starring IRON MAN, THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA

Each man knows what he would do were he given the power of a god. But what would a god do?

For he has always been the master of the rolling thunder and blazing lightning. If ships were struck down, then that was merely the fate of all frail mortal vessels. His livelihood was never at the mercy of the forces that raged across the Baltic Seas.

For him, in those ancient times, the most cherished moments were those when he displayed either the power to shatter the impregnable jaw of a Frost Giant, or the skill to outpace an experienced horseman upon his steed. Each sunrise brought with it merely another challenge for the young man who was one day to be the Lord of Asgard, home of the Norse Gods.

But what were these challenges, if not mere trifles, when compared with the weight of the decisions constantly undertaken by these mortals? Faced with the consequences of life and death, their minds carried a sense of responsibility, their actions a sense of urgency that was braver than anything he had never known.

And what assistance could a god bring, what deeds could be accomplished with his hammer at their side?

Myths last through the ages, warriors shape them. And hence, we in this age are privilege to the exploits of the Mighty Thor, the Norse God of Thunder!

A god who will still gladly accept a challenge...

* * * * * *

Thor, his muscles taut, his teeth gritted yet grinning, strived with all of his might against his towering, dark-hued foe.

"Thy raw power hath... in my experience... few rivals," he huffed, "but Thor doth not yield to mere might! Each scar and wound... that hath faded into my flesh... stands as an everlasting reminder of past defeat... and as an eternal monument... to my will to victory!"

Locking hands with the thunder god was the Kundorr warrior known as Grule, the prospect of impending triumph and boasting rights etched upon his gull-shaped brow.

"I would congratulate you on your attainment... of this... meritorious trait," he puffed, "but if the truth be known... Grule has never experienced defeat... and hence, you must forgive me if I can not judge... just how valuable to a warrior’s erudition it must be."

In the other half of the room, watching the combatants, Tony Stark, alias Iron Man, sat with both the leaders of the two major tribes of this other-dimensional world and his new-found friends and allies, Commander Rune, Captain Selvin and Princess Dalphi of the aristocratic race of scientists known as the Denri, and Lord Yargilson, and his trusted aide, Jorgensen, of the Kundorrs, an invulnerable warrior race who had only just recently called a truce with the Denri. They were gathered around the remnants of a medium-sized meal, the rectangular table before them was littered in places with breadcrumbs and ragged chicken bones, and their elbows rested in sticky spots of mead.

"Captain Selvin," said Tony, "have any of the poets on your world ever ruminated about how egotism is universal?"

"I do not recall," smiled the Captain, "but rest assured I will look into it."

"There is nothing wrong with a bit of pride and self-belief," said Commander Rune, "We should all be able to look at ourselves and say, ‘I can go forth. I can conquer.’"

"With all due respect, Commander," said Princess Dalphi, "I could swear that, the other day, that’s what my pet monkey was thinking."

Said Lord Yargilson, "Ah... you speak more truly than intended, milady. For it is only through the self-regarding drives contained within that life propagates and evolves from its primitive states. Even a warrior, for all his brawn and muscle, is able to, at some level, grasp these subtle forces at work."

"Smash him, Grule!" shouted Jorgensen, "Eat his almighty bones!"

"Nay, Jorgensen." Thor said, as he flipped the giant bulk of Grule over his shoulders, and into the space between floor and wall, causing the warrior to let out a breath of ‘Oof!’ as his back collided with stone, "This battle belongs to he amongst you who now resides at the peak of his given strength, and who will forever remain thus!"

Before Grule had rolled on to his back, the thunder god was in the air, having leapt up in order to finally strike him down. "You still deny your fate?" said Thor, "Have at thee, then!"

Thor placed his heel hard upon Grule’s battered ribs. "Tell me, how doth it feel to have the boot of a foe pressed down against your fragile bone?" he asked.

"Sharp and angry." Grule answered him, "I will never forget it."

