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Ashes to Ashes
Jean Grey sits, surrounded by former or alternate versions of her. And they are all angry at her.She knows where they are! She knows why they are here! Marvel Girl, in the torn black gown, (from briefly before she first met the Phoenix force) tells her strictly.It’s the White Hot Room, Jean replies. Because everyone’s dead! Dark Phoenix shouts at her. Not quite… not everyone, Jean protests weakly. Hope… Marvel Girl interrupts, it’s Jean’s fault - or that’s what she keeps telling herself!It isn’t fair… she tried so hard, Jean trails off. Life isn’t fair! Jean from her teacher era snaps. Why should death be? And fair or not, she is dead!Jean flies upward to get away from them, telling herself she isn’t - not yet. Maybe. Why are they all so angry? she lashes out. It can’t be because they are dead. They’ve been dead before.Marvel Girl follows her and explains they are figments of her past, fragments of her nightmares.Madelyne Pryor, as Goblin Queen, joins them as well. Products of imaginary stories she’s been telling herself, she continues. None of this is real. But then… she never was, Madelyne adds bitterly.Except here, the Phoenix Force which appears in front of them announces. In the White Hot Room everything is real… in its own way. What does it mean? Jean demands.She is joking, right! time-displaced teenage Marvel Girl asks, annoyed. She saw a dozen realities and her gut said – forget them all. She was ready to erase the X-Men’s memories of the future - until Jean stepped in – literally – and changed that.Switching to her original uniform, teenage Jean telekinetically lashes out at Jean, blaming her for what happened.Jean fends off her attack with a TK shield and tells her there is no point to that. She is as strong. Stronger even. Then act like it! teen Jean demands. Think! She turns to her older self and reminds Jean she used those memories to forge a terrible future. She begins to burn, as she shouts Jean brought the Phoenix into it. And everybody died!Again she attacks and Jean shields herself. Because she didn’t trust herself! the other Jean shouts. She wouldn’t leave well enough alone! She had to meddle… step in where she wasn’t needed!Jean tries to explain her X-Men were dead. She had to know was it her fault. Could she have saved them? Could she save them still. Teen Jean snaps back that she is confused. Jean is dead. Whereas teen Jean originally made the right choice. Jean chose arrogance and inflicted it on the world!She breaks Jean’s shield and attacks with the Phoenix raptor, shouting she should have trusted her instincts. She should have trusted her! She is mad at herself!Jean staggers away, trying to think things through.Marvel Girl in the torn dress appears to her and asks how that went for her. She reminds her of the timeline where Wolverine became Phoenix, ending in a horror show, with Wolverine and Cyclops both dying. This wasn’t her choice. Why did she force that nightmare on her? she asks Jean. Jean admits that she was arrogant. She stood in the X-Men’s ashes and thought, maybe she was wrong. Maybe it would have been better if someone else was in charge. She recalls the events in the space shuttle. Maybe it wasn’t all up to her. Marvel Girl reminds her what really happened instead. She was replaced by the Phoenix. In her name, it destroyed the D’bari world. Unfortunate but not Jean’s fault. It rode Jean’s anger and need as far as possible, until Jean’s true self asserted itself and stopped it. Jean died of course, but that wasn’t the end. They found her true body and awakened her. She was returned to Scott, Marvel Girl states, while surrounded by Phoenix flames. How is that terrible?Jean lashes out at her with her power and shouts, because of what came afterward! Impulsive arrogance didn’t work, so she tried logic! And set up her dearest love to die, Phoenix replies cruelly. From that perspective, reality was so much kinder.To Jean anyway, Madelyne Pryor, dressed in her bridal gown, points out. Surely Jean hasn’t forgotten about her, as much as they all would rather, she challenges.Jean recognizes Scott’s first wife and her clone. Mr. Sinister’s broodmare, Madelyne adds, turning into her Goblin Queen self. Mother. Her son in her arms disappears. A blank slate with so many possibilities, ones she was ready to exploit. As the Goblin Queen, Jean murmurs. Ruler of demons, Madelyne continues, improved. And in this reality transmoded - given free rein over a techno-organic transformed world. She got mad. Jean got mad, and things got a little out of hand. The end of the world, very cathartic, but maybe a little too much, even for her. Even here Jean could have stopped her, called the Phoenix, as she did before in her reality. But again she second-guessed herself. Questioned her priorities. And everyone – well, they didn’t die. But they weren’t quite themselves anymore.Jean’s temper flares. Madelyne blamed her, but it wasn’t Jean’s fault in any reality!It was her fault, Madelyne smirks. In the shuttle, the Phoenix came to her. Redolent with images of murdered D’bari, and Jean rejected it. And so it found Madelyne in her cocoon, bringing death even as it breathed life into her. Jean didn’t rewrite that scenario, did she? Make herself accept the Phoenix’s offer? She shuffled the power onto Wolverine and poor innocent Scott!Jean’s temper flares as does the Phoenix effect as she demands whether she should have made a different choice. Accept the Dark Phoenix as it was, tainted with the deaths of millions, because that would have spared Madelyne? Would Maddie have been better off? Lacking the energy from any source? Jean becomes calmer. Never alive? she asks. Never feeling? No Scott? No baby Nathan? No kingdom to rule in hell?Madelyne Pryor once more rises from the cocoon. Now she is getting it, she tells Jean. They have fine minds, but that’s not their greatest asset. Heart - depth of feeling – that’s what called the Phoenix to them. She takes Jean’s hands. Love is what Jean is all about. Madelyne has… other priorities. Inferno happened, for better or worse.Jean agrees and hugs Madelyne. And it’s not the worst thing they have had to face. Life is a process, no matter how you are created. They all learn. Even Madelyne. Even her.The Phoenix announces that is better. She has been creating worlds to prove she had no choice. Nightmare tales about the two of them brought death and destruction, how all paths led to death… is this really the story she wants to tell herself? Her dreams so much more terrible than even this reality? She is starting to awaken, isn’t she? her other selves state. Starting to remember?Jean remembers the night of the Hellfire Gala. Orchis attacked. Jean tried to protect everyone and was stabbed in the back by Moira X.Tears in her eyes, she asks why the Phoenix didn’t come to her? The tiny Phoenix asks how could it. It is as dead now as she is. Like her, it exists only here - a nexus between all Phoenix hosts and this eternal flame. It’s bits and pieces. Inactive. The White Hot Room is the heart of the Phoenix, and it is broken. When Jean woke up here, she asked what she did wrong. The answer is nothing. That’s why it encouraged those terrible fantasies where Jean changed things and everything went. wrong What did she think it was trying to tell her?Her instinctive choices were right, Jean realizes. Her impulses were true. She did all she could, the Phoenix continues, but there were other forced at play. Even Jean can’t control everything. And in the end, no matter what choices we make, death claims us all? Jean asks. But not them, she decides, as she releases the Phoenix raptor, not completely. She follows it in the air: there is one more thing they can do. Shall they do it together?She looks at the scene before her: Exodus and Hope fighting what seems to be Apocalypse who seems to be holding Jean’s body prisoner.Unaware of Jean’s presence, Hope asks Exodus what does it mean that they are in the White Hot Room. It is a higher spiritual realm, he replies. He has often thought it akin to Tiphareth from the Kabbalah. They are in a place of primal creativity. Of ideas made flesh.Jean is impressed at his knowledge. She recalls Hope’s gift is to mimic abilities of those near her. She touches her physical self and Hope manifests flaming wings and a burning sword, looking like an angel.Did it work? the Phoenix asks her as the scene before them fades away. Jean doesn’t know, but at least they did no harm. So sure of herself, so arrogant, the Phoenix teases. Just following her gut, Jean replies. She holds the Phoenix and announces it isn’t over. Not for the others. Not for them, but whatever comes next - be it life or death – they’ll face it together!


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The Eighth Day, part 4: Eight is Enough!
The impossible has become a reality! Four heroes ensnared against their will. Their names are legend - the Invincible Iron Man! The Mighty Thor, God of Thunder! The Amazing Spider-Man! The mutant telepath and founder of the Uncanny X-Men, Professor Charles Xavier! They are trapped by mystical technology, a construct that, by all accounts, should not exist, lest the Heavens fall. Helpless to do anything, save observe the ancient and terrifying new beings that now walk the earth, as the four heroes are trapped to the device, unable to move, and these new begins stand beneath the large device.
One of them is Stonecutter, the Builder Exemplar, empowered by the ringed ruby of Raggadorr and architect of this phase of a greater, more insidious scheme. ‘Our meddling captives have done nothing to slow our progress!’ Stonecutter boasts, adding that he has made the proper adjustments and compensations, and now the God-Machine stands ready! The large golden device that the four heroes are trapped to hangs in a cavern, as the red-armored Stonecutter and his companions stare up at it. Suddenly, Charles Xavier telepathically calls out to Iron Man and Thor, and asks them if they are picking up his thoughts. ‘Aye! Tis my mind only that functions in this godly entrapment!’ Thor responds, while Iron Man acknowledges that he is here. The Professor points out that his telepathically can allow them to communicate, and hopefully plan a course of action. On another panel nearby, Spider-Man remarks that he can’t believe they are underneath the Daily Bugle Building, as it is supposed to be solid bedrock down here.
Suddenly, on another panel, a bearded man’s thoughts can be heard: ‘Ummm… if I may?’ he asks. ‘Yes, Dr Mann?’ the Professor responds. Dr Mann explains that he believes natural physics have no place here, that this machine, for the moment, exists in a state of inter-dimensional unreality, and that the power of these beings must know no bounds.
‘Having trouble?’ the woman called Tempest smiles. ‘None whatsoever, Tempest. The Wager of the Octessence will be enacted. I have found a way to override the need for the missing component’ Stonecutter replies, adding that there is a place on this Earth where the power of this machine will be amplified to its fullest extent. ‘Our journey begins now…our destiny awaits!’ he declares, grasping a lever, he pulls, and reality bends around them, warping both the matter and the space of the massive God-Machine, causing it to disappear from under Midtown Manhattan, and magically reappear at the North Pole!
