The Jazz Masquerade

Part Four: The Ceremony of Dark Angels

the 57^th tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

2201 / JUNE

ASGARD - THE OBSERVATORY OF ODIN THE ONE-EYE

"What are they waiting for?!?" Kovar the Accuser screamed in anger, slamming his club-like Nullifier into the palm of his opposite hand.

The Kree Ambassador stood in the Eye alongside King William (the former Beta Ray Bill), Ash'lin, Skrull 4, and Cable, looking out towards the Plain of Ida, where five regiments of the Army of Doom stood in tight formation. They had marched into this position yesterday afternoon and opened fire on the city, but it was nothing more than a round of long-distance artillery for show. Dani Moonstar had led the Valkyrior out to lead the city's defenses and the Doom regiments had defended themselves, but ceased their attack.

"This is the strategy of the vaunted Doom?" Ash'lin mocked. "To camp a small band outside our door and wait? For what? I am not impressed."

Cable hadn't been on the Council long, but already knew enough of the Shi'ar Ambassador to know he didn't like her. "You must forget your history, Ambassador," he said slowly. "You would do well to remember that this same Doom conquered your entire empire 200 years ago, and led an assault on Earth."

Ash'lin looked at him cooly, "And you would do well to remember, human, that-"

"Silence!" King William ordered. "The Army of Doom sends a messenger."

The Ambassadors turned to see a soldier striding forward from the regiment of Olympians, the white flag held aloft in his arms.

None of them would speak a word until the messenger was brought before them.

THE BLISS - THE BALLROOM FLOOR OF THE JAZZ MASQUEERADE

Rigby took Attumidunn by the arm and led her across the floor. The young woman was in a state of emotional devastation after her public scolding from her ex-boyfriend and current Cosmic Protector, Ben-Vell Parker, and Rigby knew there was no better time to bend her will to his side than now.

"My dear," he said gently into her ear, "there was no right for him to treat you in this manner. Believe me," he stopped and spun around to get in close to her face, "I had no idea he would accost you in such a manner. If there is anything, anything at all, that I can do to assist you, please, do not hesitate to ask."

Attumidunn stared at him blankly, her head shaking back and forth slowly, as if in a dream. "I can't believe he … he said those things. He said I was … I was the weakest of all the Orphans, that the Valkyrior do not respect my abilities."

"I'm sure that is a lie," the magician said politely, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"No," she said. "It's not. If I were a true member of the Valkyrior, they wouldn't keep letting me go on all these side missions with the Orphans." She looked into the magician's eyes, her resolve growing. "They must still think me a child."

Rigby, with trademark smoothness, kept his smile buried far beneath the surface. "But, my dear Attumidunn, you are so young. Surely they let you roam so that you may gain experience. I am certain-"

"If Ben-Vell can be cosmic hero, then so can I," she jammed a finger into the magician's chest.

Rigby took a step back. "Please, Toomi, listen to me. If you want to make Ben-Vell jealous there are plenty of men and women here who would help you put on a display of lust so overwhelming that he would die a thousand deaths to get you back into his arms."

Toomi shook her head. "It's not about making him desire me again, magician. It's about proving to him that he's wrong about me, about out-doing his own accomplishments."

"My dear," Rigby slinked back closer, "Ben-Vell killed Thanos and ended the Eternal War. What can you do to match that?"

Toomi shook her head from side-to-side once, slowly. "Don't know. I guess I'll have to kill this Doom guy everyone' so afraid of."

Rigby grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her towards a bank of black curtains. His voice was a harsh whisper. "Stupid child," he scolded. "Do not mention that name here. Kill Doom? You haven’t the nerve to do what it takes."

Toomi tugged her arm free. "If Ben-Vell can kill Thanos, I can kill Doom."

