Chapter 15 – The Colony Cluster Campaign
(~2,000 words; multi-planet invasion, Kree counteroffensive, Earth's mounting alarm)
Deep Kree Space – Kavorus Cluster
Seven verdant worlds gleamed against the darkness—agricultural colonies, ship foundries, training academies.
Each was ringed by orbital defense arrays.
From the Titans' bridges, Shawn surveyed them without blinking.
Clone tacticians relayed projections: estimated fleet strength, planetary shields, population densities.
Talia stood at his side, gauntleted hands clasped behind her back.
"We hold orbital superiority," she reported. "But the Kree have had time to reinforce. Their admiralty won't underestimate you again."
Shawn's Sharingan turned, capturing every detail.
"Then we show them," he said quietly, "that it won't matter."
Venom's voice whispered across his mind:
"Take everything."
Titan Formation – Outer Orbit
All three Titans synchronized their drives.
Massive chakra-fed siege cannons cycled up, power levels spiking into the red.
Below, Kree fleet formations fanned out to intercept, hundreds of warships forming a wall of blue-white fire.
"Weapons free," Shawn ordered.
In perfect concert, the Titans opened fire.
Space turned into a storm of annihilation.
Kree Flagship – The Resolute Light
Admiral Yvorr Thal clenched his mandibles in fury as sensor feeds overloaded.
"Redirect shield energy!" he bellowed. "Focus fire on the lead construct—"
A titan's beam scythed across the fleet, vaporizing two cruisers and crippling a dreadnought.
He turned to his adjutant.
"Signal the surface defenses. No retreat."
Titan – Neural Chamber
Shawn split his focus across a dozen clone battalions dropping through the atmosphere in armored pods.
Impact.
Pod hulls burst open in farmland and city streets. Clones surged out, forming kill zones with cold efficiency.
Talia's voice came over the comm:
"Western continent secured. Minimal resistance."
"Proceed," he replied.
Venom wrapped her arms around his armored chest.
"You feel it," she murmured in his ear. "The inevitability."
He didn't deny it.
It was inevitable.
Planet Vura-3 – Kree Capital City
Clone battalions advanced block by block, chakra blades igniting in the dawn haze.
From a rooftop, a squad of Kree commandos fired down at them.
A black shape streaked up the wall—Venom, in her combat form.
She hit the ledge, claws flashing, and tore through the squad in seconds.
Crimson droplets sizzled on her talons.
"Sector secure," she purred over the link.
Shawn watched through her eyes, feeling her satisfaction as if it were his own.
Earth – Avengers Tower
Holographic projections flickered over the conference table—dozens of Kree colonies falling in real time.
Natasha Romanoff pressed her lips into a thin line.
"He's taking them apart piece by piece," she murmured. "And he's…building something."
Tony Stark leaned over the table, voice hoarse.
"Yeah. An empire."
Steve Rogers looked up. "And when he's done out there—"
"He'll look inward," Fury finished. "At us."
The room fell silent.
Kree Flagship – Bridge
Admiral Thal's flagship bucked under another salvo.
"Shields failing!" cried the helmsman.
"Reroute everything to the prow," Thal snapped. "Ram the lead Titan—"
The Titan turned as if sensing him.
A hundred Red Alert missiles streaked across the void.
Impact.
The flagship disintegrated in a storm of blue flame.
Vura-3 – Governor's Palace
Clone shock troops kicked in the grand doors.
Kree dignitaries cowered behind barricades of overturned furniture.
Shawn strode through the rubble, Venom at his side, Talia close behind.
His Sharingan fixed on the Kree governor.
"You will surrender all planetary holdings," he said flatly. "Your people will not be harmed if you comply."
The governor looked up with hollow eyes.
"And if we resist?"
Shawn raised a hand. A globe of crimson chakra formed, humming with annihilation.
"Then there will be nothing left to resist."
Orbit – Titan Command Nexus
While the clones secured surrender, engineers towed broken Kree hulls into orbit, sorting salvage for integration.
Venom watched the labor with dark delight.
"You are already more than human," she whispered.
Shawn did not look away from the viewport.
"I was always more," he said. "I just needed to remember."
Earth – S.H.I.E.L.D. Containment Chamber
A shimmering portal irised open on the far wall.
Wanda Maximoff stepped through, red energy coiling around her fingers.
Fury met her gaze.
"Think you can stop him?"
Her eyes were shadowed.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But if we wait, it won't matter."
Citadel – Throne Room
Returning from conquest, Shawn stood at the apex of his vast hall.
Talia knelt, offering a ceremonial datapad.
"Seventeen systems conquered," she said. "Twelve more in strike range."
Venom's hand found his.
"We are building a dynasty," she murmured. "And soon—"
He finished for her, voice cold and resolute:
"—the galaxy will kneel."
END OF CHAPTER 15