Tony stood up and addressed the remainder of the party. "If you’ll excuse me, please, I must now talk with my partner."

"Certainly." said Lord Yargilson. "There is much to discuss before the morrow."

Thor gave Grule a comradely pat on the shoulder as they rejoined the gathering. "Much merriment did I gather from our fray...," he said.

"Much merriment for us also." said Selvin.

"...and much hope did I receive for the upcoming battle from your strength and courage, noble Grule."

"Thor? May I speak with you please?" insisted Tony.

"I must depart for the nonce. Farewell."

Once the two Avengers had walked outside the room and into the adjoining hallway, Thor asked his partner, "What ails thee, Iron Man?"

"I’m that offhandish, am I? So much for my inter-dimensional diplomacy." The hallway was filled with Kundorrian treasures, shields with silver lions, painted bowls and chalices hewn from clay and earth, long spears hung horizontally above grey, craggy arches.

"Thor, let’s take stock for a moment. What do we know about this world so far?"

"That it doth be inhabited by two noble races, the Kundorrs (whom I hath befriended) and the Denri (of whom thou art the chosen guardian), that due to a grievous misunderstanding, were until this morn, opposed in brutal warfare."

"But," the god of thunder continued, "it was in truth a band of mutinous fiends who threatened to spill the precious blood of the Denri maidens. There exists on this world many other races, savage and ill-mannered, that, like the lowly trolls, hath forever conspired to overturn these great fortresses in which we stand, and that thereforth must be halted before they can achieve their Cimmerian designs."

"We don’t know that for a fact, Thor." said Tony, opening a side door in the fortress that led out into a courtyard. "Listen."

The two Avengers made their path through the centre of a great crowd gathered in the brown-stoned courtyard, which consisted of both men and women, Denri and Kundorrs, scholars and warriors, all the while hearing the fragments of conversation and idle gossip (and which was which?) regarding the unseen, unknown danger that was believed to be, with each passing moment, growing in force and numbers across the border, amongst the desert plans.

"...hear that the rebels attacked those women..."

"...which ones?..."

"...Molgs... and Naans...joining forces..."

"...so savage and ill-mannered..."

"...new leader... brought about alliance... Tojai as well..."

"...all as unruly as each other..."

"...dirty Molgs, after our fortresses, the animals..."

"...we will stop them."

They came to rest in a clearing, located on the edge of the forest that encircled the Kundorr fortress. Thor sat down upon a splintered tree trunk, his hammer, hanging limply from his left hand, between his legs.

"Mayhap the Son of Odin sees your point," said Thor, "It seems I am still too reliant on the ways of ancient and medieval hearsay, and hath not yet grasped the lessons that man’s sound use of reason and intellect hath taught."

"No apology necessary, old friend," replied Iron Man, as a tiny brown sparrow perched itself upon his iron finger, "There’s much to be gained from listening to airs and tidings, however ill-founded they may seem. For instance, there’s been some very dark rumours going around about what occurred in the basements of the Grand Auditorium last night."

"What tidings may these be?"

"A murder, it seems. A young Denri fitter was reported missing this morning, while a pile of ashes, still burning, were found in the Auditorium, lying upon a basement floor. The ashes can not be identified, of course, but the word going around is that the fitter was incinerated. If you asked me, I’d be inclined to agree with it."

"You suspect-?"

"Nothing much can really be said at all at this point, Thor. We’re none of us detectives."

"Indeed." said Thor, now standing up to his full, imposing height. "For if we were, mayhap we would already hath learnt what fate hath befallen our fellow Avenger, Captain America."

"My guess is if that Kyngon character transported both of us to this world, Cap must be here also.

The first thought I had was that the rebels had taken hold of him, but now... well… Thor, where does the lightning in Manhattan come from, I wonder?"

"I concur." Thor replied, comprehending the question’s basis. "Caution must be exercised."

