At the very top of Stark Tower, Natasha thrust Loki's scepter into the console.
The portal snapped shut instantly.
Across the sky the Chitauri army collapsed.
Hovercraft dropped like rocks.
Soldiers fell lifeless.
Even the massive Leviathans lost power, their bodies crashing into buildings and streets below.
For a moment… the battlefield went silent.
Then someone looked up.
Tony Stark was falling.
Unconscious.
Before anyone could react—
A sonic boom cracked the air.
Eli shot upward and caught Iron Man mid-fall, slowing just before they hit the ground. He lowered Tony carefully onto the pavement.
Thor rushed forward and ripped open the helmet.
Eli quickly created a small preservation dome of cool air around Tony's face.
"Come on… come on…" Steve muttered.
Suddenly—
HULK ROARED.
Tony jolted awake.
"…Did anyone kiss me?" he asked weakly.
Everyone stared.
Tony blinked. "No? Just checking."
He slowly sat up.
"You know what we should do? After this?" he said. "There's this place that sells something called shawarma. I don't know what it is but I've wanted to try it since 2008."
Thor frowned.
"We are not yet finished. Loki is up there."
They all looked toward Stark Tower.
They went back up.
Thor carried Barton.
Tony lifted Steve in a short flight.
Hulk just jumped.
Eli flew beside them.
When they reached the tower, Natasha was already standing over Loki, who was just starting to wake up.
Tony immediately stopped everyone.
"Wait wait wait—hold on. Nobody move."
The Avengers looked confused.
Tony pointed.
"Superhero pose. Come on. We earned it."
Steve sighed.
But they did it.
Thor Meets Eli
After Loki was cuffed, Thor turned toward Eli with dramatic Asgardian confidence.
"I am Thor Odinson, God of Thunder, Prince of Asgard. Tell me, young warrior… what is your name?"
Eli blinked, slightly overwhelmed.
"Oh—uh… hi. My name is Eli Keakabetse." He hesitated "…future Grand Celestial." He did remember that in Guardians of the Galaxy Gomorra said that that Knowhere was the head of some ancient celestial being and if he was to be one then he will be the greatest.
Thor raised an eyebrow but nodded approvingly.
"A bold title. I respect ambition."
Then he smiled proudly.
"You fight like a true Grand Celestial, Lady Eli."
Every Avenger turned.
Eli rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Uh… thanks… but I'm actually a guy."
Tony almost choked.
Clint burst out laughing.
Thor looked horrified.
"Oh—my apologies! It is simply that you look and sound more like a lady than a man."
Eli sighed because when people's voices get deeper his just got more confusing, it wasn't deep nor soft just in between. "Yeah… I get that a lot."
The city was quiet now.
Smoke drifted through broken streets as the Avengers walked toward the shawarma place Tony mentioned.
Eli stopped.
He stared at a ruined building—the one he had smashed into with the Leviathan.
He forced a smile.
"No one got hurt… I did good."
But his chest tightened.
The memories came back.
The plane.
The crash.
His parents.
Three hundred people he couldn't save.
He let out a quiet laugh.
"Well… insurance companies definitely hate me now."
A hand touched his shoulder.
Natasha "Don't."
Eli looked at her "Don't what?"
"Don't pretend you're fine."
His smile faded.
"You saw that?"
She nodded "You carry your pain the same way I do."
He looked away and for some reason he wanted to tell her which felt weird cause they don't know each other ' maybe it's a spy thing' he thought to himself
"It reminds me of my parents," he whispered.
"The plane crash… I survived. But three hundred people didn't."
His voice cracked.
"I keep telling myself I've moved on… but I haven't."
Natasha squeezed his shoulder.
"You didn't cause that."
Eli didn't answer.
Because he knows it was caused by him since it was meant to kill him.
"You don't have to carry it alone," she said quietly. "You're an Avenger now."
For the first time in years, Eli felt a little lighter.
"Thanks," he whispered and they contenud walking.
As they continued walking, Tony suddenly turned toward Eli.
"Kid… serious question."
"Yes?"
"Are you really a guy?"
Eli sighed "Yes."
Tony squinted.
"Do you enjoy people confusing you for a girl?"
"No. It's annoying."
Tony pointed at Eli's hair.
"Then why not cut it?"
Eli shrugged to be honest he did use to cut it but his hair had a high growth rate, he would cut it on Sunday but before Thursday it would have grown back that really annoyed him so he just stopped cutting it. But Tony asking him about it made him have a little idea so he said "It can't be cut."
Tony stopped walking.
"…what?"
"Yeah. No one has managed to cut it."
Tony smirked.
"What is this, some Samson power hair situation?"
Natasha and Clint suddenly looked very interested.
Eli shook his head.
"No. It's just extremely hard."
Tony reached over and touched it.
"…why is it so soft?"
"Genetics," Eli said.
Tony smirked.
"Bet I can cut it."
