Chapter 6: "Planet of Pathogens"

(Recap: billions of years ago, a sick alpha celestial crash-landed at the North Pole and died, seeping cosmic Rot into the planet that would make earth a perfect breeding ground for superhumans. Years later, odin's prehistoric avengers killed the alpha celestial's lover, zgreb, but the celestials that came to earth seeking retribution quickly departed when they realized the world was infected. It did not save them—Loki recently freed an infected zgreb and used the celestial to kill its remaining brethren, or convert them into dark celestials. Now Loki's army is marching on earth, but to win the day, they'll have to go through the giant-sized avengers!)

[on the moon, the lonely cosmic watcher known as the unseen strains against his unbreakable, his eye widening.]

[deep in the murky Everglades, the monstrous guardian of the nexus of all realities howls a dreadful warning that goes hopelessly unheard.]

[the vessel-less starbrand roars through the white-hot ether, searching frantically for a new host before it's too late.]

[out in the depths of space, the great lord of the shi'ar imperium observes the earth's peril from afar and with a heavy...does nothing.]

[the skies burn. Oceans boil and Atlantans scream. The mutant Jean grey falls to her knees, overcome with fiery visions.]

[in the mystical city of k'un-lun, a dragon bellows and an iron fist fights a battle he's foreseen in his dreams.]

[in wakanda, they pray to their panther god. In a secret temple in Egypt, a bloody offering is made to the fist of khonshu. In hell, the greatest devil is cackling.]

[while in Asgard, there is only despair. The all-father knows that celestial judgment has been long in coming. And that nothing on the face of this world can possibly stop it.]

[Behold the final hours of the great cosmic accident known as earth. Behold a deformed world's last desperate, twitching attempts to cling to life. Behold... the mighty avengers.]

(Somewhere in Russia)

Elite threw a powerful fist at one of the dark celestials.

Shinji's drones were unloading a relentless assault on the dark celestials "lasers on drones 14 and 15 are depleted. Power levels at 75%" maid informed.

"Charge all lasers. Hold nothing back." He replied.

"I don't know about that shin... the risk of thermonuclear meltdown is..."

"Not as scary as the final host! Pour it on!"

Jonathan piloting the body of a fallen celestial punch one of the dark celestials however it hit back with greater force "GAAGH, it's like punching a moon. That also punches back." He groaned stumbling backwards.

"Moons can be shattered. If it hits you, hit it right back with an even stronger hit!" Elite ran at the dark celestial that punched Jonathan and delivered a hard uppercut.

Shinji launched various missiles at a dark celestial blinding it briefly causing it to stumble back "this day has been so crazy that giant hulk has actually become a cause for celebration."

She-hulk had a dark celestial in a headlock her massive arms squeezing down on its armored head "no talking! Only smashing!"

Davi smashed some with their spiked mace hand "this is actually working! We're hurting them!"

Aven thrust his hand forward and then a beam of energy went forward leaving nothing but destruction and green locust ooze in its path "the horde are frightened. You can see it in the way their mandibles twitch."

Seren blasted a group of locust with her photon energy obliterating them "then we've them where we want them. Dominate, avengers! Make them never want to set foot on our planet again!"

Constantine used a lightning blast against Loki "your plan is coming apart at the seams, Loki. Give up now while you're ahead."

"For someone who claims to be prepared for everything, you're awfully nearsighted, Constantine. The truth had to be revealed! About you people and your entire perverted world! A truth you're still not ready to face! A truth that will eat you alive!" Loki and Constantine fired blasts at each other that met in a deadlock.

She-hulk bit into one of the dark celestial causing its armor to break and green ooze to fly into her mouth "HRRRRRRGGHH!!! Taste like bomb in mouth. Hulk want more!"

Jonathan came from behind and let out a large fire blast "you heard the lady! Time for a good old-fashioned barbecue!"

"Finally, this is some real action! We've been doing nothing but trying to figure how to beat these things, it feels good to be able to knock these bastards around!" Elite said as he landed a swift kick on the head of one of the celestials.

"You're enjoying this way too much, elite." Shinji chuckled.

"Shin guns five through seven are..." maid informed but was cut off "didn't you hear the hulk, maid?" He questioned.

"RRRRRRRRGGGGH!!!" She-hulk roared as she charged a dark celestial.

Shinji used his gauntlet and sent the annihilator guns blazing at a celestial "no talking! Only shooting!"

