ANNIHILATION

Part V: Extermination

By Mitch Crane

The situation was dire; Annihilus’s relentless armada on one side, cutting a bloody swath through the universe, and a horde of Celestials on the other, apparently working to erase the entire universe.

Despite being the Protector of the Universe Quasar could not help but feel in over his head. To think that just six short years ago he was barely more than a security guard at a SHIELD facility. Now he stood side by side with former Herald of Galactus Terrax upon the living planet Ego. They faced off against yet another former Herald, Red Shift. In one hand he held a bloody sword; the owner of the blood, Morg, lay at his feet. In his other hand he held a small pistol-like device; otherwise known as the Ultimate Nullifier, the deadliest weapon in the galaxy.

With one blast the Nullifier could erase you from existence, often along with any memory or record you ever lived. It was truly terrifying…and Red Shift had just explained he intended to hand it over to the Celestials. It was the last piece of their plot to destroy the universe and start their grand experiment anew.

“Why would you do this?” demanded Quasar.

“What did you expect?” sneered Terrax, “rejected by his own people, forgotten by Galactus. He’s simply a misbegotten whelp throwing a tantrum.”

Red Shift smirked, “Terrax the Tyrant mocking me for a tantrum? Hypocrite!” he spat on the dirt, inches from Morg’s body, “The Celestials have promised to make me one of them. Finally I will be a part of something!” he seemed almost manic, “Mock me if you must, mockery from a dead man bothers me nil to me.”

In one snap motion he pointed the Ultimate Nullifier at Terrax and almost pulled the trigger before Quasar reacted; grabbing his hand with a quantum fist and hurling him sideways. The Ultimate Nullifer clattered across the purple stones and Red Shift scrambled after it frantically, the desperation clear in his eyes. When he reached the item though, he found it encased in a diamond of quantum energy.

“No!” screamed the former Herald as he desperately tried the crack the diamond open with his fingers.

“We won’t let you do this Shift,” stated Wendell with grim determination.

He didn’t have time to ponder Red Shift’s odd words, “The Celestials have promised to make me one of them.” He had no idea one could become a Celestial, but that information was useless for the time being. What was important was that the former Herald had delivered him a weapon capable of destroying Annihilus and the Celestials.

Could he do it? The last time he had attempted to use the Nullifer, many years ago when he had battled the Magus, it had wiped him from reality. Thankfully he got better. He swallowed down his fear; this was his only option.

The quantum diamond levitated over to Wendell. Red Shift made a grab for it but Terrax’s heavy boot knocked him back down, and his axe blade an inch from the Herald’s throat kept him down.

“And what makes you think you are the rightful bearer of such a powerful item?” asked Terrax, as arrogant as ever.

“If you think for a minute I’m giving this to you you’re off your rocker.”

“Very well human, but know this; the instant this is all over, the Nullifier will be mine.”

“No! You won’t deny this from me!” cried Red Shift. A black tear in space manifested below the prone Herald, through which he disappeared.

“Gah! I’m really starting to hate that whelp!” cursed Terrax.

Quasar ignored the villain, keeping his senses sharp for Red Shift’s imminent attack, but it never came. Eventually he concluded the madman was biding his time; waiting until he and Terrax were most vulnerable.

The nullifier felt unnaturally cold in his hand, and he fought the urge to throw the thing away. It felt unnatural, as if it never should have been forged. Regardless, it was his only hope.

“Ok,” he said, eyeing the weapon, “Lets do this.”

Annihilus’ Command Post

Every fibre of his being screamed. More Celestials than anyone had ever seen in one place gathered above, and the power their souls emanated called to Annihilus like a beacon.

The Space Gods had come to him in the Negative Zone, and taught him the ancient secrets needed to unlock the Essence, the opposing force to the Power Cosmic. They had then informed him the End was coming for the positive matter universe, and spurned him on to cleanse the unclean. Back then he didn’t possess the Soul Gem, and couldn’t fathom the power that lay within these giant beings.

