MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION 50

#50
starring CAPTAIN AMERICA, THOR and IRON MAN
MV1 AVENGERS	TRIPLE SIZED ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

Kang the Conqueror stood in the midst of a grand battle of his own design. Brutal and savage, Kang fired shot after shot at the Avengers from various guns that the pulled seemingly out of nowhere. Drones of his own design circled Central Park, raining blast after blast down upon his grandest of foes.

It was a war zone in the middle of New York City that tore Central Park to shreds.

"I say thee nay, Conqueror!" Thor of Asgard shouted as Mjolnir fired from a gathering of trees, smashing them to splinters. With a wave of his hand, Kang brushed aside the mighty hammer, sending it careening into the distance.

"Not today, not ever, Kang! The Avengers have stopped you before and we will do so as many times as it takes!" Plasma rays pulsed down from the sky from the gauntlets of Iron Man as his words were lost to the din of the battle. Kang looked up in time to see his force field easily absorb the repulsor rays, folding them into it's strength.

Kang merely laughed as a thousand drones the size of insects took off after the Golden Avenger.

Standing at a great distance from Kang, Captain America watched everything before him. He had no boasts to shout and saw the folly in hurling his famous red, white and blue shield at Kang. Concern was etched across his face at their situation. Kang had drawn them into Central Park and closed it off to battle against them. Somewhere at the far end of the Park, those that had been trapped inside were being allowed to escape. That concerned Steve Rogers more than anything - just what kind of game was Kang playing here today? Why did he want to face off against Thor, Iron Man and himself and no one else? Why were innocents being allowed to leave, but no fellow Avengers were being allowed in?

Long had he planned this day, the Conqueror had. The Avengers were his greatest foes and the three assembled before him in battle were the three greatest Avengers.

Kang the Conqueror stood in one of the many rooms he used as a throne room that was scattered throughout Chronopolis. There was but one reason for the multiple throne rooms, of course. Kang, being the greatest time-traveler of the space-time continuum did not particularly enjoy running into himself and it seemed there was always another Kang or Immortus running around.

He stood today - if there ever really was anything that could qualify as today more than any other day in Chronopolis - watching his monitors, showing him various events throughout time and throughout the Everything, seeing what there was to be seen.

But mostly he watched the Avengers. Avengers of all kinds, all shapes and all sizes. Millions of those who called themselves Avengers.

The more Kang watched, the more he realized that there were three Avengers, almost multi-universally who opposed him most of all. And in all the multiverse, the Avengers of Earth 616 always fought the hardest. They were the ones it came down to.

Like dominoes spread throughout time and across dimensions, Kang knew there were three pieces that needed to be tumbled. Three pieces that if they fell, all of the Avengers on all of the worlds would fall, one at a time, one after another, until finally, all the Avengers on all of the worlds would bother him no more.

The Conqueror watched battle after battle, learning their moves and their techniques, learning of their secret identities and secret loves, but as time wore on - if time could ever wear on in Chronopolis - he began to realize that it was not the warriors he needed to learn.

He knew everything there was to know about Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, but now he needed to know Steve Rogers, Anthony Stark and, well, he allowed himself a smile, Thor.

I have watched this scene many times, but never have I placed myself within these walls. It is … interesting to say the least. There is still a thrill I get when witness history being made firsthand in the flesh and this moment is no different.

Steve Rogers stands before me, the Super Soldier serum just now starting to course through his veins. I could reach out and grab the IV tube that runs into him, but I do not. I am here to learn, not act, for once. The agony of non-action is damning to me, but I content myself with the fascination of watching all of this play out.

Having watched this scene a hundred times, I know exactly what role I am to play. We begin the vita-ray treatment, bombarding Rogers inside a chamber with wavelengths of radiation. The intent is to accelerate and stabilize the Super Soldier Serum. Dr. Erskine, the Serum's inventor, stands by, proud of his work.

Then it happens and I stand my ground. Bullets can not harm the Conqueror. But they can harm Dr. Erskine and the Nazi does not miss his mark. Within minutes of Rogers gaining the perfect body that he would soon hone into a fighting machine like the world has never seen, he has his first failure. Dr. Erskine is dead. America will not have more than one Super Soldier.

As the weeks go by, I watch Rogers, sometimes from a distance as Kang and sometimes as Dr. Erskine's assistant from up close. Rogers dedication is remarkable, his will as tireless as his empowered body. The training the American military puts him through is quite thorough and in less time than it should take, Rogers is ready to head overseas and fight the Nazis.

I have fashioned a costume for myself that I find to be too close to that of my future self Immortus to be to my liking. But it serves the point. Rogers is alone in his bunk the night before Captain America is ready to head to Europe. They guard him with security, but that is no bother for Kang. I deposit myself in Rogers' room, using a ray of light to herald my arrival.

"Who are you?" he asks, a twinge of cracking in his voice. The confidence has yet to match the potential.

"Who I am is not important," I say with a wave of my hand, "but my mission is. I have come to you with an offer, Captain America. An offer to save the world."

"But you are alone on that mission. You are the only Super Soldier for a nation that wanted an entire army of them. What if I can give you that army?"

He looked at me skeptically, "How? And why tell me? You should be telling this to a general."

I can't believe that he's serious when he says this. Why a man like Rogers would ever follow orders now that he is Captain America is beyond me. "Why, Captain? Because you are a man of action while the generals here are men of paperwork and committees. Mark well my words, there is nothing more dangerous to victory than discussing it with others. Take action! And that is why I have come to you with a crusade most glorious! A crusade to give your nation all the Super Soldiers it would need to crush the Nazis beneath your Allied feet."

