Aftermath

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If the galaxies had changed at all since the last time he had roamed the stars, Richard Rider couldn't see it now. Then again, all he saw was colourful space clouds of dust and star clusters in every direction. It looked fine. In his absence, everything seemed to stay the same. Rider willed the questions that popped up in his mind to go away so he could take it all in. He remembered waking up a few quadrants south of here, floating in space and not knowing how or when he got out of the Cancerverse. Worldmind wasn't responding to him. The last thing that Rich recalled before he blacked out was a rift tearing up the skies above him. The lights had blindsided him, before dragging his unconscious body in. Despite not knowing where the rift led, Richard didn't fight it. Wherever he would end up next had to be better than the Cancerverse. And he was right. Because this Nova was home.

Richard tightened his fists that were outstretched in front of him and rocketed forwards with a sonic boom. His golden aura of power intensified as he boosted past a group of small planets. He needed to make it back to Xandar. He had been fighting to stay alive in the Cancerverse for years — even though the dead never stayed dead for long in that dimension. Life was frozen in time down there. He was worn out. He wanted to go somewhere he knew well. Somewhere familiar. Safe. Worldmind, the Xandarian supercomputer in his helmet, hadn't said a word since he arrived. It was quiet the whole ride. Part of him was suspicious. The other part was relieved. Richard could finally hear his own voice in his head again. It told him to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

Richard heard the dull boom of something exploding in the distance. Curiosity gnawed at his brain and he looked down. The planet he was passing over was too far to see anything, so he flew closer to it. As soon as he entered the atmosphere, he heard it again. The roar of an energy blast — Richard knew the sound all too well. Taking a quick glance at his surroundings, Rich realised what sort of world he was on. The type where things were either dead or left for dead. He had half a mind to rocket away. He had better things to do. More important things. He had to go back to Xandar and let the Nova Corps know he was alive. The idea of reuniting with his team and friends warmed his heart a little. It also scared him. He had been gone a long time.

Out of nowhere, an outpour of smoke and ash hit him right in the face. Richard coughed and stumbled back, waving his hands around in the air to get rid of the smog that suffocated him. It moved through the cracks on his helmet, stinging his eyes and burning his nostrils. He turned and groaned at the unpleasant feeling, before removing his helmet and walking away from the cloud of ash. When he breathed in the clearer air, he placed his helmet back on and pivoted on his feet, trying to pinpoint the cause of the explosions. He didn't want to alert anything to his presence, wary of what or who was behind the blasts. The technology in his Nova helmet worked well enough for him to scan the terrain. His head moved from left to right, squinting through the fog that was beginning to clear. His eyes widened when a single energy signature flashed on his display. Though it wasn't in front of him, but below him. As in, underground. Richard's interest spiked. He roamed the area for signs of wreckage. Found nothing. Then, he stumbled upon a large fissure in the ground. Big enough for someone to fall through. That would have explained how the person had ended up underground. He concluded this was where the smoke had came from earlier.

Richard steadied himself when another blast almost knocked him off his feet. He cursed under his breath and took a closer look down in the pit through the cracks. That was when he heard it. Heard her. Whoever was down there was adamant on getting out. But they were getting tired. He could hear her ragged breathing as it echoed to the surface. The pauses between the blasts were getting longer. Rich listened to her as she yelled at nothing in particular, before shooting an energy blast at the rocks keeping her contained. He barely had time to dodge flying objects as they zipped out from the chasm. When Rich realised what had almost knocked him in the head, his heartbeat quickened. An aged alien skull, with a couple odd bones here and there.

"Blue blazes..." He whispered to himself, hand on helmet. Shaking his head, Richard shuffled to the edge of the pit, and lowered into it. He was a Nova — it was his job to serve and protect. Space police, as someone close to him would always say. Richard suppressed a smile. Igniting his fists with a fraction of the Nova Force lit the way down. He noticed how wet the walls were. It must've rained. A storm was the probable cause of this whole situation. He had to look at how lucky he was. First the rift that pulled him back home, then passing by a world where a bystander needed help getting out. Someone — or something — was watching over them. Very closely.

