Guardians of the Galaxy #76

EXPLORE THE MV1 UNIVERSE OF THE 20th CENTURY WITH THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
MV1 Comics Presents:
Martinex, Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Doom, Yondu and Nikki, the Guardians of the Galaxy!
by Adrian Watts	#76 - A Wasp's Venom	July Year 4

The Guardians of the Galaxy, along with the 43rd Century heroes Guardian Force and the Falcon, fended off an attack by the evil Punishers, led by their leader, Deathwing! But with an assist by the 21st century hero Killraven, they managed to end the threat of the Punishers forever, by destroying their leader, a futuristic clone of Tony Stark! As if that wasn't enough, the Guardians then travelled to the twenty-first century to help in Earth's battle against the Martian Invasion, where they learned that the heroic M'Shulla Scott's son, Andre, was dying of a similar malady to the one that affected the son of their friend, Talon, in the 31st century. They agreed to take him back to the twentieth century, where they knew someone would be able to help him, but now they're stuck here, as the time machine that was going to return them is on the fritz! So now let us join our heroes, stuck in the middle of New York, without a credit card or a dollar between them....

Nikki carried the young Andre Scott in her arms as Doom led the Guardians of the Galaxy into an upper class hotel in New York. He had been alive in this time, unlike the other Guardians, and thus had an identity here. Thankfully, it was one with money to it's name. He checked them all in, giving them each a separate room. It was late at night, and he thought it would be a great chance for them to catch up on some rest.

Nikki took the baby boy up to her room, and sat down, beginning to think about the events of the last few days. Something about it all didn't sit right with her. The battle against the Beyonder and the Punishers went too fast, seemed too contrived. And the idea of Aleta dying the way she did just didn't fit in her mind. She lay down on her bed, laying Andre next to her.

"What the -- ?" Leaving the sleeping baby on the bed, she jumped up and ran to the adjoining room. Vance's. On the way, she heard two more thumps. A fight! She knocked the door down, only to see Vance smashing up his room.

"What does it look like I'm doing, genius?" he retorted, picking up a small chair and throwing it at her.

"Vance, I'm going to go get Charlie..." she said. She ran out of the room and down the corridor, to where Charlie lay asleep in his room. She shook him awake, and he squinted, trying to open his eyes in the dim room. "Charlie! Charlie, get up! Quickly!" Charlie sprang awake.

"It's Vance. He's gone mad, smashing up his room..." she said. Charlie just dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"Aleta's dead, Nik, he's just working it out of his system." he said, and lay back down. Nikki left the room, walking down the corridor back to her room, passing Vance's. As she passed, though, she saw he had stopped his outrage. He was laying on the floor, screaming silently. She ran into the room.

"Noooooo...." he muttered. "Out. OUT!" With a loud SHLOOP!, Nikki watched as Vance began to, well, split. His body narrowed, becoming ever thinner, until it seemed as if there were two identical Vance Astros. And then, with a loud CHLUP!, a female figure rose out of the second Vance, and it's remains once again melted into Vance's form. The new figure looked familiar to Nikki, though. In red and gold armour, the woman had tiny wings on her shoulders and short, red-brown hair. Who was it...?

"Quickly, Nikki!" the mystery figure cried. "Stop him before it's too late!" The woman aimed her wrists at Vance, and let fly with two blasts from wrist-blasters. They made Vance stumble backwards.

"What are you doing?" Nikki shrieked. "Leave him alone!" She tackled the woman, knocking her over. And in that time, Vance span around, smashing the window open and jumping through it, into the night beyond. The new woman pushed Nikki off her, stood up, and brushed herself off.

"Nikki..." she said. "It's me. Rita. Yellowjacket. And the man you just let go? That wasn't Vance. That was... Venom!"

