Fortunately for him, there were some particle mines leftover from the Hyper-Human War that had been created by human army commander General Jade Chrome, before she and the rest of the normal humans on the planet were wiped out. The special mines were buried on the battlefields, and designed to absorb the hyper-abilities of whoever came into contact with one, then unleash that power in a retaliatory fashion. This was only one of the many inventions Chrome came up with, to the give the humans a fighting chance in the Hyper-Human War.

Still, the hypers won in devastating fashion, and many of the mines were found and disarmed by Bombard and his bomb-sweeping squad in the weeks following the end of the confrontation. War Chess found and collected several of the bombs himself, with the intention of using them against anyone who stood in his way, and it just so happened that he had nearly a dozen absorption bombs in his possession. He launched an attack, first against Madam Zero and the Army of Shadows.

He and Madam Zero had a long history, as War Chess had killed her parents and kept her captive for a long period of time. At the time of this confrontation she wasn’t quite strong enough to destroy him, but her minions were able to keep him and the Prophylaxis at bay. He was, however, able to set off the mine and absorb a piece of Madam Zero’s essence, before being forced to retreat.

Next, he attacked the Infinity Fortress. This was a much more dangerous mission, as Captain Infinity was absolutely powerful enough to destroy him. But again, he was able to set off an absorption mine, and get what he had come for. With both the Army of Shadows and the Infinity Force gunning for him, War Chess was forced to leave Super Earth One, and take up residence on Marz Zeta. In his new base of operations was where he decided to mix the essences together, and thus create his new pair of knights: Madam Infinity and Captain Zero.

Madam Infinity proved to be one his top warriors, as he began to colonize and take over Marz Zeta. War Chess eventually built an arsenal of nuclear bombs that he’d planned to launch from Marz Zeta to blow up Super Earth One. Fortunately Captain Infinity, Spectra, Max Galaxy and Decibel showed up to stop the attack. As Max took care of the missiles and Captain Infinity engaged with War Chess, Madam Infinity unleashed the full extent of her aggression against Decibel and Spectra. She packed a pair of energy blasters that could blow a hole in the side of a planet, and her tactical skill made her an absolute nightmare to deal with. Her laser-blasts were able to cut through Decibel’s sonic-waves, and her stasis force-fields rendered many of Spectra’s attacks ineffective. And with the equally lethal Captain Zero by her side, it seemed nearly impossible to overcome the onslaught.

Finally, Captain Infinity and Max Galaxy were able to join the fight. The battle, however, continued to be a brutal affair, and it soon became clear that the only way to defeat Madam Infinity and Captain Zero was to destroy them. The four heroes coordinated an attack, and used a number of the nuclear missiles to finally trap the evil knights and blow them to smithereens.

With their destruction, Madam Infinity and Captain Zero were transported to the Shadow Realm, a dark and vile place that can pretty much be compared to the popular depictions of hell. Hundreds of the most demented and dangerous hyper-villains in the Infiniverse – and a few other universes – dwelled in that place. But within just a few days, Madam Infinity had instituted her own reign of terror, using her considerable powers to force everyone to bow before her. Captain Zero stood by her side.

The two of them ruled the Shadow Realm for a long time, and were content to live out eternity as king and queen. However, the discovery of the Eternity Key on Super Earth One changed everything. The Eternity Key was part of a prophecy in which Super Earth One and the entire Infiniverse would be destroyed, but all hyper-beings who followed Captain Infinity and the Light would be saved from destruction and migrated into a new world, while all of those who stayed in the shadows would also meet their demise. The Eternity Key would be the object that opened the door to this new world, and the mysterious being called Seven would assist in the migration.

The problem was that Centuria and her squad of anti-heroes, The Centurians, had stolen the Key and used it prematurely. And in doing so, they had accidentally opened a door to the Shadow Realm, which Madam Infinity could use to return to the land of the living. Upon her return, she immediately attacked the Army of Shadows and the Infinity Force, and took most of them to the Shadow Realm with her!

Captain Infinity, Madam Zero and Centuria demanded to be set free, but Madam Infinity simply laughed at them, then sent her minions to attack! It was a massive war, as members of the Army of Shadows and the Infinity Force were also present. The Super Earth One hypers, however, were considerably less powerful in the Shadow Realm, and they found themselves on the defensive. For Madam Infinity, victory was not the objective, though. She simply needed to distract the hypers long enough to keep them trapped there, until the prophesied destruction of Super Earth One took place. That way, despite being followers of The Light, Captain Infinity and the Infinity Force would not be able to migrate to the new world, and instead would be stuck there with her, eventually becoming part of her own legion.

Fortunately, Spectra, Radiance, Fracture, Eclipse and Sapphire Shade used Eternity Key to travel to the Shadow Realm for a rescue mission. It was imperative that they find the Eternity Lock. Spectra commanded the other hypers to join the major conflict, as she began her search. But Madam Infinity realized what was happening, and went to intercept.

The two of them engaged in a realm-shattering encounter, as Spectra’s telepathy gave her an advantage against Madam Infinity that no other hyper had. After a series of brutal exchanges, Spectra was able to gain the upper hand, and obtain the Eternity Lock. But as she turned to find Captain Infinity and the others, she was was confronted by Captain Zero. This ordeal was far from over…

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