Rigby could no longer hide the thrill inside him, letting a wide smile play out across his thin face. "Oh, really?" Rigby reached behind him with his left hand, grabbing the black velvet curtain and whisking it aside. "Then I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Toomi looked into the darkness behind the curtain as an older man dressed all in black crept into the light. "Hello, Attumidunn," the man said. "My name is Daimon Hellstrom. I think it time we conversed."

A PARALLEL EARTH - BOSTON

Eshir Maximoff followed Felicia Osborn through the dirty city of Boston, Massachusetts. Everything was covered in filth, and fires burned everywhere: in the streets, in the windows of high-rise buildings, in overturned cars. Goblins - real, grotesque goblins, Eshir kept reminding himself - roamed the streets as if wild dogs. The sky was filled with the ash of a burning city, and the stink was nearly overwhelming. There were few humans about, and those that dared to walk outside kept themselves sheltered in the dirty cloaks, eyes locked on the ground, and hurried along.

"Not even our Earth is as bad as this," Eshir remarked. "Is it like this everywhere?"

"No," Licia shook her head. "Some places are better, others are worse. The Goblin House controls the Midwest and Northeastern United States. All the old industrial cities of the north."

Eshir felt uneasy as the goblins began to take notice of their walk through the city. They must make an odd pair, he thought, a young man and woman dressed for an extravagant masked ball strolling through the filth of near-dead city. "Should we worry about the goblins?" he asked.

Licia looked at him and smiled. "No, they will not harm me."

"Because of your mother," Esh nodded.

"No," Licia said, her face growing dark. "Because of me. I am an Osborn, Eshir. They know the Goblin Legacy runs in my blood and that one day I will be their Queen. Just as my mother is." She looked at him with concern. "Are you sure you still want to meet her?"

Eshir let out a deep sigh. "Yes," he said. "I have to know if your mother is an alternate version of my friend, or if they simply share a name." He paused, looking down at Licia. It unnerved him, the way she looked like Angelica, close enough to be sisters. How could he have not seen it last night?

Licia unexpectedly wrapped her arms around him tightly, kissing him on the cheek. "We've just got to figure out a story to tell her explaining why you want to meet her."

"The truth won't work?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Oh, yes, the truth. 'Hello, mum, this is a boy I had frivolous sex with last night at an exclusive party you have forbidden me to attend who thinks you might be the a parallel version of his friend.' That will work wonderfully," she drolled.

"Do you have a better idea?"

Licia smiled wickedly, her eyes sparkling up at him. "I'm sure I'll think- oh no." She pushed Eshir away and pointed into the sky. Eshir looked up, and saw a horde of goblin gliders tearing across the city's skyline. "Come quickly," Licia said, grabbing his hand. "Something is amiss in the city."

THE BLISS - HANGAR BAY

Brono and Angelica walked Captain America and Ben-Vell back to their Quinjet.

"You should get rest, Captain," Brono said to Steve Rogers, who wasn't able to go more than a minute or two without coughing.

"Not an option," America answered, triggering the lock that opened the Quinjet's door. He ran his gloved hand along the metal of the ship, thinking of days gone by. "Hank Pym is a founding member of the Avengers. If he has come out of hiding, he must be found. With Doom in charge now, there will be no delay. Even the calm seconds that pass are a part of his plan in action. He will not rest, so neither shall any of us." Steve shook his head. "God help us if Doom gets to Pym first."

Beside them, Angelica pulled Ben to the side. She looked at his haggard face and he suddenly seemed so much older than he had the last time she saw him, only months earlier. "There's so much I want to say to you, Ben. Some of it good, some of it bad, but mostly there are the questions. Why did you turn against us?"

"I didn't turn against you," he said weakly. "The Kree are members of the Council."

"I'm not talking about the Kree," Angel answered indignantly. "I'm talking about the Orphans. What you did to Toomi was-"

"Wrong," he shrugged. "I know. What I just did to her inside the Masquerade was worse." He shook his head, looked away. "I was angry at her and I wanted to hurt her, but … gods, I didn't mean to say the things I said as harshly as I said them."