“Even their mighty souls won’t satisfy you,” called the disembodied voice of Adam Warlock. A voice that was becoming more difficult to hear the longer he was in the aura of the Celestials.

“The mighty Annihilus, lord of all he surveys, is slave to a petty little stone,” sneered the spectre.

“I am slave to no-one!” raged the emperor, inadvertently backhanding an underling’s head off its shoulders.

Soon the annoying ghost faded once more, as it always did, and he was left with only Soul Gem screaming hungrily. Today, the hunger would end.

Nearby

Wendell deliberated in his head; Annihilus or the Celestials? Which should he attack first?

Eventually he settled on Annihilus. From what he gathered, the Celestials plan was stalled until they got their giant hands on the Ultimate Nullifer. Also, he fearful the powerful aliens would be able to reflect his attack back on him, much like the Magus had done all those years ago. If the Celestials took him down, at least he would have taken Annihilus out first.

Ironically, after painstakingly thinking out his decision it was made for him. The air seemed to crackle with energy around the pair of them and in an instant their molecules were scattered to the winds.

The sensation itself was painless, and a quite surreal swirl of colours. However, the reformation was quite the opposite. Both he and Terrax screamed in agony as each and every one of their molecules were forced back together, hopefully in their original positions.

They now floated in the inky void of space. All around them stood the 2,000 feet tall Celestials; armoured giants of every colour in the spectrum. Wendell made to aim the Ultimate Nullifier but was dismayed to find it was no longer in his hands. It floated fifty feet away in a sphere of blue energy.

Red Shift was present too, grinning smugly. Quasar had misjudged him; rather than attack them himself, he had ran to the Celestials, who took matters into their own hands. The Space Gods had utilized their vast powers to bring them, and the Nullifier, to them.

The giants paid Quasar and Terrax no heed; they were below insects to the Celestials. Wendell couldn’t fathom what went on in the minds of these armoured behemoths; to think they had the right to kill every being in the universe was beyond arrogance. Did they truly consider themselves to be gods?

He was not foolish enough to think he could simply snatch up the Nullifier. The Celestial may be ignoring them for now, but one move against their plans and they wouldn’t hesitate to destroy him.

With every second the Nullifier drifted closer to the gigantic machine in the centre of the circle of Space Gods. The doomsday device greatly resembled a giant throne, upon which sat the greatest of the Celesitals, Exitar the Exterminator. Easily ten times the size of any of the other Celestials, Exitar was truly intimidating. This was the Celestial that destroyed worlds that did not pass their judgement.

“Perhaps it’s not too late to change sides?” stated Terrax dryly.

It was fairly easy to ascertain that Exitar, and the machine, would act as some sort of amplifier for the Nullifier. The Nullifier could not reach that machine at any cost.

“Terrax, I need you to provide some sort of distraction,” said Quasar.

The Herald snorted, “You mean get myself killed, not likely human.”

“What are you going to do, run? There’s nowhere you can go!”

His stony visage contorted in a scowl, before a grin broke out across his features.

“I think there’s something I can do,” with a snarl he blasted Wendell in the chest, sending him hurtling, conveniently, in the direction of the Nullifier. He followed that blast with a second, this time at Red Shift.

The traitorous Herald, too distracted by Terrax’s surprise assault on Quasar, could not dodge the blast in time. Terrax was upon him in seconds, repeatedly pummeling him with powerful fists. In did not take long for Red Shift to recover and the pair were soon engaged in furious combat.

The Celestials showed no sign of acknowledging the battle whatsoever. Each one remained still, deadly focused on Exitar. Would they even notice if he made for the coveted weapon?

A streak of light caught his eye, rocketing towards them from Ego’s surface. Surprisingly, this also caught the attention of the Celestials, with some actually turning their monstrous heads. Within seconds Annihilus arrived on the scene, brimming with energy.

“Space Gods!” screamed the Emperor, paying no attention to Quasar, “I have ascended to the godhood I so rightly deserve. Your gifts pale in comparison to the Devourer of Souls!”

