"NO!"
The desperate screams of the Kree crew echoed across their ship's communication channels, their voices filled with the same terror and despair that had once belonged to countless innocent people on the worlds they'd helped destroy. The irony was lost on them in their final moments.
BOOM!
The enhanced energy beam—their own weapon's power amplified by the Power Stone and twisted back at them—engulfed their ship in a column of devastating purple-white light. The military vessel that had seemed so imposing just moments before began to buckle and fracture under forces it had never been designed to withstand.
The crew members didn't even have time for final words or desperate prayers. The terrible energy that Marcus had redirected at them erased every trace of their existence more thoroughly than their victims had ever suffered. At least the people they'd murdered had left behind ruins, bodies, evidence that they had once lived and loved and dreamed. The Kree patrol ship and everyone aboard it simply... stopped existing.
Marcus floated in the vacuum of space, watching the light show with detached interest. He flexed his right hand experimentally, purple energy still crackling around his fingers like tame lightning.
"Interesting," he murmured to himself, his voice somehow carrying clearly through his ship's communication systems despite the absence of any atmosphere to transmit sound. "The power conversion is quite efficient. Much better integration than I expected."
The Power Stone's energy flowed through his Vauban frame like it belonged there, enhancing every system and ability beyond their normal parameters. This wasn't just borrowed power—it was fully integrated enhancement, as if the cosmic artifact had been designed specifically to work with his Warframe technology.
Marcus clenched his fist, watching purple light dance between his mechanical fingers. After more than twenty years of preparing for threats like Thanos, it was satisfying to finally have the tools to face them on equal terms.
"Orr," he called out as he teleported back into his ship, "set course for Hala. Time to visit the capital."
"Acknowledged, Commander," came Orr's response. The AI's voice carried just a hint of what might have been anticipating. "Estimated travel time to the Kree homeworld: six hours at current speed."
As the Astro Cruise turned toward the heart of the Kree Empire, Marcus settled into his pilot's chair and allowed himself a moment of dark amusement. Somewhere behind them, space debris that had once been a proud Kree patrol ship was slowly dispersing across several thousand cubic kilometers of vacuum. Maybe some salvage crews would eventually find the wreckage and try to piece together what had happened.
But probably not. The Kree Empire had bigger problems than one missing patrol.
They were about to have much bigger problems.
Meanwhile, on Hala...
The emergency council chamber of the Kree Empire was filled with the barely controlled chaos that came from having to deal with something completely unprecedented. Blue-skinned Kree officials in their distinctive uniforms sat around a massive circular table, all of them talking at once while a holographic display showed the last known position of their missing patrol ship.
"One of our border patrols has been completely destroyed," announced Commander Yon-Rogg, his scarred face grim as he addressed the assembled council. "According to the automated distress beacon, the attack showed energy signatures consistent with Kree weaponry."
The chamber fell silent. Several council members exchanged meaningful glances, and more than one hand moved instinctively toward concealed weapons.
"Are you suggesting," said Councilor Tar-Var slowly, his voice dangerously quiet, "that we have a traitor among us?"
Yon-Rogg's expression remained carefully neutral. "I'm suggesting that someone with access to Kree technology and knowledge of our patrol routes attacked one of our ships. Draw your own conclusions."
The implication hung in the air like a toxic cloud. The Kree Empire was built on absolute loyalty to the Supreme Intelligence and unwavering commitment to galactic conquest. The idea that any Kree might turn against their own people was almost incomprehensible.
"This is impossible," declared another councilor, a middle-aged woman whose blue skin was marked with the ritual scars of a veteran soldier. "Our lower-caste warriors would die before betraying the Empire. Our officers are selected for absolute loyalty. Who could possibly—"
"Someone in this room," interrupted Tar-Var, his eyes scanning the assembled faces with open suspicion. "Someone with enough clearance to know patrol schedules and enough influence to cover their tracks."
The temperature in the chamber seemed to drop several degrees. These were some of the most powerful individuals in the Kree Empire, military leaders and political administrators who commanded fleets and ruled entire sectors. The accusation that one of them might be a traitor was tantamount to declaring war.
"Perhaps," suggested Yon-Rogg with carefully measured calm, "we should focus on finding the perpetrator rather than accusing each other without evidence."
Several council members nodded agreement, but their eyes remained suspicious. Trust, once broken, was not easily repaired. And in an empire built on conquest and dominance, paranoia was often the only thing that kept you alive.
What none of them realized was that while they were busy suspecting each other of treason, the real threat was already cutting through their territory like a sword through silk, leaving a trail of destroyed ships and terrified survivors in its wake.
Six hours later...
The Astro Cruise dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of the Hala system, and Marcus had to admit he was impressed despite himself. The Kree homeworld was surrounded by the most extensive defensive network he'd ever seen—orbital platforms bristling with weapons, patrol fleets moving in carefully coordinated patterns, sensor grids that could probably detect a grain of sand at a million kilometers.
