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Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of From Here to Eternity
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Published:
2022-12-07
Completed:
2022-12-15
Words:
9,170
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13/13
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2
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217

Cosmos³

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Chapter Text

Silver Surfer visits the Alpha Flight space station to meet with his beloved friend, and former lover, Mantis. Drax is also there as he recently returned to earth to fight off a Thanos invasion. Star-Lord, Rocket, and Groot had also been at the station to aid against the Badoon. When on a return voyage, the Norse deity Angela appears. She is an anomaly of this universe, and Uatu appears to witness her arrival. The Guardians first have to defend themselves against the Asgardian, before Captain Marvel interferes and imposes that she be escorted to Doctor Strange so he can investigate what had caused Angela’s universal displacement.

Chapter 2: The summons

Chapter Text

A huge, bald head materialized. It was broad-faced, and more or less square in shape. A bare, heavy brow hung low over white, pupil-less eyes. A relatively flat, small nose ran from between his eyes to the top of a grim, fine-featured mouth. Undersized ears compressed closely to the square skull. From the sheecameze of the cranium, it was obvious this head held a massive brain.
“There is a threat to Earth,” The head spoke. “Though the planet remains ignorant of its peril, it would cease to exist without your aid. This would be a grievous loss for the cosmos.”
A body then materialized beneath the head. The body seemed too fine-featured and disproportionately small to hold the weight of the head, but the body had a slight grace that belied great hidden strength. The figure wore a simple silk toga, and stood at no less than 12 feet tall.
“A rogue planet has moved into orbit around this galaxy’s sun. The intelligent creatures crawling around on the rogue planets surface pose a threat to Earth, as does the planet itself. Investigate and do what is necessary. This matter is now entirely in your hands. I cannot -- i mustn’t -- interfere!”
A floor began to materialize beneath the figure’s feet, as did a translucent wall behind his head. The figure now stood in a room of curved lines and luminescing light. Other man-shaped figures stood in the room.
“The threat lies here, in Earth’s orbit.” the tall figure said as he pointed to his right. The wall became transparent. On the other side of the wall, Earth’s star cast its light on the cratered, grey-dust surface of the moon. The rogue planet was not readily visible to the naked mortal eye.
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Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and the Silver Surfer all stood in the Watcher’s home on the moon. He had teleported them all there from their quarters on the Alpha Flight space station. All of the guardians, and the Silver Surfer, recognize Uatu and his duties as the watcher of our Universe.
Star-Lord covered his brow with his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. “I can't see it.” he complained.
“I have already done too much. Go. See for yourself.” Uatu replied.
“Why do you ask us to save Earth?” the Silver Surfer asked.
“Maybe you should not. But who should tell, if you do not investigate?” Uatu retorted.
Uatu then reluctantly lends the Guardians of the galaxy an old ancient Skrull saucer-ship that had been long hidden beneath the Blue City. Although the ship remained in excellent condition, its weapon operations were nonfunctional. The Guardians of the Galaxy and Silver Surfer boarded the vessel and activated its scanning and navigations systems, with which they determined the location of the rogue planet that had entered orbit with our galaxies sun that was set in a trajectory that would cause it to collide with Earth. So, the team departed immediately to investigate this rogue planet.

Chapter 3: Hero Worship

Chapter Text

A lush and verdant jungle covered the volcanic surface of the rogue planet. Villages dotted the dense vegtation. A large pyramid shaped mound rose from the earth in the center of the largest village. After some tests they determine the atmosphere is similar to that of earth, but had lighter gravity. The planet was rich in pure oxygen. They landed their borrowed ship just outside of the largest village.
A dozen humanoid aliens quickly approached. They stood at hardly 5 feet tall and wore nothing but a green cloth over their loins. Their bodies and heads were completely bald.
The natives’ jaws drooped from elongated heads, that made them seem taller than they really were. Their deep-set eyes studied the visitors with a vacant, yet curious gaze. Huge, fan-shaped ears flapped at the sides of their heads. About half of the natives present carried crudely crafted spears or clubs made of strange, bone-white substance that resembled wood. Although all the armed natives instinctively clung to their weapons, it was clear they found them woefully inadequate.
One of the natives stepped forth from the homogenous crowd. He moved his lips, but hardly the utter of a whisper could be heard. All of the other natives turned their ears, listening to their speaker. A moment later he finished his inaudible speech, and all the natives patiently awaited their reply.
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“Hey, what's up, I’m Star-Lord. You've probably heard of me, I'm a member of the Nova Corp. These guys are--” Star-Lord tried to introduce.
Squealing in fear and agony, the natives flapped their ears over their head and threw their spears before scurrying a dozen steps away. When the Guardians and the Silver Surfer did not retaliate, the natives threw their weapons aside and prostrated themselves before them with their ears carefully folded across their faces. The Headman then approached, and again attempted to whisper a message.
Mantis approached the Headman and laid her hands upon his to use her empathic ability and understand the alien language. “Welcome to Oolafat, mighty ones. We are honored by your presence.” the Headman was exclaiming in a hush.
The Headman of the Oolafat then insisted upon entertaining the visitors with a feast of fruits, vegetables, and varied bounties of their jungle. When the guests all agreed, the Headman ushered the villagers into preparation.
While the villagers prepared the feast, the Headman entertained the guests with tales of the devoutness of the Oolafat. The Headman reveals that his villagers, as well as all people of Oolafat, were devoted pacifists. He also reveals there were once two suns in their sky, but now there is only one. The Oolafat believed the Guardians and Silver Surfer were a pantheon of gods descended upon their world to study and solve their plight. The Headman voices his hopes that in providing worthy entertainment, the gods would be appeased and see fit to return the 2nd sun to the sky, as their planet has grown desperately cold without it and the majority of its vegetation will soon die.
Within an hour of their wait, the feast was prepared and the guests were asked by the Headman to take seats of honor atop of the tip of the pyramid. The servers placed baskets of red, green, and yellow fruit in front of the guests of honor. As the guests enjoyed a particular treat, so did the Oolafat determined by the guests favor. While the feast continued, several Oolafat performed an awkward dance around a massive bonfire for the guests. The native audience watched diligently for their guests’ judgement, and then mimicked their response.
The guests all approved of the first dance, and so a second immediately followed. Many dances until the guests grew bored with them and Rocket expressed discontent. When the slightest hint of disapproval of the dance was displayed by the guests, the Headman angrily ordered for the end of the ritual dancing. He then barked commands to begin the roasting. A dozen Oolafat seized the dancers, bound them to long poles and prepared to roast them alive on spits. The Headman seemed quite determined to roast the dancers who had offended his gods, and could not be swayed by the Heroes gentle persuasion. He seemed to believe the guests desired to eat Oolafat flesh, as Drax had made a comment regarding their civilization's vegan lifestyle.
As the guests physically intervene to prevent the sacrifice, a tremendous flash burst over the horizon. A thundering boom echoed out shortly after. All of the Oolafat disarmed and fell to the ground, muttering to themselves about the “Underspirits”. The Headman then flatly accuses the guests of angering the Underspirits by refusing their ultimate of sacrifices and trying to save the dancers.
Mantis relays their sincerest of apologies and asks to be introduced to the underspirits to appease them, and the Headman reluctantly agrees to escort the guests to the home of the Underspirits deep in the jungle.

