AVENGERS 2000 PRESENTS

a Barry Reese production

WARRIORS

# 7

"Two Months"
An ARMAGEDDON Crossover Event

"The Stark Invasion, as you will all recall, was one of the most brutal things to ever happen on our world... But I think that soon history will show that it was a turning point for all of us. We, as a people, proved that we're a tough and stubborn lot... mankind will never give up, and will never surrender...If this planet is ever threatened again by external forces - by other worlds, from other dimensions, or other time periods - Earth will be defended... Any act of aggression against Earth will be considered an act of war - and we will be the first to wage war back." -- Namorita, Warriors # 1.

What Has Come Before: Nova, Doorman and Atlas have been summoned to Xandar, home of the Nova Corps, in hopes of defending the alien empire from the terrible threat dubbed Armageddon. Meanwhile, the rest of the Warriors regroup in Seattle, unaware that a deadly threat is looming under the ocean waves....

Atlantis

Prince Namor knelt in the mud, his eyes narrowing as he ran strong fingers through the murky soil. "You are positive?" he asked gruffly, though he knew the answer even before it was spoken.

Girken, one of Namor's most trusted guards, held firmly onto his preferred weapon -- a razor-sharp trident -- and nodded gravely. "We have already analyzed the remains. There is no doubt. That was once an Atlantean."

Namor turned his palm upwards, staring at the brownish-gray muck that had become settled into the soil. Trying to picture a living, breathing member of his people was almost impossible. He stood up, his dark blue attire clinging to his well-muscled body. "I will contact our allies on the surface world. If any of them has any idea about what could do this to someone... we'll know soon enough. In the meantime, instruct everyone that there is a curfew in effect."

Girken swam away, leaving the monarch of Atlantis to stew in his own dark thoughts. He was unaware of the eyes that were observing him from a short distance away. The Dire Wraith drew back behind a rocky outcropping, a sense of dark amusement playing in its heart. For a moment it contemplated attacking Namor. With luck, he would overpower the hero and be able to claim his memories -- and his form -- for his own purposes. Best be cautious, the Dire Wraith thought to itself. The Queen will be awakened soon enough... and then this underwater realm will be ours!

Xandar

"Wow... so all these guys have your same powers?" Atlas asked, following his teammate Nova through a crowd of men, women and alien whatevers, most of whom wore variations on Nova's uniform. Doorman was silently moving in their wake, still melancholy after learning that his plans to revive his dead friends were doomed to failure*.

(*As learned in our last two issues!)

"We're all part of the same police force," Rich explained. "I kind of lucked into it but most of these guys were picked as the best of the best."

"You've earned your right to be here, I bet," Atlas replied, drawing a grin of appreciation from Nova. "I'm serious, man. You've been around for years... even when I was a villain, everybody knew you were on tough cookie."

"Really?" Nova asked, looking over at Erik with a shocked expression visible beneath his helmet. "I always thought everybody thought of me as a goofy kid."

"Nah, that was Speedball," Atlas deadpanned. He reached out to squeeze Nova's shoulder. "Sorry, man, I didn't mean to diss your friend," he said, suddenly well aware that Speedball had been amongst those New Warriors who had died in the Stark Invasion.

"No worries, man." Nova noticed that Adora was taking her place behind a large podium, her image projected to a far greater size by a holographic field. The great hall in which the assembled Nova Corps stood fell silent and Rich had to admit that he liked the feeling that was coming over him. Becoming Nova had transformed him from an ordinary guy into something special... he was part of something that was far greater than he alone. Heck, he was part of two such things: the Warriors and the Corps. "She's gorgeous, isn't she?" he whispered to Atlas.

"Better not let Nita hear you," DeMarr warned. Doorman shook his head. "We should have brought the whole team. This Armageddon thing is huge."

Before Nova could reply, Adora's voice rang out through the auditorium. "Thank you... all of you... for being here today. The people of Xandar are no strangers to adversity. Indeed, our entire civilization has been destroyed in the past... we stand here today only through the cloning technology of our scientists."

Too bad we hadn't put ourselves into the Xandarian DNA database, Rich mused. If we had, Dwayne and the others could have been grown again -- just like Adora was.

"But the threat we face today," Adora warned, her voice beginning to rise in tone. "Is like no other. In the heart of the Shi'ar Empire, entire stars and planets are blinking out of existence. On the Kree homeworld of Hala, an invasion force calling themselves the Gestalt are waging horrible war. And now a splinter group of these same Gestalt soldiers is coming here, in a fleet that dwarfs even that of our proud defense corps. And so we have called upon our greatest warriors... the Novas. We need you to stand with us in our time of peril. We need--"

"What we don't need are empty promises from a government that has proven itself ineffectual again and again!"

All heads turned in shock to see a Nova Centurion striding towards the stage. He was humanoid in appearance, though his skin was a brownish-red in color and long tendrils of hair snaked out from the bottom of his helmet. Adora seemed taken aback and made no move to stop the Centurion as he stepped up to the podium, actually pushing the Empress aside. At this act of defiance, several members of the Corps started to jump to Adora's defense, but the Empress stopped them with a wave of her hand. "Let him speak," she commanded. Her expression had become grave once again and Rich could see rising anger in her eyes. "I would like to know why Rexus Pao thinks he has attained the right to address me in such a manner."

Pao nodded curtly at her before turning back to the assembled Corps. Though he spoke to the group as a whole, Rich had the uncanny feeling that Pao was somehow directing his words to him alone. "Adora is right... Xandar has faced many dire threats before. And in every case, we have survived because of one thing and one thing only: the Worldmind, the tremendous computer that controls all aspects of Xandarian life. During the past two years I have been assigned the task of protecting the Worldmind and during that time I have discovered that the living computer is controlling our leaders like puppets on string!"

