Coast of Maine: 12:18 a.m.
Palleon dismounted the jet he had commandeered at the military airport. The breeze gave off such a cool feeling, but at the same time, gave him an ominous warning. As if some powerful higher power was telling him to turn back!
He looked out over the Atlantic Ocean and sighed. He had to have a submarine to even have a chance of getting to Atlantis alive.
"Where the blazes am I going to get a submarine?" He grumbled to himself.
He calmed his mind. There had to be some outpost or museum he could get one from! That sounded horrible, considering it was only him, and he needed a crew. He searched his mind for another item that might help.
He opened his eyes for a second, and noticed a golden item sticking out of the cliffside. He crouched down to pick it up, and pried it from the rock. When it lurched free, sending Palleon onto his backside, he held it up and saw that it was a mask of some kind. Maybe a rebreather?
He put the golden mask on his head and was instantly encased in a golden suit! Although it was heavy, he could feel air coming into the mask. There were no opening's in the suit, so it must be for underwater travel! But would his body survive the pressure? There was only one way to find out! He jumped!
Atlantic Ocean: 12:19 a.m.
Palleon instantly sank farther and farther into the dark water! He struggled to swim back up, but the suit was much too heavy! He sank further and further until the cliffside was no longer visible and continued in his downward plummet! Thousands of thoughts rushed through his head. The war, Thrawn, The New Republic, Iron Man and Thor, and The Infinity Gauntlet. He had come so far and now...he realized he was still breathing. So the suit worked and was heavy enough to drop him low enough for Atlantis! Palleon felt triumph once again, and relaxed, letting the suit drag him to the bottom of the abyss to the city long forgotten.
Imperial Star Destroyer: Korriban Orbit: 11:56 p.m.
Doom and Force Susan looked down at the tan planet below. Doom felt great evil emanating from this place. Force Susan looked rather sad.
"Are you well?" He asked her, gently touching her shoulder.
Suddenly, she lunged at him furiously! Doom jumped back and subdued her hands!
"What's worng with you?" He shouted.
He noticed her eyes glowed red for a moment, and then regained their normal color spectrum. She slumped on Doom's shoulder. "Sorry. I don't do so well in places like this. It takes over my will. But you...you calm me. Will you take me with you?"
Doom considered what he had heard. "Yes, of course..."
She smiled, then took his hand, and they left for the hangers.
Atlantic Ocean: 12:23 a.m.
The Quinjet flew over the Atlantic, searching for the location of the Atlantis outpost. Iron Man was at the controls.
"If we get to the Gauntlet before that guy, set a perimeter around the chamber. Also, ask Namor if he can help." He told the crew.
A thought suddenly occurred to Thor. "How are we to survive in the underwater depths?"
"The outpost has nanobots that are injected into your bloodstream." Fury told him. "They'll let you breath underwater."
Cap turned toward Iron Man. "Do you think the Thunderbolts are a match for Red Hulk?"
Iron Man nodded. "They're former villains who've given us trouble many times in the past. They're going to give Mr. Ross the time of his life."
"We're goin' in." Wolverine told them.
With that, the Quinjet dived into the dark waters.
Manhattan: 12:15 a.m.
"Heh, who do you think you are?" Red Hulk laughed.
Moonstone stepped forward. "Are we going to do this the hard way?"
"You're damn right that's how it's gonna go!" Red Hulk yelled, and charged at them.
Venom jumped forward and collided with Red Hulk. He slowed him considerably, but didn't stop him! Swordsman stepped into the picture, slashing both of his blades at the Red Hulk's back, sides, and feet. Distracted by this, the red beast turned towards him, allowing Venom to tackle him easily! When he was down, Songbird created a giant hammer out of her psychic construct and slammed it down upon the raging monster.
This only annoyed him further. "You punks are gonna burn!" He screamed.
