Point of View: Third Person
Los Angeles, California, S.W.O.R.D. Aircraft Carrier Launch Deck
Upon the Arrival of Steve Rogers
Steve Rogers stood above the launch deck of the aircraft carrier, gazing at the city on the horizon.
"You told me the battle would be on another level, and even knowing that, my imagination still falls short," said a woman beside him, Maria Hill, the new director of the newly-formed S.W.O.R.D.
"My mind is also struggling to believe what I'm seeing, Director," Steve replied.
"Well, Captain, you promised us a grand battle, and you delivered."
Ahead, the city was in complete chaos. Thousands of robots were battling the United States Air Force alongside the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. The aircraft carrier stayed back, keeping a strategic distance from the insane battle unfolding.
"I'm going in too," Steve declared, already equipped with his shield and new suit.
"Hold on, Captain. You're our commander; your place is here, commanding," Hill said, stopping him.
Steve thought it over and agreed. After all, he had gathered these soldiers for this battle.
Due to the strained relations between the Avengers and the governments, it had been impossible to get authorization for the armed forces to work with the Avengers. So Steve and Sam had gone directly to the military. Even after all these years, they still had the connections and prestige to attempt such a move.
After much negotiation, their success was limited, but then the heralds arrived, changing everything. Quickly, Steve had managed to assemble this mighty force for the final battle, even securing the support of the new director of the freshly-formed S.W.O.R.D., an organization rising from the ashes of S.H.I.E.L.D., focused on counter-terrorism and intelligence, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial.
Steve turned his gaze forward and touched his communicator.
"Sam, status update," he requested.
{We're taking a real beating, Captain,} Falcon responded over the communicator.
As soon as the aerial combat began, Sam had joined the fray.
"Let's pull back and draw these things away from the city," Steve told his friend.
They couldn't win this battle with just their soldiers. To win, they needed to protect the machine hidden somewhere in the city.
{I'll do my best!} Sam shouted back.
"Stark, what's the situation?"
{Just another day in paradise,} Iron Man replied.
"That bad?"
{Thor and Angela just left the fight, and my readings indicate Earth won't withstand much longer before environmental disasters start happening.}
"Will it hold until the machine is ready?"
{It will, but if the machine doesn't work, we're doomed.}
{Stop being dramatic, Stark. Send the configurations you made so we can use them in our weapons to take out these tubes,} Natasha said over the communicator.
{That might work, but without me to configure them, your techs will have a tough time.}
"Then stop wasting time and send them now," Hill interrupted.
{Agent Hill, congratulations on your promotion. I wish you better luck in your career than your predecessor.}
Hill chose to ignore Stark's jibes and focused on what mattered. When she received Stark's configurations, she immediately passed them on to her tech team.
Meanwhile, Steve continued giving orders, doing everything possible to keep the robots away from the city.
{Stark, we're ready,} Reed finally said over the communicator.
Point of View: Third Person
Near One of the Tubes in Los Angeles, California
Simultaneously
"About time," Stark muttered.
He had abandoned his giant armor, switching to his regular suit. The robots attacking them were incredibly agile, making his large armor a disadvantage. With a more agile suit, he managed to survive the swarm of enemies but not without significant damage—almost his entire suit was destroyed. He was left with only twenty percent power.
The other Avengers were also in dire straits. Natasha and Hawkeye had their jet destroyed and had joined forces with the Thing and the Human Torch, fighting the robots on the ground with great difficulty. In the air, the aerial battle was growing more intense, with the number of destroyed American jets and helicopters reaching the hundreds.
If it weren't for Sam providing support, the situation would be much worse.
{As I said, cosmic energy is far more complex than we thought,} Reed apologized, though it didn't sound like one.
"It doesn't matter, activate it now!" Stark shouted, firing blasts from his repulsors and hitting a robot squarely.
Point of View: Third Person
Across the City of Los Angeles, California
Simultaneously
Meanwhile, in the city's safest location, Reed and his wife were finally activating the machine designed to stop Galactus.
The machine resembled an enormous snow globe, and inside it was the Lord of Fire. Half of the machine's function was to analyze cosmic energy, a task of immense difficulty. Even if Reed studied it for years, it would still be impossible to uncover all its applications. But Reed only needed it to perform one function at this moment.
Reed had this idea immediately after Baldur explained that Galactus was nothing more than a being of pure conscious energy. His physical body was merely a shell created to contain this energy in the best possible way.
"Ready, Sue?" he asked his wife.
"Just give the signal," she replied.
For the machine to work, she would need to lower the psychic shield, a move fraught with danger.
"Now!" Reed shouted.
Sue immediately dropped the shields and lifted the invisibility. As she did, Galactus, at the center of the city, turned to look in their direction, sensing a threat emanating from them.
In that fleeting moment, Reed's machine sprang to life. The snow globe began to glow with a brilliant white light, the hum of the machine growing louder until there was a silent explosion—a massive pulse of energy radiated from the globe, spreading rapidly across the city towards Galactus.
The effect was instantaneous. As the wave of energy passed through Galactus, he dropped to one knee. Then the energy pulse began to retract. When it passed through Galactus again, he felt his energy being siphoned.