"You haven't answered my question," Rogers says, setting his jaw. I must admit I find it odd to be facing off against this man without his shield being at his side. "How?"

"It is not, and I assure you that I am no Nazi. I can take you back in time, Rogers. Together we can save Dr. Erskine from being shot. We can give America it's army of Super Soldiers. What say you?"

I sigh loudly. I should have known the hardest part with Rogers would be getting him to believe travelling through time was possible. "I am offering a chance to change the past."

Rogers thought for a long moment, pacing across the room. "If I go with you into the past, who goes to Europe to fight the Nazis now?"

"An entire army of Super Soldiers! We move into the past and then when this moment happens again, instead of one Captain America, there will be a hundred of them! Think of the glory for your country!"

Rogers should his head, "But if time travel was possible, this moment wouldn’t simply freeze because I left it and wait for us to come back. If time travel is possible - and I don't think it is - then that means that time must exist everywhere and at every time. By going backwards or forwards, you create a split reality. So while the reality I go back to would have a hundred Super Soldiers, this reality would have none."

"While hurting this timeline's chance of doing the same. No, I'm sorry, but I can not except your offer. I can only hope that if you have this power you would go back yourself and do the right thing by saving Dr. Erskine's life."

I look at all that righteousness and naivete and I have to fight down the urge to reach out and snap his neck. Perhaps Iron Man will provide better sport …

I appear in a Jungle of Southeast Asia, some twelve years in Iron Mans past, disguising myself as one of the many fools who surround the fat, repugnant petty thief known as "Wong-Chu". He has captured a great prize this day. The American weapons manufacturer and inventor the world knows as Tony Stark. The man who would be Iron Man! Once more I stand so close to one of my greatest foes, all it would take would be a simple snap of my fingers to insure his death.

And yet again I hesitate. I watch with almost a macabre sense of fascination as the mortally wounded Stark is tossed unceremoniously into a cell with the old man Yin-Sen. Then the two begin to converse, and unknown to them both, I listen. Intently.

"Anthony Stark, you must survive this, and you will. We will make you a suit of steel, of Iron, that will prevent the deadly shrapnel in your chest from silencing the beating of your heart."

"We both know I haven't much time Professor Yin-Sen. No, the only thing that will make this madman consider giving us access to the required laboratory and materials would be my promise of building him some new weaponry."

Yin-Sen clasps Stark across his shoulder

"And my young friend, that is precisely what we shall do!"

I watch as the two men call for their tormentor. he appears moments later, wringing his hands greedily at the thought of having a weapon designed for him by two brilliant men such as Stark and Yin-Sen. His triple chin jiggles with anticipation as he wipes a trickle of saliva from its corner. His horrific smile tempts me to end all their existences on the spot. But I hesitate. I am not here to change history, merely watch it.

Days go by slowly. The two men swelter in this jungle pig sty. I stand by invisibly, my futuristic armor protecting me from the elements, as would Starks own someday. Soon the crude, ungainly metal can Stark will begin to wield as a weapon has taken shape.

"Professor", Stark begins, "I-I think we'll be okay, b-but I have to rest. I can feel the shrapnel getting closer to my heart. The pain.....so ... intense!"

Yin-Sen rushes to his young charges side, helping Stark to a cot. He begins to apply warm water compresses to Starks sweating brow, as he calls for more water to be brought to them.

"Anthony, you must hang on. Only another day remains before the suit will be ready for you. With the chestplate in place, you will be invincible. Wong-Chu will be helpless before your might, and we will be free of this petty Communist tyrants jail."

Stark smiles weakly, as any can see the man is near death. Once again I hesitate to deliver a killing blow. Why? All my miseries could be laid to rest here, in these Avengers pasts. And yet inside, I know why. It would not have been a clear-cut victory. I must have that against them, I MUST! They have thwarted me so many times before, and they must never do so again. But my victory must be complete, final, and for all the world to see !

The next day passes, and Stark begins to slowly, agonizingly don his chestplate as Yin-Sen suddenly stops and hurries to the cell door. Turning back towards Stark, he speaks...

"Wong-Chu comes Anthony, if he discovers the suit before you are ready, he will take it, and we will never be free, furthermore, you will die without the suits circuitry for your heart. Goodbye my son!"

Without another word, Yin-Sen slips through the unlocked cell door and disappears, screaming as loud as possible: "Death to Wong-Chu! Death to the tormentor!"

"No, Wait!" Stark shouts at Yin-Sen's retreating form, but to no avail.

Stark continues to don the metallic tank he calls armor around him. I laugh at this pathetic excuse for a weapon he hurries complete. As his installation is finally finished shots ring out, and old Yin-Sen's yells are finally silenced. Angrily, Stark finalizes his suits so-called integrity. This is when I appear.

"In a flash of light, I walk out of the future, wearing once again my faux-Immortus costume. Immediately his eyes meet mine. His bravery at the least is as great now as ever, if not his armor.

"Greetings Anthony Stark, I am the Futurion. I come seeking to aid you, and thus to be aided in turn."

"I don't care who you are, or where the hell you're from. A kindly old man just died protecting me, and I have to Avenge him!"

Again that word, again I feel the inner fire of one of the three. My hands tremble with rage. He's not even shocked at my sudden appearance. Truly, his will is like unto Iron. I burn to simply eradicate his presence from my sight, but instead, I simply return to my invisibility. I watch from there as he tears through Wong-Chu' men and armament like so much rice paper. I fade back to my future as he delivers the final blow to Wong-Chu, rendering him defeated. Ah well, perhaps I'll have better luck with Thor, but I've come to doubt the veracity of that as well.

