The black hole that was
Galactus continues to engulf worlds; the latest victim is the planet Krystilla.
The citizens panic. A lone scientist places his infant son in a small ship and
launches it toward Earth. The planet is destroyed and the tiny escape ship
smashes into a Rigellian cruiser and is destroyed. The Rigellians hear the
noise and dismiss it as space debris and resume scanning the black hole….
In the hospital on
Wilamean, a sexy nurse asks Skyppi the Skrull why he is constantly flipping
through his holo-tablet. Skyppi explains the Skrulls’ final rite of passage:
when dying, a Skrull can take a drug that causes a permanent shape shift into
an inanimate object of its choosing; Skyppi is just going over a multitude of
options. Then the critically injured Hercules is brought in and Skyppi is
shocked. Juno relates to the Skrull Herc’s apocalyptic defeat of the new Silver
Surfer and now it seems he may never recover….
Recorder 417 brings word
to the Emperor Arimathes that its masters, the Colonizers of Rigel, are about
to arrive. A panicked Prime Minister Spincor dashes in, followed by the
Rigellians who terrify the locals by being impossibly tall and thin. They
reveal that they have merged their bodies with their android Recorders. Getting
down to business, they announce they have convened an emergency meeting of
other space-faring races to consider their options….
Macie Malaprop hosts a
political debate on television between reactionary Rowl Lemblatt and former
ambassador to Krystilla, J.A. Skelter about the coming crisis and Hercules’
medical issues. Lemblatt’s conspiracy theories provoke anger and then violence
from Skelter, who kicks Lemblatt in the head and stomps on him. Malaprop cuts to
a commercial….
Back in the hospital,
Skyppi suddenly has an idea and asks the nurse to get him an audience with
Emperor Arimathes. The nurse responds with ridicule of the idea and mocks his
pretensions—and his health. So Skyppi punches her in the head, takes her form,
and departs….
The interplanetary
conference convenes, representatives of a multitude of concerned planets
present, plus a Watcher to observe. The delegates, including members of every
race known to Marvel and some new ones, begin making demands of the Emperor to
grant them exorbitant favors, including enslaved citizens, in exchange for
their help. Arimathes rebels against this extortion. The Watcher steps outside
with Recorder-417 and other androids and they witness the arrival of a bomb
from the terrorist Succession Alliance which destroys all the alien ships in
orbit, stranding the delegates on Wilamean. Meanwhile, the Galactus threat
grows closer….
Hercules enters the
conference room, requesting an audience with the Emperor; everyone is stunned
at Herc’s good health and aura of authority. Then “Herc” reveals to Arimathes
that he is really Skyppi, standing in for the injured hero. “Hercules”
broadcasts a message to the Wilamean system, calling on the populace not to
panic but that the Emperor and the delegates have the matter under control.
Skyppi’s poor attempts to mimic Herc’s speaking style cause some confusion but
in the end, everyone is reassured. Then Dr. Bophish enters, announcing he may
have a solution: he has devised a white hole to counteract the effects of a
black hole. The big problem is delivery as the black hole would destroy any
conventional vehicle trying to enter and, even if one could, the hole would
kill any mortal who made it inside. Skyppi starts to feel ill and must be
hastened from the room. The delegates start debating whether they should try to
rescue Galactus or destroy him; tempers run high. Arimathes makes the decision
to proceed with the creation of the white hole device after which they will
work out the delivery problem….
Back in his hospital
bed, Skyppi expresses his gratitude for Juno’s friendship—then demands that
Hercules be revived as he is the only one who could deliver the while hole bomb
and save the universe….