Post by Drake on Feb 28, 2016 14:39:10 GMT -5
#18: Infinity - The Kree-Spartoi War Part 3
Finis Tutorum
By Drake
The rainbow light bursting from Peter’s eyes was quickly replaced by a faint purple and orange glow. Then, with a single blink, the light faded and Peter collapsed onto his knees. Heather immediately dived to his side, but he didn’t need her help.
Motioning for her to stay back, Peter said, “I can control it. I’m fine.”
“Someone got a dictionary? I think we gotta reschool Pete on some basic vocabulary,” Rocket dryly joked, looking around at the others.
“We got bigger flark to fry,” Kill said. “A ship full of angry Kree are on their way here to blast us to kingdom come.”
“No. No, they aren’t,” Peter managed. Sweat beaded down into his eyes, but he managed to stand up. The indigo Mind Stone flickered weakly. He continued, “I told you I can control it. The ship’s ours.”
Rocket crossed his arms and looked at Peter, impressed. “D’ast, Pete. It only took ya a second to steal an entire ship. Yondu would be proud.”
Kill rolled his eyes and pushed past Rocket. Marching away from the others, he said, “Stop blustering around. We’re all that stands between the galaxy and a demigod tyrant.”
“Speaking of…” Heather tried to help Peter walk, but he wouldn’t have it. “The Worldmind contacted me. Xandar needs my help. Nova Prime is in danger.”
“I am Groot,” the tree-man said, concerned.
“Heather, we must return to Knowhere. The Kree-Spartoi war could cripple both empires. Billions will die. We need our army,” Quie said.
“If Xandar falls and the Nova Corps are broken, then the situation will only get worse. Either way, a lot of people are going to die,” Heather argued.
“I…can’t abandon my people,” Peter weakly interjected, scrunching his brow.
“Your people? Since when did you give a damn about the Spartoi?” Heather exclaimed.
Peter looked at her disbelievingly, “Do you really have to ask that?”
“Listen, ladies, we all know I’m the prettiest. Now will you stop arguing?” Rocket demanded. Both parties nearly began to yell at him, before he continued, “Both Kaya and Xandar are important. We can’t just give on either of them. The solution’s simple. We split up.”
“No!”
“That’s got to be the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard!”
“I am Groot!”
“The raccoon’s right.”
All eyes focused on Kill. He gazed coolly back at each of them in turn.
Rocket cocked his head to the side. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t act so surprised. I’ll agree with a decent plan if I hear one,” Kill retorted.
“I wasn’t talking about that. My godd’ast name is ‘Raccoon.’ Ain’t no ‘the.’ Why the hell does everyone—“
“Listen,” Yondu interrupted. Rocket sighed and shook his head, mumbling a few choice curse words. The Korbinite continued, “We’re going to split up. It’s just gonna happen, no questions asked. We don’t, then we’re condemning at least one world to die.”
Peter and Heather glanced at one another, and then turned their gazes to the ground. Groot frowned and stared at Rocket. The raccoon massaged his temple.
Quie merely offered Heather a sympathetic look and then said, “It’s decided. Peter, Kill, Phyla and I will return to Knowhere. The three of you will rescue the Nova Prime.”
Peter began to nod, slowly at first, but more confidently as each second passed. “Fine. Yeah. It’s the best plan we’ve got.”
He looked up at Heather, and smiled weakly, “If something happens to me, take my ashes—take something of mine to Earth, will you? So I can see it, finally. So I can go home.”
Heather hardened her gaze to hold back tears, muttering, “Likewise.”
Peter coughed once and then turned to Rocket and Groot. “Guys…”
Suddenly, Groot enveloped the entire group in an embrace. “We are Groot!”
Cramped against Phyla’s fading form, Kill grunted, “Claustrophobic. I’m claustrophobic!”
The tree-man nodded apologetically, releasing the others. “I am Groot.”
Peter chuckled weakly and sniffed back tears. “’Til next time.”
Quie took Phyla from Groot’s arms, and the two groups separated, moving in opposite directions. Heather glanced back at the others just once, before steadying herself and taking the lead.
Rocket took a deep breath, and glumly whispered, “If there is a next time…”
…
Kaya
The battle was one-sided. Kree forces annihilated the Spartoi, demolishing almost half of their army before the lead ships even arrived. However, the Kree could not predict the arrival of a fleet that would change the course of the battle.
