning my back on anything, Tony, and you know it. I’m going - we’re all going - to solve a problem, Earth’s problem. For every city, for every life, that the Eternals and Deviants take, sentiment grows against Earth. We can’t survive a full-out assault from the space empires, Tony. Earth just isn’t equipped to battle on that level."

"Doom tried such a strategy and failed, Steve."

"Only because of Kang’s interference."*

* In AGC 24

President Stark threw up his hands, "The American public thinks you’re betraying them, Steve! Have you seen the headlines? They’re calling you a traitor, the 21^st century Benedict Arnold!"

"Only because they don’t know all the facts," Steve reasoned.

"I don’t think you realize just what you’re doing."

"Is that Stark the Avenger or Stark the politician talking?" Steve asked sharply.

Stark’s face reddened with anger, "What does that mean? Or has Hawkeye and all his sell-out talk gotten to even you, Steve?"

"Gentlemen," a gentle voice interrupted them; they turned to see Karnak standing in the doorway with Vice-President Felicia Hardy. "We are ready to begin."

---

Two Days Later

The White House

9:03 PM EST

President Stark sat behind his desk inside the Oval Office and addressed the nation.

"My fellow Americans, I come before you tonight to discuss Captain America’s recent announcement of his decision to leave Earth behind for the stars. While I respect Captain America’s decision, and join all Americans in our mutual respect and appreciation for his actions, there is no one who is above the law. Not even Captain America, our finest citizen. The truth is this, America - we need Captain America to stay here and help in our continuing fight against the super-powered villain community. While Prison One has been an unqualified success in detaining criminals, it is now the size of a small city. Seven thousand criminals and security forces now reside within it’s walls. We are winning the battle, America, but the war is not yet won.

"It would be my hope that Captain America, a soldier of the highest order, would agree with that assessment, but he does not.

"I have no doubt that if he were to leave this great planet and battle amongst the stars that the fights he would fight would be righteous ones, but what of the fight here at home? I have heard from many of you over the past week. Greg Kasa, a six year old from Tupelo, Mississippi wants to know why America is no longer good enough for Captain America? Ed Johns, a construction worker from Staten Island, wants me to know that his great-great grandfather fought in World War II alongside Captain America and that it would make his old man sick to his stomach to hear that Captain America would turn his back on the United States. No doubt many of you share these sentiments. Some of you think Captain America has paid his debt to us over and over again, and if he wants to leave, we should let him.

"I know, America, that the opinion you are truly most interested in is mine, and that is why I have taken this time this evening to make my feelings known.

"The loss of Captain America - and the heroes he will take with him - compounded already by the loss of Reed and Sue Richards, Pietro and Crystal Maximoff to the stars, will leave the United States is a dire predicament, exposed to foreign threats, exposed to the villains that walk among us, causing chaos in all of our cities. Captain America is not just our greatest hero, but our greatest symbol against the villains that seek to prey on us. Without Captain America, I fear, villains from all over the world will take it as a sign that the United States is weak and easy prey for their plans of destruction.

"It is, therefore, with a sad heart that I must announce that I am formally, as President of the United States declaring the Abandonment of Earth by Captain America as a treasonous act against the United States. The absence of so many heroes would leave the United States weakened, placing its citizens in danger.

"Let me make my words clear, America. If Captain America abandons the United States, the United States will brand him a traitor and he will never again be welcome inside our land."

---

Two Days Later

Avengers Mansion

Briefing Room

"This meeting is called to order."

Steve Rogers lets the assembled crowd settle down before continuing. Behind him stood an assemblage of First Age heroes: the Thing, Scarlet Witch, Henry Pym, Vision, Wonder Man, the Black Knight, Cannonball, Siryn, Shadowcat, Colossus and Nightcrawler. Steve began: "Thank you for coming. I have called this meeting to explain to you, my teammates, the actions that I and others are making. The rumors you have heard are, in fact, true. We are leaving the Earth."

He paused, letting it sink in. "Any questions?"

The assembled heroes, mostly made up of heroes that came into existence in the past ten years and looked to the standing heroes as the old guard, squirmed in their seats. These people were all legends (not to mention that some of them were pushing 50; Cannonball was the youngest and he was just a hair under 40), but the television.

"Um, yeah," a young man raised his hand. "I, uh, notice that all of the Fantastic Four are leaving? What does that mean for-"

The Thing boomed, "That means there ain’t no more Fantastic Four as far as this dirtball planet is concerned!"

"Easy, Ben," Shadowcat placed a hand on the Thing’s large, rocky arm, then turned to the young hero. "You’re Hard Light, correct?" The hero nodded. "The Fantastic Four is leaving. We can not stand by here as the killers of Crystal roam the spaceways freely. When they are brought to justice, the Fantastic Four will return."

"That’s why we have called you here," Captain America continued. "You are the best hope for the future of Earth. Even if we stayed, we are getting older, slowing down. We have trained many of you. You are ready for this."

"And if we are not?" a young hero named Orthodox asked solemnly.

"Well, kid," Wonder Man replied, "you’d just better be."

"When will you leave?" the young Daredevil asked, causing the older heroes to wonder what had happened to the original hero to wear that costume.

"After Christmas," Captain America answered, "but before the first of the New Year."

---

One Week Later

United Nations

General Assembly

Attilan’s Junior Ambassador, Kendra, stood at the Podium, looking out at the world. The UN had been abuzz at the talk of what the announcement Attilan would make today would be. Kendra answered their questions with a simple statement.

"Please look to the screen behind me," she announced, and the screen flickered on, to an image of Attilan. Inhumans were pouring out of their city-nation, headed for several small rockets. No one on the General Assembly said a word as the minutes rolled by and Inhumans finished loading into the seven rockets.

Finally, at long last, Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans, and his Queen, Medusalith, exited the city. Medusa held aloft an electronic device and, pushing a button (humans loved dramatics, she had learned), a shining metal dome moved quickly up out of the ground to surround the city.

Kendra spoke again, "We are returning to the Moon. Those of you who wished us to leave this planet now have your wish. Attilan, the most technologically advanced city in your world, is yours for the taking.

"If you can get inside."

---

Christmas Day, 2022

United States World War II Monument, Washington, D.C.

While the rest of the heroes spent their final Christmas with their friends and families, one hero spent his time elsewhere, at the World War II Monument in Washington, D.C. Steve Rogers came today as Captain America; he'd thought of coming just as regular old Steve Rogers, but it was Captain America who'd served with these men, who they'd put their faith in.

"We won that war, didn't we?" Steve thought to himself. "Lost more lives than anyone could have wished for, but we won. Hitler, the Red Skull, Zemo … it took the entire world, banded together, to defeat the Nazi's but we did it. Could any number of lives have been too many too lose to stop them? Even today the influence of the Reich is out there, festering wherever hate will have it.

"Can I really leave Earth behind?"

"Penny for your thoughts, Captain?"

Captain America turned at the words to see Dani Moonstar, dressed in full Asgardian garb, resting on a horse nearby. "It is Christmas, Captain. Shouldn't you be with your family?"

Steve eyed Dani carefully, "You're a Valkyrie, again?"

"Aye," Dani nodded.

Steve turned back to the Monument, "This is my family."

"Then we have something in common," Dani said softly, "living amongst the dead." She dropped down from her steed, patting the creature gently. "It isn't easy, is it? Staying young as your friends get old? I have noticed this already. My times as a Valkyrie have kept me young. I see lines on the faces of Sam or Theresa that I have never seen on my own face. I see them worry over Canticle, their daughter that was lost on Titan, and wonder what that pain must be like. I have no want for children, Captain-"

"Steve."