‘Huh’ Cain Marko a.k.a. the Juggernaut utters as he stands with the other Exemplars and examines their new surroundings. They are standing on a large platform of ice that has risen up, while the God-Machine hovers over them like a massive spire. ‘Ice and snow… the cold… I hate the cold’ a woman in yellow armor declares. Tempest tells everyone to ignore Inferno’s whining, as she for one is grateful to be closer to such raw nature. ‘Well done’ she congratulates Stonecutter. Stonecutter tells Tempest to save her compliments and points out that a grand way awaits them all. ‘After some final adjustments in the central core, the God-Machine will serve its purpose…’ he adds. At that moment, within the pulsating cauldron that is the central core chamber, the other four Exemplars play their roles in this cosmic drama.
‘Very soon will Stonecutter activate this infernal device, sapping the pathetic human race of its free will… thus allowing our wager to explode into precious violence!’ the savage Carnivore exclaims. Decay suggests that Carnivore not peak too soon, but as the decrepit Decay reaches out to Carnivore, the response is not welcome: ’Think twice before touching me, Decay…you’ll get yours on the Gods’ battlefield, most definitely!’ Carnivore exclaims.  ‘All things go the way of entropy’ Death remarks, as the woman in large red armor steps towards Carnivore and declares ‘By the sultry chains of Krakken, if it’s violence you seek - Conquest will happily provide it’. Carnivore readies his claws, ‘Fine with me, wench! Let the preliminaries begin -’ but before they can battle, they both keel over, clutching their heads. ‘My brain… is on fire!’ Carnivore exclaims. Decay stands next to the Exemplar with a very large helmet covering her head and remarks ‘Without using words, so speaks Bedlam, Exemplar of Ikonn’. He adds that her madness is indeed a quiet madness, although conversation can be like a mental assault - delightful.
When gods bicker, humanity trembles. However, back at the base of the terrible God-Machine, Juggernaut, Stonecutter, Tempest and Inferno stand around the device which energy pours out of. ‘Kinda hot…’ the Juggernaut points out. Inferno explains that it is necessary to stave off the cold, but remarks that it makes her curious as to why they are here. ‘To put me at a disadvantage, perhaps?’ she enquires. Stonecutter tells Inferno that her paranoia is quite amusing, but explains that this location provides the ideal planetary focal point to maximize the power of the God-Machine, that the polar electro-magnetism, coupled with the mystical ley lines that intersect here, will ensure the ultimate subjugation of humanity, allowing their way to commence uninterrupted. ‘A beautiful thing, indeed’ Stonecutter declares.
Meanwhile, the heroes struggle desperately to formulate a strategy to save the world. ‘This has got AT&T beat by a mile!’ Spider-Man jokes. ‘Spider-Man, please…’ the Professor tells him. Spider-Man apologizes, while Dr Mann announce that all the signs, all the glyphs pointed to this, and now it is happening. Iron Man tells Dr Mann to quit rambling, and points out that it is obvious their arrival here at the North Pole can only mean one thing - that these Exemplars mean to somehow affect the entire planet. Thor struggles as he tries to pull himself from the God-Machine. ‘By Asgard, all my godly might is not enough to break this containment! The power involved here rivals that of the All-Father, Odin!’ Thor declares. Xavier tells Thor that it is no use, as brute force will not free him. Xavier looks down at the Juggernaut and telepathically reports that the key to action is his stepbrother, Cain Marko.
Xavier adds that for all Cain’s flaws, he has never professed to being either a world conqueror or a pawn of a great mystical being. ‘His role in all of this just may be our salvation. But as to what that role will be, who can say?’ Xavier adds.
And only one man knows the answer - but at this point, Cain Marko appears to be in no condition to answer anything. Of course, as with all things, the answer lies within - deep within.
(Inside Juggernaut’s mind)
A frightening place to be, as Cain Marko relives his crash, and subsequent panic to escape. ‘Gotta get outta here -’ he tells himself. Suddenly, ‘Pathetic human host! Pawn of Cyttorak!’ the mystical being declares as it appears over Cain, who has just transformed into the Juggernaut. ‘You seek a way out? You are mine, body and soul, and ever will you remain!’ Cain responds by telling Cyttorak that if he thinks he is going to push Cain Marko around, he better wise up. ‘I’m running the party here!’ Cain warns Cyttorak as he lunges forward and punched Cyttorak, who responds by smacking Cain aside with ease. ‘Foolish, transient mortal! You are nothing before my power!’ Cyttorak booms.
Cyttorak asks Cain if he remembers the gem, the source of his transformation, all his doing. “Whosoever touches this gem shall possess the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words shall become forevermore…a human Juggernaut!” Cyttorak quotes. Juggernaut thanks Cyttorak for the history lesson, but points out that history does mean nothing to him now. Juggernaut punches Cyttrak over and over, knocking him to the ground. ‘What’s next? You wanna tell me my favorite color?’ he asks, readying his knuckles. ‘You are the luckiest mortal in existence! To so freely walk this Earth as the spell of the Octessence finds its way…but that time has come!’ Cyttorak responds, before bursting upwards and knocking the Juggernaut into the air. ‘And you dare challenge me? I give you purpose, I give you strength!’ Cyttorak declares, telling Juggernaut that his arrogance deserved a lesson, a cosmic humility, one that only he can provide. ‘Your hour of reckoning is at hand!’ Juggernaut screams, as Cyttorak grabs him, and warns him that now he will see the levels of power involved. ‘Release your humanity as you wage war on your fellow Examplars! Victory will belong to Cyttorak!’ the mystic being boasts as he clasps both hands around Juggernaut and slams them shut over him.
(Reality)
As Cain Marko’s mind seems to explode within his head, the God-Machine’s pernicious preparation continues unabated. However, Juggernaut falls to the ground. ‘Eh? What is happening to the Juggernaut?’ Stonecutter enquires. Inferno smirks and remarks that it seems as though one of their Octessence is feeling under the weather, and that it doesn’t look like he is going to be up for their wager. ‘I think…he’s dying’ she adds. ‘Let him perish. One less combatant in the war. I curse Cyttorak and his crimson bands!’ Tempest exclaims. Stonecutter tells the women to be silent, and announces that activation is near. Juggernaut struggles still, while Xavier telepathically calls out to the others: ‘That’s it! My friends…observe my stepbrother’s dilemma. I believe he is actively fighting the god-being which empowers him!’ Charles explains.
Professor X points out that this could be their only chance, as Spider-Man tells him that he doesn’t mean any offense, but that he never thought that ol’ Juggernaut would end up on the side of the angels. ‘Verily! My combat with thine sibling shook the pillars of Midgard!’ Thor declares, adding that the Juggernaut was thus a creature of pure malice. Iron Man agrees with Thor, and suggests that they can’t trust the Juggernaut to switch sides after years of treachery. ‘Nor should we expect it -’ Iron Man begins, as Dr Mann interrupts, announcing that their frame of reference is wrong. ‘The beings we’re dealing with cannot necessarily be judged in terms of “good” and “evil”. Those terms are human, not applicable here…’. But Charles tells Dr Mann that he is mistaken, and reveals that his stepbrother has always been a creature of malice. ‘If he was indeed mystically drawn to the temple in Korea, then he was destined to fuse with the power of Cyttorak.
As Charles remembers being in the temple where Cain picked up the Cyttorak gem, he explains that since that time, it has been Cain’s personality that has been dominant, until these others appeared. ‘But that was years ago! How is it the spell that drew the other seven Exemplars to their respective temples failed to activate when Cain Marko became the Juggernaut?’ Iron Man enquires. Dr Mann announces that he can answer that, and states that with the Korean temple being shelled at the time of its discovery, the various mystic symbols and patterns probably got knocked out of alignment, unable to activate as they should have. Professor X assures Dr Mann that he appreciates his knowledge of the situation, but points out that the time has come to act. Xavier grits his teeth and remarks that normally, he would be unable to penetrate his brother’s psyche, but in his weakened, confused state, he may be able to “sneak in”.
Xavier decides that this may be his one opportunity to reach him, and so, he sends his astral form hurtling from his mind like a bullet - and it hits its target! As Xavier’s consciousness enters the Juggernaut’s mind. Deep into his stepbrother’s subconscious, Xavier descends into an inherent madness that he could never anticipate, as much as it displays an eerie stillness coupled with ghostly visions of the past. Xavier’s astral form notes his new surroundings, the house he and Cain grew up in. Charles knows that it is obviously a psychic projection within his mind, but he never would have expected this. Holding up his hands, Charles learns that this astral form of his is a teenager. ‘I’ve never seen my astral form manifest in this manner’ Charles wonders how this happened, when suddenly, Cain, as a teenager, appears behind him. ‘Take my bags upstairs and don’t drop ‘em!’ Cain orders, slamming his fists into Xavier’s shoulders, causing Xavier to drop to the floor.
Cain holds a chair and pointing at Charles, asks ‘If you’re wondering what I’m doing here, I just got expelled from school! I decided there wasn’t anything else those creeps could teach me!’ Xavier realizes he is seeing Cain as he first met him, and wonders how this is happening. ‘Here, squirt! Look at my hand! I’ll show ya a trick!’ Cain exclaims as he smacks the chair against Charles’ head. Xavier realizes that he is not in control here, that he is completely at Cain’s mercy - unless he can get his bearings, he will never be able to reach Cain.
Cain laughs and tells Charles ‘That’ll teach you not to stand around with your dumb-looking face hanging out!’ Xavier realizes that his only recourse, is to goad him, and incite Cain with anger, so as Cain leans over him, Charles grabs Cain’s wrist and shoves a foot into his stomach. Charles punches Cain in the face, he can feel it slowly working, as Cain has reverted to a simple psychic construction to avoid the true conflict with Cyttorak. Charles knows that Cain’s rage is the key to his freedom, and he is fairly certain that he is the only person able to bring it out. ‘No bratty stepbrother is gonna cause any trouble now!’ Cain boasts as he punches Charles, knocking him backwards. Cain declares that he has been hoping for years that Charles would try something like that. ‘Now you’ve given me the excuse I wanted!’ he exclaims. As Charles falls back, he tells Cain to let it all go. ‘Don’t hold back the hate you feel for me! With each passing moment, you gain the resolve you need!’ Charles adds, as both men grow from their teens, to adulthood as the struggle continues. ‘And now, little brother…it’s your turn!’ Cain declares as he pushes back.
