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Ja’Vok I know your pain. In our world we were once ruled by a tyrant. An evil by the name of Ultron who destroyed all our world’s heroes. He ruled with an iron fist and it took the combined might of me and my friends to take him down. We were barely teenagers. And yet we made it work. This is a winnable battle, it’s been thousands of years but that doesn’t mean this won’t pay off.
Appearing in "Annihilus Part 3"Edit
Featured Characters:
- Yellowjacket (Henry Pym, Jr.)
- Torunn Thorsdóttir
- Human Torch (Jim Hammond)
- Valeria Richards
- Ironheart (Riri Williams)
Antagonists:
Supporting Characters:
- Darkfire (Ja'Vok Sier) (First Appearance)
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-3116
- Negative Zone
- Nine Realms (Mentioned)
Items:
Synopsis for "Annihilus Part 3"Edit
The story starts with Torunn, Pym, Riri, Jim, and Valeria the moment they portalized into the Negative Zone.
We immediately begin to see Torunn's POV. The trip in Torunn’s opinion was a little underwhelming. Aside from the feeling of some sort of intense pull on her body as they went to this new Universe, it was fine. Quick and easy even.
Still before even assessing the new place they found themselves in, Torunn looked to her teammates and friends. She looked over Pym first but the silent communication they had with their eyes told her that he was just fine. Riri was next, and it seemed she seemed a little woozy but was already doing her best to scan through whatever her eyes saw trying her best to give them an edge in this unfamiliar Zone.
She found herself looking at Jim and Valeria, but she then looked away shortly as the two were fine and also obviously discussing something meant to be private. But now that she knew her journey mates were just fine, she took a look and began to analyze the area around her.
Honestly going to what seemed like a new Universe or “new realm” seemed more accurate to her, she expected it to be…different. Like Asgard. The first time she had gone to Asgard…or more accurately the first time she remembered going to Asgard had been after Ultron. Her father had insisted that doors were always open and of course she had really wanted to go, but she couldn’t leave so soon knowing there was so much to do.
Eventually however when things really did settle down, and she did go to Asgard, It was everything she had ever dreamed of. It was like straight out of some fantasy land. Especially because at the time Earth was not in good shape. But Asgard with its Rainbow Bridge, golden buildings and palace that seemed to be larger than life. It was amazing.
The other realms Alfheim, Nidavellir, Nornheim, and Jotunheim, heck she had heard that even Svartalfheim (Realm of the Dark Elves) was beautiful, at least it was once upon a time. All the realms were unique in their own way and that made them that much more fun to explore.
Now she knew this mission to the Negative Zone wasn’t about fun, but she had been interested to see what this realm would look like. She really hadn’t been expecting it to look well...like earth.
Aside from the evening sky which was admittedly like nothing she had ever seen before (The sky was a dark blue colour with flecks of muted greens, oranges, and pinks in it) Everything looked for the most part earth-like.
They had portalized and ended up in front of a coliseum-like building. The structure’s wear and tear was obvious with cracks around it and obvious degradation in terms of quality. But it was still a wonderful structure.
The coliseum also made it quite obvious that they were in the right place. In the middle of the coliseum was a statue of the creature that Valeria and Jim had shown them, or at least a statue of someone who looked very similar to that creature. Either way it was confirmation that they had made it to the Zone.
Not too far from the coliseum were a couple of normal establishments that you would see around a city. The most common were food places and maybe housing? She couldn’t really tell. But hopefully Jim and Valeria would be able to do that for them.
“So then. Where did you two head from here?” Torunn questioned the duo. The pair shared a look with each before looking around and then looking back to Torunn.
“This isn’t where we were last time...Honestly this doesn’t really look like the same planet.” Valeria eventually answered
“Not even the same planet?” Riri repeated, clearly not understanding how they could have messed that up that badly.
“Let me guess. You can’t actually control where we end up when we jump, right?” Pym questioned, and Valeria nodded. Pym simply sighed “You know I was wondering about that. Honestly I was wondering a lot about this entire Negative Zone thing, and we probably should have asked more questions...whatever, I guess as long as this is the last surprise.”
