Tales From the Marvel Universe Neo
Issue 26
"Galactus"
At the moment when the ship of Galactus had appeared in the sky all over the world, the Avengers had been divided into two groups. She-Hulk, Thor, Doctor Strange, Anna, and Black Bolt; who was still recovering from his injuries, but wouldn't listen to the advice that he should remain in bed, met in the hopes of planning an effective battle strategy. The others, with the exception of the Human Torch, had the job of trying to keep the people of planet Earth from tearing themselves to shreds over what they'd just seen. Miss Marvel had been charged with the unenviable task of trying to convince the military not to make any kind of ill-fated attack against the intergalactic ship that had suddenly surrounded planet Earth almost completely.
Doctor Doom had been contacted about the problem, and he'd responded rather graciously by saying that he was working on a device to harness the power of a cosmic force like that, but he lacked a containment unit large enough for the power cosmic of Galactus.
Naturally, the Fantastic Four were drawing up plans of their own, trying to use their machines to send Galactus some kind of message. They were the only ones who had real, prior experience with his technology, so it wasn't unreasonable to let them do their own thing.
Crystal and Namor didn't arrived at the meeting place. In fact, no one knew where they'd gone since the first attack against the surfer a while back, which was a bad sign. Still, Strange knew that he couldn't afford to waste any time, as he approached the surfer with a solemn look in his eyes.
"How can we fix this?" Strange asked gravely, "How do we stop Galactus?"
"You can't." the surfer said, looking just as sad, "It's impossible. The only way to keep Galactus from destroying this world now is to receive his solemn oath that he'll do you no harm, and he doesn't listen to the pleas of mortals."
"There must be some way to force him back." Strange insisted, "I mean, we eventually defeated you. Maybe if we all work together, we can overcome him as well."
"No! No! No!" the surfer exclaimed in absolute terror, "You don't know what you're talking about! This isn't an enemy that you can overcome. This is Galactus. Even if all the mortals in the universe joined forces to slay him, they'd still fail. I don't even compare to him."
"It can't be hopeless." Strange insisted, "There must be something we can do."
"You competed with me and won." the surfer replied, "Don't assume that you can compete with Galactus. You might be able to slow him down a little, but there is no overcoming him. To even think about doing such a thing is pure, unfounded arrogance."
"So in order to survive, we need to appeal to him somehow, and slow him down in the meantime." Strange confirmed, "What's Galactus planning? How does he absorb the energy of a world?"
The surfer still looked very scared for several moments, but at last, decided that nothing would be made any worse by telling the Earthlings what he knew.
"Galactus is capable of absorbing all the energy of a world on his own, but the process is slow and wasteful. In order to ensure that he receives the full energy of the world, Galactus has built many machines to expedite and refine the process. His first move will be to assemble them, and it may take something like three hours before he's ready to do that."
"Would we be able to destroy those machines?" Strange asked, at which point, the surfer's expression of fear started to fade a bit.
"Yes." the surfer replied, "In fact, that's your greatest opportunity to buy yourselves time. Destroy his machines once, and he'll lash out at you, then he'll take some extra time to repair them. However, trying to destroy the machines again would be a wasted effort."
"Why?" Strange asked, confused, "Does he have some way to protect them if they've been damaged before?"
"Not exactly," the surfer replied, "but, in the past, when species have attempted to destroy his machines a second time, he's merely used his power to drain away all the life-energy of the world without his machines. If he becomes desperate enough to do that, everyone on this world will perish."
"So we have, at most, a few hours to find some way to dissuade him or drive him back." Strange realized aloud, thinking hard about the situation for a few moments, "I'd prefer to trust someone else with that responsibility. Maybe the Fantastic Four could manage it. I'll make contact with them in just a moment..."
"Stop that! Put that down!" Spider-man exclaimed, foiling yet another attempt at looting, "Hey! Get over here!"
Peter was an emotional and mental wreck. It was discouraging how, after all the time he'd spend trying to protect and defend mankind, both as Spider-man, and, more recently, as Peter Parker, human beings still seemed determined to give him such a hard time. Granted, he hadn't managed to convince the silver surfer of mankind's worth, but he'd definitely done his best. Was it, he thought, really necessary for people to act like such jerks when something spooked them?
For a few seconds, Peter even considered giving up on his fellow man, and just going home. Crowd control duty was proving to be impossible, given the almost-certain doom that was hovering overhead, and it might just be a meaningless effort anyway. Still, Peter remembered his Uncle Ben, and that memory was enough to drive him on. The danger of someone dying was even greater than ever, and he couldn't let that happen if there was some way of preventing it.
However, Peter had enough troubles at the time that he wouldn't have welcomed more, and that was, from the looks of things, just what he was about to get. The Sandman, Doctor Octopus, and the Green Goblin were moving down the street, seizing people roughly as they went. What really surprised Spider-man, though, was that when the Goblin spotted him, he seemed to pause in the air, and just stand on his board, hovering in place, and staring directly at Spider-man. Then, in just a moment, the Goblin removed a bomb from the pouch that hung from his hip, and pressed a small stud on top of it, speaking in a voice that was obviously being amplified by some kind of machine.
"If this bomb goes off, it will decimate a whole block in each direction. Of course, if you all return to your homes and stay there, I'll simply disarm it and put it away, but then... I don't expect you to be that smart."
However, sure enough, the Goblin's tactic seemed to be working. People were starting to back away, and leave the items they'd looted where they were. Spider-man was amazed, and a little dismayed by how effective the Goblin had been at accomplishing the very thing that Spider-man had been trying to do. A moment later, as people started to leave the area, the Goblin descended through the air towards Spider-man, looking him intently in the eyes.
"There's something we need to talk about." the Goblin said somberly, though of course, Spider-man expected it to basically be a trick. In the end, he couldn't think of any reason for fighting the Goblin instead of talking to him; at least no reason that made sense.
"So talk." Spider-man replied, but the Goblin shook his head.
"This is something that you wouldn't want discussed in public." the Goblin said sternly, "It won't take long, but we need to settle this."
Of course, when the Green Goblin had said that, Peter felt more worried than ever, but at least it meant that if the Goblin decided to attack Spider-man, none of his supervillain pals would be around to help him out. Quickly, Spider-man followed the Goblin as he opened a nearby door and led his enemy inside, closing it once they'd both entered the large factory production room on the other side of that door, where all of the machinery had been turned off, leaving the place vacant and silent.
"So what's the deal?" Spider-man asked, "All of a sudden, you're on our side?"
"In life, there are no sides." the Goblin replied, "Each person must do what is in their best interests, and I know that whatever's going on, it's bad for everyone. I just need you to tell me that this situation is as terrible as it looks. Is there a danger that the world might be coming to an end?"
Spider-man hesitated for a moment, not sure he should tell the Goblin anything, but there wasn't anything to be gained by keeping secrets anymore. Quickly, Spider-man nodded, and he could see that the Goblin was carefully taking the information in. Of course, lots of people were obsessed with the concept of the end of the world, but when one was actually faced with the real possibility that the world was ending, it was hard to accept. The Goblin must have been a very clear-headed sort of lunatic, to be willing to assimilate that information so quickly.
"The end of the world..." the Goblin muttered in simple curiosity for a moment, "So, what do you need from us?"
"Sorry?" Spider-man asked, amazed by what he was hearing.
"Where do we need to deploy our forces?" the Goblin asked again, "There's no room for empty pride anymore. We must preserve our existence. Where are we needed?"
"I'm not even sure we can trust you." Spider-man exclaimed, though the Goblin was looking meaner as listened to those words, "I'm pretty sure the Avengers won't feel too great about working with your people."
"They'll get used to the idea once you explain to them how important it is to trust us." the Goblin said.
"How can I convince them to trust you?" Spider-man asked with a slight chuckle, in spite of the grim nature of the situation, "I don't trust you."
"You should." the Goblin replied, "After all, Peter, I've kept your greatest secret this long."
Once again, Spider-man shuddered when he heard those words, and once again, he was deathly afraid. The Green Goblin was one of the worst enemies the Avengers had. If he knew Spider-man's identity, there was no telling what he planned to do with that knowledge.
"Are you saying you're not going to tell anyone?" Spider-man asked, a little hope gradually returning to his voice.
"I'm saying no such thing." the Goblin replied, "However, at present, I have nothing to gain by revealing your secret. I've known for months, and never told anyone, because this secret is only valuable to me while it remains a secret. It's especially valuable now, when your assistance will enable our forces to work together, and perhaps even save this entire world. I need your cooperation, Spider-man. I can't do much to threaten you at this point, with the world so close to its end. All I ask is that you trust me."
Normally, Spider-man might have made a joke of some kind about that, but it was a worse situation than usual, and it deserved a genuine response. For him, the two worst possible eventualities were losing his secret identity, and losing the people he cared about. Suddenly, it looked like both might happen in one day. When it came down to it, however, Spider-man knew that he couldn't trust the Green Goblin for one reason above all others.
"You're the one holding all the cards here." Spider-man said sadly, after thinking about it for a few moments, "Maybe I could help you out. Maybe I could be your advocate, but not right now. Right now, I feel like you're dictating to me; like you're trying to stick me over a barrel and manipulate me. I just don't think I can deal with that."
Once again, there was silence for a few more seconds, and then the Goblin shrugged for a moment, sounding surprisingly casual when he spoke again.
"What do you want me to say, Spider-man?"
That was the real question. After all of that, what could the Green Goblin say that would make it all up to Spider-man? What could he do to earn Spider-man's trust? Peter didn't want to turn him away, just because he was a criminal. He knew that the Goblin's past actions were terrible, but so was the current situation. It was a time when, Peter knew, he and the Goblin should have been putting aside their differences, and working together against a common enemy. It sounded good in theory, but the situation still felt woefully uneven. When he thought about it like that, however, Peter realized precisely what the Goblin had to do, to earn his trust.
"Alright." Spider-man said, after rolling the issue over in his head for several seconds, "If you really want me to trust you, you can't just tell me that you know my identity. You have to prove that you trust me too."
"What did you have in mind?" the Goblin asked casually.
"I want you to tell me your real name." Spider-man replied, "Then we'll be even, and we can work together."
"Even, eh?" the Goblin asked, sounding curious as he thought it over, "Not just even. The truth is, Peter, I'm someone you know very well; someone who's spent hours and hours in the same building with you in your secret identity, and never taken action against you directly. Once you've seen who I really am, I hope that you'll realize that, and learn to trust me."
As he said that, however, the Goblin simply reached for his mask, and pulled it right off without hesitation. In just a second, Spider-man had started to stumble backwards, realizing all at once that his new knowledge of the Goblin's real identity had given him far less power than he'd thought.
"I am the Green Goblin." said the man who'd previously been hidden behind the mask, "Norman Osborne."
"But... But why?" Peter asked, horrified and confused as he braced one arm against the wall behind him, "I don't understand... Mister Osborne... Why would you do this?"
"That isn't obvious?" Osborne asked in surprise, as he put the mask back on, "All this time we've spent talking; all the meetings we've had about Harry's progress, and you never realized what kind of man I was?"
"I thought I did." Spider-man replied, still obviously shocked, "But I don't see why you'd do all this. I mean, your son..."
"That's one mistake you've always made about me, Spider-man." Osborne replied, "You keep assuming that Harry Osborne means the world to me."
"I guess I really don't understand you at all." Spider-man admitted, "You mean you really don't care about the people in your own life?"
"People?" Osborne asked, with a sort of derisive sound in his voice, "What people? What good are people if you can't buy them or sell them?"
"I dunno." Spider-man replied, hoping to draw Osborne back to reality with humor, "They make nice decoration, I guess."
"Hardly." Osborne replied in a scornful tone of voice, "Listen, Spider-man. I'm not like you. You're naïve, because you haven't needed to face the reality of the world outside your house. I'm an entrepreneur; a conqueror. I see things I want, I work hard, and I acquire them. That's my nature as a human being. I'm a strong man, Spider-man. I'm a driven man. I seize businesses, secrets, companies... Power, Spider-man. Worlds to conquer. That's the kind of life I live, and have always lived since I was just a little boy."
"Like Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Napoleon Bonaparte... They saw opportunities for power, and seized them. I'm not really so different from them in spirit, although my territory, until recently, was made of business deals and mergers. I've always viewed myself as a conqueror, Spider-man, and because of that, I've always viewed my son as a disappointment. Not only did he have no talent at all in his father's business, but he refused to even accept such a great and glorious throne. He was so determined to live his own kind of life, that he refused a chance I never got, and it wasn't simple pride. That I would have understood."
"Maybe he just didn't feel right, because you'd hurt so many people on the way up." Spider-man suggested, surprised by how easy it was becoming to talk to the Green Goblin. However, it seemed for a moment that the Goblin was finding the situation far more humorous than he was.
"There's no barrier between us anymore, is there?" the Goblin asked in amazement, "I could argue with you all day, and neither one of us would try to kill the other. You know that you can trust me to do what's truly best under the circumstances."
Spider-man didn't reply to that for several more seconds, but it was mostly because he didn't want to. At last, when he did reply, it was with a feeling of terrible dread, as if he were signing up for a mission that he was afraid would lead him to nothing but misery.
"Alright, Osborne. If you want my help convincing the Avengers that you're on our side for this one battle, you've got it. I promise."
"I told you before." Osborne replied in frustration, "There are no..."
"Yes." Spider-man interrupted him, however, before he could finish, "There are sides, including the most important ones; good and evil. Somewhere along the line, it seems like you missed those, Osborne. I can't do anything to change that, and right now, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that for the moment, I know you won't stab me in the back. That's all I need to know to be able to work with you, but I'm sure not planning on spending any more time working with you than I have to. You're one of the most evil men I've ever met."
"Now that you've promised to be my advocate, grow up." the Goblin said, a slightly angry tone establishing itself in his voice, "You think you're the only person who has to work with people who believe in totally different things than they do? People all over America have to put up with that, Spider-man."
"Yes." Spider-man replied, "People like you make that necessary; the ruthless business tycoons who push everyone so hard, that all the joy drains away. I can't just let that go."
"So long as it doesn't interfere while we're resolving this crisis, I don't care." the Goblin replied, "Besides, to be blunt, we've wasted enough time on discussion already."
"Yeah..." Spider-man muttered, as he opened the door they'd entered the building through, and pulled out his communicator, not feeling good at all about the task ahead of him.
Crystal's life had been very confusing for the last few months. Though she'd originally left her place among the inhumans, partly because of her love for the Human Torch, she was starting to realize that there were others in the world, who she cared for just as much, and in different ways. As much as Crystal cared about him, Johnny Storm had never really been her confidant in any reliable sense. He just didn't seem to look at her that way. There was a sense of detachment between Johnny and Crystal that he didn't have around other people. It was hard to explain, but it was definitely there.
By contrast, Namor was almost the precise opposite. His normal behavior came across as aloof and detached with virtually everyone, and yet, there were times when he was with Crystal, when it seemed like she was one of the few people he trusted to advise him. For several weeks, Crystal had tried to convince herself that she was imagining things, or at best, that Namor's feelings were being influenced by his memory of the incident at Doom's castle, when Crystal had saved his life. However, there was a closeness developing between her and Namor that hadn't existed with the Human Torch. It was, Crystal knew, something that she'd have to bring up to him eventually, and she could only hope that Reed would let her keep the uniform he'd made for her when she finally decided to break the news to Johnny.
In the shadow of the massive, interstellar ship that Galactus had used to reach Earth, Crystal hadn't found it the least bit surprising that Namor had approached her, and asked for her council. However, he'd insisted on total privacy, carrying her through the air, to the hills several miles from New York, out of sight of the big city, and its teeming masses of people. It was only there that Namor dared to even suggest a course of action.
"Crystal..." Namor said, when the two were alone on the hillside, the moment ruined by the sight of the vast, metal fortress overhead, "You know the power that I possess; the invincibility that I wield, and the one weakness that it has. I believe that if I'd been able to maintain contact with water, I could have defeated the Emissary of Galactus, or even Galactus himself. If it comes to a fight with him, I may be the only hope of mankind, and I can't fight him alone. You have the power to move and shape water, among other things. I think you know what I'm suggesting. Together, we can be greater than the sum of our powers alone. If you use your powers to adhere water to my skin directly, I could fight for hours with the might of a titan. It may be our only chance."
However, Crystal was looking very sad, as Namor suggested that, because she had to give him bad news in that respect.
"The problem is, I wouldn't be able to keep it up for hours." Crystal said, "Controlling enough water to keep you at full strength isn't easy, especially while you're moving. Sure, I could control a few drops of water for hours, but not a whole bucketful, and that's how much you'd need."
For a few moments, the Submariner just looked dumbfounded, then a little irritated, and finally, all such emotions faded from his face, and he just looked blankly at Crystal for several seconds. When he finally spoke, there was almost no feeling in his voice, and the emotional distance that had suddenly materialized between them would have broken Crystal's heart if she hadn't been terrified of what he was saying.
"What more must I do, Crystal? Haven't I proven myself to you? Have I given you any sign that I might react badly to your other special power? All this time, you've kept the secret of your greatest power from us all. Can't you just trust me? Can't you trust us all to just accept you, no matter what strange powers you have?"
"Namor..." Crystal said, though it was tearing her apart inside, to continue keeping the secret from him, "What are you saying? What other special power?"
Namor scowled very angrily as Crystal said that, but he knew that he had to explain himself.
"Emissary!" the voice of Galactus exclaimed, echoing through the sky, "You're late in reporting to me. Meet with me in the midst of the place called New York City. Sense my power cosmic and follow it. There's still much work to be done. This is Galactus sending you this message."
However, several more minutes passed, and it seemed that Galactus hadn't made contact with the surfer yet, because his voice, all over the world, shouted new words.
"Where is my Emissary? Emissary, if you don't show yourself, I'll assume that you've died. I can't afford to delay the absorbing process much longer."
Ben Yarmouth trembled in his shoes as the figure seized him by the front of his coat. It was wearing large, thick boots, jeans, and a leather jacket, and Ben was starting to sweat, because of the intense heat that was radiating from its head. The head of the figure looked just like a fanged skull, surrounded by flames. Ben, understandably, was terrified.
"You've salted your soul with darkness." the figure with the burning skull said, as he lifted Ben right off his feet, "That will make you much more delicious."
"No! No!" Ben screamed, "No, please! Don't! It's the end of the world! Anybody would have done the same thing. Please, have mercy!"
"Oh, dear." the skull-faced individual said with a sneer, "Seems you've mistaken me for someone else."
"No!" Ben shouted, "God help me!"
For a moment, the demonic biker looked back and forth across the street, then shrugged.
"Nope." he said, "Nothing. Guess he got tired of you crapping all over his holy name, and decided to leave you to your fate. Can't say I blame him. I'd have devoured all the wicked humans a long, long time ago."
As he said that, the fiery figure slammed Ben against the nearest wall, and Ben could feel a terrible, jarring pain in his abs. Worse yet, the monster in front of him was opening his mouth, and inside, there was a black void. There, from within that mouth came a horrifying sound, independent of the motions of the skull-creature's jaw.
"Look into the darkness, Benjamin Yarmouth, to see the fate that awaits you at the end of the world."
Just a few seconds later, Ben was left to fall to the ground; a total wreck of the man he'd once been. The sights he'd just seen had changed him forever, and he knew that he could never go back to crime again.
"I'll change." Ben muttered miserably as he sat on the pavement, "I swear, I'll change."
"Well, you'd better do it quickly." the skull-headed being replied, looking back up at the sky again, and the large, metal ship that dominated it, "You might not have much time left."
A moment later, the demonic-looking figure reached his motorcycle, which he'd left nearby. The moment he mounted it, its wheels started to blaze with a fire of their own, and he was just about to drive off in search of sinners again, when he heard a voice from nearby.
"That was very merciful."
At once, the demonic rider turned around, to face the being who'd addressed him; a mere human, from the looks of things, but he was dressed in a pitch black outfit that closely resembled a classical depiction of a daemon.
"Well, nobody's perfect." the rider replied.
"On the contrary," Daredevil said somberly, "We could really use your help, especially now. I've read about the things you've done in the past; how the press calls you the Ghost Rider. I know that what you do isn't really all that different from what I do, and what the Avengers do. If you're willing to help us, we might have a better chance to save the planet Earth."
"Help you?" Ghost Rider asked, a little surprised by the notion, "The being who threatens this world is of cosmic origin. I can show him the nature of his own sins, but my powers wouldn't mean much against the very power of the universe itself. Perhaps I will assist you, but not yet. When Galactus shows himself, I may have my chance."
Then, in just a second more, Ghost Rider started up his motorbike, and was off down the street, leaving a trail of flames along the pavement. Despite what had been said, however, Daredevil had a feeling that he'd just won a major victory.
Doctor Strange felt swamped. The Earth was being threatened by a cosmic entity, there was a difficult time limit on their hands, and the wealth of options for how to defend the world seemed boundless, yet none of them were guaranteed to succeed. The X-men had arrived, apparently with a strong force to devote to the fight against Galactus, if it came to that, Spider-man had managed to earn the allegiance of the Green Goblin and his men during the crisis, and they were helping to manage the crowd control problems that the Avengers had been struggling with, but Strange still wasn't sure what plan to make use of. Four or five different plans had been brought before him, and he couldn't decide between them all. An hour had already passed.
However, just then, the silver surfer seemed to have realized something that hadn't occurred to him before.
"There's one other possibility," the surfer suggested, "though I didn't think of it until just recently. It's very unlikely, but there's a chance that it might work."
"What is it?" Strange asked, surprised by the sudden note of hope in the surfer's voice.
"Galactus' ship has many powerful weapons; some even capable of decimating this entire star system." the surfer replied, "If you could reach the control room of the world ship, you could threaten to destroy the solar system with those weapons."
Strange didn't like the sound of that, but he had a feeling that the surfer was going somewhere with that suggestion, so he calmly asked "How does that help us?"
"If Galactus believes that you would rather destroy your own world, than allow him to absorb its energy, he might agree to leave you in peace." the surfer replied. However, at that point, his hopeful tone of voice started to fall away again.
"However, there are two major obstacles to carrying out that plan." the surfer added sadly, "The first is that the bridge of the world ship resides in a pocket dimension only loosely connected to our own. Only Galactus, or another being possessing deep, cosmic awareness can enter or leave that place."
That was certainly a harsh limitation, and it would undoubtedly be hard to find someone like that, Strange realized, but he had a feeling that it wasn't the worst part.
"What's the second major obstacle?" Strange asked.
"The second obstacle is that even if the world ship's weapons destroyed this entire star system, Galactus himself would remain unharmed." the surfer replied, "Because of that, he won't react based on any personal fear, and that means that he'll need to be completely convinced of your willingness to destroy yourselves. You'll have to show him that you really are that barbaric."
"Great." Strange muttered as he thought the problem over in his head. He only had a few moments to weigh all the options and design a plan, and he knew that there was only one way he could make that decision.
In just a second, Strange had established telepathic contact with the one person who he knew he most needed the advice of; Captain America.
"Captain America?" Strange asked, "Can you hear me?"
"Go ahead." Cap replied.
In moments, a plan had been formed; one that made use of every option at the disposal of Earth's defenders. No possibility was going to be overlooked, because the very survival of planet Earth most likely depended on them. The first step, of course, would be a peaceful one. If there was a chance to coexist peacefully with Galactus, that option would have to be explored, and there was no one better to explore it, it was decided, than Doctor Richards; whose great intelligence and peaceful spirit might give him a better chance at communicating with the world-devourer.
Within a few hours of the enormous ship's arrival, a section of it opened above New York City, and a brilliant, shining light began to emerge through that humongous hatch. In seconds, the Fantastic Four had landed their short-range Fantasticar on a building nearby, and they were as ready as they could possibly be when the shining light from the hatch began to resolve itself into a figure; a figure that... Well, there was no describing it. It defied all concepts of physical recognition.
The entity's size was relatively obvious; no less than a hundred feet high, and there could be no denying that it was surrounded by light, but for a few moments, nothing else about it was evident or solid. It was nebulous; unrecognizable. One moment, it seemed to be a biped; in another, a quadruped. A second later, it seemed almost slime-like, and yet, it never resolved itself into any of those shapes for good. It was, in that moment, large and powerful, and not completely anything else. It was truly Galactus, and no other words could be used to describe it.
