The Bounce Pad Mines detonated with devastating precision, unleashing a barrage of hyper-velocity projectiles that turned the Dark Aster's command chamber into a death trap within milliseconds. The specialized ammunition was designed to penetrate even the most sophisticated armor plating, and Ronan's flagship provided no exception to that rule.
Countless puncture wounds appeared throughout the bridge as the projectiles tore through bulkheads, control panels, and structural supports with equal efficiency. The sound was horrific – a continuous metallic screaming as advanced alloys were shredded like paper by forces that operated beyond conventional physics.
But Ronan himself remained untouched at the center of the destruction, protected by a shimmering barrier of purple energy that emanated from the Universal Weapon clutched in his hands. The Power Stone's cosmic forces created a defensive field that simply absorbed the kinetic energy of the projectiles, rendering them harmless despite their devastating effect on everything else in the vicinity.
"Impressive," Marcus observed with genuine appreciation as he surveyed the carnage around them. "You've definitely learned a few tricks since our last encounter. That defensive application of Infinity Stone energy shows real tactical thinking."
His casual tone carried no trace of concern about Ronan's enhanced capabilities, as if the cosmic-level power enhancement was merely an interesting technical development rather than a potentially lethal threat.
Without warning, Marcus transformed into a torrent of pure void energy, his physical form dissolving into a stream of dark force that raced across the shattered bridge with impossible speed. The attack was both beautiful and terrifying – raw cosmic power given direction and purpose through sheer force of will.
Ronan's response was immediate and instinctive. The Universal Weapon rose in a deadly arc, its hammer-like head blazing with Power Stone energy as he brought it down toward the approaching energy stream with devastating force.
"Die, insignificant worm!" Ronan roared, his voice carrying the kind of fanatical rage that had made him infamous throughout the galaxy.
The cosmic forces contained within the weapon should have been sufficient to disperse any conventional energy attack, but Marcus had never been conventional. At the crucial moment, another spherical device materialized in the space between them – a Bounce Pad that deployed its deflection field with perfect timing.
The Universal Weapon struck the energy barrier and rebounded with twice its original force, the laws of physics twisted by technologies that operated according to principles Ronan didn't understand. The cosmic artifact slammed into the deck plating with enough force to crack the reinforced metal, sending purple energy cascading in all directions as the Power Stone's containment field fluctuated wildly.
"The Power Stone's energy..." Marcus murmured with obvious satisfaction as void energies swirled around him, drawing in the escaped cosmic forces like a gravitational vortex. "Such pure, undiluted potential. I've been wanting to study this particular variety of universal force for quite some time."
The purple radiance that had been spreading chaotically through the command chamber began to converge on Marcus's position, drawn by forces that seemed to operate on fundamental levels of reality. As the cosmic energy concentrated in his hands, a brief shimmer of empowerment flickered across his form – a momentary connection to the Power Stone's infinite destructive potential.
The effect lasted only seconds before the energy was fully absorbed and integrated, but it was sufficient to establish a resonance between Marcus's void abilities and the Infinity Stone's cosmic forces. His attacks now carried traces of the same purple radiance that had made Ronan so confident in his enhanced capabilities.
"Such fascinating possibilities," Marcus continued, examining his hands as faint purple traceries ran along his arms. "I can see why so many beings become obsessed with collecting these. The power enhancement is quite remarkable."
Ronan watched this casual appropriation of cosmic forces with growing alarm. The Power Stone was supposed to make him invincible – a weapon that could reshape reality according to his will. Seeing Marcus absorb and integrate its energies so effortlessly suggested that his opponent operated on levels far beyond normal understanding.
"Enough games," Marcus declared, his form shifting into a more familiar configuration as he prepared for serious combat. "Let's see how much you've improved over the past two decades."
The Atlas frame materialized around him with fluid grace, its enhanced musculature and reinforced structure designed specifically for close-quarters combat against superhuman opponents. This wasn't the energy skeleton that Ronan remembered from their previous encounter – this was something far more sophisticated and dangerous.
