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Reborn to Run
At the boundary between atmosphere and exosphere, a star ship skims, carrying the Protector of the Universe, Wendell “Quasar” Vaughn and his new companions, the Squadron Supreme, heroes not of this earth, back to planet Earth after a several day sojourn at the core of the galaxy. Standing atop of the star ship, Wendell gazes down at the planet below and tells himself that is sure is fun riding shotgun like this, and that it never fails to give him gooseflesh seeing Earth from this vantage point. Suddenly, something flashes past the star ship. ‘Holy Shinola - whatever it was, it passed us like we were standing still’ Wendell tells himself, while his Quantum Bands light up, alerting him to the fact that something extra terrestrial has penetrated his Earth surveillance web.
Wendell tries to get a fix on the energy and contacts everyone aboard the ship. ‘Hey, Spectrum - you pick up that thing that just buzzed us?’ Quasar asks Doctor Spectrum who is piloting the vessel. ‘Yeah, what is it?’ Doctor Spectrum replies, while some of his teammates in the Squadron Supreme - the winged Lady Lark, the heroic Power Princess, the mighty Hyperion, the super fast Whizzer and the glamorous Arcanna Jones - turn their attention to him. Accompanying them is the Eternal known as Makkari. Quasar tells Doctor Spectrum that he doesn’t know what it was, and explains that he was looking right at it, but couldn’t tell much, except that it looked vaguely humanoid.
Doctor Spectrum asks Quasar if he wants him to do another orbit while Quasar checks it out, but Wendell tells him not to, for as fast as it was, there is not telling how long it would take him to catch up with it. Suddenly, the energy readings come back, and Quasar announces that there are tachyons galore. ‘Figures’ Wendell remarks, while back inside the vessel, Makkari asks if Quasar said something about some body fast. ‘Yeah, he did. Somebody or something’ Doctor Spectrum replies. Gazing down at Earth, Quasar sees North America ahead of them and suggests that they land back on terra firma. ‘Copy that, Quasar. Initiate landing sequence’ Doctor Spectrum reports back.
As the star ship approaches Project Pegasus, Quasar guides it down, and thinks to himself that this has been the longest he has been off Earth since getting back from Uranus almost a year ago. Wendell hopes that whatever buzzed the ship doesn’t mean trouble. ‘I could use some catch up time’ Wendell thinks, before radioing Doctor Spectrum once more, asking him to contact the boys at Project Pegasus and to tell them that they will be using their parking lot as a landing strip.
Soon, after an uneventful landing and disembarking, a Project Pegasus scientist, several guards, and the remaining Squadron Supreme members - Haywire and the Shape - join everyone on the makeshift landing strip. Quasar, his cape still in tatters from the recent adventure, takes to the air almost immediately, and tells everyone that he hates to land and run, but that he has a whole lot of stuff to attend to, the most pressing of which is checking out the gremlin that dive-bombed them. Doctor Spectrum tells Quasar that when he is done with that, he should see a tailor about a new cape, while Hyperion asks Quasar to let them know the moment he can get hold of Reed Richards or Dr Strange. ‘We’re all quite anxious to get back to our home dimension’ Hyperion points out. ‘Will do! Take it easy, ex-squad!’ Quasar calls out as he flies off, while the Shape exclaims that he is glad his teammates are back.
Suddenly, ‘Wait - for - meeeee!’ Makkari calls out as he rushes after Quasar - even literally running on air. ‘Don’t look now, Mak m’man, but you’re running on air’ Quasar points out. ‘For a couple hundred feet, sure - which ought to be just far enough to get me to the Hudson River!’ Makkari calls out, as le literally runs on water as he and Quasar pass the Hudson River. ‘Pretty smooth, fleet-foot’ Quasar calls out, while Makkari remarks that Quasar has been sounding really upbeat since their little trip to the Stranger’s world. ‘What’s the scam, man?’ he asks. The men are in a gully now, with Makkari running as Quasar flies overhead.
In answer to Makkari’s question, Wendell explains that holding his own against all those cosmic cornballs gave him a large confidence boost. ‘Groovy! So you got a better idea of what that hyper-fast flying object was?’ Makkari enquires. Wendell replies that he doesn’t, before revealing that he has a fix on where it entered the atmosphere, and what its trajectory was, which might help. ‘What’s your big interest?’ Wendell asks his friend. ‘Speed’s my life, man. If there’s something fast happening on this big blue marble of ours, I want to know about it’ Makkari replies. Suddenly, a man seemingly entire gold, wearing only a loincloth appears alongside Makkari.  ‘Hi, there, humans! Looking for something?’ the golden man asks. ‘Huh?’ Makkari mutters. ‘Where’d he come from?’ Quasar wonders, surprised.
The golden being introduces himself as the Runner, and explains that he is one of the Elders of the Universe. ‘If you know who they are’ he adds, explaining that like all his spiritual brethren, he has devoted his life to a single pursuit - in his case, the thrill of the body in motion. He reveals that for eons he has traversed the universe seeking out the fastest entities he could find and challenging them to a race, such is his passion, and his purpose. ‘I hear tell your world has a handful of pretty fast movers. Any idea where I can find them?’ the Runner enquires. ‘You’re looking at the fastest, golden boy’ Makkari boasts. ‘Am I now? How interesting!’ the Runner replies, before telling Makkari that he cannot just take his word for it. ‘Deeds are what count, not words, wouldn’t you say?’ he asks, before enquiring as to whether Makkari would like to put his legs on the line and running a little race. ‘Any time, any place…’ Makkari replies.
‘Good! Good!’ the Runner exclaims. ‘But not now, not here. There are several others of this world’s denizens I wish to contact as well’ the Runner declares, informing Makkari that he will be in touch with him as to the particulars. He tells Makkari that it has been nice running with him, before veering off in another direction at an incredible speed. ‘Great Zuras!’ Makkari gasps, as he comes to a halt, astonished at the Runner’s speed. Suddenly, Quasar encases he and Makkari in a floating quantum globe: ‘Earth to Makkari! You can’t expect to keep skimming across the water when you suddenly slow down like that’ Wendell points out as he ensures that his friend doesn’t fall into the water.
‘Fast…he went so fast…’ Makkari mutters, before Quasar offers to give him a lift back to the city. Encased in the quantum globe, both men soar back towarda the city, while Quasar remarks that the Runner called Makkari by name, even though Makkari never introduced himself to him. ‘Either your reputation precedes you, or he’s telepathic’ Quasar suggests. ‘Man, do I ever want to win that race!’ Makkari exclaims, while Quasar tells him to be careful, as there may be more to it than just a race. ‘A few of my fellow Avengers had run-ins - no pun intended - with these so called Elders’ Wendell reveals, adding that they are a treacherous lot with all sorts of ulterior motives. ‘If I were you, I’d think twice before consenting to -’ Wendell begins, but Makkari frowns and declares that5 he has got to prove that he is the fastest man on Earth, no matter what.
‘You keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t pull a fast one…all I want to worry about is running rings around that yellow yahoo!’ Makkari exclaims. Wendell tells Makkari that he can see how much this means to him, and agrees to watch his back for him. Wendell suggests they stick together until this race comes off, and informs Makkari that he can stay with him at his dad’s house, as there is a guest bedroom. ‘What do you say?’ Wendell asks. ‘Fine’ mutters Makkari. Quasar decides that with everything the two of them have been through in the past few days, he thinks he can trust Makkari with his civilian identity.
Soon, it is night time in Fairfield, Connecticut. A blinding light signals the arrival of Quasar and Makkari, and Wendell informs Makkari that relations with his father have been somewhat strained lately, but that his dad is basically a real good person. Entering the house, Wendell tells Makkari that he is sure his father will like him. ‘The more bizarre my friends are the more he likes them’ Wendell adds, but gets no response, so he quickly tells Makkari he was joking. There are no lights on, so Wendell supposes that his father has gone to bed. He switches the kitchen light on, and sees his father, sitting at the kitchen table. ‘What are you doing sitting here in the dark?’ Wendell asks his father, who replies that he couldn’t rest. Quasar ignores the comment and introduces his father to Makkari, explaining that he is an Eternal, an evolutionary spin-off from humanity. ‘He’s the…fastest man on Earth’ Wendell adds, before informing Makkari that his father is an astrophysicist.
‘Pleased to meet you, Sir’ Makkari announces, extending his hand to shake Mr Vaughn’s, but Wendell’s father just sits there. ‘Yes’ he replies. Wendell smiles and shakes his head, thinking that his father seems out of it. ‘Is he still miffed at me, or what?’ Wendell wonders, before telling his father that if he doesn’t mind, Makkari will stay in the guest room for a few days. Mr Vaughn replies that he doesn’t mind. ‘Great!’ Wendell exclaims. ‘Wait’ll I tell you what I’ve been up to, Dad. You’re going to want to get out your xenological notebook, that’s for sure’ Wendell declares, before deciding to call it a night. ‘See you in the morning, Dad’ Wendell calls out as he leads Makkari out of the kitchen. ‘Good night, Sir’ Makkari says. ‘Yes…good night…’ Mr Vaughn replies, never moving from his position seated at the kitchen table. What Quasar didn’t see however, was two alien tentacles connected to his father….