J-Son’s Godship and his Skrull armada flew out of light speed, and immediately opened fire. The tides had turned in just seconds, but the Spartoi had far from won the day. Both sides suffered casualties near equally. They were evenly matched, for now…
Less than a minute later, Ronan and his small fleet emerged like an inferno, incinerating any Spartoi in their path. While the Kree had the advantage, the battle was not yet over. Ronan set his sights on the Godship, determining to change that.
A dogfight the likes of which the galaxy had never seen occurred. The Dark Aster was enormous, but still only stood at half the Godship’s size. Even worse, the Godship was just as fast.
Dip, arc, blast, flip, rockets, and on and on. Finally, Ronan’s pride cost him his ship.
J-Son commanded a squad of ten fighters to converge on the Dark Aster. They focused their fire, and although the Accuser warship managed to terminate half of the vessels, in the end the Spartoi won the fight. Two well-placed missiles damaged the engine beyond repair, and the Dark Aster plummeted to the ground.
As they entered the atmosphere, Ronan stared blankly out the front of the Dark Aster. He would go down with his ship. However, as it turned out, the crash damaged a Spartoi city more than it did him. He stepped out of the Dark Aster with nearly half of his crew—forty seven soldiers—only to be immediately surrounded by Spartoi drones.
“Drop your weapons and get onto your knees!” one ordered.
Ronan glanced around at his troops, looked smugly up at the drones, and smirked.
“A Kree Accuser kneels to no one,” he declared.
Ronan let loose a battle cry for the ages, and leaped toward the lead drone. He smashed it to pieces with his hammer, and as it crashed into the ground, he jumped for the next one. Blaster fire burned his skin but he would not fall. In the end, he found himself standing alone over a pile of debris and Kree corpses, his armor scorched but his pride unscathed.
Ronan held his chin high and raised his hammer, shouting, “FOR THE SUPREME INTELLIGENCE! FOR THE EMPIRE!”
And then he fainted.
…
Knowhere
Cosmo’s head perked up when he noticed Milago in the upper atmosphere. He immediately grabbed a speeder and left the colony’s third makeshift hospital for the landing bay.
<Pardon me! Excuse me! Head of Security comink through!> He psychically projected, as he passed dozens of injured soldiers and civilians. The battle was over, but recovery had just begun.
As he entered the airfield, Milago’s hatch had just begun to open. He could feel the psychic presence of his friends from dozens of yards away, meaning he noticed three of them were missing.
<Comrades, you are sight for sore eyes! But where are the others?> he wondered.
Peter stepped out first, the Infinity Gauntlet hooked to his belt and Phyla resting in his arms. <Saving Xandar. It’s a long story.>
<I see,> Cosmo projected knowingly.
<Did you just read my mind?> Peter exclaimed, paranoid.
<Do not worry. I not tell comrade Phyla Vell about the dream you have of her and-->
“What was that…?” Phyla muttered weakly, her eyes fluttering open.
Peter froze and looked down at her. “You’re awake!”
“That’s what it looks like,” Phyla agreed, motioning to be put down.
Peter did just that, and swallowed, blushing. “You, uh, heard that?”
“He was projecting to all of us,” Kill admitted teasingly, passing Peter.
Before Phyla could continue to push the topic, Quie interrupted, <Cosmo, where is Yinuet?>
The canine head of security did not reply. Suspicion crept into Quie’s mind. Peter frowned. Even Kill stopped walking, unnerved.
<Cosmo…?> Peter began.
<Comrade Yinuet is missink in action. He was guardink J-Son, and we have reason to believe-->
“No!” Peter growled, tightening his hands into fists. Cosmo finally reached the group, and gazed solemnly at their leader. “NO!”
Quie’s heart rate quickened, but she managed to remain calm. She turned to Cosmo and asked, “What happened?”
<J-Son escaped. He took control of Skrull armada and left,> Cosmo explained.
“DAMMIT!” Peter roared. He looked up at the sky. “He’s gone to Kaya. We have to leave. Now.”
Quie shook her head. “Peter, we must take a few hours to recover, to—“
“No! I’m going now. Who’s coming with me?” Peter asked, turning to the others, his eyes alight with rage-fueled insanity.
Kill actually smirked. “Been waiting for this to turn into a good, old-fashioned revenge story.”
“Peter…” Phyla whispered.
Suddenly, reality clicked for him again. Peter faced Phyla, and looked over her trembling form. His expression softened.
“Shit, I forgot. I…I’m sorry, Phy…” Peter began, but she interrupted him.
“No, you’re right, Peter. We have to go to Kaya,” she confidently said. How she managed such strength in her state, Peter couldn’t tell.