Reaching the bottom, Richard cleared his throat and dusted himself off. He hadn't done this in a while. Serving as a Nova. He treated this as a practise run. Something to get him back on that bike. The heavy stone boulders that were preventing the person underneath from escaping were stacked on top of each other, but the constant energy blasts had made them crumble, allowing gaps to form. Richard was surprised the person hadn't been squashed by the weight of it all.

"This is Nova Centurion 11249-44396. Hello?" Richard edged closer and looked into one of the gaps.

Ana lifted her head at the voice, her chest swelling with promise. If she wasn't propping one huge stack of debris on her shoulders and using her good hand to shoot plasma blasts at everything around her, Ana would have collapsed out of alleviation. She could barely see the man on the other side of the rocks threatening to cave in and crush her. She grunted when the weight on her shoulders seemed to get heavier with every passing second.

"H-Hello? Hey, I'm in here!" She exclaimed, voice scratchy. She had inhaled too much dirt and smoke when she was unconscious. She didn't even know how long she was out. Hours. Days. Maybe even weeks. Ana woke up with a ceiling of rocks in her face, and when she shifted, it almost crushed her head.

Richard frowned at the language and accent. He was sure he would have to activate his helmet's universal translator. He shook it off and looked inside. "Uh, you okay? You hurt?" He asked. He couldn't make out her appearance. Just the blue light that was coming from her hand. Rich saw part of her armour. It was damaged. There was blood. His concern grew.

Ana tried not to roll her eyes at the questions. This was the first person she had come into contact with since... Ana shook her head when a dark cloud stretched out over her mind. Her jaw clenched. Fingers twitched. The rocks moved. Her eyes widened. She let out an uneasy chuckle. "I don't know... I, uh, can't exactly feel anything right now. Don't want to. I know it'll shift my focus. And I can't lose my grip."

Richard's frown deepened. "Lose your grip? What are you holding on to?" He found another gap above his head, big enough for both eyes to see inside. When he hovered higher, his eyebrows rose in shock at the sight before him. Ana was able to crane her neck and meet the eyes of the man on the other side. She noted his rounded eyes and breathed out.

"It was a lot easier a few days ago."

Richard's irises darted from Ana to the mountain she carried on her back. "You're enhanced?" He swallowed thickly. This was new. "I mean, super enhanced... Jesus, how are you doing that?"

Ana's brows furrowed. "Jesus? You're from Earth?"

"Long Island, New York. You?"

"Queens."

They nodded in unison. It was silent for a few seconds before Ana spoke up. "Y'know, it's nice to meet a neighbour this far from home, but is there anything you can do?"

Richard jumped into action. "Right! Look, this is not going to be easy." Then, in a small voice, "You're really holding this entire thing up?"

Ana let out a frustrated, "Yes!" She grunted when she had to bend her knees to keep the ceiling from moving any further. She raised her hand that wasn't healing from broken bones and placed her palm flat against the stone for extra support. She was going to have a horrible back ache after this.

Richard assessed the rocks that weren't in Ana's way, the ones she was trying to blast to pieces. He grabbed onto the smallest one and pulled it from the rest, letting it fall on the floor. He did this three more times until there was enough room for him to enter the confined catacombs. Richard had to lower his torso just to fit through the gap. The three golden starbursts on his armour brightened up the darkness. He stood in front of her, still unaware what she really looked like with her hair covering most of her face. Her legs were shaking. She didn't have much time left. Any minute now, Ana would lose her grip. Richard was there to make sure she wouldn't get caught underneath the debris.

"Look, you're strong and I'm practically a human rocket." Richard began to say, "The only way we get out of this is if you trust me. Can you do that?"

Ana wanted to nod. Instead she mumbled out a yes. Sweat mixed with blood trickled down the side of her face. She shut her eyes tight. She just wanted to go home. Richard took a second to place his hand on her upper arm as a sign of comfort. He couldn't imagine what she was going through. "You'll be out of here in no time." He muttered. "I'm going to need you to inch a little to the left."

