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"That is a very odd thing for you of all beings to say," Harry said, frowning. "I would've assumed that you would not care one way or the other if he lived or died. After all, everyone dies sometime, don't they?"
Lady Death gave the impression she was nodding at that, but the Phoenix Force took up the tale. "It is not so much that you cannot kill him. You are perfectly correct in your assumption that Galactus has a certain amount of weakness to magic that might allow you to battle him on an almost even footing. And I well know not to underestimate your intelligence or preparation. But Galactus, while not on the level of my counterpart or I, is an important piece when it comes to the stability of what you all call the galaxy at large."
"How?!" Ororo was aghast. "He eats planets! And not just any planets, but those that have life on them. Surely planets which can sustain life are not so numerous that such predations are part of some kind of extra-galactic cycle of life!"
"There are actually more life-sustaining planets and moons than you might think, but that is not the point. Galactus needs to eat, but he does not need to eat planets with sentient life. If you can convince him in some fashion, to restrain his Hunger, he will agree to that. But Galactus also serves a purpose." Phoenix Force seemed to sigh, then moved deeper into the room. "Did Mr. Fantastic ever discover anything about his origins?"
"No, how would Reed have discovered anything of the sort?" Harry shrugged his shoulders in mild derision. "It isn't as if Galactus or even the Silver Surfer was free with that kind of information."
The being of living fire tsked, then decided to put it as bluntly as she could. "Galactus came into being when the Big Bang started this universe. And as the last universe died, three of its gods survived, driven mad by the experience, they are of such destructive power that they make Galactus seem weak in comparison. Galactus was empowered by that moment of ultimate destruction, and he, and his ship, the Kiln, contain those gods within."
The Phoenix Force shook her head. "If you kill Galactus, in so doing they will be released, and what Galactus does out of necessity and uncaring ego, they will do out of spite and joy. And they will not have Galactus' weakness to magic. They will be full gods, stronger, more powerful than any that exist in this galaxy today. And there is no chance, Harry, even if you had already ascended or found the route to Titan-hood, that you could face them. Not even with my Avatar by your side."
"You're saying that we have to let Galactus go even if we can get into a position to kill him?" Harry scowled. "I'm not happy about that."
"We do not ask that you be happy about it," the Phoenix Force shot back, moving forward to prod Harry in the chest with a fiery finger, causing him to stumble a bit. But he didn't look away from her eyes, and the Phoenix Force backed away after a moment, though she did not turn her own gaze away. "Yes, Galactus is evil, but Galactus is by far the lesser of two evils. And for the good of the galaxy, he must continue to exist. And, as Mr. Richards will no doubt have told you, he is a being of his word. If you can force him to agree to not consume planets with sentients on it, he will abide by that decision as much as possible."
The Pheonix then smiled, a wide, dangerous smile. "Furthermore, Harry, you and Galactus have an enemy in common. The beings called the Celestials. While it will be several millenia before they make another appearance in this reality, you might wish to have Galactus on your side when that time comes. Not even my opposing number or myself can tell you what those beings may do upon their return, given what they have done in the past to mutant-kind, and their decision to kill off wizard-kind on this dimension's Earth."
Harry grimaced, looking away to the far wall of this strange room. That was a telling comment although the 'millenia' bit was just as worrisome. He all too easily remembered the Celestials, his fight with one of their number in the Negative Zone, and how they had set the Dementors of this dimension onto the wizards to wipe them out as an evolutionary deadend. "That… fine. Yeah, I can see your point on that. Fine."
"WE WILL HAVE YOUR OATH ON IT,"Lady Death announced, staring at one and all.
"You have my oath, Lady," Hela said instantly, going to one knee. "I swear to do my utmost to, upon defeating him, make certain that Galactus lives."
Hela loved Harry, her Seidr Man, and she well understood that Galactus was a vile creature, evil on a scale that even what had happened to her and her fellows Asgardians had not prepared Hela for. But her oath, her connection to Lady Death, was part of her very soul and being. Hela could sooner stop breathing than stop being the go-between for Death and those whose souls passed on to the eternal wheel.
Jean was slower. But after Phoenix Force nodded to tell her how serious this was, Jean too gave her oath.
Ororo was next, while Emma chuckled and shrugged. She was in quite a good mood, frankly. Even knowing her lovers were going to soon do battle with a god-like being, just seeing them perked her spirit up. "I'm not part of this deal or situation at all, though I appreciate being here, I suppose."
"I brought you here as a courtesy," the Phoenix Force laughed. "Your relationship is known to both of us, and I felt that you being here would be a nice gesture. Did It work?"
"Yes, it did," Harry sighed. It was proof that the Phoenix Force, and indeed Death in a certain way, cared about them as individuals even as they told Harry and the others to care about the galaxy as a whole, rather than the enemy directly in front of them. To set aside righting wrongs that Harry and the others understood to look at a picture so large, it was beyond most mortal's understanding. "This whole explanation of why Galactus is necessary is too big a picture for me, but if you cannot trust in the personifications of death and life and rebirth to tell you how it is, then who can you trust? We will not kill Galactus if we get into a position to do so. Although that is probably putting the coach before the horse in a huge way. Still, we'll do what we can."
Both Eternal Powers nodded and then turned to stare at one another. Eventually, Death nodded again and held out her hand as the Phoenix Force did the same. In those hands, there appeared a rune of some kind, ones which Harry instantly somehow knew he had never seen before.
