Another million years passed, and the third team of Celestials descended upon Earth. They had come to inspect the laboratory's restart.
But the intelligent life on Earth no longer wanted to be test subjects, so some stepped forward and fought the Celestials.
They were the "Ancient Avengers," composed of Odin, Black Panther, Phoenix, the First Iron Fist, Agamotto, Starbrand Savage, and Mammoth Ghost Rider. They first killed Zgreb the Sorrower, a second-generation Celestial infected with the Brood Swarm Virus after coming into contact with the corpse of the "Progenitor," then faced the Celestial team that arrived afterward.
That was the team later known as the "First Progenitor."
The battle unfolded in the sky, causing the second mass extinction. Modern archaeologists therefore believed an asteroid had struck Earth, creating a break in the ecosystem.
The Avengers won that battle. The First Progenitor was wiped out, but the Ancient Avengers paid a terrible price as well.
Odin was severely wounded, leaving him with lasting ailments from then on. He became frail and sensitive to cold, prone to falling asleep at the slightest provocation. At the same time, he drew the attention of the unknown faction known as the People in the Shadows, while his backer, Yggdrasil, suffered the curse of Ragnarök and entered the Cycle of Seven.
The First Black Panther, the avatar into whom the Leopard God had poured immense energy, died in battle. The big cat itself retreated in weakness into the dimension of the Animal Gods, huddling together with the White Tiger, whom it usually did not get along with, to avoid Celestial retaliation.
The First Phoenix was gravely injured and developed Multiple Personality Disorder. Though she lived with Odin in Asgard for a long time after the battle, the Phoenix within her had, from that point onward, developed