"Landslide," Marcus announced with the casual tone of someone demonstrating a new piece of equipment.
The punch that followed was devastating in its simplicity. No exotic energies, no complex technological effects – just pure kinetic force delivered with precision that turned the human body into a weapon capable of matching cosmic-level threats.
Ronan managed to interpose the Universal Weapon between himself and the attack, but the impact still sent him sliding across the bridge despite the Power Stone's defensive enhancement. The cosmic artifact was powerful, but it couldn't completely negate the laws of physics when faced with sufficient applied force.
Before Ronan could recover his footing, Marcus was already following up with a second strike. This time the attack carried traces of the absorbed Power Stone energy, purple radiance crackling along his arm as enhanced kinetic force prepared to collide with cosmic barriers.
The impact was even more devastating than the first, sending Ronan careening into the far bulkhead with enough force to crack the reinforced metal. The Universal Weapon's defensive field flickered under the assault, its cosmic energies struggling to compensate for attacks that operated on multiple levels simultaneously.
"Third time's the charm," Marcus observed cheerfully, drawing back for what was clearly intended as a finishing blow.
This strike carried the full force of his enhanced capabilities – Atlas frame strength amplified by absorbed Power Stone energy and delivered with the precision that came from decades of combat experience. When it connected, the resulting explosion tore through what remained of the command chamber's structural integrity.
Emergency bulkheads slammed shut throughout the Dark Aster as the ship's automated systems responded to catastrophic damage warnings. Half the bridge simply ceased to exist, vaporized by forces that exceeded the design specifications of even advanced Kree military architecture.
When the destruction finally settled, both combatants were still standing despite the devastation around them. Ronan's protective field had held, though its purple radiance was noticeably dimmer than before. Marcus appeared completely unaffected by the chaos, his expression suggesting mild disappointment with the level of challenge his opponent was providing.
"Your technique is still exactly the same as it was twenty years ago," Marcus observed with obvious disappointment. "If it weren't for that cosmic artifact, this confrontation would have ended in the first thirty seconds."
The calculated insult had its intended effect. Ronan's grip tightened on the Universal Weapon as rage began to override tactical thinking. Being dismissed as inadequate by someone he considered an inferior being was intolerable.
"I don't need to waste time with games," Ronan snarled, raising the weapon above his head as Power Stone energy began to build toward critical levels. "I'll destroy you along with everything else on this miserable world."
The threat was genuine and immediate. The energy building in the Universal Weapon represented enough destructive potential to crack planetary crusts, and Ronan clearly intended to use it without regard for collateral damage.
But as the cosmic forces reached their peak, Marcus simply vanished.
The transition was instantaneous – one moment he was standing in plain sight, the next he had dissolved into void energy that operated according to principles beyond normal physics. Ronan's enhanced senses could detect the energy signature moving through the command chamber, but the Power Stone's targeting systems couldn't lock onto something that existed partially outside conventional space-time.
"Impossible," Ronan breathed, his confidence finally beginning to crack as memories of their previous encounter came flooding back.
The voice that answered him carried the weight of cosmic forces that had been refined and focused through decades of careful study.
"Nothing's impossible," came the reply from everywhere and nowhere at once. "You just lack the imagination to understand what you're facing."
When Marcus rematerialized, it was in a form that Ronan recognized with growing terror. The sleek, angular lines of the Xaku frame were exactly as he remembered from their previous battle – an energy skeleton wreathed in void forces that seemed to bend reality around its presence.
"You remember now, don't you?" Marcus asked with obvious satisfaction as his broken-looking arms began to emit brilliant radiance from the cracks between armored segments. "Twenty years ago, you abandoned your flagship and fled rather than face me directly. Let's see if cosmic enhancement has given you enough courage to finish what you started."
Without warning, tendrils of void energy erupted from Marcus's position, racing across the intervening space with predatory intent. The Void Grip technique had been significantly enhanced since their last encounter, the incorporation of amplitude crystals making it far more substantial and difficult to counter.