“THE FATES OF THE ETERNALS”
[Author’s Note: This occurs before the events of the Imperial Guard series.]
Like what you see?
For the moment, Captain Marvel ignored the voice in his head. For weeks he had journeyed across the edges of a new galaxy that had appeared since his death. Every communication he overheard, every ship and sign of culture perceived, was all from the Shi’ar Empire. It was an odd and frightening thing to contemplate, that in the years between Mar-Vell’s death and return, that a whole interstellar empire could disappear from one part of the universe only to reappear elsewhere.
And now they had come for him. It wasn’t unexpected, as Mar-Vell knew that word of his return on Earth and encounter with the Skrulls would spread throughout the known races. Of course the Shi’ar would be on the lookout for Captain Mar-Vell, the most famed warrior in all the universe. And of course, once they found him, the Imperial Guard would be sent to make contact.
“No, actually,” Captain Marvel eventually told the voice in his head. “I expected Gladiator. This is almost insulting.”
The starship had appeared less than a minute after Captain Marvel had teleported into the star system, near one of the three inhabited planets. Immediately it had opened fire, attempting to herd him into the planet’s atmosphere. Captain Marvel returned fire with a photonic blast at where he perceived the main engine was. If he could disable the ship’s main systems, force it to land on auxiliary power, he could escape back into space with a minimum of fuss.
The appearance into view of three Imperial Super-Guardians crushed that hope. Manta and Starbolt were familiar to him even without their distinctive features. The third was new, a young girl with hybrid Shi’ar features that passed through the ship’s hull and his blast. She was meant to draw Captain Marvel’s attention while Manta and Starbolt caught him in a crossfire. It may have worked on someone with normal senses and less experience, but Mar-Vell was a veteran of aerial combat and possessed the Cosmic Awareness.
Captain Marvel flew at Starbolt, forcing him to attack with fire immediately, before Manta could coordinate. She should have waited another couple seconds for the heat to take effect, but when she did open her gliding wings to unleash a blast of light, Captain Marvel dropped from the sky. Starbolt took the blast and was sent crashing to the planet.
Nearly an acre of crop fields went aflame while Astra looked on, aghast. She flew down at Captain Marvel. “Are you nuts? This planet provides for billions of Imperium subjects!”
“You chose the battlefield,” Captain Marvel said as he flew up to meet her. “And to fire indiscriminately.”
A collision was avoided when Astra phased, but Captain Marvel didn’t continue through. At the last moment he turned and matched her flight speed, his hand occupying the same space as her heart. His other hand was directly in front of her eyes, which were wide with fright.
“What, what do you think you’re doing?”
“A light burst to shock you tangible, and you’re dead. This is the way of soldiers.”
“Away!”
A Stygian, Captain Marvel thought an instant before he was struck with the force of a small moon. The way that single word was spoken was the least of it, he could perceive all the gravitational and stellar pulses that Neutron gave off, the true language of his race. As they fell to the surface, Mar-Vell translated everything in that one word, the whole of feeling that career soldiers felt toward the new blood.
The worst part was that, just before Neutron’s fist smashed into Captain Marvel’s face, his last conscious thought wasn’t his own. It was the voice of his son Genis-Vell, who was trapped in the Negative Zone but shared a mental link with Mar-Vell.
Don’t be. Gladiator couldn’t have hit that hard.
# # # # # # # # # #
Captain Marvel had been awake for some time before a visitor arrived. He spent the time meditating in a small cell, blocking out the voice in his head. Eventually, an aged Shi’ar man with white feathers appeared in the opened doorway, flanked by two large guards. Captain Marvel’s intelligence reports were years old, so he was surprised to recognize the man.
“Hello, Chancellor Araki. I suppose I should be honored, to have such an exalted guest.”
“It is I who am honored, Captain,” said the Chancellor with a small bow. “Your exploits are well-known. Unfortunately, that is also the reason you must be imprisoned.”
“By rights I should have been killed.” Captain Marvel still felt the punch. “My actions certainly warranted the force.”
“Is that why you took such actions?” asked the Chancellor. “Being so reckless, inviting death as a mere test, simply highlights this need. Should you die here, in your future, our past would be irrevocably altered. And when you eventually return, with the knowledge that you’ve gained…this must be done.”
Dampeners within the cell were meant to blunt Captain Marvel’s powers, including the Cosmic Awareness. He didn’t need it to know about the faint marks on his body. “You’ve already begun the exams.”