"But," he continued, "heed this. It is oft in the field of battle, when men are faced with decisions of life and death that their true colours stand revealed. Methinks we shalt learn there who be friend and who be foe."

* * * * *

(A time of war. A large tank lies dormant within a pile of metal, its top ruptured and smoke steaming out from its side. Several fighter planes are locked in mid-air explosive combat. Gunners in battle-armour charge across the dirt and rubble.)

Narrative: Four moons had passed since the first bullet had been fired and a growing sense of doom had descended upon us. The weapons of the Baltagians far outmatched our own. Yet death awaited us at the slightest falter and so we fought on.

Narrative: That was when Captain Yargilson made his move. He believed that the Baltagians did not possess the true hearts of warriors and that he need only take out their leader to cause them to retreat.

Jorgensen’s narrative: When we reached him, the Baltagian leader’s expression was one of shock, unable to fathom why two soldiers would, with their actions, risk retribution upon their own superiors. But our Lord knew that we weren’t fighting for our leaders at all, that if the worst happened, then they could always make good their escape. It was our lives we were fighting for. That was why we had to win.

"A marvellous tale, Jorgensen," said Thor, "and one worthy of the feats of as brave a warrior as Lord Yargilson."

"I thank you for your praise," Lord Yargilson said, "yet I must plead that, without knowing the full circumstances of my actions, you do not add to it."

"So tell us," said Iron Man, "how come you were a Captain? Who were you fighting for?"

A deep rumble shook the fortress, and the old balcony upon which they sat.

"What-?" said Jorgensen, standing with Grule at the front of the balcony, "Is the hour upon us?"

"We shalt soon discover the answer!" proclaimed Thor, his mystic hammer carrying him into the sky, "Come, Iron Man! Let us scout ahead!"

"Right behind you." said Iron Man, his boot-jets thrusting him off the balcony.

"The rebels possess neither the sophisticated weapons of the Denri nor the invulnerability of the Kundorrs," Thor said as they sailed out over the desert plains, "If this is so, then we should be- Od’s blood!"

They had come to a large plateau that, apart from a few tufts of nettle that had nudged their way into the area, was otherwise a vast sheet of sand that stretched the whole way back to the jagged hills and black forest from whence they came, and that in turn indicated this plateau lay close to the Kundorrian border. But the forest cast no shadow here.

There came a roar: "Brothers, unite!"

There awaiting them in numbers so great that, as near as they could tell, they covered the whole plateau, was what could only be the rebel army, the huge, powerful men in yak-hair boots and loincloths intertwined with the tall, slender, fair-haired men dressed in red and green tunics and rubber-soled shoes, and due to the indistinguishable mass they formed, seemingly every single one of these soldiers had their arm raised in battle cry.

"All shall be equal! Cast the tyrants down!"

And against this enormous landscape, and these imperceptible numbers, even the Son of Odin, the Norse God of Thunder and his comrade, the Invincible Iron Man, were just blemishes in the sky.

"For liberty!"

"Iron Man! To the fortress!" Thor shouted, his godly eyes fixed boldly upon the army below him, "Warn them that they shalt soon be under siege! Also tell them that I shalt require the aid of the mighty Grule!"

"On my way, Thor!" replied the golden Avenger, turning back towards the forest, "Good luck!"

Once Iron Man had left, one of the tall, slender men pointed up at the strange being in the sky. "What is that?" he asked. "It looks much like a Kundorr that has taken to flight!"

"Indeed it does!" said one of the larger soldiers, "Then, for the greater glory of the Alliance, we must crush him!"

A barrage of arrows were sent hurtling upwards to meet the god of thunder. It was a fairly simple matter for Thor to evade the missiles, but his ire was not left similarly untouched.

"So!" he bellowed to them, "Thou seekest conflict, wishing to find out which form doth be the mightiest!

SO BE IT!"

And with this cry, he threw Mjolnir, his mighty Uru hammer, down to earth with a force so powerful that the ranks of the immense battalion were torn asunder, their arms raised above their faces in order to shield them from the spraying sand.

