Beyoncé looked at Gamora blankly. The woman had fallen out of the sky and crashed her picnic with her husband and daughter. Where the green woman landed, there was a crater. In the silence--the birds have since fled, Beyoncé could hear loose dirt and pebble roll into the crater and land toward the other woman's feet. She was green and fierce. Sasha Fierce.

            "Mama?" She heard her daughter's voice, a beacon to guide her mind back to the present.

            "Run!" shouted Gamora, using a quick gesture of her blade to emphasize her meaning. "Get out of here! 

            But before Beyoncé could move another step, a second being fell from the sky, leaving so large a crater that Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and little baby Blue Ivy backslid against the dirt and entangled with the green warrior. Gamora loosened herself from them easily and headed toward the gelatinous lump. 

            "Bey! Are you all right?" her husband asked, running his hands over her dusty face and then over Blue's face. Blue, shaking and quiet, always so quiet, was tucked into Beyoncé's arms.

            "No! Get away!" Beyoncé heard the woman yell. And in that instant, a gargantuan, bulbous creature rose to its full height of at least thirty feet. It was hairless, slick with mucus, and had a white layer of flesh stretched over its sagging form. It had one beautiful feature. A single large blue eye, the bluest eye that Beyoncé had ever seen. She saw it reach for her with a meaty, three digit hand.

"Baaaabbyy," the creature garbled. Its intention was clear. Jay-Z covered both his daughter and his wife with his body. He shared a look with the love of his life, both of them knowing that he was a useless shield against such supreme evil. Before they could whisper their tragic affections, the beast pinched Jay-Z's jacket and flung him into a nearby tree trunk with as much force as a human batting away a bee.

            Beyoncé would see to her husband later. She had to protect Blue. As if giving her a chance, Gamora rose to the top of the creature’s shoulders and tried to slice in to its exposed throat. The distraction provided Beyoncé a few moments of a head start and she scrambled up the massive crater, her hands clawing at dry earth to pull herself out. She aimed herself toward the direction of her husband and ran as quickly as she could, stumbling in her heels only once before kicking the offending Louboutin's off.

            Before she could reach the limb body of her husband, a force knocked her down. She curled up, using her body like the armor of a pangolin to protect her precious child. No mother would do less. 

            Blue screamed, a high frightened piercing sound that injected Beyoncé with adrenaline. Her primal instincts awoke as if responding to a siren. Whatever fear within her moved aside and Beyoncé felt empowered. 

            The creature, taking advantage of her moment of weakness, tore Blue from her arms. But Beyoncé was upon it like the plague of the Gods. No thing, terrestrial or non, would keep her from her child. Imbued with strength, Beyoncé joined Gamora in the battle to retrieve her daughter.

"What is this thing?" Beyoncé asked Gamora, her ally, as they each took one side of the creature. With fists and blade and teeth, they fought it. 

            "It is Racishibo, the Baby Eater!" Gamora replied. She hoisted Beyoncé up onto the creature's neck, handing her a lone dagger. Racishibo was a fearsome monster. He was the King of childhood bogeymen, far more terrifying than shadows beneath the bed. As he flailed to dislodge the women, his strength was made clear. He goes from world to world, gobbling up children by the droves until there is no more left. He takes from a planet it's future.

            The creature's maw opens; ivory teeth that had lain tessellated against each other slide apart and pointed like needles. In the depths of it's red throat, the stench of rotting children wafted to the women’s noses. He lifted Blue up, taunting, playful, as he lowered her into the cavernous pit of his mouth.

            "NO!" Beyoncé shouted, her melodic voice crackling with urgent fear. Her second wind pushed her to climb faster. Her bare feet meeting with the creature’s slimy flesh, slipping and trying again. She used the dagger and help from Gamora. When Beyoncé reached the head, the dagger stabbed into the bluest eye. Blinded, the creature shrieked and released Blue.

            Too late did Beyoncé see her mistake. Racishibo released Blue and the small girl fell, gravity taking her into that stinking pit. 

            Gamora, having reached the top a second later, leaped towards Blue, wrapping her up and falling with her to the ground, taking the brunt of the weight. 

            "Stab it again!" Gamora yelled. She released Blue and the girl was smart enough to run as far from the creature as she could. 

            Beyoncé, holding onto the slippery giant with one hand and her legs, pulled the dagger from its eye and brought it down again. Blood spurted briefly, green and thick, trailing like tears down its clenching face. It wailed endlessly, sounding very much like a large infant.

            "Again!" Gamora commanded as she removed rope from her belt. She ran around the creature’s legs. And when Beyoncé stabbed it a third time, it stumbled. Gamora leaped again with resounding agility, to save Beyoncé from the weight of the falling giant, setting her down not far from the writhing monster. 

"This will end today. The creature will feast no more," Gamora said and turned to the beast. Beyoncé could see that the other woman was dangerous. She was powerfully built and tense with action. "Come, you will end its life. It is poetic justice that a mother defeats her child’s monster. Feed it my blade.” 

            Gamora handed Beyoncé a black bladed sword. Having never wielded a real weapon for any length of time other than today, Beyoncé floundered a bit. But with Gamora at her side, and the knowledge that her child will be safe as soon as the monster finally croaked, Beyoncé steeled her spine and ended the creature. 

            Racishibo shuddered in his death, then stilled. Beyoncé stood with her bared foot on his head, and her forehead on the handle of the sword, breathing deeply. Feeling every inch the warrior today as she ever had before. 

            “Well done, Mother of Earth. You might survive the Racishibo Queen’s arrival, after all.” 

            At this, Beyoncé jerked to attention, her eyes cutting to Gamora and then looked up at the sky where Gamora’s gaze rested grimly. In the distance, giants fell through the clouds and landed upon the earth. Others. More heinous monsters. 

            “This Earth’s not big enough for two Queens,” said Beyoncé.