Government officials, military leaders, and senators sat in near silence. The looming shape of Galactus… barely comprehensible, a dark cosmic hurricane, rotated slowly above them.
"The Ark Project." said Secretary. "Could carry maybe two hundred, max. Even if we launched tomorrow, it's a lottery ticket."
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the chamber, resigned, bitter, helpless.
"There is no hope…"
"…"
"There is someone."
Heads turned. The old war dog general Ross had stood up.
He didn't look uncertain, just like a man who knew exactly how desperate this was.
"Someone?" A senator raised an eyebrow. "You think one person can fight that thing?"
"He's not just someone. He's Soren Macaluso. Of Everlife Medical."
A beat of stunned silence.
Several eyes widened.
Soren. For most of them, the name evoked whispers. Urban legends.
But fight something from beyond the stars?
"I've heard he's… eccentric." The French liaison muttered.
"I've heard he's more than human…"
The President, seated in shadow, finally spoke. "He took down the threat in Greenwich, didn't he?"
Ross nodded.
"Then I'll speak to him myself."Tthe President said. "If Earth has a chance, however small, we don't ignore it."
Everlife
Soren's office felt more like a study carved from obsidian than a clinic.
Soren sat at his desk, sipping tea made from alien herbs, when his door opened.
"I didn't expect you this soon." Soren said without looking.
Tony Stark stepped in, removing his sunglasses. "Hi Doctor, I didn't bring any wine this time."
"No need, I still have some left." Soren smiled faintly.
Tony laughed lightly, but there was tension in his shoulders.
"Long time." Soren added, rising to his feet.
"You look like you haven't slept in two days."
"Try five."
Soren motioned for him to sit. "What's the world breaking apart over this time?"
Tony hesitated, tapping a command into his wrist.
A shimmering hologram opened between them, images of cities under strange cloud formations, solar radiation spikes, birds falling from the sky.
And then… the Surfer.
Tony's voice lost its usual edge. "This guy showed up a few days ago."
"Just this... impossible board, and some kind of gravitational force wrapped around his skin."
Soren watched, eyes narrowing.
"He didn't attack." Tony continued. "Just flew over the Atlantic. But every place he passed?"
"The sky changed. Energy dropped. Satellites glitched out. We tracked the decay signature, turns out, wherever he goes, a planet dies within a week."
Then Tony showed the big one, a galactic mass crawling toward the solar system.
A void in the galaxy.
"This thing." Tony said softly, "Is following him."
Soren leaned back in his chair, folding his fingers.
"And now the world's smartest man come knocking."
Tony gave a lopsided grin. "You're not exactly a last resort. You're just... the only card left."
A silence hung between them.
Finally, Soren rose and walked toward the window, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked up at the sky, as if searching for something beyond it.
"I've felt it too."
"That cold wind… the drums of conflict."
Soren's eyes flicked towards the clouds above.
"The Herald." He murmured.
"You know him?"
Before Soren could answer, the deep chime of the front door echoed through.
Soren's head turned slightly.
With a slow wave of his hand, the grand doors of the Everlife Medical Center unlatched and opened on their own. The corridor outside flooded with footsteps.
General Ross entered first, his green uniform soaked from the rain, the brim of his cap dripping. Behind him, surrounded by eight vigilant Secret Service agents, walked the President of the United States.
The President's tired eyes scanned the room with veiled urgency. "You were right, General."
"If there's a place safe enough to talk without satellites listening, it's here."
Ross gave Tony a curt nod as he entered, acknowledging the mutual respect between them.
Soren didn't move from his place near the fireplace. "Mr. President. I wasn't expecting a house call."
"It's been too long…" the President replied politely.
"This time, I come with little choice."
Soren's gaze flicked from Ross to the President, reading the tension in their posture, the unease in their breaths.
He gestured toward the leather chairs that appeared from nowhere. "Please. Make yourselves comfortable."
As they sat, Ross produced a thick manila folder and laid it on the coffee table. His fingers lingered on the cover before sliding it over to Soren.
"This." Ross said gravely.
"Is everything we've gathered so far. And it's not enough."
Soren opened the file without comment. The documents were crisp, hastily printed. Thermal images, energy readings, trajectory charts, grainy stills of the silver figure, blurred by speed and atmosphere, streaking across different continents.
A few sections were labeled CLASSIFIED.
The President spoke with a sigh. "We're looking at a global extinction-level threat. And we don't even fully understand what it is."
Soren flipped through the final page and closed the folder. "You're chasing shadows."
Then, handing it to Tony without a word, he walked back toward his table.
Tony skimmed the contents. "This is worse than I thought."
Soren spoke, still looking out the window. "That silver light you've been chasing..."
"It's a person. A scout. A warning."
The room went still.
Soren turned slowly, the firelight painting sharp contours across his face.
"He is called the Silver Surfer."
"A herald bound by a contract to the end of worlds."
Ross stiffened. "What do you mean, 'end of worlds'?"
"He rides the board you saw. It's not technology in any conventional sense. It's a channel for the Power Cosmic. And more importantly, it's a beacon. It sends a signal to his master."
"Galactus."
"The Devourer. A force older than most galaxies. He consumes planets not out of malice, but necessity."
The President leaned forward. "How do you know all this?"
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream