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Superguardian
(outer space, then)Immundra stands at the wheel of a Shi’ar cruiser but informs his Empress that it has broken. The world is lost! Empress Lilandra asks Smasher to go and warn the Earth. Smasher replies that she has his vow. He will not fail. An explosion soon follows, courtesy of a Sentient Drone ship and Smasher is caught in the blast. Regardless, he journeys to Earth where he lands at high speed in a field in Iowa. He is badly injured and a small piece of his exospecs comes loose and falls to the side of him.
Sometime later, a young woman named Izzy Dare discovers the shard, which has now transformed into a pair of Smasher’s synthetic tri-plated spectra form exospecs. These are organic constructs which means they are alive. Izzy has no idea where they came from but she picks them up and takes them back to the farm. She finds her father putting on his coat and he asks how it looks out there. “Weird,” she replies. He’s not going to believe what she found in the north field. He tells her it’s going to have to wait. Her grandfather has decided to sabotage the pen… again. He asks her if she can talk to him. This is getting old.
Izzy goes to see her grandfather. “So, the farmer’s liberation army strikes again, huh?” she asks. He coughs and says he has no idea what she’s talking about. Izzy asks him to stop doing it. Emphysema isn’t Alzheimer’s and he’s not fooling anyone. He replies that he just doesn’t like anything in cages. He coughs once again. Izzy says fair enough. She prepares herself and her grandpa some soup and sits at the table with him. She asks if he can at least try to stop getting caught so she doesn’t get sucked up in his and her dad’s multi-decade drama.
Her grandfather informs her that, when her mom died and she came home from school, he never planned on staying. He thinks that it’s good that she wants to help, but she was studying astronomy and other space stuff in Colorado. She was doin’ what she was supposed to be doin’. So, why is she still here? Izzy replies that the sky is clear and she can see the heavens. It’s not that bad. She doesn’t regret doing the right thing. Why does he keep giving her a hard time about it? Why does he care? Her grandfather looks up at her and simply says he doesn’t like things in cages.
(later)Izzy is outside and looking at the night sky through a large telescope. A voice calls to her. “Hello beautiful,” it says. Izzy looks down at the pair of exospecs she found which are now glowing. “Put me on,” they say. Izzy doesn’t even think about it for a moment and places the exospecs on her face. Energy sizzle around her as her clothes are replaced by an Imperial Guard subguardian’s uniform. “Whoa!” she exclaims. As she looks upwards, the voice provides information for her, stating that she is a Guardian-type Smasher. It accesses its astral archive and aligns the stellar clusters she sees to known universal cartography to ascertain her location. It then accesses the imperial superguardian exobase. It stabilizes the datastream and then downloads a stargate map and access codes. It also provides the suit with exo-strength, exo-flight and penta-vision. It then asks Izzy if she wishes to upgrade. Izzy smiles at whatever is happening and replies, “Absolutely.”
She then takes off at high speed with a joyous roar. Watching from inside the house is her grandfather who laughs. “Now that’s more like it,” he grins. The exospecs broadcast a priority signal and a stargate appears before her. Izzy asks what it is. The exospecs inform her that it is a non-commercial stealth-grade stargate. It was secretly placed in this non-imperial system because it is a place of strategic significance. “Stargate?” she asks. She is informed that it is an egress for the Shi’ar interstellar transportation network. In this case, it leads to the Shi’ar homeworld, Chandilar.
Izzy goes through the gate and appears in a whole new place. She is awestruck. Large towers rise high into the sky and ships fly effortlessly between them. “This is another planet,” she gasps. “That’s… a freakin’ alien planet. Holy ferd. I’m going to be the first human being to set foot on a…” the exospecs interject and explain that she is incorrect. Many humans have been to Chandilar. She, however, is the first human subguardian in the history of the empire. Izzy admits that she doesn’t know what that means, but she is informed that while possessing formidable assets of a traditional variety, the Shi’arEempire’s greatest military asset is its Imperial Guard defense structure. Hundreds of worlds produce thousands of candidates - subguardians of various types… mantas, starbolts, warstars and smashers. Izzy asks by smashers if it means like her. The exospecs reply that they do. There are currently 43 smasher-class subguardians preparing for the chance to join the most elite fighting force in the known universe - the Imperial Guard. Izzy flies to a large tower, guided there by an unknown force. She asks what, if she is a subguardian, they are called. Superguardians, the exospecs reply as she descends before Gladiator and several of his colleagues.
(Avengers Tower, now)“Blackveil?” asks Tony Stark. Ex Nihilo’s new Adam says his name in his own coded language. “Blackveil,” repeats Tony. Adam says his name again. Tony reckons it’s not the steam engine, but it’s what civilized men call progress. Cannonball and Sunspot arrive. They don’t wish to disturb Stark but when he sees them he asks them to come and look at this. He shows them a board where Adam’s name is written in his own language and underneath that is the word Blackveil. He explains that he and Adam were able to formalize the characters in his alphabet and from that he’s been able to create a conversion system that syncs up with his speech. They’ve just had their first breakthrough. His name is Blackveil.
Sam tells him it’s very impressive but they’re looking for Izzy and Eden. When they couldn’t find them they tried using the ‘where is’ function on the Avengers machine, but… Tony tells them that he can’t believe they missed all the commotion this morning. Imperial alerts, threats to the empire, general hysteria. They didn’t show up on any finder because they’re in another galaxy.
(the Shi’Ar galactic rim, now)A major battle is taking place. Warstar is struck as he and Manta fight off their enemy. She turns to see Smasher on the ground being cradled by Oracle. When she asks how he is, Oracle informs her that Galin is gone. Manta is then thrown into the air as another energy beam hits the ground beneath her. “Sharra and K’ythri save us,” she whispers. She looks up to see many enormous sentient drones flying overhead. As she watches she sees several of them get hit by energy beams and wonders who did that. She looks around and sees Izzy in a smasher costume backed up by several Avengers including Wolverine, Captain America and the Falcon.
Izzy explains that her exospecs picked up her intergalactic alert and she came as quickly as she could. She brought reinforcements… the Avengers. Cap says that it looks like they arrived too late for anything except mop-up duty. Wolverine wonders what an Imperial Guard unit is doing getting rolled by a bunch of sleazo normal-type attack drones. Oracle asks if he thinks the guard was beaten by this rabble. He and his tiny sphere of influence. He should look up; look up and prepare themselves for battle. Up above, they see dozens of heavily armed soldiers in battle suits. “Oh, boy,” sighs Izzy. Dr. Banner reckons it looks like there are around twenty heavy cruisers and countless support ships outnumbering the five remaining Shi’ar super destroyers. He sees one of them destroyed and changes that to four. He asks Izzy to hold his exospecs while he transforms into the Hulk.
Izzy states that most of the technology is hundreds of thousands of years beyond what they have on Earth, that saying nothing of the cumulative influence of the thousands of worlds that make up the empire. She would never run, but how do they even fight something like this? They’re facing an endless alien armada. What’s a smasher to do? The Hulk turns to her with a grin. “Smaasshhh!” he says before leaping towards the drones. “Well…” replies Izzy. “All right.”
Captain America asks the Falcon to give him and Wolverine some air support while they engage the ground troops. Eden asks what he wants him to do. Cap says he can move things from one place to another, right? What happens if he moves one ship inside another? Eden replies, “Bad things.” Cap asks him to get busy. Bad things are exactly what he needs. Izzy reckons this is something they don’t teach you in school in Iowa or Colorado.
(then)Izzy’s father sees a trail of energy as she descends and lands near the house. He rushes over immediately. Izzy knows that in the deep, dark corners of the universe, they measure the passage of time in millions of years. Swim in the infinite too long and you forget what solid ground feels like. You lose your anchor to the here and now. If you’re not careful, life simply leaves you behind. It just moves on past you.
“Hey dad,” she says as she sees him approach. She removes her exospecs and transforms back into the clothes she was wearing the first time she changed. He tells her it’s been a month. Where has she been? He thanks God she’s come back. She tells him he isn’t going to believe him but she’s been to space. “I joined this group of… alien… You know what. Never mind. I was in space.” He hugs her and says he thought he was crazy. He thought her grandfather was crazy his entire life. But, he said she went off flying off towards the heavens and he didn’t believe him. “Crazy old man.” Izzy asks where he is. Her father frowns and looks down to one side. Izzy gets the message.
(now)Smasher and the Avengers go to work on the invading force. Eden teleports crafts inside each other so they explode, the Hulk uses his mighty strength to smash them and the other Avengers take on the ground forces. “Don’t let up!” yells Captain America. As Smasher destroys a ship with her eye beams, the exospecs inform her that continued use of them will result in permanent retina damage. Izzy switches to exo-strength and the exospecs upgrade her gauntlet grading. They continue to advise her but she becomes annoyed and orders them to shut up. She smashes the side of a ship with her fists but the exospecs speak up again. They alert her to a Majestor supercast on the superguardian channel. “Majestor…” says Izzy, looking around. The voice on the message congratulates her. She has held the line. The victory codes are transmitted and received. She is informed that Gladiator, the Majestor Lux, is here. The empire is here. The guard is here.
(later)On an open plane, the guard gathers together with the Avengers. Gladiator informs Oracle that they will be leaving soon. The threat has been extinguished and the system has been cleared, but first they must follow the forms. He asks which one it was. Oracle informs him that it was the human smasher-type. He tells her to get on her knees. “Isabel Dare,” he says. “Human of Earth. It seems that after today we are lacking an elite class of your designation on the guard. Are you the smasher the empire is looking for?” She replies that she is. He asks her to rise, to rise a superguardian. Cap smiles. He tells Izzy that she’s the first human member of the Imperial Guard.
