CELESTIAL CONFLAGRATION! starring THE MIGHTY THOR with the Lady SIF and the WARRIORS THREE by Van Allen Plexico Art by David Wright This story first appeared in MV1's Untold Tales of the Marvel Universe #2 & #3

*DECLARATION:* I am the Recorder. Crafted by the Colonizers of Rigel, I have travelled the universe, observing and, indeed, recording events of great cosmic importance, that they may be preserved for all time.

*OBSERVATION:* A number of years ago, I did accompany the Thunder God, Thor, and his valliant companions, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, on the ODIN QUEST, a journey across the universe in search of the missing monarch of Asgard.*

[*As recounted in the pages of THOR during 1976-77, up through #263 -- Van]

*STATEMENT:* Until now, some of the adventures the Asgardians and I participated in have remained... untold. At first I believed that perhaps the Asgardians were simply awed by the enormous powers they witnessed at work... That perhaps I, the Recorder, simply lacked the ability, until now, to fully process the raw data my receptors were bombarded with. I have recently come to realize that there was more at work than simple collective amnesia.

*RESOLUTION:* Now, that situation will be rectified. For now, I present-- an UNTOLD TALE of THE MIGHTY THOR:

CELESTIAL CONFLAGRATION!

The Starjammer* plied the great cosmic sea, its Viking ship appearance concealing a vessel of vast power, constructed in immortal Asgard itself, and imbued with the power of flight and star travel.

[Yes, that really was the name of the Asgardians' ship-- see for example THOR #261-- and not to be confused with Corsair's vessel in X-MEN. --Van]

At the helm stood Thor himself, son of Odin, lord of the thunder and lightning. At Thor's side stood his true love, the brave and beauteous lady Sif, her long black tresses blowing in the cosmic wind, her hand resting as ever on the hilt of her sword. Behind these two, leaning against the railing and in awe of the majestic vistas before them, stood the Warriors Three: dashing Fandrall, blond-haired master of the sword; grim Hogun, the sullen-eyed wielder of the mace; and voluminous Volstagg, the rotund and good-natured oaf with a heart of gold. Accompanied by the sentient Rigellian humanoid construct, the Recorder, this party, five Asgardian heroes of mythic stature, had taken leave of their home and traveled out into the cosmic wastes in search of their missing liege lord, almighty Odin.

The journey thus far had been an arduous one. Grand adventures lay behind them, and indeed, ahead of them. Tired from their harrowing journey, they had settled into a quiet routine, Thor manning the wheel as the others watched for any signs of trouble. At that moment...

"Observation," the Recorder stated in his flat, unemotional manner. "I sense a focus of enormous cosmic energies approaching."

The Asgardians glanced from the Recorder to the space all around them. "What mean you, Recorder?" Fandrall asked. "Dost thou sense danger approaching?"

"If so, brave Fandrall," Volstagg interjected, "tis good that valorous Volstagg be here to lend his strong right arm in defense of the Starjammer!"

Fandrall rolled his eyes. "Aye, vast one-- thy girth truly shall obscure the rest of our party from the enemy's sight!"

Thor stepped down from the helm and leaned against the rail, peering out into the darkness. "In truth, Recorder, mine eyes spy no menace in yon heavens. Art thou certain that--"

"THERE!" Hogun's shout brought the others about, to gaze across the other side of the ship, and there witness a tiny sparkle of light which swiftly grew into a glittering orb.

"Thine eyes be as sharp as ever, grim one," Thor muttered, clearly unhappy with what he saw.

"What is it, beloved?" Sif asked.

Fandrall nodded. "Aye, thunderer-- if tis a foe we face, grant us some bit of knowledge concerning his nature!"

"Declaration: This vessel is known to me," the Recorder stated.

"Indeed," Thor growled. "Tis known to many, across the universe. And to many more, who do now dwell in Hela's dark domain. Tis the star-spanning vessel of none other than--
GALACTUS!"

The approaching vessel swelled to gargantuan proportions, a vast silvery sphere, passing the Starjammer by as it raced towards a nearby planet. As the Asgardians watched, the ship took up orbit.

Thor sighed heavily. "Verily, I do shudder at the thought of the fate which surely awaits the inhabitants of yonder world."

