Symbiote legions crumbled in disarray.
Across Earth, countless symbiotes, as if severed from Knull's control, regained autonomy. They froze, bewildered, then scattered in chaos.
"Strange, why'd they stop attacking? I was ready for them." One fighter muttered.
"Trying to flee now?" Another growled. "After killing so many of us, you think you can just run?"
"Grab them alive!" A scientist urged. "I'll dissect them a thousand times on my lab table!"
The astute quickly grasped the shift: a stunning reversal in the war, driven by Adam's decisive victory in outer space.
Countless survivors, teetering on the edge of possession and cannon fodder status, wept with relief. Adam had never let them down, not even now.
A corner of the gloom shrouding the planet lifted, sparking jubilation.
Perhaps it was no illusion, the crushing pressure from space had noticeably waned.
"This nightmare might finally end." Tony Stark said. "No more symbiotes hounding me, right? These damn things all want my armor."
Tony had achieved dazzling results, his Celestial armor unleashing devastating power to scour the surface. Yet he was plagued by relentless symbiote assaults, particularly from swarms of symbiote dragons. Though he obliterated attackers with torrents of energy, their sheer numbers defied quick eradication.
"They haven't fully overwhelmed me." He mused, "but I've got this nagging feeling. If they completely coat my ride, something catastrophic could happen. I'd lose control, and this armor would turn on Adam under their sway."
Inside the Celestial armor, Tony's screens flashed with countless battle fragments.
Reviewing the war, he sank into thought, realizing the symbiotes weren't without merit. The dragons, especially, were terrifyingly potent.
He'd once considered crafting symbiote armor but, wary of their mental corruption, pivoted to restoring the Celestial armor with Banner.
Capturing symbiote dragons for bespoke armor could yield extraordinary results, portable, integrated with his body like a custom organ, taking no extra space.
"Tony, stay sharp." Fury's voice crackled. "Keep clearing these symbiotes. We can't let them linger on Earth. Eliminate every threat."
"I've got an idea." Banner interjected, fingers flying across his keyboard. "Fly that armor to space, Tony. Help Adam end this war. If you nab the symbiote source, we might wipe out every symbiote worldwide in one go."
"Like in Terminator?" Tony scoffed. "That's a pipe dream. Even if it's possible, Adam wouldn't agree. But space combat? That piques my interest, prime data collection."
"No way." Fury snapped. "The Celestial armor is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s critical asset, Earth's treasure. You can't just take it beyond the planet."
Space was a maelstrom of peril, Adam, that symbiote monstrosity, and other threats locked in an unknown melee. With most satellites offline, ground telescopes offered the only glimpses.
It seemed the alien god controlling the symbiotes was faltering, forced to relinquish some to focus on Adam.
If Fury had his way, Adam and his foe would perish together, never returning to Earth.
If only he had a planetary shield system, he'd activate it without hesitation, sealing all dangers out forever.
Banner, overhearing Fury and Tony, let out a cold chuckle.
"Nick Fury, do I need to spell it out?" He sneered. "You really think you're still S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director? When this war ends, you believe you'll survive? If I were Adam, with millions of Xenomorphs, I'd scour the planet to find and kill you, just like Coulson."
Banner's malice was unmasked, his schadenfreude blatant. He relished the prospect of Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s downfall.
"I know." Fury replied, undeterred. "Until I die, I'm S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director. I won't let a tyrant rule this planet. Give me a little more time…"
Banner cut him off. "Even if that 'tyrant' is the world's savior?"
"Exactly." Fury shot back. "He saves the world not out of love, but to amass power."
"Stunning skepticism." Banner mocked. "You want a selfless hero, bleeding for others with no reward. Now I get why you used the Cosmic Cube to craft your dream Captain, because you need a tool like that. Bold guess: you've upgraded your fantasy Captain, made him stronger?"
"No." Fury said. "I've reclaimed the false Captain with the Cosmic Cube. There's only one Captain, always has been, "
A piercing alarm blared across the Helicarrier.
The hull's shield had been breached, signaling the destruction of the other three escorting Helicarriers.
"Boss, bad news!" An agent shouted. "Captain's been snatched by a symbiote dragon!"
"What?" Fury barked. "Deploy combat teams to retrieve him! Captain has a Cosmic Cube fragment, his power's immense. How was he taken?"
"That dragon planned it." The agent explained. "It targeted Captain, rushing in during his attack, possessing him, and dragging him away…"
Fury's face was grim. He'd sacrificed a fragment of the Cosmic Cube to bolster Captain America's strength, all to fortify S.H.I.E.L.D., risking everything to preserve a bastion of justice for the post-war world.
Everyone knew this war's aftermath, win or lose, would reshape Earth irrevocably.
