Thanos stared. For a disorienting moment, he thought he was looking into a mirror. But the warrior reflected back at him wore armor far more pristine and ornate than his own, which was now battered and broken.
"Surprised?" Ben's voice asked, though it was now a perfect imitation of Thanos's own deep timbre.
This was the result of the Omnitrix scanning Thanos's Eternal physiology. The new form, which Ben mentally dubbed 'Atlas', possessed all of Thanos's abilities—his enhanced physiological functions and intellect, his near-immortality, his telepathy, and his mastery of material manipulation. It could do everything Thanos could do, but better.
"You do have the ability to transform into other races," Thanos whispered, more to himself than to Ben. He wasn't entirely shocked; he had learned that much from Loki's memories. What truly unsettled him was the dawning comprehension of how it worked. "Is that it?" he asked, pointing a massive finger at the Omnitrix symbol now embedded in the chest of Ben's Atlas form. "Is that the device Vilgax was so obsessed with?"
Now, Thanos understood. If there was no limit to the species this device could sample… then one day, it could potentially replicate the genes of the five great cosmic entities themselves. From that perspective, the Infinity Stones seemed like little more than trinkets.
"You don't truly believe you can defeat me simply by wearing my face, do you?" Thanos countered, his confidence returning. He knew how powerful he was. Part of that strength was his genetic birthright, but much of it came from the cybernetic and biological modifications he had performed on himself over the centuries. The Omnitrix had copied his base DNA; it couldn't have replicated those acquired enhancements. This was his advantage.
It would be a battle of perfected Eternal genetics versus the self-perfected Titan.
Outside their personal battlefield, the end of the world was approaching. The moon that Thanos had pulled from its orbit continued its inexorable descent toward Xandar.
On the ground, the war was over. The Chitauri army had been destroyed. Ronan the Accuser had been captured by the combined might of Beta Ray Bill, Captain America, and the Winter Soldier. Yet, there was no joy of victory on anyone's face.
Ronan, bound and beaten, was ecstatic. He laughed wildly, a crazed, triumphant sound that mocked the powerlessness of the victors. "This is the destiny of Xandar!"
Bill, his patience finally exhausted, struck him again with his hammer. "Do you think you will survive the impact of two worlds colliding?"
"I don't care!" Ronan spat. "So long as Xandar is destroyed and my ancestors are avenged, it is a worthy price!" He cared nothing for the cost. In his mind, the planet's destruction was now inevitable. Who could possibly stop a moon from crashing into a planet? The Plumbers and the remnants of the Nova Corps would try, but it would all be in vain.
Queen Adora was completely consumed by despair. The approaching satellite was a countdown to oblivion.
"How long until it arrives?" Caiera asked Loki through her comm.
Aboard the flagship, Loki's eyes scanned the calculations. "Three hours until impact," he replied, his voice grim. "But in one hour, the gravitational forces will become critical. Xandar will begin to tear itself apart."
"That means we only have one hour," Steve said, his face grim. This crisis was far beyond what a man with a shield could solve. Still, he had to ask. "Can we use the warships to evacuate the population?" The Plumber flagship and the captured Sanctuary could hold millions.
But Queen Adora sadly shook her head. "It's impossible. We could never evacuate everyone in one hour." She raised her head, the hope in her eyes extinguished. "It's my fault. If I hadn't been so arrogant, perhaps it would not have ended like this." She turned to the heroes. "While there is still time, you should leave. If you are caught in the explosion of a planetary collision, I fear even you will not survive."
She had given up. She had no intention of leaving with them. To the people of Xandar, their planet was everything. If it were destroyed, they would be dead in all but name. Queen Adora stood, took Caiera's hand, and spoke with the finality of a last will and testament. "The people of Xandar will always remember the aid Sakaar provided. Now, everything is irreversible. If you don't mind… please, take the Worldmind with you."
Caiera was shocked. Adora was offering them Xandar's most vital technology, the very source of the Nova Force.
"Yes," Adora said, her voice choked with sorrow. "The Worldmind is our greatest invention. It not only provides the Nova Force, but it records the entire history and civilization of our people. Perhaps Xandar will soon be dust in the cosmos, but I hope our history can continue. I have seen the greatness of your king and the Plumbers. I believe you will become a civilization more prosperous than any of the three great empires. And as long as Sakaar exists, perhaps people will remember that there was once a planet in this universe called Xandar."