Valeria didn’t respond though it was obvious that she was somewhat embarrassed and so Torunn simply moved the conversation along. “Riri, have you been able to find out where we are yet?”
“Not exactly. There hasn’t been any databases for my suit to engage with, and no signs with city names or anything. Just a couple of street names and things of that nature. But I’m still unravelling things as best as I can. It’s gonna be a little while before I can probably get the information needed. And that’s if they are even that advanced yet.”
“That is fine. I’m sure you will make headway soon enough. But for now we will observe. If we aren’t certain about the technological capabilities of the world, then we will get as much as we can from the locals.”
“Got a place in mind?” Pym asked, as he had been scanning the place as well the moment they arrived and had come to the conclusion long ago that they would need to talk to the locals if they were going to learn anything of importance.
“The one called Meals.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Pym muttered and ducked out of the way of Torunn’s shove when it came around.
“Any objections, Jim what do you think?” Torunn directed to the War Veteran. He seemed to take a moment to decide what was best.
“Last time Valeria and I didn’t go far, we had simply walked around before getting found by the creature. Maybe going to one of the establishments will be better. They don't seem as hostile as last time. Still I’d say we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves unless we feel it’s necessary.”
With this the Heroes decide to go the eatery where they meet locals who are much friendlier than the ones Jim and Valeria met the first time they came to the Negative Zone. And despite not looking similar to them the blended in just fine.
The heroes began to talk and debate certain things before asking the waiter where they were, and he told them that they were on Argor. After the waiter Sal left the team talked some more and decided to ask Sal more questions when he came around again.
When the waiter returned Valeria showed him a picture of Annihilus and asked him if he knew who he was, and the reaction wasn't something they were really expecting. The man squinted before taking the photo in his hands and examining it more thoroughly it only took a couple of seconds for recognition to light up in his eyes, and after that it was fear, palpable fear, but that was brief as anger began to take over and threw the picture back at them though it simply flittered through the air.
“Is this some kind of joke?” He growled slowly. They had already garnered some extra attention when he threw the photo, but now it seemed all eyes were on them as everything came to standstill.
“I wish it was.” Torunn jumped in “We need to know. Who is that? What do you know about it?” Torunn’s fierce look conveyed the genuinity needed, as the man only held his glare for so long before letting out an angered sigh.
“It’s not an it. It’s a he. Annihilus. He’s quite famous around these parts.” As his name was mentioned somehow the mood plummeted even further and that made the heroes want to know more.
How are you in the Negative Zone, and yet you don’t know who Annihilus is?” One random local questioned, and immediately the rest around the bar murmured in agreement, and it seemed to make them suspicious.
“We aren’t from around here. Until five minutes ago we didn’t even know what planet we were on.” Pym explained to them, but that was as much as they were going to get.
“And so how do you know who Annihilus is?”
“Because he attacked my friends.” Torunn pointed at Jim and Valeria “They had traversed your Negative Zone before, and were abruptly attacked by your Annihilus. We’ve come to find out why.”
That seemed to cause more murmurs “Attacked by Annihilus?”
“They survived an attack?” More continued to whisper. But the conversation was steered back on by the waiter.
“Annihilus he’s...He’s the Lord of the Negative Zone. The ruler if you will, especially around these parts.”
“So...you are all loyal to him?” Riri questioned, now just a little wary of what they might have gotten themselves into.
One customer insisted it wasn't willingly and chorus of others chimed in with similar sentiments.
“Yes we are loyal to Annihilus.” The waiter insisted, though he didn’t look happy about it, “Anyone with a brain would be. He’s conquered half the Negative Zone.”
“How does one manage anything in this world? Power.” The waiter explained simply “Annihilus is stronger than everyone else, He’s smarter than everyone else he’s-
“He’s immortal!” Another added. “He’s got an army, a really big one!” One joined in soon after.
“He’s destroyed planets with just a finger!”