Thor touched down lightly in what was once the centre of the rebel army, as Mjolnir returned to his hand. The sand was beginning to clear, and he saw that standing in front of the shadowed figures which surrounded him was one of the thinner soldiers, although his hair was darker, and his tunic was not red and green but a dusky grey and black.

"What manner of creature doth I face?" asked the Son of Odin. "Your form is like that of the Dark Elves- too weak for battle."

"I am called Laxle, but my people are the Naans," the man replied, "and our pallid state is the result of the persecution we have suffered."

"How fortunate it is, then," he continued, "that our new allies, the Molgs, have also wearied of your comrades’ tyrannical ways."

Several of the large, powerful men attempted to pile on top of Thor, and it seemed as if they would be strong enough to succeed, despite their clubs being no match for Thor’s whirling hammer.

"Capture him!" they shouted, their fists pounding, "Bring him down!"

"Aiiieeeee!!!" The scream, which sounded rather like a loud whimper (suggesting to Thor and the Molgs that it must have been Naanian in origin), came from the outer limits of the rebel army. The Molgs, realising that trouble was about to hit them from another direction, backed away from their quarry.

"Yes, scream if you can!" someone shouted, and Thor turned to see Jorgensen using his axe to blaze a path through the foundering soldiers, Grule by his side, and several Kundorr warriors on their heels, "It is merely proof for the heavens that you do not possess the toughened heart of a true warrior!"

Thor quickly took advantage of the extra space he had been afforded and joined Grule in battering down Molgs left and right. "Your appearance is timely, my friend," he told the Kundorr, "now we shalt cut a path to glory the likes of which your world has never seen!"

Grule’s eyes turned blood red and his mouth became twisted. "Indeed we shalt, thunderer." he replied. "There is much this world has not yet seen."

Around the fortress, the battle had reached full swing. Cannons fired, swordsmen clashed, fist pounded relentlessly on bone. Captain Selvin had abandoned his pod and had entered, pistols blazing, into the thick of the fray.

"Tony, there’s black-vests coming at two-fifty at the sweep." he said. "Can you do a Koch fractal swing and split them into a random dispersion of around about one point two-five?"

"Um...yup, I guess so." the Avenger replied, as he watched the enemy approach from a direction about one hundred and ten degrees left of where Selvin was looking. "One point two-five, you say?"

"If you can. Princess, order the front boundary to form a Pyrenees, synch?"

"Synch that, Captain... Wait!" Princess Dalphi was on the back foot, staggered by the persistent force of her attackers, as she fired her weapons rapidly in defence. "I’ve made them at the offside, coming at one seventy-five. Tony, I need you to reverse that Koch fractal to a power of around three-quarters. Watch out, they’re e-vamped!"

"To blazes with it!" said Iron Man, as with a lurch, he set his repulsers to full power, creating vast amounts of sparks in his right glove in the process, "Let’s dispense with the jargon and just get the job done, shall we?"

Iron Man’s assault left, for the moment, a large semi-circular gap around them. Nevertheless, they all began to brace themselves for the next wave of rebel soldiers that was charging over the field towards them, obstructing the green horizon.

"An admirable effort," said Lord Yargilson, as the golden Avenger landed down beside him, "but I fear we may require a power that is beyond us to overcome such numbers."

"Yeah, a pity that he is otherwise occupied right now." said Iron Man, tensely watching the gigantic hordes approach him, "Still, he’ll come through. You’ll see."

Meanwhile, back at the plateau, the tide of battle was only going one way- that of the Kundorrs.

"That is twenty-seven!" said Jorgensen, as he struck down another Naanian soldier, "I think that when we visit the tavern tonight, it will be you, O Grule, who will be obliged to serve a round to me and my ladies. What is your count, may I ask?"

