POV: Baldur
Paris, France.
Shortly After the Arrival of the Heralds.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" I ask the new visitor.
Since the Surfer arrived, he hadn't made a single move. He simply gazed down at the lights of Paris from above. At first, he didn't respond to me, but then he turned towards me, allowing me to get a good look at his body.
A nearly human-like form, covered in shining silver skin, his eyes obscured by his skin color, and beneath him, a board of the same hue as his skin. His skin, like his body, was bestowed upon him by Galactus; both were a kind of metal that was practically indestructible. This skin was meant for navigating the perils of space, so even if I were to hurl one of my stars at him, he would emerge unscathed.
"It's you," he says.
"How do you mean, me?"
"The reason the Destroyer ordered four of us to come here," he replies calmly.
"And how do you know this?" I ask, curious. Galactus doesn't seem like the type of boss to share information.
"I am more attuned to cosmic energy than the others; I can see your light, it's beautiful."
He wasn't lying; he certainly was much more connected to cosmic energy than the other heralds. Just as he could sense my light, I could feel his energy. My instincts told me that if we were to fight, even though I might win, the price would be far too high.
"You seem different from the other heralds, so would it be possible to ask you to leave?"
(No harm in trying.)
"I cannot do that. The Destroyer has shown great interest in this small, young world, and I am compelled to obey. Even if it makes my heart bleed."
His response was expected.
"If you cannot leave, could you at least refrain from getting involved when the final battle begins?"
Another attempt; he's being forced into this, and surely doesn't want to fight. I don't care if he's just an observer.
"If ordered, I can do nothing but fight," he replies once more.
"And if you were to ignore that order if it were given?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Because there's a chance we could defeat your master."
The Surfer falls silent, perhaps pondering what I said, or perhaps judging me.
"Many have told me that before, that they could defeat the Destroyer, but none have even come close. I can see your light; you are surely one of the most powerful beings I've encountered. But your light does not compare to his."
(Another disappointing response.)
"So, there's no other option?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"No, it is inevitable."
Our conversation ends there. At that moment, we both begin to ascend rapidly. Shortly after, we were out of Earth's atmosphere. The two of us could destroy all of Paris in our battle, even though we don't want to do so and are holding back. The Surfer was kind enough to come into space. Now I have to win this fight without exerting too much energy.
(Easy to say.)
The Surfer makes the first move; he leans his body forward slightly, a subtle and delicate movement. Before I know it, he's already in front of me, his fist heading towards my face. I move Sigel as fast as I can and strike his fist. In the vacuum of space, there was no sound, just a flash of golden light against a silvery one illuminating the void.
I already knew how insane his speed was, but knowing and seeing it firsthand are two very different things. I can react to this speed, but maybe I can't keep up with him if he tries to flee. Speed and reaction speed are two very different things.
The Surfer didn't seem surprised that I could survive his speed; he then raised one hand and fired a burst of energy at me. I did the same with Sigel, firing back at him. Once again, there was no explosion, just energies colliding and shining.
"Baldur? What the hell are you doing!" a voice screams on my communicator.
It seems Stark really managed to create a communicator that works in space.
"You just destroyed thirty percent of the planet's satellites and nearly threw the Base out of orbit!"
While Stark was complaining, I was distancing myself from the Silver Surfer and the planet at my maximum speed, but when I look to the side, I see him calmly following me. He spins the board and hits my body squarely, destabilizing me.
I stop running, and I see that I'm almost leaving the solar system. This is a good place to continue the fight. This time, it's me who attacks. I spin Sigel and try to cut him in half. The Surfer raises his arm to defend himself. Sigel pierces his silver skin and makes him bleed, but the material he's made of is quite resistant, and I can't tear his arm off.
For the first time, my enemy shows surprise. His free hand shoots a cosmic blast at my body, making me recoil. Far from him, as he looks at the wound on his wrist, I look at mine. The cosmic energy blast is the same power that the Celestial I fought used, but at a much lower potency. Still, the damage is significant. Just this simple attack burned a good part of my torso.
I activated my runes to heal myself.
And the Surfer's natural recovery also healed him from my attack, but now he knows I can hurt him.
POV: Third Person
Boston, Massachusetts
Shortly Before the Start of the Fight against the Silver Surfer
Above the entire city stood the Lord of Fire, a man covered in red flames like those of the sun. He was holding a staff seemingly made of pure flames, with two large fireballs at both ends.
The Lord of Fire, like the vast majority of Galactus' heralds, was somehow forced to accept becoming what he is today. Even though he didn't like his role, he was obliged to fulfill it, but since he arrived in this city, he didn't make a move. There's no need to create unnecessary panic and destruction; this planet was already doomed for him.
