Chapter Three: The Salvation of Paradise

[The Mighty Thor]

Of coarse Uatu heard every rage filled word that echoed from Victoria’s lips. For it was his charge that he be all seeing and all hearing at all times. And while The Watcher could not have predicted the Phoenix Force’s rash departure from its host, the cosmic being could certainly watch as it raced across the country side. Since leaving Victoria, it had retreated into itself in a desperate attempt at self preservation. It was still weak from the Sorcerer’s spell, and Uatu surmised that its current coarse of action was being taken to find a more willing and submissive host. It had taken the shape of a wandering firefly, scouring the planet for the life force that it had sensed earlier, yet could not pinpoint. Uatu knew that existence itself was lucky; for Loki had unwittingly hidden this would be host so well that even an entity as powerful as the Phoenix force could not find it.

The cosmic powered insect zipped along, trying in vain to find what it sought. It felt a nearby source of power and changed direction to investigate, but found it to be nothing more than two riders on winged horseback, heading toward the western horizon. Finding them altogether unsuitable for its needs, it disappeared into a copse of trees below, leaving Hogun and Yarsug talking amongst themselves. They were speaking of the disturbance they had broken up back in Landsbystyv, and agreed that Loki didn’t need to know they had failed to apprehend the culprits. Instead they turned their attention to their destination. And it was then, as Hogun’s train of thought shifted, that the Cloak, secreted away within the Asgardian’s mind, had his answer. As quickly as the dark being could, it retreated from Hogun’s mind and teleported itself back to the village.

Franki had been quiet for a while. She was busy taking the situation in, trying her best to make sense of it all. She didn’t have much experience with alternate realities, so she was basically keeping her mouth shut and her eyes open. That was until the Cloak returned and wasted no time in draping itself across her shoulders. She had learned in her short time in contact with the strange being that it did not usually act with this much haste, so its unceremonious bonding caught her off guard. But when its thoughts began streaming into her mind, she realized the reason behind its actions. And as soon as she had the details of what the Cloak was trying to impart to her straight in her own mind, she shared the information with her team, and then with Quicksilver and his fellows as well. The news was such that it put all other concerns to the side for the time being. Everyone in the camp realized that The Cloak had discovered information that could end this mission for the Watch, and set this reality back onto its proper coarse.

As it turned out, Quicksilver’s band of rebels, known as Separatists, knew just about as much concerning Kya’s whereabouts as the members of the Watch did. Pietro and the others had been searching for the girl for months. After her birth the silver haired mutant did everything he could to protect the girl, and her mother Wanda, from Asgardian law. But even the fastest man alive couldn’t outrun the gods. Eventually they caught up to him, taking his sister and her newborn baby away, and leaving Pietro for dead. If it hadn’t been for the fortuitous intervention of Stephen Strange, he would have died for sure. Ever since, Quicksilver had been helping the Separatists, all the while trying to find his sister and niece. But Loki had hidden them too well. Nothing they tried had been able to unlock the mystery, until the Watch had arrived. Cloak had gotten close enough, and was persistent enough to discover that Kya was being held in one of the Realms’ reconditioning centers in Arizona. The mystery had finally been unlocked, and the Watch had been the key.

And now, after a day of preparation, the Watch found themselves face to face with an amazing sight. Before them stood what was the very last of Earth’s super heroes. Their numbers were not many, but their roster was impressive. This was the toughest the Earth ever had to offer, which likely explained why they were still standing after all they had seen in the last fifteen years. To their left stood Pietro and a blonde woman who had been introduced as Warbird. They stood in front of a veritable army of human Separatists. Directly in front of the Watch stood three men. One of which was instantly recognizable to them all as Stephen Strange, though he was much more battle weary than any of them had ever seen him before. All of his usual magical trappings had been stripped from him and his eyes were clouded white with blindness. But his confidence seemed unaffected, which may have been a result of the two men at his side. Wolverine, of the long dead X-Men, and Captain America stood at the ready, prepared for anything. And as if that was not enough, to the team’s right stood Benjamin J. Grimm, introduced the day before as The Thing, and his two comrades, the android being known as Vision and the jade giant known simply as the Hulk. This trio was to act as back-up for the mission ahead. And oddly enough that made the impossible task ahead seem somehow attainable.

In a hurry as usual, Pietro glanced around the chamber and surveyed the troops. Everything looked as it should. Raising his voice to the gathered heroes, he said, “It’s not going to get any better than this. Lets get this war over with...” But his rallying call was cut short by the calm voice of Dr. Strange, “No, there is one yet to join us.” And with that, he opened a portal before them and from it stepped a noble looking man dressed in magenta chain-mail adorned with a blue-steel helm and a white cape. Balder the Brave’s appearance seemed to ruffle some of the heroes, Wolverine in particular, but they all held their tongues. They knew that if their plan was to work, they would need all the help they could get. And even though he realized he wasn't exactly a welcome guest here, Balder did his best to remain calm. He knew that history would likely burn him for his actions, but right was right, and this needed to be done. Turning to the Watch, Midgard’s newest recruits in its war upon the realm, Balder asked, “Arst thou prepared for the battle that thy now face?”