A red Celestial turned to face the maniacal warlord. Quasar recognized it as Arishem, who had troubled Earth on more than one occasion.

“You have served your purpose,” boomed the giant, in a voice that could have shattered the eardrums of lesser beings.

It raised its hand and blasted Annihilus with a vibrant beam on energy. The warlord screamed is he was engulfed in energy and Arishem turned back to Exitar, thinking this distraction was resolved. But it was clear Arishem had underestimated Annihilus, as he survived; smoking and quivering with rage.

At that moment several things happened as once. Quasar grabbed ahold of the blue energy sphere holding the Ultimate Nullifier and felt agonizing pain lance through his entire frame.

Terrax was quickly gaining the upper hand in his fight with Red Shift and the Celestial’s servant knew it. He let a heavy punch from Terrax send him hurtling backwards, but as the Tamer charged forwards, Red Shift dived aside. The axe wielding former Herald couldn’t halt his momentum in time and was sent hurtling through a portal created by his foe. Red Shift grinned savagely as he closed the portal behind him, sending Terrax god knows where.

Lastly, Annihilus screeched in defiance towards his former benefactors and extended all four hands, as if to strangle Arishem. A thin strand of light formed between the Celestial and Annihilus; Arishem’s soul! Arishem reacted then, doubling over in pain as the whispy light of his soul grew brighter and more substantial. It quickly flowed into the Soul Gem upon Annihilus’s forehead, though not without a struggle. The Devourer of Souls pulled his hands inward, as if Arishem’s soul was a rope and he was pulling it towards him. After a moment the struggle was over and Arishem’s now soulless body lay floating lifelessly.

Wendell could only watch in horror; the orb around the Nullifier having rendered him immobile. Annihilus shuddered, as if he could barely hold the power inside, and a faint glow developed around his exoskeleton.

Many of the Celestials took note of the insignificant bug now; it was very rare that one of their own was defeated by a mere mortal. They seemed more curious than wary though, which would be their undoing.

The warlord screamed hungrily and grasped the souls of two Celestials this time. Each soul was stolen with much more proficiency than previously. Either Annihilus had gained a great deal of power from Arishem’s soul, or he had learned quickly how to wrangle a celestial’s spirit. Wendell suspected it was a bit of both.

Annihilus seemed to double in size immediately, and white hot light burst forth from his eyes and mouth. The Soul Gem pulsed like a heartbeat, and the monster clawed at it furiously.

“Be silent!” he cried, before latching on to three more souls.

By now, the Celestials were taking the threat of Annihilus seriously, but it was too late. They showered him in energy blasts, but the attacks proved fruitless; he carried enough of their own power now to shrug it off. When they attempted to crush him like the bug he was he dodged easily took their souls.

By now there seemed to be no effort at all; the ancient, powerful souls were wrenched loose like cobwebs and sucked into the Soul Gem. Annihilus had grown to the size of small building at this point, and his exoskeleton was beginning to transform into brilliant red energy.

All this had taken place in a barely a minute, but that was more than enough time for Red Shift to swoop in and steal the Ultimate Nullifier. Rather than touch the energy sphere, which would have rendered him paralyzed like Quasar, he opened a small dimensional tear, swallowing the item. A second tear opened directly opposite Exitar and the doomsday machine.

“No!” screamed Wendell, who struggled futilely against the weakness.

In desperation, he drew Quantum Energy into his own body, in the hopes that it would purge whatever Celestial technology was keeping him out of the game. It was a risky move, the energy could just as easily incinerate his body, but he had no choice.

The power burned through him and he screamed as Quantum Energy charged between every cell in his body. After a few seconds of agony the pain subsided and he thanked the heavens he was still alive. Even better, he could move again, though he was now extremely weak.

He rocketed towards Exitar but it was too late; the Ultimate Nullifer was drawn into Exitar’s throne, between his massive feet. It roared to life as a sphere of white hot energy surrounded them all. For the first time Exitar moved, turning his palms to the heavens as power surged through his body.

