Previously in our last issue, in case you're just joining us...

The Legion of Galactic Guardians bring their ship around and target Cloud. "This doesn't look good," Phoenetix warns her teammates. "They're already widening their radius of effect. We need to act now before..."

Nucleus cuts her off. "Don't talk, just get us in there. Our whole timeline depends on it!"

**********

Spider-Boy presses his face against the view screen, observing the battle taking place outside the spaceship. The Legion of Galactic Guardians, the version he remembers seeing before the world of 2099 was turned inside-out by his multiple time-leaps, is engaged in combat with the Omega Guard of the Shi'Karren Empire. Although he's never met the Guard other than a few one-on-one team ups, their reputation among those who know is that they are the most powerful collection of individuals in the galaxy; divine beings not-withstanding.

"They're slaughtering each other out there. Over us." Pete Ross says. Despite his cavalier demeanor about the whole super-hero gig, the Arach-Kid takes these things very seriously. His larger-than-life attitude is mostly show, intended to draw attention to himself-- and away from the innocents who might otherwise be in danger. To watch this kind of conflict, where people, good people, could potentially die for no cause other than a misunderstanding, greatly diminishes his capacity for flippancy.

Sparrow is also deep in thought, although her concentration is focused more on the logistics of their current situation. Her programming skills are of little use on this rocket from the future, preventing her from utilizing any database that may be on board. "No matter what the outcome is out there, the Earth is still doomed if we can't get there in time to stop the invasion."

Kitty Sandsmark a.k.a. Wonder Cat, is shocked at what she perceives as indifference from her teammates. "Need I remind both of you that Cloud is still out there, fighting some space-god from beyond time? Let's bring this tub around and save her!" Arrowcaster, Wonder Cat, and Cloud are the newbies on the team, and as such she believes they have to look out for each other.

Mary Jane Watson, wielding the powers of Insect Queen, also feels like an outsider on the team, but for her it is because of her intimate relationship with one of the other members. She and Spider-Boy were very much in love at one point, even engaged to be married. But a New York crime boss known as the White Whale learned that Spidey's legal status as a clone was questionable at best, and leaked to the press that his real age was only ten years old. With the paparazzi hounding their every move, and all Rex Leech's sponsors pulling out of the wedding, the couple didn't stand a chance at a normal life. Mary Jane accepted the loss with wounded dignity, but was heart-broken when her fiancé took Leech's suggestion and ran away from his problems by vacationing in Hawaii.

Since then they've been nothing but cold towards each other, although she knows he still has feelings... just as she does. Right now she can tell how Peter is trying to carry the weight of the entire team, and that of the battle raging around them, on his own back. She can't bring herself to comfort him even now, but she does try to console Kitty. "I know it all looks insane," she admits, "but this isn't the kind of thing we can just rush into. Even with Hour Father's help we wouldn't stand a chance if any of the combatants turned their attention on us. Let us try to figure out the ship, find a way to make a difference without getting us all killed.

Snapper Jones looks up from his hover-chair to Bouncing Ball. "What do you think, Chuck?"

"I just wish Mercury was here with us."

Jones suddenly feels pangs of worry and regret. "Aw man, I nearly forgot we lost Pietro in the time stream. I guess you feel a sense of camaraderie with him as a fellow time traveler?"

"No, I just always feel smarter when he's around. His attention span is like, five seconds long."

"Well, that's because he completes everything he does within five min--".  

Jubilation Lee perks up. "I recognize that dramatic pause, Snapper's got an idea!"

"Spider-Boy!" he calls out, waking the teen from his reverie, "didn't you say the Legion of Galactic Guardians uses a time square? There must be one onboard this ship somewhere!"

Arrowcaster starts to run off in search of the device, but decides to let the others take care of that. "I think Red Vision and I should... where is he? Anyone seen the Red Vision lately?" 

