POV: Baldur.
King's Room, Royal Castle of Genosha.
Shortly After Receiving the Message.
"Indeed, I'm missing my years of absolute peace," I mutter aloud to myself.
"Shall I read the message for you, sir?" My AI inquires, disregarding my lament.
A message from Reed Richards urgently summoning the Avengers surely doesn't bring good news.
I was surprised years ago when I learned that the Fantastic Four appeared in this world. They caused quite a sensation worldwide, second only to the Avengers, of course.
In fact, many have already forgotten about them, not because they're not relevant enough, but because they're practically never on Earth. So others think they're living as hermits or something. That is, if you don't consider the scientific wonders they're creating, but the truth is that the Fantastic Four were never a group of heroes, but rather a group of explorers. And they were incredible at it.
I confess I haven't read much about them in my world, but I've read enough to know how powerful they are, except for Sue's brother, Johnny; he's an idiot. To avoid trouble, I haven't meddled in their affairs or sought them out, so our paths never crossed.
"You can tell me the message, Alice," I finally say.
"In summary, sir, he requests a meeting with the Avengers; the matter at hand is of utmost urgency, concerning the future of the world."
"What a surprise," I say once again, venting.
"Should I pass this message to a less busy Avenger, sir?" Alice asks.
"I am the least busy Avenger at the moment. Activate the nearest portal, Alice."
"Yes, sir."
With my speed, it's relatively easy to get there, but portals are an almost instantaneous journey. After using my private portal located in a secure area of the castle, I reappear in the city of New York. The location where the quartet lives is well known, the Baxter Building, which is conveniently close to a United Nations headquarters.
It's a massive building with thirty-five floors, owned by the Fantastic Four. The building itself is well-known among young scholars as the center of technological innovation in the country.
I enter the building wearing a simple suit and head to the reception where a hologram of a beautiful Afro-American woman smiles at me.
"I have a meeting with Mr. Richards," I say simply.
"Would you mind telling me your name, sir?" She politely asks.
"Baldur."
I've already sent a message before stating that I would visit them immediately. So, everything should be fine.
"You may go up to the top floor, sir," the hologram immediately says, pointing to an elevator with the Fantastic Four emblem.
The elevator takes me straight to the 34th floor. When the elevator doors open, I'm greeted by a beautiful lobby.
"Thank you for responding to our request so promptly, Baldur," a voice from beside the elevator door says.
She's a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes.
"The urgent request from the Fantastic Four carries a certain weight not to be taken lightly, Dr. Storm," I say politely.
"I didn't know we held such weight with the Avengers," she says, smiling happily to be recognized.
"The other Avengers are well aware of your husband's mind, but in my opinion, you should receive more focus."
"Why is that?" She asks, curious.
"You are one of the most powerful beings on Earth and undoubtedly have a highly advanced mind."
"I'm glad to receive such high praise from a king and hero like yourself," she simply responds.
I wasn't lying; the force fields she creates can even cut through Celestials. If I were to train her, she could easily destroy a planet.
"Reed is waiting for you; let's move to the meeting room," she says, guiding me there.
On the way there, I focused my attention on her attire, a tight black suit with blue details and a four on the chest. Normally, I wouldn't pay much attention to clothing, but this one was built using unstable molecules, meaning the suit can adapt to a particular environment, allowing them to be incredibly resistant to drastic changes in heat, cold, pressure, density, dirt, etc. Not even Genosha or Wakanda have managed to create something like it so far.
So we arrive, passing through the door that led us to the meeting room where there was a table right in the center, behind it, was a man with his back to us frantically working on a holographic screen.
"Reed, we're here," Sue gently calls attention.
Reed then turns around, and the holographic screen disappears from in front of him.
"Sorry about that, I was checking how much time we have left," he says to me.
Reed from this universe is a bit young, around thirty, with a beard covering his face, his hair has two white streaks on each side.
"Increasing the suspense even more?" I inquire.
"It wasn't my intention, please, let's sit down."
After everyone is seated, I inquire.
"So, what kind of threat made the Fantastic Four seek help from the Avengers?"
"It's called Galactus!" Reed responds.
(Of course it's him, why wouldn't it be.)
"He's a world devourer," Reed continues.
"I'm aware of who he is, Mr. Richards. My people have encountered him a few times before."
"Well, that shortens the explanation a bit," he says, smiling.
"How did your group encounter him?" I ask, and it's Richards' wife who responds.