Chapter 4: Ghost ship

Chapter Text

The Oolafat lead the Guardians to where a large mound rose out of the jungle below. Vines and mosses covered its surface in a mat of vegetation. Nevertheless, tarnished metal dully reflected the suns light here and there. There were no signs of life, but six partially decomposed Skrull bodies.
It was clearly a Skrull ship, but had appeared to have been abandoned for some time. The vegetation had completely overtaken it, and the metal had oxidized and rusted in the sun. When the guardians attempted to enter the ship the primary entry port would not respond. There were no other visible modes of entry, so Drax resorted to using his brute strength and tearing the port from the ship and tossing it aside. A few moments after entering the ship, 2 crew members resembling Skrulls, save for their bone-white skin and eyes appeared. The 2 Skrull-Ghouls armed with what appeared to be a machine patching kit moved towards the new breach in the ships hull. The Skrull-Ghouls calmly set about repairing the breach regardless of whatever Star-Lord or Rocket did to distract them. The Headman, who still accompanied the Guardians, became agitated and hid behind Drax. The Headman then began mumbling prayers to ward off the Underspirits.
“What's so bad about these guys?” Star-Lord asked.
“They are the Underspirits that haunt the Oolafat village. The only way to keep them at bay is to feed them the flesh of the Oolafat, twice for every 30 sleeps.” The Headman whispered as he cowered.
“Hey...repair-ghost. Why you guys picking on the Oolafat?” Rocket asked the ghouls.
Rocket was only met with terse suggestions to see the captain. Drax asked again, and when he was met with a rather rude retort he hauled off and struck one of the ghouls. Drax’s victim oozed a green, strange-smelling fluid from the attacks contact point. Neither of the 2 Skrull-Ghouls attacked in retaliation, save for a malevolent glare.
The Guardians then reveled in the freedom to explore the ship. In the galley Groot found a salty-smelling, red liquid slowly broiling in a pot. Bones lay submerged in the liquid. Disembodied fingers and toes littered 2 of the bunks found by Mantis and Silver Surfer in the barracks. Gamora found the Cargo hold filled with supply crates. A vacant crate shifted and fell as she entered and startled her, but otherwise the hold was empty. In the Engineering room, amongst all the fully operational machinery, Rocket found a small box containing red soil. Drax made his way to the bridge followed shortly behind by the Headman. A massive, muscular skrull looked up from a computer terminal as the 2 entered the bridge. The Skrull’s skin was translucent and lifeless as putty, but its coal-black, soulless eyes held a spark of evil spirit. Its sharp canines jutted over its lips, and a dark red stain ran down its chin. “Welcome aboard. Do you have any last requests?” the Skrull-Ghoul captain asked as it engaged Drax in battle.
The Oolafat Headman fled the scene in fear, while the remainder of the Guardians aided Drax in battle against the ghoul who attacked them one-by-one. After defeating the Skrull-Ghoul-Captain and converting him to a puddle of green muck, the Guardians decided to examine the bridge’s computer logs. It indicated that Skrull command had ordered the ship and its crew to patrol Earth’s quadrant and intercept any Kree vessels detected in the vicinity. Apparently, the Kree had created a new Cosmic Cube and wished to transport it to their throneworld. At last report, Skrull spies noted the Cosmic Cube had not yet been activated. The Skrull command wanted the Cube intercepted before it was.
The log continued to read that the ship had just detected a Kree vessel leaving hyperspace less than 10 hours ago. They moved to intercept, but the Kree vessel flew towards the sun to disrupt their sensors. The Kree ship passed dangerously close to a stray planetoid and unaccountably crashed. This ship followed it to the surface. Six Skrull scouts uncovered the location of the Kree crash site, and a strike force of the 24 crew members and 14 officers embarked to invade. Their mission was to retrieve or destroy the Kree’s newly created Cosmic Cube before it could be turned on them by their mortal enemy. According the final entry of the log, none of the Skrull crew members returned. Taking the coordinates for the Kree ship on this rogue planet, the Guardians decide to travel there.
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Traveling by flight (Silver Surfer and Mantis on his board, Rocket, Drax, Gamora, and Star-Lord by jet-pack) while Groot travels along the ground. Far below the jungle canopy a dozen figures crawled towards a jagged shape through dark shadows. A flash suddenly erupted from a hidden lump, lurking beneath a broad-leafed plant and the crawler fell motionless.
The crawling creatures were Skrull, wandering towards innumerable Kree that waited to spring an ambush. On one end of the clearing could be seen six large Skrull carrying a large crate of alien technology explosives. To deal with the threat and mediate the conflict, the Guardians split into 2 groups. Drax, Silver Surfer, Mantis, and Star-Lord headed towards the Kree ship while Rocket, Groot, and Gamora would attempt to disarm the bombs. The ambushed Skrull temporarily withdrew creating a standoff
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As the group approaching the Kree ship got near, a blue-skinned Kree soldier stepped into the open from an entrance to the ship. He held in his hand the newly created Cosmic Cube that he suddenly activated and transformed himself into a super-being. “How about i knock you down to size?” Asked the super-powered Kree as he held out the Cube directed at Drax. His control over the reality-warping cosmic cube cause a power-draining curse to come over Drax. Being recently activated, the cube was not yet strong enough to drain Drax on a grand scale, but it would continue to do so gradually until the guardians could get their hands in the cube and counteract the Kree’s wish. The Cosmic-Kree starts laying waste to all the Skrull he sees as he fought the Guardians.
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As the Skrull and Kree conflict wages around them the other group desperately fought their way to the highly lethal Skrull explosive to disarm it. Once at the bomb, Gamora and Groot provided cover defense for Rocket who attempted to disarm the bomb. Despite all attempts however, Rocket could not seem to recall the procedure for disarming the bomb. Groot and Gamora deftly defeated a number of the defending Skrull.
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As the Guardians and the Super-Kree fought for control over the Cosmic Cube, the omnipotence granted by the cube began to corrupt the beings mind. Looking at the ground: “what did you say?”. Addressing the sky: “Is this personal?”. Looking into the distance, “What do you mean by that?”. Staring at a nearby tree, “Nobody really likes me, they all just want the cube.”. Finally, “Here, you can have the cube if you want it.” and the Kree held out the Cosmic Cube to the Guardians. When Star-Lord reached for it the Kree snatched it back, and screamed. “I knew you would choose the cube!”
The maddened SuperKree then began violently lashing out against his own allies. His unassuming companions were effortlessly beaten down by the crazed omnipotent being.
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Rocket, in a last ditch effort to save everyone, was able to delay the complex explosives detonation. He was unable to disarm it, so bought them all time to escape. He notified the Guardians defending him and and they ran to meet up with the others. As they did, they noticed that the entire terrain around the battle was beginning to morph and alter.
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The Guardians watched in horror as the planet they stood on began to stand in revolt against the crazed Super-Kree. Earth and vegetation began to ensnare the enraged being. Only Silver Surfer bravely wrestled the Super-Kree for the Cosmic Cube. Both the Surfer and and the Super-Kree were being swallowed by a growing sinkhole, and Rocket told the others of the imminent explosion. In fear of their own lives the Guardians began flying to their borrowed vessel, to avoid the collapsing canyon and the massive bomb. Mantis weeped openly and the others mourned as they watched Silver Surfer consumed by the powerful waves of soft earth that enveloped everything.
The Guardians flew to see that there were no longer any Oolafat villages and that the ecosphere had completely degraded into a barren tundra. As the Guardians boarded their ship they watched on the horizon as a scarlet mushroom cloud blossomed, following by the painful wracking of the vessel by the explosions powerful shockwave. As the vessel rolled and looped into the vast ocean of space, and away from the planet all of the Guardians aboard were knocked unconscious by the extreme turbulence of chaotically escaping atmosphere.