Peter shook his head and stepped toward the Kree. He began to reach out for her, but thought better of it.
Sighing, he said, “Phy, you can’t go. You’re sick…”
“Actually, I’m dying,” she calmly stated.
Shock fell over the group. Peter’s eyes widened as he met Phyla’s.
“What?!” he exclaimed.
Phyla bit her lip and glanced away. Struggling for the right words, she said, “I’m…I’m fading from existence. I have been for some time. Being so close to my past self only sped up the process.”
“Phyla, what the hell are you talking about?” Peter demanded.
“The Infinity Stones aren’t natural. Eventually, if they’re used enough, they will break the universe. Until then, space, time, reality—every aspect of the Gauntlet will try to realign itself to fit in with the new universe. I could only remain here for so long until my timeline was permanently erased and I ceased to exist.”
“But—“
“This is good news.” Phyla managed a small smile. “It means the future has been averted. We can’t possibly know what to expect, and that’s wonderful. It means we could very well win the war.”
“And lose you,” Peter argued.
“That was always my fate. Don’t worry. I am at peace with it, as you should be. You will remember me. I won’t be erased from all time, only the present and future. My legacy will remain.”
“I won’t let that happen.” Peter pulled the Infinity Gauntlet from his belt and nearly put it on until Phyla grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“No! It’s no use. My fate can’t be averted,” Phyla said.
“Bullshit!” Peter retorted.
Phyla froze, her jaw hanging slightly open. She looked up into Peter’s eyes, and slowly a smile ghosted over her lips. His defiance was encouraging. Someway, somehow she knew he meant what he said. Whether it was possible or not, she couldn’t tell, but that didn’t matter.
Phyla stood up straight and said, “I have almost a week. That’s plenty of time to find a…cure and to do what we do best.”
Peter frowned, and tried to make out if she was lying to him.
Kill gazed at the Kree inquiringly, confused. “And what’s that exactly?”
Phyla looked at him, grinning confidently. “Guard the galaxy, dumbass.”
She quickly faced Peter, and added, “Beginning with the Spartoi…”
…
Xandar
The planet was in chaos. Nova drones and Corpsmen flew through the atmosphere, fighting off whatever Badoon ships they could. More than half, however, made it through and touched ground. From there, they raided facility after facility, drawing nearer and nearer to the Nova Prime, until, at last, they’d reached the throne room.
Amidst the warring factions in the upper atmosphere, a golden rocket roared past. Faster, faster, faster—
--BOOM!
The rocket burst through the walls of the throne room, crushing a Badoon troop under its force. From the rocket emerged Heather, a proud Nova Corpsman; Rocket; and Groot.
<Welcome, Chosen,> rang the unified voice of the Worldmind in Heather’s head. <Protect the Prime.>
<Roger roger,> Heather psychically quipped back, flying toward her commanding officer.
Meanwhile, Rocket, standing atop Groot’s shoulder, pressed a button on his blaster pistol, transforming it into an enormous rifle the size of him. He unleashed a hail of bullets onto the enemy troops, laughing.
“If ya think laser’s a nasty appetizer, wait till you get a load of the entrée!” he cheered.
“I am Groot!” The tree-man beat Badoons away with his arm.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself, amigo,” Rocket replied.
Elsewhere, Heather found herself shot to the ground by a Badoon soldier, the first of many attackers to successfully hit her. The twist? He’d accidentally blasted her after a certain green-skinned swordswoman had knocked away his arm.
“I apologize,” Gamora shouted over the chaos while finishing off her Badoon opponent.
“Cut the shit, Gamora.” Heather took off again, heading straight for Gamora. She tackled the woman into a crowd of Badoons.
“Off, Nova! I am on your side!” Gamora said.
“Like I’d ever—“
Heather quieted when Gamora lashed out with her sword. She nearly blasted the green-skinned woman’s head off until she noticed her target: a Badoon soldier. In fact, the reptilian troop had been attempting to murder Heather from behind.
<Chosen, Gamora speaks the truth. She has been a worthy ally in this battle,> spoke the Worldmind.
“You’re not lying,” Heather muttered, standing up. She offered Gamora her hand.
The swordswoman frowned, but took it nonetheless, allowing Heather to hoist her up onto her feet. “I said as much, did I not?”
Heather rolled her eyes, and turned back to the battle at hand. She grabbed Gamora’s elbow, much to the warrior’s ire, and flew her up into the air.