"Mead," I order as I take in my surroundings. These Asgardians are somewhat barbaric, but I suppose there is something to be said for their lifestyle. Slightly charming in a medievalist sort of way. Although I can't understand why they drink this swill.

As I turn my back to the bar, I see my quarry. Thor, young (amongst Asgardians, anyway) and brash, challenges some fellow Asgardian named Gondolff to an arm wrestling match as three of Thor's friends watch on. Two of them I can respect - they have the air of the warrior about them. The third is a useless tub of lard barely worthy of wasting the energy to kill. But as much as I would love to engage all of these Asgardians and show them how little their self-appointed godhood means to a Conqueror, I am here to take in these events. For while young Thor often engaged in such revelry, this event is, as they say, the straw that broke the camel's back.

Ah, here it is. The inevitable brawl. How totally pointless, to battle over some insignificant slight, with no real prize to be gained. How incredibly small minded. I have seen all this play out before, albeit from afar, and it appears not much is to be gained from being here in person. After all, the important event in this sequence is still several years away. But if the master of time understands anything, he understands that events must be put in their proper context.

Odin's voice brings an instant end to the brawl. And as he summons Thor to the Royal Palace, I take my leave. My disguise as a warrior of Vanaheim will not allow me access, and I have witnessed that scene before. Odin will declare that Thor needs humility, and will banish him to the form of Donald Blake, lame medical student. The next event in this chain is much more important, so I must journey forward ten years...

I really must respect Odin... his plans are quite intricate. How clever of him to place the suggestion in Blake's mind to vacation in Norway, knowing these aliens would be invading. Ah, yes, here comes the old man now, running into the village, claiming to have seen stone men from outer space.

"Stone creatures from outer space? What nonsense do you speak?!!" a local demands.

And now, in my guise as a local, it is my time to chime in. "Begone, old man! Do not waste our time with fairy tales!" As I utter my words, I glance behind me and see Don Blake with a skeptical look on his face. I wonder how much of it is genuine curiosity and how much is the manipulation of Odin? No matter. Time to jump forward one day.

Yes, here I am, right on time. Blake has discovered his accursed hammer, and has begun testing his powers as Thor. Strange to think how little of his previous life he remembered early in his career, and even in our encounters shortly after the formation of the Avengers he has been able to best me.

He defeats the Stone Men with relative ease, and just as he is about to transform to Donald Blake to avoid detection from the local authorities, I appear before him, dressed in my gaudy imitation of Immortus' costume, and proclaim, "Greetings, Thor! I come to you from the future!"

"I have mastered the ability to break the time barrier," I continue. "I know at this moment, you are quite perplexed. You do not understand the power you possess. I can give you the power to travel time as well. You can unlock the mystery of your past, and change it. You have been forced to live a lie as a human mortal, but I can help you change all that. You do not have to endure the punishment." Surely this time I will succeed. Thor will undoubtedly want to regain his memories, and avoid the humiliation of Donald Blake's life. And the beauty of it is, I don't have to give him any power - his hammer can break the time barrier. He just doesn't remember yet.

"You feel the truth in your heart. Act on it!" I can taste my success now! At last...

"No!" Thor brushes me aside. "You lie to me. Donald Blake is real. And... and even if he isn't... there is no honor in changing my past. If I have been punished, I must accept it, and go on."

Blast! Even though his memory is submerged, his true personality is still intact. His misguided conceptions about what constitutes honor and what does not have ruined my mission.

The force-field cracked and Kang cursed the Avengers loudly. He looked about him, relishing the combat as Iron Man, Thor and Captain America poured in on him from three different sides. He fired wildly at them, sending drone after drone after drone after them.

They ignored Kang's wartoys and he knew, as Iron Man let loose his chest cannon and Thor hurled Mjolnir and Captain America fired his shield that he was defeated. With a flash of light and smoke, using the last vestiges of power within his damages armor, he vanished.

The three Avengers stood for a moment, looking at each other as Mjolnir and the shield returned to their rightful owners. "What do you make of that?" Iron Man asked, breathing heavily.

"Surely some mad scheme of the time traveler," Thor mused. "But Kang has fallen beneath the might of the Avengers!"

Captain America looked around at the damage that Central Park had sustained, and the large dome that still covered the Park, "I don't know Thor. I don't think it's over, yet."

"THE CAPTAIN IS CORRECT!" Kang boomed suddenly from behind them as he reappeared, looking completely healthy, his armor fully restored. "KANG HAS JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT! And Kang can fight forever! Can the Avengers?"

"What a great place!" Don Blake says as he looks at the offices I am showing him in my guise as the landlord of building in what the locals call 'the Magnificent Mile.'

"So," I probe, "any particular reason you plan on moving your practice to the Windy City?"

"Well, I came here to lecture at a seminar, and I liked the place so much I decided to stay."

"Yeah, Chicago's a great town - you've gotta love those Cubs, right?" I laugh with as much sincerity as I can muster. "But it can't meet the excitement of New York."

"Yeah, New York's a great town, but I think I'm ready for a change of pace," he answers with a friendly grin. Sickening.

"You know, you're not the only one looking for a change of pace, apparently," I say, trying to maintain a conversational tone.

"Thor was sighted in Chicago yesterday," I answer. "Fought some nut called 'Zaniac.' It's in all of today's papers."

"I've really got to wonder why an immortal god like Thor would bother with Chicago to begin with, much less a nobody like Zaniac."