"We were wandering through space when we found a planet and decided to explore it, that's when he appeared. We tried to help those who lived on the planet, but in the end, we couldn't stop him. After that, we did everything to get back home after realizing that his next target was Earth."
If Galactus has just fed, it means the situation has become ten times worse. He was certainly a cosmic entity, but his power varies greatly depending on how much and when he has fed. A Galactus who hasn't fed for a long time could easily be handled by me and Thor, but a fed one, I doubt that even the Avengers together with me can handle.
"Does he have any heralds?" I inquire.
"What do you mean?" Richards asks.
"Heralds are his servants, aiding him in facilitating his feeding," I explain.
"Yes, we saw four of them, they were the ones who fought against us, actually, we didn't have much chance of stopping him," he responds a bit dejectedly.
"You four stood face to face with Galactus and managed to come out alive, that's already an immense feat."
"If you say so," he says, not believing me.
"Will the Avengers work with us, or will they try to handle this on their own?" Ms. Storm asks.
"I believe you still don't understand the level of threat Galactus poses, the Avengers won't be enough, we need many more allies to deal with this."
"Help is never too much, but who are we talking about?" she asks.
"I have some allies, I think they'll be quite useful in this battle," I say, smiling.
"Now who's the one creating suspense," he jokes.
"How much time do we have?" I ask.
"They don't seem to be coming directly to Earth, so by my calculations, we have a week until the Heralds arrive. But I can't locate their master."
"He can simply teleport away when the Heralds arrive," I say.
"I'm also analyzing the energy he uses to accomplish his feats; it's very similar to the one that gave powers to all of us."
"Cosmic power, divine energy generated by the great stars or planets. Manipulating it is the same as manipulating the universe."
Of course, my brief explanation sparked more questions, which were answered as quickly as possible. Before leaving, I invited them to a meeting to discuss how to deal with the threat. The meeting will take place tomorrow, as I need to gather my allies who are quite scattered.
POV: Baldur
Wakanda Embassy, South Africa.
One Hour After the Conversation with Reed.
"It's always good to talk to you, professor, but every time we meet in person, something urgent happens, which makes things quite uncomfortable."
The black man in his fifties is sitting at a table in front of me, T'Chaka, the current king of Wakanda. He came to this embassy to try to help resolve the conflicts his people are facing in Africa diplomatically, without revealing himself, of course. Behind him, two Dora Milaje stand holding their spears, looking straight ahead.
"I'm sorry to bring more bad news, King T'Chaka," I apologize. The last time we met in person was before the battle against Loki.
"Problems cannot be avoided. I understand that, but I didn't expect a problem right now," he says.
"Your son's coronation?" I inquire.
"Yes, it's approaching more and more."
"And in three years, King T'Chaka."
"What does an immortal being like you know about time?" he asks, jokingly.
"So, what troubles is this small planet going to suffer now?" I ask the old king, becoming more serious.
I begin to tell him about the threat we are facing, and the more I tell, the more serious the King becomes.
"This is worse than my imagination could create," he says in the end.
"Yes, I agree."
"But what can we do? Even if we use all of Wakanda's troops, I doubt it would make any difference against who we're fighting."
"That's true, which is why I want to put into practice the plan your daughter proposed once before."
POV: Baldur
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
Greymalkin Lane, Salem Center, New York.
Two Hours After the Conversation with Reed.
To avoid any misunderstanding, I land several meters away from the huge iron gate that gives access to Xavier's property. I was summoning my allies, but during this time, I was also formulating a plan to deal with Galactus, and Xavier could be an asset that I intend to use.
It doesn't take long for the gates to open, and the professor himself comes out of them in his wheelchair, with Jean Grey behind him pushing it.
"Mr. Bladur."
"Xavier."
We greet each other politely. He only appeared with his other telepathic student, but I could sense others around me, as well as knowing that the mansion has its own defenses.
"May I know what brought you here?" he asks.
"The end of the world."
And once again, I recounted what would happen to Earth in the coming days, and who would be responsible.
"So you came to request an alliance between the X-Men and the Avengers?" he asks after my account.
"Your X-Men would be a great help against Galactus, but I came to truly ask for your help and the brain."
"It seems you already have everything planned out, but you forgot that your men destroyed the brain in our last encounter."
"And you have already rebuilt it."
The conversation then continued, and I told him that we would meet later for a meeting he promised to attend; with the world threatened, there is no reason for him not to participate. Then I turned to leave.
I still need to find my annoying sister who never carries her communicator, so I'll talk to my last mutant ally. And maybe, just maybe. We'll have a chance to deal with Galactus.
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