"Indeed, Master Order. The youth has
failed to recruit the allies we had hoped for, yet he has managed to bring at
least one other into the fight..."
"Yes. The
woman known as Carol Danvers. She could yet prove extremely valuable on the side
of life."
"Still, he will require others.
Perhaps Chronos has heard our petition, and seen the wisdom in our
request?"
Master Order gazed up at the now-tremendous form of Lord
Chaos, looming above him, dwarfing his own metaphysical manifestation. "We shall know shortly, Lord Chaos."
Lord Chaos
nodded. "For now, Master Order, we must hope it will be
enough."
Genis-Vell and Ms. Marvel soared away from the New York City headquarters of
the Fantastic Four, the sun a blazing red semicircle as it dropped to meet the
horizon behind them. Genis frowned tightly, anger and frustration seething from
him.
Ms. Marvel could sense Genis's mood, and sought to boost his
morale. "They didn't dismiss us outright," she called to him, "any more than the
Avengers did. * Mr. Fantastic did say he would use
all of his technology to scour the solar system for any signs of an attack
force... As soon as he could get to it..."
*Last
issue, of course! -- Mar-Van
Genis said nothing, merely gritting
his teeth. "I shouldn't have expected anything different. from, the Fantastic
Four or anyone else. I haven't earned their respect, their trust," he told
himself harshly. "Yet."
Suddenly Ms. Marvel jerked in mid-flight,
and called out. "Genis-- I think--"
"Yes. I know." Genis's eyes sparkled;
the small measure of cosmic awareness he'd acquired*
was finally making its presence known to him.
*Last
issue again -- Mar-Van-again
"You know?" Carol frowned at him.
"You mean-- you're AWARE?"
"That's what I'm told. Let's go!"
The
two heroes sailed downward. They landed just as the daylight vanished entirely
and darkness settled over the rural New Jersey landscape.
"Why do you
suppose we suddenly have to be here?" Genis asked.
"I've learned not to
question these things," Carol replied, glancing about nervously, on
guard.
Photons sparkled around Genis's fists as he squinted into the
darkness. "What do you--"
The night lit up with blinding fluorescent blue
light, shining down on them from directly above.
"A spaceship of some
kind!" Ms. Marvel was already airborne. "A hatch is opening! Get ready for
trouble!" Before Genis could react, the female fury had already smashed into two
bizarre alien creatures in armor descending through the light.
Genis
blinked up at the shape above. "A-- a flying saucer?"
"You got it," Carol
called out, as she slugged it out with a large, purple- clad creature wearing a
jet-pack. "You wanna help?"
Blinking, Genis soared skyward, unleashing
twin photon blasts at the other attacker. "Wait a minute! I recognize that ship
from Dad's records. It's an Artarian ship. The Kree intervened in a war between
them and the Zyrgor once. Those two races hate each other. Dad led a batallion
of the Kree forces in the decisive battle over the Zyrgor."
"I am Ch'torr of the Zyrgor. And you are Kree," the
creature Genis grappled with replied, its unsettling voice rendered intelligible
via its translator. "That will make your death all the
sweeter." The creature lashed out, seizing Genis's hands and pinning
them, even as it kicked him repeatedly with its huge, muscular
legs.
Genis reeled under the repeated blows. "Can't take much more of
this," he thought to himself. Desperately, he directed his nega-bands to
radiate energy outwards. As the sudden heat and pain struck Ch'torr, causing him
to recoil, Genis wrenched his hands free of the creature's grasp and aimed both
fists at the slimy midsection. "Well, as my dad might have said," he growled,
"SIT ON IT, CH'TORR!" The close-range photon blasts ripped through the armor.
Ch'torr's eyes--all six of them-- bugged out, and the big creature tumbled to
the roadway below, only to be drawn slowly back up through the blue tractor beam
and into the ship.
Meanwhile, Ms. Marvel darted away from her attacker
and smashed a fist into it from behind. The beast cried out and whirled, but
Carol had already moved below it and grasped it by one ankle. Spinning around,
she sent the creature flying up into the underbelly of the flying saucer, where
it impacted with a sickening crunch. "I always sort of wished I had those photon
blasts like you and your dad," she muttered, "but then again, I do pretty well
without them."
Genis smiled a half-smile. "I wouldn't argue," he
replied.
The alien warriors defeated, the saucer began to rise, seeking
to escape, but Carol darted after it and rang blow after blow upon its hull.
"Genis! The glowing part down below! But-- Carefully!"
"Gotcha!" Genis
sailed around to the backside of the saucer and let loose with a
tightly-controlled photon blast. Gouts of flame erupted where the blast struck,
and the saucer lurched sideways, then tumbled downward, levelling off just
before it reached the ground. With a crunch, it impacted the earth and slid to a
stop.
Genis beat Ms. Marvel to the saucer and ripped the hatch away. A
sickening green haze wafted out. Genis glanced back at the hovering form of
Carol nearby. "Yuck! You suppose anyone else is in there?"
"We should
check," Carol called back, darting through the hatch, her red sash fluttering in
the wind.
Genis followed her inside, holding his nose and twisting his
face at the stench.
The wounded Zyrgor had fallen against the back
of the pilot's seat, and the pilot-- wounded as well-- struggled to get free of
the crash harness. Ms. Marvel slugged the pilot across its lumpy jaw and it
sagged back into the seat. "See what you can find out from him," she said,
pointing to the Zyrgor. "I'll check the rest of the ship."
Genis studied
the pilot's features. "That's an Artari, all right," he observed. He turned to
the other creature. "What are you two doing working together? On the same
ship?"
The Zyrgor glared up at him, in obvious pain. "We... We have transcended such petty hatreds... Kree-man. The One
Who Leads has shown us the way... A better way... A better target... for our
HATE!"
