Over the fifteen hundred mile mountain range that runs along the border between India and Tibet flew the woman named Halo. She looked like a beautiful young woman, but she was not what she appeared to be. She sailed across the sky, doing loops and spins, enjoying the view. Clad in a colorful, skintight outfit, she left a streak of light behind her as she flies. Her whole body glowed with an angelic radiance. She was having a good time.

Halo knew that she was defying her king's standing order never to leave their home, their Great Refuge. But the gift of flight was too spectacular a gift not to use, and the view above the Himalayan Mountains is magnificent. How could she resist?

She flew on, without a care in the world.

The Blue Diamond was a member of S.T.A.T.* - a government agency that utilized those beings known as superheroes as operatives. During the Cold War, the super agents of S.T.A.T. often vied with their Soviet counterparts. One of the fiercest U.S./Soviet rivalries was between the Blue Diamond and the Red Ghost.

*(Superhuman Tactical Action Taskforce)

Blue Diamond had the ability to increase his molecular density so that he became as hard as a diamond. Red Ghost, on the other hand, altered his molecular density to turn himself into an intangible ghost-like state. He could pass through solid matter.

Except for one type of matter - diamonds! That was why the Blue Diamond was his nemesis. The Blue Diamond was the only one who could touch the Red Ghost when he was in his ghostly form. Right now, the powerful Blue Diamond was battling the Red Ghost on a mountaintop in the Himalayas.

The Red Ghost had tried to assassinate the U.S. President while he was visiting the Dalai Lama in Tibet. The Blue Diamond foiled the Ghost's plan and pursued him in a helicopter chase until he finally downed the Ghost's copter in the Himalayas. The Blue Diamond intended to put a stop to the Red Ghost, here and now, one way or the other.

But the battle wasn't only between the Blue Diamond and the Red Ghost. Also present were the Ghost's loyal Super Apes. The Red Ghost was a scientific genius. He not only managed to give himself super powers, but he also gave power to his three apes. They were unusually intelligent simians and the Ghost had taught them to respond to his verbal commands and his gestures. He gave them power and made them his loyal servants. One was a gorilla with super strength, the second was an orangutan with magnetic powers, and the third was a shape-shifting baboon.

The Blue Diamond was using his amazing strength to slug it out with the mighty gorilla. At the Red Ghost's command, the baboon turned itself into a blob-like creature and threw itself onto the Diamond's face. With the Diamond blinded, the gorilla pounded him savagely. The Blue Diamond was suffocating, as well as being battered mercilessly. He finally managed to pull the baboon off his face only to get caught with a blow to the jaw by the gorilla. The Blue Diamond fell, stunned. The Red Ghost laughed and ordered his orangutan to magnetically lift the remains of his copter and to slam them on top of the Blue Diamond. In his weakened state, even his diamond-hard skin couldn't take the pain. He passed out. The Red Ghost laughed.

Halo was mistress of light, and she could use it any way she wanted. She swooped down. The apes spotted her first and began to roar and squeal. The Red Ghost then looked up and saw her. Before he could give any orders to his apes, Halo released a blinding flash of light. The Red Ghost and his apes were stunned and blinded for a few moments. When they recovered, the Blue Diamond and Halo were gone. The Red Ghost spotted the trail of light that Halo always left in her wake.

"She went that way!" Red Ghost exclaimed. "Come, my lovelies! We won't let this opportunity to kill the hated Blue Diamond pass. She can't have gone far carrying someone as heavy as he is. And we won't have a better chance. He's hurt. We get him now! And the cow who had the audacity to interfere will suffer too. Sniff them both out, my pets. They both die. And anyone who gets in our way dies!"

She crashed down in the main square of the beautiful city. A crowd of bizarre-looking beings surrounded her. But they weren't bizarre-looking to her. They were her people . . . the Inhumans.

"Bring this human to the healer," she ordered. "I have to see the King!"