Chapter 5: In the dark

Chapter Text

Silver Surfer and the Super-Kree fought for their lives as the very planet itself attempted to snuff their flames. Realizing that retrieving the Cosmic Cube was the best solution, the surfer fought for it. But, the moment his thin and metallic fingers touched the cube it teleported away in a flash of light.
Then, the deafening sound of the explosion roared overhead. The shockwaves battered the two beneath the surface with brutal concussive force. Tremors and seismic activity echoed out in response all around them. The animated earth around them suddenly went slack, and the dirt turned to loose sand and the 2 began a fall into a great crevasse.
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Ba-bump!
When the surfer awoke it was dark. Utterly, undeniably dark. So dark everything seemed to lose its meaning.
Ba-bump!
One needed light to combat darkness, and here there was no light. There was nothing. There was only…
Ba-bump!
A heavy, formless, tangible lack of something. A darkness so deep even existence itself seemed to have ceased.
Ba-bump!
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The Silver Surfer used his cosmic power to illuminate his environment with a bright cone originating from his hand. He appeared to be in a cubed room, about 10 feet across on each wall. It also seemed to be carved from a lump of black rock or obsidian. There were no doors, windows, or other entry points save for a narrow tunnel. The corpse of the dead Super-Kree lay nearby, crushed by stone. It was then that the Silver Surfer put it together.
He was trapped in the heart of Ego, the Living Planet. Every time the sentient planet’s heart beat (Ba-bump) the height/width/length of the room fluctuated by a foot. In an effort to gain control of the Cosmic Cube, Ego would have absorbed both of them and killed them. But, the Skrull explosive detonated and inflicted catastrophic damage to Ego. The living planet was stunned by the blast and its awareness was rendered temporarily dormant. The Silver Surfer he would need to take what little time was available to him to try to escape. He couldn't question the other Guardians survival, for if he did he was soon to join them in an afterlife.
The Surfer crawled through narrow nooks and crannies of living earth until he reached the crater left by the explosion.
The massive blast had gouged a 5-mile wide crater into Ego that ran a mile in depth. Once he neared the mouth of the explosion, the Surfer was able to call out with his board with his Cosmic power. It responded in kind by soaring to his location where he then boarded it and soared safely away from Ego.
Fully aware now of the threat Ego posed to Earth and the milky Way galaxy, the Silver Surfer decided there was likely only one being in the Universe capable of destroying the sentient planet. With the intent to save the galaxy in mind, Silver Surfer set out to retrieve one of its greatest enemies, Galactus the devourer of worlds.

