Warlock and the Infinity Watch

 #7 - New Order

 By David Wheatley

 Warlock was visibly shaken as he emerged from his room and he
 looked at the members of the newly founded Infinity Watch, who
 were just returning form the damage control they had been
 concentrating on after the explosions of the battle had resulted
 in avalanches. Their return was well timed

 "We have a problem," he said as he looked at their faces.
 "Whomever has obtained the power of the Quantum Bands has become
 powerful and dangerous and uses the powers in ways I did not
 believe were possible."

 "What happened?" asked Quasar, a lump rising in hi throat. He had
 been the Protector of the Universe, keeper of the Quantum Bands
 and if his powers were being used in ways he had never dreamed,
 perhaps that was one of the reasons he had been so easily
 blindsided and had the power stolen from him.

 "The warrior was controlled by another, the person who stole the
 power of the Quantum Bands and through his warrior he was able to
 project himself in to Soul World."

 "I didn't think that was possible," said Rachel.

 "Neither did I," Warlock said, "however it occurred all the same,
 and more than that the power of the Quantum Bands overwhelmed me.
 I was defeated and it took me a while to even regain the ability
 to return to my body." He would not admit it, but he was still in
 some pain after his return. It had taken some not inconsiderable
 effort of will to make the transition. "Whoever this being is,
 they have changed the rules of engagement, and I will need a new
 tactical plan to deal with this."

 "So what do we do first?" asked Battlestar. "We can't take on
 someone we can't find."

 "What if he decides to find us?" asked Tangerine. "If he's that
 powerful..."

 "He won't waste his energies on a direct assault," Warlock said.
 "He knows where we are, having sent his warriors in, when he could
 have easily come in and dealt with us himself."

 "Could he though?" Karma said, thinking out loud. "He took Adam by
 surprise in Soul World, but if we were ready for him..."

 "Perhaps," Warlock mused. "It may be that he has spent time
 studying me and my previous Watch, and he knew what to do to take
 me down. It may be that he does not know you or your capabilities,
 because unlike the last Watch, you have powers in your own right.
 Drax and Moondragon were the other two, the rest were fighters."

 "Except Thanos," said Rachel, softly.

 "Except Thanos," Warlock admitted, and he wondered if it might be
 the Titan behind all this. It had indeed all the hallmarks of a
 Thanos incident, but on the other hand the Titan's last defeat in
 the so-called Contest of Champions had been spectacular in it's
 own right and Warlock had hoped that Thanos had reconsidered his
 plans for conquest. He had been so different after the Infinity
 Gauntlet affair, being neither hero nor villain, but things had
 obviously changed since the disbanding of the Watch.

 "How about we go and see where all this started," said Quasar.
 "For me anyway."

 "Dehr 7," said Battlestar, remembering the Avenger's tale from
 earlier.

 "It's not pretty," Wendell warned, looking at them.

 "Death never is," Rachel said, and Warlock nodded.

 "To Dehr 7," he said and he looked at Battlestar who focused his
 mind on the Space Gem and they vanished from Montreaux.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------

 She waited for them to arrive as he had told her that they would,
 waited patiently for the man she had been designed to be the mate
 of. Warlock and his new Infinity Watch would come and then she
 would do as she had been instructed, the truth would be revealed
 and Warlock would see his ideal match become the ideal match of
 his most bitter enemy. She knew that she had once loved him, she
 remembered that much.

 She also remembered how he had spurned her and driven her away,
 denying her purpose, denying her the fulfilment of the quest of
 her life, and in doing so he had sown the seeds of his own
 destruction. Now she had a new destiny, a new love in which she
 could dedicate herself. She knew he only had eyes for Death
 herself, but that did not matter to her, for he did not spurn her
 and she yearned for the moment when she revealed her true face.

 Their children, her children, would be a race to surpass any
 before. They were beyond their father's creators in the Celestials
 and they would be far, far beyond hers in mankind. She would
 fulfil her destiny and the universe would have new supreme beings.
 Their six children would be the new masters of the Infinite as
 their father became a part of Eternity. Then she knew she would
 die, her purpose fulfilled.

