“So much power,” Galactus drew in a deep breath, filled with the chaotic forces of the phantom zone. A smile tugged at the corners of the giant’s mouth, even as Dan marshalled the energy against him. “This realm is different from the others, deeper…”
“Glad you like it,” the space around Galactus constricted, held in place by Dan’s will as it pressed the oversized humanoid from all directions. The void rippled at Galactus’ back, a second gate that swallowed the light of the phantom star. “You’ll be spending a long time in this place.”
A snort escaped Galactus’ lips, filled with mockery as he began to swallow the zone space around him. Dan compensated with yet more layers of power, shadowed light that managed to keep the giant in position.
“I will consume your realm, until you can no longer contain me,” Galactus’ laughter echoed through the silver lit void around the phantom star, head tilted back in joyous abandon. “Then I will claim this place as my own. As a reward for this gift, I can offer you the Surfer’s place at my side… the position of Herald to a greater being…”
Enormous black tentacles erupted from within the shadowed portal, large enough that they dwarfed even Galactus’ prodigious size. An ink-black mass followed. Ego’s enormous planetoid, reformed into the shape of Venom’s head.
Bone-white teeth exposed to the light of the star, the symbiote enveloped Galactus from behind. Consumed by an ocean of flesh, the giant’s smile vanished as the gold-flecked tide closed over his face.
“Now, let’s see if Tony and Richards’ work can do the trick,” Dan scanned below Venom’s surface, to the vast mechanical construct that was the Lifebringer. Tony and the others manned a newly installed external control station, ready to activate the device when Galactus was inside. “He needs a final nudge…”
Dan stepped through space, next to the constrained Galactus with his fist raised. He released his biofield’s grip on the giant and punched out with all the power under his command. The phantom zone folded around them, focused to a single point that hammered into Galactus’ chin.
The oversized giant rocketed backward, freed of Venom’s tentacles and socketed firmly within the Lifebringer’s grasp. Dan resumed his suppression, while Tony’s palm slammed down on the activation panel and began the machine’s ignition sequence.
“This…” Galactus vibrated within Dan’s biofield, his Power Cosmic on fire as he struggled to break free. “I had thought this thing destroyed… the Black Winter’s infernal womb, the machine that stole my life and replaced it with hunger.”
“You’ll see it in a different light, once you’ve been reborn a second time,” Dan frowned as the Lifebringer sucked in a vast quantity of phantom energy, a redirection that nearly allowed Galactus to break free. “The next time we meet, you’ll thank me for freeing you of the Black Winter’s touch.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Vast spears of silver light lanced into Galactus’ body, driven home by the Lifebringer as its activation reached its peak. Dan loosed his biofield, eyes narrowed as the mechanical incubator continued to drink deep of the phantom zone’s power.
Complex photonic constructs took form on Galactus’ skin, layer after layer that buried away the giant in an orb of brilliant light. Five minutes ticked past and the entire hanger of the machine was filled with interlock silver luminance.
“Its energy drain is slowing down to a trickle,” Dan nodded his head in satisfaction. If it required such an investment in power, he would have to devote almost half of what he could marshall from the zone. “I’ll monitor the situation for a while, then see about advancing the flow of time around the Lifebringer to speed up Galactus’ transformation.”
“Master… we would like to keep this body as our own, if you would permit it,” Venom uncoiled Ego’s stolen form from around the Lifebringer and left it in orbit around the phantom star. “The voices of the other symbiotes have grown louder, it is time to create a new Klyntar in this universe and prepare for the inevitable conflict between us.”
“Alright, but send me a clone to replace my regular suit,” Dan nodded to the world-sized Venom as he waved to his drab, kryptonian armour. Without a symbiote, he would be forced to design a Superman suit to take its place. “Go collect Tony and the others, I’ll send all of you out of the zone as soon as they’re sure the Lifebringer is operating as planned.”
----------------------------------------
“I will never forgive you for this, ‘Chosen One,’” the Son spat on the ground at Anakin’s feet, his presence in the Force reduced to a miserable low. The nexus point that had long rested within him, now pulsed in the heart of the tattooed Maul. “My people have more than one path to power. When I have ascended, the first thing I’ll do is rip the life from your body…”
“If you don’t mind your tongue, you won't live long enough to carry out your revenge,” May silenced the Son with a chop to the neck and let his body crumple to the floor. Eyes tight with concern, she turned to Anakin and the others. “How do the two of you… the three of you feel?”
Her new perception ability showed that both Maul and Qui-Gon now held a similar amount of strength as the Son and Daughter, while Anakin’s power was more nebulous. The young boy almost blended into the background of the universe, his energy perfectly in tune with the eb and flow of the Force.
“I have never experienced such power, not even from my former master,” Maul clenched his fists, pupils ringed by a new band of molten orange. “It’s as if I could move worlds, or crush them beneath my feet like glass…”
“I too am filled with a boundless energy, a profound connection to the Force that I never imagined possible,” Qui-Gon smiled, eyes closed against the soft light of Mortis as he grew accustomed to the newfound power. “The galaxy is exposed to my senses, even within this unusual place.”
“Good,” May nodded, before she shifted her focus to Anakin. “How about you, Ani? Your power is extremely stable, but it’s hard to get a read on you anymore.”
“I feel… complete,” Anakin drew in a deep breath and smiled, eyes filled with an ocean of stars. “It’s as if I was missing a fundamental part of myself, a piece that I never knew existed…”
----------------------------------------
“What’s the matter?” Victor’s arms slipped around her waist, a tight embrace that pushed back the cool of the night. Revan sighed as she leaned back, gaze still focused on the Corellian sky. “You’ve been on edge for the last few days… have you caught wind of Sidious, or Abeloth?”
Revan shook her head. Her dis-ease had nothing to do with their greatest foe. The very fabric of the Force was in an uproar. Both the light and the dark sides sang out, an unfamiliar hymn that stirred her heart.
“The Force is rejoicing, a song that has only gotten louder over time,” a sigh escaped Revan’s lips as she shook free of the euphoria that rippled through the fabric of reality. “I’m not sure what it means, but I don’t believe it's a threat to us.”
“Then all is well,” Victor picked her up and spun her in a gentle arc, carried forward and back into the balcony doors. “Let’s put a smile on both our faces with some exercise…”