The next morning, after a commute into New York City, inside Four Freedom’s Plaza, Wendell, dressed in a suit, informs Makkari, dressed in shorts and a casual shirt, that this is where he works during the day, as he runs his own company, a security consultants firm. He tells Makkari that he will introduce him to his employees, but asks him not to mention that he is Quasar, as they don’t know. ‘I dig’ Makkari replies as they enter the office. ‘Hi, people!’ Wendell calls out. ‘Mr Vaughn, where have you been the past few days - I’ve been going out of my mind trying to reach you!’ Kayla Ballantine exclaims urgently. Wendell just replies that he was called away on unexpected business. ‘You know, the usual!’ he adds. Ken Tanaka informs Wendell that they have been swamped, and informs him that Miss Steckley seems to have taken a powder.
‘She has?’ Wendell asks, before introducing Kayla and Ken to Makkari. Wendell claims that he is a new buddy of his and that his name is Mike Karhy. ‘Put it there, Mike’ Ken calls out, extending his hand to shake Makkari’s. Kayla smiles, and thinks to herself ‘Mmm. He’s almost as cute as Mr Vaughn’, before Wendell asks what is going on with Miss Steckley. Ken explains that two days ago, they returned from lunch, and Miss Steckley was simply gone, and they have not heard from her since. ‘That’s odd. She seemed so conscientious’ Wendell remarks, before Ken informs Wendell that while he was away, Miss Steckley insisted on working in his office. ‘I tried to stop her, but -’ Ken adds, while Wendell exclaims ‘My…office!’, and excuses himself from everyone as he enters his office, claiming that he needs to use the facilities. ‘Again? You just went’ Makkari remarks.
Wendell closes his office door behind him and opens the passageway into Eon’s star chamber, hoping that Miss Steckley didn’t find the passageway that resides behind a bookcase. Wendell wonders if Miss Steckley was the cosmic assassin who came to kill his mentor, and realizes that he has not checked in with eon in over 24 hours. ‘I assumed he’d contact me if something was wrong. What if -’ Wendell begins, but as he enters the star chamber, he discovers that Eon has vanished. ‘EON!’ Wendell booms. Suddenly, ‘Yes, my protector?’ the alien being asks as it materializes before Wendell. ‘Whew! You nearly gave me a heart attack. What were you doing so small?’ Wendell inquires.
‘All size is relative’ Eon replies matter-of-factly. ‘I guess so’ Wendell replies, before asking if everything is cool on the home front. ‘Yes. “Cool”’ Eon replies. ‘Great’ Wendell replies, before informing Eon that he has just returned from the Stranger’s world. ‘And man, you should have seen what happened there’ Wendell adds. ‘You are referring to your saving the lives of a billion Watchers, I would imagine’ Eon states. ‘Yeah! How’d you know?’ Wendell asks. ‘I believe I mentioned to you that I keep abreast of the activities of cosmic class entities’ Eon reminds Wendell. ‘Oh, yeah. Well, I just wanted to tell you that I feel really good with that victory under my belt’ Wendell exclaims, adding that he finally feels like he is up to being protector.
As he heads for the door back to his office, he asks Eon what he knows about an Elder named the Runner. Eon reveals that the Runner is one of the more harmless of the thousand or so Elders that he is aware of. ‘That’s good to know’ Wendell replies, before excusing himself, as he has people waiting for him. ‘See you later’ he tells Eon, as Eon’s large yellow eye examines a high-heeled shoe that floats past him. A tentacle then grabs the shoe, and Eon shoves it into his mouth.
Later that day, in the Mid-Atlantic, Makkari speeds across the ocean, telling himself that Quasar did some checking up on the Runner, and that as far as he is concerned, the Runner is harmless. That is fine by Makkari, as he would hate to get his hopes up that he is going to run a fair race with the guy, only to have him cheat. Makkari wonders who the other fast folk the Runner said he was going to contact are, and adds that other than the Squadron’s Whizzer, he is not aware of anybody else in his league. Suddenly, ‘Training for the big race, are we?’ the Runner asks as he speeds up alongside Makkari. The Runner tells Makkari that he has good form, but motioning to his clenched fists, suggests he relax them a bit, as tight fists only diverts energy from where he really needs it. ‘See?’ the Runner asks, demonstrating.
‘Grrr’ Makkari thinks to himself. ‘I’ve had it with this alien doing his superiority number on me’ Makkari decides, feeling that it is time he ditched the Runner and let him eat his spray. ‘But I didn’t come to give you racing tips. I’ve come to - Makkari?’ the Runner calls out as Makkari races off across the ocean. ‘Hmm. A nice burst of speed’ the Runner tells himself, before declaring that nobody runs off when he is addressing them, and he speeds off after the Eternal. The Runner believes that Makkari is trying to lose him, and wonders if Makkari has mistaken this for the actual race. The Runner supposes he should rectify that notion, and reaches the same speed as Makkari, running alongside him, blurs of gold and red respectively, the Runner tells Makkari to slow down. ‘How am I supposed to tell you the particulars of the big race if you keep running faster than the sound of my voice?’ the Runner asks.
‘Doing my darnedest - and golden boy keeps up with me - effortlessly, it looks like!’ Makkari tells himself, before allowing himself to listen to the Runner, who announces that the big race will begin at 1.25 planetary rotations from now. The Runner reveals that he has contacted six other individuals besides Makkari, and provides the Eternal with the coordinates fore the meeting point: latitude 37 degrees north, longitude 116 degrees. The Runner adds that, incidentally, the winner will be given the greatest prize in all the galaxy. ‘Any questions?’ the Runner asks. ‘No’ Makkari replies. ‘Good’ the Runner calls back, before veering off in another direction and suggesting to Makkari that he doesn’t overdo the training, as he will want to be fresh for the race. ‘Bye!’ the Runner calls out. ‘Huh? Where -’ Makarri mutters to himself as Runner vanishes from view. Makkari soon approaches a small deserted island and decides to take a breather. Resting, he rubs his left calf, which feels a little tender. ‘Oh, please don’t tell me I pulled a muscle!’ Makkari thinks to himself.
In New York, an hour later, Wendell is on the phone to Doctor Spectrum, informing him that he finally got hold of Dr Richards, and made an appointment to use his space-time machine this Saturday at 10:00 am. ‘Great! That means the Whizzer will still have time to participate in the big race. He’s very keen on testing his mettle against your world’s speedsters’ Doctor Spectrum replies. ‘Oh, so he’s been contacted too, huh? Figures’ Wendell declares.
A day and a half later, in the American southwest, Quasar descends upon the coordinates of the race starting point. He hasn’t seen Makkkari since he told him what Eon had said about the Runner. Wendell hopes that Makkari hasn’t been out practicing all this time. Wendell sees Doctor Spectrum flying toward the meeting point, carrying Whizzer on his spectrum beam. More super beings soon come into view, as Wendell sees Pietro “Quicksilver” Maximoff stepping out of a Quinjet, as Quicksilver is currently affiliated with the West Coast Avengers. Wendell observes Monica Rambeau a.k.a. Captain Marvel, speaking with the Runner. Nearby, three others whom Wendell does not recognize are stretching their muscles - Super Sabre from Freedom Force, Speed Demon and Black Racer.
The Runner informs Monica that this is not a contest of flight speed, and tells her that if she fails to touch her feet to the surface once every fifty meters or so, she will be disqualified. ‘I’ll try, but it’s not my natural way to travel!’ Monica responds, before she is greeted by Quasar. Monica smiles, and asks Quasar whether the gilded alien has talked him into running the marathon also. Wendell explains that he is just an observer, as a buddy of his is competing, although he doesn’t see him here yet. Quicksilver’s twin sister, Wanda a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch steps out from the Quinjet behind her brother, while Wendell asks the Runner where he intends to hold this race, as he wants to make sure that no innocent bystanders are endangered by the high-speed hi-jinks. The Runner assures Wendell that there will be no bystanders where they are running. ‘How can you be sure?’ Wendell asks. ‘Because the race is not on Earth’ the Runner responds.
‘Behold!’ the Runner shouts as he taps his foot on the ground, and instantly a golden dome surrounds the competitors, Quasar, the Scarlet Witch, Doctor Spectrum and the Runner. ‘What the -?’ Wendell gasps, as a golden platform extends in the form of an seemingly endless tunnel, directed upwards towards the moon. ‘You - made that?’ Wendell asks. The Runner explains that he activated it, but that his fellow Elder, the Architect, constructed it to his specifications. Wendell realizes that it is some sort of energy construct, like his Quantum Bands make. ‘Where’s it terminate?’ Wendell enquires. As Quicksilver, Captain Marvel and the Whizzer begin their stretches, the Runner reveals that it terminates on this planet’s moon, 384,392 kilometers from here, but that along the way, it takes a detour through warpspace. ‘We must take in account the motions of the Heavenly Bodies’ the Runner adds, before excusing himself from Quasar.