Eli raised an eyebrow.
"Wanna bet?"
Tony grinned.
"Ten bucks."
Eli shook his head.
"No. You build tech. I want something better."
Tony crossed his arms.
"Oh this should be good."
"I want you to build a program that scans someone and estimates their theoretical strength and skills." to be honest Eli felt like he needed a system to keep track of his abilities and maybe if he smelts the program he might get it.
Tony blinked.
"That's… actually nerdy."
Eli smiled.
"So is your suit."
Clint choked laughing.
Tony sighed dramatically.
"Fine. Deal."
He pointed at Eli's hair.
"After shawarma we go to my lab and say goodbye to Rapunzel."
Tony tried everything.
Laser cutters.
Industrial scissors.
Mini-repulsor blades.
Nothing worked.
JARVIS finally spoke "Sir… analysis indicates Eli's hair density rivals vibranium-level durability."
Everyone stared.
Steve blinked "…seriously?"
Tony stared at Eli.
"You realize your hair is stronger than Captain America's shield, right?"
Eli shrugged because he did have a feeling that when he smelted the vibranium not only his skin but every part of him considered a surface was just as hard.
Tony groaned.
"I just lost a bet to a teenager with indestructible conditioner."
Clint laughed so hard he nearly fell out of the chair.
Later that night Eli sat on top of Stark Tower.
The wind blew through his impossible hair.
Natasha appeared beside him again.
"You're still thinking about it."
"…yeah."
She stood beside him silently "You don't have to talk tonight," she said.
"But when you're ready… I'll listen."
Eli nodded and then looked at her and asked "what about you, do you have anyone to talk to, since you said you have the same experience as me"
She looked at him and smiled a bit and asked "what you wanna be the one to listen, cause my stuff are a bit tougher for a kid like you to hear"
Eli looked at her and said "I'm not that young, and where I'm from I'm considered an adult"
She just charckeld " okay kid maybe next time"
For once… the silence didn't feel lonely.
High above the Atlantic Ocean, inside the command deck of the S.H.I.E.L.D.
Helicarrier, dozens of holographic screens floated in the air.
News reports from across the world filled the displays.
"ALIEN INVASION IN NEW YORK"
"WHO ARE THE AVENGERS?"
"NEW HERO SEEN FIGHTING ALIENS"
On one screen, slow-motion footage replayed.
A blur of wind and blue plasma slammed into a Leviathan.
The creature exploded.
Standing at the center of the command deck was Nick Fury, arms folded behind his back.
Maria Hill approached.
"We've compiled everything we could find," she said.
Fury didn't turn.
"Tell me something useful."
Hill tapped the tablet in her hand and one of the screens zoomed in on Eli catching Tony Stark mid-fall.
"Subject appears approximately eighteen to twenty years old," she said. "Male. Identified himself as Eli Keakabetse."
Fury finally turned slightly "And?"
Hill hesitated.
"That's the problem."
She tapped again.
A world map appeared.
Thousands of database searches flashed across the screen.
Birth records.
School systems.
Immigration logs.
DNA databases.
Military records.
Nothing.
"We searched every global system we have access to," Hill said. "Hospitals. Government databases. Satellite identity scans."
She looked up.
"There is no record of him ever existing."
Fury stared at the screen.
"That kid threw a Leviathan through a building," he said calmly. "Someone like that doesn't just appear out of thin air."
Hill nodded "There's more."
Another clip played.
Tony Stark trying to cut Eli's hair with a laser.
The beam reflected.
The sensor readout appeared.
Hill zoomed in.
"JARVIS scanned his biological structure during the test."
Numbers filled the screen.
Density values.
Cellular durability.
Energy absorption readings.
Hill took a breath.
"According to Stark's system… every cell in Eli's body is registering harder than vibranium."
Fury slowly turned his head.
"That's not possible."
Hill nodded slowly.
"That's what the system said about Captain America's shield too."
Another screen appeared.
Thermal footage of Eli flying during the battle.
Energy signatures rippled around him.
Wind.
Ice.
Plasma.
Hill spoke again.
"We believe his abilities are adaptive. His power output increased multiple times during the battle."
Fury walked closer to the screen.
"So what you're telling me…"
He pointed at the frozen image of Eli floating in the sky over Manhattan.
"…is that this kid showed up from nowhere…"
"…punched alien warships out of the sky…"
"…and his cells are stronger than vibranium?"
Hill didn't answer.
Fury stared at the screen for a long moment.
Then he spoke quietly.
"Keep watching him."
Hill nodded.
"You think he's a threat?"
Fury shook his head slightly.
"No."
He turned toward the exit.
"I think he's something bigger."
He stopped at the doorway.
"And if that kid ever loses control…"
Fury looked back at the screen showing Eli destroying a Leviathan.
"…I want to know before the rest of the planet does."
The screen flickered.
Eli's image remained hovering over New York.
Unidentified.
Unregistered.
Unknown.