And as the two stepbrothers fight for the fate of humanity in a place of pure thought, the wager of the Octessence draws infinitely nearer to becoming a reality at the expense of the entire human race! In the central core chamber, Xavier’s efforts go unnoticed, as the young woman called Bedlam stands on a platform in the core, she has a need for knowledge, this war to prove her patron gods superiority is merely an obstacle that Bedlam is sure she will maneuver with ease - as easily as she will ferret out this curious psychic ripple, discover its source - and eliminate it. She need not look far, but merely within the mind of her fellow Exemplar.
‘You creepy punk! You’re better than I am in sports, in studies, in almost everything! But now, I’ve got the top hand!’ Cain exclaims as he and Charles continue their struggle. Xavier notices that the “house” Cain constructed is dissolving around them, meaning Cain is regaining control. Charles hopes he can just direct Cain’s newfound energy against Cyttorak - but suddenly, he realizes that something else is in this mind, extremely powerful. ‘Can’t maintain…’ Charles utters, before screaming as he is purged from Cain’s mind. ‘The pain - one of the Exemplars must be a telepath of enormous power! Its mere proximity was enough to drive me out!’ Charles telepathically informs his allies, while Bedlam can be seen hovering nearby.
Bedlam seeks to learn the nature of Juggernaut’s struggle through a simple mental probe, to peel back layers of the mind within - however painful that might be to the Juggernaut himself. She stands before him, before he pushes her away, ‘Get yer big head outta my face! Yer killing me!’ Cain shouts. ‘What’s going on here?’ a voice calls out, but Bedlam’s answer is decidedly non-verbal - but quite aggravating to its recipients. ‘Never mind! Never mind!’ Tempest calls out as she regrets calling out to Bedlam. Stonecutter explains that Bedlam cannot communicate without inflicting agony, and that she will be a formidable opponent in the coming war. Iron Man’s mind reaches out to Xavier, asking him if he is all right, and if he can read him. Sweat drips down Charles’ face as he replies that he is shaken by unharmed. ‘Did it work?’ Dr Mann enquires. Charles announces that it did not work as he had hoped, as he was cast out before he could judge the true results.
Thor struggles to free himself again and tells the others that, try as he might, he is unable to move. Thor boasts that this collective will rue the day they dared enslave the Thunder God, and that his wrath will be quick and furious. Spider-Man remarks that he can appreciate trash-talking as much as the next guy, but suggests that do a little more thinking and a little less flexing. ‘Hey, you’re not gonna hit me with lighting for what I just said, are ya?’ Spider-Man mutters quietly. Charles informs the others that he cannot accurately speculate as to what effect his presence had on Cain’s dilemma, but he can say with some certainty that he felt Cain’s own personality regaining control. ‘With a big more time within -’ Charles begins, to which Spider-Man tells him that he can’t go back in there. ‘You don’t look like you could handle it!’ he points out. As the God-Machine spins around with the heroes trapped to it, Iron Man remarks that he thinks what Xavier is trying to say is that if this is going to work, if the Juggernaut is going to break free, he is going to have to do it on his own.
Down below, Inferno asks Tempest and Stonecutter if they notice that the Juggernaut is looking a little distracted. ‘He is weak… we should take this opportunity to kill him now, and get this war started!’ Tempest exclaims. ‘Not just yet…’ Stonecutter announces, adding that the free will of the human race must be obliterated. ‘Don’t allow your impatience to spoil what has ever been prophesised!’ He adds that in moments, they will be ready.
Back in the Juggernaut’s tortured psyche: ‘This is it! Nobody tells Cain Marko what to do!’ the Juggernaut exclaims, rushing angrily towards Cyttorak, he replies ‘Fool! You are no match for me! I am your master! This contest of wills has but one outcome - the destruction of your soul!’ But Juggernaut is able to deflect Cyttorak’s attack and knocks him backwards. ‘Ain’t nobody my “master” ugly! I got my own business to attend to…and it sure don’t involve you or your stupid schemes!’ Juggernaut then kicks Cyttorak and tells him he is going to have to learn that right now. As Cyttorak gets to his feet, flaming energy pours from his body. ‘Curse the Octessence and our wager! The subjugation of my Exemplars is now the focus of my fire!’ Cyttorak announces, boasting that by his own crimson bands, tyhje Juggernaut will burn - and die.
Cain screams as the energy rips around him. ‘Yes… now you know the true nature of my power! Your pathetic life is nothing in the shadow of my being!’ Cyttorak declares, telling the Juggernaut that his entire existence, his petty ambitions are all for naught - it will be as though he never existed. ‘Finally you see…from the moment you touched my fabled gem you were mine, now and forever!’ Cain falls through the ground of his psyche, and starts to drown in a pool of lava. Cyttorak stands over him, and tells the Juggernaut that as his Exemplar, he has achieved his destiny. ‘As a human being…you are but nothing’ he adds, when suddenly, ‘Nice speech!’ Juggernaut grins as he bursts up from the lava, his mass increasing higher and higher his rises over Cyttorak. ‘Now that I’ve tasted yer worst, and seeing that it ain’t nothing… I’m taking it all back! This is goonna be good!’
And at that moment, back in this reality, ‘Oh, Stonecutter…’ a voice calls out as someone taps Stonecutter on his shoulder. ‘Who dares -?’ Stonecutter begins, spinning around he sees the Juggernaut looming over him. ‘Take a wild guess! Awww yeah!’ Juggernaut exclaims as he slams Stonecutter’s face into the machine he is working on. As Bedlam approaches Juggernaut from behind, Juggernaut calls out to her, telling her not to think he doesn’t see her back there. ‘And before you can gimme another headache - you need to take five!’ Cain exclaims, slamming his fist into Bedlam, knocking her back. ‘What in -? Cyttorak’s Exemplar has gone insane!’ Inferno calls out, warning Tempest to look out, as Bedlam goes careening past them, she falls off the large ice platform and slams into the snow at the base. ‘Bedlam’s out of the picture!’ Tempest points out. ‘The war begins!’ Inferno declares, grinning, but Tempest calls her an idiot and reminds her that they have to activate the God-Machine first.
‘“God-Machine”? huh? We’ll see about that!’ Juggernaut exclaims, as like a runaway train, he launches himself into the air, tearing into the delicate construct. Waves of mystical energy buckle and quiver under the onslaught of his assault. The power of the machine begins to fluctuate, including the spell that holds the heroes prisoner. Cain continues to tear at the machine, while Inferno looks up at him. ‘Comrades! The containment doth weaken! I can move!’ Thor calls out. Clutching his mighty hammer, he boasts that if the Thunder God can move, then the enchanted Mjolnir can finish the job. ‘My friends - follow suit, and join me in pitched battle!’ Thor declares, slamming his hammer against the God Machine, freeing himself. ‘Whoa! Let the games begin!’ Spider-Man exclaims, while Iron Man is able to break free also. Dr Mann calls out to the others, alerting them to the fact that he is falling, but Spider-Man swings down and grabs him. ‘No worries, Doc. I gotcha!’ he assures him. The Professor follows the others in his hover chair, and Iron Man reports that the first order of business is to neutralize the Exemplars. Iron Man adds that this will not be any easy fight. ‘Aye! Then let us enter the fray like warriors - for Midgard!’ Thor boasts.
Meanwhile, deep within the mechanism of the God-Machine, the Juggernaut’s vicious rampage continues. ‘Yeah, baby! Feels good!’ he calls out. But, back at the base of the machine, Stonecutter steadies himself, ‘Hit…from behind…’ he mutters, deciding that no matter what has occurred, he must activate the God-Machine at all costs. ‘Repairs must be made!’ he announces as he starts to repair the God-Machine. Tempest in her cloud-like form rises upwards, ‘Finally! Stonecutter can take his patience and choke on it! Now we can cut loose and show this planet what we can do!’ she declares. Inferno flies upwards and announces that she wants the tin-plated one - as she slams into Iron Man, surprising him, and knocking him backwards. ‘Here we go again! Hopefully I’ll fare better than I did in Canada! Need to try and forget that she used to be mild-mannered Samantha McGee!’ Iron Man thinks to himself as Inferno grabs him. ‘Have at thee, weather witch!’ Thor shouts as he hurls his hammer towards Tempest, but it passes through her. ‘Ha! Do you really think you can hurt me! I am the Nature Exemplar, empowered by the great Watoomb! Watch this!’ Tempest grins, as she dissipates entirely and then re-materializes behind Thor. ‘Not entirely, “Thunder God”!’ Tempest exclaims.
On the ice platform, Spider-Man, Professor X and Dr Mann look up at the battle. ‘Okay - why do I get the feeling this is gonna smart…?’ Spider-Man mutters, before telling Charles and Dr Mann to hang here, as he needs to help the big guns. ‘No argument here’ Dr Mann mutters. ‘Didn’t think there would be, Doc…’ Spider-Man responds, as he leaps towards the God-Machine, despite Charles calling out to him, ‘The Juggernaut is the key to this conflict!’ Charles points out. But Spider-Man is too close to the God-Machine, where the stoic Stonecutter frantically attempts to activate it. ‘Almost there…’ he announces. ‘Oh, no-no-no you don’t granite-puss!’ Spider-Man exclaims as he swings down and slams into Stonecutter. ‘Time to take this “Friendly” outta “Friendly Neighbourhood” -’ Spider-Man begins, but as his feet impact against Stonecutter, pain creeps up Spider-Man’s body, ‘That’s one tough hide, pally!’ he mutters. Stonecutter responds by grabbing Spider-Man’s ankle, ‘Meddling insect…normally I would fashion a tool that would grind your bones to powder…but you are unworthy of such attention’ Stonecutter responds, swinging Spider-Man above his head, Stonecutter shouts ‘Begone!’ and throws Spider-Man off the ice platform, back to the snow below.