She-hulk tackled the dark celestial to the ground and started stomping on it sending blue colored ooze flying into the air.

"Wow, we knocked down obliteron." Jonathan informed as he was currently holding a dark celestial as elite hammer away at its face with his fist.

"Yeah, and leveled half of Siberia. Wait, you know their names?" Elite wondered.

"The longer I'm...inside this celestial, the more I see...and know. The one on fire is valknar the exhumer. This charmer is...callus the void. They're the leaders of the final host. And if we don't stop them here and now, the horde will keep making more of..." callus the void proceeded to headbutt the celestial Jonathan was piloting freeing himself from his grasp "GAGGH!"

"That headbutt just shattered every window for a thousand miles! You all may be their size, but you're not on their power level!" Selina informed.

Elite picked up a large Boulder and was using it as a shield to protect himself from the fire valknar was sending his way "speak for yourself, Sjøholt! HHRRGGH!!!"

Shinji sent the annihilator and several other drones after callus the void and they started an unrelenting assault but to no avail "super-strength and fire and laser beams and big green punches. It's not enough. It's still not enough to save the world. How do we do it? How do we..." callus the void proceeded to destroy the annihilator "oh sure... wreck the drone that took me months to build, well I'll destroy you with one of the lesser ones that'll be a fun challenge." However callus the void destroy the other drones he sent after him with ease and the scraps landed near Selina and the others.

"Thanks for the hand, shinji. But I think we've got these bugs under control." Selina informed sarcastically.

"I'm afraid my sensors say otherwise, Selina. Energy levels are spiking. Ready yourselves!" Aven said.

"Aven, you said the center of the earth was filled with these bug cocoons. How many are we talking?" Selina questioned.

"About that many! Judging by these readings, the horde is exploding from the ground all over the world. Whatever their final plan is here... ....we're in the endgame now." Aven pointed as millions upon millions of locust started to crawl out of the ground.

Constantine was bombarded by the horde and tried to fend them off "don't fear the horde, Constantine. After all, without them, you wouldn't even be here. You'd still be a single-celled amoeba floating in a puddle of slime." Loki laughed.

"That's what your face will be...when I'm finished with—GAGGH!!!" Constantine yelled.

"Oh, I think we are finished, Constantine. I think you're all quite finished." Loki chuckled.

She-hulk was hammering away on a dark celestials head with each blow it sent a shockwave through the air. "Hulk not afraid of space man who goes boom! Hulk strongest bomb there is!"

She-hulk and the dark celestial fist went flying towards each other and when their fist connected their was large boom that shook the area.

Valknar started to vomit flaming bugs onto Jonathan's celestial "he vomits flaming bugs! GAGGH, I can't... I can't deal with this!" The locust started to crawl up Jonathan's celestial and the celestials hands went to its head "guardian of the nexus of all realities is howling. Bloody offering being made to the fist of khonshu. The starbrand roaring. Eyes watching from beyond the raw void between dimensions. Night and nuclear decay and all the colors of rage. I see...everything now. I....I think my brain is burning."

Shinji directed every single drone at his disposal at callus the void "to hell with it. I'm gonna blow this guy to hell, the combine power of all the drones detonating at once packs one hell of a punch."

"Don't be a fool, shinji!" Seren yelled

"I'm not,  seren. I'm being an avenger. If we take out one, maybe the others will turn tail and... hey, woah, what's..." before shinji could finish a hand narrowly knocked him out of the sky.

[in the hidden wilds of the savage land, the dinosaurs are wailing, for they know extinction when they see it.]

[in the halls of the hellfire club, flesh is bared and a final toast is raised.]

"Oh Damn." Shinji muttered as he looked and saw several once dead celestials now have risen again.

[the ninjas of the hand bury their blades in their bellies.]

[deep in the tombs of castle dracul, even the undead lord of the dammed knows fear.]

[the ebony blade is bleeding.]

[in a Russian gulag, a bear-man guzzles vodka and laughs.]

"Hey, guys, remember all those other dead celestials? Well, they're zombies now." Shinji informed.

"Gah! Too many!" Selina kept slashing and slicing locust trying to keep them at bay.

"Alpha flight, ready all planetary escape pods! Prepare to evacuate the earth!" Davi yelled into a earpiece.

"There has to be something we're missing. I refuse to accept a puzzle that Cannot be solved!" Aven used his blast to obliterate more locust.

