"The planet is inhabited by primitives," said Oracle, her eyes glowing faintly. "It lies on the frontier of the empire, and not much exploration of that system has been conducted."
Kallark, otherwise known by the title Gladiator, looked at the screen before him and nodded. Gladiator was the strongest being in the empire, a Strontian who held the coveted title of Gladiator.
By holding the title, he was made Praetor of the Imperial Guard and had been protecting the empire for centuries. He had faced gods, dimensional invaders, cosmic entities. He had never fallen—never failed in his mission.
And now the time had come. He had to lead the Guard against the threat the Guard was made for.
To defeat the Phoenix.
The Imperial Guard had been created to defeat the Dark Phoenix Rook'shir the first host, who had nearly destroyed the Shi'ar Empire in an apocalyptic rampage that consumed seventeen worlds before being stopped. The first Guard had succeeded in that impossible task. It was the Gladiator of that era who had landed the finishing blow, destroying the host and driving the Phoenix away.
That warrior's name was still spoken with reverence. That warrior's example was the standard Gladiator had spent centuries trying to live up to.
So much was riding on them—on him. The entire empire. Trillions of lives across hundreds of star systems.
"Have you considered what the Chancellor requested?" asked Oracle.
Gladiator let out a frustrated exhale. The Chancellor of the Imperium and the Majestrix had given them two very different tasks, and the conflict between those orders weighed on him.
The Majestrix had asked them to kill the host of the Phoenix like the Guard had done many times in the past.
A clean solution.
A proven solution.
Destroy the host, scatter the Phoenix Force, drive it away from Shi'ar space.
But the Chancellor had come to them secretly with a different request: to find a way to capture her instead.
Gladiator had balked at the request immediately.
The Chancellor had explained that they had a way to permanently imprison the Phoenix if they could capture its host without destroying it. He had shown them a secret project that had been in the works for centuries.
Gladiator remembered the journey. They had traveled to the Great Void, a place just outside Shi'ar space where there were no stars for many light-years, only darkness and cold. And there, hidden in that emptiness, orbiting a near-dead star, was a prison.
It was built inside a planet the entire core hollowed out and replaced with a containment system of staggering complexity. Crystalline structures stretched for miles. Energy fields layered upon energy fields, each one designed to suppress cosmic power.
And there was an imitation of the M'Kraan crystal. There was so much of it that Gladiator could not believe such a quantity even existed. He knew how much it cost to create an imitation of it and they had somehow acquired enough to line an entire planetary prison. The cost must have been astronomical. The effort must have taken generations.
The Chancellor had told them this was the only chance to imprison the Phoenix permanently, that if they succeeded, the Shi'ar would never have to fear it again. The Chancellor had begged them to try to capture the host alive.
Should I risk it? Gladiator asked himself. If the Imperial Guard were to perish in the attempt, the empire was doomed. There would be no second line of defense. The Phoenix would burn unchecked through Shi'ar space.
But if they succeeded…
Oracle spoke again, pulling him from his thoughts. "I know that look. You worry too much."
"Did you forget that we are going to face the Phoenix Force itself?" Gladiator said, his voice edged with frustration. "This is not like our other battles, Oracle. We are not facing warlords or rebels. We are facing a fundamental force of the universe, one that existed before the first stars ignited."
Oracle placed a hand on his armored shoulder. "And we are the Imperial Guard. We were made to fight this cosmic force."
He turned and saw his teammates, and he smiled.
Oracle was right. They were the Imperial Guard.
Warstar, Electron, Neutron, Starbolt, Titan, Hussar, Manta, Nightside, Flashfire together they made a formidable team.
Warstar or rather B'nee and C'cil were a symbiotic duo. B'nee, the small organic being, controlled the large robotic form named C'cil, and together they were a terror in combat. C'cil's strength was nearly limitless, and B'nee's tactical mind made them unpredictable.
Electron could generate and control electricity, sending cascading bolts that could fry systems or paralyze enemies. Neutron could control his own density and mass, becoming immovably heavy.
Starbolt could absorb and project energy solar and stellar which made him critical for this mission. If the Phoenix was fire incarnate, then having someone who could channel stellar energy might give them an edge.
Titan could grow to enormous size, a living mountain able to grapple even cosmic threats. Hussar wielded a neuronic whip and was an excellent tactician—better than he was in pure strategy.
Manta used force fields to terrifying effect not just for defense but as weapons, crushing and cutting with invisible barriers.
Nightside controlled the Darkforce dimension; she could create absolute darkness and trap enemies within that same dimension.
Flashfire generated and controlled plasma and fire, creating firestorms and superheated attacks and he was immune to heat. Another perfect fit for the battle ahead.