"Well, when I had a practice in New York, I actually got to meet some of the Avengers, provided some medical assistance," Blake offers, reigning in that godly temper that still burns somewhere beneath the surface. "I met Thor. He's not what you might expect... he doesn't think he's better than normal people. He's just trying to do his best to help out. Wherever and whenever he can. He's not looking for glory, so I'm not surprised he fought a 'nobody.' Or that he's in Chicago, if he felt he was needed here."

"On the other hand," I point out, pushing him even further, "Thor is an immortal. I suppose if I could live forever, I'd want to find something to pass the time. Helping out lesser beings might be a pleasant... distraction."

"Thor can't help what he was born," he says as he walks across the room to where I stand, his limp slightly more pronounced, as if for emphasis. "None of us can. But we have obligations to help other people, no matter our station. Thor understands that."

"I suppose you've got a point there," I allow. No point in arguing the matter further. Odin' plan has worked too well - Thor has become a mewling baby. There is nothing more to be learned here.

"Man, I'm bushed," Steve Rogers yawned as he hands me a portfolio full of his artwork. Art, bah! The folly of the lazy and unfocused. To sit in a closed room and create when there is a multiverse out there to explore is beyond me. The frivolity of fools too weak to engage life, and it pains me to see Rogers partaking in this cowardly past time.

"These the pages for the Captain America annual?" I ask, knowing full well they are.

"Really?" I ask, "I hope something else didn't come up. There are plenty of artists out there looking for work."

"Hrm?" Rogers starts to think and I suppress a smile. I know that he … lowers himself to these levels so that he may stay as close to the "common man" as possible. "No, nothing else. Just some … family concerns."

"Good thing you got here when you did, I was just heading out for the night." I stand and get my coat, the September night is cool and though Kang needs no coat to warm himself, I must play the part if I am to learn what I seek. "Hey, want to join me? I'm just going right down here to the corner. Nice place, inexpensive. You can tell me all the ways you think we can improve the book."

I try to hold my contempt inside. "You're an artist. All artists have ideas on how to improve the books they work on."

As we start to leave, he looks at me curiously. "Do I know you?" he asks. "You have a familiar face, but I can't quite place it."

Fool. Probably running through every villain he can think of in his mind. "Don't know from where we could have met," I say and for Rogers that appears to be enough, though I can practically see the gears turning in his head. I smile to myself, this is the same face I used back in Erskine's laboratory.

Five minutes later where at some despicable establishment, feasting on some grub that I wouldn't serve my lowest foot soldiers. But I eat it, so as not to arouse Rogers' suspicions.

"See, Captain America isn't just about action," he enthuses as he pauses eating his plate of noodles. I should have figured that he was too polite to talk around a mouthful of food. Disgusting. "He's about the people."

"I thought we do a fine job with that," I say, having read a handful of those dreadful inventions called "comic books" that Rogers has worked on. "It seems there's always a scene where Cap meets and greets some locals that he's saved. We need more of that?"

"No, no, not like that," Rogers shakes his head. "See, Captain America just doesn't go out and stop, say, the Rhino on 5^th Ave because that's where the Rhino happens to be, then the Shocker on 9^th, then the Serpent Society on 25^th because they've all happened to be committing crimes in his path. Captain America is more preventive. He's looking for things. He's looking for HYDRA and AIM and he's investigating the Serpent Society. He knows that the best way to protect people is to never have them be in danger in the first place."

"I don't like seeing kids in danger, personally." Rogers frowns. "Captain America is the representation of all the great people in this country."

Rogers shook his head violently and I almost laughed at his conviction. "He's not about color. Captain America represents the black man just as much as he represents the white man."

"That's why we've got to do a better job at showing that," he enthused. "We should be fair to Captain America, the person. We can still tell entertaining stories, but we should have a responsibility to represent the man as faithfully as we can."

I much on my food for a moment, waiting until I've finished chewing to speak again. It's infuriating to wait like this, but I tell myself that if I want to learn about the man that is Captain America, anything I can do to accomplish that is worth the few seconds delay. "So what do you think Cap feels about politics? Think he's a republican or democrat? Maybe he's a Libertarian, heh?"

Rogers frowned - the topic clearly made him uncomfortable. "I don't know. I suppose that that is his right to keep private."

"Seems kinda odd, though, don't it? I mean, so much of being an American is the political process and yet, he doesn't seem involved in it all that much."

"Because he has to represent everyone." He's talking quickly now, his food forgotten. This is what I came to see. "If he came out and said, Vote for Dukakis, then there'd be a segment of the American society that would disagree with that."

"So? Isn't that part of what makes America great? The freedom of opinion? Why should Cap have to lock off that part of his personality just because it might offend someone?"

Rogers was thinking now. "Well, Cap gets asked a lot of questions all the time by reporters as it is. If he came out and supported a candidate, he'd probably be asked about that candidate constantly. He'd be asked to speak for a candidate. Captain America has to stay outside the politics of politics."

"I dunno," I say, enjoying the twisting of the verbal knife more than usual. "Kinda sounds like he's afraid of not being popular. A man - especially a man like Captain America - should have the courage to stand by his convictions and the faith in his great country to accept that Cap has different views than them."

"But heck," I smile, "Cap does so much good for everyone that this is probably for the best."