(then)Izzy visits her grandfather who lies ill in bed. “Look at you,” he says. “Back from Pluto.” She tells him he doesn’t look so bad. Her dad made it sound worse than it is. He coughs several times but asks her not to fuss over him. He passes her a card and tells her that a good friend gave it to him. He wants her to have it. He wants her to use it. She reads the message which says ‘Dan – if you ever need anything, call me. Steve.’ Izzy doesn’t understand. What is this? He explains that she has something special in her, something passed down from one generation to the next. She has a birthright; one she didn’t even know about. He isn’t going to be around much longer so he wants her to remember something. She tells him she will. He says that heroes make others believe they can do great things. Heroes make heroes. He asks her to turn the car over. She spins it over and sees the letter A printed on there. “And promise me,” he adds. “No more cages.”
(now)Captain America tells her the old man would be proud.
(Chandilar, later)Gladiator says they lost the entire frontier armada and he demands answers. Oracle enters a captive’s mind and raids it mercilessly. He screams in agony before collapsing. “Well?” asks Gladiator. Oracle informs him that he is broken. However, she had some success. His mind was torn asunder and there was no secret he could keep from her. Gladiator asks what weakness they saw that made them think the empire would tolerate an invasion. She replies that it wasn’t that they were invading them, but that they were running from something. They were running from someone!


[User]
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[Assistant]
Zen and the Art of Cosmology
Captain Universe is sitting cross-legged across from Shang Chi in a large room. She explains that there was nothing, followed by everything. Swirling, burning specks of creation that circled life-giving suns. And then... we raced to the light. That is his story and therefore her story, as all the stories are the same, in that all the stories are hers. She asks if he understands. Shang Chi replies that he does, in the manner that such things can be understood. He adds that they all have some bits of celestial uniformity. They are composed of the afterbirth of the universe, of her who bore them all. “I am mother,” she replies.
Shang Chi tells her that the others, specifically Anthony and Steven, asked him to spend some time with her regarding some… delicate issues. So, as appreciative and grateful as he is, personal illumination is not the path he wishes to travel today. She asks if they are not all the same path. Shang Chi changes tack and asks to speak to her. She replies that her host is broken. Everything is broken. He tells Captain Universe that her being here is significant. So, she has been scanned, prodded, probed and questioned and yet, no one understands why she is here. He thought their problem might be that they are talking to the wrong person. He needs to see her. Even if she is weak and broken. “What if she doesn’t wish to manifest?” she asks. Shang Chi opens up a box and holds a pie out in front of him. “Tell her I brought pie,” he replies.
Captain Universe’s mask begins to dissipate and a face emerges from within. She is confused and asks where she is. She blacked out again and lost time. Who is he? “Is that for me?” she asks, looking at the steaming pie. He tells her that it is. He introduces himself as Shang Chi and asks her to remain calm. To breathe. He explains that today he is going to help her find out who she is. She happily takes the pie and replies that she doesn’t remember anything at all. Nothing. Shang Chi informs her that she is Tamara Devoux.
He passes her a fork as she asks how he knows that. Tamara doesn’t feel right. Is he sure? He tells her they are sure. Her name not feeling right is no surprise. Sometimes who they have been their entire lives gets wiped out in a single day or by a single event. So it’s not really important to recall all the subtleties of who she used to be. They should start with what was left. He asks her to tell him her earliest memory. Tamara replies that she remembers a light and then a crash. Shaking violence and then nothing.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Spider-Man is having a snack. Sam Guthrie and Bobby Da Costa enter the room and Bobby asks what he thinks he’s doing. Spidey asks if it isn’t obvious. He’s saving the world. “Cool,” replies Bobby. “The ongoing adventures of the world’s first illiterate super hero.” Spidey says they clearly haven’t been at this game long enough if they think that, and why would they? Bobby tells him that the container he’s eating from clearly says ‘Sam.’ Not Spider-Man. ‘Sam!’ Spidey has another bite and replies that he tends to overlook things.
Bobby explains that he has all that food professionally prepared. He hired a specialist which led to hiring a nutriotionalist which led to hiring a microbiotic chef who comes in once a week to cook all of Sam’s food. He’s on a special diet. Sam, arms folded, tells Spider-Man that he wants to get up to speed without bulking up. Spidey passes him the container and tells him that it’s disgusting anyway. As he walks away, Sunspot tells him that everyone thinks his new costume sucks. Sam adds that he’s trying to be bad when he ain’t at all. Spidey turns. “Yes, well… I spit in that,” he remarks. Sam tells Bobby that he hates the guy now.
(meanwhile)Shang Chi continues his chat with Tamara. He asks if the light and then the crash is her earliest memory. Can she not remember anything surrounding it? She replies nothing. He tells her that’s fine. If it’s acceptable to her, he would like to try some associative recall which involves them focusing not on what she saw, but on the other things that might have been happening at the same time. This should hopefully unlock other things in her memory. He asks if that’s okay. Tamara thinks so, so he asks her to close her eyes both there and in her mind and imagine that she is floating in water. Everywhere at once and nowhere as well.
He speaks in a calming, reassuring manner and tells her that it’s safe, serene and perfectly calm. He then asks her to open the eyes in her mind and see the earliest memory she has. Lock that image and step outside of it. She can then focus on that light she saw. She tells him that it’s not one light. There were two lights. Shang Chi tells her she’s doing well. Now, with that fixed in her mind, he wants her to stop seeing and focus on her other senses. She should think back and see if she remembers anything or hearing any sounds. Tamara recalls her hands holding something tight and, struggling with the memory, she remembers tires squealing.
Shang Chi asks if she was in a car. Tamara suddenly becomes agitated and remembers being there. “Oh, God!” She cries. “We’re gonna crash!” Shang Chi assures her that everything is fine. She is outside of this moment. She controls whether they stay inside this moment or move forward to another one. However, he suggests that they stay inside this one. Can she do that? Tamara replies that she’ll try. Shang Chi then asks her to concentrate and asks if there is anything else she can make out. Tamara informs him that she thinks she can hear something else. She thinks it sounds like crying.
Shang Chi asks her to listen to what she can hear. Is there someone else in the car with her? She tells him that there’s someone behind her but she is looking ahead at the lights. Shang Chi asks her to just turn her head. Was there someone else in the car? In her memories, she turns and sees a young girl clutching a Storm doll. “Yes,” she replies. “A little girl…” Her voice becomes a whisper. “My little girl.”
Meanwhile, Spider-Man goes to chat with Tony Stark, who is with Blackveil and tells him he’s going to have to do something about those children… the annoying, ill-mannered ones. Tony says he needs more to go on. “Bomb boy and solar flare,” replies Spidey. Tony asks what they did this time. Spidey informs him that they were in the kitchen when they decided to rather rudely confront him about eating the leftovers in the refrigerator. Tony asks if it was his food. Spidey says no. He asks if it was theirs. Spidey says possibly, but it was an honest mistake. His point is, is that he doesn’t think he should be spoken to that way by infants. “Then don’t eat their food,” replies Tony. “The system is broken,” adds Blackveil in his own language. Spidey asks Tony if Blackveil can understand what he’s saying. He informs Spidey that he’s making solid progress on his translation package, but he doesn’t think so. Spidey leans into Blackveil and calls him a super freak. “It’s coming,” replies Blackveil.
(meanwhile)Shang Chi continues his session with Tamara. He asks what she can tell him about the girl. Does she know her name? She informs him that she’s called Ella. She’s six years old and her father didn’t want either of them. So, they made it on their own. Just her and her little girl. She loves milkshakes and the color blue. Tamara remembers now and asks if she can see her. Shang Chi says he has to tell her something and wishes her to remain calm. She should listen and try to understand what he’s saying. Tamara replies that she already knows. She was hurt in the crash.
She struggles as she recalls painful memories. She says that she missed her seventh birthday. Seven is her favorite number and she promised… She states again that she wants to see her. Shang Chi replies that yes, she was hurt and in the hospital when she gained... when she became the universe. As of right now, they don’t know what happened to her daughter. It seems that the records don’t… Tamara asks how long. How long has it been? “Ten years,” replies Shang Chi. “You were in a coma for ten years.” Tamara cries and instantly withdraws from herself allowing the universe to regain control. She screams. She then becomes calm and says that there was nothing, followed by everything. Swirling burning specks of creation that circled life-giving suns. And then we raced into the light.
She adds that the host is broken. Everything is broken. Shang Chi admits that he doesn’t understand. Captain Universe informs him that the Earth is significant and is the axis around which the multiverse spins. Here, the life and death of everything will be decided, so it is here she needed to become sentient. Shang Chi asks why. Why here? She replies that it’s because she is broken. Because she is dying, just as she is.
Tony is still working on his translator and not understanding why his program cannot decode it. Shang Chi approaches with Captain Universe and tells him he needs to speak to him. Tony asks for a second. He’s on the verge of figuring this out. “Hello mother,” says Blackveil in his own language. “Nightmask,” replies Captain Universe. Tony looks around and asks if she can understand him. “Do it again.” She asks what he means. Tony asks her to say it again. “Nightmask,” she replies again in builder machine code. Tony says she understands him. She knows his name. Blackveil. Nightmask says his name in his own language. “Blackveil,” says Tony yet again. Captain Universe informs him that she knows his name but clearly his machines do not. She changes the computer images to read his real name, Nightmask.
“The White Event,” says Nightmask. “The system is broken. It’s coming.” Captain Universe tells them to hear it with their own ears and she allows Nightmask to speak in English. He repeats what he just said but this time, Tony, Shang Chi and Spider-Man can now understand him. “It’s here. The White Event. The White Event,” he says. They look out of their windows and see the sky filled with a bright white light. “The White Event.”