**********

The Red Vision is not alive. It cannot feel the incredibly cold void of space. It cannot feel concern for the young heroes that it is in the company of. It cannot fear for the safety of Cloud as she fights for her life against the Anti-Magus with a power that could level solar systems. It cannot experience self-doubt in its own ability to save the girl, rescue the rest of the Young Justice League Avengers-Next, and prevent the destruction of planet Earth at the hands of an alien armada.

No matter how many times he repeats this mantra, the Red Vision remains overwhelmed with emotion for his charges. He only met the lot of them hours earlier, when his android body was reactivated in the basement of the Mansion of Justice. Yet his responsibility for them is unquestionable. As a member of the Judgment League Avengers he is sworn to put others over himself. And if that means flying intangibly through space to attack Black Atom, so be it.

Unfortunately for him intangible does not mean invisible. His journey is monitored by the Imperial Suicide Squadron. "Commander Boomerang!" screams out the navigator, Astronomy. "One of the Earthers is breaking ranks and converging on the energy source!"

Commander Boomerang considers his next statement carefully. A'manda Deathbird placed him in control of the bridge while she consults Eric the Red Cyborg and Big Shot on the best way to exploit the situation. If he disturbs her with this development it will reflect poorly on his ability to lead. But if he acts without informing her of the situation it could sit even worse for him. He decides to let his own bravado make the decision. His mouth opens and out comes, "Track its progress and remain cloaked. Ensure we get there before it does and prepare to destroy it once it does." He sits back in the command chair and relaxes, satisfied once again that his mouth is smarter than his brain.

Astronomy knows that the Omega Guard has the means to detect the Squadron's cloaking methods: she has to count on them being distracted in combat to pass by their location. Confident that she has maneuvered out of range, she is thrown into panic once again. "There's another ship approaching! It matches the hostiles' craft almost identically!"

This time Boomerang isn't taking any chances. He turns to Mentoplex with a look that says 'advise me!' The science officer does just that. "Lock a tractor beam on them and keep them immobilized. Then get a fix on Black Atom and try to transport him aboard. Deal with the Earthling after Atom has been secured."

Buster and Privatron dutifully follow orders, initializing the tractor beam and enabling the transporter's guidance system. Tempest Lord ignores the commands and targets the Red Vision with a neutron torpedo. "This one will be easy!"

"Hold your fire, you insolent scum!" Eric the Red Cyborg speaks out against the weapons officer. "You launch anything and we give away our location! I want to run this mission without having to deal with Omega."

A contemptuous frown creases Tempest Lord's scarred face. "I don't take orders from Mentoplex and I don't take orders from you. Until I hear otherwise from Deathbird, my instructions are to shoot all bogies!"

A'manda Deathbird storms onto the bridge following Eric. "Stand down, Tempest Lord. NOW! You do not question any officer I place in charge!"

Grudgingly Tempest Lord deactivates the targeting system. "As you wish. Shall I twiddle my thumbs now, or would my talents be better utilized counting the tiles in the deck?"

"Get off my bridge!" she shouts at him. "If boredom is your enemy, I'm sure some time in the combat room will take care of that. Big Shot will ensure you get an adequate workout!" Minor mutinies and skirmishes break out all the time as the various mercenary personalities clash. But she has to show the entire crew that she hasn't lost control of anything, especially with a possible battle looming at them.

Big Shot smacks Tempest Lord in the back of the head with a large hand-held missile launcher and drags the weapons specialist off the bridge.

"Now that this bit of unpleasantness is out of the way, perhaps you'd better fill me in," A'manda says with a glare that sends shivers down Commander Boomerang's spine. "What of this other ship? If it holds a force as large as the first, we could be in for a fight."

"If we scan them we'll be detectable. Do you want to take that chance?" Killer Flame is more than ready for conflict, but she's learned that Deathbird rarely approves giving away an advantage.

