When Adam saw the first wave of symbiotes charging with ferocious momentum, genuine joy surged within him.
The symbiotes, freshly arrived, plummeted in clumps above New York City, a dazzling spectacle.
To Adam, it was sublime, the world's most exquisite vista.
To others, it was a cataclysmic harbinger of doom.
"What are those things swarming the sky? Like black rivers, twisting and turning…" A voice stammered.
"A bug swarm? Doesn't look natural. Maybe a mutant or criminal with insect-control powers plotting something sinister." Another speculated.
"Am I the only one who thinks these resemble that writhing dragon from a while back? When Lady Thor hammered it, that dragon shed similar black, squirming stuff. These just don't look like a dragon…" A third mused.
Soon, the truth emerged. Among the symbiote swarm, massive dragon-like forms appeared, each more grotesque and uninhibited than the last.
Like countless Grendels soaring through the heavens.
Realization struck: the black torrents flooding the sky were countless symbiotes.
If it were merely their numbers, it might've been manageable. Harsh as it sounded, relentless airstrikes, tank barrages, sonic cannons, or incendiary bombs could grind them down, a matter of losses.
But as their numbers swelled, visible to the naked eye like a collapsing sky, an endless deluge poured from beyond Earth, a boundless black cascade spilling through the atmosphere, as if determined to corrupt the world entirely.
Despair gripped all.
"What's with these numbers? What's happening!?" A voice demanded. "Satellites, check the satellites! What's going on out there?"
"Too many… incalculable. The swarm hitting New York is just the first wave. Dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of times more are scattering worldwide!" Another reported.
"How have I never heard of symbiotes in such numbers? Did we poke their hive? Where are they from?" A third cried.
Even those who'd anticipated an enemy, preparing based on Adam's actions, were dumbfounded.
They'd expected a foe requiring vast forces, but not in numbers this absurd.
"Nick Fury, explain these symbiotes!" A Security Council member barked at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director.
Fury's face was stone, though inwardly he was cursing.
Explain? He'd love to know what the hell was happening himself.
"Ladies and gentlemen." Fury said, "let me clarify: we did discover and utilize that symbiote dragon first, launching the Symbiote Super-Soldier Program. But I don't know their origins or where they come from. You're asking the wrong person."
"A brilliant dodge." The council member sneered. "Before you woke that dragon, the world had no symbiote concerns. After you let it loose, everything went to hell. Now this swarm? If we don't stop them, every human could end up bonded to a symbiote. Have you considered the consequences? Will we be human or their thralls?"
"Your words suggest you have a plan." Fury said, expressionless.
"Ally with Adam." The member urged. "He defeated the symbiote dragon and built a massive army, clearly for this moment. No one but him knows how many Xenomorphs exist worldwide, they're our best weapon against the symbiotes."
Fury didn't respond immediately. He wasn't blind to the logic, but thinking and doing were worlds apart. He doubted Adam, after such meticulous preparation, would entertain S.H.I.E.L.D.'s overtures now.
Though curious how Adam foresaw this, now wasn't the time for questions.
"There's a way." Fury said. "No matter how many symbiotes come, we can win."
He cut the call and contacted Tony.
"How's your prep?" Fury asked. "With you and your partner's intellect, weaponizing that thing shouldn't be an issue."
"Nearly done, ready for combat." Tony replied, a rare excitement in his voice. "This is my greatest armor yet. How's 'Anti-Celestial Armor' for a name?"
"Fine." Fury said. "Just be efficient against those damned symbiotes. We don't have time to dawdle with this many enemies."
Fury wrestled with another decision: whether to deploy the solar-orbiting Mother Mold, the ultimate anti-mutant weapon. But he held back. Exposing all assets in one crisis was reckless.
Unless victory seemed unattainable without going all-in, signaling near-certain doom.
But… since Adam had prepared so thoroughly, Fury felt this war, however grueling, was winnable.
The irony of finding reassurance in Adam's rapidly swelling power left a bitter taste.
---
Fury was rallying allies, and so was Adam.
Watching the symbiotes doggedly swarm the Weyland Tower, Adam knew this was Loki's, or Knull's, command.
"Without deep-seated obsession, there'd be no such fervent action." Adam said. "I feel your zeal. When I lead an army of symbiote-equipped Xenomorphs to sweep the cosmos, I'll remember your contribution."
Head raised, Adam laughed through the glass at the symbiotes outside.
Legions of Xenomorphs mobilized, spreading across the city, stationed on rooftops and within buildings, weaving through streets and alleys, clashing ferociously with the descending symbiotes.
Indeed, some symbiotes prioritized bonding with a host, gaining a tangible form before turning to face the Xenomorphs.
But this offered little advantage, barely impacting the outcome… for now.
A ferocious war erupted planet-wide, a true stellar conflict. As symbiotes spread globally, no corner of Earth escaped the flames of battle, no sanctuary remained untouched.
In this chaos, Adam's pre-contacted allies sprang into action.
Kamar-Taj reacted swiftest. Magic arrays couldn't isolate such a vast symbiote horde from Earth, so mages resorted to clearing them from sanctums in targeted strikes.
T'Challa, freshly returned to Wakanda, rallied his nation into the fray, seizing every moment to slaughter as many symbiotes as possible, each kill easing global pressure. They dared not slack, lest they survive the symbiote calamity only to face Adam's postwar reckoning.
Krakoa, dormant for a time, mobilized instantly.
"Hmph, our first national war isn't against humans but these alien creatures." Magneto scoffed. "If Adam hadn't personally invited us, I wouldn't care about human lives."
"In this case, helping humans helps us." Professor X countered. "These numbers are staggering. If humanity falls, the world will be smothered in this black tide, leaving us nowhere to run."
Magneto and Xavier led Krakoa's mutant forces into battle.
Magneto soared skyward, unleashing a magnetic field to create a vast safe zone, repelling symbiotes. He glared at the black matter falling like rain, his face twisted in disgust.
A world overrun by these things would be a tragedy, unthinkable for his people and descendants to live in constant fear of parasitic infection, no different from the dread of human persecution.
"Ororo, one last check." Mystique said, her tone grave. As a Krakoa High Council member, her combat skills were modest, but her acumen was unmatched. "Are you truly fit to fight?"
"I already told the Professor once." Storm snapped, irritated. "Didn't he brief you? Why ask again?"
"I'll say it clearly: Namor and I aren't what you think." She continued. "I have no attachment to Atlantis. Their fall shocked me, left me reeling, anyone would feel that way. An ancient race, gone just like that."
Ororo was exasperated. At most, she'd felt a spark for Namor. In time, they might've become lovers, but that future was dead. Why did her peers fret she was entangled with him, risking Adam's wrath?
Namor was likely a Xenomorph now. Was she supposed to romance one?
Though, given varied tastes, such a thing wasn't entirely unthinkable… but not for her. Not now.
Gods, the mere thought was madness. Ororo's preferences weren't that extreme… yet.
Mystique nodded subtly. Her question wasn't for herself but for the Xenomorph embryo in her chest, ensuring Adam heard. He might not care about Ororo's feelings, hatred or admiration, but Mystique saw no need to court risk by letting potential issues fester.
Globally, other players, heroes and villainous factions alike, mobilized. None could afford to hold back. Allowing symbiotes to take root was lunacy.
Earth tolerated capturing and containing a few symbiotes, but not a world teeming with them. Coexistence was impossible.
Even Kingpin, the underworld emperor, rallied New York's criminal networks, distributing weapons. Though less effective against symbiotes, his goons believed explosives like RPGs, generating noise and fire, worked well.
They were wrong.
"What the hell?" A thug cursed. "Why don't our noise, flames, or heat do anything?"
"Damn S.H.I.E.L.D.." Another spat. "Spreading fake intel to screw us! Trying to get us killed? Typical spook garbage!"
The mobsters, self-proclaimed scum, felt saintly compared to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s treachery. Was the agency sabotaging them as Earth faced ruin?
In truth, Fury hadn't misled them. He hadn't anticipated that Knull's control bolstered the symbiotes' resistance to their weaknesses.
Tactics effective against free symbiotes were now largely useless, requiring far greater force, beyond most mortals' reach.
Knull-led symbiotes were a different beast entirely.
Earth's forces weren't alone in the fight.
With the Bifrost's frequent flashes, off-world allies, summoned by Adam, arrived swiftly.
First came over 40,000 giant Xenomorphs from Jotunheim, joined by defected giants eager to fight.
Asgard needed no prompting. Thor, heir to the throne, brandished his new weapon, leading Asgardian troops to Earth with zeal.
This was his first war since wielding Stormbreaker, and he was raring to go.
"Hahaha, I've waited for this!" Thor bellowed. "Only a battlefield like this can test my true strength!"
Too long absent from combat, Thor had merely directed during Jotunheim's war, his lost powers barring him from leading the charge.
He sent Sif and the Warriors Three to strike across the globe, restraining his battle lust to first visit the Weyland Tower.
"Adam, my brother!" Thor boomed. "Last time, you aided me. Now it's my turn! Together, we'll crush these wretched creatures and show them we're not to be trifled with!"
"Well said, Thor." Adam replied, his demeanor serene, as if the external chaos and his fortified building existed in parallel realities. "But a reminder: the one leading this symbiote assault on Earth is likely your brother, Loki."
"Oh, he's adopted." Thor said, flashing his Uru-forged axe. "I'll find him, give him a thrashing, and drag him back to Father. Whether he's willing or coerced by some vile cosmic deity, he'll answer for this."
Thor was genuinely concerned Adam might, in a rage, eliminate Loki.
"Your words reassure me." Adam said. "I understand Odin's stance. Let's make this a grand fight. I'm curious how much your new weapon boosts you… and how it stacks against my Lady Thor."
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