Chapter 6: A contest of champions

Chapter Text

When the Guardians came to, the auto-pilot of their borrowed Kree ship safely landed them back on the moon. To gather their thoughts and establish the next route of action, the Guardians set off on foot to return to the home of Uatu for advice.
Suddenly, Uatu appeared to them on a nearby hill. Next to him stood a gaunt, tall man in an ankle-length jerkin. It was none other than The Grandmaster.
“As you all might have guessed by now, it appears the Kree have created a new Cosmic Cube.” The illustrious Grandmaster explained. “Of course, the Skrulls cannot allow the Kree such an advantage; it would undoubtedly mean the destruction of their civilization, if not the subjugation of their entire galaxy, which is why Uatu the Watcher appears to have broken his vow of non-interference -- again!”
“I have not broken my vow!!” Uatu angrily interrupted. “I am allowed to protect my property!”
“Be that as it may,” the Grandmaster nonchalantly continued. “The balance of power between the Skrull and the KreKree being what it is leaves the Kree believing they are doomed without the power of the cube. Unfortunately, the rest of the civilized universe may be doomed if the Kree possess it. The power of the Cosminc Cube is much too great to leave in the hands of careless mortals. Out of concern for the safety of this universe, the Elders intend to safeguard the Cube. Equally unfortunate, the Elders and i cannot reach an agreement on how to proceed in this matter, and a contest between beings of such great power would ultimately result in the destruction of this solar system. Therefore, we have decided upon a contest by proxy. Uatu the Watcher has chosen you as his selected champions, while i have personally selected the Inhuman Royal Family as my own agents. I sense that the Cosmic Cube is hidden somewhere in Attilan, the Inhuman city found on the dark side of Earth’s moon. The first group to return the cube to their sponsor wins.”
“You must not fail in this, my friends.” Uatu pleaded. “I fear the Grandmaster’s intentions are not as truly benevolent as they seem.”
“Enough!!” The Grandmaster snapped. “Let the contest begin!”
The Grandmaster and Uatu suddenly stood atop a bridge, instead of a hill. The desolate lunar crater they had been standing in converted into the lush vegetation of a forest. Several simple figures gaped in amazement at the 2 majestic beings alight the bridge. They all stood just outside of Attilan, the blue city. A controlled climate eco-sphere with gravity and atmosphere articulated to simulate earth.
“Let your search begin!” Boomed the enhanced resonation of the Grandmaster’s voice. “We will await your return here.”
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After entering the blue city and spending a bit of time anxiously searching in private, the Guardians eventually hear of a disturbance at the Attilan prison. When the Guardians go to investigate they arrived to find 8 Inhuman guards dead in the prison corridor.
The prison appears to have been forced open by a large being of great power. Long metallic shavings lined a fresh scrape in the hallway walls, and dirt from beneath the moon’s surface soiled the floors. The wounds exhibited by the dead guards were inflicted by physical and energy-type weapons. An escaped prisoner appeared to be the lone survivor of a vicious attack on the prison. Acting on suspicion of the prisoner, the guards captured him and began interrogating him.
The prisoner stated his name as Maximus, but did not speak of the crimes that warranted his incarceration in the Attilan prison. Maximus spoke of the giant prison robot that had somehow acquired a Cosmic Cube. He regaled how the robot had been granted abnormal intelligence, and spoke of using the cube’s power to transform the inhabitants of the galaxy into Mechanons and cybernetic beings. According to Maximus, the crazed robot murdered the guards and compromised the structural integrity of the prison to escape. Maximus then stated that he could pursue the robot, if the Guardians wished to obtain the cube. In fact, Maximus insists he be allowed to accompany them as a native of Attilan and a guide. He persists that his motivation to thwart the robot's insidious plans were genuine and that there was no harm that could be done by a being such as him, to those as powerful in reputation as the Guardians of the Galaxy. With lack of better options, the Guardians decide to allow Maximus to act as their guide in Attilan.
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Meanwhile, Silver Surfer struggles to find Galactus who had been led to the farthest reaches of the universe. Along the way, Silver Surfer struggles with the task at hand and the ramifications of returning the ender to the galaxy he had come to love more than his own. He also reflected on his role as a former Herald of Galactus and all he had accomplished in his travels. Believing the Guardians of the Galaxy and his former love Mantis to have been executed by Ego, the surfer angrily plots the revenge to be enacted on the rogue planetoid.

