Inside the Pegasus facility, the Tesseract was no longer stable.
Its energy output climbed steadily, climbing past every threshold the researchers had ever recorded. The glow intensified, deepening into a vivid, almost violent blue.
Four hours later, it peaked.
The cube rotated slowly in midair, drawing in energy like a vortex. Then—
It released it.
A concentrated beam of blue light erupted outward, striking a containment structure twenty meters away. The impact tore open space itself, forming a shimmering, unstable portal.
And from that tear in reality—
Something stepped through.
The portal snapped shut immediately after.
Silence fell over the room.
The figure that had emerged stood tall and unnervingly composed. His frame was slender, almost fragile at a glance, but there was a quiet authority in the way he carried himself. Pale skin stretched thin over sharp features, his expression calm to the point of indifference.
No one present mistook him for human.
Watching remotely, Noah Vale frowned slightly.
Ebony Maw
"…That's it?" Noah muttered. "I was expecting someone bigger."
Nearby, Tony Stark's hologram flickered as he leaned closer to the feed.
"That's our invasion force?" Tony said. "One guy who looks like he skipped leg day for a decade?"
Noah shook his head.
"Don't kill him yet," he said. "He's here for the Tesseract. After that, he'll open a larger portal and bring in the Chitauri."
Tony's expression shifted.
"…So we just let him do it?"
"No," Noah said, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. "We let him try."
He leaned back slightly.
"Once he's done the hard part, we take control."
Tony crossed his arms.
"I don't love the part where we let the alien wizard run around unsupervised."
"You won't," Noah replied. "Grab him first. Then we put him to work."
Tony blinked.
"…You're serious."
"Completely."
Noah glanced at the data streaming across the screen, already losing interest.
"Call me when the portal's ready."
And just like that, he went back to work.
—
At the facility—
The researchers reacted instantly when the alien appeared.
They didn't get far.
Ebony Maw raised a hand.
The metal floor beneath them twisted violently, breaking apart into jagged fragments that rose into the air and wrapped around the scientists like restraints. In seconds, they were immobilized and dragged toward him.
With effortless grace, he tapped each of them lightly with his staff.
The Mind Stone pulsed.
Their resistance vanished.
To him, they were nothing more than tools.
"Fragile creatures," he murmured.
Then—
"Run!"
The shout came from one of the controlled researchers.
Ebony Maw paused.
"…What?"
"You need to leave," another said urgently. "Don't stay here."
His expression didn't change, but something in his posture sharpened.
"Explain."
"You don't understand," the first researcher said. "Earth isn't what you think it is anymore."
Another chimed in.
"There's a man—he's unstoppable. Faster than anything, stronger than anyone."
"He doesn't hesitate. If he notices you, you're done."
"And that's just him," a third added. "There are others. Teams. Entire groups."
More voices joined in, overlapping, chaotic.
"Enforcers. Enhanced operatives. Mutants—"
"Even if you survive them, he'll show up eventually!"
The fear in their voices was real.
Ebony Maw's patience wasn't.
He flicked his hand, sending them crashing aside.
"Delusion," he said coldly. "Your world is defenseless."
Or at least—
That's what he believed.
Until he saw what was waiting for him.
A group of figures approached from across the facility floor, moving with casual confidence.
They didn't look unified. Different styles, different builds. But they shared one thing—
They weren't afraid.
Ebony Maw glanced at the researchers.
"Who are they?"
One of them answered weakly.
"…People you don't want to fight."
That was enough.
The group spread out, forming a loose circle around him.
At the front, Bullseye cracked his neck slightly, eyes locked on their target.
"Try running," he said. "I'd love to see how far you get."
Ebony Maw exhaled slowly.
"Arrogant," he replied.
The ground trembled.
Metal surged upward, forming spikes that shot toward his attackers from every direction.
They didn't even flinch.
They moved.
Clean. Precise. Effortless.
Every strike missed.
One of them stepped forward, his palm glowing faintly with contained energy. He brought it down in a sharp, decisive motion.
The air split with the force of it.
Ebony Maw threw up a barrier of twisted steel just in time—
But something hit him from behind.
A sudden burst of force slammed into his back, electricity tearing through him. He staggered forward, blood spilling from his mouth as his control faltered.
No pause.
No mercy.
Projectiles laced with amplified force cut through the air, forcing him to twist aside at the last second.
Even then, he wasn't fast enough.
Another strike connected.
Then another.
Individually, none of them matched him.
Together—
They overwhelmed him completely.
Ebony Maw tried to regain control, pulling debris into a defensive formation, but the pressure never let up. Every opening was exploited instantly.
He was losing.
Badly.
Desperate, he lashed out—grabbing one of the nearby figures with a surge of metal and dragging him in front of himself.
"Stop," he snapped. "Or he dies."
For a brief moment—
Everything stilled.
Then—
A figure stepped forward, lightning crackling faintly around his fist.
"Not my problem," he said.
He punched straight through the hostage.
The impact didn't slow.
It carried through, slamming into Ebony Maw with devastating force.
The alien's body was launched backward, skidding across the ground before going completely still.
Silence returned to the facility.
The man stepped over the fallen hostage without a second glance, rolling his shoulder as if warming up.
"You picked the wrong planet," he said.
Around him, the others relaxed slightly—but their eyes stayed sharp.
Because if this was only the first move—
Then the real fight hadn't even started yet.