"Bounder!" said Grule, in the midst of delivering a two-fisted uppercut, "You neglect to mention that you have merely been toppling Naans, whereas I have defeated fifteen Molgs! The mead is mine!"

"While thy numbers are impressive," said Thor, as he struck his hammer upon the ground, bringing forth the familiar bolt of lightning "I urge we doth swiftly deal with the remainder so that we may aid those at the fortress."

"Hmph! Let them come!" was Grule’s response.

But Jorgensen was already looking over his shoulder towards the mound where Laxle stood, frantically calling his troops into position. "No, I agree with Thor." he said. "We should concentrate our efforts into the places where they will have the most effect-"

With one quick leap, Jorgensen was within striking distance of the dark, almost clandestine, Naanian soldier. "-and you, sir, look very much like the vital link in the chain." Laxle raised his arm in fear as he noticed the powerful arms of Yargilson’s aide and the sharp and bloody edges of his axe. "Do not think I failed to notice the way you commanded those Molgs before."

Jorgensen prepared his axe for the killing blow. "I will never claim to be the equal of my Lord Yargilson," he said, unaware that, behind him, his best friend Grule was beginning to glow like a beacon, "but in this instance, at least I can emulate his deeds by striking a decisive blow in our efforts to win this..."

But the sentence was left unfinished as suddenly the torso of Grule was split asunder, and a sharp, blazing light appeared to flare out from the warrior’s body that cut down the mighty frame of Jorgensen, who to his credit, fell to the earth without a sound.

When the light had finally cleared, Thor saw that several figures now stood next to Jorgensen’s motionless body. They each a wore black uniform covered with a bronze chest-plate upon their lithe frames, with the hoods of their uniforms and the broad red scarves tied around their necks conspiring to conceal their faces. They also each carried a sword and several small knife-darts, and it was these latter weapons that Thor could see lodged in the back on his fallen comrade.

"Where have we been placed?" one of the figures asked, his boot on Jorgensen’s spine, "The heart of the battle, it appears. Where we may take out the vital components."

"Halt, I say!" Thor shouted, charging towards them, "Only a fiend would strike a gallant warrior unsighted!"

"An ethical qualm?" remarked another of the newcomers, "No matter. Swift and final is our blow, whether from the front or behind!"

And before Thor had any time to mount an attack, half a dozen Kundorr warriors were struck down, and they fell, not like the proverbial mighty oak tree, but like six large flour sacks, wobbly and uneven, each mortally wounded by the blades of the hissing knife-darts.

"No!" yelled the disbelieving god, and his vengeance would surely have struck at that moment if he had not heard a weak, husky voice calling him, "Thor...,"

It was Jorgensen, who with his last reserve of strength had rolled on to his back so that he could deliver his final words to Thor face-to-face.

Thor rested the warrior’s head upon his mighty left hand. "Jorgensen, my friend, how fare thee?" he asked, his voice filled with sympathy and dread.

"All’s black... drifting...," he replied weakly, "this body’s... finished... ."

"But...," he continued, "I feel no... anger... . Do... what is right..."

"Do not fear, noble soul." said Thor, realising that his friend was now at the very brink of ebbing away, "Your friends will avenge thee, won’t they-,"

"-Grule?"

But the Kundorr warrior had disappeared, leaving only a patch of grey, shimmering light.

"He flees, stranger," came the hoarse whisper from behind one of the scarves, "knowing that, deep down, even his hide is vulnerable against such as we. But the Tojai are forever united and hence, you too shall fall!"

"I say thee nay!" Thor replied, as he spun his mystic hammer before him, easily deflecting the many Tojai knife-darts aimed at his torso and legs, "You have not the power to defeat the heir to the throne of Asgard!"

Thor then began to whirl his hammer above him with even greater speed, the high-powered winds creating a terrible sandstorm. "Were this battle to last many hours," he said, "and your people to assail me in even greater numbers...,"

The whole area around them had now been disturbed by the great power that had swept the desert plateau, and their conflict, which now only appeared to be a pack of shadowy Tojai leaping towards an invisible force, was lost in the whirling sand.

