The planet Vlenty, a world rich in life, but no native sentients. It orbited a binary star, which created an abundance of heat energy for the sphere to absorb and feed its native flora and fauna.
A perfect meal for the one known as Galactus. It would sustain him for quite some time.
His herald had summoned him. All was in preparation; it was time.
The planet's surface rumbled. Tides rose, islands sank, continents cracked. Native creatures sensed impending doom and flew into panics, trying to flee futilely. But there was nowhere to hide. Shadow fell across the hemisphere as Galactus' mighty vessel eclipsed the sun.
"Hey do you notice something?" an eerie voice was spoken on the planet's surface.
"You mean like that giant thing in the sky, sky?" a companion responded, looking up.
"Ah slag. What's he doing here?" the third and final one said.
The planet had no native sentient life, but it did have three squatters: the Insecticons. A trio of vicious, uncouth Decepticons who were currently on the run from their Decepticon leaders after their last attempt on Megatron's life, they had stopped on this planet to feed. Unlike their Decepticon brethren who relied solely on energon for fuel, the Insecticons could consume organic matter, and quickly; they had managed to level several hundreds of acres since landing less than twenty-four hours ago.
"Think we should get out of here?" Kickback asked.
"No! We were here first, first," Shrapnel objected.
Bombshell shook his head, shaking his massive horn back and forth. "Psh. You think that would matter to him?"
"He doesn't scare me, me. Just a two-byte Unicron wannabe, be."
"Fine. You tell him."
"All right, I will, will!" Leaping into the air, Shrapnel flew towards the accumulating stormclouds that had formed around Galactus as he pierced the atmosphere and set foot on the planet.
"Oh this outta be good," Bombshell remarked, taking off after Shrapnel. "C'mon, Kickback. This we have to see."
It took about a half-hour's flight to reach Galactus, but as soon as he was within range Shrapnel transformed and began charging up his most powerful weapon. With the upset atmosphere around him, it didn't take his capacitors long to reach imminent overload. He had never wielded this much power and he cackled maniacally and his horns crackled with electricity, glowing dazzlingly in the dark skies. With a screech, he let lose the forces of nature, bombarding Galactus in the crotch with illuminated death.
Bombshell spared a glance to his companion. "You're recording this, aren't you?"
Kickback chortled. "Of course!"
Shrapnel continued to hurtle the elements at the Devourer of Worlds. His antenna began to glow a different shade – not with raw power, but with heat. His components began to overheat. The Insecticon grit his dentures, willing himself to go past his limit. Finally, he could go no farther. Every system of his body blinked and shut down. His optics went dark and he began his long plummet to the ground.
Bombshell elbowed Kickback in the ribs. "Think we can clone a new one?"
"Easily."
"How does giving the new one an obsessive-compulsive need to clean sound to you?"
"Consider it done." One of these days, someone was going to have to clean the inside of their ship.
Before Shrapnel impacted into the ground and flattened himself like a bug, however, his descent merely… stopped. He hovered in the air a moment, not of his own volition, and then rose back up into the air. When his systems rebooted he found himself dangling like a puppet and staring into one immense eye. An eye of Galactus.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, LITTLE CYBERTRONIAN?"
The words resonated through Shrapnel's entire metal body. He felt a lose panel of armor fall off his leg.
"Uh…" Suddenly his bluster left him.
"THIS PLANET IS MINE FOR CONSUMPTION. WHY DO YOU NOT FLEE?"
"Because… Because we shouldn't have to… to…"
"MY HERALD HAS ALREADY PREPARED THIS WORLD. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME."
Shrapnel had no reply.
"I HAVE NO DESIRE TO KILL YOU. YOU ARE THE CREATIONS OF PRIMUS, SWORN ENEMY OF AN EVEN GREATER DESTRUCTOR THAN I. A TRUE EVIL. GO YOUR WAY, LITTLE CYBERTRONIAN."
And with that, Shrapnel found himself hurtling through the sky, fast, faster than he could even fly. He screamed. Galactus soon became a dot on the horizon and when he fell to the ground, he found himself lying just a few feet away from his ship. As he crawled onto his feet, he heard a low whine increasing in pitch. Looking up, Kickback and Bombshell were also flying through the air towards him, and not of their own power either. They each landed with a thud right beside him.
"Let's get out of here!" Kickback insisted as he jumped up and dusted himself off.
Galactus remained impassive as he watched the Cybertronian's vessel leave the planet's atmosphere. He did not enjoy doing what he had to do, but that was what separated him from the Other, the One that had destroyed his own universe.
He shifted around, observing the converter as it came together piece by piece. Within a few moments, this world would be gone, and Galactus would begin his long, lonely journey to the next world. Already his herald was laboring to prepare it-
One of the pieces of his machine stopped in its path, and then flew off, caught up in a whirlwind. Galactus watched as it somehow flew into the maw of a small pink creature on a hovering… star-shaped thing.
In a flash of light the creature transformed, forming a helmet just like Galactus' own. "Kirbeh Kirbeh!" it yelled.
Galactus folded his arms. It was just one of those days.