Approaching Earth from the direction of the Galactic Barrier…
"My brother, this is wrong. I beg you to not do this."
Hearing the heartfelt plea of his favourite sister — a sister many of his own close advisors warned might be contemplating treason against his rule — D'Ken, Majestor of the Shi'ar Imperium, could only breathe out. "There is a reason for this, Lilandra."
"But to challenge a being that even the Devourer of Worlds considers an EQUAL?!" Lilandra demanded as she gazed wide-eyed at the ruler of one of the most powerful of the known intergalactic empires. "All because she took the M'Kraan Crystal…"
"A crystal that, by right of discovery, was OURS!" D'Ken snarled as he glared at her, making Lilandra cringe. "We found the Crystal! We studied the Crystal! And before we could learn all Its Secrets and use it to expand the Imperium's reach, It was TAKEN from us! By a mere GIRL, even if she is this so-called 'Goddess Who Walks Amongst Men!'" The derision in his voice on speaking that name was quite apparent. "A mere lie, no doubt! No mortal being can possess such power! It has long been proven!"
"Are you saying the D'Bari lied about what happened when the Phoenix came to our space and tried to feast upon their home-sun?!"
D'Ken shuddered. Three years ago, a wormhole had appeared in Shi'ar space near the home world of the D'Bari, a peaceful plant-descent race of humanoids that were trade allies of the Imperium. Emerging from that was a humanoid woman in a red-and-gold skin-tight uniform akin to what any of the Imperial Guard would wear in the field…and she was FLYING in airless space WITHOUT the need of a spacesuit! As she approached the D'Bari home star — being spotted by a patrolling Shi'ar cruiser along the way — another warp appeared, this time producing a much younger girl in a grey jumpsuit with a white lemniscate insignia on it. And — as the crew of the Shi'ar ship watched in wide-eyed awe — a battle of god-like titans occurred.
It was eventually learned — after the one who had threatened D'Bari was banished back to her homeworld of Earth, a planet in the Milky Way Galaxy that had long interested the Skrull and the Kree — that the first traveller was a woman named Jean Grey. A metahuman gifted with great psionic powers — who had originally taken the battle-name "Marvel Girl" — she had nearly sacrificed her life two years before to save her friends when they were forced to fly through a solar flare from a space station back to their home world. That event allowed Jean to literally MERGE with the Phoenix Force, the omnipotent being that was said to guard the Eternal City in the Nexus of All Realities contained within the M'Kraan Crystal. In doing so, she became Phoenix, the most powerful of her group of adventurers, the X-Men. But because she had never been prepared to weld such power — and because she had been manipulated by a metahuman hypnotist named Mastermind — Jean eventually went mad and evolved into Dark Phoenix. And because of her madness, she had come to literally CONSUME a star in much the same way that Galactus consumed planets…regardless of the fact that there was a planet with over FIVE BILLION sentient beings orbiting that very star!
When the crew of the Shi'ar vessel recognised the one intercepting Dark Phoenix as one of the two girls who had taken the M'Kraan Crystal, the captain — remembering his Majestor's desire for the Crystal's power — demanded the girl surrender. And — Lilandra STILL laughed at this! — the girl complied, teleporting herself onto the bridge and holding out her hands to be manacled. In an interrogation afterward — it was done in a civilised manner under the supervision of Gladiator with observers from both Hala and Tarnax IV present — revealed that the girl who had just saved the D'Bari was one Kasuga Ayumu of the Earth nation of Japan, also calling herself Infinity. When she was but a child of seven, the young girl had met a countryman named Moroboshi Ataru and was taken to the Forge of the First Race — known to the inhabitants of that world as "Yiziba" — to receive a Gift, a blessing of metahuman power. Thanks to Ayumu's natural ability to look at things in a different way, the Great Crystal of Power blessed her to become the twenty-sixth incarnation of the being known throughout much of the cosmos as the Goddess Who Walked Amongst Men&hallip;and, some believed, the prophesised True Heiress of the First Race.
Ayumu then explained WHY she and her friend Suzumiya Haruhi — a reality-warper known as the "Weaver" — had taken the M'Kraan Crystal. A year before, in the fifth known attempt by the Devourer of Worlds to consume the life energies of that world, Infinity and the Weaver — who were known to Galactus thanks to their previous-selves — remembered about the neutron galaxy at the very core of the Nexus of All Realities Shi'ar scientists theorised could be accessed through the M'Kraan Crystal. Taking the Crystal to a pocket dimension created for the occasion by the Weaver — how a CHILD could have done THAT simply staggered the interrogators! — Infinity then cracked it open and allowed the galaxy to expand to natural size. With the actual Nexus being allowed to merge with a like trans-dimensional nexus called the Rock of Eternity, Infinity and the Weaver scouted out the solar systems of the freed galaxy. Discovering THOUSANDS of life-bearing planets that never got the chance to evolve such life, both girls then went back to Earth to inform Galactus of this development and make a deal with him. The Devourer of Worlds — having been revived from a very weak state thanks to the help of the leader of a team of adventurers known as the Fantastic Four, Professor Reed Richards — was quite intrigued at the idea of feasting on worlds without the many complications dealing with indigenous species raised…and, after vowing that Earth need not fear him again, left with his new herald to explore the M'Kraan Galaxy.