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[Assistant]
The Last White Event
the Superflow, universe 7109:Blue tendrils sweep through space at high speed towards the Superflow - a large illuminated structure floating in space. On board the Nexus of all Superflows, two people monitor what is happening. As the tendrils destroy superflow 7109, the curator informs his boss, the caretaker, that it has gone offline. The same things happens to other superflows in several other universes. He adds that nearly thirty thousand have gone offline in the last hour. The caretaker asks the curator to extrapolate. He replies that if the rate of acceleration remains constant, they will lose the entire communication / ascension fleet in the next half-triad. Outside of the web, he adds, it is impossible to determine whether or not the superstructure will maintain integrity. More superflows drop offline.
The caretaker states that a collapse of the superflow is almost unthinkable. They need a closer look. The curator asks, “Should I also alert the…” The caretaker says no. Not until they know more. He asks him to take them in. The Nexus drops into dreamspace and the boss sees the tendrils all around. He asks if what he is seeing is real. The curator mentions more superflows dropping offline and replies yes. The structure is collapsing. The caretaker remarks that their masters spent a million years constructing this system and it has existed for a million beyond that. Who could have imagined it would end?
The curator explains that the central web is fractured. They are adrift and cannot escape. “Caretaker?” he asks, looking for direction. The caretaker asks how many more communication stations remain. “192, 151, now 127,” he replies. The caretaker asks him to salvage what he can, auto-engage the systems-command for all stations to fire. He looks up at the encroaching tendrils and says he has failed the builders. “Forgive me,” he sighs as the Nexus is destroyed in a massive explosion. As it explodes, many superflows go the same way, continuing the inexorable devastation of the whole system. For the time being, the superflow of universe 616 is still intact.
Avengers Tower, now:Nightmask is emanating white/pink energy. His eyes glow as he says, “The White Event.” Tony Stark and the Avengers have little idea what is going on so Tony asks Captain Universe to elaborate. She turns to him and repeats what Nightmask just said. “The White Event.” For a couple of seconds, Earth is bathed in bright white light. As quickly as it appeared, it vanishes. Spider-Man asks what just happened. Nightmask simply repeats the words again, only this time he states that it’s the last White Event.
Nightmask then raises his arms and begins to manipulate the machinery that Tony was using to monitor him. He asks Nightmask to stop it, but he continues pulling things towards him and replies that he has many talking machines. Shang Chi asks Tony to wait. He believes Nightmask knows what he’s doing. Captain Universe agrees. She says he was made to be one thing and become something else. She asks Nightmask to tell them. He informs them that they have many talking machines. He can hear them. This is helpful as he can mold them into what is needed. Spidey puts his hand up and asks if it’s possible that they’re extending too much goodwill to the overly ambiguous half-naked super-being. Captain Universe simply replies no. Tony is desperate to know what Nightmask is doing. Maybe they could help? Nightmask replies that he has to find the others.
five hours ago:A young couple are sitting on a park bench. The blonde girl asks when they are going to tell them. Her matching blond partner has his arm around her and says he already has. “What?” she asks, surprised. He asks if she remembers the recruiter he went to meet. Well, he actually went to see her parents. When he asked them if he could marry her, her father got a little misty. It was kind of perfect, he adds. It was perfect. This is perfect. They are supposed to be together.
Avengers Tower:Nightmask explains that a White Event occurs when a world is on the verge of ascending on a universal scale. A White Event creates / alters heralds to shepherd this ascension and a Nightmask always acts as forerunner of the change. “I am a Nightmask,” he adds. “There should be others.” Spidey asks what that means. He is very confused. Captain Universe says that this was not a normal White Event. Nightmask tells them that the machine is broken. The universe is broken.
four hours ago:A couple of guys walk along the school corridor, chatting about how the larger of the two knocked another guy’s ass out for talking to a girl the wrong way. His friend wishes he could have been there. He knocks into someone who drops their books and says he’s sorry before telling his friend that violence is the last resort, but he enjoyed it, right? “Okay,” he admits. “Maybe a little.”
three hours ago:A tall, slim, dark-haired guy is at a refectory counter and chatting on the phone. He is engrossed in conversation and gives no thought to anyone around him.
Avengers Tower, now:Spidey wonders what Nightmask is doing. He explains that the machines like to talk to each other. They want to help him find what he is looking for. He tells him there was supposed to be a Justice, a Cipher, a Starbrand and sometimes there is a Spitfire. They should be here. He brings up a map using the machines he has recalibrated and Captain Universe points to a mark on that map. She says they must go there. Tony looks at it and reckons that it’s unrecognizable from their vantage point, but it’s definitely suburban. He taps away at a computer and overlays archived maps on top of it. It doesn’t take him long to figure out where it is. “Sound the alarm. Assemble the team. It was a college.”
two hours ago:A teacher is giving a lesson and he asks his students if anyone cares to explain the significance of the theory he has laid out on the board. One pupil stands up and explains that it’s all about controlling the transfer. He says that the conduit is everything. They have plenty of systems capable of providing an almost unimaginable source of electric current, but this would enable an almost lossless rate of conversion. He asks people to imagine what kind of good you could do with that much power.
now:The Quinjet rockets over New York City flanked by Thor and Hyperion. Inside, Tony explains that both the shape of the impact site as well as the herald it’s supposed to produce is a Starbrand. Captain America asks what it’s supposed to do beside blow up schools. Tony reckons it’s some kind of planetary defense mechanism - a person. He believes it’s some normal somebody with the power to defend an entire planet. His armor wraps itself around him as he adds that it’s a scary thought but they should wait until they hear the bad news. “Which is?” replies Captain America. Nightmask answers for him. He explains that this was not a normal White Event. Captain Universe adds that the machine is broken. Not understanding what’s occurring, Eden says he can’t believe that he’s the only one who finds this unbelievably irritating. Tony, now in full costume, informs them that apparently there is supposed to be a system in place for selecting a Starbrand and it’s possible because something went wrong, that those protocols weren’t followed.
The Avengers descend upon their target location with Hyperion landing first. Iron Man determines that there are no other life signs within a hundred meter radius but then he gets a hit. Captain America points to where a Starbrand is emerging in a nearby razed field. In the center, a human form begins to stand up. They don’t know it, but it’s the guy who was walking past the couple in love, the guy who had his books knocked from his hands in the school corridor, the guy serving chicken sandwiches and the guy in class watching as another student spoke.
Tony explains that it turns out that there is a very good reason for these systems existing and why there were only certain types of people that were ever given the Starbrand. It’s a planetary defense system. To properly defend a thing, it requires an amount of energy equalling what’s needed to destroy it. Do they understand? Defending a planet requires having the ability to break one. Now, he adds, imagine that kind of power in the hands of someone who has spent his entire life being ignored!


[User]
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[Assistant]
Starbranded
The Avengers have found a naked young man going through a dramatic change. The guy looks at his hand which glows and sees a strange symbol at its center. Iron Man uses his armor to do a remote sweep of the area as Cap approaches the guy and extends his hand. He assures him that it’s okay and they are here to help. He asks if he is hurt. The guy is understandably freaking out a little and says that he’s Captain America. Why is he talking to Captain America? What’s happening? Carol tries to bring a little levity to the situation, informing him that he’s sitting in a smoking crater, naked. They’ve all gathered here to bring him pants. She receives a radio signal and informs everyone that the Quinjet is picking up lots of activity. The military is on its way and things are ready to escalate.
Cap kneels down and asks him his name. He replies that it’s Kevin. Kevin Connor. Iron Man immediately does a search for the name on his armor’s computer. It brings up Kevin Kale Connor’s details and Tony realizes that he’s clean. He has good grades, no disciplinary actions, no legal trouble of any kind and nothing’s been scrubbed from the record. As far as he can tell, the only thing he can find about Kevin is that he’s overdue a tetanus booster shot. Cap tells Kevin that they’re going to get him away from there. They need to have some people look at him and run some tests. They need to find out what happened here today. “How’s that sound?” he asks. Kevin, still confused, looks around and sees skeletons scattered across the ground. “Dead…” he exclaims. “Dead.”
He begins to freak out and asks what happened. Cap assures him that they’re going to figure that out, but they need to get him away quickly. “What happened here?” he asks again. Captain Universe informs him that he happened. Her children made systems and he is a flawed product of those systems. She explains that he was designed to be a weapon. That weapon became active and 3,203 people died. A tear works its way down Kevin’s cheek as he protests his innocence. Captain Universe calmly informs him that his metabolism has increased and he needs to eat. Energy sparks around Kevin and Cap once again tries to calm him down but Kevin is terrified. Cap asks everyone to get back. Iron Man says they have a pretty good idea of the blast radius so they should pull back beyond that point and manage this from there.
Hulk has other ideas. He shoves Iron Man out of the way and storms towards Kevin. Cap asks him to stop but Hulk simply swipes him from his path. He roars as he closes in on Kevin who puts his arms up fearing the worst. Instinctively he responds and Hulk suddenly finds himself in Earth orbit. Kevin looks at his glowing hand and gasps. Cap asks Captain Marvel to go retrieve their Hulk. There’s a good chance they’re going to need him. He then asks Iron Man to break radio silence and tell the military to stay back. They can’t be worried about them whilst trying to subdue the target. Kevin asks what he means by ‘subdue.’ Hulk attacked him and he doesn’t even know what happened. “Why would…” Hyperion hovers above Kevin and tells him that it’s because actions have consequences and they are all judged by what they have done. He asks him to lower his hand and lie on the ground.
Energy emanates again from Kevin as he asks, “What if I don’t want to?” A response comes in the form of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, which slams into Kevin’s torso and sends him smashing into the ground. The hammer returns to the Thunder God who tells him that what he wants is a concern for his mother or his weak-kneed father. He asks if he is capable of doing as he is told or does he crave further instruction? Kevin gets up and says he barely felt that. He smiles and adds that he barely felt that at all. Nightmask tells Captain Universe that he wants to become what he is. Starbrand. Captain Universe replies that there is something else at work here. As Captain Marvel retrieves Hulk from space, the Avengers prepare to take down Kevin who blasts Hyperion. Captain Marvel grabs Hulk and they silently agree to go with a fastball special. She fires Hulk Earthwards.
