Ship Log: Shi’ar Imperial Cruiser Ma’kon
Stardate: 11059
Steersman Immundra recording

We have just breached 4-Space and are now approaching the planet known as Earth. The Majestrix Lilandra Nermani dispatched our Cruiser with a small collection of Imperial Superguardians after receiving a distress signal from her sister, Deathbird. Passengers include the Imperial Guard’s Praetor, Gladiator, in addition to the Superguardians Warstar, Manta, Plutonia, Smasher, Arc, and Starbolt.

Ever since the Majestrix took the throne, Earth has been considered a friend of the Imperium due to their association with the X-Men. But now, there is reason to believe that foul play is involved. We have intercepted odd signals coming from Earth’s orbit. They appear to be messages in a coded Kree language.

The Kree have been part of the Shi’ar Imperium for quite some time, although rogue starships commanded by Kree rebels still exist. Presently, we are working to decode these messages as quickly as possible, to discern the meaning behing them. If these messages provoke the Kree rebels to invade Earth, an all-out war could be next on the horizon.

The Majestrix does not want to see such a thing happen. That is why she has dispatched her Honor Guard to Earth to investigate the cause of not only her sister’s distress signal, but also the messages we have intercepted.

At present, we are now passing Mars. Earth is within our sights, and the ship has pinpointed the source of the coded messages. They are being transmitted from an Earth-orbiting space station. We have also pinpointed the source of Deathbird’s signal, originating from the territory known as New York.

EMPIRE

Part IV: Honor Guard

By Logan Polk and Dino Pollard

Ohmphalos

A leather-encased finger pointed at the Shi’ar Superdestroyer on the monitor screen. The finger was attached to the slender form of Oubliette. Named after a medieval torture instrument and dressed like a dominatrix, Oubliette was the consort of Noh-Varr of the Kree Empire, who is either a dimension-spanning star-god or an Internet cult leader, depending on who you ask.

“Those your friends?” asked Oubliette. Noh-Varr looked over his shoulder and approached Oubliette. He looked at the monitor and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“That’s a Shi’ar ship, what are they doing here?” asked Noh-Varr.

“Huh?”

“Another interstellar space empire,” replied Noh-Varr. “They could be trouble. Plex, we have any weapons on this stone-age piece of shit?”

{ Even after the modifications I have made, it is still nothing as sophisticated as you are used to. But it is only a Shi’ar Cruiser, not a Superdestroyer, so the weapons may prove sufficient in detering them. There is another problem, though. }

“Which is?” asked Noh-Varr.

{ This could provoke an interstellar incident with the Shi’ar Imperium. Their numbers are great, and they have the Imperial Honor Guard of the Majestrix Lilandra on their side. Are you willing to risk a possible war? }

“We’re already at war, Plex. Anyone who gets in my way will be treated as an enemy. Besides, I have my own Honor Guard.”

{ That’s quite a simplified way of viewing the situation, Noh-Varr. }

“Don’t get all philosophical with me, Plex,” said Noh-Varr. “We’ve got a job to do. Cosmic jihad has begun.”

Shi’ar Cruiser Ma’kon

A high-impact beam of solar energy would barely make a dent in the Superdestroyer class of Shi’ar spaceships. But for the Cruiser class, generally used for reconnaissance missions, it can cause quite a bit of damage. As Steersman Immundra has just discovered after his ship was struck by a direct hit from the Ohmphalos orbital platform. Alarms blared throughout the Cruiser, and it only took moments before the handful of Superguardians onboard the Cruiser came to the bridge to check on the status.

“What was that?” demanded Gladiator.

“We’ve taken a direct hit,” replied Steersman Immundra. “The orbital platform is armed with very sophisticated weaponry, at least by Earth standards.”

“Kree-enhanced?” asked Plutonia.

“Plex consciousness,” said B’nee from his spot on the open cavity on C’cil’s back. Together, the two formed the Superguardian called Warstar.

“You’re certain?” asked Arc.

“If the Kree are involved, then it has to be,” replied B’nee. “Plex consciousness can adapt to various situations as well as perform necessary upgrades.”

“They’re preparing for another strike!” exclaimed Steersman Immundra.

“Can you avoid it?” asked Gladiator.

