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

[New Neros]

A Hostile Encounter
A Girl and A Titan; A Man and A King

The strongest being in the universe shook off the slabs of concrete that would have pinned him down, Dapp rising with hardly a scratch on his body from the throw. He was durable and strong, a King of Destruction, and above all, he was now pissed off that Mad Max could get the slip on him so easily. "That motherfucker..." He said, beaming with anger and powering his body further and further, the floor gaining cracks beneath him at his incredible mass and density. "I'm the strongest...ANYWHERE!" Dapp yelled, flexing his massive muscular body, veins straining to push more and more blood through his circulatory system to fuel his raw power. "I'll rip his damn head clean off!"

"...Stop." A calm, feminine voice called out, Dapp jerking his head to the side, snarling and almost foaming at the mouth at the sight of a would-be challenger. There stood the lone girl, fragile and frail in comparison to the enraged Titan known in the other Earth as Dapp, the challenger to be known as Valerie Valentine. What am I getting myself into... Val thought, but kept her eyes trained on the invader, noticing his effects on his surroundings just by his power alone. "Maxwell gave you the chance to go back to your own world."

"Then threw me through a damn skyscraper." Dapp retorted, turning to face the girl with his entire body. Though shorter than Mad Max, Dapp was easily more muscular than him by a longshot - to the point of absurdity. His forearms bulged with power, his chest inflated just to swing those massive arms around like sledgehammers, and his lower body toned to support all of that weight and pivot on it for maximum effect. Truly, he was the epitome of strength and power...and he was going up against gravity, a force someone like Dapp laughs at daily. "I'll break your goddamn neck, woman, now don't try and stop me." He commanded, turning away from Val, and preparing to leap through the hole he crashed in from.

Yet...Dapp found his feet suddenly locked into place. Struggling, the floor cracked even more as he began a low, stomach churning bellow, turning into a full roar of primal rage as he pushed one foot forward, then the next, Val standing behind him with her mouth agape, shocked and appalled at the strength of this...this titan...he was withstanding close to 1,000 Gs of force, and even when Val turned it up to 5,000 - the rate in which mechanical wristwatches stop due to the g-force. He was a monster by any comparison. He kept going, though, so Val forced more and more Gs onto the meat head until, beneath both her and him, the floor collapsed into the next one, triggering a complete collapse as each floor slammed into the next.

In her adrenalized state, Val pushed herself off of the floor before it slammed into the next and shot herself out of the building in nanoseconds - a standard reaction time. Her chest thudded heavily as he floated there, watching the building collapse in on itself, taking the Titan with it. She breathed heavily, her eyes trained on any movement as her flight-or-fight response kicked in fully. As the skyscraper almost finished it's incredible descent, a small object leapt from the final stories and was barrel right toward Val. She threw her hands out defensively, and delivered a shocking 150,000 g burst as Dapp closed in on her, instantly redirecting his force to another nearby building - colliding with it at the literal force of a bullet. Out of the corner of her eye, though, another object appeared, but she was almost too late to stop it. Sending out another gravitational burst, she was met with a concrete slab that instantly disintegrated on contact with 150,000 g.

A baseball-sized piece hit the girl, causing her to tumble from her airborne position and begin a free fall. Dazed by the impact, Val struggled to regain composure until another dose of adrenaline kicked her senses into high gear. Mere moments from being a bloody spot on the road, Val decreased her own gravity and sent a shock at the ground, floating there above the asphalt. The sudden stop, though, caused pain in her ribcage and joints - wincing and gritting her teeth, Val looked up to see nothing short of a freight train barreling toward her. Righting herself and standing before his charge, Val felt almost helpless in the face of Dapp. Despite that feeling of inadequacy, she assumed a low stance and threw her arms forward, obliterating anything in the path between her and Dapp, and slowing the Titan down considerably.

However, he took a step, and then another, faced with hundreds of thousands of g-forces acting on even square inch of his body, the Titan of Power still managed to move in the face of it all. His body protested endlessly, but his mind pushed himself further and further beyond. Val was nearing exhaustion from the sudden stop and the rushes of adrenaline she faced - and thought it to be incredible that Dapp hadn't so much as laid a finger on her yet she was already so close to defeat. Slowly, she began to near her peak, and at over 1,000,000 g, it was enough to bond molecules in a world-class ultracentrifuge - but not enough to stop the Titan.

Mere feet from her and still moving, although slow and in serious amounts of pain, the very ground tearing away as he pressed further, Dapp was so close to Val, she could feel the heat radiate from his body. Scorching at the touch, his godly body gave off steam as he moved just one foot after the other, the shocks of moving them vibrating the entire vicinity in his wake. His eyes were clamped shut, and hers were wide with fear, ready to push herself away, but increasing her density in order not to be pushed by her own gravity well. She gritted her teeth and hid her eyes, pushing out one last major pulse in hopes of finally making the Titan backpedal. He stumbled back, digging one foot into the ground and forcing his upper body to not be pushed. He roared, animalistic in its intensity, and pushed his next foot on ahead, doing the same with the other, finally able to reach his hand outside of Val's gravity well, and as soon as he did, that hand grabbed Val's neck. With his body fighting the g-forces acting on it, perhaps he grabbed just a little too hard, but the result was all the same.

SNAP

In an instant, the gravity flickered off, Val's head rolled to the side as Dapp clutched the girl's neck in his massive palm. He gave her but a disinterested sneer, lightly tossing her to the ground as her head rolled far more than it should have under normal conditions. In short, the Titan had snapped the girl's neck as soon as he managed to grasp her. Though, you'd be surprised just how much force it would take to kill someone by breaking their cervical bones, but for all intents and purposes, Val was out of the fight for good, and perhaps for the better, because now Mad Max had to face the might of Daud, and the wrath of the Titan, Dapp.

Meanwhile...

The Mad King put both of his ankles together and plunged them deep into Daud's midsection, the man pinned against a skyscraper on the other side of the city. The force and energy of the impact was enough to make Daud cough up blood, but his regeneration would take of that in due time. Daud grabbed the man's feet and twisted his entire body, around, bringing Mad Max into the building's side with a thunderous clap and the shattering of hundreds of planes of glass. Daud then pushed off of the building and readed his Cosmic Power Ring, forming a massive fist and slamming it against Maxwell, the fist pushing itself deep into the skyscraper as well.

However, the energy construct dissipated quickly - the palms of Mad Max displayed and absorbing it entirely. "It's a losing battle you're fighting, Daud." He declared, a small trickle of blood dripping from Max's lower lip.

"For you." He said in return, shooting at the Mad King and connecting a devastating punch to his face, continuing on with a back kick to his upper arm. Despite his ability to absorb energy, the force still travelled through Max, and sent him stumbling back. Pressing his advantage, Daud continued with a flurry of blows. Not one was meant to be the finisher, no, in fact this entire fight was a mental one for Daud. So far, he's only been able to slow Max down and give him more and more energy - there was nothing to exploit! Something Daud could use to turn the tables, an adaption that would let him run without energy, but that was physically, and comically, impossible to do. He tried.

Delivering another kick, Max managed to grab ahold of it. "You've kept thinking and thinking, yet nothing seems to work, does it?" The Mad King taunted, "Your regeneration is admirable, to say the least." He continued, applying torque and a jerking motion to snap Daud's leg at the kneecap. Still, incredibly painful, causing him to yell out like a wounded animal and drop to the ground. His patella pieced itself back into place though, the sadistic King standing over Daud. "Now, you're adapting to the exact pressure and leverage it took to snap your tendons apart. I've been watching you, believe me, and it looks like you're just a one-trick pony."

"Because we're in an arms race. You keep adapting, I keep absorbing. I realized that, and you have as well." Daud jumped to his feet and delivered a powerful, upward blow to Max's abdomen, the massive man simply tanking it without so much as a grimace. "We are not fighting a losing fight, Daud, we're fighting a pointless one." Daud breathed deeply and heavily, holding his fist to Max's abdominal wall as he pondered the thoughts of this so-called 'Mad King', wondering why he had to fight this monstrously powered man - where the hell was Kilian? But above all, he was starting to listen to what Max was saying..."And we can keep fighting until one of us runs of our luck, because right now, that's the only way to victory."

In a swift motion, Max grabbed Daud's wrist and flung him against a concrete support pillar with tremendous force, the beam powderizing from the impact. Changing direction, Max planted Daud firmly on the floor, shattering it like glass, and finishing the combination with a brutal stomp to the back of his head, breaking through the floor and sending both of them into the next. Daud rose to his hands and knees, but felt a boot come down on his hand. Pinning it down, the Mad King gently placed two fingers on either side of Daud's prized power generator, Maxwell taking the Cosmic Power Ring off of his finger and admiring it - still crushing Daud's palm beneath his heel.

Daud smirked and grimaced at the same time - knowing that Morningstar was unworthy of the Ring, and that the willpower that is needed to wield it was far, far beyond his reach. It was like Maxwell hadn't seen a Lantern Ring in his life. Daud knew that the fight would be won as soon as Mad Max put the ring on, because then, his mind would fracture beyond repair, and only Daud had the regeneration and mind to wield it. "It is clear, Daud, that you had an interesting run-in with the Green Lanterns, and it would pain you to know, that my willpower...is unmatched in the cosmos."

It was like watching a movie as the Mad King slipped the Cosmic Power Ring onto his middle finger - a slight, silvery haze emanating from the ring as Maxwell brought it before his face. He clutched his hand down, his eyes trained on the ring, a brilliant light flooding the area as Daud stared on in complete and utter shock, the simple laugh of Mad Max humbling him beyond any measure. "Hahah..." Daud felt the pressure on his hand move, and he wasted no time in throwing himself to his feet, knowing the sheer power Mad Max could now possess with the ring unimaginable, and even with his adaption potential, Daud wasn't sure if he could really beat him, especially now.

"Tell me, Daud, to what limit have you used this power?" The echoing voice of Maxwell quizzed, "Because I can use it far beyond what you can even imagine." He stated briefly, his body appearing before Daud without any warning at all. "Time, space, energy, all at my command." Max said, turning his back and walking away from Daud, "How foolish of you to use this...Cosmic Power for simple constructs, a petty duel, and not benevolence, salvation, and uplifting. With this power alone, you are a God by any other name, and yet you can't even beat a simple Human like myself? Pity." He stated, turning and raising his right arm to Daud, displaying the Ring fully, the events of the past, present, and future all displaying in it's shimmering light. Daud narrowed his eyes and approached the Mad King, a calm anger brewing inside of him, Maxwell reaching over and grabbing the ring with his thumb and index finger, Daud suddenly stopping in amazement.

"Maxwell, you don't know what that power can do."

The Mad King blinked slowly at Daud, responding calmly. "I do, and I've seen the events of my Earth...and your own." In a fluid motion, Maxwell Morningstar lifted the Cosmic Power Ring from his middle finger and rolled it between his thumb and finger on the opposite hand, locking his eyes with Daud. Amazingly, he tossed it to Daud, who caught it without hassle. "Simply speaking, we're both on the same side. Let's work together, like you said in the beginning. I apologize for not listening to you then."

[New Neros]

Hail to the King
A Man, a King, and a Titan

"So then, Daud, do you have any particular schemes in mind to break us out of this unwinnable situation?" Mad Max asked, the two sitting side by side against a cool, concrete wall - the evidence of their former battle still scattered around in the form of smashed surroundings. It was just resting, but the fact of the matter was that Daud and Maxwell came to terms with one another. Perhaps the Mad King saw what Daud really was when he put on the Cosmic Ring - a father, hero, soldier, it made no difference, he was still just a man, just like Max.

"Some, none I can do in time. I envisioned a massive Ark of some sort carrying all of the people from one world to another." He replied, somehow finding a water bottle to drink out, lightly sipping on it's innards and politely passing it to Maxwell. He too took a drink and returned it, thinking alongside his new-found ally, his thoughts partially on the raging fight between Val and Dapp at the moment. "Maybe use my ring or a teleporter of some kind. Maybe have Kilian make several runs."

"Ah, but what then? We destroy the uninhabited Earth and are left with a world with an additional seven billion people, many of them an alternate version of one already here, and with no ability to food, clothe, and house fourteen billion people, we've essentially doomed both worlds - one just gets to suffer as it dies." Max answers, liking the idea, but knowing it was not practical. "Plus, it seems our game master wants something to die. What if he decides to terminate both of us by trying to circumvent the rules?" He further asks Daud, who shrugs politely.

"I'm not sure, then. I've fought Gods before, on equal grounds, while disadvantaged, too. But this seems out of our league." Daud clearly states, "You have anything thought up?"

"It's similar to your method, but hinges on fooling a cosmically aware entity, which is impossible." Max replies, but tells of his plan anyways. "Teleport one Earth into a different dimension and declare that you have destroyed it. Really, though, we just have to move it out of the way long enough to survive. After which, we can return it to where it really belongs in the multiverse."

"But out of the infinite universes out there, how can we find which one is ours after we teleport the other Earth?" Daud asks, not clearly mentioning just whose planet is getting nixed into another dimension. Max thought silently for a moment, before returning with a less than satisfactory answer.

"I don't know. Our world has...had...an android that governed spacial teleportation. She is missing, my monitors on her have scrambled to locate her to no effect. She could possibly teleport one Earth elsewhere and then bring it back to where it belongs, but like I said, she's missing and can't be found." He laid his head back against the cool concrete, though, and admitted his original plan for such an event. "I planned for this before, you know, and the plan simply called for destruction of the rival world. I didn't think about saving it."

"Yeah, and I've been too busy being a family man to think of contingency plans anymore." Daud pushed himself to his feet, though, Max looking and watching him as he did so. "But...that's one thing I need for you to do for me, Maxwell." He continued, dusting off his clothing and adopting a calm, collected look. "I need you to figure this debacle out. I'm no good sitting here and thinking, and any action could have irreversible affects on one Earth or the other. We're serving no one just sitting here in an echo chamber, and to me, it's clear that you have the means to think, plan, and execute a means to end this...convergence we're faced with."

"So what are you going to do?" Max asked indignantly, understanding that Daud was not the simple man he tried to make himself appear to be. No, the Mad King saw him for the admirably ruthless, cold calculating mastermind of an in-depth plan formed in mere seconds and under pressure. Surely he wasn't already rolling over and accepting defeat, or thinking himself too small of a player in this game of worlds. That wasn't the Daud Mad Max knew at all.