Turning to Harry, the Phoenix Force smiled. "We are not asking you to forgo killing Galactus if you are in a position to do so without payment. These are Runes of power. Runes of power which will help you follow the path of the first Titans. Creating these would've taken you years. With them, your continued attempts to sidestep the issue of ascension will be much easier."
Harry nodded, holding out his hands. The two symbols flew to him, and he stared at each in turn, committing them to memory via Occlumency, dedicating two books in his mind to each in turn.
As he did so, Death turned away. She locked gazes with Hela, then gestured. Hela's sword, which before this had not been at her side, appeared. The blade hovered in midair between them, and Death then clenched her hand. The blade glowed black and green for a second, before disappearing.
Saying nothing, Hela bowed deeply to her patroness, and Death nodded once more before disappearing.
Chuckling quietly, a sound like a happy campfire, the Phoenix Force turned to the others. "Good luck, all of you. You will need it. Fighting Galactus even with an advantage in your magic will not be easy. It will test you, it will push you to your limits and beyond, but, I trust that once more you will all rise to the challenge."
Sensing that this moment was coming to an end, Emma went to each of her lovers, and even her prospective one, giving them a hug and kiss. "Good luck. I'll see you all when you get back."
The next instant, Harry's eyes blinked open, staring up at the ceiling in his room, as he wondered if that had just happened or was some weird dream. Then he looked inside his mind, into the tower that was his memory, and found the two books containing the runes that Lady Death and the Phoenix Force had given them. Staring at them, he smiled thinly, whispering into the dark of the room as Jean started to stir next to him. "Well, I like their optimism, at least."
He turned to jean, leaning down to give a her a kiss before slowly pulling away, getting to his feet. "Come on love, get up. We need to go talk to Stephen, and to read. If we can't kill Galactus, then we're going to have to start making plans for talking to him after the battle."
OOOOOOO
Morg soared through space, looking for the next planet that he would feed to his master, for the next planet where he would feel the ecstasy of battle to the death and the despair of his victims. The Shi'ar were a good source of energy, Morg felt, since they regularly populated planets well above what his own people would ever have considered acceptable. But then again, my people were not conquerors but conquered. The weaklings! And they expected me to care who was in charge?
Morg followed the strong because in so doing, Morg was always allowed to have his fun. There was always a need for an executioner, for someone who enjoyed watching blood flow. The more blood, the better. Power Cosmic or executioner's axe and simple physical strength, his fun never changed.
Suddenly, Morg paused, halting in deep space for a moment as he twisted his head to one side. Morg didn't understand how it worked, but whatever Galactus had done to him had given Morg extra senses which he could use to discover planets that teemed with biological and tectonic energies. It was planets that held both in abundance Galactus wanted to feast on. All planets had some level of tectonic energy, that was the easy part. Leading Galactus to planets teeming with life was the hard part. Lifeforce was the necessary garnish, as it were, to the main meal of the tectonic energies. That need led directly to Morg's fun since life normally meant sentients who he could enjoy slaughtering while waiting for his master to feed.
And just now, his extra-senses had just found a planet that shouted out the presence of a densely populated, highly industrialized planet, one which even had more tectonic energy than most too. Yes, there. It might not be in a direct path in the direction I was following, but what matters that? It reeks of life, and so both my master and my own needs will be met. I will feel their despair, their pain, soon, yes.
OOOOOOO
Deathbird raced onto the flag bridge and barked out, "Shut that klaxon off!" With the suddenness of a guillotine, the alarm klaxon which had roused her and her primary flag crew from sleep cut off instantly, although it did continue throughout the rest of the ship and on every other ship of the fleet as men and women were called to battle stations. "If that was caused by anything but Morg's arrival, I will personally flay you alive, Sensors," she snarled. And it was not an idle threat, as her whip-claws were always at her side.
Gulping, the man pointed at his screen, enlarging the image and quickly sending it to the main screen. "Morg has been spotted by the sensor platforms we scattered across the outer system and is coming in on a heading from below the ecliptic at a 270° angle from sunward."
Those sensor platforms were a necessity. Normally a ship's hyperspace footprint was easy to spot, and once spotted, the ship could be locked onto by gravitic sensors. But not only was Morg just a little over Shi'ar-size, but he also didn't seem to travel between star systems via hyperspace.
"Following your orders, general quarters has already been called across the fleet, Lady Admiral," her tactical officer added, saluting from where he had stood up from his station. "The armada is moving into combat formation. I've also taken the liberty to call the Imperial Guard elements that will be fighting with us in space."
"Excellent. Once the Guardsmen join the destroyer divisions, the fleet is to move to engage, Plan Alpha. We will keep the range open and snipe at him from a distance with our bombardment ships. The destroyers will close and engage at short-range with the Imperial Guard."
At that point, everyone knew what to do. Deathbird was simply officially giving them the orders they were already following. With that done, she leaned back in her chair, watching as the fleet moved forward, splitting into two rows almost, with the capital ships in the back row, and the destroyers leaping forward, accompanied by the Imperial Guard units led by Starbolt.