‘Our storms are well met, woman!’ Thor declares as he shoves his hammer into the snow, and Tempest hovers above him. ‘You have no idea of the level of my power!’ Tempest boasts. ‘Aye…but combat is not decided by power alone!’ Thor points out, announcing that he can use Tempest’s own wind and rain against her. ‘The Thunder God strikes!’ Thor exclaims as he manages to force Tempest to take her human form, and he punches her. But Tempest remarks Thor that he is holding back, and asks him if he doesn’t get it. ‘I’m a demigod! Your schemes are nothing!’ she exclaims. As Thor continues his struggle, in the skies above, Iron Man is pushed upwards by Inferno, and he realizes she is hearing up again. But this time, he is ready for it, as his circuits will adapt, not overload this time. ‘Can you feel my hate, Iron Man? Feel it!’ Inferno shrieks, while Iron Man silently hopes that he is right - but as Inferno’s hand touches his helmet, she detects that she is generating ten times the heat she was before, so if he doesn’t do something, all his preparations won’t mean a thing. Iron Man tells himself that there is only one thing he can do now, as he forces himself, and Inferno, down into the snow.
Meanwhile, the Juggernaut continues to tear his way through the terrible mechanisms that make up the God-Machine, inching ever closer to the central core chamber. No longer a pawn of Cyttorak, this is truly Cain Marko venting his anger. But he is halted in his tracks, as the mystical technology ahead of him suddenly disintegrates into dust! A figure emerges amongst the destruction, ‘Cease and desist, Exemplar of physical power!’ the figure calls out. ‘And you’re supposed to be?’ the Juggernaut asks, unimpressed. Decay steps closer and introduces himself. ‘I am Decay…in every way you could possibly imagine. My fingers…your head…the result will change your entire life…’. Juggernaut replies by telling Decay that he doesn’t doubt that, ‘No thanks! But I got an alternate suggestion for ya - how about I send ya back t othe Lagoon?’ he jokes, picking up some metal sheet attached to the God-Machine, he slams it against Decay, knocking him back. ‘You wanna see some “physical power”? How’s this!?’ he shouts.
The cataclysmic clash continues outside, as Thor pulls Spider-Man from the snow. ‘Art thou -?’ Thor asks, as Spider-Man replies that he is cold and wet with a splitting headache, but that he will live. ‘Where’s Iron Man?’ Spider-Man enquires. ‘Right here!’ the armored Avenger announces as he bursts from the ice, carrying Inferno with him. ‘The shock and impact takes care of Inferno, here…but only momentarily. We need to press the advantage’ he adds, before alerting Thor to the base of the construct. ‘Aye, comrade! This conflict serves no immediate purpose, when the true threat - is the activation of this infernal device!’ Thor points out. At that moment, Stonecutter announces that the time is now, and presses a key in place on the God-Machine. ‘Let the God-Machine sing!’ he cries out, as energy bursts forth. ‘I say thee nay!’ Thor booms in response as he flies towards the God-Machine, and swings his hammer at Stonecutter, boasting that it is enchanted Mjolnir that will sing this eve.
‘NO!’ Stonecutter shouts as Mjolnir smashes part of the main control console, causing frighteningly powerful energies of an unspeakable nature to be unleashed. But, victory is far from achieved, as Bedlam once again enters the fray with a silent - yet searing - telepathic attack. She maintains a vice-like grip on the minds of Thor, Spider-Man and Iron-Man, and continues to squeeze. ‘Good Lord…she’s killing them!’ Dr Mann gasps, while Xavier realizes that this is the Exemplar that ejected him from Cain’s subconscious. ‘Let’s find out how powerful a telepath she really is!’ Xavier declares. A war of wills commences, as two titanic telepaths locked in mortal combat battle it out. Xavier has the advantage - the element of surprise, thus allowing the heroes to break free from Bedlam’s grip of mental madness. Thor, Iron Man and Spider-Man fall to the snow, as Iron Man thinks to himself that the only way they will survive is if they can use the opportunities presented to them with the excess energy stored in his armor from Inferno’s attack, he can charge up a repulsor blast. He does so, and thinks it should knock their big-headed friend for a loop.
Bedlam does not scream, but at the base of their brains, the heroes feel her pain - but only for a moment- as the repulsor ray sends her blasting forward, where she slams against the God-Machine. At the base of the machine, a demigod forms a quick and decisive contingency plan. ‘They think they can foil the Octessence? Our destiny is eons old!’ Stonecutter declares. He adds that, by Raggadorr, he is the builder Exemplar, and that from the ashes of setback, he shall forge victory. Stonecutter declares that, as always, humans underestimate his power, and shouts that he will activate the God-Machine from the central core and humanity will fall before the final chaos of their war. Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Professor X and Dr Mann gather nearby, as Iron Man remarks ‘That sounded pretty convincing’. Thor agrees, and declares that they must make haste to the central core chamber and thwart this conclave. ‘Uhhh…easier said than done! I gotta tell ya…these guys are outta my league…waaayy out!’ Spider-Man exclaims. Xavier points out that, more importantly, Cain is in the core chamber, so if this battle is to be won, then it is the Juggernaut who will turn the tide in their favor.
Cain Marko is currently fighting for his identity - for everything that makes him human. His opponent is a creature that has relinquished her identity and her humanity - Conquest, the Warrior Exemplar! She slams her battle stave against the Juggernaut, who punches back. Where the Juggernaut’s power lies in his brute strength, the Exemplar that was once Bridget Malone is a living, breathing fighting machine. Her every move is silent, violent poetry. Not an action wasted. As the Exemplar of physical power continues to pound away at her, Conquest counters with strategic shots to hidden pressure points - even those hidden in the Juggernaut’s hide - and when those blows connect, they hurt. Juggernaut cries out in pain, and responds by punching Conquest in the face, knocking her helmet off. ‘Not bad, sister. But don’t fergit who yer messing with!’ Juggernaut declares. He stands over Conquest’s fallen body and remarks ‘That wasn’t exactly easy’.
And while Juggernaut’s victory is narrow, there is an additional threat, lucking above - although not for long, as Carnivore growls and leaps down at the Juggernaut. ‘Minion of Cyttorak! Your death is at hand! So swears Carnivore!’ the savage being exclaims. ‘Oh yeah? Well, let’s do it, ugly!’ Juggernaut responds. Carnivore’s attack is as vicious as it is effective - slashing and scoring the Juggernaut’s armor like no other has ever done before. So swift are his claws, there seems to be no defense against them - however - ‘Ya kinda remind me of a runt Canadian I know…but this’ll slow ya down!’ Juggernaut then slams his head against Carnibore’s - his victory seems assured, but then, he keels over, exclaiming that his brain feels like someone is sticking a hot needle into it. ‘Who is doing this…?’ Carnivore asks. The answer should be obvious, it is the Exemplar called Bedlam. ‘Ya coulda just said “hello”!’ Juggernaut mutters as Bedlam moves towards him. She does not respond, save to increase her mental hold on her fellow demigods - enough to allow Stonecutter the opportunity to continue with their world-shattering plans.
‘Well done, Bedlam. As always, our story becomes one of high drama. Such is the way of gods. And such is the way it will ever be, as I finally activate the God-Machine!’ Stonecutter announces as he approaches Juggernaut. He boasts that millennia ago, a wager was entered into - a wager to prove which mystic being was most powerful, and temples were constructed, and Exemplars created. ‘We are those Exemplars…and we have finally come together to enact this ceremony…the Octessence…to create a great mystic machine to wipe out all human free will!’ Stonecutter adds, remarking that the ensuing war would prove once and for all whose power was greatest - and that day of judgement has finally arrived. ‘You…can’t…’ Juggernaut utters, while Stonecutter leans closer, and declares ‘I must tell you, as the Exemplar of Raggadorr…you have shamed Cyttorak, you belong to him, yet you sully the light of his crystal. His control over your existence is rapidly -’ Stonecutter announces, as the Juggernaut interrupts, angrily he shouts that he doesn’t belong to anyone but him. ‘And I’m gonna prove it once and for all!’ he adds. Stonecutter is taken aback, ‘Wha -? Bedlam, have you -?’ he calls out, before Juggernaut slams into him and pushes him through a part of the central core.
When demigods clash - never has such fury been unleashed upon the natural world, as mighty Exemplars pound away at each other mercilessly! No concern is given to the surrounding landscape, which shudders and shakes with each successive impact - even the mighty God-Machine begins to splinter apart. Between these two, no quarter is asked - and none given. ‘I refuse to even - ugh - waste my tools on you, Juggernaut!’ Stonecutter declares. ‘Whatever - hnf! - gets you through the night!’ Juggernaut replies as thy continue to exchange punches. But this is war, after all, where allegiances can change on a dime. Bedlam sees her opportunity to rid herself of two of her competitors in her bid to rule the world. But even this Exemplar of the mind learns that there is willpower that dwarfs even her own - and these duelling titans are seemingly immune to her telepathic attacks. Nothing will be stopping them on this day, no matter if the Earth crumbles and falls!
‘Curse you, Exemplar of Cyttorak! You will die by my hand!’ Stonecutter shouts as he and Juggernaut continue their struggle. ’Not by yours or anyone else’s!’ Juggernaut replies, as Bedlam watches and and says a silent curse to herself, unable to affect the outcome of the battle. But she suddenly discovers that there are other concerns to attract her attention, as she sees the astral form of Professor Charles Xavier hovering overhead. ‘Thank Heavens Cain has regained dominance over his psyche!’ Xavier calls out, hoping that he can help him somehow - but not if Bedlam has anything to say about it. She easily and ruthlessly lashes out, tearing into Xavier’s astral form, and causing the Professor to scream in pain. ‘Professor! Are you okay?’ Spider-Man asks. Charles replies that he is relatively unharmed, while Thor declares that they must strive to end this crisis. Iron Man adds that he is sure the other Exemplars are skulking around here somewhere, and asks the Professor if he has anything to report.

