Chapter 2: Chapter 002

To most people, a vacation means a trip to a beach, the mountains, or a resort. Reed Richards, isn't like most people.

As a founding member of the team that has come to be known as the fantastic four, he has been challenging the unknown for most of his adult life.

A vacation for him, is a trip to these unknowns with his wife, exploring the possibilities and expanding his insatiable curiosity.

"Time to pack it up, Reed." A voice in his earpiece says as he finishes fiddling with the device in his hands.

He nods, as he takes a final glance at the cracked-up planet that he and his wife have settled around into orbit, hoping to get a good idea of what caused the cracks that were prominent in it in the first place.

"Almost finished, Susan. According to these readings, this world was once teeming with life. Just like the others, we have found." He replies on the comms as he floats his way back into the shuttle that had been their home for the past month that they had embarked on this vacation.

He frowns grimly and comments "Someone, or something, has recently stripped it of all inhabitants, all energy. An obvious suspect comes to mind."

"Reed, you need to return to the ship, before you run out of air. I mean it, now!" Susan commands as she notices that he's stopped again to stare at the once life-filled planet, as he pondered the various possibilities that may have caused such destruction.

"Yeah, I am on my way, Susan. Open the outer hatch." He replies as he finally reaches the shuttle.

"When you said let's go on a vacation, I thought we'd be sunbathing in the Bahamas, or joining Franklin and Valeria to get their power dampeners removed.

Not looking for clues to find an intergalactic mass murderer." Susan commented as Reed walked into the main deck of the spaceship that they both had been calling their home. "I think it's time we go back. Ben and Johnny must be beside themselves having to babysit for so long as they have been."

"I know, and I am glad you agreed to this little expedition, we both needed the vacation to ourselves. I am sorry that my initial plans became awry as we stumbled upon dead planet after dead planet. We should have been enjoying the scenery in the Andromeda galaxy, instead, we are here. But, you know I couldn't ignore these anomalies anymore."

Susan sighed as she wrapped her arms around Reed, as soon as he stepped out of his bulky space suit. "I know, Reed. I know. Let's finish gathering the data and head back. We will sift through the data once we're home."

Reed nodded as he enjoyed the comfort his wife provided, and then refocused his attention back to the control panel as a developing pattern demanded his attention.

"T-these patterns, Oh God, Susan! Chart a course back home! We need to get out of here."

Alarmed by the urgency in his voice, Susan immediately started plotting the quickest way back home, as she asked "What's wrong?"

"See these solar systems that we have marked on the star chart? Each system once contained an inhabited world that has been reduced to a lifeless husk.

The trail appears to be heading through Shi'ar space and heading towards the Milky Way galaxy!" He exclaimed as he joined his wife in changing the course of the ship to home.

"How long before it reaches Earth?!" She asked, as she turned on the engines and set them to warm up.

"Worst case scenario, three days. A week at best. Is the engine ready?" He replied.

"It's heating, 10 minutes to ignition." She replied as she navigated the last few buttons as she finished mapping the shortest course home "It will take us five days to reach Earth. We need to alert the --"

She was cut off as an Alarm started blaring in their shuttle, as all the lights turned red.

"My drone probes are saying another anomaly has popped up at the center of this galaxy!" Reed exclaimed as he surveyed the charts. "Luckily we are parked on the outer rim. We should be safe here."

"That 'should' doesn't give me much confidence. Eight minutes to launch." Susan replied.

"I am afraid I cannot guarantee anything, the central star of this galaxy is behaving rather oddly," Reed said as he remotely adjusted his scanners to peer at the center of the galaxy, instead of the nearby desolate planet.

"I will boost the probe's magnification, while we wait for the engines to heat up..... Oh, how magnificent! There is an alien vessel that appears to be pouring energy into the Star itself!"

As the realization dawned on him about the possibility of the calamity that was presenting itself he stuttered "Susan! The earth, .. maybe the entire universe… is in far greater jeopardy than we had realized. How much time is left? We are not safe here. Not anymore."

