Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

[New Neros]

-snip

Van Zant

While the drones were easily dealt with by the other youngsters, Van Zant kept his eyes glued on the ships floating precariously above them, naturally worried and expecting something far worse than propaganda discs. "Shit..." He mumbled, watching as some vessels broke formation and dropped low towards the ground - pouring out actual soldiers and armored walkers, not to mention more drones. Van tightened his fist as one of the battlesuits locked onto him with it's weird light fixtures where it's face should be. Quickly, the damn thing launched at Van - prompting him to dodge out of the way at the last second.

"Close!" He yelled, pivoting on his ankle and hoping to turn and blow right into the Rantu battlesuit's back - but found a charged shot of plasma hurling right at him from the same unit. He hadn't the time to yelp as the supercharged shot slammed into Van's body and rocketed him back several feet. He was back on his feet in no time, the tactile telekinetic shield reducing the heat and force by several magnitudes as it impacted. Still, Van couldn't help but feel a bit outclassed technologically here. What he lacked in smarts, though, Van hoped to make up for in bravery and durability. Zant then leapt forward in a flash - faster than what the Rantu pilot could physically track and respond to - and jammed his fist right into the battlesuit's midsection.

Effortlessly, Van lifted his arm and the battlesuit with it, flipping it over his back and slamming it back down onto the hard ground below in a fearsome CLACK! - cracking it at the suit's joints and disorienting the pilot. Standing over the suit, Van lifted both of his fists up and slammed them down quickly, smashing the body of the battlesuit with both and shattering the crystalline material that made up the suit - specifically designed to take incredible amounts of shock - until it appeared collapsed inward where the pilot was. Van would have continued, but a sudden blast to the shoulder from a plasma rifle tossed him forward and skidding along the ground. He turned to face his next opponent, and found them to be actual soldiers - Fire Warriors of the Rantu - with their rifles trained on Zant and surrounded by hovering drones. "Surrender. Now." One demanded in a computerized voice, a translation.

Van stood himself back up and stared down at the Fire Warriors, three in all, and began to think his way through this situation. Everything else around him seemed to just fade away as his vision tunneled, and a familiar sensation flowed through his veins as adrenaline pumped it's way throughout his body - amplifying his powers in the process. "I know you don't know who I am," He said quietly, almost as if he was nervous, "But you must know what planet you're on. Earth, ever hear of it? We kick alien asses every other day." He said, running forward at the three Warriors, the soldiers firing their plasma weaponry in rapid succession. To their shock, Van Zant tanked the plasma slag and did not slow down - his telekinetic shield powered up to absurd levels.

The superhuman slammed into one of the Fire Warriors with a clothesline, dropping him to the concrete where his entire body bounced off the hard surface and skidded back. Van, right after the impact, pivoted and stopped his momentum - extending both his fist and his foot, his balled hand colliding with the Warriors' helmet in front of him and his foot connecting with the chest of the one behind him - sending both flying in the opposite direction with enough force to be fatal, had they not been wearing such protective suits. As Van dealt with those immediate threats, a series of drones began to surround him and hover quickly, Zant dropping low into another combat stance, taking a quick swing at one drone and completely missing.

The drones began to pelt him with bullets in rapid succession - Van's barrier giving him the appearance of incredible durability, but it wasn't a situation he could keep up forever. He began to think, wonder what he could do to drop the drones. Like a lightbulb, Van's eyes lit up as he figured out what he could do, though, it was a gamble. He hadn't done it before, but the idea seemed plausible enough. Zant concentrated hard, straining his muscles and mental capacity as he focused on pushing his telekinetic shield outwards violently. Right before Van passed out from hardly even breathing, he felt a sudden surge travel down his spine, and in a primal yell, he exploded his tactile telekinetic shield out and away from his body with such vigor that it simply shredded the drones circling him.

The shield snapped back to Van like a rubber band, but the effort exhausted the youngster. "A few down...a few hundred more to go." He said, trying to catch his breath, watching the others handle the Rantu for a moment before rejoining the battle.

[New Neros]

-snip

Darkstar Crisis
Battle of the Nexus
Part Two

Valentine

The young human turned with a sour face, Val's eyes narrowed and her nose flared as Ashy's voice filled her ears. But, that expression turned into relief, and a welcoming smile. Val waited as Ashy asked her questions, responding with, "That's nice." To her comment about reading minds - thoroughly unimpressed as they were about to fight literal Gods who can such feats in their sleep. "If you're looking for Mir, well, just sorta glance behind me and see for yourself." She said casually, moving aside and turning her head back for a moment, revealing an absolutely chaotic, and incredible brutal scene as Mir and Otto were tearing through Green Lanterns and shattering their energy constructs casually, the overwhelming amount of testosterone and bromance between the two almost sickening. "Show offs..." Val said callously, "Shit!" She then yelled, barely dodging a sharp, red-hot blade from a female New God.

"Pitiful that you let an ally distract you," The woman said, "So burn for it." The crazed Apokoliptian then swung her volatile blade towards Val's midsection, but the girls' inhuman reactions were able to save her from the blow by catching her opponent's fist - and in the same motion - slammed her own emotionally-charged fist into her would be attacker's face, impacting the woman's upper lip and nose area, sending her flying back. Val tightened her fists and cracked her knuckles in the process, a burning cascade of anger flooding her body and empowering her further.

"Bernadeth!" Another woman called out, "How dare you lay so much as a finger on a member of the Female Furies! I shall present your head to the Dark God myself, you uncultured swine." The field leader of the Furies, Lashina, called out, accompanied by three other members of the notorious all-girl group under the heel of Darkseid. "Stompa, Artemis, Mad Harriet! Tear that wretch to shreds!" Lashina commanded, throwing a pair of metal strips towards Val as the other three ladies launched forward to begin their assault in unison - Val ready to take on the team on her own, but remembering that she had an unlikely ally, Ashy, along side her.

Val raised her fists in front of her face and breathed steadily, managing the emotions brewing within her and channeling the empathetic energy throughout the battle - focusing on directing that power into her strikes, speed, and durability. The first to get their face smashed in was Stompa, who tried to swing at Val first, but the human consort of the Mad God bobbed and weaved away from the attack effortlessly, like clockwork, and delivered two solid punches to Stompa's facial area, staggering the girl with the first and knocking her back with the second. Blood pouring from the New Goddess' nose, Stompa wiped it away, "Skinny bitch packs a little punch, huh?" She commented, rushing back in to support the Furies.

Val dodged left and right to avoid the metal bands Lashina controlled, backing up in space in order to round out the Furies, but suddenly discovered more sources of emotional energy. Giving quick pause, Val looked beyond her opponents for a moment and saw another group of New Gods standing before them - next to Lashina - who seemed to be cautious about the entire situation. "Do we...do we join them?" One asked skiddishly, looking for support among his peers. "Just pile up on the girls?"

"Yes, you attack them !" Lashina yelled with mild amounts of fury, "Highfather and Darkseid have forged a truce in order to stop Morningstar's advance to the M'Kraan Crystal - and these two witches have decided to help the Mad God destroy this universe and rule the Multiverse. We are temporary allies, and our enemies are one in the same." Lashina further informed the young group, "Now, Forever People," She said with much disdain, "Attack the gorgeous one."

"Oh come on - I already have enough on my plate!" Val yelled, blocking a punch by Stompa but being sliced by Mad Harriet's claws. "...C'mon, it's a joke." She said, still being pushed back, but the sudden and almost unexpected arrival of several Asgardian Valkyries tore away Mad Harriet and Artmeis from attacking Val, pouncing upon them and leaving only Stompa to deal with Valentine. Two other Valkyries appeared next to Ashyandra, giving the Vokornian a silent nod of respect. "Looks like we have some company. They're lacking in dangle-y parts, but hey - us gals need to stick together. Right?" Val quipped, punching Stompa right in the nose, almost ignoring the fact that Stompa, and the Female Furies, were all ladies as well.

---

Mir and Otto

A burning bright ray of yellow engulfed the sea of green energy, an empowering scream rocking the rogue Green Lanterns as Daxam's Native Son unleashed the solar energy of his Golden Ring - a gift from Mad Max - and boosting his powers to a sun-dipped level. On his own, Mir was perhaps the strongest Daxamite to ever live physically and without outside assistance like Sodam Yat, and boosting it even further just spelled overkill. However, that was far from the case, as the Green Lanterns proved to be powerful beyond measure, the rogue Guardian, Valorex, boosting their rings to unparalleled levels among the Corps, and becoming a formidable foe for the Nephew of Odin, Otto, and Daxam's Native Son, Mir.

A chilling frost engulfed several Corpsmen as Otto Godblessed plummeted the temperatures in his immediate surroundings to the lowest they could go - Absolute Zero - and slammed his half-blood Asgardian fist into their frozen bodies, shattering them before the Lantern Rings could free the users. But as some fell, many took their comrades' places, and from all sides, Mir and Otto had to fight and take significant blows from numerous Green Lanterns at once, all the while, Valorex lorded over the duo and attempted to break their wills from above. "You fight a losing battle, Mir, Otto! You are on the wrong side and will be punished for eons. Oa will not be your prison, you worthless half breeds, no, your prisons shall be shame!" Valorex declared, creating a powerful, willpower-based blast in each of his hands and aiming them at the two subordinates of Mad Max, firing as their backs were turned, both screaming in agony as the attack landed, and several Lanterns forming energy chains and piling them on top of the duo.

The chains grew to absurd proportions as more members jumped in, and finally, a few summoned up energy constructs of safes and vaults to further keep the powehouses down. A crooked smile was etched on Valorex's aged face, a smug look for a smug asshole, as he further demeaned the brothers in arms. "Look at where your meddling as gotten you. Such children playing with power far eclipsing your own - you will have until the end of time to rethink every action that led to this moment, because I will not execute you, Mir and Otto, but I will have you know with incredible, finely tuned certainty," Valorex stated, glowing with green light, "That there are fates worse than death."

As the Green Constructs tightened upon Mir and Otto's bodies, the pile that held the Daxamite began to rumble from within, a reddish tint spreading through the constructs rapidly, many Lanterns suddenly struggling and trying to contain the rampaging bull they tried to chain down, but two flashes of red hot, burning lasers shot forward and claimed a victim, incinerating a Green Lantern before the attack even so much as touched him, and then suddenly travelling across the energy constructs, literally burning a hole right through them, and in an explosion of yellow and red lights, Mir broke through the constructs by sheer force of power and will - his heat vision becoming powerful enough to burn through the hard light constructs of the Lanterns, a feat thought nigh impossible. The blast wave ripped apart the remaining Lanterns, scattering them to the wind and sending them flying, some dead, some unconscious, for kilometers in all directions.

Otto too broke free as Mir overpowered his Solar Energy Ring, freezing his way out of the green constructs, but the feat looking less impressive compared to the explosive force of nature Mir induced to escape his temporary prison. Still, the coldest temperatures in the galaxy empowered the Asgardian to incredible heights, but his power was well managed and contained, whereas Mir's bled from his body and singed the surrounding space around him. Valorex seemed little more than annoyed, forming two more blasts of green energy in his hands. "My, my, Czar-Mir." He taunted, "You have a willpower worthy of the Corps, I will give you that much. Perhaps even surpassing that of Yat, but even he, infused with Ion, is little to a Guardian of the Universe...And you, Otto Godblessed, are but a token reminder that Asgard must meddle in Midgard, that a double agent for the All-Father, and now All-Mother, must be around the Mad God at all times."

The two seemed unphased by the insults Valorex delivered, but Otto was first to respond to his accusation. "I serve Maxwell Morningstar alone - I pay my respects to the All-Mother as a noble Asgardian, and as a representative of the Mad God himself. You know nothing, Valorex, you simply taunt and try to twist reality into what you want it to be. If All-Mother Valka distrusted Mad Max so much, then why would she come to support him and not join you, then? You lack sense, and we're just the kind of people to beat it into you." Godblessed said threateningly, teeth clenched and angry at the treasonous implications Valorex described.

"Fine, then. Meet your end at my hands, if you both so dare!" Valorex screamed, veins popping out of his blue forehead, and firing his energy blasts at Mir and Otto, both dodging them and appearing side by side, charging forward with one extending a right fist, and the other a left, both hands holding the rings that gave them power, an ironic expression as they entered the battle against a Guardian of the Universe. "Find death at the hands of a God." Valorex screeched through his teeth.

Mir gave a quick jab at the thought, "I've fought Gods before."

---

Deep within the haunting remnants of the Monitor Sphere, God of Death, Darkstar, sat with a pleased smile, a fixture unseen for many weeks as he hunted down universes so that they could meet their ultimate demise in search of Maxwell Morningstar. To his right was a stunning woman with an emotionless expression, and to his left was a sullen attack dog in the shape of a Kryptonian dipped in darkness and black. "Rose...Nul." He said, his two accomplices perking up as he spoke their names. "Be good for our guest. She and I share a bond, and an enemy."

"But," Darkstar said with glee, "That's not why I'm excited. Today feels special, doesn't it?" He asked, "I've found it. The Prime Universe. I can feel it. I can feel the raging energies that threaten to spill into the Nexus." Darkstar said with a creepy laugh, "Max wants to seal off the Nexus, but the cosmic inhabitants of his universe believe he is there to absorb it. They fight for naught, as I will bring to him not a battle, not a fight, but a War." Darkstar said, pleased with himself and ready to bear the fruit of his labor began years ago, ready to make the Mad God suffer for his crimes during the Final Incursion. "He took everything from me in a single blast, and had the nerve to look down on me when he left. I will not be so...merciful."

"I will break him in every way I physically and mentally can, make him watch as I end his universe and all that he cares for. And then, I shall be free - my purpose served, my life forfeit. I had to become a Dead God in order to fight a Mad God, but it begs the question," Darkstar said, rubbing his hands together as he sat on his metallic throne - it's technological abilities scavenged from the Monitors, "Who between myself and Morningstar is truly a Mad God?" He pondered, but began a sickening, blood chilling chuckle, turning it into a full blown hysterical, typical, evil laugh as Darkstar understood what he had become, and why he enjoyed it.

[New Neros]

-Ashy

-Valka

Darkstar Crisis
Battle of the Nexus
Part Three

Valentine

Val pushed her fist as far as it could physically go into Stompa's midsection, the New Goddess doubling over and spitting up blood as the force ruptured organs, Val holding her up with her fist and looking down on her, eyes brazen with passion and emotion, mainly anger, as she tossed the Goddess aside. "You're outclassed, girly. Gravely so." Val taunted, Stompa trying to stand back up in space, but Val was already smacking her face with a straight punch - Val's gloves gaining spots of blood as Stompa's jaw threatened to tear away from it's hinges.

Her opponent spun quickly, and endlessly, as the blow knocked Stompa out cold and her motion couldn't be stopped without gravity. Val wasn't ready to celebrate victory just yet, as two metal strips slapped onto her wrists tightly, yanking her toned frame away from the fight with Stompa and right into Lashina's waiting fist. Val's eyes grew dizzy for a moment, but she snapped back to attention in the middle of the punch, throwing her leg over her opponent's outstretched arm and locking it at the elbow with her knee. Val then crunched forward, bringing her forehead right onto the eyes and nose bridge of Lashina with a horrific, sloppy SMACK! Lashina recoiled from the attack, blood shooting from his nostrils, releasing Val in the process as the New Goddess held her eyes tightly shut.

The Mad Girl had no qualms hitting a downed opponent - honor having meaning only outside of a fight in her worldview. Val flew forward and gained incredible momentum, rearing her left kneecap back and flying just slightly past Lashina, flexing her kneecap out at the last second and connecting with Lashina's face in a brutal, lethal blow. The New Goddess' body tried to fly backwards from the assault, but Val grabbed the girl's hair before it could so, whipping her head around a full turn, giving Lashina's head momentum as Val crooked her hand towards her armpit and extended her elbow. Val's elbow struck with even more brutality than the knee above and to the side of Lashina's left eye, Val finally letting her go as Lashina's neck snapped backwards from the blow.

Standing with the blood of New Gods coating her gloves and upper body, Val remained stoic and transfixed at the level she had just attacked Lashina - ending the fight quickly and without a single shred of mercy. The Mad Girl looked at her gloved hands, her palms bleeding from holding her fists so tightly, yet she didn't notice that one of the Valkyries had fallen, and another New Goddess, Artemis, was loading an arrow in her bow. Bruised and bloodied from her own fight with the lady Asgardian, Artemis callously insulted Val as she readied a killing strike. "Die, slut, for Darkseid." Val's eyes grew wide as she turned, barely catching sight of the woman as her fingers let go of the string.

In a sudden explosion of orange light, Artemis and her arrow burned in a terrible glow of fierce power and deadly accuracy. She didn't scream out or question the wrath of Gods, or rather, she had no time to do so as the Omega Beams singed her soft tissues the instant they made contact. Val watched in horror, shielding her eyes for a moment, but turning to the source of the attack - finding only a fading, Asgardian portal. "Valka..." Val said with concern, wondering if she was battling Darkseid and Highfather to any effect. "I'm going to help Valka!" She yelled to Ashy, sizing up how the Vokornian was handling her own situation. Two on one, but Val reckoned Ashy might just be playing with them. "Don't let the New Gods get the better of you, or I'm telling Mir." Val taunted, making light of Ashy's predicament with the Daxamite.

The superpowered human girl took off from the scene of her battle, dodging the carnage and bloodshed across the rest of the battle between Valkyries and Green Lanterns or New Gods, easily finding the All-Mother's fight with the leaders of the New Gods patriarchs by the intense, world-breaking impacts of their two on one duel, but Val had come too late. She arrived in time to see - and hear - Darkseid's mighty roar, and Valka's battle cry as she hammered her own spear into the New God's eye. She stood motionless, and in awe of the sight, the would-be death of a God, yet knowing the resiliency of the Dark God. "She had them on the ropes this whole time..." Val muttered, clenching her fists together, but Valka's battlecry echoing in her mind. "...Max." She said to herself quietly, looking around, and seeing the battles winding down, but not knowing anything at how Max's own battle was going. She gasped, remembering exactly who he had to fight.

"MAX!" She yelled, recalling the words 'Galactus' and 'Celestials', and racing at lightspeeds toward where the Celestial Messiah had headed.

Mir/Godblessed

The fists of the two beings impacted like a single mighty one, impacting hard against the small and light frame of the Guardian of the Universe, but Valorex seemed to simply withstand the hit and allow the duo to push him back - Valorex quickly forming a blast of green energy in his palms, exploding them in Mir and Otto's faces at close range. The pair shot off at opposite directions away from the Guardian, their heads smoking from the burns. But it was like flicking a match on a steel hide - both Mir and Otto shot back at Valorex with even more intensity and power - Mir sending the first punch, which Valorex dodged swiftly, only to be struck from behind by Otto.

The old Guardian was not used to being physically injured or even fighting, but he was relying on his powers to get him by regardless. He formed a tight bubble shield around himself as Mir came to deliver another overhead punch, the Daxamite's fist smacking pointlessly against the willpower shield with a metallic thump. Mir reared back and punched again, causing the shield to tremble just a bit, but still holding strong as ever. Otto held back, thinking for a moment, considering his options, but gasping as he figured out what to do. Otto watched carefully for when Mir wound up to punch the shield again, and delivered a short jab of his own - tapping his Odinring against the energy shield and cooling the barrier's surface temperature to absolute zero.

Mir slammed his fist into the willpower bubble just as it froze over, and shattered the construct like a piece of glass. He smirked at Valorex, but found the old Guardian was waiting for the Daxamite with a hammer made of green energy. The little blue man slipped his warhammer into Mir's face brutally, sending Daxam's Native Son flying back some ways as the Guardian mimicked the mystic properties of an enchanted Asgardian warhammer. Valorex turned and swung at Otto, who simply leaned back and avoided the hammer's range on the first swing, and dodged to the side to avoid the back swing - grabbing the energy construct with one hand and yanking it towards himself, pulling the Guardian with it, and striking Valorex quickly in the face.

Returning to the fight, Mir executed a gorgeous flying kick to the Guardian's side, the small humanoid's eyes glazing over for a moment as the hit registered and sent him tumbling in one direction. Otto and Mir exchanged glances, a slight smirk between them. "Nice timing with the ice." Mir said playfully, "But I could've done the same. Or used heat vision." Otto shook his head and smiled, flexing his fingers and tightening his fists once more.

"Or kept punching it until one of you ran out of willpower. And he's got millions of years to burn through." Otto noted, Valorex stopping his brief flight and clutching the side of his body Mir had impacted, grunting fiercely, and then screaming as he unleashed a dazzling flash of green light, emerging from that mini-supernova with a flaming green aura, and eyes completely glowing a green color. Mir was Valorex's first target, and the Guardian caught him by complete surprise as Mir expected a punch, but Valorex launched himself forward and gave the Daxamite a headbutt right to where the abdomen meets the chest. Mir coughed up spit and struggled for air as the wind was knocked out of him. Mir snapped back to the situation and locked his fingers together over the Guardian's immense head, lifting his fists up and slamming them hard against Valorex's skull.

The Daxamite followed up with a blast of his heat vision aimed for Valorex's back, but the blue humanoid dodged it by blinking away. Before Mir knew, Valorex was already charging his largest energy attack yet, right behind the Daxamite, and he turned just a second too late, green enveloping his vision. But, ontop of the light, he felt a chill in space rather than the burning hot plasma, and reluctantly opened his eyes to see the back of Otto Godblessed - standing in front of Mir and unleashing a cold blast of the Valkaforce to meet the willpower blast, pushing it back slowly, empowering Otto with it's cold effects. Mir felt relief, but soon, he felt jealousy as he saw a competition brewing between himself and Otto.

Godblessed turned to look back at Mir and gave the Daxamite a wink, Mir narrowing his eyes but grinning all the while, surrounding himself in an aura of yellow energy form his ring. Otto ceased his attack at the last second, before engulfing the Guardian of the Universe, and in his initial confusion, was struck by Mir with a fist fastly approaching the speed of light, snowballing it's mass and energy into an almost infinite amount. The Daxamite successfully executed an Infinite Mass Punch to devastating effect - hitting with the force of a white dwarf star concentrated into the size of a fist. Valorex floated motionlessly at the sight of Mir's impact - the Daxamite himself some kilometers away as the reaction forces flung his body backwards. The Guardian's blood leaked, along with bits of green energy, from his mouth and every visible orifice, but Otto could feel his faint heart beat, Valorex may yet live.

The Guardian's eyes sprang open and locked themselves onto Otto, grabbing the Asgardian's clothing and pulling him close, feeling death approach his immortal form. Valorex feared for his life, but reckoned to take one with him should he go. He began to glow a bright, shimmering green, far different from any color a Green Lantern could produce, and Otto panicked - trying to release the humanoid's grip. "No...Godblessed..." Valorex said quietly, "We will both approach the end of immortals...Together!" Otto's eyes widened as he too felt the presence of death coming for Valorex. "Aye...You know it beckons me, now."

Otto grabbed onto Valorex's smaller hands and cast his head downwards, closing his eyes as he made the decision no person should have to make, but the Guardian put him in such a situation. "No, Valorex. We will not see what lies for immortals in the hereafter. We will not, you shall. You will face that unknowable beyond alone." Otto said quietly in return, Valorex's hands suddenly becoming intensely cold and freezing on a solid block of ice. "When they say absolute zero...Well, you can't tell me there are absolutes when infinities exist. There is depths of hell even colder than absolute zero, and at those temperatures, it's cold enough to freeze hypernova explosions." Otto explained, Valorex shaking his head profusely as the magical ice spread up his arms and onto his body.

Mir flew back into the scene just as Otto finished his pseudo-science lesson, and found the perfect quip to make. "In other words, see you never, punk." The ice fully engulfed the Guardian and froze him in space and time, reality slightly contorted due to the impossible temperatures exerted on it. Not a few seconds later, and a small green glow shined with the ice prison, and the entire body of Valorex shook as his body evaporated in a green light. Both Mir and Otto could feel the intense heat and power behind the Guardian's death, and for a moment, the iced body made a visible, star-like phenomenon for lightyears around.

Collapsing backwards, Otto was exhausted from breaking past the Kelvin barrier. In a show of comradry and brotherhood, Mir floated in space along side him, relaxing with his hands behind his head - he too exhausted from the IMP but more manageable. The two looked at each for a moment seriously, but they both cracked into smiles and turned the heads away from one another, laughing all the while. It hit both of them at the same exact time - the pair of them just beat - and killed - a fuckin' Guardian of the Universe. "Max is going to be pissed, haha." Otto said, placing his forearm over his eyes. "The whole Corps is going to want our heads."

"The Guardians have big enough heads, why do they want ours?" Mir said, him and Otto laughing at the joke. "But really though, fuck 'em. Me and you just tossed tons of Corpsmen around like nothing. Imagine if we had Val and Max going ham alongside us - Our boss is out there staring down THE Galactus, ya'know, Devourer of Worlds, so I think we have some bigger problems to worry about." Mir said, he and Otto still floating around. "But let's catch our breaths for a minute..."

"Aye."

Morningstar

"I will not be judged."

Those words echoed defiantly before the mighty colossus, standing steadfast before what could only be described as an ant, a minnow, hardly worth the attention it was getting or the war it was facing. The unchanging face of Mighty Galactus did not feel the sting of insult or personal attack, as the lower life form directed his partial defiance to the Celestials themselves, Arishem in particular. Mighty Galactus shifted his head to the Celestials to behind him, hearing their complaints in response to Morningstar's refusal to be judged by them, or any cosmic tribunal that does not hold the universes' best interests at hand.

"ADUUM/HUMAN/ANOMALY. COSMIC CONSTANT." One of the Celestial's boomed, Mad Max standing perfectly still and lifting his chin up to hear the Celestial leader better, despite the fact that it's voice was almost telekinetic in nature. "NEXUS/FOCAL POINT IS NOT IN DANGER. YOU ARE." Energy sprang to life and glowed in the joints of Arishem's armor as the giant tightened his armored form and flexed his massive fingers - each longer than a school bus - as the Mad God made no attempt to even reason with the beings. They refused to listen to reason, even evidence, that a multiversal threat was coming to destroy this universe like it had thousands before it. "DARKSTAR IS MORNINGSTAR."

"You...you simply don't understand. It's almost too late, damnit!" Maxwell demanded, a shift in solar winds and ambient energy levels as he began to absorb all around him. "I can stop him. We can stop him! You can...you can fuckin' watch me close it and help me do it, and strike me down the very instant it so much as looks like I'm absorbing the Nexus." He sighed angrily, facing Galactus, who looked on with almost indifference. "I beg you, Mighty Galactus, help me save this universe, and you shall live on."

Galactus blinked slowly, uncaring, and calmly rebuffed Max's offer. "No, Morningstar. If you mean to threaten Galactus, then you shall face obliteration before laying an eye upon the Nexus of All Realities. This universe is in danger from yourself, and no words will trick the Devourer of Worlds! Do you take Almighty Galactus for a fool?" Galan yelled, glowing with massive amounts of power and energy, surpassing a single Celestial, but Max began to feel the effects of the sheer amount of energy at play here. Even at the beginning of the universe, he hadn't felt this much power, and so he realized, that these beings all before him had no qualm nor care for this universe as they were not inhabitants of it. These beings came from beyond, and so it made even less sense for them to defend it from destruction.