She went to the balcony outside her window. She looked to the sky and wondered what was beyond the Himalayas. She found the Great Refuge to be a rather boring place. She understood the King's standing command never to leave their city. She'd heard about how hostile humans were. Her cousin Triton often strayed outside the city but he was allowed to because he remained under water, safe from human eyes. But even he has reported dangerous encounters with humans who attack anything different from themselves. She knew why her people must always remain in Attilan, but it didn't make her any happier. She was young and beautiful. Wouldn't she ever have an adventure? Would she ever meet a human? Was there no excitement in her future?

There was a knock on her chamber door. She told the servant to enter. It was one of the King's valets.

"The King wishes the presence of the entire Royal Family in the throne room," the valet said.

Finally, there was the King himself. Tall and powerfully built, regal in demeanor and an intimidating presence. He wore a black outfit, with glider wings under the arms and the crest of his family on his chest. He also wore the ceremonial mask of kings, with an ankh-like ornament on the forehead. His real name was never spoken. That would be disrespectful. Kings were always given a new name when they took the throne. This King was named 'black' after his choice of attire, and 'bolt', which was the name of a mythological protector in their folklore. The king was forevermore known as Black Bolt!

With a look toward Black Bolt, Medusa stood up. "Where is Grodd?" she asked.

"We could not find him, my Queen," Dubbilex said.

Black Bolt nodded knowingly but with concern.

Medusa continued. "Halo," she said, "explain yourself."

Halo fidgeted nervously. "He was being killed. I had to bring him here or he would have died."

"Did anyone see you?" Medusa asked.

Halo hesitated. "Y . . . Yes. Someone did."

"Foolish girl!" growled Gorgon. "Do you know what you've done?!?"

"Calm yourself, Gorgon," Dubbilex said. "The King will deal with this."

"You know the King's order never to leave our Great Refuge," Medusa said.

"Yes," Halo replied.

"Do you realize what could happen if any human discovered our city?" Medusa asked.

"I'm sorry," Halo said.

"Sorry?!?" Gorgon yelled.

Black Bolt held a hand up, indicating silence. Gorgon forced himself to remain quiet.

"If I may?" triton politely asked.

Black Bolt nodded. Triton said, "We should deal with the outside world when, and if, they find the Great Refuge. At his moment, we must decide what to do with the human who is already here."

"Triton is quite right," Dubbilex said. "The human in the healer's chamber is the immediate problem."

Black Bolt nodded his agreement.

Crystal found herself very curious about this human. She wanted to see him but she couldn't walk out on a Royal Council meeting.

"I say we eject the human from our land before he awakens," Gorgon said.

"But he's injured," Halo countered.

"Not our concern!" Gorgon answered. "He is an outsider. Injured by another outsider."

"Is our society rejecting moral responsibility?" triton asked.

"Humans are not moral!" Gorgon hissed.

"We can't condemn this human on a generalization," Crystal snapped. "He may be a good man."

"Enough of this bickering!" Medusa shouted. "The king will decide." She turned toward Black Bolt. "We await your decision. Does he stay or does he go?"

Halo and Crystal held their breath. Gorgon was more grim than usual. The others were calm, awaiting their King's decision.

Black Bolt pointed a finger to the ground, indicating that the Blue Diamond would remain.

"The King has spoken," Medusa said. "The human will remain until he is well."

Halo and Crystal smiled. "Thank you, your majesty," Halo said. "You are a wise and kind King. I'm going now to see the human. I'll let you know what his condition is."

Black Bolt nodded his permission. Halo turned to go.

"Halo," Medusa called after her, "don't think we have forgotten your indiscretion. You have created a problem for us. We will discuss it with you after the human is gone."

Halo nodded meekly and walked out of the throne room.

"May I accompany her?" Crystal asked.

Black Bolt nodded. Crystal ran after Halo. Black Bolt waved the rest of them away.

"The king and I would be alone now," Medusa said.

Triton left. Gorgon looked back at the king. "I hope we do not regret this, your highness."

He left. Dubbilex was about to follow.

"Dubbilex," Medusa said, "what is your opinion on the situation? We trust your judgment."