It was the kind of defense system that could hold off entire armadas of enemy ships. Too bad it had been designed to stop conventional attacks.
"Multiple contacts," Orr reported, his voice carrying a note of what might have been excitement. "Seventeen heavy cruisers, forty-three destroyers, and approximately two hundred smaller vessels in the immediate area. All moving to intercept."
"Let them come," Marcus said, already beginning his transformation into the Vauban frame. "I could use the exercise."
The lead ships of the Kree defense fleet were already opening fire, filling the space around the Astro Cruise with deadly energy beams and explosive projectiles. Marcus stepped outside his ship and raised one hand, purple energy swirling around his fingers like a miniature galaxy.
The incoming weapons fire... stopped. Every beam, every missile, every piece of destructive energy suddenly froze in midair as if time itself had hiccupped.
Marcus closed his fist.
Every single projectile reversed course and shot back toward the ships that had fired them, now enhanced with Power Stone energy and moving at twice their original speed. The result was spectacular—and catastrophic for the Kree fleet.
Ships that had been advancing in perfect formation suddenly found themselves under attack from their own weapons, enhanced beyond anything their shields could handle. Explosions blossomed across the defensive line like deadly flowers, each one marking the death of another Kree warship.
"Still think this is going to be difficult?" Marcus asked the empty vacuum around him.
But the Kree weren't finished. As the first wave of ships died in fire and twisted metal, a second wave was already moving into position—and these ones were different. Larger. More heavily armed.
And they weren't trying to capture him.
Marcus smiled. Finally, something that might actually be interesting.
He gestured with both hands, and reality around him began to... bend. Space folded in on itself, creating geometric patterns that hurt to look at directly. The approaching Kree ships found themselves trapped in a maze of twisted spacetime, their weapons useless and their navigation systems screaming warnings about impossible gravitational fields.
"Force Field Prison," Marcus murmured, watching as the trapped ships began to tear themselves apart under stresses they couldn't possibly understand.
The metal hulls of the Kree vessels started to peel away layer by layer, like someone was unwrapping them with infinite patience. Equipment failed, life support systems collapsed, and the crews found themselves floating helplessly in space as their ships disintegrated around them.
Then Marcus closed the trap.
The twisted space around the ships collapsed into a single point, creating a miniature black hole that devoured everything within a thousand-kilometer radius. Ships, debris, unfortunate crew members—everything vanished into the hungry darkness, leaving only empty space and the distant glow of stars.
Marcus looked around at the suddenly quiet battlefield, then shrugged and headed back to his ship. "Well, that was disappointing. I was hoping they'd at least put up a decent fight."
"Commander," Orr's voice carried a note of what might have been amusement, "we're receiving approximately forty-seven surrender offers from the remaining defense ships."
"Tell them I'm not interested in prisoners," Marcus replied as he settled back into the pilot's chair. "But they're welcome to get out of my way."
The Astro Cruise accelerated toward Hala, passing through the scattered remains of what had once been the most formidable defense fleet in the galaxy. Behind them, the surviving Kree ships watched in stunned silence as a single small vessel headed directly for their homeworld.
None of them tried to stop him.
On Hala...
The planetary defense alarms were shrieking across every city on the planet, a sound that most Kree had never heard in their lifetimes. Hala was the beating heart of their empire, the most protected world in known space. The idea that it could be under attack was so foreign that many citizens simply stood in the streets, staring up at the sky in confusion.
"What the hell happened to our fleet?" demanded Supreme Accuser Kol-Dax, his blue face pale with shock as he watched the tactical displays showing empty space where dozens of ships should have been.
"Unknown, sir," replied a trembling communications officer. "We lost contact with all forward units approximately seven minutes ago. The last transmission was... unclear."
"Unclear how?"
"They were screaming, sir."
Before Kol-Dax could respond, the officer at the sensor station suddenly straightened up, his face going even paler. "Sir! We have a single contact approaching the planet. Small craft, unknown configuration. It's... it's heading directly for the capital."
"One ship?" Kol-Dax couldn't keep the disbelief out of his voice. "One ship destroyed our entire defense fleet?"
"It appears so, sir."
Kol-Dax stared at the tactical display for a long moment, trying to process what he was seeing. Then his military training kicked in and he started barking orders.
"All planetary batteries, target that ship! I want every gun on the planet firing at that thing! Deploy all reserve squadrons! Contact the Supreme Intelligence and—"
He never finished the sentence.
A column of brilliant purple-white light fell from the sky like the wrath of an angry god, striking the center of Kala-Se, Hala's largest city. The beam was only a few hundred meters wide, but the energy contained within it was beyond comprehension.
Everything it touched simply ceased to exist.
Buildings that had stood for centuries vanished in an instant. Streets turned to molten glass. The ground itself cracked and heaved as geological forces that had been stable for millions of years suddenly found themselves dealing with energies that belonged in the hearts of stars.