Realizing his enemies aimed to drain all his energy and life force, Galactus was overcome with rage. He aimed his hand at the machine's location and unleashed a colossal blast of energy. The blast swept away everything in its path as it tore through the city towards its target.
"Reed!" Sue screamed at her husband, watching the destruction hurtling toward them.
"Don't worry, it'll work," he shouted back, trusting in his creation.
The blast from Galactus reached its target, but unlike the destruction it caused along the way, the energy simply entered the glowing snow globe and vanished.
"It worked!" Reed shouted triumphantly.
The machine not only acted as an energy siphon but also as a portal, channeling all the absorbed energy into another dimension where it could cause no harm.
Seeing his attack had only cost him more energy and unable to move, Galactus gave a mental command. Several of the robots fighting the aerial forces turned around and started heading towards the machine.
Point of View: Third Person
Between the Machine and Galactus' Robot Army, California
Simultaneously
"Looks like it's our turn to move," Magneto said.
On the rooftop of a building, directly facing the approaching robot army, Magneto and Wanda stood. Using his powers, Magneto made himself and his daughter float, positioning themselves in the robots' path.
"Who would have thought I'd be helping humans one day," Magneto remarked, clad in his all-white suit and helmet.
"Stop lying, Father. We both know you're only helping to protect your world," Wanda retorted beside him.
She wore a red corset, boots, and cape, along with a helmet shaped like an "M" that covered her forehead and cheeks. She was quite fond of her new outfit given by the Viking.
"You're a young mutant, my child. You will still face human prejudice if you keep living on Earth."
"You might be wearing your helmet, Father, but I already know how you think. I won't change what I said before. I'm staying on Earth to learn to use my powers and help my hometown."
"As you wish, child, but you can't blame a father for wanting his children under his wings after so much time apart."
"Here they come," she said, ending the conversation.
Galactus' robots, seeing targets ahead, deemed them enemies and fired energy beams from their eyes. Over fifty robots firing simultaneously created a bridge of yellow energy streaking across the sky.
Wanda moved her hands, and several of the blasts aimed at them magically altered their course, veering off to the sides. The remaining attacks struck the energy barrier created by Magneto.
Magneto then raised his hand towards their enemies, causing many of them to freeze in mid-air. As he clenched his fingers, the robots were crushed into balls of metal. Controlling these metal balls, Magneto hurled them into other nearby robots, creating a chain reaction of destruction.
Wanda joined the assault, her hands glowing with pure red energy. Her powers didn't have the direct impact of her father's; instead, she manipulated the flight paths of the robots, causing them to collide with each other or redirecting their energy blasts to hit themselves. The result was utter chaos.
Point of View: Third Person
City Center, California
Simultaneously
Far away, observing the new enemies, Galactus still couldn't move. With each passing second, a portion of his energy was being siphoned away. His soldiers were unable to assist him, leaving him with no option but to command his ship to launch an attack. However, his ship, like himself, relied on cosmic energy. He needed time to ensure that the energy blast wouldn't be absorbed like his previous attack.
Point of View: Third Person
Across the City of Los Angeles, California
Simultaneously
"This is incredible," Reed said, staring at his tablet.
"What did you discover?" Sue asked.
"In just a few seconds, we've drained a small portion of his energy. Even though it's a tiny fraction, it's enough to power the entire world for a year."
"Unfortunately, we can't store it. Clean energy is something the world desperately needs," Sue said beside him.
"Maybe I can redirect just a bit of it to conduct a more detailed analysis. That way, we can utilize it better in the future."
But Reed's expression changed as he looked at his tablet.
"What happened?" Sue asked, knowing her husband well. The look on his face indicated he had discovered a significant problem.
"We need to shut down the machine immediately!" Reed said abruptly, rushing to the console next to the machine.
"Reed? What's the problem?" Sue asked, alarmed. The future of Earth depended on this machine, and for Reed to have a reason to shut it down, it had to be something very serious.
"The energy—it's not going to another dimension!" he said, frantically working the controls.
"Then where is it going?" his wife asked.
"BAMMM!"
Reed had no time to respond as he was hit by a blast of energy, knocking him away from the console and sending him sprawling to the floor.
"The energy is coming to me, Susan," said a third voice.
Sue turned to see their new visitor—a man dressed in a green medieval tunic with a matching hood and cape. His body was fully covered in silver armor, and his face was concealed by a mask.
"Victor, why?" Reed asked, getting up from the floor.
"Because you are a fool, Reed!" Victor replied as he walked towards the machine.
"You failed to see the grand opportunity you had in your hands, but I did."
As he spoke, Sue moved to stand by her husband, ready for battle.
"I had everything planned moments after you came to me for help. I made a few modifications to the machine. Instead of wasting the energy by sending it to another dimension, I'm going to use it for something much greater."
"Use it for what, Victor?" Reed asked again.
Victor, who had his back to the couple, turned around and raised his arms.
"Power, of course. In just a few seconds, I will begin to absorb the cosmic energy, and then nothing will be able to stop Doctor Doom!"
support me at patreon.com/Lonely_Translator and read chapters in advance