Nova #17 (V5)

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The issue begins with Super Skrull throwing Nova aside and telling him that trust is a flaw and that he should have learned his lesson – then he apparently incinerates Nova. However, what really appears to happen is that Super Skrull throws an invisible force field on Nova, to bend the light and make him disappear just as he incinerates him, so that the other Skrulls who have arrived believe he has been terminated.

As the Skrulls follow Super Skrull back to the ships that are orbiting the Earth, Nova races back home to Long Island, New York. He is greeted by his parents who are watching the news about the Skrull Invasion taking place on Earth; they tell him that they’re worried about Robbie, and play a message that he left. Nova discovers that Robbie now works for Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. When he arrives he sees that there’s already been a battle as bodies litter the floor. He begins searching for Robbie when he’s attacked by a former New Warriors team mate and hero – Darkhawk!

Darkhawk continues to attack Nova believing that he is a Skrull, despite the lack of resistance Nova puts up, until Nova finally uses a gravimetric pulse to stop Darkhawk and briefly stun him. However, by that time, Nova finds himself surrounded by armed Guardsmen. Nova stands down just as Robbie arrives and verifies that Nova is indeed Nova and not some Skrull ruse.

As Robbie leads them down to Sub Level 1, Darkhawk explains that he was encouraged to register by none other than former New Warriors member, Justice, and that it had been Justice who recommended Darkhawk to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. At Sub Level 1, Robbie also introduces Nova to Project Director Gruenwald and Line Chief Robotics Head, Doctor Necker.

They explain that the had beaten off the initial Skrull attack but feared they would be back. They go on to explain that the Skrulls had corrupted all of the StarkTech, including the Primary Security System, so all the vaults were locked down to prevent the Skrulls from gaining access to alien technology that they had been studying that could have potentially been used to shoot the Skrulls out of the sky.

They also explain that they’re trying to get one of their non-Starktech Systems up to speed – a sentient level A.I. – but they were fearful that the Skrulls would be attacking again anytime soon and hamper their efforts.

Up in Robbie’s office Nova notices designs for a robot called Minion, and Robbie suddenly blurts out that he never asked for Nova to come in and save them and that he had always looked up to Rich and wanted to be a super hero like him – and that he had gotten turned down numerous other prospecting jobs like the Baxter Building, SHIELD, etc and had ended up at Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Just then the lights go out, signaling another wave of attacks from the Skrulls.

Darkhawk and Nova immediately respond, but Darkhawk’s anger and desire to protect the children in the daycare overcomes him and he gets attacked by the Skrulls and nearly knocked out. It’s only because of Nova that Darkhawk is saved. They back up and lock down the area. Nova asks to see the Sentient A.I. that they had mentioned and goes with them to see the Quantum Flask. They explain that they need a powerful computer to use it, but their most powerful systems were all StarkTech which had been disabled by the Skrulls. Nova mentions that at one time he had probably the most powerful computer, Worldmind, in his head but he had fried those systems. Doctor Necker asks if they could examine Nova more closely and see if they could “reboot” the WorldMind.

They manage to isolate and extract Worldmind and use it to open the Quantum Flask. However, after a surge of light – who Nova sees standing before him is not the WorldMind – it’s none other than Wendell Vaughn – the man known as Quasar, who had apparently perished during the Annihilation Wars, when Annihilus himself drained the power from the Quantum Bands!