Daud looked at Mad Max with sincere eyes, flashing to the King of Ur and then towards the ground. "I'm going to go spend time with my family." He said, flooring the Mad King with several emotions at once. He began to walk away from Maxwell, not even offering a farewell or token of partnership. Daud exited through the hole the two of them had made during their brawl. Maxwell wanted to scream at him, that he could spend all the time he wants with his family if he helps save them and countless others...but he couldn't. He didn't know what kind of thoughts raced through Daud's head anymore, it wasn't defeat he was accepting, though. Maxwell understood: It was trust. Daud Almighty placed within Maxwell an unimaginable amount of trust to not only save his own Earth, but both of theirs. Knowing that Max had originally planned to destroy Daud's Earth, he still thrust this unto the Mad King.

He smiled at the action, a gentle smirk that confessed to all that Maxwell didn't know a damn thing about Daud, just that he was far too clever for his own good. The Mad Max stood at the shattered wall where Daud exited from, looking toward the red-tinted sky at the other world. He could end it, absorb it's energy and just be through with the ordeal, but something within him didn't want to let Daud down. His feelings of trust, gratitude, and pride began to wash away in an instant, however, as he felt the energy between Val and Dapp to instantly drop off in Dapp's favor. He feared the worst, and flashed over to her position.

He only got to see Val's calm, fragile body on the asphalt for a split second, until he registered the massive blow that was colliding with his entire front side due to the immense size of Dapp's fist. Earth-breaking was the only way he could describe it, and despite his powers, the Mad King could absorb just some of the energy as the rest passed through him to painful effect. His speed combined with Dapp's sudden stop only served to amplify the energy, impact, and brutality of the hit. Mad Max had no idea the Titan was capable of producing such immense, raw power.

Flying through not one or two, but three whole skyscrapers, Maxwell grew inconceivably enraged at Dapp for harming Val, and instantly stopped his momentum, coming face to face with Dapp, who somehow managed to keep pace with the King's flightpath. Dapp gave him a goofy-ass grin, causing Mad Max to grab ahold of him by the throat with lightning fast hands. His glowed white with power and anger, a bubble forming around Max and Dapp. "I'll rip every piece of energy from your molecules, Dapp." He seethed, "This is the Ragnarok Sanction...it is the heat death of the universe rendered physical. Val is still alive, and that's the only reason you've managed to live this long." He further said, Dapp gritting his teeth as well, the two bringing their faces incredibly close to one another in a violent staredown.

"Funny..." Dapp said, not even choking on his words as the Mad King ringed his neck with incredible force.

"What is?!" Max spat in response.

"It's the heat death...of your universe." Max adopted a confused look for a moment, but felt Dapp's massive hands grab onto his forearms, and like snapping twigs despite the Mad King's enhanced condition, muscles, and physical prowess, broke each of the two bones in Maxwell's forearms by tightening down on them. Needless to say, he let go of Dapp in an instant with a shriek of pain, only to feel the Titan's boots slam into his ribcage as well, sending Maxwell flying towards the ground in a fast, diagonal line. He poured whatever energy he could into fixing his bones, but was stopped as he body began sliding into the ground below. Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes barely, finding only shock awaiting him. Two boots once more, colliding at the same point as before on his chest, with enough speed and accuracy to force Maxwell underground - the cracking of the surface concealing the snaps of his ribs, sternum, and spine.

Not a moment of rest there, either, as Dapp picked Maxwell up by the neck and treated him like a ragdoll, slamming him back into the ground and further injuring his spine and internal organs, only to grab his leg and fling him in the other direction, smacking the hard ground once more - feeling his ankle, knee, and hip dislocate as they were used to whip him in one direction, and then his skull fragment as it kissed the Earth's surface. Fading in an out of consciousness, Dapp spun the Mad King in a twirl and flung him into a building's lobby, flying through glass and impacting the support beams with his lower back and pelvis. There wasn't a place on his body that didn't scream in antagonizing pain, in fact, this was almost a new feeling for Maxwell, being beaten this badly.

"You couldn't absorb my divine energy, kid." Dapp said, walking through the hole he made with Mad Max, "Because you can only absorb the energy present in your own universe. You could gain the kinetic energy from my awesome hits because it exists in your world, but not the energy in my godly biological cells. Smart, don'cha think?" He gloated, Maxwell sitting up, his wounds bloody and even some bones protruding from his beaten and bruised body. He took deep, erratic breaths as his ribs were broken, one of which impaled his lung, while Dapp had hardly nothing to show for his fight.

"Not smart enough..."

"What's that? Speak up, bud, you want to make your last words count, don'cha?" Dapp replied, a sadistic smile as his face, his footsteps quaking the entire building as he approached Max. The Mad King simply stared at him as he approached closer and closer, his breathing automatic and hardly under his control anymore as his lungs struggled to get more and more air. It was simple panic and emotions that made him lose this fight, in fact, Val seemed to get off rather easy compared to what Max received. "Go on then, talk!"

"I said..." Mad Max wheezed, "Not smart enough!" He declared with a pained looked on his face. Closing his right fist tightly, even through the broken bones, torn blood vessels, and stretched nerves to amount toward an amazing feat of physical willpower, Dapp looked around as the world began to shimmer and shake lazily. In that same instant, he disappeared as if he wasn't even there to begin with. Maxwell nodded to himself, smiling with blood-stained teeth at his less than impressive victory - one that wasn't even a true win because all he managed to do was stop Dapp...for now. It was a simple case of Mad Max using his teleportation device, which he threw in front of himself before the Titan came through the hole, the device managing to be concealed by the rubble. Dapp was within Max's mediation chamber, locked away for now, but that wasn't the end of this, not by a long shot.

The Mad King twitched his fingers some, though, transferring part of his healing process to Val - the young girl simply dealt with a collapsed cervical vertebrae. Maxwell, on the other hand, was more or less a basket case of broken bones. He nodded his head back and forth slightly, no more smile to his face, his self-healing taking time with his stores of energy. He struggled valiantly, though, to remain conscious, but just like he fight with Dapp, it was futile. He slipped away from this world, if only for a moment.

[New Neros]

All The King's Men

A feeling best described as being underwater, where spoken words sounded like little more than garbled, incoherent sounds than actual sentences and thoughts, is what Maxwell Morningstar felt as his consciousness escaped him - an instinctive measure from far back in human evolutionary history. In his comatose state, even pain was alien to him, and any feeling he would have had were completely nullified. Even the bright lights were little more than dimmed sparkles on the King's closed eyelids, but still, they helped jar him back into the waking world nonetheless. Shielding his face and eyes, his mouth slightly agape, he tried to sit up, finding himself exhausted and too sore. Laying back, he breathed in fluid motions, his thoughts returning to him over time.

He shot up into a sitting position quickly though, glancing around the room he was in, only to find Val laying on a bed next to him, breathing softly and looking to be in good health. He relaxed, though, recognizing the room he was in as one of many in the medical division of his underground fortress. He checked his own bodily systems with his energy sense, finding his body to be repaired to a sustainable extent, yet not to an optimal state where he once was. Still, he felt his energy reserves steeped too far below an acceptable threshold, and whatever IV fluid they were pumping into him would not be enough to push him into that stage. Ripping the drip out of his arm, he casually glanced up as the sliding door opened.

The one man that stood there was about the only one Morningstar could readily say he both feared and respected the most out of all beings on this planet, and even beyond it. The willpower of Mad Max was outclassed only by the one held by this being, this ruler, this entity of power so vast and inconceivable that Max dared not attempt to comprehend it. Many knew him by just as many names, yet Maxwell knew him as both teacher and master - the rest of the world, however, knew him as Victor von Doom. Like nay appearance, his presence commanded the entire room - yet Max knew better than to just attack him now. "Seen better days, Morningstar?" He said with a metallic rasp, almost taunting really, Maxwell looking away in apparent shame.

Maxwell moved to the side of his bed in order to stand, but was stopped as Doom held up an open palm. "Please, continue to rest. I come as a diplomatic envoy, nothing more."

"I can't. I have to go stop the Convergence." Maxwell responded, standing on his bare feet, and realizing his almost bare nudity save for a lone pair of boxer shorts. "Something you seemed to fail in doing."

"On the contrary," Doom said in response, prompting Max to wonder if his old mentor stopped the entire event by himself, "Doom has learned much from the other Earth, and disaster will be avoided by that inexcusable failure known as Golden Guardian. You seem fond of calling him Ponyboy, if I'm not mistaken."

"...Ponyboy is going to save us?" He asked, a bit shocked, not because of Alex lacking the power but because it would rob Doom of that feat instead.

"Doom does not need saving." Victor declared, "But rather, I am here for you to fulfill a contract."

"Dr. Doom, I have left your service years ago, I don't w-"

"No one simply leaves my service, boy." Doom stated in an authoritarian tone, crossing his arms and staring down Mad Max. The Mad King inhaled deeply and stared back, the two tyrants of impossibly small, yet powerful, microstates engaging in a mental spar of epic proportions. The Mad King refused to back down, and even Doom had made note of Maxwell's defiant personality, but there was much to be gained from their partnership, neither could deny that.

"If I do something for you, I expect payment equal to my mission." Maxwell stated, relenting, but making his demand known.

"Quite so. You know that I reward victory in troves, and failure with death." Doom stated, "But my desire for you, Maxwell, is an assassination. Not of a man, no, Doom is not above such petty arrangements as murder, but of a concept. With those eyes of yours, you will stand the ultimate chance against this meddling idiot - because they are All-Seeing." Doom explained, "You see, I would take this into my own hands, but I too can peer into the future, and it becomes rather personal for yourself instead of me...And I simply do not have the time." He finished, hinting at the very concept Doom required Maxwell to end.

"Fine - what do you have in mind?" Maxwell asked, a smile forming behind the metal mask of Doom at the young King's consent to being used as a weapon of Doom's Will.

[New Neros]

The Endless
Enter: Eon

Beyond the courtly veil of space and time did not lie an expanse of nothingness that stretched onto forever, no, what lies beyond was all that is and will be of existence. The ultimate expression of creation, not of organic or inorganic life, but composed of an entirely different conceptional body. If you were him, it would make just as much sense. Beings can be made of energy, of space, and of matter - what makes time any different? To this man who dwells in the beyond, that is as simple as bread and butter. His name is lost to trillions of years of existence, but since time immemorial, he has adopted the mantle of Eon.

It is fitting of course, for the last Chronosapien to adopt a name that has no definitive end period. For in his domain, and indeed the universe, he is the only constant. In actuality, though, there are but two more constants within the universe, and he observes them daily. It ends, and it begins. A constant cycle, life begins anew, the universe as we know it remains alive and well. This is how Eon sees it, though, it is not how it actually happens. Eon is not viewing a cycle, he is viewing an entire universe stuck on repeat, and he is the rewind. Untold ages ago, he was the hand that killed off the rest of his kind in pursuit of greater power, leaving him without a single soul to watch the universe end and begin, an experience only the highest of beings could ever hope to achieve, with him.

Space shuttered for a moment as it folded and contorted, a humanoid being emerging from the hole. Before him stood the two worlds - in his time, he has been able to catalogue and go as far as naming each planet based on whatever they actually call themselves - that he recognized as Earth. This was a new experience in the ever-unchanging universe, and Eon was glad to watch it happen. It seemed that big brother Entropy wanted to play some games, but in Eon's mind, he saw it as an attack against himself. Entropy hoped to destroy this universe, and leave Eon to wander another - in his own mind of course. Still, the Endless would need something more powerful than himself to wage war against Entropy, and he came to this convergence to watch it's outcome personally.

A victory for Earth, huzzah, who hadn't seen this coming. Eon didn't, because from his view, Earth is nothing more than a planet with sentient organics among millions, billions of others. The victories we see are but luck, Eon has seen our triumph and failure as a species time and time again, seen our Earth torn asunder by a random gamma ray burst, a world where life did not develop, where New Jersey was a decent state. He has seen hell and beyond rage on Earth and countless worlds just like it. He held no celebration, but gave the Earth a satisfied grunt and a nod of approval, disappearing to his own space outside of reality, unknown that a sinister force was actively conspiring against him.

Because from the perspective of Eon, how can an ant threaten the might of a God?

[New Neros]

-snip

The silence was deafening within the Rebel Stronghold, as the members of Val's ragtag group of revolutionaries paused, and quickly became slackjawed at the sight of the Regent appeared before them. From silence, came a flutter of activity, some members attempting to surround Lisa, aiming their weapons at her, while others simply fled to other places in the base itself. From the masses that surrounded Lisa came a familiar, dirt-ridden face, a snarl snapped onto her face like a rabid animal of sorts. "You manage to find our base?" Val hissed, "We'll just move our home yet again...except, I'm still ready to go." She stated, bringing down a tremendous amount of force onto Lisa with her gravitational powers.

"Enough." A deep, stern voice stated before the attack escalated any further, a series of footsteps approaching Val from behind. Calmly, an aged hand was placed lightly on her shoulder, Val's eyes widening but looking to the ground suddenly. The man was tall, thin but lightly muscled, his outfit a big raggy but still giving the feel of a hero of somesort. With white hair and a subtle resting face that calculated, planned, and above all, dreamed endlessly, was none other than Max Eisenhardt...otherwise known as Magneto. "This is not the place to fight, and Val, this is not your opponent to be facing."

"But father!" She attempted to protest, only to be silenced by Magneto moving his hand up.

"This is not the Lisa of our world. She's from...somewhere else. I can feel it ever so lightly, the subtle difference. Ack, it almost pains me." He said, grasping the back of his neck, a smile that hid intense pain forming on his lips as Val held onto him in order to support him. "But...like I said, she is not our enemy. She is most likely confused, scared. Maybe in her world...you and her were still friends." He said, looking up at Lisa with soothing, gray eyes. "You might know me from your world as well - here, I'm known as Magneto, and you may know her as well," He said further, "Valerie Valentine, my daughter. I'm pleased to meet you once more, Lisa." He stated, extending a frail hand to the android - a gesture of peace and civility, the entire room relaxing from the tension.

[New Neros]

The Kingdom By The Sea

-snip

Immortals are not meant to pass away, to be carried on to the afterlife when they have lived a life far beyond any mortal measure. It was close to heretical for one such as death to take them in the manner as any normal man with their due respect. The mind of the Mad King raced with such thoughts as he appeared, seemingly at random, above the raging seas and showered by the freezing rain. It was a power only Maxwell could describe, almost like a death sense, because you can feel the very life energy of a person leave their body. Corinna's was a distinct energy as well, all immortals had a life force of almost unreal magnitude. He knew the instant what had happened when he felt that life force leave our plane of existence for it's final time.

