A New Infinity Stone

TWENTY FOUR

Klaue expertly lands the ship in the blind spot of Xandar's defence system, which is a small grassy clearing surrounded by trees. We have a five-minute window to get out of this area before the Nova Corps patrolman come through this area. Bucky and Erik gather their weapons, and we quickly exit the ship, allowing Klaue to fly away and wait in a safe location.

"Are you boys ready?" I ask, taking out one of my new little machines I have been tinkering with.
I aim the little machine at Erik and pull the trigger. The machine makes a loud whirring sound and a light flashes, blinding us for a few seconds. Erik is now dressed in a Nova Corp uniform.
"Damn!" He exclaims, examining his new outfit. "How the hell does that thing work?"
"I program an organisation into the machine and select the rank. The machine then creates a sort of hologram that can't be detected or removed until the time is up."
"And how long do we have?"
"An hour." I state simply.
"Plenty of time to infiltrate one of the most heavily guarded places in the galaxy and steal one of the most heavily guarded items in the universe." Erik rolls his eyes.
"I'm glad you are so on board." I grin, aiming my little device at Bucky.

Another flash of light blinds us, and Bucky is now in a Nova Corp uniform; his metal arm is also cleverly disguised. I input the uniform and rank into the machine and pass it to Bucky. He points it at me and pulls the trigger. Immediately, my whole appearance changes to that of Nova Prime.
"Why do you get to be Nova Prime?" Erik complains.
"Jealous?" I smirk. "It's because I need you to kill the real Nova Prime."
Erik's eyes gleam. "Ok, I can get behind that."

The three of us enter the Nova Corps headquarters; Bucky and Erik walk two paces behind me. Everyone stares at us as we walk into the building and enter the elevator. However, someone quickly slips in before the glass doors can close.

"Nova Prime." Rhomann Dey pants. "I thought you were supposed to be at the meeting with the Kree ambassador?"
"We had to reschedule. I have more pressing matters to attend to." I quickly lie.
The elevator dings, and Erik exits into Nova Prime's office. I let the doors close, and we carry on further down into the depths of the headquarters.
"I need to head down to the vaults and check on something." I turn to face Rhomann Dey. "When was the last time anyone checked on the Orb?"
He looks slightly shocked. "Do you think that something has happened to it?"
I shake my head. "Not yet, but there are rumours. I just want to double-check and make sure that everything is ok."
"Alright, I'll let the guards know that we are on our way down."
"No need, Dey. I already called down."

The elevator doors open one last time, and I unleash my power. The lights lining the corridor ceiling go out, and everywhere goes dark as my shadows crawl up the walls like menacing spiders. I step into the hallway, hearing the sounds of screams and whimpers as I walk past the dead and dying guards. Bucky walks behind me with his metal arm holding Rhomann Dey in place.

"Who the hell are you?" Dey croaks.
"Your worst nightmare." I laugh. "Actually, the galaxy's worst nightmare. But you can call me Hex. That's what my friends call me."
We reach the doors to the vault, and I place my hand on the sensor. Bucky then forces Dey to place his hand on the other sensor, and the doors unlock. I step into the vault; the power of the Orb fills the room, and my whole body moves without any command. My hand grasps the Orb, and I pull it off the podium. It is lighter than I expected.
"What are you going to do with that?" Dey questions.
"Kill a whole load of people with it." I furrow my brows. "Hey, Bucky, how long do you think it will take for me to decimate this whole planet?"
"Two, maybe three seconds?" He answers with a shrug.
"Let's find out, shall we?" I smirk. "Bucky, would you do the honour?"

He drags Dey into the elevator, and we shoot up to the ground floor. It is chaos in the lobby. Erik has everyone on the floor and is standing next to a pile of guns.
"Well done." I praise. "Bucky, place our friend in the middle of the lobby, and then we need to vacate."
Bucky follows my order, and I step towards Erik.
"How did you get everyone to surrender?" I whisper.
He smirks. "Cut off the head, and the rest will follow."
He produces a bag, and I glance inside of it; the head of Irani Rael smiles up at me. I pat Erik on the back.
"You did good."
Bucky heads back over to us, and I take the bag off Erik. I pull the head out by the hair and throw it to Dey.
"Keep hold of that for me." I wink, turning to the crowd. "Everyone remain calm! The three of us are just going to head out and test this baby. You guys stay here and chill." I smile at everyone.

Bucky, Erik, Klaue, and I stand at the window of our ship as we observe the carnage. The planet is now multiple pieces of rock floating in space. Bucky was right; it did only take three seconds for the whole planet to explode.
"Two down, four to go."