Opportunity
On a world without a name, far out in space, the Mad Titan smiles. Thanos steps from his craft, his computers filled with new data on the Phoenix Force, and strides across the barren surface towards his glittering prize.
A small purple figure advances to block his path. "Halt, Thanos of Titan. I am Jahf, first guardian of the M'kraan Crystal. Come no further. You are not welcome here."
The Titan's eyes gleam with menace, and his smile only broadens. "I am well aware of your purpose, Jahf, and I am also aware of your more potent counterpart that awaits, should I destroy you. Neither of you particularly concern me - you are limited beings. Artificial. Programmed, one might say."
Thanos lifts his left hand, his usual gauntlet augmented with a set of controls, which he begins to operate, touching buttons with his right hand as he speaks. "Like the Crystal, I also have programmed entities to do my bidding."
Small rocket-propelled cylinders launch from the hull of Thanos's ship, burying themselves in the ground at preprogrammed locations around the globe.
Jahf seems slightly unsettled by the Titan's surety. "The Shi'ar will stop you, even if we fail.."
Thanos laughs. "Their fleet is broken. By the time they arrive in force, they will find nothing."
Jahf's face grows more resolute. "Then you will reckon with the Phoenix.."
The grin returns. "The Phoenix would give me pause, were it not preoccupied with acquiring a new host entity. Again, it will find nothing."
The small purple man grows angry. "Impossible! Your ship isn't large enough to hold the crystal, and there will be traces left behind on the planet's surface."
Thanos fixes Jahf with a chilling glare. "I believe you have misheard me, guardian. I said they would find nothing, and I mean precisely that." Tapping a final button on his gauntlet, the devices scattered across the planet's surface thrum as they activate.
"There will be no surface for them to examine."
A nameless world on the edge of space shimmers, and vanishes from sight.
A small purple figure advances to block his path. "Halt, Thanos of Titan. I am Jahf, first guardian of the M'kraan Crystal. Come no further. You are not welcome here."
The Titan's eyes gleam with menace, and his smile only broadens. "I am well aware of your purpose, Jahf, and I am also aware of your more potent counterpart that awaits, should I destroy you. Neither of you particularly concern me - you are limited beings. Artificial. Programmed, one might say."
Thanos lifts his left hand, his usual gauntlet augmented with a set of controls, which he begins to operate, touching buttons with his right hand as he speaks. "Like the Crystal, I also have programmed entities to do my bidding."
Small rocket-propelled cylinders launch from the hull of Thanos's ship, burying themselves in the ground at preprogrammed locations around the globe.
Jahf seems slightly unsettled by the Titan's surety. "The Shi'ar will stop you, even if we fail.."
Thanos laughs. "Their fleet is broken. By the time they arrive in force, they will find nothing."
Jahf's face grows more resolute. "Then you will reckon with the Phoenix.."
The grin returns. "The Phoenix would give me pause, were it not preoccupied with acquiring a new host entity. Again, it will find nothing."
The small purple man grows angry. "Impossible! Your ship isn't large enough to hold the crystal, and there will be traces left behind on the planet's surface."
Thanos fixes Jahf with a chilling glare. "I believe you have misheard me, guardian. I said they would find nothing, and I mean precisely that." Tapping a final button on his gauntlet, the devices scattered across the planet's surface thrum as they activate.
"There will be no surface for them to examine."
A nameless world on the edge of space shimmers, and vanishes from sight.