American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

310. Danger Approaching!

Outer edge of the asteroid belt near Jupiter, Solar System.

The Shi'ar Empire's flagship was tracking Star-Lord's movements. Leading this pursuit was the most powerful figure of the Shi'ar Empire—Gladiator.

After Galactus flattened the gates of the Shi'ar Empire, the empire's protectors, the heroes of the Imperial Guard, had been brainwashed by the unstoppable energy of the World-Eater, becoming mere pawns of his Church.

Their main responsibility was to assist the Church in finding planets suitable for Galactus to devour, wiping out the civilizations on those planets to serve them up as a "delicacy" for Galactus. In a sense, they were like personal chefs, preparing and delivering the 'meal' right to Galactus's mouth.

However, Galactus had never set foot in the Solar System, and even the Universal Church of Truth had always stayed away from this area.

The reason wasn't hard to guess: it was because the Fantastic Four had stolen the powerful weapon known as the "Ultimate Nullifier" from Galactus's vault. As long as Earth held onto this weapon, Galactus could never step foot into this system.

But just because Galactus didn't focus on Earth didn't mean he wasn't aware of what was happening in the universe.

After consuming Star-Lord's home planet of Spartax, Galactus had grown concerned that this man, who was half-human, would seek help from Earth. Thus, Gladiator and the others were assigned to monitor Star-Lord's movements. If he showed even the slightest sign of resistance, they were to take him out.

Of course, keeping Star-Lord alive was also part of Galactus's plan.

His previous failure on Earth had left him furious, and he was constantly plotting revenge against its heroes and how to consume their planet.

Star-Lord, having lost his home, was the perfect pawn. If he ever managed to overcome his grief, Gladiator and the others could take that opportunity to probe Earth's defenses.

Even if they perished, it wouldn't matter. After all, they were just pawns, easily expendable. However, the brainwashed Gladiator and his team were unaware of this. As they followed Star-Lord's trail, these fallen heroes had already entered the Solar System.

"The Milano's trail leads to this star system. Based on our records, it's marked as the 'Solar System,' a distant sector with only primitive civilizations, nothing of note," said Astra, a woman capable of altering her molecular structure, as she examined the screen.

"The Solar System? I haven't been here in over half a century, but I still remember it. There's a civilization called Earth here," Gladiator said as he slowly approached after hearing Astra's words.

"The Mentor sent a team to investigate a nearby space station. They found many Brood corpses and recovered surveillance footage from what was left," Astra explained as she pulled up the space station's surveillance video. In the next moment, footage appeared of Star-Lord wielding his dual element guns, single-handedly slaughtering the Brood.

"Star-Lord… I never thought I'd see him return," Gladiator squinted, his expression complicated. "Maybe the Church's fear of him is warranted. I warned them long ago that they should've killed him."

He sighed, shaking his head slightly before speaking in a low tone.

"But he still won't succeed. He's alone now. The Guardians of the Galaxy no longer exist. I personally ended his teammates. Now, he too will meet his end."

"His target is obviously the Ultimate Nullifier. It's the only thing that can threaten the Church. We can't let him succeed in acquiring that weapon," Pulsar said, walking over with a serious expression.

"Yeah, and he's already landed on Earth. If he joins forces with Earth's heroes, that would pose a great threat to us," Astra added, unable to stay silent.

Gladiator, however, sneered. "There's no need to worry. Humans only live for a century. Those heroes from half a century ago are all old relics now, just like Star-Lord. I don't believe any of them are capable of threatening us. Initiate the jump."

"Yes, sir."

Upon receiving the command, Astra didn't hesitate and immediately activated the ship's warp drive.

"Beginning warp countdown: ten seconds. Destination: Earth. Locking in landing coordinates…"

Soon, the surface of the Shi'ar flagship was enveloped in a blue glow, disappearing from the edge of the asteroid belt.

-----------------------

In the Blood Nest conference room.

Constantine, who was about to light a cigarette, paused for a moment. He noticed that his lighter wouldn't ignite. That lighter had been his 'old friend' for many years, and it rarely defied his will.

After a brief moment of stillness, Constantine's gaze grew more serious. He raised his hand, conjuring a flame with a snap of his fingers, and lit the cigarette hanging from his mouth with a stern expression.