Ahead of them, Morg slowed, seeing the destroyers' lights and the Imperial Guard coming towards him through space. The destroyers started to open fire, accompanied by the larger weapons of the bombardment ships. These were massive death rays larger and longer-ranged than anything else in the Shi'ar Empire's arsenal. Indeed, they even had a greater effective range than the Mauler cannons that were the primary weapons of the Kree and Skrull super-dreadnoughts.
Although they were also much larger. The bombardment ships were the size of Kree dreadnoughts and were the largest ships in the Imperial Navy, yet they were built around a single weapon system, with no secondary weapons and light armor for all of their size.
When the capital ships' energy beams flashed towards him, Morg dodged most of them, laughing all the while as he shouted out, "Futile, futile!" although none could hear him. Then one of the blue-purple beams slammed into Morg, engulfing him from head to toe and blasting him backward. He howled in pain, the strike hurting more than anything else the Shi'ar had been able to do to him. Yet as the beam cut off he raised his sword, which began to glimmer black and blood-red, and he slashed it forward.
The bombardment ships were too far away for the blade's energy to reach, but the destroyers were fair game. One of them was sliced in half, as another Imperial Guardsmen fell, an Onslaught who was unable to dodge fast enough to avoid the Power Cosmic burst of energy. A Neutron, this one a woman, took another blast from the Power Cosmic, ducking in front of one of the other long-range heavy hitters, taking the blow and returning it, causing Morg to snarl in fury and renewed pain.
He closed fast, using the Power Cosmic to push his speed through space further than he had before. The destroyers backed away quickly, but while they could operate in space, the Imperial Guardsmen were not all that quick in terms of sprinting speed. He got in among them, and only a few survived the energy attacks he launched from sword, fist, and at one point foot to retreat.
Snarling in mixed delight and annoyance at the slaughter occurring, Deathbird waited, then as one of her tactical officer shouted 'recharge complete' belted out, "Fire! And I had better see a higher strike-on-target percentage this time, or heads will roll."
"Firing!" came the reply, as every bombardment ship opened up again. That was another problem with the death rays. They were extremely slow to cycle, being so energy-dependent and producing so much heat. Efforts at miniaturization and solving these problems had failed hitherto, but there was no doubt of the potency of the weapon.
This time six beams hit Morg one after another, and he screamed in pain, but as a third was about to impact him, Morg got his sword up in front of him in a defensive position. The massive sword took the blast of energy, which eddied around the Executioner to either side of him.
Then the destroyers were there again, swooping in to fire at him before moving back just as quickly. That time he couldn't even tag one of them, and Morg roared aloud as he charged forwards, ignoring the destroyers now and even the remaining Imperial Guard to try to close with the distant ships. They weren't a real threat to his life, judging by what Deathbird could tell from the swooping video drones, but Morg evidently wasn't willing to just let the Shi'ar hammer at him without responding.
Deathbird waited until he closed the range about halfway. In that time, he had taken another two blasts from the death rays of her fleet, showing he was getting better at being able to dodge them, even as the destroyers and Imperial Guard started to encircle his position. Stars take him, that creature is learning too fast. Still, we've planned for this. "Full reverse, bring us about. Open up the range again," she ordered calmly.
With the battle engaged, Deathbird had to project an air of calm control, not let her own bloodlust take her. That wasn't her part in this battle. And even with the predator blood of her ancestors pounding through her veins, Deathbird knew that there were bigger predators out there than she.
Under her calm control, the disparate portions of her fleet moved back through the system. The bombardment ships halted in place three times more, hammering out beams of ravening power, enough energy to slaughter a Kree or Skrull Battle Fleet.
But Morg began to show growing immunity to the death rays. His skin started to turn redder and redder, and an aura of white started to make him glow in the video cameras, so much so that it started to hurt the eyes. At the same time, the destroyers of her fleet were paying a high cost. Of course, those ships were made to be sacrificed like this, and Deathbird wasn't going to shed any tears for such. But their losses in their quick hit and run assaults meant that Morg could more easily ignore them and the Imperial Guard accompanying them. Two more, both from the fiery B'tor people, died. This left only the Royal Guard's Neutron, Starbolt, a female Re'An, and one strange, octopus-like alien from the Subguardians whose species Deathbird had never had to deal with before.
As she watched, Morg suddenly halted in space. He took another blast from the death rays of her fleet, but cut them apart with the sword he had taken from the Vault of Shame. The blade too seemed to be glowing further a harsh red and black, somehow standing out still further against the vastness of space as Morg raised it over his shoulder in one hand, the point forward like it was a spear he was about to hurl.
Deathbird had a split second to hope that would be the case when Morg's mouth opened in a soundless roar as he thrust the blade forward. From the tip of the massive blade came a concentrated blast of black and red energy, so thin it looked less than a hands-width wide. It crossed the distance between Deathbird's capital ships and Morg stabbing straight through one of her bombardment ships, coring it from one end to another.
The ship quickly exploded, damaging one of its nearby ship sister ships, Deathbird her mask of calm gone, shrieked, "Open the range! Open the range! Spread out the fleet."
Deathbird's fleet tried, but Morg's new technique had one more trick: it homed in on the target. Deathbird watched as it curved through space to follow a wildly evading bombardment ship, smashing into it's and out the other, the armor and shielding doing nothing to stop the beam of ravening energy.