And soon the place became rowdy once more as everyone chipped in and described the All-Powerful, immortal God with an army that could fill 12 planets. It was daunting but clearly wasn’t all truth.
“I’m assuming that most of that is a myth?” Torunn assumed
“Most of it...He might be immortal. I don’t know. And his army is large, he’s conquered most of us for a reason. Can he destroy planets with a finger? I’ve never seen him do it...And I’ve seen him do a lot of things.” There was a deep sadness when he said that last statement, one that Torunn instantly aligned with Ultron survivors. It seemed all tyrants were the same.
“Could you-
“Look, the more we talk about Annihilus, the worse things get in my Bar. You aren’t from here, I get that. You're not even from Argor, but you're making this a rowdy depressed night, with all your talk of Annihilus. If you want to learn that’s fine but you can’t do it here, now go.” He interrupted
“But how will we-
“We aren’t the best people you want to be talking to if you want to learn about Annihilus. There’s a man, a...hero of sorts, who stays in Argor. He comes here every once and a while, does his thing. But when he’s not here he’s usually stationed at the Central Transmission Center fighting off any Arthrosians, Annihilus might send to deal with him. It’s a couple blocks up north and you won’t be able to miss him.”
“I have no clue who you strangers are, but if you truly did survive a fight with Annihius you should be fine. But Sm’Plx is right. This isn’t a game, and those Arthrosians won’t hesitate to kill you. You're better off being like the rest of us and letting Annihilus be. You survived and you should be thankful for that.”
“Thank you for your counsel. But we can not ignore Annihilus, he attacked our home, and we can’t chance him doing anything else.” Torunn explained
“Well then have fun.” Sal said with a sigh before walking off. The heroes took one last look around the Bar before taking their leave from the eatery. The only thing they could do now was head uptown.
“An All-Powerful, Immortal, Lord of the Negative Zone…” Riri started with a sigh “Why can’t things ever be easy.”
“Like Sal said, the chances of half of those things being true is slim. This is exactly how people used to be during Ultron’s reign. For years the idea of him actually being taken down was a foreign thought, one no one allowed themselves to have. And eventually we did it. This might not be as bad as it seems.”
“The man did say the thing about his army was true...And I’ve fought him. There is a good chance he was hiding his power. But you are right. Earth is resilient and if it comes to it, I believe we can beat this Annihilus.”
“Yeah sure but...at what cost?” Riri questioned, it went unsaid that yeah they could beat Annihilus but if they did what would the world look like afterwards? They just couldn’t risk it.
“We know the stakes Riri, and that’s why we are going to do our best to stop this before it can get much further. We can’t lose our hope. Things are nowhere near dire yet.” Torunn insisted
“You're right, sorry.”
“I believe that if this Transmission Center is how it sounds, then you may be able to connect your suit to the database.” Valeria pointed out
“Even better reason for us to get there as fast as possible.” Torunn added
“We should remember to stay on guard the entire time. If those Arthrosians are anything like Annihilus. This won’t be an easy fight.” Jim insisted
“Right.” Torunn nodded, and that was the last thing said before quiet settled over the group. They continued the trek uptown and watched as the Planet lost it’s gothic style buildings and became something straight out of a cyberpunk future. And Sal had also been correct about everything being very obvious.
The one they could only assume was Darkfire was blasting his way through a squadron of green creatures with an insectoid-like appearance. They were like, less evolved versions of Annihilus.
There was many of these insectoids ganging up on Darkfire and so Torunn quickly made the decision to help him out. “Torch, you should stay by Val, anything that leaks out you fight it. Yellowjacket, Ironheart, you're with me. Let’s help out Darkfire.” Torunn ordered
“Right.” Ironheart said and Pym simply nodded and the three flying heroes took off ready to help Darkfire out. Torunn was the first to attack, even in the Negative Zone her lightning was potent and she let loose a barrage of it and took out a horde of the Arthrosians that immediately got Darkfire’s attention.