"It's the Masquerade," Angelica explained. "It amplifies emotions and desires. Since it's a party, it's usually the feelings of pleasure that become exaggerated, but there is no reason that it couldn't work on the darker emotions."

"Tell her I'm sorry," he said.

Angelica shook her head. "Tell her yourself."

With that, Angelica and Brono watched their allies board the Quinjet and depart.

"What now?" Angelica asked when they were alone.

"Back to the Masquerade," Brono answered. "We find Attumidunn and Eshir and take our search elsewhere."

A PARALLEL EARTH - BOSTON

Eshir Maximoff stood inside a penthouse suite, looking out onto a world that seemingly had no hope. This was Licia's apartment, the top floor in a skyscraper that was devoted to storing the spoils of her mother's campaigns of terror. The sky was setting in the distance, tinting the smoke filled sky with orange rays.

"They call it the Goblin Sunset," Licia said, pulling Eshir back from the window. "Please, do not stand in the light. If she sees you … I don't know how she'll react."

"I am not helpless," Eshir said, using his magnetic powers to gently lift Licia off the ground before setting her back down, causing her to smile.

"I thought you had powers that could do things like that," she smiled. "You probably didn't even realize you were using them last night when we shared a bed, did you?"

Eshir blushed, and turned back to the window. It unnerved him that somewhere out there, the Goblin Queen was soaring through the sky, installing fear in the hearts of this city. "Do we just wait?"

"That would be best," Licia said, moving to wrap her arms around him. She closed her eyes as her head relaxed into his chest. "I hope bringing you here wasn't a mistake."

"I'll be fine," Eshir said.

A cold voice came to them from the dark edge of the room. "That is very much in doubt, if you are who I think you are."

Eshir and Licia were startled back, away from the voice, and the deliberate clicking of heels on the marble floor. Eshir held his breath as a woman emerged out of the darkness and into the orange light that bathed the room from the exterior sky. She wore dark green, almost black, thigh-high boots, and a green and purple chain-mail top that was covered by a purple cloak, edged with fur. She pointed a purple-gloved arm at Eshir. Upon her face was a frightening goblin mask. The Goblin Queen looked to her daughter, "Well, Felicia, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Licia swallowed hard, but Eshir stepped forward and introduced himself. "I am Eshir Maximoff."

"Yes," the Goblin Queen grinned. "You are. The stink of arrogance is all over you." She turned to her daughter. "You have been keeping dangerous company, my sweet. Tell me, Maximoff," she turned back, "are you here to deliver a message from your House?"

"Mother," Licia interjected, "he is not of the House Maximoff."

"You lie," the Goblin Queen replied without taking her eyes from Eshir, nor dropping her raised gauntlet.

"She doesn't, milady," Eshir tried the formal approach. "I am from what your daughter referred to as Asgard Prime."

"Lies!" the Goblin Queen screamed, taking a confident stride forward. "You are a spy sent to bring the House Goblin to ruin!"

"Mother!" Licia exclaimed. "Look at how we are dressed! We met at … at the Jazz Masquerade."

The Goblin Queen dropped her glove and took three hard steps towards her daughter. "Whore!" she screamed, and slapped Licia hard enough to send her sprawling to the floor with blood on her cheek. "You were told never to-"

Eshir acted quickly, sending a magnetic pulse hurtling towards the Goblin Queen that picked her off the floor. Angrily, he shot her body across the suite and slammed it into the far wall, where he held it tightly in place. "Are you okay?" he asked Licia, helping her to her feet. He thought of Angelica's admission that her mother had abused her, and wondered if Licia had been subjected to the same child abuse.

"I'm … I'm fine …" Licia said, looking stunned.

"Does she do that a lot?" Eshir asked.

Licia shook her head.

