[N.A.S.A.]
President Rick Archibald sat in a chair. In front of him, a large screen displayed two windows.
One showed the live feed from the Independence spacecraft, where the astronauts and the cockpit could be seen.
The other displayed an electronic chart tracking the Independence's flight path. It showed that the spacecraft had already left Earth's atmosphere and was approaching the Russian space station.
["Ground Command, this is Independence. We've reached the space station. We'll begin refueling now. It should take about thirty minutes."]
On the screen, an astronaut gave a status report to NASA.
Director Stephen picked up the radio, "Ground Command copies. Independence, depart as soon as refueling is complete."
As he spoke, Stephen glanced at the digital clock beside him.
It showed that there were about thirty-five hours left before Destroyer entered Earth's atmosphere.
Then came the long wait.
Normally, half an hour would pass in the blink of an eye.
But today, it was painfully slow.
It felt as though an entire century had passed.
The ashtray in front of Rick Archibald was already piled high with cigarette butts.
Only then did another message come from the Independence.
["Ground Command, this is Independence. Refueling is complete. We're departing now."]
The president finally stopped smoking and looked at the large screen.
In the other window, the Independence resumed its journey.
This time, a new flight path appeared.
According to the computer's calculations, in a little over three hours, the Independence would approach Destroyer from behind and attempt a landing.
There was no doubt.
Another long wait had begun.
Time passed little by little.
While the Independence was heading toward the giant meteor, there was little for the personnel on the ground to do except monitor the readings.
Under normal circumstances, many people would have left their stations to take a break.
But today was different.
No one wanted to rest.
No one could.
If the Independence made even the slightest mistake on the way, Earth would be finished.
When Rick Archibald returned after making a phone call to his family, Director Stephen said nervously, "Mr. President, the Independence is approaching its destination."
"It will attempt to land in fifteen minutes."
The president nodded, sat down, and stared at the screen.
The Independence continued sending updates.
["Ground Command, we're beginning our landing attempt."]
["Everything is normal so far."]
["Activating all radar systems. Observing surface conditions."]
As he listened to the reports, Rick Archibald's gaze kept shifting between the two windows.
Suddenly, someone outside in the command center shouted, "Unusual energy readings have appeared on Destroyer!"
"This... are these tremors? An earthquake?"
"There's an earthquake on Destroyer?"
Stephen immediately grabbed the radio.
"Independence, abort the landing."
"We've just detected abnormal energy readings on Destroyer. It may be an earthquake. Await further instructions."
He then rushed to the operations window and shouted, "Find the epicenter and affected area immediately!"
"I need to know which part of Destroyer is safe to land on!"
Before he had even finished speaking, another transmission arrived from the Independence.
["Ground Command, this is Independence. We've observed flashes on Destroyer's surface."]
["It appears there's been an explosion inside the meteor."]
Stephen abruptly looked up at the screen.
"You can see the explosion from the Independence?"
He quickly raised the radio.
"Independence, pull back immediately!"
"Get away from Destroyer!"
At that moment, the video feed from the spacecraft suddenly began shaking.
The astronaut's voice came through in broken fragments.
["Ground Command... debris... we're retreating..."]
It seemed that the explosion on Destroyer's surface had shattered part of the meteor.
As a result, countless fragments were being blasted into space, threatening the Independence.
The spacecraft was now being struck by the debris, making communication difficult.
It looked like they were in serious danger.
Rick Archibald looked at Stephen.
"Why are fragments from the meteor able to hit the Independence? Aren't they pretty far apart?"
Stephen explained nervously, "Mr. President, there's no air resistance in space, and gravity is extremely weak."
"So when an explosion occurs on Destroyer's surface, the fragments scatter out at tremendous speed."
"Their destructive power and range are much greater than they would be under normal conditions."
"Even if the Independence is some distance away, it can still be hit."
"But don't worry."
"The Independence is built with titanium alloy. It won't be destroyed that easily."
Only then did the president nod.
Ten minutes later, communications with the Independence finally returned to normal.
["Ground Command, this is Independence. We've stabilized the situation."]
["The damage to the spacecraft is within acceptable limits and won't affect our return flight."]
["We're now waiting for conditions on the meteor's surface to stabilize before landing and planting the nuclear bombs."]
Hearing that, Archibald finally let out a sigh of relief.
But then someone aboard the Independence suddenly exclaimed, ["Huh?"]
["Look!"]
["There seems to be something moving on Destroyer."]
Stephen immediately picked up the radio.
"Independence, what's happening?"
The reply came quickly, ["We've observed unusual shadow movement on Destroyer's surface."]
["It could be dust from the explosion refracting sunlight."]
["We'll need further observation to confirm."]
Stephen lowered the radio and shouted toward the operations room.
"Where's the report I asked for?"
"Why isn't that damned report in front of me yet?"
Just then, a commotion broke out aboard the Independence.
Since the camera was pointed at the astronauts, no one on Earth could see what they were looking at.
But Rick Archibald could clearly see that the astronauts had suddenly become tense.
["What is that?"]
["A tornado?"]
["I'm not sure."]
["Wait... it's rising."]
["It's coming toward us."]
["Calculate its trajectory. Hurry."]
Hearing the voices, Stephen hurriedly picked up the radio again.
"Independence, what are you seeing?"
But no one aboard answered.
The astronauts' attention seemed completely drawn to whatever was happening on Destroyer.
["Look! It's accelerating."]
["That violates the laws of physics."]
["It's some kind of machine."]