Perhaps, though, the Mad King knew she become mortal just before the Last Spartan met her fate on Ur's shores. The nation was just rebuilding from the battles during the Convergence, and already, a new threat made it's way to her very bosom. Maxwell looked high into the skies, massive droplets meeting him with further intensity as he came to rest upon the sandy shoreline, the waves clashing against the sandbars in an angry tantrum. It was comical, almost, how he paid no attention to the rampaging beast before him - the mighty Kraken of ancient legend, a juggernaut who tore the seas apart at it's mere presence. No, the rain helped hide what the Mad King felt inside, the water streaming from his face and drippingly elegantly off his chiseled chin, tears mixed in there somewhere.

Two tentacles slapped the sides of Mad Max with enough force to shake the surrounding area, sanding being thrown up on each side like a wall. The massive beast used the motion to pull himself close to Maxwell, it's maw but feet away from his face - and entire body - as it let out a roar capable of shattering glass windows as far away as Morningstar City. His hair fluttered back from the wretched air, but the Mad King did not move a single muscle, not an inch, yet narrowed his eyes in contempt. The Kraken had a primal rage about him, while Max had a calculated one instead - an angry battle, to say the absolute least.

A lash from a stray tentacle whipped around, intending to hit Maxwell from behind as he stared into the beast, but a precision jump at the right moment produced more than desirable results in a comical fashion. Instead of hitting the brick wall that was Maxwell Morningstar, since he was so close to the beast, the Kraken slapped himself in the face with his own tentacle. In an instant, the King pressed the advantage and fired a concussive eye beam into the tentacle. It didn't matter how think the hide of Kraken was, Mad Max was shooting energetic, high temperature plasma from his irises. The beams shot through the appendage and burned the Kraken's face, an anguished scream shattering the air as the beast flailed around in pain.

Maxwell was hit by one of the tentacles and sent flying back into a rocky cove at the end of the sandy beach. He felt the sting of internal injuries, broken bones, but they will heal in time - his physical willpower above worrying over such trivial matters when revenge was on the line. In his right hand, a sword materialized, weighted at the tip to provide an impactful slice when a blow was dealt. He walked toward the Kraken calmly, the blade extended out to his side as he closed in, the beast partially recovering and becoming aware of the defiant insect that was attacking it. It shot forward with three tentacles as if they were spears, all trained upon Maxwell. He dodged one with a simple side step, and leaned back to evade the next, but the third seemed to have him trapped on both sides.

Or would have, had the King not suddenly and violently brought his sword against the oncoming tentacle - slicing longways and strangely, not being showered by blood at all. In the same motion, he sliced horizontally at the two appendages he had dodged previously, cutting through them despite their incredibly thick mass. Mad Max stood there, his face unchanged from the stone-cold glare of a madman, his sword glowing and rippling energetically as if the blade had a coating of energy. It did - that was his trick, coating the blade with energized particles and using it like a plasma cutter designed to slice apart steel, but incredibly effective against flesh, cutting then cauterizing in a single swoop. He didn't want the Kraken to bleed out during this fight. Suddenly, he charged forward quickly.

Writhing with pain, the Kraken slapped at the man, whose only response was to hack and slash menacingly, whatever in his path instantly being torn apart in a clean-cut manner. Running up a tentacle and jumping at the last moment, Maxwell landed on the beasts face. Bucking and shaking violently in an attempt to knock him off, Max slammed his fist into the beasts' thick hide in order to stabilize himself. Using this method, he made his own arm holes and climbed the Kraken's massive head until he stared deep into the ancient leviathan's eyes. Maxwell stared back, his teeth bared and showing true primal rage as well, his eyes glittering from the All-Seeing artefact. Flipping his sword around, he plunged it deep into the beasts' iris, causing it to thrash and destroy the land and seascape in it's immediate path. Max held on, but eventually on the slick skin, lost his footing.

Grabbing ahold of his sword still, he fell with it slicing everything from the Kraken's eye down through it's cheek like a hot knife through butter, the smell of it's singed flesh reminding him of a well-cooked fish, for some reason. It gave more defiant roars as Max slammed back-first into the shallow ocean, quickly righting himself and avoiding being caught under the beasts' titanic weight. Once a respectable distance, he rose into the sky, face to face with the beast as it wailed, moaned, and flailed about. Maxwell pointed the swords' tip at the Kraken, too preoccupied with pain to notice him, and flew forward quickly, stabbing the sea monster right between the eyes. Mad Max yelled in furious anger, his eyes glowing with yellow energy as he channelled it throughout the beast's body. Pillars of light shot out of the Kraken as it's movements ceased, it's one eye grew wide, and it let out but a short whimper.

Exploding into millions of small pieces, Maxwell was thrown back by the force and slid along the beach, tearing his own skin in the process, but gently rising to his feet. He succeeded not where his teacher failed, but where she could not go on any further. He let her spirit truly rest knowing that the Kraken too would be sent to the afterlife. He breathed deeply and heavily, but swung his sword up to the skies and pointed at a humanoid figure in the distance. "Face me again, Ares, and I will make my battle with the Kraken look like child's play. You know who I am, and you know my fury."

"What man hath wrought...Let no God put asunder." He said through clenched teeth, his eyes never leaving the God of War in the distance, but finally turning his back to him, and making the trip back to the rest of Ur on foot.

[New Neros]

-snip

Magneto limped over to a small chair to rest for a moment, Val becoming his crutch as they moved slowly toward it. Val looked back at Lisa as she apologized, and felt swept up in some deep, powerful emotions. Her face twisted, and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth a slight quiver, her eyes becoming sparkly with mist. It was hard to explain just how much Val wanted to hear those words, to have a friend again, to not have to run and hide all the time. "It's...It'll..." She stammered, her mouth shaking quietly as Magneto took his seat, exhaling deeply as he sat down. "It'll be okay." She finally said.

Max Eisenhardt opened his eyes at the calling from the android. He nodded as he understood Lisa's question, "We'd all like answers, but I can tell you just what I, and we collectively, know. A great cataclysm struck our world, I hesitate to speak on it, but truth must be said without flinching." Magneto quietly said, the man a survivor of the Holocaust and undoubtedly knowing what true carnage is like. "A virus from another world came and infected many of us, the Avengers, X-Men, Justice League, all began a pissing contest with the world at stake over the virus. Many perished from that alone, but we marched on into that chaos in the aftermath. Lisa, our Lisa, was a protector of the world, but her synthetic mind was shattered by the events."

"She didn't see the cruelty that humankind was capable of." Magneto said, the man having first-hand experience of the worst humanity has to offer from his time in Auschwitz. "She disappeared for a while, but soon returned with global ambitions. Swaying thoughts and winning hearts, she took over the world from his chaos and gave it order. Heros and villains alike who survived the cataclysm were subjected to...an implant of sorts to limit their power." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, right at the base of his skull, where his implant had once been. "I ripped my out before it took all of my power away...and left me with a fraction of what I had before."

"Her rule is absolute and unchallenged. Any opposition is sent to a pocket dimension. Frankly, why she hasn't sent us is beyond me. Perhaps we legitimize her rule. Terrorists she calls us." He said, a tight frown on his face, but his look still determined and fierce. "...But I've been called worse."

[New Neros]

-snip

"Report." The large-built man ordered as he walked into a control room of sorts, various scanners and monitors occupying the wall. Technicians scurried around with panicked looks on their faces and furiously typing in inputs and transferring to the data to another to interpret. The activity hardly stopped at the bulking giants' presence, though, instead he was accosted by a man who looked to be in charge of the organized chaos. "Kreiger, what are we dealing with here?" He stated once more, his powerful eyes staring deep into the elder gentleman's face. Being taller, it was quite the power display.

"It began as a tropical storm and then became a hurricane...yet, it has gone past Category 5. I say that because no other Cat-5 hurricane has this much power."

"Unnatural?" Maxwell pondered for a moment, "That can only mean it is Ares attempting to make an assault once more. Continue scans in the area of the vortex, find organically divine life from it's energy signature." He ordered, the technicians quickly obeying and bringing up a sonar-like scan of the area, yet the blips were incredibly detailed. "I'll have to deal with Ares personally it seems..." Mad Max said, shaking his head and looking at the floor, but shooting his eyes up and staring at a screen. "That...that is not a Greek God." He stated, looking at his compatriots.

"An ally of his?" One suggested, not a bad idea at all.

"Possibly. Maybe an ocean nymph....No, it has too much power to be a nymph or even a creature. I'll have to go look for myself." Max stated calmly, "Order another evacuation underground. Erect sea wall barriers and anti-flood measures - seal the population within to ensure they don't drown." He said, running off himself, lifting a plain white shirt from his chiseled upper body as he neared one of his many exits to the surface. Metal plates began to slide out of his body and locked together, forming his signature armor quickly.

Emerging to fierce winds and stinging rain on the surface, the Mad King shielded his face for a moment, but threw up his energy absorption shield in order to simply walk forward. The sky looked displeased, absolutely angry at his little Kingdom, causing the man to sigh. "First Daud and Dapp try and destroy the world starting with Ur, then Ares tries to make war with Ur, and now a hurricane beyond any natural origin. God must be punishing me for my hubris." He said to himself, opting to fly against the winds and rains - something he knew he'd struggle with had he not been with his absorption ability. The winds defied physics themselves, and by the looks of it, the hurricane was surrounded by a wall of water.

Increasing his speed, Mad Max slammed through the wall and into the dense, spinning vortex, the force of several g being applied as the spin got faster toward the eye. His shield worked by absorption, there was no doubt it could hold, but still, he seemed to struggle for a moment until finally, like a massive release from the flood gates, he burst through the eyewall with bolts of electricity zapping him as he came into the calm center. A quick view of his surroundings put him in a state of awe, but that was not paramount, he located the being responsible, and lightly floated to it's level.

"You there," He said with authority, folding his arms and standing tall against the woman, "Do you stand to attack my land with your storm? Do stand against the Kingdom of Ur?" He quizzed, almost impatiently, as his body language gave off a tense, ready-to-fight aura. "Above all, girl, do you stand against me?"

[New Neros]

-snip

Val smiled and Magneto seemed to beam at Lisa's empowering statement of continued resistance. He wouldn't lie - there was a feeling that she might be a sophisticated replica of the Regent, but by that alone, she seemed to have enough self-interest to align against the Regent. Many within the rebel cabal shared similar feelings as well, but like Magneto, they were swayed to believe her words. Val seemed to be the most infatuated, though, coming up to Lisa and grasping her hands, staring deep into the android's eyes. "We won't stop. All of us. Not until she's gone, and I'm so happy to have you back on my side...Lisa." She said with misty eyes, quivering at saying her friend's name once more, as if it had been so long.

But, Magneto perked up at the mention of a video message, partly knowing who it might be. Friends in low places, more than likely. "Play the video." He said to the rebel with a handwave, "We'll see just who wants to have a chat." He calmly stated, relaxing in his chair, a large canvas dropping down from the ceiling with a projector aimed onto it. Some luxuries were not able to be had for the rebels, but they made do, and they got by with any means necessary.

[New Neros]

*snip*

"You there," He said with authority, folding his arms and standing tall against the woman, "Do you stand to attack my land with your storm? Do stand against the Kingdom of Ur?" He quizzed, almost impatiently, as his body language gave off a tense, ready-to-fight aura. "Above all, girl, do you stand against me?"

Zephy, The Air Archon

Zephy was still angry at the ocean, it still wouldn't open up completely, but she quickly got distracted when someone started talking to her, nobody had spoken to her for, for as long as she could remember. That said Zephy didn't have the brain power to remember what happened 5 minutes ago usually. She looked confused at this man talking to her. "Zephy do what now?" was her initial reaction, and as she started speaking the Hurricane began to shrink, dying down fast, Zephy had already forgotten why she was creating the Hurricane in the first place so there was no reason to contain it.

"Zephy not stand, Zephy float. Or does Zephy Fly?" Zephy started to ramble, asking questions, not waiting for an answer before either asking another question or changing to a completely new topic all together. "You float to, but you're not Zephy, Zephy is Zephy. Who is not Zephy? Who is Ur?" By this time the winds had almost completely died down again and the hurricane was gone, at best there was only a strong wind but nothing dangerous. "Aww, the ocean closed again, show Zephy what you hide.".

Zephy dove down again in the water only to be ejected directly after again like her earlier attempts. Then she looked back at the stranger "You know what water hides from Zephy?"

Mad Max was taken aback fairly quickly at the girl and her, well, manner of speaking. The man was full of reason and logic, but comprehending Zephy did not take those skills, no, it took patience and understanding, but, the storm began to die out as she relaxed and spoke...yet seemed overly concerned with the Ocean. "I...er...what?" Max asked for a moment, but then quickly shook his head - knowing he couldn't ask too much from the air-head.

"I am Max." He said, moving a bit closer to the girl and observing her with his sparkling eyes - those All-Seeing ones forged from some sort of magic long ago. "It's a...pleasure to meet you, Zephy." Max stated, but quickly turned his attention to the water below the duo. "Do you want to see what lies below the ocean?" He further asked, a relaxed look on his face instead of the stern one he had given her previously. "I can take you under..."

However, watching the comical attempt of the goddess dive into the water only to be ejected gave him a slight chuckle, but some knowledge on her composition. She must be made of air or extremely hydrophobic to get rejected with that much force. It would be as simple as either parting the sea or going down in an energy bubble. Despite all of that, though, the Mad King didn't expect to be babysitting a primordial entity and educating her on undersea geology. Such was life, though.

[New Neros]

Mad Max was taken aback fairly quickly at the girl and her, well, manner of speaking. The man was full of reason and logic, but comprehending Zephy did not take those skills, no, it took patience and understanding, but, the storm began to die out as she relaxed and spoke...yet seemed overly concerned with the Ocean. "I...er...what?" Max asked for a moment, but then quickly shook his head - knowing he couldn't ask too much from the air-head.

"I am Max." He said, moving a bit closer to the girl and observing her with his sparkling eyes - those All-Seeing ones forged from some sort of magic long ago. "It's a...pleasure to meet you, Zephy." Max stated, but quickly turned his attention to the water below the duo. "Do you want to see what lies below the ocean?" He further asked, a relaxed look on his face instead of the stern one he had given her previously. "I can take you under..."

However, watching the comical attempt of the goddess dive into the water only to be ejected gave him a slight chuckle, but some knowledge on her composition. She must be made of air or extremely hydrophobic to get rejected with that much force. It would be as simple as either parting the sea or going down in an energy bubble. Despite all of that, though, the Mad King didn't expect to be babysitting a primordial entity and educating her on undersea geology. Such was life, though.

Zephy

Zephy started smiling when she heard Max's offer to show her. Zephy flew towards Max and started hugging him, even though she was made from air she felt like a real person. Her touch might be nothing more than air pressure but because of the magic that formed her body for all intents and purposes she felt like a normal human as long as she was in this form, a form she'd only lose when attacking or being attacked.