He winded up a punch aimed for Songbird, but Venom jumped in the way! The flames from the Red Hulk's attack burned his symbiote painfully. He screamed in agony, but continued to fight as the flames slowly died down. Penance dashed forward and punched the Red Hulk, who only laughed and kicked him away, sending him flying into a building. Then from the rubble, a beam of energy shot towards the Red Hulk and knocked him as far back as Penance had flown!
"Thanks for the power." Penance said.
Red Hulk shook off the pain. He'd forgotten Penance hit as hard as he was hit! Any damage inflicted on him turned to power.
"How annoying..." Red Hulk sulked.
He jumped into the air, roaring protest and came smashing down on Swordsman. Radioactive Man stepped forward and threw a ball of radioactive waste at the monster. It hit him, but only stung for a second.
"Nice try." He laughed.
He grabbed Radioactive Man by the collar of his suit, and threw him back into Moonstone, who was smashed under his weight! Venom wrapped his long, slimy tongue around Red Hulk's neck, and yanked! The monster fell over and was dragged into Venom's huge gapping mouth!
"Uh-uh! No one makes a meal of Thunderbolt Ross!" Red Hulk said, and grabbed Venom's tongue!
He yanked it and Venom flew forward, and was swung around a poll, tongue tied around it!
Red Hulk then turned his attention to Songbird and Penance.
"You guys are all that's left!" He laughed.
He ran at them, and Penance rushed in to counter-attack! But Red Hulk was ready this time, and grabbed the spiked anti-hero by the head, crushing the helmet! It did not come off, but was cracked severely! He then smashed Penance's head into the ground several times, until he stopped twitching!
Songbird yelled and a giant psychic fist hit Red Hulk in the face. He recovered easily, but noticed he was sweating!
"Gotta keep my anger under control!" He said. "Otherwise, I'm finished."
They stared at each other for a long while.
Namor's Throne Room: Atlantis: 12:21 a.m.
Palleon clunked into the throne room of Atlantis. He knew if he stood any chance at finding the Infinity Gauntlet, he'd have to force the king to tell him. Namor, however, was not someone you wanted to tangle with. But he was not as powerful as Thor, and therefore Palleon stood a chance.
He walked into the room, anxious to see the great Namor. When he did, he knew it was him. But apparently Namor didn't know the suited one was Palleon.
"Welcome to Atlantis, Susan Storm." Namor said, smiling and standing. "I knew you would come one day."
Uh-oh. Palleon hadn't thought he'd be expecting a woman. A king usually already had a queen!
Namor walked slowly over to Palleon, and knelt. "I am so glad you are here."
Palleon didn't speak. He didn't want to fight Namor yet. Namor quickly remedied the situation.
"I know you can't breathe underwater, Susan Storm, but you do not have to take that suit off yet." He said. "I'll take you to the chamber's. There is air down there."
Palleon's heart skipped a beat. YES! He was so close to the Gauntlet, he could almost taste it!
Korriban: Valley of the Dark Lords: 12:03 a.m.
Doom and Force Susan walked hand-in-hand together down the dead dust. The statues above the tombs seemed to glare at them. Doom had a huge sense of evil all around him. He had never been truly afraid before...now he was very close to it.
Force Susan squeezed his hand as they passed a cave in the canyon. That must be a very powerful cave. He beckoned her to come, and she reluctantly did, into the cave.
Korriban: The Cave: 12:04 a.m.
The two walked slowly through the dark caverns. The presence of evil spread ever more powerful over them. There was definitely something in here of great importance!
A few minutes later, they passed over a chasm on a small stone bridge and on the other side, a grey, stone door, surrounded by pulsating energy, stood. Doom looked at it, feeling the power of light and dark! Force Susan let go of his hand.
"I can control myself here." She said. "This area feels to be nuetral."
Doom nodded. "What is this thing?"
"You must go through it." She said. "For in it you will find either enlightenment, or oblivion."
Doom figured she would say something like that. He had never really believed in coincidence, and believed she brought him here on purpose. This wasn't the Imperial base, it was much more than that. It was The Force!
Doom stepped forward into the energy, and went into the stone tomb.