They turned their attention to the far wall, where the Goblin Queen struggled to free herself from Eshir's magnetic grip. "Be careful," Licia whispered when she saw Eshir start to move to her mother, but he paid her warning no heed. He stood in front of the Goblin Queen, adjusting her height against the wall so that he could look at her eye-to-eye.

"Your daughter informs me that you cut off the hands of those you deem guilty of the crime of arrogance," Eshir said, raising his arms in front of his chest. "Why do you do this?"

He could see the Goblin Queen's eyes searching his, and the corners of her mouth began to soften. "How can it be? You … Eshir? Is it really you? You look so young … so much like when we were kids …"

The words were like a knife through his heart. "What do you mean? You know me?"

"Of course," the Goblin Queen nodded.

"Who are you?" Eshir asked, wanting to be certain.

"Angelica, Esh," the Goblin Queen replied, an aching in her voice. "Please, Eshir, if you do not believe me, remove my mask."

Eshir thought for a moment, then nodded. He raised his left arm and pried the goblin mask off the Queen with the use of his magnetic powers. "By the gods," he exhaled. There was no doubt in his mind; the woman before him, the Goblin Queen of this world, was a parallel version of the Angelica Osborn he knew. She was older, of course, old enough to have a child-

Eshir turned to look at Licia, who had made her way to stand beside him. "Is it her?" she asked.

"It is," he said, still disbelieving. He looked at the Goblin Queen, asked, "How did it happen? When was the curse triggered?"

"You were there."

"No," he pressed. "I wasn't. I am from a parallel universe, like I said. I know nothing of this world-"

"Except my daughter," the Queen said icily, causing Eshir to blush. The Queen laughed, cold and hard. "I always knew you wanted me." She looked to her daughter, "How does it feel, Felicia? To know that your newest toy only slept with you because you reminded him of me?"

"Enough!" Eshir snapped, exerting more pressure against Angelica. "Now tell me, Osborn, what triggered the change?"

The Queen smiled devilishly. "Mjolnir." She started to laugh. "For a whole second I had the power of Thor in my grasp and then … it rejected me. But as that power was drained from my body, I felt a new presence awake inside me to take its place. The Goblin Curse."

Eshir shook his head. "Mjolnir wouldn't grant you the power only to immediately take it away."

"But it did. It took me awhile to wonder why, but the truth lay deep inside me." She glanced to her daughter. "I was already pregnant with her." She turned back to Eshir. "The first person I killed was her father, the damnable Ben-Vell Parker."

He turned to glance at Licia, who said weakly, "That is why I wanted to meet your version of Ben-Vell."

Great, Eshir thought. I've slept with a girl who looks like Angelica, and who happens to be Angelica and Ben-Vell's daughter. I frecking loathe time-travel.

Eshir was knocked out of his thoughts by the growing chuckling of the Goblin Queen. "Time to feel pain, cripple." He heard Licia gasp beside him, and he turned to see the penthouse suite filling with goblins. They approached from the far edge of the room, a solid line of hissing and cackling creatures. Some held swords, some spears. Eshir concentrated on keeping the Queen locked to the wall, but he knew that once the goblins started attacking, she would be able to pry herself free. Behind them, a man in robes hung in the darkness.

The Goblin Queen seethed with rage. "Where were you, sorcerer!"

"Apologies, my love," the man in the darkness called. "There were delays of an unfortunate kind. Intruders, in the city, seeking to rescue the dragon witch. * But we are here now, and we can dispense with the rubbish."

* See AGC 51-53: Knights of Old Orders

"Very well," she smiled. "Oh by the by, my dear, take a good look at the young man you will now kill for me. Doesn't he look familiar?"

The man in the shadows took a step forward, "That he does, my Queen. And though the aura of another world envelops him, I shall very much enjoy killing Eshir Maximoff for all the misery he has brought us."

Eshir watched as the sorcerer stepped out into the light, a knot developing in his stomach.

"Meet the Sorcerer Supreme," the Goblin Queen laughed. "A man you might know as K'Zan Strange!"