Before the Professor can respond, Dr Mann alerts everyone to the God-Machine, and the energy pouring out of it, which he declares is beyond all human comprehension. ‘I am beyond certain that the fate of the world will be decided on this day…’ he adds, before Charles tells everyone that they have  to get clear, as far away as possible. ‘What Cain is doing… we need to go now!’ he adds. ‘You heard the man…let’s move, people!’ Iron Man announces as he flies upwards with the Professor in his hover-chair. Spider-Man slings to some webbing that he attaches to the Professor’s chair, while Thor flies himself and Dr Mann alongside. They speed away, with no guarantee of reaching a safe distance, as the massive God-Machine continues to shudder above them, as immeasurable amounts of mystic energy spews forth from the central core chamber. Whether or not any of them has realized it, the war of the Exemplars has indeed been declared! And Cain Marko, utilizing the very power that links him to his adversaries fights on for the survival of the human race. He punches Stonecutter again, as Bedlam floats nearby, and the central core chamber radiates with energy. Bedlam intensifies her mental attacks, she realizes that the outcome of the war is near destruction. ‘You…will…fall!’ Stonecutter cries out.

‘Don’t think so! This is my last chance!’ the Juggernaut exclaims, adding that he decided a while ago that it is better to die free, than live on as a pathetic pawn like the Exemplars. And, using the last of his strength, the Juggernaut hurls his opponent backward, directly into the core of the God-Machine - destroying it. Immediately, this sets off a chain reaction that sends mystical energy tearing through the rest of the God-Machine, sweeping up the very essences of all eight Exemplars. It is an explosion that makes no sound. It is a release of otherworldly energy like nothing this world has seen for millennia. In one brilliant, incandescent moment, the God-Machine is no more! The essences of the eight Exemplars are sent hurtling into the upper atmosphere, scattering them to the far corners of the Earth.

Watching nearby, ‘Good Lord…’ Iron Man utters. ‘Verily. It appears this threat is done’ Thor adds, before he summons a rainstorm to quell the mystic fire left in the God-Machine’s wake. ‘Nice work, everyone’ Iron Man remarks, as Spider-Man starts to shiver and asks ‘Thor? As long as you’re working on the weather angle…think you could do something about the cold?’ Thor slams Mjolnir into the snow and declares that it can quell the arctic winds around them. Iron Man thinks he can help out there, too, as he rigs his power couplings to provide a temporary source of heat. ‘Ingenious idea!’ Dr Mann exclaims. ‘Thanks, guys…no wonder you guys are Avengers…’ Spider-Man mumbles.

Dr Mann announces that today they have witnessed what no other humans have ever seen, but adds that he fears the Exemplars have not been banished from this Earth. ‘But at least humanity will endure’ he points out. ‘Aye. Our triumph this day shall not be soon forgotten’ Thor smiles. ‘Not by me, that’s for sure’ Spider-Man declares, arms folded, he suggests that maybe now they can start thinking about getting back to civilization. Thor assures Spider-Man that his words are not lost on him, as he has pressing business concerning the All-Father Odin that he must return to - but he shall not abandon his comrades until suitable transport arrives. Iron Man reports that he is already working on that, as he is putting a call to Stark Solutions, as they will send someone ASAP. Iron Man then asks Professor X if he has any idea what the status of the Juggernaut is.

Charles announces that he know Cain still lives, as he can still sense him telepathically - only he is unable to pinpoint a location. Iron Man supposes that Dr Mann is right, assuming that these other Exemplars may return someday. Thor declares that they must remain ever vigilant should their evil rise again. ‘What has been averted here…must never be allowed to resurface, lest Midgard and its sacred humanity be sacrificed…for if the Juggernaut still lives, the threat survives as well!’


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
A Night In Spite…
(New Mexico, the Recession, circa last Tuesday)A bartender talks to his customers about what happened to Jimbo, who has been brutally defeated and hospitalized. Luckily, the doctors say that the guy can eat solid foot in about a month or two, but they all agree that someone has to stop that freak of nature. Suddenly, a few loud bounces are heard. The entire bar shakes. Clarke, the bar owner, takes out his gun and is ready to defend himself. Marvin T. Rocksalt enters the place, and he’s a dictionary of trouble. Clarke tells him to go away, but Marv mocks the poor guy, telling him to fetch him a beer.
Marvin and his goons start to rumble in the bar, but are stopped by a guy sitting in the shadows, enjoying a beer. The man tells Marv that the jukebox finally started playing some good old country music, and now Marvin has ruined that. And now, he’s angry. An unimpressed Marvin tells the man to shut up and stay at his light beer. The man gets up, and reveals himself to be the unstoppable Juggernaut! Marvin panics. An angry Juggernaut tells Marvin that no one who says that he drinks light beer shall live on. While Marv still tries to mock Cain, the bartender calls 911.
Juggernaut throws Marvin out of the window, and destroys his truck. Cain laughs and drinks a whole can of beer. A beautiful woman with a large snake-tattoo on her body talks to Cain, telling him how impressed she is by his actions. She introduces herself as Alex, and Cain is immediately caught in her beauty. Cain tells Alex that she’s got a smart lip. Alex corrects that she has actually two lips, and gives Cain a kissing gesture with them.
Cain jokingly remembers that his mom used to tell him to stay away from girls like Alex. Alex gets up, stretching herself, and tells Cain that his mom sound boring to her. Cain mentions that his mom is dead now. Alex asks Cain if he can run with her, and he confidently confirms, since he’s got his armor for protection. After finishing another whole can of beer, Cain asks Alex if she wants to go do something bad. Smiling, she tells Cain that she thought he’d never ask it.
They hold hands and walk out of the bar, agreeing that this might be the start of a depraved and destructive relationship. Alex wants Cain to talk about himself for a while. Juggernaut explains that his origin started in the war. Alex finds that confusing, since Cain doesn’t look old enough to have been in a war. Cain smiles that the Marko’s age gracefully. Cain continues to say that his step-brother “Charlie” stumbled onto a temple, and…
Meanwhile, in a fetid dungeon hidden far from the eyes of man, a white hand of a pale white, evil man watches through his viewing orb at his sister “Alex.” The man is happy that she has emerged on Earth, which to him means that she will seek him out as soon as the Juggernaut has fallen under her thrall. But the man is confident that will not come to pass, at least not according to her designs. D’Spayre steps out of the shadows and is anxious to start their reunion. He bolsters his arcane servants with a spiritual repast.
On Earth, Sheriff Howitzer approaches Clarke, who cries over his destroyed bar. Howitzer hates this, as he’s got to call the F.B.I. now, whom he hates, to inform them about the Juggernaut. D’Spayre teleports in front of them and strikes out at the men, making them scream.
After ventilating Alex’ old high school, nailing her old rival Amber DelMarco’s house, set fire to fifty acres of cropland belonged to that guy who stared at her chest last week, Cain and Alex decide to stop for a while. Cain mentions that he has met some spiteful woman in his time, but tells Alex that she’s the most fun of them all. He truly enjoys this night.
Cain admits that he didn’t have this much fun since the last time he tussled with the X-Men. He asks Alex if she heard what happened in New York with Onslaught last year. Alex didn’t, since she lived in Sirocco at the time, which is pretty much like living under a rock. She asks if there was a fight. Cain lies that he kicked Onslaught’s butt, and that the monster was begging for mercy!
While drinking on a bottle, Alex asks Cain if he finally got revenge on his brother. Cain confirms and fakes that, afterwards, he also finished off the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Alex congratulates him and mentions that she too has a brother who deserves a good trashing, but she can’t do that alone. Cain asks what the guy did to her. They are interrupted by Clarke, the sheriff, and any other citizen of New Mexico. They give him the order to immediately kill them all!
Cain is confused, but Alex thinks that she knows what’s going on. She recognizes the suicidal feeling and the scent of hopelessness everywhere. And something worse. There’s that tingling at the base of her spine, like cold needles. Alex realizes that her brother has found him. She takes a closer look at the town, using her powers to find out that her brother hides in the Steel Mill. Alex admits that she’s still to weak to confront her brother now, and that she needs more time with the Juggernaut, but doesn’t see another choice.
Juggernaut runs away from the people, telling them that they can kill themselves if they want, but he’s on a date. Alex tells him that the date’s over now. Cain is confused, but Alex doesn’t really want to tell. She fears that, if she does, the man who’s after her will put her in a world of hurt and kill her. She doesn’t know what to do. Juggernaut says that’s simple: Alex just has to tell him her enemy’s name, and he’ll smack him for her.
A familiar sounding voice to Cain suddenly calls out to him, telling him to stop sending out misguided chivalry. It’s Black Tom Cassidy! Cain can’t believe that his old friend is actually there, looking all better, and with no more of that wood crawling over him. Tom smiles and feels good to be back with his old friend. Cain introduces the Irish man to Alex, but Tom claims that they already know each other. Alex thinks she’s busted.
Tom smacks Cain on his head, and is angry that he changed in the few months he left his side. Cain doesn’t understand. Tom is angry at Cain for blowing into this town like an idiot, and drawing all the attention to him. Cain defends himself that Tom doesn’t know what happened. Tom also doesn’t like that Cain lies about Onslaught. Alex still believes Cain, and asks him to walk away with her.
Cain tells her to shut up, and asks Tom why he’s so mad. Tom isn’t mad. He’s furious because Cain lets Alex treat him this way. He charges his staff and hits Alex with it! Cain screams, and wants to know why Tom did that. Tom tries to make Cain understand that Alex was just messing with him. Cain looks closer, and finally recognizes Alex as… Spite!
Spite yells and can’t believe her eyes. She almost had the Juggernaut! Cain recognizes Spite, who nearly fed him to the god Cytorrak when Onslaught trapped him in the gem. He hates the fact that he was almost used again. Juggernaut charges his Cytorrak powers, and glows in pink energy. Tom’s eyes glow red, and he mocks Cain that the man he used to know would have never let himself be used like this, and calls him useless and isn’t surprised that his father never loved him. Spite tries to warn Cain that Tom is just trying to manipulate his emotions.
Cain slams Tom away, shouting that he’s not useless, or worthless. He’s the Juggernaut! Tom slams through a wall and a spike flies through his back, rendering him unconscious. Spite notices the scrumptious energy around Cain, but she can’t believe that it belongs to him. She realizes what’s wrong and begs Cain to listen to her. Cain’s startled, and now believes the curse that told him that he would destroy his loved ones.
Juggernaut holds Spite responsible for Tom’s death, and fights her. She defends herself with her powers, trying to make Cain understand that Tom was never there. Suddenly, Tom starts glowing green, and tells Cain that normally he would applaud the battle, but he wants to deal with his sister himself. Tom transforms into… D’Spayre! D’Spayre congratulates his sister Spite for her escape from the ruby of Cyttorak, but she would rather spend today torturing her to death!
