It was just one small step for the Fantastic Four and Xandar's Suzerain,
but as they exited the dimensional portal's transition buffer, over two
and half million light-years separating Earth from the Andromeda galaxy
had been spanned. The floor where their feet landed was cracked and
covered with debris, and the air was filled with smoke and shouts.
"INCOMING!"
Susan raised her invisible shield just as half a dozen figures turned
towards them, hand-held weapons firing energy discharges.
"Dose ain't Skrulls." Ben Grimm said. The men and women facing them
wore gold-and-blue outfits with golden helmets, and their figures were
as human-like as Adora's own. Some were on the floor wielding weapons,
while others hovered in mid-air, surrounded by a faint golden glow.
"Nova corps!" Adora cried out.
Several more in similar dress could be seen running ran or flying near
the opposite side of the enclosure. A wall exploded in the distance and
the situation became even more chaotic.
Adora called out in the Xandarian language, but while the invisible shield
allowed passage for low-kinetic-energy vibrating air, the prevailing noise
of the ongoing combat was too loud for her voice to be heard, and the Nova
corpsmen firing at the group clearly did not recognize the young woman in
the oversized lab coat.
"Dem grunts ain't listening. Lemme at 'em, Suzie, so I can-"
Adora held up a hand. "Please." She removed the lab coat, letting it fall.
Ben looked away. "Damn. Shoulda warned first!"
"Not complaining here," Johnny said.
Susan rolled her eyes. What was with this girl and stripping?
Reasserting her regal demeanor, Adora threw her hair back from her face,
and raised both arms high as she stepped forward, fully nude but for the
decorative golden rings on her neck and arms. The Nova corpsmen reacted
instantly and lowered their weapons.
"Her adornments must be some kind of badge of office," Reed commented.
"Or everyone's really familiar with how she looks naked," Sue muttered.
An elderly man in torn purple robes hobbled towards them, calling out
Adora's name in a weak, hoarse voice.
"Master Xar!" Adora ran forward, but was stopped by the invisible force
surrounding them.
"They may be Skrulls in disguise. Again," Sue warned, an edge to her
voice. "Reed?"
Her husband studied the screen of a handheld device. "The scanner doesn't
detect the characteristic Skrull mutable-"
"Alright." Sue removed her shield, allowing Adora to rush towards the
stumbling man. They spoke quickly in Xandarian while pointing excitedly
at the Fantastic Four, and Reed in particular, as Sue noticed.
"So where's the damned Super-Skrull-?" Ben strode forward and several
of the Nova corpsmen retreated with uncertainty in their faces at his
massive bulk, hands clenching weapons nervously. "He came before us!"
"I suspect the fighting going on was due to him."
Ben tried to peer through the smoke curtains still blanketing the view
through several collapsed walls. The noise had died down. "Seems over now."
Adora walked back to them, now covered with Master Xar's ragged purple
cape. "The Skrull warrior did come..." She blanched, hesitating for an
instant, but did not lower her eyes. "Before us, but the Nova Corps had
already secured the outpost from the Skrulls. He... fought through
their ranks, and is now trying to escape, with the Corps in pursuit."
Dressed in a stained under-tunic, Master Xar approached Reed Richards,
taking his hands in a trembling grip, before bowing solemnly.
"Wee-Welcome, oh, Greatest Mind of your Galaxy." His voice clearly
struggled with the sounds of English language. "Xandar re-rejoices at yon-your arrival."
Reed had the decency to look embarrassed, Sue saw.
"Er... We are glad to be here. We... shall all help as we can."
"To Xandar's Living Computers must go, then. Important is."
"Master Xar!"
A young man in Nova uniform flew towards them, three golden starbursts
emblazoned on his chest as opposed to the sole or twin ones of most of
the surrounding corpsmen. The faint golden nimbus enveloping his lean
figure faded as he landed a few steps away.
"The damn bastard broke through the perimeter-! Um, sorry." He switched
to the sibilant language of Xandar, only to stop abruptly and stiffen in
in obvious surprise as he registered the presence of the new arrivals.
"Woah! The... Fantastic Four?"
Ben nodded. "Got eyes under that helmet, dontcha?"
"THE Fantastic Four! That's awesome!"
"Gotta a fan here, folks."
"You speak English fluently, without any accent," Sue said. "Who are-?"
"I'm Rich-Richard Rider." He removed the golden helmet, revealing the
face of a very young man, with brown hair and brown eyes full of awe.
"From New York!"
Reed aimed again his device. "Genetic scan confirms his being an Earthman,
though his body is apparently being augmented by some kind of overlapping
energy field effect-"
"Yeah. The Nova suit, it kinda gives these powers..."
"Not from Yancy Street, aintcha, kid?"
"Er, no, Sir, sorry."
"You'd be sorry if you were!"
"Don't mind Ben, he's just kidding." Smiling, she extended a hand.
"Pleased to meet you, Richard. I'm Susan Storm."
"The Invisible girl, wow," Rich muttered, fumbling with his helmet before
taking her hand awkwardly, his eyes wide as saucers as he looked straight
at the blue-eyed blonde with undisguised awe. "You're even... I mean...
You... I have your poster in my room. I mean..."
Sue blushed, surprised. "Oh, please, don't remind me about that one!
It was so cheesy. I should have never-"
Reed frowned. "The one you did for that magazine-?"
"Sports Illustrated. Swimsuit issue," Johnny confirmed.
"You looked great in it, dear. Tasteful, too."
"Yeah, everyone bought that one. EVERYONE."
Rich nodded vigorously in agreement, still staring intently at Susan's
face, at her large blue eyes, delicate nose and rosy lips, framed by long
flowing blonde locks. He then caught himself, and uncomfortable, looked
down, but that meant looking at her chest instead, and the tight bodysuit
showcased how large and perky her breasts were. He quickly looked up,
meeting her eyes again. "Sorry, I didn't-"
"It's alright." Sue smiled pleasantly at the young man's nervousness,
not having missed his wandering eyes. "You're a long way from home, Rich."
"Guess so, yes."
"There will be time for introductions later," Adora interrupted, having
exchanged several quick words with Master Xar. "We must-"
"Kid beat us here to a different galaxy! Least we can do is say 'hi' to
a fellow Earther!" Ben gave the young man a friendly slap in the back,
a slap that shook dust and debris off his uniform and made him stumble
forward, towards Sue.
"Oh, sorry!" Rich started back. Susan had needed to place a hand against
his chest to keep him from crashing bodily against her. Against her body.
His face had come very close to hers. Very close.
"Don't worry." She smiled at him. Again.
He realized he was still holding her hand and let go, self-consciously.
"So, Rich. How did you get here? How is it that you're part of the
Xandarian military?"
"It's a long story. We barely arrived today and kinda got recruited-"
"The Living Computers await we!" Master Xar spoke up from a nearby console
where he had activated various controls. "First to the ship go must!"
"Yoda teach this guy English, too?"
Johnny frowned. "What ship?"
"The one we came in. With the others."
"Others?"
A shimmer of light suddenly surrounded them and they were gone.
**************************************
The surroundings blurred, changing shape and color, and the space about
them contracted into a smaller, yet still spacious volume, bounded on all
sides by metal bulkheads. Nova corpsmen stood in attention and technicians
rose from their seats before a complex navigation console, bowing their
heads towards Adora.