However, mortal eyes aren't meant to behold such conceptual factors without any frame of reference. Their minds can find no way to grasp the essence of a mere fragment of existence itself, so they fabricate images for their eyes to see; images to represent the jarring things they can't understand or accept. The Fantastic Four found themselves blinking several times in the light that shone from the extraterrestrial being, and in between those blinks, an image began to resolve itself; an image of a figure very much like them, but huge and mighty, glowing all over.
At last, all of New York City looked up and saw the image of the mighty Galactus, as far as their mere, human brains could grasp him. He was, as expected, a hundred feet tall, but apart from that, he seemed roughly human-looking, except for his aura of bright light, which shone all around him, making it hard to look directly at him. He was enormous and well-muscled, wearing thin clothes, and at regular points on his body, large devices were attached; implanted, as if into his very flesh. Galactus had become a true master of his technology, to the point where he could control it by mere thoughts, and there was no longer anything to separate it from him. He'd made his technology and his ship a true part of himself. It acted just as he did.
Slowly, Galactus had descended into New York, as if gravity itself meant nothing to him. The look on his face was cold and dispassionate, and yet, sharp and calculating, like the look of an old soldier who dislikes his mission, and yet, is still clever enough to develop new plans for its success. He also had a fearsome look in his eyes; a fire only found in the faces of the most seasoned veterans. It was a look that no one can fake; which only those who've seen many horrors possess. For several moments, Reed Richards didn't dare to say a word as Galactus' feet touched down on the ground, forcing cars to screech to a halt to avoid him. He was looking around carefully, though he seemed not to be paying any attention to the humans on the ground below.
"This is Galactus; the Ancient One, my Emissary." the huge being said, in a voice that still seemed to echo through the air, across the whole world, "I'm here in New York City, and you aren't. I warn you to delay no longer, or you may be among those who are absorbed. Your helpfulness can't be overstated, but I won't tolerate disobedience."
For a moment, Galactus seemed to pause, as if waiting for some kind of response, and that, Reed decided, was the ideal time to attempt to make contact. Quickly, Reed turned on the microphone in the Fantasticar, and in a few seconds, his voice echoed through New York City, loud enough to be heard by anyone there, including Galactus.
"Galactus, this is Reed Richards; a scientist of planet Earth. We wish you no harm, and we don't want to make any claims on your ship, your technology, or anything else that belongs to you. However, this planet; Earth, is vital to our survival. We must ask you not to damage it in any fashion, or to harm any of us."
However, Galactus seemed not to have been listening to Reed's words. At the very least, he didn't react to them as if they mattered in any way. Just as the silver surfer had said, Galactus was responding to the humans of planet Earth with disinterest, and nothing else.
"Respond, my Emissary." Galactus said again, and for a few moments, he seemed to be listening carefully, clearly expecting some kind of reply, though he didn't receive it.
"Galactus." Reed tried again, "We know who you are, and what you need to sustain the balance of the universe. However, we won't willingly surrender our lives to support that balance, and there must be other star systems within a few light years that don't contain intelligent life. Surely, there's a solution that will solve both of our problems."
However, once again, Galactus said nothing in reply. He appeared to be frustrated, but if he'd noticed Doctor Richards, he gave no sign of it. Reed was starting to become incensed by the ancient being's refusal to respond, but he could tell that Ben Grimm was even angrier. In spite of his dislike of his own appearance, Ben was a proud sort of man, and nothing upset him quite like being ignored.
"Hey, you space-hopping beanstalk!" Ben exclaimed angrily into the microphone, before Reed could stop him, "My pal just said something to ya! You just gonna stand around all day acting deaf?"
However, Galactus didn't respond to that either, looking mildly disappointed at best, as if Ben Grimm and his insults didn't even exist on any scale that mattered. After taking only a few seconds to consider the situation, Reed turned the microphone off, and started to move the Fantasticar up, away from the cosmic giant who'd landed in the midst of the city. As they moved away, however, Ben was fuming with rage.
"What is this, stretch? All the power we got, and we ain't stickin' around to take on that King Kong wannabe?"
"Believe me, Ben, I know how you feel." Reed said sadly, "We should have our chance to be part of that phase of the plan, but for the moment, we have to retreat. If we fly off the handle and attack him right now, and he turns out to be too much for us, the whole world might die because of that. I care too much about our planet and its people, Ben. I won't risk it. We'll stick to the plan for now."
Ben was still grumbling discontentedly as the Fantasticar returned to the Baxter Building, but he understood what Reed was saying. He knew he had to go along with the plan.
Doctor Strange sighed as he received Reed Richards' report on the first stage of the plan. It had been a complete failure, as expected. Galactus hadn't listened. A peaceful resolution wasn't possible anymore. The next stage of the plan would involve a brief assault, and when that assault was finished, Galactus would have to face something that he couldn't just ignore.
However, as Strange was sending out his next instructions telepathically, he received an urgent reply from Miss Marvel.
"Strange..." Miss Marvel said, "There's a problem."
"Tell me about it." Strange replied a little sarcastically, but Miss Marvel responded to that very quickly.
"No. This isn't Galactus I'm talking about. The US Government isn't listening to me anymore. They've seen the footage of Galactus, and the air force is already launching a strike team."
"A strike team?" Strange asked, horrified by the news, "What kind of strike team are we talking about here?"
"F-22 Raptors." Miss Marvel replied, "I'm not even sure how many. Between five and fifteen."
Strange felt somewhat betrayed. He'd hoped that the military would have the good sense to keep their distance during that particular crisis, but it seemed that they were destined to participate in the fight, no matter how little chance they had. Miss Marvel could out-fly any fighter jet ever made, and she hadn't even been a match for the surfer, much less Galactus himself. It was a harsh situation, but Strange knew what had to be done.
"If you stop the planes yourself, it'll just upset the government, and we do need to engage Galactus somehow before executing the second stage of the plan." Strange communicated to Miss Marvel telepathically, "I want you to follow the planes as they make their approach, but keep your distance from Galactus. If it looks like he's about to destroy the planes, rescue as many of the pilots as you can."
"Alright." Miss Marvel replied, though it was obvious that she was still feeling pretty bad about the whole situation.
Captain Porter could barely believe what he was seeing as he got closer to New York. Right there, in the midst of the buildings, was a huge figure; some hundred feet high, and covered in some kind of weird technology. It was certainly a lot different from anything that he'd ever seen before in his life, and he felt like shaking in his shoes. Somehow, they'd have to lure that monstrous guy away from the buildings and towards the open sea. That was the only way that Porter could think of, to take him down without damaging the surrounding buildings.
"Okay; Odon, Bruin, Sawyer; I want you to start circling overhead in the established formation." Porter said into his radio, "If he starts going after the buildings, don't hesitate to hit him with the Hot Potatoes."
The Hot Potato, of course, was a new type of missile, designed to maintain a controlled heat source within a small area for a maximum duration, while doing almost no damage outside of a twenty-foot radius from the point of impact. They'd been judged essential for doing maximum damage to a target, while leaving the rest of the nearby area completely intact, which was a situation they might just have to face, if the newly-arrived Galactus proved to be unreasonable.
None of the pilots questioned the orders as they took up their positions around the city, above the buildings. Galactus wasn't a hard target to spot, but the real question was whether they could get his attention.
Quickly, the pilots divided into separate formations, one group circling Galactus over the level of New York's skyline, while a second group maintained a relatively static position near the outskirts of the city. There were eight jets in all, three in the first group, and five in the second, and if they couldn't get the job done, no man or aircraft could. For several seconds, the planes waited where they were, and Galactus himself seemed to not even have noticed them. He was just standing and waiting, and Porter was starting to get tired of it.
"Alright." Porter said into his radio a moment later, "Let's not waste any more time or fuel. Smoke him out."
In just a second, the three planes that had been circling overhead opened small compartments near the edges of their main bodies and dropped a rain of small pellets from those compartments, which started to disintegrate even as they fell towards the New York skyline, leaving behind a thick layer of smoke over the area where Galactus was. It was a harmless move, but there was a chance that it might get his attention.
Sure enough, a moment later, the shining figure in the midst of the smoke seemed to be moving. He was taking a few steps forward, and all of the pilots there knew what that meant. He was going to collide with the buildings.
"The big guy's going for the buildings!" Porter exclaimed into the radio, "Sawyer; light him up!"
In a moment, Sawyer had fired his missiles directly into the cloud, towards the shining light that could still be seen there. Only a second later, there was an even brighter flash of light from within the cloud, and in moments, the shining figure of Galactus emerged from that dense cloud of smoke, completely unharmed, and moving closer to the coast. However, what was really scary was the way that he moved. Instead of walking, he was floating. Instead of crashing through buildings like Godzilla, he was passing through them like a phantom as he headed in their direction. As Galactus started to hover over the harbor, Porter knew that that was the moment to attack. Galactus was clear of the city, and the worst damage he might cause by falling backward would have been a little flooding.
At once, Porter and the other four fighters in his group shot off their Hot Potatoes, watching with gratified smiles as each one of the missiles charged towards its intended target. However, when those missiles were within twenty-five feet of the giant from space, a bright flash shot out from his eyes; as bright as the sun itself, though the treated windshield helped to protect Porter from being blinded by it. When Porter tried to pull back away from Galactus, though, he discovered something horrible. His plane wasn't responding. Not only that, but it didn't look like any of the missiles had exploded either. The radio still seemed to be working, but Porter knew he'd only have a few seconds to eject before his plane went down into the ocean. It was as if he'd just run out of fuel, all of a sudden.
Reacting quickly, Porter ejected from his plane as it plummeted towards the ocean. The wind whipped around him, as his parachute opened, and the plane went down underneath him, into the water. For the most part, its impact with the waves didn't seem to have damaged it much from where he was, but he could still see Galactus, standing in mid-air over the New York harbor, as unaffected as a mountain by all they'd tried to do, and still not looking the least bit upset over mankind's best effort to destroy him. The sight was, in many ways, more terrifying than any rampaging monster.
Sawyer hadn't been able to tell what was happening after the larger group had begun their attack. One second, there'd been some kind of bright flash of light, and the next, he was spinning out of control, plummeting downward towards New York City. The option to eject crossed Sawyer's mind, but he didn't like the idea of leaving his plane, and letting it crash into some building down below. Sawyer decided in just a moment that even if he died, saving a few more lives would make his sacrifice worth it.
Though he seemed to be out of fuel, Sawyer wrestled with the controls. The main steering mechanism wasn't dependent on gasoline, which meant that with a little time, some careful piloting, and a good, healthy miracle, he might be able to maneuver the plane a few yards to the left, away from the building that he was careening towards.
Sawyer felt himself sweating all over, as he struggled with the steering, desperately trying to get the plane to do what he wanted it to, as his very life seemed to flash before his eyes. For a moment, he thought he saw the image of a beautiful woman in front of him, but that was just wishful thinking. Still, there were worse things to imagine during one's last moments of life, Sawyer decided.
At last, with one final effort, Sawyer cleared the building. He was headed straight for the street below, but there were much fewer people down there, and Sawyer knew that he couldn't have made it all the way to the ocean. As he descended to within fifty feet of the ground, he closed both eyes, not wishing to see what was to come.
However, the feeling of the crash came much sooner than he'd expected it to, and it wasn't nearly as jarring or painful as he'd been anticipating. In fact, it felt more like his plane was vibrating than crashing, and at last, it had stopped moving completely.
For a few moments, Sawyer tried moving around in his seat, and was amazed to find that there wasn't any pain. After a second or two, he even dared to open his eyes again, and was very glad that he had.
Of course, he'd known that he was flying into New York, but he still hadn't been expecting to see Miss Marvel. She was even more beautiful in person; Sawyer thought, than her pictures were in the paper, and at that moment, she'd slowed his plane's descent, and saved his life. Even without any other factors, Sawyer realized, that alone would have made her seem more beautiful than an angel.
Quickly, Sawyer opened the cockpit and detached himself from the pilot's seat, climbing out of the plane to meet his amazing savior. She looked a little worried, but even so, it seemed that she couldn't keep a slight grin out of her face after having saved someone.