When news of what Ayumu had told the praetor of the Imperial Guard got back to the Aerie, the leadership of the Imperium felt overwhelmed to know that a living race had actually been born from the Seeker's Forge…and that amongst their number were beings that could actual duel Galactus in battle and WIN! That — tagged onto what nearly happened to the D'Bari — sent the Imperial Guard en masse to Earth to find and destroy Jean Grey. That resulted in an epic battle on a habitable zone of Earth's moon near the residence of the local Watcher, Uatu, which saw the Guard defeated and humbled by a resurgent Dark Phoenix…before Infinity interfered and did something — Lilandra still didn't know exactly what — to allow the true personality of Jean Grey to fully reassert herself. In doing so, Phoenix was nearly driven to suicide as she realised how close she came to committing GENOCIDE…and then moved to use an abandoned Kree disintegration cannon to destroy her body and allow the force she had become one with to return to where it belonged. Horrified that this woman was prepared to do THAT, a wounded Gladiator smashed the device before it could fire, then faced the sobbing woman. "The Fates granted you power, Lady," the praetor of the Guard declared as Phoenix looked at him. "They would not have done this had They not believed you worthy of such power. You can LEARN control, Lady! Just as the Infinite One did!" He pointed to Infinity in emphasis, and then indicated the unconscious and battered body of Phoenix's lover, Cyclops. "Think of him before you think of this again."
And a friendship was forged between the Imperial Guard and the X-Men.
"No, they did not lie," D'Ken stated, breathing out. "And I realise that, given that Kasuga Ayumu was born on Earth, she acted properly to save her people from Galactus' wrath. But it is a matter of PROPRIETY, sister! We are the ones who discovered the Crystal. By virtue of that, we are the ones who must have Its Power! Nothing more!"
Lilandra sighed. "Your Will be done, Majestor," she whispered, lowering her eyes.
Oh, Charles! What am I to do…?
On Earth, over the North Pacific, approaching Japan…
"Lilandra…"
Phoenix perked on hearing that gasped voice from her mentor and teacher, and then she turned to gaze on Charles Xavier. "What is it, Charles?" she asked.
The founder of the X-Men blinked. "The Shi'ar are coming to Earth…"
"Why?"
Charles turned to see Telepath standing there. Even though she was a serving officer in the Royal Canadian Navy — as denoted by the dark blue lieutenant-commander's rank insignia on the sleeves of the light blue Yizibajohei-pattern jumpsuit she wore as her "field uniform," topped with Elliot's Eye on the upper stripe — the leader of the Heroes Alliance of Canada lived her life out of costume as a normal woman in her home town of Merritton near Stelton in Ontario. Because she was an officer in Her Majesty's Armed Forces of Canada, she got full pay even when she was not in the field doing work, so she lived a good life for the woman who led the Dominion's primary hero group. And given that Maria Kennison was a telepath on Charles Xavier's level, it was quite understandable that the woman who bore the dark blue Greek letter Ψ embossed with a θ on her left breast to indicate her true powers would be "listening" in on things.
"Because of Ayumu and what she and Haruhi had to do to persuade Galactus to leave our world alone, Maria," Xavier explained. "It appears — I never learned this when the X-Men faced their Imperial Guard — that the Shi'ar view the M'Kraan Crystal as something that was quite holy. And because of it, their emperor D'Ken considers young Ayumu a thief for taking the Crystal away. Even if by doing so, she eliminated the threat of Galactus from not just our world…but from many other worlds as well."
"The trial Reed was forced through right after that fight, you mean," Telepath stated.
A nod. "Yes. Those who are descent of races victimised by Galactus' hunter came to understand and accept what happened…but I fear D'Ken is so hungry for power that he'll do anything to gain it. Even unleashing widespread destruction to make Infinity come to heel." The world's most powerful telepath then sighed. "If he could."
The leader of the Heroes Alliance nodded. While her group hadn't been involved in the duel on the Blue Area of the Moon, Maria Kennison had monitored things from Earth to ensure that if the Imperial Guard got out of control, they could be put down fast and hard; the Specialised Warfare Regiment's equipment was based on a massive cache of alien technology left by a long-deceased race known as the Karollans in an underground storage site under Barbeau Peak on Ellesmere Island (these days serving as Canadian Forces Base Ellesmere Island, one of the two most northern places of habitation on the planet beside Canadian Forces Station Alert on the very northern tip of Ellesmere). She had FELT Infinity uncork a bit of her real power to shock Phoenix into realising what she could have done…courtesy of her opening Jean's eyes to a potential future where she HAD destroyed the D'Bari star and how that could have played out. And when Jean had moved to kill herself, Maria had joined Charles in telepathically trying to calm her down…which kept her still long enough for Gladiator to do what he did. «Thank God for that man,» Telepath mused to herself, knowing Phoenix and Charles Xavier was listening in. «Much that warfare is sometimes necessary…»
«It is best to be on the side of the angels instead of the devils,» Charles finished; it had been one of Dean Raeburn's personal maxims. «What will you do?»