"yay Max help Zephy, Max show Zephy." she smiled at Max but almost instantly her smile vanished, she looked a bit troubled now. "But Zephy don't want to get wet. Zephy think of something though, Zephy hide inside Max." The moment she said this she released her hug and her body turned visually in to air in the shape of a body. And instantly after she flew inside Max's nose and mouth taking the place of the air in his lounges. It probably would've felt like taking a very deep breath for Max and even though the presence of Zephy there stopped him from being able to breathe, as long as she was there she took care of his air supply so he would not need to breathe. "Zephy stay here wile Max shows what water hides." sounded from Max's chest.

The Mad King was surprised at the sudden hug from Zephy, but it didn't feel any different from a normal person. Some sort of magic must be at play with her bodily composition - he'd love to examine it fully later...a thought he quickly cast from his head for sounding too perverse. But still, the girl seemed childlike and curious, and it was surely a curse from the divines to play upon the insecurities of a man such as Max. "Wait, wha-" He stammered before his airway was completely taken over and invaded by Zephy. He choked and coughed for a moment, about to focus his willpower and remove the girl, but stopped short.

He could still breath, strangely, and whenever Zephy went in him, it caught him by surprise. "You should give me a warning next time..." He said, looking at his hands and body to make sure he was still in control of those at least. "I feel...somehow violated." He said comically, but relented nonetheless. He formed a tight energy bubble around his masculine form, enough to fit himself and another - just because he could breath underwater didn't mean he wanted to get wet.

Quickly, he lowered himself into the water - the calm, warm skies where the hurricane once stood now replaced by a beautiful blue color that deepened as he descended further and further down. "Below the surface, the pressure begins to mount the deeper you go. We're still on the continental shelf Ur occupies, though, so it won't be too deep." He said, wondering if the girl could understand him as he used her to speak...and he used medium-sized words. "So, Zephy, while we get closer, tell me about yourself. Who really is Zephy?"

[New Neros]

-snip

Archon of Air? Max pondered. He knew the title only vaguely, and that was from his time as an underling of Victor von Doom. For a moment, he wondered if this woman was a product of Doom's magic - but it was clear that she was not up to cut with Doom's ruthless demands for perfection. He had little time for a childish air elemental, whereas Mad Max had enough time as is. Plus, the fact that she killed whoever made her, ensured the Mad King that Doom had no hand in her creation. As he watched the girl and her curiosity, a fatherly instinct took over within Maxwell to protect her - a quickly, it became apparent that they were not alone as the ground began to shake.

"You're welcome, Zephy, any time, but there seems to be something far more sinister at play..." He said, trying to hush the girl for a moment. Earthquakes below the water were hardly known to outside sources, but to Max, he could feel the very energy of the rumblings. It was like the ground was upset at Zephy's presence, or rather, that she was speaking at all. Undeterred, but rather interested, Mad Max and Zephy made it to the ocean floor, Max touching his boots to the damp sand and Zephy floating down to it. Ur was protected underground for now, but whatever was causing the tremors...that was of more concern for the Mad King.

[New Neros]

-snip

-snip

"Zephy, wait a minute -" Maxwell stated as the girl began to chip and tear away at the ground below them, the sand blasting away with ease and the girl's air slicing into the barren rock itself. Before he could explain why, the groaning began, and in an instant, the two were above the water. Max absorbed most of the energy, as it's intensity would rip a normal man apart from the outward force and sudden change in pressure. However, he stood there, shocked, as yet another petite girl was delivered right into his lap. The Gods were not testers, but aimed to humiliate the Mad King.

He stood tall and proud, his signature move, and looked upon the girl. He dropped the energy shield that encased himself and Zephy, and looked deeply into this new face. She mentioned an island, without a doubt it had to be Ur, so does this mean she was it's magical protector? Regardless, Maxwell spoke boldly and with purpose. "I am Maxwell Morningstar, Sovereign of the Kingdom of Ur. This is my recently well-met companion, Zephy, Archon of Air. All areas of the sea within two-hundred nautical miles of the Isle of Ur are the Kingdom's territorial waters, and with this islet, you are standing upon her soil, and as such, as I ask you the same question:"

"Who are you?"

[New Neros]

-snip

-snip

-snip

Maxwell was incredibly perplexed at the sight of the air elemental sobbing - taking a glance to the skies to see if any ill effects would be granted from bringing a being who is air incarnate to tears. So far, it was nothing, but with this new girl comforting her, it seemed to be a little bit better. He opted to answer the questions of the Archon of Earth, still a bit concerned as to why two magical elementals had appeared on his shores...and cursing as to why they looked like petite, teenage girls. "Tina, is it?" He said, grabbing at her attention, "The Roman Empire fell almost two-thousand years ago." He said bluntly.

He slowly turned his back to the two ladies as they comforted each other. "We didn't mean to awake you, either. Zephy here is the Archon of Air, and she wanted to see what was below the ocean. It appeared shiny to her, so I took her under the waves with my abilities. This islet is of no concern, though, we can go back whenever she wants." Maxwell stated calmly, feeling a new presence make his way to the recently erected land mass. He listened to the man as he arrived, without introduction, and without respect to the ruler of this land.

"Wrong, it has something to do with this small thing here." He said, pointing at Tina, the Archon of Air. "What brings you to my kingdom, Soundwave? Surely you've had other important things to attend to instead of investigating a mid-Atlantic earthquake." He looked at the man up and down, though, not particularly impressed or anything in particular, but still pressed on. "Or does boredom, and perhaps a deathwish, draw you into my jurisdiction?"

[New Neros]

Soundwave smiled somewhat smugly, "What brings me to your kingdom? Well, it was a boring day, and I had nothing else to do. God knows I wouldn't visit Ur under any other circumstances other than extreme boredom and a chance of interest.", he said, as the air of tension thickened. He had no respect for Mad Max, a man who was seemingly perfect on the outside, but fundamentally flawed. A man so caught up in his own stink of success that he has not time for the common plebs.

He suddenly turned his attention to the 16 year old girl next to Max, "I see you've got another one...", he said with a sigh, "Regardless, I'm bored, and this situation promises interest. Tell me, what happens if I select option C and go with the death wish? Seemed to go well enough for Bronson, after all."

The stoic and unmoving King cast his weary gaze upon Soundwave, as if asking what else God could throw at him to make his life more miserable. So unrefined, no tact, nothing redeeming about the man who went by the handle Soundwave. He was so caught up in his blistering annoyance that he had ignored Tina and Zephy making amends and the like. However, the two disappeared below the ground in a quick fashion, leaving just Max and the strapping young lad together. "Those girls are magical elementals, thousands of years older than you and I." He gave a creepy, sly smirk at Soundwave, "In other words, legal."

"If you choose to meet your fate by my hand, then I will put you down on the spot. I know your abilities and techniques to a T, Soundwave, and heaven forbid I do not prepare for a fight I know I'd be involved in one day. My people are safe below the island, and we're far enough away to prevent collateral damage. I have no reason to fight you other than your own insistence. The choice is yours." Mad Max said, the oceanic winds changing subtly, directing themselves upon his body instead of going their usual direction.

[New Neros]

Time War
Yesterday

"Michael, you've done it again." The proud, valiant voice of Reed Richards declared, a stretched hand slapping itself on the shoulder of the giant. The giant nodded and smiled, his face bearing immediate resemblance to Maxwell. It should, as Michael is the boy's father. "You're putting chaos and disorder into a neat, single file line at the quantum level. We're so close to it, Michael, I know you can do it. Imagine the good we can do in the world when the equation is finalized." Michael agreed, but a violent cough rattled his chest before he could fully speak. Reed Richards politely waited on the man, the cough sounding awfully sickly.

"Ack...yes, the situation is at hand. Reversibility, a new paradigm in thermodynamics. I wouldn't have had the chance anywhere else but the Baxter Building." Michael said, patting Reed on the chest playfully.

"Nonsense!" Reed replied, "The ideas are in your head. You'd figure out how to get the equation with or without my help, I'm sure of it." The two began to walk and talk, exiting their laboratory and entering the plain white halls of the Baxter Building. Other experiments and scientists were hard at work on theories and experiments of their own design, Reed understanding that science was best left to chance and not constant oversight. "...Beyond that, though, have you decided on a name for the proof? Equation-117/A doesn't exactly have much of a zing to it."

"I've given it some thought, don't get me wrong. From Michael's Equation, Morningstar Proof, and other vain nomenclature procedures, I eventually returned to my history books and ancestry for the answer." Michael said, he and Reed entering an elevator and climbing to the bottom floors. "My family comes from a mixture of Icelandic and Jewish, the melting pot and all, but the idea of the Norse Cycles has piqued my interested a few times. Entropy is like a cycle, a closed system, and this equation offers the chance to end that cycle. The name for that end in the Norse Sagas is Ragnarök, and so, I've chosen that to be the name of my proof. The Ragnarök Equation."

"A bit ominous, don't you think?"

"Slightly so, but it has meaning to me. It will-" Michael said, stopping briefly, resting quickly against a concrete wall of the underground parking garage of the Baxter Building. "Ah..." He groaned, "I feel so...light headed, weak. A pain in the chest..." He gasped weakly. Suddenly, his knees gave out and his eyes rolled around in his head, sending the massive man plummeting to the floor. Mr. Fantastic caught him quickly with his elastic powers, stretching himself out to hit an intercom a little ways away as he picked up Michael Morningstar.

"Alert our emergency services, Doctor Morningstar has collapsed in the garage. I'm bringing him back upstairs, have a stretcher and a room ready." He said, a bit of panic in his voice as he moved from the position to a stairwell, and from there to the ground floor without so much as a second wasted. The medical team was just on the move as Richards arrived, commandeering a medical room and going right to work on determining the cause of Michael's collapse and treating it, all the while giving the behemoth some rest as his vitals stabilized.

---

He was young, but by no means was he a child. His imposing frame was already developing at just fourteen years of age, but instead of being on an athletic field, he was deep into a large book of some sort. Flipping through the pages and reading each section rapidly and remembering instantly, he tore through the old manuscript like wildfire. A quick rap sounded on his door, the muffled sound of words being apparent as Maxwell chose not to respond or break his concentration. Eventually, though, the person on the otherside let themselves in, Max still refusing to look up from his study material.

"Max?..." The feminine voice asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Ulysses."

"Huh?"

"I'm reading Ulysses." He said with some implied venom, "If that's what you wanted to know." The woman placed her thumb on her bottom teeth, wondering what she could do with him. Maxwell was stubborn and rude, like a teenager would be, but intelligent and gifted just like his father. Max's mother, Martha, didn't have to pretend she didn't see it - the dirty looks and stares Max gave to his dad for contempt, or his studying with...less than reputable people to acquire knowledge. She sighed heavily, Max lowering his head in response to bury himself in the book further.

"Max...it's about your father."

"What about him?" He said back instantly, flipping through more pages.

"He's not well. We need to go see him."

"Tell him to take some Nyquil and man up for once."

"That's enough, Max!" Martha scream, throwing Max's book from his desk and onto the floor. She breathed in and out with the scorn only a mother could know, while Max looked at the book and then to his mom with narrowed eyes. "Your father is in the hospital and we're going to see him. We're going to see him..." She said, trailing off for a moment, her anger morphing into a sort of bitter sadness that manifested on her face. "We're going to see him...because he might not make it." She finally managed, the tears cascading down her cheeks and she cupped her face in her hands and sobbed quietly, her shoulders moving up and down as she wept in front of her son.

Max held his head low, looking at his feet and the ground, trying to process what was going on. After all, he was just too young to understand.

---

Maxwell would never forget the sight of his father, the strongest, smartest man he ever knew, full of tubes and machines all designed just to keep him alive, much less conscious through the whole ordeal. Looking over, another imagine was engraved into his mind, his mother as she held a tissue over her mouth and just...whimpered at the scene. All Max could hear was his own heart thumping and the beeps of the machines.

"Mrs. Morningstar, a word, please?" A doctor asked, peeking his head in the room for a moment, Reed Richards standing next to him with a still face. Martha nodded and rose from her seat, leaving Maxwell alone with his father. He was scared, more than he had ever been in his life, but he struggled to know why. He just...just didn't know what to say or do. He closed his eyes and buried his head in his knees for a minute, just a minute, that's all he needed to regain composure. But that didn't work, no, he found small droplets beginning to pool on the floor when he opened his eyes for a brief moment. Picking his head up briefly, he heard a quiet, raspy whisper.

"Max....Come here....son."

He looked up on the bed, seeing his dad giving the faintest hint of a smile, his eyes obviously weak, and his hand gesturing for Maxwell to come over next to him. His next action would haunt him for the rest of his life, and the immediate regret was not something he ever wants anyone to face. It's the reason why the Mad King cannot handle loss well, if at all. He closed to his eyes and gritted his teeth together, not even standing out of his chair as his legs started moving. He ran away. Out of the room, and somewhere else, far, far away within the building.

He burst through a door, only to find himself at the roof of the Baxter Building. He walked forward briefly, tripping over himself and falling down, only to get right back up. His knees and legs wobbled and buckled as he stumbled over to the buildings ledge. Grabbing onto the railing, he squatted down and let out a whimper himself, eventually managing to turn into a quiet wail as the tears came down like raindrops. Rain. That's what he hadn't noticed before - it was like even the sky was mourning alongside him. He needed to be alone, and in that time to himself, Maxwell came to his own terms. He spent a solid thirty minutes in the rain, wiping his snot on his sleeve as he walked back into the building.

Drenched and soaking wet to the bone, Maxwell made his way back down the building's elevators and came to the room where his father was. Outside sat the actual smartest man in the world, Reed Richards, his head facing the floor and his fingers buried deep into his hair. Max stopped, taking a deep breath as he saw Mr. Fantastic in such a state. "Max..." He said solemnly, "I tried everything. I did all I could. Until the very last...minute. He was hit by something we didn't even know about. Entropic cancer - he was bombarded on the quantum level with all kinds of unknown particles in his work. No one knew...not even your dad."

Maxwell took a step back, shaking his head 'no' at the news, "I was too late to save him. He fought until the last second, and then some. It wasn't enough - the entropic cancer delivered microscopic tumors directly to his heart, lungs and brain. It's a miracle he lived as long as he did." Reed looked up, his own eyes red and puffy with obvious signs of mourning. "He never stopped asking for you." He said, the gesture intending to be something else, but Maxwell instantly took it as a blow right to his sternum. Collapsing backward, it was almost lucky there was a bench behind him as Max plopped down. He stared off into the tiles, the people, the ceiling as he sat there, trying to find some meaning to it all. Without his father, it all seemed so...