“More will be forthcoming. Removing the recent memories will be well within our means, but unfortunately we have yet to master time-travel. But our scientists are confident that, given the specific circumstances, it should be possible to return you to the point from which you were taken.”
Those specific circumstances had involved Immortus, who had claimed a return wasn’t possible. Though that was likely a lie, Captain Marvel doubted the Shi’ar could succeed. But if they were somehow able…
“Those specific circumstances include a connection with my son. He’s trapped in the Negative Zone with injuries that would kill him otherwise.”
“We learned of this. Either the connection will be broken, and Genis-Vell will die. Or the connection will remain and, at your appointed time, Genis-Vell will also die.” No emotion showed on Chancellor Araki’s face. “Both options are considered acceptable.”
# # # # # # # # # #
Left alone, with no visitor save for the long-departed Chancellor Araki, Captain Marvel could only meditate. Several times he attempted to communicate with Genis-Vell, to give assurance that he would accept no solution that failed to help his son. But there had been no response from Genis-Vell.
Also, Captain Marvel reached outward with his senses. Shi’ar technology may be advanced, but their attempts to suppress Cosmic Awareness was akin to chicken-wire being placed against a crashing wave. Captain Marvel could sense that he was on a planet deep near the center of the galaxy, in the midst of heavy construction but already highly developed. A number of powerful individuals were nearby, most likely members of the Imperial Guard. But two were very close, their powers also suppressed. Other prisoners, no doubt.
“Like you, we are unjustly imprisoned by the Shi’ar.”
Captain Marvel opened his eyes. Somehow, one had felt the probe of Cosmic Awareness. His power was similar to the Eternals of Titan, so Captain Marvel had an idea of who he was.
“I have yet to meet you, but do not assume that means I can be fooled. Even were I not told about you, Thanos, none can be hidden from my Awareness.”
“You should ask your son about its reliability. Yes, Mar-Vell, I know all of your situation. Even imprisoned as I am, news can still reach me. My statement remains unchanged. What gives these mortals the right to judge me?”
“Even were I knowledgeable of their legal case, you reject that very idea. Your argument is that you are, what, a cosmic entity on par with Galactus? That you are beyond the institutions of those you consider lesser beings?”
“Yes! As it was unjust for the Skrulls to execute Galactus, so it is unjust for the Shi’ar to imprison me! But no, I am no cosmic entity, merely the servant of Death herself.”
“A defense they no doubt rejected. Perhaps you should have called Death to testify on your behalf.” Captain Marvel was proud of the jab. He could sense that, while Thanos believed he acted in service to the higher being, from that dark void there was only disinterest.
“Your mockery is irrelevant, as is their judgement. No, what concerns me is the opportunity you represent. How foolish I was to not consider you when I wielded power over time itself. Your death here means I will never be thwarted in the past!”
Captain Marvel had already felt the light prods, the testing of his defenses. He allowed flexibility, all the while steeling himself in reserve. Now the psychic attack came, and Captain Marvel responded in kind. But while the defense of his own life was assured, Captain Marvel sensed the vulnerability that was his link with Genis-Vell.
“Your reasoning is flawed, Mad Titan. My death here would affect far, far more than you in myriad ways you cannot possibly imagine. It means I would never have a son, the link whom you are attacking now. Such paradox threatens all of creation before it would even occur, no life to be followed by death.”
The attacked did not cease, but Captain Mar-Vell could feel Thanos bristle in irritation. “Damn your eyes, but you are correct. Oh how I’ve missed you, my most noble of foes. Our encounters were few, and brief, yet oddly satisfying. Perhaps because I was so much your superior in every way.”
Before Captain Mar-Vell could question this remark, an explosion answered it. Another followed, great blasts that rocked the building. Thanos had attacked as a distraction, to mask the true assault from beyond the planet. Captain Mar-Vell wanted to reach out with his Cosmic Awareness, to learn more of this new threat, but Thanos was still pressing his attack.
“I must admit that I agree with the Shi’ar on one thing.” Another explosion, but this was inside the building. Thanos was escaping. “You should remain here, so that you don’t accidentally die trying to thwart my plans.”
“No!” said father and son at once. Two minds united against Thanos’ attack and the Shi’ar dampeners, and the Nega Bands glowed. Photonic blasts destroyed the cell door, and Captain Mar-Vell was free.
