The first reports didn't make sense.
They never did.
"Massive structural damage—unknown cause."
"Radiation spikes detected—levels fluctuating."
"Multiple casualties—no confirmed source."
At first, it sounded like another incident. Another anomaly. Another problem no one could explain.
Then the footage came in.
Something big.
Green.
Moving faster than anything that size should have been able to.
"That's not real."
"It can't be."
"What even is that thing?"
The clips spread fast—shaky, incomplete, chaotic.
But clear enough.
A figure tearing through vehicles like they weren't there. Buildings cracking under the force of a single movement. Soldiers firing—and doing nothing.
Then—
A roar.
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. command, everything shifted.
"This is not a localized incident," an agent said. "We have multiple confirmed engagements. Same subject. Same result."
"Define result," another asked.
A pause.
"…Total loss."
That said everything.
"Tracking?" someone called.
"We're trying—he's not maintaining direction. Movement is erratic."
"Erratic?"
"No pattern. No objective. He's just moving."
That made it worse.
Far from the noise, Nick Fury stood watching the footage replay.
Not once.
Not twice.
Over and over.
Each time focusing on something different.
The speed.
The impact.
The reaction time.
"…He's not thinking," Fury said.
"No, sir," an agent replied. "Not in any way we can track."
Fury didn't react outwardly.
"Identity."
The room hesitated.
"…Dr. Bruce Banner."
Silence.
Fury didn't look surprised.
Just—
Disappointed.
"Of course it is," he said.
The public didn't stay quiet.
It never did.
"This is what happens when you play with things you don't understand!"
The screen snapped to J. Jonah Jameson mid-broadcast, louder than ever.
"They told you it was under control! They told you everything was fine! And now look!"
Footage played beside him—vehicles overturned, streets destroyed, something massive moving through it all like resistance didn't exist.
"That is not an accident—that is a weapon!" Jameson continued. "And they lost it!"
He leaned forward, voice dropping slightly.
"And if they lost that…"
A pause.
"What else have they lost?"
Behind closed doors, the reaction was quieter.
Far more controlled.
Hydra didn't panic.
Hydra calculated.
"Uncontrolled force," one voice said.
"Unpredictable," another added.
"Effective."
That was the important part.
Not what it was—
What it could do.
"If directed…" one of them said.
"It could destabilize entire regions."
A pause.
"And if not?"
The answer came quickly.
"It already is."
In Asgard—
Loki watched in silence.
Not with surprise.
With interest.
The image before him flickered—an illusion showing the green figure tearing through everything in its path.
"…So Midgard has another," he murmured.
Different from Thor.
Different from the one he had spoken to.
This one—
Was chaos.
Unfocused.
Uncontrolled.
Dangerous.
Loki tilted his head slightly, watching as the creature struck again, the ground fracturing beneath it.
"…And they fear it."
That was important.
Fear shaped perception.
And perception could be guided.
His gaze shifted slightly.
Not toward the creature—
But beyond it.
"…You didn't respond to me," Loki said quietly, thinking of Lord. "Not to power. Not to status."
That made things harder.
But not impossible.
"…But you do watch."
A faint smile formed.
"If I can't convince you…"
He looked back at the destruction.
"…then I'll show you."