The silver-white ship passed beyond lunar orbit.
Lightning sat at the controls, the patterns on his chest pulsing with light. Earth gradually shrank to a blue dot before disappearing behind the edge of the viewport.
Shriek was still sprawled against the rear cabin window.
"Are we really not taking a few cows back?"
"No."
"What about chocolate?"
"There are two cases in storage."
Shriek immediately pulled back from the window.
Rock Shatter watched the solar system recede without joining the argument. Shadow Veil opened the star chart and reset their course back to Klyntar.
None of the symbiotes noticed that, after the ship completed its first jump, a Mechanical Eyeball hidden in an asteroid's shadow slowly opened.
The Mechanical Pupil turned.
Recorded the ship.
Swept past its lingering trail.
Finally settled on Earth.
A faint signal was sent into the depths of space.
Sanctuary II.
The massive black warship plowed through an asteroid belt. Its bow made no attempt to avoid the rocks. A mass of stone dozens of kilometers long struck its armor, first cracking, then splitting in two.
Fragments scraped past the viewports.
Not the slightest tremor reached the hall.
Thanos sat on his throne, his elbows resting on his gold-armored knees. Five images hovered before him.
A blue Earth.
An out-of-control rocket.
A launch base burned to the ground.
A door closing against the flames.
And a silver-white ship leaving the solar system.
The doors opened.
Corvus Glaive entered the hall first. His long blade struck the doorframe, scraping off a spray of tiny sparks. Proxima Midnight followed beside him, raising a hand to steady her weapon so its butt would not hit the stone steps.
When Cull Obsidian reached the third step, he braced a hand on the railing.
Crack.
The metal handrail crumpled in his