The Runner calls out to the racers, motioning to their marks, he asks them to line-up so he can explain the rules. ‘Makkari still hasn’t showed up. What in the world could be keeping him?’ Wendell wonders about his friend, while the six present speedsters take their starting points. The Runner tells them that this is a marathon to the moon, and that whoever makes it first to the finish line wins. The Runner explains that in the event none of them completes the course, the contestant who has gone the farthest when everyone else has quit will be declared the winner. The Runner declares that this is a contest of speed, endurance, strategy and will, and announces that cheating will not be tolerated in any way. He adds that whoever is caught intentionally interfering with the performance of his fellow contestants will be immediately sent back to Earth.
The Runner explains that the raceway environment totally simulates conditions here on Earth at sea level, and that there are comfort stations every 107 kilometers for those who need nutritional replenishment or waste management. ‘Any questions?’ the Runner asks. Black Racer stands with her hands on her hips, while Speed Demon adjusts his goggles and frowns. Super Sabre tightens his gloves, while Quicksilver frowns and the Whizzer stares straight ahead. Captain Marvel pushes her hair back and asks ‘Yes. Why did I ever agree to this silly thing?’ ‘Possibly for the same reason I did. To put your body to the ultimate test’ Quicksilver suggests. ‘Okay, if there are no more questions, contestants -’ the Runner begins, before Quasar notices Makkari banging on the dome. ‘Wait a minute, Runner. Somebody wants in your dome’ Wendell calls out. The Runner opens the dome, and tells Makkari that he didn’t think he would make it. ‘You wish’ Makkari mutters as he takes his place at the starting line alongside the others. ‘On your mark…get set…GO!’ the Runner calls out as he fires the starting line gun.
The seven contestants speed off, while Makkari thinks to himself ‘What is this? The Runner’s not running? He’s the one I wanted to test my speed against - not these also-rans’, before the Whizzer informs him that he will wait for him at the finish line. ‘Ha!’ Makkari just laughs.
At ten kilometers, Super Sabre, Speed Demon and Black Racer have taken the three leading positions, while Whizzer, Quicksilver and Captain Marvel follow them, and Makkari brings up the rear. ‘Who are those racers who’ve taken the lead? I don’t recognize anyone’ Makkari tells himself.
By one hundred kilometers, however, the positions have changed, as Quicksilver takes the lead, followed by the Whizzer, Captain Marvel and Black Racer, while Makkari has taken fifth place, leaving Speed Demon and Super Sabre behind. ‘The two I’ve passed are going to burn out early, I can tell’ Makkari decides.
At one thousand kilometers, Makkari reminds himself that he is energized by cosmic energy, and thinks that surely none of the others has such an efficient power source. By this time, Black Racer has fallen behind, while Speed Demon and Super Sabre have passed Makkari.
At ten thousand kilometers, ‘Yes! I’ve taken the lead - now I need only maintain it for…the rest of the course, however long it may be’. With Super Sabre and Speed Demon hot on his heels, Makkari wishes that he could read the sign posts marking distances, then he would know how much farther there is to go.
And, as the miles melt beneath their feet, the seven runners lost themselves in thought, as Black Racer decides that this is insane. ‘I am a sprinter, not a marathon runner. What was I thinking?’ while Speed Demon is annoyed, and wonders how their can be so many persons faster than he. ‘All my prison stays must have ruined my conditioning’ he decides. The aged Super Sabre wishes this race was held when he was in his prime, but knows that he will still outlast some of these young whipper snappers. Quicksilver regrets that the years he spent living on the moon with its 1/6 Earth gravity may be his undoing, as his muscle mass and stamina are all diminished. Captain Marvel is getting the hang of the race now, and although she is not able to go to light speed anymore, her endurance is second to none. The Whizzer is having fun, for on his earth, he never had anyone to pit himself against. ‘Makkari, look out!’ he thinks to himself. However, Makkari’s calf is starting to feel sore again, and urges himself to blank it out and keep on running.
At thirty-two thousand kilometers, the Runner speeds up alongside Monica and tells her that she is not touching the ground often enough to qualify as running. ‘Really? I…I guess I wasn’t concentrating enough’ Monica replies, but the Runner tells her that she must go back to Earth.
At twenty-five thousand kilometers, Quasar and Doctor Spectrum fly over the tunnel. Doctor Spectrum asks Quasar if he sees any of the runners, to which Wendell replies ‘Not yet’, before quickly announcing that he has to run, and he speeds off through space. Doctor Spectrum sees that Quasar turned back towards Earth, and wonders why. Soaring back down towards Earth, Wendell’s Quantum Bands have picked up something penetrating his surveillance web around Earth. ‘As much as I’d like to spectate, I’ve got a job to do’ Wendell tells himself.
Back at the twenty thousand kilometer mark, lightning crackles and a mysterious cloud forms in the tunnel. Thunder booms, and a figure forms amongst the cloud. ‘I…I have form again! Where am I? This is not my space…I’m somewhere else’ the mysterious, blond-haired man wearing only red shorts and yellow boots tells himself. He stands up and wonders what has happened, and why he is here, for the last thing he remembers is running. ‘Wait a minute…I don’t even remember who I am!’ he tells himself. All he knows is that there is a ball of energy - like lightning - inside him, filling him with the need to move. ‘Need…to…run’ he tells himself, as he speed off along the track, just as Quasar arrives from quantum-space.
‘Hey! What happened?’ Wendell wonders as he sees the flash of something run past him. ‘The thing I detected should have been right below’ he realizes. Checking his Quantum Bands, Wendell realizes that whatever it was, was indeed here, moments ago, judging by the freshness of his trail. Wendell deduces that the mysterious being is now heading down the raceway, away from Earth, same as everyone else. Shockingly, the tachyon discharge Wendell detects rivals that of the Runner. Quasar decides that he should warp after the mysterious energy, as he could mean trouble for the other racers.
At forty-nine thousand kilometers, Black Racer has stopped at the refreshment stand for some water. ‘Don’t know if I can go another step’ she tells herself, before being knocked aside as the mysterious speedster races past her. At sixty-seven thousand kilometers, Super Sabre has stopped for a rest, he is huffing, trying to get his breath back, but looks up when the speedster zooms past him. At eighty-one thousand kilometers, Speed Demon has a stitch in his side, from three stations back. It is killing him, but he knows he has to run through it. ’What was that…?’ Speed Demon wonders as the mysterious speedster speeds past.
At one hundred and twenty one thousand kilometers, Pietro continues to run, however every step is torture. But the brash mutant is not a quitter, and tells himself that he will run until he collapses, and then he will crawl. ’What in -?’ Pietro wonders as the mysterious being races past him. At that moment, Wendell materializes on the outside of the tunnel, ‘Blast it! Just missed him again! Not that I could do anything to stop him from out here without breaching the gateway’ Wendell realizes, before seeing that his quarry passed Quicksilver, and probably some of the others, without doing anything to them. ‘Maybe he’s no more dangerous than the Runner is’ Wendell decides, before telling himself that he may not be able to catch up to the mystery runner, but he can head him off at the destination. ‘Time to leap to the finish line and wait for you there’ Wendell exclaims, as he enters Quantum space once more.
Meantime, at one hundred and ninety-nine thousand kilometers, ‘Oh, for the love of Zuras! The Whizzer just passed me! I knew my bum calf was slowing me down - I just didn’t realize how much’ Makkari tells himself. He urges himself to dig in, deciding that he didn’t hold the lead all this way just to have that alternate earther steal his thunder. ‘Longer strides…ignore the pain…don’t let him gain another inch’ Makkari tells himself. The Whizzer is still in view, as Makkari curses himself for overtraining. ‘What a chump I was! Should’ve taken it easier’ Makkari tells himself, before realizing that he is gaining on the Whizzer. ‘Maintain the gap for a few more thousand kilometers’ Makkari urges. ‘Then creep up his exhaust pipe…uh! I’m hitting the wall - the outer limit of my speed - I can’t go a hair faster!’ Makkari realizes as he is just inches away from the Whizzer. ‘Can’t close the Zuras-cursed gap’ he tells himself.
Makkari wonders what the point of all this is anyway? Why is he enduring all of this agony? Is it so he can be hailed the world’s fastest man? Big deal, he decides, as the Runner is probably faster anyway, and even if he is not, surely there is somebody out there. ‘My achievement would be meaningless! This torture pointless!’ Makkari decides. He tells himself that he has to think of a better reason to take another step. What reward can he give himself if he wins - what will make this worth it? ‘A ton of my favorite food? A week of sleep? A room full of women? None of that means anything’ Makkari declares. ‘None of that can justify the pain I’m in’ he decides, before realizing that until a reason comes along, he is going to give it all his strength and heart and soul anyway, and worry about the reasons later. ‘I am…therefore I run. Reason enough!’ Makkari concludes as he speeds closer to the Squadron’s Whizzer.
‘Did I pass him? I think so. Doesn’t matter’ Makkari tells himself as he indeed runs past the Whizzer. ‘I’m not doing this to beat him’ Makkari decides. ‘I’m doing this…to beat me…!’ he realizes as he speeds onwards, until the Whizzer can no longer be seen. Teeth gritted, Makkari tells himself that his flesh, his muscle, his body is the enemy, and that he must beat it into submission. Suddenly, the mysterious scantily clad being appears behind Makkari, who remains unaware of the other’s presence. Makkari tells himself that he must transcend his physical limits and let his spirit run free. The pain has gone, and Makkari doesn’t feel a thing. ‘I am no longer a body running through space. I am running. I am speed. I am light’ Makkari boasts. Suddenly, the mysterious speedster races past the Eternal. ‘No…’ Makkari utters as anguish spreads over his face.