"So now, not only are we completely outpowered, we're outnumbered too." Shinji chuckled weakly.

A dark celestial punched she-hulk sending her stumbling back.

Elite was wrestling the callus the void until he felt something was off "crap! The magic is wearing off! I'm shrinking!" He slowly started to revert back to his normal size.

"If anyone has a Hail Mary pass, now's the time to throw it." Selina said as she slashed another locust in half.

Jonathan's celestial was on its knees "we...we are all god's vomit. We are... GRRRRRRGGGHHH!!!"

"Anybody?" Shinji asked agreeing with Selina.

"Systems critical shin!" Maid yelled.

"Damn! Abort! Send all the drones away!" He yelled.

The drone shortly after shinji said those words turned and started to fly away at high speed.

"The horde. The celestials. The prehistoric heroes. all the pieces fit together, but there's something missing." Aven theorized.

"Well we're all ears." Shinji yelled as he flew past Jonathan's celestial "the eternals are dead. The ebony blade is bleeding. God's vomit. We are all god's vomit. We are all god's..." Jonathan said.

"God's vomit? Why does he keep saying that? Does that mean anything to anyone?" Shinji questioned.

Seren fired a photon blast at a locust killing it "it's a story that Loki told when I was his prisoner. That life on earth is the result of a dying celestial. The first celestial to ever be infected with the horde."

"If that's true, then... it could explain everything unusual about this world. Including all of us. We are the earth's infection." Aven stated.

"Like herpes. Only cuter." Selina quipped.

Elite still not all the way back to normal size was making the most of it. He'd down at least one more celestial before he went back to normal.

"The horde is a disease that fells celestials! Yet when the first host came a million years ago, they did not cleanse the earth when they could have! Odin was there!" Constantine revealed.

She-hulk looked at the locust crawling on her arms in shock "RRRGH! This what space gods fear most! Like Jen-ni-fer! Fear...losing control! Fear the horde!"

"So why leave this world alive? Alive and infected with the thing that could kill them?" Shinji wondered.

"Because they saw the potential in us, shinji. They knew what we'd become. Something that could beat the horde for them, once and for all." Davi said putting two and two together.

"Oh snap. Beat it..." shinji muttered.

"...by becoming it." Selina finished his thought as she stabbed her sword through a locust.

"It's called... a live virus vaccine." Aven explained.

"The celestials needed a cure for the horde. They saw that humanity had the potential to develop one. And after a few millions of years simmering in a cauldron of infection and rotting celestial, we did. That cure is us." Constantine revealed.

"The earth is a planet of living pathogens. It's why humanity has the capacity for metagenesis and superhuman change baked into our genetic code. So we can adapt and cancel out the horde." Selina said as the slashed a locust.

"Great! So just tell me how to beat them!" Seren yelled as she blasted another locust.

"If we can somehow combine our powers, we can—UUUGH!" Aven grunted as he was blasted from behind by Loki.

"Bravo, avengers. It's so great to see you finally accepting the wretched truth of your existence. Which is just what I've been trying to tell you all along. You and all your kind are the basest bacteria. Moving through life like human gangrene, leaving everything shriveled and rotting in your wake, leaving your own world a leprous ruin, gasping for air with blackened lungs. But no more. You think you're the cure for the horde? Well, Loki is the cure for you! And I've got just what the doctor ordered to..." however before Loki could finish a large shoe stepped on him.

"GAAAGH!" Loki yelled in pain.

It's revealed to be elite who was fighting a celestial and it landed a punch which caused him to stumble backwards and ended up stepping on Loki in the process.

"Go ahead and take a dip, Loki. The bug guts are nice and warm." Constantine smirked as he blew some smoke in Loki's face from his cigarette.

"Kill. Me." Loki groaned.

"There's nothing more pathetic then a god who begs." Constantine sighed.

Seren, Aven, and shinji were side by side fighting the horde "okay, so we're the cure? Now what? How do we feed them their medicine?" Seren wondered.

Aven generated a blast that knocked some locust away "we have to channel the horde's own energies and overload them with a concentrated dose of all our powers. Give me a lab and fifteen minutes, and I could make that happen, but I don't think we have that kind of—"

"Wait!" Shinji exclaimed 'only the uni-mind can stop them. Only you can be the cure.' Ikaris words echoed in shinji's mind.

