Time to assemble
If you've been keeping score, you know LJ has one last "Christmas villain" to introduce to her games. And believe you me, she's been looking forward to unleashing him upon your world.
As much as trying to sell a house... and having to pack away most of our belongings... sucks, it's been an unexpected boon to playtime. LJ's had to concentrate on a smaller roster of characters per game, and has discovered how much fun it is to spotlight heroes outside her usual roster of favourites. This adventure's a good example of that - she'd decided on the central, thematic conflict then changed it because "that guy always gets the attention". The story, I feel, is all the better for it.
Which is not to say she was alone in conjuring this epic, oh no. Her cousin JC was a big help, I'm told, and I'm pleased to say I kicked in a few ideas here and there which made her smile. Seeing as this is the last "Avengers-only" game we had planned, it needed to be suitably amazing and explosive - as well as a fitting sequel to Life Force's debut.
I think we pulled it off nicely.
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LJ presents:
LIFE OR DEATH
PART TWO: DIVIDE AND CONQUER
Written by LJ, JC and SF
Directed by LJ
Novelisation by SF
By the 40th Century, the planet Earth had become a utopia free from war, disease and starvation. It was also an example, to the rest of the universe, of the evils of despotic rule. That’s because 50th Century Earth was completely controlled by a highly-organised, heavily-armed legion of soldiers utterly loyal to just one man - the ruthless tyrant known as Kang the Conqueror!
High above the planet’s surface, on the orbiting starship Damocles, Kang held court and was happy. Beneath him lay a world subject to his every whim and fancy, while to his left sat the most beautiful woman he had ever known. Princess Ravonna, Kang’s one true love, favoured him with a smile. Theirs was a time of utter peace and serenity, and all it had cost was the free will of an entire population.
Then, without warning, the horror began.
Instruments shorted out, wiring melted and consoles exploded as some unseen force overwhelmed the Damocles. Kang’s personal guard raced to the defence of their master… only to fade further out of existence with every step. Safe inside his time-travelling armour, Kang could only watch as his perfect life erased itself around him! Ravonna cried out for her beloved as she, too, vanished.
Kang the Conqueror… the man who had once held the world in his hands… floated alone in the void, the sole survivor of a reality that had never come to pass.
Fuelled by grief and rage, the villain switched on his time-travel equipment and went in search of the disturbance. He found it in the early part of the 21st Century, hundreds of kilometres above a place called Super Hero City. Kang watched as a series of events unfolded - circumstances that, from his perspective, should never have occurred - and scowled. He had arrived too late to set time back on its “proper course” but he knew what could be done to fix his problem.
All he needed was an army… and some allies.
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“I ask you for a piece of super-science that will eliminate the Avengers, the Super Hero Squad and every other stinking do-gooder in Hero Headquarters, and you two give me a blasted schnitzel-making machine?”
A blast of energy sent Red Skull and his chief scientist, Arnim Zola, hurtling through the gates of Villainville and into the wasteland beyond. They scrabbled in the dirt as the owner of the energy beam - Doctor Doom - loomed over them. “I’ve had it up to here with your ridiculous nonsense,” he barked. “That’s it! You’re done! I hereby banish you both from Villainville forever! If I ever see your obnoxious faces around here again, Abomination will use your heads as basketballs!”
Doom turned on his heel and stormed off. Ever the prideful one, Red Skull did the same. Zola simpered after his leader. “What are we supposed to do now?” he whined. “We have no money, no weapons, no soldiers!”
In a brilliant flash of light, Kang appeared before them. “I can help you with all those things,” he said with an evil smile. “And, in exchange for your assistance, I will leave you as the masters of this world.”
Red Skull eyed the newcomer suspiciously. “Why would you want to help us rule the world?” he asked. “This is some kind of trick, yes?”
“No trick,” Kang replied casually, “simply a question of time. I am from the future, Herr Skull - an era thousands of years on from this one. I’ve no interest in ruling such a backwards, primitive period in human history. I only wish to ensure my glorious 40th Century empire comes about as it was destined to be! Help me achieve that end, and I will leave this era at your mercy. Plenty of time to build a thousand-year Reich, isn’t it, before my world comes to pass?”
Red Skull thought for a moment. “You spoke of an army?” he said at last, smiling.
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“What do you mean, ‘Tony Stark isn’t here’? Listen, buster, I didn’t sit in a cab for eighteen-point-three minutes and come all the way here to talk to the monkey, I want to talk to the organ grinder! Get me Stark, and get him here NOW!”
