File:Micronauts Vol 1 11 001.jpg

Description
Baron Karza returns to Homeworld, with Arcturus Rann and Marionette his prisoners in "power-shackles," manacles of pure energy. Prince Argon, Slug, and the Shadow Priests have taken over the Body Banks, but Karza tells them that he left Homeworld as a ploy to bring out the rebels (which is probably a lie). Karza transforms into his centaur configuration. Argon attacks him, pointing out that when he surgically turned Argon into a centaur, he made Argon a match for him. Their battle seemingly drags out for hours, even days. Slug asks a Shadow Priest what will happen, and he tells her, "The order of this day has long been written!" Karza finally finishes Argon with a blast from his chestplate, and Argon realizes that Karza has only been toying with him. A Shadow Priest notes that Argon has served his purpose. Karza says, "I have defeated your herald, captured your champion. What else is left?" The priest says, "Merely this, Karza, merely this!" He gestures and frees Rann and Marionette from their power-shackles. The assembled Shadow Priests remove their robes and reveal themselves, one and all, to be Time Travelers. Each is a piece of Rann's self, split off by the Enigma Force as he explored the Microverse over the course of a thousand years. They combine and merge with Rann, who glows like they do. Karza fires an energy blast at Rann, who counters it easily. While they battle, Marionette is reunited with Argon, and the Dog Soldiers outside the Body Banks decide not to attack. The transformed Rann tells Karza, "You are a demon possessing the Microverse, Karza. You must be exorcised," and "Leech. Parasite. Homeworld has a champion now. You'll suck the life-blood of this planet no longer." Karza gradually realizes that he cannot win. In desperation he calls up a "mindshock" from the Great Pit, a blast that will destroy Rann, himself, and most of the people of Homeworld. Before he can unleash it, though, a barrage falls from space—the Acroyears have arrived! The Worldmind disrupts the mindshock and sends Karza into the pit, "where he will be consumed, sole victim of his own murderous mindshock," says Rann. The Acroyears rout the Dog Soldiers, and the Time Travelers depart from Rann and fade away into the night sky. Marionette weeps for the dead and says, "there will be peace at last."