Deathbird considers this only briefly. Even though it could jeopardize their mission, the crew is in need of a good fight, something to keep them from turning on each other. As the case of Tempest Lord clearly proved. "Do it. I want a full tactical report detailing weapon systems and defensive measures they may be capable of. If it comes to a battle I want us to be ready."

**********

Nova Primus, Praetor of the Omega Guard, has been friend to such Earthlings as Adam MacHudson, Crime-Smasher, and the members of JLX. He has difficulty reconciling himself with this attack against them. The Omega Guard was summoned when Gladiauron was transformed into his star-god persona, and immediate action was taken when it appeared the humans had destroyed him. Now Gladiauron was back, and no longer suffused with xanthic energy. So what purpose is there to continue fighting?

He uses his Ranndarian battle-suit to throw a high-intensity force field up around both himself and his opponent, Universe Boy. Suddenly finding himself with no attack to counter, Jonah Samuel is unable to summon the Uncle Universe power in his own defense. He hopes the Omegan is unaware of this condition. "What gives? This better not be a trick!"

"No trick. We need to stop the fighting. I know my people, and once they get the taste for battle, there is little that can be done to stop them. I thought that together we might..."

Nova Primus stops, aware that the young human before him has suddenly transformed. His costume goes from white on a black star field with green pants to blue and green with white pants. His hood also disappears, along with the flight discs attached to his boots. Universe Boy seems oblivious to the change-- indeed, he is oblivious to the entire scenario. "My Uni-Power reveals a hidden ship about to attack the Guardians!" He says, as if he was not already in battle. "Those are my friends out there!"

With that Universe Boy speeds off into space, to aid the newly arrived rocket-ship. Which leaves Nova Primus with no sparring partner, and no plan for stopping the others from fighting.

**********

As Cloud continues to throw everything she has at Black Atom, she furthers her own transformation, from a metahuman girl into a living star. Black Atom senses this, but can find no way to finish her off quickly without triggering a supernova that even he could not survive. His link to the quantum field is stronger than ever before, due to his usurping the Chronoulog from that miscreant robot, which serves to make him more sensitive to changes in the time-stream around him.

"Cease your attack, woman! The warp we went through is tearing the space-time continuum apart! It must be closed!!"

"What do you care? I thought you could escape through Cold Space, or whatever you called it!" With her own cosmic awareness blossoming, Cloud senses there may be truth to what he says. But even if stops to close the worm-hole, what's to prevent the Anti-Magus from taking advantage of the lapse to destroy her?

"The Hyper-Cross-Time streams are coming together through a rift left by the Zoom Tube, amalgamating within! If it continues time will fold in on itself, destroying all existence!" Black Atom possesses the knowledge of his former self, War-Lok the Monitor, and remembers the Secret Crisis of the Infinity Hour. With the reconstruction of the Infinity Loop, the universe was spared such a tragedy once, but he fears the fledgling Loop could not survive a chronal collapse such as he senses is occurring right now. "I yield to you!! Close the warp before all is undone!"

A single stellar burst neutralizes her foe, leading Cloud to suspect the seriousness of his concerns. This quick decisive victory also has an effect on the crew of the Wall, A'manda Deathbird's space-bound fortress. Efforts are made to seize the body of Black Atom and teleport him on board their ship.

This quick decisive victory also has an effect on the crew of the USS Super-Soldier II, the mobile headquarters of the Legion of Galactic Guardians. Efforts are made to seize the body of Black Atom and teleport him on board their ship.

