The battle was joined. Namor launched himself into the air, straight at Annihilus. Annihilus stood its ground -- indeed, did not move an inch, but allowed a nimbus of crackling energy to build up around the Cosmic Control Rod at its throat and launched it in a blast of corruscating waves at Namor. Namor was beaten back, his flesh burned, and hit the ground behind where he'd started.
A hideous, ringing laugh filled the air, coming from Annihilus. "Fool! Worse than a fool, to confront me when so weak. Or perhaps my conjured servants had beaten you worse than you realized. Either way, I cannot dally long in disposing of you if I am to find the Human Torch. I will allow myself only some small measure of sport and use but half of the cosmic energy at my command. I could flay the skin from your bones, or--"
"Bore me to death with talking, as the Thing might say," Namor said as he rose to his feet. "If it is sport you crave, then let the Namor the First of Atlantis reach within striking distance of you."
"So be it," Annihilus said and, as it did, the nimbus of crackling energy disappeared from around its throat and transferred to around its fists. And then it stood there, waiting for Namor's charge.
Namor did not disappoint. He charged headlong at Annihilus, but feinted with a right cross that Annihilus chose to block. Namor followed swiftly with a left jab under Annihilus' guard that connected with Annihilus' armored torso. The strike rang out like a hammer against an anvil, with the result of a minor dent in Annihilus' armor. Namor smiled. Annihilus may have power, but it was no fighter. Given time, Namor could wear it down.
Annihilus was not prepared to give him time. Cosmic energy extended down Annihilus' arms and, when it swung them at Namor, Namor was hurled back even though the blow itself had missed. When Namor came back, but flying wide and to the left to flank Annihilus, Annihilus let loose another blast of cosmic energy. "I thought you wished to remain within arm's length?" it mocked.
Namor twisted away from the narrower beam of cosmic energy and reached his goal -- Annihilus' spread wing. Namor grabbed it, swung Annihilus off its feet, and used the momentum to lift Annihilus up into the air before slamming it back to the ground with its own wing. "Perhaps I meant wingspan," Namor mocked back.
"I was wrong to toy with you," Annihilus roared. "Every moment I delay with you, the other Earthlings could flee back to their own universe again." Annihilus' eyes glowed now with the cosmic energy building up inside it and its entire, armored body was starting to glow with the energy. But, before it could lash out at Namor again, a rocky projectile, like a speeding meteorite, impacted with the ground scant yards from where Annihilus stood and exploded into a shower of flying debris. Annihilus followed its trajectory back to the satellite on which it had perched before and saw Ben and John looking down at them. "Excellent!" Annihilus exclaimed. "Now I need only kill one and threaten to kill a second before the third will lead me back to his world!"
"No!" Namor cried as he slammed into Annihilus from behind. Annihilus was so distracted by Ben and John that it had momentarily forgot about Namor and lowered the amount of cosmic energy around his body. Namor was still hurt from striking him, but Annihilus was hurt too and fell forward off its feet.
Annihilus roared with rage and cut loose with another huge wave of cosmic energy that sent Namor flying off the entire satellite and out into space. "There is no limit to the amount of cosmic energy I can unleash to destroy you Earthlings!" Annihilus raged. "So long as my Cosmic Control Rod can tap the limitless supply of the Anomoly below us!" Not seeing Namor anymore, Annihilus turned his attention back to the others in time to see the Thing jumping down towards him. Annihilus flew upwards to meet him in mid-air and, to Annihilus' surprise, flew right through him.
--
Ben and John watched Namor launched himself into the air, straight at Annihilus. Annihilus stood its ground -- indeed, did not move an inch, but allowed a nimbus of crackling energy to build up around the Cosmic Control Rod at its throat and launched it in a blast of corruscating waves at Namor. Namor was beaten back, his flesh burned, and hit the ground behind where he'd started.
"Namor's getting roasted!" John exclaimed. "I'd better risk flaming on and get down there."
"Naw, let me handle it, Kid," Ben said. "I don't know how that rock missed, but I won't." And with that, Ben jumped off the edge of his satellite straight down to where Annihilus stood. While falling, he let out his familiar battlecry, "It's clobbering time!" Ben did not have the velocity of the hurled missile, but still expected to have some impact when he landed on Annihilus.
Instead, Ben tumbled right through it as Annihilus was saying, "Fool! Worse than a fool, to confront me when so weak. Or perhaps my conjured servants had beaten you worse than you realized."
"Hey, what gives?" Ben asked in mounting anger and frustration. "Ignore me, will ya?" He swung his fists right through Annihilus as Annihilus continued to mock Namor. "C'mon, get up, Subby, and help me clock this bozo!" Ben shouted, but Namor too seemed oblivious to the Thing's presence.
John kept watching what was going on below him, trying to puzzle it out the way Reed would. An explanation was starting to take shape in his mind, but…was it even possible? "Ben!" John called down. "I think…I think we're out of sync with them! It's the chronal distortion! We arrived before or after the moment they're in!"
"Okay, whatta we do about that now?" Ben asked, throwing his hands in the air while Annihilus and Namor tussled around him.
"I don't know! If—Holy cow! Annihilus is up here now!" John put himself between Anninilus and the astronavicycle. Though it would soon melt his gyroharness, John saw no choice but to flame on if he needed to defend himself. He willed into existence a flaming sheath of plasma around him. In his haste, he even skipped shouting, "Flame on!" Before Annihilus could react, John bathed him in a torrent of burning plasma.
"What is that?" Annihilus asked, pointing to the astronavicycle. "If that is the key to your world, then it must be mine!" Annihilus cried as he attacked John with a blast of cosmic power. The blast went right through John. "What trickery is this? A second illusion?" Annihilus asked.
Then John seemed to notice Annihilus standing there for the first time and shouted down to Ben, "Annihilus is up here now!"
Annihilus tried to take no notice of John, as whether he was immaterial or illusionary did not matter so long as he did not pose a threat. It advanced slowly instead on the astronavicyle, trying to discern its function at a glance, and kept a forcefield of cosmic power around itself in case John became a threat. Sure enough, before Annihilus could touch the device, the fire around his forcefield seemed to come to life and super-heated the air even inside the forcefield.
Ben had taken a running start and jumped up to the satellite above him, clutched the edge of the huge hunk of rock on which John and Annihilus were engaged in combat, and pulled himself up.
John spotted Ben. "Hurry, Ben! My gyroharness is melting fast!"
"You're both too late, for now I have this!" Annihilus said as he dropped his forcefield and reached out to snatch the astronavicycle. "And now I have no use for you!" Annihilus held the astronavicycle with one hand and used its free hand to focus a blast of cosmic energy at John. The blast would have reduced John to cinders had he not flamed on. Most of the energy of the blast was expending disrupting John's protective sheath, but it was still strong enough to throw John rolling across the rocky terrain for 20 feet before he skidded to a stop, bruised and cut and stunned.
"Oh, you just earned yerself a ton o' hurtin'," Ben said as he lumbered towards Annihilus. Again, Annihilus was prepared to dismiss Ben and focus on its prize, and was again caught flat-footed when Ben landed a haymaker punch that sent Annihilus stumbling back and made it drop the astronavicycle. "Well, whattaya know?" Ben asked. "I guess th' bike brung ya into phase with me and Torchy when ya touched it. Too bad for you." Ben landed another punch that put a dent in its armor next to the one Namor had made and forced Annihilus to step back, but Annihilus caught his third punch in its hand.
"Die," Annihilus commanded as it held Ben's hand tight and began to build up an enormous amount of cosmic energy to blast Ben with. But, before he could strike with the killing blow, John recovered enough to smother Annihilus' wings and backside in white-hot plasma. Annihilus was distracted enough by the heat that Ben was able to wrest his fist free. He saw an opening to pop Annihilus at least once in the face, but another idea struck Ben. As quick as he could, he tore off his gryoharness and put it over Annihilus' head. Ben fell to the ground, immediately disoriented, but Annihilus reeled back in similar disorientation.