Exitar the Exterminator destroyed worlds that were deemed unworthy. It was his role in the Celestial’s order. This giant machine they had built linked him and the Ultimate Nullifier together, amplifying the weapon a thousand fold.

The sphere expanded outwards, disintegrating a fleet of Annihilation Wave ships instantly. Another second passed and the sphere expanded further, destroying more ships. Ego and the rest of the Wave quickly turned and fled, but they would be able to flee the Celestial’s assault forever. Quasar knew the sphere would continue to grow until it had erased the entire universe, a true Annihilation Wave, leaving those within it safe to start the universe anew.

There was no-one to stop this but Wendell now. Annihilus’ battle with the Celestials raged on around them. He was now equal in size with the Space Gods, but seem to dramatically outclass them in strength. Quasar could only look on in shock as Annihilus slammed his glowing red fist through Hargen the Measurer’s head. A rainbow of energy spewed from the wound; hyperspace energy, the Celestial’s true form.

Eventually Annihilus would come for Exitar, when every other Celestial Soul had been devourerd, but by then if could very well be too late. He rocketed towards the amplifier, firing a multitude of energy blasts. His attacks proved fruitless, and so he slammed his own body against the machine, in a desperate attempt to rip through the alien metal.

Red Shift laughed, “This is over human. Consider yourself lucky to be in the epicenter, where you’ll survive to see the birth of a new universe.”

A giant golden fist grasped the fallen Herald and slammed his against the doomsday machine. Wendell was in inch from his face in a second, screaming in rage.

“You idiot! Look around you! Annihilus is going to kill every one of your precious masters, including Exitar!” The ever growing energy wave destroyed the last of the dead planets in this system, before snuffing out the weak dwarf sun like a candle, “And by then there’ll only be you, me and him left! There won’t be a new universe, there’ll only be oblivion!”

Red Shift eyed the Devourer of Souls in terror as the monster batted aside Celestials like toys. He cried in exultation with every soul he absorbed, but it would never be enough, the hunger would always scream at him. And if the universe was gone, what then? Surely by now he had the power to move to another reality and consume them also? Annihilus was a plague.

“You…you’re right,” conceded Red Shift, “release me,” he looked humbled.

Quasar did so hesitantly, and the former Herald raised his swords, not in an attack, but to open a doorway. Wendell stepped through the dimensional tear and found himself surrounded by what must have been the innards of the Celestial’s Doomsday machine.

It was not like the inside of a car engine; there were no gears or fuel lines. It looked almost organic, cords of blue energy ran in every direction, with cords of red and white power running alongside them also. Trusting his instincts, he followed the thickest cluster of chords and they lead him to the Ultimate Nullifier.

He was not so ignorant that he failed to notice the metaphor of this place; the Ultimate Nullifer was the heart, and the cords of power were the veins and arteries linking it to Exitar. Remove the heart and slay the beast.

The Celestials were arrogant, perhaps truly believing they were gods. Never did that suspect someone could gain entry to their machine. Not a single security measure tried to stop him as he encased the Nullifier in a box of Quantum Energy and wrenched it free from the strands of energy.

With a whine every strand of power faded to black, and the power that crackled in the air ceased. Wendell couldn’t help but let out a “woop” as he realized he had prevented universal Annihilation.

Of course he wasn’t foolish enough to think this was the end. Annihilus was still out there, more powerful than ever, and the surviving Celestials would be furious with him for ruining their plans.

He eyed the Nullifier warily, knowing the next step in his plan could backfire at catastrophic proportions. With a sigh he wrapped his fingers around the weapon and blasted back outside through the doorway Red Shift had left open for him.

The former Herald was long gone, likely having fled his master’s wrath the instant their universal weapon had ceased functioning. He was shocked to see that Annihilus had finished the last of the Celestials, whose soulless bodies floated lifeless around Exitar, like a morbid solar system.

Celestials had no discernable facial features, but if they did Wendell was sure Exitar’s would be livid. The space god rose from its throne and grabbed Annihilus by the throat, who screamed in defiance and tore long grooves down the giant’s arms. Multicoloured energy bled through the giant’s wounds.