"You've got to be fuckin' joking..." Maxwell said in disbelief, unable to comprehend how a meeting could go so far south so quickly. "I will show you threats, Galactus." He politely informed the World Eater, "Face me and know the meaning of the Ragnarok Sanction, that is, the fate of Gods as you liken yourself to be. I was born in this universe while you were not, so I shall defend it with me life, even from the likes of you, and with the Sanction, comes another effect of Ragnarok."

"It is a physical impossibility, Morningstar. The Equation is meaningless and unfathomable." Galactus replied, referencing the concept Max implied, "Just like your words and threats." Maxwell had to give it to the Big G, his insult game was on point. But, it made the Mad God smirk slightly, a little I-know-something-you-don't-know mentality taking over Max, who stood proudly and with a satisfied look on his face Galactus remained unconvinced, seeing through the petty threats of the Mad King and preparing to simply destroy him. Galactus stood erect and brimming with power held back through sheer force of will, and it seemed like it was to boil over. "Turn back, Mad King, and you shall live yet another day."

"No." Max replied stoicly, his form shifting and resembling a statue. He swallowed hard, watching as the World Eater lifted a hand and extended out his palm to face Maxwell, the Mad God unphased at the motion. "You raise your hand in spite against the Redeemer?"

"You have forced my hand, Messiah, and you shall burn for it."

At that moment, Galactus' eyes flashed to the side for just a split second, momentarily distracted as yet another piss ant barged into their summit. The Celestials turned to look at the new arrival, and Max was perhaps the latest one to look - his eyes growing wide with shock and immediate fear. "Val...No..." He muttered, the Mad Girl rushing forward past Maxwell, willing to dive headfirst into the Devourer of Worlds. Galactus exhaled heavily through his nose, a powerful concentration of the Power Cosmic forming in his hand like a collapsing star. "NO!"

The World Eater unleashed his powerful, earth-shattering blast of pure Power Cosmic energy, Val's form instantly disappearing within it's breadth and explosive potential. Galactus ceased his attack shortly after he began, Val's heavily damaged body thrown several kilometers back as she barely clinged to life following the attack. Max left the summit to tend to her, cradling the young woman in his own arms. "M-Max?" She said softly, the Mad God shh'ing her, holding her gently. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be." Max said, rising up and standing on two feet, Val still held in his arms. "Because he's going to be sorry." Energy surrounded both of them as Max began to siphon it from lightyears away, pouring it into his own body and Val's, but she wouldn't be instantly healed just yet, it required time, and Maxwell needed all the power he could get to stand even a fraction of a second against Galactus. "Where is your hunger, Devourer?"

"It is...Sated, Morningstar, but your own hunger for death at the hands of Mighty Galactus is great." He taunted, Max still overflowing with energy, a battle of titans about to begin, but little did the Mad God know, as the All-Mother had witnessed the brutal assault Galactus had given Val.

[New Neros]

-Valka

-Ashy

"A war...for the Fate of the Mad God."

Ragnarök War
Part One: Dying and Rising;

Or the Death of Otto Godblessed

The universe was sick, corrupted, dying, and the forces that danced beyond it's quantum walls called for it's ultimate and untimely demise. Heralded by Darkstar, another version of Maxwell Morningstar, those forces destroyed the home of the Monitors and the Monitors themselves, taking residence in their Monitor Sphere, and began a systemic purge of any available universe within the Beyond Multiverse in search of the Prime Reality. Their aggression in the multiverse and the efforts undertaken by 'Mad' Max to prevent their arrival in the prime reality has been dubbed the "Darkstar Crisis", and Darkstar's arrival in our reality has triggered the Ragnarök War, pitting the Mad God Morningstar against the Dead God Darkstar, in an epic battle spanning reality and holding the fate of the universe, themselves, and their allies in the balance.

---

Mir/Godblessed

As the All-Mother left to aid Morningstar and Valentine, the two comrades jumped to attention in order to follow and join in the fight against Galactus and the Celestials. Rubbing their fists, weapons capable of smashing apart planets, Otto and Mir looked at one another like two brothers separated at birth, a sense of thrill and competition coming from just being in the other's presence, the feeling of simply wanting to not let the other down allowing both Daxamite and Asgardian to rise to whatever occasion demanded their action. They did what they needed to do under Max's order and through their own combined efforts achieved success, but a strange feeling took hold of the duo.

It was as if the universe contracted, repulsed at whatever action had been done, and a sense of both dread and wrongness washed over Mir and Otto like a crippling tsunami of nausea. The two swallowed to their guts to stop from vomiting, and looked to each other in confusion. "The hell is that I'm feeling..." Mir asked Godblessed, the Daxamite grabbing his midsection in pain. "Did the universe just get sucker punched?"

"I...I don't know." Otto said honestly, "Perhaps it's something to do with the Nexus." He then suggested, Mir nodding and accepting that as the truth. What they didn't know was that something was indeed wrong with the universe, and Mir was not too off by saying it was punched in the gut. A living disease of death and pestilence had transcended the Monitor Sphere and arrived in their reality, soaked with the blood of countless other universes and gods upon it's dark blade. Another had heralded it's arrival, but the Snake had already chosen a victim, while Nul Tyranis needed his own. "Let's get going." Otto said, Mir following in tow.

Formless shadows in the void of space were almost unseen and unrecognizable due to the depth of interstellar space and it's pitch black atmosphere, but a keen eye could spot the shadows as they passed over nearby stars and galaxies in the distance, temporarily clouding their vision. Mir shook his head for a moment, unsure of what he was seeing, but stopped following Otto as an organic shadow formed between them, dancing like a wild flame, it's shape slowly becoming more and more humanoid in appearance than the feral shadow that preceded it. "What the hell is that?!" Mir shouted, the shadow peeling back away to reveal the shape of a man, his face sullen and his eyes seemingly dead, a piece of shadow remaining around his right hand. Otto turned his head, or more accurately, began to turn his head, when the being struck from behind.

Otto gasped out and looked down at his abdomen, disturbingly watching as a pure black blade slide it's way out of his stomach and caused his back to arch against his will, the Asgardian screaming with primal fear and disgust, the blade ripping itself out the way it had came in an instant, Nul Tyranis flicking it to the side. As he flicked the shadowy sword, deep crimson blood spattered in the direction, the rest of the blood absorbing into the depths of All-Black. Tyranis grabbed Godblessed by his hair in that same moment, rearing back and stabbing the God's body once more, this slamming the blade in the middle of Otto's back and going through his chest, this time, the Asgardian wheezed as air left his lungs.

Mir acted after the first stab, but was unable to prevent the second as he wrapped his forearms around Nul's neck, screaming, "You dead motherfucker!", and ripping as hard as he could, and pulling Nul's head completely off. With his ring, Mir then sent a blast of yellow solar energy directly at the shadow, chasing the darkness away momentarily, getting a glimpse at the bastard's head. Mir gasped as he looked at it - recognizing it as a Kryptonian, but the identity escaping him. Still, the head evaporated away with the man's body, and Mir's concern now came to his comrade. "O-Otto..." He yelped, floating over to his friend and comrade, who drifted lazily in the vacuum of space.

Godblessed's body seized as it struggled to remain conscious, the half-Asgardian weakly reaching out to Mir, the wounds from Nul's vicious assault not bleeding, as All-Black drained him significantly of Godblood. "I...I don't have time, Mir." He said weakly, barely able to form the words due to loss of breath. In his agony, Otto reached into his chest pocket - the stab wound narrowly missing it - and produced a small syringe filled with yellow liquid. "Th...This...Is Max's version..." He coughed, a small amount of blood finding it's way out of his stab wounds. Otto's eyes were jammed closed as he continued, Mir grabbing onto his friend's hand. "Of the Sentry...Serum."

"Otto, please, I can get you out of here, I can -" He stopped, realizing that the All-Mother was battling Galactus and the Celestials, and he had no clue where else to go to help his brother. "I can...I can help." He muttered, his lips cowering as he tried form another word, but only a gasp escaping as he entire face shook, unable to deal with the sight before him. Otto was no friend, no ally, he was a brother first and foremost, and to see him so close to death rattled him to his very core. "I can't let you die..." Mir sobbed, tears streaming down his face as he put his head on Otto's chest, his chest moving up and down as he poured out his emotions. Otto weakly grasped the back of Mir's head, the Asgardian grunting in pain, but not letting Mir see it. Otto lifted the syringe to Mir's neck, and before he stabbed it in, he said his good bye to the Daxam's Native Son.

"I'll always be with you, Mir, even if you can't see me." Otto slipped his trusted ring, Draupnir, into Mir's pocket and jammed the vial containing the alternate version of the Sentry Serum deep into Czar-Mir's neck in a fluid motion, pushing down on the stopper until it emptied it's contents in only a few nanoseconds. Otto's hand limply fell backwards and to his side, his body growing cold, his breath finally slowing to a stop. Mir took a massive inhale of air, his eyes flying open as the power surged within him and binded to his molecules and cells. A low growl formed in his throat, but fully developed into a massive, planet erasing roar as Mir lifted his upper body from Otto's, feeling it's life force fade.

An explosion of incredible caliber, capable of single-handedly ending the entire battle - the one fought over the Nexus with the Green Lanterns and New Gods - in one fell swoop. Mir rose and screamed again, his voice box threatening to rip apart as the tears over a fallen comrade were turned into an unsettled, unfulfilled rage. The light and energy coursing through his body looked as if a new galaxy were forming, not a mere star, as Czar-Mir of Daxam was enhanced with the power of one million exploding suns. A rational soul was turn and run at such a sight, but Nul Tyranis was no rational being. He was only a servant of the Dead God, and he watched with little interest as the scene between Mir and Otto developed, and seemed to ascend to powers rivaling that of Gods.

Nul Tyranis took shape and form, making himself visible to Czar Mir, the cascade of light produced by the Daxamite almost clouded out by the Kryptonian and All-Black. Mir eyed the man with unknowable anger, raising his hand and forming it into a fist - a nearby star behind Mir exploding violently as he did so. Nul tightened his body and assumed a combat stance, All-Black positioned behind his leading hand, but the other worldy Kryptonian shot forward unexpectedly, Mir doing the same - his fist leading him, while Nul put All-Black at the head of his charge.

A collision that would spell doom for nearby star systems, their battle would play only second fiddle to the one between Darkstar and Morningstar.

---

Morningstar

Max and Val watched in awe as the All-Mother, who had just healed Max's lady to be, go toe and toe with a well-fed Galactus, crashing the World Eater to the planet below and still standing, though damaged, and motioning for them to continue. The Celestials made no motion against the trio, but cast their glances to each other. It was as if they made silent conversation between themselves, before declaring a single word in unison: "COMBINE." The three cosmic beings began to glow and irradiate a splendid light, cackles of electricity forming along their bodies and arcing from one Celestial to another, before a final light flashed, and where three once stood, a massive, singular Celestial stood in their place.

It raised a lone hand against the All-Mother, powerful energies beyond the cosmic realm drawing into it and readying to obliterate Valka. Max, instead of watching, heeded Valka's order and rushed toward the Nexus of All Realities, leaving the All-Mother to fend for herself, but a few Valkyries arriving at her side for support. Max had no time left to question them, if they were taking Valka to heal or joining in the fight - Max reasoned that he could close the Nexus and aid the All-Mother immediately after. As he neared the M'Kraan Crystal, a deep pink glow engulfed his body, and he reached the crystal itself, Max extend his hand to simply touch it. In an instant, he was transported to an alien city located within the Crystal, it's beauty and expansion far surprising his mortal mind.

At the city's center was a glowing sphere of energy, Max singling it out as it held the vibrant power that attracted him to the Nexus. Another source of immense energy was the White Hot Room, the point of operations for the Phoenix and the Phoenix Force, the be all and end all of life in the universe, but Max dare not stray into it's depths, as he was there for a singular purpose, and made his way to the energy sphere at the city center. Max gazed upon the sphere with transfixed eyes, the neutron galaxy hosting a single star that united all points of reality into a single point. He reached out to touch it, withdraw our own universal energy from the center mass, but recoiled his hand as another being phased into appearance before him. Towering above Max's form and extending two hands over the Mad God, the multi-faced being known as the Living Tribunal stood to challenge him as well.

"No way..." Max said under his breath, "The Living Tribunal..."

"Maxwell Morningstar..." It began, but was interrupted by Mad Max.

"Tribunal, please! You exist in all realities, you know what's going on within them! You've seen the devastation Darkstar has been creating. You too cannot deny me access to the Nexus knowing what you know." Max said, passionate emotion in his voice, "Tribunal, judge my prior actions and the ones I shall take to ensure this universe lives, see for yourself that I am not the demon Galactus believes me to be!" Max cried, throwing off his helmet in desparation, searching for any and all reasons to make the Tribunal yield, or even gain his assent. "You yourself can save our universe by closing the Nexus, right? There is still time!"

"No, Messiah." The Living Tribunal boomed, "I have not come to oppose you." The words confused Max, who twisted his face to show such strangeness. "I have come for you, and to tell you," He further said, extending his arms away from Max, a sudden rot and decay engulfing the alien city within the Crystal, all originating from the Nexus. "That you are out of time." As those words sank in, the Living Tribunal phased from in front of Max to behind him, allowing him to see the events unfold first hand. The blackened rot pulsated from the Nexus a few times, mimicking a rotten heart beating, and finally, it spewed forth the unspeakable horror that befell hundreds of thousands of universes before it. A lone chair emerged from the neutron galaxy by force - sending ripples across reality, the universe itself reacting to the perverse entrance of Darkstar.

Then, Maxwell saw his face. One he woke up and saw every morning, one exactly like his own, the enigmatic being known as Darkstar very clearly and understandably similar to Max in appearance because he was Max, in a different universe. Not only that, but Max recognized it before as well. This Darkstar...He was the very counter-part Max saw only in passing on the Ultimate Earth, where the Mad God had torched that planet's hopes of surviving The End. Darkstar has plotted for revenge since that moment, and when the two locked eyes, they were both taken back to that fateful hour, where one survived the collapse of the Multiverse, and the other died and was remade. Dread and fear took over the Celestial Messiah, as it all came full circle. He was the one who set these events in motion, by ensuring his own Ark survived, he doomed thousands of universes to death.

Darkstar sat forward in his chair, raising his palm towards Mad Max and the Living Tribunal, a sphere of condensed Anti-Energy forming within it, and he launched it at the Tribunal and Mad God. Max formed two of his own spheres of energy, preparing to counteract Darkstar's own, but before he could block the blow, the Living Tribunal waved his hand, and he and Max were far from the potential battlefield. "Morningstar, I bring you here as the Celestial Redeemer. This is my Star Chamber, where I pass judgement on all. Your sins will be absolved, but for that, you must engage Darkstar."

"I shall, without question." Maxwell said at the ready, clinching his fist together and looking straight at the Tribunal, his eyes true and determined. Maxwell took this time to look around the Star Chamber, finding it to be similar to the vacuum of space, but noting that it was akin to watching it through a one-way mirror. A barrier that separated the universe at large from the judgement quarters of the Living Tribunal - one that placed him outside of the timestream and the events of reality at large. The Mad God turned back to face the Tribunal, hearing his words intently.

"But...You are not powerful enough." The Tribunal explained, Maxwell undeterred at the words. "I am tasked with restoring the balance of this universe...And the Multiverse." LT further explained, "And to that end, I will gift to you an artifact of my will rendered physical. My blessing as the eternal judge, your sword to cleave apart Darkstar, and your bandage to heal his damage." The Living Tribunal put his hand outward and sent powerful electrical shocks against the floor of his Star Chamber, a circle of lightning-based energy forming, and suddenly giving rise to a hilt, followed by an entire blade. "The Infinity Gauntlet was a device not meant to wielded alone, Morningstar. It was meant to wield a weapon."

"Behold, the Infinity Sword." The Tribunal said, a full sword appearing, floating within the energy field created by the Living Tribunal. "I have carefully locked the weapon away, leaving the Infinity Gems and the Gauntlet within the universe as they are needed for reality to operate, whereas the Blade is but an expression, an abstract, and thus, unneeded by any mortal. On this day, however, you will wield it with my permission." Maxwell nodded, swallowing hard as he laid eyes upon a weapon no other mortal had yet seen, stepping forward to receive it from the Living Tribunal. He reached out and into the electrical field that kept it aloft, grabbing onto it's hilt and pulling it free without much effort, looking at the gleaming surface of the blade as Max held it up.

Suddenly, the Infinity Sword began to draw itself into Max's arm, the Mad God gasping out at the motion. "It's...it's absorbing into my being!" He yelled out, the blade suddenly becoming a white, formless energy, and slowly disappearing into Max's arm, distributing itself among his body. Maxwell breathed in and out, looking at his hands as he felt the massive, yet controllable power course within him - far surpassing the energy he absorbed from Alex long ago by leaps and bounds, a quick awareness of cosmic reality flooding his mind as his brain unlocked it's full potential to process it. "I...I can see everything. I can know everything." Max said, his eyes glowing a bright white-blue color, the Living Tribunal gazing on at what he had created.

"You are armed with the Infinity Blade and the Ragnarok Equation." The Tribunal said, Max gasping as he realized that of all the beings to know of his power origins, it would be the Living Tribunal. "You found the Equation long ago on Earth, did you not? The power to reverse entropy, expressed as energy absorption, the power you possess. It is why you call it's ultimate ability the Ragnarok Sanction. Your fathers' work made it possible to uncover, where others failed long ago, and you have used it to balance this universe. That is why I allow you to keep it, Morningstar, as this battle will be won with it, this Ragnarok War will be in your victory."

---

Darkstar

"Such a lovely day for obliteration."

Those were the first words out of the Dead God's mouth - the multiversal entity emerging from the M'Kraan Crystal on his floating power chair, the vehicle originally belonging to the New God, Metron, but stolen by Darkstar following Morningstar acquiring it for powering his Ark before the Secret Wars. "Hmm?" He hummed, looking at the scene before him as he made his appearance in the Prime Reality. The Super Celestial was preparing to unleash it's full fury against the defenseless Asgardian, whose energy Darkstar immediately recognized as Skyfather-level, making note that she was All-Mother of Asgard. "Such a pretty thing you are," Darkstar said, referring to Valka, "You deserve death at my hand, not some pretender-gods." Darkstar further declared, lifting his palm to the sky, forming his fingers together, touching his thumb to his middle finger and extending his index finger outward.

Darkstar moved his thumb and made his middle finger slap against his palm - snapping his fingers - and causing a wave of anti-energy to flood behind him and engulf the Super Celestial, who turned with a fuzzled scream of surprise and fear, it's energy instantly overpowered and simply destroyed by the onslaught of anti-energy unleashed by Darkstar. It's being was consumed by the wave, stopping short of the All-Mother and her Valkyries, and recoiling back to Darkstar. From his seat, he smiled in a grotesque, needless grin as he was party to the simple annihilation of the combined might of three Celestials. With the snap of his fingers. "All-Mother, do tell me your name, as I shall cast it heavenward in due time. Tell me - where do Asgardians go after I destroy both Asgard and Valhalla? Once Madworld falls, I shall pay you and your kind a visit."

As the Dead God spoke of death so casually and without remorse, his entourage began to spew forth from the M'Kraan Crystal, led by a sole woman of attractive appearance, behind her a massive series of space stations and battleships alien in design and motion, moving space around them instead of going through it. The woman took her place beside Darkstar, who stared at the All-Mother and her Asgardian companions. He wrapped one his arms around the girl who leaned against his arm rest, bringing her closer to him. "Rose, tell me, what do you see in those there?" Darkstar asked, the girl robotically turning to look at Darkstar, and then Valka.

"I see..." Rose began, "I see nothing." Darkstar smiled at this, squeezing the girl's hip roughly as he smirked.

"Good, good. You see, All-Mother, Rose can see realities past and present. She is the All-Seer, Stargazer." Darkstar explained, lifting his open hand so that his palm faced Valka and her Valkyries. "Take me on, then, All-Mother, I will taste your sword." Darkstar taunted, a powerful sphere of anti-energy forming in his palms, condensing and collapsing to produce a massive attack, "Allow Dead God Darkstar to savor it's flavor."

[New Neros]

-Part One

Ragnarök War
Part Two: Obliteration Absolute;

Or the Death of Madworld

The dramatic and sudden ending of the Darkstar Crisis triggered the Ragnarök War, the ultimate failure on behalf of Maxwell Morningstar and his allies to disconnect their universe from the Nexus of All Realities. In the opening move of the War, Nul-Tyranis, a Kryptonian God Butcher, fatally wounded Otto Godblessed, who in his dying moments, gave Czar-Mir of Daxam an injection known as the "Sentry Serum", empowering the Kryptonian-offshoot to god-like levels. Shortly after, Darkstar arrived in the Prime Reality with a show of force - instantly obliterating a Super Celestial with his Anti-Energy Wave in front of the All-Mother of Asgard. With Mad Max nowhere to be found, Mir and Val must survive the ruthless onslaught of the Dead God alone.

---

The impious Dead God disbanded his Anti-Energy sphere as Valka removed herself from battle for a moment. He flashed a wicked grin, leaning over to Rose and bringing the girl in closer to him. "I suppose you were right, one way or another." Darkstar commented, his eyes scanning the Prime Reality that lay before him. It was disheartening, though, as he had seen realities exactly like it perish under the crushing weight of his Anti-Energy waves. Still, it was all for the sake of revenge, and the twisted mind of Darkstar likened personal vengeance into total and utter annihilation. His eyes came to rest on a floating body, swirling with energy, gaining his interest as it contained the familiar spark of Max's energy and the All-Mother's. "Hmm?" Darkstar hummed, leaning forward in his chair.

The body took a breath suddenly, opening it's mouth and nostrils and letting the ambient energy fill it's lungs and spread all across the body. Female in appearance, bearing short black hair and a curvaceous body frame, she would be a stone cold stunner had her clothes - and gloves - not been coated in the blood of her enemies. Maybe someone was into that, but Darkstar had other plans for the Mad Girl, otherwise known as Val. The Dead God floated close to Val's body as it fully recovered, Max's woman opening her eyes and looking at her own body as it healed, remembering only a flash, and then nothing. She didn't even notice Darkstar and his companion, until a snap was heard.

As Darkstar clicked his fingers, the very same sound that caused the death of a Super Celestial, he opened his mouth to speak, getting the girl's attention immediately. "Ah, yes, now I remember!" Darkstar declared, "You're...Valerie Valentine. Oh yes, that's right, ten points." Darkstar said, doing a small fist pump as he gave himself props for recalling Val's name. The girl looked confused and puzzled, prompting Darkstar to quickly explain. "Oh yeah...You see, I'm Darkstar, nice to meet you, I'll be ensuring your untimely and brutal demise."

"If you're wondering why I look exactly like the Max you're currently boning, well, I was Maxwell Morningstar at one point in time in another universe, a better universe." A grim look graced the Dead God's face as he recalled memories from years ago, as Darkstar lived through the Secret Wars instead of travelling in a Life Raft. "A final incursion before the Secret Wars brought my world and your world together. We had a Life Raft, you had an Ark. For whatever reason, your boyfriend decided to destroy our means of survival, and killed everyone involved except for me." The calm explanation became more and more strange and plain...weird, as Darkstar's breathing became erratic. He put his head down as if to weep, but shot it back up to stare at Val - giving a short chuckle. "He took my Rose from me...So I will take his Valentine."

For whatever reason, Darkstar returned to his silly state, Val standing there in pure shock and fear. "Do not be afraid! Well, actually, you should be afraid, I don't know why I said that in the beginning. Now, we're going to find a suitable little battlefield so that -" A nearby explosion of violent, ridiculous magnitude interrupted the Dead God's speech and caused him to spaz out for a moment. "For fuck's sake...Dick lickers!" He shouted, "NUL! KEEP IT DOWN OVER THERE!" Darkstar screamed at his subordinate, spit flying out of his mouth as he did so. "Now, uh, where were we? Oh right - a battlefield. Don't worry, I've picked the perfect place. You might like it, I know I will." Darkstar continued, extending a bubble around Val from the Mobius Chair to take the girl with him.

"Grah! No!" Was all Val could get out before the shield surrounded her, sealing off her ability to protest as Darkstar carried her along, going to briefly watch the epic duel between God Butcher and Daxamite God as the two titans had been enthralled in a battle before Darkstar had even arrived, and there was nothing but a cold stalemate between the two despite Mir's bloodlust and Nul's abilities with All-Black. Sub-relativistic punches and kicks galore, the battle was paused briefly as Darkstar extended his bubble-like barrier to cover Nul and Mir, taking three mid-sized spheres with him. "We're all going to go to a little place I like to call...Madworld."

---

[New Neros]

-Part Two...¹/2

Ragnarök War
Part Two: Obliteration Absolute;

Or the Death of Madworld

Dead God Darkstar has taken his inner circle and their respective combatants to a familiar place: Madworld, capital of Mad Max's empire, his current residence, former Ark to survive The End, and home to over one hundred million people. What Darkstar plans is anyone's guess, but the uncontrollable rage and bloodlust in Mir for his fallen brother Otto will not be sated until Nul is atomized, and armed with the Sentry Serum, he may yet prove to be the greatest hope for the Ragnarok War. No one knows what happened to Maxwell or where he is - leaving the protection of Madworld on Mir and Valerie's hands. All they can do is hope, and fight like absolute titans to stand a chance against Darkstar.

---

Darkstar

The Mobius Chair was a fitting throne for the Dead God, as it gave him information on every conceivable item or action within the universe it inhabits, giving Darkstar the ultimate edge in knowing one's opponent, and what they hold dearest to them. Rather than assault Earth, Darkstar would hold his judgement for the world Max created and inhabited, as it holds a different kind of feeling for Morningstar - the best analogy being that Earth would be like a parent to Max, whereas Madworld was his own, cherished child.

"My, my, Valentine." Darkstar said casually, "You and Morningstar have quite the affection for one another. Tell me - does Madworld reserve a place within your ever-loving heart?" The girl said nothing, refusing to speak to the alternate version of Max, whose smile quickly faded as he took on a more serious look. "Not gonna talk, huh? Well then, that settles it! We'll have our little playground here." He said, gesturing to his immediate surroundings. "But oh - the buildings and natural scenery is such a bother, and not very fit for the bloodshed that we will be inflicting."

As he spoke, Darkstar lowered his chair to the surface of the planet, keeping his trapped combatants enclosed and high in the sky to observe his actions below. A smile returned to the Dead God's face, his chair hovering only a few feet above the grassy plains below - a medium sized city visible in the distance, and a soft breeze tussling his hair. "Now, what this...heh, Madworld needs is a touch of pizzazz, something to set the tone. Allow me..." Darkstar cooed, bringing his hands together and intertwinning his fingers. He ensured Val and Mir watched intently, and in an abrupt motion, the Mobius Chair slammed into planet's crust rather lightly. Yet, the fall did not harm Madworld, the release of a planetary Anti-Energy Wave that circled the globe and back in just a second tore the surface to absolute shreds.

Val's face dropped quickly as the once grassy field was burned away, leaving black earth behind, and the cities in the distance were partially leveled and mostly destroyed. From space, viewed by Darkstar's Fleet, the planet suffered an Anti-Energy shockwave of sorts, boiling away all lakes and rivers, raising volcanoes and exploding lava to the surface as Madworld became a hellish reflection of it's true self. Madworld had become Deadworld, and the millions that lived there hardly suffered as their bodies just vanished under the crushing weight of Anti-Energy. But, Darkstar was cruel, and sparred some population centers, leaving them to deal with the aftermath and the battles that would further devastate Deadworld.

