Written by Mikeinmke, Space Jawa and WakandaMan
Edited by WakandaMan

This story is part of the ever-expanding RPSC Universe, where we use Heroclix to roleplay our favourite teams in the Marvel and DC universes. If you're interested, you can read more about it here.

Thanos was not pleased as he climbed his way back aboard his ship, the Sanctuary II. He was not pleased that he had been defeated by some ill-thought-out team-up between the Silver Surfer and some lone gun-slinging space adventurer, but he was most displeased that he had lost an opportunity at both the Space Gem and at an opportunity to steal away the Power Gem.

“Sir, I have news,” Skreet said as she greeted her master. After the station had been destroyed, he had ordered the Chaos Sprite to watch his ship to ensure that ‘Flash Gordon,’ if that was even his real name, wouldn’t be able to sneak aboard and steal the Time and Reality gems behind his back.

“Not now,” Thanos said. “I have lost yet another gem. I need time to consider my next move in order to steal them away from the Guardians and the Surfer.”

“Sir, it is about the Gems,” she insisted, but Thanos did not like the tone of her voice. It suggested she had bad news; and Thanos was not in the mood for bad news in the slightest.

“What. Is. It,” he said, implicitly warning her that she should consider her words carefully.

“Sir, please understand that you must allow me to say everything I know. The gems you have collected are gone, however…”
“WHAT?!” Thanos said. Those were about the worst words that Skreet could have possible given him. Reaching out faster than the Sprite could react, he grabbed her in his fist and held on tight. As small as she was, it was easy for Thanos wrap his hand around her body and keep her from going anywhere.

“Before you returned…the Time and Reality gems…vanished into thin air,” Skreet said, trying with futility to escape. Her arms were free, but everything below her chest was held tighter than she could possibly escape. She could also feel the pressure that Thanos was putting on her, squeezing her lower body tightly and making her extremely uncomfortable, though she could tell that he wasn’t crushing her on purpose.

Thanos was smarter than that. He knew that he could still make good use of Skreet’s abilities, assuming she gave him a reason to show her mercy. He decided to give her an opportunity to do just that.

“There had better be some good news to go with that,” Thanos warned.

“There…is,” she said. “I investigated…the tracking device after…they disappeared. I know where they all are.”

“And where is that?” Thanos asked.

“They’re in the system. All of them. All six Infinity Gems are on Earth.”

Slowly, Thanos’ anger turned into a smile, and he began a deep laughter that quickly grew to fill the ship.

“This is good news,” Thanos said as he released Skreet. “No… this is wonderful news.”

As Thanos proceeded to his Gem-Tracking device, Skreet quickly checked herself to double-check that Thanos hadn’t caused her any serious harm. While there were no signs that he had done anything that would impact her immediate performance, she could still feel the pressure around her. She considered herself fortunate that Thanos had the sensibility not to have killed her outright for what she had told him. There were countless other beings in the galaxy that wouldn’t have acted with such a level head in situations not nearly as bad.

Between his intelligence and his power, Skreet was glad she had allied herself with Thanos now rather than later. She had little doubt he would find a way to succeed in his quest for the Infinity Gauntlet. When he did, she would be right there to reap the rewards of having been his loyal soldier and right-hand sprite during the time leading up to his ascension to the most powerful being in the universe.

“Those fools,” Thanos said with sinister glee. As Skreet had said, the Gems were on Earth, all six of them. Whatever the Surfer or ‘Gordon’ had done, they had just made the situation better for him than he could have possibly hoped. “They have just made my job that much simpler.”

He took a seat in the bridge command chair. “TO EARTH!” Thanos ordered, pointing his hand out into the horizon. “The quest begins anew! I will claim the Infinity Gems for my own.” The ship began its short trip to Earth as Thanos’ face took on a much more sinister appearance. “Even if I have to burn the plant to the ground and pick the Gems from amongst its ashes.”

********

“Ow,” Jazinda said as she came to. Last thing she remembered she had been knocked to unconsciousness thanks to Thanos, and she could still feel it like it was a bad hangover. And she had tasted more than one drink of incredible potency in her youth that gave her idea of a bad hangover another level of emphasis.

“Good; you’re up,” she heard a voice say, though it was a moment before she recognized it as belonging to one… he had said his name was ‘Han Solo,’ hadn’t he?
“What happened?” Gamora asked, the woman asking a question that Jazinda was wondering as well.

