Chapter 007.

[New York City, Avengers' Mansion]

"...So, what we've got to do right now is to first build some sort of Fleet, like a barrier. To delay Galactus' arrival." Captain America spoke to the group gathered in the main conference room of Avenger's mansion.

The current meeting was ongoing between the avengers and Dr. Doom. Among them, there was Riri Williams' Iron Heart, Miles Morales' Spider-Man, and also a few more superheroes.

"No, we shouldn't get into conclusions this quickly. All we know is corroborated reports provided by Dr. Doom" Commander Steve Rogers looked at Dr. Doom who was sat among them. "And according to all of it, Galactus has become unreasonable. And we have lost Reed and his wife, and along with them, the Ultimate Nullifier. So, we don't have any defense against the Celestial. And the only other person who has faced him before is Dr. Doom himself. Does anyone have any other suggestions?"

No one said anything. A second passed, and another. Everyone just looked back at Steve knowing it wasn't going to work as how it was going. Everyone was out of ideas.

"Alright, let's just hold to it—the nothingness. I think we should ask Nova what was happening there," Steve uttered.

"Yeah, I agree."

"Yes"

"That's a good idea"

"Finally"

"Should've started with that!"

Everyone was thinking that Commander Steve Rogers might get something to lead on with the situation if they contacted the Nova base.

But little they'd know, the entire Nova Corps was dead.

As Steve headed off into the Avengers intergalactic comms room, the others started discussing the situation among themselves, fielding ideas and theories left and right.

Among them, spider-girl, Mayday Parker stood while her eyes went from one hero to another.

She was thinking too many things at once.

'If Galactus is someone who'd suck the entire Earth off at once, this most likely be the end of it all. What would dad do?'

She decided it would be worth a call home, to get advice from her father.

Opening the phone, with the intention of giving a call and knowing the situation at her house, she saw a few missed calls from her dad.

'Four missed calls? Is everything alright?' May thought to herself and called the landline number.

Twice in a row, the line was dead.

'What the heck?'

The next phone number she tried was the personal number of her dad.

This time, the phone was switched off. It was then that Steve returned with a somber expression on his face.

"The latest transmissions from Xandar reported that the Worldmind has uploaded its core into the dead section of Andromeda Galaxy, and the Nova Corps as we know it, is dead. So are the Guardians of the Galaxy."

The silence following that announcement was suffocating. And Mayday could see tears in Hulkling's eyes. The death of the Nova Corps meant that the Kree were dead too.

"I will capture Galactus' Herald when he arrives, and siphon his cosmic energy." Dr. Doom's voice cut through the palpable tension, and May could see the fiery determination in his blue eyes, visible through his cold metallic mask.

It was when everyone looked into each other's eyes. A brief moment of silence passed between them.

"That's actually a good idea. But we need to be more specific with the thinking," Mayday said while walking to the front.

"Who would use that cosmic energy?" Sam Wilson asked.

"Isn't that obvious? It's me? None other than me possesses the skill, or the experience with Cosmic Energy. I will graciously do as I must." Dr. Doom replied as if they were just talking about a taco on a normal Tuesday.

"So you can use the Cosmic Energy to terrorize the Earth after Galactus is dealt with? I think not." Wiccan commented snidely.

Dr. Doom said nothing, but his silence was louder than everyone else's thoughts.

"Are you serious right now?" Mayday asked.

"This Earth is mine to rule. Galactus may not have it. But do not take me for a coward. I do not need a power-up to lay claim to this planet. You have my word, I will release the cosmic energy that I siphon from the Herald into Space, once its Job is complete." Doom replied.

"Why should we trust you? You have given us no reason to trust you. All you have done, again and again, is exploit your diplomatic immunity for your advantage while racking Millions in property damage, and taking who knows how many innocent lives in the process" Riri Williams interrupted.

