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UNTOLD TALES OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
*DECLARATION:* If you missed last issue, then hang on, because there is no time to catch up now! All will become apparent as we go, in a tale entitled: CELESTIAL CONFLAGRATION!! 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!
******* NEXT ISSUE: IRON MAN and JACK OF HEARTS! |