Synopsis
In the Ultraverse we've followed Loki gaining the 6 Infinity Gems, and Black Knight joining Ultraforce and being reunited with Sersi who seems to have found another Gem. They all collided in the Utraforce/Avengers Prelude.
Now we turn our attention to a Marvel-Earth char, the Elder Of The Universe Grandmaster, who used to possess the Mind Gem. En Dwi Gast wants it back but he knows that (in the Rune /Silver Surfer 1-shot) the Infinity Gems all disappeared into another universe. Now he decides to follow them. And he follows the trail of the Mind Gem to the Eternal Sersi who's sitting brooding on an asteroid in the equivalent of the Solar System (after leaving UF at the end of UF/AvP). He senses that she's not got the Gem but that she's conflicted between seeking the Infinity Gems and being with her love BK. Then *she* senses the Elder and challenges the games master to a game. She will tell him the truth and he must perform a dare.
It's nothing to do with that game when an Amish community finish a new barn for a newlywed couple and a stranger appears (with the IGs in his hand). He casually replaces the simple barn with a much bigger 1 which he says includes modern automated equipment. They of course reject that so he replaces it with a miniaturised barn, and exits with a maniacal laugh.
He was of course was Loki who's getting bored in the citadel of Vahdala floating above the Godwheel now that he's got the 6 Gems. He really needs to move on to bigger villainy like killing his home universe's Avengers. Cue the entrance of the Grandmaster who challenges *him* to a game. The GM wants the Mind Gem as *his* prize. Loki can't resist another maniacal laugh before asking what GM could offer as a similar prize for *him*. GM says he knows where there's a 7th Gem. Loki doesn't believe him and tries to use the Mind Gem to extract the truth. GM says his earlier possession of the MG has made him immune to it. But the Gem *can* confirm that he's telling the truth - and the GM prides himself on never cheating. Loki refuses to play his game and threatens to use torture to make EDG tell him where the 7th Gem is. But his opponent says he can shut off pain and as an EOTG he can't be killed. Disgusted Loki sends him away. But after some brooding he announces that he'll play, and the GM returns.
En Dwi Gast makes his usual proposal, a contest of champions. Since Loki wants to destroy the Avengers, Grandmaster will use them as his side. Loki can have Ultraforce. Black Knight will be the pawn/wild card/macguffin. The GM says he plays to win. Loki counters that he plays not to lose. They separately summon their teams. GM brings various Avengers (Black Widow, Captain America, Crystal, Iron Man, Starfox, Thor and Vision) from Earth-616 in stasis and asks them to be his champions. He shows them Dane Whitman who they haven't seen since he went through a dimensional rift with Sersi (in their #375), and tells them that he's insurance that they'll compete. But the carrot is that the enemy is Loki who's got all the Infinity Gems with which Thanos (temporarily) destroyed half the universe. Loki gathers Ultraforce (Contrary, Ghoul, Hardcase, Prime, Prototype, Siren and Topaz), also in stasis, and tells them that BK was an advance scout for an invasion by his team the Avengers. Hardcase doesn't trust him because Loki tricked him into giving him the Time Gem (in his #23). On the other hand Prime says he never trusted BK. But Contrary reminds them they've all witnessed Loki's trickery in UF/AvP. Loki admits his guile but claims that the Avengers are worse. And the games begin ...
1st up is Captain America vs Hardcase. HC is teleported to the Washington Monument where he sees Cap attacking some police before disappearing round a corner. But that 'CA' was really Loki and he's led HC to where the real CA is just teleporting in. Superhuman Tom Hawke of course attacks him and Steve Rogers fights back with fists, feet and shield. HC is stronger but falls for Cap's old trick of throwing the shield past him so it ricochets off a wall and hits him from behind. Rogers then tries reason but Hawke asks him to deny he's an invader, 1 of the Avengers allied with the 1 of legendary King Arthur's legendary enemies. Truthful Steve has to admit that he used to be an Invader but now he's an Avenger looking for BK. Luckily Tom notices the nearby Statue Of Liberty and Big Ben and realises this isn't reality, confirmed by the 'cops' turning into aliens/demons. He realises that Loki's behind it but jumps to the conclusion that Cap is working for *him*. He keeps pounding on Cap's defensive shield until his foe rolls out of the way. But then Cap lays down the shield and invites Hardcase to hit him, saying 1 superpunch might kill him. He tries to convince him that they should ally against Loki. Tom Hawke doesn't completely trust him but agrees to go along with the plan.
On an asteroid made of mud near the Godwheel Black Widow & Crystal and Siren & Topaz find themselves in a tag-team mud-wrestling match. BW and Siren start off in the ring while Crystal and Topaz are trapped in energy cages outside. Crystal complains that her elemental powers can't free her but Topaz declares that no female warrior should whine like that. Somehow there's also an alien audience and announcer. Siren attacks Widow who sends her reeling to land at the feet of Topaz who fires blasts to keep the foe away and then reaches through her energy bars to help her teammate up. But that counts as a tag and she's free to attack BW herself. The powerful Queen of Gwendor is too much for Natasha Romanoff's human fighting skills. So she fires a webline at Crystal to tag *her*, and the elemental Inhuman is free to attack. She dodges Topaz' blasts until she gets close enough to kick the staff-weapon from her hands. Topaz' punch is still enough to floor the Avenger but she now uses her elemental control over earth to encase both her opponents in mud. The announcer declare her and BW the winners.