“Not if they’ve locked onto us,” replied Steersman Immundra. “I will try to draw their fire. In the meantime, you must venture to Earth, locate the Viceroy and discover the source of these attacks.”

“What about you, Immundra?” asked Starbolt.

“A Steersman is one with his ship,” he replied. “I must remain onboard until the end.”

“Thank you, Steersman,” said Gladiator. He laid a hand upon the Steersman’s shoulder. “I vow that your sacrifice will not be in vain.”

“Go,” said Steersman Immundra. “For the Majestrix, for the Imperium.”

Gladiator nodded and turned away from the Steersman. The rest of his small team of Superguardians followed him off the bridge. Once they were gone, Steersman Immundra turned his attention back towards the Ohmphalos.

Ship Log: Shi’ar Imperial Cruiser Ma’kon
Stardate: 11059
Steersman Immundra recording

I am Immundra, Steersman of the Shi’ar Imperial Cruiser Ma’kon. I have served the Imperium and my Majestrix with honor and with loyalty. I know in these final moments, I face death at the hands of an unknown enemy. I have no fear, for Sharra and K’ythri are with me. This is my final recording.

Steersman Immundra signing off.

Avengers Mansion

The calm of Avengers Mansion was suddenly disturbed by a bright light. As the light diminished, seven figures in colorful costumes stood on the grounds outside the mansion. Smasher stepped up and adjusted the goggles which covered his eyes, viewing the information they showed him.

“Exospex confirms it, this was the source of Lady Deathbird’s transmission,” he said. “But this isn’t the house of Xavier, is it? When last we heard from her, wasn’t she provided sanctuary by the X-Men?”

“She was,” said Manta.

“So where is she?” asked Smasher. “More importantly, where are we?”

Gladiator paid no attention to Smasher’s question. Instead, he concentrated his eyes on the ground below him and the mansion.

“Kallark?” asked Smasher, addressing the Imperial Guard’s Praetor by his birth name.

“Inside,” replied Gladiator. “My x-ray vision confirms that there is a terran who may require our assistance.”

Gladiator stepped up to the front doors of the mansion, which were shattered by some force now gone. Inside, furniture was tossed about and lay in shambles. Walls had been smashed through. Broken glass was scattered across. He scanned the room and flew over to lift up a door. Beneath it was an older man in a tuxedo and silver hair on the back and sides of his head, but bald on top. Gladiator took the man in his arms and the other Superguardians quickly came to his side.

“Who is this?” asked Plutonia.

“Servant of the Avengers,” replied Gladiator.

“Is he dead?” asked Plutonia.

“No, he lives,” said Gladiator. He looked down at the man. “Jarvis, can you hear me?”

“I doubt that.”

The Imperial Guard instantly leapt into defensive mode. Starbolt lifted his arm and his hand began to glow with solar energy as they faced their newcomer.

“Identify yourself immediately,” he said.

The new arrival stepped through the doors of the mansion. He held a cigar between his fingers and wore a blue and white uniform. His hair was brown but gray at the temples and an eyepatch covered his left eye.

“Colonel Nick Fury of SHIELD,” he said. “I’m one’a the good guys.”

Gladiator laid Jarvis gently down on the ground and approached Fury.

“I am Gladiator, Praetor of the Shi’ar Imperial Honor Guard. We received a distress signa—”

“A distress signal from Deathbird, also of the Shi’ar Empire,” said Fury, cutting off Gladiator. “Yeah I know. Deathbird sent out the distress signal from Avengers Mansion right before she was kidnapped.”

“By who?” asked Smasher.

“We’ve got a bit of a situation here on Earth,” replied Fury. “This little Kree bastard named Noh-Varr decided to wage a one-man war against the Earth. He was taken down by my people. After he was arrested, he broke free from his containment, an’ took quite a few supervillains with him. Now we’ve got super-powered criminals causin’ shit all ove the planet, mutants holding the United Nations hostage, an’ he’s taken over SHIELD’s orbital platform.”

“What does he want?” asked Gladiator.

“He wants to create a new Kree Empire, with Earth as the new capital,” replied Fury.

“The Kree messages we intercepted,” said Arc. “And the attacks on our Cruiser.”

“Where are this planet’s heroes?” asked Gladiator.