It only took a few moments for Nikki to assemble the Guardians of the Galaxy. She knew they'd all have so many questions. Too many questions, in her opinion, when coupled with the ones already floating through her mind about Aleta and the Beyonder. They all assembled in Nikki's room, where Andre still lay sleeping. Yellowjacket stood before the group, ready to explain what happened. Everyone eyed her suspiciously. The last they knew, they had left her in an alternate timeline, where they themselves had been trapped for several years.

"You're probably all wondering what I'm doing here. And I can - and will - explain. And trust me, it all ties in to Vance Astro and Venom. Just keep listening." she began. "Here goes. When you guys travelled back into this century and battle Doctor Octopus' Masters of Evil, including me, and the evil doppelgangers of everyone present*, you went back to the future. Little did you know that I had hitched a ride. I had shrunk to wasp size - thanks to the Pym particle technology I stole during the MoE's raid on Avengers Mansion - and stuck myself to Vance Astro, then known as Major Victory.

"At that point, when all Earth's 20th century heroes returned from the Infinity War, most of you decided to go back in time to stop the Badoon invasion of Earth. Vance didn't, and I stayed aboard him, waiting for a time to reveal my presence. I regularly grew and got food, then returned to my post. While you were all gone, another Yellowjacket was revealed to have smuggled aboard your ship, the Drydock. That was not me. That was an alternate YJ, whose life up until that point had been the same as mine, although other aspects of her timeline were changed.

"I didn't know this at the time, of course, because Major Victory and Ii were still in this time, training with Captain America and the Avengers. But soon we met up, and there I saw the new Yellowjacket. Before I had a chance to reveal myself, Vance was gravely injured - and I lay wounded, nearly killed due to his injuries - and then you guys healed him by getting him a new suit. That suit seemed to envelop his body. It did. It was the 31st century's version of the Venom symbiote, worn by Eddie Brock, Venom, in this timeline.

"It enveloped me, too, bonding the three of us together, uniting us. We shared each other's hunger, pain, and sustinance. And I was not strong enough to break free. But then, Venom began to crave power. He began to control Vance, making him more aggressive - "

" -- and so I began to fight it, hoping Vance would help. He didn't. He couldn't. The symbiote's control was too strong. So I was stuck, watching your lives through the symbiote. But then, when the Beyonder killed Aleta, and the symbiote made Vance simply shrug it off, Vance became outraged, and finally realised the symbiote was there. When Nikki saw him smashing the place up before, he was really fighting the symbiote's control. And with my help, he was winning. But then the symbiote forced me out. And here I am. And, unfortunately, Vance is now running around completely bonded to the symbiote, now that I am not there to act as a brace."

The Guardians - even Doom - gasped. "How could we not have noticed?" Martinex said.

"We were busy.... the people of K'Rann.... the Punishers, the Beyonder! We didn't have time to notice!" Charlie said. "But now... we have to find him. Remember what he told us about Cap's shield? Remember what Doctor Druid told him?"

"Yeah," Martinex said. "Two copies of the same thing, from different times. If they touch, reality itself could collap -- dear god."

The members of the Galactic Guardians turned away from the blue portal that helped the Guardians of the Galaxy depart, and faced their enemy, Deathwing.

"Deathwing," Replica said, a scowl on her face. "You helped beat the Beyonder. Which means we'll let you go, for now. But show up here again and we will beat you and make you pay for the crimes committed by you and your Punishers."

Deathwing nodded, seemingly understanding the green skinned female. "Fine," he said. "but the real Guardians couldn't beat me. I find it hard to think you could - ARGH!" He spun around, only to see Mainframe, who had partially solidified a limb within Deathwing's body.

"Replica asked you to leave, Deathwing," Mainframe said. "Now go." Deathwing muttered as he summoned his Punishers and got ready to leave. "We will be back. And next time we will destroy you all!" He laughed as he switched a switch on his side, transporting him and his minions back to their 43rd century base. "Now," Mainframe said. "we can begin to repair their damage."

"I agree with him," Phoenix remarked. "And I'm probably the only one who has noticed this, but where is Hollywood?"