Darkstar smiled as his Chair rose back into the air, meeting his prisoners of war with outstretched arms and a sick grin. "Well? What do you think? I wanted some more lava lakes here and there, but I'd run the risk of disrupting the inner core. Still, Madworld is but a thing of the past, ladies and gentlemen! I am a miracle worker, Darkstar the Magnificent, and I have turned Madworld into a dead world." He nodded profusely at Mir and Val, who both looked on in just...shock at Darkstar's level of power and brutality. "Do you get it? I don't think you get it. You see, it's a play on words - mad and dead are switched, as self-anointed Gods, Max is called Mad, and I'm called Dead, and I just sorta..." Darkstar trailed off, focusing on Mir as the Daxamite's container began to glow a bright, blinding light.

In an explosion rivaling a small scale nuclear weapon, Czar-Mir destroyed the energy bubble that contained him with a raging scream. In the same action, he charged forward, throwing a massive punch mere inches from Darkstar, but he missed, the Dead God moving just slightly back to avoid Mir's right cross. Darkstar had no words or expressions as Mir glared at him like a rabid animal fighting for those lost and ensuring others won't be. Power flowed through him in troves, the Sentry Serum overloading his Daxamite solar absorption cells and producing a warrior unseen in the universe. Mir attempted to follow up in his assault, but before he could extend his next punch, he was blind sided by the God Butcher, Nul, who tackled the Daxamite and brought him down to the planet.

"Ohoho," Darkstar chuckled, "We've got a fighter. That just leaves Max's pretty little princess, doesn't it, Rose?" He said, turning to his assistant, "You should take care of her, I'm trying to lure a bigger fish, and if I know my literature correctly, it's that whenever the heroine is in trouble, the hero shows up!" Darkstar further declared, "So, do your thing, dispatch her, maim her, kill her, I don't care - just draw it out enough to get Morningstar back here." He ordered, setting loose the hound of war as Val's personal energy prison collapsed back into the Mobius Chair, the Mad Girl floating there as Rose - the emotionless eye-candy Darkstar kept at his side - left Darkstar's chair and floated towards Val.

---

Valentine vs Rose

Rose stopped a few feet from Val, the two women staring at each other and sizing up their opponent. Rose's eyes were glossy, almost tired looking, while Val's were sharp and precise, digging into every imperfection and subtle movement. The contrast was evident, and Darkstar looked on, pleased as ever, as he pitted his own beloved against Morningstar's. Val cocked her head to the side, pursing her lips together and squinting her eyes at Rose as she did so, blunting asking, "So, you're a machine pretending to be a human?" The question didn't seem to phase Rose, but it stirred a reaction from Darkstar.

"A keen eye you have! Rose is my own little project, developed shortly after the Final Incursion. She is but an android, yes, but she is in the shape of my dearly departed fiance, also named Rose." Darkstar quipped, Rose herself flexing out her fingers and rotating her neck a bit. "She's jam packed with strength and abilities, not to mention those All-Seeing Eyes that belonged to those Vokornians, making her the Stargazer. Nice name, right? Another favorite nickname of hers is Dead Girl, but that seems a bit more grim." Darkstar continued on as he rambled, Val growing incredibly sick and tired of his mouth. Val hunched low and prepared to launch a surprise attack against Rose as Darkstar blabbered, but widened her eyes in surprise suddenly.

Her attack had to immediately become a defense as Val registered Rose's fist preparing to collide with her stomach. The immediate fear empowered Val enough to jam out her fist, reasoning that the best defense was a greater offense, letting it smack beautifully with Rose's cheek as the android's hand buried itself in Val's stomach region. The two flew in opposing directions, but did not go far as they were ready to go right back against one another. But something kept eating away at Val as she traded blows and punches, dodging and the like while Rose did the same, that the android knew that Val was going to strike first...And based on Rose's movements, she's moving before Val even throws her strikes.

A sudden flurry of punches smashed into Val's face as her thoughts kept her away from the fight at hand. The strikes barely bruised the girl's face, and only seemed to piss her off, Val returning the combination tenfold with a stunning mixture of punches, elbows, low kicks, and any kind of logical strike she could throw at Rose, all the while, the android was catching and blocking those very same strikes. Despite that, Val noticed that some, an impossible few, got through Rose's foresight into the future. How or why was beyond Val at this point, and the pressing assault as Rose laid into the Mad Girl reminded Val that this wasn't just a fight for the remains of Madworld, or the amusement of Darkstar, it was to save the universe, to honor Otto, and above all at this point, survive.

Darkstar followed the fight between the ladies with a joyful expression, like watching a live pay-per-view event play out right before his eyes. But, he realized he was getting ahead of himself, and forgot to call in to his Fleet. Perhaps the excitement of finding the prime reality overshadowed the true need of the Fleet. Pressing a small button on his Mobius Chair, Darkstar issued a stern command. "This is your Dead God, and my order is simple. We will begin annihilation of nearby systems indiscriminately, be they barren rocks or inhabited interstellar empires. While Madworld burns, so too shall her entire neighborhood. Make it so." With those choice words, the massive vessels above the planet and in orbit began to phase in and out of sight, beginning their jump to close star systems and other planets and stars within a few lightyear radius of Madworld, now Deadworld, for now, avoiding Earth as the planet lies close to forty lightyears from Earth.

To his credit and attention span, though, Darkstar watched the ongoing fight between Rose and Val with excitement while thunderous claps and powerful shakes rocked Deadworld as two titans battled for their Gods without a slight hint of giving in, or even pushing the other back. Punches so powerful, that Deadworld would simply atomize at the strike were thrown around, caught like feathers by the tyrannical hands of Nul, or the ever-powerful ones Mir has. While Mad Girl and Dead Girl simply fought, Mir and Nul were enthralled in their own open, impressively brutal war.

Czar Mir vs Nul Tyranis

The glowing yellow energy pouring from Mir's body was hot to the touch, scorchingly so, his eyes were entirely covered by yellow light as Mir himself acted like a walking star cluster, a counter balance to the impermeable, ever-consuming darkness that was All-Black the Necrosword, wielded by the fearsome Nul Tyranis, Butcher of Gods, Slayer of Universes. But in this battle between light and dark, a personal vendetta drives Mir to act rash, reckless in his assaults, preferring to dish out as much strength and power in a single second than to use those abilities intelligently. Mir and Nul each punched the other in the face to no effect, Nul jamming All-Black against Mir's chest, but the blade retreating as the energy burned it away.

Not only did they fight physically, but their auras fought for dominance - All-Black trying to contain the light while the Sentry Serum sought to annihilate the darkness. "You...You killed my brother. I don't care if we didn't come from the same parents, same planet, same plane of existence, or same goddamn species!" Mir yelled passionately, his voice almost quaking as his emotions bled through. "Otto was my brother and I was his, and no one could take him from me."

"But I did." Nul replied harshly, causing Mir to scream out, his voice threatening to tear about Deadworld's atmosphere and his power skyrocketing even higher, making Nul throw up a hand to shield himself from the bright light. While Nul wasn't looking, Mir launched the first devastating assault against Nul, driving several solid, planet-shattering punches into Nul's stomach back to back, only to then driving upward quickly and deliver a perfectly executed uppercut, Nul's lower jaw slamming against his upper teeth and chipping them. He finished the combo by rearing back and delivering an even more powerful strike right on Nul's nose from a downward angle, intending to plant the evil Kryptonian deep in Deadworld's crust.

The punch landed right on point, but Nul did not so much as budge as it impacted, as if Mir was a normal man and hit a brick wall. Mir reeled his fist back and stared at Nul, his infuriating glare being matched as Nul stood there and locked eyes with Mir - a small stream of blood slowly flowing from his left nostril. "You'll pay in so much more." Mir said, rushing forward, advancing toward the speed of light until he was almost upon it, smacking his forehead against the bridge of Nul's nose, making the Kryptonian finally budge and fly down onto the planet's surface - striking with enough force to be mistaken for a meteor crash. "I fucking promise."

Mir's forehead bleed for but a moment due to the impact before his own energy output cauterized the wound on the spot. His eyes glowed yellow for a moment, before turning to a deep, passionate red, signature of Kryptonians and Daxamites. Mir then poured more and more energy into charging his heat vision, shifting the color to a blinding, blistering white hot. The Daxamite Sentry shot his white heat beams at the smoldering crater Nul had formed, the supercharged vision creating a plasma trail ahead of it and in the beam's wake, converting the surrounding rock immediately into liquid and digging deep into the ground. After a solid minute of the super heated assault, Mir let up, breathing heavily and hovering over the lake of lava he had made, waiting for Nul to rise back up.

It was like thousands upon thousands of pure black swords and spears shot forth from the hot lake, all focused on Mir and striking at the same exact time, taking him from the skies and slamming him to the ground, dragging the Daxamite around, carving trenches that dwarfed the Grand Canyon in depth. The shadow swords twisted and moved like an organic life form, like a snake chasing it's prey. As Mir took a solid rock shower, Nul emerged from the lava pit as All-Black pulled him forward, dripping with molten rock, his face badly burned from the ordeal. He gripped tight on his own fist, strengthening the Annihiblade, and launched himself forward through the shadow swords and spears to gain incredible speed - surpassing light speed - in order to attack Mir.

Nul slashed upwards from Mir's kidney to his opposite collar bone, tearing the Daxamite's flesh apart like a hot knife through butter, spilling his blood across the battlefield in a violent spray. Mir's power surged even more, the wound sealing once more in the same way as his forehead, but the pain was very real and evident. Mir clutched his chest and felt the forming scar. Distracted by pain, Nul attacked once more with a stab to Mir's front, but the Daxamite was prepared, sliding his hand out and deflecting All-Black off to the side, leaving Nul's face wide open. The dark Kryptonian felt his face instantly freeze, surprising Nul for a moment, until Mir delivered an even more powerful punch than before - shattering the ice and taking several parts of Nul's face with it, sending him flying backwards.

"You...you are nothing to me." Nul said, clutching the side of his face, the skin once burned and now just gone as it shattered like glass with the ice. "I've gutted your kind across the Multiverse. I have destroyed the Eater of Worlds countless times, and you dare liken yourself my equal?" Nul asked, "Allow me to prove you so very wrong." Nul said in his gruff, hardy voice, stepping forward and stabbing All-Black through Mir's left shoulder, the Daxamite instinctively grabbing on it, cutting his hands in the process.

"No." Mir yelled, "No, Tyranis, I'm not your equal. I'm better, plain and simple, and I already showed you why." Mir lifted his feet from the ground and drop kicked them into Nul's chest heel-first, sending the Kryptonian stumbling back, pulling out the Necrosword of Mir's wound in the process. "I am no murderer, no lapdog for my God. You're just a mindless killing machine and I have the means to turn you off." Mir threatened, tightening his fists. "The death on your hands in my universe and every other universe out there will be answered for, Nul, and it will be answered now."

At that moment, Mir's powerful Sentry effect flickered on and off for a moment, causing the Daxamite to pause and look at his body. It kept going for a moment, but then did the same thing. Confused, Mir looked up at Nul, who despite his brutal nature and unemotive condition, wore a small, tiny smile. "What's wrong, Son of Daxam?" Nul taunted, extending his Necroblade and walking towards Mir - who walked backwards to avoid Nul. "You might not be a murderer, but you're not powerful anymore, either." He said, pointing out that Mir had completely reverted back to his normal state - the intense energy overload gone in just a few seconds. Mir swallowed hard, All-Blacks' shadows dancing all around Nul as he advanced toward Mir.

The Son of Daxam was now on the ropes and out of places to run and hide. Where Mir and Nul were both equals, with Mir slightly ahead due to his bloodlust, they were now horribly outmatched, to the point of unfair absurdity. Any reasonable man would surrender or meet death on his own terms, but not the brother of the late Otto Godblessed. Mir did the only thing he could do in that situation. He put his fists up, and got ready to keep fighting, no matter what.

[New Neros]

Ragnarök War
Part Three: Ragnarok Sanction;

Or the Return of Morningstar

Darkstar unleashed his Obliteration Absolute upon the surface of Madworld, destroying much of the planet's surface and millions of it's inhabitants by bombarding it with Anti-Energy Waves. All seems lost in the Ragnarok War as Val enters her fight with Rose, an android who can see future events and respond accordingly, and Mir looses his Sentry Serum boost and reverts back to his normal, Daxamite form. Only a miracle can save the duo, and an even greater miracle is needed to save the universe from the wrath of Dead God Darkstar.

---

Valentine

She dodged left and to the side, but still met a punch right square in her nose. Val recoiled from the hit and stumbled back, clinching her nose and closing her eyes as they watered up and blinded her for a moment. She hadn't the time to think or react - and instead jammed her legs outward to hit Rose dead center. Instead of connecting, the android side-stepped the attack and grabbed one of Val's legs by the ankle, using it as a leverage point and flipping the Mad Girl over Rose's shoulder, slamming her face-first into the rockhard ground below. Val pushed up and spun - swinging her elbow to smash into Rose's temple, but the android just stepped backwards and dodged it effortlessly. Valentine used her momentum to throw a punch as well - Rose simply leaning to the side to dodge it.

"Holy fuck!" Val yelled, "Let me just hit you, damnit!" As soon as she said that, Val found that one her punches did indeed connect with Rose's face. A solid strike, too, nothing held at bay and twisting the android's facial features a bit as Val dug in and stepped in to the punch to give it more power. Despite that, the android didn't budge or even move from the moment of impact - her eyes remained locked on Val as the Mad Girl landed her punch. "How the..." Val muttered, before being kneed in the stomach by Rose, who then delivered a smacking punch to the side of Val's head.

"Useless, Valentine." Rose said plainly, lacking emotion or any real passion in her voice. "Your chance at victory is a near-zero number. Your world is dead, your friend is losing, and your lover," Rose continued, walked toward Val slowly and methodically, taking her time to lay on the verbal abuse, "Has abandoned you." Just like that, a switch flipped in Valentine, and acting almost faster than Rose could predict, a punch flew past her head. The android's eyes grew wide as she kept watching the future to predict Val's moves, only to just barely react in time. The Mad Girl slammed her fist deep into Rose's stomach, the upward force lifting Rose off of her feet and into the air, the Dead Girl getting a deep look into Val's wild, passionate eyes.

"Don't you EVER," Val hissed, jumping up and uppercutting Rose brutally, sending the android flying even higher in the sky, "Talk about Max!" She yelled, flying to meet Rose and throwing another punch, Rose grabbing hold of Val's fist this time, Rose narrowing her own eyes at Val, who threw her other hand to strike at Rose instead. Before Val connected, Rose had already punched her in the mouth, sending Val's neck twisting at an angle, but the Mad Girl turned back to face the android, her lip busted, still ready to fight. Val reared back and threw her off hand once more, Rose clamping down on that one as well - taking both of her arms out of the equation, but Val simply crunched her midsection, bringing her legs up, and extending them into Rose's chest.

The android ate the hit fairly well, only barely stumbling back, but remaining in control of Val's hands. The next hit, however, was aimed right for her face, and Rose hadn't the time to counter it even with her futuristic vision. The hit pushed Rose's neck back and smashed her nose into a bloody mess, finally letting go of Val's fists and tumbling away. Watching their fight, Darkstar went from pleased to rather impatient, and then loudly declared to Rose, "Darling, could you stop playing around with her? Go ahead and go ham, maybe Morningstar will get the message."

Val was confused - no way had Rose been holding back this entire time. Before she could finish her thought, the android's fist was already smashing it's way into her midsection. Val couldn't even blink before Rose's other hand was colliding with her jawline at a cross, the two successive hits sending Val flying against the surface of Deadworld and burying herself beneath it's crust. Rose followed the Mad Girl with the heels of her feet, striking Val with much more force than the two hits combined, unearthing Valentine and forming a massive crater as the stomp nearly crushed her rib cage. Val could barely move, much less react, as the android leapt from her body and stood watch at the edge of the crater.

Darkstar gave a smirk, enjoying the brutal stomp the fight suddenly turned into, and also admiring his own handiwork in creating Rose. "Quite the show, Rose. Now, don't you think it's time for curtains?" Darkstar asked, Rose blinking slightly and nodding once, pointing two fingers to the sky, Val weakly opening her eyes to watch. A small sphere of energy formed and swirled above her index and middle fingers, the characteristic decaying look of Anti-Energy apparent in it's manifolds. The sphere suddenly enlarged from the size of a tennis ball to at least that of a large house, Rose nonchalantly holding it aloft.

Weakly, Val extended her palm, whispering "No..." As she watched her certain death play out before her very eyes. She slammed her eyelids shut, tears rolling down her face, closing her palm as well, laying back and fighting through the pain she was already enduring. Her willpower was broken, her ribs pulverized, and all lost. In her final moments, she wondered where was Max, why didn't he save her, why didn't anyone save her. Darkstar laughed, clasping his hands together slowly, Val wincing with each clap, Rose raising the deadly sphere of Anti-Energy higher and rearing back, just moments before throwing the decaying mass onto Val's defenseless body.

And then, a miracle.

Mir

Daxam's Native Son faced the unimaginable horror that was an unrestricted Nul Tyranis, who wielded All-Black the Necrosword with stunning swordsmanship and impunity, yet he did not waver, not once, in the face of overwhelming defeat and hopelessness. As Mir stood there with his hands raised, ready to fight still, Nul could only give a slight chuckle at the sight. Mir took this as an invitation, rushing forward, slamming his superpowered fist into Nul's body like a charged bullet - but it did absolutely nothing, just making a smacking sound. Nul grabbed Mir by the neck and slammed him into the ground in one fluid motion, blasting his body with a charged shot of All-Black to complete the assault.

Nul lifted himself into the air and backed away slightly, the fiery dance of All-Black's dark tendrils forming an aura of pure evil around Nul. As if on cue, Mir shot forth from the ground, pieces of dirt flying off of his body as his eyes glowed red, firing his heat vision as Nul. The God Butcher raised All-Black to tank the blast, Mir colliding with Nul and throwing two punches back to back, Nul eating both of them like nothing, throwing his own weak punch against Mir's face, causing the Daxamite to stumble in the opposite direction. In the same second, Nul uppercutted Mir with devastating power, almost sending him skyward, but Nul slashed at the Daxamite with his Annihiblade before he flew - creating a gash across Mir's chest.

He flew high into the sky, almost into orbit, where the light of Madworld's yellow sun bathed his body in energy. The hit knocked him out, but the boost brought him back to the waking world, and Mir flew right back into the action with a revitalized spirit. But the result was the same - Nul brutally stomped Mir as soon as the Daxamite charged him, slamming a waiting fist into Mir's face as he shot toward Nul, shockwaves bouncing around the planet as the hit knocked him back for miles and miles. Nul flew after him lazily, as if he enjoyed toying with the Daxamite and his willpower. Mir laid against the warm dirt, hot from the friction of slowing his speed, and breathed heavily, thinking to himself.

"I can't...I can't let Max down. Val...I need to help Val." He thought, "My...My body. Move, damnit, move!"

"Your body is at it's limit, Mir." The dark, callous voice of Nul called out, the Kryptonian walking into view of the Daxamite. "Your body burned away the Sentry Serum - our metabolisms are too great for it's effects. But still, it will not do you good, this sun will do you no good. Sun dipping will not work - you could barely keep up with my with one million suns within your body." He further taunted, Mir's breathing becoming steady, glancing from Nul to where Val was - in her crater, the sphere Rose was creating growing larger. "You and your friends have lost."

Mir's body suddenly disappeared, rushing to where Val was in an effort to save her. Time moved still, as Mir blitzed as fast as he had ever gone before. Two choices were ahead: Take out Rose, or remove Val from the equation. Unknowing Rose's capabilities, he went with the Val option, and was just about to reach her crater, when the full force of Nul's heels slammed into his back and drove him to the ground. The God Butcher grabbed Mir by the neck and raised him up - facing Val and the entire scene. Mir struggled, but he couldn't free himself or reach Nul's body with his legs, so he was forced to watch. "No..." Mir said, "No, I can't let Max down..."

Frustrated, he relaxed his body, accepting his fate, just as Val did, lamenting as he did so. "I...I let him down. I couldn't save her, I couldn't save Otto." Mir blinked away droplets of tears as they welled in his eyes and clouded his vision. Nul gave a slight smile as Darkstar laughed and clapped, ushering in the death of Valentine with Mir as an unwilling witness, "I'm sorry, Max...I...I, I couldn't...I.,.You, trusted me...And...I let you down." Mir sobbed, the Anti-Energy Sphere swinging forth like a guillotine of total annihilation, Mir helpless to save the bride-to-be of Max, and helpless to stop Darkstar, or even Nul.

And then, a miracle.

Morningstar

"You never let me down, Mir."

Those few, softly spoken words brought Mir to stillness, a serene calm washing over him as he opened his eyes wide to watch as his God returned to the earthly plane. The armored body of Mad Max, save for his helmet, stood between Val and Rose for only a brief moment, the Mad God's palm raised toward Rose with a small sphere of energy swirling inside of it. At once, the energy sphere launched, and in a blinding flash of light, the body of the Android and her Anti-Energy Death Ball were consumed by the devastating power that Morningstar had at his disposal. Forming a trench two miles long, Max turned and kneeled next to Val, the heavily injured girl barely staying awake, but smiling nonetheless.

"You...you came back." She said weakly, Max frowning deeply as his unexplained absence caused his entire livelihood to go through their own Hell. Morningstar grabbed hold of Val's hand gently but firmly, letting her know that he was serious.

"I wouldn't leave for anything. Not the world, not the universe." Max said to Val, "You are my everything, and nothing and no one will ever change that. The Living Tribunal gave me a gift to fight Darkstar, and time moves differently in his dimension, but I'm here now. You don't have to cry anymore, my Valentine." Morningstar continued quietly, keeping the conversation between him and his love. Val reached her hand up and wiped away at Max's cheek, the Mad God curling his lip in as he bit down on it, trying not to whimper.

"S-silly, you're the one crying..." Val replied.

"You'll be safe somewhere else, my love, but remember, I'll always come back for you. I promise." Morningstar continued, waving his hand over Val's head and body, the girl becoming transparent and fading away to some other location, far from the battlefield Max was about to grace, where he would let his enemies know exactly why everyone else called him Mad. But still, Val's parting words stung the God in the deepest pit of his heart and soul, knowing better, but wished he could stay just a little bit longer.

"Max...please, don't leave me again..." Val softly cried, fading away from the remains of Madworld and finally giving Morningstar the mental break he needed to fight at his prime. The war was for reality, but Max knew better, because he was facing a different version of himself. This war was not just for the Multiverse, it was for Valentine, the Mad Girl, and to Darkstar, it was the ultimate way to Morningstar's defeat. Max rose to his feet but kept his head down low, the shocked expressions of Mir, Nul, and Darkstar watching on as the Mad God arrived late to the war.

Nul tossed Mir to the side like a rag doll, reasoning that he had just found a much, much better opponent to test his almighty powers with All-Black on. The Kryptonian stomped over to where Morningstar was, sliding down into the crater and locking his hate-filled eyes on Max's body. "Now that the skirts are gone, we can cut loose a bit more. Morningstar, you look well, I've managed to kill you in hundreds of universes, and I've killed many more Valentines, as well. What makes you think this time will be any different?" Null asked, stepping within a meter of Maxwell before stopping, a grim smirk on his murderous face. Morningstar looked up casually, his face blank and devoid of emotion, causing Nul to get a confused look on his face.

It happened so suddenly that Nul didn't even feel his jawline smacking against the back of his skull as Maxwell threw a straight punch right to the Kryptonian's bottom teeth. The hit sent several shockwaves around the world, blowing back incredible amounts of dust and debris as Nul's face contorted into an unnatural, pulverized look. Max didn't just punch him, though, the Mad God extended his fingers and literally grabbed the pure black energy that enveloped Nul Tyranis, pulling it back. putting forth actual effort, and separating All-Black the Necrosword from Nul's control in a violent scream of power. Nul's body limply slumped to the ground as the Annihiblade danced happily around Max's face, arms, and body, Nul crawling to Max's feet, reaching up at his torso. "Give it...back..."

"No." Max replied in a deep, commanding voice, "All-Black is not meant for mortals like yourself," Morningstar said insultingly, "It is meant to be wielded by Gods." And so, Maxwell Morningstar became Black Max, the Mad Butcher, and stared deep into the eyes of Nul as Max revealed the hidden powers of All-Black never accessible to Nul, it's true potential revealed in just a few moments. Max grabbed Nul by the hair and jerked him up high, nearly snapping his neck in the process. "The same blade that ran through Otto Godblessed will spill your own entrails. You do not deserve such an honor, Nul, but my time is thin, and you're in the way." With that, Maxwell plunged the blade deep into Nul's chest, exploding it outward at hundreds of spiny points to ensure that every organ in his chest cavity was thoroughly stabbed. Max retracted the blade mentally, Nul's eyes glossing over, and his head swiveling to the side.

The Mad Butcher tossed him aside like a wild animal carcass, his expressionless face a testament to his mental strength and resolve - revenge for Otto, but at the cost of yet another life at the machinations of Darkstar. Black Max turned to the Dead God on his throne, but looked down at the black tendrils that encircled his arm and chest, the mental willpower of Max able to finely control All-Black and force it all into Max's hand and into a neat little sphere. "I've taken away it's voice and influence, Mir, leaving just the raw power. You'll use it someday, but today, I won't." Max said to himself, leaving his transformed state with ease, and sending the sphere that contained All-Black over to the Daxamite's body, Max then giving his full attention to Darkstar.

The Dead God looked upon Max's face as if it were his own, because it was, and he smiled an excited glee. "You're quite the busy man, huh? Had to make sure your girlfriend was getting thoroughly pounded - pun intended - by Rose before showing up to be the big hero? Either way, you're here now and that's all that matters. Me and you, Us, I, We? Um." Darkstar said, thinking to himself for a moment, "Whatever, you're going to watch everything you love die and then I'm going to kill you." Darkstar yelled suddenly, scooting forward in his chair and producing severe bolts of electricity as the Mobius Chair struggled to keep him on. "Just a sec, hang on." Darkstar said, pulling himself free from the Mobius Chair and standing on it's platform defiantly, his arms outstretched, inviting Max for the first blow.

He hopped from the platform and onto the ground, lightly touching it and sparing the world of another Obliteration Absolute. "Well, what is it, then?" He asked quietly, taunting Morningstar, but a a sudden silver flash buzzed past Max's back - the Mad God leaning to the side to dodge the sneak attack with ease. A partially destroyed Rose stood next to Darkstar and Morningstar, ready to fight alongside her master. Darkstar rolled his eyes and sighed heavily as Rose put her hands up to engage, and grabbed Rose by the back of her head. "Your usefulness has been EXHAUSTED!" Darkstar shouted, picking the android up and slamming her face-first into the ground below, charged with Anti-Energy as well, exploding horrifically as Roses' final moments were being betrayed by her creator. Friction from the attack jolted across Darkstar's body as his wild eyes shifted to Morningstar, "And you're next."

Darkstar tightened his fist, Morningstar doing the same, powering their bodies with their respective energy outputs to produce even greater firepower, walking slowly before turning into a dead sprint as the two put their fists forward, read to just annihilate the other in the Ragnarok War, the final battle at hand, and the fate of the Multiverse hanging delicately in the balance. Time slowed as the first strikes in the final battle neared their mark, Darkstar taking Morningstar's punch on the chin, and Morningstar taking the exact same strike in the exact same way, both unaffected by the initial tap, but wincing in pain as the anti-energy violently reacted with the positive energy, annihilating it, and producing an explosion of untold proportions.

