Chapter 202 — Guests From Another Time
The sky above New York changed in an instant.
One moment, the massive portal still burned open like a wound in the air, pouring light and destruction into the city. The next, it collapsed inward with a violent flash. The blue glow twisted, shrank, and vanished completely.
A deep shockwave rolled across the clouds.
Then silence followed.
High above the city, countless Chitauri soldiers froze mid-movement. Their flying sleds lost balance almost at once. Engines died. Weapons powered down. One by one, alien bodies fell from the sky like lifeless puppets whose strings had been cut.
Leviathans drifting between skyscrapers gave one final twitch before their massive forms went still. Without control from their mothership, they simply dropped, crashing into empty streets and abandoned buildings with thunderous force.
Smoke rose everywhere, but no new enemies came.
The invasion had stopped.
On a damaged street several blocks from Stark Tower, Steve Rogers slowly lowered his shield. Dust settled around him as he watched the last Chitauri craft crash into a building far away.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Natasha Romanoff scanned the surroundings carefully, pistol still raised. Her trained instincts refused to relax immediately, but even she could tell the battle was over.
Above them, Tanya hovered quietly in the air. Magical calculation circles faded one after another as she confirmed what her instruments were already telling her.
No enemy signals.
No movement.
Only silence.
A voice suddenly came through their communicators.
Tony Stark.
"Portal's closed," he said, breathing slightly heavy but steady. "enemies should be inactive now."
Steve looked upward, letting out a slow breath he did not realize he had been holding.
"It seems they successfully closed the portal," he said.
Relief spread quietly through the group.
Nearby, the warriors from Gaius' world stood together.
Titus removed the magazine from his bolter and checked it out of habit before locking it back into place. After a moment, he secured the weapon at his side. Metaurus lowered his plasma gun, its glow fading as the power level dropped. The two Bladeguard veterans wiped dust from their armor before calmly sheathing their swords.
The Sister of Silence secured her bolter across her back, her presence silent and heavy as always.
Their communicator activated.
Gaius' voice came through, calm and firm.
"The objective is complete."
Titus nodded slightly.
"Objective complete," he said.
The warriors entered a relaxed but alert stance, awaiting further orders.
Above them, Tanya slowly descended, landing lightly near Steve and Natasha.
Nearby survivors began emerging from buildings and cars. They looked at Steve, Natasha, Tanya, and especially at the Ultramarines and the Sisters of Silence. Some of them immediately started filming with their phones.
~~~
Tony and Gaius descended toward Stark Tower together.
The city below showed the cost of the battle, broken streets, shattered glass, smoke drifting between buildings. Emergency sirens echoed in the distance as evacuation teams began moving.
Inside the tower, emergency lighting illuminated empty halls. Tony had ordered all employees to leave earlier.
Or so he believed.
When the elevator doors opened near the lower levels, two figures stepped forward.
Pepper Potts.
And Mindy.
Tony stopped walking immediately.
Pepper stood wearing a redesigned Mark VII armor, shaped for her frame. The gold-red plating reflected the lights softly, her helmet open.
Tony's expression darkened, not anger, but worry.
"Why are both of you here?" he asked. "Didn't I tell everyone to go home? You two should be at the Stark Manor."
Before Pepper could answer, Mindy stepped forward quickly.
"It's because of me, Tony," she said, taking the blame right away. "We were worried. So we stayed… maybe we could help."
She looked nervous, clearly afraid Pepper would be scolded.
Tony sighed quietly.
Even after everything Mindy had gone through, other worlds, missions, she still felt like a child he needed to protect. And this had been an alien invasion.
He knew she was strong.
But that didn't stop the worry.
His gaze shifted to Pepper.
She met his eyes calmly.
"I'm not the Pepper from before anymore, Tony," she said gently. "I can take care of myself."
Tony looked into her eyes, filled with firm belief and conviction. He felt touched, and at the same time, a headache beginning to form.
Tony rubbed his forehead.
He remembered giving her the Foam-Foam Logia fruit. A power meant purely for survival. Something that made her almost untouchable.