Genis gripped the Zrygor's chest. "Who? WHO are you TALKING
ABOUT?"
"Your... Enemy... And-- the
Earth's..." With a gasp, the creature collapsed limply to the
floor.
Genis stared at him, eyes sparkling.
"What happened?"
Carol called back, from where she searched in the rear of the
ship.
"Blast it! He killed himself-- poison." Genis slammed a fist
against the bulkhead. ""I sensed it too late! I'm still not used to the
awareness..." Suddenly jerking upright, he jumped over the seat and checked the
pilot. "Dead too. Great. I'm batting a thousand here."
"Genis! I have
something alive back here!"
Racing down the narrow access tube, he found
Ms. Marvel in a large cabin, ripping away the locking mechanism from a human-
sized capsule attached to one wall. "Someone's in here," she told him as she
strained to open the capsule's front cover.
"Any idea who? Or if we
really want to set them free?"
Before Ms. Marvel could answer, two green
hands appeared over the edge of the capsule and grasped the metal, pulling
upwards. Slowly a face appeared; it was green, like the hands, with a purple
material covering the top and back of the head. The figure emerged fully, and
both Carol and Genis gasped.
"Drax the Destroyer!"
The figure
stared at both of them, silent. He wore purple over green skin, and a vast
purple cape trailed from his shoulders. Massive golden bands circled his
wrists.
"You-- you used to be bigger, didn't you?" Genis moved closer;
the Destroyer didn't seem to fully realize that he and Carol were even
there.
"Yeah-- last I saw of him, he was as big as the Hulk," Carol
stated. "And had very little in the way of intelligence."
"I do not believe that is the case any longer," Drax
whispered hoarsely.
Mouths hanging open, Genis and Carol gasped yet
again.
Hercules stopped himself in mid-gulp, and slowly set the large mug of beer
back down on the bar. He stared straight ahead, unblinking, unmoving, for a long
moment.
"Hey, Herky, what's wrong?"
The big Greek god slowly came
back to his senses, and shook his head to clear it.
"Herk? You
okay?"
"Wha-? Ah, yes, Amber. I am... fine..."
The scantily-clad
woman frowned at him, tossing her long, red hair back over her shoulder.
"Okay... But you really seemed to be gone there for a minute."
"Gone?
Er..." Hercules blinked, considering the girl's words. "Yes, there was
something, but..." He stroked his beard. "I cannot seem to recall..." Then he
shrugged and grinned wide. "Ah, no matter. Tonight is not for such concerns.
Tonight is for revelry, eh, Tawny?"
The blonde on his other arm giggled
and nodded happily. "Sure, Herky!"
Lifting his mug again, Hercules
beamed. "Verily!"
"All goes according to plan, sire," the Kree officer reported. "My fleet has
taken up position just beyond Neptune. The Skrull and Badoon fleets are
positioned just across the solar system."
"Excellent. Thank you, Admiral
Mek-Kwade."
The Kree officer saluted and stepped down from the dais.
Before rounding the corner, he glanced back momentarily at the figure who stood
in the center of the flagship's bridge. A feeling of devotion, of awe, washed
over him. How much better, he thought to himself, to follow this great leader,
than the weak and spineless Kree political leaders who had only brought his
people to grief. How much better to work WITH their old foes, the Skrulls, and
so many others, than to struggle in futile wars against them? And soon, with the
TRUE enemies of the universe eliminated, the rest of the Kree and Skrull
populations, and the Shi'ar and all the others, would fall into their camp. They
would rule the universe! And the Terrans would be dead at last-- all of
them.
But the leader was speaking now, and Admiral Mek-Kwade strained to
hear his words before the turbolift doors slid closed:
"Titan shall be
the first to fall," he cried.
The others on the bridge roared in
approval.
"Then-- Onward! To Earth! To VICTORY!"
NEXT
ISSUE: TITAN!!!
POSTMARKED: PAMA
Here we are with the second big issue of
CAPTAIN MARVEL, and already the mail's started arriving from the first issue. So
without further ado, take it away, Sina Jax!
Hi! I just read Captain
Marvel # 63 and I have to say it's off to a good start...I own almost all 62
issues of the original Mar-Vell run and I bought the first issue of the Genis's
series but detested it. I AM glad that you decided to leave Mar-Vell dead, but I
have my doubts that Genis can carry a series on his own, though your giving him
the Cosmic Awareness and a new sense of responsiblity will help. I assume Quasar
will pop up at some point to discuss who's Protector of the Universe and
whatnot? Ms. Marvel has long been a favorite of mine and I find her blue
bodysuit costume one of the sexiest I've ever seen (I'm a sucker for thigh high
boots!). As a matter of fact, I'd be more excited over this series if it was
simply Ms. Marvel, sans Genis. Oh well....maybe I'll get involved in this fan
fiction someday and make that a reality, who knows? I've written several stories
with the divine Ms. M of my own, set in an all-new West Coast Avengers
continuity. Let's see her relationship with Michael Rossi explored at some point
and don't forget her SHIELD connections (besides Rossi I mean). As for
villains : Thanos (of course), Deathbird, Super-Skrull, and Korvac.
Keep
up the great work!
Barry Reese
Thanks, Barry-- rest assured, your harried Armadillos here at MV1 plan to do
just that!
We know what you mean about the first issue of Genis's own
mag, but that's just the point-- we aim to prove here that Genis can be a
good character-- heck, a great character-- if just given a chance. Only you the
reader can decide if that's ultimately the case, though.
As for Thanos,
look for him down the road aways.... You know you can't have Captain Marvel
without Thanos popping up at some point! But not in the immediate future.
Quasar--well, we'll just have to see, I suppose!