Ana complied with his words and took a small step to the left. She let out a shaky breath when the ceiling creaked. Pain flashed up Ana's spine. Richard's arms lifted so they were flat against the mountain of stones on her back. He softly urged her to continue moving to the left. He needed her to position herself near the entrance. The closer the better. Richard's muscles adjusted to the weight of the stone. He was hardly propping any of it up. That was all her. Besides, he only had a fraction of the Nova Force. And with that sliver of power, the amount he could lift or carry was to be determined.

"Dammit..." Ana's breath hitched when her grip slipped and she had to lower herself with one knee on the ground. Rubble rained over them, threatening Ana to cough at the sudden arrival of dirt and dust in the air. Her chest constricted, and her throat closed up. Rich calculated the time it would take for everything to coming falling down if he moved now. It was a risk. He couldn't leave and get help only to come back and find it all went to hell in his absence.

"What's the plan, pal?" She questioned.

Before he could stop himself, Richard cooly said, "On the count of three, let go and do your best impression of a noodle."

Ana's voice grew loud. "What?"

"I've got this thing called the Nova Force. It's a source of energy only people like me have access to. With it comes energy projection, flight and super strength — among other things." Richard grunted as he lifted the rock with his shoulders, helping her with the pressure of it. "See?"

Ana tried not to look back at him. "If you think I'm going to let you deal with this on your own, think again." She stated, her tone strict and guarding.

Richard smiled. "I wouldn't dream of it. No, I plan to fly us both out of here before we join the rest of the galactic warriors on this planet."

"Human rocket..." Ana repeated his earlier words. "Are you sure about this?"

"Not really." Richard outstretched his hand. "Give me your hand."

Ana let her hand drop from the stone and fumbled around until she found his hand. He clutched it and took a step closer. His suit began glowing brighter at the onset of the Nova Force. "Ready?"

Reluctantly, Ana sighed, "Ready."

"Noodle in one... two... three!"

Ana let go of everything, and curled into herself. Her ears popped from a sonic boom. She remembered feeling weightless all of a sudden. As if she was free floating in space. A burst of wind. The feeling of warmth from the energy surrounding her. Then before she could even blink, her body collided with the cold, uneven ground on the planet's surface, rolling to a stop in the dirt and rubble. Pushing herself onto her back, Ana stared up at the stars. She didn't think she would ever see them again so soon. The sight almost made her cry. She nursed her broken arm over her chest, blinking away the water that collected on the corners of her eyes. She felt the earth rumble as the mountain of stones she was holding up seconds ago plunged into the catacombs below.

"You make a great noodle."

Ana rolled her aching shoulders as she sat up, flexing her fingers to get the blood flowing again. The man rounded up from behind her and knelt down beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, glad that she was able to count on him in such a difficult situation. At the sight of her wince, he pulled his hand back and held it up in defence. "Oops, sorry."

"It's fine." Ana shook her hair from her face, though strands of it was stuck to the sides of her face because of the dried up blood and sweat. She glanced up at him for the first time. He had a damaged gold helmet over his face, covering up most of his features. His smile was reassuring. He seemed as if he did this many times. Put people's minds at ease. Then it hit her like a stack of bricks. The red star on his helmet was similar to the ones she saw on the Nova Corps on Xandar. The memory of Xandar being incinerated haunted her. It sent a chill down her spine.

"My God, you're a Nova..." Her voice was barely above a whisper. She avoided his gaze and scrambled up to her feet, heart beating so hard she was sure it would crack a few ribs.

Richard heard her. Though the look on her face made him frown, and pit of worry circled in his stomach. Why did she make it sound so... apologetic? Did something happen to the Nova Empire? To Xandar? He was gone a long time, so anything was possible. There was not a moment until now when he wished so badly that Worldmind would reactivate and talk to him.

Richard moved so he was standing in front of her, trying to catch her gaze. "What is it? What happened?" He asked.