“Oh, you’re both up. That’s even better,” ‘Solo’ said. “Maybe one of you can help me get this show on the road then?”

“What are you talking about?” Gamora asked, not sure what was going on. “And… the gem? Where is our gem?”
“Our gem?” Jazinda asked.
“Yes, the Power Gem,” Gamora replied. “The Symbiote and I share it. Now where is it?”

“Ignoring how creepy it sounds with you talking about your suit that way, I have bad news and good news on that,” Quill said. “Good news is that it’s close – relatively speaking. Along with the Space Gem and all the other trinkets that we’re apparently looking for.”

“The Space Gem…” Gamora said, her mind straightening out from having been knocked unconscious.

“Wait, if we don’t have the Space Gem, how are we going to rescue the others?” Jazinda asked.

“What happened?” Gamora demanded to know. “Where are the Gems?”

“I was getting to that part,” Quill replied, feeling more than a tad intimidated by the warrior woman and her black suit, even though he was doing a remarkable job hiding it. “After you two fell unconscious, the Silver Surfer and I beat Thanos. However, Chrome-Dome then decided he was the self-appointed protector of the gems and turned on me. When I fought back, he decided it was a good idea to teleport them all away, and brilliantly managed to send them all to Earth.”

“All of them. On Earth,” Jazinda said, her forehead falling into the palm of her open hand. “All that effort trying to collect them. For nothing.”

“Where is he?” Gamora asked upon hearing Quill’s story. She pounded her fist into her open hand and cracked her knuckles, making it clear her intentions for finding him were not friendly.

“Last I saw him, he was headed off in who knows what direction. Said he had to inform his master about something,” Quill replied. “But if you could just hold onto that anger and save it for our next round with Thanos, I think we have bigger issues.”

“Like that?” Jazinda said, pointing off in the direction of what looked to be a spaceship. More specifically, Thanos’ ship. And it appeared to be moving rapidly towards what they could only assume was Earth.

“Yeah, that would probably be near the top of the list,” Quill said.

“Let’s go,” Gamora said.

“Wait,” Jazinda said. “We have to save the others first. We can’t just leave them at Mephisto’s mercy, and we need them if we’re going to stop Thanos.”

“Right, right,” Gamora said with a reluctant and sorrowful pause. Her mind was racing with a million different thoughts, not all of them hers. She wouldn’t dare say it out loud, but she was not entirely in a right state of mind at the moment. “Fine. We’ll go back to Dr. Strange’s place, get him to help us free Warlock and the others, then we’ll all go kick Thanos’ sorry together.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jazinda replied. In agreement, the two women began to make their way aboard the Guardian’s ship, the Far Seeing Eye of the Osiris.

“Hey, I don’t want to be a bother, but you mind if I hitch a ride?” Quill asked from behind them. “I’d take my own ride, but Thanos kind of trashed it.”

“Fine by me,” Jazinda said.

“Just don’t get in the way,” Gamora added, and stormed aboard the ship.

“Thanks, I hope,” Quill said.

“No problem. We’ll probably need your help anyway,” Jazinda replied. “I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries or being pre-mature, Han Solo, but welcome to the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Quill paused for a moment as Jazinda entered the ship.

“The who?” he asked.

********

Wanda sat on the floor in her dimly lit room. It was late evening. The repairs to the Avengers mansion were proceeding quickly, and most of the team members’ private quarters had been completely restored. The Masters of Evil had wreaked havoc on the New York headquarters of the Avengers a few weeks earlier, but the combined might of the Avengers’ east and west coast teams had prevailed, and the heroes had soundly defeated the villains. (http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=271374) Nonetheless, the battle had had several consequences, and the team was still recovering, not least of all from the resignation of Captain America. (Read the current issues of SHIELD to see where Cap is!)

Her eyes were gently closed. She could feel her breath circulating through her body. The muffled sounds of traffic were barely perceptible through the panes of unbreakable glass in the large, stately windows. Set in simple holders on the rug on the floor, five candles burned at the tips of a five-pointed star.