...Meaningless.

---

"I thought I saw you yesterday," The Mad King spoke, his hands clutching a small arrangement of flowers, "But I knew it wasn't you, Dad." The young kid was a man well off into his own life, his own years ahead of him as well. He was dressed rather casually, and it was only him before the tombstone. "I know you don't like flowers, but I brought them anyways. Conversation piece, right?" He said with a short laugh, placing the arrangement on the soft grass in front of the hard slab. "I just...came to talk."

"I know you look at me and see what the things I've done and haven't done, and I know what you'd say, too. But it's different, ya'know, between thinking you know and actually hearing the words. Sometimes what you think is going to happen doesn't, and life just throws you for another loop." Max said, nervously looking off in the distance and putting his hands in his pockets. "But for what it's worth, I miss you, and every year I come down here, I tell you the same thing. I'm sorry I couldn't say what I needed to say back then. That I love you, Dad." He continued, his own answer being a faint wind.

"But, I also came to tell you something else important. I'm going to get to see you soon. No, I'm not dying, but I have this...thing...I have to do for Victor, and I'll be going across different timelines, past and future, but I'm giving you my word right now that I won't interfere and mess things up. I just want to slap the little shit I was back then, Dad, but the flow of time can't be broken in any way or else I might not be able to fix it. I know you'd be able to help me out in times like these, and that's why I wish I could go back and give you the cure for that cancer. Mom's doing fine, but everyone can tell she's just getting by without you."

"I help when I can, but the Kingdom is a fulltime business. Val's doing fine, too. I'll bring her to see you one day - she's gotten a lot better even since we went to Namek. No more nightmares, just a normal girl, now. Anyways, I just needed to tell you about what I'm going to be doing, Dad. I'll see you next year, I love you." Maxwell said, kneeling down and giving the tombstone a kiss, rising back up and dusting off his knee. He began to walk back to the main path in the cemetery, unknown that he was being watched from afar the entire time.

"Touching." Eon said, floating far back away, hidden by the leaves of a tree, "But death comes to us all, Morningstar. Yours will not be any different." The words did not reach him, but a presence behind Eon quickly grabbed his attention as he flung himself around.

"You think I wouldn't protect my past, Eon? What kind of fool do you take me for?" The imposing figure stated calmly, the form of Mad Max evident as the Endless One gave the young King a snarl. "I can do this all day."

"Let's see if you can do it...Forever." Eon declared, launching himself at Mad Max and taking a swing, Maxwell stepping to the side and ducking swiftly, dodging a follow-up attack that Eon threw a second prior aimed at the back of his head. Mad Max counter-attacked with a wide-arching punch and a straight jab, the jab connecting to the faceplate the Eon wore, sending his head smashing into the back of the helmet and then into the front, the Chronosapien bleeding from the nose at the attack and taking a few steps back before going down to one knee. "Not bad, not bad at all, Morningstar. You may have what it takes to beat me right now, but no man can defeat eternity."

[New Neros]

The stoic and unmoving King cast his weary gaze upon Soundwave, as if asking what else God could throw at him to make his life more miserable. So unrefined, no tact, nothing redeeming about the man who went by the handle Soundwave. He was so caught up in his blistering annoyance that he had ignored Tina and Zephy making amends and the like. However, the two disappeared below the ground in a quick fashion, leaving just Max and the strapping young lad together. "Those girls are magical elementals, thousands of years older than you and I." He gave a creepy, sly smirk at Soundwave, "In other words, legal."

"If you choose to meet your fate by my hand, then I will put you down on the spot. I know your abilities and techniques to a T, Soundwave, and heaven forbid I do not prepare for a fight I know I'd be involved in one day. My people are safe below the island, and we're far enough away to prevent collateral damage. I have no reason to fight you other than your own insistence. The choice is yours." Mad Max said, the oceanic winds changing subtly, directing themselves upon his body instead of going their usual direction.

As Max spoke of the young girl, Soundwave cringed, "There is something majorly malfunctioning in that brain of your's.", he said, and started considering the fight. It could be fun, he supposed. It could be a chance to try out one of his newer abilities, one even Max didn't know of. Soundwave smiled confidently, "Sure, let's do it. As I am such a gentleman, I will try not to make your defeat too embarrassing.", he said, as his armor covered his body.

Putting on his reflective steel frame aviators to top it all off, he admired himself for a moment before speaking to Max, "Pretty nice, isn't it? Adamantium plated titanium armor, with a vibranium chest plate.", he said, still admiring himself, "And it's all courtesy of the United States government. Not willingly of course, but, from them nevertheless. Anyways, you about ready to get started?"

Mad Max politely ignored the insult, and instead held up a fist to his face, staring at it intently. "I doubt you could do a damn thing to me." He stated flatly, without challenge or arrogance, but as a matter of fact. "You seem to forget that I plan for everything. Every possible scenario. Ones even you are not aware of, things you think I don't know or shouldn't know. You? You can destroy continents on a good day - I demolish worlds in my spare time." He lowered his fist and trained his cold eyes upon Soundwave, unflinching ones, but sparkling like diamonds. Only Dr. Doom and Dr. Strange knew the magical objects that replaced the Mad King's eyes. They were all-seeing.

"It's not a difference in power, nor one in armor, but a difference in common sense." He said, his words suddenly flattening out, the calm hiss of the wind dying down as well. Even the seas that clashed and churned against this new landmass became still, serene even, as a hush fell across the both of them. The type of quiet that makes men want to scream just to end it, the very kind that drives men insane from the sound of their own blood vessels flowing in their ear canals. The air was incredibly still - not a nod to Soundwave's ability, but to Max's, who could drain all forms of energy from anything he desired. Thus, the kinetic energy that sound relied on to travel was useless. He'd force the boy to become creative, use new tactics or techniques so that Max could make note of them.

[New Neros]

The Time War
Today

Why do they call him 'Mad'? A word to denote the crazy ones, ones unable to think clearly, or with mental illness. Or perhaps it is to show his anger, his righteous fury at all who align against him. Or maybe it went well with his name - an equally valid reason, but still not the correct answer. Maxwell had his own internal issues and problems to deal with and he dealt with them well, as well as any man of his stature and standing could, and his anger was verifiable and controlled in as many circumstances as humanly possible. That second to last word is the reason - humanly. At the end of the day, the King of Ur was just a man, a human, replaceable and without warranty, no guarantee of safety or safe passage. His will, his words, his thoughts, and his actions were all the making of but a simple man with emotional distress. He is Mad because while he is still but a lone human in a sea of billions, he too can stand up to giants, Lords, Gods, and all being deemed too far above him. Does he show fear when he does these things? No, but is he still afraid?

Yes.

More than one can imagine. It's a bluff check, a false confidence show he puts on like a thinly covered mask to hide himself. The Mad King is paranoid, a shifty sonofabitch who thinks the world is out to get him, so all he does is watch and listen. Do they talk about him? Do others think about him? Perhaps, but he wants to know what it is, because the voices in his head convince him of what they're really thinking. He spends his time alone because he doesn't want anyone else to see him like this, in his weakened state that is his true, honest-to-god self that he carries around everywhere, every battle, every speech, every trip. He makes robots to act in his place, but subtly fears that they will replace him and he wouldn't know it. A sharp mind, but a squishy body, innately human, at times he wants to rip into his flesh just to make sure he's still himself. But that's for crazy people. For people who are mad.

"You sure do think a lot, don't you, Morningstar?" A quaint, whisper of a voice called out in the man's private chambers. Maxwell didn't have to gasp in shock, quiver in fear, or even talk at all. He sat upon his stone throne with shadows partially obscuring his face, a blank expression taking up all available space and insuring not a thing could be read from it. "Come to think of it, you sure don't talk a lot, though. Wonderful traits, wonderful traits indeed." Eon declared, clasping his hands together, sending thunderous claps throughout the room due to the echo.

"Eon," Maxwell said, his tone deep and bone dry, "Why do you come here to my kingdom and to my court?"

"A court with no advisors? No emissaries? Why, you don't even have a jester." Eon stated with a sneer. "A king with no court is a nation with no court, and no court means no nation, so how fit are you to be it's king, Morningstar? You may ask how I get to decide what is and is not a nation, but I'll tell you the answer you already know. I've seen countries rise and fall, from the Sumerians to Romans, and from Romans to Germans, from Germans to Humans. Whoops - that's a little too far ahead for your timeline." Eon said, a giggle escaping from his lips. He paced around the throne room of Mad Max as he spoke as well, hands tight behind his back and his face pointed at every direction except towards Maxwell. "What makes yours any different?"

"You ask too many questions, Eon. You should be more like me and start thinking instead of speaking."

"Return to your silence you insolent worm." Eon snapped, narrowing his eyes at the Mad King, a smile cracking on his stone-cold face. "I've personally seen you be born and perish, and can end you in less than a snap of my fingers. You dare offer me to become more like you?! Heretical, absolutely disgusting. You should be groveling at my feet for mercy, for the honor to say that I've given you the time of day! Yet you brood over me, attempt to lord over myself like a pitiful king in his castle. I am not a visitor of your kingdom, you are a peasant in my own - Time. It is the only constant you will ever know. The only absolute in this universe and beyond! Of the trillions of years between creation and destruction, you are but the tiniest atom of hydrogen amongst the Milky Way herself."

"Riveting, absolutely so. Do you write your own speeches, or do they come in the heat of the moment? Don't answer, I don't need one. I'm not going to sit here and tell you everything you said is wrong, no. I'm going to stand and tell you everything you said is wrong." Maxwell said, rising from his stone chair as Eon displayed a look of intense dissatisfaction, a downright evil glance. "You call me small, so why grace my court? A need for ego, maybe. Do you tell all of the insects of your feats and mastery of Time? I suppose you have yet to realize this but, time is not a separate category of the universe. Not even matter is a separate state - beyond quarks, it is simply vibrations of energy that produces mass. Everything in this universe is composed of energy, even time, it is called temporal energy."

Eon's face grew sullen, his lips pursed tightly together, and those narrow eyes now ablaze with a fire of indiscriminate anger. "You are an excellent manipulator of temporal energy, Eon, but even you know of my abilities. I can cook Minute Rice in 54 seconds." Maxwell stated in a deadpan, "And I can absorb any and all forms of energy in this universe. Heat death occurs when entropy is at a maximum, when there is no more energy. Ergo, no more time." He said, walking down those stone steps and coming face to face with the Chronosapien for the first time, an intense staredown that held the weight of the universe at stake. "I've been taking in all of your temporal energy ever since you walked into this room." He said quietly, Eon's eyes growing with shock and he looked down at his hands for a brief moment, his movements wild with panic.

Max used this opportunity to latch onto Eon's arms and amplify his absorption to planetary levels, draining the being in less than an instant, and his usual glow of orange kinetic energy replaced with a soft, bluish tint. The husk of Eon began to wither on the floor, ultimately evaporating into dust as Mad Max stole all of his temporal energy in a quick motion. He would declare victory, if it were not for his All-Seeing Eyes, and just that momentary glimpse into the future convinced him to instantly use his powers over time to back track and place himself in hundreds of eras of human, and Earth's, history. Eon wasn't dead, far from it, he was alive by the force of temporal energy, and with a body made purely of time, he's aiming for completely undoing all of Max's existence, even if it means taking the rest of creation with him.

It was an arms race across space and time, from the star that existed before our Sun formed to the first steps of evolution, Max placed himself at the edges of time to win a this war. But, it was painfully obvious to anyone capable of observing their scuffle: The Mad King was losing. His energy was being drained by travelling, empowering Eon even further, and he was playing catch up instead of giving chase. Finally, a dead end was reached, where even Eon refused to travel beyond, the primordial ether of all creation. It was beautiful in every sense of the word, all of matter, energy, existence, and being was held in a state about the size of a baseball. Maxwell Morningstar was watching the Big Bang in it's infancy. He reached out a hand, a sense of power and control flooding him. He could just...take all of it right here and now. All of creation would be at his whim, and the temptation was incredible.

He withdrew his hand, though, casting a shameful glance aside at what his action almost was instead of what he actually did. Known very well to him, Eon was there as well, staring intently at the King of Ur. "You didn't seize it." He said from behind Max, almost in a protesting voice. "The Big Bang - Biggest explosion since...How much more energy could you hold out for? It doesn't matter, though, because this is the end of the road." He said calmly, Max turning to face him, only to be attacked by the Chronosapien in a lineman's tackle. The sudden attack drove him so close to the Big Bang, and Eon planned to throw the Mad King back first into the explosion wave. Max's eyes glowed with a bluish hue as he began to siphon on energy from Eon, but still, despite the might Maxwell put up in his defense, he was but a mere millimeter from the glowing, colorless orb of everything.

Suddenly, like the bing from a microwave timer, all of space reality was created in the most violent explosion since...the Big Bang. He only dabbled just a little bit, a small taste, enough to grab ahold of Eon and ride the explosive wave as it raced millions, billions, and then trillions of lightyears further and further. The Universe was born older than it should have been, but winning became priority at this point, and the screams and pleas of Eon were no consolation prize at this point. Max almost perished in the blast himself, he almost died doing everything in this petty war, but still, it wasn't over. Just a little more, a few more centuries, and he'd have Eon against a proverbial wall.

[New Neros]

Time War
Tomorrow: Part One

Old Namek burned with the fires of battle, her green fields turned barren by the intense heat of war against the tyrant Frieza and his henchmen waged by the heroes of Earth, and further beyond. A flash brought a small tear in reality to light, far from the final battles on the doomed planet, and out of this hole two beings tumbled and slammed into the ground with crushing intensity. A large, bulky man and a thin, lanky one, but the fight seemed to be either one of the combatant's hands. Mad Max was the one to slam Eon into Namek's crust, following through with a massive punch to his gut which broke the earth all around him. Eon was dazed for a moment, but managed to deliver a swift headbutt to the Mad King, hitting with enough force to split open Max's skin on whatever alien material Eon's helmet was made from.

Stumbling back from the hit, yet gaining a small bit of kinetic energy from it, Max regained his composure in time to see Eon execute an intense drop kick at dead center of Max's chest. He tumbled back and rolled, adding on the energy, but the amount it took to recover from the attack against what energy it brought in made the entire absorption process add little if any to the Mad King's reservoir. In his roll, though, he came to a quick stop and fired a powerful blast of energy from one of his outstretched palms - catching Eon in the deadly, blistering hot plasma. It merely disrupted his planned follow-up attack, as the Endless was able to tank much of the attack on his armor alone. Still, it was just enough of an opening for Max to exploit.