The capital ships began to die, and Deathbird grimly pulled back her flagship. She had no desire to die here, that was what the fleet was for. At one point, she had to order one of the ships to sacrifice itself, holding position while her flagship and the rest of the fleet retreated quickly. And as that ship died, it was with a start that Deathbird realized that she had lost around two-thirds of the two-hundred-and-forty-three ships that she had started this battle.
She had barely eighteen destroyers left, several of them retreating out of the battlefield with significant damage, having somehow been able to barely dodge an attack from the Power Cosmic blasts that Morg was now tossing out only occasionally, concentrating most of his energy on killing her capital ships. The others were still fighting, but Deathbird sensed that their crews were close to panicking. It was one thing to fight an enemy that was bigger and tougher than you were. That was what destroyers were for. It was quite another to face an enemy that basically could ignore everything you tried to do to it and then would attack you so haphazardly yet so destructively at the same time, treating you like bugs it could crush at its leisure.
Meanwhile, her capital ships were taking a heavy pounding. Morg's new technique meant that the dreadnaught-sized bombardment ships just no longer had a monopoly on long-range, and nothing they had could stop his attacks. Out of eighty-one capital ships, she now had barely sixty remaining, and as Deathbird watched, another died for no effect.
Every time they had fallen back, the fleet had retreated towards the planet. Now, as Morg moved forward almost unimpeded, the first of her bombardment ships entered orbit, turning at bay and firing once again towards Morg. But once again, Morg used the sword of Rook'shir to defend himself before launching his own long-range attack.
Four more ships died, and then Deathbird decided they'd done their part. "All ships, pull back, repeat, pull back. We're done here."
At that order, the orbital platforms were left to their own devices as ships began to retreat all around the planet's orbit, putting the orbital platforms and planet itself between them and Morg.
Morg laughed as he settled into orbit, idly cutting two of the orbital platforms in two before blasting another with the Power Cosmic as he slowly descended towards the planet. It was an odd kind of color, he decided, red and brown, with only a bit of blue here and there, rather than the normal predominantly green color of most living planets. But he could see the cities, he could see people running, he saw more tanks and other military units moving this way and that on the ground below, and planetary defense shuttles coming towards him. They died just as easily as their fellows did as he continued his descent, his teeth bared in an almost exultant smile.
OOOOOOO
The Custodes Mundi waited. They waited while the battle in space went on with none of them or the majority of the Imperial Guard on hand taking part. They waited as the battle in space inevitably turned against the defenders. And they waited as Morg had his fun in the atmosphere, slaughtering every shuttle that attacked him while destroying many of the orbital stations, using the time to get into position, their movements hidden under the illusion that covered the planet from one pole to another. Some were still out of position, though, thanks to a last-minute change of direction, Morg moving to land directly inside an illusionary city rather than the army base he had previously been aiming for on its outskirts.
Still, when Morg touched down, those who could began their own part of the ambush.
"Hela, you're up," Harry intoned from where he was sitting on top of a vast runic array thousands of miles from the action. Nearby, Stephen and Ororo sat on their own portions of the array. The illusion was still in place, fooling Morg despite Morg now standing on the planet's surface. Illusionary citizens ran and cried or died under his attacks, and illusionary towers toppled as Morg idly destroyed them. That was why the three of them were stuck there: they had to keep up the illusion, as well as make changes to it to fool Morg's senses, enough so that he never realized what was going on.
Not even Harry or Stephen, with their vast magical powers, could do such a thing and attack at the same time. Morg might be a fool and have never run into magic before, but his senses were near-godly thanks to the Power Cosmic within him. The illusion had to keep fooling him and Galactus both until the World-Eater was almost finished setting up his energy siphon.
At the same time, Jean was standing nearby, her arms crossed as she glared into the distance, using her own powers of telepathy to help fool Morg's very limited telepathic senses. As they had assumed, Morg, like the Silver Surfer, had been gifted with an empathic ability, but Morg used it in a very different way from the Silver Surfer, who had been rather humane for all his alien nature. Morg was a psychopath to make the most horrific serial killer go 'oh I say!' But for all his power in the physical realm, Morg's empathic ability was easy enough to fool, even if Jean couldn't get through his mental defenses. It was an odd dichotomy, but Jean wasn't going to question it right now.
As Morg began to assault the regular Army units who were part of the trap, Hela moved into position arrived above them. The illusion faded around her as the Imperial Guard did likewise from all around Morg. "For Honor and Victory!" she howled, leaping down towards Morg, her blade in hand as she slashed down with a magical cutting spell of her own creation, the blast of magic dark purple and even darker green.
Morg twisted away from an attack from one of the Re'An who had just appeared out of nowhere to his senses. But despite that surprise, he somehow felt this new attack in time to see it coming towards him. His eyes widening, Morg instantly decided he did not want to feel what it would do to him. He dodged, then found another Imperial Guardsmen rushing towards them. This one seems to have rocklike skin, underneath a kind of reddish armor with a large blue Four painted on the chest plate.
The Thing howled out his own warcry as he charged forward, Thundra on his heels. "It's Clobberin' Time!"
His blow slammed into Morg's chest but barely staggered the creature. Ben dodged his return blow before grabbing Morg's outstretched arm, twisting around, and heaving him over his shoulder in a perfect shoulder throw to slam spine first into the ground just as Thundra arrived, twirling her massive flail down in his face. Ben knew that flail had been magically enhanced by several gravity runes to hit like a falling mountain too.