"There were two others over the city." Sawyer found himself saying, though those words sounded like a poor greeting.
"I got them already." Miss Marvel replied, "You were the last one."
Sawyer felt nervous and delighted all at once. Suddenly, he was with one of the most dreamed-of women in the world; the very icon of mercy for that age, and he couldn't think of anything to say. It was infuriating, so he hurried to say something, even if it was likely to sound pedestrian.
"Thank you so much, miss. I really owe you."
"That's alright." Miss Marvel replied, her smile gaining strength as she spoke, "You don't have to thank me. Does your radio still work?"
Sawyer just nodded.
"Then try to contact the others and make your report quickly. I want you to recommend that no further attacks against Galactus be attempted by the military until the Avengers can find a loophole in his defenses, alright?"
Sawyer nodded again.
"Great." Miss Marvel replied with a smile, "Then we don't need to owe each other anything. Today, we can all just work together, and call it even."
In just a moment, Miss Marvel had risen up into the air, flying quickly away from the scene of the plane's descent, and waving once to Sawyer as she left.
Sawyer tried to wave back, but Miss Marvel was already gone by the time he'd made the attempt. It was only then that he was able to look down at the place where his plane had been deposited, and was amazed by the sight. It was a wide road; the sort that many cars typically drive on, and amazingly, only a few cars were on that road at the moment. Apparently, Miss Marvel had been able to let the cars get out of the way, before landing the plane there. It didn't look as if a single person had died due to the military's attack against Galactus.
It was really marvelous, and Sawyer found himself whistling in amazement, in spite of the huge, metal spacecraft that still loomed threateningly over the Earth. However, it was just then that he remembered how his plane's fuel supply seemed to have cut out and decided to investigate. He spent a moment opening the fuel tank and stuck a short, metal rod into it, but that was when he received a big surprise.
There was definitely something inside the tank, but calling it fuel would have been a stretch, because it was gooey, almost to the point of being stiff and taffy-like. Most people wouldn't have recognized the substance, but Sawyer, as it happened, did. In college, he'd written a report on how radio waves could be used to corrode oil supplies, making them unusable by machines, but it had been a completely theoretical process, he'd thought, until recently.
Suddenly, something like that had happened to him, and to everyone in his squad. The missiles had stopped their forward momentum, the fuel in the jets had stopped functioning... With just that flash of light, Galactus had taken the simplest possible route to victory; one which demonstrated not only incredible power, but monstrous intelligence as well. Though Sawyer was pleased to have been saved from destruction, he couldn't help but feel terrible fear inside of him that for once, the people of Earth might not be able to come out on top.
As soon as Miss Marvel had finished landing the last of the planes safely, the next stage of the plan began; the next attempt to avoid an all-out war. A large motorcycle with flaming wheels drove directly up the tallest building near the harbor, parking on the roof, and its rider dismounted, causing the motorcycle's wheels to stop flaming. Then, in a moment, he'd drawn a fiery chain from his belt and swung it through the air in the direction of Galactus. Soon, he'd latched onto one of the devices implanted in the cosmic giant's head, and had swung forward, through the air, climbing the daemon chain, until he was hanging right in front of the mighty being's face.
"You will recognize me, Ancient One." Ghost Rider said, as he hung there, in front of Galactus.
"I recognize your power, and nothing else," Galactus replied aloud, "but to be forced into life on this world, a creature of your class must have been truly humbled."
"I have been endangered; yes." Ghost Rider admitted somberly, "For a time, it seemed that I would remain in oblivion forever, but now, I have a more difficult task; to cope with the mortal flesh and morals of this being, whom I inhabit."
"Your troubles are no concern of mine." Galactus replied, growing visibly bored with the discussion.
"On the contrary," Ghost Rider replied, "it is because of those troubles that I've come to show you a terrifying sight. One day, you know that the universe will end, and with it, your life. On that day, you will be forced to account for the actions that you've taken."
"My actions are dictated by my role in the universe." Galactus replied, clearly still not interested, "I need not explain them to the likes of you."
"What of the actions that are not dictated by that role?" Ghost Rider asked, "What of your works in between meals? When your life is examined, will you be seen as a villain, who did nothing but harm, or as a tragic, but good-intentioned figure, doomed to destroying other life-forms."
"That decision will be for higher and more worthy entities than yourself to make." Galactus replied, sounding a bit irritated as he spoke.
"It is a decision that you make whenever you consume a planet containing intelligent life." Ghost Rider replied with a frown, "Now, open your eyes and see what your role in existence has been."
With those words, Ghost Rider's mouth opened, and a deep, black shape could be seen within.
The sights that Galactus saw within Ghost Rider's demon soul were reflections of his own life; his birth alongside the universe, his need for vast energies to maintain the cosmic balance, and his clear instructions, which he needed to follow for the sake of everything that existed. Galactus saw nothing there that surprised him.
As he'd passed through the universe, Galactus saw how it had reacted; how his role had seemed like a great darkness, spreading to stars and planets, to engulf them over eons, and yet, it was still his part in things. He saw the planets fade at his presence, and witnessed once again the deaths of a hundred trillion innocent souls in the eons before he'd adopted the silver surfer as his Emissary, and for the first time in millennia, Galactus found the sight unsettling. When the vision faded, and he found himself still on Earth, Galactus looked a bit shaken, but still with great resolve in his face and expression.
"If the lord of this universe truly cares so much for mere, mortal lives, he can speak with me about it." Galactus replied, "However, if he does deign to speak with me, he must prepare himself to answer my inquiries, and I will have many grievances to bring to his attention. My role in life has not been a pleasant one, and I refuse to accept that the deaths of so many were entirely my doing. I bemoan my nature, but I can do nothing to change it. Now, begone from this world, if you can. I hunger for its energy."
Then, just a moment later, Ghost Rider found himself back on the ground again, having failed in his task. Though his attempt had shaken Galactus a little, it hadn't bothered him enough to change his mind. Galactus still intended to consume the energy of planet Earth, and Ghost Rider knew that he didn't have enough power to change that, which meant that it was time for the last two stages of the plan to be put into action. There wasn't any way around it anymore. Earth's champions were going to war with the devourer of worlds.
It made even Ghost Rider feel some dread on behalf of Earth.
The Earth's defenders moved in waves, trying not to get in each other's way. The first to move in were the Green Goblin's men, who were defeated in less than five minutes. Next, the X-men made their move, attacking with many powers and allies that Strange hadn't even been aware they'd possessed, but in the end, they had to fall back. Galactus was simply too powerful, even for the greatest of them.
The last wave, Strange had decided, would consist of the most powerful members of the Avengers, and if they failed to drive Galactus off, they would retreat a short time later, and try to find some way into the control chamber of the world ship. The problem with that idea, however, was that Strange still had no idea how to reach that chamber. None of the spells he'd tried for reaching it had been working, and he wasn't entirely sure what the surfer had meant when he'd said that someone was needed who could perceive higher levels of reality.
Strange himself was psychic, and he wasn't able to reach the chamber of Galactus. If they needed some kind of special person with cosmic awareness, Doctor Strange was very much afraid that no such person existed on Earth. As he watched Thor, Anna, and Black Bolt fly off to the attack, Strange couldn't help but feel as if he was being given an impossible task, but he knew he had to look for the kind of person the surfer had described; a person with knowledge beyond reality...
Doctor Doom smiled as he watched the intruder break through his second defense mechanism, then his third. Only two more to go, and the man would be in his very throne room. If he could manage that, things could truly begin. The fourth barrier was down in moments. Doom got to his feet just a second later, and headed for the door, preparing to welcome his new guest. In a moment, the doors burst open, and a figure dressed in red and black leaped into Doom's throne room, looking alert, but also frantic.
"Honey!" the figure called out cheerfully, "I'm home!"
"It seems so." Doom replied, paying no heed to the new arrival's strange sense of humor, "Not only are you earlier than I expected, but you made it through all of my defenses almost as fast as the Avengers did. Your skills are enviable."
"Doctor Livingston, I don't think?" the figure asked, tilting his head as if there was nothing connecting it to his body. At that point, of course, Doom could see that the man who'd burst into his throne room was more than merely a goof-off. He was insane.
"Tell me why you've come here." Doom said sternly, though the strange figure still didn't seem to be taking him seriously.
"Well, it's kind of a swank pad." the man joked, "I was in the neighborhood. Then some nice guy, who shall remain nameless because his folks were jerks, handed me a big wad of cash and told me he wanted a souvenir."
"The Grand Opal of Secrets." Doom clarified, holding up the gem in question.
"Ooh! Shiny!" the other man quipped as he looked at the gemstone from across the room, and started to approach it.
"Let me be direct, Deadpool." Doom said, still holding the opal out, "It was one of my agents who hired you to take this gemstone from me, and if you give it to him, he'll simply bring it right back to me again."
"Sounds like kind of an inconvenient way to get packages delivered." Deadpool replied without pausing to think about his response for even a second, "Still, I guess rich guys will go to all kinds of trouble to get a nice birthday gift."
"The opal means nothing to me, at this point." Doom explained, "If you comply with my wishes, I'll even let you keep it."
"K." Deadpool replied, leaning against the nearest door frame, "What's the scoop?"
It was as close as Doom was likely to get to having Deadpool's full attention, considering the raging insanity that seemed to be charging through the highly effective mercenary's mind. Taking only a moment to think his words through, Doom spoke up, starting to explain himself.
"It's come to my attention that in spite... or perhaps because of your mental condition, you have access to knowledge that even the wisest of the wise are denied." Doom said, his gaze narrowing, "Kindly share it with me."
"Huh?" Deadpool asked, "You mean the little black words? Gee willickers, I'm so happy! Nobody ever believed in them before. Maybe you can see them too. Clap if you believe!"
"See them?" Doom asked, suddenly becoming confused, "Are you saying that you can see black words that others can't?"
"Sure." Deadpool replied, looking very relaxed, "All the time. They're always there, no matter where I go, and they love to talk about how things look and how I'm feeling. We have such fun together."
Doom, however, was starting to scowl as he heard Deadpool describe his strange visions. If there was even a grain of truth to Deadpool's words, he might be able to unlock an even greater power than Doom himself.
"Tell me..." Doom said, "These words... Can you tell them what to say? Can you make them say what you want?"
"Nope." Deadpool replied, still relaxing, "The words don't care what I want, but that doesn't mean we're not still pals. I love having them around. You're never lonely when you know the little words are talking about you."
By that point, Doom was almost certain that his hunch about Deadpool had been right, so he asked one final question.
"Can anyone else see the words like you? Is there anyone who can tell the words what to do?"
"Hmmm?" Deadpool asked, looking surprised, "I've never seen it happen, but come to think of it..."
For a moment, Deadpool trailed off, then spoke up again, fairly clearly.
"There was this one time when I was in New York and the Avengers showed up. I got away, of course, but the happy little words told me that one of them had a stronger whosawutzit with the force or something than me, and didn't realize it..."
"One of the Avengers..." Doom muttered, looking disappointed, but a moment later, he held up one of his gauntlets, and opened a compartment in one side of it, pushing a few tiny studs on the inside. A second later, a green light bathed the visitor to Doom's castle, and he started squirming around, looking amused by the whole thing.
"Hey! Hey, cut it out. That tickles."
Doom didn't respond to that, but he did look carefully over the results that were being fed into his helmet, and he was astonished by what he found.
"You have a slight chemical imbalance in your brain." Doom observed.
"I love you too." Deadpool replied, relaxing again, as the scan finished.
Quickly, Doom tossed the opal to Deadpool, who caught it effortlessly with one hand, and in a second more, Doom had reached his throne, and pressed a button on one of the armrests as he sat down. A large interface terminal descended from the ceiling in front of Doom's throne just a moment later. However, Deadpool hadn't left with his prize.
"Eh... What's up, Doc?" Deadpool asked, leaning over the back of Doom's throne.
"I'm convinced that your chemical imbalance is the source of the strange words you keep seeing." Doom replied, "If I can key my scanners to detect chemical concentrations of that sort, I may be able to track down the one with the highest concentration of all."