The corridor was empty. Captain Mar-Vell was aware of many in the building, running in a panic, and of two who were calm in their actions. Not many were imprisoned there. Thanos had mentioned one other, held unjustly. Yet when Captain Mar-Vell attempted to touch this other with this Cosmic Awareness, he could not help but recoil. How could anyone take more lives than Thanos, murderer of half-the-universe?
Preferring flight to teleportation, Captain Mar-Vell exited the building. There was sunlight but also a haze of smoke, cries of fear and blasts of battle. Just outside the building was a great pedestrian square, likely meant for judicial announcements, and standing in the center was Thanos. The attacking ship was only a speck in the sky, but there was no delay in its attacks. Such was the instant-seeming speed of light, that three bursts struck Thanos in quick succession.
A flash of teleportation brought two individuals to the square, a man and a woman. The woman had pale blue skin with long black hair, dressed in black and purple. The man was younger, with short white hair, and was dressed in a space uniform of black-and-white with green piping. Captain Mar-Vell had never seen them before, but found them oddly familiar.
The woman waved a dismissive hand toward him and spoke to the younger man. “Deal with that while I kill Thanos.”
# # # # # # # # # #
The first thing Nebula did upon taking control of the multiversal ship The Marvel was seek out Thanos. It had taken longer than she would have liked, and had involved hurting a lot of the universe’s scum. But eventually she learned about his defeat against the Avengers and imprisonment by the Shi’ar. That became her target, a prison on New Chandilar in the artificial galaxy the Shi’ar had emigrated to.
The moment Thanos appeared on The Marvel’s sensors - after only a few planetary bombardments - Nebula directed fire at him. Noh-Varr, sole survivor of the ship’s original crew, observed with keen interest. “He’s still alive. I don’t think those blasts did much to him.”
“I’m just keeping him in place.” Nebular observed a second, much more fascinating, set of readings. She pushed a button. “A complication is here. I’ll need you to-”
The ship teleported them onto the surface, between Thanos and Captain Mar-Vell. “Deal with that while I kill Thanos,” Nebula finished while she waved a dismissive hand toward Captain Mar-Vell.
“Your wish is my command.” Gauntlets on Noh-Varr’s wrists became guns in his hands. He opened fire on the oddly dressed, silver-haired man that he noted was Kree. Remarkably, the man’s features went from pink to a starry blackness, and he dodged the blasts. Noh-Varr had little time to react before the man was upon him, and barely dodged the punch thrown at his head.
“You are not of this universe, yet you are also of the Kree.” A hand closed over one of Noh-Varr’s wrists, and a surge of power destroyed the gun he held. “I am Captain Mar-Vell, and we do not have to be enemies.”
Noh-Varr looked into his foe’s eyes, and saw two souls within. “Ensign Noh-Varr, and no proper Kree would try to avoid conflict!” His leg kicked out, his knee bending in ways that only a cockroach could. The bare sole of his foot caught Captain Mar-Vell in the stomach, and the chemicals on his skin seep through that blue-and-red costume. “But you won’t have to worry about fighting once the poison-”
“Has already been negated. I am proud to be no proper Kree!” Captain Mar-Vell’s second blow landed, a haymaker that sent Noh-Varr flying.
Moving with unnatural agility, Noh-Varr checked his ascent and nimbly landed only a few feet away. From his golden belt Noh-Varr withdrew a small box and threw it at Captain Mar-Vell. He dodged it but that made no difference, as the box rapidly expanded to engulf Captain Mar-Vell.
Noh-Varr chuckled. “Enjoy training simulation 9X@J. It’s used for whole team exercises, so even if you survive you’ll be kept busy for-”
Captain Mar-Vell nonchalantly walked out of the box, which reverted to its original size behind him.
“-no time at all,” Noh-Varr whispered. “What in Hala are you?”
“One with the universe,” Captain Mar-Vell replied as he rushed forward.
While the Kree clashed, Nebula made her way toward Thanos. Her ship was set on auto-target, and was still hitting the Mad Titan with a continuous stream of firepower that could level cities. He was kept stunned at best, and noted Nebula’s approach.
“You look familiar. Didn’t I once burn the flesh from your bones?”
“Not quite, though it wasn’t for lack of trying.” Nebula raised an arm, the blaster on her gauntlet primed to fire. “Smile, grandfather. I’m about to send you to your heart’s desire.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re the delusional….what is the word I’m thinking of.” Thanos raised a hand, and the Marvel’s blasts stopped short, gathering into a ball of power just outside his grasp. “There, now it’s easier to think. The word isn’t ‘cow’ as that’s rather crude. Pirate, that’s it! You’re the delusional pirate who claims to be my granddaughter.”