"...I would still be standing here at the end of it all, impervious to your piercing blades!"

One on one, the Tojai were falling to the ground, their stealth and skill no possible match for a force of nature, the sand sweeping over their motionless forms.

"However," Thor continued, "I fear that, in such a conflict, many of my comrades would not...,"

Finally, the sand settled, and there he was, the only one left standing, amidst the circle of vanquished Tojai.

"...and," he said, "that is something the Son of Odin can not allow."

His hammer dropped to his side. "I surrender."

* * * * *

"Have you been here before?" asked Iron Man to Chief Aamal.

The four major leaders of the Denri-Kundorr alliance, that is, Chief Aamal, Lord Yargilson, and the two Avengers, were being led, bound and manacled, through a large ravine. Lining the ravine’s sides were a number of small and dingy huts, lying in various states of disrepair. About eight or nine Tojai (it was hard to tell) formed a ring around the prisoners, their upright swords no longer shining in the gloom.

"No," replied Chief Aamal, "I don’t believe I have." He moved a step closer to the front guard. "Speak, Tojai, what is this place? Where are you taking us?"

The Tojai guard turned his head slightly and narrowed his eyes in response. "You are now in The Pit. We are taking you to our leader and guide, and Founder of our Union, for judgment."

"Union-?" Lord Yargilson asked, evidently surprised, "With the Molgs?"

"I sense the reason for your alarm, Lord Yargilson," replied the guard, "and you are correct in that, traditionally, we the Tojai have separated ourselves from any and all races who do not share in our quest for being in harmony with the universal spirit- we have placed neither time nor value in the Denri, with their lavish materials and ornate addresses, or in the lower-caste Molgs."

As they walked, they were watched not only by several soldiers but also by what appeared to be the inhabitants of the Pit, women and children Molgs, arrested in their daily activities by these gleaming strangers from above. The Tojai guard continued with his tale.

"Recently, however, the Founder showed us that while we were occupied with our search for inner amity, there were hundreds of others that would never gain the chance to discover their own peace, such was the devastation and disorder they lived in."

He veered off from the group to point out the pale, hairless frame of a small Molg child, its wide, milky eyes timid underneath the strangers’ long shadows.

"This child has been digging within the dirt of this ravine in order to find insects for food. When we were first told this, we asked ourselves: how can we even begin to approach the eternal while this type of persecution exists all around us?"

Iron Man bent down to gain a closer look at the child’s bony legs, skinned and bruised.

"Poor kid." he said.

"We share your sympathies towards the plight of the Molgs, Tojai," Thor remarked angrily, "but that does not excuse your own recent actions towards us, which have been most murderous and foul."

"And have your actions been any less?" the guard replied, again leading them onwards, "Why, stranger, don’t you ask either Lord or Chief about the horrible destruction their own races have caused?"

Thor exploded. "Thou miscreant! How dare you attempt to besmirch these noble warriors’ names! Rest assured that when we meet thy own leaders, we shalt...,"

"Thor...," said Iron Man.

They had come to the largest and most finely decorated (if one could term vines and painted rocks as decoration) of the huts, outside of which stood two Tojai soldiers. The guard who had been talking nodded as they prepared to pass the prisoners through.

"I know you’re still angry about Jorgensen," Iron Man told his teammate as they entered, "but this leader might be able to answer a few of our questions. For instance, it’s possible he might help us find Captain America."

Thor nodded, his fury relinquished. "Aye, that may be so."

"Don’t worry...," said a voice suddenly, from the centre of the hut.