As Eon shielded himself with his arms, he lowered them only to find himself being flipped through the air like a featherweight. Max had rushed in, picked him up in a close-line right at the abdomen, and slammed him back into the ground with devastating, armor-cracking effect. Despite that, Eon bared his teeth and revealed an energy blade from one of his armored forearm guards, and with brutal, surgical precision, sliced the Mad King from below his ear toward the top of his nose, the entire cheek being cleanly cut like it was hardly anything. Maxwell gasped, shooting his hand up to close the wound, but not feeling the intense pain yet. He felt the numbed flesh and the flayed section, but found no blood - the blade cauterizing it as it went. Eon pressed his advantage, though, and charged forward to deliver another series of blade attacked.

Stepping, and partially stumbling back, Max managed to stay out of the range of Eon's energy saber while still clutching his left cheek in a wild eyed, primal sense of flight for survival. In his state, though, time seemed to move even slower, to the point that his focus was tunneled only onto Eon. As the Endless lunged forward to stab into Max's chest, he performed a simple sidestep, flowed by grabbing onto the lanky arm with both hands - one on the forearm and the other on the bicep. Completing the equation in one fluid motion, Maxwell brought up his knee at full force, impacting right at Eon's elbow, and brutally snapping it like a twig, the joint bending completely around Max's knee as multiple bones, muscle, and nerves were torn by the assault.

Reeling back, arm flailing like a noodle, Eon screamed in pain as he threw himself away from Mad Max. Breathing deep and heavy, with his heart thundering away at his chest, the King of Ur followed through with a chance to go for the kill, only to meet the side of Eon's eye as he opened another tear into another timeline, the Endless taking the mad man with him as they fell into another place and time entirely. The destroyed fields of Namek gave way to a dark, grimy place filled with rain and slums, some dark alley in what Max could only imagine as a city somewhere on Earth, the gloomy atmosphere suggesting somewhere in New Jersey, probably Gotham of all places.

Footsteps splashed across the rain puddles as Max realized he was partially lost in thought, and Eon was slipping away around the dark, damp corners as the rain came down like hailstones in intensity. Maxwell ran after the direction he was headed, only to find a dead end. Fearing that Eon truly did escape, Max prepared to jump into another time period until he found the bastard, only for Eon to finally speak up. "Like chasing a wounded animal..." He declared, his voice coming from all directions in the alley, "I bet you feel like a man. A big, strong man. Never can let a dog lick it's own wounds, huh? Put it down while you have the chance?"

"Your tone would be a lot different if it was me with the shattered elbow." Max replied, flashing his eyes from side to side and turning his body around as he searched for the source of Eon's voice.

After a brief silence, Eon responded simply with, "...Shut up." Suddenly, Max looked straight up to see the tops of two feet coming down with intense force and clean impact, the heavy smack collapsing the man's entire frame and sending him right into the concrete of the asphalt, with Eon landing roughly a few meters away. Blood was already pooling around the Mad King's head as he lied there, eventually picking himself up on his hands and knees, his mouth and nose cascading with blood flow, the tear in his cheek open and bleeding as well, his forehead fully split from his eye to his hairline from first the headbutt on Namek, and now the full force stomp. How quickly the tables turned, Eon was going to afford him no luxury of rest, charging forward.

The finishing blow was thrown into disarray by the sudden emergence of another tear in spacetime, Eon running face first into it and disappearing in a zap. Maxwell copied Eon's technique and used it against him, sending him further in time, the Mad King right on his trail as he stood, wobbly at first, but Max took the chance to briefly heal and reorient himself before taking the dive into the next hole in time as well. Another trip down the rabbit hole, another battle to be fought in this long, drawn out war across all of known space and time between just two men, two egos, two ambitions, and two entitlements to survival.

[New Neros]

Time War
Tomorrow: Part 2

The worlds went from Earth like, to more alien like, and even further, into the downright bizarre as the two men fought across space and time at their leisure. They traded punches, blows, kicks, and words as they migrated time on their own pace - both Max and Eon well-adept at the artform by now. Still, Mad Max was wholly concerned at the rate of energy expenditure he was dealing out, barely making the cut with each instance of jumping across time. He was becoming used to absorbing temporal energy by now, but he knew the side effects: the life of the universe shortens with each jump, his method an imperfect, almost barbarian-like way of going across the time stream, like forcing open a hole and not closing it behind himself. Max would fix those later, now though, he had to continue his focus on Eon.

Despite that motivation, he and Eon seemed to begin to form a begrudging amount of respect for one another as they fought against the other, to the point of casual conversations without overbearing tones of authority or threats. Max arrived at a barren, scorched planet from a tear in time, a magnificent red giant taking up the entire sky, bathing the absorber in tremendous amounts of energy, Max soaking all of it in to ensure he had plenty of reserves for continued operations. He watched intently as Eon appeared from his own slice in time, a neat line that opened and closed at a simple swipe of his hand. The two looked at one another, but with bored, lazy eyes. Max decided to break the ice, wondering just how long they had been fighting.

"So Eon, how long has it been?" Max quizzed, Eon raising his head, his eyes lighting up more from their bored state.

"Hmm?" He hummed, asking for a repeat of the question.

"How long have we been fighting? Real time, from my throne room until now."

"Ah! We're coming up on seven days, now. A dreaded stalemate." He said sourly, scoffing even, nodding his head.

"It happens, I suppose. Now, it's all about attrition." Max stated confidently, dropping down into a combat stance, Eon standing up straight and holding his hands behind his back.

"There is no attrition when both of us can exert control over supply pools infinite in scope and nature. Time and energy where never meant to clash, but here they are today." He said dryly, stepping to the side as Max threw a powerful body shot. Eon dropped an elbow right on his back, sending him down to the hot dirt below. Max managed to grab onto Eon's ankle, however, and flipped the man over into the ground as well. Their intensity of previous brawls was partially gone, now all that remained was skill and raw talent, not to mention repetition and the easy-to-guess attacks and defenses that left little if anything to surprise. The two each had a hold of the other's neck, each going through the motions of choking, but neither feeling the effects or gaining the results - they both didn't need to breathe or supply their brains with blood.

"Tell me, Morningstar," Eon said, a dark, grim look on his face, "Are you prepared to end this fight?" He asked, his face twitching under Max's massive hands around his throat.

"Since the beginning. We've just been getting closer with each jump, it's just taking a while." He answered, the smaller hands of Eon clasped around his muscular neck, pressing hard against his esophagus.

"Then...I'll speed things up." Eon stated, the man disappearing from Maxwell's grasp. Looking around wildly for a moment, he couldn't tell where Eon was going to jump like he had been. Those All-Seeing Eyes made him the perfect threat against the Master of Time, but for some reason, all he could see was fogginess and vague shapes, lights, and such. Nothing to help him find just where he went, until Eon's voice sounded from behind Max. "You talk of power, and others call you mad. Let's just see how mad you can get." Eon stated clearly, Max turning his entire body to face him, his eyes growing wide and his mouth opening with surprise. A familiar face, transplanted from time itself, before the Mad King stood the one he never expected to see again: Michael Morningstar.

"D-dad?!" Max said, Michael looking around, bewildered, but suddenly comforted by the sound of his son's voice.

"Max? Is that you?" He asked, looking around the barren landscape, "Y-you've grown! I was just...walking next to Mr. Richards and then...I was here. What's going on? Why do you look older? Where are we?" He further quizzed, Max moving to touch him, hug him, something to let the young boy know that his dad was real. Max could feel his energy, that unique signature that everyone's life force gave - it was no illusion, it was surreal, a miracle made reality. Max forgot, though, that it was Eon who brought him here, and the Mad King realized that fact far, far too late for him to do anything about it.

"I'll explain in a second, Dad, but I -" His words left his mouth, the Mad King running out of anything to say as his shock and horror took over his cognitive speaking. Five finger tips emerged from the left-center of Michael's chest, the man looking down as well. "Dad...no..." He said quietly, a silent rage growing about him. "EON! NO! STOP!" He screamed, running forward and grabbing his father, Eon withdrawing his hand, clean, the bastard seemingly vibrating things around Michael's heart. Max's father clutched his heart in pain, Max shaking his head in absolute terror at the sight.

But, even in the most stressful situations, a man can find a momentary area of clarity and rational thought. He had the chance to make things right, say what he needed to say, before doing what he needed to do. "Dad...I'm from the future, but my past self is going to run away from you...He's scared, he's....he doesn't know. He can't say what I can say now, so I'll do it for him. For that child crying on the roof because he misses his pop...He wants to say it with all of his hearts, but he ran...and now he'll regret it for the rest of his life..." Michael listened intently, pain on his face, his hand clutching his heart and side as he breathed heavily, "...Until now."

"Dad...I love you, too."

With those words uttered, Michael faded from the far future, the body Max cradled in his arms returning to the exact moment he was taken from, dropped right back down behind Reed Richards in that underground parking garage, the man throwing himself against the concrete wall, history repeating itself like it was supposed to. His experiments didn't kill Michael Morningstar, Reed Richards didn't leave him for dead. Eon was his father's killer. The Mad King rose from the position he held in father in, turning his face to Eon, who bore a confident, almost thrilling smirk, in stark contrast to Maxwell's, whose only emotion could be described as a quiet rage.

The ground trembled and shook, a bubble of energy formed around Mad Max, the bubble expanding rapidly and even entrapping Eon, who seemed not to care in the slightest, but was more interested in whatever Max was doing. Eon began to float, his arms tight behind his back and he circled Mad Max, who breathed heavily, deeply, and nasally with apparent anger and absolute hatred. The bubble expanded further and further, farther than Max had ever used it, his Ragnarok Sanction growing to impossible, stellar-sized lengths. In a sudden, angered burst of fury, the Mad King roared as the land around him tore apart in a single, planet-wide wave of complete destruction.

Down to the molecular level, absorbing even the energies that bound hydrogen atoms together, and the strong force that bound quarks together to form protons, the world was devoured by the Mad King in a blood lust, only for Eon to turn to the sky and observe the red giant, seemingly on a whim. Genuine surprise was etched on his face, his posture quickly ducking down and drawing in a breath of astonishment as the star condensed itself down into a funnel, shooting right at Mad Max, who greedily devoured the fuel, making the planet seem like nothing more than a crumb at a buffet. The speed was otherworldly as well, Morningstar consuming an entire star and planet in under a minute. Eon may have been wrong, maybe...maybe he didn't want to see how mad he could get.

Before he could finish that thought, Eon felt a hand grasp his throat. It was different this time - he was actually choking, Mad Max draining the energy Eon would have used to keep himself alive during the choke. Crushing, intense, and constricting, Eon glanced at the man Maxwell had become. Glowing with bright, brilliant orange and leaving a small trail of plasma to float behind him, every part of his body seemed energized and full of life on the level of cosmic beings. Still, Eon managed to speak. "I wouldn't think...you'd consume...The Earth...and her Sun..." He said with a smirk, "I guess I'm next...right?"

The being Max had become spoke in an echoing voice, answering the question posed by Eon, "Wrong."

The two disappeared from that place and time in a soft, crackling flash of white light. Maxwell had a tight grip on Eon's throat as the duo travelled through the cosmos from where they started on the Future Earth, all the way to the next solar system in it's place...and the next, until finally, have several lifespans, supernovas, black holes, nebulae, and all the universe had to throw at either of them, they reached a white, colorless wall. Maxwell tossed Eon at the very edge of it, the man looking at it for a moment, before scrambling backwards as he tried to catch his breath. "You're...you're fucking insane." He spat, looking up at Max, who looked down on him like a God would an ant. "That's the end! Beyond that line is nothing! Can your primitive, tree-descended mind comprehend that?! That doesn't just mean no more time, but no more energy! You're a fool to bring us here!"

"Us?" Mad Max asked, grabbing Eon by his neck once more, the force almost being enough to break it. "I am not going in there with the likes of you. This is not a prison to hold you, Eon, this is the guillotine. You said it yourself, it's the end. Beyond here is devoid of all things, time, space, and energy. A new universe waiting to be made, some think, or the final end to all reality. No one knows for certain. Send me a postcard." He said, lightly tossing the frail body of Eon, intending for him to go into the aptly named 'Guillotine of Time' slowly, antagonizing the death even further.

However, survival is embedded in all living things, regardless of their connection to time, and Eon's fear of the unknown beyond his universe allowed him to fully exert the last of his powers, use his energy to form a massive blast of temporal energy behind Mad Max Morningstar. It wasn't even about survival at that point, it was the reasoning of, "If I'm going down, you're coming with me", and caught off-guard by the massive explosion even with his powerful state, Max was thrown forward as well into that guillotine.

It was like being slapped naked on a white floor without beginning and without end, the Mad King, instantly rising to his feet, but being tackled by a wrinkled, old man as he did so. "You son of a bitch! You fucking idiot!" He yelled, punching Max in the face repeatedly, "Now we're both here! And I'm not going to spend it with you...I'm used to being alone, and just....fuck you!" He cried in anger, brutal fists raining down on Mad Max until he finally regained composure, tossing his body weight around in a roll, tossing Eon out from over him as he pushed upwards. Eon wasn't the only one with some anger issues, and Max was going to show him...just how mad he can be.

Eon rolled on the floor from the successful dismount, only to find a firmly delivered, impactful soccer kick right to his face, throwing it back violently and exploding his blood across the otherwise white area. He brought his hands up to cover his nose, only to feel a massive stomp right on his face, and then lights out. Max couldn't be bothered, though. He mounted the poor bastard and started slamming his massive fist against the old man's face, aiming straight for the temple, breaking his cheek and jaw bones in the process and he ground and pounded Eon, blood spraying him with each hit as he went. "You killed my dad! I don't care if Doom gave me this job, if I knew that, I would have done it for free! I would have killed you when I had the chance! But now...now I do." He said, his voice screeching now and again from the blunt contempt in his voice.

Eon's body seized and choked on the blood, his face reduced to nothing but split openings, bleeding meat, and dislocated bones. He wheezed automatically, knocked out, his body trying to save itself as it entered a seizure. Max rose from the body and walked around until Eon's head lied right between his feet, twitching violently, his eyes swollen shut. "I don't care if you can or can't hear me, Eon, I just want you to die already." He said, grabbing a side of the old bastard's' head and lifting it up to Max's waist. The Mad King threw it down like one would a large basketball with tremendous force, the skull actually bouncing slightly as the base of it took the majority of the impact. The seizures stopped, the twitching ended, and Eon's head rolled lazily to the side at an unnatural angle, blood now cascading from his broken spinal cord. Maxwell breathed heavily, giving the body a last enraged glare, before turning and walking away from the corpse in the vast, infinite space that lies beyond time.