Down below, Kevin doesn’t entirely trust the Avengers and tells them that he doesn’t know what’s happening to him, but…Before he can finish his sentence, Kevin hears a ‘rrrrr’ sounds above him and looks up to see Hulk rocketing towards him. Before he can think, Hulk collides with him causing a blast zone dozens of meters wide. Surrounded by flying dirt and dust, Nightmask tells Captain Universe that he sees now that the system is more than broken. It is conflicted. “Yes, and now…” she replies, “You’re going to make things worse.”
Hulk grabs hold of Kevin as the others swarm in. However, Nightmask orders them all to stop. Thor exclaims to Captain America that he would stab out his father’s only eye before failing to show this fool Mjolnir’s yield. Cap asks if he can hold on a second and then asks Nightmask if he can help. Does he know how to stop this? Nightmask places his hand on Kevin’s cheek and says he can. Kevin looks into his eyes and tells him he doesn’t know what’s happening to him. Nightmask informs him that a white event happened. He understands it and can show it to him. He turns to Captain Universe who advises him to do it, but it will end with him in a box, right where he belongs. Nightmask disappears with Kevin leaving Captain Universe to rejoin her team. “… so, that went well,” she says.
Nightmask and Kevin reappear elsewhere. Kevin asks what just happened. Nightmask explains that the system is broken and this has resulted in a compromised transition of the Starbrand avatar. So, he moved them here to ease his transition as he is now the Starbrand. Kevin has no idea what he is talking about. Nightmask asks him to look at his hand. The symbol is a Starbrand. It’s a weapon designed to protect a people as they progress through a period of change, becoming a more advanced society. It’s a defense system on a planetary scale. It is what he has become. “You are a Starbrand.”
A costume materializes over Kevin’s naked body; a red jumpsuit with a Starbrand in the middle of his chest. Kevin tells him he said it was broken. Does that mean there is something wrong with him? Nightmask tells him it does, but it’s something far beyond him being an imperfect vessel. It’s more than either of them. It’s the system, all of it. Everything. He asks him to turn around. Kevin turns to see a large craft adrift in the water. He explains that it is the superflow of the universe. It is a dying network created by the builders and it is broken. The large machine is a useless husk of a communication station; a system of the builders - the delivery mechanism for producing avatars such as they. He adds that there would have been others like them but this was a fractured, failed event and they did not manifest. They are most likely alone.
Kevin asks if he means that things are the same as they’ve always been, only now he can blow up a planet? Nightmask informs him that nothing is the same. Kevin isn’t sure how he feels about all this. Can they just hang out there? He just doesn’t want to go back there… to what he did. Nightmask tells him that they must move forward. They have to do what they have been engineered to do. But, there is a problem with their world. The builders had other, older systems that came before their system. These systems were not meant to be used in tandem. There is a conflict and they need to fix it. Kevin asks what his name is. “Adam,” he replies. He thanks Adam for saving him back there. He owes him one. He asks what they do now. Adam asks him to follow him. They can use this space to travel from one place to another. Kevin asks where they are going. “Home,” replies Adam.
Avengers Tower, later:The Quinjet returns to the tower. A hangar bay opens up about thirty levels up. As they head inside, Tamara says she doesn’t remember anything about what they’ve just done. She remembers lights and a crash but then it’s a little confusing. Carol assures her that it’s fine. Everything’s fine. As Carol joins Steve Rogers for the stroll back inside, she explains that she talked to Tamara the entire way back. She’s got no recollection of what’s happened while she was Captain Universe. Steve believes that at some point they’re going to have to bring in someone to help with her. But, right now they’re going to need more than the strike team when they head out. Carol tells him she’s already sent the signal. The world is awake.
Mechanical arms emerge from the floor and assist Iron Man with the removal of his armor. Cap asks if he can get back to his lab and see if he can make sense of the machine that Nightmask built. Maybe he can use it to find out where they disappeared to. Tony replies that it shouldn’t be a problem. When they were in his lab he tagged him with a universal tracker. He should be able to pinpoint his location if they get a ping and fortunately, as long as he’s close to his own local universe they should get one. Banner asks if he’s serious. That doesn’t sound like something Tony would cook up. Tony admits that it’s from one of Reed Richards’ moments of inspiration. Almost immediately after logging on, Tony gets a ping, but it’s not good news. Cap asks what’s wrong. Tony informs him that Kevin and Adam are on Mars.
Mars:Kevin looks around and notes that the sky is red. He realizes that they’re not on Earth. Adam informs him that he is now on Mars. He was born here and perfected. He was meant to be a better man than all humans but then something happened. “The white event?” asks Kevin. Adam tells him that he was repurposed from an older system to a new one. Now, those systems are in conflict which puts them in conflict with the one who made him… his father, Ex Nihilo. They make their way into a clearing where they find Ex Nihilo and Abyss sitting on makeshift thrones. “Look Abyss, look,” says Ex Nihilo. “Ah children,” he smiles. “They grow up so fast.”


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

[Assistant]
Validator
Now:‘Can we transport him back to the Carrier?’ a male asks as he and Director Maria Hill stand before a blond man in a similar uniform with red and yellow coloring, whose motionless body lies on the grass. A gun is at his side, blood splattered around the side of his head. ‘I’m worried about degradation’ Maria replies beneath an oddly orange sky, before telling her comrade that he should access it now if he can. ‘Okay…’ the male SHIELD agent replies as he attaches a device to the fallen officer’s head. Hill frowns, ‘Why did you do it, Agent Michaud? What did you see in there?’ she asks.
8 Hours Ago:An Avengers Quinjet flies towards the SHIELD Helicarrier. A similar Helicarrier, with red and white coloring, and a Mapleleaf on it floats in the sky nearby. The Quinjet lands, and from it emerge several Avengers - Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America, Wolverine a.k.a. Logan, Bruce Banner, Sam Wilson a.k.a. the Falcon, the female Smasher and Manifold. Maria Hill is on hand to greet the Avengers and apologizes to them for the urgency, explaining that it couldn’t avoided and that her hands are tied. Hill reminds Captain America that the Avengers were part of the containment team that dealt with the fallout of the Garden’s attack on Earth. ‘So you know that Kobe, Chhatarpur, Split and the Fallen Heights all were, and remain secured. Quarantined’. Hill continues, pointing out that the other sites in Perth and Regina were handled by those countries’ domestic agencies, and all previous intelligence had pointed to them being under control - handled.
‘That was until now’ Hill declares as she stands before a handsome blond man and a man with a thin moustache, both wearing similar uniforms to hers but in a red and yellow color. The Avengers have followed Hill into a communications room, and Captain America asks her what has happened. The man with the thin moustache clears his throat, ‘Ahem. Before we go any further, I want to stress that everything you are about to see remains classified by Department H’. He shakes a finger around as states that Department H is coordinating with SHIELD, but that everything they are about to see remains classified by Department H. ‘This is no way implies that we are yielding sovereignty and, in fact, reserve the right to abort this mission at any time’ he explains, adding that he wants to make sure they are al clear on that. ‘Are we clear on that?’ he asks.
‘Liaison Porter… it is Porter, isn’t it?’ Captain America asks. ‘Does it matter?’ the Falcon mutters quietly. ‘Liaison Porter… you called us’ Captain America reminds the haughty man. The handsome blond man confirms that they did, and thanks Captain America for coming, before instructing someone to show the Avengers the video.
On screen, an image of the event site, Regina, including the latitude and longitude coordinates, appears on screen, with the note “Department H mission logs: 044399-978, and the primary missions parameters being to secure the event site. The Department H Helicarrier appears over the event site, which has changed, and huge spindly structures surround it. Inside the Helicarrier, the tasking agents are getting themselves ready. Wendigo and Boxx remain silent, while Kingdom adjusts his weapons, and Validator checks her watch, before giving a thumbs up sign. The expected threat level is black, and they are given full authorization, lethal force is sanctioned.
The mission clock begins, as Validator and Kingdom fly out a hatch, while Boxx and Wendigo jump after them. Spherical cameras follow them around, recording their actions. They survey the immense transformations - buildings are decimated, while strange alien fauna grows. There are heat signatures and biometrics all over the place, but not recognizable life signs. The pre-event population of Regina was 203,975. Twnety-three minutes into the assignment, Validator looks up to the greenish sky and sees strange winged creatures flying around. The super structure surrounds the city, and there is motion everywhere. Bioluminescent organisms are abundant. At forty-three minutes into the assignment, the Boxx unit has determined the numerous pods where chrysalis chambers, and they believe they have discovered what happened to the civilian population of the city.
At one and a half hours into the mission, the Boxx unit is lost, caught up in the strange alien fauna, so the rest of the team presses on. Two hours and seventeen minutes into the mission, the Wendigo is infected after attempting secondary contact with the organisms. He is strung up by his limbs, while a huge hole grows in his chest. The mission is declared a failure, but Kingdom and Validator decide to make one more attempt to capture a specimen, before retreating. However, a few minutes later, the dome surrounding the city is closed, and the two heroes are trapped inside. Two hours later, duplicates of Kingdom, with black costumes instead of white, lie scattered about the event site, motionless. The true Kingdom, in the white and gold costume, releases green energy beams from his eyes, while Validator fights alongside him, blue streams of energy bursting forth from her hands. There has been an environmental change, something is happening in the center of the city - the organisms are becoming more hostile.
Kingdom and Validator are being hunted. A few minutes later, Kingdom reels backwards, struck down by the alien organisms. Validator fights on, firing more energy around. She then grabs one of the spherical cameras that have been recording the mission, ‘Listen to me! This place…you have to destroy it!’ she calls out urgently. Wide-eyed, she says clearly and loudly into the recording device ‘Whatever you do…do not come in here! Stay away! Stay out! This place is death!’ And then, she is engulfed in a red glow, as all communication with Omega Flight is lost, and the transmission ends.