Once more I appear in Anthony Starks past. Though this time it is not so distant. Tony Stark has recently battled a foe that had defeated him greatly. Defeated and tormented him for nigh unto a year. He has recently bested this elusive, wraithlike evil. But the scars are fresh, the wounds unhealed. The enemy was Alcohol. Tony Stark is now, and ever will be a recovering alcoholic. I must admit, I was tempted sorely to meet him while he was still weakened by his hunger for liquor. Instead I deemed it a better choice to confront a man who is whole again. Only then will I get to know the true Anthony Stark. That is my mission here, as it was with Captain America.

He jogs down a beach, smiling as young scantily clad women admire his physique. In months to come his weakness for the flesh will almost prove his undoing, to the point of him being temporarily crippled. But once more his genius will save him. But that is none of my concern. Knowing the man is. I approach him as he jogs towards his beachfront home.

"Mr. Stark, is that you?"

He turns, his mind immediately working to place my face. He fails.

"Yes, I'm Tony Stark, and you are?"

"Bill Nerlson, sir, we met last year at the science and frontiers expo in Vancouver. How are you?"

I extend my hand smiling, he hesitates not a second before grasping mine and shaking it heartily.

"What can I do for you Bill?"

Now is the time to play my cards right, as the 20th century cattle used to say.

"Not a thing Mr. Stark, I just recently relocated here from Vancouver and recognized a friendly face. Just wanted to say hello."

My vacuous smile sickens me, but it is part of the role I am forced to play. Amazingly, he returns the smile.

"New town, new job ? Or are you still employed by?????"

"Oh, uh, it was "Baintronics" sir, but they let me go last month. I wanted to get away from there at that point. I figured California, the land of Sunshine was the best place for a fresh start."

He almost visibly shakes at the word "Baintronics" Good. The required effect has been established.

Stark looks over his shoulder at his home, and with a wave invites me up.

I sit on his sundeck, staring out over the ocean as he brings us out something to quench our thirsts.

"I hope Iced Tea is okay Bill."

"Definitely Mr. Stark, thank you."

"Call me Tony." He insists. Very well "Tony" hehehe.

"What were you doing for Baintronics, Bill. Why'd they let go of a promising young man like yourself?"

Ah, the bait has been taken.

"I was a research tech doing studies on something called the "Internet" Mr. Sta- uh, Tony. It's bound to be the wave of the future, but Ol' Sunset didn't think so. She thought I was wasting my time, and her money on frivolous tasks. So I came down here to find a job in Silicon Valley."

He grasps his chin in thought, devouring my every word. He has a long standing enmity for Sunset Bain, and an eye for new talent. Plus my natural charm helps as well. We speak for hours. Finally I ask him.....

"Uh Tony, please don't get the wrong idea, but do you have anything with a little more bite to it?"

I point at my empty Iced Tea glass. This time he visibly squirms. I continue to play dumb.

"N-no Bill, I don't partake of Alcoholic beverages. At all. None are allowed in the house at this point in time. Or ever again for that matter."

"O-oh, I-I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. "

He catches himself again. I can see into his mind as if it were crystal. He admonishes himself for his response to my simple question. Now is the time. I stand to leave.

"I won't take any more of your time up Tony. I've been here for far to long anyway. Besides, there's plenty of bikini clad babes out there I should be paying attention to, instead of wasting your afternoon."

"Wait a minute Bill, where are you staying in town?"

"I, uh, rented a place over on South Canal Lane. In Malibu."

"Well here's my card Bill. Call my secretary in the morning, you'll find a job offer waiting for you there."

I shake his hand, wanting to crush it to powder, but I desist. I have learned in all these past journeys to the Avengers histories that they are better off left alive and whole until I can crush them knowingly and fully on their own terms.

I exit his home, walking back onto the beach, I turn and wave once more with the same, stupid, insipid grin I've been forced to wear all afternoon. If Tony Stark only knew who he spent the afternoon with......

Captain America, Thor and Iron Man are thrust backwards across the park as Kang's vicious assault comes even harder than before. "YOU WILL FALL!" Kang screamed at his foes. "YOU CANNOT FIGHT FOREVER, BUT KANG CAN!"

"Nay, villain!" Thor bellowed, twirling Mjolnir in his hand, getting ready to let it fly. "The Avengers CAN fight forever, for even if the three here doth fall in battle, three hundred more will rise to take our place! For Asgard!" Mjolnir flew towards Kang in a savage, brutal line across a thousand yards of Central Park, blowing through countless robotic droids and drones and force-fields to slam into the Conqueror.

Mjolnir returned to Thor's hand and Iron Man and Captain America picked themselves up off the ground.

"I AM SUPERIOR!" came a booming voice behind them. They turned in time to see a fresh Kang unleash his fury upon them yet again.

I appear in the year 2055 AD. Before me is the emaciated, decrepit form of Anthony Stark. He lies in his death bed, surrounded by those who would mourn him before his death. He has lived a long life, to my personal rancor, and is just now awaiting deaths cold embrace. I stare at his slowly heaving chest, his bald head and grey mustache. Still does he have a certain.....dignity about him. Even at this most low moment of his long life. I wonder, how a man who has cheated death for so long so readily prepares to greet it, on its own terms. Then I realize, as a veil seems to lift from my eyes. Stark is not meeting Death on its terms, rather on his own. His is yet again dictating the terms of his own existence, as he has always done. My appreciation of the man goes up yet another notch, as does my loathing. Slowly, one by one the mourners leave, some in tears, others trying to be brave with their emotions in front of Stark. They needn't have bothered. His bravery is more then those in this entire room could ever muster.

Then, something happens, he stares in my direction, his eyes meeting my own seemingly invisible ones, and he.......smiles. By all the pathways of forever! The man actually knows I am here, and yet, does not fear me. The audacity! How can this be? How can he know I am here? I exist out of sync with this periods momentum of time itself. I am invisible, and yet I KNOW he is staring at me. Then I hear a whoosh from behind me. I turn, as curtains part and a familiar, albeit more radically styled gold and crimson figure slides through the open window. It is Iron Man, but now, someone else plays the role. Someone else wears the armor. The golden warrior approaches the bed, and flips his face shield up. The young face beneath bears a striking resemblance to Stark.

"Grampa, I came as soon as I heard. H-how are you .....f-feeling?"

Stark touches the young mans face and smiles.

"Now that you're here Anthony, much better."

"But Grampa, the doctors say--"

Stark quiets the boy with a wave of his withered hand.

"Hush Anthony. Now I need you do me a favor. I need you to take me somewhere. I need to fly one more time Anthony, before I leave this world and go on to the next."

The boy is shocked, and I must admit, so am I. I had assumed Stark would grovel and beg to live longer still. To fight death tooth and nail. But in fact, no. He is simply seeking to meet her embrace head on. My mind reels at his audacity. Perhaps the ancient tomes confused which armored wearing genius I am related to. Perhaps it was Stark, for surely now he reminds me of myself. Or perhaps it is what I wish to believe.

"Grampa, I can't take you out of here, the Doctors-"

"Have done all they can my boy. My time among you is over. I have no regrets. I've done it all in my long life. Now I have to do one more thing, one last time. I want to fly again. It's been to long Anthony. This is what I wish to remember in Heaven. Not the money, the cars, the women, or any of the other trappings of wealth. I want to remember the freedom of tearing through the
stratosphere at Mach 10."

The younger Stark nods his head solemnly as he hands the elder a familiar briefcase that he brought with him into the room, through the window. Slowly, painfully, The Elder Stark dons yet another suit of armor. And, using the suits exo-skeleton the ravaged body of Anthony Stark stands erect and strong one last time. With one last hacking cough from his ravaged body, Tony Stark seals his armor one last time, becoming the Invincible Iron Man, as he was born to be, one final time before his death. He steps towards the window, but then turns in my general direction. He looks towards me again, and I involuntarily shudder. Behind his mask I know he is smiling at me, and astonished, I watch as he.....winks! Both generations of Iron Men step out into the cool late day air and jet away, towards the sun. One will return shortly, carrying the limp form of the other, sobs will rack the younger, but the damnable legacy of Iron Man will live on, in this whelp. I spit on Starks grave for this. And yet, I cannot stop myself from feeling a gnawing...admiration for the man. Damn him!

SSSSHhhhhzzzzz-KOWW! The pulse bolts tear through Kang's force-field, augmented by Thor's power, fed through Mjolnir, and into the armor of Iron Man! The force field disintegrates as if it wasn't there! The pulse bolts hammer Kang with a brutal, raw fury that is both archaic in its brutality, as well as magnificent in its splendor. Kang rolls across the great lawn, before leaping to his battered feet.

"Damn you ! All of you! I'll still win this battle Avengers, now, and forever!"

He activates a pod on his costume, and suddenly the air crackles as a hundred drones stream through the crack in time/space to attack the harried heroes.

"Thor, Cap, I'll handle Kang, you two take out this next wave of these things."

Thor nods in the agreement. "Aye Avenger, verily methinks this has gone on far enough!"

"I couldn't agree more Thor." Nods Cap, as he hurls his shield through two more drones.

Iron Man rockets towards Kang, who hastily erects another force field, but this time it's not enough, with a powerful right, Iron Man shatters the field, the resultant feedback causing Kang to spasm violently as Iron Man suddenly hammers him with a powerful left cross.

"By the Time Lords! I'll not be humiliated by you Avenger, not again!"

Kang suddenly fires energy beams from his gauntlets, that smack Iron Man from the sky like the hand of God itself, but Iron Man immediately rights himself and fires his repulsors, full power at Kang's chest, smashing him back once more.

"You're not going to win here Kang, not now, not ever. No matter what it takes, I'll put you down, for good if I can."

"Infidel !" Screams Kang as he unleashes a barrage of power bolts both from his costume and from more of his floating drones, Iron Man is tossed from the sky, and smashes through a stand of trees, leveling half a dozen of them in his path.

Kang floats over towards the spot where Iron Man disappeared.

"Come out Avenger, your battle is lost. Accept defeat."

Form behind Kang comes words that chill him to the marrow.

"Defeat isn't in my vocabulary Mister. And I have no intention of learning it. That's why they call me "Invincible"."

Kang spins, and is greeted by....

"Iron Men? dozens of you? Fool, you cannot hide from me with hastily created illusions."

"Who's hiding so-called conqueror?. I'm merely evening the odds."

Suddenly all the Iron Men appear to lash out at Kang and his drones, as the
sky is filled with dozens of repulsor blasts.

"Let him think there are dozens of bolts firing," Thinks Iron Man. " It's all me on the auto fire mode. I hate being a puppet, but right now it serves a purpose, breathing room."

"Bah " Growls Kang disdainfully, "I tire of this game."

He fires a blast at the real Iron Man, easily discerning the authentic from the images. Once more smacking him down, but this time Iron Man retaliates quickly! As he begins to right himself, the twin shoulder ridges swing up and begin to crackle with energy, glowing a bright white, they unleash their power, one side positively charged protonic energy, the other negative. Catching Kang between the two, the resultant explosion rocks Central Park, right down to its bedrock core~!

Tra-KOOOMM!

When the dust clears.......

"Verily Iron man, thy new weapon is most impressive indeed!"

"Thank you Thor, but I wasn't counting on Kang to be disintegrated by the blast."

Captain America suddenly snaps his head to the left, as years of battle hardened reflexes alert him to the danger over their shoulders. "I don't think you have to worry about that any longer Shellhead."

Behind them, all turn to see a fresh Kang coalescing from the mists of time.

"Strike me down once Avengers, or a million times, Kang is eternal!

Although Thor has seen all his teammates in the original Avengers die, he remains unchanged. He has fought countless foes against immeasurable odds, and defeated them all. Myself included. Only to reach this day, where he meets his destiny. Gotterdammerung. The Twilight of the Gods. Ragnarok.

The Aesir are engaged in battle with their eternal foes. Loki, leading an army of Frost Giants, is locked in mortal combat with Heimdall. The two slay each other - ironic that Loki should fight his last battle not against his hated step-brother, but against Bifrost's guardian. Odin battles Fenris, the wolf, while Tyr fights the hellhound Garm.

And in the center of it all is Thor, locked in a duel to the death with Loki's son Jormungand, the world serpent. Thor had thought he had escaped this particular prophesy when he slew the serpent almost two centuries ago, while under Hela's curse. But apparently the will of the Fates is hard to avoid. Jormungand was resurrected decades ago, ensuring this conflict.

"Ho, Jormungand!" Thor cries as Mjolnir leads him into battle. "'Twould seem e'en we cannot escape our Wyrd! But I shall surely slay you again, as I did on Midgard oh so many years ago!"

"Pfah!" the Serpent sneers. "I have never believed in the ancient prophecies, and I shall break them this time, as you broke them before by killing me!"

I must give the Serpent some credit. He may be the only intelligent being in this battle. Destiny is something to seized, to be molded in the hands of the strong. To simply surrender to it as these Aesir seem perfectly happy to do - bah! These 'gods' are little more than sheep.

The Serpent strikes, with surprising speed for a creature large enough to have encircled the Earth. But Thor is even faster, avoiding the blow as Mjolnir carries him aloft.

"For eons hast thou vexed me," Thor says. "E'er has it been my proud duty to protect Midgard, while e'er hast thou sought to crush it in thy grip. Have at thee, Serpent!"

Thor releases Mjolnir, which unleashes an ear-splitting scream as it cleaves the air, striking Jormungand with a tremendous blow that seems to shake the very foundations of the multiverse itself. I find myself shocked, admittedly. I've always known Thor was incredibly powerful, but to realize how much he had held back during our encounters...!

It just serves to further illustrate Thor's weakness. If he could have crushed me so completely, why did he never do so? He was compassionate. No doubt some of his training as an earthly doctor shining through. I find it hard to believe Odin had intended his son to become so soft.

And the battle rages on, Thor and Jormungand fighting with a fury unmatched in any other contest I have witnessed. It is quite breathtaking, to see beings such as these wage war unfettered. And then at last, the moment of truth. Just when it seems that there is no possibility of victory for both sides, Thor puts every ounce of energy he has into a final blow. Thor lets out a bestial roar and Mjolnir glows with a blazing intensity. The enchanted mallet finds its mark, and Jormungand topples to the ground.

But as Thor, beaten and battered, gazes at his foe, he falsely believes the victory to be won. Then Jormungand raises his head, and with a final breath blasts Thor with venom. Yes, I must admire that serpent. If you must die, better to take your foe with you.

Thor realizes that he cannot survive the venomous attack. He staggers back one step. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. And falls to the ground, dead.

Iron Man continues to blast away at Kang with his repulsor rays. "It's a good thing my beta-particle power source keeps me from running out of power, "Iron Man thinks, "or I might never survive this. Every time it seems we beat Kang, he comes right back!"

Captain America hurls his legendary shield at Kang, only to have it bounce harmless off a force-field that instantly appears around Kang. Captain America retrieves his shield and wonders, "There has to be a way to defeat Kang, once and for all. But can we find it before Kang wears us out?"

Then the two Avengers notice the skies above them turn black, and see Thor twirling Mjolnir with savage fury. "I SAY ENOW!" the Thunder God yells as he calls down bolt after bolt of lightning. Kang's systems cannot stand up to the rage of the heavens themselves, and his defenses begin to falter.

"Now, Iron Man!" Captain America shouts as he hurls his shield once again, realizing that this may be the opportunity he has been waiting for.

Anticipating Captain America, Iron Man has already begun to unleash his pulse bolts, battering Kang into the ground. Kang manages to mumble, "Damn you, Avengers..." before fading from view once again.

"Be alert," Captain America warns as he, Iron Man, and Thor begin looking in every direction, waiting for the next attack.

Steve Rogers is now an old man, the Super Soldier formula that courses through his veins giving him a longer life than any human but I deserved to live.

He can barely breathe and the straitjacket that binds him makes movement impossible. He is, after all these years, too old to help himself anymore, a captive of the latest Red Skull. Hate endures down through this line of wretchedness and the latest Red Skull is among the very worst. Possibly the greatest since the original, though whereas the original was a lapdog for the Nazis, the latest hates all without bigotry.

She is also the most beautiful woman I have ever seen besides Ramona. But that is beside the point.

She has captured Rogers and tortures him unendingly, both physically and mentally. The old man says nothing to her, but still his heart beats and still, in his eyes stir the fires of passion. The fool Skull thinks she has crushed him, but I know that he is merely biding his time.

Finally, she leaves him to himself and I wait to see what he does. I wait. And wait. And wait some more. The old fool is doing nothing but breathing through tired lungs.