The Scarlet Witch sat in the center of this large pentagram and allowed her thoughts their freedom, yet endeavored to bring them to a sort of focal point. Unbidden, the image of Doctor Druid’s face with its bald pate came to her mind’s eye, as Wanda attempted to internalize the instructions he had given her. Doctor Druid had spent hours with the Scarlet Witch after the Masters of Evil had been defeated, chatting, discussing the nature of her powers, and advising her as to their possible enhancement.

As a mutant, Wanda had been casting hex spheres for years, since her exceptional abilities had manifested themselves in her teens. Doctor Druid was however convinced that her powers were more than merely of the earthly plane. With his access to the energies of magic, he could sense that the Scarlet Witch’s powers extended into the supernatural. Wanda had followed Doctor Druid’s advice and suggestions, practicing regularly in the intervening weeks since Doctor Druid’s departure, endeavoring to hone her focus.

The minutes passed as her thoughts wandered and were softly redirected back into their energy channels. Suddenly, Wanda felt a nudge in the energy flow, but it wasn’t a physical occurrence. She resisted the temptation to open her eyes and tried to feel for the disturbance in the magical nexus. She slowly directed her attention to the area of the shift in energies.

<Knock, Knock> Wanda surrendered to the sudden interruption. The knock at her door was too immediate to ignore. She slowly grounded the magical energies and gently opened her eyes. The candles had burned down more than half their length.

<Knock> “Forgive the late disturbance,” Vision’s voice came from the other side of the door. It was quiet and polite – as polite as a synthezoid could be. “A distress call has arrived from Hawkeye. It is our duty to respond.”

Wanda arose slowly and extinguished the candles with the keen awareness that she was making progress – and that Doctor Druid had been right. Her potential was greater than she had realized. “Yes,” the Scarlet Witch replied, “I’m coming.”

That had been a few days earlier. By the time the Scarlet Witch and Vision had arrived at the historical museum, their teammates had been defeated and recovered consciousness. Moon Knight had led a group of mummies against his teammates because he had insisted that the heroes “Leave this place.”

What had possessed the mysterious fighter in jet and silver to turn on the Avengers? What was the connection between the mummies, the Egyptian exhibit, and Moon Knight? Where had he gone after the battle? The Avengers had few clues at this point in time. They knew only that they had been overwhelmed by several armed warriors from beyond the grave that seemed to feel no pain – and that Moon Knight hadn’t killed them.

Now the Avengers had returned to their headquarters in New York. For his part, Hank Pym found some welcome distraction in keeping busy with the repairs to the mansion and redesigning his laboratory facilities in it. Hawkeye seemed to enjoy practicing in the restored training rooms, and Jan had even succeeded in taking Bobbi out for a shopping excursion. Mockingbird had, for her part, quickly recovered from the strain of being knocked out by an animated Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton and held captive.

During the fight at the museum, Iron Man had been defeated handily by Moon Knight. The Golden Avenger had been hampered lately by debilitating headaches, blurry vision, and dizziness. James Rhodes, the man inside the awesome armor, wanted few things more than a chance to get away from the responsibility and burden of being Iron Man, but as chance would have it, he would have to struggle on with the discomfort.

It goes without saying that the relative peace and quiet would not last. Without warning, Eros appeared at the Avengers mansion bearing dire news. Eros had been with many of these heroes during the conflict between the Kree and the Skrulls. The serious expression on his normally enchanting face made it clear that the stakes were high. A cosmic being of incredible power and questionable morals known as Thanos was seeking to acquire even more might. According to Eros, Thanos had twisted the minds and spirits of some interstellar heroes known as the Guardians Of The Galaxy, bending them to his will. Moreover, Thanos was – Eros admitted flatly – his brother.

“A key to his plans involve the Infinity Gems,” Eros explained.

“Infinity Gems?” Wonder Man asked aloud. “What are those?”

Eros remained stern as he replied, “They are six stones of unimaginable power, once thought to be nothing more than myth. Each grants its owner unimaginable power. One gifts control over all forms of teleportation. Another makes its wielder the absolute master of time itself. If all six were brought together, they would allow Thanos to form the Infinity Gauntlet. If he succeeds, he would be nigh omnipotent.” His voice trailed off as he recalled his recent encounter with his brother. “Thanos has gone mad, I fear…”

“Where are these gems?” asked Hank Pym. “Are they all in one location?”