Morg took the blow in the chest, howling in rage and fury as he broke Ben's grip. "Bringing new members to the party will avail you nothing!"
Then Warpath and the others piled in. Warpath's massive axes slammed into Morg's hastily raised sword, shattering, but Warpath continued on, dropping the haft of his axes to grab Morg by the throat with both hands, holding him off the ground for a second to be pummeled by several others, while Hela dove down towards him.
But Morg twisted his body violently, breaking Warpath's grip on his neck, kicking out hard to cause the powerful mutant to stumble as he raised his hand, blasting up at Hela with the Power Cosmic. Something about the woman told him that she was the most dangerous one here. The blade in her hand screamed at something within him, something coming from his own blade, whose energies began to flow into his body more than ever before.
As Hela dodged, Morg hacked with his blade to one side. Warpath took the hit with a grunt, Morg's blade halted by the Juggernaut armor despite the blade being imbued by the corrupted Phoenix Force fragment, yet the impetus of the blow sent him flying backward. He righted himself quickly, landing on his feet and charging forward again.
A Titan from the Imperial Guard brought down his joined hands on Morg, but Morg thrust up his hand once more, catching the larger man's hands easily. A blast of Power Cosmic seared the larger man's hands into nothing, then Morg launched himself into the air, kicking off Titan's face, turning his head into paste as he used the impetus of that movement to bring Rook'shir's blade around at Hela.
Hela dodged, using a spell to lash at Morg's leg as she passed. The spell, her own version of Sectumsempra, sliced into Morg's leg and bypassed his durability somewhat, opening up numerous cuts and slashes there.
"YOU BITCH!" Morg screamed in anger, and she couldn't dodge his next attack of Power Cosmic, which slammed into her, hurling her through one of the so-called buildings. Hela didn't actually hit anything and righted herself in midair. But to Morg, it looked as if the woman had crashed into the building and had been buried by the rubble.
So he was very surprised when he cut a Smasher-suit wearing Imperial Guardsmen in half, only to see Hela came charging out of that rubble, her sword lashing out towards his head.
This time Morg was forced to block Hela's thinner broadsword with his own buster-sized sword. The power of death and corrupted life energies met in a blast of power that hurled both of them away, cracking the ground for several miles in every direction, hurling everyone nearby off their feet.
Being at the edge of this area, Warpath blinked, then shook his head and leaped forward, landing on top of Morg before he could get back to his feet. Two hard blows shattered Morg's nose, flattening it and smashing a few teeth out of the alien's mouth. But then Morg twisted, slamming Warpath into the ground and getting to his feet as two more Smashers crashed into him from either side
One of them lost his head, Morg's hand crushing his skull as the other held his arm back for just an instant, allowing the Thing to land on his back, hammering several blows into the back of Morg's skull. But despite the Juggernaut armor enhancing his already incredible durability, Ben just didn't have enough strength to actually hurt Morg. Warpath did, on the other hand, and a rising uppercut broke a rib, causing him to howl in agony. 'You will all die!"
At that point, the rest of the group assigned to deal with the Herald finally arrived, blasting into them from every angle. White Noise enveloped the Herald in his power, causing Morg to stumble, staring around him as he lost the ability to hear anything but a high-pitched screeching sound that slowly started to drill into his brain. Havok and the few surviving long-range hitters from the Imperial Guard started to take him under fire from every angle. Their attacks really didn't do much, but they still served to disorient and cause Morg to stumble occasionally.
At the same time, Nightside landed nearby, where she was immediately enveloped in the illusion of a collapsed building, the false image reaching out to her almost like a living thing. She could vaguely see the shape of it like a haze all around her, even as she targeted Morg with her power. Dark Force rose all around Morg's feet as he fought with Warpath, another Titan, and several more Imperial Guardsmen, having hurled Ben away. Ben was already on his feet and coming back in with Thundra on his heels, his girlfriend being a little slower to get up from the clash between Rook'shir's sword and Hela's.
Morg screamed aloud as the energy enveloped him, blinding him utterly. "What is this!"
Even as he said that Morg's Power Cosmic started to seep out of his skin, as it had earlier in the space battles. While it did nothing to help Morg regain his sight, the aura further enhanced his defenses. He barely flinched at Hela's magical strike then lashed out with a wild blow that caught Warpath in the shoulder.
Warpath stumbled into one of the Imperial Guard, and both of them were blasted off their feet by another wild blast of Power Cosmic, while Hela was forced to duck under a stream of red and black energy from the sword. Nightside squeaked in shock as the attack continued on towards her, but Ben thrust himself in front of her, the illusion no detriment to the defenders, each of whom had been read into the wards. He grunted as the attack slammed into him, pushing him backward and into Nightside, but at least the woman was still alive. "You alright, girl?"
"Ye, yes, thanks," Nightside replied, shuddering even as she kept up her attack. "Ohhh boy, I am so out of my weight class here!"
"Heh, most of us are, girl. And this ain't even the main fight yet!" Ben grumbled, charging forward.
"Fall most foul of men!" Thundra closed, and her flail again slammed into Morg's side.
Morg barely twitched, and as it rebounded, Morg grabbed at the chain, his hand already moving to the site of the hit with preternatural speed. Before Thundra could do anything, she found herself pulled off her feet. His sword crashed down into her shoulder, trying to cut her in half, and Thundra's shoulder broke under the blow even as the armor meant that the edge of the sword couldn't cut her.