At 384, 392 kilometers from Earth, Quasar’s quantum jump takes him to the moon, and managed to make it inside the terminal without blowing out the atmosphere. Wendell tells himself that all there is left to do is wait. He wonders how long it will take for someone to finish, as it has been over eight hours already. ‘Wish I’d have brought a magazine’ Wendell mutters.
Sooner or later, the Runner materializes alongside Quasar. ‘Come to watch the winner?’ the Runner asks. ‘Not exactly’ Wendell replies, before explaining that some mobile organism entered the race track at its first juncture into warp space, and that it is very fast and is heading this way. Quasar adds that he is here to see if it is hostile. ’Anyone ever tell you that you worry too much, Quasar?’ the Runner asks, before exclaiming ’And here he comes’ as the mysterious, scantily clad racer comes screeching to a halt in front of Quasar and the Runner.
The Runner smiles, and takes the arm of the racer, holding it up, he shouts ‘And the winner of the marathon to the moon is - what’s your name, sir?’ he asks. The mysterious man replies that he is not sure. “Buried Alien” or something like that, he remarks. ‘Well, Buried, how does it feel to be the fastest man alive?’ the Runner asks, smiling. Quasar’s Quantum Bands light up, and Wendell detects that the Buried Alien is an extra-dimensional, perhaps from an alternate earth like the Whizzer. The Runner tells Buried Alien to come, and that he will give him what his heart most desires - a chance to compete in the galactic marathon. ‘But I just want to go home…I think’ Buried Alien replies. ‘Speed is your home, my friend’ the Runner remarks, before turning to Quasar and telling him that they must be off, and asks him to see that the contestants make it back to Earth, adding that the raceway will disintegrate in two Earth rotations.
With that, the Runner and Buried Alien both vanish, as Makkari speeds to the finish arm, collapsing in Quasar’s arms. ‘MAKKARI!’ Wendell calls out to his friend. Tears in his eyes, Makkari asks if he lost. ‘I’m not the fastest man on Earth’ Makkari declares. ‘Sure you are, Mak’ Quasar assures him, explaining that whoever passed him is not from Earth and is now nowhere near Earth. ‘Be glad you ran a close second. If you’d been first, the Runner would have spirited you off to parts unknown and I’d probably never see you again’ Quasar declares, before asking what in the world he would do without a pal like Makkari. Makkari smiles and tells Quasar that he is a good friend, and Quasar smiles back as the two men embrace on the moon.


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Mating Dance
A ground floor appartment on West End Avenue and 102nd Street, Manhattan, where in amongst moving boxes and furniture, Wendell “Quasar” Vaughn and the Eternal known as Makkari unpack and make adjustments to the apartment. Makkari asks Quasar if using his quantum-bands for home improvements is a legitimate use for the official weapons of the Protector of the Universe. While using his quantum-bands as a saw to slice a plank of wood in half, the handsome Wendell smiles and replies that with his mentor gone, he is his own boss. ‘Who’s going to tell me what I can or can not use the q-bands for?’ Wendell asks.
Wendell adds that the more he uses his powers, the better he gets a manipulating the energy. ‘Can’t be a good Protector of the U if I can’t handle the tools well’ he jokes. Makkari asks his friend why he is even bothering to fix himself a home while he has got a whole universe to go out and protect. ‘Boy, you really like riding me about my job title, don’t you?’ Wendell replies. ‘Aha! Evading the question!’ Makkari exclaims. Quasar uses his quantum-bands to levitate some things up to the mezzanine, while telling his roommate that the truth is, he hasn’t quite scoped out how best to go about his job yet. ‘In the meantime, there’s nothing like a little manual labor to clear out the mental cobwebs…’.
Wendell looks at a small statute that Makkari pulls from a box. ‘What’s that?’ he asks, changing the subject. Makkari explains that it is a terracotta statute that Plato gave him. ‘Plato? The Plato?’ Quasar asks. Makkari reveals that Plato was his philosophy professor. ‘I know you’re an Eternal and all, Mak. But just how old are you anyway?’ Wendell asks. ‘Four and a half’ Makkari replies. ‘Huh?’ Wendell asks, to which Makkari explain that Eternals only celebrate their birthdays once a millennium. Wendell flies up to the mezzanine as he asks who is the oldest of the Eternals. Makkari replies that his running guru, Master Elo, was almost a thousand.
‘A thousand millennia - that’s a million years old!’ Wendell exclaims. ’Yup’ Makkari replies, to which Quasar remarks that it must be odd to have such a long view of time. ’Must be odd not to’ Makkari replies, adding that although he has hung out with all sorts of humans, he usually makes it a rule not to get too close to them. ‘Seems like as soon as you get a good friendship going, they grow old on you and die’. ‘Glad you made an exception in my case’ Wendell smiles, with a mouthful of nails as he bangs them into one of the planks of wood with a quantum hammer.
Makkari searches through another box as he asks Wendell ‘How do you know you’re gonna age like other humies, Q-Ball? Maybe those funky hand-bands of yours will keep you young’ he exclaims. ‘Huh! I never thought of that! Sure wish Eon were still alive. He’d probably be able to tell me’ Quasar exclaims, to which Makkari suggests ‘How about Eon’s little sprout - what’s his name?’. ‘Epoch? Nah - he’s just a newborn cosmic entity. It’s gonna take him a while to get cosmically aware’ Quasar explains while building the bookshelf.
Makkari picks up a guitar case and asks Quasar if it is his. ‘I didn’t know you played the geet-box’ Makkari remarks. Wendell tells his friend that he used to, but hasn’t done so much as touched it since he became the Protector of the Universe. Makkari asks Quasar if he minds him strumming it, as he used to play. ‘Jammed with Elvis once…back before he hit big, of course’ Makkari boasts. ‘You’re kidding! Plato and Elvis!’ Quasar exclaims. Wendell begins to ask Makkari who else he hung with, but his quantum bands suddenly light up. ‘There’s something unusually energetic in the immediate vicinity!’ Wendell exclaims, flying down to the ground floor, he stops Makkari who exclaims ‘I’ll check it out in half a jif’.
‘No, I’ll go. If I identify the energy signature correctly, it’s someone I’ve run into before’ Wendell explains, telling Makkari to finish unpacking. ‘Nothing up my sleeves - except my uniform stored in my quantum bands!’ Wendell exclaims as his bands light up once more, and he suddenly appears in his costume. ‘Yo, Quaze! Wait!’ Makkari exclaims. ‘What?’ Wendell asks. ‘You got the wrong costume on!’ ‘Huh? You’re right - I do!’ Wendell exclaims, looking at his old costume with the mask and red pants. He thanks Makkari, before using his quantum bands to shift into his current, sleek costume. Wendell remarks that he is going top have to take that suit out of storage and dispose of it. ‘Last week I wore the thing for a whole day before I realized my mistake!’ Wendell admits, before bidding his friend farewell.
A moment later, Quasar soars towards the source of the energy signature, where he finds Jack Hart a.k.a. Jack of Hearts waiting for him. ‘Yep, just who I thought it was!’ Wendell exclaims, while Jack of Hearts thinks to himself ‘Ah…quasar. My mistress was right in thinking he’d be here’. Wendell tells Jack that he meant to try and find him after he exploded, but things for really busy for him after that. ‘Looks like you didn’t need my help’ he points out. Jack tells Quasar that he is not here to hassle him about that. ‘Good. I was half expecting a meaningless slugfest, to tell you the truth’ Wendell replies, to which Jack of Hearts announces that he has come to ask Quasar to renounce whatever romantic inclinations he has towards Moondragon. ‘What? I have no - where did you get -?’ Wendell exclaims, surprised.
Creating a quantum platform which he uses to life himself and Jack into the air, Wendell tells his companion that he has no idea where he gets his information, but can assure him he has no romantic ideas whatsoever about Moondragon. ‘She’s an acquaintance of mine and that’s it’ Wendell explains, adding that the last time they spoke, Moondragon had some funny ideas about him, but he promises Jack that he does not share those ideas. ‘If you’re interested in her. She’s all yours. I won’t go near her. Okay?’ Quasar exclaims, to which Jack remarks that he would have thought Wendell would have gone for the most celestial woman alive. ‘Qualifications have nothing to do with feelings’ Wendell replies. ‘You say you will stay away from her. I have no reason not to accept your word’ Jack replies, before taking flight.
Quasar drops the quantum platform and descends back to the ground, wondering what that was all about, and whether Moondragon put Jack up to it. ‘Was that supposed to make me think of her as more desirable? Knowing she’s got some serious suitors?’ he wonders.
Above, Jack flies in another direction. ‘Mission accomplished. The mistress will - eh?’ he thinks to himself, before getting startled as someone flies alongside him. ‘You’re not completely human, are you?’ a mysterious golden-skinned woman asks. ‘Huh? Who are you?’ Jack asks, to which the woman declares that she senses something alien about him ‘You’ll never do’ she tells him. ‘What?’ Jack asks, before the woman flies away at lightning speed. ‘Who was she?’ Jack wonders.