"Fun." Deadpool replied, though he sounded intensely bored with the whole thing, as Doom pushed a few keys, and the scanner started to do its work. In only a few moments, Doom gasped aloud. He'd been looking for someone with the same chemical imbalance, and he'd certainly found the person he was looking for, but the signal he was picking up was of an even greater magnitude than the energy patterns that had been generated by the silver surfer...
Strange fired another blast of eldritch energy in an implosive configuration at Galactus, who seemed to have been knocked off-balance by the Thing's most recent attack, and was collapsing towards the ocean. Just a moment later, Thor and Anna both started charging up with electricity, and drove into the ocean as one, sending waves of controlled electric power through the ocean and their enemy alike. However, just a second later, Galactus reached up and batted each of them aside with his arms, firing beams from his eyes again, and driving both Strange and the Thing back. In just a moment more, Black Bolt was moving to the attack again, and when he whispered, Galactus seemed to shudder for a moment, before the inhuman king was batted aside effortlessly as well.
"Strange!"
Doctor Strange had heard the voice of Black Bolt in his thoughts, contacting him through his telepathic connection to the Avengers, "What's going on? My voice nearly destroyed the surfer. Why didn't it damage Galactus?"
"It did," Strange realized in absolute dread, "but Galactus regenerated much more quickly than the Surfer; so quickly that human eyes could barely even perceive it. I'm afraid we may be fighting a losing battle after all."
In just a moment, however, a massive, subterranean worm the size of a skyscraper emerged from the ocean and seized Galactus, and Strange could tell that it was under the command of the Mole Man, because the underground ruler was riding on the beast's back. The three of them were hurled into the air, towards the open land near the city, where there were fewer buildings. Galactus, however, still didn't look worried; just annoyed as beams shot out from his eyes again, completely vaporizing the enormous worm. A moment later, the Mole Man was falling through the air, and all of the Avengers could see that from that height, he couldn't possibly survive the fall. At once, She-Hulk started to panic, leaping towards him, but he was too far away. She'd never be able to reach him in time.
However, just then, a blur shot through the air, seizing the Mole Man as Galactus descended slowly back towards ground level nearby. In just a moment, the Mole Man was being placed back on the ground a short distance away, and the being who'd placed him there was grinning with confident delight. The Mole Man's life had been saved by Namor.
"It seems I owe you my thanks." the Mole Man said after taking a moment to brush himself off.
Namor paused for a second at that point, surprised by the nature of the comment. He knew how hard it was for the Mole Man to thank anyone.
"Your courtesy is much appreciated," Namor replied with a short bow of his head, acknowledging the Mole Man as one king to another, "but I must warn you to leave this place. The battle will soon rage beyond anything that you have ever witnessed."
"You warn me?" The Mole Man asked, his anger building quickly, "Is this not an enemy for all of mankind to fight? Is it not my right as leader of a great and powerful nation to do battle with it?"
"It is." Namor replied, "I'll honor that right. However, I have every intention of defeating Galactus myself, with assistance from one of my... friends. To do that, I'm afraid that I'll need a little space. I can't afford to protect anyone else."
"I will need no further protection." The Mole Man replied, a little bitterly, "You need not concern yourself over that, at least."
"Then nothing else needs to be said." Namor replied, turning on his heel, and taking to the air again. There was only one more thing he was waiting for. Namor needed to talk to Doctor Strange, and the attention of the Human Torch was needed as well, if not by the Submariner.
"Doctor Strange. Human Torch." Namor said into the communication device that he kept attached to his belt at nearly all times, "There's something that must be done. Meet me half a mile west from Strange's current position."
Namor had chosen that particular spot for a reason. He'd chosen it because that spot was where Crystal was; the girl he'd come to love and care about more than any other, and the one who held the key to unlocking his own true power. She had something important that she'd need to say to the leader of the Avengers, and her own former boyfriend.
The four Avengers met in that spot only a few minutes after they'd all heard Namor's message. Galactus, for his part, seemed to have lost interest in them again, and was starting to assemble some sort of machine on the ground at his feet. Crystal looked sad and afraid, but she knew what she had to do.
"What is it, Namor?" Strange asked as soon as they were all close enough to hear each other, "Where have you been?"
"It took some time to prepare for this." Namor admitted, "This enemy is clearly beyond any ordinary mortal. I must fight him at my peak."
"Namor..." Strange said, looking truly scared, "I'm not sure what you're planning on doing, but even Thor hasn't been able to defeat Galactus, and he was our strongest ally. Do you really think that you can win against someone like that?"
"Not alone; no." Namor said with a grim look on his face, "However, if Crystal uses her power over water to maintain my full strength, there's no way that I could be defeated."
"Huh?" Johnny asked, looking a little confused, "But Crystal's powers only work over a distance of about twenty-five feet. She'd have to be able to fly to pull that off, even if she could keep it up all day."
"No, Johnny." Crystal said, from where she was standing and staring at the ground, still in the uniform that had been designed for her by Reed Richards, "There's something I haven't told you... Something I never told anyone because... because I was scared of what you'd think. I guess that doesn't matter anymore. I mean... It doesn't matter what you, or anybody, really, thinks of me at this point. The world's about to be destroyed completely, and everybody we care about could be gone, just like that. I don't think I ever expected things to get this bad. Anyway, I hid a lot of things from you, Johnny. I hid things from you, because I didn't want you to think of me as some kind of monster, but also... I didn't want you to feel hurt. One thing I hid from you was... How I really feel."
"Crystal...?" Johnny asked, looking absolutely shocked as his flame started to fade into nothingness, "What are you saying?"
"Johnny, as much as I've tried to like you and your world... this 'New York' you live in..." Crystal said, looking absolutely miserable, "I just don't. When we were captured by Doom a while back, I nearly sided with him, because he wanted to take the world, and make it a better place, and... I knew that the way I still cared about you and the Avengers was all that kept me from joining him. That was when I realized the truth about our relationship, Johnny. I was attracted to you by the fact that you and your ways were strange and new to me, but my heart has always been in favor of the purity of purpose that my people honor. The blood that runs through my veins is still inhuman. As much as I wish I could change that; tolerate a life spent without a clear direction... I can't. I know that's your way, and I know that you enjoy it, but I could never live that kind of life, and because of that, I know we can't have any kind of future together; not as a couple. We'd be fighting over everything, and I don't want that. Deep down, I think you know that much."
Johnny, however, didn't look as if he'd realized that at all. The expression that he wore in that moment was one of the deepest shock, and when he tried to speak a moment later, the hurt in his voice was obvious.
"I... I never even thought about it. All this time we've been together, and... I never thought..."
"I'm sorry, Johnny." Crystal said, trying desperately to finish explaining herself, "I went with you because I wanted adventure, and the chance to see the outside world, but being with the Avengers all this time has taught me that I can have those things and also maintain a steady idea of my mission. I... need that dependability; that sense of duty. Without their duty, inhumans feel empty and lost. My duty for today is to help Namor defeat Galactus by using my full powers, and I can't let fear hold me back anymore. If we fail, and Galactus destroys us all, none of this will matter anyway, and if we succeed, maybe people will eventually start to accept me, even knowing how dangerous I am. You see..."
For a moment, Crystal sighed, and looked up at the ship that dominated the sky, feeling her last few nervous misgivings slip away, before she began to explain herself.
"When I first joined the Avengers," Crystal explained, "something happened to me. Spider-man and I helped the Avengers move into their new mansion headquarters, and one of the containers that had belonged to Hank Pym before he died slid open, bathing me in a massive, uncontrolled beam of Pym Particles. Do you remember when that happened?"
Johnny, however, wasn't replying, so Doctor Strange did instead.
"I remember it." he said, "We were afraid you were going to die, but Doctor Richards was able to bond the Pym Particles to you naturally, saving your life."
"That's right." Crystal replied, frowning grimly as she spoke, "However, there's something else that no one knew, or even suspected at the time. Pym Particles change the size, mass, weight, and structure of objects to make them larger or smaller without any negative side effects at all. What I've had bonded to me since that night would probably have been considered, by Hank Pym himself, to be a massive, uncontrolled overdose. It's changed me, Johnny. I'm not the same anymore. My limits are different than they used to be. That's why I always wear the uniform that Reed made for me."
"Crystal..." Johnny said, amazed, but still hurt as she explained herself, "What are you saying? Do you have the power to change your size, like Giant Man could? Can you become a hundred feet tall?"
Crystal, however, looked away for a moment, feeling very embarrassed. A few seconds later, though, she replied.
"You won't believe me, Johnny..." Crystal said, trembling just a little as she took a step back away from him, "You won't believe until you've seen this for yourself."
Namor gave the Human Torch a brief glance, as Crystal closed both eyes and focused on her objective.
The Mole Man watched somewhat sadly from over the hill. Crystal was about to reveal her true power, and it was about time. The Mole Man had suspected the truth about Crystal since the incident with the Green Goblin, when something had used its powers to tear apart the containment chambers that had kept half of the Avengers prisoner. It had, the Mole Man realized, been something very large and strong, and his hearing had alerted him to its general shape when Crystal's arms and legs had collided with the walls, and she'd torn open the containers in which the Avengers were held captive, then resumed her previous place on the floor, pretending to be unconscious.
A while later, when Doom had captured them all with full knowledge of their powers, and Crystal had been the first to escape, the Mole Man had seen that as proof that Crystal had a power that no one knew about, and it didn't take much deductive reasoning skill to determine what that power might be, although even the Mole Man had no idea of the extent of that power. Still, he'd kept silent about what he'd known.
At first, the Mole Man had done so out of respect for Crystal's wishes. She was, after all, fellow royalty. However, the Mole Man slowly started to realize, there was another reason why he'd kept his mouth shut about Crystal's power, after the near-invasion of Earth by Dormammu. The Mole Man realized that if Crystal was aware that he knew her secret, she might start using her full powers in front of him, and the Mole Man hadn't wanted to risk that. He hadn't wanted to risk it, because he knew how such an image would make him feel.
Indeed, the Mole Man knew how it had made him feel before, when he'd sensed her presence in the goblin's hideout, and as Crystal starting growing larger over the hillside, transforming into a true giantess, the Mole Man knew how it made him feel then. Soon, she was ten feet tall, then fifteen, twenty-five, thirty-five, seventy, a hundred, one hundred fifty, two hundred... three... The Mole Man listened to the whole thing from where he was, gritting his teeth against each other, but as Crystal finally reached her greatest height; a full five hundred feet tall, the Mole Man had to struggle hard to suppress a feeling of lust.
"Magnificent," he muttered as he turned away from her, and pressed a button on his staff, clapping it against the ground. He couldn't be there anymore. The Mole Man was a very proud person, who hated to admit to having weaknesses, but he just wasn't strong enough to suppress his baser emotions completely at times, and he knew that his feelings for Crystal were nothing else; a simple attraction with no firm grounding behind it.
When the Mole Man had fallen in love with Jennifer Walters, his feelings at the time had been similar, but he'd denied them also. However, Jennifer was a far different sort of person from Crystal. Jennifer was kind, outgoing, and good-humored. She accepted compliments easily, and her philosophies were very down-to-Earth. She encouraged the Mole Man to be a better man than he was, and yet, she never made him feel inferior. Crystal was satisfied with herself; proud and idealistic, like all inhumans. There was nothing about her that the Mole Man found attractive, except for her power, and a relationship that didn't make.
Besides, Crystal already had loving friends, and perhaps even a boyfriend, and even if none of those factor's had stood in the Mole Man's way, there was one more thing that he could never forget or ignore. He was in love with Jennifer; not just physically, but on a level where he truly cared what happened to her. Again, the Mole Man stubbornly tried to deny it, but he couldn't change the facts. To pursue any woman other than Jennifer at that point would have made him feel a shame even deeper than the lowest pit, and for a moment, he wondered if that made him weak, or if his growing desire to not disappoint others was actually a sort of strength.
A moment later, a drill emerged from the ground, revealing one of the Mole Man's transport capsules. Within a couple more seconds, the Mole Man had climbed inside, and was descending into the Earth, hoping that none of his base feelings had been noticed, and the others could do their job without his help.