He never regretted it.
But knowing she was safe and feeling she was safe were two different things.
Another sigh escaped him.
"Well… it's already over," he said. "Just stay with me for now."
Mindy blinked.
"What!? I didn't even get to fight!"
Pepper hid a small smile. Truthfully, she felt relieved. She had prepared herself to fight only to help Tony. Now that it was unnecessary, she was grateful.
Tony's communicator activated again.
Nick Fury's voice came through.
"It seems you and Gaius succeeded in stopping the aliens."
Tony grabbed the channel.
"Yeah. We need to talk about the Tesseract. Come to Stark Tower."
"I'll be there," Fury replied immediately.
They moved to the upper living floor.
The space had been redesigned recently. Reinforced walls, widened pathways, and specially built furniture filled the room.
At the center stood a massive chair constructed from reinforced adamantium, metal Tony had earned through the Magnus Structor, it was built specifically to support Gaius' size and weight."
Tony placed a metal case onto the table.
It opened with a soft click.
Blue light filled the room.
The Tesseract rested inside.
Tony's Mark 10 armor unfolded automatically, allowing him to step out. He walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of red wine.
Meanwhile, Pepper prepared coffee, extremely concentrated, specially engineered by Tony in his spared time. Strong enough to harm normal humans.
She handed the mug to Gaius.
"Thank you, Pepper," Gaius said politely as he removed his helmet and sent it away through the Multiversal Chat parcel system.
"You're welcome anytime, Mr. Gaius," she replied with a warm smile.
Nearby, Mindy approached the glowing cube carefully.
"Is this the Tesseract?"
Tony took a sip from his glass.
"It is. The thing that opened the portal. And don't touch it."
Mindy rolled her eyes lightly. "I'm not that stupid."
JARVIS spoke calmly.
"Sir, Captain Rogers and others have arrived."
Tony turned to Pepper and Mindy.
"There's someone with them," he warned. "A warrior from Gaius' world. Being near her makes people uncomfortable. Just be ready."
Both straightened immediately.
Moments later, the doors opened.
Steve, Natasha, Thor, Tanya, the Ultramarines, and the Sister of Silence entered.
The room felt heavier instantly.
Pepper felt it first.
A strange pressure settled over her mind. Not pain, just emptiness. Like warmth being pulled away.
Her vision swayed slightly.
"I… need a moment," she said weakly.
Tony noticed immediately.
He nodded.
"Mindy, go with her."
Mindy supported Pepper as they entered the elevator and descended.
The Ultramarines stood beside Gaius silently.
Thor approached the Tesseract.
"When this matter is settled," he said, "I will return the Tesseract to Asgard. It is too dangerous to remain here."
Tony neither agreed nor disagreed.
"We'll wait for Fury," he said simply.
Steve and Natasha remained quiet observers.
Gaius finished his coffee, then slowly lowered his head. His eyes held a hint of confusion and curiosity as he sensed something below. He glanced at Tony before speaking.
"Sister. Titus. Go below. Capture those individuals. Do not harm them," he said calmly.
Both warriors left immediately without question.
As the elevator descended, Pepper breathed slowly.
"I'm feeling better now," she said.
Mindy nodded. "I felt it too. Like… something pulling at my soul."
Pepper stepped out once the doors opened.
Then she noticed movement.
Three figures stood near a hallway corner, clearly sneaking around.
Pepper walked forward confidently, armor still active, faceplate open.
"Who are you?" she asked firmly. "Stark Tower is closed today. You need to leave."
One of the men froze.
"…Pepper?"
His voice sounded familiar.
Pepper frowned slightly.
Another man quickly stepped forward, raising his hands.
"We're sorry," Scott Lang said nervously. "We were just curious. Big tower, you know?"
He grabbed the arms of the other two.
"Come on guys, we should go."
Pepper's voice hardened.
"Stop. Don't move."
The three exchanged looks.
At the same moment
Heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
Titus and the Sister of Silence were arriving.
End of Chapter 202
~~~
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