Thank You,
Knight Teir: "Luis Marrufo"
For Becoming A Member On My Pa'treon. The Emperor Protect.
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Inside the Administration, the atmosphere was heavy with unease. The expert team stood solemnly, each face shadowed with tension.
Historian Johan, unusually quiet, wasn't recording as he normally did.
"Is this… a harbinger of war?" he murmured, his voice carrying a grim weight.
"I fear," another voice answered, "that the true battle of the Earth Era is about to fully unfold before our very eyes."
Tonio wiped at sweat that wasn't there, "I'm… really nervous," he admitted, voice low but tight. "Whether we win this war or not will define everything for us."
The director gave a slow nod, his face grim. "At present, the situation doesn't look optimistic. S.H.I.E.L.D. only has this small group of operatives…"
A scientist interjected, his voice sharp. "Do you still recall the transmission channel we discussed earlier?"
His tone sharpened further, "I think it may already be active!"
"Once that teleportation gate opens," another added gravely, "a full-scale Chitauri invasion becomes a reality. When that happens, no single hero, no matter how powerful, will be able to stop it."
At the mention of the Chitauri, the director's brows furrowed. An image flashed in his mind: the colossal mechanical whale seen in earlier footage. Its sheer size and power haunted him. He could only guess at the energy it contained, but destroying entire cities would be effortless for such a monster.
"If the Terra Federation faces these mechanical beasts…" His voice faltered. "Even our most devastating weapons of mass destruction might prove useless."
He exhaled again, not realizing he'd lost count of how many times he'd sighed already. The threats looming over Terra in this new Earth Era were terrifying, far beyond what their civilization was capable of enduring.
In the Administration's training grounds, Elenora and her teammates stood together, facing two young trainees. Their identical expressions were grim, reflecting the tension of the moment.
Kasey slung a rifle over his shoulder, his sharp gaze sweeping across the group.
"From today," he said bluntly, "you'll be training under me."
His tone was calm, but there was no warmth to it: "If you can't handle it, speak up early and leave."
The words stung; though simply stated, they felt like a verbal slap. The group exchanged glances but said nothing; each of them was extraordinary, yet none dared complain.
"Alright," Kasey said, lowering the rifle to the ground. "Take a breather for now. Watch the live feed."
Burton silently handed him a tablet. Kasey took it, his lips curving slightly as anticipation flickered in his eyes, "Chitauri creatures… I wonder if I can take one down with a single punch."
Elenora and her teammates exchanged glances again, startled by his eagerness. But none of them commented; instead, they each opened their own screens and tuned into the live broadcast.
The feed immediately erupted with violent tremors, the footage shaking wildly. Viewers could only make out fragments of the chaos:
[ Captain Rogers strapped his shield across his back. ]
[ Hawkeye Barton readied his compound bow. ]
[ Black Widow tightened a new gadget onto her wrist. ]
[ Tony Stark worked frantically in a workshop, repairing battle-damaged armor. ]
[ Thor strode onto an open plain, Mjolnir in hand, calling down a silver torrent of lightning that split the sky. ]
[ In the carrier's control room, Fury stood on the steps, grimly clutching Coulson's blood-stained cards. ]
[ Agent Hill approached. "Sir, these cards were found in Coulson's locker… not on him." ]
[ Fury didn't look up. "Sometimes… people need a push." ]
[ Outside the window, Tony shot into the air, a streak of fire from his armor's thrusters. ]
[ "A jet just launched from Port Six!" ]
[ Fury barked orders: "Track it, restore all communications, and keep me informed of everything!" ]
The audience erupted with excitement.
"Finally! Tony and the team are making their move!"
"Thor's lightning, he nearly scorched the whole field!"
"Director Fury's playing the long game. Risky, but it's working!"
"Everything's set… time to hunt Loki!"
"That guy caused so much chaos on Terra by himself. Take him down!"
On-screen, Tony rocketed toward Stark Tower. Even from a distance, viewers could see the rooftop: a towering device was already active, with the glowing Cube at its core, pulsing with dangerous energy.
[ Jarvis's voice was calm but tense, "I've shut down the Arc Reactor. The system is in self-stabilization mode." ]
[ Tony descended. "Shut it off, Eric." ]
[ Eric's voice was wild, almost reverent. "It's too late! She just wants to show us… a new world!" ]
[ Tony's repulsors roared, twin beams of energy blasting the device, only to rebound off a shimmering, multi-layered energy shield. The shockwave sent Eric flying and forced Tony into a chaotic spin before he regained control. ]
[ "Pure energy barrier," Jarvis reported. "It cannot be breached." ]
[ Tony's eyes flicked toward Loki, standing confidently on a nearby platform. "Alright… Plan B." ]
The chat exploded.
"No way Loki's pulling this off in Stark Tower!"
"That's Tony's brand-new building! And Loki's using it as his evil lair?!"
"Forget that, did you SEE that shield?!"
"Energy barriers like that were supposed to be science fiction!"
"If Jarvis says it's unbreakable… then how do we stop this?"
"That machine is opening a portal. The Chitauri army's coming!"
"Tony's suit is struggling. Thruster output's fluctuating!"
"Get reinforcements in there NOW!"
At Norland Base, Guerino and his team studied the barrier with grave expressions.
"Breaking a pure energy shield like this…" a specialist muttered, "…is practically impossible."
"It's beyond difficult," Guerino said firmly. "If it were just a barrier countering physical kinetic force, there'd still be a chance. But this is different. The Cube's influence… has pushed it into the realm of advanced quantum mechanics."
He began pacing as he explained. "Normally, you'd create a barrier by ionizing air into plasma, then confining it with superconducting coils. There are two theoretical approaches: high-temperature plasma for sheer force, or low-temperature plasma to mimic non-Newtonian fluid properties.
"The Federation has tested prototypes, but even the simplest energy shields burn enormous amounts of power, requiring supercapacitors just to function briefly."
"Sir," a researcher said cautiously, "if we harnessed the Cube directly, could we… create a planetary shield for Terra?"
Chungang froze. The thought had never occurred to him, at least, not seriously. Before, the idea would've been pure fantasy. But now? The Cube was real. An inexhaustible source of energy existed. If harnessed correctly, it could protect entire cities, maybe even the planet itself. Even partial coverage of critical regions could mean survival.
He sent a terse message to his superiors: "Focus all resources. Secure new elements immediately."
Still, progress was slow, and frustration gnawed at him.
Back at the Administration, the expert panel buzzed with heated speculation.
"This machine," one scientist said, "is designed to open that portal. If we replicate it, and get the Cube…"
"Everything relies on acquiring the Cube," Johan interjected solemnly. "And once we do… its potential uses could surpass our imagination."
A military advisor frowned. "So far, we've seen it create weapons, open interdimensional gates, and generate near-indestructible barriers. Yet I suspect these are only its most basic functions."
Xiaotian scoffed. "You're all fools if you think it's that simple. This Cube is a Pandora's Box from the Gods. Who knows what catastrophe will follow once it's opened?"
For once, no one argued. The room fell silent. They all knew this artifact wasn't of Terra. Even in history, its discovery had only brought disaster.
Suddenly, the livestream showed Tony and Loki in a direct standoff. The director's face drained of color, "This is bad. Loki's about to make his move. If he controls Tony… humanity's done for."
His mind raced, piecing together the nightmare scenario. "Artificial intelligence destroying humanity… It's not Jarvis going rogue. It's Loki, using his scepter to enslave Tony, then forcing him to command Jarvis and the suits."
His hands clenched, "That's how Loki will forge his 'new world.' A world stripped of freedom."