[New Neros]

Ragnarök War
Part Four: Serene Salvation;

Or the Death of Maxwell Morningstar

And the Old Gods wept...

---

The chiseled, bloody face of the Mad God stood in firm resolve to see things through. It was to challenge destiny, but to fulfill it in it's entirety - Darkstar would meet his end at the tip of Morningstar's fists. Tightening his own hands as Maxwell confirmed his pledge, he looked over at his opponent. He seemed less calm, more panicked yet still deranged all the same - his ability to keep fighting was all those he had slain to get to where he was now. To fight the battle for his lost loved ones years ago, and most of all, to fight what he had become. Darkstar wasn't completely blinded by his thirst for revenge, he knew what he had done and the pain he caused throughout the Multiverse, yet he would remedy it and soothe that pain with Morningstar's death.

A punch filled with anti-energy slammed into Maxwell's jawline with tremendous force, exploding outward as it came into contact with energy and annihilated itself in a fiery death. Maxwell's head was thrown back and to the side from the hit, but he used that to his advantage, charging a small sphere of energy in his hands and launching at Darkstar's body as Maxwell's own body flew away through space. Darkstar shielded himself from that ensuing explosion, but it still charred his forearms. Mad Max smirked, knowing Darkstar seemed to be on his last legs of Anti-Energy. "You came with such force..." Maxwell noted, righting himself in space, floating on the same plane as Darkstar, "You killed a Super Celestial with the snap of your fingers, even. You destroyed a world with a simple touch."

Darkstar breathed deeply, staring daggers at Maxwell as he spoke in such a vile, grandiose manner. "But I realized it was all for show. Nothing but a fireworks display, something to make others think twice, three times even, of challenging you and your might. How many universes fell to such a ploy, I wonder, as Nul and All-Black slew their way across Gods and Man alike while you sat idly by. Tell me, Darkstar, are your hands even dirty?" Maxwell taunted, finally sending Darkstar over the edge.

"WELL, WHAT ABOUT YOUR HANDS YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS PRICK?!" Darkstar demanded suddenly, catching Maxwell by surprise. "You...you..." He began, "You came to my world. We both wanted the same thing, and we both could have made it. But you came. You came to MY world, to MY home, to MY love....You came and played God. You wanted to decide who lived and who died, and you picked yourself." Darkstar was nearly in sobs at this point, Maxwell lowering his head to hide his emotions. "Why did your world get to live while mine died?! Why?!" He demanded, "Why did I have to lose her..."

"Because I didn't want to lose my love." Maxwell spat, "I didn't choose myself, I chose everyone else I knew. But...I can't explain...I was scared. I didn't know what was coming after the Incursion. I just...I just acted before you did." Maxwell finally admitted, "I was paranoid, I didn't know if you were coming to kill us, so I did the job first. I made sure you couldn't - because I know who I am...Who I was...And in that same situation, would you have done the same?" Maxwell asked, two tears rolling down his cheeks, genuine sympathy for Darkstar.

"Oh bull-fuckin'-shit." Darkstar spat, "I would have worked with my counterpart to achieve a lasting, better result. Maybe you wouldn't have lost...What was it, 80, 90 percent of your passengers on the Ark? Maybe if we collaborated, we could have saved them all. No, you're not taking the high road on this, what you did was unforgivable. What you took from me was irreplaceable. In exchange for forgiveness and replacement, I want your life." Darkstar howled, launching himself forward for a series of brutal attacks, each one more devastating than the last as each strike landed with explosive force, designed to wear down Max's energy reserves.

Maxwell blocked and dodged, but these attacks would land even before Darkstar threw them, and where only interrupted when Max returned one of punches given, a small window of time forming and allowing Maxwell to lay into Darkstar. But, the third kick Max threw was caught by the Dead God, whose hand glowed a sickening purple color and clamped down on Max's leg. "Matter is just...a condensed version of energy, no? Einstein and all that..." Darkstar commented, fully gripping down and tearing through Max's shin like wet paper. In place of a scream, Max's eyes grew wide with shock, blood spilling from the open wound rapidly. Both hands of Darkstar glowed with that purple light, anti-energy flowing through them like a surgeon's scalpel. "One limb down, three more to go."

Max thought quickly and jammed his hands forward expelling entire solar systems' worth of energy at Darkstar - the mad man simply sticking his own hands out and absorbing - or more like, annihilating - the attack with his condensed anti-energy scalpels. Though, that was merely to buy Maxwell more time - a resurgent, yellow glow encasing the stub where his ankle used to be. First, it sealed the blood supply from leaking further, next, it worked to rebuild tissues, though that would take a longer time to fully complete. Suddenly, Darkstar seemingly teleported from in front of the blast to Maxwell's side. "Not so fast." He said, throwing a weak jab at Max, whose only option to retreat and dodge - a block would just slice into his being even more. "Scared, Maxwell?"

"For you." Maxwell said slyly, dodging one by stepping back but immediately putting his foot forward - his open palm facing Darkstar's chest and avoiding both of the Dead God's hands as a small sphere of energy developed, compact, with enough force to power a red dwarf star. It exploded between the two violently, creating the star and ending it's life in fractions of a second, Maxwell absorbing the energy and re-directing at Darkstar - whose anti-energy reserves were continuously assaulted. "You come to a universe filled with energy, your very weakness, and expect me to just stand idly by?"

Darkstar's body was badly damaged, burned to almost a crisp, and his anti-energy reserves were simply not enough to continue regenerating. He had resort to drastic measures to achieve victory, and smiled weakly as he thought of the perfect solution. All he needed was a lure...Bingo. Darkstar raised his hand in front of Maxwell defiantly, or so it seemed, like he was still willing to fight. Maxwell lowered his shoulders, ready for whatever his evil counterpart could throw at him in this state. Instead of a ball of anti-energy appearing, the Mobius Chair materialized from an anti-energy portal, and floating off to the side in a nigh-inescapable bubble, was Val. Maxwell's heart sank immediately, having thought she was taken to a more secure location out of Darkstar's reach, but that clearly wasn't the case.

"With you, Morningstar, I can't really expect anything." Darkstar said sourly, phasing onto the Mobius Chair, the machine connecting him with tons of wires and connections to provide life support. Behind the Chair, a rip in space-time formed, spewing an ungoldy amount of sickly purplish miasma into the surrounding space. "My home awaits, and your love will accompany me there..." Darkstar said weakly, the Mobius Chair trying to keep him conscious, but eventually moving through the portal on it's own.

"Don't you fucking touch her..." Maxwell said, a blazing hot fury brewing in his belly, a passion ignited to the utmost extreme as the Ragnarok War brought love into the equation, Darkstar purposely toying with a man's heartstrings to get under his skin and hurt him in anyway possible. Maxwell ran forward after the Mobius Chair, crossing into that sickly portal, immediately realizing where they were. An entire universe, empty and devoid, except for one small aspect - it housed Anti-Energy instead of normal energy. Darkstar sat some ways away, wheezing as pieces of himself slowly reformed and regenerated.

"In here, I am the sower of life and death." Darkstar declared, holding his hand up, a swirling mass of anti-energy coalescing and suddenly becoming bright - a star forming, with small discs spinning together to form planets, moons, and the like. "Here, you intrude upon my home. Here, you are the outsider, and my anti-energy will consume you whole. Your death here is imminent." Darkstar said, with each word, his strength coming back fuller and in greater quantities. "Here, catch." He said sarcastically, flinging the bubble that housed Val forward toward Maxwell, but sadistically popping it before it reached him, exposing Val to the hellish environment.

"NO!" Maxwell screamed, catching Val, putting her under his own energy shield that kept out the anti-energy for now. She looked frail, weak, and gray as the anti-energy worked to assault her very cellular level. Her eyes peeked open, smiling as Max cradled her in his arms. "Val...I'm sorry." He said, gasping at what she had become in so short of a time. Maxwell began to feed her his own energy, but the anti-energy was too deeply entrenched. She was dying an agonizing death, but kept a smile on for Max. "I..."

"There's...not much, Max." Val said, incredible weak and pain-filled, "When it's...Over....Live." She pleaded, "Live...For both of us." Her words echoed around Max's mind, numbing him completely. He screamed and screamed at her, telling her to hold on, flooding her system with his own energy, trying to keep her alive for just one more second, but before Max knew it, he was sending energy to a dead body, the life gone, the soul already in paradise. A calm, collective silence overtook the Mad God as he lowered her body gently, the sheer indescribable pain and anger he felt unbearable.

Life itself was unbearable - Existence a struggle. Maxwell didn't even look up at Darkstar, refusing to look her murderer in the face. "I can't keep that promise, Val." He said quietly, tears streaming like a flowing river from each eye socket. Darkstar began to rise form his chair, eager to continue the fight, but stopped as he looked at Max. His energy shield became unstable, moving in and out erratically like a bubble ready to burst. "The only place I want to be is by your side." Maxwell said, speaking only to himself, not caring if Darkstar heard or not. "My life...I haven't been the best man that I could. Maybe...Maybe I can make up for it. Just a bit. Please, wait for me. I'll only be a minute."

"Wha..." Darkstar began, confused as Maxwell spoke in an irrational and emotional tone. "You can't be serious...No, stop!" Darkstar yelled, gathering a cloud of anti-energy back and around himself. Maxwell began to radiate a bright color, turning from yellow to white in mere seconds. "If even just a few anti-joules remain, I'll survive, Maxwell, and you can't get all of them! It's hopeless, accept it!" Darkstar cried out over the ever deafening noise Maxwell was emitting from his being. "She's gone!"

"If even just a little remains..." Max began, "Then I'll make sure to get it all." Before Darkstar could speak, the floodgates opened, and into the Anti-Energy Universe poured another universes' worth of energy and matter, straight from Maxwell's body like an open faucet. It rippled across space and time in that ghastly universe, moving faster than any speed imaginable, and annihilating the Anti-Energy Universe and all of it's inhabitants in mere moments. The cycle was both ended and complete - Morningstar having fulfilled his destiny, and with his death, no universe may suffer under Darkstar. Gone even from the Multiverse, the Anti-Energy Universe, and Darkstar, were no more.

[New Neros]

Beyond the Ragnarok War

The Awakening of Czar-Mir

---

His eyes slowly drew open, lazily blinking awake as the orbs of light around him became focused and defined - a medical setting of some sort, with Mir's body hooked up to machines and fluid injectors. He glanced around, noticing that this place was unfamiliar, and wondered where he was exactly. Last thing he remembered was being saved by Max, and then just blacking out completely. He sighed, turning his head to the side, wondering what was going on outside of wherever he was. Once again, Maxwell would save the day. Mir tightened his fist and clenched his teeth, not out of jealousy, but out of frustration on his own part. Mir cursed himself, wondering why he didn't have what it took to be someone like Max.

Mir sat upright and began to look around the room some more - finding it rather bare save for the machines keeping him healthy. Next to him, though, was one of the only pieces of furniture in the room - a small nightstand, with a circular object on it. Mir looked around once more, seeing if it could belong to anyone, but still being alone, Mir took it gently and looked it over. Pressing the center as if it were a button, it buzzed to life, a small hologram forming from it, the shape of the person none other than Mad Max. "Hello, Mir." The message said, "If you have this device, then I am dead."

"Dead?!" Mir shouted, shocked and confused, nearly jumping out of his bed to confirm such an accusation.

"Relax." The hologram of Max said, "I have many of these created for different circumstances regarding my eventual demise. You know well that I plan even the slightest of details in depth, and for you to have this device in particular, that means I am dead, Val is dead, and Otto is dead, leaving you as the survivor of our four-man gang. I'm sorry." Max said, but did not dwell on it. "However, this one also means that whatever killed me was taken to the grave and no longer represents a threat to you, others, and the universe as a whole."

"I copied and uploaded my conscious into each one of these little hologram machines, but what good that will do is beyond me at the moment. It - I - cannot think, but I can give a reasonable assumption based on what the consciousness would respond to. Currently, this device called for a rebuilding process following it's arrival to you if destruction was severe enough. Scans of the universe do not show it as suffering any major injury from the conflict, meaning I had died outside of this universe." Mir simply took a minute to just digest everything he was being told - the people he cared about were all dead, and now, they were relying on him to help the universe. With that, Mir also felt very, dreadfully alone.

"A contingency plan was activated prior to Madworld's destruction," The hologram of Max said, "A large population exists in a fully-furnished city at the base of the Himalayas. They need a leader, Mir, go there. I have things waiting for you as well, perhaps it can answer some questions you might have. Until then, good luck." The small ovoid made a buzzing sound and clicked off, the hologram disappearing, Mir throwing his legs over the bed in a sluggish fashion. A deep depression was growing over him, a rain cloud clogging up his thoughts. Mindlessly, he threw on some pants and boots, forsaking a shirt, and just throwing a loose overcoat to top off the entire set.

"You're gone." He said to himself, trying to make sense of those two words. "And there's nothing I can do..." Mir continued, looking straight down at the floor. "When you needed me most, I wasn't there. I couldn't..." He growled, tightening his fist, standing up, and grinding his teeth. "I couldn't save any of you!" He screamed, throwing a sizable punch against the metallic wall, which instantly warped and tore apart as Mir's rage. He breathed deeply and heavily, the hole he created revealing a hallway. Now, he grew curious to where he exactly was, and politely walked out of the door.

He was in a spaceship, that much was clear, as the hallways had large windows giving a view of the endless, drifting void of space outside. Mir stared outside of them, catching a glimpse of his reflection, and feeling a wound that turned to a scar on his face. It didn't heal back to normal - an effect of the Necrosword slicing him. At that thought, a paralyzing fear came over Mir's being, his powerful muscles tensed up, and his veins bulged to the surface of his skin. A shadow passed over his abdomen and lapped at his face with black tendrils. A voice echoed in his head, sickening in it's tone, and shocking in it's content. "We're going to spill lots of blood together..."

"No..." Mir said, panicked, causing the blade to chuckle. It spoke unlike a real being, as if it imitated a voice instead of actually talking. Mir shut his eyes tightly as the darkness covered his entire face. That unhoyl cackle pierced his ears, and millions of screaming voices assaulted his mind all at once. Any being would be broken instantly, lost in the darkness of All-Black the Necrosword, but a light tore apart the pure darkness in his mind. The blade hissed and screamed in...what sounded like pain, allowing Mir to regain some control of his body, dragging himself from the hallway to another room of the space voyager. Limping into what looked like an armory, Mir's eyesight focused on a man-sized pod directly in front of him, reaching out desperately to grab hold of it.

As Mir laid his hand upon the pod, it's door opened, and a set of armor stared back at him blankly. The blackness of the Necroblade surged forward in Mir's mind, causing the Daxamite to scream out in pain and fall forward onto the armor set. It seems like a defense protocol activated with the armor, as it immediately opened and snapped onto Mir's frame, extinguishing the black flames that engulfed his body. But that only weakened the Annihiblade, another bright flash from within Mir's own mind expelled the pure black tendrils from his mind entirely. Mir clenched his eyes and teeth once more, as that light became just as painful as the Necrosword's assaults, as if his mind was being scrambled and remade.

Suddenly, Mir took a breath, and every piece of his being relaxed. His eyes opened and his pupils narrowed, a sudden vastness and depth to his mental perception readily apparent. He looked at the floor and traced his way up the walls - calculating the planck length of what his eyes saw and mapping the ship within his mind with absolute perfection. To the point that he knew how to build, and even improve, the engines onboard. He grasped the sides of his head, unsure of what to do with this information, but stomping his way to the control center of the ship - somehow knowing where it was without a second guess. He sat in front of a series of buttons, switches, and levels. He simply flicked and pushed without thinking, Mir's vast intellect working the rudimentary controls with absolute ease, directing his craft to Earth, where the last bastion of Max's empire held to life, and Mad City awaits.

[New Neros]

The Mad City Saga
Life Under the Dome

North of Neling, Uttarakhand, India

The locals refer to this place as Devbhumi, literally meaning Land of the Gods, and though few know now, that title is not without merit any longer. The former God-King of Madworld carefully selected this place deep within the Himalayan Mountain Range to provide a sanctuary for his people in the event of his world's demise, and this tract of land they settled upon was contested ground between the Chinese and Indian governments. His specific instructions upon arrival were to maintain order and prosper - an entire domed city had been built for those fleeing Madworld, and they would patiently await for a prophet of some kind to come and guide them. Undisturbed for days, nearby villages were miles away through dense mountains and forests, and they remained undiscovered.

From space, Mir looked out of one of the many windows on the ship he had woken up on, an unfamiliar blue and green world taking up the majority of his vision at this point. Breath taking for most, but Mir had seen many worlds in his time, and the short while he had spent on the ship with his own thoughts have convinced himself of his avid intelligence. He felt and thought smarter than ever before, and carefully wondered if this is what Max felt like all of the time. It saddened him, thinking of his lost friend, but he vowed to return him to life somehow. Still, until that time, Mir had a job to do, and this ship carefully guided him into the atmosphere, avoiding detection from space agencies - both public and secret - due to the small size of his craft. He flew over the Indian subcontinent, quickly losing speed and altitude as a vast wall of mountains came into view. Swiftly dodging around them and even going over them at times, the craft slowed to just a crawl as it passed another tall peak, shrouded with fog and mist, but as Mir's ship broke through those layers, a large hemisphere sat before him, the only gray object for miles of green and white snow.

His ship floated above it for a moment, but lowered itself automatically onto the Dome's apex - which slid open just large enough for him to fit inside of. Within the walls of this hemisphere was a thriving and active city, much to Mir's surprise, and the walls glowed like an artificial sun of somesort. The city housed millions of people, far outclassing even the states' capital down south, and it was all expertly hidden away by Maxwell. The citizens looked toward the center of the Dome upon catching sight of the spacecraft. Many expressed joy and pointed excitedly, eager for their God-King to return and guide them. Mir's ship touched down in a roomy public forum, with hundreds if not thousands of onlookers surrounding him to catch a glimpse of who they thought was the Mad God, Maxwell Morningstar. The ship doors opened quickly and without suspense, revealing a different man in a different suit, unlike the one Max had usually worn.

The silence seemed deafening, but it didn't bother Mir too much. He stepped out of the ship and onto solid ground for the first time in days. The populace looked at him and at each other, some whispering that it was Max in a different suit, others calling him an invader softly. The rabble grew louder, but were silenced as Mir raised his right hand with an open palm - a signature move of Max that Mir picked up on - and spoke confidently. "People of Madworld, I have grave news from beyond the stars." He began, using his increased vocabulary to emulate Max as much as possible, "Maxwell Morningstar is dead." He said solemnly, the crowd collectively gasping, many shocked personalities wondering exactly what type of power could have killed their invulnerable God.

"It wasn't I, fellow citizens, but a beast from beyond this universe. Our Mad God fought him and his cabal to the very end, ensuring their deaths as he went. Maxwell did not take them with him, no, they went to a hellish place while our God-King rests in paradise." Mir continued, discovering his natural affinity for speeches in the process. "His consort and his law both perished as well, and he has left me with the task of government. Some may recognize me - I am Mir, God's left hand as Otto was the Godblessed right. Madworld burned, but in one of his final acts, our Mad God saved us all." Mir finished, lowering his hand, awaiting the accusations of the heated masses to throw the weight on the deaths of his allies upon Mir's shoulders. They shouted and screeched, Mir not picking a single voice or phrase out of the crowd, but they were angry, and demanded answers.

"Stop." An ominous, thunderous voice rang out, instantly quieting the nearly rioting group, who all cast their gaze to the domed sky. A large hologram projected itself from the central cathedral of Mad City, the image of Maxwell Morningstar in his Mad God Armor painted across the ceiling. "This man speaks truth. He is my vision, my new light. I am no longer on this plane of existence, my demise has been at hand. It was not Mir's hand, but a consequence of my own actions, that took my life and those that I loved. But I care for you all - Enough to leave you in the hands of my greatest friend and ally, Czar-Mir, who stands before you now."

"This is but a pre-recorded message, as I have planned for my untimely death. Mir will now guide us as I had done in the past. Respect him as you would me, and mourn for my passing." The hologram of Max commanded, turning to static, briefly, before finally dissolving. To Mir's surprise, the citizenry wailed and cried out for Max to stay, to not leave, the fear and panic in their voices, but some yelled at their mourning compatriots, pointing wildly in Mir's direction, yanking on their arms and crawling onto their knees as they bowed. Eventually, the entire populace were upon their knees before Mir - the shocked Daxamite at the center of millions of peoples' attention. Before it got to his head, Mir raised his directly up, high in the sky over the citizens, and made is creed.

"For Maxwell!" He cried, loudly, and with passion.

"For Maxwell!" The citizens parroted in unison.

"Rise!" Mir called out once more, the people jumping to their feet and cheering, clapping, hollering, all they could do to show their support for their new leader. Mir smiled behind his mask, a sense of pride swirling in his chest, the feeling of being accepted boosting his confidence sky-high. He would mingle with the populace for hours, meeting many and talking with them casually, gathering up a large deal of people and carefully recounting the Ragnarok War to them - the tale of death and salvation for Maxwell Morningstar, and the new beginning for Mir and Mad City. Eventually, he was led to the Central Cathedral, finding it untouched, as no civilian was allowed inside until Maxwell had returned per his orders. It was locked, but Mir's armor was the key, pushing open the doors and finding a throne room within.

Mir sat upon the throne Maxwell had provided him with, and ordered his associates out of the room with a swift hand. Despite it's stony exterior, the seat was technologically advanced, able to control every facet of the domed city from it. A series of blue displays appeared before him, with Mir quickly scanning them over with his eyes and gleaming information from them instantly. "The city is operating at sustainable levels...And our energy comes from geothermal activity. The Dome can withstand nuclear strikes and superhuman assaults...Lord, Maxwell, you've created a fortress." Mir said to himself quickly, a prompt appearing as Mir gathered information.

He read it over, a personal note to Mir from Maxwell, the Daxamite beginning to wonder just how far the Mad God had gone to prepare for his death, but finding it's content's rather strange. "A team?" Mir repeated, re-reading the letter in his head and opening the file locations where prompted, Mir shaking his head slowly, realizing exactly what Maxwell was up to. "You don't...intend to come back." He finally said, tears welling in his eyes, "You want me to start a new team. These...people you've done research on, you want me to go and recruit them." Mir sniffled a bit, hiding his tears behind his masked face, unwilling to let Maxwell go.

"The name of the organization is up to you, Mir." One quoted line read, Mir thinking of what to call this team of misfits, should it even form. No, Mir would create it for Maxwell's sake, but he won't abandon his friend or lose his memory. It dawned on him just then, and Mir nodded carefully as he opened a display and began to write down names and their locations to meet up with them, new allies. He paused for a moment at the title, wondering if he was choosing the right thing, and relented, thinking of no better alternative to keep Max's memory alive.

"Mad Gods."

[New Neros]

The Mad City Saga
Recruitment Drive

Mad City

There was much exploring to do in his new city, but Mir had mental maps and neural connections no being on this planet could ever have. A simple, encrypted database was all he needed to find out who lived in his city, where, what they did, and what they could do. With this in mind, he started on projects and gave his people meaningful work, monuments were to be built for Morningstar and his consort, defenses upgraded, technologies researched, all of those things and more. A feature of the Dome in which they lived in was that - at will - the City could slow down or speed up time within it's own enclosure, like a large Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Mir smirked at this feature, realizing Max damn near thought of everything.

At a laboratory Max had left for Mir to continue research and do his own, Mir tried his hand at learning how to be technologically adept. Yet, he could only begin with logically disassembling and reassembling odds and ends to gain their knowledge. From here, the Daxamite downloaded much of the human's internet to his own mind to apply their collective knowledge to his own, steadily increasing his overall technological expertise with a steady foundation. Still, he struggled to produce wonders like Max had done, and figured he wasn't up to chops with such feats of brilliance. "Mir." The static voice of Maxwell played out from a hologram, the Daxamite barely moving his head to listen.

"You've struggled to pursue your own research, and perhaps you feel inadequate compared to my own. That's why I'll let you in on a secret of my technology." The blurry Maxwell began, Mir a bit more interested, turning to the Mad God and looking at the small holographic figure. "I stole and reverse-engineered a large majority of my pieces, even my armor. If it had any use, I tore it apart and remade it to suit my needs. Aliens, magical beings, other humans, it didn't matter. I made a lot of enemies doing that, but I learned, and had technology comparable to those enemies. What I excelled in was strategies, politics, nation building, and robotics, believe it or not, I was never an electrical engineer, but I could take one's work and call it my own."

"If it serves a purpose, make it your own." Max said, fizzling out once more, leaving Mir with more information, and an idea. He walked over to Maxwell's holographic display, turned it around, and pried into it's innards. He found some projectors, a crystalline power source, and other unrecognizable technology - non-human. He rebuilt it as quickly as he tore it apart, and it started to play the message once more. Mir narrowed his eyes, wondering what the Mad God had hidden from him. It wasn't a taunt, no, Max was trying to point him in the right direction without explicitly telling him. "...Make it your own." The message said once more, Mir nodding as it clicked.

He tore into the device once more, already fully aware of how it worked, but began to rearrange the parts and mechanisms to run it. He would have a net loss of energy with the set up he put the device in, but Mir had a million ways to put it back together, and all the time in the world to figure it out. He pressed the button to activate it, a small spark flashing where the hologram was supposed to appear. Mir waited for a moment, a small screen popping up with "Accessing..." displayed. In nanoseconds, a flood of unintelligible codes and lines of script began to fill the screen - alien symbols. Mir acted quickly and plugged the device into an industrial-sized computer Maxwell had provided.

Sure enough, it contained the vast libraries available to alien nations across the cosmos, with an easily crackable code to decipher the languages and make sense of them. Standing before the greatest concentration of knowledge in this sector, Mir's eyes almost struggled to keep up and make sense of all the information on technological wonders that wouldn't cross the mind of Earth's greatest inventors for millennia. He cracked a smile, knowing full well that he simply cheated and jumped the learning curve for this kind of thing. Now, he had all the knowledge needed to execute his recruitment drive operation, and drag the needed personnel to his side.

---

Jump City

Mir arrived at the bustling town on America's west coast, the cityscape reminding him of San Francisco. He's never been, but he's read enough about it to get the general idea. The Sovereign of Mad City sat outside at a table, a normal cafe with some quirky name he didn't care to read. He ordered a simple coffee, nothing fancy, and was dressed in casual clothes for the occasion. Sipping on the beverage, he narrowed his eye brows, wondering why the hell Humans liked such a scalding hot thing to drink. Regardless, he downed the cup quickly, the waitress standing there with her mouth agape. Mir raised an eyebrow, thinking it strange, but remembering that Humans had more delicate mouths and innards than he did.

"Ah, um," Mir explained, "I'll have another." He said with some charm, the waitress shaking her head for a moment to wake herself from the trance, and graciously nodded, a polite smile on her face. As she scurried off, Mir leaned back in his chair, and quietly began a countdown in his head. "He should be showing up any minute now..." He thought, trying to draw out his real prey. Suddenly, a building across the street tore apart, sending pieces of rubble flying in all directions. Its source was a large monster, who simply looked like a collection of various animals but mixed together and scaled to two stories tall. It roared, sending the nearby populace into a panicked frenzy, all running away, terrified.