Lois Lane sighed. She hadn’t wanted to bring her publisher, J Jonah Jameson, along on this assignment but he’d insisted. The old goat was obsessed with proving super heroes were a danger to Super Hero City, and had fixated on Tony Stark’s Arc reactor/rocket base in particular. Lois had no problem with super heroes - she’d married the best one of them, in her opinion - but she worried the new Stark Tower could be a bad news magnet. That’s why she wanted to do a story.
She was never going to get to do a story, though, if Jonah didn’t stop harassing all her potential interview subjects!
Thankfully, one of the astronauts slipped away from the ranting publisher and made his way over. He was more than happy to take Lois on a tour of the facilities and discuss their latest project. “Mr Stark is the brains behind all this,” he explained as they rode the elevator to the top of the tower, “but he doesn’t come to every launch. Today’s mission will put a special satellite called a ‘relay star’ into orbit. That’ll allow us to beam Arc reactor energy to any place on the globe, free of charge.” He grinned. “The days of costly power bills are numbered.”
A noise from ground level caught their attention. A normal person would have been shocked to see two cave-women, a Scottish highlander, a Wild West Outlaw, some pirates and a knight on a winged horse attacking Jonah and the scientists. For Lois, it was just another day at the office. She was more interested to see Red Skull and Arnim Zola amongst the combatants… not to mention the unfamiliar, blue-faced guy dressed in green-and-purple armour. “Storm the control bunker,” the stranger ordered.
Jonah blustered and the scientists did their best to resist, but defeat was a foregone conclusion. Lois and the astronaut tried to hide near the top of the rocket, but a hail of gunfire made them freeze in place. “Don’t move, ya ornery varmits,” the outlaw whooped. “Come on down before I fill ya full o’ lead!”
“That’s no way to speak to the media,” said a new voice. “Take it from me: you even look at these guys cross-eyed, and you’ll have bad publicity for the next decade. Maybe even longer.”
Lois breathed a sigh of relief - Iron Man had arrived! The bleeding-edge technology in his armour would, she was sure, be more than a match for a bunch of time-travel refugees. Neither she nor the hero, however, was prepared for the awesome abilities of Kang the Conqueror. His twin ultra-diode pistols were beyond even Tony Stark’s wildest imagination, and they made short work of the armoured Avenger. To his embarrassment, Iron Man found himself head-first and upside-down in the elevator shaft, pinned by the lift platform itself!
“So much for dignity,” Tony groused, activating the communicator inside his helmet. “Avengers Assemble!”
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“You boys can sit your butts down right now - Life Force has this one covered!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Wasp. Anyone who can take down Iron Man that quickly is too dangerous to be confronted by anyone but the Avengers!”
Spider-Man watched the argument between Captain America and Wasp, then playfully covered his big, white eyes. “I hate it when Mum and Dad fight,” he sighed.
The debate had erupted the moment Iron Man’s call came in. Flush with euphoria after their victory over the Enchantress, the Life Force wanted to take point in the fight against the time-displaced army. Ever the serious soldier, Captain America believed the Avengers’ greater experience would provide the key to victory. Back and forth went the debate, causing arguments between team mates, friends and lovers. Even Hawkeye and Black Widow - who had been partners in their SHIELD days - were snapping at one another!
“Hey,” Spidey yelled, snatching everyone’s attention. “Maybe we can just go fight the bad guys and figure out who’s the best team later, huh?”
They filed out of Hero Headquarters at the same time, but they were hardly a united front. It would turn out to be the worst decision the super heroes could possibly have made.
On the battlefield, Kang’s forces acted like a well-oiled machine despite their wildly-varying origins. The tyrant was an impressive leader and, coupled with Red Skull’s wartime experience, the evil army was a formidable opponent.
The heroes were far less successful. Black Widow and Black Panther both zeroed in on the control booth, each fouling the other’s attempts at stealth. The bickering an infighting continued, resulting in heroes kicking, punching and blasting each other instead of their foes. When the outlaw took remote control of the rocket and aimed it toward the heroes, Thor knocked it down with a single blow of his hammer… only to get attacked from behind because Rescue wasn’t watching his back. Hulk, meanwhile, was so incensed to see Kang wearing “his” colours that he stampeded over everyone, regardless of their allegiance!
“This is crazy,” Wasp said, fighting her way over to Captain America. “When the bad guys are better at teamwork that we are, you just know something’s wrong!”
“Our pride got in the way,” Cap replied. “We lost sight of the most important thing: we’re all in this together.”