And there he was, his calm hands palming the knobs of a throne made from wood, vine and cowhide, his distinctive stars-and-stripes uniform covered by a dark red cloak. He was flanked by several guards, both Molg and Tojai, brandishing club and sword respectively, except for a young elfin-like man, with fair hair, who stood directly beside his throne, dressed in a thin leather tunic, and holding a Tojai spear. A small circular opening was located above the throne, at the tip of the hut, which allowed a wide shaft of light to enter the room, so that his blond hair and proud features shone brilliantly in the midday sun.

Said the Captain to the Avengers, "...you’ve already found him."

"So, it is you, Steve," said Iron Man, "I thought as much, I mean, you’ve always been fairly adept at convincing others to follow you and fight for what’s right."

"I’ll consider that a compliment, Tony," Captain America replied as he approached the prisoners, "On the other hand, I didn’t suspect you both until I heard that a violent sandstorm had wiped out an entire pack of Tojai fighters. After that, I ordered for the two of you to be brought straight here."

"But, Captain, if thou be the leader of this Union," said Thor, pushing a little too forcibly past the Tojai guard, "then, it was by your orders that Kundorr blood was shed and-,"

"Back, prisoner!" shouted the elfin-like man, and suddenly Thor felt the man’s spear pointed directly against his chest, "Keep your distance from our Founder, or I swear I’ll send you straight to the Conqueror, you-,"

There was an abrupt snap as the thunder god burst through the ropes that bound him. "What?! I shalt do as I please, little man!" he bellowed, "And I shalt not be threatened by one who is himself unworthy to stand by the Captain’s side." He brushed aside the man’s spear and reached for the hammer lodged in his belt.

"I make no claims to worth," the man replied, raising his spear, "but you will discover that I am not so easy a prey for your fancy Kundorr club as you believe."

"Thor! Lunn! Stop this!" shouted Captain America, interposing himself between the two, "There’s been enough fighting today, we’re not about to start a war over who makes the better friend as well!"

"That’s true, " said Iron Man, "but we might want to figure out why we’ve all been fighting a war in the first place."

"I don’t know," said the Captain, untying the armoured Avenger’s ropes, "Let us think…,"

"Mayhap, Captain," said Thor, focusing his attention back on to the problem at hand, "thou should tell us about thy own experiences since arriving on this world "

"I’m afraid that I can’t tell you as much as you would like," he replied, "since, for a fair amount of that time, I have not been fully conscious of my effect here."

He turned to the young man, who was examining the new arrivals with interest as he polished the tip of his spear. "But Lunn here may be able to fill you in with some of the details you need. Lunn?"

"As you wish, Steven." Lunn replied, his eyes flickering over the man in red-and-gold armour and the glorified builder before he proceeded with his tale.

"Several sunsets had passed since the quake when I met the Captain, on the day I led a hunting-party into the Valley in search of food. The situation had become increasingly desperate for us by this stage, and it was the hope of the party that the place which had done so much to sustain the Molg settlement would again offer something up to us in our time of greatest need."

"Excuse me- our time of greatest need?" Iron Man was puzzled. "Um… my experience may be limited, but you don’t look like any Molg I’ve seen so far."

"No, indeed, that is because I am not Molg but Naanian by birth" said Lunn. "I say ‘our time’ because, over the years, I have come to think of the Molgs as my family." He looked at Iron Man as if he felt this concept would be foreign to the Avenger.

"I left the Naanian settlement in my thirteenth year because I found their lives and customs unacceptable." he explained, "The Molgs discovered me wandering the desert and brought me here to the place where I have lived ever since."

"But my past is not of interest here." he continued, "To continue the story at hand, we encountered a stranger within the valley, and wary as we were against any intruders, we subdued him. During the fight, however, I discovered that if we could convince this man of our needfulness we potentially had in our hands not just a very powerful ally, but a symbol of hope.

We took the stranger back with us in order to show him the scene you have just witnessed. There was some amount of struggling when he first awoke, but slowly the devastation he saw began to dawn on him. He asked us how in the world this impoverishment came to be.