“Many of ’em are doin’ their part as best as they can,” said Fury. “Jarvis over there called in every reserve Avenger he could get in touch with. We’ve got interim Avenger teams trying to contain the threat. We’ve got other guys out there, too. The X-Men have been doin’ their part, but we haven’t been able to reach the Fantastic Four. The West Coast Avengers have been unreachable for some time an’ their grounds have been trashed, so we expect the worst.”

“And the core Avengers team?” asked B’nee. “What about them?”

“They’re the ones who took Deathbird hostage,” replied Fury. “Noh-Varr’s somehow got them under his control.”

“The Plex consciousness,” said Manta. “No other explanation is viable.”

“Agreed,” said Gladiator.

“Should we contact the X-Men?” asked B’nee.

“No, we find the Avengers,” replied Gladiator.

Ohmphalos

“What the fuck have you done?!”

Deathbird looked up at Oubliette. Noh-Varr’s consort stood in the doorway of Deathbird’s cell, her legs spread apart and her hands resting on her hips. The Viceroy simply chuckled at the young woman.

“I sent out a signal to my sister, Majestrix Lilandra of the Shi’ar Imperium,” she replied. “Judging by your question, it sounds like she took my signal seriously and dispatched the Shi’ar Imperial Honor Guard. The Superguardians count the most powerful warriors in the universe among their numbers. I am the Viceroy of the Shi’ar Imperium, and you have taken me hostage. That is not looked well upon in our courts.”

“Noh-Varr will stop them,” said Oubliette. “No one can stop his cosmic jihad.”

“You stupid girl,” said Deathbird. “Noh-Varr’s a little punk. Who hasn’t taken this godforsaken planet hostage? Magneto used to do it every other year. But when you go up against the Shi’ar Imperium? Then you risk nothing less than death. Do you really think a homeless Kree and a terran in leather can stand up against an entire empire?”

“You… you don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Oubliette. “Noh-Varr is going to turn this world into a paradise, you’ll see.”

“Ahh, to be young and naïve again…” said Deathbird. “There’s no such thing as paradise, child. Not in this universe. Not now and not ever.”

“Shut up!” exclaimed Oubliette. She drew her golden gun from the holster strapped to her leg and aimed it at Deathbird. “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem!”

A hand rested on the gun and pulled it from her grip. Oubliette looked to her side and saw that the hand belonged to Noh-Varr. He focused his stare on her, then looked down at Deathbird in disgust.

“She may not be enlightened like we are, but we’re not going to kill her just yet,” he said. “We have to show her that our way will work, that we can turn this world into paradise. Once the Kree armada arrives, we’ll completely overrun this planet.”

Deathbird laughed at this.

“What’s so funny?” asked Noh-Varr.

“What Kree armada?” asked Deathbird with a grin. “You do realize that the Kree Empire was dissolved and absorbed into the Shi’ar, right?”

“You’re lying…” muttered Noh-Varr through gritted teeth.

“I suppose you weren’t aware of it when you were flying through space,” said Deathbird. “You must have missed out on the war. Too bad.”

Noh-Varr wanted to go inside Deathbird’s cell and rip her head off. He was about to, but he restrained himself. He took a deep breath and looked at Oubliette, then back to Deathbird.

“We’ll see how well your Honor Guard fares against mine,” he said.

“Your funeral, boy.”

Washington, D.C.

The Avengers overlooked the capital of the United States. Captain America stood at the front, his shield held snugly to his side. Most of the buildings had already been evacuated after Noh-Varr made his announcement and after the Brotherhood of Mutants took the United Nations hostage.

“Destroy everything,” he said. “Noh-Varr wants to rebuild this world from scratch, starting with the capital of this corrupt nation.”

The Avengers nodded and went to work. Captain Marvel flew above the city, towards the Washington Monument. He grinned as he drove his fists into the structure, and it began to crumble bit by bit. He became so wrapped up in it that he failed to notice the incoming threat that slammed into him like a bullet train. He fell to the ground and landed with a massive shockwave. He shook his head and stood up in the small crater made by his body. Hovering above him, red cape billowing and eyes glowing bright red, was Gladiator. The rest of the Imperial Guard hovered behind him.

“Avengers!” he exclaimed. “By command of Majestrix Lilandra Nermani, Lux Gloriana of the Shi’ar Imperium, you are hereby ordered to stand down! Failure to abide by this command will result in swift penalty! This is your one and final warning!”