"Observation: Galactus has selected that world as a potential source for the replenishment of his energies."

The Warriors Three frowned at one another. "Then-- Galactus means to do harm unto that fair planet?" Fandrall asked.

"Yon enigmatic titan is known to many as the 'World Devourer," Thor replied. "He will suck the very life energies from a world, and leave it desolate and dead in his wake."

"By the All-Father's beard-- this cannot be!" Fandrall stalked to the stern of the ship, leaning out as if to touch the world Galactus's ship now orbited. "Can we do nothing to prevent this catastrophe?"

Thor frowned, met Sif's eyes, glanced at the Recorder. The Recorder performed a series of mental calculations and replied, "Evaluation: Though you five Asgardians are indeed mighty beings, your power pales before that of the World Devourer. Galactus cannot and perhaps should not be deflected from his own natural course."

"I care not for thy cold calculations, Recorder," the lady Sif snapped. "If we be fair and just gods, surely we must at least... try."

Thor glanced from Sif to the Recorder to the other three warriors. He ran a muscular hand over his jaw. Finally, he reached a decision. "Though it pains me to pause in the quest for mine own glorious sire, tis true enow that we must at least make an effort to save yon world from Galactus's ravages."

The others nodded bravely. Sif wrapped an arm around Thor and squeezed. The Recorder said nothing, merely continued to peer into the distance, keeping his council, for now, his own.

*****

The Starjammer swooped down over the lush green hills of a world surely counting off its last few seconds of life. Following the Recorder's directions, Thor steered the ship over mountain and sea, until:

"Declaration: I detect a vast source of the power cosmic just beyond the next mountain range. Surely that is the site of Galactus and his deadly energy-siphoning machinery."

The Starjammer lofted over the mountains and back down into a broad valley, only to find:

"By Heimdall's eye! Surely that is not Galactus!"

Before them stood a colossus of a size greater even than Galactus had ever before, at least to Thor's knowledge, attained. While somewhat reminiscent of the World-Devourer, at least in terms of superficial appearance, this being exhibited no signs of the humanity which shone through the purple garb of Galactus. This being seemed entirely mechanical, yet at the same time brimming over with the fires of creation.

The Asgardians were reduced to silence for a long moment as their craft sailed around the valley. As they stared, they noticed an enormous dome, much larger even than the giant himself, positioned on the valley's far side.

"Recorder, if thou knowest anything about yon being, twould be meet for thou to sharest with us, immediately."

The Recorder nodded. "Declaration: I am indeed familiar with this being and his others of his kind, though I am loathe to confront one again."

"Observation: This is a Celestial, one of a race of beings as old as the very universe. They it was who spread the seeds of life across worlds beyond numbering, in times long past. Now, they have returned to judge the worlds they helped create."

"Judge them?"

"Declaration: Indeed. Their many hosts visit worlds across the universe, observing for fifty years the sentient races which have taken root from their seeds, and judging their worthiness. At the end of that fifty years, they are judged and either declared worthy, or... destroyed."

Thor frowned. "And how often dost the Celestials find a race worthy?"

"Statement: To this date... Never."

The Asgardians glanced at one another nervously. Thor nodded slowly. "Twould seem this world doth face quite a grim fate indeed."

As the Asgardians debated their best course of action, Hogun suddenly interrupted their deliberations. "My friends-- look! Yon giant doth-- move!"

Indeed, the glittering white Celestial which occupied the valley's center had raised an enormous arm and now pointed upwards. Strange cosmic energies swirled about his hand, then blasted upwards into the sky in a blazing bolt of light, deafening in its roar.

As if in reply, a rain of purple bolts of energy rained down , deflecting harmlessly from the surface of the Celestial and the dome. The Starjammer, on the other hand, responding to Hogun's deft touch, bobbed and weaved in order to avoid the barrage of deadly beams.

"Observation: The Celestials are aware of Galactus's arrival."

"Methinks thou speakest most truthfully, Recorder," Thor replied.

At that moment, a small, grayish shape sped over the horizon, landing with a thud at the feet of the Celestial.

"By my father's beard," Thor gasped. "The Destroyer!"