A burst of angry murmurings sprang up and Doorman glanced over at Nova. "Should I open up a door and grab hold of that guy?"

Nova stared at Adora's face, noting the way her lower lip trembled. "No. Let him talk."

At the podium, Pao was continuing his rant, his eyes now boring into those of Richard Rider. "The Worldmind has set genetic markers in each of those he's recreated... markers which can be used to control them if need be. Adora and the rest are nothing more than lab rats to the computer! What's worse, it knows we are going to die today -- in fact, it is planning to abandon us so that it may live!" Pao pointed an accusing finger at Rich. "And the human shall be the vessel by which the Worldmind succeeds!"

Nova bristled at the man's words but forced himself to keep calm. "Care to elaborate?" he asked, aware that his teammates were bracing themselves for a fight.

"The Worldmind insisted you be here today... he commanded Adora to make sure you would be." Pao put a sneer on his face. "He's already begun downloading his entire library into your brain. He's going to abandon us to die at the hands of the Gestalt!"

"Blue blazes," Rich muttered. "You're crazy."

"Am I?" Pao challenged, leaping from the stage and landing near Rich. "Because it looks to me like it's already reached a critical state."

"Whoa," Atlas muttered, stepping back from Nova.

Rich noticed the movement and turned in his direction. "What's wrong--" he managed to ask, just seconds before his entire body began to crackle with energy. Information flooded past his mind's eye, overwhelming him. He staggered away from the crowd of Centurions, many of whom were watching him in shock and dismay. The Human Rocket felt like he was going to explode, that his body couldn't possibly handle the sudden influx of knowledge. With a cry of pure agony, he shot upwards into the air, smashing through the roof of the Xandarian palace.

On and on he flew, until the Gestalt fleet loomed before him. Nova hovered in the void of space, his helmet and uniform sealing him up protectively. Their formation is similar to that used by the Kree, a voice murmured inside his head. I recommend discharging a full-scale Nova blast before considering our next option.

"Who the hell--?" Rich muttered, not even caring that the Gestalt fleet was beginning to take notice of him.

I am the Worldmind central computer. My matrix has been downloaded successfully into your brain via the cybernetic link in the helmet.

"Waitaminute... so you're telling me that Rexus Pao was telling the truth?!"

To an extent. May we discuss this after you have dealt with the Gestalt?

"I need to go back," Nova said, his eyes tracking the movements of several fight craft zeroing in on his position. "No way can I handle this alone."

Nonsense. You have the full power of the Nova Corps at your disposal.

A missile shot out from the nose of a lead vessel, streaking past Nova towards Xandar. "Full power...." Nova whispered, looking down at his hands, which were glowing. "Ohmigod. You took all their powers away and gave them to me, didn't you? Why?"

Pao was incorrect that I plan to abandon the Xandarians. But my calculations indicate that you alone are capable of housing the full power of the Corps. You alone are capable of achieving what needs to be done.

Nova frowned, rocketing after the missile. He let loose with a blast of explosive power that detonated the deadly device, creating a shock wave that radiated out in all directions. Nova grunted as the force went past him but he was surprised at how little it hurt. Turning back to face the Gestalt, he asked "Care to explain things? Fully?"

As the Human Rocket began playing with his newfound power, flying straight through some of the smaller vessels while blasting the larger, the Worldmind did the computer equivalent of a sigh. The Xandarians are nearing the end of their current lifespans. The repeated cloning procedures have weakened their ability to survive. There is no hope of reviving them again. In order to defend against the coming return of the Sphinx, the Worldmind must be protected. You are the only one who can house my full library. Humans are imbued with a force that makes you remarkably capable of storing cosmic energy.

"The Sphinx..." Rich whispered, a smile beginning to form on his face. He couldn't help it -- having so much power at his disposal was intoxicating. "He'd better watch out," he laughed. "Cause this Nova isn't the same one he's fought before! Whoo-Hoo!"

It will be some time before he returns, the Worldmind replied, before falling into a silence as its host began to carve up an invasion fleet of tremendous power. When it finally spoke again, Nova had decimated most of the enemy. Initiating cocoon process to allow for full integration.

Rich paused amidst the wreckage of the fleet, feeling suddenly very drowsy. "Now... whattttt.....?"

Two Months Later

"Ow," Richard Rider said, sitting up and cradling his head in his hands. His helmet lay beside him on alien soil. From the looks of things, he was on a colony world of the Shi'ar. "I feel like I just went ten rounds with Thanos."

You were sleeping. The transfer is now complete.

"You're talking to me without my helmet being on!"

I had to fully bond with you, Richard.

"How long did it take?" he asked, standing up and stretching his tired muscles.

Two months.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

This is my last issue of Warriors. While I approached the project with a lot of enthusiasm, I've become a bit burned out on the concepts involved. The lineup was a little unwieldy to me in the beginning and my best attempts to trim it down without jettisoning the past. A few plots are left dangling, I'm afraid but hopefully they won't prove too daunting to the next writer. The whole Nova-wakes-up-two-months-later thing allows the next creative team to either pick up from there and skip the Dire Wraith plot (explaining it in flashbacks) or filling in the gap before Nova returns.

Not my best work, I know -- but this issue was mainly meant to clear the way for others. If I had stayed, the Nova subplot would have gone on for several issues, culminating in the return of the Sphinx in issue 12.

Thanks for reading.

Barry