Ben staggered, disoriented, and reached for a nearby chair for support,
but its back crumpled into twisted metal in his grip. "Oy... Sorry.
What's happened? Where're we?"
"Short-range teleportation." Reed glanced quickly at the control console.
"Localized warping for dimensional displacement, apparently. Your body's
mass means greater inertia and makes it harder for you to adjust to the
relocation, especially in a group displacement."
Johnny smiled at Ben. "Told you about dieting, but did you listen?"
"Shut up, match-head."
Master Xar spoke briskly in Xandarian to the navigators, who sat back at
their controls promptly. A faint humming coursed the ship as engines activated.
Reed Richards stretched his torso to better peer at the navigation displays.
"Warp drive technology?"
Master Xar nodded. "We reach Xandar short."
"Shortly," Adora corrected.
"At last." A deep voice resonated, filling the whole room. A tall,
massive figure approached from the edge of the room, followed closely
by a golden-plated robotic figure. "The end of this long journey."
The Fantastic Four stared in surprise. "The Sphinx?"
Ben crouched immediately into fighting posture. "Whatsa this guy doing here?"
Standing over seven feet tall, with an aloof, arrogant bearing that spoke
of power beyond even that apparent in his heavily-muscled figure, the one
known as the Sphinx stepped calmly towards the new arrivals. "As always,
I seek... a personal fulfillment."
Flames sprouted over Johnny's body prompting looks of alarm among the
Xandarians. "Didn't Black Bolt get rid of him, months ago?"
A faint, dismissive grimace appeared in the Sphinx's dusky countenance.
"Indeed, last we met, my encounter with the monarch of the Inhumans proved
fruitless, as had so many other previous attempts to find enlightenment.
But now-"
"You want light?" Johnny raised a flaming hand. "Try this-!"
Richard Rider stepped before him, hands raised in a placating gesture.
"Wait, wait-! He's on our side!"
"He is?"
The Sphinx remained impassive, hands held behind his back, his face expressionless.
"I fought against him before, too," Richard explained. "But we joined forces to get here."
"He has great power, Suzerain," Master Xar muttered to Adora in Xandarian.
"He offered his assistance against the Skrulls."
"I see," Adora said, eyes narrowing.
"He's who figured it out about my suit and this ship," Rich continued.
"He gathered me and the rest. We are here because of him."
"This was the flagship of the Nova Corps. Our most powerful vessel,"
Adora said. "It was believed lost."
"We brought it back as soon as we could." Rich turned to the Fantastic
Four. "The ship belonged to the dying alien who gave me the Nova suit-"
"Nova Centurion Prime Rohmann Dey," Adora stated. "Nova Corps Leader.
He chased the Luphomoid Zorr to your galaxy, to your world, to make him
pay for the destruction of Xandar."
Johnny frowned. "Destruction? Weren't we going there to save it-?"
A vast holographic display spread suddenly before them. Shimmering in
the combined light of a trinary star system, partially translucent spheres
the sizes of moons stood out like Christmas ornaments against the backdrop
of a crowded asteroid field. Enclosing irregular planetary fragments the
size of continents, the vast orbs were interconnected by multiple tubular
sections of the same diaphanous construction.
"There." The Sphinx's eyes glowed, as did the red gem set on his brow. "Xandar."
**************************************
"Kl'rt? You dare show your face to your emperor, you cur?"
The warrior known as Super-Skrull to the people of Earth held back his
anger and bowed his head. "I just report what happened, My Emperor. If we-"
"SILENCE!" Dorrek VII, ruler of the Skrull empire, rose to his full
height of five feet and a half. "You failed to capture the Xandarian
bitch, Kl'rt, disappeared for half a rotation without any explanation,
and now you return only to bear news of further failures?"
"My Emperor, it was the Earthlings-"
"Oh, yes, of course! Again the accursed Fucking Four From Fucking Earth!"
Dorrek sat back on the padded command chair at the bridge of his Imperial
flagship. "Tell me, Kl'rt, whose shame will now tarnish his House forever,
can't you even fucking fetch a drink without getting beat by the Earthlings
again? You must secretly work for them, somehow involving them in all of
our glorious plans, you traitor!"
"My Emperor-!"
"How else can they show up here NOW? Right in the middle of our campaign
against Xandar? What the fuck do Earthlings even have to do with Xandar?
Tell me, you scum, how long have you been their thrall-?"
"I'm not-!"
"It is the female, isn't she? The comely one with light, silken hair,
and the large, round milking jugs... She has subjugated you with her
secret Earthling sexual skills, hasn't she? Just what does she-?"
Kl'rt stood up, interrupting: "The Xandarian ruler went forth to
summon them! It wasn't-!"
Instantly, a dozen warriors leveled their weapons threateningly at him
from various points in the ship's bridge. He held back his words, just
as he held back the urge to use his powers and crush all these fools,
particularly that greater fool now ranting before him. Oh, how would he
cherish that.
"That is impossible. The accursed Earthling Richards blocked direct
teleporting access to his world and you know it."
"He blocked OUR access, My Emperor, by disabling the relay satellites that
our scouts had placed in orbit and-"
"So how could the Xandarians do it, then?"
"The Xandarians master other space-manipulation technologies, My Emperor.
Remember that was one of the reasons why it was decided that the Empire
would benefit from conquering-"
Dorrek shook a hand dismissively. "Ah, yes, that was what we said."
Kl'rt pursed his lips. Dorrek was not one to care much about technical
details. "Once we have the knowledge of their fabled Living Computers-"
"Yes, yes, all that. Very useful. We have many plans for all that...
information. And their fixed-shape females, too."
Kl'rt begged their gods for patience.
"You were to get that Adora bitch for me, Kl'rt. I told you explicitly.
We paused our attacks, pulled back the fleet to create a lull, just to
allow this to happen. Yet you failed, as you always do." Dorrek shook
his head. "I had... such plans for her."
Kl'rt stared at Dorrek non-commit-ally, his expression concealing a deep,
personal satisfaction, that of having beaten Dorrek to the enjoyment of
the delectable Xandarian ruler. Like the emperor, and most male Skrulls,
he also found considerable sexual appeal in the females of fixed-shape
humanoid species like Earthlings and Xandarians; as elite warrior of the
highest rank, he had enjoyed many times the privilege of such morsels.
He was glad to have possessed Adora before her delightful body could be
tainted by the Emperor's revolting touch. Everyone in the higher circles
knew about the tyrant's perverted tastes, about his indulgence in sick,
extreme practices exceeding even the wide leeway of Skrull sexual mores;
anyone with less political clout would have been long ostracized for such
wasteful behavior.
"The Xandarian Suzerain came... back. With the Earthlings."
"She did? Are you sure?"
"They followed me, bringing her with them. It was confirmed by the
sensors of the ship that I commandeered to escape."
Amusing as it would be to know that Dorrek had gotten only his seconds,
Kl'rt was pleased that Adora had escaped. It would be a pitiful waste
for suck an enthusiastic, memorable fuck to ultimately fall in Dorrek's
hands. She was far too tasty a treat for such a maggot, one he would
not mind having again. But not after Dorrek had his way with her.