When the body disappears, both crews suspect the other of reaching it first. Even Cloud is confused, unable to determine the Anti-Magus' fate. One thing is certain though, neither ship is getting away without a fight. Two separate hangar bays open and a total of thirty-seven costumed characters spills into the gravity well Cloud has generated. [You all knew this was coming, right?] Major Valor tests his might against the murderous Big Shot, Psi-Girl demonstrates her mental disciplines on the psychic dominatrix Lashybil, Lectron charges his negative counterpart Privatron, Martinex 5 debates scores of possible outcomes of the battle with the equally verbose Mentoplex, the Living Colossus determines whether or not size really matters against the considerably smaller yet just as strong Buster, Ladybug is pitted against a considerably larger foe (almost half as tall as a human) in the fowl villainy of Pigeon, Phantom Cat battles the ethereal science of Astronomy, Vance Cosmic uses magnetism to keep Tempest Lord at bay, Chameleon camouflages himself from the morphing vampire the White Goblin, Phoenetix' awesome telekinetics are matched by the cosmic flame granted to Foxfire by Galactiac, Universe Boy arrives just in time to try to overwhelm the power-mad Eric the Red Cyborg before he destroys the ship, Darkstar and Night Orchid each fight darkness with darkness, Nucleus and Nuclear Force subject each other to a barrage of transmuting attacks, Myriad multiplies her selves to contain the biosynthetic Mob, Sparkler throws her pyrotechnic bursts at Killer Flame, American Girl takes on the ringleader-- A'manda Deathbird, Spider-Boy 2099 counters Commander Boomerang's throwback weaponry with his web-shooters, and even Quidget enters the fray when his efforts to teleport the wounded back to the ship are hampered by the malicious medical drone Skeetorski (special award to anyone who can decode all the Imperial Suicide Squadron amalgamations, see below for details!).

**********

Red Vision witnesses all this, but is too slow in the void of space to reach the combat zone any time soon. He wishes there were a way to contact Cloud from a distance.

A transmission come through on an FM radio frequency, hailing the Red Vision as 'Earth-born android' (interesting oxymoron). He broadcasts a reply, discovering it is coming from Nova Primus' headgear.

As the Ranndarian catches up with Red Vision, he asks if he has any suggestions for breaking up the battle. The Red Vision points out that a second skirmish has broken out; this one involving the Anti-Magus and Cloud, who has become a glowing mass of swirling gasses and cosmic particles. With that in mind, his attentions must be focused on his young charge.

Nova Primus regards the android as he would any sentient life form, with respect. "I understand your concerns. Perhaps our goals are not exclusive though. The Omega Guard would be eager to repel the pirate Deathbird and her Suicide Squad, if only we could alert them to the danger. Hold up," he suddenly calls out, detecting some distant glimmer just out of his range of perception, Is that another Earth rocket?"

Oh yeah, you better believe this one's to be continued!

**********

Haven't done one of these in a while, but this story requires one. The Imperial Suicide Squadron (or just Squad) has appeared a few times, they were first mentioned in JLX I believe. I used them in the first Alpha Guard story arc. But this is the first time the entire roster has appeared together. That's where you come in. Identify all 19 amalgams on the team, based on the descriptions in this issue. Here's a gimmee: Buster was called Smasher in Alpha Guard #2. It might help to keep in mind that most (but not all) members are taken from either the Suicide Squad, Shi'ar Imperial Guard, or both. Niles Cable created two of them, and one (A'manda Deathbird) is from the comics. The first correct list of all 19 (and I do mean correct) will be rewarded with a cool prize. I'm not talkin' No-Baldies this time. I have a complete 90 card set of the Fleer-Skybox 1996 Amalgam trading cards waiting for the winner. And if you already have them, don't want them, or just don't feel comfortable with the idea of giving your mailing address to someone called 'Crazy Ivan', that's cool. We can work out something else. If no one gets them all right I'll defer to the closest response I get to naming them all. This is just my way of trying to make up for the extreme lateness associated with the whole Hundred Years War crossover, particularly regarding my own responsibilities. I'm working extra hard on wrapping up everything by the end of the year. YJLA-Next: The Hundred Years War #5 is already finished, but I'm gonna hold off a week to post it so I can list the winner in the next AMALGAMNATION.

And one last word on the subject: Send your entries to [email protected], do not post them on the BBoard or any message boards. I can only accept replies that show up in my mailbox.