"Fine," Firelord said. "You, Mainframe, and the Spirit of Vengeance can clean up here, Phoenix and I shall find Hollywood and the Beyonder." With that, Phoenix and Firelord took for the skies, looking to the stars. And then Replica and the rest of the Galactic Guardians began repairing Doom's castle, not noticing a pair of eyes watching them from the darkness... a falcon's eyes...

Thor and Sif stormed through the most densely populated area of the planet K'Rann, with the blue-skinned wizard Meran standing in front of them, trying to hold them back.

"Because, my friend," the god of thunder replied. "you, the Guardians, and even mine wife, Sif, hath told me he was destroyed. But I can sense that mine basest of half brothers yet lives, and I must find him."

"If mine husband insists that Loki doth live, I dost believe him. We must find him." she replied.

Darn! Meran thought. If they find out that I only concealed Loki in his helmet... a helmet which Vance Astro now possesses, then I shall most assuredly be destroyed!

Guardian Force, the 43rd century's version of the Guardians of the Galaxy, stood firmly before a torrent of mutants that had once been led by the now-Guardian, Rancor. Korvac, the group's leader, had promised the Guardians that they would stand firm against these mutants.... but now, he wasn't sure if he could be true to his word. There were just too many.... it was too... chaotic.

"Blitz!" he shouted, over the loud cries from the battle. "Use your power over electricity to power up the Deathmonger! Try and blow it up or something. Psy-knight, put up a telekinetic shield around us, but be careful - there may be some power nullifying mutants in the group. Spartan, clear a path to safety!" He ducked as a spinning blade passed close to his right ear.

"Whistler, you're the most agile of all of us. Get out of here, find help!" Korvac cried. The mutants kept coming as Whistler leaped out of the battle, onto a nearby rooftop. He needed to find help, but from who? Guardian Force knew no-one on this planet, let alone had any allies here! He had to think. To whom could he go for help? He'd never studied the tapes on Haven II too thoroughly, but if he remembered correctly, Batwing and Shaddo never saw entirely eye to eye. Could that be why Batwing wasn't helping Shaddo fight the Guardian Force? He had to find him!

The Guardians took to the streets of NYC each in their own unique fashion. Some, like Yondu and Nikki, took to the rooftops, leaping across the great crevasses that are the alleyways of New York. Others, like Yellowjacket and Doom, flew through the air, giving them a bird's eye view of the area. And finally, Charlie-27 and Martinex ran their way through the 'metal jungle'. None of them had any idea where they were going. The only Guardian who knew their way around New York was Vance, but he wasn't likely to help them, since he was their target. The three pairs split up, each being able to travel at varying speeds.

"Y'know, Yondu," Nikki said. "This is one of the main reasons I agreed to come with you guys. The first thought I had when you, Chunkie, Vance, and Marty found me was of how great an adventure we would have. This is exactly it."

"An adventure? I never thought of it like that, Nicolette," Yondu remarked. "For me, this has been a most trying time."

Yondu continued on his way, although a tired look of weary concentration appeared on his face. He sighed aloud. "Nikki, may I remind you of all that has occurred since this 'adventure' began?"

"Sure," Nikki said. "I want to know what you and Marty did while the rest of us were in that other timeline.*"

[ * - Nikki, Charlie, Vance, Aleta, Hollywood, the Galactic Guardians... pretty much everyone except Yondu and Martinex were in another timeline from GotG #30 - GotG #66 - Adrian ]

"But Yondu, I've been here since the beginning, practically. I know it all." Nikki said. Yondu smiled.

"You know it all, do you?" Yondu said. "A comment like that is precisely the reason I need to refresh your memory. Let us begin." Yondu motioned for Nikki to halt, and they sat, high above the streets of New York. "As you are aware, the plight of the Guardians of the Galaxy began when the Brotherhood of the Badoon came and conquered our entire star system."