Ana lifted her head and faced him. "You don't know?"

"Know what? I just got back after years of being trapped in a hell hole located in another dimension. I have no idea what year it is or what's gone down since the last time I was here." Richard was overcome with a sense of urgency. He needed to know the truth.

Ana held her breath. "Xandar, the Nova Empire, it's all gone."

Richard's feet shifted. His whole stance was all over the place. "Gone? Gone how?"

The entirety of what happened since Xandar's destruction flooded Ana's brain, preventing her from separating herself from all the painful memories. She placed her hand over her thumping chest and inhaled sharply. "The whole planet and everyone on it. They tried to fight back but his forces were too strong. We were overwhelmed. Seriously outmanned and outgunned. He made sure there was nothing left."

Richard's jaw clenched. "He?"

"Thanos."

Richard insisted that they travel to the Andromeda Galaxy so he could see what was left with his own eyes. The Xandarian cluster suffered near-total destruction. Population centres were vaporised. Support infrastructure was demolished. Defense corps soldiers were deprived of tactical support, rapidly overwhelmed and exterminated. Many of the cluster's habitat shards were disintegrated. Debris was falling into the home star and being burned up. Fragments of the planet had broken from its orbital anchors and were drifting away from the local star. The temperature was dropping and as a consequence of the environmental collapse, it was snowing.

Ana wrapped her torn cape around her shoulders when the cold got to her. Snowflakes found their way into her hair. Her cheeks and nose were pink. She shivered behind the Nova who was standing in the centre of the fragment of Xandar they landed on. Because of Nova's reconnection with Xandar, Worldmind had reactivated and bombarded him with the details and repercussions. Ana's brows were furrowed, hearing Nova fumble over his own words. She couldn't hear Worldmind, though she already knew it would sound like Irani. The Nova Prime who gave her life to protect Xandar and the Power Stone.

"Enough, please! Stop it with the talking in the head! Can't you see what's happened here?" Richard's voice was forceful and trembled with rage. "Everything's gone! Everything's just gone and I'm finding it a little, you know..." He trailed off when Worldmind responded to him.

Ana stepped forward when he went quiet all of a sudden. "Nova?" She called.

Richard ripped the helmet from his head, having heard enough of what Worldmind was telling him. He turned to face Ana, head dipped low. His brown strands of hair fell over his eyes as he brought a hand up to touch his jaw. "Really, I just need a moment to pull myself together." He told her.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, with Ana facing the locals stars and Richard staring into the blackness of space. She glanced at him, "No matter how long it takes, nothing will change the fact that your home is gone. And I'm sorry for that, Nova."

"Richard." He mumbled out, glancing back at her. "Richard Rider. And it's not your fault. Worldmind told me you were there when it happened. You fought by their side, Ana, with your father..."

"Marcus." Ana had a hint of a smile on her face. "He told me about you. The whole reason we went to Xandar was to find you. He held on hope that you were still alive."

Richard rubbed his hands together. "I guess it worked. The Snap brought me back here. Cosmic energy fluctuations were all over the place. Who knows what else came into this universe because of him."

Ana looked down. "Who knows what's left in this universe because of him. Thanos was responsible for Marcus. And for that alone, I'll destroy him. I'll find him, and I'll..." Her lips quivered with utter rage. She shut her eyes when they steamed with plasma energy, and turned her head away from Richard. "He's gonna pay for everything he's done. Whatever it takes." She whispered.

"You got room for one more on this Thanos Imperative mission of yours?"

Ana and Richard locked eyes. She nodded her head once. "The more the merrier."

Richard's lips quirked up into a small smile. It was wiped clean off when he heard Worldmind's voice bark at him to put the helmet back on so they could discuss the matters at hand. He turned the damaged helmet over in his hands, and left it there. Ana tapped the gold shell.

"I know where I can get you a better one of these. Irani gave hers to my father, who gave it to me, which I left back at home. At first I thought it was just a formality. But now I realise it was meant for you. The last Nova."