As the Asgardians watched, the erstwhile defender of Asgard, now animated in the service of Galactus, strode forward to confront the mammoth space god. The Destroyer stood scarcely taller than the Celestial's toe, yet when he rared back and unleashed a blow with his armored fist, the Celestial did react. The space god looked down and seemed to study the tiny creature which dared assault him. At that moment, something the Asgardians found simply incomprehensible happened. The white Celestial shifted his foot ever so slightly, and the Destroyer, a being possessing the power to wreck the Golden Realm or battle Thor nigh unto death, tumbled head over heels away like a child's toy. Seemingly satisfied, the Celestial returned to his previous pose.

The Asgardians looked on in stunned silence, save a muted, "Zounds!" from Volstagg.

At length, Thor turned to the others. "My friends, methinks we must confront Galactus directly, and do so with all haste. For he and the Celestials both have laid claim to this world, and clearly, it will not long survive the contention betwixt them."

*****

The Starjammer curved through space until it caught up to the great gleaming vessel of Galactus.

"I am signalling yon ship as best I can," grim Hogun reported, "but in sooth I knowest not whether my signal is received or no."

"Then take us alongside," Thor ordered. "For we have little enow time already, without the pomposity of Galactus bringing us to disaster."

The Starjammer navigated alongside the orb.

"Closer, grim one! Make use of thine vaunted skills and bring us closer!"

"Aye, thunder god-- if closer thou wantest it, closer thou wilt have it!"

The Starjammer sidled up tightly alongside the ship, and Thor lifted his hammer, brought it back, and then swung it around in a broad blow.

Wha-BOOM!!!

The hull of Galactus's ship rent asunder, peeling back beneath so unexpected an impact.

"Quickly now-- before the World-Devourer can seal yon breach!"

The Asgardians and the Recorder-- pausing only to help shove Volstagg through the breach-- clambered aboard Galactus's ship. Behind them, the ship's automatic systems closed the wound in the hull and sealed it tight again.

"Be careful, my friends," Thor advised. "Surely, Galactus's ship will be protected by numerous safeguards and nefarious devices."

"Then tis fortunate valiant Volstagg doth accompany thy party, thunder god, for surely, even mighty Galactus might pause before daring to assault the body of the lion of Asgard!"

"Aye, friend Volstagg," Fandrall replied, "tis most unlikely he would wish to spare the time t'would take to assault a body as vast as thine!"

Indeed, the intrepid Asgardians had scarcely traveled far when a figure rushed towards them with blazing speed, from out of the dark depths of the ship.

"Stand ready, my friends," Fandrall warned,"for yon demon attacks with a speed to rival e'en that of Fandrall's own flashing blade!"

The Asgardians and the Recorder fanned out, at the ready, but nothing could prepare them for the blazing ferocity of the being's attack. It crashed into Hogun and drove him into the bulkhead, then, an instant later, had ducked in under Fandrall's sword and smashed him to the deck. As the figure paused momentarily to seek its next target, Thor got a look at it-- at its greenish coloring, its hunched-over form, its grim face, and its strange, goggles-on-the forehead cranial design.

"In sooth, my friends, I do recognize this creature. Tis known to those of Midgard* as the 'Punisher from Beyond.'"

[Midgard = Earth. --Van]

"Declaration: The Punisher from Beyond is known on many worlds, as one of the primary weapons of planetary pacification in Galactus's arsenal-- OOOF!" The Recorder's declaration was interrupted as the Punisher rocketed into him, pummelling him with a barrage of lightning-fast blows."

"Then tis time the Punisher himself was punished!" Thor swung his hammer about him, lightning and wind surging into existence all about his towering figure. Then, as the Punisher disengaged itself from the Recorder and raced towards him, he let the hammer fly. Like a missile, it struck the alien construct head-on, driving the big robot back with a thunderous Ka-BOOOM!!

Sif, her sword in one hand, helped the others up as Thor caught his mystically-returning hammer. The Punisher struggled to pull itself up from the deck, then seemed to hesitate, as if sizing up its competition anew.

"Verily, thunderer, thou hast given him pause to reconsider his brash actions," Fandrall commented as he brushed off his green garments.

"Or perhaps," Volstagg interjected as he crept out from behind a bank of machinery, "he has detected the presence of valiant Volstagg among this assembl--YIIII!!"

