Annihilation: Nova (2006 series) #4

An invading space fleet emerged from the Crunch at the edge of the universe on Annihilation Day and spread out. Along the way it destroyed the Xandar Cluster, home of the Nova Corps, on A-Day + 7 and Earth's Richard Rider was the only Nova to survive in Anni: Prologue. In the current series (on A-Day + 11) he took the Xandarian Worldmind AI into his body and uniform which gave him access to the whole Nova Force that used to power the whole Corps which allowed him to personally create a stargate to escape through with fellow survivors Drax (The Destroyer) and sub-teen Earthian Cammi. They arrived at Nycos Aristedes planet and he helped human hero Quasar (Wendell Vaughn) evacuate the Aakonian colonists by creating an even bigger stargate. But his power use attracted the attention of the Annihilation Wave's leader Annhilus of the Negative Zone.

Now we see Drax and Cammi watching the last refugee ships leaving the planet and she asks why they're not going with them. Drax thinks things may not go as well as hoped.

Nova with the Nova Force and Quasar with his Quantum Bands had successfully fought a small advance force of the AW but now the boss has turned up with some big guns. And Nova has launched himself at the flagship against the advice of Q and the Worldmind. The WM estimates that it will take 12.8 minutes for the last of the escape craft to get through the stargate and Rider intends to buy them that time. The AI is usually more concerned about its own interests but in the current situation they include keeping its host alive so it helps by pinpointing immediate threats. At 1st it communicates verbally but Richard agrees to it directly prompting his brain and they turn into a spaceship-killing machine. Until loads of enemy ships concentrate their fire on him ...

... and Quasar blasts in to help him. Richard tells Wendell that they don't have a chance of destroying all the enemy ships but they just have to keep them occupied until the refugees all get away, which is now down to 10 minutes. Q says if that's what's needed that's what they'll do. Then they get a call from Drax to say that everyone's left the planet bar him and Cammi. He strongly suggests that they ignore all the smaller ships and take out the few big ones. Kill Annihilus (who Nova seems never to have heard of) and the 'hive' will collapse.

We see the boss being informed that the resistance from this planet is just 2 superpowered individuals. Annihilus immediately plots to absorb their power into his Cosmic Control Rod and he gives orders that they be allowed to reach him. Drax somehow detects (from the planet's surface) the gap opening up and informs our heroes. Then he loses contact.

This time it's Quasar that rushes in and Nova follows. They both smash as 1 into Annihilus' command centre. The bug lord blasts them back and Rider falls. But Q gets up and attacks the foe alone. And he feels his quantum power being drained, but he determines to hold out for the rest of the 10 mins. However all too soon he's disintegrated and Annihilus takes the Quantum Bands as well as their power.

Then he turns to fallen Nova but finds the body gone. And our guy attacks with full Nova Force. But the Worldmind warns him that it won't be sufficient to kill Annihilus, and the enemy will absorb his power like Quasar's. And then Richard will die and so will the AI, and for the sake of the universe that can't be allowed to happen. Nova replies that he knows all that and reveals his plan to the WM. As Annie starts to gorge the Worldmind infiltrates his mind and connects to the Annihilation Wave fleet. The boss immediately severs the connection but not before the WM gives irrevocable orders in his name to lots of the ships to attack others in the Wave. Annihilus is shocked and releases Nova to get the loyal elements of his fleet to destroy the infected ones. Nova uses his last shreds of consciousness to escape and the big bad boss orders his fleet to retreat and regroup.

When he gradually regains consciousness floating in space the WM tells him what happened. Rider then emphatically says he'll no longer continue with the AI's plan to be taken to a place of safety where he can be uploaded into a computer system and take the Nova Force back. Instead he'll keep all the Nova Force (even though it killed the last person who did that for a long period of time) and the AI because they've shown what they can do together and there's much more to be done in this war. And the AI unexpectedly agrees.

Then Drax and Cammi show up in a small craft to pick him up. He tells them that  Quasar is dead and Annihilus has his power and Quantum Bands. Drax says he needs him to form a stargate to get them out of here. Nova agrees to do that if Drax will teach him how to destroy.