"What did you do that for?" John asked as he ran towards Ben.
"Jus' gambled that…if it was geared ta orient someone from our world…that it would disorient someone from here. Glad ta be right, but…I think I'm gonna lose my cookies…"
Ben could barely stand, but John helped slump him over the cycle. Looking back, he could see Annihilus tearing the gyroharness apart. "We're going to need another diversion," John said. Using his power to generate flame, he created images of the burning Human Torch all around Annihilus, one after another.
"More flaming Earthlings?" Annihilus roared, at least momentarily falling for the ruse. "Die, all!" Cosmic energy began to swell out of him omni-directionally, swallowing up the flame images and breaking up the ground under Annilihus' feet.
"We've got to get out of here!" John shouted, as he pulled the emergency return lever on the cycle's dashboard. The cycle lurched to life, zooming past Annihilus with Ben still leaning over it and John holding on. Underneath them, the rocky satellite was breaking apart as the energy ball around Annihilus grew larger. But the cycle was moving faster now, rocketing away from the Annihilus and the Anomaly, through the distortion area, and—
Baxter Building, New York City. May 1971. The present.
John hit the button on his gyroharness, turning it off as soon as he was back in his own world. Alicia and Agatha were waiting for them. Ben groaned as he found the crippling nausea immediately alleviated.
"Ben, you're back!" Alicia cried. She knew that groan anywhere. As angry as she had been with her husband earlier, she now rushed to his side and held him.
"Yeah, yeah…I'm back, babe," Ben said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "But Namor…we couldn't get 'em."
"No?" Agatha asked. "Then perhaps you should check this monitoring device."
John walked over to it in reply and looked. "She's right!" he exclaimed. "Here comes Namor now! Ben, reach through and grab him!"
Ben did as John said, stepping up to the portal and reaching his hand into the distortion area. He felt a tug on the other side, a hand holding his, and then Ben had to pull with all his strength to tug that hand through.
Namor, looking as battered and beaten as ever they'd seen him, came through.
"Good to have you back, Namor!" John cried. "How did you make it?"
Namor paused for a moment while he straightened himself up and regained his composure. Even bruised and burnt, he still looked every inch a king now. "After I recovered from Annihilus' attack, I tried to join your battle, but seemed to be invisible to all of you. Yet, since I could see you, it was a simple matter to follow you."
"You must have been right behind us in time," John said. "We couldn't see you, because you were in our past, but you could see our future as soon as you reached it."
"Okay, Reed Jr.," Ben joked. "Next time try using some four-syllable words and you'll really sound like 'em."
"Oh – Reed!" Alicia cried. "I forgot, I have him on the radio from his plane." Alicia went over to one of the consoles, felt for the right switch, and flipped it back on. "Reed, are you still there?"
"I'm still here," Reed's voice came in over the radio. "I heard everything and couldn't be happier that it all worked out! I'm still about a state away from you now, but when I get there, we can discuss what to do about the Negative Zone portal. If I stick around for awhile, maybe I can make some adjustments to make it safer."
"You're supposed ta be retired, Stretch!" Ben called out angrily. "What are ya doin'? Tryin' to come back an' take over again, before I even get a chance ta really be leader?"
"Ben, that's not what he said…" Alicia said with a soothing voice, and reaching out her hand to try and calm Ben down.
"I should'a known he'd come back an' try to hog all the credit! Go back to L.A., Reed! Ya come back here, I'm walkin'!"
"Ben…how can you talk to Reed like that?" John asked, his former concerns about Ben's erratic behavior quickly resurfacing.
"The threat of Annihilus may not be over," Namor added. "We may need Reed's expertise in—"
"Well, nuts ta all of ya!" Ben said angrily. "You're all against me!" With that, Ben turned to the exit and stormed off again, as he had before.
"What is wrong with Ben?" Alicia asked, sounding frustrated.
"Much, I'm afraid," Agatha said. "Be very afraid for him…"