“I am, you bastard!” The burst of anti-energy Nebula fired from her gauntlet was designed specifically to kill Thanos.
Thanos balled up his fist and hurled the sphere of weapon’s fire in the path of Nebula’s blast. “Careful, that’s your fictional great-grandmother you’re insulting.”
The reaction was explosive, and Nebula was forced to briefly shield her eyes. The next thing she was was Thanos coming at her and, before she could react his hand was around her throat. She was lifted off her feet by an arm she was not much bigger than, and locked eyes with the Mad Titan.
“Now, what would an actual grandfather do as punishment? Not being one, I wouldn’t know. But I’ve an idea of what is expected when one’s mother is insulted.”
“Let her go!” Noh-Varr leapt away from Captain Mar-Vell and fired his lone gun at Thanos. The blasts that struck his face may as well have been bugs striking a windshield. Moving impossibly fast, Thanos grabbed Noh-Varr by the leg when the young Kree jumped overhead. Thanos didn’t swing, he simply flicked his wrist, and Noh-Varr went flying away with a shattered leg.
“Sadly, that won’t be the last interruption,” said Thanos. “And the expectation is that I be creative. Perhaps another time would be be-gahh!”
Nebula took the opportunity to fire another blast from her gauntlet. The power is much diminished without time to recharge, though the close range helped to make up for that. Thanos was struck with sufficient force that he released Nebula.
“Yes, later would be best.” A mental command activated a device the Shi’ar hadn’t found, and Thanos teleported away.
# # # # # # # # # #
“No!” Captain Mar-Vell flew through the after-image that had been Thanos. “Do you children know what you’ve done!”
“Yes.” Nebula produced a knife from her belt. “Gained another chance to kill Thanos. Though perhaps if I end you…”
Nebula swiped the knife at Captain Mar-Vell, but he side-stepped the attack. A backhand sent her flying at Noh-Varr. “You will have no chances, once the Shi’ar take you into custody for your crimes.”
Taking Noh-Varr by the arm, Nebula touched a button on her belt. “No, they will not.”
They teleported from Captain Mar-Vell’s sight, but he was not concerned. They could only have gone to the ship, and with a thought he would be there. Even if he couldn’t subdue them in their base, the time would allow the Shi’ar to enter the battle. But as Captain Mar-Vell prepared to teleport, a laugh gave him pause.
Captain Mar-Vell turned around, and observed the second prisoner he had sensed earlier. The man was of Earth yet clearly inhuman, with violet eyes and flowing black hair against pale skin. His costume was like someone’s bad idea of a modern version of knightly armor, a bizarre combination of metal and cloth complete with a cape. There was no denying the power Captain Mar-Vell felt from the man, however.
“Free, at last I am free to pay the Avengers a visit. Won’t Sersi be excited about the special gift I’ve been saving just for her.” The man looked down at the ground, then up at the sky. “What a wonderful new galaxy the Shi’ar found. What a shame I’ll destroy it same as I did the la-ungh!”
Captain Mar-Vell slammed against him with a force that sent him onto his back. Though he and Genis-Vell had no idea of the identity of who he was facing, Captain Mar-Vell knew it was someone that had to be stopped at all costs. Acting with a fiery passion, Captain Mar-Vell rained his fists down upon his foe’s face.
“You. Will. Do. Nothing!”
When Captain Mar-Vell was done, his opponent was unconscious and barely breathing through a ruined face. What confluence of events could have made a normal human powerful enough to survive such a beating.
Overhead, the ship was gone. Nebula had flown it away and, due to it’s other-dimensional nature, Captain Mar-Vell could not find it with his Cosmic Awareness. He could however sense the arrival of Chancellor Araki and several members of the Imperial Guard. Slowly and deliberately, he stepped over the unconscious Earthling and prepared for more battle.
“Take the prisoner away,” Chancellor Araki directed to several of the Guard. “It is important that he never, ever be seen again.”
To Captain Mar-Vell, the Chancellor said, “As for you, the purpose of your imprisonment has been rendered somewhat moot. With Thanos free, it would be the height of foolishness to lock up the Protector of the Universe.”
“Yes, I must stop Thanos from whatever he has planned.” And those children who are almost as dangerous, Captain Mar-Vell didn’t say. “But once that is done, I have no intention of surrendering myself.”
As Captain Mar-Vell teleported into the far reaches of space, he heard Chancellor Araki’s response. “And for the sake of all that is, we cannot give you that chance.”