The beings below him seemed to have noticed his presence; he saw several of them running, using vehicles built with their archaic technology to flee in the opposite direction.
Then behind him, a being crosses the clouds. This didn't catch the Lord off guard; he had already noticed the being coming his way the moment it entered the city.
Sleipnir, with Angela mounted on him, arrived on the battlefield.
"You must be one of the idiots who want to destroy this realm, right?" Angela asks, looking at the Lord of Fire.
"I'm not the Destroyer, just his herald," he replies.
"It doesn't matter; I was just confirming whether you were an ally or not. I was a little bored; you'll serve as a warm-up for the main event!"
Angela then drew her longsword from her back, and Sleipnir charged towards the Lord of Fire. Before she got closer to him, he spun his staff, firing one of the fireballs towards Angela.
Seeing the fireball the size of a car coming her way, there was no panic. With a swing of her sword, she cut the flames in half and continued her attack. The flames cut by her fell like meteors on the ground, exploding two blocks and spreading fire everywhere.
Angela finally attacked the Lord of Fire, but her blow was blocked by the staff. However, he underestimated her strength and was sent flying down. Angela didn't miss this opportunity and flew after him.
As he lost altitude, the Lord of Fire fired two more fireballs at her, which with Sleipnir's help, she easily dodged. When she got close to him again, she jumped off Sleipnir and attacked with all her strength, holding the sword with both hands in a high strike. The Lord of Fire simply twisted his body in the air, dodging Angela's blow, and was caught shortly after by Sleipnir before hitting the ground.
"BOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!"
Before the battle resumed, an explosion occurred in space. Angela looked up in time to see a flash of golden and silver light. She knew very well to whom that golden energy belonged. It made her smile.
"When Norin told us that there is a being of greater power in this world, I didn't believe it, but it seems to be true," the Lord of Fire said, also looking up.
"That being of greater power at the moment is behind you!"
It wasn't Angela's voice; behind the Lord was a man wearing red armor. He fired two missiles that hit the Lord of Fire head-on. The missiles weren't explosive; they were, in fact, liquid nitrogen. But the nitrogen had no effect on his flames.
He turned to Iron Man, and from his hand, he fired a burst of flames that would hit Stark head-on, but an invisible barrier appeared in front of him, dispersing the flames in the air and leaving him untouched.
"That was a very irresponsible move, Mr. Stark."
Another person joined the three, a blonde woman wearing a blue uniform with the "4" right on her chest. She had her hands extended in the air and was using one of her invisible barriers to levitate.
"I thought it would be enough to deal with him," Stark said, sounding a bit embarrassed.
"You thought your toy would be enough to handle a being wielding cosmic powers, Metal Man?" Angela asked, already irritated.
Their original plan was for Angela to attract the enemy's attention, then Stark and the Invisible Woman, who were already on-site and invisible, would defeat him in a surprise attack.
"I didn't want to worsen the pain you're going to suffer, but it seems inevitable now!"
The Fire Lord realized he was at a disadvantage, so he became serious. The red flames on his body began to increase in temperature, causing the air to distort. His staff also created two more fireballs at each end, this time, twice the size.
"The readings are going haywire. If he keeps this up, all of Boston will be ablaze!" Stark shouted, now more serious.
He was still safe because of his armor, and the Invisible Woman created a shield around her body for protection. Angela, on the other hand, had no problem fighting at this level of heat.
"He's like a miniature sun," Angela said, now understanding the full extent of her enemy's power.
The Fire Lord aimed his staff at Stark, and the fireball on it exploded into a stream of flames heading toward him. Using his sensors, Stark knew his armor would certainly be destroyed if he took that attack head-on, so he turned around and tried to evade it.
But the flames seemed alive; they began to twist in the air, taking different paths and curving to hunt down Iron Man. Unlike Iron Man, who needed to dodge buildings, the stream of flames simply passed through them. The temperature was so high that when the flames left them, the buildings had the appearance of melted plastic.
"How much longer, Jarvis?" Tony asked his AI.
"New configurations complete, sir," Jarvis responded promptly.
Then Stark stopped running and faced the wave of fire coming toward him. The Fire Lord's attack hit his chest precisely, exploding like a firebomb in the air; after hitting its target, the flames rained down on the streets below.
"This is going to be much, much harder," Tony said to himself in the air.
He analyzed the temperature of the flames and then created countermeasures using energy from his reactor to cover his body with a thin film of energy, preventing him from being touched by the flames.
"BOOOOOOOM!"
The explosion now occurred where Angela and Sue had been fighting, as if a nuclear bomb composed of pure flames had exploded in the center of the city.
"Much, much harder," Tony repeated, witnessing such destruction once again.
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