Gladiator felt his confidence growing and with it, his power. His abilities were tied to his self-assurance: the more certain he was of victory, the stronger he became. He could not stumble now. Could not doubt.
"If we had the Prince of Asgard and the Green Lantern with us, our victory would be guaranteed," Gladiator said, half to himself.
Oracle nodded. "Yes. Too bad they left the empire."
Gladiator's expression turned wistful. The Green Lantern and the Prince of Asgard were two of the noblest heroes he had met. In their short time within the empire, they had saved planets from invasion and become war heroes during the Va'rrun Crisis.
He had planned to invite them to join the Guard permanently, but they had left soon after the Va'rrun Crisis never to be seen again. He often wondered where they were now, and what battles they fought among the stars.
"Boss, are we there yet?" Flashfire called out. "Can't wait to get my hands on the Phoenix!"
Nightside's voice came from a patch of shadow that shouldn't exist on the well-lit ship. "And here I thought you couldn't get more dimwitted."
"Dimwitted?" Flashfire turned, mock-offended. "I have a plan, you see! I'm gonna burn the bird before it burns us!"
"That's not a plan that is stupidity on a scale I have never seen before," Electron said with a laugh, sparks dancing between his fingers.
"You're just jealous of what's about to happen Flashfire singlehandedly defeats the Phoenix. I can see the extranet articles already," Flashfire shot back.
Manta spoke, her voice dry. "If you faint again like last time, I'm not catching you."
"That was one time!" Flashfire protested.
"It was three times," Neutron rumbled, his voice deep and slow. "In the same battle."
"Details!" Flashfire waved dismissively.
Starbolt shook his head, grinning. "Leave defeating the Phoenix to me, young one."
"Show-off," Flashfire muttered.
Hussar's whip crackled with energy. "Children, focus. We're about to face a cosmic entity, not attend a comedy performance."
"Why not both?" Nightside's voice came from a different shadow now. "I find humor helps before potentially dying horribly."
"Optimistic as always," Titan said, his massive form somehow managing to look amused.
Warstar's dual voices spoke in harmony B'nee's small voice and C'cil's mechanical rumble. "Combat calculations complete. Probability of humorous death: high."
That actually got a laugh from several of them.
Gladiator watched with a smile. Good. They were in good spirits. They needed this. They were a family forged in countless battles. And together, they would face the Phoenix.
"Approaching target coordinates," Oracle announced, her expression turning serious again.
The banter died as everyone turned toward the large screen on the bridge of the warship.
Gladiator watched as a planet with violet fauna and red oceans appeared on-screen. They had finished jumping into the system, the stars settling back into their normal positions as the jump drive disengaged.
"You know, I expected a lot of burning and destruction," Titan said, his massive form leaning forward to study the peaceful world below.
The others murmured in confusion. Where were the scorched worlds? The trailing debris fields? The cosmic flames?
"Where is the Phoenix Force?" Gladiator asked sharply. "Has she left? Were we wrong about where she is?"
Oracle's eyes glowed brilliant white as she used her psychic abilities, reaching out across the void to sense what their instruments could not. "The Phoenix is on the planet." She paused, her glowing eyes widening.
"What is it?" Gladiator demanded, seeing her reaction.
Oracle's voice was uncertain, confused. "I also feel the same signature as the Green Lantern."
Gladiator looked at her sharply. "Is he battling the Phoenix?" If a hero like the Green Lantern was there, it made sense the system was still not destroyed; he could be holding the cosmic being at bay.
Oracle shook her head slowly, as if not believing what she sensed. She gave commands to send out stealth drones to a specific location, her fingers dancing over the holographic interface.
They watched as the drone footage came on-screen multiple views as the small reconnaissance units entered the atmosphere and flew toward where Oracle had detected both the Green Lantern's and the Phoenix's signatures.
The drones descended through violet clouds, past strange crystalline trees, over crimson rivers.
Then the footage appeared before them, and they all gasped in surprise.
The Green Lantern and what looked like the host of the Phoenix were flying together conversing and laughing. The woman, wreathed in cosmic flames, smiled at something the Lantern said, and he gestured animatedly as if telling a story.
"The betrayer!" Hussar said angrily, her whip crackling with barely restrained fury. "He has thrown his lot in with the Phoenix! She has seduced him to her side!"
Gladiator could not believe it. Why would the honorable Green Lantern do this? Were the years he spent in the empire all a ruse? Was he working with the Phoenix all along? Had everything—the heroism, the friendship they had formed—been a lie?
"Praetor," Oracle said carefully, "I believe Hussar is correct. The Green Lantern is with the Phoenix. They have joined forces."
Gladiator's jaw tightened. "Yes. I believe so." He took a breath, his mind already working through tactical scenarios. "We will need to deal with him before we capture the Phoenix."
"Capture?" many on the team said, surprised.