Chapter 7: A friendly chat

Chapter Text

Before the Guardians of the Galaxy and Maximus could leave the Attilan prison, 6 Inhumans and a massive, bulldog-esque alien creature stood in the corridor. As they studied the entrance to the prison, grim expressions of rage and determination spread across their faces.
“We had hoped to avoid a violent confrontation.” Said an Inhuman woman with long, Scarlet-hued hair. “However, if you believe the Grandmaster’s contest licenses you to destroy our city and treat with enemies of our people, you leave us no choice but to instruct you in manners and proper courtesy.”
The woman speaking was Medusa, queen of the Inhumans, and matriarch of the Attilan Royal Family. Her incredibly long and unnaturally red hair was the source of her Inhuman ability, as she had trichtokinesis. With her stood the rest of the Inhuman royal family, which consisted of Karnak, Gorgon, Crystal, and the mute Inhuman king Black Bolt. They were accompanied by the royal family hound, and loyal pet LockJaw.
Black Bolt wore a black masked costume with only silver bolts emblazoning the side. A strange metallic implement jutted from Black Bolt’s forehead as part of his Inhuman physiology, and resembled a tuning fork. Black Bolt had amazing energy manipulation abilities that he could not yet completely control, including a voice that produced quasi-sonic energy with immense destructive power.
Karnak was a shorter, skinnier Inhuman in green body armor. He was the cousin of Black Bolt, and the leader at the Tower of Wisdom (the principle venue of worship for the Inhuman religion). His Inhuman ability was extrasensory enhancement that allowed him to perceive any and all weak spots on a potential opponent.
There was Gorgon, a broad and tall muscular man with the appearance of a satyr (goat horns and lower body). He was the distant cousin of Black Bolt, but his immediate family had always played a role in the development of Inhuman society. His Terrigenesis resulted in the mutation of his lower appendages, but he was also granted superhuman strength and endurance far beyond human limits.
Next was Crystal, the younger sister of the Queen of the inhumans. She wore a sleek, yellow leather suit. Her Inhuman ability granted her superior control over the four primary elements through psionic interaction.
Finally was the trusted companion, LockJaw. LockJaw was an Inhuman dog with incredibly enhanced physiology due to prolonged exposure to Terrigen mists. It had incredible strength compared to a typical dog, a digestive tract capable of dissolving any known substance, enhanced olfactory sense that could follow a particular scent through dimensions, slight empathic ability, and could teleport itself and any chosen within his immediate vicinity through time and space to any location of its choosing.
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The Guardians immediately prepare to defend themselves against the Inhumans, who are intent on eliminating them as a threat. It was Mantis who first suggested to both parties that they work together in finding the Cosmic Cube. Medusa is the first to suspiciously ask why they should (unbeknownst to the Guardians the Inhuman, Runner had already used his emotional influence ability to boost the Inhumans’ confidence. He has convinced them the Guardians care nothing for the lives of those in Attilan). But, Mantis answers with the belief that Uatu and the Grandmaster only wish to safeguard the Cube.
Medusa explained that the Inhumans had initially declined to participate in the contest. Of course, the Grandmaster had anticipated this response and threatened to destroy all of Attilan if they did not comply with his demands. As a demonstration of his immense power, the Grandmaster had killed Black Bolt and then resurrected him in the blink of an eye. Medusa proposed that even if the Guardians do retrieve the cube first, they mercifully hand it over to the Inhumans to save Attilan.
Star-Lord then stepped up and tried to convince the Inhumans that handing over the Cosmic Cube to the Grandmaster could have dire consequences for the remainder of the galaxy, to which Medusa simply responded, “We suspected you would say something like that.”
The Inhumans would not agree to even discuss the matter with Uatu, claiming the Guardians were using a ploy to delay the Inhumans search for the cube. When Drax suggested combining their might in an effort to defy the Grandmaster, the Inhumans stood astounded. They deemed it pointless to agitate the entity any further, unless of course it came to be they had the powers to stand against him. Besides, Drax was still diminishing in strength and lifeforce from the SuperKree’s curse, that would eventually kill him if it could not be reversed.
Gorgon then accused the Guardians of freeing the Inhumans mortal enemy, Maximus. They reveal that the Guardians newest traveling companion was no other than Maximus, the Inhuman brother of Black Bolt who had attempted to usurp the throne on numerous occasions. He was a fugitive and enemy of Attilan. The Guardians were warned that they would be held accountable for any damage that occurred as a result of his freedom.
Maximus anxiously insisted he would cause no trouble, and wished to aid the guardians out of a genuine concern for the safety of the galaxy. The guardians also state how it was reportedly a giant robot who had broken into the prison, and not them. The Inhumans seemed a bit confused by the Guardians allowing a potential bit of info regarding the location of the cube slip, so they disregarded it as deliberately misleading. Before more of their story could be recounted Maximus interrupted by advising against the action of providing the enemy privileged information. As the conversation, and slight skirmish ended the Royal Family teleported away. Maximus conjectured that they probably returned to the Royal palace. Maximus also deliberated what he believed should be their next course of action. He suggests they search the Sub-City of the Alpha Primitives. His reasoning was that if he were intent on galactic conquest, his first move would be to form an army of stooges to handle the grunt-work and start resistance movements. Maximus states that the Alpha Primitives were the only beings in Attilan who could be coerced into cooperating with such a plan.

