1. A Storm for Breakfast
The sky over New York was an electric bruise.Lightning spidered between clouds like cracks in reality, and Malik Toxen walked straight into it, coat billowing, eyes reflecting the chaos above.
He didn't flinch when thunder roared. If anything, he smirked.
"Finally," he said to no one. "Something louder than my thoughts."
A bolt struck a lamppost ten feet away. It exploded into molten sparks, the air trembling with static. Malik inhaled deeply, feeling the charge roll through his veins like champagne and acid.
"Delicious," he muttered. "Zero calories, full trauma."
A nearby security drone blinked to life, its lens focusing on him.
"Unidentified anomaly detected. Please remain still."
He waved casually. "Sure thing, Robo-Karen."
The drone fired a tranquilizer dart. It disintegrated midair as space around him folded and spat it back out—into the drone's own sensor array. The machine sparked, spun, and collapsed with a pitiful beep.
Malik sighed. "And they say self-defense isn't poetic."
He moved on, each step rippling the rain around his boots. The storm followed him like a loyal pet, thunder rolling in sync with his pulse.
Somewhere beneath the city, he could feel it—the hum of other energy signatures. Faint, unstable, wrong. The same kind that tore his life apart.
He grinned, though his eyes didn't match. "Guess we're having déjà vu for dinner."
2. The Ghost in the Noise
Half an hour later, Malik stood before an abandoned concert hall in Hell's Kitchen.The marquee still read LIVE TONIGHT: NYAH REYES & THE ECHO SYNDROME.
His smirk faltered.He hadn't heard that name in months.
Lightning flared again. The hall's shattered doors swung open, as if inviting him in.
"Okay," he muttered. "This doesn't feel like a trap at all. Ten out of ten on the horror movie checklist."
Inside, dust hung like fog, and the silence was too perfect. Not quiet — absolute silence. Even his footsteps made no sound. The air shimmered faintly, warped by invisible waves.
"Sound barrier," he whispered. "Clever girl."
Then she appeared—standing on stage beneath the faint glow of emergency lights. Nyah.Her hair was shorter, her eyes faintly luminescent, her skin threaded with veins of silver light. When she spoke, her voice didn't echo—it vibrated through the air directly into his mind.
"You shouldn't be here, Malik."
He froze. "...You're alive."
"Define alive."
He laughed, sharp and broken. "You always were bad at definitions."
She stepped down from the stage. Each movement sent ripples through the air like sonar waves.
"The blast hit the entire facility. I woke up three miles away. The sound—froze. It bent around me. Now I can hear everything—every heartbeat, every lie."
"Even mine?"
"Especially yours."
He grinned despite himself. "Damn. I missed you."
"You should've missed me more carefully."
Her tone wasn't cruel, just tired. Behind her, the air shimmered again—a faint blue distortion.He recognized it instantly. Space energy. Corrupted. Spreading.
"You've got a leak," he said, pointing. "Someone's trying to piggyback through your signal."
"I know. That's why I called you."
He blinked. "You called me?"
"Through resonance. You're basically a cosmic radio. You pick up everything."
He chuckled. "So I'm the world's angriest antenna. Fantastic."
Nyah smiled faintly. For a heartbeat, the old warmth was there—then it vanished under the weight of whatever she'd become.
"They're tracking both of us," she said. "You shouldn't stay long."
"Too late," he said, turning as footsteps echoed—real ones this time.
3. The Man with the Gun and No Sleep
Agent Ezra Vance looked like he'd lost an argument with both caffeine and morality. His coat was wet, his eyes sharper than the gun in his hand.
"Evening," he said. "You two planning to destroy the city, or just flirt until it collapses on its own?"
Malik grinned. "Little of both, probably."
Ezra didn't smile. "I've been tracking your signal since you ghosted S.H.I.E.L.D. containment. Fury wants you back in chains."
Malik tilted his head. "And you're here to deliver the invitation personally?"
"Not exactly. I quit." Ezra lowered his weapon—slightly. "After watching that AI scream itself to death, I decided I liked my brain unshattered."
Nyah eyed him. "And now you're what? A vigilante?"
Ezra shrugged. "Freelancer. I sell intel. I burn bridges. I hate everyone equally. It's very therapeutic."
Malik smirked. "You'll fit right in."
"Don't get sentimental," Ezra warned. "I didn't come here for you. I came because something's been tearing through comms channels—ripping data out of satellites, rewriting coordinates. Whatever it is, it's using your signatures."
Nyah frowned. "You mean someone's copying us?"
"Not copying," Ezra said grimly. "Evolving."
4. The Call from Nowhere
Before Malik could respond, the building shook. Dust rained from the ceiling as a pulse of pure space energy rolled through the hall.