In a single, swift motion, Crystal reached one arm out across the land towards the sea, and felt the water responding to her powers. With that increase in size, the range of her elemental powers had changed from a mere twenty-five feet to almost a thousand yards, and the strength of that power had multiplied a hundredfold. It was a power that she'd been afraid to use, up to that point, because she'd seen a few movies about giant monsters with super-powers, and she'd been certain that people would be terrified of her when she reached her full height. Nevertheless, it was what she had to do.
Soon, several dozen gallons of water had risen up out of the ocean, and surrounded Namor, purifying themselves as they went, so that when they made contact with his body, he felt the strength of his muscles increasing rapidly to their peak. Once again, he was invincible. Once again, he was the greatest, and he owed it all to Crystal's brave commitment; her determination to do the right thing.
In that moment, Namor could see that Galactus had almost finished assembling his device, and nodded to Crystal, hoping that she could see the gesture. She nodded back, to indicate that she had, and in just a moment, Namor was charging through the air; the water still surrounding him on all sides.
Galactus realized what was happening at once, when Namor charged through his machines, tearing them to shreds in a single motion, then rose to face Galactus himself through the air. Of course, Galactus was very large, and he still looked very powerful. Clearly, he was more powerful than Crystal. Although Galactus came up to just over Crystal's knees, Namor had already seen him use many other powers that Crystal wouldn't have been able to compensate for. It would simply have to be Namor who fought that battle.
It was only then, once Namor had done so much damage to Galactus' machine, and acquired so much obvious power himself that Galactus paused, and truly noticed him.
"You accomplish nothing by this foolish attempt." Galactus said, his voice still spreading across the world as he spoke, "My converter is powerful, but it's not irreplaceable. I can assemble another in minutes."
"You won't be assembling anything on this planet." Namor replied through the water, grinning broadly, "I'm going to stop you."
"You'll do no such thing, nor will you so much as delay me in my work." Galactus replied, raising one hand skyward. In just a moment, another hatch seemed to have opened in the ship overhead, and out from it descended a broad, metallic-looking creature. It was about the same height as Namor, though it had a metal coating over its skin, and cybernetic implants all over its body, like Galactus.
"Enforcer." Galactus said, apparently addressing the creature "Destroy this little one while I finish my work."
Namor, however, just smiled as the tough-looking creature charged at him through the air, rotating its arms with incredible speed. If he'd been out of the water, Namor might have been worried by its obvious power and swiftness, but surrounded by the source of his strength, he could see every tiny motion of the creature's arms, and every twitch of its eyes. He could see everything. It had no chance.
The Enforcer continued forward, looking eager, and very pleased with itself. It headed towards Namor like a bullet, both arms whirling and vibrating with incredible speed, and then, it lashed out with them. Its arms got closer to Namor in a hurry. They were two feet away from his face, then one foot, then six inches. Suddenly, Namor was gone.
The Enforcer looked around in a panic, completely unable to determine what had just happened, until he spun around and found Namor glaring at him, only an inch behind his back.
The Enforcer clearly didn't speak Namor's language, not having bothered to learn much of it, but Namor could see fury building in its alien eyes over having been eluded so effectively. Namor folded his arms angrily, which the Enforcer clearly interpreted as an opening, lashing out with its arms. However, it was simply too slow. Again and again, Namor weaved back and forth, out of the way of the quick blows being aimed at him, and at last, he disappeared again, reappearing on one side of the Enforcer in a rapid blur of motion that no one, including Crystal, had been able to keep track of. The Enforcer tried to respond, once again punching with all its might, but Namor just decided to let the Enforcer have its way for once. It had no idea what it was facing.
Jabs, crosses and uppercuts were aimed at Namor's flesh, again and again, making contact every single time, since Namor had chosen to stop avoiding them, but at last, after almost fifteen seconds of that, the Enforcer started to back off, looking deeply disheartened. The Submariner wasn't even bruised.
"Dolt." Namor said, finally allowing his anger to show, "You're not just facing some pathetic braggart. I'm truly invincible."
It was only in that moment that the Enforcer really began to look scared, though it didn't dare to retreat, for fear of Galactus. In just a moment, Namor had charged forward through the air, and driven his fist easily into the Enforcer's midsection.
The vibrations of that blow were so intense, that even Crystal was driven back by them. They shook the city, changed the very weather itself, and kicked up clouds of dust and debris across the battlefield. Then, as the dust started to settle, revealing what had happened, the Avengers were all astonished, and feeling truly hopeful for the first time since the fight with Galactus had begun. The Enforcer's metal implants were gone. Its metal skin was gone. In fact, the Enforcer itself had been completely disintegrated by the force of the impact. All that remained was Namor, still covered in water, with one fist outstretched.
"That's what invincible means." Namor said calmly, turning to face Galactus again, who seemed to be paying much closer attention to him by that point, "You'd better leave this world if you want to remain in one piece."
At that point, Galactus was starting to look a little irritated, but he spoke again; a severe tone in his voice.
"Your strength is greater than any being that I've ever encountered, but don't forget that you're still only mortal. In spite of all your power, you can never defeat me."
"I'll do what I have to do." Namor replied, and in another moment, he was charging forward through the air, lashing out with his fists as quickly as he could. Sure enough, Galactus was thrown backwards into the ocean by the Submariner's assault, and a moment later, when he stood upright again, he looked somewhat shaken. However, Namor was also feeling a little worried himself. He'd felt the boundless power of his own muscles bear into Galactus, and tear apart large sections of his body. Then, Galactus had simply stood up, and all of the visible damage was gone. Namor had already been using his full strength against his enemy, but Galactus was proving to be a harder enemy to destroy than the Enforcer had been. Something was healing Galactus, even as he continued to take Namor's assault.
"Wow." the Human Torch said, as he watched the spectacle from the hillside where he stood. The collisions between Namor and Galactus could be felt all through the city, and the Torch himself was just looking astonished, having nearly forgotten the terrible hurt he was feeling because of what Crystal had told him, "I never knew Namor could do... I mean, wow. Look at that. He's got the big guy on the ropes. He's gonna win for sure."
However, when Johnny looked at Doctor Strange, he realized that there was something wrong. In spite of all the power that Namor was wielding, Strange looked positively morose.
"Right now," Strange said, as he watched the fight, "Namor is the strongest of all of Earth's champions, and the only one whose strength can match the cosmic force of a being like Galactus, but he can't win."
"Huh?" Johnny asked, confused, "But he's clobbering the big guy!"
"Not exactly." Strange replied, "If you look more closely, you'll see that Galactus hasn't suffered any lasting injuries at all from the pounding he's taken. Whenever Namor hits him, Galactus heals himself, and gets back up, unharmed. At best, Namor's bought us some time, but sooner or later, Galactus is going to start using his full powers, and Namor won't have a chance. Pure physical strength can't overcome this kind of enemy."
Johnny thought, for a moment, that Strange was just being a pessimist, but a second later, he realized that the fight was indeed turning against the Submariner. Namor's latest punch hadn't made contact with Galactus. It had passed right through him.
For a moment, Namor gave a start of surprise, backing off, as Galactus rose up in front of him again. In that moment, Namor understood. The surfer had had the power to pass through solid objects, and to drain away the energy of living beings, and it would simply be foolish to suppose that Galactus himself lacked those same powers. There was, Namor realized at that moment in horrified fear, no way that he could truly win that battle. Though he was physically invincible, he was no match for the titan from space. No one was.
"Doctor Strange." Namor thought, hoping that the leader of the Avengers would pick his thoughts up telepathically, "I can't beat him, but I'll try to keep him busy. Think of something quickly."
Strange just nodded sadly, as he heard Namor's words in his mind. It meant that the whole thing was on his shoulders again. He had to find the person with knowledge beyond reality; the person whose cosmic perceptions could get them into Galactus' ship. However, just as Strange was about to try one last, desperate spell of detection, he heard another voice in his thoughts, and that voice came from a fellow telepath, who was also a mage. It came from Victor Von Doom.
"Strange." Doom said, sounding worried, "Listen to me. The whole world's about to be destroyed unless you do exactly as I say. You must find a way into the ship of Galactus using the power of cosmic perception that one of your teammates has."
"Doom?" Strange asked, feeling very confused by his old rival's open willingness to let another read his thoughts; something that he'd never done in all the time that Strange had known him, "What are you talking about? I don't know anyone with a power like that."
"Yes you do." Doom replied quickly, "She-Hulk."
Another man might have refused to believe it, or questioned Doom's sources, but Doctor Strange knew Doom, and he knew that Doom never said anything unless he was sure that he was correct.
"Miss Walters has the power you've been looking for, Strange." Doom replied urgently, "She can sense the threads of reality all around herself, and more importantly, she can ride those threads from one place to another in existence. I don't know how she managed to acquire this power, but it's precisely what you need. Use it quickly, and save the world."
At that moment, Doom blocked off his telepathic contact with Strange, and in spite of the fresh information that Strange had received, which should have been like a ray of hope, he was even more nervous and afraid than ever, because although he knew what to do, he wasn't sure how to do it.
Strange hesitated for a moment, as he watched Namor try desperately to continue his struggle against Galactus, futile though it was. It was only after a few more moments of that that Strange found the strength to make contact with She-Hulk again.
"Jennifer." Strange said into her thoughts telepathically, "I've just received a very worrying message from Doctor Doom."
"Doom, huh?" Jennifer asked, sounding disappointed, though strangely, not surprised, "What does he want?"
"Well, do you remember the cosmic awareness that the surfer said we needed?" Strange asked, receiving a brief, affirmative reply, "Doom is convinced that you have that awareness."
"Huh?" She-Hulk asked, sounding confused, "I don't get it. How could I be aware of something and not realize it?"
Strange thought about that for a few seconds. It was a puzzling question, but in all his time fighting against daemons, he'd seen many things that might provide an answer for Jennifer.
"Actually..." Strange replied, "It is possible that you might really have the level of awareness Doom is talking about, but you're receiving so much information, that your mind just can't process it all. It's also possible that the information you're receiving is so strange and alien in origin, that your conscious mind is filtering most of it out, or maybe you don't have the kind of abstract imagination that you need to process cosmic data. Any of those reasons or a dozen others could explain why you haven't noticed this strange power. Tell me something, Jennifer..."
At that point, however, Strange's tone changed slightly, as he started to realize another possibility; trying to unravel the mystery as quickly as he could, "Recently, have you felt like everything is normal, or have you felt different; strange, like there was someone or something watching you? Have you felt like there was something very odd going on nearby; like you were starting to catch glimpses of the world around you through different kinds of eyes?"
Jennifer hesitated for a moment, but after a few seconds, she replied to the question, sounding nervous and worried.
"A while back..." Jennifer admitted slowly, "When Bruce told me about the Hulk for the first time, he asked me if I'd ever seen a monster looking back out of the mirror at me. I told him I hadn't, but... But I also told him that there was something else I'd seen; something weird. I felt like... like there was a current of letters, numbers and symbols running through the whole world around me, but when I turned to look, it was gone. It was like my whole life... my whole world was being held in place by... by words, instead of physics."
"By words?" Strange asked, amazed by the revelation, "What kind of words? Supernatural words? An incantation?"
"Something like that." She-Hulk replied, "Words of power, that create things from nothing. I don't know if it's like a spell, though. Spells change energy and move matter. This is different. It's like the words are what make the matter solid to begin with, starting with... with the letter A, and just causing things to spring into existence from that point on. Doctor Strange... What if what I'm seeing is true? What if the whole universe is nothing but words on paper?"
However, Strange was ready with a reply to that.
"That doesn't make it any less real. Jennifer, whether our world exists because of words on paper, or because of paint on a canvas, or even because of words spoken into a microphone doesn't make any difference, just like it doesn't make any difference whether our world exists to feed a cosmic being from space, or to be knocked from existence when the next big monster escapes from its extra-dimensional prison. All that matters is that right here, right now, our world exists, and it's just as real as it's always been. It's the world you've spent your whole life in. You were born in it, you grew up in it, acquired your powers, and you've spent over a year in this world trying to protect it. Now it needs your help again. No matter what kinds of cosmic principles run our universe, that doesn't make our lives worth any less. Don't be afraid of your place in the cosmic balance. Embrace it, and embrace the rules of this world, that you're able to bend and circumvent. It's the only way that any of us can possibly survive. You have to open yourself to this sense you've been given. You have to be ready to see what it can show you."