THE BLISS - THE BALLROOM FLOOR OF THE JAZZ MASQUEERADE

"Can't find either of them," Angelica shook her head as she came back to stand with Brono near a bar in the middle of the floor. "And, of course, if you ask anybody anything, they just look at you like-"

"Eshir is still romancing the girl he left with," Brono replied, sipping on a cup of mead. "He has yet to return from the curtains."

Angelica raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

Brono smiled. "Thou must learn the art of questioning, Angelica."

The lights in the ballroom darkened dramatically, and the music changed its tempo, turning darker and more gothic. A spotlight appeared on the room's main stage, several hundred yards away from Brono and Angelica, and the attention in the room was immediately drawn to it. A buzz ran through the room, and Angelica found herself growing excited without knowing why.

"Stay close to me," Brono said beside her. "If this be Hellstrom's ritual, there shall be a foulness creeping into thine room." Angelica said nothing, intrigued as yet another of the Jazz Masquerade's secrets played out before them. While the stage was at least 300 yards distant from them, she could see, with perfect clarity, Rigby the Magician saunter onto the stage and receive a large applause from the attendees.

"Greetings, one and all, to what will certainly be a signature performance of the Masquerade!" The crowd whooped and hollered in response. "For the first time in the ball's history, we will be treated with a very powerful, very dark presentation of the Ceremony of Dark Angels!"

"Don't they realize," Angel whispered to Brono, "that this ceremony is going to make the Army of Doom stronger?"

Brono nodded. "Thou must remember, Angelica, that no judgments are passed at the Masquerade."

"Sounds like a cop-out," she fumed, but the Norn King did not reply.

Rigby continued, "And now I present to you … the man who will lead the Ceremony of Dark Angels ... Daimon Hellstrom, ruler of the Earth Hells!"

Hellstrom floated up through an opening in the stage, all business. His cloak and shirt were gone, and he stood before the crowd wearing nothing but his black boots and leather pants. The black pentagram that was tattooed onto his chest seemed to radiate darkness, pulling all light into it and darkening the world wherever Daimon walked.

He began chanting in an ancient tongue that Angelica didn't recognize as white candles, already lit, descended from the cloud-covered ceiling. It was the only light in the room, and all eyes were upon the Son of Satan as sweat began to bead on his body. Balls of fire, perhaps two feet wide flashed to life in a circle around him, just below the candles. Daimon began to move his hands rapidly as his enchanting grew louder, and the candles began to circle clockwise as the fireballs moved counterclockwise. The candles pushed down and the fireballs pushed up, and soon they were circling around Daimon in opposite directions, slow and rhythmic. The circle of fire was at least twenty feet out from the center all around Hellstrom, a dazzling display that enraptured the crowd.

Daimon turned, motioning sharply with his hands to both sides of the stage. One at a time, women dressed only in see-through black veils walked up the small rise and knelt to either side of him.

Angelica was thanking her God for not agreeing to Daimon's offer to join the Angelux in return for the location of Rahnotok, the Celestial Messiah, when a sight caused her to reach for and squeeze Brono's hand tightly.

Clear as day, Attumidunn walked onto the stage and knelt to the right of Daimon Hellstrom.

"We must-"

"You won't do a thing," a voice said menacingly, just before Rigby the Magnificent stepped in front of her and Brono. "What she does, she does of her own free will."

"How can we know that?" Angelica asked, seething.

A sly grin spread across Rigby's face as he removed his top hat. "While this is not proof, as it were, of Attumidunn's free will, you may take it as proof that Daimon Hellstrom is a man of his word. He offered your friend the same deal as you. The difference? She had the courage to accept it." With his magician's flair, he tapped his magic wand onto the hat, then reached inside. He removed a data crystal, and handed it to Brono. "The location of the Celestial Messiah," he answered their unasked question. "Courtesy of Daimon Hellstrom.

