Chapter 85: The God of Mischief and The Raven
In the vast void where stars were distant memories, only cold and darkness ruled. No wind disturbed this realm, no sound carried across the vacuum's silence.
A spatial distortion tore through the calm like a wound in reality. Crackling energies danced at the rift's edges before a battered spacecraft tumbled from hyperspace into real space.
The vessel's drive systems had failed. The engines sat silent and cold. Without power, it could only drift through the void, carried by whatever momentum remained.
[FUEL DEPLETED]
The crimson warning blazed across the main control screen, casting red shadows across the cramped cockpit.
Tony Stark slumped in the pilot's chair, staring at the display like a man watching his death sentence. They flew what remained of the Guardians of the Galaxy's ship.
The great battle had mauled the vessel. Many systems lay beyond repair, held together by desperate fixes and hope. After the emergency repairs, it could barely manage flight, let alone interstellar travel.
Their plan had been simple: set course for home and hope to encounter some civilisation or trading post along the way. Somewhere, they could make proper repairs and refuel. The galaxy was vast, but surely not so empty that they would find nothing.
How wrong they had been.
Stark heard movement behind him and turned to find Nebula, Horus, and Sanguinius standing in the cramped space. He hadn't heard them approach.
"How did we drop out of hyperspace?" Nebula's voice cut through the silence. "What happened?"
Stark's reply carried defeat. "We're out of fuel. The signal transmitter took damage in the last fight; we can't even send a distress call."
Nebula's features twisted into a scowl. "No fuel, no way to call for help... that means we drift here until we die, doesn't it?"
"That's about right." Stark leaned back, closing his eyes.
"Damn it all!" Nebula's fist slammed into the bulkhead, leaving a dent in the metal.
Horus observed the exchange with calm. When he spoke, his voice carried quiet authority. "The lack of fuel is problematic, but hardly a cause for surrender."
Stark's eyes snapped open, hope flickering. "You have a solution?"
"Naturally." Horus moved to the navigation console. "You have the coordinates for Earth?"
"Yeah." Stark's fingers danced across the interface, creating a three-dimensional star map that filled the cramped space with blue light.
The display showed their position near an unnamed system, a collection of worlds orbiting a yellow star. More than two thousand light-years distant, a single point pulsed with golden light: the Sol System, and home.
"The solution is simple," Horus continued, studying the display. "We navigate to the nearest star. Once we get close enough, I can draw upon its energies to construct a long-range portal. From there, we return to Sol in moments."
For the first time in hours, excitement sparked in Stark's eyes. Then reality hit, and his shoulders sagged. "But we have no fuel, no power. We can't even change course, let alone reach that star."
Sanguinius stepped forward, his features calm and confident. "Then I shall provide the force. I will guide our vessel to its destination."
Stark stared at the winged Primarch as if he had suggested juggling grenades. "This is a spaceship, not some broken-down car we can push to the nearest gas station."
"Indeed," Sanguinius replied with the faintest smile. "It is a spaceship. That is precisely why I must push it."
Without further explanation, he spread his white wings. Space folded around him, and he vanished.
Moments later, the ship shuddered as some force took hold of its hull. Slowly, their trajectory began to change. What had been helpless drift became purposeful flight toward the distant star.
"Well, I'll be damned," Stark muttered, watching their course correction. "Guess I've still got a lot to learn about this universe."
Through the dark they flew, guided by an angel's strength toward their salvation. Hours passed like years until finally they entered the inner system of the distant star.
Horus felt the familiar tingle of vast energies within his reach. His enhanced body, forged on Terra and strengthened by the Emperor's will, let him commune with forces that would reduce lesser beings to ash.
"Starting spatial translation," he announced, his voice carrying harmonics that suggested vast power barely contained. "Importing cosmic constants, calculating spacetime variables, drawing stellar energy."
The star responded to his call. Its fusion fires lent their strength to his purpose. Reality bent and twisted at his command.
"Hyperspace aperture achieved."
A wormhole bloomed before them, its edges crackling with contained energies. The portal swirled with nameless colours, large enough to fit their vessel with room to spare.
Guided by Sanguinius's gentle strength, they entered the maelstrom. Space and time compressed around them, and in moments they had crossed distances that should have taken decades.
They emerged at the edge of the Sol System, Earth's blue jewel visible in the distance like a sapphire against black velvet.
Avengers Compound - Earth
Even with the protection of his Limit Engine, technology that bent reality to his will, Guilliman had paid a terrible price for directly confronting five Infinity Stones. The energies involved had pushed even his enhanced Primarch body beyond its limits.
When he finally emerged from the healing trance that had claimed him, the war was long over. Half of all life in the universe had turned to dust by Thanos's snap. The cosmos itself mourned.
"Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange..." Steve Rogers' voice was hollow with grief. "So many others. All gone."
"It's like living in a nightmare," Natasha Romanoff whispered, her usual composure cracked by loss.
Guilliman studied these mortals who had stood against impossible odds and paid the ultimate price. In another age, in another galaxy, they might have served in the Legiones Astartes. They had the hearts of warriors, even if they lacked the enhanced bodies to match.
"Hey, what's this thing doing?" War Machine's shout cut through their brooding.
"What is it, Rhodes?" Bruce Banner asked, his scientist's mind always seeking answers.
"That pager Fury left, it was transmitting something. Now it's stopped."
"Transmitting to who?" Natasha's trained paranoia was already analysing threats.
"No idea."
Guilliman's enhanced senses detected the disturbance before the others. The Limit Engine whispered warnings directly into his consciousness. "Detecting massive energy fluctuations. A powerful entity approaches."