Chapter 8: Sub-human/Sub-city

Chapter Text

A hundred identical humanoids milled aimlessly about the large subterranean room. The figures stood at an average height of 5’7”, had green eyes, and were all completely androgynous.
Beyond the room, a complex series of tunnels led deeper into the sub-city of the Alpha Primitives. A few Alphas moved in and out of the tunnels with some dimly perceived purpose.
Maximus quickly set to deactivating the intense force-field that barred the sub-city from the rest of Attilan. Once he did so, Maximus simply began walking into the tunnels as hundreds of Alphas swarmed out of the doorway like the mouth of a funnel. Once the Guardians entered the tunnels, a swarm of a hundred Alphas was upon them. The Alphas were not inflicting harm, but the Guardians fought valiantly just to break free from the bustle of movement. A familiar face then stood out further down a tunnel. The face of Maximus amongst the Alphas was like a wolf among a pack of dogs. Maximus sneered as he worked his way down the tunnel unimpeded by the Alphas. Not wanting to lose sight of Maximus, Star-Lord broke free from the herd and chased the Inhuman down the tunnel. Star-Lord sprinted as he watched Maximus step into a cove and reach for a red lever attached to a panel in the tunnel wall. But, Star-Lord was late in catching him and arrived to see the lever being lowered.
The lever then detonated a massive explosive charge that had long ago been planted beneath the royal palace. A second after the lever was pulled the blast rumbled down to the Sub-city, and a moment later hundreds more Alphas began pouring from deeper within the tunnel and attacking the Guardians.
Then, Maximus’ genetic Inhuman ability was revealed. As the brother of the King of Inhumans, Maximus had the great power of mental domination. Using his mental domination on Star-Lord he first made himself imperceivable. This was much greater than any invisibilty, as Maximus actually numbed Star-Lord’s mind to his presence. To all of Star-Lord’s senses, ordinary or extra, Maximus had completely disappeared. Maximus mentally overrode his minds processes to alert him of a presence. Then, Maximus lifted a heavy rock and bludgeoned Star-Lord with it leaving him dazed. Then, exerting the limits of his mental domination ability Maximus transferred consciousnesses with Star-Lord. Meaning he would inhabit the body of Star-Lord while His own body would be Star-Lord's new prison. Maximus then used Star-Lord's body to knock his own body unconscious. He then exerted his mental domination over a small number of Alpha Primitives to take the unconscious body into captivity and care for it in the sub-city, without allowing it to regain consciousness. Once Star-Lord was secreted away in his body, Maximus posed as Star-Lord claiming that Maximus had abandoned them and probably went to get the cosmic cube for himself. He says that he overheard Maximus conversing with the Inhumans via a secret communicator, and that he was headed to the crypts beneath Attilan.
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As the Guardians left the slave-pens stood lining the entrance to the Alpha Primitive sub-city to serve as a grim reminder of Inhuman cruelty. A hundred-thousand yards of shock-wire divided dozens of square feet into tiny pens, of no more than 25 square yards. Despite the fact that the pen had no inhabitant for years, a filthy aura clung to the pens.
As soon as the last of the Guardians stepped from the threshold of the sub-city, Medusa yelled, “This is how we repay those who destroy our home! Regardless of who they are!”
The Inhuman royal family then ambushed the Guardians. As far as the Inhumans were concerned, the Guardians had directly violated their agreement to bring no harm to Attilan. Since their first encounter Karnak had used his ability to perceive all of their strong and weak points. Black Bolt strikes the weakened Drax with a strong jolt using his electrical generation. Medusa wielded a neural whip from the arsenal of weapons the Inhumans had confiscated from Maximus and other rogues over the years. Using a tendril of her hair to handle the whip, she cracked it at Groot who backpedaled in pain. Crystal waded into battle with the Negaflector, another special item from the Inhuman arsenal. The Negaflector appeared to be a black, full-length shield. However, whenever an attacker struck it, it absorbed the energy of the attack (kinetic or otherwise) and converted it to the opposing form of energy before emitting it. For instance, a fire blast would be re-emitted as ice, and the Guardians’ laser blasts were re-emitted as a spray of particle beams. Karnak operated an ancient heavy blaster with ridiculous range that fired a beam of protoplasmic energy. Gorgon wore a suit of Inhuman battle armor that endowed its wearer with temporary invisibility, activated by telepathic suggestion.
When the fight broke out, Maximus in Star-Lord’s body leapt back to hide in the sub-city’s entrance where he fired on the Royal Family with Star-Lord’s long-range laser pistols. Rocket, and Mantis also fired at Karnak and Gorgon, while Gamora drew her sword and charged Crystal. Black Bolt used his telekinetic force field to block all of the guardians lasers, until Drax broke the shield and Black Bolt relentlessly engaged him in melee with his incredible strength. When Gamora cut Crystal’s Negaflector in half, Crystal resorted to creating firestorms and controlled earthquakes to disorient the guardians. As Rocket used his jetpack to hover over Karnak, he went to drop a bomb, LockJaw ran to Karnak’s side and began teleporting him around the chamber sporadically. It was then, after being struck by Drax, that Black Bolt stood up straight and whispered a single word: “Stop!”
The quasi-sonic energy from that single whisper blasted the combatants into unconsciousness and battered them against their surroundings. The pens had been completely mangled. All those present suffered ringing ears and splitting migraines from the sonic boom. As almost everyone else lay in a daze Black Bolt, Karnak, and LockJaw escorted their allies and the Guardians as prisoners back to the partially destroyed Royal palace.
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After being held captive and negotiating, the Guardians were able to reach a truce with the Inhumans. The Inhumans would agree to give the Cosmic Cube to Uatu if the Guardians complied with the following conditions:
The Guardians promised no more harm would befall Atillan or its people as a result of the contest.
The Guardians allow Black Bolt to be the one to personally deliver the cube to Uatu.
The Guardians aid in opposing the Grandmaster’s planned destruction of Atillan.
As a guarantee of their promises, one of the Guardians would be kept in remote-controlled shock-shackles. This prisoner would be permanently detained in Attilan if the truce was not kept.
In return, Black Bolt and the Inhumans would agree to:
Place the royal family’s resources at the Guardian's disposal.
Allow the guardians free movement throughout all of Attilan.
Give the Cosmic Cube to Uatu in the event of them finding it first.
Provide medical assistance to Drax who had reached a state of complete debilitation and would need life-support.
Maximus in Star-Lord’s body uses his mental domination to enforce the idea of Gamora being the one placed in shock-shackles. He also confessed to the Inhumans that it was Maximus who had detonated the bomb and not the Guardians of the Galaxy. He tells them Maximus fled after betraying them. The Inhumans are grateful for the info and order an extra battalion of Inhuman soldiers be sent on patrol to capture Maximus.

Chapter 9: Hide and Seek

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Attilan was much larger than it seemed so the 2 groups broke into smaller pairs. Rocket and Star-Lord (really still Maximus), Gamora would be following Crystal in shackles, Black Bolt and Groot, medusa with Mantis, Gorgon and Karnak.
Rocket and Star-Lord’s body inhabited by Maximus set out about the town and visited the marketplace. There Rocket gleamed alot of information regarding the Inhumans. Crystal had scandalized the entire royal family at one point by having an affair with a human. Black Bolt had accidentally killed both of his and Maximus’ parents. All the produce in the market came from a massive hydroponic vegetable garden beneath the city. Gorgon once considered Earth’s Fantastic Four to be his greatest enemy. LockJaw was actually a deformed Inhuman, who simply looked like a dog because of the mutation. It was also common knowledge of a Kree Sentry robot that guarded the moon and observed the Blue City, yet nobody knew where to find it. As they walked the Marketplace Rocket began to suspect something amiss with Star-Lord as he behaved erratically.
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Gorgon and Karnak revisited the prison Maximus had escaped from to search again for the Cube. Several witnesses recounted seeing the Sentry-bot walk through the wall, despite the withering guards’ attacks. Many had assumed Maximus had devised another plan of escape, and duly reported it to the Royal family. They had seen The robot exit toward the sub-city.
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Medusa and Mantis first searched the Attilan Parliament building. In parliament, a special session of the genetic council had been convened to consider counter-measures to the grandmasters destruction threat. After not finding the Cube and being wrapped in the depressing political climate of Attilan’s private affairs the duo decide to search the city’s parks. Dozens of Inhuman families and children played there. Some of the citizens claimed to have heard a loud boom coming from the pit of the dead.
In each park, a group of dazed, ragged Inhumans marched near each entrance. They carried signs reading: “the end is near!” when questioned about their signs, the sign-holders would ask if Mantis had seen “The crazy cats atop the tower of wisdom”?
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Black Bolt first led Groot, with whom he easily and initially developed a friendship with, to the Terrigen labs. Genetic records indicated that there were 2 Inhumans in Attilan with mutated bodies resembling giant robots: Garnet Cato, a reclusive philosopher residing in the old city, and Claude Victor, a raucous public sportsman who lived near the Avenue of harmony. Garnet’s neighbor, when they visited, claimed the man hadn't left his home in 10-years. When they asked where he had been the night of Maximus’ prison escape he had no alibi and asked why he would need one, clearly oblivious. Claud, and Inhuman known to always be making a scene claimed to have seen the robot attacking the prison and that his 6 friends and he would have defeated the robot had it not fled.
Eventually the 2 ended up at the Attilan power plant to search for the Cube. The superintendent said, “i know why you’re here, and i haven't seen any Cosmic cubes or robots. Although i could sure use one after losing a couple of my Alphas a few days ago. If you find either, would you mind lending it to me for a couple days?”
Their last stop was the Silent City, where nobody spoke in honor of the Inhuman king. Black Bolt and Medusa traditionally used their sign language to converse, but found Groot empathic enough to understand their wordless communication. They sas the tremendous robot walking through their portion of Attilan heading towards the pit of the dead. They later heard a loud boom, but considered it was the sneeze or cough of their king Black Bolt mistakenly.
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LockJaw was able to find Star-Lord in Maximus’ body and recognize his true identity due to his advanced telepathic abilities. LockJaw aided Star-Lord in escaping, and then began searching for the others who had all convened and decided to search the last remaining place in Attilan where a stone had yet to be turned. The Pit of The Dead.