 It was not her destiny to be infinite.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------

 "Damn," said Battlestar as he looked around the planet. It was a
 wasteland, and the stench of death hung in the air. "Whoever did
 this... Damn."

 "I've never seen anything like it," said Tangerine as she looked
 on the bodies that littered the immediate area. She did not
 realise it but tears were on face, streaming from her eyes at such
 a barren scene.

 "Pray you never do again," said Rachel softly, thinking of the
 things she had seen in her timeline but also in the time line that
 would have occurred had Apocalypse not fallen. She had seen that
 era as clearly as anything when she had been trapped in the
 timestream.

 "This is just the beginning," said Warlock. "This was done as a
 sign of the power the being possessed before they claimed the
 power of the Quantum Zone."

 "How can we hope to defeat such an enemy?" asked Karma. "Their
 power..."

 "Is nothing to shy away from," Quasar said. "The energies of the
 Quantum Zone had their limits."

 "Indeed," said Warlock thoughtfully. "But how can part of the
 Infinite have limits?" Because it is just part of the whole, he
 realised. The power of the Infinity Gems was at its totality when
 the Gems were combined in their use. The Quantum Zone itself was
 sheer cosmic energy that was as potent as the person who used it,
 but there was something missing from it, something that gave it
 the extra power to become supreme.

 "I'm picking something up," said Rachel. "It's faint, but there's
 someone here."

 "A survivor?" asked Quasar. "The bands found nothing when I
 arrived earlier."

 "Someone who came after you and met with the same fate?" asked
 Battlestar. "We can't be the only ones to know what's happened
 here. What about the cosmic types, the Silver Surfer, Firelord?"

 "The universe is vast," said Warlock. "Your mind can perceive all
 of it, the movement of the stars, the cycle of the planets, the
 motion of life itself. Nothing occurs that you do not know about,
 while you near the Gem, except your mind is as yet unable to cope
 with the full capacity of the knowledge. Without the other Gems to
 expand your consciousness, you will never be able to consciously
 access it, but you will know what you need to, when you need to."

 "I've not felt this green in years," said Lemar and Warlock
 smiled.

 "Imagine touching the soul of every living being in the same way,"
 he said and Lemar realised that Warlock knew from experience. "It
 was a humbling experience in itself."

 "Gotcha," he replied.

 "I have them," Karma said, using the Mind Gem to reach out and
 connect with the survivor. "I can't get much more from her, other
 than she is alive."

 "She?" said Warlock and Quasar at the same time, though for
 different reasons. Quasar knew of only one being who travelled the
 same spaceways he did. Warlock knew of several and the idea of any
 of them being hurt or on the verge of death filled him with dread.

 "Let's go," said Battlestar and in a moment they were by her side.

 "Kismet," said Quasar, looking at the golden skinned woman who lay
 there as if dead. "No cocoon."

 "Interesting," said Warlock, bending down to look at her and he
 looked at Karma. "You cannot probe her mind any deeper?"

 "I am trying, but there is something blocking me," she said.

 "Very interesting," Warlock said and stood up. "You should be able
 to break through. I wonder why you cannot?"

 "Her cosmic energy?" asked Quasar.

 "Perhaps," said Warlock. "Or perhaps something more sinister is at
 hand. Maybe the power that overwhelmed me in Soul World is at play
 here as well."

 "That's a happy thought," said Rachel.

 "Back to Earth," said Warlock. "I cannot stomach much more of this
 place."

 "No arguments there," said Battlestar and as Quasar lifted Kismet
 in to his arms they all vanished for home.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------

 Epoch, daughter of Eon and intermediary of the supreme forces of
 the universe looked up on the Pantheon of aspects of the universe.
 Eternity was present, as was Master Order and Lord Chaos, those
 whose duty was to keep balance within the universe. Eternity was
 the embodiment of all that was in the universe, and her own duty
 not only as intermediary was to ensure the universe was capable of
 sustaining life.

 The matter at hand for discussion was the fate of Infinity, who
 knew if the Quantum Zone were sealed, she would become segregated
 from the whole that was reality, and as such she was not present
 to discuss matters. The question was now how could the latest
 threat to the universe be stopped. Epoch was there to represent
 Infinity on behalf of the Supreme Forces and the one above them
 all, the Living Tribunal watched and waited, always listening,
 always aware.