"You are not in any position to lecture me about morality, Riri Williams. All of you here have your hands bloody. All of you would do the same things I have for your country as I did for mine. Do not insult my honor so blithely." The powerful monarch retorted.

May tried to control the situation and said "We both want one thing here, Dr. Doom. It is to protect the Earth. Let's get back on topic and decide how we're going to handle this situation-""

The argument and the loud talks were interrupted by Viv-vision.

"The attention of everyone is immediately required," Vivian said grabbing the attention.

"What is it now?" Steve questioned, knowing that whatever was yet to come, was bad news.

"A Space Ship designation, Hope, has entered into a Geosynchronous Orbit around our Moon. They are requesting permission to travel here. They claim they are refugees." Viv-vision said.

"What?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Are they available to connect as of now?" Mayday asked.

"Yes, I believe so."

Spider-girl quickly got into action and walked down to the computers to answer the space call.

On the screen there was Nikki, and on her shoulder there was a little Groot, looking at the screen with big black eyes.

It had been just a few days after Groot had died, and already his little seedling had sprouted into a tiny baby Groot.

Everyone looked at the screen, and it was still a one-way call. The video of them was visible to the people inside the room, but neither their video nor voice was heard for them.

"I am Nikki-Rel-Quill. I am the captain of this refugee ship. We request refuge on Terra. We will abide by any regulations that Terra has in place for Refugees. A list of onboard passengers is being sent via this transmission link." Nikki said.

"Is that baby Groot?" A man asked from behind and Spider-girl nodded.

"Refugees are a burden here for Earth. This is no safe haven. What we need is Warriors. Refuse them entry." Dr. Doom strictly said as Spider girl looked at him from the glass.

"Earth is not yours to make decisions for. You are on foreign soil. Diplomatic Immunity will take you only so far. The Avengers are not yours to command, they are mine. I lead them." Mayday replied succinctly.

With that words coming out of her before Dr. Doom could make a remark, she immediately transferred coordinates of the Avengers Mansion for the ship to Land.

The other avengers just nodded and continued to listen to Mayday.

"We have just formed a temporary alliance Doom, remember that. I have sent Nikki coordinates to land by the base of the Avengers," she said.

"Nikki, can you see us, and are we audible?" Mayday asked, and Nikki's voice came over, and MayDay guided them through the standard procedures of Refugee vetting.

-

After she settled everything, the meeting seemed to come to a halt, as the Avengers scrambled to help the refugees, and Dr. Doom returned to the Latverian Embassy.

And May decided to swing home. The risk the Earth was at seemed to stress her more, but somehow she had to put on a strong front. The fact that her parents hadn't replied to her calls, kept bothering and she too kept checking her phone from time to time during the whole time.

She passed street after street, and everything seemed to blur into itself, as her mind tried to figure a way for them to fight the Colossal danger they were in.

Something that caught her attention was the protest. There were hundreds of people on the road, holding boards and shouting asking what had happened back with Dr. Doom's announcement.

"STOP LYING SAYING WE'RE SAFE! WE NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!!"

"AVENGERS! AVENGERS! TALK TO US AND LET US KNOW WHAT IS IT!"

"DR. DOOM IS RIGHT! WE DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH!"

"ARE WE GOING TO DIE?!"

The voices were so loud that even from fifteen stories high, as she swung through the street, Mayday was able to hear the sounds and figure out their words.

Not long after, she reached her destination. Her apartment.

She was living in an upstate apartment. It was highly secured, considering that she was the CEO of Parker industries.

Mayday was also world-known as The Spider-girl, and she knew she needed a highly secure apartment to live in. That is why she had both SHIELD and SWORD agents around to secure her apartment. It was one place where she could let her guard down.

With a sigh, she walked inside the apartment. What caught her eyes shook her to the core.

Her thoughts were everywhere and her eyes narrowed down to what was inside.

Norman Osborn stood in the center of her living room, a glass of Scotch in one hand, and a manila folder in the other.