Noah noticed the shift in Reed Richards's expression and smiled faintly.
"So… you've heard of me."
Reed hesitated. "Coulson mentioned you. Not in detail, but… enough."
"Good," Noah said. "That saves time."
He stepped forward, tone casual, as if discussing a routine project rather than something world-altering.
"I need your help."
Reed straightened instinctively. "With what?"
"The cosmic storm."
The reaction was immediate. Reed's eyes lit up—pure instinct, the kind that only came from a mind wired for discovery.
Then reality caught up.
"…It's already gone," Reed said, the excitement dimming. "At that speed, we'd never catch up with conventional spacecraft."
Noah didn't answer.
Instead, he raised a hand.
The sky tore open.
A massive portal formed above them, its edges rippling with energy. On the other side—deep space. Black, endless, and cut through by a blazing ribbon of orange light.
The storm.
It was still there.
Still moving.
Still reachable.
Reed froze, breath catching. "That's… that's impossible."
Noah closed the portal with a flick of his fingers.
"I can access it whenever I want," he said. "And if I really felt like it, I could redirect the entire thing onto Earth."
He let that settle.
"Everyone would gain abilities."
Reed didn't speak.
"But," Noah continued, "it's unstable. Some people would change in ways they can't reverse."
Now Reed understood.
"You want a failsafe," he said.
"Exactly."
Noah nodded. "A way to reverse the transformation. Strip abilities away. Return people to baseline."
Reed didn't even think.
"I'll do it."
He stepped forward, almost urgently.
"Give me the data. Give me access to the storm, and I'll figure it out."
For a moment, everything else faded for him. Politics, power, even personal relationships—it all fell away in the face of the problem.
This was what he lived for.
Noah watched him, then gave a small nod.
"Good."
The world shifted.
They reappeared inside the White House.
Tony Stark looked up from a cluster of holographic displays as they arrived.
Noah gestured toward Reed. "This is your guy. He'll handle the storm research."
Tony's gaze flicked over Reed, then back to Noah.
"…Of course he will."
Noah set a small vial down on the table.
Pym Particles.
Tony stared at it. "Where did you even—"
"SHIELD base," Noah said. "It's gone now."
Tony went still.
"No survivors," Noah added, almost as an afterthought. "Fury, Coulson, Banner. All dealt with."
The room felt colder.
Tony's expression tightened. "We were tracking Banner."
"Too slow," Noah said.
There was no malice in it.
Just fact.
Tony exhaled slowly, already connecting the dots. If they'd been beaten to Banner, it meant one thing.
"There's a leak," he said.
Noah's smile sharpened slightly.
"More than one."
He turned toward the window, looking out over the city.
"I've been… patient," he said. "Too patient."
That changed now.
"Find everyone involved," Noah continued. "Anyone who knew. Anyone who helped."
Tony's jaw tightened. "We can deal with the main players—"
"No," Noah cut in.
His gaze snapped back, sharp enough to stop the room cold.
"No half-measures."
There was no anger in his voice.
Which made it worse.
"If you hesitate," he said, "you're just setting up the next problem."
Tony held his stare.
Didn't agree.
Didn't argue.
Noah looked at him for a moment longer, then exhaled.
"Forget it," he said. "You're not built for that."
He tilted his head slightly.
"JARVIS, pass the order to Wilson Fisk."
"Yes, sir," JARVIS replied instantly.
Noah continued, voice steady.
"By tomorrow, I want every remaining cell—Hydra, SHIELD remnants, resistance groups—gone."
Tony's eyes flickered, but he said nothing.
"Use Professor X," Noah added. "Locate them. Anyone hiding outside designated safe zones without a reason—treat them as hostile."
The implication was clear.
No room for ambiguity.
No room for doubt.
Noah stepped closer, his tone dropping slightly.
"Tomorrow is my coronation."
A pause.
"I don't want surprises."
Silence filled the room.
Then—
"I understand," Tony said.
Elsewhere, the same command reached its targets.
Wilson Fisk.
Rodriguez.
Acknowledgment came quickly.
Noah gave a small nod.
Then he looked back out at the sky.
For a moment, his thoughts drifted beyond Earth—beyond the immediate.
Let's hope nothing drops in uninvited.
He turned, stepping into a portal without another word.
Gone.
Tony stood there for a while after.
Then glanced at Reed.
"You heard him," Tony said. "You'll be working with Victor von Doom. He's running things on the city side."
Reed blinked. "Victor?"
Tony nodded. "Mayor of New York."
Reed stared at him.
"…You're kidding."
"I wish I was."
Tony rubbed his temples.
"Titles don't mean much anymore," he added. "We all answer to the same person."
Reed looked around the room, then back at Tony.
"And you're okay with that?"
Tony let out a dry laugh.
"Okay isn't the word I'd use."
He gestured vaguely toward the city outside.
"But for now? It works."
Reed didn't respond.
He just stood there, caught between disbelief and reluctant acceptance.
Tony exhaled again, quieter this time.
If I'm not here, he thought, this whole place falls apart.
And somehow—
That didn't feel like an exaggeration.