With a nod and a smile, the two heroes joined forces and ran roughshod over Red Skull and Zola. Wasp soared off to free the hostages while Cap rallied the counter-attack. Their egos shelved, the heroes fought as one to make mincemeat of Kang’s army. One by one the time-displaced villains fell and, as they did, they were transported back to their own time. The teams gathered on the launch pad, pleased with their work… only to discover Ms Marvel was missing!
“Make a move against me,” Kang called, “and your friend here dies!”
He and Ms Marvel were atop the tower. Kang had one of his pistols levelled at the heroine’s head. In the other hand, he held a remote control that would send the rocket into the atmosphere. “Know this, Avengers: what I am about to do is no act of malice,” he announced. “Mine is a mission of mercy, of salvation. Ms Marvel must die, here and now, in order to safeguard the very future of humanity!”
“What are you talking about, madman?” Cap demanded.
“I am Earth’s ruler in the 40th Century,” Kang explained, “and my society is a perfect utopia of harmony and plenty. But things weren’t always wonderful. Before I took the throne, the people had stripped the planet of its resources and were starving. In my ship, the Damocles, I discovered a new source of energy - one that had been hovering in Earth’s orbit, untouched, for thousands of years!”
Iron Man clicked his fingers. “The explosion that gave Ms Marvel her powers,” he exclaimed.
“Correct,” Kang nodded. “In my timeline, Carol Danvers never became Ms Marvel. The cosmic energy released by the Leader that day remained unmolested in space, building and growing in potency until I harnessed it for the good of mankind. Our entire civilisation is dependent on that power - and if it is not put back, right now, humanity’s glorious future will never come to be!” He pressed the muzzle of his weapon to Ms Marvel’s forehead. “Choose, Avengers. One life… or billions.”
The heroes formed a huddle. “This is the toughest decision we’ve ever had to make,” Cap said. “None of us want to see our team mate killed, obviously, but do we have the right to make that choice if it costs humanity its destiny?”
“Hey, guys…” Scarlet Witch raised her hand.
“For what it’s worth, I believe his story,” Iron Man said. “The tech he blasted me with was light years ahead of anything around today - even my stuff! And the energy it put out is entirely consistent with Ms Marvel’s powers. Like it or not, we’re dealing with a legitimate future-man here… maybe even a king, like he says.”
“Guys,” Scarlet Witch tried again, “you know, I could always…”
“My uncle used to say ‘with great power comes great responsibility’,” Spidey said. “Surely, with all the power this team has, we could find another way to be responsible and safeguard both Ms Marvel and the future? I mean, there’s 19 centuries between us and Kang’s world - couldn’t we pump some energy into orbit another day, and make sure the jerk’s got the petrol he needs by the time he gets back?”
“Will you all please listen to me?” Scarlet Witch snapped. Everyone turned to look at her, mouths agape, and she blushed. “I mean… well, all I wanted to say was that my power can alter reality. I can make it so that Carol has her powers and the people of the 40th Century have a happy ending. I know I can do it.” She looked at Wasp. “I think this is what Dr Strange was talking about when we formed Life Force,” she said. “This is what we’re supposed to do.”
Wasp looked at Cap, and he nodded grimly.
“Kang,” Thor called, swinging his hammer in a wide arc. “We hath made our decision - and we say thee ‘nay’!”
He loosed his weapon. It soared through the air quicker than the eye could follow, knocking Kang’s gun away. The Avengers and Life Force - truly united this time - pounced on the villain, pushing him far away from Ms Marvel.
While they struggled against his hyper-technology, Scarlet Witch pulled her disoriented team mate to one side. “Do you trust me?” she asked.
“Sort of,” Ms Marvel replied. “I guess. Why? What am I about to do?”
Scarlet Witch smiled. “Oh, just save the world. You know, nothing special.”
After listening to the plan, Ms Marvel flew up to the top of the tower. She grabbed Kang’s remote control and activated the rocket, flying alongside it as it blasted off. Kang howled in anguish, only to be buried in a dog-pile of fighting-mad heroes. At the pivotal moment, Scarlet Witch cast the biggest reality-altering spell she had ever attempted, aiming the pink energy bolt directly at Ms Marvel’s heart.
The enchantment passed through the hero and took a chunk of her cosmic power with it, then embedded in the tip of the rocket. Ms Marvel spun around and fired energy bolts from her hands. The space vehicle exploded - as it had once before, as it was always destined to do - and a small portion of Earth’s orbit was saturated with cosmic energy. Given time to grow and expand, the power would one day fuel a civilisation.
“Not that you’ll be there to enjoy it,” Spidey quipped, dousing Kang with a thick coat of webbing. “I can see your future, and it’s in Arkham Asylum!”