“Help me save the Nova Prime, and all is forgiven,” Heather said. “Deal?”
Gamora eyed her, curious, but managed a smirk. “Deal.”
BLAM!
The two fell to the ground, someone managing to land a second shot on Heather. Both women looked up to locate their attacker: Blackshot, who stood proudly with a smoking rifle just fifty yards away from the Nova Prime.
“There she is,” Gamora growled, glaring at Blackshot.
“There he is,” Heather whispered, glancing between her commanding officer and her one-time friend.
Gamora charged into battle. “RRAAAAHHH!”
…
“RRAAAAHHHH!!”
Groot sidestepped the sudden lunge of Drax the Destroyer, who had since caught sight of the two Guardians and made it his duty to eliminate them.
“I am Groot,” the tree-man warned.
“Yeah, I see him,” Rocket replied, firing upon Drax.
The Destroyer managed to dodge most of the energy pellets, but a few burned into his skin. However, they did no significant damage, and, noticing this, he let loose another battle cry and leapt onto Groot’s chest, latching on with his knives.
“Just die already!” Rocket yelled, unleashing everything he had.
Groot tried to pull Drax off of him, but the Destroyer held on tight and slashed at the tree-man’s arm anytime it came near. Rocket had since run out of ammo and tossed his gun to the side. An energy blast grazed his ear as he drew a tiny pistol from his belt, singing off the tip.
Rocket looked at the source of the fire, a Badoon soldier, and growled, “My ear? My fucking ear?! Now I’ll look like all the other badass fur warriors: scarred as fucking shit! Fuck you, you d’ast asshole! I was original!”
He dodged more blaster fire and pulled the trigger on his pistol. An enormous red laser beam exploded out of it and burned through the Badoon’s chest.
“And you!” Rocket aimed the pistol at Drax, as it warmed up. “You’re the biggest dickwad of them all. Eat laser, you son of a bitch.”
SHOOM!
…
Gamora sliced a Badoon in two and decapitated another before reaching Blackshot, who immediately began to fire upon her. Gamora began to block each blast with her sword, but Heather ended up doing most of the work, creating a force field to protect her.
“I had it under control!” Gamora shouted as Heather landed beside her.
“You hear that, Douglas? Drop the force field,” Blackshot teased. He turned and aimed his rifle at the Nova Prime, who was caught in battle with Nebula, all too unaware of the mortal danger she was in. “Or the Prime gets it.”
“Nova…” Gamora warned.
“He can’t make the shot. Otherwise, he would’ve done it already,” Heather argued.
“Babe, ever think I was waiting for you?” Blackshot said, eyeing her.
“Why the hell…” Heather began to mutter, before Blackshot interrupted her.
“Didn’t I tell you before? I’m a sick son of a bitch.” He looked back through his scope and fired.
Heather dropped the force field and rocketed toward Blackshot. She tackled him to the ground, but it was too late. The Nova Prime suddenly dropped to the ground, a bloody hole in her head. Nebula watched the body fall, surprised, as a smile flicked over her lips.
A horrifying cry echoed over the Worldmind, causing the Nova Corpsmen to fall out of the air. Heather rolled over, grasping her helmet and screaming. Blackshot drew his pistol and aimed it at Heather. He was too slow.
SHNK!
Gamora impaled Blackshot through the heart. Heather managed to make out the sniper’s death despite the world spinning around her.
“NO!!” she shouted.
Gamora drew her bloody blade from Blackshot’s chest, and victoriously flicked it to the side.
“He was a cold-blooded murderer,” Gamora stated.
Blackshot, drowning in his own blood, chuckled, “Got that right.”
As he breathed his last breath, Heather crawled over to his side and cradled his head.
“He was brainwashed, dammit. He was brainwashed. I was gonna lower the force field. We just needed time to regroup so I could stop you from doing…this. He was brainwashed,” she muttered incoherently.
“We have a much greater problem than determining whether or not I did the right thing,” Gamora noted, looking up at her adopted sister as she pulled the Nova Prime’s helmet from her head and began to march down the hallway to an enclosed pedestal holding the shimmering blue Infinity Stone.
Nebula put on the helmet, and then pressed her hand against an indention in the wall. The pedestal opened to reveal the stone, and she placed it in a small case.
“Nova, stand!” Gamora demanded. “The Space Stone is in jeopardy!”
“He was brainwashed…” Heather whispered, the fevered cries of the Worldmind still deafening everything around her.