No one would, after that.
"The Four are then to aid Xandar now? What else can now go wrong?"
Kl'rt recalled how close he had been to also having the luscious blonde
beauty of the hated Four, having her literally, at long last, only for
her to escape his grasp, yet again. So close. Closer than ever.
"It may have its advantages."
Dorrek grimaced in anger. "Advantages? Are you mad?"
"The Earthlings will go to Xandar, My Emperor. But this time, Richards
will be away from his devices, his resources. They will be vulnerable.
We must attack now, with all our power, before he can arrange any defenses.
We can now take out two b'zatses with one blast: Xandar, and the Earthling
Four, ours to take."
Dorrek's broad mouth spread in an ugly grin. "Yes. Mobilize the fleet."
He gestured for Kl'rt to approach him. "And their light-haired female.
Oh, yes, her. You must get her, as well. For me."
**************************************
"Oh, crap." Benjamin Grimm winced, closing his eyes and crouching down,
reaching for the floor with one oversize hand for support. "Can't take
much more o'this."
Johnny tapped him on a shoulder with mock helpfulness. "Don't puke on
our hosts' foyer, Ben. Would be bad manners. Extra-planetary incident
risk and all that."
Susan was at Ben's side with more honest concern. "Just breathe deeply, Ben. Breathe."
He shook his head. "Gotta be better way to do this."
"Come on, look up. You are missing the view, Ben. It's beautiful."
"So is all of Xandar," Adora said.
"I'll live witha loss, Suzie," Ben muttered.
They had been transported to a vast hall located high in a towering
building in the Xandar capitol city, where a transparent wall many
stories tall and without apparent support afforded an extensive view
over an endless sprawl of graceful buildings and other structures with
complex, daring shapes, joined by wide flowery walkway ribbons in almost
arrogant disregard for gravity that mocked all Earthly construction
practices. High above, the sky showed a shimmering bluish tint thru
which could be seen the spheres of the other sections of the sundered
planet, all in perfect balance as they orbited the gravity center of the
trinary system.
The Sphinx looked down with disdain at the Thing's crouched body and walked
several paces away, studying their surroundings, while conferring in hushed
tones with his golden robotic companion.
Sue moved next to her husband. "Straight out of a Michael Whelan illustration, isn't it?"
Reed nodded. "Impressive. The structural engineering necessary to keep aloft those connecting walkways-"
"Suzerain! We were so worried!" Dressed in ornate crimson tunic and
leggings, a bearded man came to them, followed by a sizable entourage
of armed guards and servants, all bowing deeply before Adora. He
cringed at the robe covering her. "We must get you cleaned and dressed!"
"Later." She continued in English: "Prime Thoran, meet Reed
Richards, Greatest Mind of his Galaxy."
Thoran bowed formally again and spoke in English as well: "Xandar is honored to greet you."
"Er, thanks."
"And his companions."
"You are welcome as well."
Sue held back her discomfort at the backhanded courtesies. They were
clearly only interested in Reed's presence. But why? The strength of
the Fantastic Four was in their teamwork, their joined abilities.
"We could start by reviewing your defensive arrangement with your staff
in charge," Reed said. "See in what ways we may be helpful-"
"Yes, oh, in time. After your quarters you see."
"Strange sense of priorities," Sue said quietly.
Reed shrugged. "Well, I do need a place to set up my devices."
The Sphinx walked briskly towards Adora and Thoran. "No, there must be
no delays. Take us to the Living Computers now."
Thoran exchanged a quick glance with Adora and Master Xar before bowing
yet again with a gesture of appeasement. "First you must be properly
welcomed. Our honored guests have traveled far and our Suzerain and
Science Master have returned from a dangerous ordeal. Refreshments and
rest are in order before any serious matter can be properly addressed."
Servants in glamorous livery and generously exposed skin approached each
of those present, but the Sphinx stared unmoved. "There is no need."
Adora stepped close and gently placed her hand on the Sphinx's forearm.
"Please, allow us... to follow the proper protocols."
"Look, dude, you have no idea what she went thru, just to get us here,"
Johnny said, while Sue looked to a side, lifting an eyebrow. "Cool it
a bit, will you?"
The Sphinx frowned. Not replying, he turned away and walked several
paces away to stare again at the urban sprawl.
"Gotta be loadsa fun at parties," Ben muttered.
Richard Rider shrugged. "He's certainly not... friendly. But he got
me and the others together, brought us here and helped us break thru
the Skrull blockade."
Sue turned to him. "Who are these others?"
"Other guys from Earth with powers. They joined the Xandarian defense
forces when we arrived. There was Crimebuster, Diamondhead, Comet...
Powerhouse was another Xandarian who was on Earth. There was also this
yellow robot guy, Doctor Sun." Rich glanced about quickly. "He was
here a moment ago, but I don't know where he got to now..."
"Well, I could get to a restroom, myself," Ben said, while the servants
beckoned them to follow with more insistent gestures. After exchanging
glances and nodding in agreement, the Fantastic Four followed them.
Walking next to Richard, Johnny kept his eyes on Adora, who was being
fawned over by several servants even as they exited the hall, having her
torn robe removed and scented wipes solicitously rubbed over her graceful
limbs without breaking stride. "Damn. She's really a knockout, isn't she?"
Rich nodded. "Oh, she's beautiful. Really beautiful."
But he was not looking at the Xandarian ruler.
**************************************
Ignoring the servants, the Sphinx stood still and impassive. His mind
reached out. Probing. Asking. Demanding.
The security measures were considerable. It had yet to find the location.
But it assured him that he would. It was just a matter of time.
The Sphinx drew back his probes, for the moment. It was again, all
about time. Always about time.
**************************************
At the royal quarters, once the servants had removed the last adornments,
Adora shook her hair loose and walked into the waiting bath. The hot,
perfumed waters in the recessed tub welcomed her tired body. She sighed,
wishing she could relax without reservations in the water's warm embrace.
"Can we fully trust him to help us?"
"Trust and complacency brought us where we are now, Prime Thoran."
Thoran nodded, chastised.
"I brought him this far." Adora closed her eyes as the maids cleaned and
massaged her thoroughly. "I will get him to do what is needed. I shall...
convince him. At whatever cost it takes."
"And his... companions?"
"Keep this Sphinx under close watch. He is an unknown factor and may be
dangerous. Arrange distractions for the others. Can the Nova Prime power
be reclaimed from the youth?"
"It seems to be deeply bonded."
"He seemed capable, and willing. Let's use him as he is, but monitor
him closely, as well. If necessary, be ready to arrange for his
passing and the transfer."
"There is... something else, Suzerain."
"What is it?"
Thoran kept his eyes low. "It is... Tanak."
She opened her eyes and looked at him, startled. "Tanak? Tanak survived?"
"Just barely. His injuries are too severe, even for us, even for our
means. He may not live past this rotation. He... called for you."
Adora's muscles tensed under the hands of her attendants.
Poor Tanak. Handsome, loyal Tanak, pride of her guard, her lover and
confidant, how bravely he had rushed to his doom to save her.
"Have him sedated. Make it... peaceful for him. Give him full honors."