Jennifer shuddered at that thought, but in a moment, she'd gathered up her courage, and was ready. She knew what she had to do.
"Alright." Jennifer said grimly, "I'll do it."
Then, just a second later, she closed her eyes, opening her thoughts to the impulses she'd been ignoring before, trying to wrap her mind around fresh kinds of abstractions, as the strange words came flooding into her head. For a moment, she was afraid that she'd be swept away by them all, but she remembered what she had to do, and in only a few seconds, before she could explain what was happening,***
Namor attempted to lash out again, but his strength was rapidly leaving him. Somehow, he could tell that Galactus was drawing biochemical energy directly out of his body, and despite being surrounded by the very source of his strength, Namor was losing focus, and he was even starting to lose consciousness. As the Atlantean lord plummeted from the sky, hitting the ground like a meteor, Crystal ran forward, making the trip to Galactus' location in three enormous strides, looking absolutely furious. However, Galactus had noticed her, and in moments, she could feel her strength being drained away as well. By the time she was within fifty yards of him, Crystal couldn't even remain on her feet, and collapsed to the ground, shaking that whole area of the county as she fell.
"Yes." Galactus said a moment later, "It's clear how my Emissary was prevented from meeting me when I first arrived. A pity, in a way."
For a moment, Galactus seemed to be looking around one last time, glowing even brighter. Then, his eyes opened wide in realization, and he spoke again.
"Emissary!" Galactus exclaimed, sounding irritated, "The champions of this world can't harm me. You know that. If you've aided them in their attempts, then you've forced me to waste this precious energy, for which such a heavy price is paid, in defeating them. If you want to remain on this world, and perish with it, I'll accept that choice, but I'd prefer to have your explanation. I know that you're still alive, because I can sense your power cosmic. Come forward and speak with me."
Suddenly, something happened that was very surprising. After the surfer had said that he needed time to think, no one had expected him to step forward and speak with Galactus openly again. However, when Galactus said those words, suddenly, the silver surfer had appearing, standing on his board directly in front of Galactus. The board itself was perched in mid-air before the face of the surfer's master.
"I'll answer for what I've done, great Galactus." the surfer replied, "I've offered these humans no help, however, except to give them information about you."
"If you wish, you may return to my side, then." Galactus replied sternly, "Your help isn't so insignificant that I want to discard it over one mishap."
However, when Galactus said that, the surfer's expression grew just as stern.
"You've chosen not to follow me anymore." Galactus noted, a slight tone of disappointment in his voice.
"Mighty Galactus..." the surfer replied sadly, "I just can't do this anymore. When I accepted the post as your servant, I did so to save my own world, and a thousand others like it, full of intelligent people, and that's what I've done since then, but for every thousand inhabited worlds I saved, one paid the ultimate price."
"Sometimes, when energy was scarce, I knew that you would have noticed an intelligent world, even without my help, and the risk of trying to keep it from you was too great. In those moments, I summoned you to worlds full of sentient beings, not unlike this one. I thought that I was doing the right thing, by trying to protect as many innocent people as possible, while still assisting you in locating the vast energies you crave."
"However, as I've done my duty over the nameless centuries, I've found myself becoming cold, distant, and aloof, much as you yourself are, and I was horrified by the change. I found that I was starting to treat life like a mere resource; a simple commodity; something to be preserved when possible, but not something of infinite value."
"The decision to consume energy isn't mine to make," Galactus replied, "nor can intelligence be a factor in the universal cosmic balance. My duty is to consume energy. You know how pivotal that function is to the survival of every creature in this universe."
"Yes." the surfer replied, "I do, but I can't take any pride in knowing that. It doesn't make me happy to protect people in this capacity, mighty Galactus. In fact, I know that I've made the choice, again and again, to let people die, and when I made that choice, I lost something that was very precious to me; something that I liked about myself when I was mortal. In those days, I lived in peace, and harmed no one. Now... Regardless of the good I've done, I've been the instrument of harm as well. I used to be an artist... a poet... I can't go on this way. I'm sorry, great Galactus, but I can't serve you anymore, and I encourage you to leave this planet in peace."
For several moments, Galactus said nothing. It was clear that he himself was making a difficult decision.
The control room of Galactus' ship was vast and dense. The strength and weight of its controls were great enough that an ordinary human could never have made use of them, and complex enough that few human beings could even had guessed at their functions for the most part. Most of the controls were silver and black, marked with alien symbols, and hung about the walls of the massive, two-hundred-foot-high chamber. However, a special-looking set of controls were also set into the armrests of the large chair in the very center of that chamber. Those controls were numerous colors, but no obvious instructions of any sort could be found on or near them.
It would have been an absurd task for any mortal to decipher th***She-Hulk found herself in a new place. It was a huge, metal chamber with buttons and switches everywhere, and at once, She-Hulk realized that she'd found the very place she'd been looking for; the control center of the massive, planet-sized ship that Galactus had used to reach Earth. Jennifer Walters was only just starting to realize how she'd managed to accomplish such an incredible feat. She couldn't understand the force that had linked her to the deep, inner workings that drove her universe, but she was starting to realize how those workings operated, and how to control them.
"Yeah, yeah, but that's enough of that." She-Hulk muttered, with a brief look of worry crossing her face, "I need to figure out these controls before Galactus starts killing people."
Of course, She-Hulk had no idea how the computers on Galactus' world ship worked. She couldn't have known which buttons controlled the weapons, nor which ones controlled the communications systems on the ship. She was certainly strong enough to operate the proper controls, but as to what those were, she was very short of clues.
"Then you can't just tell me." She-Hulk muttered sadly, as she watched the letters spreading across physical reality around her, "I have to make my best guess."
Only a moment later, She-Hulk seated herself in the massive chair near the center of the room, and started running her fingers along the master controls. However, just as she did so, a grin of satisfaction began to spread across her face.
"Alright." she said with a smile, "So these are the master controls. Now let's go over this, one thing at a time."
As she said that, she placed one finger on the sensor control, and the other on the environmental control switches, smiling as she absorbed information about them.
Galactus seemed to have considered his decision for something like five seconds before he responded to the surfer's recommendation.
"If you won't serve me anymore, my Emissary, I'm afraid that there's nothing left to say in that respect. However, this world isn't yours to save. No one, at this point, can save it from destruction. This system is one of the richest in energy for dozens of light years around, and I've already wasted a great deal of energy here. If I have to leave it, and travel to another system, it will waste even more energy, and all of this will have been for nothing. I'm afraid that I don't have the luxury of placing that restriction upon myself. This system still contains enough energy to be worth the sacrifices that I've made here, though the loss of your service to me is a devastating one. I'm afraid that I can't honor your request, my Emissary. I need to recover my energy in some way."
As Galactus said that, he started waving his hands again, and a new machine began to assemble itself on the ground at his feet. It was only then that another voice was heard, echoing across planet Earth.
"What? You're planning to destroy our planet just because you need energy?"
"What is this?" Galactus demanded to know, looking worried for the first time, as he glanced upward, towards his world ship.
"This is one of those primitive earthlings you're planning on killing." She-Hulk replied from her place in the ship, "We might not be able to kill you, Galactus, but you're not going to win. Not this time. Right now, I have my fingers on the weapon control systems of your ship. I wouldn't make any more moves."
"If you press that button," Galactus replied angrily, "you'll vaporize whole sections of your own star system. Are you willing to do that?"
"From what I understand," She-Hulk replied, "if I don't vaporize the solar system, you will. At least this way, you still lose out. I understand that a million tiny chunks of rubble, and an extinguished star are harder to draw energy from than an intact solar system."
"Virtually impossible." Galactus admitted testily, "However, think about this. I may lose if you use those weapons, but you'll be the only surviving human, and you'll become, in that moment, a mass-murderer, not unlike myself, except without the need for energy to use as justification. My Emissary couldn't bare such a fate. Can you?"
In that moment, however, She-Hulk let out what sounded like cruel laughter from her place in space.
"Your Emissary?" She-Hulk asked derisively, "Your Emissary has no experience with Earth, Galactus. He doesn't know what it means to read the newspapers each day for years, and hear stories of death and devastation, praying every day for something to come along and end it all. Earthlings are barbarians, Galactus, and we take our victories where we can get them. To us, a victory of even the smallest sort is better than total defeat. We've never shied away from brutality in the past, and we're not about to start now. Don't compare me to your Emissary, Ancient One."
However, as She-Hulk spoke, her tone of voice seemed to change slightly, and she said "But maybe my word isn't enough for you. Alright, then. I'll just blast the cap off the arctic. Maybe then you'll understand our obsession with victory."
However, as she said that, Galactus replied quickly.
"Wait."
She-Hulk, naturally, kept her finger clear of the weapon controls.
"I know that you understand how to operate my weapons." Galactus said, "No being would be able to enter my control room and use my communications device unless they had access to that knowledge. You've placed me in a difficult position because of that. Tell me your name."
"Jennifer Walters," She-Hulk replied, "and I'm not alone. Every champion of Earth fought you today, Galactus. We were all willing to fight tooth and nail for our survival, and more than that, we all think it's wrong of you to consume inhabited worlds, when uninhabited ones are available. I'm sure that with all of your technology and knowledge of the universe, you can find some way to get the energy you need that doesn't involve killing us."
"Long ago," Galactus explained somberly, "I made peace with my role in the universe. Once, I lamented the lives lost to my hunger, and I knew that those lamentations threatened to destroy me. As such, my regrets over my duty were endangering the universe, so I made the decision to simply have no such regrets. To me, your struggles for survival have been irritating, but ultimately meaningless. At least until now."
For several moments, She-Hulk wasn't sure whether Galactus' words were a good sign or a bad one, but in another second, he continued.
"You've shown me your willingness to cause needless waste to the universe in order to satisfy your animal desire for victory, and now, I'm faced with such a choice as well. I can claim victory over you; force you to destroy your own star system, then annihilate you myself. In a sense, neither of us would truly win, but neither would really lose either. If equilibrium meant anything to me, I'd force you to make good on your threat."
She-Hulk swallowed a little when she heard that, lowering her finger towards the weapon control switch again, though she didn't touch it.
"However," Galactus replied, "it should not be said that the ancient and wise Galactus is as belligerent as mere mortals. I have nothing to prove to you, or to your people, and unlike you, I would consider the destruction of this solar system by any hands other than my own to be a senseless waste."
"You mortals may not consider the far distant future in your plans, but I have." the cosmic invader continued, "If you destroy the solar system, I can gain very little from it, now or ever. However, if I leave this system, and you leave my ship, I will make you a vow that I will not consume your world, until such time as it no longer supports intelligent life. In doing so, I don't promise never to devour it; only to postpone your world's inevitable end until the time when you and your kind will no longer attempt to oppose me. It saddens me to be forced into such a bargain, because my immediate hunger will need to be satisfied elsewhere, but your people are too barbaric and too belligerent. This system isn't worth the struggle. Is my bargain acceptable to you?"
She-Hulk was absolutely elated by those words, and immediately replied into the the communication device "Yes, mighty Galactus. I accept your bargain."
Then, suddenly, just as She-Hulk said those words, she felt something like an enormous pulling sensation, traveling up from her feet, and only a moment later, she was back on Earth again, in the very streets just outside of New York City, watching in amazement as the enormous figure of Galactus started to rise up into the air, back towards his ship. However, just as he was about to enter his vessel, he paused for a moment, and looked around, then spoke once again, and his words continued to travel, reaching all points on the globe at once.
"Today, I; Galactus, have spared this planet Earth, and its star system until it is no longer needed by the species who dwell on it. You humans have earned my ire, but I won't punish any of you. In fact, I hope that you'll start working together as a single, unified group very soon, and travel to other stars. Of course, if you would rather destroy each other completely with conflict, fire, and man-made diseases, I'll feel no worse about that. Either way, your world will belong to me again, once you've left it. Make that choice, and let me have my due. For now, I won't attempt to harm any of you. Only one being on this planet must be disciplined by me, and he isn't a human."