Soon, Jack arrives at the space station where Moondragon resides, and hopes that his mistress will know. ‘Her knowledge is only surpassed by her beauty’ he thinks to himself, referring to Moondragon. ‘Mistress, I delivered the -’ Jack announces as he enters the room where Heather Douglas a.k.a. Moondragon sits at a console. ‘I know’ the haughty woman replies. ‘What do you know of the woman I met who -’ Jack begins to ask, to which Moondragon announces that this woman calls herself Her, and that she was grown in a laboratory and is bestowed with vast personal energy.
‘What did she want of me? It felt like she was -’ Jack of Hearts asks, to which Moondragon replies that she is uncertain, before explaining that when she and Her met several years ago, Her was searching for her ideal mate. ‘Even as I am now…’ Moondragon remarks, before grumbling that she fears they will soon be working at cross-purposes.
As he opens the door to his apartment, Wendell’s quantum braces flare up once more. ‘What -? Another powerful life form…?’ he thinks to himself, before detecting that whoever it was just flew out of the vicinity. He supposes he could check it out, but wants to touch base with Makkari first. ‘Whoa! It’s all done? I’ve barely been gone five minutes! You must’ve been holding back before!’ Quasar exclaims as he looks around the apartment, seeing that Makkari has unpacked and arranged everything. ‘Well…I wanted to save some of the fun for you, but I kinda got carried away’ Makkari smiles. ‘Looks…great. Can’t complain’ Wendell smiles back. ‘Say, I’ve got to - now what?’ Wendell exclaims, interrupted, as he reaches into his back-pocket and pulls out his Avengers ID card.
‘Ho, young Quasar!’ exclaims Hercules over the communications-device. ‘Hercules?’ Wendell exclaims. ‘I crave a boon of you, Avenger!’ the god announces. And, after a brief explanation, Quasar tells Makkari that he has to run. ‘Avengers business. Be back as soon as I can!’ he exclaims.
Meanwhile, Her soars across the sky, thinking to himself ‘To think, I’ve waited all this time to understand the fulfilment of my destiny! What a fool I’ve been!’ Her reminds herself that, for years, she believed that her predecessor, the man once known as Him, was her perfect mate, the one whom she was born to breed with in order to create a glorious new race of human being. ‘But when at long last I met him, he rejected me!’ Her recalls, while reminding herself that her first impulse was to force him to help realize her destiny, and it wasn’t until she meditated upon her situation for some time before realizing the dreadful delusion she was labouring under all along. ‘His genetic material is identical to mine…with the exception of the sex-determining chromosome! To combine our genes would be redundant - of no genetic advantage whatsoever!’
Her descends upon a sprawling mansion in Westchester, while thinking ‘consequently, I have embarked upon my quest for beings of power whose genetic material would complement my own!’. As she flies around the outside of the mansion, she detects a great concentration of such power in this dwelling, and wonders who lives here - as if in answer, three of the residents - the X-Men known as Wolverine, Cyclops and Colossus - charge out of the mansion. ‘Careful, X-Men - security sensors indicate a being of near-Phoenix level power!’ Cyclops declares.
‘It’s a woman!’ Colossus exclaims as Her descends down next to them. ‘Identify yourself, toots!’ Wolverine orders. ‘I am Her. And you are mutants’ she declares, before remarking that their genetic material is too unstable, and immediately flying back up into the sky. ‘You are not what I’m looking for’ she tells them. ‘What was that about?’ Cyclops asks his friends as they watch Her fly away.
In Earth’s atmosphere, back inside Moondragon’s room, Jack thinks that he wishes he could help his mistress, but they her mind goes where none can follow. Suddenly, Moondragon breaks her mediation as she announces ‘I’ve found Her. She is on a quest for a new mate’. Moondragon clenches her fist and declares that Her had better stay away from Quasar. ‘He is my conquest! I shall not be denied him! She may be my physical superior, but if she dares to come between my intended and me - I’ll make her pay!’ Moondragon threatens.
The next day, Her flies across the Hollywood Hills and detects another potential mate nearby. ‘In here!’ she tells herself as she flies down to an high-rise building, and uses her power “cut” a hole in the wall, where inside Simon “Wonder Man” Williams asks Neal Saroyan whether he has the part or not. ‘Simon baby…didn’t I tell you it was all but in the bag? Why do you think I make the big bucks?’ the agent boasts, before Simon asks ’You feel a draft in here?’.  Simon turns and sees the gaping hole in the wall, and Her hovering outside. ‘Wheeoo! Friend of yours?’ Neal asks. ‘Never saw her before in my life’ Simon replies. ‘If this is another of your publicity stunts, Neal - I just hope your Blue Cross is all paid up!’ Simon exclaims, before flying over to Her.
‘Mind replacing that window, lady?’ he asks, motioning to the hole. ‘If you wish’ Her replies, using her power to replace the window, while she strokes Simon’s neck. ‘It served its purpose. To bring you close enough - to do this’ Her exclaims as she suddenly kisses Simon on the lips. Wonder Man pulls away: ‘What was that for?’ he asks. Her smiles as she congratulates Wonder Man, telling him that his genetic phenotype is acceptable to her. ‘I’ve chosen you to be one of my mates’ she exclaims, before taking off skyward. ‘Wait!’ Simon calls out after her. ‘So, what’s the scam? What did she want?’ Neal asks as Simon flies back to the office. ‘I don’t know! Just to kiss me, I guess!’ Simon replies, unaware that Her has left some strange cocoon-like object on his back, where she touched him. ‘Super hero groupie. It was inevitable’ Neal remarks.
Soaring across some snow-covered hills, Her thinks that she has spent almost twenty-four hours seeking out and screening potential mates, and is almost finished. As she recalls the many men she encountered, she tells herself that some were disqualified because their extra-terrestrial genes would not combine well with her own - like Jack of Hearts, while some were incompatible with her because their power lay outside the electromagnetic spectrum. ‘Magic, I believe one of them called it’ she reminds herself while recalling encounters with Doctor Strange, Captain Britain and Dr Druid.
Her continues, recalling that scores were rejected because they were mutants, while other simply proved to be too physically imperfect to seriously consider - like the Hulk and the Thing, and some had incompatible metabolisms, or insufficient power - like Makkari, USAgent, Whizzer, Rage and Battlestar, and still others were bizarre hybrids or suffered some form of chromosome damage - like Cable, Vanguard, the Sub-Mariner, Nova, Doctor Spectrum and the Aquarian. ‘Still, I have identified and tagged three promising candidates so far…and I’ve saved several significant possibilities to screen for last’ Her tells herself. ‘Surely among them, my prime mate will reveal himself‘.
Meanwhile, at Avengers headquarters, later that day, ‘Why so dour, young Quasar?’ Hercules asks, pointing out that it is Captain America they have been summoned to see, not the Lord of Death. ‘I’d rather be yelled at by the Lord of -’ Wendell begins, when suddenly, the new Thor walks out of Captain America’s office. ‘How’d it go, Thor?’ Wendell asks. ‘Well…I wasn’t kicked off the team’ Thor replies, before Hercules and Quasar enter the office of Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain Americas. ‘Have a seat’ Cap tells his friends. Cap tells them that he hates having to play disciplinarian, before asking what all this is about the two of them getting into a brawl with Thor. ‘Ahem. Well you see…’ Quasar begins, before Hercules interrupts, assuring Cap that the blame is totally his, revealing that he tricked young Quasar into helping him train the new Thor in the ways of combat.
‘If there be need to censure anyone, I insist that -’ Hercules begins, before the intruder alarm sounds. ‘This talk can wait!’ Cap declares. ‘Allow me to get us there pronto!’ Wendell offers, as he uses his quantum bands to pull Cap and Hercules behind him, and less than a minute later. ‘Tis a woman!’ Hercules points out. ‘She’s dressed differently, but isn’t that the cosmic lady, Her, we met up in Toronto?’ Quasar asks. ‘Looks like it to me’ Captain America agrees, before noticing Michael O’Brien rushing forward with a weapon. He tells O’Brien to get back, assuring him that the Avengers can handle this. ‘If you wanted to see us you could have made an appointment, lady. You didn’t have to damage property’ Cap tells her, referring to the mechanical defense tentacles destroyed behind her.
‘What I destroy my cosmic power can easily re-create!’ Her exclaims as she demonstrates her abilities. Cap points out that the question still remains - why is she here. ‘Obviously she is here to see the Lion of Olympus!’ Hercules boasts. Her replies that Hercules is right, and embraces him, touching his back as she did to Wonder Man. ‘You have the right attributes to become one of my mates’ Her tells Hercules. ‘You say you wish to what?’ Hercules replies. ‘Mate with you’ Her replies. ‘Thou hast talked me into it!’ Hercules declares, embracing Her. Her looks at Captain America and tells him that he is the pinnacle of human perfection, but, regrettably, is still merely human.