All except for one man. A strong, athletic youth, lean yet brimming with both muscle and confidence from the very look of him, stood face to face with the danger. He stood up, sitting three tables away from Mir, and casually began to take off his shirt, revealing his toned muscular physique beneath. Mir sat straight, transfixed on the youth, who didn't seem to notice that someone else didn't run away, no, this boy was transfixed on fighting this monster and protecting lives. The beast snarled and wheezed with some terrible sound, the young man standing right before it, chest bare and proudly showing defiance to the wild animal conglomeration. "I don't know who you are or who sent you, and frankly, I don't give a shit." He bellowed, "Because there's two things I know."

"First, my name is Van Zant," The youth proclaimed loudly for all to hear, not caring to hide who he was or what he did, "And second, I'm going to kick your ass." The monster took no time in attack Van Zant by slamming both of it's hands down onto the youth. The shockwave it created and the cracked asphalt that sprang up would lead you to think Zant was simply crushed, but upon closer inspection, the youth caught both fists with his own hands, and without even trembling at that. "Is this supposed to be a challenge?" He asked, griping down on the beasts' limbs and yanking the colossus forward, throwing it off balance. "Because I've fought waaaay too many better opponents to let you get the slip on me."

With the beast stumbling on it's feet, Van stood his ground and delivered a straight punch to it's midsection, tearing deep into it's innards with force and impact, much of it's internal organs simply pulverized from the amount of power Van put into that one strike. "I'd say I'm going to turn you into dog food, but it looks like a dog already chewed you up and spit you out." Van took a step forward and threw his fist up in the air, connecting with the beasts' head in a stunning uppercut. Several of the animal's vertebrae snapped during the whiplash, and the hunkering monster fell over with a meaty thud. "Welcome to Jump City, bitch." Van Zant said, turning from the battle completely unscathed, returning to his coffee table, and sitting down promptly.

His eyes cut over to Mir, who remained at his own seat for a while, finished his own drink, and slowly got up. "Hey!" Zant called out to Mir as he started to walk away, Van finding the whole situation rather peculiar. "Why didn't you run like the rest of 'em?"

Mir turned to look at Van briefly, searching the boy over, finding him fueled with adrenaline and confidence. "Perhaps fear froze me in place." He said casually, an incredibly see-through lie.

"Oh, okay." Zant nodded, apparently taking the comment at face value.

"Are you serious?" Mir thought, shaking his head almost in disappointment at the aloof youth. "How about...How about we have some coffee, though?" Mir said, turning around and approaching Van's table, taking his own seat across from the shirtless man and staring upon him intently. "Though, the waitresses seem to have fled with the rest of the people."

"They do that. Really though, Jump City doesn't have these things happen a lot, you know. And besides, they have their own team of capes anyways. I'm pretty much useless because they got most of it, Young Bloods they call themselves. I was offered to join, but I passed. I'm looking for something better to come along." Van said, explaining the city a bit, Mir nodding along and listening to what he had to say.

"You're looking for something better, right? What if I told you that, well, I'm looking to start something better." Mir explained, "You see, I'm not really from around here. Earth, I mean, but I came here after a long, dreary battle. I lost some people in that fight, but I want to carry on with their vision. The people I lost, they...They came from Earth, and they wanted to make this planet the best that it can be." Mir said, recounting his loss of Maxwell and Valerie, both of whom came from Earth, "To that end, I want to make a large team that operate globally and end this senseless, superpowered violence. Maybe even take it beyond Earth, you know?"

Van listened to the man speak, finding a certain level of sincerity in his voice when he spoke. "It does sound a bit better and bigger than the defenders of Jump City..." Van said carefully, "So, uh, how'd you find me, anyways? I know I don't keep a low profile, but I've been in hell trying to apply for membership with the big names. JLA, Avengers, things like that."

"One of the ones I lost directed me to you. Do you know the name Maxwell Morningstar, or Valerie Valentine?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. But...tell me some more about this project you want to start."

"There are beings of high power on this world, and they've remained away from institutions that manage such power like the Justice League, X-Men, Avengers, and other national hero organizations. I see fundamental flaws with the approach of those organizations as well, they have no aim nor purpose but simply to stop 'bad guys'. I think people like us should have a place where our voices matter equally, and our protection extends all across the globe, and maybe even the galaxy if things pick up. Simply put, Van Zant, I want you on this team." Mir finally said, popping the question to the youngster.

"Heh...Alright, I'll bite. You have a name for this...not-like-a-hero-organization-but-totally-one-anyways, er, organization?"

"I do." Mir said, putting on a serious face, "Mad Gods."

"Ominous, don't you think?" Van said, "Cool name either way."

"Good men should have no fear of mad gods, Van." Mir answered poetically, "What do you say? I'm not going to say what we can do, but I want to show you what can happen if this works out."

"Simple enough." Van said, rising up from his chair, "I have nothing of value left in this city. Take me to wherever your base is, and I'll join. I'll become a Mad God."

[New Neros]

-Ashy

The Mad City Saga
Recruitment Drive
Part Two

Over the Bay of Bengal

The large aircraft flew quickly across the sky - steady in it's course and flight, to the point that her inhabitants could freely walk about their cabins without turbulence. Some realized quickly, though, that the plane was perhaps one of the most powerful on Earth due to her cargo - nothing but superpowered beings of all walks of life. Some from Earth, some not, mutants and superhumans all clustered together thirty-thousand feet above the ground. Many of them gave each other suspicious looks, a sense of competition and rivalry fueling the tense situation. Mir watched from a video feed, wondering what actions will be taken by the inhabitants.

"What is all this?" Van asked, watching next to Mir, the Daxamite explaining.

"A test, of sorts. I need the best of the best in this organization. I need to know if these people have what it takes to be Mad Gods." Mir casually said to Van, folding his fingers together in front of his face. "I'm looking for people with empathy and the ability to form a team, work together, and be willing to sacrifice their own lives for their allies." Mir watched the monitors carefully, judging each one of the potential candidates. "Because I shall."

Van nodded, but had some reservations of his own. "So, I suppose I passed the tests you had for me?"

"Some." Mir said calmly, causing Van Zant to stare at Mir, confused by this man and his motives, but accepting that Mir wasn't much of a threat, Van held his tongue and said nothing. "It's your powers and what I've seen of you personally, Van." Mir said finally, breaking the tension between them. "Your powers rely on how confident you are in your own abilities. You're a good person at heart, I feel it, and you may disagree because I don't know you entirely. But...it's how you carry yourself. You didn't run from danger, you went right in and defended everyone."

"Yeah..." Van Zant said, trailing off, sinking in his seat as Mir started digging into his psyche. Mir smiled at something on the screen, a development and a situation forming before his very eyes. Van leaned forward to look as well, their situation far more tense than the one Mir and Van had just had. Two burly men were standing close to each other, sizing the other up, looking one another up and down. "What's going on?"

"A lady tripped and fell. One guy accused the other of tripping her, and here we are now. No one wants to back down, one guy says he didn't and the other said he did. There we go..." Mir said, switching to another view, finding a third man helping the girl up too her feet. She muttered a quick thank you to him by the looks of it, and was just...gone. The camera switched once more and that same girl - a small, petite blonde - mounting one of the men and pounding her fists into his head repeatedly. "Interesting. It seems like that one accusing the other was the perpetrator after all."

"And the guy who helped her?"

"Alan Gabriel. A mutant magician. He's powerful, empathetic, caring, but I'm not sure where his loyalties lie. Perhaps he's made enemies from afar, or the kind act is a front. I don't particularly trust magicians." Mir said bluntly, Van nodding at the observation. "Nothing against them, but they literally have tricks up their sleeves." Mir said with a smile, cracking a joke at even such a serious moment.

"Hahaha! I didn't think you had a quip in you, Mir." Zant said with laughter. "So, we got this Alan guy. And the girl? She thanked him but putting the beatdown on that guy."

"Right. She's Bree Jok-Bal, a Kryptonian from Kandor. Descends from the House of Bal, warriors and fighters, but is mostly an outcast from her tomboyish personality. Doesn't hold back, though, so that's good." Mir leaned closely to the monitors, trying to find anyone else who caught his eye. "Right, so, I'm only feeling these two. The others don't have the chops, I'm dropping them from the stratosphere."

"You serious?" Van said with some concern.

"Joking, damn." Mir hissed, "They're being routed at Delhi Airport. The rest get rides home, these two get to come with us." With that, Mir kicked back and relaxed for a while, the flight coming to a close soon, the two being on the airplane with the passengers but right behind the cockpit the entire time. "That's you and I, now Alan and Bree." Mir counted off quickly, "There's four more spots to fill. Two men, two women, I have my sights on both of sets already. I'll be in contact with them momentarily, but right now, I want to get back home." Van Zant nodded in agreement, closing his eyes, resting his head against his shoulder and dozing off.

---

Mad City

There was nothing quite like having the Himalayas scenery gently broken apart by the gray dome that protected Mir's home - a gray dot in comparison to the Roof of the World. Mir opted not to fly there on his own, but with a personal aircraft Max had designed. It flew on it's own, with himself, Van Zant, Alan Gabriel, and Bree Jok-Bal inside, staring at each other, the quarters a bit cramped for their liking. Van, in his outgoing personality, decided to break the ice. "So...Where exactly is it that you're taking us?"

"The locals call it Mad City, so I do too." Mir answered swiftly. "It comes from another planet. One that perished sometime ago."

"Alien cities? On Earth?" The younger, newer man said. He was leaner than both Mir and Van, but his white hair and cold-cut eyes were nothing to mess around with. His small frame held physical power to wrestle with the likes of superhumans and his magical prowess put him above even that. He was Alan Gabriel - A wizard and a warrior rolled into one, a mutant and a magician, powerful on both ends. "Sounds a bit weird if you ask me."

"Technically," Mir began, "You're sitting with two full-blooded aliens and a half-blooded alien."

"And you do magic tricks." Van Zant said, adding on a bit for comedic effect.

"Fine, fine. It's just that...It's not everyday something like this happens." Alan explained, "Usually, when people like you come up to me, you have a death warrant or something. Some sinister intent in mind, wanting me dead or alive. Mutant or magician, it's a pain in the ass either way. Both sides don't want me so both sides want me dead. It's not the best for me meeting new people." He continued, stoic in his delivery, genuine as well.

Mir glanced at the young man a bit, knowing the pain he feels. "A lot of us have been there, Alan, but you...You've had it all of your life. I'm here to say that it's not going to be that way anymore. You're going to be with a family now, one that helps and understands each other."

"Yeah...I read the brochure." Alan said with some snark, "I'll believe it when I see it." With that, the flight grew quiet, the passengers all having their reservations about this endeavor and the sacrifices everyone had to make to bring it to life. They all had to trust Mir with words alone, and Mir recognized this, so he needed authenticity. The next four would be easier, but these first had to go on without a hitch. Van was already onboard, but Alan seems to have built a tough aversion to receiving help or belonging to a community. Still, he has a desire to help others, and working with him will bring it out. The girl on the other hand...

"Wow, I can't even see the ground!" She exclaimed, happily looking outside of one of the windows. "So pretty!"

"Uh..." Van began, looking at Mir with a confused glance, Alan sighing and closing his eyes, responding softly.

"That's because we're above the clouds, Bree."

"Oooh!" Bree said, still looking wonderfully outside. "They're all so....Gray and dark down there!"

"Have you never seen clouds before?" Alan asked, the girl sobering up, turning back around and sitting on her seat.

"...N-not really. Kandor didn't have a lot of weather. I just...Get excited over these kinda things." Bree said sadly, making the males immediately feel bad and desire to comfort the poor thing. "Sorry." Gah, it was nearly too much, even Alan was breaking apart. "But I'm glad to be out and about! I get to see the world and all she has to offer! I can't wait." Bree said with a kind, genuine smile. "Heeey, while on Kandor, me and my brothers always wrestled to pass the time." She then said with narrowed, conniving eyes.

"Not a good idea a few thousand feet in the air!" Mir said quickly, putting his hands out in front of him defensively. "We'll spar...er, wrestle, when we land. Sometime. Not immediately." Just then, the dome of Mad City came into view. "Oh thank god, we're here." Mir said quickly, "Lady and gentlemen, welcome to Mad City."

"...It looks like a big dome." Van Zant noted as he looked out the window, unimpressed.

"Gah...." Mir began, at a loss for words. "Well, it's a whole damn city inside. And stuff." As the aircraft flew overhead, the city opened just enough to allow it within, closing up as the entire plane made it inside. The lights and expanse of the city was incredible in such a small space from the outside, within, it was like landing in the heart of New York. It was home to millions of residents from Madworld, and it took the breath away from Mir's passengers. An alert sounded on Mir's phone, a small buzz, causing him to pick it up and mutter, "Company...Well, I will show you three to where we will be staying for a while until the other four arrive. I have someone to see right after, so I can't stay long."

With that, Mir went and dropped his new guests off at his central palace, leaving them to their guest rooms and such in a hurried fashion, giving them an hour to rest and relax until he came back for them. Once that was finished, he headed out from the sleeping quarters and into the main entrance to his palace, just in time to hear his doors open slowly, creaking shut as well. He smiled a bit, knowing a familiar face had come to visit him. "It's been too long, I'm glad to see you again." He began, walking towards his visitor, "Make yourself at home, Ashyandra."

[New Neros]

-snip

The Mad City Saga
Friends; Old and New

Mad City

The shock of the kiss startled Mir heavily, the gravity of such an action very different in Daxamite society than Vokornian, apparently. It was shared only between man and wife, not even casual lovers like on Earth, but, Daxamite society was far more rigid and strict than most worlds and Mir knew this, so he relaxed as Ashy explained. He was about to say something, but the mention of Max steered the conversation elsewhere. "Yes...Maxwell left me with a vision, not really a mission or order, though, something he wanted me to do. Then again, I would have wanted this as well." Mir explained, the current members of his team casually resting in their rooms elsewhere.

"I want to keep his legacy alive. The bonds that I had with Max, Otto, and Val were the first real connections I made when I left Daxam, and they were the strongest. We weren't just a team, we were a family and we took care of each other, and I'm going to pick myself up and try again." Mir clenched his fists closed, casting his glance away from Ashy, "Because...I wondered if I could have done something else to help Max. Or Otto. Or Val. I can't change the past, but I can build my own future. Wherever my friends rest, I know they'd want me to pick up the pieces and carry on."

He walked forward and grabbed Ashy by the hands, looking into her eyes with sincerity and passion, seeing her not for her good looks and appeal but as an ally, friend, and foundation in such a trying time in Mir's own life. "Ashy, I'd love to have you here with me on this team. I decided to name it after Max, too. We're the Mad Gods, and I want you to be with us through thick and thin, because we'll be there for you." Mir said softly, his words cooing at Ashy, "I know there's trouble with the Vokornians, I won't pretend like I know anything more than that, but I want you to know that we'll help in anyway we can."

To interrupt that sweet moment, a beeping sound went off on Mir's arm guard, the Daxamite pressing a button on it and causing a holographic display to pop up. "...Good, they should be arriving soon." He said to himself, but quickly realized that he was being rude to Ashy. "Oh, sorry, it was an alert that more people were en-route to the City. Two more that will join our ranks, associates that Maxwell had connections with, so they came without hesitation." Mir explained, "That leaves me with two spots left, and they're both going to be a pain in the ass to wrangle in."

"I don't think you wouldn't mind helping me convince one of those two to join, would you?" Mir asked Ashy, a kind smile on his face, seeming like he'd rather just spend time with the girl instead of hunting after members for his team.

---

Somewhere in the Midwest

The lone man stood above the wheat and cereals that blew casually in the wind, ignoring their odor in order to focus on finding his target, scanning the farmland as he did so. "Damnit. Nothing." He commented, pressing a button below his ear to rely the information to his colleague. "No sign of him - Did your computer track him down to this location specifically?" He asked, a bit annoyed at the situation, but continuing his duty regardless. Before he got a proper answer, a blur simply tackled him around the waist and brought him to the ground, sliding along it and bringing up mounds of dirt. "Scratch that, he found me instead." The man relayed weakly, jumping to his feet, whatever attacked him out of sight.

"You can run but you can't..." He said casually, concentrating, small pulses being sent out from the soles of his feet into the ground. He opened his eyes wide and extended his arm out, a green blur attempting to zip past him, but coming to a complete stop as it impacted this man's arm. "Hide." He said, finishing his sentence. "Victor here," He said into his microphone, "I got our little visitor now." Victor began to have a conversation with the person on the other end, relaying all vital information. "Yeah, yeah, it's definitely a Skrull. Fast one, too, genetically enhanced no doubt. Managed to slip through SWORD, so that's not good. Haven't located his landing site, either."

"Hm?" Victor said, kneeling down and making sure the Skrull was still alive at least from running into his arm. "No, no, I don't think the Skrulls want a war this soon after the Builders nearly wiped us out. He was probably a scout or a spy - Nations do it all the time, us included. Nothing we can do but lock him." Victor nodded, receiving his orders, gently lifting the Skrull up and throwing him over his shoulder. "Understood. I'll drop him off at the meeting point. Victor Vaughn, over and out." Muscle mountain easily carried the Skrull on his back, but casually flew over the farmlands somewhere in Iowa as his mind wondered. He was a free agent working with SHIELD, nothing fancy, just someone with superpowers who worked to catch otherworldly threats for his own pay. It wasn't bad, but Victor wanted something more. He wanted to feel like a hero, not get paid like one.

The exchange went over as boring as can be, normal and without a hitch, that is. Handing over an unconscious Skrull to a bunch of guys in black suits couldn't be very complicated at all, but Victor was still dissatisfied with the ways things have turned out. As he flew back to his small home in the Northeast, he wondered what he would have for dinner, pushing those other thoughts out of his head for a while, deciding on spaghetti with his fancy garlic bread in lieu of Thai food takeout. But, as he stepped into his apartment at some undisclosed location in New Hampshire, he felt the buzzing of a nearly silent alarm going off.

Curious, Victor went to investigate, immediately finding the source of the noise as belonging to a small grey sphere he had stashed away in his closet. He looked at it and thought back, wondering where it came from. It dawned on him after a while, remembering that this was a gift from Maxwell Morningstar, a man he had met a few times and really shouldn't have been friends with, since Victor had to continuously serve him warrants for operating stolen alien technology from time to time. But, Max had saved Victor when Victor was captured by the Kree on one of his first off-world operations, and gave him this communicator, saying that Victor could return the favor some day. Apparently, that day was now.

Victor struggled to turn off the device, but pressing it's center seemed to do the trick, and brought up a holographic display of Maxwell instead of just turning it off. "Victor, there's not a lot of time to explain, but I passed away." That came as a shock, since Victor Vaughn had both heard of and seen the exploits of the Mad King in action - he was no easy combatant for anyone. Regardless, he listened. "But, one of my allies remains alive, and he needs you to honor my memory by joining him. He's assembling a team. the details I'm not sure of, but it's imperative that you meet with him soon. The coordinates are here, now, meet with my successor and go from there. Thank you."

The hologram closed out after showing Victor the coordinates to some mountain valley in India, the young man still rather shocked to hear about the death of Morningstar. Victor wasn't sure if he'd consider him a friend, but still, it's one of those things that just sits heavily with you, since Victor knew him personally. Either way, it sounded like an opportunity he had been waiting for, a chance to break out of his normal routine and shake things up a bit. Victor threw what few belongings and clothes he wanted to bring in a dufflebag, slinging it over his shoulder, and walking out of his apartment for the last time, flying off toward the horizon, ready to meet the man Maxwell entrusted with his legacy.

[New Neros]

-Ashy

The Mad City Saga
Andreas Fault

The Daxamite smiled warmly at Ashy, glad to have her on his team and by his side. "You know, I think you like being a people person." His facial features began to erode, however, as he recalled the case files on his next target for the Mad Gods, one who was actually geographically close, but going to be a tough nut to crack. "This next guy, though, he's not a people person. At all. He lives alone in the mountains, and has a hobby for picking up heavy things and putting them back down. The locals have various names for him - most of them are lifted from mythology and local religions, but, he's responsible for some of the earthquakes in the region."

Mir motioned for Ashy to follow him, continuing his explanation of this natural phenomenon-turned-man. "His actual name is Andreas. No surname - he is a member of the Eternals, you know, powerful almost-humans who live and die for the Celestials? He's no exception, but is so far much, much stronger than his brethren, and prefers to keep to himself." Mir and Ashy walked through his ruling palace and directly to a hangar at the back, full of various vehicles and transportation. Mir weighed his choices and selected a well-armored one, with a containment cage, but knowing that Andreas could just rip out of it like nothing. "You might be thinking, 'Why even go after him?', and my answer is that we need some more muscle. The Mad Gods are a team of the heaviest hitters I could scramble together."

"And Andreas has enough power to wrestle comfortably with Hercules and the Hulk." Those words echoed in their minds as Mir and Ashy boarded the aircraft, for whatever purpose, and shot off into the mountains and valleys of the region. It was a calming silence between them for a moment, but Mir continued on after just a few minutes. "We're almost at his location. Knowing what little I do about Andreas, I think there's going to be a fight. Maybe I can make a wager with him..." Mir wondered, "If I beat him, he joins. Otherwise, he'd blow us off completely. He's done it to the rest of the world for millenia." With that, the aircraft slowly lowered itself to the floor of a valley somewhere in Kashmir, lost to all modern advancements, and containing a single man sitting patiently on a pile of rocks.

Mir exited swiftly and with purpose, Ashy at his side, casting a reassuring glance at her for support, but turning his full attention to the man before them anyways. The way this man sat with his legs crossed almost resembled mediation, but his outfit gave off a punk-rock type of vibe. Slowly, Andreas peeled his eyes open and gave lazy glances to the duo that stood anxiously in front of him. With slow movements, Andreas unfolded his legs and gently set them on the ground, standing up straight and tall...Except the Eternal was roughly 5'8 in stature, solidly built, but on the short side. "Vel havlok, tse llano retuische yok?" He asked in an alien tongue, Mir and Ashy exchanging glances.

"Of course, English, how colonial of me." Andreas then quipped, in more understandable words. His voice was rough and demanding, forceful in a bad sense, and just a bit off key. "Tell me, travelers, what brings you to my peaceful mountain side? Noise complaint?" Andreas said with an obnoxious chuckle, tapping his foot against the ground, sending a shockwave across the landscape - seemingly on accident. The duo remained standing, though, much to Andreas' amusement. "So then, powerful type, eh? Punch things out? What about you, pretty boy?" Andreas said, walking up to Mir, standing just a few feet from his face. "You like to punch things?"

"From time to time." Mir said, "I'm not here to take you down or anything, I'm here to ask you something of vital importance."

"Right - let's start with names." Andreas said, patiently waiting for Mir to give his first.

Sighing, Mir complied. "I am Czar-Mir of the planet Daxam. Most know me by Mir, and this is my companion, Ashyandra of the Vokornians."

Andreas nodded in response, looking over Ashy without regard, his eyes colder and more brutal than Mir's could ever be, almost sickening, really. "I've heard of neither of those places or things. I am Andreas of the Eternals - what business do you have with me?"

"I'm putting together a team of pe-" Mir began, but was quickly cut off.

"Oh here we go." Andreas said abruptly, interrupting Mir, souring his mood immediately. "I don't want what you're selling. I don't play well with others, and I damn sure don't take orders well. But above all, your concerns mean little to me. You both will pass away and rot before I even reach middle age, so why don't you -"

"Daxamites - under a yellow sun - and Vokornians have exceptionally long lifespans." Mir said, returning the interruption with a bit of knowledge, "So you can drop the nigh-immortality bit, because it's not going to fly well with people like us. Anyway, I'm gathering a team of...heavy hitters...and I heard you're the best."

"You didn't exactly hear wrong, but flattery will get you nowhere. What's the purpose of this team? What's its name?"

"We're the Mad Gods, and we'll defend the galaxy. We were almost wiped out by a powerful race known as the Builders, and I aim to prevent that from ever happening again by taking the fight to them. Not only that, but we'll stand against pantheons of gods should they forsake mortal life. You're an Eternal, and defending humanity's evolutionary process is encoded into your very blood by the Celestials, I'm no fool, but I know I can't convince you with words alone."

Andreas grinned wide, his teeth rather unkempt and his face really strange looking with such emotion. "You're not as dumb as you look." He casually insulted, "Tell you what - You beat me in a fight and I'll think about joining this little cabbage patch. Me and you, let your girlfriend watch. Let her judge who the real man is."

"Neither one of us is a man - I'm an alien and you're an evolutionary offshoot of humanity." Mir quickly informed Andreas, "What's wrong - scared that you can't fight both of us at once?"

"Nope, just don't want to break your pretty ladies' spine. I'll do that later." He said with a wink, causing Mir to tighten up a bit, "Oh, looks like you're ready to go, huh? Whenever you say...Throw the first punch and we're on." Andreas taunted, distancing his feet apart and motioning with his hand to bring it on. Mir walked forward, less than a foot away from Andreas at this point, a cold wind blowing between them as they engaged in a staredown. "What're you waiting for?" Andreas whispered, "Just fucking do i-" Before he finished that sentence, Mir connected a straight punch to his jawline, sending the Eternal flying fast and hard against the mountainside, a sonic boom following from the point of impact.

Mir casually cracked the knuckles he hit Andreas with, a blank look on his face, almost bored at just sucker-punching someone so readily. He just knew this fight was almost pointless, because even with that punch, Mir knew Andreas was stronger than him. That hit was meant to rock him so hard that he would fell off Earth's gravity, gone off the horizon and kept going, right into space, but it only moved him less than a hundred meters. Mir braced immediately, knowing the Eternal's counterattack was going to be swift and devastatingly brutal.

[New Neros]

-Ashy

The Mad City Saga
Andreas Fault, Pt. II

The smoldering crater that Andreas had carved when his body smashed into the mountainside was fairly deep, but the Eternal reached his burly hands out of the rock and pried himself out. Amazingly, he bore but a simple scratch on his chin from Mir's punch, no damage from the impact against the solid rock whatsoever, and a sly grin sitting on his face. He wiped at the scratch, already diminishing from the Eternal's impressive regeneration - adding only more bang for their buck in terms of power. Mir stood ready to intercept his opponent, but Andreas acted without a plan or tactic in mind. Simply charge forward, speedily closing the distance between himself and Mir in the blink of an eye.

Mir's own eyes grew wide as he barely, just by a single centimeter, dodged a punch aimed at his skull by moving to the left. He counterattacked with a quick jab to the Eternal's ribs and ducked, Andreas wasting no time in slicing a haymaker across the horizon in an attempt to take Mir's head clean off. The powerful blacklash from those two attacks were absolutely monstrous, the air disturbed from the first one blowing away a mountaintop over a mile away and the haymaker sending a shockwave crashing against the opposing mountainside. Mir's own punch did nothing to this juggernaut, and another series of attacks where on their way.

He stepped back and put his elbows outward, placing the sides of his fists against his temple, Mir instinctively going back to training and technique instead of resorting to wild punches and strikes like Andreas threw. Andreas saw this as leaving a weakness for the center mass, though, and delivered a rapid and earth-breaking side-kick to Mir's midsection. Had he not rolled his torso forward, the impact would have tore Mir's abdominal wall apart. Still, the force sent him sliding back, knocking the wind out of him momentarily, and allowing Andreas to keep on the offensive.