"Shortly before that occurred, Vance Astro had completed his 1000 year journey across the entire universe, and returned to Earth, where representatives from all of Earth's colonies greeted him. And then, the Badoon arrived, committing genocide on all the Terran worlds, leaving but one survivor from each, for whatever reason they so desired.

"Vance, being the only one with a spaceworthy craft, journeyed to the core worlds - Pluto, where he found Martinex; Jupiter, where Charlie-27 graced everyone with his presence; and finally, they found me, an outcast of my people, wandering around Arcturus IV, not knowing what my life would become. We formed the Guardians of the Galaxy that day - although we weren't using quite a fancy name at the time - and began to search for other survivors.

"Several years passed, and we decided we were alone, and gave up our search, living aboard Vance's ship. But then, Vance insisted on an attack on Earth, to drive away the Badoon. He had said we all had nothing to lose by trying. But I did have something to lose. My beloved homeworld... and Anthos." Yondu sighed a short sigh. "We attacked Earth, and were aided in our attempt by two heroes from this era, Captain America and the Thing. The mere presence of Captain America, and his unerring, legendary warrior spirit, was enough to incite hope and courage within the human resistance on Earth. They began to fight back, and we fought with them.

"That was, until, we were whisked away to the 20th century for an adventure. There, we met the Defenders - and Stakar - who agreed to come back to our time to help fight the Badoon. They fought most valiantly, but eventually they had to leave. But not before the arrival of the Sisterhood of the Badoon, who took their male counterparts back with them to the Badoon homeworld, leaving Earth in peace. The grand war for freedom had ended, and we decided to live among the newly freed people of Earth. But soon, we decided our hearts could not lie still on the Earth, and that out true destinies lay in space, and thus we returned there -"

"Yes, we found you, and you were a most welcome addition to the group. Your courage, enthusiasm, and wit inspired us the same away Captain America inspired the Terran resistance. But shortly after finding you, we discovered the presence of Aleta. Stakar had been hiding her within him, keeping her supressed. But she broke out of her imprisonment, if only temporarily. But her short time with us was enough for Vance to fall in love with her.

"Shortly thereafter, we learned of Stakar and Aleta's children, and saw their deaths, as horrible as they were. The children, crumbling to dust... the image still sends a shiver down my spine now. And then Aleta hid herself within Stakar, not wanting to emerge. And then came Korvac -"

"Please wait, Nikki. I will get to that in a moment," Yondu continued. "Then came Korvac, and his minions of menace. Thor, the god of thunder, had accidentally come into our time at that moment, and aided us in our battle against them. But then we were forced to return with him - to fight alongside the Avengers as they waged their own war with Korvac. He called himself Michael Korvac, at that stage, and had become more powerful than even our combined might. And only the betrayal of love could defeat him. He died that day, and we stayed with the Avengers until his funeral, and then returned to our time, where nothing has made sense since."

"Think, Nicollette. All these themes have had a recurring undertone. The betrayal of love. Stakar and Aleta's children. The human resistance's love for Captain America. Vance's love for Aleta. And think, most recently. What gave Aleta the power she needed to defeat the Beyonder?"

"The betrayal of love," Nikki said. "The Betyonder betrayed her love for Kristoff and Vance."

"And what of the Michael Korvac that aided us against the Beyonder? Did we not see Korvac die before our very eyes? Who could this new one be?" Yondu asked. "And tell me, Nikki. Do you not feel empty and confused in this timeline where he does not exist?"

"Korvac had only wanted to create perfect order in the galaxy, and to stop all the chaos. I have a feeling he has succeeded, even beyond death. And I have another feeling..." Yondu began.

"In every major event for the Guardians of the Galaxy, I have felt not only an extreme sense of perfect order, but a power keeping everything in place, somehow aiding us in our quest. Something I've never felt during our travels to the 20th century." Yondu said.

Charlie-27 and Martinex made excellent time through the streets of New York. They didn't have to deal with the hustle of the crowds - no-one was stupid enough to get in Charlie's way while he was running.