If you are referring to the lack of food, shelter, and other necessities, I told him, then that is due to the laws opposed upon us by the Denri, which specifically state that they themselves are entitled to exclusive use and ownership of the most prolific land and resources, a situation that, because of their highly productive machines, is notionally for the common good.

If, however, you refer to the tumbled rocks and splintered huts, then that is due to the powerful quake that struck this place when, less than a moon ago, a pack of Kundorr warriors, led by the terrible Grule, sought retribution upon us rebels for a crime we never committed. Laxle, the Naanian chief, and his courageous band of fighters attempted to stop the rampage, only to be utterly slaughtered by the force of the Kundorr clubs, a force that left this ravine and the surrounding lands broken and shattered.

I told the stranger that this tyranny could not be allowed to continue, and asked him if there was any way he could help."

"And I did." said Captain America, "I said to him that if we could convince the Molgs to stand up for themselves, then we had the advantage in any confrontation in that we possessed a positive cause and nothing to lose. I also said that there must be others who were experiencing the same pain and loss as we, and that we stood a much greater chance if we invited them into our cause. Already Lunn had established contacts with both the Naans and the Tojai, and through them we were able to arrange a meeting between their leaders and ourselves. Of course, the Tojai turned up en masse, as is their way, but nevertheless, by yesterday evening, we had agreed to collectively put a halt to our oppression once and for all."

"I don’t regret what I have done," he continued, jaw firm, "based on what I knew, I believe I made the right choice. These people had the right to obtain their freedom."

"No arguments there," said Iron Man, rubbing the chin of his facemask, "but, their present company notwithstanding, I don’t believe that the Lord and Chief here are capable of knowingly committing the monstrous acts you proclaim."

("Indeed." chimed in Chief Aamal.)

"No, neither do I," agreed the Captain, "but neither do I doubt Lunn’s testimony."

"I believed that Grule, too, was driven by heroic intentions," said Thor, wearing an expression that was both angry and despondent, "but these latest tidings I hear of him, along with his part in the noble Jorgensen’s demise...,"

"Grule murdered Jorgensen?" asked Lord Yargilson.

"Nay, not he," Thor replied, "but I would swear on my father’s immortal life that I saw the Tojai suddenly appear from inside of him at the moment that Jorgensen raised his axe above the head of Laxle...,"

There is a dark chamber lit only by the spherical looking glass located at its centre. Inside it, a large, bulky silhouette is walking towards a tall, light shadow. The looking glass shows an image of the interior of the hut in which the three Avengers stand in conference.

"How convenient." said Iron Man, "Does anybody else suspect that this whole earthquake/battle thing is some sort of conspiracy that has been cooked up between Grule and Laxle? Also, I would bet they’re responsible for that kidnapping that was blamed on the rebels. Hmm... perhaps they’ve enlisted the Tojai as well...,"

Lunn shook his head, "No, the Tojai would never have met Grule before today. He must have powers we were unaware of."

"That explains the recent troubles, at least," said Captain America, "but not the general problems caused by the Denri."

Chief Aamal was notably unimpressed. "I assure you that these insinuations about us conspiring to exploit the rebels are entirely false."

"Captain America is not insinuating, good Chief," said Thor, "he merely seeks to understand."

"Wait!... I have it!" said Iron Man, "Chief Aamal, who was your general manager? Dan... Den... Denible!"

"Yes, that’s him." the Chief replied.

"Well, what if he’s providing you with misinformation," suggested Iron Man, "What if your laws are having a worse effect on the Molgs than you realise?"

"Denible... Grule... and Laxle." said Captain America, as if it were a mantra, "That would seem to fit... if you knew all three existed. Then, all that remains to do is to find these beings and put a stop to all this deceit. Let’s go!"

And as Captain America urges the Avengers into action, a dark, dismal figure watches over him, the three broad hoods of its cloak not sufficiently large enough to conceal the visages of Denible, Grule and Laxle, all three of which are stamped with a grin full of menace, and the figure says:

"We’ll be waiting."