She pursed her lips. How useless he had also proved ultimately against
the other. And how useless all his past performances now seemed, too,
compared to that one. How useless all Xandarians now seemed, actually.
No wonder their world had come to such straits. No wonder they had to
seek help elsewhere.
"The woman in particular must be taken away, Thoran. Keep her from
interfering."
"As you order, Suzerain."
**************************************
Johnny paused at the door of his assigned quarters. "So, is there any way
I could get a word with Adora? In private? I mean, once she is, you know,
presentable?"
The young servant raised her thin eyebrows, the blue tinted area around the
eyes emphasizing her look of bafflement.
"Adora? The queen, or princess, you know. Adora?" Johnny mimed the shape
of the Suzerain's tiara and other adornments, trying to get his point across.
"Know who I mean-?"
The servant replied in Xandarian, and noticing Johnny's incomprehension,
turned to exchange several short sentences with her equally young companion.
"Just for a moment, see? I think we had kind of a connection back-"
The two girls shared a knowing smile, and walked into the luxurious room,
proceeding to remove their already scanty outfits.
**************************************
In an out of sight corner of the extensive network of corridors coursing
a gargantuan Xandarian building complex, a golden metallic body leaned,
cold and immobile, against a rack of tubing.
**************************************
"Look, I said I'm not that kinda guy!"
With deliberate care not to use too much strength, or make contact with
any bared jiggly parts, Ben Grimm pushed both serving girls out into the
corridor. He quickly gathered and threw their clothes at them.
"No offense, ok? I dunno how ya gals roll around here but I'm inna steady
relationship, and happy innit! So thanks, but no thanks-!"
The door closed and the two girls glanced at each other with furrowed
brows, their expressions mixing both a sudden sense of relief and nervous
concern.
**************************************
Myriads of complex devices filled the benches and shelves of the large
factory-like space. "This can be your... place to job?"
"Work," Reed corrected absentmindedly, dropping his packs on the floor
and stretching his body from one direction to the other, studying with
rapt interest the available resources. "I may not need any of the tools
I brought. I can certainly make better ones with these."
Sue realized that Reed was close to sidestepping from the here and now
and turned quickly to their guide. "Master Xar, what is this war about?"
"About?"
"Why are you in war at all?"
"The Skrulls... attacked!"
"Yes, Adora told us that. But why? What are the Skrulls after?"
Master Xar frowned, clearly annoyed. "They want to conquer us."
"That is the action, but not the cause," Reed added, retracting to normal
proportions. "Your world was already crippled, barely surviving as four
fragments, with many catastrophic consequences. With your planetary
resources thus compromised, your importance as desirable conquest target
or as political, economic or military rival should also be minimized.
The Skrulls are war-like but not foolish. Cui bono?"
Sue nodded. "Exactly. What do they have to win? Why start a costly campaign?"
"Knowledge," said Prime Thoran, walking in with Rich Rider and half a
dozen lower ranked Nova Corpsmen at his side. "The riches of Xandar are
not material goods or physical resources. They never were. It is all
about knowledge."
Sue did not fail to notice Thoran's unexpectedly fluid mastery of English.
"What knowledge in particular?"
"All of it. For countless millennia, the intellectual heritage of every
known civilization has been collected and saved in our Living Computers.
The Skrulls have been recently losing status in their long-standing
rivalry with the Kree, and the power inherent in the knowledge which
Xandar safeguards, could tip things in their favor decisively."
"Are you talking about weaponry? Military technologies?"
"In part, yes. The Living Computers are the core of all that is Xandar.
They empower our Nova Corps. They enabled our survival after the attack
of the Luphomoid. They must not fall to the Skrulls, or the whole
Universe would be at risk."
Holding his helmet at a side, Rich ran a hand on his hair. "So we have
to help for Earth's sake, too."
Thoran nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Acting Nova Centurion Rider, take
our honored guests to meet with the Nova Corps strategic command, to be
briefed of the current defense strategies."
That was more like it, Sue thought.
"Yes, sir," Richard replied, and quickly stepped forward before Sue.
"Ah, can you please come with me? I mean, not come as in... I mean,
can we get together, ah, get together with the brass at the War Room?
Please-?"
Sue smiled, halfheartedly. Things kept getting more uncomfortable.
In every sense.
**************************************
"Woah... Wait... I didn't mean... Not that I don't... Or that you're not...
Because, wow, you're both... really... fit and..."
Johnny breathed deeply before continuing, thinking that he probably
should look away to emphasize his point. He really should.
"See, it's actually Adora who I'm really... And I wouldn't want to mess
my chances of... Wow. Are you-? Oh. Oh... Sure, you can... start
with each other. I'll just stay over here and... watch. Yep. I'll just watch."
**************************************
The door opened for two young, slender youths, the flimsy, barely-there
outfits showcasing their lean, toned physiques.
Ben palmed his craggy head with an oversized hand. "Jeez, not that
kinda guy, either!"
**************************************
Johnny stared, impressed. And he was not that easy to impress.
After all, he was a celebrity, and got around, far beyond what most
others called getting around, too. Also, he had grown up with Sue,
and since the earliest he could remember every guy around already
wanted into his older sisters pants, for reasons pretty hard not to
notice, so he had rather high standards of beauty and hotness.
He did not get flustered by just any two cute girls messing around.
He did not.
"Wait, what is she doing with her-? Oh, damn! DAMN!"
He stared a while longer, in respectful silence, and then threw up
his arms.
"Oh, what the hell!"
**************************************
"We need to get Ben and Johnny," Sue said, frowning. "But they aren't
answering their comms."
"There may be locally interfering wavelengths," Reed said, holding up
another device. "There seem to be several overlapping energy fields that-"
"We can get them on the way there," Rich said, putting on his helmet.
It covered his head but for his mouth and chin, providing instantly
translated two-way communications, allowing him to consult quickly in
Xandarian with the other Nova Corpsmen, and also hiding his still
flushed countenance. "This way."
He led them out and through a series of branching corridors, softly-lit
and high-ceiling-ed. After a few minutes of walking, he moved closer to
Sue, looking at his feet while muttering: "Um, Ms. Storm... I wanted
to say I'm sorry. About all that before."
"Don't worry, I understand. You're just nervous. It's normal."
"Uh, thanks. I really didn't..."
"Rich, you are in another planet, in the middle of an alien war zone.
Anyone would be on edge. I know I am, too, and we have been at this before."
"Really?"
"Of course. Many times. It's natural. It does get easier. Like
with everything. But it never really goes away. Not completely."
She smiled. "How long have you been at this?"
"This? With the Nova suit, you mean? Uh, couple of months now."
"My God, Rich, you're barely starting out. Look, you're a normal, decent
kid, who suddenly had your whole life changed, and suddenly needs to step
up to dangers and demands never before imagined... Believe me, I know
how that feels."
He glanced at the others and lowered his voice even more. "But did
you ever get... scared? Truly scared?"
"All the time. Still do. Rich, this is a scary thing, for all of us."
"That's what... What if we don't-? I mean, it could happen that..."
"We just try our best, Rich. Do what we can, try to..."
"It's that-I got all these powers now, but I'm still... You just said it,
I'm still just a kid, and-"
"I didn't mean to put you down-"
"No, I am. Really. I'm still in high school. I'm flunking high school!"