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE AVENGERS!
Like what you see?
For the moment, Captain Marvel ignored the voice in his head. For weeks he had journeyed across the edges of a new galaxy that had appeared since his death. Every communication he overheard, every ship and sign of culture perceived, was all from the Shi’ar Empire. It was an odd and frightening thing to contemplate, that in the years between Mar-Vell’s death and return, that a whole interstellar empire could disappear from one part of the universe only to reappear elsewhere.
And now they had come for him. It wasn’t unexpected, as Mar-Vell knew that word of his return on Earth and encounter with the Skrulls would spread throughout the known races. Of course the Shi’ar would be on the lookout for Captain Mar-Vell, the most famed warrior in all the universe. And of course, once they found him, the Imperial Guard would be sent to make contact.
“No, actually,” Captain Marvel eventually told the voice in his head. “I expected Gladiator. This is almost insulting.”
The starship had appeared less than a minute after Captain Marvel had teleported into the star system, near one of the three inhabited planets. Immediately it had opened fire, attempting to herd him into the planet’s atmosphere. Captain Marvel returned fire with a photonic blast at where he perceived the main engine was. If he could disable the ship’s main systems, force it to land on auxiliary power, he could escape back into space with a minimum of fuss.
The appearance into view of three Imperial Super-Guardians crushed that hope. Manta and Starbolt were familiar to him even without their distinctive features. The third was new, a young girl with hybrid Shi’ar features that passed through the ship’s hull and his blast. She was meant to draw Captain Marvel’s attention while Manta and Starbolt caught him in a crossfire. It may have worked on someone with normal senses and less experience, but Mar-Vell was a veteran of aerial combat and possessed the Cosmic Awareness.
Captain Marvel flew at Starbolt, forcing him to attack with fire immediately, before Manta could coordinate. She should have waited another couple seconds for the heat to take effect, but when she did open her gliding wings to unleash a blast of light, Captain Marvel dropped from the sky. Starbolt took the blast and was sent crashing to the planet.
Nearly an acre of crop fields went aflame while Astra looked on, aghast. She flew down at Captain Marvel. “Are you nuts? This planet provides for billions of Imperium subjects!”
“You chose the battlefield,” Captain Marvel said as he flew up to meet her. “And to fire indiscriminately.”
A collision was avoided when Astra phased, but Captain Marvel didn’t continue through. At the last moment he turned and matched her flight speed, his hand occupying the same space as her heart. His other hand was directly in front of her eyes, which were wide with fright.
“What, what do you think you’re doing?”
“A light burst to shock you tangible, and you’re dead. This is the way of soldiers.”
“Away!”
A Stygian, Captain Marvel thought an instant before he was struck with the force of a small moon. The way that single word was spoken was the least of it, he could perceive all the gravitational and stellar pulses that Neutron gave off, the true language of his race. As they fell to the surface, Mar-Vell translated everything in that one word, the whole of feeling that career soldiers felt toward the new blood.
The worst part was that, just before Neutron’s fist smashed into Captain Marvel’s face, his last conscious thought wasn’t his own. It was the voice of his son Genis-Vell, who was trapped in the Negative Zone but shared a mental link with Mar-Vell.
Don’t be. Gladiator couldn’t have hit that hard.
# # # # # # # # # #
Captain Marvel had been awake for some time before a visitor arrived. He spent the time meditating in a small cell, blocking out the voice in his head. Eventually, an aged Shi’ar man with white feathers appeared in the opened doorway, flanked by two large guards. Captain Marvel’s intelligence reports were years old, so he was surprised to recognize the man.
“Hello, Chancellor Araki. I suppose I should be honored, to have such an exalted guest.”
“It is I who am honored, Captain,” said the Chancellor with a small bow. “Your exploits are well-known. Unfortunately, that is also the reason you must be imprisoned.”
“By rights I should have been killed.” Captain Marvel still felt the punch. “My actions certainly warranted the force.”
“Is that why you took such actions?” asked the Chancellor. “Being so reckless, inviting death as a mere test, simply highlights this need. Should you die here, in your future, our past would be irrevocably altered. And when you eventually return, with the knowledge that you’ve gained…this must be done.”
Dampeners within the cell were meant to blunt Captain Marvel’s powers, including the Cosmic Awareness. He didn’t need it to know about the faint marks on his body. “You’ve already begun the exams.”