…
Drax was not dead. In fact while he may have been in great pain, he could continue to fight. Rocket, on the other hand, was losing his willpower real quickly. The Nova Prime had just been murdered. Drax was unstoppable. Groot could only hold him off for so long. Heather was nowhere to be found.
And then…then he caught sight of the Infinity Stone, as Nebula neared it. Suddenly, she was there, the stone was in her hands, and then…
“Korvac, save us,” Rocket mumbled as he stared at the corpse-ridden battlefield around him. He was reminded of home, or rather how he had last seen it. “Korvac, please…”
A golden glow and then Korvac was there, floating before Rocket. Everyone, even the remaining Novas, stopped fighting and turned to him. His presence seemed both addicting and empowering. Rocket hadn’t felt this before. Korvac had been holding back until now, and for the first time Rocket realized how truly powerful he was.
Korvac extended his hand to his supposed creation, smiled, and said, “I am here for you, my son. Speak, and let your will be done.”
…
Kaya
Far, far away, outside the atmosphere of Kaya, Kree soldiers began to play god.
“Sir, are you sure…?” one asked his general.
“Yes,” the blue-skinned man said. “Prepare the Planetkiller. Terminate Kaya.”
…
The Outskirts of the Galaxy
Half an hour from now
On the edge opposite Thanos’ base, the Mad Titan’s ship flew toward a freighter the size of a moon. The enormous starship rightfully earned its name of Temple Ship, as it was shaped like an amalgamation of many places of worship. Hidden underneath its bows were enormous blaster cannons, which acted almost as a metaphor for the ship’s inhabitants, the Universal Church of Truth: beautiful, but deadly.
Thanos’ titanic relic of a vehicle docked with the Temple Ship, and the Mad Titan himself emerged from it alone. Out on the deck, a golden man adorned into red and blue robes and three servants dressed in white greeted him.
“Greetings, Titan. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” the gold man said, smiling pleasantly at the Mad Titan.
Thanos glared back, staring at the green Infinity Stone lodged in the man’s forehead. ”Adam Warlock, I have not come here to waste my time with petty trifles. Give me the Soul Stone, and you may live.”
“Magus, my lord…” A servant began, but the golden man motioned for him to quiet.
“Right to business, eh? I should have known. After all, I know so very much about you,” Warlock noted. “Our souls are intertwined, Titan, but even still I do have to wonder: how did you find me?”
Thanos tightened his fists in frustration, but after a few moments managed to relax. He sighed, and looked Warlock in the eyes.
”Fine. I will play your game, Warlock. I found you because you are the only being of your kind in existence. You are artificial, like the Stone on your head and the Church you created. You are of Earth, a backwater world filled with ordinary people that somehow, time and time again, manage to do extraordinary things. And, most importantly, you are not of this universe.”
Warlock’s smile turned wicked. “Very good, Titan. You are supremely competent. I should have expected as much. We are opposites, you and I, both avatars of—“
Warlock cut off as a knife emerged through his chest. He looked down at the wound in shock as the weapon was removed, and subsequently collapsed.
“You…” Warlock began, discovering his captor was none other than one of his servants. The others had been picked off quietly while Thanos had spoken. He had lost. “You betrayed me.”
Warlock raised his hand. The servant gazed at Thanos and smiled.
“For Thanos,” the man whispered, as Warlock obliterated his head with an energy blast.
“You infiltrated my church,” Warlock noted, coughing up blood.
”I am the avatar of death, Warlock. I am inevitable and undeniable. Even your servants must surrender to my lady’s power,” Thanos declared.
“Your ship will burn,” Warlock demanded, as Thanos approached him.
Already, a psychic command had been issued, and a fleet of Cardinals descended upon Thanos’ ship, destroying it.
”I always expected as much,” Thanos retorted. His ship exploded behind him, and he grabbed Warlock by his throat.
“I will return. You cannot kill Life,” Warlock remarked.
”Good. You will be able to witness Life’s weakness as I annihilate much of the galaxy before your very eyes,” Thanos said, reaching for the Soul Stone.
“You. Will. Lose,” Warlock shouted.
“Not this time,” Thanos whispered.
With a sudden jerk, he removed the Soul Stone from Warlock’s head, and then snapped his neck. Tossing the corpse to the side, he stepped forward. Thanos placed the stone in the Infinity Gauntlet and raised his armored hand as Cardinal ships surrounded him. The red Power Stone shined with power.
Glaring at the armada before him, Thanos said, “For my lady.”
Suddenly, with a flash of blue light, Thanos disappeared.