"You are? High school?"
"Yes! And now I'm here, and it's actually another planet, and it's a war!
And I am not old enough to vote, or drink, or-!"
"God. You're a minor." She stared forward, honestly surprised. She had
figured him as a college student, from his height and how the Nova suit
hugged his athletic body very, very tightly; everywhere, too. Now she
felt more uneasy about his obvious attention towards her, and about her
casually having checked out his cute behind. "You... really don't look
that much younger than my brother."
"But there's so much I've never seen, never even done..."
"Look, I'm sure you'll-"
"I've never even done it. With anyone!"
Sue shook her head. "Rich, that's not-"
"Suzie? SUZIE!"
"Ben?"
They stopped as the Thing ran out of a branching corridor to their side,
his rocky feet thundering on the floor.
"SUZIE! I was trying to get back to ya guys, but comms ain't working
and no one spoke English, and they kept bringing to that room first
these gals, and then guys, and then all kinda crazy things-!"
"Things-?"
Ben shook his head. "Believe me, ya don't wanna know."
"Alright, let's go. We have to pick up Johnny and start making some-"
"And Reed?"
"Reed-?"
Susan turned around. Only the Nova Corpsmen were behind her.
"REED?"
**************************************
Reed Richards blinked fast, as the sudden shimmer resulted in a complete
change of environs.
"Wait, what-? Sue? Where-?"
"Only you are allowed here, Reed Richards, Greatest Mind of Your Galaxy."
He frowned, and then registered the full reality of what surrounded him.
His eyes grew wide and he stared speechless for a lengthy while, before
finally whispering: "Are these-?"
"The Living Computers of Xandar, yes," Adora said, standing several paces
away from him.
Her long hair flowed back from the gleaming golden tiara at her brow,
just as her dress fell down to her feet from the golden circlets of her
neck-piece, made of dozens of thin strips of sheer, gauzy material that
enveloped all of her body without occluding it from view. Under the
see-thru, shifting curtain of her gown, she wore only the golden bracelets
and armlets on her graceful arms and the thin, metallic straps that rose
from her golden sandals to wrap around her long, shapely legs in coyly
spaced spirals that reached to her upper thighs, calling attention to
the bare, fully-shaved junction above.
"Only you are worthy of being here, of seeing this."
She began walking towards him with long, resolute strides, her hips
swaying aggressive as her proud, perky breasts bounced freely, unbound
and fully visible under the translucent cloth strips, the erect nipples
and swollen aureoles carefully painted a vivid blue that matched the
areas around her bright eyes and the circle drawn around her delicate navel.
"Only you are worthy of this. All this."
She stopped two steps away, on the long strip of floating walkway that
stretched far before and behind them, eventually fading from sight while
reaching for the distant, gently shimmering surface textures of the
colossal cylindrical space that enclosed them, a gigantic tube that
seemed to continue endlessly towards the celestial distances above and
the fathomless chasm below.
Reed stared, and cleared his throat. "Beautiful... So... beautiful."
Arcs of coruscating radiance sprouted in apparent random intervals from
distant locations over the inner circumference, the drastic shifts
showcasing in greater contrast the contours of Adora's body under the
transparent gown, as well as the fractal complexities of the millions of
metallic strands of delicately patterned techno-fabric comprising the
tubular construct surrounding them. The patterns of lights changed
again and again, and Reed's eyes were full of their shifting complexity.
"I had not imagined it... To be so beautiful."
Adora stepped even closer, her back arched, lips parted, as she spoke
breathlessly: "All can be yours, Reed Richards. All this. All that
Xandar is. All that we are. All that I am. You can have all of it.
All the knowledge. All of Xandar. All of me."
Reed did not look down, but continued to stare at their surroundings,
his eyes full of awe. "Holographic patterns. Billions and billions
of them. Of pure thought. Pure... minds. Complete minds. All there.
Stored as holographic patterns. Self-perpetuating, interlacing.
Joined into a greater whole. Your computers are indeed... living."
Adora threw her arms over his shoulders and pressed her body against him,
flattening her firm breasts against his torso, lifting one leg up to rub
her thigh on his side.
"You can end this war. End our... need. By joining us. Joining Xandar.
Joining me. Becoming one with us, with me, with all."
"Join-?"
He looked at her, surprised by her closeness, the pressure and heat of
her against him.
"Yes. Now. And forever." She pulled his face close to hers.
"Oh. Uh, I don't think..."
"But you do. You do. You think so deeply, so widely... Your mind is
so vast, so boundless. That is why deserve this. Why you deserve me.
And I deserve you. It is why you must be here. Why you must join us.
Join me."
She kissed him, forcefully.
**************************************
"He was just here! Behind us!"
"Uh, I don't know, I wasn't-"
"WHERE IS HE?"
**************************************
He knew he had to stop. Knew he had to pull away. Break away. Break
the connection.
He tried to. Tried to get away.
It was wrong. It could not be.
He tried, with all his will. Tried not to succumb to the temptation, to
the draw that pulled at him with such terrible strength.
He had to break away. Get away. Stop. Stop.
But the patterns taking shape before his eyes, before his mind, became
more and more complex, their connections growing exponentially, fully
irresistible in their multiplying associations. It was all about the
order, the truth beneath all things.
Unable to voice words, his mouth trembled, lips partly open, as Adora
met them with her own in a ravenous kiss, while multiple shifting tendrils
of partly visible energy surrounded him, more eagerly, more forcefully
than Adora's limbs ever could.
**************************************
"I am not getting any answers," Rich said, breaking the connection.
Sue turned to the accompanying Nova corpsmen, her eyes blazing.
"Take me where Thoran is, then. Or Master Xar. Or Adora. Now."
**************************************
Adora violently pulled down his waistband, releasing him. She took him
in her mouth and worked his length with furious energy. He was ready
enough in no time, and after pushing him backwards, she moved over his
prone body, full of furious need.
She had been ready for him to resist, ready to seduce him, as wantonly
as needed, both physically and intellectually, appealing to his body's
urges with all of her beauty and skill, as well as to his mental vanity,
his curiosity and ambition, with the vast treasures of arcane knowledge
that only Xandar could offer to one like him. She had not been ready
for it to be so easy, for him to actually plunge himself into the waiting
psychic net on his own, lured merely by the quick flashes of pure thought
that routinely coursed through the Computers' core, impossible for most
to grasp or decipher through mere visual impressions.
Yet she would not be denied her due in this. She had anticipated it far
too much, needed it too much. And she had to help bind him to them,
bind him to Xandar, claiming him as their own, using her body to own him,
to make him hers at the most primal level of his awareness, just as the
Computers would do to his higher mental functions.
She had to fuck his brains out.
**************************************
"Adora does not need to know about this, right, girls? This can remain
just between us, right? Right-?"
Johnny then gasped. Winced. Groaned.
"Oh, fuck. Fuck!"
Who trained these girls? They were artists. Truly artists.
**************************************
Reed stared at nothingness, finding it harder and harder to focus, to
think, to doubt.
It all called to him. Pulled him in.
**************************************
She needed it for her own sake, as well, she had to conquer this most
worthy of men, this most suitable consort for a Xandarian Suzerain.