Eros looked into the eyes of several of the Avengers, hesitating briefly. He wasn’t used to being the bearer of ill tidings. “Yes,” he answered, “they’re all on Earth.”

Hawkeye couldn’t help but let out a short laugh. “All on Earth?” he repeated. “This is a pretty big planet, buddy.”

Eros shook his head slightly. “It might seem that way to you, Hawkeye, but the gems haven’t been this close together for as long as anyone can remember. Their proximity to one another has certainly aroused the attention of several individuals with the capacity to perceive their emanations.”

“He’s right,” a voice issued from the back corner of the room. Startled, the Avengers whirled to see who spoke. The Black Panther stood enigmatically in the shadows, then stepped forth toward his colleagues. “Wakandan scientists have already registered some unusual – and exceedingly powerful – energy signatures. We have no time to waste.’

Mockingbird had already shifted into her mode of tactical thought. “Then it’s pretty clear what we have to do,” she interjected. “We need to recover these gems before they fall into the wrong hands.”

Suddenly, a bright flash and loud clap of thunder startled the Avengers. The weather had been fine that day. Hawkeye was one of the first to realize their source and he smiled.

“Hail, brethren!” Thor said loudly as he entered the large meeting room. “You have summoned the son of Odin hither and he hath heard the call to battle.”

Ant-Man could not repress his curiosity. “Who…? I didn’t call you, Thor…”

The Wasp quickly added, “But we’re glad you’re here.” She allowed her eyes to travel over Thor’s incredible physique for a moment, then looked back at Hank.

“It was I, Doctor Pym,” the Black Panther said with his deep voice. “If you had seen the readings, you would have issued calls for assistance as well, I am sure.”

Hank recovered his analytical approach and addressed Eros and the Black Panther, “I could probably assemble a scanner to pinpoint the location of these gems.” He quickly realized, however, that T’Challa and Eros likely already had the necessary knowledge. “Or do you know where these gems are?”

********

The dark lord of one of Earth’s realms of the underworld was not happy. And when a being of his stature and vile wickedness, a true creature of evil, one of the worst to have ever come into existence, and a true master of his own domain which was more vile than even he, was ‘not happy,’ it was a terrible sight to behold. No one in his domain dared to bother him except upon being summoned by the dark lord, and for now, he was content to sit alone and watch as things transpired upon the surface world.

His Infinity Gem, a trinket he had taken no small pains to acquire and suited him in a most peculiar manner, had been stolen. Stolen, from him – Mephisto. He did not take kindly to having things stolen from him.

Fortunately, there had been a small amount of light at the end of the dark tunnel that his stolen Gem represented. The intruders had paid dearly for their actions. Three of their kin had been captured during the attempt, and were now being held prisoner, awaiting a fate the likes of which just thinking about would bring tremors of pain and agony. He would very much enjoy feasting upon the lamentations of their suffering.

At least, he would have, if new developments hadn’t arisen. This Titan, Thanos, had shown himself, and the two Guardians that still remained free had intersected with him in a display that had brought in two new interlopers and brought about a curious twist of fate.

“Lieutenant,” Mephisto called, summoning one of his minions to his side. In a flash of fire and brimstone, a large, muscular demon appeared beside the dark lord.

“Yes, my master,” the demon hissed.

“A new opportunity has arisen for us. The torture of the prisoners is to be delayed. They shall instead serve as tools to atone for their crimes against me.”

“Very well,” the Lieutenant replied, disappointed by the turn of events. He refrained from saying anything for fear of upsetting his master, however.

The dark lord Mephisto grinned as he contemplated the plans that were beginning to turn. And when a being as this vile one grinned in such a manner, it could mean no good whatsoever.

********

Adam Warlock could do nothing as he remained shackled to the ground in an unknown region of Mephisto’s realm. Had he been locked away on the mortal plain, it would not have been inconceivable that he couldn’t break free of the chains if he had put forth the effort. Here, however, he was on the enemy’s home turf, and Adam possessed neither the knowledge nor the power to free himself. At present, he was left at the mercy of whatever foul plans his captors had for him.

As were both Major Victory and Mantis. He could tell that they were both nearby, but beyond that, his knowledge about their status was limited.

“Warlock?” he heard Mantis say. There was a sort of echo that filled the area, as if she was everywhere around him at once.