"- Steve, because I don't think I could stand seeing my own child grow up and pass me in age. Have you had children?"

"No."

"Because-"

"Because there was never time, never …" Steve shook his head. "Never time."

Dani did not respond for several moments, and the grey cold day seemed to pour in around them. "You are leaving?"

"I am," Cap nodded.

"I am glad," Dani answered, and Steve turned quickly to face her.

"Why?" he asked.

Dani looked to the heavens, "Because Titan was only the beginning. Already, Odin is making plans for war against Thanos, though his anger grows with each passing day at Zeus' inability to join arms with them." She caught his eye, "Odin is convinced a war is coming, that Thanos has many plans that are about to come to fruition. Getting the Eternals to side with him was a key step, but by no means the only step."

"And Odin isn't motivated for vengeance against Valkyrie for her betrayal?"

Dani shrugged, "To Odin, and all Asgardians, vengeance is but a call to duty. Valkyrie's betrayal has wounded Asgard's pride, and that is a dangerous thing for anyone to do, but Odin does not act foolishly. The Eternals are cutting a path of destruction across the galaxy. With the Kree Empire still weakened, and the Shi'ar Empire desperately trying to put itself together after the reign of Doom, the Everything is ripe for Thanos' brand of conquest."

Steve listened, nodding, then held out a hand to the Valkyrie. "Come with me, Dani."

"Where to?" she asked, taking his hand.

"To a place which will remind us of the price of war," Steve answered, and led Dani away.

---

Six Hours Later

A Veteran's Hospital

"Was that your idea of a first date, Rogers?" Dani asked as they stood in a window, overlooking a cafeteria. "Serving Christmas dinner to veterans?"

Steve half-smiled, "These are the people of war that get forgotten, Dani. The people, not who we fight for, but who fight alongside us."

"Many of these men will think you a traitor to your country when you board that ship in the next few days," Dani challenged softly.

A twinge of pain flashed across Steve's face before it hardened into resolve, "I can not worry what others think. I can only do what's-"

Steve's words were cut short, as Dani Moonstar buried them in a smoldering kiss. Steve did not object.

---

FROM THE STREAMED CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNALS OF ATU SUMMERS, the WITNESS

RECORDED: 28 December 2022

I can not believe today is here, and yet, deep down, I knew it was coming. My studies, as a child, far in the future, spoke of the Abandonment of the Earth's Heroes. There were so-called "rebel texts" that my father, Uatu, snuck into my possession that called this time the Ascension. Not surprisingly, these texts were mostly written by the Asgardian historian, Beta Ray Bill.

It is a cold, but bright, day here in New York City, and a large crowd has gathered to see just what will happen. Will the heroes leave? Which heroes will leave? Will Captain America bow to President Stark's threat?

All questions, it seems, are about to be answered. The heroes chose Central Park because they wanted the world to see them. They did not want anyone - especially Stark, who I'm happy to say, isn't too high on these heroes' lists right now - to accuse them of sneaking off in the middle of the night.

Three Fantasti-Cars pull up and the heroes depart them to head for the space craft that will take them to the stars. From the first cart, the members of the Fantastic Four - Thing, Shadowcat, Colossus and Nightcrawler - emerge. Their faces are sullen and there is no bounce in their step. The second car contains two founding members of the Liberty Squad - Cannonball and Siryn - along with the Black Knight, the leader of the Defenders. The third car deposits the Avengers contingent: the Scarlet Witch, Henry Pym, the Vision and Wonder Man.

A murmur goes instantly through the crowd, Where is Captain America?

The gathered heroes mill about, cautiously glancing at each other and their watches. Cap couldn't have decided to stay, could he?

"Have you seen him today?" Henry Pym asks the Black Knight.

Dane Whitman grunts in response, but Siryn answers for him, "No one has seen him since the meeting at Avengers Mansion."

A reporter from SCN starts talking wildly into her microphone, wondering about Cap's presence. But then, in a manner much to his dislike, but a manner in which he is familiar, nonetheless, Captain America arrives, walking silently through the crowd. Everyone parts for him as he passes, some with a stunned look on their face, some with anger. A few, even, look like they are about to cry.

Captain America reaches the assembled heroes, shaking the Thing's hand. "Let's do this," I hear him say.

He walks to the microphone and it seems as if the whole world silences for this, his final words to the people of Earth:

"People of Earth, the heroes behind you are leaving for the stars. I know many of you can not understand what we're doing. I know many of you are angry and confused, wondering how we can turn our backs on the planet Earth that has been our home for so long. I can answer you only with the truth. We go where the fights need to be fought. Here, there is a world full of heroes, in all countries, ready, willing and able to fight the good fight. But out there," he glanced to space with his eyes, "there aren't. Out there, people of Earth are killing innocent people." He paused. "We go to stop them. It is our hope that you understand. You shall fill our memories for the rest of our days. Farewell."

And with that, they file into their spacecraft, fire up the engines, and head for the stars, leaving us all behind.

- krk -

SUPPLEMENTAL ENTRY

DUB INTO PRIMARY RECORD

RECORDED: 2065

It is wrong, I suppose, for those left behind to hate the heroes that left. They thought, they had every right to think, that the heroes left behind would be more than up to any challenge.

We really shouldn't blame them for being wrong. But we do. We all do.

It is just a sad irony that the heroes who abandoned Earth take more of the blame than the Masters of Evil, themselves.

END SUPPLEMENTAL ENTRY

ASCENSION / ABANDONMENT to be continued …

Attilan, the most technologically advanced city in your world, is yours for the taking. If you can get inside.

-- MBQ ...4 June 2001

AGC 27: Ascension / Abandonment, Part Five

Ascension / Abandonment

Part V: Titan Falls

the Twenty-Seventh Tale

2022 / April

Titan

"Yes, Ikaris, what is it you want this time?" Mentor asked the image of Ikaris, ruler of the Earth Eternals.

Ikaris’ face contorted, "You know what it is I want, Mentor. The same thing I have been asking for over a year now. A home among you."

Mentor rubbed his forehead, tired of this argument.

Crystal Maximoff, resident of Titan for over fifteen years now, and one of Mentor’s closest advisors, admonished Ikaris, "You ask too much, Ikaris. You know this. Titan is not equipped to provide sanctuary for all Earth-based Eternals. We simply do-"

"-not have the room!" Ikaris snapped back, completing Crystal’s thought. "But there is room for an Inhuman, Crystal? There is room for humans on Titan, but not Eternals?"

Crystal started to answer, but Mentor waved her off, "Ikaris, if it was an emergency situation you know we would open our gates willingly to you and your people, but there is no emergency."

"You are wrong, Mentor! Earth grows more and more hostile to us with every passing day!"

Crystal, having kept abreast of the situation on Earth, answered for Mentor. "Then join the United Nations. Take a seat. Conditions in Atlantis and Attilan have improved-"

"Politics!" Ikaris snapped harshly, shaking his head.

"If you can not help yourself, Ikaris," Mentor announced, "then why should we help you? If you are bound and determined to leave Earth and take a place in the stars, we will give you our knowledge, but we will not give you our land. I am sorry, but there simply isn’t-"

Communication between worlds ended with a slam of Ikaris’ fist, leaving Mentor and Crystal alone.

"Ikaris is not fit to rule a people," Crystal remarked. "The frustration he shows at the United Nations is a sign more of the problems at home than any justified anger with the UN. The Earth Eternals are frightened, scared of the anger thrown at them. Before, they could always laugh it off, given their severe power superiority. But now … while the number of mutants grows rapidly, the power level they hold grows exponentially faster still."