 "To seal the Quantum Zone would be a foolhardy gesture," Epoch
 said. "There are always ways of tapping the power and the Zone
 could not be closed forever, as it is a part of the Infinite and
 as such cannot be lessened."

 "It's influence can be halted though," Eternity said. "The power
 that we as the Pantheon possess has been passed on to those lesser
 beings, linear creatures. We all know the foolish endeavours of
 those who possessed the united Infinity Gems. The powers of such
 as we should not be in play in the universe proper."

 "There is a balance," Order said. "Order and Chaos are currently
 in union and"

 "What Eternity may consider wise, may disrupt the balance," Chaos
 continued. "However"

 "Your point is well founded. The Gems would be negated, as would
 the cosmic cubes." Order finished.

 "What of those such as Galactus, who draws upon the powers of the
 Infinite to fuel his power cosmic?" said Epoch. "Do we condemn him
 and his heralds to death?"

 "The hunger of Galactus through his use of his powers is well
 noted," said Eternity. "He maintains a balance and as the sole
 survivor of the previous universe, we do not know what effect this
 would have upon him. His heralds are not our concern, and if he
 chooses to share his might with them, that is his prerogative."

 Epoch gave a cosmic sigh. They were getting nowhere and somewhere
 out there the universe was in chaos and she hoped that the
 Protector of the Universe was making progress with his newfound
 comrades.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------

 "J'ridia," said Wendell, softly and he stroked her hand. "Kismet."
 Her eyes flickered and opened and he smiled.

 "Wendell!" she said, flinging her arms around him. "I missed you."

 "I missed you too," he said. "What happened?"

 "I was following your quantum trail and it led me to the Dehr
 system, where I could feel the presence of death. I was afraid for
 you and went to look and as I did so I was attacked."

 "Similar account of what happened to me," he said. "But whoever
 attacked me took my power. The Quantum Bands lost their energy. I
 have to use this now," he said, showing her the Power Gem. "It's
 gives the Bands the same kind of power, but it also gives me
 enhanced durability. Which is pretty cool."

 "It's an Infinity Gem," she said. "That means..."

 "Hello, Kismet," said Warlock as he entered the room. "It has been
 a long time."

 "Warlock," she said and Warlock thought he saw something about her
 change when her eyes rested on him, but if it was it was a
 momentary thing and it had passed now.

 "Do you know who attacked you?" he asked as he looked on her,
 trying to gauge her soul with the Gem, but he was still weak from
 the attack.

 "I did not see them," she said. "I could not use my powers, they
 would not respond... there was nothing I could do."

 "I see," said Warlock. "Wendell, may I have a moment with her
 alone?"

 "Sure," said Quasar and stepped outside and Warlock looked down on
 her.

 "I do not believe you," Warlock said when Quasar had gone. "I know
 enough about you to know when you are lying. Your physiology is
 the same as mine. From what you have said you should have been
 encased in a healing cocoon."

 "My powers..."

 "Work fine, otherwise you would have been dead on Dehr 7," said
 Warlock. "There was no air on the planet, the atmosphere was gone,
 but Tangerine had made it so we could speak, so we could breathe.
 We altered the laws to ensure it could be so."

 "Very clever," said Kismet.

 "This is a set up, is it not?" asked Warlock. "You are a snare."

 "Yes, and he knew you would see it as such. You have made every
 move he expected you to make," Kismet said and Warlock stood
 ready, the rest of the Watch appearing by his side.

 "You were right," said Quasar. "I didn't want to believe it..."

 "Our foe is cunning, using one to strike at us in such a way,"
 said Warlock.

 "Who do you work for?" said Battlestar. "The game's over."

 "Something's wrong," Rachel muttered and Karma looked at her.

 "Rachel?" she said but before any of them could react, Kismet
 lashed out striking them with cosmic forces, backed by the power
 of the Quantum Zone and though the Watch was ready for the assault
 they were easily felled, the powers of the Infinity Gems failing
 them as they tried to defend themselves.

 "All too easy," said Kismet, her golden skin turning a deep purple
 and she plucked the gems from them. Thanos would be pleased.

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