“More will be forthcoming. Removing the recent memories will be well within our means, but unfortunately we have yet to master time-travel. But our scientists are confident that, given the specific circumstances, it should be possible to return you to the point from which you were taken.”
Those specific circumstances had involved Immortus, who had claimed a return wasn’t possible. Though that was likely a lie, Captain Marvel doubted the Shi’ar could succeed. But if they were somehow able…
“Those specific circumstances include a connection with my son. He’s trapped in the Negative Zone with injuries that would kill him otherwise.”
“We learned of this. Either the connection will be broken, and Genis-Vell will die. Or the connection will remain and, at your appointed time, Genis-Vell will also die.” No emotion showed on Chancellor Araki’s face. “Both options are considered acceptable.”
# # # # # # # # # #
Left alone, with no visitor save for the long-departed Chancellor Araki, Captain Marvel could only meditate. Several times he attempted to communicate with Genis-Vell, to give assurance that he would accept no solution that failed to help his son. But there had been no response from Genis-Vell.
Also, Captain Marvel reached outward with his senses. Shi’ar technology may be advanced, but their attempts to suppress Cosmic Awareness was akin to chicken-wire being placed against a crashing wave. Captain Marvel could sense that he was on a planet deep near the center of the galaxy, in the midst of heavy construction but already highly developed. A number of powerful individuals were nearby, most likely members of the Imperial Guard. But two were very close, their powers also suppressed. Other prisoners, no doubt.
“Like you, we are unjustly imprisoned by the Shi’ar.”
Captain Marvel opened his eyes. Somehow, one had felt the probe of Cosmic Awareness. His power was similar to the Eternals of Titan, so Captain Marvel had an idea of who he was.
“I have yet to meet you, but do not assume that means I can be fooled. Even were I not told about you, Thanos, none can be hidden from my Awareness.”
“You should ask your son about its reliability. Yes, Mar-Vell, I know all of your situation. Even imprisoned as I am, news can still reach me. My statement remains unchanged. What gives these mortals the right to judge me?”
“Even were I knowledgeable of their legal case, you reject that very idea. Your argument is that you are, what, a cosmic entity on par with Galactus? That you are beyond the institutions of those you consider lesser beings?”
“Yes! As it was unjust for the Skrulls to execute Galactus, so it is unjust for the Shi’ar to imprison me! But no, I am no cosmic entity, merely the servant of Death herself.”
“A defense they no doubt rejected. Perhaps you should have called Death to testify on your behalf.” Captain Marvel was proud of the jab. He could sense that, while Thanos believed he acted in service to the higher being, from that dark void there was only disinterest.
“Your mockery is irrelevant, as is their judgement. No, what concerns me is the opportunity you represent. How foolish I was to not consider you when I wielded power over time itself. Your death here means I will never be thwarted in the past!”
Captain Marvel had already felt the light prods, the testing of his defenses. He allowed flexibility, all the while steeling himself in reserve. Now the psychic attack came, and Captain Marvel responded in kind. But while the defense of his own life was assured, Captain Marvel sensed the vulnerability that was his link with Genis-Vell.
“Your reasoning is flawed, Mad Titan. My death here would affect far, far more than you in myriad ways you cannot possibly imagine. It means I would never have a son, the link whom you are attacking now. Such paradox threatens all of creation before it would even occur, no life to be followed by death.”
The attacked did not cease, but Captain Mar-Vell could feel Thanos bristle in irritation. “Damn your eyes, but you are correct. Oh how I’ve missed you, my most noble of foes. Our encounters were few, and brief, yet oddly satisfying. Perhaps because I was so much your superior in every way.”
Before Captain Mar-Vell could question this remark, an explosion answered it. Another followed, great blasts that rocked the building. Thanos had attacked as a distraction, to mask the true assault from beyond the planet. Captain Mar-Vell wanted to reach out with his Cosmic Awareness, to learn more of this new threat, but Thanos was still pressing his attack.
“I must admit that I agree with the Shi’ar on one thing.” Another explosion, but this was inside the building. Thanos was escaping. “You should remain here, so that you don’t accidentally die trying to thwart my plans.”
“No!” said father and son at once. Two minds united against Thanos’ attack and the Shi’ar dampeners, and the Nega Bands glowed. Photonic blasts destroyed the cell door, and Captain Mar-Vell was free.
The corridor was empty. Captain Mar-Vell was aware of many in the building, running in a panic, and of two who were calm in their actions. Not many were imprisoned there. Thanos had mentioned one other, held unjustly. Yet when Captain Mar-Vell attempted to touch this other with this Cosmic Awareness, he could not help but recoil. How could anyone take more lives than Thanos, murderer of half-the-universe?