Wispy cobwebs of Exitar’s soul began to drift from his body into Annihilus’ Soul Gem. No matter the Space God’s mighty power, he had no defense against the Soul Gem. Wendell knew this was his only chance; he aimed the Ultimate Nullifer and took three deep breaths.

He pulled the trigger and time seemed to stop; the two gods stood frozen in mortal combat. Then, just as quickly it started again. Brilliant white light burst forth from the Nullifier and for an instant he was certain this would be the end of him, but to his thankful surprise he lived.

The light expanded into a cone that engulfed the two giants, who immediately took notice. Quasar was surprised how quickly the weapon did its work. Exitar was wiped from existence in an instant, but Annihilus stubbornly hung on for another few seconds.

“I am a god!” raged Annihilus.

Furious bug eyes glared at him as the monster’s body quickly disintegrated. Those murderous eyes would haunt the Protector of the Universe’s dreams for many years to come. Soon even the eyes were gone, and only the Soul Gem remained.

He was not sure whether or not the gem would survive an attack by the Ultimate Nullifer but apparently it could. It was a fundamental part of the universe.

He sighed heavily, and almost collapsed; it was over. The weapon in his hand seemed to suddenly weigh a tonne, so he dismissed it to the Quantum Zone, and was happy to be rid of it. He would deal with the heavy burden that came with carrying such a weapon later. For now there was one last thing he needed to deal with.

The Soul Gem glittered where Annihilus’ head had once been, not having moved at all. Cautiously, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around it. Later he would dwell on the fact he had held two of the most potent items in the universe in the same day.

Almost immediately the thing screamed in his mind, a hunger that he suddenly shared, down to his very bones. Annihilus had succumbed to the hunger, but he could overcome it, because he had something the warlord never had.

“That’s it my friend, you’re stronger than the gem,” called a familiar voice in his mind.

With a smile he willed the souls trapped within the gem free. Wispy white spirits burst forth from the gem, more than he could have imagined. Annihilus truly was a monster. Kree and Annihilation Wave souls alike flooded the space around him before fading from view. Those lucky enough to still have their bodies intact would be waking up soon. He smiled as he saw the two Nova Corps lovers, Pa-Lann and Forzel drift by. As for those who had died, their souls were now free to move on to the afterlife.

“Its good to hear your voice again Adam,” smiled Wendell sadly.

Adam Warlock floated at Quasar’s side, appearing much more substantial than the other spirits. It would seem years of carrying the Soul Gem came with it’s benefits.

“What will you do with the Celestials?” he asked.

They both gazed upon the gigantic lifeless bodies, floating around them. Quasar had deliberately kept their souls within the gem; there was no way he was unleashing those genocidal monsters on the universe.

“This is their prison now,” he held out his right hand to Adam, in the hopes that the ghostly hero could take the gem. With a gasp he realized the gem was gone. Adam’s knowing eyes had Wendell reaching up to his forehead. The gem was there, much like it had once joined with Adam and Annihilus’ foreheads. “Something’s changed,” said Adam, gazing at the spot where the power mad Annihilus had stood, “something’s changed in the universe.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll deal with it,”

“No, we’ll deal with it,” Adam pointed at the Soul Gem, “I’m not going anywhere friend.”

Epilogue
Tanaka Prime, Majesdanian Space

The Annihilation Wave was scattered. After the fall of Annihilus and the destruction wrought by the Celestial’s weapon the Wave had fled, leaderless and uncoordinated, across the galaxy.

One swarm had settled on the backwater Majesdanian world of Tanaka Prime, not far from the site of Annihilus’ fall. Unable to truly think and plan for themselves, the bugs desperately hoped for Annihilus’ return.

Instead they got something else.

Ravenous stood upon a rocky outcrop, brimming with the power of the Essence. The blood of his devoured comrades still covered his face and hands, only increasing his terrifying presence.

He grinned savagely, “Your Emperor is here to lead you into a new era.”