“Fools,” Kang snapped, activating the time-jump mechanism in his armour. “You’re all fools! My world may have been saved, but you have made an enemy of Kang the Conqueror this day. You will not live long to regret it!” He vanished from sight.
“Well,” Wasp huffed. “That was… different.”
“There’s no denying Life Force saved the day, though,” Cap conceded. He looped his arms around Scarlet Witch and Ms Marvel. “Well done, you two.”
“We only had the chance because the Avengers had the experience to lead the fight,” Scarlet Witch pointed out. “Team work was the key… right, Wasp?”
Wasp pouted. “Okay, fine, boys and girls play best together,” she said sourly. “Life Force and the Avengers are two great tastes that taste great together.” She smirked. “Girls still rule the world, though.”
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Kang reappeared on the bridge of the Damocles. At least, he gathered he was on his ship, even though the decor was very different. Still, he was elated - his home had been restored! Ignoring the perplexed looks of the guards around him, he climbed up a set a stairs… which, strangely, he’d never noticed before… and dashed toward Princess Ravonna’s throne. “Beloved,” he cried, lifting the shocked woman out of her seat and embracing her. “Thanks to me, you live again!”
“Guards!” Ravonna screamed. “Guards, arrest this stranger!”
Kang looked at Ravonna in pure anguish. “My love?”
Her face was a stern mask of contempt. The sight haunted Kang even as the guards crash-tackled him to the ground. He fought them off on pure instinct, dispatching them with a high-tech arsenal they could not possibly match. That made no sense to him, either - he had shared his inventions with his personal forces! How had they become so weak, so ineffectual, so… primitive?
Alarms sounded throughout the Damocles, and he knew he had to flee. To remain would be to put more of his people… to put Ravonna… at risk. And so, his heart heavy with confusion and angst, Kang triggered his time-jump mechanism and returned to the early 21st Century. The solution to this mystery, he believed, would be found there. And, within seconds of arrival, it occurred to him.
“That blasted witch,” he fumed. “She changed reality, made sure the cosmic energy remained in orbit as well as empowering Ms Marvel! My future, my world, was ensured once more… but it came back into existence without me! 40th Century Earth is now a planet I never conquered, a world that brought itself back from the brink without my genius! Worst of all, dearest Ravonna now lives a life in which I have never featured! I am a man without a time!”
He sank to his knees and, for a moment, wept. Tainted tears fell from the same eyes that had watched, unmoved, as whole populations were put to death. The warlord’s victories had been erased. A cosmic-powered woman and a mutant witch had conquered the Conqueror. For the first time in his life, Kang had been defeated.
“No,” he thundered, bashing his fists against the ground. “I refuse to let it be so! Time has been changed once already - it can be changed again! I will either have my world back, or I will force my rule upon this time, and create a dynasty that will stretch to the very end of existence! As ever, all I need is an army… and some allies.”
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Doctor Doom stood atop his rebuilt balcony and surveyed Villainville. It was taking time - far more than he’d like - but his stronghold of evil deeds would soon return to its former shape. Unicron could damage buildings but nothing could assail the iron will of their lord and master.
The air beside him shimmered and, in a flash of light, Kang appeared. He opened his mouth to speak but Doom silenced him with a glare. “I know who you are, time-traveller,” he said darkly, “and I know what it is you want. It suited me to have Red Skull and Zola freed from captivity, and they have informed me of all they know. Before you seek to bargain with me, ‘Kang’, tell me: what is it that makes you believe you are worthy of an audience with Doom?”
Kang held one of his gauntlets out to Doom and pressed a button. A seam appeared and then opened, exposing internal circuitry not unlike that of the Latverian despot’s own armour. It was more refined, improved and streamlined, but unmistakably shared the same origin. Doom also saw a batch of components he recognised all too well.
“My armour,” Kang said, a reverent tone to his voice, “my weaponry, all my time-travel equipment, is based on the works of the greatest genius known to the human race. A man upon whose teachings I have based my life - whose words and wisdom inform my every action. A man from whom, I am proud to say, I am directly descended. A man who was called Victor Von Doom.”
Beneath his metal faceplate, Doom smiled. “Call me ‘grandfather’,” he said, reaching out to pat Kang on the head. “And welcome home, my boy.”
-----THE END… FOR NOW!-----
Sadly, that could well be the last mass-Marvel influx in LJ's games. Hasbro has decided to discontinue the Super Hero Squad line in favour of expanding the Super Hero Adventures brand. While we're bummed at that (LJ has no love for those faux-Imaginext figures), we choose to look on the bright side: it leaves more pocket money for DC characters.