Mentor placed two hands on Crystal’s shoulders. "In times of stress, Crystal, offering paradise to those in turmoil solves nothing. No doubt, many of the Earth Eternals see Titan as a Utopia, a solution to all their problems. There would be no way we could live up to those expectations. All of the politics that Ikaris so despises would emerge here within months of their arrival." Mentor paused, then continued in a low voice, "Gods help them, Crystal, because we can not."

FROM THE STREAMED CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNALS OF ATU SUMMERS, the WITNESS

RECORDED: 2022 / August

Hyperspace

We are in the dimension between dimensions, on our way to Titan.

My name, for the record, is Atu Summers. Son of Uatu. Son of the Phoenix. I am called the Witness. My duty is to stand witness to the end of the First Age of Marvels. The Age that started with the appearance of the Fantastic Four is months … weeks … days from ending.

I, alone, on this spacecraft know this.

This is why I stand here, on an observation deck, alone except for the visage of the Silver Surfer trailing alongside us. Never have I seen such grace and nobility in a man as I see in Norrin Radd.

I think I may be in love with him.

Do not worry, mother. Frozen seeds of my body lie in a freezer at Xavier’s, so the precious Summers bloodline will go on.

Not that I would tell Norrin, anyway …

I am too old for crushes.

I was born twenty-two years ago. I am thirty-seven. Such is the Curse of the Summers - anywhere in time where we are not supposed to be, we’re there. My mother, Rachel Summers, mated with Uatu the Watcher and birthed me in a future time, then returned me to Earth after fifteen years of training as a pacifist, as a healer, as a watcher.

The past that I learned in history cubes has been the present of my youth.

There’s some uprising going on inside Titan, though the exact nature is unknown to us. Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Pietro Maximoff, Crystal Maximoff and Luna Maximoff moved to Titan back in 2004, after Franklin’s suicide. An emergency message was broadcast to Earth.

There are old people here; the younger heroes stayed behind on Earth. We are in the midst of a changing heroic landscape. I look at the floor and my mutant ability to see wherever I cast my gaze allows me to look down into the command headquarters where Captain America, Valkyrie, Ikaris, Shadowcat and Cannonball - represnting the Avengers, Defenders, Eternals, Fantastic Four and Liberty Squad, respectively - plot strategy.

Down through the rest of the ship, various heroes sit and wait for the fight to come: Thor, Hawkeye, the Black Knight, Sersi, Siryn, Wonder Man and on and on. This is a veteran assemblage of heroes. One of the consequences of all this hero expansion we’ve gone through is that group rosters are much more stable. There’s still movement, of course, but there is a division between the older and newer heroes; down in the cargohold there’s none of that. Though we don’t know for sure what is transpiring - and my vision power can’t see through space like my father’s could - I think we all know by now that a fight’s on the other end. The mood is surprisingly light, but then, between this veteran assemblage, I expect no less. Only Makkari, the Eternal speedster, is sullen and staying to himself, though Canticle - Sam and Theresa’s child - hangs near him. She is blossoming into a beautiful young woman. It seems like only yesterday she was born …

I bring my gaze back around to Norrin and take much delight in watching him soar, soar, soar through the cosmic winds. I often wonder if he knows the truth about my feelings for him, but then, during the long, empty nights, I wonder if there were anything he didn’t know.

God, mother, do not hate me for saying this, but the colors of Hyperpsace reflect off his skin in the most-

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

The attack comes out of nowhere, but though it arrived softly, it does not make its presence felt in softness. Mortar shells bombard him from every conceivable angle. My heart jumps into my throat and I scold myself for acting like a child. There’s no way Norrin could be hurt by simple artillery shells.

The assault stops and I see him, the Silver Surfer, darting off towards a horde of enemy attackers. I strain my eyes - then scold myself again for making a simple chore difficult - and see an assault force of Deviants closing in on us.

Ikaris was right. The Deviants are, at the least, involved in something out here.

I look down to the command post. Captain America wants to go to Norrin’s aid, but Ikaris disagrees with him, saying that this must be a ploy to keep us from Titan. Valkyrie, his lover, takes his side, but Shadowcat favors the Captain’s position. A tie vote, then, with the choice left to Cannonball.

He sides with Ikaris and Valkyrie.

Midgard

2022 / August

President Anthony Stark popped four pills, downed them with a shot of ice-cold water, and gritted his way through another Cabinet meeting. The popularity of both the Prison One and Iron Sentinels programs had allowed his supporters in Congress to pass a bill allowing him to run for this third term. Now, there was a movement to formally remove all Inhumans, Eternals and Atlanteans living in the United States that didn’t have visas and while Stark knew this was an end-run by the far-right conservatives, based primarily on religious grounds, the law was on their side. If the bill passed, there was no way he could veto it. He rubbed his temples to try and clear the head-ache that never went away.

He was dying.

To his newest (and third, one for each term in office) Vice-President, Felicia Hardy, it was most obvious during these tedious meetings. Age was no longer something that could be slept away, or erased with make-up. He was almost sixty, but he looked older. A lifetime of hard-living and more stress than anyone should have to bear were now wearing on him in ways that could not be ignored.

The pills he downed were pain killers and he was addicted to them.

In later years she would realize that his addictions are not what drove Tony Stark to his end. They were what had kept him going for so long.

FROM THE STREAMED CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNALS OF ATU SUMMERS, the WITNESS

RECORDED: 2022 / August

Titan

We drop through the mantle of the Saturnian moon into Titan proper, not sure what to expect.

Ikaris wanted to lead the way, determined to come to the aid of his fellow Eternals. The rest of us follow.

We drop into an open field and see nothing save ominous clouds of smoke in the distance.

"Witness!" Captain America barks. "What do you see?"

I look around, scanning the burning buildings and …

… and …

"What?" he barks again.

"Damnit, Atu!" Cannonball yells.

"It’s … oh god, there’s no other way to say this," I stammer, disbelieving my eyes, "it’s Crystal …"

"What about her?" Dane Whitman, the Black Knight asks sharply, coming over to grab my arm and yank my vision away.

I look into his eyes, seeing the pain for the wife of Quicksilver that Dane was never able to fully erase, and relate my seeing. "It’s Crystal … she’s … her head …"

Dane Whitman shakes me hard, trying to snap me out of my funk, "What about her head, damnit!?"

"My god … her head … it’s … she’s … they’ve killed her and … her eyes …"

- krk -

SUPPLEMENTAL ENTRY

DUB INTO VISUAL RECORD

RECORDED 2065 / September

As everyone looked at me, then, various expressions of pain and disbelief on my face, that’s when the Deviants chose to attack. I refuse to voice any more about the tragedy that befell Crystal Maximoff that day, in deference to her holy daughter, Luna.

Asgard - The Forest of Midgard

2200 / December

K’Zan’s body shook with nervousness as he walked through the Forest of Asgard. He wasn’t sure why he was here. Well, no, he was sure why he was here, he just didn’t know why he was actually here. What he meant, as he continued the ongoing conversation with himself that been ongoing since his birth, was that he knew he was here to try to find the Man-Thing so he could go to Earth because that’s where Angelica had run off to.

Not that he was really sure what he would do if he found her.

His purple magician robe caught on a branch and he reached down to pull it free, only to realize, after several moments of pulling and tugging, that he had his hand right down in a patch of poison ivy.

A feeling with K’Zan had endured for as long as he could remember intensified inside him at the moment, and that feeling was that of realizing that suddenly, inextricably, he was in the wrong movie.

What the heck was he doing here, in the middle of the woods, looking for a girl who clearly didn’t want to be found, serving as the hero in a quest that was really cast for Ben-Vell, or at least Eshir - they were the ones with the hots for Angel, not him, after all - and-

"Well, hello there, K’Zan. You’re looking mightly handsome today."

The young magician-speed-mutant (who was convinced that life always left him with the short end of the stick, granting him a stake in magic by birth, but complicating that with speed powers in puberty) felt his blood run cold and he straightened up immediately. He swallowed once, hard and tried to run away screaming.

His feet, however, were perfectly content to stay where they were.

"Am I beautiful?" the blond woman asked him.

K’Zan nodded, daring not to speak. He was standing face-to-face with Amora, the Enchantress, who’d taken up residence in the Forest of Midgard after Ragnarok, haunting the woods like a spirit preying on wayward souls. She was, as she had always been, the most beautiful woman in whatever world she was in.

"Come now, K’Zan," she smiled seductively, "can’t you say anything? There was a time when you charmingly called me Mrs. Heimdall, remember? When I was charged with raising that insufferable brat Eshir and you would come over to play video games or - oh, listen to me. Rambling like an old woman." She smiled kindly. "You never did say much. Or when you did, you said too much, too fast and no one could understand you. Now, be a good boy and pick your tongue up off the ground and follow me. It’s time someone made a man out of you."

K’Zan followed like a love-struck puppy.

Which is exactly what he was.

FROM THE STREAMED CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNALS OF ATU SUMMERS, the WITNESS

RECORDED: 2022 / August

Titan

The battle rages on and on. For every Deviant that is knocked down, ten more appear on the scene. Captain America and Valkyrie are in the lead trying to forge a path to … to Crystal, who rests outside of the main entrance tunnel to the core of ISAAC’s - the super computer that runs Titan - central programming.

The Black Knight is lost in the crowd. Captain America sent him to the back, wanting to keep his emotions for Crystal out of the way of everyone else, but Dane didn’t listen. He’s somewhere in this sea of destruction, the Ebony Blade drinking heavily this eve. When last my eyes took him in, he was screaming words in Latin, lost to the bloodlust.

Canticle has - oh no, Canticle! What’s she doing? Sam and Theresa - themselves battling high in the sky - charged me with her safety, but she has run off and, blast! She’s found a vent entrance. I try to make my way to her, but the tide of battle keeps me from my goal. I see, powerless to stop, Canticle remove the vent and climb into the bowels of Titan.

- krk -

SUPPLEMENTAL ENTRY

DUB INTO PRIMARY RECORD

RECORDED: 2065

It is the last I will see of her in this lifetime. I fear I do not have much longer to live and that day on Titan, some 43 years ago, was the last known sighting of Canticle. We fear the worst. Sam and Theresa never forgave me.

I do not blame them.

END SUPPLEMENTAL ENTRY

RETURN TO PRIMARY RECORDING

- krk -

Another hour of fighting goes by until we reach the fallen Inhuman, one of the few people in history to have served with both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. The Deviant troops behind us are scattered. We try not to look at her as we pass, but the horror of the image beckons a glance, like a moth is drawn to the flame.

We are about to enter a high-ceilinged corridor when Captain America stops us. "Wait," he commands, and we all stop. He looks at the assemblage of heroes, "Shadowcat, keep the FF out here, in reserve. Val, run a clean-up mission with the Defenders. Sam, take the Liberty Squad and look for survivors. Clint," he says to Hawkeye, "find Dane. Ikaris, you and the Eternals will come with us."

Since no one tells me what to do, I decide to follow the Avengers and Eternals into the tunnel. I see Valkyrie and Ikaris share a look and a nod, and it bothers me for a reason I can not say. They are lovers, after all, so why should a look between them mean anything at all?

Things are tense and understandably so. Times have not been easy for the Eternals on Earth in recent years, but whereas the Inhumans and Atlanteans have taken up permanent residence at the United Nations, the Eternals could never be bothered with all of the politics. They just didn’t have the heart for it.

Ikaris had recently sought permission, the rumor is, from Mentor to move here, but was denied. Captain America did not want Ikaris to come because of this, but since he had no proof, and since Valkyrie spoke so eloquently on Ikaris’ behalf, there was nothing Captain America could do without inflaming already tense relations between the Eternals and the United States. Presient Stark himself had implored the Avengers’ leader to take the Eternals to Titan, and both knew Stark could force his hand under the Avengers Act Agreement between them and the United States’ government.

Failure of the Avengers Chairman to comply with a direct order from the President of the United States on a security issue would result in all priveleges afforded the Avengers suspended and the team Chairman brought up on charges of treason against the United States.

The Avengers have USAgent’s brief, but tumultuous, stint as Chairman to thank for that.

We are nearing the end of the short, dark tunnel and I see that Sersi has moved to stand between Ikaris and Captain America at the point of attack. Ikaris tries to wave her away, but she is insistent.

"Hello, humans," a voice I recognize as ISAAC, the Titan’s supercomputer, says to us as the lights suddenly come on.

"ISAAC," Captain America asks as we find ourselves in a room filled with computer banks, "what has happened here?"

"Deviants, Captain," ISAAC continues. "Deviants came and attacked our home."

"Where is Mentor?" Ikaris asks harshly.

Sersi adds, quickly, "And Pietro, Reed, Sue and Mentor?"

"They are all dead," ISAAC replies.

"You lie!" Thor roars suddenly from behind me. "Deviants could not end the life-"

Rumbling from deep underground causes the room to shake and ISAAC speaks only after the rumbling has stopped. "I have never liked you, God of Thunder, but I can assure you that they are all dead. Or will be, in a short amount of time."

Large screens suddenly flash to life and we see Reed, Sue, Pietro, Eros and Mentor floating inside glass tanks of gelatinous water.

"What is the meaning of this treachery?" Thor’s voice booms, Mjolnir seeming to crackly with energy at his side.

ISAAC responds, "You really are a bothersome god, Thor. I could carry this ruse on for hours if I was just dealing with Captain America, but you will no doubt start smashing things long before that. So I will simply tell you why and be done with this subterfuge. If you would kindly direct your attention to the far wall on your left I will reveal my new self to you."

We all look as a wall starts sliding away and feel our hearts skip, or our stomachs tighten, when the true horror of what has happened here becomes apparent.

ISAAC has been merged with the Supreme Intelligence.

The green blob laughs at us, his tentacles, now attached to ISAAC’s databanks, rippling around him, "Meet the Kree’s newest allies, earthlings, the Eternals!"

Captain America responds quickly, "By the look of those screens," he points to Mentor and Eros, "and the battle that rages outside, I find it hard to believe the Eternals are your allies, Supremor."

"Ho, ho!" the fat head laughs at us. "Now that I am merged with ISAAC, earther, the Eternals will do exactly what I tell them to do. But it is not these Eternals that I claim as ally, Captain America. It is the Eternals of Earth!"

Captain America brings his shield up just in time to stop Ikaris’ fist from knocking it off. Chaos erupts around us as the Eternals and the Avengers square off. Though I am older now, I am afraid that I am not much more a braver man than I was in my youth, and I turn to look for the nearest place to escape and alert our friends outside.

I hear words float in the air around me, "I am so sorry, Atu. Please forgive me. I will … never forget you."

I see Makkari and then …

- krk -

RECORDING STOPPED.

WITNESS UNCONSIOUS.

Five Hours Later.

RESUME RECORDING.

WITNESS NOW CONSCIOUS.

TIME UNCONSCIOUS: FOUR HOURS, FIFTY-ONE MINUTES, TEN SECONDS.

"Uhhh …"

I open my eyes and push my body up to look around. Whoah … room spinning … pull it together … I am in a medical ward, back on the starship we took to fly to Titan. I ache all over.

Bodies lie around me … the Black Knight - unconscious by the look of it. Paige, once the love of my life, bleeds through her bandages. Vernard’s armor lies in pieces on the floor, though I see no sign of him. An old man lies perfectly still, dead. I think he is the Gargoyle’s alter ego, though I can not be certain.

Various Titan Eternals of whom I have no knowledge of their identity lie strewn about the room, taking up every available space. Quicksilver, Sue and Mentor lie unconscious with a weird blanket draped over all three - wait, that’s not a blanket, but Reed’s elastic body stretched out and flat. I see no sign of Eros.

I do, however, see Sersi laying against the far wall. She is clearly dead, and you will forgive me for not enhancing the visual picture with an auditory analysis. I hope she is in a better place now because that is all I can do for her.

"No, no, this will not do."

"Immortus!" I yell, my throat bleeding at the effort.

"Go back to sleep, Witness," Immortus waves a hand at me cooly from his time-hopping chair. "I was never here."

Straining against my headache, I look through the ship, though I can not hold each gaze long …

… Hawkeye and Captain America discuss Valkyrie’s betrayal, though the Defenders remain loyal to us …

… Thor argues with the Scarlet Witch … something about how they should not have left like cowards, but Wanda tells him simply that Silver Surfer was doing everything he could and that Thor’s hammer would throw around too much energy for what Norrin was doing …

What, I wonder, is he doing and why does my heart fall at the thought of what Wanda’s words mean?

I keep looking and see …

… oh god, I’d forgotten. Canticle. Sam and Theresa are beside themselves and Theresa … Theresa lays the blame at my feet.

I do not hear Sam dispute that point.

I need rest, but before I fall back, I must try to look outward and see Norrin. No! I see him, on the surface of Titan, pulling the vast energies of the Eternal’s home into his body. He’s trying to drain it of energy.

He’s trying to kill the Supreme Intelligence / ISAAC hybrid by, in essence, starving it to death. He should be able to do this easy, but it’s not working … there’s more and more and more energy pouring out of the moon, but-

My blood runs cold.

Looking through the moon, I see what the others can not.

Thanos. For every ounce of energy the Silver Surfer pulls out of the moon, Thanos pumps ten into it, using Ego, the Living Planet as his power source.

I … I …

RECORDING STOPPED.

WITNESS UNCONSIOUS.

Three Hours Later.

RESUME RECORDING.

WITNESS NOW CONSCIOUS.

TIME UNCONSCIOUS: THREE HOURS, NINETEEN MINUTES, THIRTY-THREE SECONDS.

I open my eyes, snapping awake, and immediately look for Norrin to see if-

SSSSSSWWWWOOOOOOOSH-BOOM!

In a blinding explosion, the Silver Surfer leaves us.

SUPPLEMENTAL ENTRY

DUB INTO PRIMARY RECORD

RECORDED: 2065

The Silver Surfer died as Titan exploded. No body was ever found, but his Power Cosmic became a part of Hyperspace, coating it silver. In memory of his sacrifice, Lilandra, Majestrix of the Shi’ar has officially renamed Hyperspace.

It is now called the Silver Dimension, though I’ve heard rumors that those who knew Norrin best call it ‘the Surf’.

As far as we can tell, ISAAC and the Supreme Intelligence are both dead, though Thanos was known to escape. Titan no longer exists, though the Earth Eternals have moved.

This was the beginning of what is now called the Eternal War. A time when the Earth Eternals and Deviants allied themselves with the Kree and with Thanos and turned their backs on their friends as a response, they claim, to the turned backs they have had to deal with for over a decade.

Some say Ikaris was never right after his battle with Maelstrom for control over the Earth Eternals after the death of their previous ruler, but I can’t say for certain.

Valkyrie’s betrayal stings worst of all, even these forty-odd years later. Odin has declared war on the Eternals, who, true to the Supreme Intelligence’s threat, allied themselves with Ikaris. It was the Supremor’s last act before Norrin shut him down.

Right after this, Dani Moonstar, a woman who had begun to play a large role in the life of Captain America, once again became a Valkyrie herself and has raged many a battle with her former mentor over the years, though capture has not yet come.

But, and I must be honest about this despite your misgivings mother, Makkari’s betrayal hurts me most of all.

END SUPPLEMENTAL ENTRY

ASCENSION / ABANDONMENT to be continued …

Addictions are not what drove Tony Stark to his end. They were what had kept him going for so long.

-- MBQ ... 29 April 2001

AGC 26: Ascension / Abandonment, Part Four

Ascension / Abandonment

Part IV: Stark/Summers, A Presidency: Year One

the Twenty-Sixth Tale

Van Dyne Haven

Hope, Montana

The Room of Jean Grey

2012 / November

Jean Grey held a red crayon in her hand and stabbed it forward, as if she were a killer in a teen-slasher movie. Her victim, however, was only a piece of white paper, which she stabbed violently, her once long red hair cropped short and wild.

From behind a plate of glass, Janet Van Dyne, Dr. Leonard Samson and Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen watched Jean with sorrow on their faces. She stabbed and scribbled on the papers like a mad woman - which, in fact, is just what she was.

Janet asked Dr. Samson, “How did your interview with the patient go today, Len?”

“Her condition is deteriorating,” he answered somberly.

“The disk Charles Xavier presented us remains little help?” Michael Twoyoungmen asked, bringing up memories Janet Van Dyne would never forget. It was just over a year ago when Charles Xavier had visited Jean here, at the Van Dyne Haven, and been killed by Bullseye. Before entering Jean’s room, Xavier had handed Janet a disk that, he claimed, would answer all the questions about her condition they had.*

* As seen in AGC 3 & 4

As far as that went, they knew, the disk had delivered on Xavier’s promise.

Back in August of 2010, the Phoenix Force had once again come for Jean. Faced with a decision between taking on the mantle of Phoenix or allowing Madelyne Pryor to weild the awesome cosmic destructive force, Jean chose to become Phoenix and left the X-Men, flying deep into outer space.

Where she committed mental suicide.

Desperate to find a way to disable the Phoenix Force, Jean Grey killed her own mind. She played a dangerous game with the Phoenix, strengthening the bond between it and her. The Phoenix ate away at her mind and Jean allowed it in; she fed it all to the Phoenix, piece-by-piece, letting the Phoenix think it was slowly breaking her down. But it was the Phoenix that was being broken down, becoming addicted to Jean’s mind as the X-Man dealt out bits of her brain in one slow steady fix after another.

Drip … drip … drip … addictions can take anyone.

And when the Phoenix was addicted to her and her alone, Jean opened her mind and let the Phoenix in to gorge itself, then trapped it when there was no more to feed on. Jean killed her rational mind, and the Phoenix along with it, then went, in non-technical terms, completely bonkers.

Jan jumped back from the protective glass as Jean lunged towards them, slamming into the clear surface. “I know you’re there!” she shouted, drool running down her chin. “I know you’re watching me! I hope you’re writing all of this down because now-“ Jean slammed her scribbled crayon drawing onto the glass, “-now it all starts coming true!”

Samson punched the room’s intercom button, “What comes true, Jean?” Their eyes were transfixed on the crayoned paper that read, in disjointed red type, “pRoFecY 1.”

Jean backed slowly away from the glass, her eyes staring wildly, almost seductively, at the three people she couldn’t see. Her voice was low, sultry, “A man in armor will become king and the people will rejoice, but the people are fools, the people are tools in the new kingdom. King Arthur knew that might did not make right, but the American King will not know this.” She smiled, “The knights of the oblong table will be tall, handsome and the puppets of the Queen Bitch.”

Jan punched the button, “What are you saying, Jean? Who will be King? Tony? Is this about his run and Scott’s run for the Presidency?”

Jean smiled as she ran her hands down her hips, “Prophecy 2 will come at 2:16 AM tonight. See you then.”

Jean Grey fell unconscious to the ground.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

2013 / JULY

The Shocker stood on the hood of a limosine and shouted to all that could hear: “Today, everyone dies!” Energy rippled across his body, washing down, over the car and spreading out across the street.

The words were not new andnot unheard in Milwaukee - since the year 2005, when villainy spread it’s wings and began to nest throughout the United States, small cities like Milwaukee had come to intimately know what previously only New York knew on a day-to-day basis - the existence of super-powered beings.

So when a villain like the Shocker stood on the hood of a car in downtown Milwaukee threatening to kill everyone in sight, Milwaukeans knew what was coming next:

“Not today, Shocker! Not as long as Deathcry patrols the skies!” Shocker looked above to see the purple skinned Shi’ar warrior-turned-Avenger soaring down to him.

“You shall die last, woman! The Shocker-“

“Is old and ready for the retirement home!” Deathcry quipped pulling back on her Stark-engineered wings, sending a mass of hard-light arrows towards the villain below. “While Deathcry is in the prime of her life!”

“Yes, you are.”

“Huh?” Deathcry was startled as a man, sitting in a chair, appeared suddenly out of the sky beside her. “Immortus!”

“The one and the same,” Immortus nodded. “You are called.”

With a wave of his hand, Immortus and Deathcry disappeared.

“Wha-?!?” Shocker was stunned. “No!” he stomped his foot. “No! No! No!” Energy began bubbling out of the Shocker and coalescing around him. “It’s not fair! Today was the day! Apocalypse promised I could kill Deathcry today!”

The Shocker looked around him, the hate in his eyes visible through the outpouring of energy. Deathcry or not, it was time.

With a primal scream of rage, the energy that the Shocker had internalized came pouring out. People, cars, even buildings began to fall as the ripple of energy moved out from its center. The Shocker was unaware of the damage, though Apocalypse had told him, promised him, that the destruction would be great.

If only that slut Deathcry was here to die alongside her adpoted city, he thought as everything went white.

Five Hours Later

FROM THE STREAMED CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNALS OF ATU SUMMERS, the WITNESS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

RECORDED: 2013 / JULY

“This is a national travesty, Mr. President!”

Tony Stark’s voice was level, calm and seething with rage, “Tell me something that isn’t obvious, General Ross.”

General “Thunderbolt” Ross steeled his eyes at the images of Milwaukee, Wisconsin that played across the various screens inside the Oval Office. They had feeds up from all the major networks, though the sound was tuned in only to SCN. President Stark preferred to hear old friends and teammates of his, forced into retirement, offer their commentary on SCN rather than listen to soldiers like Ross.

There was only four of us in the Oval Office this eve - everyone else was running around, searching for answers, checking data, making net calls … it wasn’t quite a panic situation, though it would likely appear that way to anyone spending their first day in the White House.

President Tony Stark, Secretary of State General Ross, Special Assistant Dr. Karla Sofen and I were at the epicenter of the United States reaction to the Shocker’s destruction of Milwaukee. The words don’t do the facts justice.

Milwaukee is gone, levelled to a pile of rubble where life struggles to pull itself out from under the wreckage.

Numbers are thrown around to estimate the damage, both economical and social, but they wash over me like the ocean washes over a beach.

“Mr. President,” Dr. Sofen interjects in that patented style of hers. She has a way of entering a conversation - she comes on, almost like she’s apologizing for saying anything, and then five words in she has everyone in the room wrapped around her finger. “I have the latest poll figures. The Federal Super Prison Project, taken after the incident in Milwaukee, of course.”

“Damnit, Karla!” the President slammed a chair that he was holding onto the back of down into the carpet. “Don’t call it an ‘incident!’ People -“

“Of course, Mr. President,” Karla nods slightly, hiding a half-smile. Everything this woman does is to engineer whatever outcome she desires. “But the Speaker of the House phoned me just minutes ago pledging his support for tougher judicial and penal restrictions on the super-powered community. He thinks that with a final push for the program in your State of the Union address that-“

“I know you’re not actually thinking of using this tragedy in Milwaukee to push forward this draconian Federal Super Prison idea, Karla.” Like a blizzard in July, Vice President Scott Summers has entered the Oval Office.

This guy makes damp cloth look exciting.

“What we need is more money pumped into the rehabilitation programs,” he says with conviction, though he had a look about him like he knew his battle was now a lost one.

“And how are we supposed to rehabilitate power, Scott?” the President asks from across the room. “The Shocker has been amped to ungodly levels. Intelligence thinks that he’s in league with Apocalypse. Apocalypse, Scott,” the President repeates. “If Apocalypse is now mutating ordinary humans-“

“Then we’ll need a prison the size of Nebraska,” the Vice President retorts angrily. “You know damn well that the only way to stop criminals is to create a system where-“

“Save your lib’ral trash, Summers!” General Ross thunders, spit bursting from his mouth. General Ross is in his seventies now, though he’s just as powerful as ever. “These criminals are out of control and there’s plenty of would-be dictators and third-world countries who are more than willing to enchance power on these maggots to-“

“Yes, yes, General,” the President places a hand on Ross’ shoulder without turning to look at him. “Listen, Scott, you and I both know that rehabilitation is the best way to handle the criminal element, but the super-powered criminal element in this country is growing exponentially. Our rehabilitative efforts can only work so fast and we don’t have the kind of time it-“

“Not with the budget the way it is,” the Vice President counters, sighing deeply. “If we weren’t hamstrung with a slashed budget and a downturning economy…”

“But we are, Scott,” Dr. Sofen says gently. “The previous administration cut millions from the psychiatric programs and channelled that money over into penal programs in order to appear tough on the super powered community. A maneuver, I might add, that was in response to your and the President’s run for this office.”

“So now it’s my fault?” the Vice President asks, venom practically dripping from his lips every time he talks to Dr. Sofen.

“It’s nobody’s fault, Scott,” the President smooths his way back into the conversation, smiling with a face that I have to stop myself from shooting. But my mom - Rachel Summers, the Phoenix - has forbidden me from doing so. ‘Just because Tony Stark is responsible for the hellish future of my time does not mean it has to be that way.’

Sure, mom, whatever.

I have to stand here and play good spy for this Administration, watching a good man like the Vice President - my grand-father, right? The bad part about being a Summers is trying to figure out which version of which person in which timeline is related to you and which version isn’t - be pushed further and further out of the loop.

As the argument I’ve heard a thousand times just this month rages around me, I turn to the northwest and use my power to locate Liberty Tower, the newest high-rise structure in Philadelpha, to see my former teammates in the Liberty Squad. They’ve just moved to Philadelphia from Detroit after Detroit refused to build the Squad a new HQ. But Philly, loving both the “Liberty” connection, needed a super-powered team after the Thunderbolts relocated to Denver because Philadelphia wouldn’t put up the cash the Thunderbolts wanted for a new headquarters. So they refuse to pay one team, then end up paying the next one twice as much.

