Defeated in the very field he excelled at most, Arishem no longer had any leverage to negotiate.
He had originally planned to pit himself against Apocalypse. If he won, he would have more bargaining chips and might secure a slim chance of survival for the Celestial Baby.
Now, it seemed there was no chance at all.
As for forcibly attacking Earth and cracking the planet open, Arishem was not that foolish.
If he enraged Apocalypse, the death of a single Celestial Baby would be the least of his worries.
The entire race of Celestials might be wiped out!
Apocalypse smiled. "Who said I wanted to kill the baby? I brought you here because I have a solution that gives us the best of both worlds, and I need your help."
"What solution?!" Arishem was somewhat stunned.
The Celestial Baby was so enormous that even if its birth did not blow Earth apart, the planet would be reduced to an empty shell, utterly worthless.
As far as Arishem was concerned, Apocalypse would never allow that to happen.
That left only one option: kill the Celestial Baby and let its remains become part of Earth forever.
Apocalypse laid out his entire plan, including their respective roles.
Red light flickered wildly in Arishem's six enormous eyes. At last, he nodded slightly. "This plan is feasible. I will ensure nothing goes wrong with my part. The rest is up to you."
"Good!"
The two settled a few operational details, then parted ways.
Arishem flew toward Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System.
A layer of red Pym Particles appeared around Apocalypse. With a flash of red light, he rapidly shrank to the size of a normal human.
Back on the Mesopotamian Plain.
Apocalypse told Nick Fury, "I need to requisition the Pacific