"I think that a good ruler can do no better than to balance the good of his people with his sense of what is right," Dubbilex said. "There is no easy answer to this conundrum. All I can say is that I have no criticism of your ruling."

Black Bolt nodded. Dubbilex exited. Medusa turned to Black Bolt. "I would never disagree with you in front of your subjects, my love, but I am worried. I'm not sure if this is the right decision. But I stand by you, no matter what happens."

Black Bolt took his bride's hand and smiled, which he only did when he was alone with Medusa.

Grodd was Black Bolt's younger brother. He was simian in appearance, like a large gorilla. He had the strength and speed of a great ape but the mind of a scientific genius. He was the most brilliant scientist among the Inhumans, possibly one of the smartest beings on Earth. He was also one of the most ambitious. He had long resented the fact that it was Black Bolt, and not he, who became ruler of Attilan. He had stood in the shadow of the great Black Bolt for far too long.

He looked from his tower laboratory down at his new subjects. They were all gorillas, like himself. A Gorilla City. He had created each of them from his own genetic material. But they weren't exactly clones. Grodd didn't want a city full of himself. He didn't want someone who would equal or oppose him. They were GELFs - Genetically Engineered Life Forms. They each had his or her own personality. But they were trained - perhaps brainwashed would be a better word - from their inception to obey Grodd.

There was one exception . . . Solivar. Solivar was Grodd's first attempt at creating a being from his own genes. Solivar turned out to be the manifestation of Grodd's good side. All the morality and values that Grodd had suppressed had come to life in Solivar. Grodd now had nothing left in him except evil.

Solivar was Grodd's intellectual equal and resisted the brainwashing that Grodd had inflicted on the others. Grodd hated Solivar almost as much as he hated Black Bolt. In fact, Solivar was Black Bolt's birth name. Grodd kept Solivar locked up. He was afraid to kill Solivar because he didn't know what would happen to him if his good side died. So Solivar remained locked up, watching from the window of his cell as Grodd made slaves of the other apes. Solivar often cried in his cell. Not for himself, but for them.

Grodd ordered his ape army to continue their training. He planned to use them to invade and overthrow Attilan. He would rule the Great Refuge one day, and no one would stop him!

"Am I dreaming?" he asked.

"No," she said with a smile. "I'm real. How do you feel?"

"Like something scraped off the bottom of my shoe," he said.

"That sounds bad," she said. "But we'll have you back to full strength in a short while."

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Crystal . . . " she replied, and pointed to Halo who was standing nearby. "And this is my cousin Halo. She's the one who found you."

"Thank you," he said to her.

"You're welcome," Halo said and looked at Crystal. "He's quite handsome, isn't he?"

The Blue Diamond reached up to his face. His mask was gone.

"Oh God!" he shouted.

"What's God?" Halo said.

"Is something wrong?" Crystal asked.

"My mask!"

"It is right over there. Do you want it?" Crystal asked.

"It doesn't matter now. You've seen my face," he replied.

"I'm sorry," Crystal said. "Is that against your religion? Our king wears a mask too."

"No. Nothing like that," he said, "It's just that . . . Forget it. Where am I?"

Halo was about to speak but Crystal gave her a warning look. Crystal said, "All your questions will be answered later. Just relax. You're safe."

The Blue Diamond forced himself to rise.

"You should rest!" Crystal said.

"I need to see your king," he said.

"We are glad to see you looking so well." Medusa said.

"Thank you, your highness," the Blue Diamond said. "I owe you all my life. And I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I have some questions."

"Of course," Medusa said. "And our answers to those questions may induce you to keep the secret of this place."

"Secret?" he asked.

"We Inhumans have lived here for centuries. Before this we lived in a nearby city, but abandoned that one when the cloud cloak was invented," Medusa explained.

"Cloud cloak?" the Diamond asked.

Medusa continued. "An illusion of clouds that shield the city from being seen from the air. The location of the other city wasn't conducive to the illusionary shield, so we moved the city to a location where the geography better fitted the illusion. We've been hidden from human eyes ever since. We evolved parallel to mortals, separate and alone. Experiences with humans in the past have been . . . negative ones. So we desire to keep our existence a secret. Our city is called Attilan. We also call it the Great Refuge."