Before the Arthrosis could really even react Riri had sent dozens of missiles, repulsor blasts, and lasers straight through the Arthrosian army and quickly the numbers that had looked insurmountable for one man, was looking good for the new group. Pym was more lowkey with attacks, he had shrunk down in size a long while ago and had been blasting his wasp blasts through as many Arthrosians he could. And they still hadn’t noticed him yet.
“Who are you all?” Darkfire questioned, wonder gleaming in his eyes as he watched Torunn cut through the Arthrosian army with a skill that was evident even with all those around her.
“I am Torunn Thorsdottir of Asgard.”
“I’ve never heard of it.” Darkfire admitted before spinning around and punching straight an Arthrosian that had to have been 10 ft tall and as wide as a mountain.
“You wouldn’t have.” Riri chimed in “I’m Ironheart. We are from Earth. A planet well...very far from this one.”
“We’ve come to lend you aid. And we hoped that you would be able to answer some of our questions.”
“Alright.” He responded after some slight hesitation. “Let’s deal with these beasts first.”
“Sounds good to me.” Torunn nodded. She released a blast of lightning at the same time Darkfire shot out a large blast of energy bolts and it ended up decimating most of the army. With Riri flying around destroying everything she met, and Pym wrecking havoc, it wasn’t long before their skyfight was finished. When the fight finished the heroes began chatting as Darkfire asked what they wanted.
“What did you want to talk about? Who are you people?” Darkfire asked again.
“As I said before I am Torunn of Asgard. This is Riri, Pym, Jim, and Valeria. We are from a world far, far away from this one. We’ve come to the Negative Zone because Annihilus recently attempted to kill some of us and sent a robot back to kill us on our planet.”
“What’s the name of your planet?”
“Earth.
“I’ve never heard of it...You truly aren’t from the Negative Zone?” Darkfire asked, curiosity radiating in his eyes
“No we aren’t. We are simply trying to protect our world. From Annihilus' possible threat.”
“Oh I can assure you if he went out of his way to send a robot to your planet his threat level is very real. He doesn’t just do that. If you're not from the Negative Zone then how did you even get here?”
“I thought that the Negative Zone might be interesting to study.” Valeria spoke up for the first time in a long time. “It was...more than I was expecting.”
“Huh no one should ever want to voluntarily come to the Negative Zone. Ever. This place is a swirl of death and destruction. Everyone wants to be king, to rule. No one seems to care for peace. They're selfish, and want what’s best for them.”
“How long have you been dealing with Annihilus?” Pym asked
“My entire existence…thousands of years.” Darkfire told them, and that had to be the most shocking thing of the day. The man didn’t look a day over 25. And yet here he was telling them he was thousands of years old at the minimum.
“Would you...Would you mind telling us some things?”
“Sure,” He sighed, “I don’t see why not. My real name is Ja’Vok Sier. I am an Argorian, obviously from this planet Argor. From the moment of my birth until now Annihilus has ruled over almost everything in the Negative Zone. And from what I’ve heard he ruled over most of it even before I was alive.”
“My story is a simple one, with a little luck, it’s the same you would hear from most if you went around the Sector’s in the Negative Zone. My race, the Argorians, was a highly technological and intelligent race. They created a lot of the beautiful structures you see here today. They, like most, were never initially allied with Annihilus. But like most they were not given the choice.”
“They did a decent job of fighting back. Stopping Annihilus from conquering the planet but it hardly lasted. They found out Annihilus' true power. And he wiped them all out in an instant. Leaving me as the last Argorian alive. And even then, that was an oversight.”
“Excuse me for interrupting. But I assumed the purple men were Argorians.” Riri told Ja’Vok.
“You are half correct. This planet has always been native to two species. The Argorians. Pink fully humanoid people like me. Then there were the Argorans. The peaceful semi-humanoid people you see today. They lived in tandem. But the Argorans were seen as less of a threat and so they were mostly spared as they were not the ones attacking Annihilus.”
“Were all your people as powerful as you?”
