Racing inside the Supremor, Ko discovers that the entire crew has been slaughtered by the Phalanx. Upset and angry with herself that she wasn't there to save them, Ko talks to the holographic image of her son Zam. She promises her son that she will revenge her crew and destroy the Phalanx. Suddenly, the voice of the WorldMind appears in Ko's head but it's faint. The artificial sentience informs Nova0001 that it, and its host Nova, are on one of the inner Kree worlds. The WorldMind senses Ko's anger and tells her she'll need it to complete her new mission. The newest possessor of the Nova Force must hunt down the Richard Rider, the Nova Prime, and kill him which will also destroy the WorldMind! The computerized intelligence opens a StarGate to take Ko-Rel to the planetoid Nil-Rast.

Meanwhile, on Nil-Rast, Drax the Destroyer finds himself being hunted by his one-time ally Rich Rider. The Phalanx Select Nova Prime and his companion, Gamora, want Drax to become a member of the Phalanx. Drax naturally resists their offer and Nova Prime attempts to persuade him with a furious beating. Frustrated with Drax's refusal, Rich Rider knocked him unconscious with a powerful punch and a quick energy blast!

Later, at a Kree Geothermal Refinery Faciloid, the former hero hands his foe over to the Phalanx for Selection. While they watch Drax get taken away, Nova Prime and Gamora discuss the nature of the Phalanx's Selection Process. Gamora explains that the Phalanx have modified their virus to encourage individuality and free will while working for the greater good of the collective. They found their Selects were more productive and easier to control if the infected beings felt they had some control.

Suddenly, Ko-Rel swoops in and grabs Rich and begins to attack. Nova Prime knocks her away with a Gravimetric Pulse. The Phalanx Select requests the WorldMind's help in capturing Nova0001. He is shocked to hear the artificial intelligence reject him and give its allegiance to Ko! The highly charged chase between Nova Prime and the WorldMind's Kree agent takes them around the refinery and through an office building! Rich blasts into the building but Ko escapes and responds with a blast of her own! The WorldMind instructs her to go into a power dive but she's not fast enough to evade Nova Prime's punch.

The chase and blasts continue until Nova0001 flies into the Faciloid's Central Thermal Processing Core. The WorldMind's plan is to use the core's power to stop Rich Rider. Ko-Rel is unable to dodge a blast from Nova Prime which shatters her helmet. She shakes off the pain and lures her attacker into blasting a pipe that she is flying above. The pipe had been carrying hot magma from the planetoid's core into the processing center. The Earthman is covered in burning hot magma and is painfully driven to the floor.

The WorldMind tells Ko that Rich is now vulnerable to a full power blast and she must kill him to save others. However, Nova0001 cannot bring herself to murder Nova Prime and asks her son to forgive her for not being able to do it. With her guard down, Ko-Rel is suddenly stabbed in the back by Gamora! As she falls into the arms of Richard Rider, Ko tells him that being a Select isn't who he truly is. Her words appear to reach the true Richard Rider and his eyes become clear momentarily as Ko dies saying her son's name.

As Gamora approaches, Nova Prime tells her that he detects no heartbeat and that Nova0001 is dead. Looking down, the Phalanx Selects see the holographic projector Ko had of her son's image. Rich crushes it under his foot not realizing what it meant to Ko-Rel. Nova Prime and Gamora leave the Faciloid to take a shower together while the lifeless body of Ko-Rel is left behind.