After gathering intelligence on the Zerg, the mood inside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters turned grave. Every insider who had access to the data wore the same expression, solemn, heavy, and weighed down by the enormity of what they now faced.
This was not just a swarm. It was an entire universe of Zerg. Even if they lacked advanced technology or only possessed their most primitive forms, if such a swarm were to descend upon Earth, they would crush it without mercy.
The Zergs were not merely an enemy. They were a natural disaster, a living apocalypse, a force capable of erasing entire species across universes. Whether at the level of overwhelming high-end strength, tireless cannon fodder, or the eerie blend of intelligence and adaptability, the Zerg had no equal. To face them directly was to invite extinction. If Earth became their target, not even Iron Man, with all his ingenuity and armor, could hope to stand against them.
Even Shin, who had weathered countless battles and possessed abilities beyond human comprehension, felt his scalp tingle at the thought of an enemy that stretched across an entire universe. The sheer scope left him shaken.
Not even Superman, with his nearly limitless might, could annihilate an entire universe of Zerg. At best, he might resist their assault or shield part of a world for a time, but to extinguish them all was impossible.
Shin himself could destroy tens of millions of Zerg in a single second. But what did that matter when their reproductive rate eclipsed even his slaughter? His killing speed would always fall short of their breeding frenzy.
In the end, there was only one clear truth: he could protect himself, but defeating the Zerg required something beyond brute strength. To truly counter such a plague, they would need Wanda at the height of her chaos powers or Jean Grey wielding the Phoenix Force in its full cosmic splendor. Chaos energy could reshape existence itself, while the Phoenix Force had the potential to incinerate an entire universe. In large-scale devastation, sorcerers and cosmic entities far surpassed even warriors like Superman.
Tony Stark sat in silence, frowning deeply. For once, his arrogance had no answer. His mind, always quick to conjure solutions, faltered in the face of annihilation.
Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic, looked equally shaken. His voice wavered as he admitted, "I'm finally coming out of my frenzied research. But when I think about how the destruction of an entire universe might have been caused by my own work… I feel nothing but fear."
A silence settled over the room until Stark broke it, forcing optimism into his voice. "The good news is that while these bugs managed to locate cosmic coordinates, the places they tear open are random. There's only a small chance they'll appear directly under Earth."
He straightened, letting his words carry. "In other words, this isn't only Earth's problem. Every intelligent race in the universe is now threatened by the Zerg of the Negative Dimension. The responsibility falls primarily on the more advanced civilizations with the best technology."
The analogy was simple: the sky was collapsing, but no one on Earth had the strength to hold it up. Despite its importance and growing technological base, Earth was still just another species on the lower rungs of the cosmic ladder.
Thus, the real danger wasn't only the Zerg themselves, but that other cosmic races might discover that Earth had been the one to unleash this catastrophe. If the truth came to light, those advanced civilizations would not hesitate to erase the planet before the Zerg could finish the job.
For now, secrecy was their shield. To most of the cosmos, Earth was a backwater world, a remote dot on the galactic map. Very few even knew that Reed had opened a rift into the Negative Universe. To outsiders, it looked as if some eccentric scientist had run a reckless biological experiment that spiraled out of control.
On a cosmic scale, such accidents were almost trivial. Alien civilizations would barely raise an eyebrow.
Even the recent Zerg invasion of New York had caused relatively little damage compared to what could have happened. For Reed, however, the consequences were personal. Unless he found a way to redeem himself, his days of free research were over. S.H.I.E.L.D. would keep him under close watch, perhaps indefinitely.
Shin could not help but think that if it were him who had made such catastrophic mistakes, even his talents would not save him from being imprisoned for crimes against humanity.
While opinions diverged, strategies were still being formed. Stark proposed developing a biochemical virus as a possible weapon against the Zerg. The idea wasn't without merit—history had shown that smaller swarms were vulnerable to tailored viruses. But the problem was scale. The Zerg evolved at terrifying speeds. What might work once could easily become useless within weeks.
Shin shook his head inwardly. Even if Stark made progress, it would only slow the Zerg, not stop them. Searching for the Infinity Stones and using their combined power seemed like a better path, though far more difficult.
"But aside from the two stones hidden on Earth," Shin muttered, "where are the others?"
He recalled what he knew. The Reality Stone was sealed away by the Asgardians. The Mind Stone was in Thanos's possession. The Soul and Power Stones were on distant planets, their guardians unknown.
"Maybe we could use the Guardians of the Galaxy," Shin thought. "Star-Lord managed to find the Power Stone once."
Yet time was their greatest enemy. The Zerg would not consume the universe overnight, but within a year or two, they would spread so far that even remote worlds like Earth would be touched. At best, Shin could only delay the inevitable.
Still, he told himself that in the end, this was only a parallel universe. He had few bonds here. Only a handful of people truly mattered to him. That made the looming calamity easier to bear.
Before leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., Shin noticed the worry etched across Wanda and Quicksilver's faces. Their concern was genuine, but misplaced.
"Instead of worrying," he told them, "you should focus on developing your abilities. Strength is the only thing that can overcome this crisis."
Quicksilver rubbed his chin, replying with a bitter smile, "But she's my sister. No matter how much she grows, there's always the risk of collapse… Unless we find the 'Isotope E' Ancient One once mentioned."
The Isotope E was something drawn from scattered comic-book lore. It was said to upgrade Quicksilver's speed. Once empowered by his sister's sorcery and having Synapse remove his mental barriers, he could catch a frictionless beacon and became unstuck from time. This grants him the ability to move back in time by a few days.
Of course, this was nothing like the Flash's Speed Force, which allowed near-light-speed travel and vast temporal manipulation. Even with or without such forces, the physical strain of reaching such velocity would break most bodies.
Still, Quicksilver's raw ability was formidable. Even relying solely on his own molecular vibrations and resilience, he could challenge beings as powerful as Thanos. That kind of temporal maneuvering made him, at his peak, an Omega-level mutant.
Scarlet Witch frowned. "But does the 'Isotope E' even exist in this world?"
Quicksilver exhaled sharply, shoulders slumping. "Probably not. Forget it. Maybe it's a fool's hope." He paused, then tried to lighten the mood.
"Speaking of things that may or may not exist… isn't there supposed to be a city of Inhumans under the moon? And a princess named Crystal?"
Shin glanced upward, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Good news for you... Attilan is real. There's indeed a city beneath the moon. But as for your Princess Crystal, she's not quite what you imagine. By now, she'd be around seventeen or eighteen."
Quicksilver froze, caught off guard. "Uh…"
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