Victory meant Adam would largely dominate the planet. Defeat? Everyone would become hosts for symbiotes, Earth transformed into a symbiote world.
From the battered Helicarrier, the few remaining long-range weapons and aircraft were deployed to attack the dragon that had seized Captain America, but to no avail.
"Forget it. Give up. Our observations show this symbiote dragon, unlike regular symbiotes, shows no chaos or inclination to flee. They're directly controlled by that unknown enemy. Sonic weapons or incendiaries? Practically useless." A report came.
Against typical symbiotes, prepared humans could neutralize the threat unscathed.
But symbiotes enhanced by Knull's consciousness were different, their weaknesses significantly diminished.
Similar events unfolded across Earth. Knull clearly intended to plunder the planet, seizing prime hosts to serve as his minions.
The dark god hadn't spared the Xenomorphs, abducting many.
Fury wanted to signal resistance forces worldwide, but he soon realized it was futile.
As the symbiotes retreated, his wrecked Helicarrier, scraping together its last dregs of power, slowly crashed into the sea.
Countless Xenomorphs waited in the water, poised.
One glance at the sea's surface, teeming with Xenomorphs, told Fury his fate.
"Clever move, using war's chaos to eliminate me? Sometimes, I swear Adam's mastery of order borders on obsessive." Fury said.
He fell silent, then sighed deeply. Once again, as so often before, he had no choice.
Fury glanced toward Tony's position, brimming with regret.
With more time, he could've turned his trove of secrets into tangible power, recruiting more allies, creating a virtuous cycle.
The symbiote dragon Grendel and the Celestial Armor alone could've been pivotal assets.
But what happened? Loki, somehow infiltrating the base, unleashed Grendel, sparking this global war.
As for the Celestial Armor… by the time it appeared, it couldn't shift the tide.
As the Helicarrier crashed, Xenomorphs swarmed, tearing apart the battered vessel, slaughtering remaining agents, and destroying all weapons.
Dr. Banner, having jumped ship as Hulk before the fall, escaped the Xenomorph onslaught. He roared from afar, then swam off without looking back.
Hulk's childlike intellect didn't make him foolish. Why fight Xenomorphs to the death? Post-war, Earth belonged to them and their master.
Adam didn't care.
Mere death throes. Even gods couldn't alter the outcome.
"Knull, die. Go to where you belong, crawl back to your abyss."
Adam methodically dismantled Knull.
Yet Knull refused to yield. Countless cosmic Celestials had battered him, but none earned his submission, let alone Adam.
"You think you can kill me? Dream on. I don't know how you know so much about me, about the abyss within, but I'm immortal, reborn endlessly from it. Even if you destroy these fragments of my consciousness, the real me is on Klyntar, reclaiming my power."
Knull's voice was a shrill screech, but no matter his struggles, defeat was sealed.
"Your name's Adam, right? The shame you've brought me will soon be cleansed. I'll turn you and your Xenomorphs into my symbiote puppets."
"Talkative, aren't you? If you're so mighty, why haven't you wiped out the Celestials? It's not that you don't want to, you can't. Come grovel when you can." Adam's voice echoed through three Skyfather Level Xenomorphs.
Knull's tenacity was universe-renowned, but when he returned, Adam's forces would far surpass their current might.
"Fool. You think that's all? Earth hosts my followers. Just now, one claimed my power. It's time for her to, wait, why no response? That woman's using my power against me?"
Knull erupted in rage. A chunk of his power vanished, seized by the Ancient One, who gripped it tightly, refusing to return a sliver.
"The Ancient One pulled it off, hijacking part of Knull's power. That'll delay his return to full strength." Adam noted, approving her move.
Borrowing power, refusing repayment, then beating the lender, the Ancient One excelled at this, as Dormammu could attest.
With Adam's next strike, the Ancient One's magical array siphoned more of Knull's power, forcing him to divert energy. Amid a tremor of countless energy particles, Knull's massive form began to collapse.
Another crushing defeat, another bitter pill of humiliation swallowed.
With his last strength, Knull opened a thunderous portal in Earth's outer orbit, spiriting away his spoils, including Captain America.
Fury's heart shattered. One of his aces, stolen by Knull.
But he had no time for next steps. He gazed at the Xenomorphs, having slaughtered all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
"…Should I feel honored, you wretched beasts? I had a chance to wipe out your kind once. But I underestimated Adam. If only, when Blade made that deal with him…"
Fury's heart brimmed with regret. On death's door, he replayed his tumultuous life, cursing missed opportunities that led to this end.
A Xenomorph stepped forward, its claw flashing. With a glint of cold light, Fury's head soared skyward.
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