Oracle, too, looked at him with great surprise, her glowing eyes fixed on his face.
"Yes. Capture," Gladiator said firmly. "I believe we can do it. This could be our only chance the host appears relaxed, unprepared. If we succeed, the empire will never need to suffer from the Phoenix again. We end this threat permanently."
"But the Lantern," Oracle said, concern in her voice. "We did not account for him in our planning. His power is… considerable. And if he's allied with the Phoenix…"
"Leave him to me," Gladiator said, his confidence surging, his power growing with it. "I will handle the Green Lantern personally."
He turned to face his team, his voice carrying the authority of the Praetor of the Imperial Guard. "Listen well to my plan for the capture. Everything has to go perfectly.
"Oracle, you will create a psychic-dampening field to prevent the Phoenix from sensing our approach. Nightside, you will trap the host in the Darkforce Dimension the moment Oracle gives the signal. Manta, your force fields will contain her once she's isolated. Starbolt, Flashfire, Electron you will provide covering fire and distraction. Warstar, Neutron, Titan you form the physical containment perimeter. Hussar coordinates timing."
He explained, in detail, when and how to deploy their powers and when Oracle was to unleash her full psychic might on the Phoenix.
He paused, meeting each of their eyes. "The Green Lantern cannot interfere. I will engage him the moment we strike and keep him occupied. In that time, you must secure the Phoenix. Understood?"
They all nodded, though several looked uncertain.
"For the empire," Gladiator said.
"For the empire," they echoed.
.
.
.
"Why are we here again?" Firehair muttered as she stared at the stars around her.
After leaving Asgard, she'd thought they were going to find what Agamotto needed to complete his barrier. But instead, they were nowhere near that place.
She and Max were on one of his constructs, a platform of solid green energy hovering over a dead, rocky moon orbiting a blue gas giant. The gas giant filled most of her view, its swirling azure storms beautiful and hypnotic. Beyond it, a red sun cast everything in a warm crimson glow.
It is very beautiful, Firehair thought as she looked around.
Never in her life had she thought she would witness things like this. Only a few years ago, she believed the entire world consisted of the forest she lived in, the trees, her wolves, the sky above. Now she was so far from the world she knew, in a universe so vast it made her dizzy to contemplate.
She looked to Max, who was floating in a lotus position, concentrating on an emerald orb in front of him. His eyes were closed, his expression calm and focused.
He had told her they needed to wait some time for "them" to show up.
Who "them" were, she did not know. But considering how excited Max was, she expected she would like it as well. He had that childlike enthusiasm he got when discovering something wonderful, the same look he'd had when showing her the aurora on that ice world, or the bioluminescent oceans on that water planet.
Before the Phoenix, she had lost everything. She had nothing, no tribe, no family. She had set out to find others like her, those who would help protect the world. She expected it to take years, perhaps decades. But meeting Max while hunting that vampire as he called it—and then him gathering up the world's mightiest heroes, just like she wanted, in merely a day was something she did not expect.
She had found a new family in this new tribe of hers, the Avengers. And Max, the first one she met, was the one she had become closest to.
They were kindred spirits, drawn together by their passion for exploration and their appreciation for beauty in all its forms, finding joy in life's simple wonders. They would spend hours exploring old ruins and meeting people from all around the world, observing how different cultures celebrated their way of life, how life persisted and thrived in even the harshest places. He taught her about the stars about worlds beyond counting. She taught him how to hunt.
Yes, she was close with everyone in the Avengers, even Odin, whose attempts to woo her were sweet. But she liked Max more. With Max, there was an ease. An understanding. A shared wonder at existence itself.
It is annoying how much this man affects you, the Phoenix spoke in her mind.
Firehair was about to argue when the cosmic being continued: If you wish to mate with him, then do it.
"I do not—" Firehair started to whisper aloud, then caught herself.
We are one, my host. I feel what you feel. Your urges are inefficient and distracting. It is not as though he does not wish it as well. I have observed how he is when you are near the way his eyes track your movements, the increase in certain—
"Please stop," Firehair said quietly, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.
Both of you are too craven to act on your desires, the Phoenix observed with something like exasperation. You circle each other like prey animals afraid of their own shadows. It is tedious to witness.
"Stop," Firehair repeated, more firmly.
I have witnessed courtship rituals across a billion species, over billions of years. Yours is particularly inefficient. Perhaps I should simply take control and—
You will do no such thing! Firehair thought, panic flaring.
Fine, the Phoenix said, sounding almost amused. Then her tone shifted. At least he is finally going to act on it.
Firehair's eyes widened. "He is?"
Of course he is. This journey has been as much about courting you as retrieving artifacts and stealing swords.
Firehair felt her heartbeat quicken.
