The entity loomed above them, a swirling mass of energy, colors, and distortions, its form ever-shifting like the multiverse itself. The ground trembled beneath its power, and reality seemed to ripple around it, unstable and fragile. A deep, unearthly sound emanated from the creature, not a roar but more like the groaning of space-time under immense strain.
Tony's HUD flashed with warning after warning as his scanners attempted to make sense of the monstrosity before them. The readings were impossible to interpret—this entity wasn't bound by the same physical laws that governed their universe. It was something else entirely, a manifestation of the multiverse's collapse.
"Uh… Mr. Stark?" Peter's voice cracked through the comms, and Tony could hear the terror in his tone. "Please tell me you have a plan for this…"
Tony hovered in the air, rapidly scanning for any weaknesses or tactical options. "We hit it with everything we've got. Keep it away from Strange while he regains his strength."
Johnny Storm, fully ignited, flew up beside Tony, his eyes wide with a mix of excitement and apprehension. "Everything, huh? You don't have to tell me twice."
With that, Johnny shot a stream of intense fire toward the creature, flames licking the sky as he poured all his power into the attack. The fire hit the entity, but instead of burning or damaging it, the flames seemed to dissipate into the swirling chaos of its form.
"Not good," Johnny muttered, backing off.
"Everyone, regroup!" Reed's voice crackled over the team's comms. "That thing is absorbing energy. We need to approach this carefully."
Ben Grimm, already in the thick of the fight with some of the smaller creatures that had poured through the rift, smashed his fists together and glanced back at the rest of the team. "Well, I can't just sit here and do nothin'!" With a thunderous roar, Ben charged at the entity, his massive fists raised, ready to strike.
"Ben, wait—!" Sue started, but it was too late.
Ben leaped into the air, his rocky fist colliding with the creature. For a brief moment, there was resistance—a solid connection—but then the entity's form rippled, and Ben was thrown back by an unseen force, crashing into the ice with a grunt.
"Big guy down!" Peter shouted, zipping through the air on webs, trying to distract the entity. He fired a series of web shots at the creature, but they were quickly swallowed by its chaotic form. "I don't think it likes getting hit!"
Tony's mind raced. Energy attacks weren't working, and brute force wasn't enough to take this thing down. They needed a new strategy.
Reed, who had been studying the creature through his own equipment, suddenly spoke up. "This entity is connected to the rift. If we can destabilize the rift itself, it might weaken the creature. But we'll need to contain its energy before it can cause further damage."
"How do we do that?" Tony asked, flying lower to avoid a wave of chaotic energy emanating from the entity.
Strange, still recovering from the backlash of his earlier spell, struggled to his feet. "I can create a containment field, but I'll need time. And we'll need to keep the entity distracted."
Peter landed near Strange, his mask shifting slightly as he looked between the sorcerer and the team. "Okay, so we distract a giant multiverse monster while you cast the spell? No problem, right?"
Strange gave him a tight-lipped smile. "It's more complex than that, but yes, in essence, that's the plan."
Tony's mind was already running through tactics. "Alright, everyone, we buy Strange time. Reed, can you give us anything from the lab that'll disrupt the entity's energy signature?"
Reed tapped his wrist device, which projected a series of holographic blueprints. "I've got something—an energy disruptor we've been working on to stabilize the rift. If we hit the entity with it, it might throw off its connection to the rift for a few moments."
"That's all we need," Tony said. "Get it ready."
Sue raised a protective shield around the team as another wave of energy pulsed from the entity. "We can't let that thing get any closer. If it merges with the rift, it'll be unstoppable."
Johnny, still burning brightly, nodded. "Got it. I'll keep it busy from up top." He took off, flying in wide circles around the entity, shooting bursts of fire to keep it distracted.
Ben, already back on his feet, grumbled. "Let's give this thing a proper welcome, huh?" He charged again, this time aiming low, hoping to throw off its balance.
Peter swung into action, launching himself toward the entity's head, flipping through the air and firing webbing at anything that looked like a weak spot. "Hey, ugly! Over here!"
As the others engaged the entity, Tony flew up beside Reed, who was hurriedly assembling the energy disruptor from parts pulled from his suit. "You sure this thing is going to work?" Tony asked.
Reed didn't look up from his work. "We're about to find out."
Within moments, the disruptor was ready. It was a small, handheld device, glowing with a strange, blue energy. Reed handed it to Tony. "Get close enough to the entity and fire it at its core. It should destabilize its connection to the rift, but it'll only last a few seconds."
Tony nodded, gripping the device tightly. "That's all I need."
Without another word, he rocketed into the air, heading straight for the entity. As he flew, he dodged tendrils of energy that lashed out from the creature, each one threatening to pull him into its chaotic mass.
"Stark, be careful!" Strange called out, his voice strained as he began his incantations. The air around him shimmered with magical energy as he prepared the containment spell.
Tony weaved through the tendrils, his suit's systems beeping furiously as they struggled to maintain stability. "Alright, big guy," Tony muttered. "Let's see how you like this."
He aimed the disruptor at the entity's core—the swirling, chaotic center of its form—and fired. A burst of blue energy shot from the device, hitting the entity dead center. For a moment, the creature froze, its form flickering and shifting as the disruptor's energy took effect.
Tony grinned. "Gotcha."
But his victory was short-lived. The entity roared, its body convulsing as it fought against the disruption. The rift behind it began to pulse even more violently, as if reacting to the entity's instability.
"Tony, it's working!" Reed shouted from the ground. "But the rift is destabilizing faster than we expected!"
Strange's voice cut through the chaos. "I'm almost ready! Just a few more seconds!"
Peter, swinging past Tony, fired another round of webbing at the creature's flailing limbs. "We don't have a few seconds! It's getting stronger!"
Tony's suit strained as he hovered above the entity, watching it writhe in pain. He knew they were out of time. The rift was collapsing, and the entity was about to unleash all its chaotic energy in one final, catastrophic blast.
"We have to act now!" Tony shouted, flying down toward Strange. "How much longer?"
Strange's hands glowed with immense power as he completed the final steps of his spell. "Now!" he cried, thrusting his hands forward.
A massive wave of magical energy shot out from Strange, enveloping the rift and the entity in a shimmering, golden barrier. The entity screeched, its form flickering as Strange's containment spell took hold. The rift, once a swirling vortex of chaos, began to shrink, its energy slowly being siphoned into the containment field.
Tony landed beside Strange, his eyes wide as he watched the rift close. "Is it… working?"
Strange nodded, though he was visibly exhausted. "For now. But this is only temporary. The entity is too powerful. We need a permanent solution."
The entity, still trapped within the containment field, let out one final, earth-shattering roar before its form began to collapse in on itself, shrinking until it was nothing more than a faint flicker of light within the rift.
And then, silence.
The rift was sealed. The entity was gone.
For now.
Tony, breathing heavily, looked at Strange. "That was close."
Strange nodded, his expression grave. "Too close. This isn't over, Stark. The forces behind these rifts are still out there. And they'll be back."
Tony looked up at the sky, where the rift had once been. He knew Strange was right.
This was just the beginning.