Turning to Quasar, Her tells him that he has no true power at all, it is all in his weapons, and adds that Thor, whom she met moments before they all arrived, has an irksome enchantment about him, which only leaves Hercules. ‘Milady?’ Hercules asks as Her walks away from them, telling him that she will be in touch. ‘Why wait? The son of Zeus stands e’er ready!’ he declares. Her flies away, so Hercules turns to his friends and suggests ‘Perhaps she wishes to contemplate the pleasures that await her rather than -’, before Wendell interrupts, asking him wha Her stuck on his back.
‘Eh? I fear I am unable to reach’ Hercules remarks as he tries to spin around and touch the part of his back where Her left the strange object. Quasar lights it up with his quantum beam, and Captain America points out that it looks like some sort of cocoon. ‘Art thou jesting?’ Hercules asks. ‘Whatever it is, it’s alive!’ Wendell exclaims, before telling Cap that if he doesn’t mind postponing their reprimand until later, he will catch up with Her and find out what she is trying to pull. And with that Quasar speeds out into open air.
As he speeds towards Her, Wendell almost collides with Hyperion. ‘No time to talk, pal! I’m trying to catch a lady!’ Wendell tells his friend. ‘She got you, too?’ Hyperion asks. ‘What -? You mean -?’ Quasar begins, before telling Hyperion to go to the Avengers, and that when he catches her, he will bring her there. ‘Hey, wait -’ Hyperion calls out, thinking that Quasar must have known what he was talking about. ‘The golden woman who accosted me and attached some sort of organism to my back’ Hyperion tells himself. ‘It is bad enough to sit about Project Pegasus with precious little to occupy my time’ Hyperion decides, before taking flight after Quasar.
‘If he thinks I am going to sit back and let him handle this “sticky” situation alone - he’s got another think coming!’ Hyperion boasts. ‘Great Argon, that kid can move! Got to really pour on the speed’ Hyperion tells himself as he soars after Quasar. Hyperion speeds towards Quasar, closing the gap, or so he thinks, before Quasar speeds off even faster. Hyperion supposes that Wendell was waiting to get into the upper atmosphere before really opening up.
‘My fix on her energy signature is getting stronger’ Wendell thinks to himself, before suddenly he can see her up ahead. ‘There she is!’ he tells himself. ‘Lady, I’m slowing you down’ he decides. ‘How do parachute boots grab you?’ he wonders as quantum energy attaches itself around Her’s feet, connected to a large quantum parachute behind her. ‘My feet!’ Her exclaims as she spins around and blasts the quantum parachute with her power.
Quasar flies towards her, and is surprised that she has managed to chip off pieces from it. Wendell decides that Her’s cosmic energy is nothing to sneeze at, as the construct was as solid as any he has ever formed. ‘Yo, Her! I want to talk to you!’ Wendell shouts. ‘When we met fighting those aliens alongside Alpha Flight, I figured you to be one of the good guys. So what’s the deal sticking living parasites on Hercules’ and Hyperion’s backs?’ Wendell asks.
Still blasting at the quantum bonds, Her replies ‘Those are not parasites! Those are pods of my genetic material which will soon combine with theirs in order to produce offspring - the ultimate offspring of which the human species is capable!’ Her exclaims, before ordering Quasar to remove the impediments at once. ‘Lady, you can’t just force a person to combine his genetic material with yours. There’s a word for that -’ Wendell begins, while Her continues to blast at the quantum energy, before shouting ‘No one tells Her what she can or cannot do!’ and lashes out at Quasar.
Lucky for Wendell, his quantum bands detected the power coming, and set up a funnel to disperse the power away from him. ‘Now that wasn’t very nice. Here we are having a pleasant discussion…and you haul off and blast me one!’ Wendell exclaims. Wendell decides that he best power Her down before this goes any further, and uses his quantum bands to siphon Her’s cosmic energy. ‘I must get away!’ Her tells herself as she strains to free herself from the quantum bonds. ‘Perhaps - yes!’ she thinks to herself going motionless. Quasar sees this and thinks to himself ‘Clever. She’s the first person I ever fought who figured out that I can only drain their energy from them if they’re expending it - so she’s totally shut down all energy expenditures - including keeping herself afloat!’
Quasar tells himself that he better catch Her, so converts the quantum parachute into a oft trampoline, where she lands a moment later. Quasar watches as Her just lies there, unmoving. ‘Wow. When she shuts down, she shuts down everything’ Wendell thinks to himself, while wrapping Her up with quantum bonds in case she is bluffing, and thinks to himself ‘Did she even switch off her autonomic life functions? I barely get a reading!’. Quasar wonders what happens if Her is not bluffing though: ‘What if her life force is so inextricably attached to her energy output that I upset the balance and put her in a coma?’ he asks himself, remembering that Jack of Hearts’ energy was like that the time they fought. ‘Her? Are you there?’ he calls out.
‘Let me out of this, Quasar, or I will consider you one of my enemies!’ Her quickly replies. ‘Huh? Whew. Not till we talk’ Wendell replies. ‘Those cocoons you stuck on  Hype and Herc -’ Wendell begins, to which Her interrupts: ‘ - and four others’ she reveals. ‘What? Who? Never mind that for now. Just tell me how the things come off’ Quasar exclaims. Her replies that they don’t, explaining that they are bonded to her mates with cosmic energy. ‘You mean there’s no way under the sun to -’ Wendell begins, while Her announces ‘Not without killing them’. ‘Who? The cocoons or the mates?’ Wendell asks.
Her replies that she doesn’t know, as she has never done this before. Quasar asks her how long the cocoons remain attached, to which Her replies ‘Several months, I would imagine. Till they come to term’. Quasar holds onto Her, still wrapped in the quantum bands, and heads back down to earth, telling Her that he doesn’t like those answers, which is why she is coming back to Avengers headquarters, to find some way to undo the damage she has done. ‘It is not damage, you fool - it is creation -’ Her claims.
At that moment, Hyperion soars towards Quasar. ‘There you are! You got Her, I see!’ Hyperion calls out. Quasar tells his friend that the scoop on those pods is not a very good one. ‘They’re definitely alive, they’re attached by cosmic energy, and they’re sicking genetic material from you’ Wendell explains. Her tells herself that Quasar is distracted, so she must focus all the power at her command into a single thrust - and she does so, breaking through the quantum bonds with her hand, she grabs Wendell around his neck. ‘I have reconsidered, Quasar. For the great resourcefulness you have demonstrated in our interactions, you have earned yourself the privilege - of being one of my mates!’ Her announces as she places a cocoon on his back.
Wide-eyed, Wendell gasps ‘What? You - you didn’t - she did!’. Suddenly, Moondragon’s spaceship appears overhead. ‘All right, Her - for what you’ve just done to Quasar, my mistress says - you must pay!’ Jack of Hearts shouts as he flies towards the very confused trio….


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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Operation Galactic Storm part 3, The Tomb of Mar-Vell
The alien Shi’ar have captured the psyche-magnetron, a Kree device of strategic value in their war against the Kree empire. That is, unless the cosmic Avenger Quasar can intercept them before they warp through the stargate near Earth’s sun.
The planet Earth is roughly 93 million miles from the sun. Right now, Earth’s own Protector of the Universe, Wendell “Quasar” Vaughn, is roughly two million miles away. ‘Blast! Missed it by that much!’ the young hero tells himself, before contacting the Avengers West Coast, announcing that he failed to intercept the starship, for when it warped into the hyperspace the sun flared up and obliterated the trial, so he wasn’t able to follow. Wendell announces via communicator that he is really sorry about that, and that unless they have a better plan, he will stick around here and see if he can determine if the solar activity was coincidental, or triggered by the hyperspace opening. ‘Quasar out’.
Suddenly, Wendell sees another flare coming right to him, although he cannot get through his energy aura, as his quantum-force is a lot stronger than the flame of a medium-sized yellow star. Quasar decides that this is not good, as the sun is acting like somebody dumped a load of firecrackers on it. He wishes he knew what was normal for this time of year, then he would know how concerned he ought to be. He suddenly remembers that there was a manned solar observatory outside Mercury’s orbit called Starcore. Wendell decides that if anybody knows records about the sun’s activity, Starcore will.
Quasar screens out the sun’s static, and makes a path for Starcore, arriving shortly. He uses his quantum bands to contact the space station, announcing himself as one of the Avengers, he requests permission to come aboard. Soon, ‘Hi, guy! Nice airlock. Take me to your leader!’ Quasar tells one of the Starcore scientists as he boards. ‘Uh…this way’ the Starcore scientist replies, while wondering how Quasar can get by without a space suit, not to mention how he can breathe.
Meeting with the Starcore scientists, Quasar tells them he was wondering if there had been any unexpected increase in solar activity lately. ‘Has there ever!’ one of them replies. ‘Eruptive prominences have -’ another begins, while a third announces ‘- 78 percent over this time -’, while someone else states ‘- disruption of eleven year cycle’, and someone else reports ‘- magnetic field lines seem to be -’, so Quasar has to stop them all from talking at once. An attractive woman introduces herself as Talia Kruma, she tells Quasar that she can call up any of the data he might require. Wendell replies that all he wants to know is whether Starcore thinks that if warping so close to the sun is harming it in some way. Talia’s tentative answer is that it is indeed disrupting normal activity of the sun’s corona. She remarks that she has not seen solar flare activity like this in the two years she has been here, but when you think that one major flare produces enough energy to supply New York City with power for 200 million years, they have been having several major flares a week.