The shockwave from the impact rolled across the planet like a tsunami made of pure force. Cities thousands of kilometers away felt the ground shake beneath their feet. Tidal forces pulled at the oceans, creating waves that would take days to settle.
And in the exact center of the impact zone, where a thriving metropolis had existed just moments before, there was now a perfectly circular crater filled with bubbling magma that glowed with an eerie purple light.
Kol-Dax stood in his command center, staring at the readings that showed where Kala-Se used to be, and felt something he'd never experienced before in his life:
Terror.
Not fear of death—every Kree warrior was prepared to die for the Empire. This was something deeper and more primal. This was the terror of realizing that everything you thought you knew about power and warfare was obsolete. The terror of understanding that your enemy was so far beyond you that resistance wasn't just futile—it was meaningless.
"Sir," whispered the communications officer, "what are your orders?"
Kol-Dax opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. What orders could he give? What strategy could possibly work against something that could erase entire cities with a single thought?
His answer came in the form of a figure descending from the sky like a falling star. The pale human landed in the center of the still-cooling crater with casual grace, his strange armor gleaming with purple energy that seemed to drink in the light around it.
Marcus looked around at the devastation he'd created—the molten rock, the scattered debris, the distant sounds of panic and sirens—and nodded with satisfaction.
"Much better," he said to himself. "Now I have their attention."
He began walking toward the edge of the crater, his footsteps somehow audible despite the fact that he was walking on molten stone. As he moved, the lava around him began to cool and solidify, the intense heat being drawn away and converted into something else entirely.
Purple energy swirled around his hands as he worked, condensing the stolen thermal energy into three small, wheel-like devices that hummed with barely contained power.
"Tesla Nervos," he murmured, admiring his handiwork. "Enhanced with thermal energy and Power Stone amplification. Let's see how the locals like these."
He released the devices, watching as they rolled away from him with increasing speed, their paths diverging as they headed toward different sections of the city. Each one left a faint purple trail in the air behind it, like streamers of concentrated destruction.
The Tesla devices moved fast, and soon burst out of the cooled lava field. Beyond the molten crater lay what had once been a prosperous city, but the proximity to the devastating attack had turned it into chaos. Strange Kree vehicles were piled up in twisted heaps, and towering buildings had collapsed everywhere. Many Kree people were screaming in terror, their voices echoing with the same helpless fear that had once belonged to the inhabitants of planets they had destroyed.
"Interesting," Marcus observed as he walked through the destruction. "It seems the Empire uses other races as well."
Throughout the ruined cityscape, he could see that the Kree Empire included other species—but these races were clearly slaves without exception. They had all been captured by the Kree from various worlds, or were born into generations of servitude under Kree rule.
"Go," Marcus said quietly, watching his Tesla devices roll toward the crowds. "Clean them up."
Under the enhancement of purple energy, the wheel-like devices moved forward rapidly, crackling arcs of electricity dancing around their surfaces as they approached the gathered crowds.
BZZZZT!
The first Tesla device crashed into a group of Kree soldiers, instantly releasing an extremely violent electrical current that spread rapidly through the crowd. The blue-skinned warriors found their strong bodies twitching uncontrollably as the electricity coursed through them. Their enhanced Kree physiology, normally an advantage, now became a form of torture as they remained conscious through the electrocution, unable even to faint.
BOOM!
When the electrical discharge reached its limit, the Tesla device exploded like a bomb, releasing all the concentrated thermal energy Marcus had drawn from the lava. The device, which contained one-third of the heat from an entire molten crater, unleashed terrifying destructive power that instantly melted everything in the surrounding area. The Kree who had been convulsing from the electrical assault were completely reduced to ash in the violent explosion.
"Damn YOUUUU!"
After witnessing the devastating power of the Tesla device, some of the surviving Kree were driven to desperate action. One of them—apparently gifted with telekinetic abilities—used his powers to hurl collapsed building debris and wrecked vehicle parts at Marcus with deadly intent.
The Kree warrior's eyes burned with fanatical determination. He had already figured out that Marcus was the source of all these nightmarish weapons, and if he could just kill this one human, all the terror would end. More than that, successfully eliminating such a powerful enemy would make him a hero of the Kree Empire, forever honored in their history.
Facing the incoming debris storm, Marcus simply moved his wrist slightly. Purple Power Stone energy instantly formed a protective barrier, effortlessly blocking every piece of flying wreckage.
Marcus wasn't surprised that some Kree possessed supernatural abilities. Even Earth had people who could gain powers through various means—genetic mutation, technological enhancement, cosmic radiation exposure. The Kree Empire was obviously far more advanced than Earth, so naturally there would be individuals with enhanced capabilities.
Moreover, Marcus remembered clearly that among the Kree's experimental subjects over the centuries, they had created an entire race with extraordinary abilities—the Inhumans.