‘That was one month ago’ Agent Michaud reports as he turns back to the Avengers. ‘And you waited this long to call?’ the Falcon asks, surprised. ‘We spent the time trying every possible way we could to get in there, Falcon’ Michaud responds. Captain America suggests to him that he defines “every possible way”. Agent Michaud reports that they tried cutting through the barrier with every device known to man, then they moved on to more exotic solutions - short range translocators, met human field-casters, even magic. ‘We even tried a low-yield fission device’ he adds. Bruce Banner adjusts his glasses and declares ‘I’m sorry, Agent, but that can’t be true. If you would have used a bomb, it would have shown up on earlier warning systems across the planet’. He adds that Canada doesn’t have any nuclear weapons.
Standing back from the others, arms folded, Wolverine - a former operative of Department H himself - announces ‘No, Banner… they don’t. But Agent Michaud here has resources his government doesn’t know about. See, Robert’s first generation Department H Special Ops. Old school’ he explains. Robert Michaud turns to Wolverine, ‘Hello, Logan’ he remarks. Banner points out there would still have been a signature, or radiation, or any other - but Wolverine ignores him, and walks towards Michaud, ‘You dug a hole, didn’t you, Agent Michaud? Tried to blast your way into the dome from underneath’ Wolverine deduces. ‘Which would have just shown up as abnormal seismic activity… right. An anomaly. Okay… Canadians with nukes. Who would have ever imagined that?’ Banner mutters.
‘I did’ Agent Michaud replies, and reports that it didn’t work, that the dome wall extends all the way down, making a perfect sphere - and there wasn’t the slightest crack. ‘So that brings us to why you’re here…. We need…I need your help. I need to get into that dome. Can you do that?’ Michaud asks the Avengers. ‘Well… the man asked you a question, Eden…’ Captain America remarks to Manifold, who replies that he can get them in there. ‘There you have it, Agent Michaud. All we need now is clearance’ Cap announces. Agent Michaud tells the Avengers that they have got one condition - that he is going with them.
One hour later: ‘Hangar’s clear. You’re good to go, Cap’ Maria hill calls out from an observation booth. Cap, Wolverine, Banner, the Falcon, Smasher, Manifold and Michaud are inside the hangar, and a teleport signal surrounds them as Cap instructs Manifold to take them in. An instant later, the teleport signal appears in the even site zone in Regina. They start to make their way through the strange landscape, as Agent Michaud announces that this isn’t right. ‘Are you sure that we -’ he begins to ask, but Manifold tells him that this is where the plaza was on the map, that they are exactly where he needed to be. ‘This should be right outside the city. It -’ Michaud begins, but looking through some more trees, Smasher calls out to the others, ‘Look! Oh, wow’ she utters as the Avengers see the ruined city, merging with the alien landscape.
The Falcon tells Cap that he is going to get airborne, get some idea of which direction they should go, but Banner tells him that there is no need. ‘I think we should head that way’ he motions forward. ‘What makes you think that, Bruce?’ Cap asks. ‘Well, it’s the way he’s pointing’ Bruce replies, as a strange yellow-ish, short alien with a large head stands before them, pointing. The alien speaks in its native tongue. ‘What do you think?’ Cap asks the Falcon. ‘I want you to know that I’m gonna feel just awful flying away while the creepy yellow dudes lure you into their trap and eat you’ Sam replies. ‘Well, try and say nice things about me at my funeral’ Cap tells him, before ordering the team onwards. They follow the small alien at Cap’s order, while more aliens appear, and follow the Avengers and Agent Michaud, speaking in their native tongue and carrying spears.
More and more aliens appear, leading the Avengers towards a glowing light within some trees. They aliens continue to speak in their native tongue, before coming to standstill at a crater, where the light glows from. The aliens surround the crater and wave their spears about. Manifold announces that he thinks something is moving in there. ‘Yeah, look!’ Smasher calls out. ‘My God…’ Agent Michaud utters. The aliens bounce up and down, continuing to call out in their native tongue, and wave their spears about. ‘It’s VALIDATOR’ Agent Michaud exclaims as the heroine slowly rises from the light in the crater. Her eyes are hollow. Her face hidden. She raises a hand, and utters in the dialect of the Builder Machine Code: ‘Hello Father’. There is darkness, then Validator appears at Agent Michaud’s side, and utters something into his ear.
Darkness again, and again, and when there is light, Cap, Wolverine, Agent Michaud, Banner, Falcon, Smasher and Manifold find themselves surrounded by sand and rocks. ‘Did you see?’ Agent Michaud asks the Avengers as they look up to see the SHIELD and Department H Helicarriers above them, and a small jet descending to the ground. ‘Do you remember?’ Agent Michaud asks. ‘Yes’ Captain America tells him. ‘Are you going to tell anyone what you saw? Can anyone make you?’ Agent Michaud enquires. ‘I don’t have those kind of problems…how about you?’ Cap responds. Maria Hill emerges from the jet, while Michaud reveals to Cap that he has a series six recording implant - no audio, video only, but Department H is going to review it - then they are going to ask questions. ‘There they are, Director Hill!’ an agent calls out as they approach the Avengers and Michaud.
‘Set a perimeter?’ a Department H officer asks. ‘Better safe than sorry’ Gill tells him. ‘Full containment, lieutenant’ the Department H officer says to another. ‘Yes, Sir’ comes the reply. ‘Robert…’ Logan calls out to Agent Michaud. ‘Yeah?’ Michaud replies. ‘What did she say?’ Logan asks. ‘Don’t worry about it’ Michaud tells him, before grabbing a gun from the holster on his thigh, and raising it to his head - then firing. Michaud’s body falls to the ground, slumped up against a rock. The Avengers rush towards him, strange symbols can be seen in the sand, Michaud’s body at the center of them.
Now:The SHIELD and Department H Helicarriers hover alongside each other. Maria Hill and Liaison Porter sit opposite each other. ‘As agreed upon What you’ve just seen concludes all recorded mission data - from the beginning of the operation until Agent Michaud took his life’ Porter tells Hill. ‘Exactly forty-nine minutes. That’s what we found on his chip’ Porter adds, asking Hill what she got from debriefing the Avengers. ‘Nothing. They all said they couldn’t remember much of what happened’ Hill replies, adding that they jumped into what should have been a city, found a forest, and then it was gone - that’s it. Porter asks Hill if she believes them, to which Hill replies that she doesn’t, that she thinks they were holding something back. ‘But they’ve left, and I’m not much for chasing air’ she points out. ‘You find this acceptable, Director Hill?’ Porter enquires. ‘Which part? The leaving or the not telling?’ Hill asks.
‘Them leaving’ Porter remarks. ‘Well… Hulk’ Hill admits. ‘And the holding back of information?’ Porter asks. Maria points out that the Avengers don’t completely trust SHIELD, and they make a habit of giving them a good reason not to. ‘We lie to them, so they withhold from us. It’s baked into the relationship’ she tells Porter, adding that since he is the manifestation’ of good old fashioned honesty, he should tell her what he is not telling her. ‘Excuse me?’ Porter declares. ‘You were fishing. Now give, Agent Porter’ Maria replies. Porter pauses, before calling out ‘Load the additional footage’. He explains to Maria that one of their techs had the bright idea of looking up all series six records on file for Agent Michaud, including the data check performed before the mission began, and they compared that data set with what they pulled from his corpse - it should have yielded an increase of around forty-nine minutes.
‘We found more’ Porter admits. ‘How much more?’ Hill asks. ‘Three hundred and twenty-seven hours’ Porter reveals. ‘where was it? The extra footage? The extra time?’ Hill demands. ‘Everywhere. Some of it was thirty years ago. Some of it decades into the future’ Porter explains, adding that the effects appear to be variable, specific to each of them. Images appear on the monitor - Validator, surrounded by the energy, and the symbols. ‘What’s happening?’ Smasher asked as her body switched from a man, to her own, then to a horse-like alien. ‘Evolving…adapting’ Banner calls out as his form switches also, into a Hulk, then another, different Hulk. The Falcon squawks - literally, as one of his arms grows in length, and feathers sprout from it. Wolverine and Manifold look at themselves as their bodies don’t change, only their costumes. Similarly, Captain America’s - three times.
‘What we’re interested in is coming up now’ Porter informs Hill, as Michaud appears on the monitor. ‘Please! Stop!’ Michaud calls out, raising his gun. His body then dissolves into a skeleton. He is whole again, and moves closer to Validator who hovers before him. Porter tells Hill that series six chips gather data from both eyes, so they are able to map the environment and pull back and around from the Agent to et a better look at what is happening. ‘There! See? She pulls him close, drawing him in… and then…nothing. Nothing happened’ Porter tells Hill, as they look at the footage of Validator and Michaud. Maria tells Porter not to be ridiculous, and points out that it is obvious - she was telling him something.
Meantime, in the Quinjet, Manifold tells his teammates that he thinks they should talk about it. ‘That okay?’ he asks. ‘No. Not really’ Logan replies. ‘Seriously, I have questions. A ton of them’ Manifold declares. ‘Like, what just happened?’ Smasher asks. ‘Right. And why did we lie to the SHIELD guys? Are we not on the same team anymore?’ Manifold enquires. ‘And, the big one: why did that agent shoot himself?’ Smasher asks. ‘Yeah. That’ Manifold agrees. Logan turns back to the new heroes and tells them that Michaud did what he thought he had to do. ‘He did what someone does when keeping a secret is worth more than their life’. Smasher admits that she doesn’t understand, and asks why he would do that. ‘Because, whatever Validator became… it used to be his daughter’ Logan reveals. He adds that whatever her secret was, Robert Michaud decided that it was worth his life to protect it.
