Annihilation (2006 series) #6

Last issue Drax freed Galactus and Silver Surfer from their captivity under Annihilus where Big G was acting as a Power Cosmic battery. Now they begin to lay waste to the Annihilation Wave forces in the Kree Empire. Drax protests that G promised to protect his daughter Moondragon. G obviously hears because the pair suddenly find themselves on a distant safe planet. Annihilus of course is far from happy.

Nova (Richard Rider), Peter Quill (ex-Star-Lord) and Phyla-Vell have teleported into a nearby spacecraft and are preparing for a last jump to take them to their target Annihilus. Nova needs 8 minutes to get it ready but Quill suggests they don't have that much time because Galactus' destruction is happening behind them. Surfer shows the Lord Of The Negative Zone some things that are happening. We see his remaining insectoid queen Extermina. We see Gamora and her 2 surviving Graces Cerise and Nebula. We see a Watcher being destroyed.

On the Kree city-planet Hala we see an Annihilation Wave fleet led by Ravenous bombarding it from orbit, but he hears reports of Galactus destroying most of the Wave and disrupting the lines that keep the Wave supplied. On the surface Ronan hears of it too and decides now is the time to counterattack. And we see whole blocks of the 'city' rising into space against the enemy. And Ronan leads them to victory.

Annihilus' flagship is destroyed but he still lives, kept alive by his Cosmic Control Rod and the Quantum Bands he stole from dead Quasar (at the end of the Annihilation: Nova mini-series). But our trio appear on a chink of debris near him. However Nova creates a force bubble to contain the other 2 and flies to attack the foe by himself, as Peter figured he would. They battle mightily and the advantage goes 1 way and then the other. But eventually the Living Death That Walks has Nova beaten. However Phyla pushes through the force barrier to hit the Bug-Lord from behind. She grasps the Quantum Bands on his wrists but can't dislodge them. He throws her off ... but the Bands leave him to settle on her wrists. She tells him that her contact with them gave them a choice and they rejected his evil. Now she uses them to blast Annihilus, but he still has his CCR to repel her with. However Nova has recovered and attacks him again, and shoves his hand down his throat and rips out his spine(?) in revenge for the destruction of the Nova Corps (in Anni:Prologue). Annihilus lies dead and Richard collapses on top of him. The last thing he sees is Death accompanied by Thanos (who Drax killed in #4).

All that was still on Annihilation Day + 222. Much later (A-Day + 268) an armistice is agreed between the Kree and the remains of the Wave now led by Ravenous. It turns out Richard Rider survived but severely injured. He's still in a hospital bed and being given the news by Peter Quill. Ronan retains the homeworld Hala but Ravenous has been given some Kree territory including the ex-capital Kree-Lar. Galactus and his restored Herald Surfer (in the Anni:SS mini-series) have gone their planet-devouring way. Of the other ex-Heralds:- Red Shift and Stardust are KIA and Terrax is MIA, and Firelord is hunting down Annihilus' Centurions. Of other chars:- Drax, Super-Skrull and Praxagora plus Blastaar and his Spaceknights are unaccounted for. Moondragon is back with Phyla-Vell who's thinking of replacing Quasar as Protector Of The Universe. He doesn't know where Cammi is but Gamora says she took her some where safe, and we see her teamed-up with Thanos' pal the little Chaos Sprite Skreet. And Peter thinks Richie should restart the Nova Corps.

On Armistice Day + 9 we see Ravenous overseeing a birth from Extermina(?). The mother dies but the egg-sac contains the reborn Lord Annihilus.