Aboard the Black Zero–class carrier known as the World Engine, General Zod sat rigid in his command throne.
The holographic feed had terminated seconds earlier.
Silence lingered across the bridge.
"He lacks discipline," one officer muttered. "To speak that way to the Supreme Military Commander…"
"And claiming he destroyed an entire Kree fleet alone?" another added. "Delusion."
Low, restrained laughter followed.
These were seasoned Kryptonian officers—engineered for command, bred for warfare. They had commanded planetary campaigns. They understood fleet doctrine, combat logistics, and the hard mathematics of annihilation.
A lone reconnaissance captain eliminating a Kree strike group?
Impossible.
Zod's expression did not change, but his fists tightened against the armrests.
"Whether he exaggerates or not," Zod said at last, "he will stand before me in the Tianling Sector."
"And if he refuses?"
"Then I will retrieve him."
The statement carried no emotion. Only certainty.
He rose.
"Prepare for acceleration. We close the distance ourselves."
The World Engine's drives ignited, bending spacetime ahead of the vessel as it surged toward the last known coordinates of the Aquarius.
Hala — Kree High Command
Far across the galaxy, in the capital complex on Hala, the Supreme Military Council of the Kree Empire reviewed recovered combat telemetry.
On the central display, a single figure tore through warships as if they were atmospheric craft.
Armor collapsed under physical impact.
Cryogenic beams sliced capital vessels beyond visual range.
Energy weapon fire dissipated harmlessly across his body.
A Kree admiral leaned forward. "Run it again."
The footage replayed.
Impact. Destruction. Silence.
"Krypton was erased," one officer said quietly. "Yet this survivor remains."
Another nodded. "He does not resemble a standard military caste profile."
At the head of the chamber, a towering blue-skinned figure stepped forward.
Ronan the Accuser.
His hammer rested against the floor, radiating restrained power.
"I will deal with him," Ronan said, voice edged with anticipation.
The room shifted uneasily.
Ronan was not known for restraint. Peace accords—especially the recent one with Xandar—had only intensified his appetite for war.
"This is not a symbolic strike," a senior Accuser cautioned. "You will be accompanied."
Ronan's eyes narrowed.
"Unnecessary."
"It is not a request."
A pause.
"And if you object," the officer added evenly, "raise it with Captain Marvel."
Ronan's jaw tightened at the name.
He said nothing further.
Orders were issued.
A pursuit task force began mobilization.
Aboard the Aquarius
Two days passed.
The Aquarius moved under sustained interstellar transition toward the Tianling Sector.
At Lilith's insistence, Rhael submitted to a full biological analysis.
Lucini stood over the diagnostic array, staring at the projections in disbelief.
"This is not a standard soldier genome," she said quietly.
Holographic strands of Kryptonian DNA rotated in layered sequences. Multiple sections displayed ongoing restructuring.
"Your genetic architecture is still adapting," she continued. "Not mutating randomly—optimizing. The cellular activity levels are extraordinary."
She hesitated before adding, "Your tissue density… conventional Kryptonian alloys would struggle to breach your dermal layer."
Rhael absorbed the information without visible reaction.
Solar radiation conversion had accelerated since the Kree engagement. Energy throughput was rising. Cellular matrices were reinforcing in response to repeated stress exposure.
Continuous adaptation.
He had expected it.
"Combat viability against Zod?" he asked.
Lucini met his gaze.
"You are no longer limited by standard caste parameters," she said carefully. "If projections hold… you can contend with him."
Around them, tension hung in the air.
The crew understood what awaited them in the Tianling Sector.
Zod commanded a planetary transformation vessel. A general engineered for war. A strategist who had anticipated Krypton's destruction before it happened.
Conflict between them felt inevitable.
Then the bridge alarms sounded.
Lilith turned sharply to her console.
"Captain," she said, voice steady but tight. "The World Engine has altered course."
A tactical projection flared into existence.
The massive signature of Zod's carrier had abandoned its previous intercept pattern.
It was accelerating directly toward them.
"He's not waiting in Tianling," Todd muttered.
"No," Lilith confirmed. "He's coming here."
Rhael stepped toward the viewport.
Far beyond visible range, spacetime distortions marked an incoming mass displacement.
Zod had decided not to wait.
Good.
Rhael's expression remained composed.
"Reduce transition lag," he ordered. "Maintain course."
Lilith glanced at him. "You intend to meet him in open space?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"If he wants authority," Rhael added quietly, "he can earn it."
Outside the hull, distant gravitational ripples intensified.
Two surviving Kryptonian powers were about to converge.
And somewhere behind them, the Kree Empire was already mobilizing its own response.