A PARALLEL EARTH - BOSTON

The goblins parted for K'Zan Strange to walk into the center of the suite. Eshir still held the Goblin Queen against the wall, but it wouldn't last. Beside him, Licia pleaded with her mother to let him go, but she was alternately ignored or insulted. Eshir's eyes were locked on this world's K'Zan, however. This K'Zan strode with a confidence his friend had never had. There was no shaking in his hands, no sense of nervousness, just a calm serenity that came with knowing who you were.

"You do not look afraid, young Maximoff," the Sorcerer Supreme said, coming to a halt. He wore the Cloak of Levitation that Eshir had seen in Beta Ray Bill's Histories. His black and grey hair was long, down to his waist, and he wore an old world 'M' upon his shirt. "Ah, my Queen, he refuses to speak. Perhaps he is afraid, after all."

Eshir shook his head. "It's surprise, not fear. The K'Zan of my world is a joke. Can't cast anything more than a basic spell. Even then, it most likely goes wrong."

Strange smiled. "Ah, yes, I had that problem as well, didn't I, my love?" he asked the Queen. "It wasn't until after this world's you ran away to hide on the moon, and Attumidunn dove under the waters to claim Atlantis that I found my way. My darling Queen Angelica helped show me the way to true power." Strange pulled his cloak aside, revealing the old world 'M' that adorned his shirt. "When Mjolnir rejected Angelica, she fled Asgard a broken woman. Only I had the courage to find her, and when I did, when I had nursed her back to health, I was rewarded by the dark side of her nature." Strange smiled. "I was given the tomes of Merlin by the goblins that came forward to serve her." Strange began to walk slowly towards Eshir. "You are of the Prime plane, are you not? From the center world of the Everything where the 'good fight' is taking place?" He smiled, "We are making great inroads into that world. Oh yes, our allies are assisting us greatly in breaking down-"

"Silence!" the Goblin Queen roared. "You forget your place, Sorcerer, and say too much!"

K'Zan bowed low, "Forgive me, my love. But since we are going to kill this Maximoff regardless, what does it matter?"

Eshir turned to Licia. "Two questions. Do you want to come with me? Will you be okay if you stay behind?"

Licia looked at him with a deep sadness in her eyes, and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't fall in love with one night stands, Esh. We are more trouble than we're worth in the long run. Go fight your war."

Esh looked slowly from Licia to the Goblin Queen over to the Sorcerer Supreme. Was this the destiny that awaited his friends?

"Capture him!" Angelica the Goblin Queen roared to K'Zan.

The magician moved to cast a spell, but Eshir was ready for them. He shot his arms out wide, opening them in a smooth arc and sent a massive pulse of magnetic energy hurtling towards K'Zan and the goblins, knocking them backwards. Esh looked to Licia. He found he had no words for her. Acting quickly, he sent a hard, direct wave of energy towards the penthouse's windows, exploding them outwards.

Without looking back he focused on the distant bridge, and used his control of the electromagnetic field to zoom almost instantly across the open sky.

THE BLISS - THE BALLROOM FLOOR OF THE JAZZ MASQUEERADE

Brono's hands were on Angelica's shoulders, keeping a gentle pressure to let her know not to interfere.

"This isn't right!" she seethed.

"It is her choice, her path," Brono replied, as they watched Attumidunn submit to Hellstrom's ceremony.

"But you told me no," Angelica replied.

Brono turned her gently around so that he could face her directly. "Thou didst not have to listen, Angelica. Attumidunn hath made her choice. We can only hope that what thou believest about the ceremony holds true, that her free will remains her own, and that she returns to us."

Rigby the Magnificent chuckled beside them. "Do you think Hellstrom truly that foolish? The deal requires at least one year of direct service. Your friend," he looked directly into Angelica's soul, "will have her freedom, but it is not absolute."