“Not remotely. I’m the only person to ever have this sort of power. And even then most...even I do not know how I came to possess it. You see I’m the only surviving Argorian because when I was 11 years old, I was kidnapped, my parents were something of...Argor royalty. Kidnapping should have been much harder than it was but with Annihilus taking down Argor it went nearly unnoticed. I was held hostage and tested on for 13 years. These powers I have now are as a result of that.”
“What did you do when you escaped?”
“I went to Argor, ready to meet my family. I wasn’t even angry at my family for my kidnapping. I knew there wasn’t much anyone could have. Of course every Argorian was dead. The others in Argor attempted to comfort me but the only comfort I could have would be in killing Annihilus. I met him on his planet. Arthros. I caught him off guard as he didn’t think any Argorians were alive, nor did he realize I had powers. For a moment, I thought I had defeated him. That was not the case. He beat me within an inch of my life and I survived solely because of my speed flying away. To this day he tries to kill me, and I haven't gone back to Arthros since.”
The place was quiet for a while as everyone took in the man’s story. Pym and Torunn shared a quick look as they both understood perfectly what the man had gone through. They hadn’t been kidnapped but they had dealt with a tyrant. And they understood the confidence and hope needed to believe that you could actually pull it off. With that look shared, Torunn turned to Ja’Vok and began to speak.
“Ja’Vok I know your pain. In our world we were once ruled by a tyrant. An evil by the name of Ultron who destroyed all our world’s heroes. He ruled with an iron fist and it took the combined might of me and my friends to take him down. We were barely teenagers. And yet we made it work. This is a winnable battle, it’s been thousands of years but that doesn’t mean this won’t pay off.”
“Your tyrant must not have been as strong as ours.” Ja’Vok said with some disdain “Tell me something, what do you actually know about Annihilus.”
“That he’s supposedly some sort of All-Powerful, Immortal, Conquering Lord of the Negative Zone?” Pym quickly provided
“Oh and supposedly his army could fill up to 12 planets.” Riri added on
“He wasn’t born with Immortality. He wasn’t born with half of his abilities. The rod you see around his neck is pure cosmic energy that he wields. It allows him to do anything and makes him impossibly strong. And as long as he has the Rod then he will live as long as possible. His army could probably fill up more than 12 planets. Now if you tell me your tyrant was as strong as that then I might be inclined to help you.”
“His army was robotic and endless. It was only a few months ago after 13 years that most of his army was finally defeated. I understand that it must feel impossible buy Ja’Vok you are one man. My friends and I can help you. We are way more than just this. And my friends are stronger than normal as well.”
He paused for a moment contemplating most of her words but he wasn’t convinced yet “I haven’t been back to Arthros in hundreds of years…”
“We just need your help getting there. I don’t believe we can make it without you. I won’t ask you to fight him or anything. But at the moment the Negative Zone is unfamiliar terrain. But we must find out what Annihilus is planning to do to our planet, you must understand.”
Ja’Vok looked annoyed but clearly he felt compelled enough because eventually he cursed and looked to the other heroes with a resolve they had only seen when he was fighting “Alright, if we're going to Arthros we're going to need a ship.”
After this story jumps to SECTOR 47-D of the Negative Zone to the Planet Krysok. A day later.
“How many more jumps?” Pym called to Darkfire who was piloting the ship. It had been a wild 24 hours.
After Darkfire told them they needed a ship they had stolen one, which all in all had taken over 9 hours to do. Thankfully they had managed to steal the ship and Riri had managed to get into the database of Argor. Because of that they finally had their own mostly unbiased source of information about the Negative Zone.
Because while Sal didn’t seem like a bad guy and Ja’Vok was helping them, there still wasn’t anyone they could wholeheartedly trust. And Torunn and Pym had made sure to remind each other that in private. Especially after what Sal had said.
“How much further until the next jump zone?” Jim questioned.
“I’d say about three sector’s. By the time we get to Sector 44, we should be able to Jump to Sector 41. It’s going to take a couple more hours though, so buckle up.”
After this story jumps to Planet Tarsuu in SECTOR 41-E and another day has passed though this time the heroes find themselves in slight trouble.