---

Time War
One Last Day: Conclusion

The metal feet clicked down the halls as they walked across the linoleum with great strides and meaningful posture. Beside a medical bed sat the large figure of Mad Max, well dressed, groomed, and lightly holding Val's hand as she smiled, the neck brace holding her head up, the injury from her fight with Dapp healing smoothly. Max perked up at the sound of the footsteps, Val doing so as well, but he ushered her to remain there. She nodded, and said something weakly to Max, only to make the King smile and nod, walking towards the door and excusing himself, exiting promptly, and coming face to face with a metal mask.

"I take it the battle was won?" Victor von Doom asked, his arms folded defiantly as he stood before Maxwell. Max kept his eyes trained on Victor, the two sovereigns holding an intense staredown as they jockeyed for power and control in the conversation.

"It is, Eon is dead, time has no ward."

"Excellent." Doom declared, nodding his head at Maxwell. "Spare me the details of your endeavor, I have seen it in action. Doom respects none...but I hold you in a certain regard, Morningstar." He said casually, catching Max by surprise, he shook it off, thanking Doom instead of questioning it.

"Thank you, but like I said when I agreed to this, I require a hefty payment. I don't do mercenary work, and since you saw what all happened, I think you know that I've earned my fair deal. Not in money, either, I have more than enough." Max said, Doom placing his fingers on his chin in thought.

"But of course - what kind of master would Doom be to not pay his soldiers, and what kind of man would Doom be if he didn't keep his word? You have your pathetic morals, Morningstar, and I have mine. This is your payment, and I would see to it that this action is not mentioned to a soul, and all records of it expunged. So says Doom." Victor said, passing a pure black box into Maxwell's hands, the King unsure of what it was until he was actually holding it. With that, the sovereign of Latveria swung his green cloak around and began to walk away, leaving Maxwell almost dumbstruck with the object in his hands.

It took a simple push of a button on the box's top for it to flip and fold down, illuminating the hallway with radiant, blue light as Max's eyes stared upon one of the wonders of the universe. Unlike the crude designs of A.I.M. and the Red Skull, this object was refined, perhaps even better than the original Skrull source, as it was hand crafted and shaped by Dr. Doom. A simple scan revealed no flaws or indications that it was rigged to follow Doom's commands or warp Max into a servant for him. Maxwell Morningstar held the object close to his face, his eyes glued upon one of his very own - his own Cosmic Cube.

[New Neros]

Val smiled and Magneto seemed to beam at Lisa's empowering statement of continued resistance. He wouldn't lie - there was a feeling that she might be a sophisticated replica of the Regent, but by that alone, she seemed to have enough self-interest to align against the Regent. Many within the rebel cabal shared similar feelings as well, but like Magneto, they were swayed to believe her words. Val seemed to be the most infatuated, though, coming up to Lisa and grasping her hands, staring deep into the android's eyes. "We won't stop. All of us. Not until she's gone, and I'm so happy to have you back on my side...Lisa." She said with misty eyes, quivering at saying her friend's name once more, as if it had been so long.

But, Magneto perked up at the mention of a video message, partly knowing who it might be. Friends in low places, more than likely. "Play the video." He said to the rebel with a handwave, "We'll see just who wants to have a chat." He calmly stated, relaxing in his chair, a large canvas dropping down from the ceiling with a projector aimed onto it. Some luxuries were not able to be had for the rebels, but they made do, and they got by with any means necessary.

Lisa couldn't help but give her friend a hug. LIsa knew Val had been through a lot, so it was more for the humans benefit than for her. Though it was also as Lisa thought it was appropriate. She was getting much better at this social stuff. She paused and let go when the rebel who had been taking to put on the video message. She turned around and saw a face, or rather a lack of one.

"Eisenhardt. Good to see you've not 'mysteriously disappeared.'" spoke the faceless man. Lisa checked her database and confirmed it was the Question. He seemed to be in a dark room of some description. "Though, I would be more careful if I were you about accepting video chat from strangers."

"If my sources are right, you should have a guest with you. One we're somewhat familiar with." The Question spoke. He turned to Lisa. Who looked from side to side awkwardly. "And there she is... You're sure she's not the Regent? Even a clone of her?"

Both Magneto and Val tuned in carefully to what this faceless stranger had to say, Val glancing towards her father now and again while Magneto did not move a single facial muscle. However, he turned away and chuckled for a second, returning and looking upon the Question. "I'll be frank, Vic, I can only guess and assume at her origin." He said, motioning to Lisa, "But she feels...different... from our world. If she is a Regent clone, then she was hand picked from another universe instead of being made. And according to what we saw of Val, this Lisa just popped out of nowhere, whereas the Regent would have liked to put her under lock, no?"

"All of it being a set-up in the realm of plausibility, but to my understanding, why would she go to these lengths? The Regent possesses powers and people to undo all of what we have worked towards in the blink of an eye. She wants to keep us around to give her boogeymen to paint her rule as legitimate, so why send us a sleeper agent, especially one that looks exactly like her?" Magneto asked, but finally, relented and accepted the Question's role in the rebel group's operations. "I'm not completely sure, but I'm positive about it. She isn't working for the Regent."

"But tell me, Question, what do you want to know about her?"

[New Neros]

Madworld

Realm of the Mad God

Shielded by his helmet in order to hide his nameless sins and tyranny, the Mad God sat lazily upon his basketed, draping throne as the day to day activities of the Royal World Court went on below him. Like unnoteworthy insects, commoners entered his chambers and offered their confessions and testimonies, their pleas falling upon deaf ears as the Mad God felt no need to emotionally invest himself in their affairs. Rather, a magistrate was the one they spoke to, whose robes they clinged their dirty, peasant hands onto, whose cloth faced the assault of their cries, tears and snot. The Mad God' most powerful magistrate, the interpretation of his laws and the keeper of the order, not mention Mad God's right hand man, was a being known as Otto Godblessed.

Godblessed was not his true surname, but really, Otto had none. He was a man banished from Asgard as an infant, the sire of Vili, brother of Odin, and a Jotun. Judged to be undeserving of his name, his father cast him from the Nine Realms and into the vastness of interstellar space as an infant due to his affair. The frigid cold of the void was able to give growth to Otto, however, due to his Frost Giant heritage, and some how, he found his way upon Madworld after decades of travelling the galaxy on his own whims and power. His arsenal includes the Odinring, Draupnir, which he retrieved from Skírnir after his failed attempts to woo Gerðr, who he was surprised to learn was his mother. Still, the ring provided Otto Godblessed with access to the Odin Force, granting him both immeasurable power and insight into right and wrong, a trait for which he was selected as paramount Magistrate of the realm of the God-King.

Still though, the laws and how they are enforced by the Mad God are left up to the civilians, and the breaches of such laws is called for by immediate trial and action, so that justice may be served and balance preserved within the world-spanning kingdom. The Mad God did not force his subjects to adhere unquestioningly to his laws and sanctions, he gifted them with free will, desire, wants, and needs in order to overcome them and know what it means to be Godblessed. That was the tone of the creation myth they were told, however, it was actually the nature of the Cosmic Cube - it did not want to create mind-slaves when it created Madworld, and neither did the man who forced it's creation.

The Royal World Court stood aside, however, as a man walked in to give his confession to Otto Godblessed and the Mad God. It would have been routine, however, if the man before the Court was not a high-ranking official in service to the God-King's world government. John Pryor, head of Mutant Affairs, walked forward, slamming his knees into the ground before Otto, who looked on with a stern sense of unjudging, nonbiased facial expression, hiding his true shock behind this mask, just as the Mad God hid behind his physical one. The action caused the Mad God to become interested suddenly, straightening his spine and looking down upon Mr. Pryor with his blank helmet. He spoke with conviction and guilt, admitting his sins for the chance at a lesser sentence.

"My Lord and God, I seek your judgement for my crime against your word. I have spread heresy to our invited Homo superior guests. I offered them sanctuary in return for their allegiance to Madworld without approval, and have sought to establish an independent mutant-led nation on Madworld. My people have turned against me, and I have no where else to turn or to run, so I offer myself to you. I can give the names and locations of the offenders and plotters in return for clemency, My Lord!" John Pryor said, kneels down and touching his forehead to the ground before Otto Godblessed.

Otto stood tall and proud before Mr. Pryor, holding his palm up to the ceiling. "Rise, John Pryor, and receive your judgement and punishment for the crimes of heresy, treason, and sedition." John did as he was instructed, and rose to his feet, dwarfed by Otto's tall, lanky stature, and his eyes red and puffy with convincing tears of guilt. "Your crimes are grave, but the good you can do will but lessen the sentence, not absolve you of your transgressions against the protection and benevolence of the God-King, do you understand this?"

With a sniffle of his nose, Pryor responded, "Yes, I understand."

"Then John Pryor, I offer you slight mercy, and I judge you -"

"Guilty." The powerful, baritone of a voice spoke, the personnel within the Royal World Court hiding their mouths in shock as it's origin was revealed - The God-King himself spoke the judgement. Pryor looked up with eyes wide, Otto removing himself as a barrier between Man and God and kneeling in respect. "I judge you guilty, John Pryor. You've aligned yourself against me and my nation, you have betrayed me and your people. No name nor person can save you from my wrath, from the treason you have inflicted upon this land like a viral disease, and from the heresy you spat upon my name."

The God King rose from his throne and began to walk down the many steps that led to the floor, John Pryor dropping to his knees as the collapsed before him, his mouth moving subtling, his eyes wide with fear, and his heart pounding faster than ever. "You have done more harm to mutantkind than good, you have told them of our bountiful crops, tolerant society, and mighty God-King in order to recruit more followers to your rebellion. I have known of your transgressions and bided my time, waiting for you to attempt for mercy or to act against me. That is why I sentence you and your followers...to public execution."

"So says the Mad God, Maxwell Morningstar." He said, raising a hand, banishing Pryor from his presence, guards coming and dragging the mutant away from the Mad God's feet. He considered using his powers, but found it all but hopeless. The Mad God held power beyond any mutant, and it was no question that it would only make his punishment worse. He and many others have seen the Mad God in action, but he left with one morsel of gratitude...the God King spoke, and used his real name in Pryor's judgement.

[New Neros]

Madworld
Origins

Maxwell Morningstar sat in the chair next to Val, back in the Kingdom of Ur, before the creation of Madworld, his eyes transfixed upon the Cosmic Cube held tightly in his hands. He inspected it, felt it, almost tasted it, and found it to be almost perfection rendered physical. He had seen and been in the presence of other Cosmic Cubes, but none were like this, not a single one. Not even the Skrulls could create one - and it took a lone human like Victor von Doom to perfect this artform. The King wondered what he was to do with it now, as quite literally, ultimate power was within his hands.

"Val?" He asked, the girl's eyes closed, but lazily opening as she turned to look at Max, "What should I do?"

"Hm?" She asked sweetly, nearly melting Mad Max's heart, "Whatcha say?" She said quietly.

"With this Cube...what should I do with it? I can feel the vastness of reality at my finger tips, at a mere instance, I can shape and mold it however I see fit. I don't know if I can do this alone..." He admitted to her, placing a hand on the bed, Val lightly taking his fingers into her own. She smiled at him, beamed really, giving the Mad King a smile as well as he continued to look and stare at his cosmic object. The end of war, disease, the end of power, and the gift of tomorrow, all could be accomplished with this Cube. He turned to look at Val once more, though, the girl closing her eyes once more in order to rest.

"Use it...to help everyone..." She said quietly, falling back into her sleep, her hand wiggling out of Max's own as she passed out. He gently removed his palm from the bed and continued his staring contest, a series of visions passing before his eyes. It was like...like he had seen the End. No, no he had already seen the beginning and the end in the Time War...but this...this was something else entirely. The end he had seen with Eon, where he had thrown Eon, where he killed Eon, was no longer the true end of existence. What did that all mean? Maxwell wasn't sure, but what he was sure of, was that he had a head start. He had to begin now if he wanted to survive.

"Help everyone." He thought, repeating Val's words, knowing them to be too broad for the Cube. He needed a moment to himself, and so he walked out of the hospital, and found himself pondering the streets of Morningstar City like some poetic intellectual. Eventually, though, he relented, and understood that if everyone could not be helped...at least some people could be saved from the impending apocalypse, the doomed end of all reality. He needed more thought power, another mind to power his universal rescue operation. Not a human mind, though, no, he required a global mind.

Max raised the Cube up high into the sky with his hand, and began to draw in it's magnificent and nearly endless power and potential into himself. He read somewhere that Cosmic Cubes were actually sentient, or at least, building towards sentient thought with their power. He had absorbed life forces before, but this was different, otherworlds, on a different plane of existence. It felt like...like he was absorbing divine energy, that of Gods themselves. Mad Max absorbed the Cube to ensure no other could undo his creation, and as soon as he absorbed it entirely, he entered into a conversation with whatever lived within the Cosmic Cube.

A conversation that led to the creation of Madworld...

Val Valentine
Queen of Madworld

What is a God-King without his Goddess? A question only Max would ask, and one Val didn't have a choice in answering. She stomped around her room, rightfully so, after being torn from Earth and onto this artificial world of Max, her injuries healed, but her anger fiery. Each stomp shook the castle due to her powers, and no amount of servants or maids would calm her down. "Where is he?!" She demanded, royally pissed off at the vanity and ego of Morningstar. She told him to help others, not become ruler of the world, whether it was Earth or something else.

"Mrs. Valentine, please, Master is-"

"Master?! He's making you all call him 'Master'?! Oh man...I knew he was arrogant but this...this takes the cake. Infinite power, and what does he go and do? He goes and makes a world where everyone has to listen to him! It's never good enough, he has to be better...damn bastard wasn't happy as a King, so he went and declared himself God." Val said in a whirlwind of fury, finding objects to break such as vases, pictures and the like. "And he just expects me to roll with this? No sir! Unlike you plebeians, I retained my memories, I knew the old world. I-"

"Mrs. Valentine, Master has arrived."

"Good! I'll give him my-" Val said, stopping short as the nameless, unnoteworthy butler stepped aside to reveal the fully armored, physically imposing might of Maxwell Morningstar, God-King of Madworld. It was a hard habit, but she was awestruck by his presence, whether he was a King or a God, whenever he walked into a room, it hushed and calmed. But, as he came into Val's room, her anger managed to return, and she quickly spat at him. "You've got some nerve, Max! You went and made the whole world worship you?! Are you insane?!" She asked, Max answering her calmly.

"This is my own world. I created it with help from the Cosmic Cube. It is known as Madworld, and-"

"That's just as bad! You had the power to fix all the wrongs on Earth, and you decided to just...make your own instead? What the hell! I told you to help everyone, not yourself!"