The Punisher had hurled itself with unbelievable speed upon Volstagg, even as he spoke, and the combined weight of the two sent them both smashing through a bulkhead and into the next compartment. The Asgardians and the Recorder rushed through the gaping hole in pursuit--

--only to come to a sudden halt, in surprise, as they gazed up at the towering, purple-clad figure filling most of this huge chamber.

Thor nodded grimly. "Galactus!"

Sif looked at the thunder god. "My love, this-- this being..." Her eyes were wide. "You surely cannot think to reason with one such as him?"

Thor's eyes narrowed as he peered up at the World-Devourer. "Reason with him I shall, fair one--" and at that, Thor spun his hammer about, lightning flaring all about, "--or else, destroy him utterly, for all time!"

Galactus paused in his work and peered down at the Asgardians, tiny insects far below him. "If you think to destroy Galactus, little god," he rumbled, his giant, purple-gloved hand reaching down, cosmic energies crackling about it, of a size to dwarf Thor's own lightning bolts, "then you are certainly welcome to try."

*****

Aboard the silvery orb ship of Galactus:

The World-Devourer paused in his work and peered down at the Asgardians, tiny insects far below him. "If you think to destroy Galactus, little god," he rumbled, his giant, purple-gloved hand reaching down, cosmic energies crackling about it, of a size to dwarf Thor's own lightning bolts, "then you are certainly welcome to try."

The Recorder stepped back involuntarily. "Observation: The situation is deteriorating rapidly."

"Truly, thou hast a firm grasp of the obvious, robotic one," Fandrall growled, sword at the ready.

"Friend thunder god," Hogun questioned, "canst even our own unmatched courage and skill long stand against a being of this nature?"

"T'will have to do, grim Hogun," Thor replied. "But for now, mayhap reason can prevail, so that there be no need for battle."

The Recorder spoke in his flat, even tones. "Statement: I find scant few references in my data banks to moments when Galactus was willing to listen to any other being."

Thor ignored him. "Galactus! Hear me!" He shouted up at the towering figure. "Tis the mighty Thor, son of Odin and prince of Asgard, who doth seek parley with you."

Galactus actually turned to peer down at the group with what seemed to be mild curiosity.

"We beseech thee, Galactus," Thor continued. "Spare this world and contend not with the strange beings which have come to judge it. For verily, there be some small chance this world might be judged acceptable by the Celestials... but thine own conscienceless, relentless appetite offers no chance for survival whatsoever."

Galactus said nothing for a long moment. Then, at last, he spoke. "Galactus will not be deterred, be it by godlings or genetic tinkerers. I am the will and the way!"

"And have you no compassion for the sentient beings upon yonder world?"

"Galactus does what he must. No more, no less. Compassion is for those with choice."

"But thou must see that in striving 'gainst the Celestials for that world, the forces both sides unleash might easily destroy it 'ere it become prize to either side."

"Galactus will triumph over these cosmic upstarts long before the energies of this world are noticably depleted. It has been written-- it will be done!"

Thor shook his head at the unbelievable arrogance of this cosmic entity. "Dost thou truly sense the potential for victory against yon star-spanning Celestials?"

The purple-clad being seemed to consider for a moment. Then, "Fortunately, Galactus has recently dined upon a world bursting to the seams with life-sustaining energies. My reserves are full, my cosmic might at its utmost peak. I sought this world as one which might sustain me in times to come-- having a spare source of power behind me as I travel on might prove most valuable. I will therefore brook no interference, be it from you miniscule 'gods' nor from these intergalactic upstarts called 'Celestials.'"

 With that, Galactus took on an unearthly glow, flared, and vanished.

The Recorder gazed at the spot previously occupied by the World-Devourer. "Observation: Galactus has transported himself to the planet's surface. Soon, he will come into conflict with the Celestial host, which even now prepares to deliver its fifty-year judgment upon this world."

Thor gritted his teeth. "Then our efforts hath ended in naught but failure."

Sif placed one arm around Thor's back. "Tis not over yet, my love. We may still find some hope of victory."

*****

 On the planet's surface, in the valley of the Celestials, Ashtur the Judge, the white-hued leader of the host, watched impassively as a tiny flash of light grew into a broad, cosmic transport beam, carrying a new arrival down amongst them.