Telepath sighed. "Jean, go on ahead of us. The Urusians are about to get a massive shock when D'Ken comes into the system; a Shi'ar Majestor never travels anywhere outside their territory without a whole damned FLEET of ships escorting him. When they arrive, they'll be showing enough power that would impress anyone in THIS galaxy outside the Zentraedi. Be…" A smirk. "Be flashy about it."
Phoenix hummed. "I can do flashy!"
And with that, she headed out of the cabin. The two powerful telepaths remaining behind watched her go, and then Charles sighed. "The die is cast…"
"Let the game be played," Telepath finished for her friend…
The Redet Glory over Tomobiki, a minute later…
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
That was a stunned Benten; on learning what had happened to her childhood friend, the Fukunokami biker babe had been torn between revulsion — that Lum was now Tempest, one of the You Know Whos…and had been since she was a KID! — and outrage that the Niphentaxians' so-called "arch-heretic" had actually conspired to CRIPPLE her in a way of trying to destroy the so-called "Church of Lum." As the others in the cabin looked outside to see the gigantic firebird image in the night sky over Tomobiki, the Hearth Witch then smiled. "Oh, my! It's Jean-san! What's she doing here?!"
"Jean-san?" Tempest asked, and then she blinked. "Oh, Jean Grey! Phoenix of the X-Men! The one that nearly consumed a star in Shi'ar space three years ago, right?! Ayumu-san had to go there to stop her from wiping out a whole planet…"
A nod. "Hai, the same. Ayumu-chan made her better right after that," the transformed Tendō Kasumi stated as Lum's father sputtered in shock on hearing that a metahuman from Earth had nearly consumed a whole STAR! "I wonder what's she doing here."
"Something's up," the Arbitrator stated. "Others might be coming."
"What others, Nabiki-san?" Oyuki asked.
"Well, definitely the X-Men," the transformed Tendô Nabiki answered. "They fought the Shi'ar Imperial Guard — a force of metas that would be quite at home on Yiziba back in the days of the Dawn of Power — on the Blue Area of the Moon three years ago. Whipped their butts, too. Phoenix was the main reason why." She then gazed out the window to see the green-and-gold form of the mightiest of the X-Men dive down towards Tomobiki High School. "Damn! She's here to talk to Ōsaka. Wonder what's up."
The non-Yizibajohei — those NOT in the true know of them — blinked…
"Hey, Haruhi!"
Weaver blinked, and then she smiled as Phoenix came down. "Hi, Jean!" The Mistress of Time and Space had weaved an invisible "none of damned your business" warp-field around herself and her friend so that they could converse with the arriving American without people learning their real names. "What're you doing here tonight?!"
"The Shi'ar are coming," Phoenix said as she landed, smiling in amusement as the gaggle of young men in school uniforms nearby chatting away as they pointed at her. "By what Charles sensed from Princess Lilandra herself, the Emperor D'Ken is very angry right now. Mostly at Ayumu here." She waved to Infinity. "The M'Kraan Crystal."
Weaver hummed. "So they liked the idea of allowing Galactus to run rampant and eat up worlds with sentient species on them?" she sarcastically wondered.
"Oh, they acknowledge that…but the Shi'ar are rather a possessive bunch," Phoenix answered as she nodded greetings to Soul Searcher as she and Warwind ran over to join them, followed by some of the others who had been on the lawn of Tomobiki High School when the most powerful of the X-Men had arrived in Tomobiki. "If they conquer it, it's theirs. If they discover it, it's theirs, too. They discovered the M'Kraan Crystal and were studying it when you and Ayumu took it off the planet to let Galactus get at the planets in that neutron galaxy that was stuck in the Nexus of Realities."
"Oh, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan…"
People gazed on Infinity. "Are you okay, Ayumu-chan?" Windtaker asked.
The Goddess Who Walked Amongst Men took a deep breath. "Jean-chan…does this mean I have to give a SPANKING to that idiot D'Ken?!" she demanded.
Phoenix jerked, and then she weakly nodded; despite the younger girl's unbelievable power, Kasuga Ayumu was perhaps one of the most kind-hearted people around. Violence of any sort was something she loathed with a passion. Especially when it came to dealing with beings weaker than her…which practically included almost all living beings on all the known inhabited planets across the Universe! "Sorry about that…"
A sigh. "Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, I'll do it. I don't have to like it, though…"
"ALRIGHT!"
Everyone jolted on hearing Warwind's scream of joy. "WHAT?!" Carcajou snapped.
"It's gonna be a fight-scene for sure!" Warwind whooped. "Now we get to…!"
"DOUBLE CHOP!"
A clenched pair of hands smashed down on Warwind's head, causing her to drop face-first into the ground. As all the boys nearby gaped on seeing that Soul Searcher had done that to a being as strong as the Hulk on normal occasions, the metahumans all turned to stare in confusion at the transformed Mizuhara Yomi. As the telepath adjusted the goggles over her eyes, she then winked at the others. "I cheated."
Hearing that, everyone else laughed as we…
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