Cain still doesn’t understand, and wants to know where Tom’s body is. Spite shouts that there never was a Black Tom present today, and that it was all just an illusion of D’Spayre. She silently swears that, next time, she’ll try to seduce someone with a fully developed cerebellum. Cain wants to know what’s going on, and why his head feels so weird. D’Spayre laughs and finds it impressive that Cain has just got a headache. He mentions that most mortals have suffered a coronary rupture if they had lost as much life essence as Cain just did.
Cain reveals that he isn’t like most mortals. D’Spayre reveals that both he and Spite thrive on the energy of human misery. It is the wellspring of their power. They tempt. They tease. They taunt the victim to elicit certain responses, and then, when he emotions flow freely, he and his sister feed! D’Spayre says that the energy he consumed from Cain is tantamount to the misery culled from over a thousand cities. He mentions that his sister had hoped to use Cain as an agent of vengeance, but instead has supplied him with a nigh unlimited supply of power!
Cain tries to fight the demon, and asks Spite why he suddenly feels so weak if D’Spayre was just eating on his feelings. Spite reveals that when Cain destroyed the ruby of Cyttorak, releasing them both, his soul became the vessel for its crimson might. D’Spayre says that, therefore, to dine on Cain’s emotions is to dine on the power of the ruby.
While the townspeople try to figure out how to kill themselves, they find themselves ambushed by D’Spayre’s demon army. D’Spayre continues to explain to Cain that he has waited millennia for this moment. He says that he has been existing on the emotion pittance offered by the disenfranchised of the Earth, until such time as he had amassed enough of his own arcane reserves to transform the domain of men into a realm of fear and loose eternal damnation upon the entire planet!
Cain doesn’t care and wants to fight D’Spayre. But first, he wants to some payback, and throws Alex into the demon army and they fight her. She screams. Cain jumps at the demon, but he turns into smoke and Cain flies right through the villain. D’Spayre uses his powers to transform the ground Cain stands on into molten steel, and traps him inside it. He wants to return to the townsfolk, thinking that they are tenderized by now.
Spite has survived the demon attack, and furiously strikes out at her brother. She wants to fight until the death. D’Spayre mocks Spite that she had a thousand years to plan her revenge, and he can’t believe that tearing out his throat is the best she can do. He grabs her throat and tells her that he is still unimpressed. D’Spayre tells Spite that, the last time they fought, he simply imprisoned her, but this time he promises that her she will experience suffering of a legendary nature.
Cain won’t let that happen. He’s still alive and rises up from the molten steel! He doesn’t know what D’Spayre did to him, but he’s actually hurt! And no one hurts the Juggernaut! D’Spayre hates this. He traps Spite into an energy ball, and throws her at Cain, making them crash into a wall!
Spite doesn’t understand. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She had plans. She doesn’t know how D’Spayre suddenly got so powerful, as he never was before. Spite wants to give up, telling Cain that a brother always wins. Cain gets up, remembering something. He won’t let it happen this time.
Cain wants to go back to D’Spayre, but Spite tries to stop him. Cain tells her he knows how to deal with despair, as they go way back. Cain tells Spite that it’s over, since her brother beat him. That’s tough luck. D’Spayre explains that with the crimson magicks he has plundered from the Juggernaut, the very fabric of the universe is his to command. He releases his demon army at Cain, telling him to behold the gateway to oblivion! He says that when his conduit is complete, the denizens of Hades’ deepest circles will inundate the Earth and serve his will. He will be master of all. Emperor of the Fear Lords!
D’Spayre attacks Cain, but he won’t stop, no matter what power D’Spayre throws at him. Cain reveals that he still stands because despair has ran his entire live, and sometimes hatred is all you need. D’Spayre drains everything from Cain, until only his skeleton is left, but the Juggernaut is still alive! Spite uses a spell and drains D’Spayre’s energy away from him. Spite saw her chance when D’Spayre turned his attention only to Cain, and has also opened a portal to his dimension. The hands of the Fear Demons come through the portal, and gesture angrily. D’Spayre begs his sister not to throw him to him, as they won’t tolerate his failure. Spite thinks that her brother is impressed now, and throws him into the portal. It closes and a final scream from D’Spayre is heard.
Though he now has got permanent air conditioning, Cain is ready to face Spite. She instead gives Cain what he deserves, and uses her powers to give him his body and armor back! Spite admits that the thought of killing Cain did cross her mind, but even she pays back debts. After all, Cain saved her live, so she decided to spare his. And she even threw in the restoration of his power as a bonus, because she is kind of a she-devil.
Spite tries to charm Cain, but he tells her not to, as he hasn’t forgotten how steamed he is at her. Spite flies off, kissing Cain’s helmet, and is ready for the day they’ll meet again. Clarke and the Sheriff approach Cain, wanting to thank him for the rescue. Cain likes that idea.
Later, people gather for a third day in a row for Juggernaut appreciation day. Cain enjoys it, and gets drunk. He asks for another can of beer, but Clarke says that they’ve only got light beer left, and asks if that’s okay. Cain becomes angry, since he hates light beer! He attacks in a furious rage, and says that no one offers the Juggernaut light beer and lives! The people ask what they’re going to do about Appreciation Day, but Cain instead runs after them, sarcastically telling them that he’ll give them something to appreciate!


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Children of the Damned (1st story)
Auspicious Beginnings (2nd story)
1st story:Hidden in the icy reaches of the Antarctic, a semi-tropical paradise flourishes: Pangea, a rest resort built a long time ago by the ancient Atlanteans, eons after Atlantis’ fall. Its virtually indestructible machinery still holds the cold at bay.
Though they still cannot quite believe it, Ka-Zar and Shanna with Ka-Zar’s cat Zabu have recently discovered Pangea and all its myriad wonders. They now number among their friends the green winged Avian, Buth and the four explorers find themselves on a private pilgrimage through what seems to be Dante’s Inferno, standing before the portal to Dis, city of the damned!
Suddenly, tentacles from a pit grab Shanna’s legs and she shouts for help.
Flashback:At first, they were five. Dherk, the android from ancient Atlantis, was with them when they discovered the Inferno’s dark entry way and read the cryptic inscription above the yawning black hole… Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Ka-Zar and Shanna had argued. He, backed up by Dherk, was convinced that this “Inferno” was built long ago as part of Pangea’s amusement park. Shanna, however, was inclined to trust her intuition that the tunnel’s resemblance to Dante’s “hell” was too close for comfort.
And they had met Dante’s horrors at every turn – Charon, the mechanical ferryman, Minos, guardian of the second city… and finally Cerberus, the three-headed dog, who had flung the powerful Dherk into a bottomless abyss.
Finally, Zabu’s slashing fangs has ensured victory for Ka-Zar’s intrepid little band and they had set out to rescue Dherk. They traveled ever deeper, coming eventually to Dis, city of all evil; gateway to the Damned.
Buth had suggested that he fly ahead and check the palace out before they sailed into any more trouble. But Ka-Zar held him back. They’d already lost Dherk, the strongest among them, so they shouldn’t separate. They are going to need all they have to get in there, find Dherk and get out in one piece.
Ka-Zar turned to Shanna, their resident Dante expert, asking what they could expect once they got in there. She thought he was convinced that it was all just Atlantean fun and games, she needled. He turned away laughing. She never gives up! Jus for the sake of argument then… However, before she could answer, tentacles grabbed her.
Present:The foul waters at the shore of Dis erupt as the demons surrounding Shanna drag her toward madness and oblivion. Buth quickly grabs her and flies up high. Ka-Zar orders him to fly her inside the city gate while he’ll try to keep these monsters from following.
Oh no, you don’t! Shanna announces and gets out of Buth’s grip. Either they all make it or none of them does! Besides, she’s getting stiff from lack of exercise. Nothing tried to kill them for at least ten minutes!
She lands on a demonhead and she and Buth join the fight. They all run toward the gate and Ka-Zar embeds his flint knife (which Shanna never liked anyway) in a demon’s chest.
Ka-Zar orders Buth to fly inside the city and get the gate open for them. A moment later, laser fire from the city almost hits him. Ka-Zar tells Buth to get down. He must have triggered an automatic defense by trying to go over the wall.
Shanna suggests they don’t knock it as the laser rays chased away the demons. Ka-Zar figures though if what’s in there is mean enough to scare those monsters he’s not that keen on tackling it himself. Except they have to go through Dis if they want to rescue Dherk, Shanna reminds him. So how did Dante get inside? Ka-Zar asks. With the help of an angel, Shanna replies and pointedly remarks that Buth sure has pretty wings…
Yeah, he does look like an angel, Ka-Zar agrees, in a devilish sort of way. After you, pal, he states and bows with a flourish. Buth shows his strength and manages to lift up the metal gate long enough for the four of them to pass through.
Inside, Ka-Zar asks Shanna that she never said what was supposed to be inside Dis. Burning tombs as she remembers. Where the heretics were punished. Swell, Buth remarks joylessly.
They enter the city of Dis, and all around them are circular openings in the stone floor, from which dancing waves of hot air emerge. Could these be the tombs of heretic? Ka-Zar asks. He looks down one. Ore merely steam vents connected to the main power source that runs this funhouse? Hear that distant pounding of machinery?
Shanna agrees, then gives a startled yelp a moment later, as from one of the openings a pale humanoid being slithers toward her. Ka-Zar tells her to hold her ground. It doesn’t look hostile. Easy for him to say, she retorts.
The being touches Shanna’s face. Clearly, it is blind. Yeah but not stupid, Kevin replies sourly as it begin to examine Shanna’s form. The creature turns to the jungle lord, skinny pallid arms extended; it touches his face. He realizes, of course, it’s not the greatest nose in the world but it served him well, Ka-Zar jokes.
Suddenly, the creature freezes, mouth agape… It teeters a moment uncertainly, then bows down to Ka-Zar. Obviously a fellow of impeccable taste, Ka-Zar decides. Lets encourage that trend, shall they?
