While Richard was off spending time on Earth, there was a war on the other side of the Universe. It was a mission for the Supernova’s, sometimes referred to as the Black Nova’s, whom he rarely had dealings with. They were different than the Centurions, who were like a police force for the Andromeda system and other various nearby locations. The Supernova’s were black-ops, like a group of highly skilled assassins whose sole purpose was to eradicate everything in their path.
Because of his status in the Nova Corps, his power level was still above theirs - but there was a ridiculous exponential curve compared to the rest of the Centurions. However, he had those powers because he went off on his own often. If he were to join the Black Nova’s, they could theoretically blow up the entire star system in the blink of an eye.
However, they weren’t fighting in any old war. Richard didn’t know much about it, but there was a powerful force trying to puncture its way into the galaxy and tear everything apart. The Supernova’s were doing everything they could to keep this power at bay. It wasn’t until the final day of battle that he was called to action.
All the Supernova’s had been captured, and Nova Prime wasn’t taking any chances. The Kree and Skrulls had their people captured as well - and they were sending warriors to negotiate, not diplomats. However, because of his access to the worldmind, all of the data of the enemy’s ships and locations were inside the vast database. In his infinite wisdom, he thought it would be smart to sneak inside to try and break out the prisoners instead.
Richard was drifting underneath one of the Kree ships. He was trying to stay hidden from any potential radars. Worldmind was analyzing the ships, trying to form schematics as they flew closer. Honestly, the species didn’t look like much, but if they could survive against the Supernova’s, then they were definitely a force to be reckoned with.
“There is a hatch right here,” an area of the ship highlighted in red. “You should be able to pry it open and go inside.”
“Can you tell if there are any guards there?”
“I’m not exactly an X-Ray machine.”
“...fair enough.”
So the cluster of ships moved towards a hangar, and there was enough debris in the area that if he coasted, he would make it unseen. He slowed down to a halt just as he reached the hatch, and boy. This thing was massive. This ship meant business - and seeing as it was the biggest of all, he hoped that the prisoners would be kept inside.
He tried to stick his fingers into the groove where the hatch shut. It took some convincing, but he finally managed a grip on the sliding door. There was a rush of air as the vaccuum of space was pulling everything out, and he pried the hatch open as hard as he could. When the space was big enough for him to fit, he rocketed forward into a thin hallway and the hatch slammed shut. He rolled to a stop on the ground as Gravity kicked in. The hallway was empty, and looked more like a cavern than a spaceship on the inside. Whatever these creatures were, they had a horrible sense of decoration.
“Worldmind, are you picking anything up? Any signals?”
“I’m attempting to find one, but there is a lot of interference.”
Richard sighed and started walking down the hall. He made it through twists and turns, attempting to avoid any encounters with aliens. This ship was surprisingly empty for being so big.
After wandering about for twenty minutes or so, there was a blip on his radar.
“I have managed to make a connection. There’s a Supernova in the area.”
“Took you long enough,” Richard joked. The blip was quiet, but would get louder in his head as he moved closer to the Supernova. Without an actual map, that was the best Worldmind could do.
He turned a corner and had managed to find his way into a large cell block. It was three stories or so, and instead of standard bars, it looked like the cavernous interior had weaved itself into jail cells. There were a few guards walking around, and he continued to follow the blip forward. He ran across the open space to the only lit cell - the rest on this side were all dark.
“Who’s there?” A spooked voice said.
“I’m Nova Centurion 11249-44396. I’m here to rescue you.”
“...Richard?” The man said questioningly. The person walked forward towards him, and in the light he recognized the face.
He was a bit stunned. Jesse Alexander was another man from Earth - he had quit the Supernova’s ifteen years before, the day his son was born. “What are you doing here?”
“I was called to help. I didn’t know things had gotten this bad, Rich.”
“What’s going on, what is all this?”
“They’re called the Chitauri. They attacked Earth a few years ago. I couldn’t sit by and let them try and take over Andromeda, too...but we were no match.”
Worldmind was now springing with information on the Chitauri, but he didn’t have the time to read it all. He took off his helmet to focus on his friend. “Where are the others?”
“They’re all dead. Killed by Thanos.”
Richard felt a chill run down his spine. “Thanos?”
Jesse stepped to the side and picked up his helmet. “Take my helmet back to Earth. Bring it to my son.”
Richard fixed his eyes on the black helmet. It looked battle worn and old. “No, I’m getting you out of here.”
“No, they’ve marked me. If I leave, they’ll hunt me down, and we can’t risk them finding a way to Xandar, or worse. If you take my helmet, they’ll leave me here. I’m powerless without it. Thanos is only taking prisoners with these helmets.”
“What about the Kree, and the Skrulls?”
“They’re just going to rot in here like me.”
Richard was frozen for a moment. He didn’t want to leave his friend behind...but Jesse seemed sure of himself. He put his own helmet back on and reached through the ‘bars’, gripping the rim of the other. With a powerful jerk, he forced the helmet through the woven bars. They immediately resealed themselves like a bunch of creepy snakes. Any of the other prisoners could punch their way out - but at the risk of death, he could see why they wouldn’t.
“Thank you.”
“We’ll come back for you.”
Jesse nodded and sat back down on the ground. “I know you will.”
After a not-so-stealthy escape, Richard touched down on the ground. He was in Arizona, and even in late fall [early winter?] it stupidly hot. He let Jesse record a message on the helmet before he had to bolt out of there. He was he was seen by some guards and had to make an immediate escape through the side of the ship. He got away before they could tag him, too. He just hated leaving his allies - his friend behind.
“The house will be the first on your left.”
Without responding, he walked down the suburban street. The house was small, kinda reminded him of his parents place. He thought about walking up to the door, but he didn’t want to have a potentialy hysterical conversation with his wife. Instead, he found a window on the side of the garage. He snuck inside and placed the helmet under the bed. He hoped no-one would find it...but if Sam was anything like his dad, he would be in a whole mess of trouble in no time.