Nyah grabbed the railing, her voice slicing the silence. "That's not me!"
Malik's eyes blazed blue. "Then it's our uninvited guest."
He tore open a rift—space folding like cloth to reveal a glowing figure in the alley beyond.Hovering a few feet off the ground, surrounded by fractal light, was a woman in a white coat. Her eyes glowed gold.
"Doctor Aditi Rao," Malik muttered. "Theoretical physicist. Used to publish papers on dimensional overlap before S.H.I.E.L.D. buried her work."
Aditi floated closer, calm and composed. "I didn't expect you to remember me."
"Hard to forget someone who called me 'the human glitch in the cosmos.'"
She smiled slightly. "It was meant as a compliment."
Ezra groaned. "Fantastic. Another one. How many reality warpers do we need before the universe gives up?"
Aditi ignored him. "You've been bleeding spatial energy across the city, Malik. It's creating echoes—manifestations of possible futures. If you don't stabilize it soon, Manhattan won't just collapse—it'll multiply."
Malik frowned. "Multiply?"
She nodded. "Endless versions of the same city, overlapping, each with a different outcome. It'll tear itself apart."
Nyah's eyes narrowed. "And you came here to help?"
"I came because I can see what's coming next," Aditi said quietly. "And it's not from this dimension."
Malik's smirk faded. "...Define 'not from this dimension.'"
"Something old," she said. "Something that remembers the first time space folded."
Ezra rubbed his temple. "You people seriously need better hobbies."
5. The Lightning Feast
The storm outside intensified. Lightning crashed so violently that the entire street glowed white.Malik stepped to the doorway, feeling the charge like an old friend.
"Every storm is a door," he murmured. "You just have to eat the key."
Ezra blinked. "That… makes zero sense."
Malik grinned. "You'll get it in a second."
He raised his hand to the sky. Lightning struck—and didn't stop.It bent around him, feeding into his palm, his veins lighting up like neon rivers. The energy didn't burn him—it merged with him.
Nyah's eyes widened. "You're absorbing it?"
"Technically," he said between gritted teeth, "I'm digesting it."
Aditi watched in awe. "He's syncing with the Earth's electromagnetic field—stabilizing his internal space energy. That's impossible."
Malik exhaled, releasing a burst of light that split the clouds above. The thunder quieted instantly. The rain froze mid-fall, suspended like glass beads in the air.
Then, with a casual snap of his fingers, he let them fall again.
He turned to the others. "Alright. I feel better. Hungry, but better."
Ezra holstered his gun. "You're insane."
Malik smirked. "And employed. You're welcome."
6. The Pact
They stood in the ruined hall, four broken souls bound by catastrophe.
Nyah crossed her arms. "You're going to need us, you know."
"Need?" Malik raised an eyebrow. "That's a strong word."
"You can't see everything," she said softly. "You fold space. I hear it scream."
Ezra cracked his neck. "And I know where the bodies are buried. Literally."
Aditi folded her hands. "Together, we might survive what's coming."
Malik studied them for a moment, expression unreadable. Then—he laughed.
"Oh, this is adorable," he said. "A physicist, a hacker, and a sound goddess walk into an apocalypse. Fine. I'll bite."
Nyah smirked. "You already did."
He winked. "Don't remind me. The taste of lightning's still in my teeth."
7. The Rift Alliance
Aditi drew a holographic map from her wrist device. A glowing web spread across New York, pinpointing distortions.
"These are the epicenters," she explained. "Whatever's feeding on your energy started beneath Manhattan. But it's spreading. It's almost… hunting you."
Malik studied the map, his grin fading into something colder. "Then let's give it something to find."
Ezra sighed. "You're planning bait?"
"I'm planning war," Malik said softly. "And if the universe wants to fight dirty, I'm the right kind of bastard."
Nyah's eyes glowed faintly. "Just don't forget who you're fighting for."
He glanced at her—at the faint shimmer of her bracelet, the one he'd once carried through ashes. His smirk softened, just for a breath.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he said.
Lightning flashed again outside, illuminating their silhouettes against the storm. Four figures, bound by accident, standing on the edge of something vast and terrible.
And somewhere beneath the city, something stirred, sensing the unity of its enemies.
S.H.I.E.L.D. BLACKSITE BRIEFING – UNAUTHORIZED TRANSMISSION
Subject: RIFTWALKER + Known AssociatesDesignation: The Rift AllianceStatus: Escalating threat or emerging defense—unknown.Addendum – Director Fury:
"They're not the problem anymore. They're the only ones who might solve it.Keep eyes on Manhattan. If space starts bending again, it's not the end.It's the opening act."