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF
As much as trying to sell a house... and having to pack away most of our belongings... sucks, it's been an unexpected boon to playtime. LJ's had to concentrate on a smaller roster of characters per game, and has discovered how much fun it is to spotlight heroes outside her usual roster of favourites. This adventure's a good example of that - she'd decided on the central, thematic conflict then changed it because "that guy always gets the attention". The story, I feel, is all the better for it.
Which is not to say she was alone in conjuring this epic, oh no. Her cousin JC was a big help, I'm told, and I'm pleased to say I kicked in a few ideas here and there which made her smile. Seeing as this is the last "Avengers-only" game we had planned, it needed to be suitably amazing and explosive - as well as a fitting sequel to Life Force's debut.
I think we pulled it off nicely.
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LJ presents:
LIFE OR DEATH
PART TWO: DIVIDE AND CONQUER
Written by LJ, JC and SF
Directed by LJ
Novelisation by SF
By the 40th Century, the planet Earth had become a utopia free from war, disease and starvation. It was also an example, to the rest of the universe, of the evils of despotic rule. That’s because 50th Century Earth was completely controlled by a highly-organised, heavily-armed legion of soldiers utterly loyal to just one man - the ruthless tyrant known as Kang the Conqueror!
High above the planet’s surface, on the orbiting starship Damocles, Kang held court and was happy. Beneath him lay a world subject to his every whim and fancy, while to his left sat the most beautiful woman he had ever known. Princess Ravonna, Kang’s one true love, favoured him with a smile. Theirs was a time of utter peace and serenity, and all it had cost was the free will of an entire population.
Then, without warning, the horror began.
Instruments shorted out, wiring melted and consoles exploded as some unseen force overwhelmed the Damocles. Kang’s personal guard raced to the defence of their master… only to fade further out of existence with every step. Safe inside his time-travelling armour, Kang could only watch as his perfect life erased itself around him! Ravonna cried out for her beloved as she, too, vanished.
Kang the Conqueror… the man who had once held the world in his hands… floated alone in the void, the sole survivor of a reality that had never come to pass.
Fuelled by grief and rage, the villain switched on his time-travel equipment and went in search of the disturbance. He found it in the early part of the 21st Century, hundreds of kilometres above a place called Super Hero City. Kang watched as a series of events unfolded - circumstances that, from his perspective, should never have occurred - and scowled. He had arrived too late to set time back on its “proper course” but he knew what could be done to fix his problem.
All he needed was an army… and some allies.
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“I ask you for a piece of super-science that will eliminate the Avengers, the Super Hero Squad and every other stinking do-gooder in Hero Headquarters, and you two give me a blasted schnitzel-making machine?”
A blast of energy sent Red Skull and his chief scientist, Arnim Zola, hurtling through the gates of Villainville and into the wasteland beyond. They scrabbled in the dirt as the owner of the energy beam - Doctor Doom - loomed over them. “I’ve had it up to here with your ridiculous nonsense,” he barked. “That’s it! You’re done! I hereby banish you both from Villainville forever! If I ever see your obnoxious faces around here again, Abomination will use your heads as basketballs!”
Doom turned on his heel and stormed off. Ever the prideful one, Red Skull did the same. Zola simpered after his leader. “What are we supposed to do now?” he whined. “We have no money, no weapons, no soldiers!”
In a brilliant flash of light, Kang appeared before them. “I can help you with all those things,” he said with an evil smile. “And, in exchange for your assistance, I will leave you as the masters of this world.”
Red Skull eyed the newcomer suspiciously. “Why would you want to help us rule the world?” he asked. “This is some kind of trick, yes?”
“No trick,” Kang replied casually, “simply a question of time. I am from the future, Herr Skull - an era thousands of years on from this one. I’ve no interest in ruling such a backwards, primitive period in human history. I only wish to ensure my glorious 40th Century empire comes about as it was destined to be! Help me achieve that end, and I will leave this era at your mercy. Plenty of time to build a thousand-year Reich, isn’t it, before my world comes to pass?”
Red Skull thought for a moment. “You spoke of an army?” he said at last, smiling.
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“What do you mean, ‘Tony Stark isn’t here’? Listen, buster, I didn’t sit in a cab for eighteen-point-three minutes and come all the way here to talk to the monkey, I want to talk to the organ grinder! Get me Stark, and get him here NOW!”
