Annihilation (2006 series) #4

It's now Annihilation Day +218, 6 days after the defeat of the United Front in #2-3. Drax The Destroyer slipped away from the others then and is now on Caul 7 in the remains of the Skrull Empire doing what he does best, killing Negative Zone insectoids on his way to killing Thanos. His thoughts remind us that he was resurrected on Titan as Drax specifically with that task and he believes he's the only 1 with the power to achieve it. He joined in the war against the Annihilation Wave hoping it would lead him to the Mad Titan, but now that the war is lost he'll just do the job alone. 1 of the people he left behind was his young Earth female companion Cammi. He knows that *she* knew what he was really doing, but this way she gets to live while he'll probably not survive his quest. But he does miss her, strangely much more than his daughter Heather that Thanos took from him. This section ends with him stealing an insectoid spaceship and leaving Caul 7.

A-Day+220 sees Uruma Minor in the Kree Empire being devoured by Galactus. The surface of the planet is initially 'cauterised' before the whole mass is converted to cosmic energy which Big G consumes. But we see that the Devourer is a prisoner of Annihilus and Thanos attached to the outside of their spacecraft, and the Titan has used G's own tech to divert that energy, leaving Galactus a mere trickle to keep him barely alive. However Annihilus isn't happy about that because he wants *all* of the Power Cosmic. Thanos points out that the process won't work without Big G, but the Lord of the Neg Zone demands that he fix that flaw. Thanos says it's impossible but the Death That Walks isn't used to being frustrated. However he flies off to do other important stuff.

Drax' daughter Moondragon is with the Titan, as is *his* little female companion sitting on his shoulder, the Chaos Sprite Skreet. Moondragon is infected with little NZ parasites under her skin which stop her rebelling against her captors. She asks him why he consents to be Annihilus' lackey, which is how her telepathy tells her that the Bug Lord thinks of him. T professes not to care what A thinks and ignores her when she asks what he gains from the alliance. But he burns the flesh off 1 of her arms, killing the parasites there but causing her extreme pain. He tells some insect drones to ease her pain and then bring her to his quarters.

Meanwhile Nova (Richard Rider) and Peter Quill (ex-Star-Lord) are onboard an escape craft which is now orbiting Earth. Nova has given up command of the United Front and is about to leave on his suicide mission to kill Annihilus before the Wave reaches the Solar System. Peter tries to talk Richie out of it because the Fantastic Four and the Avengers will beat Annihilus like they always have. Rider points out that the heroes are too busy fighting each other down there in a Superhero Civil War. Quill gives in but says he's coming with him, and since Nova's no longer in charge he can't stop him. And anyway he wants to be there when Richard dies so he can say "I told you so".

Drax has reached the command ship of Eradica who claims to be the most beloved of Annihilus' 3 queens. He's wading through an insect horde to get to her throne, and finally walks up her huge body and stabs both of his knives into her brain and then pulls out her heart. As expected the insect forces collapse in disarray after the loss of their hive mind. (Firelord had shown what happens when he killed Extirpia in #1.) Now he takes control of Eradica's flagship and heads directly for Annihilus & Thanos.

It turns out that Thanos only captured Moondragon so she could read the mind of Annihilus for him. Now her damaged arm is sheathed in metal(?) and she claims that the Bug Lord's mind is too alien to be properly read. Only impressions can be gained, and her impression is that this war isn't about conquest. Thanos gets her to confirm that given the opportunity she'd kill him and then says he's going to give her such an opportunity. He wants her to let *him* see into Annihilus' mind. She does so and he sees that the Lord of the Neg Zone feels threatened by *all* other life. His own Cosmic Control Rod at his throat grants him eternal life but he can still be killed. He intends to use Galactus to destroy all life in the 'positive' universe. But destroy all other life in the Neg Zone too, so that *he* will remain alone and safely ruler of everything.

Thanos has seen enough and calls an end to the telepathic sharing. Moondragon comments that she discovered in his mind that he set it up that only *he* can free Galactus, for his own reasons. The Titan now sees the truth but he still doesn't let MD say that he should have suspected from the name Annihilus alone without punishing her. However he swears that the Bug Lord will *not* succeed. She asks again why he entered the alliance and he replies that he was bored with the same old games and wanted to change the board to see what would happen.

Meanwhile Nova and a space-suited Quill have arrived with Phyla-Vell and space-suited Cammi at the ruins of Xandar, HQ of the Nova Corps that was destroyed on A-Day+7 (in this event's Prologue). (Somehow a spacecraft got them there from Earth within the same day (A-Day+220).) Gamora is still in the ship and Peter invites her to join them but she says they've already got 1 too many. Cammi and Phyla each suggest she means the other 1. The ship leaves and Cammi asks how *they* are going to get where they want to go. Quill questions why they're starting from *here* and Rider says it's because this is where the battle started for *him*. Phyla picks up Cammi's point and says that she and Nova can traverse space under their own power but the other 2 can't. Nova pulls out some teleportation devices from his rucksack. They're not as good as the teleportation Thanos supplied to Annihilus' forces. They have limited range and only a 60% success rate. Nobody likes the odds but Cammi's in because she thinks Drax will be where they're going. However Nova just hands out devices to the other 2 and they leave the sub-teen stranded there.

Now Thanos and Skreet have fought their way to the controls of the Galactus feeding system. Moondragon is with them. He intends to release Big G and then teleport them away from his anger. However MD's parasites make her attack him to stop him. But he forces the bugs out of her body, very painful to her, and she's cured. And then he senses the approach of his nemesis the Destroyer. Drax in Eradica's flagship enters from hyperspace and barges through the surrounding fleet to get to Annihilus' base where he too can sense his target. Thanos tells MD that she must hold her 'father' off until he's completed the release sequence. She sees Drax battling through a mob of insectoid warriors. But he makes it and smashes through an internal window to get to the control room. She tries to warn him off then uses mental blasts but he stuns her with the hilt of a thrown dagger. He then approaches Thanos with his 2 daggers drawn but the Titan's forcefield breaks 1 of them. Drax starts to rip the field apart with his bare hands and Thanos sees the figure of Death as a young girl in black. And Drax punches through his chest from behind, his fist emerging holding his heart. Drax says he's at last done what he was created to do, but his daughter tells him he's doomed 2 universes.