EARTHFALL

starring Captain Marvel
with Ms. Marvel, Hercules, Drax, and Eros

by Van Allen Plexico

This story first appeared in MV1's CAPTAIN MARVEL #63-69

CHAPTER TWO:

THE REDOUBTABLE RETURN OF
DRAX THE DESTROYER!



"Things proceed, albeit slowly, Lord Chaos."

"Indeed, Master Order. The youth has failed to recruit the allies we had hoped for, yet he has managed to bring at least one other into the fight..."

"Yes. The woman known as Carol Danvers. She could yet prove extremely valuable on the side of life."

"Still, he will require others. Perhaps Chronos has heard our petition, and seen the wisdom in our request?"

Master Order gazed up at the now-tremendous form of Lord Chaos, looming above him, dwarfing his own metaphysical manifestation. "We shall know shortly, Lord Chaos."

Lord Chaos nodded. "For now, Master Order, we must hope it will be enough."



Genis-Vell and Ms. Marvel soared away from the New York City headquarters of the Fantastic Four, the sun a blazing red semicircle as it dropped to meet the horizon behind them. Genis frowned tightly, anger and frustration seething from him.

Ms. Marvel could sense Genis's mood, and sought to boost his morale. "They didn't dismiss us outright," she called to him, "any more than the Avengers did. * Mr. Fantastic did say he would use all of his technology to scour the solar system for any signs of an attack force... As soon as he could get to it..."

*Last issue, of course! -- Mar-Van

Genis said nothing, merely gritting his teeth. "I shouldn't have expected anything different. from, the Fantastic Four or anyone else. I haven't earned their respect, their trust," he told himself harshly. "Yet."

Suddenly Ms. Marvel jerked in mid-flight, and called out. "Genis-- I think--"

"Yes. I know." Genis's eyes sparkled; the small measure of cosmic awareness he'd acquired* was finally making its presence known to him.

*Last issue again -- Mar-Van-again

"You know?" Carol frowned at him. "You mean-- you're AWARE?"

"That's what I'm told. Let's go!"

The two heroes sailed downward. They landed just as the daylight vanished entirely and darkness settled over the rural New Jersey landscape.

"Why do you suppose we suddenly have to be here?" Genis asked.

"I've learned not to question these things," Carol replied, glancing about nervously, on guard.

Photons sparkled around Genis's fists as he squinted into the darkness. "What do you--"

The night lit up with blinding fluorescent blue light, shining down on them from directly above.

"A spaceship of some kind!" Ms. Marvel was already airborne. "A hatch is opening! Get ready for trouble!" Before Genis could react, the female fury had already smashed into two bizarre alien creatures in armor descending through the light.

Genis blinked up at the shape above. "A-- a flying saucer?"

"You got it," Carol called out, as she slugged it out with a large, purple- clad creature wearing a jet-pack. "You wanna help?"

Blinking, Genis soared skyward, unleashing twin photon blasts at the other attacker. "Wait a minute! I recognize that ship from Dad's records. It's an Artarian ship. The Kree intervened in a war between them and the Zyrgor once. Those two races hate each other. Dad led a batallion of the Kree forces in the decisive battle over the Zyrgor."

"I am Ch'torr of the Zyrgor. And you are Kree," the creature Genis grappled with replied, its unsettling voice rendered intelligible via its translator. "That will make your death all the sweeter." The creature lashed out, seizing Genis's hands and pinning them, even as it kicked him repeatedly with its huge, muscular legs.

Genis reeled under the repeated blows. "Can't take much more of this," he thought to himself. Desperately, he directed his nega-bands to radiate energy outwards. As the sudden heat and pain struck Ch'torr, causing him to recoil, Genis wrenched his hands free of the creature's grasp and aimed both fists at the slimy midsection. "Well, as my dad might have said," he growled, "SIT ON IT, CH'TORR!" The close-range photon blasts ripped through the armor. Ch'torr's eyes--all six of them-- bugged out, and the big creature tumbled to the roadway below, only to be drawn slowly back up through the blue tractor beam and into the ship.

Meanwhile, Ms. Marvel darted away from her attacker and smashed a fist into it from behind. The beast cried out and whirled, but Carol had already moved below it and grasped it by one ankle. Spinning around, she sent the creature flying up into the underbelly of the flying saucer, where it impacted with a sickening crunch. "I always sort of wished I had those photon blasts like you and your dad," she muttered, "but then again, I do pretty well without them."

Genis smiled a half-smile. "I wouldn't argue," he replied.

The alien warriors defeated, the saucer began to rise, seeking to escape, but Carol darted after it and rang blow after blow upon its hull. "Genis! The glowing part down below! But-- Carefully!"

"Gotcha!" Genis sailed around to the backside of the saucer and let loose with a tightly-controlled photon blast. Gouts of flame erupted where the blast struck, and the saucer lurched sideways, then tumbled downward, levelling off just before it reached the ground. With a crunch, it impacted the earth and slid to a stop.