She was thrust to her knees with a cry of pain, and Morg kicked out hard, catching her right in the face. Again, the armor, this time her helmet, held, but if Thundra hadn't thrust herself desperately backward, the blow might still have broken her neck. Yet her last-second dodge meant that instead of dying instantly, the emergency runes that all of the Custodes had on them had time to teleport her back to the ship.
Sensing this, Ororo instantly halted her own work on the illusions, some of them fading out as she raced into the ship. They had prepared for moments like this, and Ororo's healing spells, unlike most of the spells that she had learned from Gaia, could be used away from Earth.
Roaring in fury at the possible crippling of his girlfriend, Ben slammed into Morg, then flipped himself upwards, using his acrobatics to lash out with a kick that caught Morg in the face. The blow re-shattered his nose and sent him sprawling backward, but Ben still couldn't really hurt Morg, and soon he was flung away again, although the Herald, in turn, couldn't really harm Ben.
Nor could he put Warpath down for the count, which was shown dramatically as Warpath rumbled into him, crashing bodily into him while Havoc halted his own attack, shouting at the other long-range attackers to do the same. The Apache warrior bore Morg to the earth where the sword was pressed down with one hand, as Warpath pummeled Morg's face with his other fist before he was flung off the man, as dozens of the Imperial Guard and Hela took him from under fire from afar, joining their efforts to Havok and the others.
Hela's spellwork slowly began to tell once more through Morg's Power Cosmic aura, and Morg's attacks began to become even wilder, Nightside reclaiming him with her power at the same time. But then, the sword started to glow, as did his wounds, and they started to heal as everyone else watched in horror.
The next instant Morg laughed as he twisted to look up at Banshee, who had been about to divebomb down onto him, hoping to use the close-range impact of his sound-based weaponry to mess with Morg's equilibrium and ability to think. But before he could dodge, a blast from the sword lashed out at him, only his own reaction time saving him from being cut in half.
Even so, the Irish hero screamed in agony as his arm was bifurcated before disappearing as Thundra had. Like Havok and Hela's suits, Banshee's used Balthaak's armor as a template rather than the Juggernaut's. Despite having almost as much magical reinforcement, the design was built for speed over durability, and it cost him now.
Another blast from Morg's hand toward the distant attackers scattered them as Alex too fell backward. But he at least survived, the Power Cosmic searing one of his feet into ash before he too was teleported away. One of the Starbolts, a Manta, and White Noise were less fortunate.
"We must get the blade away from him!" Hela shouted, even as she launched further magical attacks towards Morg, wary of coming close to the man.
Realizing her power was no longer having much effect, Nightside gritted her teeth, shouting out, "Where the hell are the rest of the Custodes!? You lot talked a big game, but we are getting massacred here!"
OOOOOOO
The answer would not have brought her any comfort, because around the time that Havok and the other long-range attackers had gotten involved, Morg's call had gone out. And as she asked that question, Galactus arrived.
The circular silver ship appeared where Morg had initially sent out the call. This was about a hundred miles from where the battle had moved by the time Galactus arrived. Its side opened, and Galactus appeared in the opening, descending to the ground on hard-light steps which disappeared as he stepped past them. Alighting on the ground, the giant stood fifteen stories tall. Clad in light purple and dark blue armor, he appeared to be a giant out of mythology, his head slightly larger on his shoulders than a man's, wearing an ornate helmet. His eyes were square-shaped, with square pupils, and his thin mouth was set into a permanently neutral expression.
That changed as his feet touched the surface of the planet, his mouth twisting into a frown as he stared all around him. Something was off about this planet. Something that whispered at his senses but not quite enough to get through. All around him were the usual sights, people running, screaming, trying to fight etc. Their buildings, too, were solid when he reached out to touch it. And he could feel the life force all around him, the tectonic energy humming beneath his feet. A veritable feast to his senses.
Without a word, Galactus began to create his energy siphon, ignoring his Herald not being there. He ignored the fact that the Shi'ar's fleet had returned, and the few remaining orbitals had begun to fire down at him. Nothing the Shi'ar possessed had enough power to matter to him. All that mattered was creating the siphon and feasting once more.
OOOOOOO
From where he was still sitting in the lotus position at the center of massive series of runic arrays keeping the illusions up, Harry grinned victoriously. "The illusions are working! We're fooling Galactus! Magma, are you ready?
Nearby, Magma had waited in one of the Shi'ar shuttles, and now she slapped the bird person on the shoulder, shouting, "Now! Get me near Galactus! The real show's about to start!"
"Ororo?" Harry whispered into his mike.
"Thundra, Alex, and Banshee are stable, but out of it," she reported crisply, stepping out of the ship. "I think only Alex is in any shape to rejoin the fight. He only lost a foot. I had to regrow Banshee's whole arm and heal Thundra's spine."
"Good work, love. Alex, if you can hear me, hold off for now. Ororo, you're free to engage Morg. Jean, move to attack Galactus on my cue," Harry ordered. He looked over at Hedwig. The bird was there, and for some reason, had taken a kind of proprietary attitude towards Nightside. She precked at Harry and disappeared, heading for the young alien woman.
A second later, the two women were in the air, heading after Magma's shuttle, moving slowly to hide their advance under the illusion for as long as possible.