The remaining Avengers looked around in confusion, but Guilliman's words proved right. A figure wreathed in stellar fire descended from the heavens, punching through the compound's roof as if it were paper. The impact sent shockwaves through the building.
When the blazing light faded, they saw a woman in blue and gold, her eyes still crackling with barely contained energies. She radiated power like a miniature star.
"Where is Fury?" she demanded.
Guilliman's Limit Engine had already completed its analysis. "Target classification: Enhanced human. Possesses significant cosmic energy manipulation capabilities. Physical resilience approaching fourth-generation divine body parameters."
A pause as deeper scans were completed. "No conceptual strike capability detected. Non-dimensional strike capability. No spatial manipulation. No temporal displacement ability."
"Interesting," he murmured. "Strong in the material realm, but limited to purely physical applications of power."
Steve explained the catastrophe to the newcomer, the weight of defeat heavy in his voice. When he finished, she straightened with arrogant confidence.
"I am Captain Marvel," she announced. "Carol Danvers. We're going after Thanos now. We'll take back the stones and fix this."
Guilliman stepped forward, his presence filling the room like that of a walking god. "Thanos, wielding six Infinity Stones, represents a threat level beyond current capabilities. The rational course is to gather additional assets before engaging."
"You lost before because you didn't have me," Danvers replied with the supreme confidence of one who had never faced true defeat. "Now you do. We'll win."
"I regret to inform you that your presence, while strong, would prove insufficient against an opponent wielding universal artefacts."
Something in his tone sparked her anger. She blurred into motion, intending to demonstrate her power through speed and force.
She found herself trapped in a spatial construct that folded back on itself, a loop that turned her velocity against her. The harder she flew, the more she remained exactly where she was.
"Sir Guilliman," Steve said carefully, "she's on our side."
"A demonstration seemed necessary," Guilliman replied, releasing the spatial lock. "Thanos, with unlimited access to six cosmic stones, represents a threat beyond my current capabilities. Humility, Captain Marvel, is not weakness; it is wisdom."
Danvers glared at him but said nothing. The lesson had been learned.
"First things first," Steve said. "Tony and Strange went to Titan. We need to know if they survived."
Before anyone could respond, the compound's communication systems crackled to life. "Avengers Headquarters, this is SHIELD orbital command. We're tracking an incoming vessel. Sending telemetry now."
The holographic display showed something impossible: in the void above Earth, a winged figure wreathed in golden light was carefully guiding a battered spacecraft toward the planet's surface.
"That's our ship!" Rocket Raccoon recognised the vessel immediately. "But who's the winged guy?"
Guilliman stepped forward, his expression calm but firm. When he spoke, his voice carried quiet authority, without any hint of anger.
"That winged figure is my brother, Sanguinius," he said evenly. "Perhaps a more respectful term would be appropriate."
Rocket looked up at the towering Primarch, recognising the gentle correction. "Right, sorry about that. Didn't mean any disrespect to your brother."
"None taken," Guilliman replied with a slight nod. "He would likely find your initial assessment amusing, actually. Sanguinius has always possessed a sense of humour about such things."
The spacecraft's approach was visible on every screen in the compound. Within hours, it had descended through Earth's atmosphere and settled onto the landing pad with surprising grace, its damaged hull still bearing the scars of countless battles. As the ramp lowered, Sanguinius emerged first, his perfect features lighting up with joy as he spotted Guilliman waiting.
"My brother," he said simply, and crossed the distance between them in swift strides.
The embrace was brief but heartfelt, as two demigods were reunited after being separated across impossible gulfs of space and time.
For a moment, Guilliman's carefully maintained composure cracked, revealing the relief he felt at seeing his brother alive and whole.
Horus emerged from the ship, his own face showing the satisfaction of a mission completed. He approached his brothers with easy confidence, but his eyes held depths of weariness that spoke of trials endured in the darkness between stars.
"Did you encounter the Emperor?" Guilliman asked. "Or Valdor?"
"No," Horus replied, though his tone carried certainty. "But our father is resourceful beyond measure. Wherever he has found himself, he will survive and adapt."
"He will come to Earth," Sanguinius added with quiet conviction. "He would never abandon the humans he has grown to care for here. This world holds meaning for him now."
The Time Variance Authority - Chaos Incarnate
Across the dimensional barriers, in the sterile corridors of the Time Variance Authority, chaos reigned. The organisation that had once maintained order across infinite timelines was experiencing what could be called a fundamental reorganisation.
The Emperor moved through the facility like a force of nature, his golden presence turning the Authority's own temporal weapons against their creators.
Valdor flowed through the complex like liquid shadow, gathering intelligence and valuable artifacts with surgical precision. And Gorr... Gorr carved through the facility's defences with the methodical efficiency of one who had dedicated his existence to the death of gods.
In one of the countless storage chambers, an unusual partnership was unfolding.
"Quickly now, Loki Beast, gather all of these!" Raven's voice carried gleeful excitement as he directed the God of Mischief's attention to a mundane janitor's drawer.
Inside, dozens of Infinity Stones lay scattered like colourful marbles, artifacts that had shaken entire universes, here reduced to paperweights and drawer-stops by the Authority's dimensional superiority.
"I am a god," Loki replied with as much dignity as he could muster, "not a 'beast' of any description. I demand proper respect."
Raven's expression grew thoughtful. "Shall I summon Gorr to discuss proper forms of address with you?"
The mere mention of the God Butcher's name sent chills down Loki's spine. He had seen what the dark sword could do to beings far more powerful than himself. Suddenly, 'Loki Beast' seemed like a perfectly reasonable nickname.
"Esteemed Raven," he said with a smile that was only slightly forced, "perhaps we should also acquire one of those Infinity Gauntlets? For... organisational purposes, naturally."
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