Though you must be the one to make the decisive move, the Phoenix continued. To establish dominance in this courtship. I will not tolerate you being submissive in—
Firehair tuned out the Phoenix's ramblings as Max opened his eyes, took the emerald orb into his hand, and broke into a wide, unguarded smile.
"And there it is," Max said, staring at the emerald orb with satisfaction.
"What is it?" Firehair asked, moving closer.
"I managed to mimic Uru," Max said, his voice filled with triumph.
Firehair's eyes widened. "Uru? The same metal Mjolnir is made from?"
Max nodded enthusiastically. "This is why I needed the knowledge from Mimir's head."
Just then, Jade spoke through the ring: "May I begin processing the rest of the data now?"
"Yes, do it," Max said. "Look for how enchantments work at the fundamental level, and also what we took to help Agamotto with his barrier project."
"Acknowledged," Jade replied. Then: "The Acanti are near."
Max's smile widened, and he looked at Firehair with barely contained excitement. "Come on!"
"What are the Acanti?" Firehair asked, curious about what had Max so animated.
"Trust me, you have to see them," Max said, already flying off.
Firehair followed, the power of the Phoenix flaring around her, eager to see what could make Max this enthusiastic.
They swept around the curve of the moon, and then—
Firehair gasped.
On the far side, hundreds of red, fish-like creatures floated in space. They were enormous each the size of a mountain with graceful, flowing forms that moved through the void as if swimming through water. Their bodies glowed softly with bioluminescence, and they made gentle, melodic sounds that resonated not through air; there was no air in the void but directly in her mind.
"What are these?" Firehair breathed, eyes wide with wonder.
"They are the Acanti," Max replied. "An ancient species some even billions of years old around as long as life has existed in the universe. They roam the cosmos in search of knowledge, singing to the stars. A race with pure souls that harms no one."
"They are amazing," Firehair said.
Yes, they are, the Phoenix spoke, her voice unusually soft. I have seen many in my time. They are among the few beings I have never felt the need to test or burn. They simply… exist, in harmony with all things.
They flew among them, and to Firehair's delight, the Acanti seemed to recognize Max. Several of the massive creatures turned toward him, their songs shifting in pitch almost like a greeting.
"They seem to know you," Firehair said, smiling.
"They do," Max confirmed, reaching out to touch the flank of one that came close. "Odin and I defeated poachers who dared to hunt them. The Acanti remember that."
Firehair's eyes narrowed, anger flashing. "Poachers? Why? Why would anyone hurt them?"
"Their parts are very expensive," Max said, his voice going hard. "Their bones can be used for starship hulls, their organs for certain medicines. Even though hunting them is prohibited in most parts of the universe, there are always those who—"
I remember destroying some worlds that hunted the Acanti, the Phoenix interrupted with satisfaction.
That is the only time I agree with you on wanton destruction, Firehair replied to the Phoenix in her mind.
She and Max watched as the Acanti began to move together all of them, in synchronized formation heading toward the red sun.
"What are they doing?" Firehair asked.
"I don't know," Max said. Then he paused, his eyes widening. He gasped. "I think… I think one of them is going to die."
"What? We must—" Firehair started.
"No, no," Max said quickly, placing a hand on her arm. "It's at the end of its life. This is natural." His voice filled with awe. "I've read about this, but I never thought I'd see it. When they're at the end of their life, they hurl themselves into the core of a star, releasing their soul back into the universe."
He looked at her, his eyes bright. "We're lucky to witness it."
They watched as the Acanti gathered around the red star, circling it in a slow, stately dance. One a single Acanti that looked older, its glow dimmer slowly made its way toward the star while the others sang.
The song was beautiful and heartbreaking: a farewell, a celebration, a promise that they would remember.
Then, in a silent explosion of light, the Acanti hurled itself into the star's core.
The light flared brilliantly. Waves of energy rippled outward, gentle and warm. Before their eyes, the star's color began to change. The deep red shifted, brightened, transformed, becoming the yellow of Earth's sun.
"Wow," Max breathed.
"Yes," Firehair echoed, tears in her eyes though she couldn't explain why.
She turned to Max after watching for some time. "Thank you for showing me this."
"Well, I wanted you to see the Acanti," Max said with a small smile. "But this was a nice bonus, I guess."
Firehair laughed—a joyful sound—as she flew closer to him, landing on the construct platform where he was standing.
Max looked at her. "Do you want to leave now?"
"I want to stay for some time," Firehair said softly, meeting his eyes before turning back to the transforming star and the other Acanti now flying around it in celebration of their companion's gift.
She found herself looking forward to what Max had planned for their final destination, hoping the Phoenix was right.
Finally, the Phoenix said in her mind, sounding almost relieved. Progress.
Firehair ignored her, simply standing beside Max, watching the spectacle unfold.