By the time Magma was near enough to see the giant standing like an immovable statue within the haze of the illusionary city, another Imperial Guardsmen had gone down to Morg, and he had trampled what he thought was an entire Imperial tank regiment, while Ben, Warpath, and Hela were now trying desperately to hold him back. Nightside had been pulled out of the fight by Hedwig and was now miles away, hyperventilating. The Imperial Guard put its members through intense training at every level, but this kind of fight was enough to break the morale of anyone.
Or practically anyone.
"We need to get that sword away from them!" Hela shouted, wrathfully sending spell after attack spell towards Morg, her desire to kill the bastard undaunted by their losses thus far. Although she was a goddess of monstrous strength within her sphere, this planet was so far beyond that sphere it wasn't even funny. This had greatly weakened her magical powers, if not her physical abilities, and she was becoming more and more furious at how much the Power Cosmic and the Phoenix Force fragment negated her long-range powers. Despite what had happened earlier when their swords clashed, she was close to deciding her best option was to close with Morg instead of keeping her distance.
"I'm open to suggestions!" Neutron shouted back. He had joined the battle along with Starbolt and a woman of his own species, but the battle on the ground was not going the way he had hoped it would. Nevertheless, he had brought a steadying influence to the remaining Imperial Guard, halting many who had been retreating entirely from the battle.
From above them, Hela heard a sonic boom and turning her gaze upward, saw Ororo appear in midair above them. "Suggestion it is not, but what are your thoughts on reinforcements?"
As Hela spoke, lightning blasts began to rain down all around Morg. They didn't do much damage, but Ororo also sent down attack spells that she had learned from Harry, which did hurt Morg. Once more wounds began to open up all across Morg's body as Ororo, more powerful in magical terms here away from Earth than Hela, bypassed Morg's Power Cosmic. The Phoenix Force within him instantly began to work as well, but he was so distracted by Ororo's arrival that he missed Ben's charge forward until the Thing slammed into his back.
As Morg stumbled, Ben grabbed the sword, shouting in agony as the weapon's energy flashed up through the blade and into his body. But Ben was easily the most durable and most stubborn member of the Custodes, and he continued to grapple with Morg for Rook'shir's blade regardless of the pain. "You ain't beating me, you freaking hunk of metal!"
At the same time, Ororo slammed a massive cutting spell into Morg's wrist. It cut the tendons of his hand even if it didn't sever the entire hand as she had intended, and his grip spasmed just as Hela's sword crashed into the Phoenix Force blade, the Asgardian having charged forward as well. The blade went flying out of his hands, and Morg screamed in fury and pain, grabbing at Ben and hauling him into a blow with Power Cosmic behind it, which sent Ben flying.
He turned and nearly caught Hela in the next second. But then he reeled away from her, beginning to scream in agony as a haze of green appeared around his wrist and several of his other wounds. "What is this madness!?"
Ororo's power over the weather did not just entail big, flashy stuff. She could also condense and change the properties of air to various degrees. She had done this just now, creating acid in places and enough cold to freeze a man solid in others. While these attacks would not have gotten Morg if he had full access to the Power Cosmic gifted to him by Galactus, the shard of corrupted Phoenix Force energy within the sword had pushed into his body, pushing the Power Cosmic down in a way, being better able to deal with Hela's magical attacks.
Even so, Morg pushed through his pain to batter Hela aside even as her blade skittered across his side, opening up another wound as the Power Cosmic rose again within him, his skin once more turning a dark red. A punch caught Hela in the side of the head, sending her to one side, but instead of trying to finish Hela off, he charged after the blade, taking still more wounds from Ororo. At the same time, Neutron, Starbolt, and the other Imperial Guard began to hammer at him from range.
Morg ignored them all, racing through their attacks toward the sword. Despite a transfigured steel wall appearing before him, the Herald was about to reach the blade when Mr. Fantastic grabbed it first.
Reed understood that he had no place in a direct confrontation like this. He had been loitering around the edges of the fight up until this point, and having seen what occurred to his friend, he did not directly grab the blade. Rather, he grabbed up two pieces of rock and used them to grab at the blade, wrapping them and the blade's hilt in his hand before hurling it towards Hela over Morg's head. "Hela catch!"
Hela pushed herself upright using her sword as a crutch, the earlier blow having rattled her head even more than a similar blow from Gladiator. She saw the blade coming towards her and thrust herself upright, bringing her sword around in a cross-ways cut. She timed it precisely, her blade slamming into the side of Rook'shir's blade. Once again, Yin and Yang crashed into one another, the corrupted Life energy of the blade and the energy of Hela's sword sanctified by Death herself.
For a moment, everything went still as there was a thunderous report from the two blades meeting. Energies flicked out in a kaleidoscope of colors on one side, and shades of black from the other in midair, the entire planet rumbling as sound returned.
And then both blades shattered like glass, and Hela was hurled off her feet with a cry of pure agony. "GAAAHHHHHHH!" Her arms were seared and sliced to the bone in places all the way up to her shoulders from the reverberating forces.
Like Thundra, however, Hela had an emergency portkey array worked into her clothing, and she disappeared instantly back into the ship. There Thundra and Banshee, who had not returned to the battlefield, instantly began to use the medical equipment to try and staunch the bleeding.
