Synopsis
Last issue on the island of Mytos Gemini plucked the Soul Gem from his foe Rune's brow. But that was what the vampire wanted because the Gem and Rune had been at odds, each refusing to serve the other, and their body was dying. But now Rune's body restores itself as he gloats over Gemini's fate. And he intends now to find the other 5 Infinity Gems which were stolen from him (by Silver Surfer in their joint 1-shot), and use them to become master of the universe. But 1st he must make Gemini+Soul Gem his slave.
We now see Gemini in Soul World within the Soul Gem split into the twins Erik Johnson and Noel Robinson, but Erik still has the Gemini armour. They are confronted by a being who looks like a cross between Rune and Adam Warlock, the usual bearer of the Gem. He says that their minds will be broken, then 1 will die and the other will be his slave.
Erik finds himself in the bedroom of his (dead) girlfriend Markie. He's just glad she's alive. But Noel 'kills' her with a blast and tries to persuade his brother she was a fake. But Erik just gets angry.
Last issue Shuriken was heading by Aladdin helicopter to Mytos on Gemini and Rune's trail. Now she's here (but seems to have crashed the chopper). The Aladdin AI GENIE is complaining in her ear that she disobeyed orders by leaving behind her armed escort. She discovers a fresh grave (which we know belongs to Markie), and heads off to capture Gemini. GENIE reminds her that success will mean that Aladdin will devote more resources to curing her child (which is the hold they have over her). But she 'accidentally' breaks the comm link.
Suddenly she's startled by a white rat and hurls 1 of the throwing stars she's named after which pins it's tail. And she gets the feeling it's been watching her. Then we see the body of Gemini's 'pal' Janus lying on the ground with the rat's-eye view of her in *his* eye. (The rat is Alexander, mystic Janus' familiar.)
Elsewhere on the isle Rune is encouraging Gemini to weaken himself by fighting the Soul Gem, making him more vulnerable to Rune's control. But the youth's body emits a blast of energy which damages the vampire.
Back in Soul World Erik is pursuing Noel through a scene of corpses and blood. Erik blames him for everything. If they hadn't met (in Rune #1-5) then he wouldn't have become a monster and Markie would still be alive. Noel protests that they are 2 halves of the same soul and they have to work together. The Soul Gem whispers to Erik that his brother is only trying to confuse him. And Erik leaps on Joel and kills him. The Gem now tells him that he must also kill his other enemy, Rune, whose bite (in Rune #5) actually turned him into a monster.
Now he returns to his real body and attacks his 'father' Rune. But the vamp easily throws him off and accuses him of clinging to his humanity which makes him unworthy of the power he gave him. But because Erik's his 'son' he'll give him a painless death. However Erik isn't beaten yet and takes Rune into the sky where he starts to tear him apart.
Meanwhile Shuriken has found Janus and pinned him to she ground by his sleeves with shuriken(s). He introduces himself and says he knows she's Shuriken and works for Aladdin. She demands to know where Gemini is and he points to the sky. But at that point the 2 combatants crash to the ground nearby causing a crater. They see Gemini vampire-bite Rune, sucking *his* blood and power. But then, over the Soul Gem's protests, he says that dying would be too easy for Rune. And he opens a portal and throws his 'father' through it. Janus curses that he's lost track of Rune again, and magics himself and Alexander away to start his search again.
The Soul Gem demands that Erik bring Rune back, but he's exhausted and he relinquishes control of Gemini to Noel. And it seems the Gem has no power over *this* twin, who plucks it from his brow and throws it out to sea. Shuriken says she's here to take him to Aladdin. But Noel says he's not going back to the organisation that has been controlling him and Erik since before they were born. This strikes a chord with Brittany Chien, partly because of her son, she decides to tell Aladdin she couldn't catch him.
We see the Soul Gem fall into the depths and then seem to fall through the bottom of the sea and into the hands of Loki. It senses that he has the other Infinity Gems, and considers him a suitable host.