And, earlier, as Michaud was brought towards his daughter, ‘Father…something amazing has happened here - it’s happened to me. We’ve made something. And I’m supposed to protect it. It’s bigger than any of us imagined, father…’ Validator revealed to her father, before Agent Robert Michaud goes went wide-eyed, as Validator whispered ‘The system is now online…’.


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

[Assistant]
Star Bound
Mars, where Nightmask and Starbrand stand before a golden being whom Nightmask addresses as “Father” and explain that they need his help. Ex-Nihilo turns to the woman beside him, called Abyss, and remarks ‘They run away on a whim. Infatuated with the shiny new things… and then the moment something goes wrong, they come running back home’. He quietly asks Abyss not to let them know, but it is so predictable, he is disappointed. ‘Now, brother… don’t jump to conclusions. Oftentimes, things aren’t quite what they seem’ Abyss points out, before casting down some black energy, and remarking that is quite possibly the case here. The black energy swirls around Nightmask and Starbrand, while Ex-Nihilo smiles and tells Abyss that now that she brings it up, he can’t help but notice: ‘Son, is there something different about you?
Nightmask replies that it happened to the both of them, that they have changed, but something is wrong. ‘What do you mean? Biologically? Chemically? Structurally?’ Abyss asks, while instructing them to hold still, as she casts more energy around them. ‘What are you doing?’ Starbrand asks, confused. ‘Having a closer look’ Abyss explains. Wide-eyed, Starbrand exclaims ‘Uhhh, no. I don’t think so, lady. Now get away from me’. Abyss frowns and tells the young man to relax, as fighting only makes this more difficult. ‘I said…GET AWAY!’ Starbrand shouts as he concentrates hard, and casts energy back at Abyss - which cuts her in half at her stomach. ‘Urkkkgg’ she utters.
Wide-eyed, Starbrand announces that he is sorry. ‘Nasty creature…’ Abyss scowls, before uttering something in her native tongue. Nightmask says something back to her, then tells her that they do not know what is happening. ‘Start with me’ he suggests as he and Ex-Nihilo go over and put Abyss’s torso back on her lower body, as she reforms. ‘Hrmpt’ Abyss grumbles, before casting energy around Nightmask, calling him Adam she tells him that he is highly sensitive, so this might feel a bit uncomfortable for him. ‘Try not to move’ she suggests. Her energies tell Abyss that Nightmask is a genetically perfect human, modified, with a secondary builder system, with an incomplete download. ‘But the conflict…is not with you. It’s Earth!’ she announces, wide-eyed. She turns to Ex-Nihilo, ‘It was you’ she calls out. Ex-Nihilo casually glances back and smirks, ‘I was bored. So I did something new’ he remarks.
Ex-Nihilo recalls that in other worlds, they, the Gardeners, have always judged life, and if it was flawed, they terminated it, but if it had potential, they encouraged evolution - only this time, he changed the rules. ‘What have you done, brothers?’ Abyss asks, shocked. Ex-Nihilo raises a hand and admits that he tweaked the mix, that he played goddess. ‘The bombs I sent were not just to change the people, but the world itself. I’m attempting to make the Earth sentient’ he explains. ‘You did what?’ Starbrand gasps. Ex-Nihilo grins and reveals that each bomb carried a specific charge, a trait that all evolving species possess - self awareness, self-sustenance, self-repair, reproduction, communication, evolution and self-defense.
In Split, Croatia, several pod-like things with tentacles attached to them wash up on a beach. At the Fallen Heights in the Savage Land, a tribe rushes about. In Chhatarpu, India, large rock-like pods start to glow. At the same time, in Kobe, Japan, ninjas sit around a large glowing pod. And in Perth, Australia, an inner-city street is covered in spiky pods the size of shrubs, while in Regina, Canada, a large furry white beast, and a man and a woman in red and white costumes make their way through a strange landscape. On AIM Island, several scientists are attempting to analyze an ice-like pod they have in their lab.
Back on Mars: ‘Who knows what will happen when all the sites begin their change state… but I guarantee it will be different’ Ex-Nihilo announces. ‘Can you stop it?’ Nightmask asks. ‘You can’t stop life without ending it’ Ex-Nihilo explains. Abyss adds that even if they could do something, they are not permitted to go to Earth. ‘We have our garden, and that’s it’ she adds. Rubbing his head, Starbrand asks what they are supposed to do now. ‘Behave, and you and Adam can stay here as long as you like’ Abyss tells him, while Ex-Nihilo points out that they could go back and see what happens. ‘It might just be something to see’ he grins.
Meantime, at Avengers Tower, in New York City, Tony Stark, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Smasher and Manifold are gathered in a lab. Tony looks up at a monitor while his Iron Man armor is stored nearby. A shirtless Captain America a.k.a. Steve Rogers is putting his uniform on, while Captain Marvel a.k.a. Carol Danvers reports that tracking places Nightmask and Starbrand at the Garden Site of Mars. Carol adds that she has no idea if that means the Garden members might get involved. ‘Maybe they just went home?’ she suggests. ‘Maybe we just let them be?’ Carol asks, but Steve points out that they have got an obliterated college and a rogue dynamo responsible for it, so there is no letting this lie. Turning to Manifold, he instructs him to get ready to jump them to Mars. Tony turns to Steve and tells him that he might want to hold off on that, as the signal just disappeared from mars and popped up local - Earth’s atmosphere. ‘Where?’ Cap asks, frowning as he puts his helmet on. Tony tells him that it is the quarantined zone in Croatia.
At that moment, the sun shines down over Croatia as Starbrand and Nightmask walk across the beach, littered with the strange alien pods. Nightmask remarks that he has never been to the beach before, and that this is nice. It’s usually better’ Starbrand replies. Nightmask continues to look around at his surroundings, before Starbrand remarks that he has been meaning to ask - ‘If they grew you in a sack, how old does that mean you are?’ Nightmask casually replies that 467 days have passed since he was born. ‘I don’t even know what to say about that’ Starbrand replies. He is about to ask another question, when there is a strange noise, and Nightmask asks his companion if he hears it. ‘Like a buzzing’ Starbrand reports. ‘But almost words…’ Nightmask adds. Starbrand points at one of the pods that appears to be moving, when suddenly, it pops open. ‘It’s happening o the others as well’ Nightmask announces.
Indeed, more and more of the pods start to pop open, and a large pink slug-like alien emerges from them all. ‘Fascinating’ Nightmask remarks, as the aliens speak to each other in their native tongue, which translates to “join”. ‘What are they doing? It’s worm sex, isn’t it?’ Starbrand asks as he hovers in the air, above the beach as the alien slugs start to converge in one location. Nightmask replies that this is consciousness, individually, each one is a simple organism that can signal a single order, seemingly random commands. He explains that together, they will form a complex structure, a sentient overmind, creating a sentient world. ‘My father is a madman, but he was right…this truly is something to behold’ Nightmask announces as he looks at the aliens, their forms starting to form what looks like a massive brain. Looking upwards to the sky, Starbrand tells his companion that it looks like they won’t be the only ones to see it.
A portal opens, and an Avengers Quinjet emerges from it. Several Avengers emerge from it - Thor, Iron Man, Smasher and Hyperion. ‘There, below us’ Thor calls out as he sees the strange happenings on the beach. ‘What is that?’ the female Smasher gasps as the slug-alien-brain gets even larger. ‘Alive’ the brain calls out. The brain continues to speak, and hovering up high alongside it, Nightmask replies ‘Yes. I can hear you. Your code…your are a system’. Tentacles emerge from the brain, which wrap around Nightmask and try to pull him in. ‘No! I’ve got you! I won’t let….let go!’ Starbrand calls out as he tries to pull his companion away. But the tentacles that emerge from the brain are strong. ‘LET GO!’ Starbrand screams. ‘LET GO!’ he screams again, and suddenly, his power radiates around them, like an explosion, erupting outwards and upwards. Iron Man shields himself from the energy, before Nightmask and Starbrand fall to the beach.
‘No. No. No. No. What did I do?’ Starbrand calls out. ‘That was the living consciousness of the planet… you… we… just killed the Earth, Starbrand. We broke the world. We will be judged’ Nightmask announces. As Starbrand’s energy starts to dissolve, the Avengers have all gathered on the beach. Captain America, Hawkeye, the original Spider-Woman, the Falcon, the Hulk, Superior Spider-Man, Thor, Shang-Chi, Cannonball and Sunspot, Hyperion, Captain Marvel, Smasher, the Black Widow, Captain Universe, Wolverine and Iron Man surround them. ‘You’re out of control, Kevin. This has to stop’ Captain America announces. ‘It has to end now’. Starbrand collapses in the water lapping at the ruined shore, and exclaims ‘I didn’t mean to… I don’t know what… it was hurting Adam, and I just lashed out and… I didn’t mean to’. Nightmask declares that this is all too new, that Starbrand wasn’t prepared for this. ‘But he can learn. He can grow. All he needs is time’.
‘Well, we’re fresh out of that…and you’re in this neck deep as well, Nightmask’ Captain America warns him. ‘Mother. Is there nothing you can do?’ Nightmask asks, turning to Captain Universe, who replies ‘I told you to do what you thought you must - and I told you if you did how this would end…with you in a box’ the woman replies. ‘That’s not…NO’ Starbrand declares, looking at Nightmask, who replies ‘No, indeed’ and announces that they are leaving here. ‘Don’t try to stop us - don’t, or you’ll regret it’ he warns the Avengers. Raising his shield, Captain America declares that he already does, and tells Adam that he is sorry it has to be this way. ‘Avengers - take them down!’ Captain America orders.