Nearby, another Celestial, this one the green-colored Varnak the Gatherer, emerged from the Celestials' dome long enough to gaze at the incapacitated figure of the Asgardian Destroyer, of late the herald of Galactus before being laid low by Ashtur *

 [*See our last issue for all the details. -- Van]

Varnak bent over, touching the tip of his gargantuan finger to the Destroyer's surface. Then the mighty Celestial turned and strode back into the dome.

The Destroyer pulled its bulky, armored form up from the ground, and, like a bolt of lightning, flashed into the sky.

*****

 Thor, the other Asgardians, and the Recorder once again found themselves confronting the Punisher from Beyond, which Galactus had apparently left with instructions to eject the uninvited guests.

Suddenly, the ship's bulkhead was rent once again, and in strode the gray Asgardian Destroyer, now under the Celestials' control.

"Though truly none may match the valor of this group," Fandrall said as he watched the two hulking metallic menaces closing on them, "in sooth, I do admit a tiny amount of concern for our fates at this moment."

"Thou speakest only truth, dashing one," Thor replied, "and none may fault you for it. E'en so, should this be our moment of decision, we shall go down fighting!"

"So sayest one, so sayest all, thunderer!" Grim Hogun rushed forward, mace raised high behind his head. Fandrall and Sif leapt to the attack, swords flashing. Thor swung his hammer, preparing to release a monstrous blow. The Recorder prepared to lend his fists to battle, and even Volstagg, sensing the desperation of such a conflict, charged along behind the others. The Asgardians made ready for assault--

 --and then all paused, as suddenly the Punisher swung about and hurled itself into the Destroyer's path. The two automatons crashed to the deck, raining blow after furious blow upon one another's thick hides.

"Verily," Thor observed, urging the others back, "the Punisher doth sense that the Destroyer be the more pressing menace at the moment."

"Statement: I detect a subtle alteration in the energy patterns surrounding the Destroyer. Conclusion: The Celestials have seized control of him."

"By the Norn, thou speakest truthfully, Recorder!" Thor swung his hammer out, deflecting a massive chunk of metal which had been hurled by the Punisher and knocked away by the Destroyer.

The two automatons battled on, the Punisher opting for volley upon volley of metal-fisted blows as the Destroyer unleashed a barrage of energy beams.

"In sooth," Hogun commented, "yon Punisher somehow withstands the touch of the Destroyer's fabled kzippa particles! *

[*No, I didn't make that up! See THOR #266, for example. --Van]

 "T'will not long endure such an assault, my friends," Thor replied. "Neither man nor god can long survive the Destroyer's Odin-born raw power."

"Observation: Then perhaps this would be a good time to take our leave of Galactus's ship," the Recorder suggested.

"Indeed." Thor swung his hammer about. "To yon planet's surface-- and the valley of the Celestials itself!"

*****

 In that selfsame valley, at that very moment, the leader of the Celestial host, Ashtur, stood in confrontation with the World-Devourer, Galactus, now enlarged to the full towering height of the space gods.

No words were exchanged between the two sky-scraping behemoths. Messages and images beyond the range of human comprehension flashed at lightspeed between them as they stood, glaring at one another across the valley floor.

Mere moments later, the Starjammer soared down into the valley, Thor piloting the ship at breakneck speed. He brought the vessel to a halt and all aboard leapt off, racing across the valley in a desparate attempt to forestall a conflagration of cosmic proportions.

Before the gods could reach the area of the colossal figures, two more shapes tumbled out of the sky, interwoven about one another, energies crackling about them. They hit with the force of a meteor, shaking the ground beneath the Asgardians' feet. As Thor and his comrades looked on in awe, the Destroyer and the Punisher clambered out of the hole and renewed their battle once more.

"Tis beyond belief," Fandrall commented. "Still do the two automatons continue to battle, though they've dealt what should have been killing blows 'pon one another a dozen times over!"

At that moment, the Destroyer raised his visor, and the churning energies contained within his form released themselves fully upon the already-damaged Punisher. Less than a second later, the Punisher from Beyond was no more, only a smoking crater marking the spot where before he had stood.