"The uni-mind! Okay, listen up, everybody—I know this is gonna sound really hippie-ish and kumbaya, but If we're gonna save the world, we all have to be of one mind. Literally. Ikaris of the eternals put the secrets of the uni-mind into my brain before he died! It's an ancient method the eternals use to combine their energies!" Shinji explained.

"Ugh, god, if this is a sex joke, I will punch you in the eye." Selina cringed as she killed a locust.

She-hulk smashed one into the ground "hulk do what shinji say! But know that hulk mind scarier than horde!"

"If we fall, we fall together. How does it work, shinji?" Elite asked as he was back to normal size now.

[and so the avengers join forces as never before. Linking minds. Sharing thoughts.]

Aven proceeded to rewire Jonathan's celestial with Davi's help.

[combining their powers. It is uncomfortable for all. Nearly intolerable for some.]

Selina cringed "wait... Constantine and hulk really did make out? Oh god, I can't stop seeing it."

[but for the avenger at the heart of it all...]

"You can do this! I believe in you! Time to save the world, Jonathan!" Seren voice could be heard from his mind.

[...it is the single greatest moment of his life.]

Jonathan's celestial now wielded Constantines magic, Avens reality warping abilities, Seren asgardian abilities, selina's time travel powers, she-hulk and elites immense strength, and Davi's elastic abilities.

"The ebony blade is bleeding! Whatever that is! And my family and friends are alone and probably scared! #$%& that! Nobody messes with my family!" He exclaimed and unleashed a massive blast that blasted and killed celestials and horde alike.

When the dusted settled and everything cleared up Jonathan was on his knees surrounded by dead locust breathing heavily.

"Ha! That actually worked! Uni-mind for the win!" Shinji celebrated.

"Today you all shared the mind of an immortal Asgardian. You are welcome." Seren said haughtily.

She-hulk started vomiting "hulk want to puke own brain."

"UUUGH. I got spat out by a celestial." Jonathan cringed.

"You did great, kid. The horde is dormant." Aven stated.

"Not all of it." Davi pointed out.

"The bugs inside the final host are too firmly entrenched. They'll have to be pulled out by the roots. This fight isn't over." Davi said.

Constantine reappeared through a portal with green ooze all over him "for this bloke it is." He said as he had Loki in his grasp with Loki bound by the crimson chains of Cyttorak.

"Good lord, Constantine. How did you end up with the most disgusting part of the battle?" Shinji wondered.

"It's a gift. Also, magic is nine-tenths gross things." Constantine shrugged.

"So we're right back where we started. Still trying to defeat the final host." Jonathan sighed.

Seren held her hand out to him and helped him up "not exactly. This time I think we have some new friends who can help with that. So on your feet, people. You know the drill. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" Seren led the charge as everyone went onward to attack the dark celestials with the new allies in the form of newly revived celestials.

A celestial punched callus the void staggering him while that was happening another celestial in the background had valknar in a chokehold.

[in the skies, the fires fade. The oceans grow calm. The pillars of Attilan shake as black bolt signs in relief.]

[the guardian of the nexus of all realities lumbers back into his swamp.]

She-hulk and elite were pummeling away at callus the void legs and denting them.

[in the depths of Asgard, the all-father does something he hasn't done in many years. He smiles. For a fleeting moment, at least.]

"They did it, my lady. They redeemed the very first of our sins. Let us hope they never learn of the rest." Odin sighed.

[in wakanda, they cheer in the streets and praise their Panther god. In the temple of khonshu, the bloody moon priest return to their prayers.]

Shinji called back his drones and they started to lay waste the the dark celestials riddling them with bullet holes and blasting off chunks of armor.

Davi was using his elasticity to create dense weapons and attack the dark celestials break and denting their armor.

Selina stood atop a celestial as she watched everything transpiring.

Constantine zapped a dark celestial with lightning magic electrocuting it.

Aven used his reality warping to created a highly concentrated blast and obliterated a dark celestial.

[the ebony blade goes cold and still as the grave. And as the dark celestials fall around him and the chains of Cyttorak grip him ever tighter, the prince of lies beholds his utter defeat, and rather unexpectedly... ...beams with pride.]

Loki started to laugh "heh. Welcome back, avengers."

Next arc: world tour

Wow that was awesome. I hope y'all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now this is it for the introductory story arc the final host. Now things are gonna start picking up! Did you enjoy this arc? Was it good the way it was? Are y'all hype for the next arc? Leave those thoughts in the comments section!