Preferring flight to teleportation, Captain Mar-Vell exited the building. There was sunlight but also a haze of smoke, cries of fear and blasts of battle. Just outside the building was a great pedestrian square, likely meant for judicial announcements, and standing in the center was Thanos. The attacking ship was only a speck in the sky, but there was no delay in its attacks. Such was the instant-seeming speed of light, that three bursts struck Thanos in quick succession.
A flash of teleportation brought two individuals to the square, a man and a woman. The woman had pale blue skin with long black hair, dressed in black and purple. The man was younger, with short white hair, and was dressed in a space uniform of black-and-white with green piping. Captain Mar-Vell had never seen them before, but found them oddly familiar.
The woman waved a dismissive hand toward him and spoke to the younger man. “Deal with that while I kill Thanos.”
# # # # # # # # # #
The first thing Nebula did upon taking control of the multiversal ship The Marvel was seek out Thanos. It had taken longer than she would have liked, and had involved hurting a lot of the universe’s scum. But eventually she learned about his defeat against the Avengers and imprisonment by the Shi’ar. That became her target, a prison on New Chandilar in the artificial galaxy the Shi’ar had emigrated to.
The moment Thanos appeared on The Marvel’s sensors - after only a few planetary bombardments - Nebula directed fire at him. Noh-Varr, sole survivor of the ship’s original crew, observed with keen interest. “He’s still alive. I don’t think those blasts did much to him.”
“I’m just keeping him in place.” Nebular observed a second, much more fascinating, set of readings. She pushed a button. “A complication is here. I’ll need you to-”
The ship teleported them onto the surface, between Thanos and Captain Mar-Vell. “Deal with that while I kill Thanos,” Nebula finished while she waved a dismissive hand toward Captain Mar-Vell.
“Your wish is my command.” Gauntlets on Noh-Varr’s wrists became guns in his hands. He opened fire on the oddly dressed, silver-haired man that he noted was Kree. Remarkably, the man’s features went from pink to a starry blackness, and he dodged the blasts. Noh-Varr had little time to react before the man was upon him, and barely dodged the punch thrown at his head.
“You are not of this universe, yet you are also of the Kree.” A hand closed over one of Noh-Varr’s wrists, and a surge of power destroyed the gun he held. “I am Captain Mar-Vell, and we do not have to be enemies.”
Noh-Varr looked into his foe’s eyes, and saw two souls within. “Ensign Noh-Varr, and no proper Kree would try to avoid conflict!” His leg kicked out, his knee bending in ways that only a cockroach could. The bare sole of his foot caught Captain Mar-Vell in the stomach, and the chemicals on his skin seep through that blue-and-red costume. “But you won’t have to worry about fighting once the poison-”
“Has already been negated. I am proud to be no proper Kree!” Captain Mar-Vell’s second blow landed, a haymaker that sent Noh-Varr flying.
Moving with unnatural agility, Noh-Varr checked his ascent and nimbly landed only a few feet away. From his golden belt Noh-Varr withdrew a small box and threw it at Captain Mar-Vell. He dodged it but that made no difference, as the box rapidly expanded to engulf Captain Mar-Vell.
Noh-Varr chuckled. “Enjoy training simulation 9X@J. It’s used for whole team exercises, so even if you survive you’ll be kept busy for-”
Captain Mar-Vell nonchalantly walked out of the box, which reverted to its original size behind him.
“-no time at all,” Noh-Varr whispered. “What in Hala are you?”
“One with the universe,” Captain Mar-Vell replied as he rushed forward.
While the Kree clashed, Nebula made her way toward Thanos. Her ship was set on auto-target, and was still hitting the Mad Titan with a continuous stream of firepower that could level cities. He was kept stunned at best, and noted Nebula’s approach.
“You look familiar. Didn’t I once burn the flesh from your bones?”
“Not quite, though it wasn’t for lack of trying.” Nebula raised an arm, the blaster on her gauntlet primed to fire. “Smile, grandfather. I’m about to send you to your heart’s desire.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re the delusional….what is the word I’m thinking of.” Thanos raised a hand, and the Marvel’s blasts stopped short, gathering into a ball of power just outside his grasp. “There, now it’s easier to think. The word isn’t ‘cow’ as that’s rather crude. Pirate, that’s it! You’re the delusional pirate who claims to be my granddaughter.”