“Alright, WHO THE #*%$ ARE THESE GUYS!?!?!” Pym yelled as he dodged a blast of energy only to be met with the furious fist of some bearded lady brute who was hellbent on tearing him in half. The only thing that prevented it was his timely shrinking to avoid her at the last moment.
“Uhhhh, the database says these guys are called the Baluurans, the race of a planet called Baluur in Sector 56-D! They are a long way from home but that’s common. Lot’s of them are basically space pirates. Very strong, very resilient space pirates!” As she said this she smacked with a blast of energy and then punched into the ground by a couple Baluurans.
It was only Jim’s timely intervention that allowed her to avoid demise, but her suit was definitely showing signs of struggle.
The Baluurans were beginning to surround Jim and Riri who was trying to switch out her arc reactor, and Torunn sent a wave of lightning that gave them a break and allowed all of them to group up. All but two of their members.
“Where the hell is Valeria, and where did Darkfire disappear to!?!” Jim demanded, no doubt worried for his ward.
“Valeria is fine, I’m sure of it.” Pym insisted “I saw her working on a Baluuran ship for some data. Maybe we can learn more about these guys. If you want to go check on her she’s behind-”
“He didn’t even get to finish his sentence and Jim was off looking to find Valeria in this mess of a planet.
“It seems another wave is coming. We need to get to the Jump Zone and we have to be on our ship, where is Ja’Vok?”
“Who knows. All I know is that we need an edge Pym. We have to trust that Darkfire has simply run into complications. I want you to go Giant.” Torunn told the boy. As she did this her own eyes began to turn lightning blue and lightning flickered back from her hand to her sword
“I don’t know how long we are going to have to do this. But unless we feel like death is imminent. We aren’t leaving.” Torunn insisted, and Yellowjacket nodded right back. Riri had finally replaced her arc reactor and stood with the other two as a horde of Baluurans headed there way
Torunn met them first, her Asgardian physiology allowing her to fight for hours without tiring and her strength hadn’t wavered yet. Pym had gone Giant and began using the cheat code to the best of his ability. Eventually he knew people would figure out to aim for softer spots that were now large targets. Like his heart or his tendons. It would take a lot to damage them but with their weaponry and drive he had no doubt at this rate it would eventually happen.
Riri had managed to switch Arc reactors and now most of her suit was once again functional but she was still injured inside of the suit but it seemed she would just have to power through.
The three heroes fought for 20 minutes before Jim returned with Valeria who was in a pod taking down enemy ships. It was another 15 minutes before Ja’Vok returned with their ship mostly unharmed whereas the rest of them were nursing very bad battle scars.
When they did get on the ship no one said a word, the group of earthlings only began to nurse each other back to health. It seemed even Ja’Vok knew that his words would mean nothing to the group.
The last scene happens in Sector 33-B and another day has passed though this time the group finds them selves on Planet Kiulara dealing with another issue.
It’s always gotta be something doesn’t it?” Riri said with an angered growl. At the moment the group of six were stuck on the planet Kiulara as the ship had suddenly broken down. Of course Riri, Valeria, and Pym got to working on it immediately but then they were attacked this time by natives that even Ja’Vok hadn’t seemed aware of.
Pym left Riri and Valeria to continue working on the ship whilst the rest went to go fight. They were lucky these guys weren’t nearly as strong as the Baluurans but it was getting clear, making it to Arthros was not going to be easy. Not if the Negative Zone had anything to say about it. After this the issue ends.
NotesEdit
In this issue Torunn, Pym, Riri, Jim and Valeria discuss how they all understand everyone in the Negative Zone since it's unlikely they speak English. they come to the Conclusion that some Magic must be in play.
- It's not explicitly said in the summary, but the reason why they are jumping Planet to Planet is because it's the fastest way to get to Arthros. They talk about Jump Zones as those allow them to get to different Sectors faster.
- Riri in this issue connects herself to a Argorian database allowing the team to get information on the Negative Zone from an unbiased source.
TriviaEdit
- No trivia.
See AlsoEdit
Recommended ReadingEdit
- None.
Links and ReferencesEdit
- None.