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NOW
Aboard the Domo, four Eternals stared at the monitor of Earth. In spite of their promises to frequently communicate, none of them had heard from Sersi, Kingo, or Phastos. As Thena and Makkari stood around the giant display of the planet, Khaos sat next to Druig, leaning on his chest as he ate.
"It's been weeks," Makkari signed, a frown on her lips. "We haven't heard from any of them. It's like they've disappeared."
"Arishem," Thena said decidedly. He must have done something to them, finally retaliating for killing Tiamut. They were foolish to think the peace could last. "We have to go back."
"I'll ask Thor to start checking on them," Khaos said. "It'll give us an idea of what we're going into—"
Khaos cut herself off and turned to the hallway with a frown. Thena tensed as well, conjuring a weapon. There was a shift in the energy around them, a shift that told them something — someone — was coming.
"I feel it too," Makkari said as Khaos got to her feet, carefully stepping toward the feeling.
"What?" Druig asked dumbly, not knowing why the three warriors were acting strange. He just continued to shove a Twinkie in his mouth.
"Stay behind me," Khaos ordered, giving him a pointed look. "And stop eating!"
They watched as a weak portal flickered in and out, the rainbow hues reminding Khaos of the Bifrost. But she knew very well that it was gone, and Heimdall couldn't send someone onto the Domo.
A moment later, a small being tumbled out of the portal, skidding across the floor facedown. Khaos eyed the Troll warily, shadows dancing around her fingertips cautiously.
"Oh, my ears. My eyes are numb," the Troll groaned, getting to his feet unsteadily. "No more drunk teleporting for you."
Thena raised an eyebrow and addressed him. "Um, excuse—"
"No, hang on, hang on, hang on," the Troll interrupted Thena, surprising her even more. Then he cleared his throat and gestured back down the hall, making trumpet sounds with his mouth. "Behold! The Royal Prince of Titan. Brother of Thanos. The Knave of Hearts."
"Thanos's brother?" Makkari asked.
If Khaos was on edge before, she was even more so now at the mention of Thanos. At the end of the hall, another portal formed, and a shadowed figure stepped through — he wasn't nearly the size of Thanos.
"Defeater of Black Robert—"
"Roger," a smooth, accented voice corrected the Troll.
"Oh," he mumbled. "Defeater of Black Roger. The great adventurer Starfox of Mystery Planet."
The so-called Starfox looked nothing like Thanos as he stepped from the shadows. No imposing size. No purple skin. In fact, he looked rather normal, rather handsome in a simple golden and red set of armor.
"What a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my fellow Eternals," he greeted, bowing politely to them. Then he glanced down at the Troll with a small, amused smile on his lips. "You know, you really don't have to do the whole thing every time."
"Everything you do is impressive," the Troll insisted.
"I know but—"
"Yo!" Khaos called. She had lowered her hands, not really feeling threatened anymore, but shadows still moved around her fingers. They drew Starfox's eyes as he looked her over, assessing her. "Who are you guys?"
"I'm Eros. This is Pip," he said, gesturing to the Troll, who was finishing off the tankard of alcohol he had brought on board. Then Eros took a step toward Khaos, his eyes scanning her form with a smirk. "And you, Khaos, are a beautiful, beautiful little one. Just as the legends say."
Oh, now Druig could stop eating. He set the Twinkie down and moved right behind Khaos, wrapping a hand around her waist protectively. Those were his nicknames. The action caused Eros's smirk to grow as Druig raised a challenging eyebrow.
"What do you want, lads?" Druig asked. As he did, his other hand grabbed Khaos's left hand, running his thumb over the ring on her finger.
"Pip and I are here to help, aren't we?" Eros asked, glancing down at his compatriot. Pip only belched loudly, making Khaos smile. The smallest of orbs appeared in Eros's hand — a planet. "Oof. Your friends are in big trouble. And we know where to find them."