Angelica held her tongue, turning back to find Attumidunn amidst the nearly forty bodies that were being turned into Angelux. The candles and fireballs that once rotated in opposing circles around the general of Doom had been rearranged into the large star of a pentagram that floated twenty feet off the ground. They watched, helpless, as Attumidunn underwent the ritual.

Toomi, now naked, approached the sorcerer and pledged her soul to him. "I give myself to you, Hellstrom, in exchange for the power of the Angelux!" Hellstrom chanted a spell of bonding and touched her on the head with his staff. Atumidunn bowed, then knelt before him. There were cups of ionic energy mixed with Hellstrom's own blood on the floor. She grasped the chalice and drank deeply. "Rise!" Hellstrom ordered, and the crowd of the Masquerade echoed his words, chanting as one. "Rise!"

"Rise!" Hellstrom ordered again. "Rise, daughter of the Angelux!"

Angelica watched, stunned, as Attumidunn turned around for the ball to see her transformation. Her eyes were now infused with the red ionic energy of the Angelux and her glistening body seemed to radiate power. Angelica could've sworn that Toomi looked directly at her and smiled, but the contact was lost as the other newly created Angelux came forward to cloak her in her new black, red, and gold armor, signifying her place in the Angelux.

"Look at the gauntlets she is given," Rigby informed Brono and Angelica. "Do you see the gold wings on the outside of each forearm? It signifies her rank as second-in-command of this regiment. It is a place of honor Hellstrom bestows upon Attumidunn."

They said nothing as they watched the Angelux move out away from Hellstrom into a perfect circle. He chanted fiercely, and the Angelux were raised into the air, becoming the circle around the pentagram start of candles and fireballs. They began to rotate clockwise, slowly gaining speed. Each of them unsheathed their black sword, holding it directly above their heads, as Hellstrom reached down onto the floor to pick up a ruby. He held it out away from him, then left it floating in the air. "Freedom for servitude!" he yelled in plain English, and struck the ruby hard with his hands. There was a tremendous flash of light as the ruby was cracked open, and when the flash burned off, a red-haired human woman stood before them.

"Patsy Walker, eternal mate of Daimon Hellstrom, do you willingly bond yourself to me?"

"Yes!" Patsy cried. "Anything to be free of that soul cage!"

Hellstrom could not help but smile as Patsy knelt before him and gulped down the ionic/blood drink.

In minutes it was over, and the former heroine Hellcat, with Attumidunn at her side, led a regiment of forty newly created Angelux out of the Jazz Masquerade to a thunderous standing ovation.

Angelica desperately tried to catch Attumidunn's eye, but her friend ignored her gaze, marching off with her new sisters of the Angelux, to serve the Army of Doom.

ASGARD - THE OBSERVATORY OF ODIN THE ONE-EYE

King William, Cable, and Ash'lin watched anxiously as Dani Moonstar led Apollo to the bottom of the Observatory. Above, Kovar and Skrull 4 waited in the Eye, staying vigilant.

"Hello, Cyborg King," Apollo sneered at Beta Ray Bill. "'Tis a sad day when Asgard has an alien beast on the throne."

"You come to us under the flag of truce," King William replied, ignoring the insult. "What is it that you want?"

Apollo held out a hand-written note. "It is from Doom," the Olympian sun god grinned. "It is the formal request for your surrender."

The Jazz Masquerade concluded.

I hope bringing you here wasn't a mistake.

YGGDRASIL

Comments c/o bousquet22@earthlink.net

For a subscription to AGC, send an email to me and I'll add you to the agcverse mailing list at yahoogroups. You will receive every issue of AGC and TALES of AGC as soon as they are ready for print.

Note: For the only previous appearance of the Jazz Masquerade, you can check out my run on WARLOCK, located at the Epic Branch. The story there is, in no way, necessary to the understanding of anything in AGC, but it does contain some background information on the Masquerade itself, as well as introducing Rigby the Magnificent to the world.

Mark Bousquet

Northern Bear Productions

25 January 2003