Morg paused, staring aghast at where his blade had been. Now he turned, blasting at where Reed had been a moment ago. "Damn you, damn you all, I will kill you, I will feed your homeworlds to my master I will…"
"Shut up!" Ororo growled, teleporting from where she had been hovering over the battlefield to land directly in front of Morg, raising a hand towards his chest. A blast of lightning the size of her palm arced out with enough electrical energy to power a planet enhanced further by Ororo's magical strength, the bolt surrounded further in a corona of white and blue. Morg shouted in fury and pain as the attack overcame his Power Cosmic-given durability. "Fall, fall!"
Yet, even so, Ororo alone could not quite put Morg down. As her attack continued, so too did the Power Cosmic keep Morg alive. But while the Imperial Guard had been forced to retreat a moment ago, Ororo was still not alone.
Having been buried under a bit of mountain earlier, Warpath had returned to the fight just in time to see the two blades destroying one another, and Hela disappeared back to the ship. Now he grabbed up the hilt of Hela's sword and raced towards Morg.
He crashed into the Herald from the side, carrying him to the ground where the man, pushed to his limits by Ororo's attack a moment ago, began to output Power Cosmic in waves all around him. His aura was now so powerful that even the Juggernaut armor began to sizzle almost as if it was being burned in the Fiendfyre furnace Harry had used to create his own version.
But the magical armor devised by an Elder God was still proof against the Power Cosmic to a degree that nothing else could have been. Ignoring the heat rising all around him, Warpath pressed down at the back of its head, slammed the broken portion of Hela's blade down into Morg's spine right where neck met back.
Even this would not have killed Morg. The Power Cosmic was just too strong. But the blade did damage bits of the spinal column top, causing him to lose control of his legs and collapse underneath Warpath.
Warpath stood over the body, then began to hammer down his foot into the hilt, trying to drive the blade deeper even as his armor continued to bubble and hiss. Morg was still able to control his upper body, however. He twisted around, and a desperate concentrated blast of the Power Cosmic tossed Warpath aside as Morg shrieked out "Master!" at the top of his lungs.
There was no immediate reply, and Ororo grimly moved forward, her hands moving as she began to create another attack spell in the air above the crippled Herald while Ben also returned to the fight, moving to grab at one of Morg's flailing hand.
OOOOOOO
Elsewhere on the planet, Galactus frowned as he sensed his Herald becoming wounded. The Shi'ar have discovered a means to hurt my Herald, even as he wields the blade he found with the corrupted Phoenix Force fragments? He then felt the destruction of the blade and frowned. Hmm, it would seem as if the Eternal Siblings were displeased with my Herald having access to the Rejuvenating One's power. If Death herself reached out and blessed a weapon to combat it, that could be an annoying precedent. Still, it is to be hoped it is an isolated incident.
He then sensed his Herald was slowly dying. That was enough to pull him from his work on the siphon, and he twisted around, raising a hand and pointing a finger in the direction of the battle around Morg. "Only I have the right to remove my Heralds from this plane of existence."
But before he could do anything, Jean crashed into Galactus. She appeared seemingly out of nowhere, the aura of the Phoenix around her as she lashed out with both hands, a blast of telekinetic power sending Galactus flying.
As he tumbled through the air, a look of astonishment appeared on his giant face as Galactus realized he wasn't just facing someone who was wielding a blade from Death, but an avatar of the Phoenix Force. Getting his feet under him, Galactus skidded through several buildings, feeling them shatter all around him as he stared up at the woman, recognizing her as a human despite the aura of the Phoenix that appeared all around her.
She shrieked, reaching forward once more with telekinetic power that could have shattered planets. The blow landed, and Galactus grunted but smashed it aside as he intoned, "Why do you interfere with me, Phoenix? Do you not know that my hunger, my place in the galaxy is necessary?"
"Necessary maybe, eating planets with sentients on them, no!" Jean retorted as she kept up her attack. She had to keep the pressure on him for now, just enough for Morg to die, then she could let herself be overcome for a bit before the next trap went into effect.
"That is rather hypocrticial of you, isn't it?" Galactus mocked as he batted aside another attack with difficulty, stumbling backward even as the blast of power was sent skittering through the city, shattering it and the ground beneath it like an eight-point-zero earthquake had just hit it. "The Phoenix Force, complaining to me about the lives I've taken?"
He then reached out via his own considerable telepathy, trying to blast an image into the avatar's mind of what the Phoenix Force acted like occasionally: the great destroyer who wiped out whole galaxies so that rebirth could occur. "There is no difference between you and me!"
The image faltered on Jean's defenses, a wall of odd tentacles empowered further by a directed telepathic power that turned Jean's mind into an unbreakable fortress. Rarely had Galactus ever seen a telepath of such power, and to have one also being the avatar Phoenix Force was very concerning. This was proven as Galactus grunted again as another blow sent him stumbling. He returned with a blast that took Jean out of the sky, but by that point, Galactus's connection to his Herald had disappeared, indicating his death.
Warpath and Ben had not been able to finish off Morg. The man's aura of Power Cosmic had almost fused Warpath's Juggernaut armor to his legs and lower body, the pain nearly causing the Apache warrior to blackout before the emergency teleport array had activated. But between him, Ben and Neutron, they had given Ororo enough time to create a series of spells that crashed straight into Morg's eyes, piercing deep into his brain and finally executing the Executioner.