"Val, this goes beyond you or me. I need you to hear me out-"

"No! I want to go back to Earth RIGHT NOW!" She said with a stomp, splintering the floor with cracks from the impact.

"Damnit Val, listen to me."

"I'm done listening to you! Take me back to Earth or I'll find a way to leave anyways." She said with venom, the Mad God glancing off to the side as Val stared deep into his imposing figure, her chest rising and falling as she breathed deeply in her rage. He relented, and turned from the upset girl, actually shocking her somewhat. Giving her his back, Maxwell slowly made his way out of Val's room, commanding the servants to follow his orders in his stead.

"Show her the portal. I'm done." He said firmly, casting a last glance to Val beneath his faceless helm, the young girl narrowing her eyes at him as he walked away from her. All Val could see was a vain narcissist, and her unwillingness to at least hear the poor man out may cost her dearly in the short run, but in the long term, Max would protect her regardless of if she was by his side or light years away. She missed the opportunity to see that Madworld is but a means to an end, and that end is survival. All he had to do was utter Madworld's true purpose and name, and all would be made clear.

"The Ark."

[New Neros]

Madworld
Two Worlds

At times, a wave of revolution that is founded upon enlightened ideals and the noble ambitions of it's leaders turns sour, and those ideals become warped and conformed to the new leaders, who have all but replaced the ruling elite of the previous system. An endless cycle of tyranny, revolution, and back again. Wash, rinse, repeat, ad infinitum. The same held true over the artificial planet known as Warworld, where the mighty android hero, Liberty, freed the denizens from the diabolical rule of Mongul. But Warworld needed a despot and autocrat still, and none were powerful enough to take charge of the control chair for good. Thus, an outside interloper found his way into the anarchist Warworld, and what followed was nothing short of a brutal bloodbath and political fortune, forced gambits and speed chess among rival groups until but one being stood above all as undisputed ruler of Warworld.

Czar-Mir.

A native of Daxam, which was settled by Kryptonian colonists long ago, Mir, as he was know by, was quite the powerhouse on his own accord. Empowered just like a Kryptonian would be, everyone simply assumed he was a Kryptonian, and to their shock, Kryptonite had no effect on him whatsoever. He played these power gambits and assumed command of the planet, his iron-clad will and Daxamite mind able to handle to complex functions of the Control Chair of Warworld, his Sinestro Corps Power Ring providing him with a steady supply of energy to maintain access and exert his control. But, Czar-Mir was not a brutal dictator, a cold tyrant, he was a man surrounded by ambition but without cause or concern. He never felt like he was doing good enough, so he had to keep trying, striving to be better, defeat others at all costs, never let anyone see him when he was weak.

With this in mind, a display of power was what the people of Warworld needed in order for Mir's power and ruthlessness to be entrenched in their minds. "Systems, run a scan on populated worlds in the near-by vicinity of Warworld. Within travelling distance." He ordered mentally, the complex machinations of Warworld running a visual and electromagnetic scan of the immediate cosmic neighborhood, searching for whatever poor, sentient life was to become the next victim of Warworld under the heel of Mir. A soft ping was uttered, and the results of the scan popped up on a screen before Mir's eyes.

"STELLAR LOCATION: 'TAU CETI E', SPECTRAL CLASS: METALLIC-ROCK. DISTANCE: 1.4 LY. NATIVE NAME: MADWORLD." The computer spoke, a brief smirk flashing upon Mir's face. He felt genuine sadness for the inhabitants of this desolate world, the star map painting a picture of other worlds to come under fire in due time, but this first one, Madworld, will be the first in the string of victories that Mir will forge his own stellar empire, carving through the Orion Arm of the Milky Way like a butcher.

"Right. Computer, set course for Madworld." He spoke, imagining what things he would do to this world. Enslave it? Decimate it's population? Eradicate the populace? Many options were at his disposal, and though he was not fond of the action, he had to make another world as an example to his reign. A stepping stone, a place to send would-be usurpers and force them to gaze upon the brutality that is Mir. A place where he could point out in the stars and say, "Look at that! Do you want to end up like them?", and browbeat his opposition into corners before they could regain control over Warworld. In fact, Mir was perhaps the best thing for Warworld, he would build his reputation and conquer on that alone, sparing the lives of billions of souls from the terror of that he controlled.

---

Meanwhile, On Madworld...

The Mad God watched the portal as it swirled and rippled with energy, the technology a direct copy from the transporters found on Asgard he had taken sometime ago and used for Ur, but their uses where made plenty in the Kingdom and here on Madworld. He didn't know why he looked at it's hypnotic whirlpool, Val had already left several minutes before, and it seemed like she wasn't going to come back anytime soon. He sighed, his thoughts clogged with Val's departure, but cemented by his own resolve to ensure he and others survive the End. "Yes, I know she'll come around. I can't do much else, alright? I can't force her to stay here, and I can go telling everyone about the real purpose...Yes, I know, but...Fine." He said to himself as if he was talking to another within his head, turning from the portal and walking away casually.

Unknown to him, as soon as he turned his back, the waves of the portal contorted and splashed, a sign that another soul was making passage into the realm of the Mad God. Maxwell was only alerted to the presence of another as a thunderous voice echoed behind him, causing the God-King to whip around and face whoever dared invade the throneworld of the Mad God. "Maxwell Morningstar! I come for vengeance!" It spoke, the crackling of lightning filling the air of the massive room that contained the portal.

"No..." He said quietly, shaking his head at the invader, his signature helmet all too detailed on what his identity is.

"I come to enact revenge upon the mutants you have slaughtered in your own demonized name, Mad God! I come for the retribution of the blood spilled by John Pryor on your false world, for the mutants you gave sanctuary but gave only a public execution! Their will was my own, and you have thus aligned yourself against me. Doing so also aligns against magnetism! You speak of death, and I shall show you death!" The fearsome being lauded, throwing his cape up in a wild display of power, Mad God standing his ground as he faced down this interloper, this invader of Madworld who had no business intruding upon her sovereign affairs except by arrogance, and some hints of ignorance, alone.

"So says Magneto!"

[New Neros]

Madworld
The Mad God and the Master of Magnetism

The arrival of Magneto was an unexpected turn of events, and the God King was quite unprepared for his arrival. He always imagined he'd have at least a few minutes of notice before confronting Magnus, but at this random encounter, even on Max's home field, Magneto held the edge. "You don't know what you're getting into, Magneto. John Pryor broke my laws and was punished accordingly."

"Wrong! Had he been human, you would have granted him mercy. But because he was a mutant, Pryor was executed along with fifty-four other mutants in order to set some sort of precedence, some example on your behalf, Mad God, and you have only served to bring my wrath!" Magneto said, causing many objects in the throne room to float and and move on their own with his powers. Max took note of them, but did not take his eyes away from Magneto for a second.

"They were citizens of Madworld. They renounced their partnership and connection to Earth. You are not sworn to defend them. You come here only to pick a fight, Magnus." Maxwell spat, already fairly angry at the entire incident with Val, and unwilling to roll over to Magneto, or anyone really, at this point. However, he sensed that words will get no where with Magneto, and that he really did come to start a fight between himself and the Mad God.

"What of it? I come to reclaim the lives of those lost with your blood, Morningstar. You took these mutants in and treated them like animals, only to execute them at the first sign of discontent. My sources are vast, and my knowledge of Madworld runs deep, Maxwell, and you will be forced to atone for your actions. So long as I draw breath upon this world and Earth, oppression shall not reign ever again." Magneto declared, floating closer to Max, who did not so much as flinch as the Master of Magnetism came to merely inches before the Mad God.

"Fine - but let's make it more interesting." Maxwell said, "Hand to hand combat only, no powers. Me and you. I can't absorb or use my energy, and you can't use your manipulation of electromagnetism." He said calmly, allowing Magneto to think the wager over, surely coming to the realization that Max would otherwise be able to rip the magnetic forces from Magneto's control as the fight wore on, and without their powers, he stood a much higher chance at victory. "Ordain me with that much respect, as one ruler to another." He finished, Magneto dropping to his feet before Mad Max, removing his helmet carefully, revealing his silver hair and angry expression.

"I will grant you that much respect, Morningstar, but expect no mercy. I will not hold my punches or blows, and each one will be destined for the kill. Understood?" Magneto said, dropping his cape from his shoulders to prevent it from interfering. Tossing his own helmet to the side, Maxwell dropped into his combat stance, his forearms tucked tightly against the sides of his forehead and his shoulders drooping, yet his feet firmly on the ground. Magneto entered his own fighting stance as well, immediately identifying his doctrine as Krav Maga with his opened hands, forward lean, and otherwise relaxed posture.

Max's fighting style and Magnetos were two built for similar purposes, to inflict maximum damage to the opponent, even go for the kill and seriously maim someone in the process. The Mad God fought close to Keysi, which like Krav Maga, was a bastard combination of various styles to produce an effective fighting system. However, while Krav Maga focused on extreme discipline and applied force, Keysi allowed the user to unleash devastating, emotionally charged attacks, counters, and such. Of course, both men mixed in their own techniques and abilities to fit their styles and objectives. The Mad God moved first, walking forward quickly, and feeling the intensity of a punch sliding off of the side of his forearm.

Magneto tried to strike and follow up from that attack, but found Max's elbow striking his face, and while dazed for that nanosecond, Max's used that same forward momentum and slammed his forehead into Magneto's nose. Pushing him away, Max watched as Magneto stumbled back and regained composure extremely quickly, as if he was ignoring the bloody nose and watery eyes. Max pressed onward once more, bobbing his head side to side. In a fraction of a second, Magneto delivered a devastating sidekick to Max's center mass. His only saving grace was that he dropped his head and elbows at just the right moment to take the impact. Still, the force catapulted him into a nearby wall in a firm slam.

Still holding his stance, Maxwell did not have to wait but a second or so until Magneto was upon him, raining down with devastating blows and punches. However, Max was turtled up in his defense, his head and face well-protected as well as his core region and sides. The combinations proved fruitless, so Magneto quickly went for a take down. Slapping the inner thigh of Mad Max with his foot to break his balance briefly, the Master of Magnetism grabbed the Mad God's waist and planted him firmly on the ground. The impact broke Max's defense for only a second, and that's all Magneto needed to deliver a few, firm, solid punches to Max's face and jaw until he covered up once more.

Through his arm defenses, Max watched Magneto carefully for an opening despite being pelted with punches. Finally, Magnus reared back for a heavy hitting blow and gave Max the perfect angle to rush upward, extending his arms quickly and grabbing Magneto buy the back of his head, and combined with the force of Max's upward head movement and the downward pull he forced upon Magneto's, their skulls collided with a smack, Magneto stepping back, stunned once more by the blow, Maxwell getting on his feet and resuming his position, advancing towards Magneto, whose eyes glowed with a white light. "Enough!" He screamed, unleashing a wave of magnetism over the armored body of the Mad God and slamming him even harder into the wall.

So, it was Magneto who broke the rule first. No matter, Max figured, he'd just absorb the magnetism before it - his thoughts were cut off by being lifted and forcibly slammed on the wall opposite of where he was in the blink of an eye. Magnus wiped the blood from his nose, took one look at it, and sent it flying toward Maxwell like a dozen small needles, their iron charged by his magnetism. He was raised into the air and slammed on the ground once, twice, and then a third time, each with increasing intensity, Maxwell feeling the concussion growing behind his skull as he nodded in and out of consciousness. Before he could fully pass out, though, he felt himself pinned against the palaces' wall once more, but this time, he was surrounded by hundreds of spears, swords, and any sharp object Magneto could get his hands on.

"Tell me, Morningstar, do Gods feel fear?" He said, breathing heavily, his nose still bleeding a waterfall of red fluid, pooling on the floor. "Do you wonder if those mutants felt the same fear that you feel now? Ask yourself, if you had shown mercy to them, would I grant you the same?" He pondered, grabbing a sword pointed at Max from the air, twirling it around in his palms as he stared upon the defeated God-King of Madworld. "What force in the universe can save you now?" Magneto asked further, inching the point objects toward Mad Max.

"Survival, Magneto." Max said with some labor, his chest hard to gather air as the Master of Magnetism pinned him against the wall. "Madworld is not meant to be...a project into my egotistical mind. You've felt it...felt her magnetic poles. Ten kilometers below the surface...is nothing but metal and machines all the way down to the core. Madworld is not a planet for me to rule, it is a computer designed to help us survive."

"Survive? Survive what?" Magneto asked, interested in whatever the Mad God had to say.

"The End. I've seen it for myself, Magneto, and I can show you the proof. Our Multiverse is collapsing, universes are dying one by one, and soon, we will all be irreversibly destroyed. Madworld is not a weapon, not a place to rule, no, it is a place for salvation. It is an Ark." Max spat, Magneto not lowering his guard for a moment. "I can't save everyone, Magnus, you and I both know this. John Pryor threatened to unravel all I had worked for in Madworld, his mutant heritage meant nothing to me, like his skin color, eye color, name, profession, it had nothing to do with my decision. He wanted to use Madworld, our lift raft, as a weapon." He explained, "I can't let everyone know the End is coming, either, or else there will be riots on who should be saved. It was John Pryor or millions of innocent people, and I made the correct choice." Max said firmly.

Magneto began to lower the Mad God, repealing all of his instruments of death and setting them back in their own place. "I hate to say it, Morningstar, but I believe you. I've seen the evidence for myself, but I hadn't known the full extent of others' knowledge on the subject. Nor did I know the threat John Pryor posed to your own method of survival." Magneto walked over to where his helmet rested, picking it up gently and placing it back on his head. "I'll be taking my leave...but remember the day, then, when I, a lone man, bested you, Mad God." Magneto said, opening his own wormhole and preparing to step through it.

"You are no man, Magnus." Maxwell said, limping over and grabbing his own helmet, casually placing it back on, and walking over to his throne. "You are a mutant, and one of the most powerful." He said, plopping down in his elegant chair and leaning back, resting.

"Then remember that as well." Magneto said, stepping through his portal, and closing it up as he departed. Maxwell closed his eyes and attempted to rest, hoping there would be no more surprises today, but hardly knowing what could come next.

-Corinna

Not but a few moments since Magneto left, Maxwell licking his wounds in the meantime, a familiar face made her appearance in his courtroom. He hadn't the slightest clue if she was watching and listening to the exchange with Magneto, but Mad God Max felt that he would still need to explain himself regardless of either action. "Welcome, Corinna, my teacher, to the Realm of the Mad God." He said, extending his arms out from his throne, "I am at your service and gratitude." He said, before relaxing back from the hard fought battle, "...But I need just a little bit of rest."

"Nonetheless!" He declared suddenly, "Tell me what brings you here, what you seek here in Madworld?"