(Tarnax VII, many months ago)
Xavin continues his training under the tuition of Commander Chrell. Xavin is under pressure and sweats profusely. Chrell says, "He loves you, Xavin, but you will fail him." He adds that he will fail the Skrull Empire. He will die and his loved ones will die because of him. He tells Xavin to try again. The young Skrull leaps into the air, forming his fist into that resembling the Thing's. As he punches, Chrell moves and Xavin's fist shatters the ground underneath. "Too slow, my pupil," gloats Chrell. Xavin immediately creates a flame from the same fist and unleashes it at his teacher. Chrell is far too experienced to get caught out by that maneuver, and he reminds Xavin that his mind is his weapon. He should use it to out-think his opponent. He should win the battle before it starts.
Xavin forms an invisible hammer, utilizing yet another of the Fantastic Four's powers. He brings it down hard at Chrell, but his teacher blocks the attack with his staff. "No... that's not possible," gasps the young prince. Chrell replies that, even if he hadn't taught him everything he knows, Xavin is still telegraphing his attacks... even the invisible ones. He smacks Xavin to the ground with the staff and stands over him. He hopes Xavin makes a better groom than he does a warrior.
Xavin admits that he is a failure. He is a disgrace to the great Kl'rt's name. Chrell informs him that Kl'rt fared no better when he faced him during his training. Even when he learned to use all of his powers together. Xavin should always remember that when you face a superior opponent, learn their weakness. Exploit them. "That is the Skrull way," he adds with a wink.
(Earth, New York City, Invasion 49 minutes)
X'iv watches over the city from high on a ledge about two thirds up the Empire State Building. She hears the screams and panicking of the populous below, and finally hears Dorrek's name mentioned. She informs Chrell by radio that her target has been re-acquired. "Prepare to receive."
Down below, Speed rockets from a subway station past the running crowd, having decided not to take a trip on Xavin's invisible discs. Xavin is annoyed. "I said low profile! Is he insane," she asks Teddy. Possibly, he replies. Probably, adds Wiccan. Tommy runs off, telling them that he's going to check on the others. Wiccan calls after him but it's too late. Xavin says they should forget him and keep moving, but Teddy asks where to. Speed is right. They have to get back to their team. Xavin turns and asks if he's been listening. Doesn't he understand? He can't help them by dying!
Teddy asks what he's supposed to do. If he's this big savior, what is he supposed to do? Xavin doesn't have an answer for that particular question. She thinks that they should broadcast to the entire Skrull armada. They have to know that he is alive and that he is there. They have to know that their prophecy is a lie and that there is a different way. They ought to know that this invasion is the work of mad Skrulls and not the love of Gods. They need to find a satellite uplink; some kind of communications center. Teddy informs her that there is a TV network on Rockefeller Plaza. It's close by so they can broadcast from there. As he speaks, Tommy returns and tells them that they have to go. Nick Fury is in Times Square. "Vision is..." Before he can say what has happened to their friend, a circle appears around them. It’s too late for Xavin to warn them as they disappear into thin air.
They reappear in a heap, some distance away in a large plaza. Xavin and Dorrek are deposited a short distance away from where X'iv appears. She is carrying Tommy in one half of her cloak and Billy in the other. Teddy warns her to let them go. Xavin says that he knows her. She is X'iv, right? They trained together on Tarnax. She asks her not to do this. The prophecy is wrong. She has to listen. A voice behind them says that X'iv did listen. Xavin turns and gasps. Standing there is her old tutor, Commander Chrell. He stands with one foot on Old Lace's neck, as Klara looks over the sleeping Molly. He has Chase, Victor and Nico trapped inside invisible forcefields and his elasticized arm wrapped around Karolina - his fingers gripping her throat. Chrell tells Xavin that he has always liked her. He always has. She did her duty for the Empire and he respects that. Now she can do her duty for her God.
Xavin pleads with him not to do this. She says that he said he didn't believe in the prophecies. Chrell admits that he doesn't, but what is happening here is divine right. He tells Xavin that she can have her bride back, and together, she and her Majesdanian tramp can go anywhere in the universe. But first, she will kill Dorrek for him, because the Skrulls do not need a savior. They have Earth. Meanwhile, Klara tells a recovering Molly that she doesn't know what to do. She starts to cry and wishes she was elsewhere. Xavin's fist bursts into flames, and Chase asks her not to do this. They can take them together. Xavin replies that she cannot. Chrell trained her. She cannot defeat him. She tells Teddy that she is sorry. Klara grinds her fingers into the dirt and wishes she could go to the City of Angels. "Make it go away." All of a sudden, a huge tree shoots up from the ground and slams into Chrell, whose hold over his four captives and Wiccan is loosened.
Instinctively, Nico starts formulating a plan as soon as she lands. She tells Victor and Chase to help Tommy and Billy. She and Karolina will... Nico can't even complete her sentence before Karolina is up and pouring her rainbow-colored energies on Chrell. She is furious and swears at him. "Leave my fiancé alone. Do you hear me?!" she cries. "And I am not a tramp, you chauvinistic $*@!!" Molly is impressed. She didn't even know Karolina knew words like that. Chase is awestruck at her ferocity. Victor attacks X'iv. "Let them go, lagarto!" he warns, as he slams into her torso. X'iv responds with a solid right hand punch which knocks Victor backwards. Chase uses his new gauntlets to fire missiles at her. Chrell gets up and informs Xavin that her choice was poor, but it's no surprise to him. She was never a particularly good student. He begins speaking in Skrullian. "Oh, no!" exclaims Molly. "He's a parseltongue!" Nico asks Xavin for a translation. "Enough games. Kill them all," she replies.
They look up to see that X'iv has taken to the air and is preparing to strike. Xavin asks Nico which part of 'run away' did she not understand before. Nico quips that she's all for trying again. As X'iv prepares to fire, Hulkling puts himself between them and takes the brunt of the blast. Xavin then dashes towards Chrell and asks Dorrek to stay alive. X'iv grabs a sai and hurls it at Teddy, but he manages to avoid it and he asks Nico if she's okay. Did she hit her? Nico's cheek is cut, and she replies that she is, but it's only fun and games when she gets hurt. She utters the magic words, "When blood is shed, let the Staff of One emerge." The staff shoots from her chest and into her hand.
Meanwhile, Xavin and Chrell begin their battle. Xavin fires a burst of flame at him, but, as he did in the past, he avoids it easily. He warns Xavin that Dorrek will die, and that any Skrulls foolish enough to believe in him will see the truth. Their 'savior' will never be found. He protects himself against shards of invisible forcefield thrown by Xavin and then becomes entangled as they both use their elasticity to try and place each other in a stranglehold. Chrell grins as he believes he is superior. He warns Xavin that the invasion is done. This is as it is written. No Skrull or man can change that. He attacks Xavin with spikes of forcefield energy that hurt, and follows this up by punching Xavin in the face with his 'Thing' fist which is now on fire. Xavin falls to the ground, hurt. She tells Chrell that she doesn't want to fight him, but Chrell replies that he would hardly call this a fight. She still can't even use her powers concurrently. How is she going to beat him?
Chrell picks Xavin up by the throat and holds her high above him. Xavin tells him that she is a Skrull. She knows his weakness and will exploit it. "And what is my weakness?" asks Chrell, defiantly. Xavin replies that his beliefs are empty and filled with hate, yet she believes in her friends. From behind, Karolina attacks Chrell once again and he is forced to drop Xavin.
Elsewhere, X'iv blasts Old Lace with a beam of energy fired from her eyes as Chase leaps at Wiccan, saving him from a blast of darkforce. Speed grabs Molly and Klara and deposits them safely several hundred miles away. Molly shakes her fist as he returns to the battleground. Klara is in awe at the sight presented before her. "Mr. President!" she exclaims. Speed rushes back to Manhattan just in time to get hit by a darkforce blast from X'iv. Nico is winded by a burst of light from X'iv's other hand. Chase is hurt by a billy club. X'iv is using her powers well. Hulkling punches X'iv, but she gets up quickly and warns him that his friends will not save him. Their powers dwarf theirs. All he has to do is die. She attacks him with her sais, but Teddy replies, as he tries to avoid being pierced, that he is the son of Princess Annelle and the Kree named Mar-Vell. It is his destiny to save the Skrull Empire and to unite their people. He tells her that she knows the prophecies. She has read them. But there is only one truth and it is he. "I was chosen by out God. He speaks to me," he adds, "And he told me he does not love you." X'iv's eyes widen upon hearing this, and this momentary lapse in concentration allows Dorrek to headbutt her which knocks her out cold. "Sucker," says Teddy as he stands over her defeated body.
Teddy asks if everyone's okay. Chase can't believe that the Skrull's secret alien weakness was getting head-butted. Nico asks where Xavin is and Billy asks where Karolina is. Teddy turns and sees Karolina and Xavin in a fierce battle with Commander Chrell. "Over there... fighting my fight," replies Teddy."
Chrell warns them that they can send a thousand children. It will not matter. Xavin asks Karolina to keep pouring it on. Chrell creates a forcefield to hold them off, and Xavin begins to sweat. Karolina asks what' wrong. Xavin replies that Chrell is going nova. They have to get out of there, now! Chrell's body becomes hotter and hotter. He tells Xavin that despite her failure, 'he' still loves her. Xavin surrounds Chrell with a forcefield and struggles as the strain takes its toll. She must hold the field in place. Chrell's face suddenly shows concern and he asks what Xavin is doing. Her powers are not strong enough to beat him. As he goes nova, he cries out before exploding into a pile of Skrullian bones.
Xavin releases the forcefield and collapses, only to be held up by Karolina. "He was right," she gasps, "My weakness beat him. I cannot use my powers together... but it has made me stronger... individually... I did it... I... saved..." Karolina lays her down and hopes that she is okay. Xavin turns to her and says she is better for seeing how scared she was for her. Now Karolina knows that Xavin is okay, she asks how she could tell Nico to leave her like that. "Don't ever do that again, do you understand me?"
Watching them, Dorrek reckons that was kinda harsh, but Billy just says she was worried about him. "Can we never come to New York again?" Chase asks Nico. "Done," she replies. Karolina asks what now. Billy tells them that they have to get back to Times Square. The rest of their team is there and they have to help. Teddy tells Xavin that she risked her life for him, despite him turning his back on all his responsibilities. She still believes in him. Why? Xavin tells him that to not believe in him; in the savior and the uniter, is to not believe in hope. She chooses to believe in hope.
Teddy kneels before her and tells Xavin that she is his savior. He thanks her. Nico places her hand on Billy's shoulder and tells him that they are the super heroes. Do they have a handbook for this? What's the next step in the 'alien invasion' chapter? Billy asks her to get out of there. They're heading back in. Nico thinks not. No more running. They're in this. Billy replies that it's not running. It's prevention of suicide. He asks her to take a look at her team. Even their dinosaur is trashed. Besides, he adds, if they lose, they've gotta come and save them. Nico resigns herself to acknowledging that Billy is right. She asks him to win. They've lost enough friends.
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