Genis beat Ms. Marvel to the saucer and ripped the hatch away. A sickening green haze wafted out. Genis glanced back at the hovering form of Carol nearby. "Yuck! You suppose anyone else is in there?"

"We should check," Carol called back, darting through the hatch, her red sash fluttering in the wind.

Genis followed her inside, holding his nose and twisting his face at the
stench.

The wounded Zyrgor had fallen against the back of the pilot's seat, and the pilot-- wounded as well-- struggled to get free of the crash harness. Ms. Marvel slugged the pilot across its lumpy jaw and it sagged back into the seat. "See what you can find out from him," she said, pointing to the Zyrgor. "I'll check the rest of the ship."

Genis studied the pilot's features. "That's an Artari, all right," he observed. He turned to the other creature. "What are you two doing working together? On the same ship?"

The Zyrgor glared up at him, in obvious pain. "We... We have transcended such petty hatreds... Kree-man. The One Who Leads has shown us the way... A better way... A better target... for our HATE!"

Genis gripped the Zrygor's chest. "Who? WHO are you TALKING ABOUT?"

"Your... Enemy... And-- the Earth's..." With a gasp, the creature collapsed limply to the floor.

Genis stared at him, eyes sparkling.

"What happened?" Carol called back, from where she searched in the rear of the ship.

"Blast it! He killed himself-- poison." Genis slammed a fist against the bulkhead. ""I sensed it too late! I'm still not used to the awareness..." Suddenly jerking upright, he jumped over the seat and checked the pilot. "Dead too. Great. I'm batting a thousand here."

"Genis! I have something alive back here!"

Racing down the narrow access tube, he found Ms. Marvel in a large cabin, ripping away the locking mechanism from a human- sized capsule attached to one wall. "Someone's in here," she told him as she strained to open the capsule's front cover.

"Any idea who? Or if we really want to set them free?"

Before Ms. Marvel could answer, two green hands appeared over the edge of the capsule and grasped the metal, pulling upwards. Slowly a face appeared; it was green, like the hands, with a purple material covering the top and back of the head. The figure emerged fully, and both Carol and Genis gasped.

"Drax the Destroyer!"

The figure stared at both of them, silent. He wore purple over green skin, and a vast purple cape trailed from his shoulders. Massive golden bands circled his wrists.

"You-- you used to be bigger, didn't you?" Genis moved closer; the Destroyer didn't seem to fully realize that he and Carol were even there.

"Yeah-- last I saw of him, he was as big as the Hulk," Carol stated. "And had very little in the way of intelligence."

"I do not believe that is the case any longer," Drax whispered hoarsely.

Mouths hanging open, Genis and Carol gasped yet again.



Hercules stopped himself in mid-gulp, and slowly set the large mug of beer back down on the bar. He stared straight ahead, unblinking, unmoving, for a long moment.

"Hey, Herky, what's wrong?"

The big Greek god slowly came back to his senses, and shook his head to clear it.

"Herk? You okay?"

"Wha-? Ah, yes, Amber. I am... fine..."

The scantily-clad woman frowned at him, tossing her long, red hair back over her shoulder. "Okay... But you really seemed to be gone there for a minute."

"Gone? Er..." Hercules blinked, considering the girl's words. "Yes, there was something, but..." He stroked his beard. "I cannot seem to recall..." Then he shrugged and grinned wide. "Ah, no matter. Tonight is not for such concerns. Tonight is for revelry, eh, Tawny?"

The blonde on his other arm giggled and nodded happily. "Sure, Herky!"

Lifting his mug again, Hercules beamed. "Verily!"



"All goes according to plan, sire," the Kree officer reported. "My fleet has taken up position just beyond Neptune. The Skrull and Badoon fleets are positioned just across the solar system."

"Excellent. Thank you, Admiral Mek-Kwade."

The Kree officer saluted and stepped down from the dais. Before rounding the corner, he glanced back momentarily at the figure who stood in the center of the flagship's bridge. A feeling of devotion, of awe, washed over him. How much better, he thought to himself, to follow this great leader, than the weak and spineless Kree political leaders who had only brought his people to grief. How much better to work WITH their old foes, the Skrulls, and so many others, than to struggle in futile wars against them? And soon, with the TRUE enemies of the universe eliminated, the rest of the Kree and Skrull populations, and the Shi'ar and all the others, would fall into their camp. They would rule the universe! And the Terrans would be dead at last-- all of them.

But the leader was speaking now, and Admiral Mek-Kwade strained to hear his words before the turbolift doors slid closed:

"Titan shall be the first to fall," he cried.

The others on the bridge roared in approval.

"Then-- Onward! To Earth! To VICTORY!"

Go to Chapter Three