She hopes his friends agree, Shanna remarks as they are joined by more of the creatures. They all bow. She feels like Deborah Harry, Shanna remarks. While she’s basking in the limelight, take a look at the local art gallery, Ka-Zar suggests and points at several huge stone statues. Crude but showing some talents, Shanna decides. She wonders who made them. The demons? No way, Ka-Zar decides, Those things had neither the brains or the compassion for this kind of work. He bets it was done by their frog-eyed friends here.
Around the next corner, they find a painting of a young woman in a medieval dress. Whoever painted this could definitely see, Ka-Zar remarks. Who does she thinks she was? Beatrice, Shanna replies and takes the medallion she found in Charon’s boat out of her fur leotard. Beatrice Portinari, she explains and shows him the gold medallion on which the crucifixion at Golgotha is depicted. Dante’s great love. She died young and her spirit was supposed to have led him to paradise. Shanna found the medallion in the bottom of the boat that brought them here. Inside the locket is a picture of the same woman.
Shanna explains that this is the kind of locket that men of the thirteenth century used to wear around their necks to carry miniatures of their loved ones. There can be only one explanation: it belonged to Dante. This is his Inferno.
Ka-Zar admits he is beginning to agree with her. He opens an ancient tome lying on the table before the portrait. She is the Latin scholar, Can she read it? Shanna begins and identifies it as the ship’s log of Captain Dante Alighieri.
Dante’s story:In the log, Dante Alighieri at the age of twenty-four relates how he lived all his life in his native Florence. Until the false sorcerer-priest Belasco was accused of heresy and tried for attempting to summon from the outer world beings whom he called the “Elder Gods” in an effort to attain immortality.
Belasco had long harbored a secret passion for Dante’s beloved Beatrice. When he was freed from his prison by his sorcerous familiars, he kidnapped her and fled Italy by ship. For months, Dante pursued Belasco’s vessel to the nether regions of the Earth. The chase ended in a place of terrible cold and whiteness, a nightmarish region where no one was meant to go.
Most of Dante’s crew froze, yet he continued to chase Belasco through the snow and ice. Finally, Dante and his crew came upon a strange, invisible force, like a translucent wall. Desperately in need of heat, they passed through it and found a land within of twisted jungles and verdant forests.
He met the strange creatures inhabiting this place called Pangea, none more curious that the Aerians, winged men who proved to be friendly. One of them, Ver-Jeel, helped Dante’s people track Belasco to a dark cavern. Inside were myriad of marvels… magical rivers, caverns in which men could fly, truly an enchanted place, but Dante was too frantic to enjoy it.
Belasco had tunneled deep into the caverns. Dante’s remaining crew and some volunteer Pangean men and women set up camp in an abandoned city and they separated, each of them trying a different passageway, hoping one would lead them to Belasco.
Dante was the one to find Beatrice – too late! She lay upon an evil looking altars, screaming in fear and pain, about to birth the monster’s progeny. Belasco’s children were hideous demons, the “Elder Gods’” gift to him, along with the promise of immortality. It was with these gibbering horrors that Belasco planned to hold dominion over Earth.
Even as Beatrice died, the hated alchemist leapt at Dante from behind a crimson curtain. Dante fought like a fury, driving Belasco before him into the cavern’s deepest depth, but his immortality spell was real – Dante could not slay him. Eventually, Dante tired and it was then Belasco disarmed him. As Belasco lifted his sword for the fatal blow, Dante whispered a prayer to Heaven and it was answered! For as Belasco brought the sword down upon Dante, he inadvertently slashed a pipe overhead which spewed a freezing liquid, encasing Belasco in a mound of ice.
With his beloved Beatrice dead, Dante staggered back toward the city and the rest of his crew. The earth began to shudder beneath his feet and tons of rock and dirt fell down before him. The earthquake sealed Dante off from his men… but it also opened a wide fissure in the mountain’s side through which he could escape. He left this record here, hoping his men would find it and the others who might follow may know of that devil Belasco… and of this hell on Earth…
Present:Shanna explains that Belasco aka Lucifer was encased in a block of ice. Canto 34, the last round of the ninth ring of Dante’s hell. It all fits. So Dante returned to Florence and set down his fantastic tale years later in his poem the Inferno, Ka-Zar summarizes. And those monsters outside are the descendants from Belasco’s original demon-children.
How does he explain the strange blind beings? Buth asks. Surely they are not related to the monsters outside. This is what six hundred years of de-evolution has done to the children of the trapped Pangaeans and the crew members, Ka-Zar replies. Left behind to carve those statues then worship them, Shanna adds, their minds reverting to primitive? No wonder they though them gods. Down here in the secret depth a war between the sacred and the profane has raged for almost seven centuries. She guesses their friends here see them as some kind of saviors since they are so much like the statues their forefathers carved.
That’s still not all, Shanna insists. Why was Cerberus real? Why have the thrill rides been systematically trying to destroy them? It can’t be the work of the monsters, they are not clever enough.
Surely she has guessed, Ka-Zar ventures as he takes a dagger from the altar. The one who reigns over the amusement park is the one who reigned over Dante’s Inferno… Belasco!
Still alive? Shanna asks doubtful. Why not? Ka-Zar asks, he was supposed to be immortal, wasn’t he? He’s been here for centuries, building his armies of demons for the final confrontation with mankind. And from the size of that army outside, he’d say Belasco is getting pretty close.
Buth reminds him that according to the log Belasco was frozen. Well, somehow he got himself un-frozen, Ka-Zar retorts, gesturing with the golden dagger They’ll need some back up troops to fight him and his force, like a few thousands of Buth’s “Aerian” angels. But before that they’ve still got to locate Dherk, only then will it be time to dance with the devil…
After a hearty meal of rat meat and mushrooms provided by their hosts, Ka-Zar, Shanna, Buth and Zabu continue their descent, smeared with the garlic-like fungus the underground people use to keep the demons at bay. Though this proves to be only a transitory measure. Soon, they are picking their way down a steep cliff at the bottom of which runs a vast crimson river and the entrance to the seventh circle of hell. Something is wrong! Shanna suddenly announces. She feels something coming. Something big, Ka.Zar agrees.
They hear a thumping noise coming closer and stand ready, weapons drawn. An animal bellowing fills the dark, stygian air… the trio takes a step backward… another terrifying bellow and then from around a bend in the rocky corridor comes the night mare form of half-man, half-bull, red eyes fixed on them, horns dripping gore, massive arms outstretched. The Minotaur! Shanna cries. But as soon as the bellowing behemoth appears – it vanishes… reappears… vanishes again.
Holding his hand over a piece of rock, a grinning Buth remarks, “now you see it, now you don’t.” The others realize it’s a hologram, projected from that rock. Just another Pangaean amusement device.
A moment later, things turn serious as Ka-Zar is almost hit by an arrow. They hide behind the rocks, the snipers being centaur like creatures. Shanna identifies them as Pholus and Nessus, the centaurs who fire arrows at anyone attempting to cross the river of blood.
How did Dante get around that one? Ka-Zar asks. He persuaded one of them to take him across on his back. Somehow he doesn’t think that’s going to work, Ka-Zar remarks wryly. Buth solves their problem by carrying them over the river flying. What about Zabu, Ka-Zar protests. He’ll come back for him, Buth promises.
Below them strangely they see a cloud which turns out to be actually a swarm of harpies that attacks them. Shanna unnecessarily informs the others that they are over the forest of living trees.
Buth is forced to land. As he plummets awkwardly downward, Ka-Zar is struck from behind and the world goes dark…
He wakes up moments later, on the ground and alone. As he bumps against the tree behind him with his shoulder, the tree protests claiming it bruises easily.
Nice knife, it mocks. Did he get it at the concession stand? Another tree calls him an idiot. At the concession stand, you get rubber knives. That one’s real.
Ka-Zar breaks up their argument, asking about his friends. However, the two trees instead continue arguing and are not much use regarding information. Ka-Zar decides to leave.
He sees a cave and a grating blocking the entrance… From within, he hears the steady beat of machinery. With a single kick, he gets rid of the grating and enters. Inside he finds a sign, learning he is at level 8. Just like the underground maintenance levels at Disneyland, he figures.
Below him, the sound of machinery gets louder He enters level 9, according to the sign a main engine room only for authorized personnel. The heart of the matter, at last, he figures. Is Belasco waiting behind this gate? He has the sneaky suspicion, he is…
He kicks in the grate and enters the maintenance room. In the doorway opposite, he sees a figure hidden by the shadows. Come on out, Belasco! he orders. Come out and meet someone he might find a wee bit tougher than the children of Dante’s crew. And while he’s at it, he can tell Ka-Zar what he has done with Dherk and…
He stammers as the figure steps from the shadows. “Beatrice?” he exclaims. But then he realizes that the beautiful woman in the medieval dress and headdress is Shanna, acting in a strangely demure manner. He begins to ask what she is doing, but then a hand grabs his shoulder. He shoves it away to see it belongs to his android friend Dherk. He is pleased for a moment until Dherk throws him into the wall.
A voice orders Dherk to treat him gently. Mr. Plunder is their honored guest.
Ka-Zar whirls around, knife in hand as before him a demon-like man with red skin and horns bids him welcome to his home. How delightfully convenient to find him already kneeling. His name is Belasco.
2nd story:A time of past in the Savage Land. Zabu was still a kitten. For him and his siblings, it was the first time out of the nest. Old Mara had kept the cubs well hidden until they were of an age to forage for themselves. And even now, she would not let them wander far from her circle of protection.
Little Zabu chases a butterfly which is eaten by a frog a moment later. As he tries to climb up a slope, he falls down again and lands in the water, quickly finding out one can’t breathe it.
As he tries to figure out which way is home, he hears a scream, sounding like his mother. He hides from armed magenta monkey like beings, then runs home to find his mother dead, a spear in her side. He runs off, chased away by carrion birds.
Orphaned, alone and hungry, he watches from a distance as they devour his mother’s corpse.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Belasco…! (1st story), untitled (2nd story)
1st story:Cynically the devil-like Belasco welcomes Ka-Zar to his home. As he can see, the android Dherk and the girl Shanna belong to him. Standing in front of Belasco, knife drawn, Ka-Zar recognizes Belasco as Dante’s nemesis. He recalls that according to Dante’s log Belasco was frozen at the end of his battle with Dante. A temporary inconvenience, the evil sorcerer replies. When the volcano above them became active, he, uh… thawed. He’s indestructible.