["Only a machine could change speed like that."]
["My God, it's coming."]
["Go! Go!"]
["No! It's too fast."]
["We can't dodge it in time."]
["Oh God... what is that?"]
["It's not a machine. It's—"]
Buzzz...
The transmission abruptly cut off.
The video from the Independence froze.
Stephen shouted into the radio,
"Independence! Independence! What happened?"
"This is Ground Command! Respond! Respond!"
"Damn it!"
After several unanswered calls, Stephen slammed the radio onto the floor and ran toward the operations window.
"Can someone tell me what happened to the Independence?"
A NASA employee immediately reported, "The Independence's signal has disappeared, Director."
Stephen's whole body trembled.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
The director took two steps back before looking at Rick Archibald with difficulty.
The president closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
"It seems..."
"Our mission has failed."
Stephen rubbed his forehead, not knowing what to do next.
Footsteps approached.
Someone pushed open the door and walked in.
"Mr. President. Director Stephen."
"You need to see this."
He placed a laptop on the table.
On the screen was the final image from the Independence's cockpit, showing the anxious astronauts.
The staff member said, "We processed the final frame transmitted by the Independence."
"It became this."
He tapped the keyboard.
A new image appeared.
It showed one of the astronauts wearing glasses.
His lenses had acted like mirrors, reflecting the scene outside the cockpit.
After enlarging and enhancing the image, they could see space outside the cockpit.
A huge, twisted tentacle was rushing straight toward the spacecraft.
Its surface was covered with countless human arms.
The scene looked like something out of a nightmare.
Yet it now stood plainly before them.
Stephen cried out, "That's impossible!"
"A tentacle covered in countless human arms destroyed the Independence? Ridiculous!"
"Are you trying to tell me that this tentacle came from Destroyer?"
"That Destroyer isn't a meteor at all, but some gigantic alien lifeform?"
The words alien lifeform made Rick Archibald shudder.
He suddenly remembered what the Secretary of Defense had told him the previous night.
The president looked up at Stephen.
"Didn't NASA put forward a theory last night?"
"You believed the meteor attack was deliberate."
"You also believed... that this might be an extraterrestrial contact incident?"
Stephen fell silent.
Of course he knew.
But now that the evidence seemed to be right in front of him, he found it emotionally difficult to accept.
Rick Archibald tapped the image of the horrifying tentacle on the screen.
"Now your theory has been confirmed."
"It seems this isn't a natural disaster."
"It's a war."
"We're about to be invaded."
———
[Eden Base]
One vehicle after another, including heavy trucks carrying supplies, drove into the base.
Standing on the rooftop of one of the buildings, Homelander looked down over the base and watched the convoy finally stop below.
"Master, the people and supplies you requested have arrived."
Homelander nodded and turned around.
Standing behind him was Angelina in a business suit.
"You've done well, Lina."
"I have something to reward you with."
Angelina's eyes immediately became dreamy, with a hint of shyness.
"Here?"
"All right. As long as Master wants it, I'm ready anytime."
Homelander couldn't help laughing.
"What are you talking about?"
He took out the She-Hulk Gene Enhancement Capsule from his inventory, "Take this."
"It'll make you stronger."
The enhancement capsule had been gathering dust in his inventory for a long time.
He simply hadn't found a suitable person to use it on.
Besides...
According to his plans, the world was about to become very different.
Improving Angelina's chances of survival was necessary.
After all, she was his most capable assistant.
Without any hesitation, Angelina accepted the capsule, tossed it into her mouth, and swallowed it.
She trusted Homelander completely.
She believed he would never harm her.
As soon as she swallowed it, a trace of green suddenly appeared in her eyes.
She let out a muffled groan.
Her skin gradually began turning green.
The transformation had begun.
Homelander surrounded her with a layer of Absolute Domain to prevent her from damaging the building.
At that moment, his phone rang.
A news notification popped up.
["At exactly 3:00 PM, the White House will hold a live global press conference announcing the results of the Independence mission."]
'Three o'clock?'
Homelander checked the time.
Ten minutes remained.
The time passed in an instant.
There wasn't a television here, but the conference was also being streamed online.
He casually entered a livestream just as it began.
The backdrop was the White House.
The conference was being held outdoors.
When President Rick Archibald appeared before the cameras, camera flashes never stopped.
After the reporters finished taking pictures, Archibald glanced at his prepared remarks before looking solemnly into the camera.
["I regret to announce... that the Independence mission has ended in failure."]
["We were attacked."]
["Yes, it is now highly likely that Destroyer is more than just a meteor."]
["It is very likely some kind of vessel used by alien life to invade planets."]
["This is the final image transmitted by the Independence before it was destroyed."]
The broadcast switched.
A still image appeared on screen.
In the picture, a huge twisted tentacle floated in space.
Its entire surface was covered with countless appendages resembling human arms.
Bizarre.
Terrifying.
The livestream chat instantly exploded.
[What is that? Has Cthulhu finally arrived?]
[Alien life! I never thought I'd see aliens in my lifetime!]
[This has to be photoshopped, right? Don't tell me that thing was inside the meteor.]
[The end of the world is here, brothers! The big one has finally come! This is Judgment Day!]
The livestream descended into chaos.
And that chaos wasn't limited to the internet.
It spread into the real world as well.
Because the White House press conference was broadcast live around the world, the entire globe was thrown into an uproar.
[🎉 Shoutout to Leisercom and Mozart111 for joining p@treon. Consider joining to keep the stories going. Thank you very much.🤗]