The sky was torn apart by the sound of a crashing skyscraper. Glass and steel rained in glittering arcs as the structure buckled, the upper floors collapsing in on themselves. From the cloud of destruction emerged Gojo, a faint cerulean aura rippling around him and a shit eating grin plastered across his face. The rubble groaned and collapsed behind him, swallowed by the residual flames of his red.
From within the smoke, bright green plasma bolts screamed toward him, tearing through the air. Gojo didn't move. He laughed softly, walking forward as each blast bent and dissolved before touching him, fading into nothingness.
"Well, that's cute," he murmured with a smirk. "Thought you'd aim better."
Ravenous burst out of the haze, his massive frame outlined in green light, gripping a jagged chunk of the fallen building. With a furious snarl, he hurled it at Gojo like a meteor.
Gojo sighed, raised a hand, and slashed the air. The atmosphere shimmered and an instant, the enormous projectile was shredded into rubble and dust by invisible blades of telekinetic force.
Before the fragments even hit the ground, Ravenous appeared before him, swinging down the axe side of his hybrid weapon. The impact shook the city. A violent green explosion erupted, blowing out windows across the district and setting off car alarms for blocks. When the dust finally cleared, the alien's axe was stopped just inches from Gojo's throat frozen in place, unable to move closer.
Gojo tilted his head slightly, lips curling into a mocking smile.
"Axe to meet you too," he said casually. "Mind if I don't flinch?"
He caught Ravenous' outstretched wrist, twisted it with a crack, and in the same motion drove three quick punches, one to the gut, one to the chest, and one to the throat. Each blow reverberated like thunder. Then, in the blink of an eye, Gojo vanished from sight.
Ravenous spun around, searching frantically through the dizziness for him.
The voice came from behind him.
"And of infinity," Gojo said lightly, "comes red."
A surge of crimson energy detonated against Ravenous' face as a kick landed dead on and coated with red, engulfing him in a violent explosion. He screamed as the blast hurled him across the city faster than the speed of sound.
The resulting shockwave rippled outward, cracking the streets and toppling debris in all directions. Gojo floated amidst the chaos in the air, brushing dust from his coat, laughing under his breath.
"Try and have some fun, will you?" he said to the wind.
He floated into the air, turning lazily upside down, his voice carrying across the ruined skyline.
"Are you enjoying this as much as I am, Mr. Invader?"
He pointed toward the glowing portal above the city and fired a blue. Then another. Then a third. The orbs shot upward like comets, and far above, a massive ship began to force its way through the swirling gateway. Gojo didn't need to look as his Six Eyes already showed him everything, including the growing panic inside Ravenous' mind.
He chuckled. "Ah… there it is."
With a single burst of speed, he vanished again, reappearing high above the ground, then kicked downward, chasing the plummeting alien. Ravenous crashed into the street below, carving out a crater that shook nearby buildings. Gojo appeared above him mid-flight and came down with a devastating dropkick, slamming him through layers of concrete and down into the subway system. The impact wiped out a cluster of insectoid creatures in the vicinity.
Above them, the three blue orbs merged midair, fusing into one blinding sphere that tore through the atmosphere and slammed into the massive vessel trying to emerge from the portal. The front half of the ship disintegrated instantly, sucked into a growing vortex. The singularity consumed the rest of the ship, dragging countless insectoids into its spiral before imploding with a soft, eerie flash.
———————
On the ground, Tony and Reed were sprinting toward the tower engulfed in light. The air shimmered around them, the building's defensive energy field pulsing like liquid fire.
"We're not getting through that without melting," Tony grunted.
"Sue's shields got us past the first layer," Reed replied, studying the readings. "If we can replicate her field frequency—"
"Buddy," Tony interrupted, "unless you've got another invisible woman hidden somewhere, we're out of luck."
Before Reed could respond, a loud boom shook the ground. Natasha's voice came through their comms, sharp and tense.
"Uh, guys? What the hell is that?"
Tony turned, his visor adjusting focus. From the heart of the portal, the hull of an enormous ship began to emerge, dwarfing the surrounding buildings.
"Sir," JARVIS announced. "Based on current data, estimated vessel length is approximately five hundred meters."
"Uhhh," Clint's voice came in, "guys… the ship's shrinking?"
Reed frowned. "Shrinking? That's impossible—"
Tony's visor zoomed in, focusing on three glowing blue lights circling the ship's center. "It's not shrinking," he muttered. "It's being eaten. That's a singularity."
The vessel twisted and imploded, the singularity tearing it apart piece by piece. The falling wreckage, the shrieks of insectoids all vanished into the blue whirlpool before it collapsed and faded from existence.
Moments later, Fury's voice came through the comm line.
"Stark. What the hell just happened? We just detected a goddamn singularity on every satellite feed! What's going on out there?"
Tony exhaled, half laughing. "Short version? The kid's improvising."
"I don't have time for your sarcasm," Fury snapped. "The World Council's preparing to nuke the city."
That silenced everyone. Even through the static, the weight of it hit like a physical blow.
"That won't work," Reed said sharply. "The portal's independent of the blast radius. You could level the city and it'd still be here."
Tony frowned. "Fury, stall them. Keep those bureaucrats busy. We'll shut this thing down manually."
"Make it fast," Fury replied before the line cut.
Another explosion echoed through the distance. Ravenous had been flung skyward again.
Tony muttered, "Kid's still at it…"
He opened a telepathic link. "Hey, kid. Can you hear me?"
A cheerful, singsong voice filled his mind. "Yup. What's up, metal man?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "We're trying to get inside the building to turn the device off manually, but we can't pierce through the energy field. You got any tricks?"
Gojo appeared beside them as if he had always been there, brushing off dust. "You called?"
Reed jumped back in alarm. "How did you—?"
"I walked," Gojo replied casually. "Fast."
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, he does that."
Gojo studied the luminous barrier surrounding the tower and with a blue he sliced through the field, creating a narrow opening.
"You've got one second," he said. "Go."
He touched their shoulders, and the world warped. They reappeared inside the tower's laboratory, surrounded by crackling arcs of unstable power. The gate ring spun wildly, glowing with chaotic light. Gojo frowned.
"That's… not good," he muttered before his attention was focused outside again.
Outside, he saw movements from Ravenous. He was rising again, enraged and battered. Gojo extended a telekinetic shield, wrapping Tony and Reed in its protection.
"Alright, geniuses. Time for me to babysit the space gorilla again. You two handle the machine."
With that, he vanished in a blur of blue, leaving Tony and Reed standing in the storm of energy.
"Okay," Tony said, scanning the consoles. "Dampeners first. Feedback loops after. Let's shut this thing down before someone presses the big red button."
The tower trembled. The sky above them rumbled like a living thing.
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