"By my father's beard!" Thor exclaimed.

The others looked on in silent awe.

And then the Destroyer turned and slowly began stalking towards them.

High above, Galactus and Ashtur came to the end of their dialogue. Galactus waved one massive hand before the white Celestial leader, stating aloud, "Galactus will not be denied! I am the will and the way! Your claim upon this world is rejected! Now there can be only-- BATTLE!"

Ashtur unleashed a titanic blast of energy upon Galactus's form. The World-Devourer responded by firing twin beams of disintegrating particles from his eyes, slashing at Ashtur's armor. Ashtur raised both hands and the ground itself rose up, swallowing Galactus's form. Before Ashtur could move, hands smashed up from the soil and grasped him by one leg, pulling him off balance to fall like a tumbling building across the valley floor.

Even as they retreated before the Destroyer's slow, lumbering advance, Thor and the others watched in amazement as the two giants continued their battle. "Methinks this is not something either man or god was meant to witness," Thor commented softly.

The Recorder said nothing, merely noted the comment in his data banks.

Galactus brought a fist, corruscating with crimson cosmic energies, around in a broad blow which actually seemed to stun Ashtur and sent him tumbling back against the surface of the dome. Before the white Celestial could recover, Galactus was upon him. "Foolish one! Galactus is at the peak of his star-spanning might! The energies of a dozen worlds courses through me! No one may stand in defiance of Galactus! NO ONE!" He struck again, his fist actually ripping away sections of Ashtur's armor, causing the cosmic energies contained therein to trickle out.

Ashtur reeled, falling back before the assault. At that moment, the surface of the dome rippled and two more Celestials appeared from within-- the green-armored Varnak and the crimson-hued Nadonn.

Galactus actually hesitated as he saw the reinforcements arrive. He stepped back, his hands coming up in a defensive gesture as the two new Celestials stepped between him and the wounded Ashtur.

As they prepared to battle the relentless Destroyer, the Asgardians glanced again at the developing scene across the valley. "Observation," the Recorder stated, "Galactus has apparently forgotten that while, at the peak of his power, he might be slightly more than a match for one of the space gods, there are far more than one of them!"

As Thor rushed forward and locked in hand-to-hand combat with the battered yet still mighty Destroyer, Galactus hurled himself into battle with Varnak and Nadonn.

Thor exchanged blow after hammering blow with the Asgardian-built, Celestial-controlled juggernaut. Meanwhile, Galactus expended vast, mind-numbing levels of the power cosmic against the three Celestials.

Time crawled by ever so slowly. The Asgardians aided Thor as best they could, while keeping an eye on the battle above, a battle that already had turned the sky dark and distorted the weather patterns for hundreds of miles around. As the larger battle continued, energy beams released by both sides struck the mountainsides all around, and beyond. Soon enough, the valley-turned-battlefield resembled the surface of a dead moon.

Then, as Varnak sensed his own power dropping to a dangerous level, he groped out for any reserves he might have nearby. He siphoned his own personal energies from the machinery of the dome... from the various devices he had planted across the valley floor... and from the Asgardian Destroyer, which until this moment he had, albeit subconsciously, animated.

 At that instant, Thor swung his hammer about in the mightiest blow he could manage. "FALL, DESTROYER!!" he roared. "THOUGH MY OWN LIFE BE FORFEIT, THOU WILT SURELY-- FALL!!!"

KA-- BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

And the Destroyer fell, smoking, lifeless, to the valley floor.

Thor stood, shaking, over the deactivated juggernaut. Sif rushed to his side, followed by the others.

"My love-- thou hast done it!"

"Nay, fair one-- though I did strike a blow that might have felled yon Destroyer in his damaged state, in truth, the Celestials did abandon control of him just before I struck."
 
 

"Look!" Fandrall shouted.

Beyond, across the valley, the battle there had ended as well. Galactus stood uneasily, clearly shaken and reduced in stature. The three Celestials, standing together before their dome, all exhibited the signs of battle against one who was very nearly their equal.

Hogun frowned. "Then-- who hast won the contest?"

"Observation: Neither, Asgardian." The Recorder's usually emotionless face betrayed deep concern. "I have detected a message being beamed from Galactus, toward the farthest reaches of space. He has called for his solar system-spanning worldship. And the Celestials have likewise summoned their own vast starship. I fear they seek reinforcements and more power with which to renew their struggle at an even more disastrous level."

"I say the-- NAY!" Thor whirled his hammer and hurled himself into the air. "Though these beings be of a state beyond e'en my own comprehension, and though they perceive the son of Odin himself as naught but an insect, to be stepped on or casually tossed out of the way, verily, the thunder god shalt gain their attention, e'en if I must sacrifice mine own life to do so!"

As Galactus and the Celestials started to rise once again and move towards one another, Thor positioned himself directly between them, lightning crackling all about his form.

"If thou both be'est as gods e'en to we of Asgard," he cried, "then why dost we see that which neither of you seem to perceive? This world teeters on the brink of total devastation-- soon, t'will hold neither a sentient race for judging, nor life energies for consumption. T'will be only a barren rock, left behind in the wake of both of your travels. In sooth, tis shameful, the exhibition we have witnessed from both of you this day!"

Galactus and Ashtur hesitated, seeming to communicate momentarily. A long moment passed, during which nothing moved save Thor's cape, fluttering in the breeze as Mjolnir held him aloft between the two giants. And then, almost miraculously, the Celestials turned and strode away, passing through the wall of their dome. With a great rumbling, the dome tore itself loose from the sheer rock and earth surrounding it and rose into the sky. It vanished into the heavens in the blink of an eye.

Thor peered at Galactus's unchanging visage. "Then... the space gods have left this world to the mercies of thine ravenous appetite, Galactus?"

Wonder of wonders, Galactus answered. "...No, Asgardian. We-- the Celestial host and I-- have reached a mutual... arrangement. This world will be spared. In truth, Galactus has no pressing need for it at the moment, and the Celestials have millions of other worlds upon which to devote their attentions." Then Galactus at last peered down at Thor, almost acknowledging him as a legitimate entity. "In other words, Asgardian-- we both heard your argument, and this once, Galactus admits his error. As, of course, do the Celestials."

Far below, the Asgardians cheered. Thor allowed himself a grim smile. "Thou art perhaps wiser than I gave thee credit for, Galactus." He gazed about at the devastation all around. "Would that you both had reached such an understanding before laying waste to so much of this world..."

Galactus ignored him, continuing on. "But neither the Celestials nor Galactus feels that the momentous events of this day should remain long in the minds of ones such as you. Therefore, let all that has transpired today upon this world slowly fade from your minds, as if it had never been. I sense that you are engaged in a grand quest of your own. Continue it, as if it had not been interrupted. And know only that you paused in your journey to aid someone... who might be grateful for your help."

With that, Galactus transformed into a beam of pure cosmic energy and vanished into the sky. The Destroyer revived itself and followed, boarding the great ship just before it warped away.

The Asgardians and the Recorder boarded the Starjammer, which had fortunately survived the earlier battles. Before the memories had entirely evaporated from their minds, Sif turned to Thor. "My love-- when Galactus spoke of our aiding someone who was grateful for the help-- do you think he referred to the people of this world... or to himself?"

"I fear we shall never know, fair one. For already, the fog of forgetfulness descends, and I, I--"

 The Asgardians blinked, glanced about.

"--I... What was I saying, my friends?"

As the ship rose out of the planet's atmosphere and headed again into the reaches of space, the Recorder placed a hand on Thor's back, patting him gently. "Statement: You were saying that we must swiftly continue our quest for the missing Odin."

"Aye, indeed we must!" Thor gestured grandly to the vast void beyond the ship's bow. "To your stations, everyone! The All-Father awaits us! And we shall not fail him!"

The Starjammer turned and accelerated away, leaving a gleaming, intact planet in its wake. On the ship's deck, the Recorder gazed back at that world, his placid robotic face seemingly melancholy, his emotionless voice, for once, wistful. The words he spoke were for himself, his own data banks, alone:

 "Observation: Both Galactus and the Celestials consider this encounter a victory-- but he who truly won will remember none of it." He paused. "One, however, will remember-- remember the brave acts of Thor and his Asgardian comrades. Long will the Recorder remember, with admiration and with awe, the valiant and courageous acts he has observed this day!"

The End!