“Oh yeah?” asked Captain Marvel. “Warn this!”

He lifted his hands up and unleashed a massive blast of photonic energy directed solely at Gladiator. The blast separated the Praetor from the rest of the Imperial Guard, and Captain Marvel took to the sky after him.

“Avengers, let’s finish this,” ordered Captain America.

He led the charge and hurled his shield at Smasher. The Superguardian grabbed the shield before it struck him, and threw it back. Captain America leapt over it. The shield struck the ground and bounced back into the air. Captain America caught it and used it to protect himself an instant before Smasher’s fist slammed into it. Captain America buckled slightly, but held his ground, his knees bent. He pushed his legs against the ground and thrusted forward against Smasher. He brought the shield around and put all his strength into it as he rammed into Smasher.

With the aid of a Shi’ar Flight Patch, Warstar was airborne, rocketing towards Iron Man. The armored Avenger unleashed with repulsor blasts that harmlessly bounced off C’cil’s hide. B’nee crouched low within the cavity on C’cil’s back, braced for impact. C’cil connected with Iron Man, and the two armored titans exchanged blows in midair. C’cil hurled Iron Man down to the ground and flew down after him. Warstar slammed into Iron Man, driving him further inside a crater.

B’nee leapt out from his spot on C’cil’s back and moved around the crater unseen behind Iron Man, moments before he got to his feet. Iron Man caught sight of C’cil and rocketed towards him. As soon as the Avenger’s feet left the ground, B’nee grabbed hold of his leg and swung up onto his back. Iron Man attempted to shake him, but found no luck, and when he came in range, C’cil gripped him tightly. B’nee channeled electricity through Iron Man’s armor, disrupting the systems.

“Hold him, C’cil,” ordered B’nee.

“What are you doing?” asked C’cil.

“Trying to locate the source of the mind control,” replied B’nee. “Aha!”

At the base of Iron Man’s neck, B’nee noticed a small, green organism. He released a charge through it and pulled it free from Iron Man and threw it down to the ground.

With his kinetic blast field active, Cannonball rocketed towards Manta. She stayed in her position and hovered, then lifted her arms and a massive blast of energy emitted from her cape. While not able to harm the former X-Man, it was enough to blind him and throw off his course. In his confusion, he slammed into Warbird, who had been exchanging energy blasts with Starbolt.

The two Superguardians rushed to find the Avengers in a crater. Cannonball blasted from the crater and took Starbolt with him. Warbird leapt at Manta, but Manta quickly countered with a blast from her cloak. Warbird fell to the ground, but before she could get up again, Manta unleashed another blast and then a third just to be certain. It was then that Manta noticed the Plex organism.

Elsewhere, Arc hovered in the air and unleashed wave after wave of electricity at Namor, who manueverd and flew through each blast with incredible grace and ease. The Atlantean monarch continued to dodge the electricity until he could get himself close enough to connect his fist with Arc’s chest. Namor followed up the punch with an elbow to the face and he grabbed the Flight Patch from Arc’s wrist and tore it free.

Without the use of the Flight Patch, Namor was the only thing which held Arc up in the air. Arc, however, grabbed Namor’s wrist and the electricity began coursing through the Avenger’s body. Namor fell unconscious, and the electricity had also disabled the Plex organism.

The two were in freefall without Namor to keep them aloft. Arc scrambled to pull the Flight Patch from Namor’s hand, but luckily, C’cil grabbed the two combatants and lowered them to safety.

Plutonia and Vision found themselves far too evenly matched. With both possessing intangibility, neither could properly gain the advantage in that form, and had to rely simply on brute strength. Plutonia thrusted forward and Vision phased through her body. He solidified slightly in an attempt to send her body into a state of shock, but Plutonia phased the instant this happened as well. Plutonia took to the air and Vision followed in pursuit.

He altered his density so his body was hard as a diamond and Plutonia braced herself for impact. She suddenly dropped in the air and grabbed Vision’s cape. She used it to hurl him in the other direction, towards Cannonball and Starbolt. Vision had no time to shift to his intangible form, and he struck the pair of combatents.

The three fell towards the ground. Vision and Starbolt were incapacitated, but Cannonball blasted towards Plutonia. The Superguardian remained in place and once Cannonball came close enough, she threw a punch. Her fist phased through his blast field and solidified once she connected with his jaw.