Chapter 10: To wake the dead

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A long, winding case of stone stairs descended in a spiral into the inky depths of the Pit. A sickly sweet, musky smell clung to the air and walls of the staircase. Nothing stirred from below. The Inhumans decided to stay above on the surface and allow the guardians to search unless they heard any signs of obvious disrespect-- breaking urns, cracking tombstones. The 1st and 2nd crypt searched were occupied with average middle-aged Inhumans of either gender. The 3rd with something unrecognizable and foul-smelling. After searching for a while, Maximus in Star-Lord’s body noticed a disturbance in the dust leading towards an open crypt. When he searches the crypt he finds the body of a young woman, when he recalled that Trista Rufina (the name on the tomb) died an elderly woman. Then, the Sentry Robot attacked!
At this moment, LockJaw and Star-Lord appear outside thw Pit of The Dead and LockJaw relays all the information to the Inhuman Royal Family of the body swap. They then all rush to the aid of the Guardians who battled the Sentry Robot.
As Maximus in Star-Lord’s body fought the robot for the Cube, he became frightfully shocked as he watched his former body enter the crypts. Threatening to kill Star-Lord’s body, LockJaw uses his own telepathic ability to manipulate Maximus into swapping back into his own body. Shortly after Star-Lord is in his own body, Black Bolt defeats the Sentry robot and the Cosmic Cube is retrieved. Holding the cube in his hands, Black Bolt uses its great power to restore Drax and lift the Super-Kree’s curse, as well as repair the bombs damage to the royal palace and place the Alpha Primitives back in captivity and Maximus back into prison.

Chapter 11: Checkmate

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“I was correct, Watcher, they have found the Cube.” The Grandmaster said.
Two majestic figures materialized and stepped from the shadows, The Grandmaster and Uatu the Watcher both held out their hands expectantly. When Black Bolt prepared to place the Cosmic Cube into the hands of Uatu, The Grandmaster glared daggers at the Inhumans and said, “I promised to destroy your city if you failed me, and so i shall, but i have business here -- so you have received a brief reprieve.”
But, Rocket then began to call into question Uatu. He began to claim that it was an imposter, and not the true Watcher. The Uatu imposter, unable to defend himself had the Cube snatched from his hands by Rocket. “Enough!” the Grandmaster shouted.
With a clap of his hands, The Grandmaster wiped Rocket from existence with his death power. In a blind rage The Guardians opened fire on the imposter and the Grandmaster. The Trader, who was posing as Uatu then used his temporal assimilator to bring the events backwards in time to the moment before Rocmet snatched the Cube from his hands. This time, The GrandMaster snapped his fingers and teleported the Cube into his hands. As the Guardians attack the Grandmaster and The Trader, the Trader zapped a few of them with a stun gun. The Inhumans stood by and idly watched the battle, clearly outclassed and unsure as to which side to fight for. Eventually, The Grandmaster teleported himself and the Trader away with the Cube.
As soon as the Elders left, the real Uatu arrived. He then said, “after long and careful deliberation, i have decided it would not be a violation of my noninterference vow to tell you, the Trader has stolen my identity to manipulate you into the Contest, although i remain unclear as to the motivation of the Elders for obtaining the cube. I do know they would fear if Galactus were to discover they were looking for it. They used you as proxies to avoid his notice -- do not let this trouble you. The Elders are to you, as your or Inhumans are to a typical earthling. But, now you must find them and undo what they have tricked you into doing.” Uatu then teleported everyone to the surface if Attilan.
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Meanwhile, Silver Surfer and Galactus arrive in the Milky Way galaxy where Galactus makes a literal meal of Ego. The devourer of world sustained himself with the immense energy of the sentient planet and felt the power cosmic enforced through his veins. He rejoiced, when suddenly, himself and Silver Surfer were teleported to the dark side of the moon.