Quasar tells the Starcore team that it sounds like they are in jeopardy every moment they remain here, and offers to give them a quick lift back to Earth. ‘No! We’re scientists. We have a job to do!’ one of the male scientists declares. Quasar offers to take their station to a safer orbit, however Talia explains that all of their experiments would have to be aborted or recalibrated. Quasar understands, and gives the scientists a special frequency to contact him if they get second thoughts.
Suddenly, Wendell’s communi-card rings, and he answers the call from the Avengers’ communications manager, Peggy Carter, reminding himself that there is an eight minute time lag in communications this far from Earth. Peggy’s message eventually reaches Quasar, informing the handsome hero that inactive Avenger Starfox reported that someone tripped the proximity alarms around Captain Marvel’s tomb, and that she told Starfox the Avengers would send someone if they could. ‘You’re our fastest Avenger. If you can spare the time -’. This intrigues Wendell, who reminds himself that Mar-Vell is his predecessor as Protector of the Universe, so of course he has the time.
Wendell turns back to Talia and the other Starcore scientists, announcing that something has come up, he reminds them to call him the moment they fear for their safety. ‘You’ll be surprised how fast I can get here’ he adds. ‘Will do’ Talia tells him as Quasar departs the Starcore, he tells himself that they are good people, but he feels weird about leaving them here, although it won’t take long for him to get back here, it will take a while for their message to reach him at the speed of light. As he shifts into quantum-jump, Wendell decides to talk to Captain America, betting that his persuasive power can convince them to be taken to a safer vantage point. As a brilliant light fills the cosmos, the Starcore scientists look on in awe. ‘You catch that?’ one of them exclaims. ‘What was it?’ another asks. ‘Did he enter warp space?’ someone else asks. ‘How come he didn’t affect the sun?’ one of the scientists ask. ‘What must it be like to be able to -’ another begins.
Quasar smiles as he soars along the quantum zone, the shortest distance between two astronomical points. It is relaxing in there, and a good place for him to think. Wendell tells himself that life has been a madhouse lately, so many things up in the air, when he realizes he has not checked in on his cosmic goddaughter in a while. He hopes she isn’t board, but supposes that she could not be, as the cosmic awareness she inherited from her father - or rather, mother, Eon, should keep Epoch entertained, just as it did him when he had it. Quasar contacts Epoch, ‘You there, little spudling?’ he calls out. ‘Yes, Quasar. Figuratively, anyway’ Epoch replies. ‘How you doing?’ Quasar asks her. ‘Compared to what?’ Epoch enquires. ‘Never mind’ Quasar replies, before asking Epoch to use her budding cosmic awareness to investigate the whereabouts of a lady he used to hang around with called Moondragon, as he wants to find out what connection she has with his new employee, HD Steckley. ‘You mean the woman that your other co-workers are not discussing?’ Epoch replies.
Indeed, at that moment on Earth, Ken Tanaka and Kalya Ballantine are walking side-by-side, as Ken asks Kalya if HD has her convinced that she is legit yet. ‘I don’t know. I guess’ Kayla replies. Ken asks his colleague if something is wrong, pointing out that she seems a bit out of it today. Kayla explains that she hasn’t been sleeping too well the last few nights.. Ken tells Kayla that he hopes she hasn’t been losing sleep over that flying blonde that’s been hanging around the boss. ‘Believe me, you’ve got it all over her’ Ken assures Kayla. ‘Aw, Ken - that’ so sweet of you to -’ Kayla begins, when someone walking nearby shouts ‘HEY!’, and spinning around, Kayla thinks she sees something. ‘Great. Now my imagination’s running away with me’ she mutters. Ken asks her what she means, to which Kayla replies that she thought she saw a monster, and remarks that she really needs to get more rest.
Meantime, deep space, specifically a tiny moon in orbit around the planet Saturn. ‘There it is. Mar-Vell’s tomb world. Been quite a few months since I last paid my respects’ Wendell realizes, hoping that this is all the visitor is doing. Dropping down to the moon’s surface, he sees a spaceship, and tells himself that gravity is nothing to speak of on a mass this small. Wendell begins banging on the door to the small craft, ‘Open up! Or I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll bust your door down!’ he jokes, but gets no answer. Wendell decides that there is a number of ways in, and using his quantum power, creates a large spiked-shield, which he realizes he hasn’t used this before, and slams the door down with the force of the quantum spikes.
‘Hold your -!’ the Eternal called Starfox exclaims, before going over to Quasar, who has landed against the other side of the ship. ‘You all right?’ the inactive Avenger asks. ‘Uh…yeah. Didn’t recognize your ship. Hope I didn’t wreck anything’ Wendell replies. Starfox smiles and assures him that the repair units can handle it, before remarking that he didn’t expect him here so soon. ‘You are fast’ Starfox states, before they leave the ship and go down to the moon surface. Wendell asks where the tomb raiders are, and Starfox replies ‘In the tomb, I’d imagine’, explaining that he just got here himself, before informing Quasar that Starfox is just his formal name, and that he is called Eros.
Down below, inside the tomb, two figures stalk the darkness. ‘How many more deterrent devices, my love?’ a male voice calls out. ‘Two…possibly three more’ his female companion replies. The male pauses, and remarks that the custom of preserving the body of the dead in such a flagrant manner seems such a waste of resources. ‘It is the mind that matters, not its house of flesh’ he points out. ‘Yes, but were it not for this quaint Titanian custom, our mission would be in no way as simple as -’ she begins, before calling out to her partner, addressing him as Att-Las, she announces that she has had a seventh sense flash, and that there is trouble outside. ‘Then let’s -’ the male begins, before streams of energy tear through the tomb, and latch on to the intruders. ‘I can’t break free!’ the male declares as both are suddenly pulled upwards through the cavern, back to the surface of the moon.
‘Nice trick’ Starfox tells Quasar, who has captured the two intruders in quantum beams. ‘What have we here? Hey, I know these two!’ Wendell declares as he ties them together with his quantum energy. ‘Captain Atlas and Dr Minerva!’ Wendell declares as he looks at the two Kree soldiers. ‘That’s funny. I could’ve sworn the last time we met you promised you’d never venture into my solar system again’ Wendell remarks, while Starfox smiles at Dr Minerva, who smiles back at him. Captain Atlas exclaims that the conditions under which he made that agreement have changed. ‘The Kree are at war -’ he begins, but Quasar interrupts, remarking that is business as usual for the Kree. ‘Let me finish!’ Att-Las declares, announcing that they are at war with the Shi’ar for the first time in their race’s history.
‘The Shi’ar?’ Quasar repeats, before asking if there are Shi’ar in this solar system - when suddenly, he gets his answer, as the entire Imperial Guard appear almost from nowhere, and rush towards he, Starfox and the captive Kree. ‘Whoa!’ Wendell gasps. ‘Pama! The Imperial Guard!’ Dr Minerva declares in horror. ‘ATTACK!’ the Imperial Guard member called Manta orders as two-dozen of the Shi’ar’s most skilled warriors rush forward. Dr Minerva pleads to be freed. ‘we’ll be slaughtered like this!’ she exclaims. ‘These people are Shi’ar?’ Wendell asks. ‘YES!’ Minn-Erva exclaims urgently. Quasar tells her not to panic, that nobody will be slaughtered if he can help it, and releasing Att-Las and Minn-Erva from the quantum bonds, he throws a quantum dome over himself, Starfox and the Kree.
The Imperial Guard member called Impulse gets a report from Magique, that the “caped one” is wielding energy-weapons. Impulse acknowledges, and has Quasar in his sights - but as he releases a last of energy, it simply deflects back from the quantum dome. The Imperial Guard begin attacking the dome with all their various powers, and Quasar goes wide-eyed, realizing that the Shi’ar have some heavy hitters on their team. ‘If anybody has a plan, I’d be glad to hear it’ he tells Starfox and the Kree. Starfobegins to use his ability to stimulate the pleasure centers of their attackers’ minds, but he doesn’t seem to be pacifying any of them in the least. Wendell is confused, and wonders what kind of strength the Shi’ar have, as parts of the quantum dome begin to crumble before him. He wishes he had a few more Avengers here to even the odds, but he knows that there is nobody who could get here in time to do any good.
Meantime, at the Palos Verdes Compound, home of the Avengers West Coast. ‘Come on, Cap! Let me go!’ Rick Jones tells Captain America a.k.a. Steve Rogers who stands before him. Avengers West Coast members Clint “Hawkeye” Barton, Tony “Iron Man” Stark and Simon “Wonder Man” Williams are also present. Rick asks to be able to get back to his “main man”, the Hulk, explaining that the Hulk worries when he is out late. Cap tells Rick that he is sorry, but that until they are certain the Kree and the Shi’ar have no further designs upon him, they are keeping him under protective custody. ‘No offense, Capster - but I’d feel a whole lot safer with the Hulk’ Rick mutters, turning away from Cap, who assures hi that they will assign at 24 hour bodyguard.