"Martinex!" Charlie puffed. "Can't you... I dunno.... use a sensor to pick him up or something?"

"No, Charlie," Martinex said. "I could have, if we had access to our ship. But I don't have the necessary equipment down here."

"Oh, great." Charlie said. "Well, I've gotta rest. Can we stop in the next alley?"

The two ran down the next alley, just missing bumping in to the Avenger Hawkeye, and the members of the Great Lakes Avengers*.

[ * - To find out why Hawkeye and the GLA are running out of this alley, check out AVENGERS SPOTLIGHT #50 at the Avengers branch!! - Also-by-me Adrian ]

"Wait, stop!" they heard as they entered the alley. But they didn't have time to stop, because suddenly, everything around them shifted, and they found themselves... in hell.

Yellowjacket and Doom raced through the sky at top speed, searching for Vance Astro. Doom had Andre Scott cradled in his arms - they planned to grab Vance and race straight to the Avengers, who could heal Andre, so it made sense to bring the child along. However, the silence between Yellowjacket and Doom was a bit disturbing. Yellojacket detested him for taking the measures he took to ensure the Guardians' loyalty*.

"Save it, Vernard. It just occurred to me your little control device may just save us. Does it have a homind device attached?" she asked.

"Yellowjaket, wait!" Doom said. "It has no homing device, but it does have a communications device. And since it is built to the specifications of Vance Astro, rather than the symbiote, we should be able to communicate directly to him, without having to pass through the symbiote first."

"Worth a try..." Rita said. Doom landed on a nearby rooftop, and, handing the baby to Rita, hit the switch on his side. "Vance Astro! Can you hear me?" he said.

"Lat... Lat... Latveria." Vance finally managed to get out. But suddenly, a loud shloop indicated that Vance had been cut off by the symbiote.

"Quit simple, Ms. DeMara. I am in Latveria in this timeline. And unless you want reality to collapse in on itself, I can't go." Doom said.

"No," Doom said. "The Guardians of the Galaxy are my... friends, now. I will not allow any harm to come to them unless I am with them."

Rita yelled a loud profanity. "But Vernard!" she said. "The fate of the Earth's existance is in the balance!"

"Then I'll tell them myself!" Rita shrieked. Kristoff spun quickly, grabbing Rita by the neck.

"No, Ms. DeMara. No-one goes. Such is the word of DOOM!" Kristoff said, snapping her neck and hurling her off the building on which they stood. He swept his cape behind him, and jumped himself, grabbing Andre Scott before the baby could come to harm. He landed on the ground below, and walked away.

NEXT ISSUE: Martinex and Charlie battle the dead denizens of Pluto in hell, Nikki and Yondu rush off to find Doom, and Vance Astro tries to alter the course of history - again! (And we all know what happened the first time!). Plus: Whistler makes a new friend, Michael Korvac's secret begins to unfold, we find out why the Falcon is hiding all of a sudden, and we see if Yellowjacket really died when Kristoff broke her neck!

All this and more in Guardians of the Galaxy #77: What's yer poison?

Guys, I thought I'd take this as an opportunity to tell you about the three new GotG projects in the works. First off, there's "Guardians of the Galaxy: Beyond the Beyonder" , a four-issue limited series detailing exactly what happened to Aleta, and where Starhawk and Kismet disappeared to when they returned to the correct timeline. Also, there is the "Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #5" also known as the Guardians of the Galaxy Year 4 Annual. This is part of a big MV1 crossover you'll just have to see to believe! And finally, there is the first Guardians of the Galaxy Cyberback Collection, containing the first 12-issues of the MV1 run on the series, plus a few little extras you'll just have to see. Hope you're as excited about these as I am. And remember, the address to send your 'Letters to the Stars' correspondence is right here.

The Martians invaded 19 days ago. Has anyone seen them yet, or is Killraven just a BLOODY liar?!?