Chapter 12: The Guardians strike back

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Panicked mobs of Inhumans crowded Attilan’s streets. Men and women raced toward the Aerodrome. The reason for their panic was readily apparent. A foreboding, man-shaped figure loomed over the blue city, so large he eclipsed even the disk of earth. Standing as tall as Attilan’s highest tower, he wore dark, metallic armor lending him resemblance to a robot. On his head rested a winged, cylindrical helmet that framed his grim, determined face. “Who summons Galactus, and how?!”
The Inhumans immediately part company with the Guardians to expedite the evacuation of Attilan.
The Elders had locked themselves in Attilan’s Arena of Judgement, behind one of the Grandmaster’s powerful force fields. They were all using the energy they could coax out of the power-primordial to super-charge the Kree’s Cosmic Cube. They had asked the cube to destroy Galactus, but were realizing that the Cube would need much more energy to complete the task.
As the Guardians looked into the Arena from outside the force field they saw all of the Elders (The Collector, The Grandmaster, The Champion, The Runner, The Gardener, The Contemplator, The Possessor, The Obliterator, The Astronomer, & The Trader. Ego was the only missing Elder, having been devoured by Galactus) standing in a circle around the Cosmic Cube, their fingers streaming shimmering, multi-colored strands of raw energy into the cube. The cube bounced across the ground like an angry and wounded animal.
In their time of need, and in response to the arrival of Galactus on the moon former guardians The Thing, Venom, and Shadow-Cat came from the Alpha Flight space station to lend a hand. Then, the Guardians of the galaxy all work together to develop a plan. Their plan is for Shadow-Cat to phase the team through the force-field where Drax, and The Thing would ambush the Elders. From there, it would be up to most of the rest of the Guardians to unleash a ferocious attack on the Elders with what little element of surprise remains, while Groot and Venom tried to sneak their way to the Cube.
Galactus remained motionless and impassive in the sky above Attilan, but when the guardians moved into action he spoke. “I see you, gnats. Was your previous attempt not disastrous and painful enough?! This time, i shall postpone your punishment until i deem something worthy.”
Galactus spoke to the Elders.
Then, the Guardians leapt into action. Once Shadow-Cat phased the team, Rocket dispensed a flash-bang smoke grenade to disorient the Elders who were completely rapt in their activity.
The Collector wore Etherion battle armor equipped with a temporal assimilator that, used when he spied the Guardians attack, carried him quickly into the future and then directly back to the present so he could see their next moves. Breaking his siphoning of energy from the Cube, The Collector drew a sonic scrambler sidearm and aimed it towards the Guardians.
The Thing bellowed out, “It’s Clobberin’ time!!” as he hauled off and dealt the Champion a mighty blow across the mouth.
The Champion merely straightened his neck and stared down at the frail figure before him. “Congratulations!” The Champion roared as he charged toward the Thing and batted him into the far-away wall.
The Astronomer frightened from their task easily, and teleported away to the farthest reaches of the galaxy at the first sign of trouble. Leaving his fellow Elders to dispatch the intruders and continue charging the cube without his assistance. The Gardener also opted to avoid combat, choosing instead to continue channeling his energy to the Cube.
Shadow-Cat rushed to attack The Runner with her laser pistol when the Elder rurned and smiled at her gleefully. She found herself immediately, and inexplicably liking the Runner and even engaging in playful conversation as they fought. He dashed about the arena, occasionally blasting at her with his Energy projection ability.
Reveling in combat, The Obligerator used his armor’s ranged weaponry and chuckled maniacally with every scored hit against Drax. The Trader attempted to use his power of extreme persuasion to manipulate Rocket into abandoning the fight, wording their terms of surrender as some form of barter.
The Grandmaster began wildly teleporting about, taunting the Guardians with remarks about the futility if their actions and how woefully outpowered they were. “Foolish mortals!! You meddle in affairs beyond your comprehension!”
But, then, The Silver Surfer joined the fray and began blasting the Elders with his extreme cosmic energy blasts. He quickly turned the tide of battle to slightly more in favor of the Guardians. Galactus had began to watch the combat, and commented to the Elders. “Again you have failed. This time mere mortals have foiled your plans. Perhaps you should resign yourselves to your domain of the universe -- before you lose it all together.”

Chapter 13: The return of the Kree

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The Cosmic Cube flashed and then turned as black, and as cold as the deepest reaches of space. Several puzzled Elders stared in amazement at the blackened cube. A tremendous roar erupted at the gates! Black Bolt led a horde of cheering Inhumans into the Arena of Judgement. Galactus had vanished!
“It cannot be…” The Grandmaster muttered angrily.
“Again we have failed.” answered the Gardener. “the Cube depleted itself before Galactus fell.”
“Brothers, we cannot win all the time.” The Runner stated as a good-natured and wide grin spread across his boyish face. “Perhaps we should leave here.”
“Not before i congratulate our opponents on a contest well fought,” The Champion began. “Mortals, there are few beings who can match wits with we-who-cannot-die. This victory is rightfully yours.”
The Elders then disappeared.
Medusa approached. “The Cosmic Cube is secure, Attilan still stands, and Galactus is gone, accept our humble thanks; we are safe once again.”
Uatu appeared before Medusa. “Perhaps, and perhaps not. But, these mortals have fought well and deserve the gratitude of many races more than the Inhumans.”
It was then that the Guardians realized they had other matters to attend to as a full Kree fleet had just came into view above Attilan. After receiving a message from Sentry robot 9168, the Kree dispatched a hastily constructed fleet to Attilan to retrieve their stolen cube. When a commando team was unable to recover the cube and only a broken robot from Trista’s tomb, it was decided the Kree would attempt to intimidate the Inhumans. “Attention, Inhuman scum! The Kree empire has come to reclaim its stolen property. Unless you return our Cosmic Cube to us, we will level your entire precious city. You have 10 seconds to respond.”
When the Guardians agreed to help the Inhumans with the Kree threat, the Inhumans graciously decline needing any assistance. They claim to negotiate using the deadened Cosmic Cube as a bartering tool. As the Guardians of the Galaxy board a ship to travel back to the Alpha Flight space station, they watch the result of the Inhumans handing over a useless and blackened Cube. The Kree’s retaliation was met with the truly awe-inspiring and devastating power of Black Bolt, the king of Inhumans who destroyed the entire Kree fleet. The Guardians watch the ships exploding like fireworks in the distance as they flew through the remaining dust particles and meteorites of Ego towards the space station.

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