All to free herself, to be cleansed of that other, most improper need,
that most unworthy hunger that had consumed her over all the long hours
past, ever since she had been cruelly wronged by that hateful fiend,
that cursed enemy of her people and all that was right and proper, who
had dared to so thoroughly deceive and abuse her, to ravish her body
with such violence and power, rendering her helpless, unable to resist
enjoying every second, every instant of it, of being utterly owned by
a damn, filthy Skrull, and then be left desperate to experience it
again and again.
Adora impaled herself violently on his erect manhood, resolute to force
away from her mind those memories she despised, to keep from tainting
this taking of a new, proper consort with the deep, lingering lust for
her unknown ravisher that should have no place in her.
She dropped forward, whispering breathlessly in his ear. "Larger...
Please... Make yourself... much, much larger... longer and thicker.
Oh... Yes. Like that. Yes."
As he had been, she added in the dark recesses of her mind. Just as he had been.
**************************************
At some level below the pure, order thought, there were faint requests,
simplistic sensorial input involving contingent interactions at some
distant level of physical reality. Despite their irrelevancy in the
larger scheme, he complied, simply to remove any possibility of distraction.
The data waited. The order. The truth.
Beckoning. Connecting. Demanding.
**************************************
"Oh, yes! Yes! Bigger! Make it even bigger! Fill me up! AH! YES!
YES! IT'S SO BIG! SO BIG! Hurts so good! HURTS SO FUCKING GOOD-!"
**************************************
It was beautiful, the depth, the breadth, all the connections of sheer,
pure information, pure thought, all slowly coalescing into a larger order,
a larger, fractal structure of meaning.
There were just some points, some discordant elements that clearly
implied further questions, consequences that still needed to be worked out...
**************************************
"FUCK! YES! FUCK ME! HURT ME! FUCK WITH YOUR BIG COCK, YOU BIG BRAIN!
MAKE ME SCREAM! MAKE ME COME SO HARD-!"
**************************************
Prime Thoran paced nervously, biting at his knuckles while Master Xar
fumbled with the display control of the psychic flux monitor.
"What the hell is happening? Why is it taking so long?"
"I don't know! It has never been like this! We should have had complete
subordination by now. His mind should have been fully holo-patterned and
bound into the WorldMind-!"
"Is he resisting? How is he resisting it? THAT CANNOT HAPPEN!"
"He is not resisting... He is interacting... It's like... It somehow
was happening the other way around..."
"WHAT?"
"He is... questioning, challenging the data. How complex is this man's mind-?"
"THAT IS RIDICULOUS!"
"That is the mind that stopped the Devourer of Worlds! That is why we
had to have him, remember? It couldn't have been just any simple genius
lifeform-!"
There was a buzz, interrupting.
Thoran angrily spoke at his wrist communicator. "Didn't we say we say we
were not to be interrupted-?"
The voice that replied spoke hesitatingly. "My apologies, Prime Thoran,
the guests from Earth request-"
"NOT TO BE INTERRUPTED!"
The chamber's heavily reinforced door was torn off its hinges by the sudden
impact of an invisible force, narrowly missing the two startled men before
crashing against the opposite wall.
"WHERE THE HELL IS MY HUSBAND?"
**************************************
Still at the hall where they had been welcomed, the Sphinx stood with
eyes closed, ignoring the nearby guards as his senses roamed, augmented
by his mystic Ka stone, seeking, searching for patterns of energy that
could lead him to what he sought. There were many energy grids about,
complex systems keeping in operation the multitudinous habitat, as well
as powering many layers of protective fields. Patiently he probed and
tested, until he located a concentration of energy shifts of unusual
complexity. He focused on these particular patterns and their rising
tension, clearly building to a cusp as he pondered the teleological
implications.
He smiled. He had found them. He just to follow the techno-neural
energy pathways, racing towards the goal.
**************************************
Thoran cried out in protest, first in Xandarian, then switching to English:
"YOU-YOU CANNOT COME IN HERE!"
"I just did." Behind Susan, Ben spread his big arms to block the doorway,
while the Nova guards outside argued angrily with a flustered Rich Ryder,
their weapons drawn. "We came here in good faith. But my husband has
suddenly gone missing. Where is he? What have you-?"
"Please! All will be explained in-"
"Wait." Her eyes narrowed as she faced the multiple holographic displays.
"Is that-?"
**************************************
"OH, FUCK-FUCK-! YOU'RE SO BIG! SO HUGE! I CAN'T-CAN'T TAKE IT
ANYMORE! I CAN'T-!"
With a loud cry, Adora began to convulse violently, just mere instants
before the very walkway under them began to shake in clashing rhythms.
As did the whole cylindrical chamber. As did all of Xandar.
**************************************
Johnny gasped, fighting for breath. "Damn... felt the earth move and
everything!"
**************************************
The sky filled with fiery conflagrations and the whole city shook violently;
metal and plastic and all kinds of exotic materials cried out loudly under
exponentially rising stresses while energy fields shifted and
overloaded and failed.
The Sphinx frowned, his focus lost. The Ka stone on his brow blazed in
echo with his anger at the untimely interruption of the hundreds of Skrull
warships now attacking the Xandar capital habitat.
**************************************
Alarms blared discordantly, while multiple displays filled with daunting
depictions of the enemy forces and their attacks.
"THE SKRULLS!"
"Skrulls? Now? It can't be!"
"How could they breach our defensive perimeter so-?"
"Speak in English! Were those Reed and-?"
Thoran looked back at the smaller displays. "The Suzerain! She must
be taken to safety!"
"Ah! SO IT WAS THAT SLUT-!"
"Did it take! Did he-?"
"What? What did he-?"
Master Xar shook his head. "No! NO!"
"NO WHAT?"
**************************************
"What the hell is happening? This is not normal here, right?"
Johnny scrambled to his feet, looking for his clothing, while the two girls
cowered at the foot of the bed, whimpering with fright.
He faced the wall-wide windows and grimaced at the view.
"Oh, fuck. FUCK."
**************************************
"LOOK!"
"The Corps are being massacred-!"
"THE SHIELDS WILL NOT HOLD!"
"KEEP IT IN ENGLISH! AND GET MY HUSBAND BACK HERE NOW!"
"WE'RE DOOMED! WE MUST EVACUATE!"
"SUZIE! Tha place is shaking apart! We must get outta here-!"
"NOT WITHOUT REED!"
**************************************
Blinding-bright energy surges filled the air as the walkway shook wildly,
and the still breathless and dazed Adora cried out, flailing for balance,
roughly thrown off her unsteady position over Reed Richards. He remained
silent and limp but for an obvious body part, his eyes open but unseeing,
while his body was buffeted randomly by the violent tremors, taken
closer and closer to the walkway's edge.
**************************************
"Sue? Reed? ANYONE-?"
Cursing, Johnny switched off the comm device and hastily finished getting
his clothes on, while the building trembled with rapidly escalating
violence. It was not for modesty, but rather for the protection that
the unstable molecules of his sleeves and gloves would provide.
"OK, girls, this won't be easy, but I'll get you both down to safety.
Don't be afraid. Just grab my hands and don't let go, alright?"
Flames burst all over his body, except for his arms.
The girls backed away screaming.
