The current combat between the Imperial Guard and their enemy was a fierce one, with no quarter asked or given. Already 19 of the Guard had fallen, killed or mortally wounded. The enemy was not faltering, though, and the Guard's efforts so far had barely budged him, much less hurt him.
Overman ran through strategies in his mind; the enemy was not halting, despite the efforts of the Guard, and time was short. A change in tactics was called for. Overman used the full power of his eyebeams to halt the enemy's attacks and flew backwards, briefly regretting the damage done to his uniform - it had been a present to him from his birth-parents, many long years ago, and until now had never been so damaged that it couldn't be repaired - and held a superfast conference with the Blur, Johnny Swift, and the Silver Streak, using his eyebeams all the while to hold off the enemy. He then flew back and stood in front of the foe and pointed a finger at him.
"Tyrant! One final chance - submit to the Emperor's mercy, or we will be forced to destroy you!"[1]
The Tyrant snarled and tried to blast Overman, who dodged the beams. Tyrant spat, "Get out of my way, Argonite! I have no time for such as you!"
Overman stood in front of Tyrant and flexed, his muscles bunching up impressively. He said, "A debt is owed by you to the Empire, Tyrant; the blood of 3 million Chr'Ylites demand justice!"[2]
Tyrant smiled unpleasantly and said, "They were obstacles, Argonite. They had to be removed. As do you." And with that he sent eye- and hand-beams at Overman, who clenched his hands, closed his eyes and averted his head somewhat. When the onslaught ceased, he said to the surprised Tyrant, "This obstacle will remove you, evil one."
With that the Blur, Johnny Swift, and the Silver Streak all hit the Tyrant at once, their hands moving so quickly that they phased in and out of real space; the edges of their hands became insubstantial and then solid inside of the Tyrant's body, having the same effect on his flesh as a chainsaw would have on the human body. Before the Tyrant could voice his pain, the Star Knight focussed his Cosmic Staff on the Tyrant, and Paladin 321 aimed his Power Lens at the Tyrant, and the Gyrfalcon aimed his Argonite Matter-Ripper at him, and Starlight and X the Unknown aimed their powers on him, and Overman focussed his eye-beams on him, and they all opened fire. Caught in the crossfire, the Tyrant was driven into the ground, howling in agony. The Thaumist and the Karcist worked quick combat magicks, adding to his pain. As the Tyrant screamed, Overman smiled grimly and said, "Suffer, vile one. It is only the beginning of your pain..."
[1] Little is known for sure of the Tyrant's past, and what can be confirmed is dire. He was at one point a Herald for the World-Devourer, but they parted on bad terms, after a conflict of undefined (but definitely lethal and huge) proportions. That he was able to survive a direct battle with Galactus is a testament to his might. The writings of dozens of races speak of his power, and evil, and his enemies in the Known Universe are many.
[2] The Chr'Ylites, faithful members of the Shi'ar Imperium, had the misfortune, some few centuries before this, to lie in the path of the Tyrant, when he was attempting to build an empire in the Shi'ar Galaxy. When the Tyrant entered the Chr'Yll system he discovered Chr'Yllalisa, and its empathically-talented natives; he immediately attempted to press-gang them into his service, seeing their talents as quite useful to his plans. The natives, loyal citizens to Emperor W's'n'g'r, resisted, and sent pleas for help to the Shi'ar Homeworld. By the time the League of Extraordinary GentleSentients (the predecessors to the Justice Alliance) arrived the Tyrant had slaughtered 75% of the Chr'Yllites, many in awful ways, and was close to destroying the planet. The ensuing battle destroyed most of the Tyrant's fleet, but he escaped, and although the Imperial Navy dismantled his would-be "empire," freeing the systems he'd placed in durance vile, he himself was never found.
Author's Notes: More information on the Shi'ar Justice Alliance can be found in Liberators: Another World, Not My Own #3. The story of the conflict between the Justice Alliance and the Liberators can be found in Liberators #10. The story of the Tyrant can be found in the Cosmic Powers miniseries.