The quiet didn't last.
Five days until the Chitauri invaded New York, but the storm was already rolling in.
Literally.
I stood on the Helicarrier observation deck as clouds began to twist unnaturally outside. Lightning cracked the sky like a divine warning.
And then came the thunder.
Thor had arrived.
---
The hatch at the top of the deck split open with a metallic groan. Mjolnir streaked across the sky like a meteor and landed with a thud in Thor's hand.
He wasn't smiling.
> "Loki is my responsibility," he said, cape fluttering, voice filled with restrained fury. "I will take him back to Asgard to answer for his crimes."
> "That's not how this works," Fury said behind me. "He attacked Earth. Earth gets a say."
The standoff was tense, but my eyes weren't on them.
They were on Thor—and what the system was showing me.
---
[Target Scan: Thor Odinson – Eligible for Power Copy]
[Replication Warning: Divine Lineage Detected. Failure Chance: 72%]
> Proceed?
I canceled. For now. Copying Asgardian thunder magic without frying my neurons? Not the smartest move—yet.
But Thor noticed me.
He turned his gaze slowly, eyes narrowing.
> "You… are not of this realm."
I swallowed.
> "Neither is your brother."
> "He is my burden. You are… something else."
He took a step toward me. Mjolnir crackled.
Then, behind me, a second voice cut in—calm, quiet, laced with barely contained power.
> "He's not the only one."
Wanda.
She stepped beside me, red energy curling around her fingertips.
> "He's not from here. But he's not lying either."
Thor looked between us, expression unreadable. I felt something twist in my chest—a strange pulse, like the system reacting to her presence.
---
[System Sync Detected: Wanda Maximoff – Chaos Nexus Match]
WARNING: Shared Reality Distortion Possible
→ Resonance Level: Low (Rising...)
---
> "Uh, Wanda?" I said cautiously. "You're glowing. More than usual."
> "I feel… different around you," she said, tilting her head. "Like the world isn't sure if we're supposed to be standing in the same place."
> "That's… comforting."
---
Then it hit me.
A sharp snap of vision. Like a lightning strike behind my eyes.
---
[Future Echo Triggered]
---
> [Fragmented Vision – The Mind Stone]
I stood in a dark room, facing Wanda. Her eyes were wild. Her power uncontrollable.
The Mind Stone pulsed in her hand—unstable, brilliant.
She screamed my name.
Everything shattered.
---
I staggered back, gasping. Wanda caught my arm.
> "What did you see?"
> "You," I said quietly. "The Mind Stone. Chaos. Like… it's calling you. Or you're calling it."
Thor raised a brow.
> "You speak as though you've seen time beyond this moment."
> "I've seen enough," I said. "The stone inside Loki's scepter—it doesn't just control minds. It awakens them. It's how Wanda got her powers. Or how she will."
Wanda looked at the scepter locked in the vault below deck. Then back at me.
> "Are you saying I'm connected to it?"
> "No. I'm saying you're tied to it. Like gravity."
---
[Side Quest Unlocked: Thread of Fate – The Mind Stone]
> Prevent Wanda's destabilization.
Option A: Destroy the stone (Unknown consequence)
Option B: Contain and redirect its energy
Option C: Awaken your own link to the Stone
---
Before anyone could say more, the Helicarrier shook.
Klaxons blared.
> "Bridge to everyone—multiple bogeys incoming. Hostile craft. Chitauri probes. They're scouting Earth space."
Tony's voice over comms:
> "Five days early. You sure you're the only glitch in the code, kid?"
I didn't answer.
But I knew this was only the beginning.
The Mind Stone, Wanda's powers, Thor's suspicions—they were threads.
And if I didn't manage them carefully, the whole tapestry of reality might unravel.
---
Back in my quarters, I sat down, breath shallow, and whispered to myself:
> "I'm not just rewriting the story anymore."
> "I'm becoming part of it."
---