"So you're not humans?" the Diamond said. "Another intelligent species evolved on this planet?"

"Yes," Medusa said, "And we have exceeded your technology. This is mostly because of the legendary Omega."

Medusa pointed to the huge statue of a man who resembled Black Bolt, although wore red. "Omega," she said, "was a leader who brought us to a level of peace, prosperity and advancement the world has never seen. Most importantly, he invented the Terrigen Mist."

"What's the Terrigen Mist?" he asked.

"The cure for the plague that was killing us," Medusa answered. "That's why the Inhumans number is so small. Most of our race was killed by the plague. Omega invented the Terrigen Mist which saved us. All our children are baptized in the Terrigen Mist when they are born. But the Terrigen Mist has a mutating effect. Sometimes our physical appearance is mutated, sometimes not. But it always gives us a special power. We are unique. We are the Inhumans. So now you know our secret. We ask you, in the name of the debt you owe us for saving your life, to never again speak of this place. Never tell anyone of our Great Refuge."

"I promise," the Blue Diamond said. "No one will ever find out about this place from me."

Suddenly, a crash was heard. The Imperial Guard rushed toward the city gate, where the explosion came from.

"What's happening?" the Diamond asked.

"I don't know," Medusa asked. She looked up and saw the mighty figure of Black Bolt sailing across the sky, headed for the gates. "But I have no fear. My beloved is here to protect us."

"Where are they?" the Red Ghost yelled. "Where is the Blue Diamond and the female who helped him escape?" The Ghost looked around and saw the bizarre creatures. "What sort of place is this?"

"The wrong place for you!" said Gorgon.

"Bah!" the Ghost hissed, and looked to his apes. "Destroy them all!"

The gorilla rushed forward. Gorgon turned and kicked out with his horse-like legs. He struck and staggered the gorilla. But the gorilla wasn't stopped. It continued its attack. The Red Ghost ordered the orangutan to cause the swords and shields of the Imperial Guard to start to zigzag around.

Grodd had snuck back into the city by the same means he'd exited. He was drawn to the commotion and saw the apes. Curiously, he watched.

Those apes, he thought, would be an invaluable addition to my simian army. I must have them. He saw their leader giving them commands and realized that he'd have to make a deal with this human for the services of those apes. The apes who could be the final nail in Black Bolt's coffin.

Black Bolt realized that the three apes couldn't act without the commands of their master. Black Bolt unleashed a blast of energy from the ornament on his forehead. The energy crackled and the blast was powerful. But it passed harmlessly through the Ghost. The Red Ghost laughed.

"No one can harm me!" the Red Ghost gleefully said.

He didn't see the Blue Diamond creeping up behind him. "Almost no one, Russkie!"

The Blue Diamond flattened the Ghost with one punch. With the Red Ghost unconscious, his apes were disorganized and just huddled around the Red Ghost, protecting him. Black Bolt had Halo use her light power to create a light show which had a calming influence on the now quiet apes. Soon, they fell asleep. The danger was over for now.

Or was it? Grodd sneaked away after the Ghost was defeated. He went to a small courtyard behind the royal place where the largest - and one of the most powerful - of the Inhumans usually could be found. The being known as ZZZaxx was composed of pure electrical energy. Every cell of his body had been transformed into an electric impulse by the Terrigen Mist. He sat on a stone, looking at the fish that swam in the pond. ZZZaxx was simple minded and easy to talk into anything. Grodd came up to him.

"Good morning, ZZZaxx," Grodd said.

The electric giant turned to Grodd. "Hell-lo Prinzzz Grodd. Izzz Nizzzze to zzzzzee you."

"Nice to see you too, my friend. But I'm afraid this isn't a social call."

"Zzzzzozzzial call?"

"Never mind that, my friend. King Black Bolt needs your help."

"King needzzzz ZZZaxx'zz help? ZZZaxx helpzzzz. What Zzzzhould ZZZaxx do?"

"You have to kill!"