High above the battlefield was where Gladiator was able to stop his freeflight. He regained his composure as Captain Marvel approached him. Gladiator took a deep breath and exhaled. The effect was like gale force winds that provided some resistance, but not enough to Genis.

The Praetor’s eyes glowed a bright red, and once Captain Marvel got closer, he unleashed a massive dose of heat vision. Captain Marvel instantly stopped and erected a photonic shield to protect himself. After that, Gladiator was upon him. Blow after blow was exchanged between the two titans, with quarter neither asked nor given.

Captain Marvel suddenly vanished in a flash of light moments before Gladiator’s fist was about to connect. He rematerialized behind Gladiator and slammed into him like a battering ram. Gladiator found himself falling towards the earth like a comet and he crashed into the Reflecting Pool with an incredible splash.

Like a missile, Gladiator flew forth from the water, and put all his strength into his collision with Captain Marvel. Before the Kree/Titan could travel far, Gladiator grabbed him and began spinning around, building up momentum. He then hurled Captain Marvel towards the city, and Genis crashed into the Capitol Building.

Gladiator flew after him, and the moment Captain Marvel stood, Gladiator’s fists were striking every part of his body at superhuman speed. Each blow was like being struck by a massive tree trunk, over and over again, and Captain Marvel could do nothing but shield himself from the blows. Gladiator ended the assault by grabbing Captain Marvel’s face and bashing it against his knee.

Captain Marvel fell to the ground and Gladiator saw the Plex organism at the base of his skull. His eyes began to glow bright red and the organism fried. He lifted Captain Marvel and threw him over his shoulder, then flew back towards the battlefield. When he arrived, he found Captain America still holding his ground against Smasher. Gladiator kept Captain Marvel balanced on his shoulder and he stretched out his arms. Gladiator brought his hands together with an incredible thunderclap, one which sent forth enough force to knock both Captain America and Smasher.

Smasher sat up, shook his head, and saw Captain America beginning to stir as well. He moved over to him quickly and tore the Plex organism from the back of the Avenger’s head.

SHIELD Helicarrier

“This is not what I signed up for…” muttered Cannonball as he pressed an ice pack to the back of his head. With the Plex organisms removed, the Avengers were free from Noh-Varr’s thrawl. The Imperial Guard brought them to the SHIELD Helicarrier after the battle for any possible medical attention, but aside from a few bruises, they were none the worse for wear.

“Nick, can you bring us up to speed?” asked Warbird. “I feel like I’ve just woken up after a week-long bender.”

“The situation is as follows,” replied Fury. “Noh-Varr’s arranged for breakouts at just about every supervillain prison on the planet. Because of that, SHIELD and the superhero community was trying to contain the threat posed by the breakouts that it left Ohmphalos, the SHIELD orbital platform, open to attack. Noh-Varr took control of it and made it his base of operations. Now he’s got several world leaders captured an’ he says he’s gonna turn Earth into the capital of the new Kree Empire.”

“He’s planning an invasion,” said Namor. “That’s why he chose the space station. Too far for many to reach, and he’s using the supervillains as his army. It’s a good plan.”

Fury raised his eyebrow at Namor, but Namor simply glanced at him.

“It’s what I would do,” he said.

“He also has Lady Deathbird, Viceroy of the Shi’ar Imperium, as his captive,” said Gladiator.

“Then we have to take back Ohmphalos and free those leaders,” said Captain America. “Before he can do any more damage.”

Shi’ar Imperial Flagship

“Majestrix!”

Lilandra Nermani turned away from the monitors which lay before her. She saw her trusted advisor, Araki, in her doorway. She motioned for him to enter and she sat down on her throne.

“What is it, Araki?”

“Majestrix, we’ve decoded the Kree message the Ma’kon intercepted,” replied Araki.

“And…?”

“It’s a Kree military code, a bit old, but perhaps still good,” said Araki. “A command calling the Kree armada to set a course for Earth. It says the disinfection has begun and it is time for the invasion and cleansing.”

“The Kree Empire does not exist, though,” said Lilandra.

“No, but there are enough rebel factions of the former Kree Empire to desire the formation of a new empire,” said Araki. “Unless we do something soon, Majestrix, Earth will be taken over by the Kree!”