Thanos (2003 series) #12

Galactus' big round spaceship has a big hole where someone has broken in and burrowed to the centre. It's the Fallen One, Big G's 1st Herald who went bad and had to be put down several times by his master. Now he's here for revenge, and Galan is still recovering from his fight with the Hunger in the 1st half of this series. Thanos came here by hologram to warn him. The FO tells the Titan to stand aside, but he warns him that Galactus is a necessary part of the universe and asks if he's willing to take his place as the Devourer. The foe says he doesn't care and banishes the hologram.

Thanos finds himself back on his starship Sanctuary with a headache. His current and annoying companion the small, winged Skreet says she told him so. And she adds that she's been studying his tech. His hyperdrive and teleportation systems are both beyond top of the range but they're still not good enough. The hyperdrive *still* won't get him to Galactus in time, and the teleportation range is still too short. The Titan claims he never intended to go there in person, merely express an interest.

And we see Galactus grab the Fallen One in a giant fist and via superior teleportation(?) deposit him at the feet of Thanos (and Skreet). The FO accuses Thanos of arranging this, and the Titan admits it and refuses to let the foe go after Big G.

Last issue Gladiator recruited Peter Quill (ex-Starlord) from the Kyln prison (that the Fallen One escaped from) into the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. Now they've travelled by Shi'ar cruiser to another planet (Eden) in the star system containing the Kyln and have beamed down to meet Guardsmen Astra and Earthquake, who are none too impressed. Quill assumes they want him to help recapture the FO, who he as Starlord captured before. But the 350,000 people collateral damage had him sentenced to the Kyln too. But he learns they're more interested in Thanos, who they expect to defeat the FO. Astra gets a report from the ship about an energy discharge matching the FO. (In the background we see our friends from the Omega Core, with Swad attacking Cole but (possibly) Kika trying to drag him off.

Now we see Sanctuary falling into a gas giant planet. The Fallen One is on an asteroid gloating at its destruction. But then he sees Thanos on another asteroid and leaps to the attack. But the Titan holds him off with a forcefield until an asteroid storm (guided I think by Skreet) drags the FO down towards the planet. He struggles back upwards but she hits him with blasts of energy which knocks him back down. Thanos restrains her from killing him because he (maybe) wants to learn how the enemy utilises dark matter/energy. He doesn't expect the gas giant to kill the foe, but his 'infinite' power source ignites the planets core causing a really really big explosion.

On board the Shi'ar vessel Astra and Earthquake detect it and expect it to send the star system into chaos. They also expect to be able to capture Thanos, and contact the Omega Core at the Kyln.

But Thanos and Skreet have survived. And so has the Fallen One but he's unconscious. The Titan lobotomises(?) the foe and intends to use him as a powerful minion, including as transportation. But for now he's going to relax on an asteroid.