Chapter Fourteen: Collapse
NEW YORK CITY
Iron Man, War Machine and Cap land on roof of the building where Daredevil, Silver Surfer and Gamma Guardian are perched. The earth is quaking, rumbling. Buildings are randomly collapsing across the city's landscape. Cap quickly surveys the team. He looks to the Guardian.
Captain America: Where's Strange?
The Guardian shakes his head.
Cap's head drops. The team is quiet.
Captain America: Dormammu?
Guardian: Gone. Stephen sacrificed himself to end the monster. The Katarche Blade was also destroyed in the process.
Captain America: We need to remember him. Memorialize his existence.
Guardian: Indeed.
Captain America: Matt, how bad is it?
Daredevil is on one knee with one hand on his temple.
Daredevil: It's bad, Cap. The damage is extensive. The core is cracked and ruptured. The damage has disrupted and severed all of the energies that encase and circle the planet.
Captain America: OK. What are our options?
No one speaks.
Captain America: Guardian?
Guardian: I can't repair a damaged core, Steve, but may be able to delay its explosion.
Captain America: Delay it for what?!
Guardian: We can't stop what is happening here. Maybe this was inevitable. Maybe it's necessary. In order to be reborn stronger, something usually has to end.
Captain America: Well, that's comforting. How is humanity to be reborn from this?
The Guardian is quiet for a few moments. He thoughtfully looks to the sky.
Guardian: Pluto.
Silver Surfer: The planet? It is one of the most remote bodies in your galaxy. It is absolutely uninhabitable.
Guardian: Not anymore.
Silver Surfer: What do you mean?
Guardian: I terraformed it shortly after transforming…into this. It is fully inhabitable now. It has a Sun as well.
Iron Man: Bruce…what the hell? You can create Suns now?!
Guardian: I didn't create it. Eternity assisted me with transporting Sirius here.
Iron Man: Of course. Because everyone is besties with Eternity. Can HE help with this then?
Guardian: He?
Iron Man: Oh shit. Seriously? What is the gender-specific pronoun for the universal-consciousness-entity-god?
Guardian: Eternity won't get involved here.
Silver Surfer: Guardian, Pluto is almost three billion miles away. It takes almost six hours for light to reach earth from Pluto. And there are almost eight billion humans here. How do you propose to transport that many people across such a vast distance?
A booming voice interrupts.
Enoch: He will need your help, Norrin.
Enoch's astral projection appears before the team.
Silver Surfer: Enoch, I don't have that kind of power.
Enoch: Norrin, are you aware that Thor is currently ON Pluto?
Silver Surfer: How?
Enoch: You sent him there.
Guardian: Enoch, we don't have time…
A massive tremor shakes the earth. All the heroes fall to their knees. The building quivers. A lava stream shoots up from the sea.
Enoch: No. We don't. Norrin, when your planet Zenn-La was under attack you were forced to make the ultimate sacrifice to save it.
The Surfer's face is heavy.
Silver Surfer: I will never forget it.
Enoch: I believe you are confronting that situation again.
Silver Surfer: How?
Enoch: The Guardian has the ability to transform your power into a staff that can create portals to allow transport across great distances.
Silver Surfer: Will this turn me back into a human?
Enoch: Yes.
The Surfer looks at his hands.
Silver Surfer: It's funny. I gained these powers in order to save my planet. I guess it is fitting that I lose them to save another.
Cap places his hand on Surfer's shoulder.
Captain America: This will never be forgotten.
Silver Surfer: I don't care. It is my duty to protect life. There really is no other choice.
Enoch: Guardian?
The Guardian clenches his fists. They begin to glow dark green. The energy bubbles off him like water, floating into the air and disappearing. He places his hands on the Silver Surfer's chest. The Surfer begins to glow until the light between the two beings is blinding. Cap and Iron Man shield their face with their hands. Eventually, the glare dissipates.
Norrin Radd stands before the heroes.
The Syzygy is in the hands of the Guardian.
Guardian: Norrin…
Silver Surfer: I…am…myself again.
Tears stream down his face.
Silver Surfer: Thank you…
Enoch: Guardian, can you feel the energy within the staff?
Guardian: Yes. It is powerful…yet serene.
Enoch: Concentrate on that. Move the staff and you will feel it coursing through the energies of the quantum realm. Feel this foundation of existence.
The Guardian slowly rotates the Syzygy in a large circle in front of him.
Enoch: As it flows with the quantum realm, reach out with your feelings. Concentrate on the connections.
Guardian: I can feel it. Nothing is separate…
Enoch: Yes. Now sharpen your focus until there is nothing but that connection…the one. See the surface of Pluto… it's distance matters not. Focus…
The Guardian's eyes are closed. The Syzygy continues to rotate. Suddenly, a portal opens on the roof they are standing.
Iron Man: Well, I'll be damned.
Captain America: Bruce, it's working! Keep going!
Bubbling sounds are heard all over the horizon.
War Machine: Guys! Look!
Off to his left a massive portal, roughly the size of a large tunnel underpass has opened near the Federal Reserve building.
Daredevil: Bruce, you did it. There are literally thousands of portals opening within miles of here!
Enoch: Well done, Guardian. You may not be able to see it, but you have opened portals across the earth. These gateways will be humanity's salvation.
Bruce stops swirling the Syzygy. He opens his eyes to see a landscape covered by a multitude of openings in the fabric of reality.
Guardian: Thank you for everything, Enoch. Will we encounter you again?
Enoch: Yes. The door has been opened. It can't be closed now. Guard the Syzygy and know this: from this moment forward, you are now humanity's only hope. You are its Defenders.
Enoch's astral form fades away.
Norrin Radd: How will we instruct all of humanity to enter these portals?
Another voice interrupts their thoughts.
Prof X: I might be able to help with that.
Captain America: Professor X.
Prof X: Hello, Captain Rogers. Wanda Maximoff briefed me on recent events. Humanity is in danger, your team has created a potential escape and you need someone to mass communicate all of this quickly.
Captain America: That's the gist of it.
Prof X: It will take some effort, but with the assistance of Cerebro it should be possible.
Before Cap can respond, another massive tremor hits and the building begins to collapse. The team flies down to the surface as the building collapses behind them.
Daredevil: Don't worry. The building was empty.
The ground continues to shake.
Prof X: Bruce, we may not have time.
Guardian: I can buy us more.
The Guardian's hands begin glow, but he is interrupted by the sound of gunfire in the distance.
War Machine: That came from the Federal Reserve building!
Iron Man: Yep. Sounds like a rifle. Possibly fully-auto.
War Machine: Cap, what's the play?
Cap is staring off in the distance, almost as if he is in a trance.
Iron Man: Ca-aaaap. C'mon, big guy. The whole thousand-yard-stare thing is kinda freakin me out.
Cap responds under his breath.
Captain America: He's not going to let them escape…