Meanwhile, Star-Lord continued telling the others about the immense power and merciless nature of the Universal Church of Truth, stressing the severity of their current predicament.

"In short, several of the most powerful civilizations in the universe have already fallen to the Universal Church of Truth. The only ones still fighting are the Nova Corps, led by Xandar, and a few other galactic federations. But I don't think they can hold out for much longer," Star-Lord said.

"The Nova Corps? They sound kind of like the Green Lantern Corps," Billy pondered for a moment, suddenly realizing that the heroes of these two universes seemed to have some connections.

They had the Justice League, and here there was the Avengers. There were quite a few similarities between the heroes from both universes.

"That's not the point, kid. The point is, I have to get the Ultimate Nullifier. That's the critical message the Silver Surfer passed to us, information that my comrades gave their lives to obtain. It's the only thing that can stop the Universal Church of Truth!" Star-Lord said seriously.

"The Ultimate Nullifier? Are you sure that thing is on Earth? Why have I never heard of it?" Kate Bishop frowned, searching her memory for the term but coming up empty.

At this moment, Hawkeye (Clint Barton) spoke up. "I do have some memory of it. That's classified information, though—top secret within the Avengers. Kate, you're not at that level yet, so it's no surprise you haven't heard of it."

Hearing this, Kate rolled her eyes. Beside her, two Batgirls also shared the sentiment, feeling a bit exasperated. Although they were part of the Bat-family, Bruce had always kept a lot of secrets from them.

Ignoring their reactions, Barton's face turned serious. "If you're after the Ultimate Nullifier, then we've got a very big problem on our hands."

"What do you mean?" Pietro asked curiously.

Barton sighed. "The Ultimate Nullifier is an incredibly dangerous weapon, used to combat catastrophic threats that even heroes can't handle. As far as I remember, the only time it was ever used was against Galactus."

"Galactus?!" The group's expressions changed. Except for a few old heroes from this universe, most of the others had no idea who that was.

"He's an omnipotent being who devours planets for sustenance. Wherever he goes, nothing remains. He's wiped out countless civilizations across the universe. Given that this information came from the Silver Surfer, it's pretty clear who our enemy is."

"He devours planets?"

At this, the heroes from the DC universe began to grasp the terror of this "omnipotent" being. Just from the description, they could imagine how horrifying he must be.

No one expected that what Alex had described as "not a big problem" would be so outrageous.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go find that Ultimate Nullifier!" Pietro jumped to his feet, eager to act.

"It's not that simple," Barton raised his hand to rub his forehead, sighing. "Quicksilver, don't you wonder why we didn't use this ultimate weapon during that battle all those years ago?"

Pietro fell silent, confused, and looked toward Hawkeye. "Yeah, why didn't you use it back then? With that weapon, no supervillain should have stood a chance against you."

"The Ultimate Nullifier was always kept with the Fantastic Four. Not only were we aware of its power, but so were our enemies—especially Kang, the time traveler. He never gave Mr. Fantastic the chance to use it."

Barton shook his head, covering his eyes. "Though I don't know the full details, after the Fantastic Four's tower activated its self-destruct sequence and killed Loki, the Ultimate Nullifier's whereabouts became a mystery."

"But no matter what, it should still be in the Baxter Building, right?" Pietro recalled his past experiences in the Wasteland and asked.

"It's not that simple. The interior of the Baxter Building is highly unstable. No one in the Wasteland dares approach it, for fear of accidentally opening a time rift that could destroy the world. Even when the Red Skull was alive, he forbade Hydra from attempting to retrieve anything from the Baxter Building," Hawkeye said seriously. No one understood the dangers of the Baxter Building better than him. Back when he worked as a mercenary, he had tried to get close to it, even attempting to find Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who were lost in the time stream.

But, unfortunately, even he couldn't get near. Within the ruins, there was nothing that could be called an "entrance."

"We don't have time to wait," Star-Lord interrupted. "We have to retrieve the Ultimate Nullifier before the Church arrives. It's the only hope to save the universe!"

"I'm afraid,"

At this moment, Constantine, who had been silent, finally spoke, drawing everyone's attention.

He took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke before sneering.

"I fear those Church guys are already here."

.....

📢30 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
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311. Separating the Liquid Kryptonite.
312. Blackgate Penitentiary!
313. The Prison Arena.
314. The Rise of the New Queen!
315. No Need to Worry About Manpower.