The Avengers rush forward, while Starbrand and Nightmask cast their energies towards Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. It was the spark that started the fire - a legend that grew in the telling. Thor’s hammer slams into Starbrand. It happened after the light. Before the war. Before the fall. Nightmask releases some energy which sends the Hulk and Iron Man backwards. Starbrand releases more energy, keeping the Avengers at bay. They were the high days of the great idea - an Avengers world. A time of life, before a season of death. Iron Man casts forth some enrgy at Starbrand, who keeps Smasher at bay, and knocks Sunspot and Cannonball into Captain America. Manifold attacks Nightmask next, while the Hulk and Captain Marvel lunge for Starbrand. They were titans and gods and mortals doing immortal acts. They had been summoned, and they did not pause to answer. They were perfect…they were heroes. Energy beams pour from Hyperion’s eyes.
And then, they were broken. More Avengers fall as Starbrand forces them away from him. Not called… but made. The Avengers are relentless, and they gather themselves, moving towards Starbrand once more. Errors in the system, anomalies. Planet killers and world breakers. Final options. Last resorts. Things it was not time for…yet. The Avengers pile onto Starbrand, forcing him down, his powers subside. ‘Stop’ Starbrand utters, as the Avengers back away from him. ‘Please stop. I didn’t mean to do this…any of it’ he claims. ‘Most people don’t son. But they still have to pay for their mistakes’ Captain America points out. Starbrand replies that he was holding back. ‘We know. You think that doesn’t terrify us?’ Iron Man asks. ‘I never asked for this power. I don’t want it’ Starbrand declares. ‘We know, Kevin… maybe that fact gives us hope’ Iron Man replies.
‘We’re going to try to help you - we will help you, because that’s what we do’ Iron Man assures Starbrand. But he tells him that for now, they are out of options, and that he is too dangerous to run free. ‘Because we have the world to think about. And today, it’s safer with you not in it’ Iron Man explains. And, Starbrand and Nightmask soon find themselves contained in the facility known as the Dyson Sphere, floating in space.


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

[Assistant]
No Surrender, part 1: Lords and Leaders
Texas, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, a large truck is parked up at a gas station, where inside a repairs workshop, three men are playing cards around a folding table. 'Well. I got nothing' one of them remarks. 'I check, I guess...' the handsome man in the suit announces. 'There it is. Those sad, sad eyes. Like we're gonna fall for that again' a large man in a leather vest declares. 'Fool you once, huh? Fine, I'll raise you instead' the handsome man tells him. 'One vintage ferrari' he suggests, referring to the red ferarri that is suspended on some poles in the workshop. 'Hold on now, Hoss. You only jes' bought that car' the skinny man with the ponytail exclaims. 'Hell, we only jes' stole it -' he adds when a third, short man wearing a large hat enters and asks the other two men what they are doing. 'Playing cards with Mr Santos, boss -' the large man points out. 'You idiots! This isn't a client – it's a damn super hero! It's the Living Lightning!' the short man exclaims, raising his gun and pointing it at Miguel Santos.
'Just my luck. I go undercover – to get enough for the courts to convict these Vin Diesel wannabes – and I end up running into a fan. I should be flattered. Maybe I'll give him an autograph' Miguel thinks to himself as he lowers his shades and announces that his name is just “Lightning” these days. He quickly switches to a full-energy form and easily deflects the bullets that are shot at him, explaining that he was getting confused with the Living Laser. 'You know how it is, right?' he asks the criminals. 'Oh, I know who you are. Used to be on the Rangers, right? With the rest of the c-list!' the boss remarks, before asking 'What's the matter, hero? Not good enough for the real Avengers?' he laughs. Lightning narrows his eyes, 'No autographs, then' he snaps, before releasing a powerful electrical surge, which fries the criminals.
'Wow. He got you mad, huh?' a detective asks as the boss sits on the ground, cuffed, his hair standing on end, his clothes singed from the attack. 'Haw?' the boss utters. FBI agents stand nearby and Miguel thinks to himself that he shouldn't have let the boss get to him, and even though he isn't a full-on Avenger these days, he is still a super hero, still a role model. 'Maybe' Miguel replies, adjusting his suit jacket, and realizing that maybe that is why it still bothers him – because he was an Avenger, and that means something. 'So why didn't I do more with it?' Miguel asks himself, while the detective tells Miguel not to let it get to him, and points out that he helped catch these idiots. 'Not Doc Doom, sure, but not nothing...' Miguel turns to the detective and thinks that he is a good friend, before joking that he thinks Doc Doom is an Avenger now, before asking the detective if he wants to get dinner after this.
'Just dinner?' the detective asks, putting his hand on Miguel's shoulder. Miguel wonders if he is more than a friend, before asking if his poker face is bad. 'It's the...' the detective begins. '... worst...' he concludes as both men suddenly see something shocking: 'What...what is that...?' Miguel gasps, realizing that just when things were getting interesting – here comes the end of the world – just his luck!
Meanwhile, in New York City:'What the hell -?' Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon exclaims as he soars between high rises with his bird, Redwing, flying nearby, and several other birds hovering around, as a bright orange-yellow glow bursts across the city in spectacular display. Falcon tells himself not to panic, and that it is not a good look for the leader of the Avengers to be seen panic. 'Hey! Watch where you're – driving!' Falcon exclaims as a red car is tossed into the air. Hhe flies to the the side to avoid being struck by the car, before instructing Redwing to clear the area. Civilians look on in horror, some start to take photos on their phone. 'Go limp! I've got you!' Falcon tells the driver f the car as he pulls him clear before the car can crash back to the ground. Redwing swoops down to the civilian taking a photo, and frightens him so that he moves – just in time before the car crashes to the ground. Falcon tells the driver that he would give him a speech about eyes on the road, but that he gets a pass this time. Falcon then wonders what is going on.
Hank McCoy a.k.a. The Beast is at a computer console monitoring the new situation. 'Oh my stars and garters....' he gasps, while the Vision communicates with him, and announces that reports are coming in faster than they can keep up with, and communications networks across the country are failing. News reports indicate disasters that are starting to take place across the world – floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes. The Vision states that GPS and satellite imaging is offline, and there are high-pressure systems like the world has never seen before. Elsewhere in New York, Miles Morales the young Spider-Man clutches his head as his spider-sense goes haywire. A massive earthquake strikes the Eastern Seaboard, and a state of emergency is declared.
Dr. Strange's inner sanctum is tossed about, while in Jersey, Kamala Khan the young Ms Marvel watches as the sky erupts. The Vision reports that all eyes are on the sky, and wonders if this is a new alien invasion. He learns that commercial and private aircraft are being grounded worldwide, and that emergency services are overwhelmed with calls. As he flies across New York City, monitoring all incoming news about this strange eruption in the sky, the Vision contacts the Alpha Flight Space Station, requesting an urgent status report, he asks what they see from their vantage point.
But Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel stares out into an empty space – blackness and stars before her – but no Earth. Inside the AFSS, her crew see what she sees, and Sasquatch tells her that it is gone – no Earth, no moon. Puck then asks Captain Marvel what the plan is, and the shocked Captain Marvel instructs the crew to launch probes and implement long-range scanning. She tells Puck to get Brand to contact other spacefaring races. 'Something's stolen our planet – and I want to know what!'
The Vision discovers that his message failed to get through, unable to locate Alpha Flight Space Station. T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther is monitoring the situation from Wakanda, and images of the Beast and Vision appear on monitors. 'My God, if the satellites are gone, then Carol and Alpha Flight are -' the Beast begins. 'Unaccounted for' the Vision states. T'Challa points out that whether Carol and Alpha Flight are trapped outside the energy field or not, they have got to concentrate on what is happening on the ground, and the Vision agrees. T'Challa offers to reassure world leaders that the Avengers are addressing the situation as soon as possible. Examining a projection of the globe, the Beast reports that Roberto and the US Avengers are already in Europe, so he will check in with them. He then tells T'Challa that going by the energy readings, he doesn't think the Earth has been trapped – he thinks their planet has been moved!
The Vision informs the Beast and Black Panther that he is en route to his own team in New York City, before he loses the signal. 'Out! Hurry! Hurry!' the Falcon shouts at some civilians, warning them that the buildings aren't safe anymore, they need to find what other shelter they can. The Vision lands nearby, and communicates with Thor, he reports that communications networks are breaking down, he asks her if she is receiving, and whether Hercules is still with her.
Blocks away, Jane Foster a.k.a. Thor is in the midst of fleeing civilians and tells the Vision that she assumes Hercules is here, but she is too busy to check. 'Mjolnir can summon lightning... today, we will find out whether or not it can catch it!' Thor declares as lightning strikes Mjolnir. 'Gods, what now...?' Hercules wonders, carrying several civilians, when suddenly, a statue of Atlas holding up the Earth starts to come apart. 'Go! Stay in the open! Move away from the buildings!' Hercules calls out to the civilians. The globe drops from the statue of Atlas and begins to roll across the ground. The civilians panic, but Hercules tells them not to, and runs towards the globe, declaring that he has been through this before, and that anything Atlas can do – he can do better! Hercules then stops the massive globe from rolling away, and holds it overhead in a fine display of his extraordinary strength.
A few streets away, Edwin Jarvis and Nadia van Dyne a.k.a. Wasp are returning home from grocery shopping when the ground under them is torn open and throws them into the air. 'Jarvis!' Nadia calls out, while Jarvis tells her to stay close. Nadia then shrinks down into insect size and Jarvis tells her to help who she can, as restocking the Mansion's pantry is hardly a priority. 'Ahead of you!' Nadia calls back, as she flies over to some civilians, introducing herself to them she asks them not to tell her friend, the Avengers' butler, that she is as scared as them. 'In situations like these, I'm supposed to put on my game face – not my resting terror face! So shhhh! Thanks!' Nadia exclaims. At that moment, some rubble falls towards a young boy. Jarvis sees this, 'Oh, no...son, move!' he shouts as he runs over and pushes the boy to safety – and instead the rubble collapses on top of him. 'Is something in the sky? Did the planet move?' Jarvis, you've seen a lot. What do you -' Nadia begins, before seeing Jarvis' hand sticking out of the rubble. 'JARVIS!' she screams as she flies over to him.