**************************************
Rich looked up and instantly cried out: "MOVE!"
The violent tremor brought down ceiling panels, ducts, and lengths of
wildly sparkling wires, all crashing down over the center of the room,
followed instantly by a snapped metal frame that violently cracked the
floor where it hit.
"Suzie!"
"Uh.. Sorry." He lay bodily over Sue, having thrown himself at her,
racing against the collapsing debris, trusting his Nova suit to take the
brunt of the impact. "Had to get to you before..."
Realizing that the expected blow had never arrived, he pushed himself up
and turned to see several feet of the twisted metal armature hovering
two feet above their tangled bodies.
"Invisible. Force. Field," Sue grunted, squirming uncomfortably under Rich's body.
Ben grabbed the metal frame and casually flipped it away. "Ya guys alright?"
"Still alive, but... Ow!"
"Ya hurt, Suzie?"
"No, but... Rich, could you please-?"
Rich realized where his hands were placed.
"Sorry! Sorry!" He turned bright red with embarrassment and scrambled
to stand up, his first hurried, ineffectual motions prolonging instead
the awkward contact with her body, so firm yet at once also so yielding
and soft under him, under his palms. Getting off her and to his feet
seemed to take an eternity of fumbling. When finally on his feet, he
nervously offered a hand to help her up, only to immediately pull it
back, self-consciously remembering just where his hands had been mere
seconds before. "I-I just tried to-!"
"Yes, yes, I know. Thanks anyway, Rich." Still wincing, she got up on
her own, to glance at the displays still working, at which the Xandarians
gaped in horror. "But I can take care of myself. You, however, need to go out there."
"But-"
"Out there, Rich. Now. We'll get Reed. You must go fight the Skrulls.
We'll join you shortly."
Rich doubted for just an instant, then he clenched his fists, nodded,
and rushed out, with the other Nova corpsmen following him.
"Alright, now get my husband and the slut back here. NOW!"
**************************************
There were countless soundless voices, countless opinions, all arguing,
defending their ideas, their knowledge, their life's work in complex
fields of pure and applied science. Reed sorted through the multiple
levels, debating, cross-referencing, elaborating, challenging.
The more was known, the more questions arose.
Several voices interjected into the abstract interactions with references
to the physical world, referencing axiological positions like duty and the
morality of the preservation of cultures and species.
Yet the survival of individuals and even whole cultures could be argued to
be contingent, an arbitrary process of probabilistic selection that had
no intrinsic worth beyond the arbitrary one assigned by chemically-driven
sentimentalism.
There were more important things. More pure, more true.
**************************************
"-Cannot get a lock! Their location signatures are being affected by the energy surges-!"
"Let's go get them, then. Where are they?"
"It's-It's a high security-"
Another shock-wave made the room groan, and dust fell over their heads as the remaining ceiling above cracked ominously.
"WHERE IS IT?"
"It cannot be accessed physically-"
Ben grabbed Thoran's arm. "Betcha I can get to 'em! Just point me in the right direction!"
"It's miles beneath the city! We only access it through teleportation!
That's how it has always been done!"
**************************************
"There you go!" Gently, Johnny lowered the second girl on the grass of
the park's lawn. "Stay away from any tall structures, alright?"
The girl ran away, her companion already out of sight in the chaos of the
crowds looking for safety.
"Damn. Didn't get their numbers or anything."
**************************************
An even more powerful impact wave raced through the slender walkway, and
its frame twisted in response. As the surface tilted sideways, Reed
Richards' unresponsive body slid towards its outer edge.
**************************************
"REED!"
**************************************
Adora grunted, holding onto the Earthman by the fabric of his outfit.
He was slender but tall, and she struggled both against his weight and
the smoothness of the floor that allowed little purchase for stability.
She felt both of them sliding more and more with each new tremor, and
knew that once his weight went over the edge she would be unable to
hold him.
**************************************
"GET 'EM BACK!"
"-CAN'T FIX ON THEIR-!"
"THEN SEND ME TA 'EM!"
**************************************
Flying high above the city, Johnny Storm stared with frustration at the
continuous explosions flaring against the Xandarian protective barrier.
He had to fight to keep from being buffeted all about by savage shock
waves coursing through the air as result, racing towards the city below,
the concussive force too powerful to be fully absorbed by the energy
fields.
He could see Xandarian ships and even single flying corpsmen engaging the
attackers outside, but he had no way to go there, and his flame would go
out even near the higher atmosphere, not to say in outer space.
He had no way to help.
**************************************
"You're too heavy, Ben! That thing would just collapse under you!
You may survive it, but they won't!" She turned towards Master Xar.
"Send me instead."
"We won't be able to bring you back, either!"
"DO IT ANYWAY! DO IT NOW!"
**************************************
The barrier recognized his Nova suit and let him pass, the multi-layered
energy fields turning permeable around him.
In the distance, the battle raged, the Nova Corps engaging the Skrull fleet.
There were so many Skrull ships.
He closed his eyes and bunched his fist. His hands were clammy. He felt cold.
He had no idea how long the suit could let him survive in space. Perhaps he
would not even get the chance to find that out.
**************************************
Adora cried out, as her grip failed, and he tipped over the walkway's
edge, his body falling limply towards the endless depth of the shaft.
**************************************
Dorrek smiled, watching the tactical displays. He left the hassle of the
management details to the proper underlings, but it was easy to decipher
the graphics representation of the weakening defensive barrier.
"Soon," he muttered. "Soon."
**************************************
There was a light thud as Reed Richard's body hit something unseen a
few feet under the walkway.
**************************************
It was alright to be afraid, she had told him. Happened to everybody.
She had told him so.
He opened his eyes first, then his hands. He stared at his them, his
fingers spread.
She had been right there under those very hands, with that famous symbol
centered right between, her bodysuit's fabric feeling so taut over her
packed fleshiness, so round, and soft, and cushion-y under his weight,
with just a point of hardness noticeable there, right under his palms.
Could she have been...? He shook his head. It had been an accident.
He hadn't meant to. Really. He was not a creep. Really.
He looked at the battle raging in the cold, silence of space. Waiting.
But at least, if he had to die today, he could go knowing how it felt to
touch what had to surely be the most perfect breasts there were, on the
most beautiful woman there was.
He had that. And it had been awesome.
Richard Rider breathed deeply inside his sealed Nova helmet and dove
towards the Skrull fleet.
**************************************
"Come on! Jump! Get off there!"
Adora stared with surprise. Next to the Great Mind's limp body was his
Earthling mate, both floating on nothingness.
"That thing will fall in the next big shock. JUMP! NOW!"
Adora hesitated, and then complied. She hit the invisible force field
with her behind, and slid down the curvature of its half-dome shape.
The blonde was checking his vital signs, concerned.
"Is he alright?"
Sue nodded, stood up and struck Adora's jaw with a right cross.
"That's for messing with my husband, you painted bitch. And what
the hell are you wearing?"
**************************************
Ben grinned. "Dat's our gal."
"Did she hit the Suzerain? The Suzerain? You can't do that!"
"Looks like she could ta me."
The building groaned under another shock-wave and the rest of the
upper floor collapsed on them.
**************************************
Other Nova Corpsmen around him dropped like flies under the enemy fire,
their lower-rank Nova suits having obviously much weaker defenses.
More than half their ships were already destroyed or heavily damaged.
He glanced back at the wreck of the Skrull ship he had just flown through.
Guilt stung him, viscerally. There had been living creatures there.
He had killed them. He had killed everyone in that ship.
And he had to do it again. His was the most powerful Nova suit.
It was up to him.
She had told him so.
**************************************
"And STAY DOWN!"
Sue shaped her force field into a sphere surrounding them, and made it
rise, flying up through the gigantic shaft, its upper end too far to see.
**************************************
Ben threw away the massive slab section, and looked down at the two men
crouched at his feet.
"Everyone ok? Good. Let's get outta here."
**************************************
Bright flashes of energy raced through the curvature of the protective
shield after a barrage of powerful blasts, and for a moment, a pattern
of blue and white grids became visible and then faded. In its wake,
dozens of Skrull ships pierced through into the skies above the Xandarian
capitol.
A flaming figure rushed thru the air to intercept them.
**************************************
The wall-spanning windows had shattered and fallen, their remains now
spread all around the Sphinx, but he still stood impassively, watching
the incoming onslaught.
This would not do.
**************************************
The shaft walls rushed past them, complex patterns of light racing wildly
over the complex surfaces, flare-ups bursting randomly as the shaking
became more and more violent.
Adora whimpered weakly: "They cannot fall, not the Living Computers, they can't-!"
"We'll worry about them if we survive."
**************************************
Rich dodged enemy blasts from multiple sources. He had to find his way
back near the regrouping Xandarian forced, but there were Skrull ships
all around him.
>>Richard.<<
The voice had sounded inside his head. He frowned, checking the inner
display of audio channels in use, but the source was not identified.
"Who's this?"
>>Who? Ah, this... This was... I was... I am... Reed... Reed Richards.<<
"Mr. Richards?"
>>I think so. It is... hard... to think individually... The WorldMind
is not structured in simplistic hierarchical-<<
"The what?"
>>The WorldMind. Collective gestalt consciousness of the Xandarian Living Computers.<<
"What again?"
>>What powers the Nova Corps, Rich. It powers you. Connects all the Corps.
Connects me directly to you, now, to your suit, and your mind.<<
"What? My mind? You're connected to-? Er, look, Mr. Richards, I didn't-I mean, about your..."
>>The Nova Centurion suit you wear draws more power from the WorldMind than
those of other ranks, in an arrangement that can be represented by a finite
series like-<<
"Excuse me, I'm kinda being shot at, right now, you know..."
>>The Nova suit. Can be made to channel more power if needed. It is now.
The WorldMind is self-aware, the gestalt of multiple individual, residual
consciousness. Interfacing with it is... not easy. The WorldMind is
complex. The WorldMind is Xandar. And it wants to continue existing.
It wants to survive.<<
"Same here!"
>>You must stop the Skrull fleet, Rich.<<
"That's what she said, too, but-"
>>Your Nova power will be now exponentially magnified by a factor of-<<
"Expo-what?"
>>You shall have only a brief interval of time, Rich. Too long may burn
out the suit and probably your mind and body, as well.<<
"WHAT?"
>>So make it count. In five, four, three...<<
**************************************
The Ka stone blazed on the Sphinx's brow, and a red blast pierced the
first Skrull vessel, making it explode before it could reach the city.
**************************************
Sue crouched down, hugging her still immobile husband. The force-field
around the three of them contracted into the smallest volume possible,
forcing their bodies into close contact.
"READY FOR IMPACT!"
The shaft's end rushed at them.
**************************************
There was no time for doubt, or fear, or reason, as the power surged
through him, vast and unfathomable, raging for release; the protective
nimbus around his body became a blinding-bright flare and Rich Rider
sped through the Skrull fleet, a living projectile, a literal Human Rocket.
**************************************
The Ka stone glowed brighter and brighter, and another Skrull surface
raider went up in flames, followed by another, and another.
**************************************
Contracted to the smallest diameter capable of holding its three living
passengers, driven by Susan Storm's sheer strength of will, the force
field bubble crashed through layers and layers of metal, circuits, and
rocks, before erupting through the grassy surface of a natural preserve
area at the city's center.
**************************************
Cutting through shields and reinforced hulls alike, Rich zigzagged
in unstoppable patterns across the Skrull attack formation, a glowing
stiletto of destruction, leaving bursting vessels and panic in his wake.
Mere seconds afterwards, the Skrulls ships began to disperse, retreating
in disarray, away from Xandar, before vanishing in hasty warp-drive jumps.
**************************************
Blood dripped from Sue's nose, and her head pulsed with pain. She fought
for focus, to land the force bubble gently enough on the grass below them,
before it dissipated into nothingness.
Collapsing to her knees, she let her breath out, spent.
Adora stood up, her hair and insubstantial clothing in disarray. She
turned about, watching with horror the chaos in the city beyond the tree line. "What-What happened out here? Why-?"
"Me, I'm more wondering what happened down there."
"The Living Computers couldn't have been damaged-!"
"Sue?"
Susan looked at Reed's face, his eyes now open, yet still glassy and uncertain.
"Reed, how are you, dear?"
"I-I don't know... I was... thinking... Thinking... It was... so much...
thought... It was rather... absorbing..." He blinked repeatedly in confusion.
"What-What happened?"
"You ask ME?"
**************************************
The remaining Skrull ships turned tail and fled, vanishing in the distance.
Rich slowed down and ultimately grew still, his energy nimbus fading.
"Rocket Man burning out his fuse up here alone," Rich muttered.
"Where did I hear that before?"
**************************************
Dorrek battered his armrests in rage. "How could this be? We had secure
knowledge of all their defenses! We could not lose!"
"It's a setback," Kl'rt said, walking into the flagship's bridge.
"A setback? A SETBACK? THIS IS A FUCKING DISASTER! WE LOST ALMOST HALF THE FLEET!"
"But we may have gained something else." He gestured, and two other
Skrull warriors brought forward a heavily shackled figure, his body
still exuding smoke as he was thrown at Dorrek's feet.
Dorrek frowned. "Is that-?"
Kl'rt kicked at the unconscious blond youngster, turning him face up
towards Dorrek, the enclosed figure four on his chest unmistakable.
"One of the accursed Four, yes, my Emperor." Smiling, he blandished a
small coin-like device in his hand, with a four inscribed on its surface.
"And having one, we can have all."
**************************************
Benjamin Grimm kicked a large pile of debris away and walked out of the
now compromised building, with Thoran and Xar under each arm, into the
daylight of the plaza before them.
He scanned his surroundings. There had not been any further tremors.
"Well, at least the worst seems over now."
"Please, could you let us down now?"
"Ya betcha." He dropped both unceremoniously. "Looks like lotsa rescue
work's in order now. Gotta find my friends and-"
Ben stopped and stiffened. There was a sudden buzzing in his ears, and a
growing sense of vertigo. "Oh, no, not again! Not-!"
**************************************
Her jaw still smarting, Adora stumbled towards the now empty patch of
flattened grass where seconds before the two Earthlings had been; their
glowing outlines were still there if she closed her eyes, that residual
impression the only reminder still left in Xandar of the Fantastic Four.