For a few moments, She-Hulk wasn't sure what Galactus meant by that, until she saw the Silver Surfer, rising up towards Galactus' position in the sky. Those two, she suspected, would have some things to discuss. In a moment, both had vanished into the hatch that had opened in the ship, which had surrounded Earth so completely, and then the ship began to rise upwards, away from New York, seeming to fold itself outwards as it did so, like a huge, mighty hand, loosening its grip on Planet Earth. When it rose out of sight, fading away into Earth's atmosphere, not a single person in the world spoke until it was completely gone.
"Avengers route Galactus; save the world."
Tony Stark couldn't help but smile as he read those words in his evening copy of the Daily Bugle. It was nice to get a little credit for the things they did, although Galactus' arrival and subsequent departure from Earth certainly hadn't been without consequences. There had been quite a few riots that the Avengers hadn't been able to stop, and a lot of looting that was still being sorted out. However, it seemed that since the Galactus incident, crime rates were starting to drop even further. Tony wasn't sure why. Maybe people were starting to come to a better understanding of their own mortality. The thought cheered him up a little.
However, as Tony was thinking about those things, folding up the newspaper as he walked towards the front door of the Avengers' Mansion, he heard two voices from the direction of the mansion's main entryway.
"Will I ever see you again?"
"Probably not. I suspect that I'm not yet ready to understand the answers you've given me. If I ever begin to grasp them, I'll address you again, but I think that may not be for a long, long time. Some part of me suspects that you're simply playing some kind of sick joke on me."
Tony was surprised, because although the first voice belonged to She-Hulk, the second was a voice he'd never heard before in his life. Quickly, he rounded the corner just in time to see a stranger in a hat and coat, with a thick, white mustache leaving through the front door of the mansion, taking only a moment to glance back, and not looking the least bit worried when he did. By the time the stranger had left, Tony Stark wasn't sure whether there was something wrong, or whether Jennifer's guest had been just that; a guest.
"Jennifer." Tony said, as he approached a little closer, looking up into the bright green eyes of the powerful Avenger, "Good evening. Who's your friend?"
"Friend?" Jennifer asked, looking a little surprised for a moment, but then she smiled after a few seconds, and replied, "No. He's not a friend. Just a stranger. He just heard about how I broke into Galactus' ship, and he had a few questions."
Tony couldn't help but take an interest in that, however.
"Questions?" Tony asked, "What kind of questions?"
"He wanted to know about the nature of the universe." She-Hulk replied in a voice that sounded almost casual, as she spoke.
In that moment, Tony Stark remembered what he'd been told about the way that She-Hulk had helped the save the world; the cosmic awareness she'd used to enter the ship of the world-devourer, and seize control of his weapons. No weapon in existence could have killed Galactus, but with that great, unexplainable knowledge, She-Hulk had been able to find his weakness. It hadn't occurred to Tony Stark until just then that She-Hulk's great knowledge might have been useful for other things as well; philosophical things, which man had been wrestling with for centuries.
"So..." Tony said after a few seconds, "Did you tell him the nature of the universe?"
"Sure," She-Hulk replied, "but I don't think he believed me. He was expecting a much more complicated answer."
Tony fell silent for another few seconds, but just as She-Hulk was turning to leave, he knew that he couldn't hold his own questions back.
"Jennifer..." Tony said, "What is the nature of the universe?"
For a few moments, Jennifer looked a little bewildered, but a frown crossed her face, just as she was about to speak.
"I'm afraid you're not going to like the answer." Jennifer replied sadly.
"Are things really that bad?" Tony asked, starting to feel concerned.
"That's not what I mean." Jennifer replied, however, "Mister Stark, you're looking for some kind of philosophical explanation for your existence, and the existence of the world you live in. I can tell you what the universe really is, but I'm afraid you wouldn't find my answer very enlightening, even if you accepted it at face value. It's a hopeful answer, but it's also extremely simple. In fact, it's so simple, that I doubt anything about your life will change once you know the truth."
Tony sighed, and braced himself for a disappointment, as he said, "That's alright. I guess I'd still like to know, even if the answer isn't really useful for anything."
"The truth is..." She-Hulk said, looking grim, "time is an aspect of space, and space is the fruit of thought in a causality void. To put it in its simplest terms, Mister Stark, the universe is nothing more than a series of thoughts, channeled into a realm where they could be given physical form. For some reason, I have the ability to hear those thoughts, though I can't explain how or where I got it from. We exist because someone, somewhere thinks that we do. There's nothing more to it."
"What?" Stark asked, confused, "Are you saying that we're imaginary? That doesn't make any sense. I'm perfectly real. I have feelings, senses, and memories of my whole life."
"I'm not really sure how to answer that." She-Hulk said after a moment, "I haven't completely been able to interpret the thoughts I've been reading, but it seems like the line between reality and imagination isn't as distinct as we've always believed. Imaginary thoughts, worlds, and beings are no less real; they just exist in different... Well, different realms, really. I think, in time, we might discover that nearly everything in existence is both real and imaginary, but as I said, that's no kind of help to philosophers."
"Yeah." Tony noticed, "I guess you're right. I was sort of hoping for something that was at least a little encouraging."
"Huh?" She-Hulk asked, "Well, heck. I can tell you something that's encouraging. I know a lot about the thoughts that created our universe, and the person or persons they belong to. I can tell you this much for sure; the creator of the universe cares about us. We've gone through hard times and big tragedies, but we've come through stronger in the end, and I'm sure that things are going to turn out alright. It's not specific enough to encourage most people, but to me, it's a big relief to know that."
Anthony Stark said good-bye to Jennifer just a moment later, and returned to his own home, but for some reason, he didn't feel the least bit encouraged by what Jennifer had said.
The Stranger had been sitting in the library for hours, lost in thought over his recent experiences, and disappointed over how little reliable information he'd been able to acquire from She-Hulk. After a while, however, he could hear the sounds of footsteps approaching him from across the room, and soon, there was the bald man with the pale eyes; the Watcher.
The Watcher seated himself across from the Stranger, looking a bit curious.
"I see you're not satisfied by what happened." the Watcher said, "Is mankind's destruction really so important to you?"
"Hardly." the Stranger replied, "In fact, at this point, I've discarded all my previous theories about the nature of the human species' behavior patterns. Right now, the information I've received is dominating my thoughts, and I'm afraid it may just be some kind of sick joke at my expense."
"How so?" the Watcher asked.
"While it's true that some beings can change one kind of matter into another, such as ourselves," the Stranger replied, "that process is typically accomplished through energy, power, or magic. Thought alone can't create matter. It's absurd."
"It does seem unlikely." the Watcher replied, "Still, I've long suspected that the universe was founded in a causality void. Since I'm incapable of existing without my physical body, I wasn't able to verify it, but it's quite possible that the universe is just as she told you, and we're simply not beings of a high enough order to prove it."
For a few moments, the Stranger was silent, but when he spoke again, he sounded upset with the Watcher.
"Why did you interfere in their conflict?" the Stranger asked, "Why did you grant such a high level of awareness to the She-Hulk?"
"I did no such thing." the Watcher replied, "I haven't broken my vow. She-Hulk's awareness of the nature of the universe exceeds even my own. It's not something I'm capable of bestowing."
"So the real question is;" the Stranger said, looking deeply suspicious, "if you didn't grant her that level of awareness, who did?"
The Watcher, however, was silent. He didn't have an answer.
Widow placed a bowl of chicken soup on the Avengers' conference table, and started eating at almost precisely twelve forty-five in the afternoon. She'd been ignoring her hunger for a while, and it was nice to finally get the chance to eat something after working for so long. As Widow ate her soup, however, she heard someone approaching from nearby. Quickly, she glanced down at the conference table to see, in its well-polished surface, the reflection of Crystal near the door behind her.
"Crystal." Widow said, in between spoonfuls of her soup, "Is there something you need to talk about?"
"You probably know this already," Crystal said, "but I heard that Reed and Sue are planning on getting married."
"I've been expecting that to happen for a while now." Widow replied, trying her best to smile, "Also, from what I've heard, She-Hulk's relationship with the Mole Man is becoming a little more serious. They went on their first real date three days ago, though the Mole Man insisted on calling it a courtship. I can't really blame him for wanting things to be formal. He is a king, after all."
Crystal was silent for a while longer, though Widow knew that something was up. Sighing for a moment, Widow asked the question that Crystal inevitably wanted her to.
"So how's Johnny taking it?"
"He's still a little upset." Crystal replied, "I think he respects my decision, but it'll probably take him a while before he can talk to me like a friend again."
"Some men are like that." Widow replied, "They invest a lot of their feelings into a relationship, and then, if it doesn't work out, they have a hard time getting those feelings back. Speaking of which, your relationship with Namor...?"
Crystal blushed for a moment, but after a short time, she said "I guess I couldn't hide anything from you, huh?"
Widow just shook her head.
"It's weird, actually. I was thinking of putting that on hold until the Avengers have their whole group dynamic back in order," Crystal explained, "but then, Namor told me that the Avengers never really had a group dynamic per se; that we were brought together by our mutual desire to be with others like ourselves, and to do good things for the world. He mentioned that Johnny Storm had previously fought with both him and the Mole Man, and that because of that, there was a sort of enmity floating around in the Avengers long before I'd broken up with Johnny, but he'd put it aside, because his personal feelings just weren't as important as doing the right thing. When I heard him say that, I knew that I could trust Johnny to act as part of the team, regardless of how he felt about our relationship. Namor and I are planning on going out tonight. There's a sandwich shop about five miles from the edge of town, that he says is very good."
"My knowledge of sandwich shops isn't exactly extensive." Widow admitted, "Are you planning on taking one of the fliers?"
"Only part of the way." Crystal replied with a sheepish-looking grin, "I thought that when I got into the open areas outside of town, I'd... Well, I thought I'd walk the rest of the way."
When Crystal said that, however, Widow truly did smile, which was rare for her. She was pleased by the way that Crystal had developed as a person.
"Good luck." Widow replied, just as Crystal left the room with a broad, confident smile on her face.
Crystal parked her flier behind a small building near the edge of town, looking around for a moment, to make sure that no one had seen where she'd hidden it. A few moments later, she emerged from behind that same building, and started out across the open fields.
Crystal was fascinated when she thought about everything that had happened to her. At first, she'd been a royal, protected and sheltered inside a secluded society. Once outside, however, everything had seemed so wonderful, strange and new. The accomplishments of humans were like a fresh and complex pattern; made from works of art. Crystal had wanted to see every one of humanity's accomplishments, and marvel at the funny things that humans had made for themselves.
Even after living among them for so many months, Crystal still marveled at the buildings of humans, their vehicles, their medicine, technology, and the food they ate. It was all strange and wonderful to her, like the behavior of a newborn. Most importantly, Crystal didn't feel shy or worried anymore. She was ready to stand up, and be herself; doing what she knew was right, regardless of how others might react. She wasn't going to be ashamed of herself, or what she could do anymore.
With a smile, Crystal took one step in the direction of the restaurant, watching the distance start to shrink away. Then, she took another step, and another. By the time Crystal had taken five steps towards the restaurant, she could see that it was a lot closer than it had been before, and she knew that it wouldn't take more than a minute to reach it, because she'd risen up to an enormous height, as she left town, and got out of the way of the buildings.
Crystal looked down in wonder at the houses and cars that she passed on the way to her first real date. When she was so much bigger, the humans all looked a lot smaller, and yet, in a way, that made them seem even more wonderful, important, and amazing than ever. It thrilled her through and through, as she continued onward and upward, further and further...
End
Well, there's a hundred excuses that I could make right here, but why make excuses? It's been a good run, and I've been doing the Marvel Universe Neo for over two years. I'd love to be able to continue it forever; to keep pointing out where Marvel went wrong, and what they could have done to add richness and joy to their universe, instead of torturing it, but for a couple reasons, I just can't. For one thing, doing two volumes a month gobbles up much of my free time and creative energies, and I'm trying to get some of my original fiction published soon. For another thing, the "friend" who I originally wrote these for refuses the read them, or even look at them.
I have more story ideas, of course; Nick Fury's introduction, the resolution of the green goblin plot line, the marriage of Sue and Reed, and so on and so forth. I'll probably share a few of those plot ideas in a month, when I post the final issue, but I thought I'd give notice about this.
I need to be able to survive somehow, and writing is the only real skill that I have. I just hope these stories have made their mark, and will not be wasted.
-Bra1n1ac-