‘Yeah? Who?’ Rick asks. Captain America turns to Wonder Man, and points out that he is the most powerful Avenger here. ‘Up to it?’ he asks. ‘Me? Well, I - how long is this for?’ Simon enquires. Cap replies that he doesn’t know, to which Rick mutters’ Simon Williams - Mister Hollywood - my bodyguard? How come I’m not relieved?’, to which Simon smiles and asks ‘Maybe you didn’t like my performance in “The Revenge of the Ninja Nuns”?’
Back at Mar-Vell’s tomb, the quantum dome suddenly shatters. ‘This can’t be happening! I reinforced my dome eight ways from Sunday - and they still break through!’ Quasar exclaims, before handing Minn-Erva and Starfox quantum shields, to help defend themselves from the Imperial Guard. But as he looks for Att-Las to give him a shield, he finds the Kree warrior has gone. ‘Lousy - he sneaked back into the tomb while my back was turned!’ Quasar supposes, knowing that he cannot chase after him right now, not with a couple dozen super-aliens to deal with! Quasar decides to start with the strong guys, and flies towards Gladiator and Titan - only to fly right through the giant Titan. ‘The giant can make himself intangible?’ Wendell asks himself, wondering why he didn’t just reach through his dome, why he instead smashed through it.
Starfox and Minn-Erva both attack their opponents with physical force, only to find they just slide right through them as well. ‘This Shi’ar - is insubstantial’ Starfox thinks to himself, while Minn-Erva decides that something is not right about this. Quasar attacks another with a quantum whip, but it goes right through him. ‘I can’t seem to connect with any of these guys! Do all the Imperial Guardsmen have the power of intangibility?’ Wendell wonders, before realizing that aside from battering his dome, he hasn’t seen any of the Guardsmen connect with he, Starfox or Dr Minerva. Wendell wonders if these aliens are ineffectual phantoms, or some sort of illusions, when suddenly, Manta appears overhead and dowses Wendell in a brilliant white light. ‘My eyes! I can’t see!’ Wendell calls out, while wondering if this is another illusion, too.
Quasar decides that it doesn’t matter, for either way, he is blind. He encases himself in quantum armor, while hoping that he doesn’t look stupid. ‘Quasar?’ Starfox calls out, but gets no response. Quasar flies back into battle, knowing he will have to let his quantum bands do the “seeing” for him. Wendell finds it weird that there are all these super-aliens around, and he only picks up energy emanations from three of them. Wendell wonders if the rest of the Guard can cloak their energies, or if they are even there at all. He punches the one called Impulse with his quantum encasing, but decides that he dare not let loose with indiscriminate blasts, as a ricochet might hit Starfox, so he has no choice but to try getting physical.
‘My impulse bursts are not penetrating his armament!’ Impulse calls out, while Wendell is relieved that he can actually make physical contact with this one. ‘And he’s by far the most energetic of the lot’ Wendell thinks to himself, while Impulse suddenly calls out to Manta, warning her to look out. But it’s too late, as Starfox comes up behind Manta and wraps his arms around her. ‘Finally! Someone who can be touched. Maybe I can bliss her out as well!’ Starfox thinks to himself. Minn-Erva, who wears a costume very similar to that of the original Captain Marvel, rushes towards a grouping of rocks, pursued by several of the Imperial Guard. She tells herself that in the melee, she has not had time to pay heed to her extrasensory impressions - as to where the true sources of danger lie. But not more.
Leaving Manta sitting smiling on some rocks, Starfox turns his attention to other members of the Imperial Guard, ‘Hey! Can I interest any of the rest of you in the pleasure principle?’ he calls out. ‘Here!’ Minn-Erva exclaims as she punches the air with the quantum-shield, despite not being able to see anything, she knows the source of danger is here. ‘Ngn!’ a voice exclaims as someone, cloaked in invisibility, is struck down. Suddenly, all members of the Imperial Guard vanish, save for Impulse and Manta. Starfox looks around, confused. ‘What in the name of Kronos? The Shi’ar have all disappeared!’ Starfox thinks to himself. ‘Almost all, at any rate’ he realizes, as he sees Manta, still blissed out sitting nearby, and Impulse, whom Quasar kicks away from himself.
Starfox, holding Manta, goes over to Dr Minerva, who stands over the motionless body of the Imperial Guard member Magique. ‘Apparently this woman can project multiple three-dimensional illusions. When conscious, that is’ Minn-Erva announces. ‘you know something, Minerva? For an opponent, you’re -’ Starfox begins, before Minn-Erva punches him in the face, knocking him back as she prepares to go after Att-Las.
Meanwhile, in another galaxy, on the outskirts of the ten thousand world Kree empire. A lone figure walks through some sort of laboratory, approaching a circular pad, he thinks to himself that the empire is decaying. ‘And I should simply sit back and let it happen. It would serve those two idiots who usurped the mantle of leadership from the Supreme Intelligence’ he tells himself, deciding that the Exalted One would never have dismissed so many of the scientists. ‘Inability to meet the quota indeed!’, and he wonders if they even examined his past record. ‘Were they not aware of my achievements?’ he thinks to himself, bitter. ‘By Tambor, I was the chief architect of the Pursuer Project - what could have been the next generation in cyber-genetic engineering!’.
The Kree scientist removes his clothing as he steps onto the pad. ‘Too many bugs to work out before it can be cost effective, they said. There are more promising cybernetic projects in development, they said’ he recalls. ‘Bah! Short-sighted know-nothings! I’ll show them!’ he vows. Pressing a button on a control panel, he is angry that he was assigned to this backwater factory-world, made foreman of a munitions manufacturing plant, which was simply insulting and stupid. The pad is encased by a dome that lowers down, with a large tube, pumping energies into the closed pad. ‘For I took the Pursuer technology with me and converted some of these facilitates to accommodate it’ the Kree scientist reminds himself. ‘If they don’t want me to develop cyber-genetic warriors for the militia - so be it! But I have developed them nonetheless’. The Kree scientist tells himself that he will be the sole benefactor of his genuis, and when the process is complete, he emerges from the pad, the process imprinted to him, working as he knew it would. Wearing a large suit of armor, he thinks to himself ‘It is cyber-geneticist Korath-Thank you have banished, usurpers - but it is Korath the Pursuer who shall return to shake this empire to its foundations!’
Back at Mar-Vell’s tomb, ‘No - don’t!’ Impulse pleads, but too late, as Quasar slams his quantum-fist into his visor. ‘You’ve breached my containment suit! I’m dispersing!’ he exclaims as he falls backwards, and energy pours out. ‘What?’ Wendell wonders as the energy continues to spew out all over the place. ‘What’s the deal with this guy?’ he wonder, while Impulse calls out ‘Help me - I cannot breat-’, and Quasar sees something small float out of Impulse’s suit. ‘That’s what was inside there?’ Wendell wonders, confused, before encasing the alien in a quantum container. ‘One down…how many more to go?’ Wendell asks himself, wishing that his eyes would stop hurting, he hopes that he has not suffered permanent retina damage.
His vision is still cloudy, but he makes out three figures lying on the ground. Wendell wonders where the rest of the Imperial Guard are. ‘They take a powder or what?’ he tells himself, before encasing the motionless Starfox and Magique, and the still bliss-happy Manta in quantum bubbles. Still inside his large quantum armor, Quasar makes his way to Mar-Vell’s tomb, wondering if he should go fishing like last time, but instead decides to seal off the entrance. He then flies through the tunnel, past Minn-Erva, he soon reaches the platform where Mar-Vell’s coffin rests. The coffin is open, and Att-Las is reaching in, over Mar-Vell’s body.
‘Have you no shame, Captain? Robbing the grave of one of your own people?’ Wendell calls out. Att-Las turns back to Quasar and declares that Mar-Vell was a traitor to their race, that his name is reviled through the empire. ‘Our customs are not yours. Had Mar-Vell remained true to the empire, he would have wanted me to do this’ Att-Las explains. ‘Yeah, right. What’d you take from him, Atlas? Let me see your hands - slowly’ Wendell demands. Captain Atlas holds up the Nega-Bands, and tells Quasar that they are what the Shi’ar were after, the unique bands that their former emperor awarded Mar-Vell. He explains that the Shi’ar already have the Kree’s psyche-magnetron, and if they get their hands on the Nega-Bands, they will wreak untold destruction.
‘As if you won’t’ Quasar replies, announcing that he will see to it that nobody wreaks havoc with the bands, and asks Atlas to hand them over. But when he refuses, Quasar sends quantum “claws” over to collect them. Dr Minerva flies into the tomb, behind Quasar, but the young hero is aware of her presense, and traps her in a quantum web. ‘Nice try, Minerva! But I figured you must’ve been around here somewhere, so I rigged up some quantum “trip wires” to detect anything moving toward me!’ Wendell declares. Atlas is simply relieved that Minn-Erva provided him with the distraction he needed, and places the Nega-Bands on his wrists, he then clangs them together, calling upon the fabled power of the Nega-Bands.
An instant later, however, Atlas has vanished, and Rick Jones is in his place, clutching at his throat, in danger. He reaches out for Quasar, who doesn’t know who Rick is. Quasar wonders where Atlas has hone, and realizes that the human before him is about to explode in the vacuum of space!