The Story
Chapter 31
"A Leo, A Sagittarius, A Capricorn, and Ares!"
"Behold," Ares boomed. "My collection." With a wave of his hand, Ares summoned a large battleaxe and a satiny girdle into view. Both hung magically in mid-air. "My own magic axe," he continued by way of explanation, "Bloodstorm. And Cestus, my sister Venus' magic girdle. Long have I wanted to expand this collection by capturing Danneskjold, Thor's Belt of Strength. Now, little one, you have given me that chance." Joe turned away from Ares to face Charles.
"Did he just call me 'little one?'" Joe whispered.
"Uh... yeah." Charles replied.
"Just checking," said Joe. He turned back to Ares, and launched a Wonder-blast at the war-god's face. Ares screamed in rage, and the floor of Project: Pegasus exploded into chaos. A.I.M. troopers blasted ogres, who swung giant swords at P: P guards. Simultaneously, Joe and Charles had the same idea. The two leapt to their feet, and reached out for Ares' battleaxe. As their hands met the artifacts, their wrists met one another. The Nega-Bands let out a resonant CLANG!
Rick Jones' fist curled around something sheer and silky. He was no longer in the middle of his battle alongside the Avengers. No, this was somewhere else. A different sort of battle. Rick's thoughts were interrupted by the loud clatter of a battleaxe striking the metal ground. Rick dropped the girdle as Ares hoisted his battleaxe. Suddenly, Ares was knocked aside by an athletically built man, who pulsed with blue energy. Rick tried to back up, but fell over. His feet, he realized, were tangled in the girdle. Rick pulled himself backwards along the floor, trying to find a safe spot in the midst of all the chaos. Instead, Rick ran into an A.I.M. terrorist, who leveled his gun at Rick, and fired. Perfume splashed around Rick's face, coating him with the scent of juniper and lilacs. Just then, Rick remembered that he now wore the Nega-Bands. He slammed the two together, hoping to return to his rightful place in the timestream.
Charles appeared on the floor of Project: Pegasus. A few feet away, Ares was pummeling the Blue Shield, but seemed to be doing little damage through the hero's personal force field. On the other side of the room, Kyle was narrowly avoiding weapons of all kinds. Charles skittered across the floor to his friend.
"Here, Kyle," he said. "Take these; protect yourself." Charles pulled the Nega-Bands off, and gave them to Kyle. Kyle did as he was told, and fastened the bands around his wrists. As Charles flew back towards Ares, Kyle launched beams of photonic energy at everyone he could see. Suddenly, a black shadow in a purple cloak loomed behind Kyle. The shadow waved his hand at the nearest of the guards. A black cloud rolled from his hand, encompassing several helpless men and women. Shrieks of anguish rose up, and when the cloud dissipated, nothing was left but three bleached skeletons wearing three tattered uniforms. Kyle screamed like a four-year-old girl and slapped the Nega-Bands together.
Joe popped back in to Project: Pegasus just as the Carpathian Swarm turned its attention towards him. Joe screamed like a five-year-old girl, and launched a vortex beam at the swirling black mass. Swarm's cape flapped in the gale-force winds and the carnivorous bees were momentarily distracted. Joe activated his force field, and lifted himself into the air with the power of the Nega-Bands. Joe blasted through guards, thugs, and terrorists in an effort to put as much distance as possible between himself and the flesh-eating Swarm. Joe's flight was abruptly halted as Ares' fist tightened around his neck. Joe gasped for breath.
"Die, whelp!" spat Ares.
"Ah, your mother's a whelp," Joe replied as he slammed the Nega-Bands together.
"My mother was a goddess!" cried Ares, shaking Rick Jones violently.
"Um... yes, I guess she would've been," replied Rick, desperately praying for not dying. His prayers were answered by the Blue Shield's fist, which crashed into the back of Ares' head, and by Joe's Sunsword, which crashed into the back of Ares' knees. The God of War shrieked with rage, and turned back to his latest attackers. Instead, he found himself face-to-face with the faceless black cloud of The Carpathian Swarm. Thousands of microscopic bees set to Ares, drawing thousands of tiny welts across his face and neck. Ares swung blindly through his rage, and Bloodstorm found its mark against Swarm's skull. With a burst of magick, the Carpathian bees vanished, leaving behind just a broken stack of bones.
With his free hand, Ares pitched the Blue Shield against the far wall. Ares turned his attention back to Joe. Suddenly, Charles swooped in and pulled Joe out of Ares' reach. The two flew over the dwindling embers of the A.I.M./Ares/Project: Pegasus battle.
"Here Joe, take these," said Charles, slapping the Nega-Bands around Joe's wrists. "Ares is just after you, so if we get you out of here, maybe he'll leave."
"It's worth a shot," Joe shrugged. "CLANG!"
"Clang?" asked Charles.
"Yeah, you know," Joe said. CLANG!
"Ares!" shouted Captain Marvel. "I thought we banished you to Olympus permanently a year ago!"
"Never!" screamed Ares as he swung his battleaxe. Captain Marvel ducked under the blow, and countered with a low punch of his own.
"Good thing my Cosmic Awareness also gives me perfect memory," Captain Marvel boasted. "Skarn Lethro Ma-nari, fucker!"
"Noooo!" With a howl, Ares found himself drawn into the Olympian portal summoned by Captain Marvel's portal.
"See you in the future, dickweed!" Captain Marvel taunted.
"Almost perfect," said Joe as he and Charles slipped back into Project: Pegasus. "Now we just need Captain Marvel to slam his bands together."
Captain Marvel shrugged, and relented, asking, "CLANG? Are you-"
"'m getting sick of this!" shouted Rick Jones, just after he appeared and just before he disappeared.
Kyle blinked into view. "I'm back!" he shouted. "And I've got the Nega-Bands!" Kyle waved the bands triumphantly in the air.
"Son, you'll have to give those back now," said the Blue Shield.
"Dammit," said Kyle.
Back to Chapter 30
Chapter 32
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