“I am here,” Adam replied. “Vance?” he called, using the time-displaced soldier’s real name in hopes of seeing whether he too had any ability to communicate with them.

“Yes?” Victory replied, his voice full of determination. It came as a surprise to Warlock, though it filled him with a sense of hope about the situation.

“Do we have a plan?” Victory asked when no response came.
“No,” Adam said. “I don’t.”
“What about you, Mantis?”
“No.”
“Then maybe we should think of one,” Victory said. If nothing else, Warlock couldn’t help but feel inspired by the soldier’s refusal to give up, even if the space wizard held doubts about what good it would do them.

”Allow me to worry about that.” came a fourth, unknown voice. It boomed as it spoke, filled with a sort of cosmic authority.

“Who are you?” Adam asked.

”I have been called many things. The truest of these is Uatu.”

A large, robed figure with a giant bald head appeared before him. An ambient light surrounded him, which overtook the darkness in his immediate vicinity.

“But the most simply call me The Watcher.”

“The Watcher?” Mantis asked, confirming for Adam that it was not just him that could see the cosmic entity.

“Yes,” Adam answered for Uatu. “I have seen them before, but only in fleeting glances, and I have never before interacted with one directly. They are an ancient people who are dedicated to watching the events of the multiverse and recording them for all history.”

“That we are.” Uatu said.

“This is most unusual, however,” Adam added. “As I understood it, they had all taken a vow of non-interference, as to allow the events of history to occur naturally.”

"That is also true.” Uatu said. "However, the time has come when I have seen unfit to stand by my oath. I am one of a very few of my kind who believe that there is the rare occasion when to simply stand by and let the natural order of a universe, any universe, continue would only bring about disaster. Such a time is now upon us.”

“Thanos,” Mantis said.

"Yes," the Watcher replied. "He seeks the Infinity Gauntlet, and if he should acquire it, the damage he could do to not just this universe, but all universes, is incalculable. Not even The Watchers would be immune to his power.”

“But Gamora and Jazinda,” Victory said, “They have three already. He can’t get the Gauntlet if he can’t get the gems.”

"Alas, it is not to be,” Uatu said, and a mist surrounded him which formed a viewing window. In it, the three captive Guardians could see images of Gamora and Jazinda fighting Thanos alongside a costumed space adventurer.(See Guardians of the Galaxy #9) "Despite their efforts, the Gem of Space eluded their capture. It passed into possession of the Silver Surfer.”

The portal revealed the adventurer defeating Thanos with the help of the Power Gem, and how he and the Surfer had then fought one another before the Surfer had teleported the Gems away.

"Though a failure to communicate, the Surfer accidentally sent the Gems to Earth while trying to keep them all out of the hands of Thanos. Now, he travels to Earth to collect them once again.” The mist faded from around Uatu. "This cannot be allowed to happen. Thus, I shall provide you with the location of the Gems and return you to Earth, where you must find them and reclaim them before the Mad Titan succeeds in his quest.”

“Why stop there?” Adam asked. “Why can’t you stop him yourself?”

"I have already violated my oath as much as it is!” Uatu said, his voice booming with extra emphasis. "There are those who balk at the very idea of letting you see me, let alone telling you what I have wrought, freeing you to conduct this task on your own. To stop Thanos myself would be unforgivable!” Uatu The Watcher vanished in a haze, and soon after, the chains holding the Guardians vanished as well.

”Stop Thanos and save the universe.” said the voice of Uatu the Watcher. "But be warned! Already, Thanos has tricked the Avengers into aiding his cause. They will not make your job easy. You will need to recruit additional allies.”

In front of them, a portal opened up, and without realizing it, the three Guardians began to make their way into it. "Now go!”

********

In his spaceship orbiting above earth, Thanos smiled as he watched the monitor. The control device he had implanted in his hapless brother appeared to be working perfectly. Using Eros' old allies against the Guardians was stroke of genius - surely Warlock and his ragtag group would be unable to stand against the group that had single-handedly ended to war between the Skrulls and the Kree. It would be a simple matter for him to monitor events from here while the so called mightiest heroes of Earth gathered all of the gems for him.

********
“Finding Dr. Strange has been difficult,” Clea said. “I have not been sufficiently trained on the use of the Orb of Agamotto. Even if I was, I have no doubt he had protected his location to prevent the forces of darkness from easily locating him.”

After returning to Earth, the ‘Guardians Two Plus Solo’ had made a straight path to the Sanctum Sactorum, and with some difficulty, the combined flight skills of Peter Quill and Jazinda had effectively allowed them to park the Osiris on top of the building, though without shutting it down in order to allow it to hover above the building so that the structure wouldn’t be crushed.

“Well, keep searching,” Gamora demanded.

“You must temper your anger,” Wong said.

“Warlock and the others are still trapped in that hellish realm, the Gems are scattered across the Earth and free, and Thanos is probably already retrieving them as we speak,” Gamora spat at him. It took all of Wong’s patience to refrain from rebuking her as the incredibly rude guest that she was. “So please excuse me if I’m a little antsy about the situation.”

“Gamora, I’m as worried about it all as you are, but right now there’s nothing we can do to fix the situation on our own,” Jazinda said, doing her best to keep her fellow green-skinned woman from doing something everyone would regret.

“As much as I wish it weren’t true,” Pete added. “I have to admit that she’s right. Until… Clea, you said your name was?”

“That is correct,” Wong answered for her in order to help keep her concentration from breaking.

“Thanks. Until Clea finds Dr. Strange, we can’t do anything but wait.”

“Waiting is not something we can afford to do for long.”

Everyone turned towards the familiar voice of Adam Warlock. In the middle of the room, at the same location from which the Guardians had originally left the mortal plain, a portal opened up, out of which walked Adam Warlock, Major Victory and Mantis. They all looked far worse for the wear, but they were alive and free.

“Adam!” Gamora said, rushing to their leader and embracing him with a hug of relief. She quickly broke off from him however, when she realized what she was doing.

“You’re alive!” Jazinda added, going to Vance and Mantis.

“That is most certainly true,” Mantis said.

“Wow, this is an odd assortment,” Quill commented. “Is that…”

He took a moment to take a closer look at the very familiar object that Major Victory was carrying.

“Isn’t that Captain America’s shield?” he asked.

“I’ve gotten that reaction a lot,” Vance said. “You are?”

“Oh, yeah; he’s a friend,” Jazinda explained. “We met him when we were looking for the Space Gem. Helped us fight Thanos. Guardians of the Galaxy, Han Solo. Han Solo, Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“Han Solo?” Mantis asked with a knowing grin. She could immediately tell that Quill hadn’t been entirely honest about himself. “Really? [ i]Star Wars[/i]?”

“Uh…yeah,” Quill said with a nervous laugh. “I presume you’re familiar with Earth then?”

“This one was born and raised here,” she said with a smile and a polite bow of her head.

“Ok… would you believe Buck Rodgers?” Quill asked.

“Of the 25th Century?” Mantis countered.

“Jack O’Neill?”

“Of SG-1?” Mantis said, though the tone of her voice made it clear she wasn’t interested in continuing the game. “Please, it would be in the best interest of everyone if you were more honest about yourself.”

“We can worry about names later,” Adam said. “Thanos is already trying to collect the Gems. We have stop him.”
“Again,” Jazinda said with annoyance, speaking for everyone towards the fact that their Infinity Quest had just been re-booted and sent back to stage one.

“I have found Dr. Strange and the Defenders!” Clea proclaimed, “and they are in grave danger!”

“Quickly, to the Osiris!” Adam said, remembering Uatu’s words about needing help. “We must help save them and enlist their help!”

“If they need your help, then Clea, you should go with them,” Wong said. Clea nodded in agreement, and none of the Guardians spoke any words of objection as they all made their way to the Osiris.

“To the Guardianmobile, Robin!” Quill said as they headed out the door.

******

In his underworld lair, Mephisto grinned as he looked into his scrying pool. His deception appeared to be working perfectly. Using that fool Uatu as his guise was stroke of genius - the Watcher's code of non-interference meant there was no danger of the true Uatu revealing his lie. It would be a simple matter for him to watch events from here while the so called Guardians of the Galaxy and their Defender friends gathered all of the gems for him.


To Be Continued in the pages of the West Coast Avengers, the Defenders and the Guardians of the Galaxy!...

I loved the Stargate SG-1 reference!

Nice!! I would have never guessed the end of that one with Uatu and Mephisto. Real nice.