Civilians are panicking in San Diego, too, but the Avengers' Unity Squad is on hand. Synapse a.k.a. Emily Guerrero is using her powers to try and keep them calm, but she tells Jericho Drumm a.k.a. Doctor Voodoo that there is just too many. Doctor Voodoo tells Synapse to just do what she can and warns her not to push herself too hard, as she is still recovering from her injuries. He then asks rogue what the status is on the tidal wave. 'It's big' Rogue replies as she hovers over the massive tidal wave that looms before the beach. Janet van Dyne a.k.a. the original Wasp, Johnny Storm the Human Torch and Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch fly alongside her. Jan asks Johnny if he can vaporize the water, and flying forward, Johnny reports that he can try, and as Rogue flies down to the wave and picks up a boat with some civilians on it, she tells Johnny to 'Let 'er rip!' The Human Torch then fires a surge of flame into the wave, thankfully, he manages to disperse the wave, but the strain on his powers sends him falling back through the air.
The Wasp flies down and grabs Johnny by his foot before he plummets into the water below, but struggles to hold onto him. 'Aw geez... these wings were not made for two!' the Wasp exclaims. Rogue tells the Unity Squad that they are doing nice work, but points out there is more where that came from. 'Let me see what I can do' Wanda suggests as she begins to cast a hex. 'Anyone got Namor on speed dial?' Rogue jokes.
In New Mexico, Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye and Red Wolf come across a small town that has been destroyed. 'My God, Red Wolf. It looks like a war zone...' Hawkeye begins. Red Wolf tells Clint that they hav to find survivors before any more buildings collapse. As they enter one of the badly damaged buildings, they hear a muffled cry. 'Hawkeye! Over here!' Red Wolf cries out as he moves through the rubble. Clint tells him to be careful, and Red Wolf replies 'Of course' before they come across a woman trapped under the floor. 'Please -' she utters. Red Wolf instructs her to remain calm, and assures her that they will rescue her. 'On three...' Clint suggests. Red Wolf then begins the count, and as he reaches “three” he pulls up the floorboards, and Clint frees the woman, lifting her up, he then sees some wires which are still charged with electricity. 'Watch out!' Hawkeye calls out as he fires an arrow at the wires, creating an explosion that knocks the three of them backwards.
Red Wolf asks Hawkeye what that was, and Clint explains that it was an EMP arrow, it shuts down electricity. 'And my flashlight as well' Red Wolf remarks. 'Yeah' Clint replies, before they help the woman out of the ruined building, and Clint tells Red Wolf that every time he thinks he is ready to give up his trick arrows, they make a surprising comeback. 'May we all be so lucky...' Red Wolf tells him.
Meanwhile, at Mount Vesuvius, 'Ah only just got back from outer space...' Sam Guthrie a.k.a. Cannonball calls out as he blasts around the top of the volcano which is starting to erupt. Roberto DaCosta a.k.a. Citizen V tells his friend that he will survive, and to keep an eye in the sky on that lava flow. He adds that before they lost the signal, the Beast said that he didn't know exactly where Earth had been relocated to. Roberto stands near his teammates as lava drops down around them all. 'Maybe it's the Negative Zone! Or the Microverse! Or even the Macroverse! That one's newer!' Doreen Green a.k.a. Squirrel Girl suggests. As Aikku Jokinen a.k.a. Enigma blasts some lava, General Robert L Maverick a.k.a. Red Hulk does the same with a weapon he is carrying. Sitting next to some scientific contraption, Dr. Toni Ho formerly Iron Patriot tells Squirrel Girl 'Neat' and suggests that they concentrate on the volcano that is about to flood Naples with deadly lava – at least for now. 'We can work out where we are once -' Toni begins, when suddenly, some lava drops towards her, and she doesn't see it. 'Toni! I know you want to be a hero without the big metal suit – but maybe you can be more hero still, even -if you are not a squishy pancake!' Enigma exclaims as she flies down and grabs her lover, pulling her into the air and to safety. 'Eep! Sorry, hon' Toni replies, as Enigma's faceplate retracts so that Toni can see how upset she is.
Enigma sets Toni back on the ground and looking at the strange contraption, Toni reports that the terrain is mapped and projectors have been calibrated. 'Here we go – one handy force-field plug!' Toni exclaims as a force-field appears around the exploding volcano. Proud of herself, Toni declares that Mount Vesuvius is capped – at least for now. Roberto tells his team that they did nice work, before remarking that he is worried about the rest of the world, as without satellites, it is a lot harder to know what is going on. 'Uh, Roberto? If there aren't any satellites – what's that?' Squirrel Girl asks as she points into the air where a flaming object is careening towards the ground. 'Some kind of shooting star, maybe?' Red Hulk suggests. Toni tells him that she isn't sure, as she doesn't think there is anything left out there to fall into the atmosphere. 'Plus, it's not so much falling as...' Roberto begins. 'Steering' Cannonball points out. 'So who's behind the wheel?' one of the others asks.
In Rome, the flaming mystery object finally comes to a stop – crashing into the Colosseum. There is then a loud hissing noise, as smoke billows out of the Colosseum.
In Washington DC, Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America stands among the remains of the Washington Monument as he communicates with the Black Panther, who reports that things are every bit as bad in Wakanda. He adds that they are trying to work out what happened, but with the global information network interrupted, it is difficult to maintain even his personal communication link. Cap replies that “cosmic” is not really his wheelhouse, and that whatever has happened to Earth, all he can do is try to contain the damage. 'Hang on while I deal with -' Cap begins as he throws his shield towards a falling column, shattering it, he prevents it from collapsing on two civilians. But as Cap's shield starts to return to him, both he and the shield suddenly turn to stone.
In Queens, New York, Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man has been turned to stone, too, and in Wakanda, the same has happened to the Black Panther. Champions members Nova, Hulk, Viv Vision and the time-displaced Cyclops were making their way through the Arizona desert when they too, had been turned to stone. In Central Park, New York, X-Men members Storm, Kitty Pryde, Old Man Logan, Colossus and Prestige turn to stone inside their Blackbird jet, while back at Mount Vesuvius, Enigma and Squirrel Girl suddenly turn to stone, too. 'What in the dad-blamed heck is -' Red Hulk begins. '- happening? Vision, we need you!' the Falcon calls out as he flies towards Vision back in New York, but he, too, has turned to stone. At the same time in San Diego, the Wasp turns to stone, but the Human Torch catches her. 'Wasp? Janet? What's happened to you? Weird, even your wings have stopped moving' the Torch remarks.
The remaining Avengers soon receive a message over their communicators, calling in all active and reserve Avengers with a priority one message. 'Wherever you are, if you're receiving this – you are hereby called to assemble! Falcon, the young Wasp, Thor, Hercules, Scarlet Witch, Human Torch, Rogue, Synapse, Doctor Voodoo, Citizen V, Cannonball, Red Hulk, Iron Patriot and Lightning all hear the call, although when Lightning's Avengers card started buzzing he barely recognized it, as it has been years since he was on the team. He figures that if they are calling him now, then they are calling in everybody – which means it's as bad as it can get, right?
Shortly, at Avengers Mansion, 'This is all of us? Everyone who isn't on pause?' Rogue asks as she stands before the assembled heroes. 'And some who are' Hercules points out as he carries the frozen Vision on his shoulders. 'Oh, no' the Scarlet Witch gasps as she sees her ex-husband. Simon Williams a.k.a. Wonder Man and the Beast frown, while Red Hulk and Cannonball stand near Roberto, who reports that Enigma and Squirrel Girl are safe, that AIM can monitor them and any other frozen heroes they find, too. 'Or villains. Apparently they're frozen as well' Toni remarks. Thor drops down from above, while Lightning shakes Falcon's hand and asks if it is just costumed types, no civilians being affected. 'Not so far... Lightning, right?' Falcon replies.
Human Torch, Doctor Voodoo and Synapse are standing together, when suddenly: ‘Wait, has anybody seen -' one of them begins. 'JARVIS!' Nadia shouts as she approaches the others – and Lightning thinks that this is worse – much worse.
'He was helping someone – there was an accident. I did not see it – something fell on him! He... he is badly hurt! At the hospital they say he might – might not -' Nadia begins, before covering her face with her hands. 'No' Wonder Man utters, while Rogue announces that they will do everything they can for him, but that right now, that means doing everything they can for the world – they cannot prioritize one life over seven billion. 'Jarvis would understand' Rogue adds. 'He... would understand?' After everything he's done – you'd let him die? He is not your priority?' Nadia asks, crying. She turns away from the Wasp and exclaims that she understands very well, before taking off. 'Wasp – wait -' Rogue calls out, but gets no response, so the Beast bounds after her, suggesting that with his medical training, he is sure Nadia will let him tag along, if she is headed back to the hospital.
Lightning realizes that he has spent years remembering the Avengers as the perfect team, he forgets that they are people, too – people who have been through a lot lately. 'Glad you haven't lost your sterling leadership skills, Rogue...' Pietro Maximoff a.k.a. Quicksilver snarks as he arrives on scene. Rogue tells him not to push her, to which he asks 'Or what? You'll fire me again? Why did you even include me on the alert anyway?' Lightning realizes that sometimes, people don't do so well without a little hope, and suddenly, a voice calls: 'She didn't. I did. Sorry I'm late, everyone'. The Avengers look up to a glow, and smile.
'Eyes of Krios – can it be?' Hercules asks. 'I – I don't believe it! After all these years!' Quicksilver exclaims, while Wanda declares 'I always knew it. When we really needed you... you'd be back'. 'Always' a woman with white shoulder-length hair replies. 'After all, you know what we say. “Once an Avenger...” as she hovers in front of the statue of the founding Avengers – Captain America! Thor! Iron Man! Hulk! Giant-Man! Wasp! And... Voyager?