Or so Mir had led him to think - the overconfident Andreas charging forward to throw a single well-aimed strike at Mir's head. Before he made contact, Mir disappeared, the Eternal's eyes growing wide as his punch kept flying instead of connecting, but before he could react to that, Mir stood at his side with his back facing the Eternal, already in the motion of a spinning back elbow. It landed perfectly against the side of Andreas' face, breaking the sound barrier as it resonated off of his hyper-dense bone structure, cracking it as well. To the Daxamite's amazement, the Eternal did not fly from the forces acting upon his body, he dug his heels into the ground and ate the entirety of the force and still stood. "Where...Where did you learn how to fight?" Andreas asked, genuinely curious, knowing Mir was weaker than him physically but still incredibly strong for a resident of Earth.

"I learned everything I know now about fighting from the greatest combatant in this universe." Mir answered, phasing out of existence for a moment due to his sheer speed, delivering a brutal uppercut to Andreas' jawline when he reappeared, picking the Eternal off the ground finally and sending him back a few meters, skidding to a stop and slowly picking himself up. Mir tightened his fist and continued on, revealing his master and his fearsome fighting abilities origin, "Maxwell Morningstar."

The name didn't seem to impress the Eternal, but a smile began to form on his face as small droplets of blood skidded down the side of his head from where Mir's elbow impacted and at another spot on his lower lip from the uppercut. Andreas picked himself up fully and stretched his back out, flexing his shoulders and pectorals as his did so. "Don't get too excited now..." He teased, letting out a small sigh as he finished. "Not because of my rippling physique, nah, because now I won't be going easy. Warm up's over, welcome to hell, population you and me."

"Easy?!" Mir thought cautiously and undoubtedly surprised. "He's been holding back this entire time and still nearly destroyed a few mountain ranges." As Mir's thoughts kept coming as the Daxamite figured out a strategy, the Eternal was already advancing and making good on his promise to no longer hold back. He managed to flashstep, just like Mir did before, and was in motion for a roundhouse kick. With no time to dodge, Mir threw his arm up to block the strike and leaned into it to absorb the impact better, but the force was unreal, and completely unlike what Andreas was swinging with before. Mir winced as his super hearing heard his humerus bone splintering, the pain following just shortly after. Gasping for air as his body entered shock from the blow, Mir backed off and put distance between himself and Andreas.

The Eternal gave a smirk at his own handiwork, "Didn't think I could break it, champ. I put a lot of effort into that one, let's see if the other arm fairs just as good." Andreas taunted, blitzing forward to re-enact the trauma, but was swiftly unprepared for Mir's preemptive strike. With his good arm, Mir leapt forward and met Andreas before he began his kick, punching him hard right square in the nose and with added weight and momentum, not to mention a furious rush of adrenaline as his body was prompted to fight or flee - and Mir chose to fight. Andreas flipped over backwards and flew back, Mir right on top of him as well, delivering another powerful punch to his body and cracking the surrounding rock for miles.

The intense hit did nothing but seemingly piss off Andreas, who leapt forward and grabbed Mir by the collar on his armor - slamming his head hard against the Daxamite's own in a dull crash. Mir's eyes glazed over for a moment as he briefly blacked out, but came back before his neck even whipped fully. As his head flew back, though, Mir's eyes glowed a vicious shade of red, and with Andreas' head still so close, Mir unleashed his eye beams against the Eternal's eye sockets. Recoiling back in untold amounts of pain, Andreas roared furiously, clutching his sockets as they steamed. He collapsed on his knees and grabbed his head, breathing heavily, peering through his spread fingers with blood shot, blackened eyeballs that slowly repaired themselves. A cold breeze blew against Andreas, Mir using his chilling ice breath to freeze the side of the Eternal's head. Andreas raised himself to one foot, but Mir slammed his fist hard against Andreas' frozen cheek - shattering it like glass and sending pieces of his frozen skin flying everywhere.

Stumbling back from the impact, Mir advanced at a much more reasonable pace, but it was a flawed approach. Andreas took the opportunity to rush the Daxamite and tackle him around the waist, putting him through a mountain with ease, lifting Mir up and slamming him down back-first against the rock hard enough to trigger earthquakes. Mir's eyes glowed red once more, but Andreas wasn't having it, and repeated pounded his fist into Mir's chest and midsection hard enough to send shockwaves out for miles and loud enough to be deafening at close range. Mir's eyes lost their glowing power, but it was replaced by something far more sinister. Andreas stopped for a moment, peering onto his opponent, who seemed to simply ignore the impacts and stare at him with endlessly black eyes.

Small tendrils of shadow began to pry their way off of Mir's body, swiping at the air softly as a Andreas looked at the shattered armor that Mir wore, living darkness trying to escape from within. Slowly, he walked back, feeling a sense of dread and perverse wrongness at the sight, like he was gazing upon something no mortal, no matter how long lived, should be seeing. He trembled almost, primal fear setting in and every nerve in the Eternal's being screaming to flee, and run as far and as fast as he could. But he was frozen. A deer in the headlights, staring blankly as a single shadow tentacle rubbed on his face softly.

If Andreas wasn't going to fight, Mir was. The Daxamite's chest seized up quickly, Mir taking in a deep breath. The black shadows seemed to scream and act erratically and pained, Mir moaning and roaring to contain the primordial force that dwelled within himself, kept at bay by the armor, and now by his sheer force of will. The Daxamite's eyes flashed between their normal colors and that endless darkness, steadily becoming the normal blue eyes he was supposed to have. He breathed deeply and quickly, the pain of holding in the Slicer of Worlds far greater than what Andreas could dish out. Speaking of, though, Mir looked up, seeing the Eternal resting beside him, legs folded, just how they had met. Mir leaned his head back, defeated, upset with himself that he was going to let Andreas get away that easily.

"I've made my decision, Mir." Andreas spoke suddenly, startling the Daxamite. "Tell me more about these Mad Gods...I want to know everything." Mir slid up a bit and sat upright, feeling the cracks in his armor from Andreas, glancing up to the Eternal as well, the two silently confirming what had happened between them. "Where we'll eat, sleep, train, who we protect, beat up, and pay, all of that fun stuff." He continued, matching eyes with Mir now, the two staring hard at one another. "Because I'll join."

[New Neros]

-snip

The Mad City Saga
Mad Gods Assemble

The cabin of the plane was deathly quiet, with Andreas snidely looking from Ashy to Mir, sitting in between them, as the Vokornian pressed the Daxamite for answers. Mir stared at Ashy intently, and the Vokornian didn't shy away from the gaze either, intent on finding out just why he had that fearsome, yet corrupting blade in his possession. Finally, Mir relented, and looked away from Ashy. "I woke up with this sword after the Ragnarok War." He finally admitted, "It attached to me when Mad Max began his fight with Darkstar, at least, I believe that's what happened. The blade was bonded to me to escape the destruction of Madworld."

"But..." He continued, his eyes growing fierce, "I've seen what the blade can do. I've felt what it's capable of. I was right next to Otto when it's previous owner, Nul Tyranis, suck it's putrid razor into his chest - I watched All-Black kill my best friend, and in the furious battle that resulted from it, I felt this blade tear at my very essence. Otto doped me up on some Sentry Serum in order to keep up with this weapon before he passed, and I did keep up, but it wore off over time. I was dead for sure, but then Max returned. He ripped the blade from Nul and killed him with it - I blacked out right after."

"There's something different in me, though, Ashy." Mir further explained, "I can sorta...Control it, you know? First I thought it was my armor, but I can feel it trying to dig into my mind regardless, yet my thoughts seem to stop it and keep it in line. I want to use this blade for good." He admitted to both Ashy and Andreas, the look of concern on the Vokornian telling her displeasure at the idea, but the barely contained laughter of the Eternal showing a different viewpoint.

"Ahahaha," Andreas chuckled, "What I saw out there was fuckin' terrifying, Mir. You want to control that shadow beast, be my guest, but I'm not going to be around whenever it gets loose. Believe me, I want to be a few solar systems away." He admitted, not shying away from admitting his fear of All-Black the Necrosword. "But...maybe that's why I came, who knows. I want to see what you got, Mir, see just how far I can go with you and that world-slicer." Andreas admitted, a sickly grin on his face, Mir's own lips smiling just a tad, looking from Andreas for a moment, but returning to their stoic features as he returned to Ashy's gaze.

---

Mad City

Just as the final trio were making their way back to Mad City, new faces were arriving as Mir predicted. So far, the second in command for the organization would informally be Van Zant, as Mir seemed to trust him the most with details on what he wants done and the future goals of the Mad Gods. To begin, Van discussed the team with the two other members, Alan Gabriel and Bree, both of whom seemed rather fond of the idea, despite their reservations. Alan was naturally suspicious due to his upbringing as a mutant sorcerer - fears of being used and abused from an early age left him without major allies or friendships, but even with their short contact, Van felt like he was making some progress.

Bree, on the other hand, was harder to get an precise answer out of from Van Zant's point. He could collect that the girl was Kryptonian and from Kandor, and that she was naturally born into a warrior family and thus had immense physical powers compared to her countrymen, but the concept of a team seemed almost lost to her. She was used to fighting alone, being given an order and then doing it by herself. Working with others amounted to training their own individual powers against one another in what Bree affectionately called "wrasslin", and Van sought a way to remedy that by having her open up more. To that end, he was less successful, and simply waited for Mir to return with new instructions.

Before he could, however, a new prospect arrived in the Mad City - Van alerted to his arrival by some alarm going off in Mir's throne room. Curious, the Strontian pressed the button for the alarm in hopes that it would turn the annoying sound off, but instead, he found himself whisked away from the Central Cathedral and directly where this new member had entered. Confused, Van looked around wildly, before a masculine voice called to him. "Hey there - I'm sorta lost, can you help me?" From behind Van, a tall and simply shredded man appeared, offering a handshake to mediate hostility.

"...Lost?" Van asked in response, grasping the man's hand and squeezing decently hard in order to assert dominance over this mountain of meat and muscle, "You're lost somewhere in the Himalayas, managed to stumble upon a fortress-city, while speaking some Midwestern English accent, and looking like a gym model?" He further said, trying to confirm this likely tale, only to remember that Mir was gathering more supporters for the team. Sighing, he mentally kicked himself for being so belligerent right off the bat. "Well, uh, that must mean you're looking to join up with some particular organization, right?"

"More or less." The man responded, looking at his surroundings, "My name is Victor Vaughn, by the way. I used to work for SHIELD as a superpowered free contractor, but I got an alert sent to me to meet with someone at this location." Victor further explained, "The alert told me to meet with someone named Mir - And the communicator happened to be from an old friend of mine. Maxwell Morningstar, heard of him?"

Van Zant nodded at the explanation, sounding believable to him with everything that was going on at the time. "Well, you're in the right place by the look of it. I'm Van Zant, by the way. That guy you're looking for - Mir - he's off gathering others together for his project. Did that communication give you any specifics or did it just tell you to come?"

"Just to come, and that Maxwell Morningstar had passed away. Simply put, I'm here to join whatever project Mir's trying to accomplish as a favor to Maxwell. He's saved my life a few times and I owe it to him, but that doesn't mean I'm doing it just for him. I need a change of pace and want something more out of being some paid government vigilante, you know? I want to be someone, part of a team, not some replaceable number and cog in SHIELD's well-oiled machine." Victor explained, detailing more about his purpose here. "Maybe I just want some friends to hang out with, who knows, I'm here now and that's all that should matter. Nice to meet you, Van, I hope we can work together in the future." He finished, extending his hand once more, now a symbol of budding friendship.

Van Zant smiled warmly at Victor, "You took the words right out of my mouth." He grabbed onto Victor's hand and squeezed, "I wanted the same de-" Van began, but suddenly stopped at Victor's grip actually began to hurt him. Van gave a sly smirk, realizing the Adonis was getting pay back for Van's rough squeeze before hand. They both looked at eachother with matching expressions, each one putting more and more strength into their hand shake, the ground cracking beneath them as both refused to yield. More than just friendship was established, rivalry, too. "Not bad, meat head. I'm confident that I can break your hand, but the force you're putting out says otherwise."

Victor nodded with a smile, "Confidence has nothing to do with it." He declared, giving Van a hearty laugh.

"For people like me..." Van began, more power and energy swelling from within him, "Confidence is everything." Before he unleashed the full torrent of his power against Victor in order to win their petty strength contest, a feminine voice loudly cleared her throat some distance from the two. They both turned, relaxing their grips, and gazing at the origin of the sound. A pretty, brown haired woman stood just a few meters away, a red-headed friend of some sort at her side.

"Done seeing who has the bigger dick?" The red head popped off, her temper fiery and without pause, Van and Victor quickly pulling their hand away at the comment. "That's what I thought." She further said, putting both men down.

"Excuse my friend, please." The brown haired woman said quietly, dainty in her delivery, Van and Victor both finding her adorably cute yet...A bit stoic and unnerving. "I'm Johanna, and this is my friend, Kat. We both have business here with Mir, and looked for where the most action was going on." She looked from Van to Victor with her soft eyes, noticing that they were giving her a certain look, not one of lust, but of wonder. They were trying to figure out what sort of powers she had, and the girl realized they too were apart of the team she and Kat wanted to join. She sighed, unfolding a large pair of wings from her shoulder blades. "Since you want to know..." She began, but was interrupted by Kat.

"Yeah, my girl's an angel, what of it." The red head quickly interjected, "Me? Ohoho, yeah, right, I must be her demon or some shit, right, no. I'm from the hellish world of Apokolips, I've seen some shit that would make demons scream. I went through that kind of shit...Until I wound up on Earth. I was some deranged, superpowered psycho for a time, but eventually I toned it down, and Johanna's been helping me through that kinda stuff." Kat quickly explained, her vulgarity a bit shocking, but the heat and power emanating from her body both massive and almost unreal. "I've got strength and speed for days and the ability to generate fire hotter than the pits on Apokolips."

"Well, nice to meet both of you, then." Van said slowly, "I'm Van Zant - " Before continuing his explanation of himself and his own powers, the center of Mad City's dome began to open, signalling that Mir had returned, cutting their introductions short. "It looks like Mir's returned, though. We can get acquainted on the way, but we need to go see what he's doing and go from there. With all of us here, I think he has enough people for his team."

"And what do you suppose this team is called?" Kat asked harshly, Van turning away from her and answering,

"The Mad Gods."

[New Neros]

Mad City Saga
Mad Gods Ascend

Assembled in the Central Cathedral of Mad City, nine powerful souls meet at a round table to discuss the future of this world and themselves, and how they must be intertwined to ensure survival of both. Taking command, Czar-Mir looked around at his gathered allies, all of whom sharply watched his every move and motion as he simply stood there for a moment, taking in the sight of a team in the making. "Most of you know who I am, for those who do not, I am Czar-Mir of Daxam, and most of you know why we are all gathered here. This world...Earth...Is home to many, and many more who desire it gone or enslaved. Together, we will help end such processes and plans, and extend our reach of stability out into the stars of the Milky Way."

"Our future does not rest on this humble rock in the vast oceans of space, but deep out there, in our home galaxy and many like it. This world has grown past the need for heroes, what this world and many worlds like it need are Gods. Active ones, ones willing to take up the title of divinity and fight for a cause worth believing in. Our cause is defense of those who cannot defend themselves, to speak for those left without voices, and act for those who cannot. What divides us from other teams with idealistic goals, you might ask?" Mir continued, his speech captivating his audience and drawing them in with his passionate words. "What separates us from them is our ability and desire to directly confront humans, aliens, gods, and governments alike should they not conform to our ideal of what is right."

"Do we decide what is right? No - we will simply enforce a common version of it. Utilitarianism, the greatest good for the greatest number of people, is the right that we shall enforce. Vaguely, it is that the that the best moral action is the one that maximizes utility, with utility being the least amount of harm to the well-being of sentient entities. With this in mind, blaring attacks can be made on our stances. For instance, we will ignore justice. What is just is not what is the best option for all, and justice itself conforms to the mob mentality that often demands it. We will punish actions committed and think of the consequences of letting said actions continue, and in such, formulate our response to a given threat."

"We are judge and jury, yet executioner when we must." Mir said, defining the guiding principle for the Mad Gods. "I did not choose the names Forgiving, Merciful, Easy-Going, and or any such word before our name, no, we are Mad, and our powers let us fight like Gods. Fear does not shape us, it is our ally, because good and just men have nothing to fear from Mad Gods." Mir said passionately, "To end this worlds' evil, we must combat it fiercely and without pause, and then carry our message abroad, enter the Milky Way with such vigor and sureness that could only come from divinity. For now, though, I welcome you all to my adobe, and our headquarters, from where we will make the Mad Gods a reality." Head nods and clapping from the other eight members were abound, with Mir taking his seat and resting after his brief introduction of their team and their goals. "Perhaps we should further introduce ourselves, no? Let's start from myself and work our way around the table."

Mir cleared his throat somewhat, and while sitting, gave a small backstory for himself. "My life began on the planet Daxam, but whatever occurred there is meaningless because I was reborn elsewhere, on a planet called Madworld. Prior to my arrival on that world, I was so consumed with hatred and injustice that I was the one that piloted a devastating machine known as Warworld, and attacked Madworld. In my assault, though, I met two men who would forever change my life, the first one was Otto Godblessed - An Asgardian who I still to this day consider my brother in all ways but physical, and the second, a man named Maxwell Morningstar."

"Maxwell was a human, from Earth, but he had abilities that would make cosmic deities quiver at his name. One of the sharpest minds present on a man, and the power to absorb all forms of energy to an infinite degree, he was no push over, and had no reason to ever show restraint or mercy. Yet, he did, and he showed both of those to me. I was under the control of Warworld and a Sinestro Corps Ring at the time, and Maxwell broke the spell of both by killing me, and bringing me back in the same motion. He freed me from the hell I lived in before, and showed me that even lost causes are worth fighting for. He showed mercy in the face of justice, and so his title is where I got the name for our group, because he was known throughout the universe as the Mad God. We fought at eachother's side through thick and thin, but he and Otto perished in a climatic war for the fate of our reality. I will ensure that their spirit's live on, and forming this team was a way for me to show thanks, and to move on."

As Mir finished, he looked toward the man sitting on his right, the half-Strontian youngster who went by the name Van Zant, who seemed rather nervous and a bit envious having to follow up such an introduction by Mir. "Ah, eh, well, my name is Van Zant, I'm from Jump City, California, and there isn't much to me in particular. My father was an alien and my mother was human, but there doesn't seem to be too much wrong with me besides my powers. I have supernatural strength, speed, durability, stamina, all of that junk, plus some heat beams from my eyes. The level at which these powers present themselves is tied to my level of confidence in myself, and I don't particularly know of any limit." Van looked around, more relaxed now, comfortable with telling these people more about himself, knowing that they would return the favor.

Seated next to Van was Andreas, who seemed rather disinterested with all that had been said thus far. He looked lazily around as everyone eyed him, nodding with surprise as he realized it was his turn to speak. "Right then, all you kiddies need to know is that I'm Andreas, an Eternal that's wandered the Earth for a few hundred years and in that time, managed to become one of the strongest of his kind. Eternals can normally roll with Kryptonians and those with that strength level, but I'm above even that. I can handle and hang with Olympian Gods like Hercules, I've done it before. I'm faster and stronger than any in my race, and probably all of you as well. No offense." He said sourly, bragging about his own prowess, which impressed no one in particular.

A petite Kryptonian girl nodded her head side to side as the attention turned entirely to her, the ditzy girl not noticing until Andreas nudged her, breaking her concentration, and turning her eyes into a sinister red, taking aim at the Eternal that disturbed her little dance. Andreas stared back with normal eyes, daring the Kryptonian to make good on her threat, "Don't touch me." Bree said, blinking away her laser vision, and cheerfully addressing the crowd. "Hi! I'm Bree Jok-Bal, you can just call me Bree. I'm a Kryptonian from House Bal of Kandor, and my family has produced strong warriors for the Law Council for generations! I'm not too used to being outside of Kandor, so, I'm sorry if I come off as weird or rude, or something. I kinda got a temper, too, but that's okay! I'm happy and want to have fun most of the time." She said with a sweet smile, childlike and bubbly despite holding enough power to crack tectonic plates. Seated to her right was the chiseled, muscle wall himself, Victor Vaughn.

"I am Victor Vaughn, and I used to work for SHIELD, but I just recently quit when I got the call to join the Mad Gods. I have a telekinetic power, the origin of which is unknown, but it allows me to form a microscopic field just above my skin and extend that field to anything I touch. Tactile telekinesis, sounds pointless that you have telekinesis but only if you're touching something, until you realize that my field is incredibly powerful and based on my mind alone. With it, I can mimic super strength and speed easily, even fly and lift anything so long as I'm touching it. If I concentrate enough, I can feel disturbances in the air and ground. But, I'm just a man from the Northeast, and I want to try my luck at being a real hero for once." Victor said quickly, preferring to get right to the point with his powers and leave his backstory at the door.

Victor gave a look to the girl next to him, a calm and serene-looking brunette, who casually held a pair of angel wings slightly open on her shoulder blades so that she could sit comfortably. With it being her turn to go, she went, "I am Johanna Jacobs, and I will speak for both myself and my companion, Kat Castro. For me, I am a member of Physical Angels, a race of heavenly beings imbued with powers in excess of mankind, supernatural levels if you will. I was meant to serve a higher power and learn from humanity, but I was cursed to live here on Earth after interfering one too many times in your affairs. Not that I feel cursed, though, because I want to do what is right after all, and part of that was looking after Kat. She came to this world after spending much of her life on Apokolips, born a slave there, with incredible powers over fire and flames. I mistook her for a demon, but realized she was simply a lost soul." Looking at each other, Kat nodded, accepting Johanna to keep going. "She may be abrasive at first, but desires community and your affections deep down. She's still healing from her upbringing, so, cut her some slack, I suppose."

"Ahem," The last man in the rotation began, "Since Johanna introduced Kat, I suppose it's my turn." Looking around, the man was a bit smaller built than his comrades, yet still had muscle definition, his defining trait was the neat white hair on his head. "I've gone by many names over the years to hide my identity, but my real name is Alan Gabriel, and I've had to watch my back all of my life. You see, I'm a mutant, already hated around the world, but I'm also a wizard. Combining the two and you have the perfect weapon every two-bit 'evil' organization wants in their roster, yet, I just want to be me. Magically, I'm not impressive with known spells, so I create my own from scratch in my head instantly. I avoided teachers because I had a few that just wanted to use me. As a mutant, I have supernatural conditioning and regenerative healing. You're all the first people I've ever opened up to about this, so, don't let me down. I'm putting my faith and trust in you all, and I'm willing to give this Mad God team a chance."

The last one needed to be introduced was the mysterious, yet highly attractive woman at Mir's side, seated patiently, watching and listening to all other candidates introduce themselves and speak a little bit about their powers, ability, and backstory. Mir looked over at her as well, a kind smile on his face, putting Ashyandra at the center of attention once more, "We will move on to schedules and training exercises after you tell us about yourself, Ashy." He said warmly, relaxing himself, waiting for the Vokornian to begin her tale.

[New Neros]

-Ashy/Old One

Mad City Saga
Life After Death

The group seemed to give Ashy and her Old One inhabitant a fair chance, listening to their story, and hearing them out. Mir hadn't even known the burden Ashy carried recently, he had suspected something, but having the power of an Old One trapped within her and giving her the Power Primordial, whatever that meant, was new information indeed. He leaned forward, examining the youthful-looking Old One. "Rua..." He repeated, not grabbing at her attention but simply repeating her name. He glanced over at Ashy, remembering her own battle during the Ragnarok War. "So, the Snake lives." He said solemnly, a bit remorseful, knowing that some relic of that catastrophic event still persisted in face of Max, Val, and Otto's sacrifices.

"I gathered these men and women based on their abilities and their lack of organizational ties. They hit heavy, have dynamic powers, and are ready to form a team with others, I simply gave them the go-ahead. Some took convincing, but we're all here at the table regardless." Mir explained, "One of our top priorities will be locating the Snake, and a way to siphon her powers will be to enact our protection over the globe. Less hatred, less sins for her to feed on, if I'm not mistaken, that's what she, it, lives off of, right? I remember that much, since Nul and Darkstar have such tremendous amounts of both for her. There is something we must do, though, and that is work together as a team."

He turned to fully address the rest of the Mad Gods, looking each one in the eye with sincerity, "I have at my disposal an immense room where space and time flow...Differently. While in it, a single day will pass on the outside world, but within it, a years' worth of time can be spent on anything, in our case, training. What I'm proposing is a day-long training session, where we can work together and build ourselves into a formidable, reliable team in a years' worth of time. All amenities will be taken care of while in this space. It is accessed by a special dimension, and only we have the keys. No one can disturb us, and I'm sure we're all of sufficient power individually to hold on our own."

"In this room, your mind and body will adapt to the training, but you will not physically age. In this Hyperbolic Time Chamber, we have much to gain and very little to lose - The world can wait a single day for us to become the best that we can be, so, I propose that this training exercise be our first mission together. I have plans drawn up for all of us as well, so, let's make our arrangements and be ready to enter the Chamber in one hour." Mir said graciously, a natural-born leader, each of his subordinates seeming to nod in agreement at the training exercise. With that, Mir could conclude the meeting, and did so. "Alright, we're all free to leave. Do what you must for the next hour, because after that, we won't be setting it down for an entire year."

Turning to Ashy as his fellow Mad Gods left the room, discussing among themselves the possibility of training together and getting more introductions out of the way, Mir smiled at the Vokornian with warmth. "Surely you long-lived fellows can take a year, no?" He asked, "Alone, together in the depths of the Time Chamber, we can forge a powerful alliance." He said, sounding romantic at first, but clearly talking about the team instead. "We'll only miss one day in this universe, and our bodies won't really age that much, if Maxwell's formulas are to be trusted."

Mir reached out and put a hand on the Vokornian's knee cap, "Maybe we can work on getting the Old One to be a bit more talkative." He said with a smile, the young-looking primordial deity still sitting on the table, Mir making a short quip about it.

---

A little under an hour passed after the end of the meeting, and Mir was making final adjustments to a large control panel that stood off to the side of a large, metallic, technologically advanced doorway. Over his shoulder was Victor Vaughn, who Mir explained the workings of the chamber and what it did, the former SHIELD Agent nodding and listening to the technobabble as other Mad Gods found their way to the room. "Glad to see we've all made it." Mir said with a smile, "When we get in there, you'll find suits of armor tailor-made to fit your body and compliment your powers. Consider it a gift from me, and your uniform as a Mad God."

With that, Mir engaged some buttons and flipped some switches, sending a large array of power to the door in steadily increasing levels, the hum of electricity growing louder with each passing second, until finally, the door lit up as the relays made contact, and slowly, it rolled itself open, revealing a pale white expanse within. "The Hyperbolic Time Chamber. With it, we access a dimension where a years' worth of time is spent in just one day. We can control it with some devices within the Chamber to give us varying environments and situations to respond to. We have enough amenities to survive long periods within it, so, let's get to it." Mir yelled as the doors slid open, taking the first few steps into the time-lapsed dimension.

A large house a short distance away was the only feature in the ever-expanding white nothingness in the Chamber, which Mir quickly pointed out. "That'll be our home for the next year. It has our sleeping quarters, food stores, and every little thing to make us feel at home while we're here." He began to walk forward towards the house, the rest of the Mad Gods in tow, when he felt the sickening wrongness of the universe shifting. It was the same feeling as when Darkstar entered this reality, and it nearly drove Mir to vomiting. Whipping his head around, looking out into that white nothing, his eyes struggled to keep focus, flashes of black covering his pupils off and on. He glanced at his team, some also looking towards the sky.

Johanna and Kat for the first, both with their mouths covered by their hands in pure shock, Ashy afflicted as well, and finally, Andreas threw his head up as his eyes grew wide. Mir clutched his stomach to prevent from puking, but Kat dropped to her knees in a dramatic fashion. What was going on, Mir didn't know, but All-Black the Necrosword was running wild in his veins. Kat breathed steadily, eyes and body shaking, muttering the cause of their affliction. "Darkseid...Is dead..." She said softly, the wide eyes of those who detected the mass exodus of the Omega Effect growing larger if possible, glossing over and looking down if not, wondering how such a powerful, Multiversal entity could meet his end.

Van Zant, Bree Jok-Bal, Victor Vaughn, and Alan Gabriel seemed out of the loop, Van promptly asking his comrades, "What the hell's going on?" Receiving a blank stare from most of them, Andreas walking over to the four without divine connections to the greater universe, and politely informing them.

"Darkseid. Big scary fuck, crushes universes for a hobby." Andreas explained, looking at his comrades, and then at the ground. "Well, he was one of the most powerful Gods in existence. And he just died." The Eternal said solemnly, not sparing anything to his teammates. "Some of us have powers that extend from deities and the cosmos, so, when he died, the universe wailed in agony, and we felt it. I felt it from the Celestials, Johanna from the Heavens, Ashyandra from the Old One, Kat from being from Apokolips - Home of Darkseid - and...Mir?" Andreas asked, looking at their unshakable leader, Mir's hands clasped to his skull and bent forwards over his torso, breathing steadily.

Alan interjected, feeling it, finally. "The magic plane is distorting..." He commented, "An aftershock from Darkseid's death?"

"Yeah...It could be delayed effects." Andreas said, not paying attention to Alan, but walking towards Mir, who seemed to be struggling with something from within. In the white nothingness that surrounded them, a shadow began to form around Mir, rubbing off of him like vapor as well, "Mir, what's wrong?" The Eternal asked cautiously, keeping his distance, but gritting his teeth as the Daxamite looked up at him, revealing one of his eyes had gone completely black, a single white dot becoming his pupil instead. His whole body started to cover itself in that wretched blackness as well, Mir staring intently at Andreas.

"He...Died...." Mir said harshly, his voice distorted as All-Black tried to take control. "And...New...Gods...Were...Born." Andreas' jaw hung open slightly, knowing what happens when a God dies - New Gods take their place. Mir was tied to All-Black the Necrosword, which fed on the blood of gods and deities, and the sudden emergence of new hosts for the powers of Darkseid consumed the blade, and thus, it was trying to overtake Mir. "Fight it, Mir. Don't let that world slicer tell you what to do, damnit." Andreas said, stepping forward courageously, but his fear still present. "Don't let it win."

Mir growled and flexed every muscle in his body, stopping the spread of the darkness from completely taking over his form. He groaned painfully, slowly causing the shadowy coating to retract back and away from sight, collapsing down to his knees, breathing deeply and quickly with painful winces in between each breath as the effects of the Annihiblade left his body. "It wants them..." Mir said quietly, "It wants me to take their blood." He explained, his team looking upon him with some second guesses and a bit of horror at the sight of what Mir was about to become. "I'll master this damn thing." Mir promised, clenching his fists together. "I'll tell it what to do." He said with passionate anger, "I am not All-Black, I wield All-Black." With that, Mir stood back up on his own two feet, looking at the faces of the Mad Gods.

"Let's go. We have work to do."

[New Neros]

---

---

On a dead world, long turned to ash, drifting aimlessly in the faded star light, three beings stood around in a circle, their faces and bodies concealed by heavy armor, alien in appearance for that universe, but the meeting was impromptu, called when they all felt the falling of the Dark God. Not since the Dead God fell did the beings there feel such pain and hatred unleashed on the Multiverse, as the Omega Effect clawed it's way back to the dreaded world of Apokolips. The three gathered looked towards the void above and then to each other, quick glances from behind their helmets, no one saying a word, until someone broke the ice. "Darkseid is dead. Felled by man on Earth. The time of the Fourth World draws to a close, it seems, and the Fifth World rises with Mankind at it's helm." One spoke, the other two nodding in agreement.

"That universe wails in agony, should we go? Our work here is nearly over, perhaps just to visit." One said, masculine in tone and appearance.

"We can't." The first one to speak answered, "We still have universes out there, their cries silenced by the Dead God. Our mission is simple and straightforward, once we finish, we can go home." The armored humanoid looked thoroughly at his compatriot, though, sensing through his armor towards the being behind it. "I want to go home, too, don't worry." He then reassured him, the armored man giving a firm nod of acceptance.

"Should we at least check in with the Tribunal?" The third voice asked, feminine, yet hardy.

"He would surely know already. If our mission changed, he would have told us by now." The first speaker said in response, clearly the leader of the grouping somehow. Looking around at the universe before him, he sighed deeply, filled with the hard work that stood both behind him and before him. "We're almost done here, we'll move to the next one after it's done." He said softly, trying to uplift his teammates a bit, but still feeling the fatigue regardless. "We'll rest in the next universe, I promise." He said, lifting away from the world, leaving his two companions behind as he drifted away into the void, balls of fire igniting as his body disappeared from view - stars forming in his wake.

---

---

Mad City Saga
The Time Chamber

The days and weeks flew readily within the Time Chamber, the growing dynamics of the Mad Gods team becoming apparent as a bond formed between them all. They lived together, ate together, trained together endlessly, in partners, alone, as a team, everything imaginable was worked on deep in the fiery depths of the chamber, a stinging forge molding the friendships they shared into something more - turning once strangers into family, and in the face of Darkseid's demise, empowering all of the nine members to even greater heights of personal power.

For Mir, though, training came through the Necrosword. Day in and day out, for months, he would find himself lightyears away from his comrades in the Time Chamber and unleash the Annihilblade, letting those shadow tendrils envelope his entire form and taking control. In that time space, though, Mir would focus on his own mental state, working the controlling shadows that influenced his neural pathways into doing their bidding into something he could manage. The process was grueling, lonesome at times, but the leader of the Mad Gods knew that controlling this beast was his first priority. Many times he failed, many times he had to pull himself back from the brink of total insanity, but all he needed was one breakthrough. On this day, Mir managed to take full control of the Slicer of Worlds, molding his personality into it's own, and then drowning out it's murderous thoughts through sheer willpower and his strong, complex neural network.

It happened in an instance as well, Mir's body swallowed whole by an amorphous blob of black shadows rendered solid, crying out for the blood of gods and finding none in the Time Chamber, starving the wild beast of a blade enough for Mir to take full control. First was opening his eyes, peeling back the black shadows before his pupils and finding the bright light of the chamber. He was shocked, extending an arm out to test his limits further, sending out a mass of black shadow where he guided his hand. A smirk crawled across his face, Mir hardly able to keep his excitement as he danced around in that form, slowly condensing it so that it just covered his body, leaving a sickle blade on his arm and letting the shadowy tentacles of All-Black weave through the air around him slightly. From there, Mir drew the darkness back into his chest region, returning to his normal state, glad that he had some ounce of control over the Annihiblade.

Mir sat down on the floor, exhausted at the ordeal, leaning backwards until he rested completely on his back, the white floor extending in all directions almost infinitely. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, weaving his hands behind his head for a makeshift pillow. The Daxamite wasn't sure if he fell asleep or not, but was quickly awoken by a soft weight dropping onto his pelvis. He opened his eyes and leaned forward, a delicate hand gently pressing on his chest until he laid back down. Face to face at such a distance, Mir felt uncomfortable, but his eyes were locked with..."Ashyandra?" He said quietly, his face turning red, but the girl was sly, placing a single finger on her lips to shush the man.

She leaned her head forward just a small bit and locked her lips with Mir's own, the Daxamite remaining motionless as he very nearly froze up at the encounter. Mir grabbed her at the waist and tried to lift her off, unsure of what he was feeling right then. With some force, Ashy pinned his arms back, an impassioned and loving smirk on her face, her eyes lazily half-open and looking deeply into Mir's own pupils. At that sight of such desire, a burning fire started in Mir's heart, mind, and body, breaking free of the societal pressures that he was raised around on Daxam, and reaching up with his own head to return Ashy's kiss. Their lips locked and their bodies pressed against one another, the desire mutual, and...John Cena

---

The last day within the Time Chamber was at hand, and the group of Mad Gods assembled at their modest house for the final time. Looking from each person to person, Mir found their appearance to be in stark contrast to their first meeting. The distrust and aggression unleashed in the first few days and weeks long gone, replaced by a lasting bond of friendship and respect. Strengths and weaknesses were well-known, no one member stood out as the absolute strongest, and not one was the definite weakest link - all were equal, even Mir. "I'm glad to see we've all stuck it out. Needless to say, my views and relationships with you all has changed drastically for the better. I can recall coming in here, and feeling Darkseid's death shake the universe, and maybe that empowered us to train harder."

"But, remember," Mir warned, "We spent an entire year in here and improved not only ourselves but our team, out there though, the world is still reacting to Darkseid's death. To them, it was only yesterday, and we must be ready to deal with whatever happens when a God dies." Mir explained, unsure himself, but willing to find out exactly what happens, given that he had seen both Maxwell and Darkstar perish. "There is no one else on this world or even in this galaxy who I would rather be with, no one who I would rather have at my side than any of you all, or all of you. I hope that you feel the same." Mir said, allowing others to speak on their experiences.

"I never thought I would be apart of something, Mir." Andreas said, smiling widely at the Daxamite. "I was so used to just being by myself that I, well, really never understood what it means to be a team player. Look, I've been around for thousands of years, been in many organizations near and far, but I've finally found one where I feel like I actually belong. Like..."

"Like someone's not using you?" Alan Gabriel said, completing the Eternal's thought, "Because I know how you feel." Andreas nodded, chuckling to himself at how much just one year in his indefinitely long lifespan could profoundly affect him so. Other Mad Gods felt similar emotions of togetherness, and it nearly brought a tear to Mir's eyes, as they agreed that they've found a place where they belong. The Daxamite tried to compare his old assembly with this one, but the more he thought about it, the more Mir noticed that this team was it's own device, not a recreation as Mir had sought, but a new team all together.

"I fuckin' love you guys. Let's get out of here and change the world, damnit." Van Zant declared, his boastful confidence a symbol of his own tremendous power, "Whatever happens after Darkseid...We won't have to deal with it." He said passionately, gaining the stares and confusion of his teammates quickly, wondering why. Van cracked a wicked smile, thinking of the cheesiest thing to say, and thoroughly declared it. "Because whatever happens after a God dies will have to deal with us." Some groaned, others cheered, raising their fist in agreement with that sentiment.

Mir's face was happy, the high spirits abound, his team all wearing their armor plates and looking absolutely official in them. With a helmet under his arm, Mir raised it up and placed it over his head, sealing it tightly on in a hiss of air. "If you all are ready to move, we can all go. It's been a pleasure, but what awaits us may be worse than what we left it as. Last time I saw a God die, an entire universe went with it." Mir said, suddenly dampening the parade. He noticed it, too, but it was a grim reality that might be waiting for them. "But fuck it, let's change the world anyways."

[New Neros]

Daud
The Mantle

The once mighty colossus was still strapped with muscle to last, but the era of his mountainous figure were gone, as Daud opted for a more toned and endurance influenced look than the meat head muscular tower of his youth. He was technically old, but still young looking, walking into Daniel's office with just a short smile on his face. "Long time no see." He began, casting a glance behind him as he watched the green skinned woman exit in a huff. "Quite a little firecracker, isn't she?" Daniel returned Daud's glance with a quick smile of his own, then a return to his resting face.

"She may find her way, or find her way back to me. Either way, come in, glad to see you again, old friend." Daniel said genuinely, a small beard beginning to take over his chin. "Have a sea-" He began, but quickly noticed the lack of chairs from Ekgra's visit. "Well, I'm sure we can just stand and chat, no?" He continued, clasping Daud's hand in a firm handshake between the two, noticing his old companion was drawn more toward the items on display than the conversation at hand. Daniel gave a short sigh, Daud taking a short trip through memory lane as a silence came between the two.

"You wore this one..." Daud began, pointing at an older power suit Daniel had worn briefly, "Back in San Francisco. When you fought Dapp after that Golden Gate Bridge fiasco." He said solemnly, an event of the past and one he couldn't change, but one he had come to terms with. "I'm never sure where that bastard is. He's hard to find and hard to love," Daud kept on, "But he was still a friend." The ex-hero and revolutionary continued to look at the displays, noting the shift from the limited power armor to a purely martial arts-based uniform. "And these...Worn during our Civil War." He commented again, his tone rather bleak and sad. Memories from the past aren't always pleasant, and Daud was a man who had to live with both regret and guilt.

"The same one I wore," Daniel interjected quickly, "When we fought Trigon." Just that little bit of hope was enough to draw Daud away from entering another depressive episode, cracking a smile on the man's face. "When we rescued Sora together, and defeated Nekron together." The two nodded with big grins on their faces, thinking of their exploits in a better light than just the bleak memories Daud held on to. Daniel gave a sigh and a nervous chuckle, causing Daud to narrow his eyes slightly at the uniform, turning back to Daniel and imagining him in it once more. Curiousity got the better of him, so Daud asked.

"So, uh, why did you give it up?"

"Hm?" Daniel hummed, raising his chin to hear Daud more clearly, asking for clarification.

"Why did you retire the cape?" Daud asked directly, looking straight at Daniel, and then back to the Sentinel uniform. "The world recognized you as an icon. You were one of the big ones, Daniel, but you just...hung it up. People remember me in a lot of different ways, but you? Even your enemies had respect for you. You're not that old, close to me in age, I suppose, and you have this whole Academy going." Daud said, listing off reasons for Daniel to use, but both of them knowing each wasn't the case. "I gave it up for my family." Daud admitted, looking deeply at Daniel, who briefly met Daud's eyes, looking away slowly.

"I did the same, but through a different way." Daniel finally cracked, rubbing a hand through his hair as he explained the situation to Daud the best that he could. "There is a God in the Galaxy known as Balance. She...makes arrangements for you, grants wishes, but with a cost." He said carefully, Daud following along the best that he could. "I made a deal with her to fix my family. Set everything right. Let Mayla see our son..." He said, almost with a cry, but he held it. "In exchange, I can never be Sentinel again. I found the thing I'm not willing to sacrifice, Daud, and I'll do it for them."

The words hits like a bomb in Daud's stomach, the man instinctively glancing toward the ground as he pried into a discussion he didn't want Daniel going through. "I..." He began, trying to find the words to explain what he felt, "I had no idea..." Was all he could come up with by just looking at Daniel, but glancing back at the uniform of Sentinel, Daud continued. "But, at what cost to the world?" Daud looked at the suit more, not daring to look at the glare of Daniel as Daud inadvertently told Daniel that he traded the world for his family. "Don't get me wrong, I'd do the same if I were in your shoes, but the world lost something very dear to them when Sentinel stopped showing up."

Daniel perked up, willing to hear was Daud needed to say, his eyebrows a bit narrow but interested instead of angry. Daud continued, "Sentinel was a normal man who went into the depths of Hell itself. The perfect example of what man can do without fancy powers or even that much technology. Where man could go and what he could do - There were no limits, and that gave them hope, Daniel." Daud explained, "They knew that even the smallest of actions had the greatest impact whenever they saw you in that mask. They saw themselves. What they could be. They saw..."

"Hope." Daud continued after a slight pause for some unintentional dramatic effect, "And without hope, what do you aim for? What do you look forward to? Everyone has some type of hope or dream that guides them and pushes them forward." He said quietly, so that only he and Daniel could hear, "And you need that, and if you lose that, then you lose a part of yourself." The words both stung and inspired Daniel, who quickly began to pace around the room with his hand on his chin, deep in thought with himself, Daud looking on as he wondered what machinations went on within his friend's mind.

Finally, Daniel answered, "You're right, you're absolute right." He said, almost frantic, walking over to his small bookshelf and sliding random titles off of the shelf, throwing them casually on the floor as he searched for one in particular, finding it after some time, and yanking it hard. "You're so right that it hurts, Daud." Daniel said, the wall opposite of the bookshelf sliding open, removing some drab paintings from view to reveal a never-before seen uniform of Sentinel.

"Daniel, you can't -" Daud began, but was immediately silenced.

"But you can." Daniel said with enthusiasm, walking over to the display and looking up at it like a kid in a candy store, "It's a model I never used after MK1 Armor," Daniel began to explained, "But I always had it ready just in case I needed it again." Daniel looked up and down at Daud's body, finding it more muscular than himself, a bit taller, but of the same relative frame. "Daud, I have the ultimate favor to ask you, one that I can't ask of any other person." Daniel nearly pleaded, getting closer to Daud, "I need you to become the new Sentinel. Be that hope for them, Daud. You're the only one I can trust with this, I'm not just asking you, the world is."

Daud stood there in shock at the offer, completely bewildered and unable to form a response without a few "um"s and "uh"s, but finally managed to get something out. "D-Daniel, you...Really trust me that much? After all I've done before?" Daud asked sincerely, the man never forgiving himself for the pain and grief he's caused in the past, despite the fact that he happened to marry the woman he inadvertently killed, along with her entire race. "I..." He started, but then gripped tight on his fist. "I accept, humbly, too. I will be the hope that the world needs. I won't let you or anyone down." Daud said with confidence, a strong smile forming on Daniel's face. His hands shook slightly, Daud moving closer, the two coming together for a moment to share an embrace - Daniel in debt to Daud for giving him his family and letting Sentinel continue.

"A new chapter's beginning, my friend." Daniel said, moving out of the hug the two shared. "Let's get you suited up."

---

---

God Wars Saga
Prelude

When Old Gods die, New Gods rise, but what of the gods left behind? Do those Gods feel fear? If so, what do they do? They go to war.

---

The Devas sat arranged together in a semi circle, with Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma forming a trinity in the middle - the Gods of the Indian Subcontinent in congress for days discussing what must be done with the death of Darkseid apparent and the effects of his fallout. Shiva took charge, as destruction seemed to be his forte as a deity. "To preserve our ways and livelihood, we must act against these New Gods before they gain access to the vast amounts of power Darkseid once possessed." He said poetically, "The Omega Effect was contained in a human vessel as well - this means the Fourth World is drawing to an abrupt end and man shall take the reigns as Gods."

Vishnu agreed quickly, "The old order must be preserved, else mankind truly rise above Gods. Where do we factor into all of this?" He said to his brothers and sisters, "We shall preserve our place at the top through any many necessary, and the actions by Xian against our will is a testament to their infidelity with the Dark God's passing." Vishnu continued, casting blame on the Chinese Pantheon of Gods, "They have decided to teach these New Gods and welcome them to our ranks. How utterly foul and misguided they are..." Vishnu said while looking towards his brothers - Shiva and Brahma, for support. With a firm nod each, Vishnu continued. "We shall launch a preemptive strike on Xian before they can mobilize their greater number of gods. Power resides on our side, but they definitely have numbers to aid them."

"Aye, brother," Brahma spoke, "What is an ant hill to an elephant?"

A wicked smirk formed on Vishnu's face. "Our attacks begins at midday. Xian will be moving over the Himalayas and we will strike when they least expect."

"And if interlopers intervene?" A God asked, Indra, one of the most powerful of the Devas and at times considered a fourth-skyfather alongside Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma.

"Slaughter them as well. Our peaceful ways are long gone, gone with the Human Otis slayed Darkseid. No God is safe, so we must be careful to assure our own position is not compromised." Vishnu answered, the congress finally reaching it's apex and conclusion all at once. "No mortal shall rule over us, we are the proud Devas and it shall remain that way. Xian will not see the light nor understand reason, so they must be dealt with before they can aid mankind."

---

[New Neros]

God Wars
Prelude to Battle

As the era of the Mad Gods began, their central headquarters in Mad City provided ample area to pacify the surrounding region and begin charitable work. Throughout India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Tibet, word of superhuman feats and actions were reported across a myriad of villages. From blasting apart mountains to enable faster routes to hospitals to rapid digging to provide much-needed water, the team needed no announcement of their deeds or even their formation, as word got around regardless, and people began to talk. It wouldn't be long before Mir got some sort of visit from other organizations, but he was working in his laboratory and thought chamber after a day's work, taking his mind elsewhere for a while.

True to his promise to Ashy, Mir was tracking down the whereabouts of The Snake, taking a somewhat personal interest in finding her in order to keep Ashyandra safe, but she was true to her name, and quite slippery. Still, Mir worked on a set of bracelets as his mind wandered, soldering here and there on the tiny circuits with extreme precision, when a screen immediately popped up in front of his face. An alarm was triggered, one he had set to detect Vokornian-derived energy sources, alongside another one, giving the Daxamite immediate concern. Calmly, he pressed the screen and entered a series of codes, whispering to himself, "Mad Gods...Assemble." Glancing nervously over his shoulder, Mir noted the situation. "A war between Gods approaches." As he sent out the message, several members of the Mad Gods team dropped their duties instantly, pressing a button on their armored suits, and teleported back into Mad City, conveniently at their original meeting room.

Mir walked briskly down the halls towards the room as well, but as he rounded a corner, he and Ashyandra nearly ran into one another. The woman seemed a bit confused at the sudden alarm and order to return to Mad City, so Mir would quickly set her straight. "Ashy, I don't know if you can feel it coming, but I can." He said dramatically, "Gods are approaching our homestead from the north and south, All-Black thirsts for them, but it's who's guiding them that we should be worried about." He continued, locking eyes with his love interest, a serious tone present, "The Snake is pitting two pantheons against one another, and they're going to converge over Mad City."

Ashyandra paused. This was concerning news. Even Rua poked her head out for this. "From warfare she can draw power. All the negative emotions come out in battle for mankind, and she feeds of them." She remarked. Ashy sighed, while Mir had been searching for the Snake, Ashy had spent her free time researching the being, as well as the kin of Rua.

"She stands to gain a foothold on earth and wipe away the force which threatens her. Either way she can harness negative energy from this event." Remarked Rua. "A most logical plan, one we cannot allow to come to fruition."

She looked at Mir then, directly in the eyes. You have been looking for her too, haven't you? The elder being psychically remarked.

I have but found nothing, so I set up biological scans to continously search the globe, reasoning the Snake would try and stick close to Ashy. If she showed herself, then I could locate her. It just so happens that the first time I detected the Snake was now. Mir remarked to the Old One, unflinching that she was within his vast mind, the Daxamite having no immunity nor defense against mental attacks beyond his own willpower. He turned to look at Ashy, grabbing onto her hand softly to connect with her. "Like Rua's saying, we feeds off of those negative emotions, and just how much ill-will do you think Gods can produce?"

Giving a nod with his head, Mir motioned for Ashy to follow him to the meeting room. "The rest of the Mad Gods should be arriving, if they aren't already waiting on us." He said quietly, but stopped for a moment, looking at Ashy deeply and with concern, unsure of what to do with her situation. "We can help, Ashy...We're a team. A family. If you can't trust yourself to face her, trust us to be right there at your side." Mir said kindly, reminding the Vokornian that she was among allies, and not alone in this fight.

A logical course of action. I approve. She remarked. Although, I would advise caution. For while you may be looking at the Snake, she may very well be looking back at you. Into you. Rua had become a lot more vocal, in fact almost annoyingly so, her brand of complete, blatant honesty could be a little offensive. But she could always be trusted to be truthful. "A considerable amount. The emotions of older beings tends to run stronger than short lived mortals." She remarked. "Not only that, but there are also those mortals who will be caught in the crossfire. Their despair will be fuel too. Plenty of recruits as well..."

Ashy paused. She sighed. She placed a hand in Mir's. "I... I can trust you to stand and fight. But I need you to know the risks if we face her." She remarked. "She will attack not just your body, but your mind and your soul as well. In fact she'll most definitely go for those areas. Rua or I can protect you from psychic attack, but that's not the only psycological tool at her disposal..."

She then squeezed Mir's hand. "We may not face her, and she may not do what I think she will do. But..." She steeled herself. She was about to say something, but it couldn't come out of her mouth. "Nevermind." She remarked. She was about to say something.

"We should probably consider the much more likelihood of fighting these earth gods. I'm not familiar with a good deal of the non Asgardian ones, so you may have to help inform me." She smiled again.

Mir stared deeply into Ashy as she and Rua spoke to him, both physically and mentally, the man weighing the information carefully within his mind. It was a weakness he had done nothing about for so long despite knowing it was there, as Mir's mind was not a closed system like Max's was - who could let whoever he decided in at any given moment, Mir was more open and expansive. "Thank you," Mir finally said, "Sometimes it's not enough to be physically strong or mentally stable, so thank you for helping me with my shortcomings." He said honestly, grateful to have Ashy with him, "But I don't want to burden you. If I become too much of a bother, cast me aside, and I will find my own way."

Holding Ashy's hand in his own powerful grip was emotionally moving for the Daxamite, but he held firm regardless. "The Gods we will be facing..." He began closing his eyes to think for a moment. "The Indian Gods are known as the Devas. Their power is incredible, on the scale of the Asgardians needless to say. Yet, they lack an Odin-level figure as they position is filled by three brothers known as Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu. Combined, they can threaten a Skyfather like Odin easily. Another strong member of their cabal is Indra - Thor-like in retrospect, he's just as powerful as one of the three main Devas."

Continuing, Mir expanded on the Chinese Pantheon. "Their opposing force is known as Xian, and they compose the largest divine pantheon on Earth. Though they are not as powerful individually, together, they are a large force to be reckoned with due to sheer numbers. Their leader and most powerful member is the Jade Emperor Yu-Huangk, though, another member known as Sun Wukong is almost equally as powerful." Mir explained, showing the main enemies that would be fought by the Mad Gods. "Personally, our focus should be on the Devas as they represent a greater threat, but we must keep an eye on Xian as well."

"I have a plan to get us through this God War." Mir dramatically announced, "I'll tell all of the Mad Gods at once, let's go." He said, nodding to go into their meeting room, moving swiftly with Ashy in tow, the eyes of the other Mad Gods looking at the two, their stares felt when with their armor on. "Welcome back, team." Mir announced, "We're gathered here in an emergency meeting to discuss something of vital importance..." He continued, walking toward the circular table and pressing a button where he would usually sit, causing a large hologram to spring to life over the table. On it, videos and pictures of various Chinese and Indian gods flashed by, all eyes training upon that feed. "Two Pantheons are preparing to go to war with one another. I would simply monitor such an event, but this seems a bit more personal." Mir said, looking at his team directly.

"Because their battlefield is right over this city." He dropped the bombshell rapidly, members of the Mad Gods tightening their bodies in response. "We have less than an hour to defend the city and pick a side." Mir explained further, "Because at this point, neutrality is not an option. Both pantheons are being controlled into fighting one another by some outside force Ashyandra and myself have searched for, and it seems that she's playing upon their divine emotions." Mir closed the hologram abruptly, "We mustn't show fear in the face of these Gods. If what happened to Darkseid is any proof at all, it's that Gods can and will die if we so desire."

[New Neros]

God Wars
Dance of Devas

A mighty trinity of Gods loomed over the immense dome that called itself Mad City, rather unconcerned with it, simply noting the object as a curiosity, not knowing what it harbored within. The Indian Pantheon - The Devas - floated above Mad City with their eyes transfixed to the north and east, a soft glow surrounding their pupils as something primal tugged at their emotional well-being, not an exact puppetry, but more of a guiding push in a certain direction for an agenda. The Snake was quite the manipulator, slick-tongued, even without her charms, magic, and abilities to account for. Standing tall and proud as the leaders of the pantheon, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva discussed tactics between themselves.

The first to speak was Shiva, the Destroyer, who demanded a swift and brutal assault against the Chinese Pantheon. "A surprise attack will do the most damage - and will drain their numbers the fastest. Do not speak to them, Vishnu, do not even give them a chance to turn tail and run back to China. Our kind has never seen eye to eye with Xian, and their pride will force them to stay and fight regardless." He said harshly, chastising his brother for wanting to give Xian one chance to turn from an impending battle. "We will lose our surprise factor, don't you see that?"

Vishnu pursed his lips together and sunk his head back a bit as Shiva spoke, the God responding in kind. "I see it bright as day, brother, but let me ask you something, then, since you want to launch an all-out ambush." Vishnu said, looking towards Shiva, meeting the Destroyer's eyes with burning passion. "Have you no honor? War is what you make it, there is a difference between man and barbarian, and man and God, and that's what we shall prove. Imagine this for a moment, we present the ultimatum to Xian. As you said, their pride forces them to refuse and fight instead - but they are not ready for a fight. They are against harsh odds, their morale is low, and we shall strike when their hope wanes."

Brahma, the Creator, who has stayed quiet throughout the exchanged instead offered his insight to the squabble. "There is merit to both." He said quietly, both Shiva and Vishnu listening closely to him as they both valued Brahma's opinion and insights. "What difference is a strike against an unsuspecting opponent and an opponent who has lost hope? Simple - the one not expecting an attack may still yet fight, for he will hope for revenge against such a grave assault to his pride and character. He will become a rabid beast in the shape of a God, but the man who has his morale shattered will not unleash such a display. To them, the fight is already lost, so they give up mentally. They will still fight, but their heart and soul will not convince them of victory." Brahma rubbed his chin slightly, thinking more about the options, but firmly settling on Vishnu's. "Brother Vishnu's plan will be the best course of action, Shiva, no offense."

"No, no, it's quite alright," Shiva said defensively, "I'm beginning to see the merit in such a political maneuver from different angles as well. My way would attain victory at the cost of savagery, but Vishnu's plan will give us both honor and victory. It is the proper course of action." Shiva admitted, the three brothers not concerned with being wrong or right, but just going what is best with what they have. Shiva looked up into the sky for a moment, dark clouds forming in an instant across several hundred miles of the planned battlefield. "Indra approaches, my brothers, I trust his scouting mission has gathered much."

As he spoke, a massive bolt of lightning struck hard in front of the trinity, delivering a bright flash followed by a four-armed humanoid standing where the bolt struck. Their only equal, Indra, came bearing news from the Xian advance. "Their forces are strong and they move swiftly. They will be upon us within the hour, less even." He spoke clearly and concisely, "They intend to reach Delhi and use it as a forward base of operations for their kindship with the false-gods that arose in mankind. I will strike at your signal, Vishnu, say the word and I shall rip apart the skies." Indra said calmly, a harsh threat to Xian, as he floated lazily into the skies, where an ominous thundercloud awaited him, filled to the brim with bolts of electric current and thunder.

True to his word and information, the forces of Xian were fast approaching the Devas and their encampment over Mad City just as Indra said. As the pantheon passed over the Dome, the Jade Emperor gave the command to stop - his forces immediately obeying without question. Looking around at the landscape, something just felt...off about their location. "I sense great power here..." Yù Huáng said quietly, not knowing if it came from the dome they floated over, or from some other unknown source. He lowered his head and pinned his arms against his body, realizing all too quuckly that he inadvertently led his people into a trap, a single Indian God making his presence known in front of Yu - the body of Vishnu the Preserver unmistakable.

"Yù Huáng," Vishnu began, folding his arms together and looking at the Jade Emperor sideways, his overall appearance seeming tame and collected. "I am Vishnu of the Devas, and I welcome you to India." He continued, Yu remaining motionless as the God spoke. "I also implore you, should you value your life and the livelihood and well-being of your own gods in Xian, to turn around and go back to China." Vishnu let the words hang in the air for a moment, allowing their weight to sink in. "Mankind were not meant to be gods, they are meant to be ruled by gods. We cannot allow your breach of this protocol to stand. If I strike first, I shall do it without mercy."

The Chinese patriarch sat quietly as Vishnu spoke the ultimatum to him, shocked at the sheer arrogance of the Deva and his hardly subtle threats of physical violence. Yu thought for a brief second, but cocked his head up with a defiant and daring, yet determined look on his face, Vishnu raising an eyebrow in response to this grimace. He replied with a single, burn-worthy word that would set anyone afire with rage. "If." Without missing a beat either, Yù Huáng launched himself forward, sword out, pointed and stabbing right into Vishnu's abdomen between the flaps of a butterfly wing. Yu channeled his immense cosmic energy through the sword, a Chinese jian, blasting the Preserver with tremendous amounts of energy right into his wound.

With that opening play, the God Wars abruptly began - with large-scale yet minor forces from Xian and the Devas launching forward to engage in an all-out war for survival in the Age of Man.

[New Neros]

Mister Magnificent
The Wanderer

Magnificent simply grabbed the lone strangers' forearm and twisted it violently. Instead of a shriek of pain, the limb simply tore off from the sheer force, spraying the wandering man with blood. Glancing down at the severed forearm and hand, Magnificent looked precariously at the shiny pistol still held in the arm's grip. The scene was some putrid back alley in a dark, dirty, damp city whose name was of little if any importance. The man who had just gotten his arm ripped off entered shock immediately, glancing down at his stub as blood simply sprayed out violently. Magnificent tossed the arm against a trash can some distance away, letting the would-be mugger drop to his knees as he tried to comprehend what all happened. Magnificent simply turned and walked the way he had been before being accosted, unflinching at the brutal carnage he had just inflicted.

He emerged on a street in the 'bad' neighborhood of whatever city he was in, somewhere on the East Coast of the United States by the look of it, and his bloody clothing provided quite the scene for some. A woman screamed as Magnificent walked under the street lamps, going down the street as if it were normal to be covered in more blood than a butcher on a busy day. The police were on the way, but Magnificent was already making his way to an apartment complex, the rundown building housing little more than your average dealers and addicts, but he went without a worry, walking past the bums who slept just outside the complexes' doorway. The hallway was not much better than the buildings' exterior, and the roach problem seemed to be far past any remedy or exterminator worth his salt.

The building was rather empty, and Magnificent passed no one on his way to the fourth floor - taking the stairs as an elevator was too much of a convenience for such a slum. He passed a single resident, whose episode seemed to remove her so far from reality that she simply stood on a step by the third floor and twitched now and again, her dilating eyes locking onto Magnificent as he walked up and past her without a word. He opened the fourth floor's door carefully, shutting it behind him as well, a three-digit number repeating itself in his head, until he stood in front of that number in reality - 459 - A room in this complex. Without a word, Magnificent twisted the knob to find it locked. Unphased, he simply applied just the smallest amount of pressure and tore the entire door handle off. "Oh what the fuck!" A voice yelled from inside, Magnificent placing his hand on the door and pushing on it - the door flying off of the hinges and into someones' living room.

Some feet from the door's remains was a medium built man, his attire relaxed and rather lazy by the looks of it, but in his hand, a semi-automatic pistol, Glock 17, nine millimeter. Magnificent scanned it just once to gain that information in a split second, noting that the man had pissed himself as well. Magnificent stood there for a moment, assessing the situation, the man whose home he had invaded shouting at him all the while. "Who the fuck is you? Whachu want coming all up in my motha-fuckin' house, huh? G-get the fuck out!" He said, stammering and fumbling with his weapon, shaking a bit, but growing steady and determined, gripping the pistol tight, and aiming right at Magnificent. "L-last warning, fucker."

As Magnificent did what he does best and stand there, unmoving and unchallenged, the man squeezed his eyes closed, doing the same with his finger, a single pop filling the apartment, that unnamed man carefully peeling back his eyes. Expecting to see a body laying in front of his door, the man saw Magnificent still standing, unaffected by the gunshot. Perhaps he had missed...Impossible, though, he had the gun aimed right at the door and only Magnificent was there. Then, "M" took a step forward, showing that he was indeed hit, right in the right side of his chest, he did nothing, the bullet being pushed out of his muscle mass by sheer willpower. Shocked beyond all ability, the man jammered, "Wh-what the fuck...What...What are you?" He cowered a bit as Magnificent got closer, instinctively curling up in a ball. "Wh-what do you want?!"

Finally, the mute goliath speaks, demanding a single thing with a single word. "Answers." His voice was masculine and rough, entirely fitting of his presence and stature - commanding almost, like it was one bad motherfucker speaking. Confused, the man glanced up at the unstoppable man, while Magnificent snatched him up by the neck swiftly. Pinning him neck-first against a wall, the man got to see that whoever this was, he wore a simple mask. In a symbolic gesture, Magnificent grabbed the man's dropped pistol with his off hand as Magnificent grabbed him, crushing it into a metallic ball right in front of him.

"I-I don't know what you want answers to! I don't know nothin'!" He shouted, more out of fear than any willingness to withhold information. "I swear to God, man, I swear I ain't know nothin' about nobody!"

"LexCorp." Magnificent said vigorously, tightening upon his captives' neck. "What do you know about the Everyman Project?"

"Wha-? What the fuck? I was a janitor at LexCorp for like...Two weeks, man! They fired me because I showed up late one time!" He said, almost as if he were insulted by the question. "I never got past the front desk and the offices, man, I don't know jack shit about what they do!" He pleaded, "I don't have the keys or anything...I worked for them about a year ago, man, c'mon..."

Magnificent stared hard at the man, his expression searching for authenticity, and found him to be telling the truth. Magnificent found no use for him, and any more people onto his mission seemed detrimental. He wasn't sure why, but an overwhelming urge to end this man's life fell over him, one that wouldn't be ignored, and was only silenced by the vicious crack that severed this unnamed man's cervical vertebrae. The act was over in a single second, and the man's body slumped onto the floor. Turning to walk away, another dead end to finding himself, Magnificent's eared perked up. He stopped, and turned his head to the side, a lone voice giving him an order. "Freeze. Hands up."

Something snapped in the man's mind. From the stoic and unchanging demeanor he held before, a wicked grin spread across his face as invasive thoughts to maim, kill, and destroy flooded his mental landscape. It was a blink of an eye, and Magnificent pivoted on his heel and whipped around, meeting a hail of gunfire from numerous police officers. Pistols and rifles alike, it didn't matter, Magnificent charged it under that fire and began the slaughter. Heavily wounded yet still functional, Magnificent tore those men in uniform apart with his bare hands, ripping off their heads and simply punching through their chests with ease. He eventually slammed one through a wall and into another apartment, running with him still, and out of the the apartment on the other side - ending up outside four stories above ground.

Magnificent slammed down on top of a car's hood, crushing it immediately, and finding himself surrounded by even more police units, with reports that more are incoming, and that special help - in the form of heroes - was on the way. Magnificent held his haunting grin firmly on his face, ready to continue his brawl without much thought or purpose, utilizing his berserker strength and ability to just tear through anything in his way, forgetting his search momentarily as his mind lapsed into a psychotic episode of untold proportions. Yet, was it truly him in charge, or is there another pulling the strings?

[New Neros]

Life After Death
"Your arms are too short to box with God."

The being sighed with familiar distaste, another plane of existence without, well, existence. What little she could touch was innate and unattractive - lifeless, in other words, and simply too far away from one another to actually interact on a meaningful scale. Xala stretched out her body, using her unique biology to feel for traces of energy that she could devour, as hunger was setting in quickly. As she expanded, her mind began to wander, thinking it strange how universe after universe was simply devoid of meaningful matter and energy. The cosmos is infinite, but going through so many in a row, Xala just felt like something was not right. As far as she knew, though, no other beings besides the Xyrixma and the Monitors could travel so readily between realities, so the idea that a singular being or race could do such a thing didn't cross her mind.

But, she longed for interaction of any sort at this point. Xala had lost count of how long it had been since she last spoke to another being, much less seen one or touched one. Her kind were social, and though she was reserved and quiet at times, depriving her of that social inclusion is just pure torture. Still, Xala's body expanded far and wide, almost like a sail, trying to find any source of light in this dead universe. She frowned heavily, not a single photon hitting her expanded and thin body, the tale-tell sign of a universe long dead. Xala began to retract back into her humanoid form, when the darkness was chased away by a blinding light.

Surprised and bewildered, Xala's eyes shot forward and stared on ahead as a star was born in mere moments before her very eyes. It was impossible, she would have detected the stellar nebula forming the sun if it were so close, but it was simply willed into existence from the matter that permeated this reality. Xala glanced down at her body, glowing and shifting into different shades of color as the solar radiation interacted with her physiology, recharging her vitality and cellular structure with an assault of photons and all forms of energy. Like sipping from a hot beverage on a cold night, it warmed her completely, and she began to drift closer to the newborn star. Spreading her arms out wide, Xala closed her eyes and floated onward.

"Who are you?" A distinct, alien tone inquired, startling Xala and causing her to jump out of her trance and into a flight-or-fight-esque response. Looking forward, a slender, armored being floated from Xala's side to directly in front of her path - a grave insult to the Xyrixma who equated getting between a slime and their food on the same playing field as fucking someone's mother. Narrowing her eyes, Xala refused to answer whoever this was, ignoring her past feelings of loneliness for the bitter anger at being insulted so readily. The being seemed annoyed at this, more sternly pressing, "Who are you?"

A thought crossed Xala's mind as this armored foe spoke once more, that this person didn't speak in a foreign language as in most universes should. No, this one spoke in Xyrixma tongue - something thought impossible of more solid organics due to it's complexities. That was unsettling, and only something Xala herself had read about - and those who spoke their language without being a slime were always an enemy in her mind. Xala opened her mouth for a moment, preparing to speak, but stopping before any words came out. Silently, she closed her lips and lowered her head some, expanding her body mass in order to absorb more solar energy in preparation for a fight.

Sensing a threat, the other being widened their stance and raised their arms in an unmistakable combat stance. It continued to speak, Xala growing more infuriated as it used their language so readily. "I can sense the anger in your being. It's...different, from normal, but it doesn't matter. I just wanted an answer and you just wanted a fight." Xala narrowed her eyes at the accusation, lowering her center of gravity in order to strike firmly and quickly. The tension held firm as the two opponents searched the other for a sign of the first move - a cultural misunderstanding triggering a violent confrontation. Xala took charge, and struck with force and rapidity.

Using her expanded body, Xala formed tentacles of slime and sent them to converge on her opponents location with blinding speed, while Xala moved her humanoid body to strike as well. To her surprise, her target simply disappeared, Xala nearly tripping over herself as her momentum continued forward. She whipped around to look for the alien, but was instantly blinded by a spinning back kick landing squarely on her head - exploding slime everywhere as the force carried the foot through. Her opponent completed the spin and took a position some ways away following the attack, watching intently at what would develop from it. Truth be told, Xala didn't even feel it - it was more like someone moved her slime around, so, the Xyrixma just reshaped her head and face into it's natural state immediately, as if nothing happened at all.

The foe seemed bewildered, but move convinced to try something else. Xala reckoned that she shouldn't give the alien a chance to even try, and moved forward to attack once more, encountering the same problem as before, being too slow for her opponent, since Xala's attack reached where it would have been, but her opponent was already behind her once more. Xala sought other ways to close the distance, expanding her biomass significantly with continuously increasing energy from the nearby star. Xala moved to attack once more, but it was a feint, sending a piece of her own body to act as the attacking force as her main attack was focused right behind her. Flashing right in front of her, the alien almost sidestepped the Xyri's unexpected fake, but Xala managed to grab ahold of the enemies' ankle.

Using it like a fishing line, Xala yanked the foe towards herself with bone-snapping force, intent on imprisoning it rather than killing it, so that Xala could ask her own questions. However, the creature crunched their abdominal muscle and readied a punch, slamming it into the reddish slime of her body with rippling force. But, at such mass, it simply rippled and nothing more, holding shape and even entrapping it's striking hand. Xala pulled it into herself fully now, encasing the alien in a bubble of slime, almost like suspended animation. "Seems like I will be the one asking questions, young one."

---

As Xala finally spoke, a sudden chill fell over her entire body. She felt the fluid in her being trying to crystallize as the temperature plummeted in her immediate area. Panicked, she looked around for the source of such a cold front, finding it impossible to feel such a freeze when so close to a star. The cold of the interstellar void was manageable, but this? This was a new hell for the Xyrixma, and it was made even worse since Xala couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Her new captive remained motionless in her suspension, so Xala did what she could and moved closer to the star - warming up and gaining more energy. "Ah, it's the star you want." Another voice called out, this time more refined and masculine, like a suave smooth talker was addressing Xala.

She blushed slightly at the politeness of the voice and turned to face it, finding another alien similar to the one she had just captured, wearing the same kind of armor, as well. He stood on the other side of her food source, so she reasoned he wasn't as insulting as his companion. "Normally, I'd let you take your fill and be on, hell, even give you the star." He said with that same, attractive voice. "But, that star is a special one, especially in this universe. A yellow dwarf, not just any, but one with a name. This star, you see, is Sol. One of her planets is vital to the universe, well, it will be. When we're done fixing it."

"F-fixing it?" Xala said, feeling compelled to speak to this stranger more readily.

"Yes." The alien affirmed, "A being tore through the Multiverse and rendered an uncountable number of realities dead or simply destroyed. It nearly tore apart the Multiverse, but, well, he was eventually stopped." The alien seemed to relax a bit as he explained the situation, Xala seeming to do the same, but her mind was working overdrive as she was falling in love with the way this alien spoke. He spoke her language like a steamy romance, and it drew her closer to him. "I can feed you other stars, but not this o-" His voice was quickly silenced as Xala encased him with slime, her eyes crazed and shaking wildly. She wanted him to be apart of her badly, and held him firmly. She wanted to hear him speak every day, and reckoned she could have him tag along with her mission.

Xala turned back to the star, mouthing the name that the alien had given it. "Sol..." She said, trying to emulate his soft, velvet-like manner with the word, but finding herself unable to produce such a wondrous sound. As she stood before this star, Xala contemplated on whether other beings exist in this universe like the two she had imprisoned. She thought long on it, absorbing the energy of the star as she grew in power. She made a decision to leave this universe alone, reasoning that it was the home of her darling sweet talker. She prepared to leave this universe for the next, but a small spark in the endless night sky caught her eye.

Her pupils grew wide with absolute astonishment as the small sparks came to life - roaring, in fact, as Xala had a front-row seat to the birth of a sky full of stars. Entire galaxies came into existence as well, her immediate area filled to the brim with so much life-giving energy that it nearly brought her to her knees in awe. Wide eyed, slack jawed, she didn't realize another being was standing before her own food source until she felt it's entire energy simply disappear. Shocked, she whipped around, finding yet another alien - again like the ones she know imprisoned. Though the star burned bright behind this one, Xala felt no energy from it, and it both frightened and enraged her.

In a half-roar half-shout, she demanded answers. "Just who do you think you are?" She snarled, absolutely nasty at the being, whose stoic frame did not move or so much as twitch as Xala raised her voice. He was getting between her and her food, and not only that, but it seemed like he cut her off completely from it. "Well?!"

This one's manner of speaking was rough, deep, authoritarian in it's demeanor. One of a leader and powerhouse rolled into one, and it reminded Xala of the Xyrixma Elites, but what he had to say was far more terrifying, and awesome - in a biblical sense. The alien continued to stand motionless, letting his passive ability slowly unravel as he gave his answer to the Xryixma's line of questioning. "Who am I?" It asked, clarifying the statement, but going on regardless.

"I am inevitable."

"I am destiny."

"I am Maxwell Morningstar."

[New Neros]

Life After Death
Part II

Xala felt the chilling winds of the infinite void of space shake through her body straight to the core, her eyes growing wide with a primal fear as this being stood before her. His presence felt repulsive, like he was everything she was against, and for the first time, she felt as if she were prey in front of an apex predator rather than the other way around. This Maxwell, she couldn't figure him out, but Xala had no time to think about it. She had to get rid of him, not capture him, something instinctive within her being shouted at her to kill Maxwell.

Another instinct scream to turn and run far away, though.

So, Xala stood there, floating along the solar wind but otherwise motionless. She flinched heavily as Mad Max began to move his arms outward from the cross he made out of them over his chest. He extended them with his palms out and his fingers flared outward, Xala watching closely at every movement he made, seeing it's fluidity and noting that despite her fears of him, Maxwell moved gracefully. "You feed on stars, no?" He called out, Xala gritting her teeth as his butchering of her language was more apparent, but she let him speak. "I do as well."

Xala's eyes grew wide and her mouth became slack as she realized what Max's movement was for. The thousands upon thousands of bright lights in the sky each faded back into the grim darkness of space, one by one, falling to whatever it was Maxwell could do. She stood aback, her instinct to flee overpowering the one that told her to fight, but she was now almost paralyzed with fear. Now, though, she realized that she wasn't afraid of Maxwell, but afraid of what he could do. He can make her hungry.

As the star burned fiercely behind him, not a single joule of energy made it past Maxwell to enrich Xala, and he smothered the other stars in a grandoise display of sheer power. Xala understood what his first words meant, now, he was the inevitable hunger that drives the Xyrixma. She dropped to her knees as she recognized who he was, that he was a Xyrixma God. Or rather, a Goddess, so she called out by name. "Goddess Annihilixia...I..." Xala began, trying to find the correct way to grovel before the Eternal Hunger. "I offer myself...As your Avatar."

Maxwell seemed to cock his head to the side ever so slightly, studying the slime being before him. He pondered for a moment if she was saying a prayer to give her strength, but slowly, he pieced together exactly what she was doing. Behind his armor, Maxwell smirked, having been mistaken for one of her races' gods. He politely informed her of her mistake, though, "I told you who I am, I am not this Annihilixia you pray to." Maxwell gently turned his palms to face upward, curling his fingers softly as he did so. "I told you exactly what I am, and a God was not one of them."

Xala's eyes shot open at the revelation, jumping up from her kneeling position. A twinge of embarrassment and the hope of striking first drove her to attack Morningstar, but a severe and pulsating pain ravished every inch of her body as she got closer to Maxwell. Shooting out a single, slimy tentacle to strike Maxwell's helmet like a spear, Xala was forced back down on her knees and watched with torture as her attack stalled a single inch before touching the man's head. "It seems like you've made your decision, then. Release my comrades and I will consider your survival." Xala shrunk into humanoid form, grabbing her stomach as the pain became too much. Maxwell seemed to wait, watching Xala intently, waiting for the slime prison that held Otto and Val to fall as well. "Fine then, starve." Maxwell declared, closing his fist harshly, causing Xala to scream out in even greater pain than before - multiplied tenfold each second.

"That's enough, Max." That beautiful, masculine voice said, Xala's eyes barely opening through the torturous Ragnarok Sanction, seeing the powerful form of Otto Godblessed standing between her and that demon Maxwell. She breathed deeply and rapidly, noticing Max did indeed stop, but his hands were still raised. A stare down was taking place, but Xala was much too focused on her internal pain than their power struggle. "She's not trying to kill us. She just wants to eat." Otto said defensively, "Rather than kicking a dog when it's down, let's talk this out." He then commanded, Maxwell lifting his chin to look down on Otto.

"A fruitful endeavor, hopefully." Morningstar said angrily as he lowered his arms. In an instant, Max appeared mere inches away from Otto's side, grabbing onto his left shoulder a bit forcibly. He whispered so that only Otto would hear, surprising the Asgardian. "Thank you...For stopping me." Otto turned to look at Maxwell, remembering their agreement when Max became a Mad God - that Otto will be the one to keep him in check. Otto hadn't thought much of it since Morningstar was no longer a God, but Otto nodded at Maxwell, the two of then turning to look at Xala. She barely opened one eye to look back, watching as Maxwell raised his palm towards her. She flinched, fearing the worst of whatever was said between Maxwell and Otto.

To her surprise, her hunger was slowly eroding, enough for her to open her eyes and process what was going on. She looked towards Morningstar and Otto, watching as solar energy poured from Max's hand and directly into her body. She gasped and searched for words to say, "I..." She began, but lowered her head softly, "Thank you..."

Otto smiled and floated over to her, kneeling down next to the Xyrixma, the girl blushing vividly across her slimy body - shades of red, orange, and yellow flickering across her body as Otto grew closer. "It's no problem." He said with a smile, grabbing hold of his helmet and removing it from his armor, letting Xala see his face and the smile he had. She could have fainted right there, it was almost too much. "My name is Otto Godblessed. It's nice to meet you, what's your name?" He cooed softly, unintentionally though, extending a hand for her to shake.

"Mmm..." She said instinctively, her head floating around as Otto spoke. She shook her head quickly though, registering what he had said and blushing in embarrassment. "Oh! I, um..." She started, looking at his hand, and slowly extending her own to encase it. "I'm Xala...Of the Xyrixma." She said quietly, and had a question of her own. "Um...If you don't mind me asking, uh, how are you speaking my language?"

Otto blinked for a moment, then said, "Ah!", Fully explaining the weird occurrence to the Xyrixma. "My language is known as Allspeak. Maxwell and Val use it as well, it's a primordial tongue that can be understood across all species and in their own native language. To me, you're speaking Allspeak, and I can understand you through that, and to you, I'm speaking your own language." Otto said with a sweet smirk. Xala returned the grin in a more sly manner subconsciously, Otto standing up and causing her to do the same. "You've already met Maxwell..." Otto said, Morningstar raising his hand in a short wave, Xala nodding quickly and looking at him through the side of her eyes, suspiciously. "But this is Valerie Valentine, or Val for short." He went on, gesturing toward the slender being next to Maxwell, who removed her helmet as well.

Xala recognized her feminine facial features immediately, not noticing that she wasn't a male under that armor, but offered a brief hello and hand wave. "N-nice to meet you, Val..."

"You fight well. Nice to meet you as well, but if you'd excuse us, we have some work to do." She said, nodding at Max a secret signal to move out, the two casting that same gaze at Otto. "Right, Otto?" The Asgardian stood his ground, though, staring at the couple with his soft yet defined features.

"Yes, and that's why I'm inviting Xala to tag along as well." He passionately said, turning to look at the Xyrixma with a sly eye movement. This shot Xala's heart-rate, if she had one, through the roof. "Let's watch a universe be born together." He further said, Xala standing there with her mouth hanging open slightly, nodding in acceptance, though. "Good. Max, Val, is that fine with you two?" He continued, Val rolling her eyes heavily and throwing her hands up.

"Yeah, sure, fine, whatever." Val said with hostility, turning around and walking away from the conversation. One down, one to go.

Maxwell, on the other hand, stood stoic and firm as he looking Xala up and down. She grew self-conscious at his gaze, and moved closer to Otto for protection from what she considered was a demon. "Her stay is welcomed. See to her, then, Otto." Maxwell ordered, Otto's smile diminishing a bit but remaining nonetheless. "Do not let her distract you from your duties, then. I expect your arrival at the Anvil within the hour." With that, the Mad King departed in the same direction as Val, leaving Otto and Xala alone together, the Asgardian turning to his new-found interest.

"Well, I think they like you." He said with some sarcasm.

"Heh, yeah..." Xala replied, picking up on the joke.

"Anyways, let me show you around..."