Thanks for sticking around through all this, and be sure to Always Ask About Amalgam!

**********

Amalgamations:

Young Justice League Avengers - Next [Young Justice / Avengers - Next] -- Created by Omegabeast
Spider-Boy [Superboy / Spider-Man]
Sparrow [Robin III / Jubilee]
Mercury [Impulse / Quicksilver]
Snapper Jones [Snapper Carr / Rick Jones]
Wonder Cat [Wondergirl II / Shadowcat]
Bouncing Ball [Bouncing Boy / Speedball]
Insect Queen [Insect Queen / Mary Jane Watson]
Red Vision [Red Tornado / Vision]
Arrowcaster II [Arrowette / Nightcaster] -- Created by Crazy Ivan
Stardust [Secret / Cloud] -- Created by Crazy Ivan

Time-Square [Time Sphere / Time Cube]

Judgment Legion Avengers [Justice Legion: A / Galactic Avengers] -- Created by Crazy Ivan
Universe Boy [Ultra Boy / Captain Universe]
Hour-Father [Hour-Man / Father Time] -- Created by Mikel Midnight
Chronoulog [Worlogog / Chronopolous] -- Created by Crazy Ivan

Black Atom the Anti-Magus, War-Lok the Monitor, Captain Adam the Warlock [(here goes..) The Anti-Monitor, Black Adam, Captain Atom, the Monitor / Adam Warlock, Captain Mar-Vell, Magus] -- Created by Crazy Ivan

Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099 II [Legion of Super-Heroes (post-boot) / Guardians of the Galaxy]
American Girl 2099 [Supergirl / American Dreamer] -- Created by Crazy Ivan
Chameleon [Chameleon Boy / Chameleon]
Darkstar [Umbra / Darkstar]
Gatecrawler [Gates / Nightcrawler] -- Created by Jeremy B.
Invisible Girl [Invisible Kid / Invisible Girl]
Lady Bug [Shrinking Violet / Wasp]
Lectron [Live Wire II / Electro]
Living Colossus [Leviathan II / It, the Living Colossus]
Major Valor [Valor / Major Victory] -- Created by Crazy Ivan
Martinex 5 [Brainiac 5 / Martinex]
Mass [Star Boy / MassMaster]
Myriad [Triad / Madrox]
Nucleus [Element Lad / Molecule Man]
Phantom Cat [Phantom Girl / Shadowcat]
Phoenetix [Kinetic / Phoenix]
Princess Mirage [Projectra] -- Created by Bobby C.
Psi Girl [Saturngirl / Psilocke]
Quidget [Quizlet / Widget] -- Created by ? (Please write me if you know)
Sparkler [Lightning Lass / Dazzler]
Spider-Boy 2099 [Superboy (pre-Crisis) / Spider-Man 2099]
Universe Boy [Ultra Boy / Captain Universe]
Vance Cosmic [Cosmic Boy / Vance Astro]
Xcel [XS / Quicksilver]

Galactiac [Brainiac / Galactus]
Oa the Living Planet [Oa / Ego the Living Planet]

Hyper-Cross-Time [Hypertime / Cross-Time] -- Created by Crazy Ivan

Nightforce [Night Force / Darkforce] -- Created by Crazy Ivan

Omega Guard [Omega-Men / Shi'ar Imperial Guard]
Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099 I [Legion of Super-Heroes (post-boot) / Guardians of the Galaxy]
(I covered both these teams last ish. Please don't make me do it again here!)

Imperial Suicide Squadron [Suicide Squad / Shi'ar Imperial Guard] -- See above for notes on membership.

All character owned by Amalgam Comics (property of Marvel & DC Comics) except as noted above. This fan fiction is created for non-profit, entertainment purposes, and is an original intellectual property of Crazy Ivan.

---

Ron Schablotski <[email protected]>

The Amalgam Crisis Center

There Came A Time When The Old Gods... Changed!

-- THORION AND THE NEW ASGODS #1

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