"Five minutes Reed!" She exclaimed as she tried to engage all thrusters by bypassing the cooling mechanism for a few seconds.

Just as she managed to decrease the time to heat the engine, a massive explosion occurred at the center of the galaxy. The explosion was so vibrant and so hot that the rocket's engines immediately overheated and neared an explosion.

"Reed Richards to Fantastic Four HQ!" Reed instead shifted focus on his telecommunicator to send a message home, "The earth is in deadly per------"

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He tried to say, but the fiery explosion covered their ship in less than a second. Seemingly burning away all there was around them.

**********

Far across the void of space, an incredibly nimble figure hurtles through the cosmos.

A being who swims upon the waves of the fundamental forces that reside within the universe.

A being filled with Cosmic energy so potent, that not even power from the M'Kraan crystal or the Phoenix Eternal could scratch his organic armour. He was a simple being, who called himself the Herald.

Like a living comet, he streaks through the cosmos and into the sector of Space ruled by the Shi'ar Empire.

He makes his way through the outer rims of Shi'ar space, completely ignoring the defensive satellite minefield, and laser turrets that automatically attempted to annihilate him when he was detected as if they were targeting an unbreakable wall.

These same defensive weapons had the power to shatter an entire Asteroid, half the size of the moon should they have deemed it a threat, yet they were completely ineffective against the Herald.

Getting irritated due to their presence, the Herald regards them in disdain and sweeps them aside using his Cosmic energy, and without a backward glance, he dives towards his current destination, the imperial throne world of the Shi'ar Empire.

His arrival on the planet catches the attention of most of the population of the small, yet powerful planet, as he shines magnificently on the horizon of the Throneworld of the giant space empire.

"This world has been targeted for destruction!" He announces, his voice aided by using Cosmic Energy and reaching every living person throughout the empire, "Evacuate, or Die! The choice is yours! You will not be warned again."

The sudden arrival and the shocking announcement leaves a lot of the people who were witnessing the phenomenon utterly baffled, some were afraid, yet others believed it to be a hoax. The Herald cared not.

"Are you a madman?! Or are you merely a fool? I am Gladiator, the praetor of the Imperial Guard! And this planet is under our protection!" A tall hulking figure, who identified himself as Gladiator, answered.

He was flagged by the other members of the Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar Empire.

The Herald merely surveyed the answering party, and he was not impressed. "Your objection has been noted, and summarily dismissed. There is no further appeal. You must flee this doomed world, or suffer the consequences!"

Seeing that the Herald was not taking no for an answer, The Gladiator and his team attacked without delay. Little did they know it would be the last battle they ever fought.

*********

Elsewhere, on the throne world of the Shi'ar Empire.

The Shi'ar are a relatively younger race when compared to the Kree or the Skrulls.

They govern their galaxy-wide empire from their imperial throne world. An artificial planet, with specially selected environments to serve the needs of all the member races.

The absolute authority of the entire empire, currently lays in the hands of the empress, Majestrix Lilandra Nermani. She was a kind and just ruler of her empire. She was currently frantically heading toward the exit of the throne room.

"We must hurry, The glow of the battle glows brighter!" Her advisor commented as he surveyed the battle between the imperial guard and the Herald.

He grimly noted, "The Destroyer has come! We must go, my lady. We don't have enough ships to evacuate the entire planet."

"It is my fault," Another councillor lamented, "I should have prepared for this eventuality."

"The high council awaits you in your personal starship, my lady" The advisor said, as he ushered the Empress toward the hangar bay. "You can delay no longer, you have a responsibility to those who survive,"

"What of my loyal servants?" Lilandra finally asked as she gazed at the slowly brightening explosions that arose from the battle. "There should be room for everyone!"

"Your safety is our utmost priority, Majestrix!" Her advisor replied as he gently pushed her toward the hangar again "We have faith in your imperial guard, they will be victorious against the destroyer." Though she could hear the uncertainty in the advisor's voice, she knew that he was merely trying to offer comfort.

"I pray they will…" She said as they continued walking toward the hangar.

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