Her words moved Caiera deeply. As destruction loomed, the most powerful person on Xandar chose not to abandon her people, but to stay and die with her homeland.
At that moment, a silver shadow descended rapidly from the sky. It was Brunnhilde. The Valkyrie landed, strode decisively up to Queen Adora, and—
SMACK!
The slap was loud and clear.
"Brunnhilde, what are you doing?" Caiera asked, as stunned as the Queen.
"Teaching a self-righteous fool a lesson!" Brunnhilde glared, her eyes burning with anger. "Don't think that just because you're a queen, you can decide everyone's fate! What if some of us don't want to die?!"
What Brunnhilde hated most was the drama of royalty. Once, the conflict between Odin and Hela had led to the complete destruction of the Valkyrie corps, leaving her the sole survivor. Some kings led their people to a new life; others stubbornly chose to wait for destruction.
The slap seemed to wake Adora from her stupor. "You're right," she whispered. "Perhaps I do not have the right to decide their fate." She looked up at the falling moon, then back to the heroes, her eyes filled with a desperate plea. "Then I leave it to you. Take the Worldmind, and take the remnants of my people away from this planet…"
Brunnhilde slapped her again with the back of her hand.
"Why did you hit me again?!" Queen Adora cried, truly bewildered now. She held a hand to her stinging cheek, looking at the Valkyrie with utter grievance. I tell them to die, you hit me. I tell them to live, you hit me again. What do you want from me?
Even Bill couldn't stand it. "Hilde," he said hesitantly, "are you perhaps taking this a bit too far?"
Brunnhilde shot him a glare. "I think you deserve a beating, too!"
Bill blinked. What does this have to do with me? He decided it was best to keep his mouth shut.
Brunnhilde crossed her arms, her silver armor gleaming. "To speak of last words and make such plans without permission," she said confidently, "is a grave insult to our King."
Adora, her face a mask of confusion, asked, "What do you mean?"
"It's just a falling moon. Do you really think our king can do nothing about it? If you think so, then you vastly underestimate the Plumbers!"
"Do your warships have planet-destroying weapons?" Queen Adora's eyes lit up with a spark of hope.
Brunnhilde shook her head. "No. But we have the King of Sakaar." She smiled slightly and stepped aside.
A red-and-purple shadow descended from the sky. Ben, still in his Atlas form, flew several kilometers and landed softly in the ruined palace. Seeing the duplicate of their greatest enemy appear, many of the surrounding soldiers instantly took fighting stances. The Plumbers, however, did not flinch; the Omnitrix symbol on his chest was unmistakable.
Though Steve and Bucky were present, Ben no longer needed to hide. He cancelled his transformation, reverting to his human form.
"My king," Caiera said, bowing her head respectfully. "Where is Thanos?"
"Isn't it obvious? He's dead, of course," Brunnhilde said, as if it were a foregone conclusion.
"Brunnhilde still understands me best," Ben nodded in approval. He had fought a fair duel, but in the end, Thanos still lost. Ben had shown no mercy, using the Titan's own broken blade to end him. "Okay," he said, turning his attention to the sky. "Now let's solve the moon problem."
He transformed again, this time into the four-armed behemoth, Four Arms. He was going to use the Power Stone, and he needed the strength to channel it.
Under the stunned gazes of Queen Adora and every survivor on Xandar, a miracle occurred. High in the sky, the approaching moon, a harbinger of doom, shattered into a billion pieces. The broken fragments became a brilliant meteor shower, streaking harmlessly across the sky. The crisis of destruction had been transformed into a fireworks display in celebration of Sakaar's King.
Adora was speechless. Her eyes could see nothing but the powerful back of the boy who had saved her world.
Brunnhilde was bursting with pride. "That's why I said, don't underestimate the power of our king! Do you have anything else to say, Queen of Xandar?"
Adora blinked, then smacked her lips, asking tentatively, "So… since Xandar doesn't need to be destroyed… can we keep the Worldmind?"