Is it possible that Rogers has finally given up? Finally come to the end of the line where he has nothing left to give?

The Red Skull returns, grinning from ear to ear. She holds a negative of something in her hand and she holds it in Rogers' face, taunting him with it. "Do you know what this is, Rogers? Do you remember all of those samples I took from your withering body?" The tired old man says nothing. "This picture … is an ultrasound of … our child!"

"Yes, Captain! While you lay here dying inside your rotting body, I took what little of you that's left and gave myself a child! Our child!"

I have almost decided that Rogers has finally come to the end of the rope, but the fires hidden behind his blue eyes tell me that he has yet to play his last hand.

Then Hell breaks loose. The Antarctic Compound of the Red Skull is blistered inwards. The dust has yet to settle, but I already know who it is. The call is not needed from me, and I doubt that the Red Skull needed to hear it, either.

Their names are Black Pantheress, Mistress Marvel, Iron Knight, Peace Machine and Quantum Harmony and they are every bit as disgusting as every other team of Avengers I have ever run across. With certainty and precision befitting "Earth's Mightiest", they work through the Red Skull's pitiful defenses and capture the villainous beauty.

The whole time, Rogers lays on the floor, drool running down his face, his eyes burning bright and a smile on his lips.

It is then that I realize that Rogers has played his last hand, after all. Though his body is too run down to do what it once had, Rogers has prepared the next generation of Avengers to carry on his naïve fight for freedom and liberty. The Black Pantheress goes to Rogers and starts to untie him, but he shakes his head. Pantheress leans in close and Rogers whispers something to her. It must have been about the Skull's pronouncement, because the Wakandan Princess goes over to her and proclaims as righteously as possible that, "You're coming with us, Skull."

The Black Pantheress turns back to Rogers and I follow her gaze. Both of us are surprised at what we see.

Thor, Iron Man and Captain America stand and wait because they no they have yet to see the last of Kang on this day. "But then again, perhaps we have," Iron Man suggested. "That's what's so damnable about time travelers - they can appear anywhere and at any time."

"Aye, the way of a coward," Thor nodded. "The damage to this fair park is quite severe."

"With Kang, who knows?" Iron Man shook his head. "Who can say? Long range plans are easy when you can place yourself anywhere in time. Perhaps he laid a single seed today that will sprout a hundred years from now."

The Big Three looked up as Kang appeared before them, walking towards them from out of a cloud of smoke with his hands open in a sign of non-violence. "I have done some … pondering, Avengers, and have decided that I will make you an offer. An offer to be rid of Kang for now and always."

The three Avengers looked at each other skeptically. This sounded, if anything, more like Immortus than Kang. Kang was the Conqueror, the warrior. This did not sound like him.

"It is simple … I feel I have … lost some of my drive. For the first time, Kang feels the pangs of age. I fear my Conqueror's spirit may be dwindling. In the past, I have always stood in Chronopolis, looking out at the Everything, and dreamed of all the glories that would be mine by conquering each and every reality I could spy. Now, the Everything looks too large and the thought of conquering all of them begins to feel more like a burden than anything."

"Sounds like your on the verge of becoming Immortus, Kang," Captain America mused.

"It does!" Kang screamed. "Kang can not have this! Immortus is a fool, a pathetic waste of my genius! I can not become this man."

"What would you have us do, Warrior?" Thor challenged. Iron Man and Cap could see that the God of Thunder was bothered by Kang's tiring spirit.

"I figured you would say that, Rogers," Kang shook his head. "No, do not look surprised, I am Kang. I know everything I want to know. But there are three of you. What do you say?" he asked Thor and Iron Man. "If you kill me, no more Kang, no more Immortus."

"To die in battle would be a glorious ending, Conqueror," Thor spoke heavily, "but to ask for death to claim you is a coward's way out."

"We don't know what killing you will do," Iron Man added. "There will always be a Kang. What's to say that our killing you won't enrage an earlier Kang to taking even more violent and drastic actions? Or that Immortus would start taking a greater interest in our activities? No, we will not kill you, Kang."

"Very well, Avengers, if that is what you wish." Kang reached up and removed his mask, revealing for the first time, a face to the Avengers.

"Yes, it is I. I have popped up through your lives from time to time, studying you, my greatest foes. I was there when Stark became Iron Man, Don Blake became Thor and Steve Rogers became Captain America. I watched you all live. I watched you all die. Perhaps it is the study of your lives that has brought me to this day. I do not know." Kang put his helmet back on. "When we meet again, Avengers, it will be as it always was. In War."

Kang vanished, leaving three Avengers pondering just how easily Kang could kill them all if he chose to do so.

BIG THREE DATA
MATT TURNAGE currently writes THOR and BROTHERS IN ARMS, and has written IRON MAN and CAPTAIN AMERICA. He is the only writer at MV1 who has written all three BIG 3 ongoing series.	RALPH ANGELO currently writes IRON MAN, DAREDEVIL and CAPTAIN MARVEL and has written THOR.	MARK BOUSQUET currently writes WEST COAST AVENGERS, ALPHA FLIGHT and MS. MARVEL, and has written CAPTAIN AMERICA.

Welcome to the 50^th issue of MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION. Sure, sure, it's only the third MV1 issue of MTA, but I (that would be Mark, that is) felt we should do something special anyway. So we did. I got Matt Turnage and Ralph Angelo together and layed this plot on them. They were more than happy to take part in this special issue and the result, I think, was well worth the effort we put into it. So which parts were written by whom? That's for you to decide. <g>