Elsewhere in the Godwheel system on the ice planet Hathor teen Jimmy Ruiz finds himself nearly naked without his Prototype armour. Loki's there and tells him this is a scavenger hunt for the armours of him and his opponent before they die of cold. He adds "May the best Ultra win" before disappearing. Then of course Tony Stark materialises in a similar state. Businessman Stark tries negotiating but Ruiz has his own power as well as armour so is able to shoot blasts at him, followed by a physical assault. Normally his armour helps Jimmy control his power but he doesn't need control against a defenceless foe. But dodging another blast Tony finds his opponent's armour and quickly puts it on and then the tables are turned. Stark still wants to talk but Ruiz keeps blasting so Tony risks firing the weapons of the unfamiliar armour, and injured Jimmy retreats by his own flight power. Stark follows but is then met by Ruiz in the Iron Man armour. Jimmy mentally commands everything to fire, which is hand repulsor rays, chest uni-beam and his boot jets. The Prototype armour gets somewhat shredded but the IM armour has exhausted its power supply and locks solid.
Contrary and Starfox/Eros have met in an idyllic setting. She hits him with a mental pain-pulse which brings him to his knees. But Eros recovers and uses *his* power to stimulate the pleasure centres of her brain. Contrary responds in kind and they draw closer to each other and then kiss. We discretely leave them at this point.
Next is Ghoul and Vision who meet in a graveyard. Jonathan Martin quickly discovers Vizh's ability to go superdense when he hits him and breaks off his arm (don't worry he can re-attach it), and then intangible when he falls through him. Loki pops in to advise Ghoul to use his ability to raise the dead (which didn't work out too well in the UF/Av Prelude). But he tries it again and sends a small army of corpses against his foe. Tireless Vision keeps disabling them so Ghoul calls up some more, but this time he gets his dead Exiles teammates (and these can talk). (This is what went wrong in UF/AvP.) These corpses still have their powers, forcing V to use lethal force against them. However he holds back against the next cadaver, Wonder Man/Simon Williams whose brain patterns were used for V's brain and who he considers his brother, and so allows himself to be beaten. But then the biter gets bit again when Ghoul is faced with his dead Ultraforce teammate/friend Pixx.
Loki is especially pleased to see his half-brother battling Prime in Vahdala itself. But only Thor can see/hear his gloating. Prime doesn't believe this is the Thor that Hardcase (met him in Godwheel #3) and Black Knight (knows him from the Avengers) told him about because the kid in a man's body believes heroes don't fight heroes. The battle goes back and forth, and Loki does his maniacal laugh again, until the Thunder God calls down lightning and uses his hammer Mjolnir to direct it at his foe. Prime collapses and his pseudo-body starts to break down. Inside Thor is horrified to find he's possibly killed a child (Kevin Green).
Elsewhere in Vahdala both Grandmaster and Loki claim to be the winner. GM can point to Crystal and Thor as wins for his side while only Vision lost and HC/Cap, Proto/IM and Contrary/Eros were stalemates. But Loki points that he defined his goal as not losing, so the 3 draws count for him. Plus in the all-female bout Black Widow lost as well as the 2 Ultras so GM's win wasn't complete there. Even Thor's win involved his brother suffering guilt. Grandmaster concedes and prepares to hand over the 7th Infinity Gem ...
... but the whole game was merely a ruse. Sersi enters and congratulates GM on getting her close to the Norse God. She explains that *she* is the 7th Gem (possessing Sersi). Panicked Loki tries to stop her approach but the IGs are powerless against her. So he calls on the Avengers and Ultraforce (including Black Knight) to help him (and they are all restored to full fighting strength). BK rushes towards his love Sersi but the Gem repels him. The other heroes don't know who's the real villain here. Sersi leaps on Loki and tells him it's time to consummate their relationship. Confused Loki gets kissed and there's a large explosion ...
... and Dane Whitman discovers that Sersi is herself once more, with the 7th Gem gone. Hardcase grabs Loki assuming he's got it but Thor points to all 7 Gems hovering in the air. A voice tells them that the 6 Infinity Gems existed before the universe but before there were 6 there were 7, and before that there was 1 (being). The 7th got separated (in the Ultraverse) from the 6 (in the Marvelverse) and because of this the 6 lost the gift for independent action. But now they are reunited as 1 who reveals herself and calls herself Nemesis. And she intends to create a new universe from the ashes of both existing ones.
Of course the united heroes rise up to oppose her but it's too late. Nemesis erases them along with their universes by the very act of creating her new combined version.
We'll see that new universe in the Ultraforce/Avengers 1-shot.