“I am, you bastard!” The burst of anti-energy Nebula fired from her gauntlet was designed specifically to kill Thanos.
Thanos balled up his fist and hurled the sphere of weapon’s fire in the path of Nebula’s blast. “Careful, that’s your fictional great-grandmother you’re insulting.”
The reaction was explosive, and Nebula was forced to briefly shield her eyes. The next thing she was was Thanos coming at her and, before she could react his hand was around her throat. She was lifted off her feet by an arm she was not much bigger than, and locked eyes with the Mad Titan.
“Now, what would an actual grandfather do as punishment? Not being one, I wouldn’t know. But I’ve an idea of what is expected when one’s mother is insulted.”
“Let her go!” Noh-Varr leapt away from Captain Mar-Vell and fired his lone gun at Thanos. The blasts that struck his face may as well have been bugs striking a windshield. Moving impossibly fast, Thanos grabbed Noh-Varr by the leg when the young Kree jumped overhead. Thanos didn’t swing, he simply flicked his wrist, and Noh-Varr went flying away with a shattered leg.
“Sadly, that won’t be the last interruption,” said Thanos. “And the expectation is that I be creative. Perhaps another time would be be-gahh!”
Nebula took the opportunity to fire another blast from her gauntlet. The power is much diminished without time to recharge, though the close range helped to make up for that. Thanos was struck with sufficient force that he released Nebula.
“Yes, later would be best.” A mental command activated a device the Shi’ar hadn’t found, and Thanos teleported away.
# # # # # # # # # #
“No!” Captain Mar-Vell flew through the after-image that had been Thanos. “Do you children know what you’ve done!”
“Yes.” Nebula produced a knife from her belt. “Gained another chance to kill Thanos. Though perhaps if I end you…”
Nebula swiped the knife at Captain Mar-Vell, but he side-stepped the attack. A backhand sent her flying at Noh-Varr. “You will have no chances, once the Shi’ar take you into custody for your crimes.”
Taking Noh-Varr by the arm, Nebula touched a button on her belt. “No, they will not.”
They teleported from Captain Mar-Vell’s sight, but he was not concerned. They could only have gone to the ship, and with a thought he would be there. Even if he couldn’t subdue them in their base, the time would allow the Shi’ar to enter the battle. But as Captain Mar-Vell prepared to teleport, a laugh gave him pause.
Captain Mar-Vell turned around, and observed the second prisoner he had sensed earlier. The man was of Earth yet clearly inhuman, with violet eyes and flowing black hair against pale skin. His costume was like someone’s bad idea of a modern version of knightly armor, a bizarre combination of metal and cloth complete with a cape. There was no denying the power Captain Mar-Vell felt from the man, however.
“Free, at last I am free to pay the Avengers a visit. Won’t Sersi be excited about the special gift I’ve been saving just for her.” The man looked down at the ground, then up at the sky. “What a wonderful new galaxy the Shi’ar found. What a shame I’ll destroy it same as I did the la-ungh!”
Captain Mar-Vell slammed against him with a force that sent him onto his back. Though he and Genis-Vell had no idea of the identity of who he was facing, Captain Mar-Vell knew it was someone that had to be stopped at all costs. Acting with a fiery passion, Captain Mar-Vell rained his fists down upon his foe’s face.
“You. Will. Do. Nothing!”
When Captain Mar-Vell was done, his opponent was unconscious and barely breathing through a ruined face. What confluence of events could have made a normal human powerful enough to survive such a beating.
Overhead, the ship was gone. Nebula had flown it away and, due to it’s other-dimensional nature, Captain Mar-Vell could not find it with his Cosmic Awareness. He could however sense the arrival of Chancellor Araki and several members of the Imperial Guard. Slowly and deliberately, he stepped over the unconscious Earthling and prepared for more battle.
“Take the prisoner away,” Chancellor Araki directed to several of the Guard. “It is important that he never, ever be seen again.”
To Captain Mar-Vell, the Chancellor said, “As for you, the purpose of your imprisonment has been rendered somewhat moot. With Thanos free, it would be the height of foolishness to lock up the Protector of the Universe.”
“Yes, I must stop Thanos from whatever he has planned.” And those children who are almost as dangerous, Captain Mar-Vell didn’t say. “But once that is done, I have no intention of surrendering myself.”
As Captain Mar-Vell teleported into the far reaches of space, he heard Chancellor Araki’s response. “And for the sake of all that is, we cannot give you that chance.”
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE AVENGERS!