Lois Lane sighed. She hadn’t wanted to bring her publisher, J Jonah Jameson, along on this assignment but he’d insisted. The old goat was obsessed with proving super heroes were a danger to Super Hero City, and had fixated on Tony Stark’s Arc reactor/rocket base in particular. Lois had no problem with super heroes - she’d married the best one of them, in her opinion - but she worried the new Stark Tower could be a bad news magnet. That’s why she wanted to do a story.
She was never going to get to do a story, though, if Jonah didn’t stop harassing all her potential interview subjects!
Thankfully, one of the astronauts slipped away from the ranting publisher and made his way over. He was more than happy to take Lois on a tour of the facilities and discuss their latest project. “Mr Stark is the brains behind all this,” he explained as they rode the elevator to the top of the tower, “but he doesn’t come to every launch. Today’s mission will put a special satellite called a ‘relay star’ into orbit. That’ll allow us to beam Arc reactor energy to any place on the globe, free of charge.” He grinned. “The days of costly power bills are numbered.”
A noise from ground level caught their attention. A normal person would have been shocked to see two cave-women, a Scottish highlander, a Wild West Outlaw, some pirates and a knight on a winged horse attacking Jonah and the scientists. For Lois, it was just another day at the office. She was more interested to see Red Skull and Arnim Zola amongst the combatants… not to mention the unfamiliar, blue-faced guy dressed in green-and-purple armour. “Storm the control bunker,” the stranger ordered.
Jonah blustered and the scientists did their best to resist, but defeat was a foregone conclusion. Lois and the astronaut tried to hide near the top of the rocket, but a hail of gunfire made them freeze in place. “Don’t move, ya ornery varmits,” the outlaw whooped. “Come on down before I fill ya full o’ lead!”
“That’s no way to speak to the media,” said a new voice. “Take it from me: you even look at these guys cross-eyed, and you’ll have bad publicity for the next decade. Maybe even longer.”
Lois breathed a sigh of relief - Iron Man had arrived! The bleeding-edge technology in his armour would, she was sure, be more than a match for a bunch of time-travel refugees. Neither she nor the hero, however, was prepared for the awesome abilities of Kang the Conqueror. His twin ultra-diode pistols were beyond even Tony Stark’s wildest imagination, and they made short work of the armoured Avenger. To his embarrassment, Iron Man found himself head-first and upside-down in the elevator shaft, pinned by the lift platform itself!
“So much for dignity,” Tony groused, activating the communicator inside his helmet. “Avengers Assemble!”
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“You boys can sit your butts down right now - Life Force has this one covered!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Wasp. Anyone who can take down Iron Man that quickly is too dangerous to be confronted by anyone but the Avengers!”
Spider-Man watched the argument between Captain America and Wasp, then playfully covered his big, white eyes. “I hate it when Mum and Dad fight,” he sighed.
The debate had erupted the moment Iron Man’s call came in. Flush with euphoria after their victory over the Enchantress, the Life Force wanted to take point in the fight against the time-displaced army. Ever the serious soldier, Captain America believed the Avengers’ greater experience would provide the key to victory. Back and forth went the debate, causing arguments between team mates, friends and lovers. Even Hawkeye and Black Widow - who had been partners in their SHIELD days - were snapping at one another!
“Hey,” Spidey yelled, snatching everyone’s attention. “Maybe we can just go fight the bad guys and figure out who’s the best team later, huh?”
They filed out of Hero Headquarters at the same time, but they were hardly a united front. It would turn out to be the worst decision the super heroes could possibly have made.
On the battlefield, Kang’s forces acted like a well-oiled machine despite their wildly-varying origins. The tyrant was an impressive leader and, coupled with Red Skull’s wartime experience, the evil army was a formidable opponent.
The heroes were far less successful. Black Widow and Black Panther both zeroed in on the control booth, each fouling the other’s attempts at stealth. The bickering an infighting continued, resulting in heroes kicking, punching and blasting each other instead of their foes. When the outlaw took remote control of the rocket and aimed it toward the heroes, Thor knocked it down with a single blow of his hammer… only to get attacked from behind because Rescue wasn’t watching his back. Hulk, meanwhile, was so incensed to see Kang wearing “his” colours that he stampeded over everyone, regardless of their allegiance!
“This is crazy,” Wasp said, fighting her way over to Captain America. “When the bad guys are better at teamwork that we are, you just know something’s wrong!”
“Our pride got in the way,” Cap replied. “We lost sight of the most important thing: we’re all in this together.”
With a nod and a smile, the two heroes joined forces and ran roughshod over Red Skull and Zola. Wasp soared off to free the hostages while Cap rallied the counter-attack. Their egos shelved, the heroes fought as one to make mincemeat of Kang’s army. One by one the time-displaced villains fell and, as they did, they were transported back to their own time. The teams gathered on the launch pad, pleased with their work… only to discover Ms Marvel was missing!
“Make a move against me,” Kang called, “and your friend here dies!”
He and Ms Marvel were atop the tower. Kang had one of his pistols levelled at the heroine’s head. In the other hand, he held a remote control that would send the rocket into the atmosphere. “Know this, Avengers: what I am about to do is no act of malice,” he announced. “Mine is a mission of mercy, of salvation. Ms Marvel must die, here and now, in order to safeguard the very future of humanity!”
“What are you talking about, madman?” Cap demanded.
“I am Earth’s ruler in the 40th Century,” Kang explained, “and my society is a perfect utopia of harmony and plenty. But things weren’t always wonderful. Before I took the throne, the people had stripped the planet of its resources and were starving. In my ship, the Damocles, I discovered a new source of energy - one that had been hovering in Earth’s orbit, untouched, for thousands of years!”
Iron Man clicked his fingers. “The explosion that gave Ms Marvel her powers,” he exclaimed.
“Correct,” Kang nodded. “In my timeline, Carol Danvers never became Ms Marvel. The cosmic energy released by the Leader that day remained unmolested in space, building and growing in potency until I harnessed it for the good of mankind. Our entire civilisation is dependent on that power - and if it is not put back, right now, humanity’s glorious future will never come to be!” He pressed the muzzle of his weapon to Ms Marvel’s forehead. “Choose, Avengers. One life… or billions.”
The heroes formed a huddle. “This is the toughest decision we’ve ever had to make,” Cap said. “None of us want to see our team mate killed, obviously, but do we have the right to make that choice if it costs humanity its destiny?”
“Hey, guys…” Scarlet Witch raised her hand.
“For what it’s worth, I believe his story,” Iron Man said. “The tech he blasted me with was light years ahead of anything around today - even my stuff! And the energy it put out is entirely consistent with Ms Marvel’s powers. Like it or not, we’re dealing with a legitimate future-man here… maybe even a king, like he says.”
“Guys,” Scarlet Witch tried again, “you know, I could always…”
“My uncle used to say ‘with great power comes great responsibility’,” Spidey said. “Surely, with all the power this team has, we could find another way to be responsible and safeguard both Ms Marvel and the future? I mean, there’s 19 centuries between us and Kang’s world - couldn’t we pump some energy into orbit another day, and make sure the jerk’s got the petrol he needs by the time he gets back?”
“Will you all please listen to me?” Scarlet Witch snapped. Everyone turned to look at her, mouths agape, and she blushed. “I mean… well, all I wanted to say was that my power can alter reality. I can make it so that Carol has her powers and the people of the 40th Century have a happy ending. I know I can do it.” She looked at Wasp. “I think this is what Dr Strange was talking about when we formed Life Force,” she said. “This is what we’re supposed to do.”
Wasp looked at Cap, and he nodded grimly.
“Kang,” Thor called, swinging his hammer in a wide arc. “We hath made our decision - and we say thee ‘nay’!”
He loosed his weapon. It soared through the air quicker than the eye could follow, knocking Kang’s gun away. The Avengers and Life Force - truly united this time - pounced on the villain, pushing him far away from Ms Marvel.
While they struggled against his hyper-technology, Scarlet Witch pulled her disoriented team mate to one side. “Do you trust me?” she asked.
“Sort of,” Ms Marvel replied. “I guess. Why? What am I about to do?”
Scarlet Witch smiled. “Oh, just save the world. You know, nothing special.”
After listening to the plan, Ms Marvel flew up to the top of the tower. She grabbed Kang’s remote control and activated the rocket, flying alongside it as it blasted off. Kang howled in anguish, only to be buried in a dog-pile of fighting-mad heroes. At the pivotal moment, Scarlet Witch cast the biggest reality-altering spell she had ever attempted, aiming the pink energy bolt directly at Ms Marvel’s heart.
The enchantment passed through the hero and took a chunk of her cosmic power with it, then embedded in the tip of the rocket. Ms Marvel spun around and fired energy bolts from her hands. The space vehicle exploded - as it had once before, as it was always destined to do - and a small portion of Earth’s orbit was saturated with cosmic energy. Given time to grow and expand, the power would one day fuel a civilisation.
“Not that you’ll be there to enjoy it,” Spidey quipped, dousing Kang with a thick coat of webbing. “I can see your future, and it’s in Arkham Asylum!”
“Fools,” Kang snapped, activating the time-jump mechanism in his armour. “You’re all fools! My world may have been saved, but you have made an enemy of Kang the Conqueror this day. You will not live long to regret it!” He vanished from sight.
“Well,” Wasp huffed. “That was… different.”
“There’s no denying Life Force saved the day, though,” Cap conceded. He looped his arms around Scarlet Witch and Ms Marvel. “Well done, you two.”
“We only had the chance because the Avengers had the experience to lead the fight,” Scarlet Witch pointed out. “Team work was the key… right, Wasp?”
Wasp pouted. “Okay, fine, boys and girls play best together,” she said sourly. “Life Force and the Avengers are two great tastes that taste great together.” She smirked. “Girls still rule the world, though.”
----------
Kang reappeared on the bridge of the Damocles. At least, he gathered he was on his ship, even though the decor was very different. Still, he was elated - his home had been restored! Ignoring the perplexed looks of the guards around him, he climbed up a set a stairs… which, strangely, he’d never noticed before… and dashed toward Princess Ravonna’s throne. “Beloved,” he cried, lifting the shocked woman out of her seat and embracing her. “Thanks to me, you live again!”
“Guards!” Ravonna screamed. “Guards, arrest this stranger!”
Kang looked at Ravonna in pure anguish. “My love?”
Her face was a stern mask of contempt. The sight haunted Kang even as the guards crash-tackled him to the ground. He fought them off on pure instinct, dispatching them with a high-tech arsenal they could not possibly match. That made no sense to him, either - he had shared his inventions with his personal forces! How had they become so weak, so ineffectual, so… primitive?
Alarms sounded throughout the Damocles, and he knew he had to flee. To remain would be to put more of his people… to put Ravonna… at risk. And so, his heart heavy with confusion and angst, Kang triggered his time-jump mechanism and returned to the early 21st Century. The solution to this mystery, he believed, would be found there. And, within seconds of arrival, it occurred to him.
“That blasted witch,” he fumed. “She changed reality, made sure the cosmic energy remained in orbit as well as empowering Ms Marvel! My future, my world, was ensured once more… but it came back into existence without me! 40th Century Earth is now a planet I never conquered, a world that brought itself back from the brink without my genius! Worst of all, dearest Ravonna now lives a life in which I have never featured! I am a man without a time!”
He sank to his knees and, for a moment, wept. Tainted tears fell from the same eyes that had watched, unmoved, as whole populations were put to death. The warlord’s victories had been erased. A cosmic-powered woman and a mutant witch had conquered the Conqueror. For the first time in his life, Kang had been defeated.
“No,” he thundered, bashing his fists against the ground. “I refuse to let it be so! Time has been changed once already - it can be changed again! I will either have my world back, or I will force my rule upon this time, and create a dynasty that will stretch to the very end of existence! As ever, all I need is an army… and some allies.”
----------
Doctor Doom stood atop his rebuilt balcony and surveyed Villainville. It was taking time - far more than he’d like - but his stronghold of evil deeds would soon return to its former shape. Unicron could damage buildings but nothing could assail the iron will of their lord and master.
The air beside him shimmered and, in a flash of light, Kang appeared. He opened his mouth to speak but Doom silenced him with a glare. “I know who you are, time-traveller,” he said darkly, “and I know what it is you want. It suited me to have Red Skull and Zola freed from captivity, and they have informed me of all they know. Before you seek to bargain with me, ‘Kang’, tell me: what is it that makes you believe you are worthy of an audience with Doom?”
Kang held one of his gauntlets out to Doom and pressed a button. A seam appeared and then opened, exposing internal circuitry not unlike that of the Latverian despot’s own armour. It was more refined, improved and streamlined, but unmistakably shared the same origin. Doom also saw a batch of components he recognised all too well.
“My armour,” Kang said, a reverent tone to his voice, “my weaponry, all my time-travel equipment, is based on the works of the greatest genius known to the human race. A man upon whose teachings I have based my life - whose words and wisdom inform my every action. A man from whom, I am proud to say, I am directly descended. A man who was called Victor Von Doom.”
Beneath his metal faceplate, Doom smiled. “Call me ‘grandfather’,” he said, reaching out to pat Kang on the head. “And welcome home, my boy.”
-----THE END… FOR NOW!-----
Sadly, that could well be the last mass-Marvel influx in LJ's games. Hasbro has decided to discontinue the Super Hero Squad line in favour of expanding the Super Hero Adventures brand. While we're bummed at that (LJ has no love for those faux-Imaginext figures), we choose to look on the bright side: it leaves more pocket money for DC characters.
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF