CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
HOMECOMING
“THE WATCH station has been knocked offline, Majestor, and the gas giant hides our shadow.” Oracle spoke without rancor.
Gladiator looked upon the readouts and nodded. This was exactly how they preferred their battles: quick and bloodless… mostly.
“Very good, Oracle.” Then he spoke to others who stood nearby—Captain America, yes, but also Warlord Kl’rt and Ronan the Accuser. “What say you? Shall we wage one more war for the ages?”
Kl’rt snorted. “I did not drag a portion of my fleet all the way out here for leisure, Gladiator. And you, Accuser?”
Ronan looked to Kl’rt, whose people often were his enemy. “I came to judge the guilty, as are all who stand against those who liberated the Kree.”
Gladiator turned again to Captain America. “Count the Shi’ar among your numbers, as well. For you have earned that, Captain. The fleet is yours one last time. We await your orders.”
Captain America stood with his Avengers—all ready for battle, all ready to be home. He looked to the three leaders of perhaps the largest empires known to exist, and could not resist a small smile of gratitude.
“Consider the word given. Please jump us to Earth. There’s one last world that needs saving.”
* * *
SAM GUTHRIE felt his arms around Izzy Kane and thrilled. Her kiss was as powerful a thing as he’d ever experienced. When they came up for air, he sighed.
“Izzy, I… I… I just—”
“I know, right?” She smiled at him. He smiled back. Her smile was absolutely contagious.
“Yeah. Do you think that—”
“Traitors.”
Roberto da Costa walked into the viewing room aboard the Shi’ar battleship the Lilandra. “This is a total betrayal,” he said. “How could you go behind my back like that?”
Izzy looked like a deer in the headlights.
Sam just shook his head. “We’re standing right in front of you.”
Bobby crossed his arms. “And that’s what makes it even worse.”
“Aww. Come on, Bobby. Can’t you just be happy for me?”
“For us?” Izzy corrected.
“Right. For us?”
“I am, Sam. I’m messing with you, idiot.” He threw an arm across his best friend’s shoulder and looked to Izzy. “And you?” he said. “You’re making a huge mistake.”
They had been flirting with her since they’d met her. They had gone on multiple missions together against the enemies of the Avengers. But she had made her choice, and he was fine with that. Sam was his best friend, his brother, and he would never begrudge him a chance at happiness.
Nor would he miss an opportunity to pick on Sam.
Izzy looked his way, and then spoke very softly as Sam preceded them down the corridor.
“I know. Can we talk about it later? Maybe in my room?”
“What? Seriously?” He froze… like a deer in the headlights.
“No.” She smiled at him. “I’m messing with you, idiot.”
He grinned. A few steps ahead, Sam did the same.
Then his grin faded. “So it’s time?” They headed for the ship’s command center.
“Uh-huh,” Bobby said. “I came to get you guys because Cap’s called everyone together, and neither of you responded. Big speech before the big attack, I guess.”
Izzy put on her Smasher goggles, and the material moved, slid, and expanded to become her helmet. “Must be.” She nodded her head. “I just got a status alert from Gladiator, as well. The Imperial Guard has been activated.” She paused, then added, “This feels so wrong.”
Bobby waved his arm in dismissal. “No. Listen, you shouldn’t feel guilty, not for one second. So what if everyone else up here is sad and alone. You deserve a bit of happiness while everyone else is miserable.”
Izzy looked his way. “That’s not what I—”
“He knows.” Sam rolled his eyes. “He’s just joking because it’s easier. None of us thought this was what coming home would be like.”
* * *
THE PEAK, the headquarters of S.W.O.R.D., was Earth’s first defense against alien incursion. That made it the most likely spot to be targeted first. So far that had happened twice.
The first time the Skrulls were invading the planet.
Currently it was held by one of Thanos’ generals, the Black Dwarf. He was a leashed dog, and he knew it. He’d been placed at the Peak solely because he would be out of the way. However, he saw it as a chance to redeem himself.
“Is it ready?” He turned to Krysaor, captain of one wing of the forces on the station. He looked like a child next to his massive commander, and like Black Dwarf, he had been assigned here as little more than an afterthought.
“It is, Black Dwarf. Created exactly to specifications.”
“Good. We have received word from Thanos, who heard the screams from Titan. We are to expect visitors.” He looked around at the gathered soldiers, misfits all, then moved to choose a weapon, lifting and straining under the weight. The mace was massive. It would crush bugs with the best of them, and for Black Dwarf nearly everything qualified as a bug. He raised his new weapon high over his head.
“Well, let them come! We will be ready, and we will repel them. Our master has commanded it.”
“Yes,” Captain Krysaor agreed, “to prove to him that you are worthy again. That we all are.”
“What did you say?” Black Dwarf spun hard on one heel and looked down. “What did you say to me?” He did not speak—he roared, lifting the mace.
“Oh,” Krysaor said, realizing what he had done. “Oh— only that you would puh-probably want to erase your, ah… shortcomings from Thanos’ memory, sir. General.” He was braver than most. Trying to rectify his mistake, he stood his ground before Black Dwarf’s fury.
“Forgive me, I meant no disrespect.”
It was too late.
The mace came down. It shattered Krysaor’s body and armor alike, and the floor of the deck beneath him.
“Consider it erased… from my memory.” He shook the remains of Krysaor from his mace. “Prepare the station; alert all vessels. Make ready for war.”
The remaining members of the wing moved quickly to carry out their commander’s orders.
* * *
TO CAROL Danvers, sometimes the universe seemed to have the damnedest sense of humor. She watched the video feed with everyone else and felt her stomach tighten into a knot of tension.
“I feel like my mother’s calling,” Iron Man said, his holographic avatar hovering above the communications unit. “‘We were only gone for a few hours. Want to tell me what happened to the house, Anthony?’ ‘Hi, Mom. I know it looks bad, but I’m really glad you’re back.’”
Cap smiled. “Me too, Tony. Where are you now?”
“Wakanda. It’s possible Thanos—wait, you do know about
Thanos, right?”
“Yeah, I know about Thanos. We all do.”
“Okay, so his crew might have gained access to some doomsday weapons. And maybe they’re here in Wakanda. Me and some others are working on stopping them.”
Cap tensed. The use of the term “doomsday weapons” had erased the smile from his face. “We’ve got to deal with the blockade first, but I’ll beeline it to Birnin Zana once we punch through.”
“Negative, Steve,” Stark responded. “I’ll be sending you coordinates to where Thanos will be. He’s the primary target. We’ll take care of this, and then I’ll see you there.”
“Okay.” Cap looked uncomfortable. “Don’t screw it up.”
“Did everyone make it?” Tony asked. Carol thought he seemed to want to change the subject.
“I don’t think any of us are completely whole after what we’ve been through,” Cap replied, “but we haven’t lost anyone yet.”
Iron Man nodded. “Well, time to go. Good luck.”
“See you soon.” By the time he was done speaking, Iron Man’s image had faded.
They had saved the universe. Now they just had to save their own planet. Looking around her, Captain Marvel thought they might have a chance. The Shi’ar, the Kree, the Skrulls, the Imperial Guard, Annihilus—oh, and the Avengers.
“So there you have it,” Captain America said to the gathered generals. “Mad Thanos has invaded Earth, his armada surrounds the planet, and believe it or not, the whole thing seems to be motivated by an overdue, unyielding desire to commit infanticide.” The way he said it almost made it seem logical.
Almost.
“When we left the planet to oppose the Builders, he took that as his opportunity,” Cap continued. “It was a canny move.”
“All of this to kill one kid?” Carol shook her head. “Does that make sense to anyone?”
“Yesssss.” Annihilus actually answered the rhetorical question. She wasn’t surprised.
“It’s Thanos,” Cap said, ignoring the insectoid. “Expecting some type of rationality to win out is pointless. And frankly, I don’t care what he wants, I just want to send him and his forces running as fast as they can from our planet.”
Carol agreed. That was exactly how she felt about the situation.
“And if they do not run, let it be because they find themselves unable to do anything but crawl,” Thor said, crossing his massive arms and looking particularly grim. It was impressive.
“There is a plan forthcoming, I presume.” Ronan hefted his hammer and peered down at the holographic map of the planet.
“We’re going to need to break the blockade,” Captain America replied. “We’re fairly certain they have complete control of the Peak, though.”
“This orbital station may be formidable,” Kl’rt said, “but surely a single outpost cannot house that kind of firepower.” He seemed to be confident in his knowledge of the facility.
Spider-Woman was the one who answered. “Well, the first iteration of the station didn’t,” she said. Her time with the Skrulls— as an unwilling captive—had not made her a fan of the species, but she spoke with calm. “But Earth seems to have a consistent problem with alien invasions. So it got rebuilt… better.”
Kl’rt considered the words, and then nodded.
“The good news is that we know the base,” Bruce Banner said. “We have schematics, and we have personal experience inside the station. I’ve spent considerable time there. This is a job that can be done, and we have a pretty good idea of how to do it. Which is where all of you come in.” He glanced around at the extraterrestrial portion of the contingent.
Kl’rt stared back with unmasked fascination. For a member of a race of shape-changers, he seemed particularly intrigued by the Hulk’s other face.
Gladiator stepped forward. “Whatever the need, my Imperial Guard will be ready.” Oracle stood at his right hand, Mentor at his left.
Mentor looked at Captain America. “So the station—a micro- problem needing a surgical solution. Then the blockade. A macro problem, met by our fleet, I would expect.”
“Which leaves only the problem of your world,” Oracle added.
“Yeah. Existing,” Captain America replied. “We’ve got that one.” He pointed to the display on the table they surrounded. “So here’s what we’re going to do.”