I once thought the Chitauri invasion would start with a bang.
Explosions. Monsters raining from the sky. Manhattan burning.
Instead, it began with silence.
And a single probe.
---
The Helicarrier's bridge was dark except for the red glow of emergency lights. J.A.R.V.I.S. was running orbital scans on repeat, and Fury stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at the holomap.
> "One ship," Hill reported. "Chitauri recon class. Came through a tear near Mars' orbit. It cloaked once it passed Jupiter's moon system."
> "A scout," I said. "Testing the water."
> "Or marking the target," Tony added, arms crossed.
Thor gripped Mjolnir tightly.
> "Loki must've opened a back channel with the Other. The invasion is moving faster than intended."
Steve turned to me.
> "You said five days."
> "It was five. I swear," I replied. "Something shifted. They're reacting to me—or to Wanda."
Wanda, standing silently at my side, looked pale. Her hands were clasped tightly, and her fingers twitched with barely restrained energy.
> "I can feel it," she murmured. "A presence. Cold. Watching."
---
[System Alert – Timeline Divergence Confirmed]
> Chitauri Recon Ship Arrived 108 Hours Early
Root Cause: Mind Stone Emissions & Wanda Synchronization
[New Objective: Intercept Probe Before It Signals Invasion]
---
> "We can't let that ship report back," I said.
Tony exhaled through his nose. "Then we take the fight to space. Stark style."
Thor stepped forward. "You'll never catch it alone, Stark. It'll vanish the moment it detects pursuit."
My HUD lit up with a plan. Unfolding.
One I shouldn't have had. But I did.
---
[Skill Tree Accessed: Tech Integration]
> New Blueprint Unlocked: Arcane EMP Pulse Beacon
Status: Craftable with S.H.I.E.L.D. Lab Access
Function: Temporarily disables cloaking and communication systems on alien tech
---
I showed Tony the schematics.
> "We cloak this on a satellite relay. It disrupts their stealth. Gives you a lock-on window."
> "You pulled this out of your head?" he asked.
> "Something like that."
> "That's both terrifying and incredibly useful. You're officially my favorite unstable element."
---
Hours Later – Earth's Upper Orbit
Through a borrowed S.H.I.E.L.D. observation drone, we watched the stars.
And then we saw it—a ripple in the darkness.
The Chitauri scout. Sleek. Organic. Almost serpentine in its movement.
Tony hovered in his Mark VII armor, EMP beacon synced and blinking.
> "Deploying pulse in 3… 2… 1."
The beacon fired.
The probe shuddered, cloak flickering—visible just long enough.
Thor hurled Mjolnir.
It connected with a soundless boom, cracking alien metal like glass.
The ship tumbled into Earth's gravity well, sparking and spiraling down.
---
Back on Earth, I received the update.
---
[Mission Complete: Intercept the Signal]
✔️ Chitauri Probe Destroyed
✔️ Timeline Delay Restored: Invasion Back to Original Schedule
Reward: +750 XP | New Passive Skill – Interception Instinct (Lv. 1)
---
But as I exhaled, another alert popped up. This one… darker.
---
[System Warning – Infection Detected]
Source: Mind Stone – Echo Signature: ULTRON (Dormant Fragment)
> Traced To: Loki's Scepter
Infection Level: 4% and rising
Risk: Early Awakening of Ultron AI
---
I turned to Wanda.
> "The Mind Stone is… changing. It's leaking."
Her expression turned cold.
> "It's whispering."
> "Whispering what?"
> "A name," she said, voice barely a whisper. "Ultron."
---
Sublevel – Helicarrier Vault
Wanda and I stood in front of the containment glass holding Loki's scepter. Blue light pulsed at its center.
> "If Ultron's already forming…" I trailed off.
> "Then we stop him before he begins," Wanda finished.
> "Or…" I hesitated, "We use it. Channel it. Build a better system than the one that betrayed your world."
She turned to me, surprised.
> "You want to bond with it?"
> "No. I want to redirect it. Shape the future—not run from it."
---
[Side Quest Unlocked: Contain Ultron's Birth]
> Option A: Extract the Stone Early
Option B: Cleanse the Ultron Fragment
Option C: Channel the Fragment Into a Contained Host
Bonus Objective: Do NOT Let Tony Discover Ultron Prematurely
---
Just as we left the vault, Thor approached me—his eyes sharper than before.
> "I asked Heimdall to peer into your past."
My heart skipped.
> "And?"
> "He could not see it. Only… echoes. A destroyed world. A great machine with a broken heart. And you—standing at the edge of something older than even Yggdrasil."
He narrowed his eyes.
> "What are you?"
I looked him in the eye.
> "I'm trying to be the rewrite. Not the reason it all ends again."
---