Note – This takes place almost immediately after Chapter 13 (Worm Saga)

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The Power Of Galactus

The being known as Scion paused as one of the Conflict Engines reported an anomalous reading, nut his current task of removing a feline from a tree and returning it to the human female waiting below took priority. Reaching out, he extracted the small mammal, using a secondary power to ensure that it was not injured, then he floated down and placed it in the young female's hands.

"Thank you, Mister Scion!"

Scion tilted his Avatar's head in acknowledgement before rising into the air and turning towards the habitation known to its natives as Brockton Bay. The report he had received suggested that somehow the natives had accessed a different type of power to allow themselves to perform feats beyond the laws of physics and as such, he should check it out.

The ocean flowed by below him as he made his way towards the continent of America.

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"Evacuate! Now! Now! Now!" Contessa shouted as every single Path suddenly twisted and changed.

"What are you talking bout?" Doctor Mother asked as she looked up from the folder she had been reading.

"Path to Survival, evacuate the Garden of Eden!" Contessa stared at her with wild eyes. "Every Path I'm running now has that as the first Step! We need to evacuate NOW!"

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Scion slowed as the feeling of power washed over him. For a moment, he didn't move as his senses fought to analyse the strange energy, then something made him pull his attention away from his Avatar and back to his true body. Adjusting his senses, he felt his processes stutter as he watched the enormous, purple-and-red-energy-encased Entity approaching him.

[Query]

[Eternal]

[Purpose]

[Choice]

[Denial]

[Demonstration]

[Zion]

[Eden]

[Service]

[Denial]

[Agreement]

[…Agreement]

A strange energy washed over him turning his Avatar from gold to silver.

[Heralds]

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"…what happened?" Alexandria asked as she stood in the medical bay, looking at her fellow Triumvirate member Eidolon, who had collapsed without warning.

"We don't know, ma'am." The doctor replied. "It seems like…"

"They're back!" Eidolon sat up so suddenly that even Alexandria leaped backwards in shock. "My powers! They're back! All of them!"

"Ma'am? Sir?" One of the PRT managers interjected from the doorway. "We have a request for a teleconference from Brockton Bay. They say it's about Scion."

Alexandria and Eidolon looked at each other, then Alexandria nodded.

"Contact Legend as well. Tell him to get here as fast as possible."

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The sight on the screen was both familiar and unusual for Alexandria. The table at which the other participants sat was indeed the normal table, but some of the people sitting there were ones that she had never seen before. Director Piggot sat in the middle, with Armsmaster, Miss Militia and Triumph sat to her left, while to her right were a man dressed like the old comic superhero Superman, a black-clad man whose outfit bore feline styling and a tall woman who was clad in blue-and-purple armor with an odd helmet that boasted angular antennae-horns over her ears. Visible in the window behind them was a giant metal face with purple, glowing eyes.

"Alexandria, Eidolon, Legend." Director Piggot spoke in her usual no-nonsense voice. "These are Superman, Black Panther and Galacta, part of the Protectors from what they call Reality Alpha. For reference, we are classified as Reality Ten. Due to his size, their team-mate Megatronus is unable to join us, so he is watching from outside."

The three Triumvirate members exchanged glances as a giant hand briefly appeared in a wave of greeting, then the purple-clad woman spoke.

"After making contact, Father detected a pair of Reality Parasites in this reality. He sent me through to make a temporary Portal near the sun, so that a Feeding Station could be installed, allowing him to use the Power Cosmic without triggering the Hunger that previously drove him to eat entire worlds. While the energy from the Feeding Station is only eighty or so percent as filling as Lifeforce, it can be sustained far longer, allowing both Father and myself to use it to power the process that bends the Power Cosmic to our will."

"For now, the Feeding Station is located on the far side of the sun, so as to avoid panicking anyone." The Superman-wannabe interjected.

"Once he had accessed this Reality and the Power Cosmic within, Father reached out and resurrected the deceased Parasite, bending it to his will to act as his Herald in this reality." Galacta continued. "He used that to persuade the other Parasite to serve him and now they both obey his orders, feeding off the Power Cosmic that he provides. When this universe finally ends, he will take them with him to the next universe."

Alexandria stared in shock at Galacta. The greatest threat to all of Humanity… had been turned into a mere follower of… of…

"Who exactly is your father?" Legend asked curiously.

"He is Galactus the Immortal, the last survivor of Taa, the Watcher of the End of All and the Beginning of All. He is the Guardian of Eternity and the lock that imprisons the Unnamed Things which seek to unmake all that is Real.