I look to see Sam and Theresa playing with their daughter, Canticle, who’s eight now. Smart kid; they’re playing Avengers Monopoly, it looks like. The more things change in this crazy world, as they say …

I leave them because I really want to know how Sam’s sister, Paige, is doing. Sam’s sister who just happens to be my ex-girlfriend. I scan up a few floors – it is, in fact, a very nice building - to where I know she spends most of her time and-

Huh.

Seems she’s on much more, uh, friendly terms with Kristoff Vernard now …

Two Months Later

2013 / September

Just Outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States!”

The crowd roars in approval as President Stark saunters up to the microphone. “Good people of Wisconsin, I am a man of few words, as you well know.” The crowd laughs lightly, and the President smiles handsomely. Some cheese-ball magazine has just named him the Sexiest Man Alive for the Year 2013. The Meta-Inquisitor, some trashy gossip magazine about super-heroes, has been rife with rumors about Stark and midnight liasons with Hollywood starlets. As the crowd dies down. Stark turns serious, “Two long months ago, your fine city was destroyed by a fanatical super villain, a man who took pride in his accomplishments, a man who boasts from his prison cell about the destruction he caused. But America will not be held hostage by those among us who live with extra powers any longer!”

The crowd roars and the President steels his gaze.

“That is why today, on this spot of our latest tragedy, I am hear, in the fine state of Wisconsin, to dedicate a memorial to the lives lost in this act of terrorism. But more than that, I am here to dedicate this ground for the creation of Prison One, a maximum security facility that will hold those villains that the regular prison system can not handle. During the campaign, I pledged to you, America, that I would veto any and all attempts to send to me legislation that would lead to the registration of mutants and all so-called genetic profiling legislation, and though my plan for Prison One has been attacked by the liberal left as an attempt to oppress the mutant population of this fine land of ours, let me assure each and every one of you that this is not the case! Prison One exists to hold the prisoners that our great judicial system has deemed guilty of committing heinous crimes. And that, my fellow Americans, is not a government code word for mutant. That, my friends, is a government code word for criminal!”

The crowd erupts and the President lets their cheers wash over him.

“Prison One is not an attempt to control those with super-powers, but to hold the criminals that a normal jail can not. Just last week, a mutant woman in Oregon was convicted for the third time on robbery charges, but let me assure you that she would not be sent to Prison One. Her mutant power gives her the ability to discern the exact ingredients and measurements of said ingredients in any processed food item. This is not a woman who needs the be held with the full force of the United States government. This is a woman who needs rehabilitation, a woman who can be held by the jail system that exists for the majority of the population. She doesn’t need hard core jail time, but a helping hand from the government to make for herself and her two children a better life!” Pause. “I know I, for one, am dying to know the secret formula of our fine American soft drinks!”

The crowd laughs for their President and he smiles for them, before turning serious again.

“But our fine rehabilitative centers will not do any good for a man like the Shocker, a cold-blooded mass murderer with power enough to destory millions of lives and one of our greatest American cities. No, for people like the Shocker, Prison One will be the answer! It’s time these super-human criminals learned that the real power of America resides in the hearts of the average working man!”

Two Weeks Later

2013 / September

Orzech, Idaho

“Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America!”

The crowd roars in approval as President Stark saunters up to the microphone. It never fails to amaze me just how staged and repetitive these stops can be. Thank the Maker I can skip this one.

“What the hell is this?” I turn to see Vice President Summers burst into Dr. Sofen’s ofice. Dr. Sofen and I are in the process of spying on the British government. Rather, I am doing the spying and Dr. Sofen is listening to me recite what I see at the same time she watches President Stark’s speech on SCN.

“What is what, Scott?” Dr. Sofen asks. She never refers to him as Mr. Vice President unless other politicians are around.

“You know damn well what I’m upset about!” the Vice President slams his fist down on her desk. “Why wasn’t I told about this announcement?”

“Really, Scott, the President tried to tell you, on several occaissions that he wanted to make this announcement, but you were … otherwise preoccupied.”

“Damnit, Sofen, don’t play that card with me! Jean is a sick woman! She needs me!”

“Your country needs you, too, Scott,” Dr. Sofen scolds. “Your country, like your wife, is also sick and in need of your attention. If you cannot give it that attention, then perhaps you are not fit to be, as they say, a heartbeat away from the Presidency.”

The Vice President actually looks surprised for half a second before continuing, “What is that supposed to mean? Christ, we haven’t even been on the job a full year, yet and you’re already planning to run me out of office?”

“If Jean is really-“

“Don’t, Sofen,” the Vice President’s eyes harden, and turn to the television screen where the President is in the process of unveiling his newest program. “I can’t believe he’s about to do this.”

“My fellow Americans, what I present to you is the first in a new line of federal law enforcement officers! As our country moves forward and the world becomes more and more dangerous, we start to wonder if the government is doing all it can. And I am here to tell you that ever since I took office, it has!”

“The crowd loves him,” Dr. Sofen grins as the television feed picked up the cheers from the raucous crowd. The Vice President did not respond.

“I ran on a promise that you would get the most pro-active President in history, and that’s just what you are getting. I was asked, during the campaign, if I would use Iron Man as my bodyguard as President and I answered that no, the Secret Service would be enough. If they were enough to protect the Presidents before me, they could handle security for me. But you see, my fellow Americans, there is someone that needs the extra protection that only Iron Man can provide. And do you know who that special someone is?” Pause. “It is you, America. You need the protection of Iron Man. Behold!”

President Stark turns and points to the sky. At first, no one could see anything but blue skies and fluffly white clouds (Sofen made sure the setting was perfect), but then a spot in the sky could be seen. The spot grew as a buzz ran through the audience.

“What is it?”

“Is it … hey cool, it’s Iron Man!”

“No, it can’t be … that’s too far away and too big for it to be Iron Man.”

And beside me, I hear a groan escape from the Vice President’s lips, “God above, what have you done, Sofen? I thought … I had no idea … I thought he was going to announce Prison Two, but this … Jesus …”

On the screen, a vision causes both my grand-father’s and my heart to sink.

Landing next to the President is a forty foot high Iron Man.

When the Vice President spoke, his voice was that of a man who’d just woken up from a nightmare to realize that he hadn’t been sleeping, “My god, you’ve rebuilt the Sentinels in the image of Iron Man …”

“We have,” Dr. Sofen smiled. “The Iron Sentinels, America’s Federal Security Force. And if Canada and Mexico agree to share the costs, the North American Federal Security Force.”

“Do you have any idea the message this sends?”

“I do, Scott,” Sofen’s voice drops as her smile becomes louder, “It says, ‘Sleep well, America.’ Your government is in charge.”

“Is that how you take it?” the Vice President asks scornfully. “To me it’s a threat to never sleep well again.”

One Month Later

2013 / October

The White House

Things have been getting tense here. The President and Vice President are barely speaking to one another. Construction on Prison One and the Iron Sentinels continues to proceed without interuption.

Kristoff and Husk continue to get along swimmingly. I don’t care - I mean, she’s a grown woman, she can make her own choices. But Vernard?

I think Dr. Sofen is trying to psychoanalyze me, but maybe she’s just nosy. I can’t tell. She’s never the same woman to anyone twice in a row. The longer I stay here, the more convinced I am that she’s the one running the country and that does not make me sleep well at night.

Not that I need to sleep at all with my physiology, but well, you get the idea.

“Approval ratings for both the Iron Sentinels and Prison One are both above 80 percent, Mr. President,” Dr. Sofen says to President Stark in the other room. “Americans feel safe again.”

“Disaproval ratings among the mutant population for both the Iron Sentinels and Prison One program are above 60 percent, Senator,” Vice President Summers says to a Democratic Senator from the northwest in a separate room, trying to convince him to vote against a budget increase in the two programs. “We can’t afford to have this much discontent in the country’s most rapidly increasing demographic.”

I can barely stand listening to either side of this argument any longer. Stark and Summers came here to change Washington and instead they’ve become just another two cogs in this ungodly machine. I swear the lobbyists are the most powerful people in this whole country - besides Dr. Sofen, of course.

Forget them, I’ll look elsewhere. Let’s see, there’s eight Iron Sentinels in operation right now and according to the charts there’s one in Dallas. Might as well check in to see what it’s doing … I’ll include a recording of the following without commentary to preserve the historical moment.

Dallas, Texas

2013 / October

BOOM … BOOM … BOOM … BOOM!!!

“Cease resistance in the name of the United States Government, Designate-Hawkeye! You are wanted for-“

“Hey, Iron Fuzz! No one as ugly as you gets to take me home, even if you join the Fan Club! You can tell your boss - excuse me, Mr. President Stark - that I’m honored he sent you to arrest me for parking violations, but damn, it was his Quinjet!”

Hawkeye, the Avenging Archer, shot an acid tipped arrow stright up at the Iron Sentinel, but it did no good. Nothing slowed this machine down. Clint had to remind himself that as much fun as it was shooting arrow after arrow at a forty foot high Iron Man lookalike (especially one that was based off the butt-ugly red and silver shoulder pad model), that if he didn’t find a way out of this real quick, he was about to be a test case for the new judicial regulations Stark had moved through Congress.

“Section 4.7a of the Iron Sentinel Operations and Procedure Manual provides for the use of an Iron Sentinel to arrest any potentially dangerous suspect,” the Iron Sentinel intoned from on high. “Though Designate-Hawkeye does not possess a power enhanced body, his skill with weapons has marked him as a high security risk and thus falling under the jurisdiction of the Iron Sentinel program.”

“Man, your voice even sounds like Iron Man’s, which wouldn’t be all that bad,” Hawkeye retorted, “if you and he weren’t such smug ass-“

“Now, now, Clint, let’s not use language the kids shouldn’t hear,” came a familiar friendly voice.

Hawkeye looked to the sky to see a welcome sight: Dane Whitman, better known as the Black Knight, and the rest of the Dr. Strange-less Defenders: Psylocke, Valkyrie, Gargoyle, Lady Metal and Rogue.

The Iron Sentinel swivelled its head to take in the new combatants, “Designate-Rogue, I place you under arrest for the murder of Carol Danvers. Disgnate-Psylocke, I place you under arrest for terrorist activities against the United States. Designates-Gargoyle, Black Knight, Valkyrie and Lady Metal, you may be categorized as accessories to fugitives if you do not aid, or interfere, in the capture of Designate-Rogue and Designate-Psylocke.”

Rogue’s eyes flared with anger and she made a move to dive at the Sentinel, but Dane stopped her, “No, Rogue. Sentinel! If you are really interested in peace, look to the west. What do you see?”

The Iron Sentinel turned slowly to the west, “System override. Accessing new program. Designate-Hulk spotted. Accessing Federal Superhuman Commissions’ Top Ten Most Wanted Super Powered List. Priority one.”

As they watched the grotesque Iron Man fly away, Hawkeye watched as the Defenders landed near him. He nodded his thanks.

“Think nothing of it, old friend,” Dane nodded in return as the two former teammates shook hands. “What’s going on with Stark?”

“God knows,” Hawkeye sighed, his eyes trying desperately to not glance towards Rogue, whose eyes tried desperately to not glance towards his. “Ever since he’s gotten into office we’ve had less and less contact with him. Did you know he’s asking the Avengers over a certain power limit to voluntarily agree to have those powers dampened?”

“Madness,” Valkyrie shook her head in disgust.

“Thor almost went after him,” Hawkeye shook his head, smiling. “Can you imagine that? Thor going after the President of the United States? Almost would have liked to see it, myself.”

Dane wasn’t smiling. “I don’t understand what has happened to him. Why this change now that he’s President?”

“I don’t know if it is a change,” Clint shrugged. “People tend to think all heroes are the same, that we all believe in the same things because we all fight the bad guys, but that’s not the case. We’re Republicans, Democrats, Moderates … Christians, Muslims, Jews … people should look at us and see a unity of different people, with different individual beliefs working together, but all they see is good vs. evil.”

The Defenders stared at Hawkeye for a moment, then looked askiew at each other.

“What?” Hawkeye asked.

“Nothing,” Dane said, trying to hide a smile.

“Well said, Clint Barton!” Valkyrie broke the silence, trying herself not to smile, thinking that Hawkeye had come a long way from his early days.

“The question remains,” Psylocke still, Clint noted, incredibly young looking, added. Whatever demon she’d sold her soul to looked to be keeping his end of the bargain; the rest of them had gradually seen age start to make an impression, but not Betsy. “Is anyone going to do anything about Stark before he gets even further out of hand? I needn’t tell you that despite the acceptance of mutants in this country there are militant groups out there - on both sides - that are growing uneasy with the President’s actions.”

Hawkeye stared at her dumbly, “Hey, Bets, things are different now. He’s the President. It’s not like we can saunter up to him, have a chat and beat some sense into him. We can’t suspend him from the team or force him to take an extra shift at monitor duty. You want to fight with a politician, you’ve got to do it on his terms.”

Lady Metal sighed loudly, “Old timers. Every last one of you.” She chuckled under her suit of armor, “You want to get a rise out of Stark, you just watch what Lady Metal can do.”

And with that, she took to the air.

Six Weeks Later

2013 / November

THE META-INQUISITOR

Super-Gossip for the Super-Curious!!!

LADY METAL UNMASKED, DISROBED!

Wild Beauty Admits ‘I’m President Stark’s Love Child’; Will Pose Nude for Round Table!

In a shocking story that not even the Meta-Inquisitor could make up, Lady Metal, a hero with less than 18 months under her belt and most recently with the Defenders, will pose nude for the “super lifestyle” magazine Round Table! Even more shockingly, if that’s possible, she will reveal that she is the love-child daughter of President Tony Stark!

“Lady Metal, whose real name will be kept a secret, is set to reveal her body and soul in next month’s Round Table,” an official press release informed. “Round Table, a magazine that has quickly become the classy home to read about the new man’s lifestyle in this superhero world is honored to be able to present Lady Metal’s tragic and heroic story to the world.”

Not to mention all that skin, right?!?!

While reader’s will be left to wonder why Lady Metal would chose to reveal both her secret parentage and her body now - and do it, unfortunately, in one of the few magazines left that has any class, expect more artsy-fartsy fashion poses (the things we have to put up with to see some good nudity, huh?) - there will be no doubting that Round Table will see it’s biggest selling issue to date. Lady Metal, whose skin tight, liquid metal uniform has had men drooling since she appeared on the super-scene, is already fielding offers from H-Wood about staring in movies! So stunning is her reported beauty - Round Table refuses to release any photos of Lady Metal before it’s cover hits stands, the media savvy bastards! - that directors are actually offering her scripts that don’t involve taking her clothes off!

At press time, the White House has refused comment, which we all know means that President Stark is as guilty as sin!

Stay tuned, Super-Inquisitors, the Meta-Inquisitor will have updates at the site daily! Until then, remember, if no one denys a rumor, it’s true! And if they do deny it, it’s probably true anyway!

ASCENSION / ABANDONMENT to be continued …

“The one and the same,” Immortus nodded. “You are called.”

-- MBQ … 16 April 2001