What has he done with Shanna? Ka-Zar snarls, and where is Buth? Cradling the chin of the young woman, who seems to be in a trance, Belasco informs him that Shanna has become the perfect reincarnation of his beloved Beatrice… with one difference. Beatrice was frail and weak… she could not withstand the rigors of childbirth. This one however…
At the sight of those clawed, gnarled hands folding Shanna’s smooth skin, Ka-Zar furiously tries to attack Belasco, only to be pulled back by the super-strong android Dherk. He holds on to his arms and pulls Ka-Zar up by his hair. The tall Belasco reminds Ka-Zar they are both rational man. In good time he will tell him the whole… sordid little history. In the meantime, he was wondering about his angelic friend Buth. Well, he shan’t keep him in suspense.
Ka-Zar is led to a precipice above a lava pit. Above it Buth hangs, calmly crucified. Belasco explains he was greatly pleased to have captured one of that mighty race of warriors, though his belligerent ways are not needed here. He has taught their feathered friend a few tricks. He orders Buth to sing for their guest. And from Buth’s throat issue the strained pathetic notes of a canary’s feeble warbling.
He’s hypnotized! Ka-Zar snarls. How astute, Belaxco mocks. Yes, Buth is under his power as is his precious Shanna He tried to hypnotize Dherk until he discovered he was an automaton, so he simply reprogrammed him. But he is being rude. Belasco snaps his fingers. The day’s wearing thin and they haven’t had their afternoon entertainment.
He calls his children and from the ebon shadows spring a hoard of giggling, red-eyed demons wielding bows and arrows. Belasco presses a button and the clamps on Buth’s wings release him. As the bewildered Buth takes to the air, the demons draw their bows.
Ka-Zar head butts Dherk and gets loose. Belasco may be immune to the knife but let’s see how his children are! he announces as he attacks the demons. But there are too many and their arrows hit Buth, who plummets into the dark far below, as from the darkness of the shore two feral eyes watch silently.
He’ll die for that! Ka-Zar vows and attacks Belasco. The sorcerer however grabs him by the throat… with his tail. He announces he thinks it’s time they deal with Dherk. He orders Dherk to open himself completely. He may begin with the chest cavity. Horrified, Ka’zar has to watch as Dherk literally tears himself apart. Until all that remains of Dherk of Atlantis is a lifeless heap of twitching scrap metal.
“And now for…” Belasco begins. Not Shanna! Ka-Zar shouts. Belasco calls him a fool. He has no intention of harming her – quite the contrary. She is destined to replace Beatrice as his bride!
Belasco’s tale:Seven centuries ago in Italy, through his practice of alchemy and the Black Arts, he was able to summon the Elder Gods, demonic entities from a parallel universe whose chief desire was to invade and rule Earth. Belasco struck a bargain with them, he promised to help them enter Earth’s plane permanently, using an unfinished pentagonal arrangement of stones and a special incantation, and they granted his wish for extraordinary powers and immortality. They also changed his human form to one that more resembled their own, adding horns and a magnificent tail and gave him the privilege of becoming father to a new demonic race, that would soon populate the Earth.
Yet he still needed a bride. He kidnapped the lovely Beatrice and they sailed to the site of this mountain, which the Elder Gods had indicated was the perfect location upon which to carry out the spell. For safekeeping, he made Beatrice wear the incomplete Pentagon in a locket whilst he kept the blood-red stone that would complete the spell in his possession. Little did he imagine that the fool Dante would give chase. In his haste, Belasco married Beatrice and, by the time they arrived, she was already swollen with child. With Dante close on their trail, they took refuge underground, traveling down the network of connecting tunnels that constitute this ancient amusement ride. Amusing indeed!
They had barely arrived at the ninth level when Beatrice began to give birth – and his lovely “children” burst from her rent womb. Dante arrived in the middle of their sacrilege and watched dumbstruck as his beloved Beatrice expired before his very eyes.
Belasco went to Beatrice’s body to retrieve the locket and thus seal his bargain with the Elder Gods but found to his chagrin that it had been lost somehow during their descent. Then Dante, enraged beyond reason by Beatrice’s demise, attacked with all his strength. There ensued a terrible battle. Dante, inspired by his grief, fought fiercely but Belasco’s superior strength and skills soon won out. He was just about to deliver the death blow when his sword slashed an overhead pipe, which pumped freezing liquid upon him.
For centuries, Belasco existed in frozen limbo, neither dead nor alive. A short time ago, the volcano became active again and, through an accident in the wiring system in the chamber, he was thawed. He learned much about this labyrinth since then. He controls all that happens here. But he had not been able yet to find the missing locket and, without the locket, he was unable to keep his bargain with the Elder Gods. Now, Shanna has found it for him.
The present:He fondles the locket around Shanna’s neck. Now he shall have a new Beatrice. The Elder Gods shall have a presence in this world, and Ka-Zar shall lose his. Take him! he orders his demon children who instantly obey. Ka-Zar fights as well as he can but is taken down. Belasco orders to have him taken to the freezing chamber. With a flick of his tail, Belasco switches it on. Now he has business elsewhere.
Meanwhile, on the shore of the dark, bubbling lake, Zabu pulls the unconscious Buth from the black water and licks his face until he awakes. Buth looks up to see the moon above them.
Elsewhere, a mesmerized Shanna is being prepared for her wedding night as demon handmaidens array her in the silken lace gown originally intended for Beatrice. Belasco fondles the amulet, then kisses her throat as he leads her on. Her future awaits her, he promises.
Back in the freezing chamber, Ka-Zar is, well, freezing. Helplessly, he tries to break the glass but in vain. At the sound of Ka-Zar’s hammering, Dherk’s decapitated head suddenly hums into life. Gears whirl, circuits act, memories return: memories of Belasco, the demons, his own deprogramming. He looks askance at his detached hand lying nearby and it twitches spasmodically. Dherk uses every ounce of his will to force the fingers to crawl towards the freezing chamber.
Inside, Ka-Zar is at the edge of consciousness but Dherk’s voice awakes him. He tells Ka-Zar to guide the hand to the switch. Following Ka-Zar’s voice, it finally manages to switch the cell open. Stepping out, Ka-Zar complains he now knows how a TV dinner feels. He walks towards Dherk who tells him he has to stop Belasco. And don’t forget to come back for him when he’s done saving the world!
Ka-Zar sprints through the winding maze of uphill tunnels until he sees a horde of demons. Suddenly, a red-hued, laser-like beam flares by Ka-Zar’s astonished face and strikes one of the attacking demons, which instantly explodes in a red smear. It’s the children of Dis, who are shooting the lethal rays from their blind eyes and into the crowd of the scrambling demons.
One of the children points Ka-Zar toward a tunnel to the top. Dante’s escape, Ka-Zar realizes. But why haven’t they left by now if they know the way out? The blind and mute little creature merely shakes his head sadly. And as it turns its deathray upon the demons its ancestors have kept from the surface for centuries, Ka-Zar heads for the surface and Belasco.
He emerges from the dark tunnel to find himself at the top of the smoking volcano, just in time to witness the blasphemous “wedding” ceremony that will unite Belasco and Shanna forever and open a rift in Earth’s plane, through which Belasco’s “Elder Gods” will pass.
The jungle lord steals stealthily towards the chanting demonic figure, hoping against hope that surprise will aid him against the preternaturally strong madman. But, that same instant, Belasco grabs the golden locket which hangs about Shanna’s throat and, with a single flick of a clawed finger, opens the locket, revealing the incomplete pentagram. From his cape, he withdraws the final blood-red stone, the stone that will complete the spell and enable the Elder Gods to enter Earth’s stratosphere.
Ka-Zar springs into action but Belasco uses his magic to have the stone shatter under his feet and, from that crack, emerge harpies who attack Ka-Zar. Belasco utters the final incantation in a strange disturbing tongue as he holds the bloodstone in place above the pentagram.
But in the sky like a great storm cloud Ka-Zar sees Buth, along with the carried Zabu and the entire Aerian army. Buth’s forces sweep down into the swarm of the harpies.
However, the harpies’ attack has bought Belasco more time than he needs. He utters the final words of the incantation and places the ruby red stone into place. There is a deep guttural rumbling, the seamless surface of the sky rips down the middle as a weird light fills the night. Huge cyclopean shapes writhe behind a curtain of greenish mist. A titanic clawed hand reaches down ominously. The Elder Gods have come.
Ka-Zar runs to Shanna and grabs the locket and throws it into the volcano. The locket snaps open, its stones land upon the surface of the boiling lava. Seconds later, there follows a brilliant flash of all-consuming light as the dimensional passage begins to close above them.
Belasco begs his gods to take him with them. But the Elder Gods are not pleased and, in reply, Belasco’s supplicant form explodes in a riot of flame and flesh hurtling backward into the turbulent depths of the chasm below. The harpies writhe and shriek in agony and dissolve to dust before the Aerians’ stunned eyes and Shanna awakes at last from Belasco’s hypnotic power and goes limp in Ka-Zar’s arms. Only Buth worries that Belasco may somehow have survived…
2nd story:The wolf Old Zagah looks for food for his mate and whelps. He finds a lifeless sabre-tooth cub and brings it to his cave, but there the cub, Zabu, revives and Zagah’s mate, Thana, “adopts” him.
Zabu grows up with the two wolf cubs, the stronger Jhet who despises Zabu and weakly little Fheta who befriends him.
The night Thana sends them out to make their first kill, Jhet and Zabu eagerly chase an antelope. However, with the antelope almost in his jaws, Zabu loses his footing and falls. Minutes later, he finds both the antelope and little Fheta lying dead beneath Jhet’s feet.
Zabu has to fight Jhet to the death. He emerges badly hurt but victorious, breaking his foster parent’s hearts. He realizes that he has to leave or has to risk fighting Zagah sooner or later. With a final lingering look at the two who reared him, Zabu turn and limps into the forest. Alone again. Will it ever be so?
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a young towhead named Kevin Plunder gazes upward at a summer cloud from the lawn of his father’s estate and dreams of adventures yet to come…