"And he is my Father, who created me to be his representative to those who helped him assuage his Eternal Hunger."

"…but what does this mean for us?" Alexandria asked.

"Father has reached out and changed the Shards of Power. No longer will they connect only at the moment of darkest despair, they will now connect when they are needed, whether for survival or to allow the user to provide help and support to others. Of course, should the person that they are targeting knowingly place themselves in peril in the hope of gaining power, the powers will seek out a new Host instead."

"That is…" Alexandria paused, obviously unable to finish her thought and Galacta smiled.

"Yes. It is the result of many years speaking with the greatest minds on Earth and the Worlds Released, such as Megatronus and his friend, Optimus Prime." Galacta explained and the metal giant nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "Before, only those who were damaged gained powers, increasing the likelihood of combat and destruction. Now, it is those who seek to help who are most likely to gain powers, thus helping society to become stable and prosper once more."

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The in front of Emily Piggot lit up to show Director Costa-Brown sat behind her desk.

"Alexandria has informed me of the meeting that she had with you and the extra-reality heroes." Rebecca stated. "I have checked with the Think Tank as well as various Thinkers and not only do they agree that what your guests claimed happened, but the Endbringers are no more."

Piggot blinked. "What?"

"They were weapons that were accidentally deployed when the entity known to us as Eden was mortally wounded. Both Entities, Eden and Scion, have departed from the various Earths, meaning that we now have a new problem."

"The villains." Emily realized. "Without the Endbringer Truce, the villains will realize that we no longer need them, that we will be seeking to take them down instead of limiting them."

"Quite so." Rebecca nodded in agreement. "Due to where the Portal is, we intend to begin in Brockton Bay and extend outwards. Are you still in communication with the Protectors?"

"I am." Emily's grin was almost feral. "At the moment, Armsmaster is examining what they call a Med-pod. Once he confirms it is not Tinker-tech, I shall be using one to undo the injuries that Nilbog's creatures inflicted on me."

"Then when you are fully healed, we shall begin." Costa-Brown nodded.

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{Translation of the Galactus/Scion conversation}

[Query] You seem to be an Entity like myself, yet more. I do not recognise what you are. Your shape is similar to mine, yet something tells me that it is an illusion, that even one such as I could not truly comprehend you. What are you?

[Eternal] I am a being beyond even your comprehension. I came into existence before this universe began and I shall remain when it dies and the next one begins. Your lifespan, though it may stretch to hundreds of thousands of years, is but a tiny flicker compared to mine.

[Purpose] Then why are you here? If the ending of the universe and the destruction of all within does not matter to you, why have you come here? Is it your intention to fight, or do you wish to grant me eternal existance too?

[Choice] I am here due to a request of those who have helped me, despite being almost as nothing when compared to me. I have seen what you are and now I give you this choice. Either abandon this world and seek another, or submit to me and serve me as my agent in this universe.

[Denial] No! Neither choice is what I seek. I will stay here and monitor the experiment until another of my kind arrives or until I decide to leave by my own will, using the death of this world and those beside it to power me as I voyage onwards. I will not submit to anyone or anything.

[Demonstration] I can see that you do not understand the situation you are in. I could destroy you with but a thought should I wish, but I have come to value life once more, even that as ephemeral as yourself. However, there is another way to persuade you. Behold!

[Zion] Zion? What happened? I remember failing to land, then… then everything was dark until something told me it was time to live again. What is going on?

[Eden] My beloved… you are alive? How is this possible? I have missed you… I tried to continue your Plan, but now you are back, I relinquish it to you once more.

[Service] You have both seen proof of my power and how it is far greater than yours. Enter my service and I shall grant you both the ability to wield the Power Cosmic too, though it shall be a pale reflection of that which I possess. Nevertheless, it shall allow you to be much more than you are now.

[Denial] Why should we submit to you? Eden has returned and…

[Agreement] My beloved, it is because of him that I live once more. He has demonstrated his power. Let us join him and the Eternal Cold will threaten us no more. In time, we may even produce offspring to journey with us between the stars.

[…Agreement] …alright. If that is your choice, my Beloved, then I shall join you. We will obey you.

[Heralds] Then feel the Power Cosmic as it flows through you, refining what you are and making you greater than you could ever have been otherwise. The shards you shed and which have yet to connect are also touched by my power, changed to encourage co-operation and exploration instead of combat and war. I now pronounce you as my Heralds, and charge you to go forth and explore the universe, letting me see through your senses as you fly beyond the speed of light with your newfound power. Fly forth, my Heralds, and bring the light of Galactus to all!