One Marvelous Guidebook to Defeating Galactus

Meeting 2: Splitting Up

Captain America said that he would hold a meeting every other day, but this is the first one since the meeting about the message. It's been a week, but no one found anything on Galactus, so there was no need to have a meeting.

Everyone is currently sitting in the meeting room. All the Guardians plus Peter Parker sit next to each other, knowing they are leaving right afterward. The only two people who aren't present are Stephen Strange and Lauren Thompson, but they are working in the library and looking for information about Galactus.

Steve Rogers stands in front of everyone at the head of the table, and starts talking to get everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, I called you all here to give you an update. Nothing big has been found on Galactus, but the Guardians and Peter are going on a mission. They acquired a distress signal and are going to leave after this meeting."

Tony is sitting down for this meeting, and doesn't look anyone in the eye. T'Challa leans forward and looks at the Guardians. "Well, then I think I speak for everyone when I say, I wish you the best of luck. Hopefully this trip will be short."

"Thank you. We will keep in touch with the tablet we gave Tony, so we won't be completely disconnected from you." Gamora holds up her own tablet to show everyone and puts it back on her belt.

"While you're out there, maybe you can find something on Galactus. Maybe his current location?" James Rhodes brings up the mysterious potential threat again.

Carol lights up at the idea. "You're right. It's the perfect opportunity to ask other races on different planets if they've seen anything fishy. Do you want me to go with you? I can navigate through this part of the galaxy with ease."

Having been ready for this question, Steve quickly answers, "No, we need you here, Carol. If Galactus truly is after the Earth, we need as much of us staying back as we can. Your binary form could be essential to defeating him."

"I was also going to offer accompanying the Guardians, but I sense that you'd wish for me to stay here as well?" Thor asks.

Steve nods. "You guessed correct. However, now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind if your brother went along with them."

Everyone's heads turn toward Loki, awaiting an answer. "Um, me? Are you sure? I appreciate you accepting me onto your team, but I didn't think you'd trust me enough for a mission as big as this."

"Take it as a chance to prove yourself." Bucky suggests, remembering the times when he himself was untrustworthy. "Yes, we accepted you onto the team, but this is your chance to accept us. You can help the Guardians or betray them, it's your choice."

"Well said, Buck." The heads turn back to the Captain as he speaks. "Suit up, Guardians, and good luck out there. We will be keeping in touch, so just call if you need anything."

All of the Avengers go back to doing the things they were doing minus those who are leaving, Tony, Steve, and Carol. The group heads off to the Guardians' new ship named the Benatar. Their old ship, the Milano, was destroyed in the Guardians' first adventure by Ronan who had wielded the Power Stone.

"And remember, the third jump will take you through a meteor shower, so you need to quickly take the fourth jump to avoid it." Carol hovers above the ground as she talks Quill's ears off about the jumps they have to take.

"I know, Carol. You told me six times already!" Quill inches toward the inside of his ship, trying to get away from Carol's motherly reminders.

Carol gasps and flies up close to Quill's face. "You forgot the extra food I told you to stock up on! Hang on, I'm going to get it."

Captain Marvel flies up to the third floor of the Avengers building and into an open window. She quickly finds the refrigerator that houses the extra food and flies back down with an armful of supplies. She walks to the supply room of the Benatar and puts the food in the refrigerated area.

"Geez woman, you act like Quill when he can't find his mixtape." Drax slides his twin swords into their holders. He straps the harness of his seat across his body, getting ready for takeoff.

"Hey! I heard that!" Quill's distant voice can be heard just outside the Benatar.

Carol rolls her eyes with a playful smile on her face before leaving the ship. The rest of the Guardians plus Loki pile in, but before Peter Parker can walk in behind Mantis, Tony spins him around and crushes him in a hug.

"Mr. Stark, I-"

"I love ya, Pete. I'm proud of you." Tony breaks the hug and Peter smiles with tears of joy in his eyes. "Now, go on. The team is waiting. Make sure to call me every five hours!"

"Okay, Mr. Stark!" Peter waves one last time before hopping into the ship. The door closes, and the Benatar hovers above the ground for a second before blasting off into space.

Steve puts a hand on Tony's shoulder, gaining the billionaire's attention. "He will be fine. That's a solid team he's got to back him up."

"Alright, Cap, enough emotional stuff. Let's get back to work." Tony turns around and heads back into the building with Carol and Steve following him.

In the library, Stephen Strange pours over three books at once. Still, nothing comes to him as important about Galactus. Lauren hasn't been seen since he told her to go meditate, which means that she listened to him and is currently meditating.

Sighing, Stephen stands up and massages his temples. He stumbles over to a small desk by a window and finds a bottle of headache medicine. Using his Sling Ring to get a glass of water from the kitchen, he takes two of the pills. He stares out the window and watches as the Benatar lifts off into space.

No one ever comes down to the storage unit of the tower. That's why Lauren thinks it's a great place to meditate. She sits with her legs crossed and her index fingers barely touching her thumbs. Orange magic swirls from her fingers and around her torso as she sits in her meditative state.

She has been sitting here in the same position ever since Stephen suggested it. Sometimes she hates how smart he is. The dark atmosphere of the room helps drown out all distractions as she feels peace fill her veins.

And suddenly, a bright flash invades her mind.

The first image is of everyone sparring in the training room together. It should be a fun, relaxing time, but for some reason there is tension in the air. The scene changes and the Guardians have made it to their destination. A giant being clothed in purple looms in the distance, but Lauren doesn't get a good look at him.

The scene changes too fast. She sees Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet, but the weapon is still fried. She finds this weird, but unsettling. She sees four silhouettes behind Thanos, but the scene changes again.

Knowhere. It's been rebuilt, and that's where Galactus is heading. She sees the Guardians, Loki, and Peter fighting him, but she can't tell if they're winning or not. Galactus going for Knowhere makes sense. It's a weakened planet after what it went through, so it would be easy for Galactus to consume.

The last thing she sees is a human-sized being covered in silver. He rides a silver surfboard that has the power to fly. He surfs over to Lauren and places his fingers on the side of her head. "Wake up!"

"AHH!" Lauren stands up and backs into a shelf of supplies, holding her head in her hands. "H-HELP!"