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❄️ Chapter 22 — Into the Storm
The base felt different that night.
Adrian had worked in its steel halls for weeks—coding, designing, upgrading—but the air now seemed heavier. Even the constant hum of the servers sounded muted, like the machines themselves sensed the tension.
Natalie stood at his side, calm as ever, her eyes scanning over the floating holo-displays with a faint glow. Adrian leaned against the console, arms crossed, staring at the streams of reports scrolling past.
S.H.I.E.L.D. movements. Strange magical disturbances. Spikes of alien energy in New York. Thor appearing at Midtown High of all places.
The pieces weren't adding up.
"What do you think?" Adrian asked.
Natalie tilted her head slightly, her expression precise, voice steady. "There are too many movements at once. Coincidence does not fit. Someone is pulling strings."
Adrian rubbed his temples, scowling. "Yeah. But it feels like we're circling a puzzle without half the pieces."
The kwamis hovered nearby, unusually quiet—until Tikki floated closer.
"There is… one way."
Adrian looked up sharply. "What way?"
Tikki's glow dimmed with unease. "The Bunny Miraculous. It was meant to guard the timeline—to protect history from paradoxes. But… it can look ahead too. You've avoided it for good reason."
His gut twisted. He had avoided it. Because looking too far meant carrying knowledge he might not be able to change. Knowledge that could break him.
But the storm pressing on his chest wouldn't let him rest.
"…Bring me the Rabbit Miraculous."
---
The burrow shimmered into being as Adrian clasped the pocket watch around his wrist. The world bent and snapped back into place, forming the glowing tunnel of endless portals.
Natalie remained at the entrance, her face unreadable but her voice soft. "Be careful, Adrian."
The kwamis huddled behind her, their tiny faces heavy with worry.
Adrian stepped forward, portals flickering past him—Gabriel and Emily's deaths, Spider-Man's battles, the Avengers fighting together.
He steadied his breath. Show me what's coming.
The burrow obeyed.
One portal widened before him.
Adrian's blood froze.
New York burned—but this wasn't the invasion he had prepared for. Frost giants tore through the streets, their touch freezing cars and civilians into ice statues. Above, leviathans screamed through smoke-choked skies. And everywhere, black.
The Chitauri weren't themselves. Their bodies writhed with Venom-like tendrils, carapaces of living symbiote armor clinging to their flesh. Even the frost giants wore slick, writhing black, their eyes glowing with a sick hunger.
The sky was fire and webbing. Heroes fought, but they were drowning—Captain America pinned under sludge, Thor slammed into a skyscraper by a giant's tendrils.
And there—Adrian staggered back—was himself.
A version of him, burning through three Miraculouses at once. His face pale, veins glowing faintly as if the powers themselves were tearing him apart. Beside him, Natalie cut down waves of enemies with cold precision, but even she faltered under the tide.
And at the center of it all, Loki. Smirking, weaving green magic into Venom-infused monsters like a conductor guiding an orchestra of chaos.
Adrian tore himself out of the burrow, collapsing to his knees, bile rising in his throat.
Tikki flew close, voice trembling. "What did you see?"
Adrian's whisper scraped from his throat.
"…The end."
--
Back in the workshop, Adrian ripped the Rabbit Miraculous off his waist and slammed it on the console. His hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Natalie's eyes sharpened. "What did you see?"
He stared at the floor. "…Not just Chitauri. Frost giants. Symbiotes covering everything. It's not the Battle of New York anymore. Loki's rewriting the invasion."
Silence. Then, Natalie's voice, steady but firm: "Then we adapt."
Adrian shook his head. "Adapt? You didn't see it. I was—" he swallowed hard—"I was burning myself out just holding three Miraculouses at once. My body was falling apart. And even then, it wasn't enough."
The kwamis exchanged uneasy glances.
Wayzz finally spoke, his voice ancient and grave. "Adrian, listen well. A mortal body is not meant to wield more than two Miraculouses at once. Even masters through centuries dared not attempt it. The toll will be immense. Your soul may weaken."
"I don't have a choice," Adrian snapped, pacing like a caged wolf. "If Loki fuses symbiotes with an army, the Avengers won't be enough. I have to push further."
Plagg's green eyes gleamed sharp. "Push too far and you'll break, kid. And when you're ashes, who saves the world then?"
Adrian slammed a hand on the table, the sound echoing.
"I saw it! I saw what happens if I don't. If tearing myself apart is what it takes to buy us a chance—then that's the price."
Natalie moved to him, her hand firm on his shoulder. "Then we prepare. Together. But you will not destroy yourself before the war begins. That's an order."
Her tone carried authority Adrian hadn't heard before. He blinked at her, surprised. Then, slowly, he nodded.
"…Together, then."
---
At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, storm clouds gathered in another form.
Thor sat at the conference table, massive against the glow of energy scans. Coulson stood nearby, ever calm. Fury leaned forward, his one good eye narrowed.
"You saw it yourself," Thor rumbled. "Loki weaves his hand already. He summons the Jotnar. His ambition will not stop with mischief."
Fury exhaled slowly. "You're saying Earth's about to get a frost giant army dropped on it, and we don't even know where the attack will land?"
Thor's gaze was thunder itself. "If Loki has forged new bonds with the Jotnar, then yes. And your world is far weaker than you realize."
Fury leaned back, silent for a long moment. He thought of the Tesseract humming in its containment chamber. Of men and women with nothing but rifles standing against gods.
Finally, he said, voice low: "Then we accelerate Phase 2."
Thor's brow furrowed. "Phase 2?"
"Weapons," Fury said flatly. "Harnessing the Tesseract. If Loki's coming with an army, Earth needs teeth sharp enough to bite back."
Thor slammed his hand on the table, rattling the screens. "You would wield the Cube's power? That path invites ruin!"
Fury met his glare, steady as stone. "I know war when I see it, son. And I'll be damned if I let Earth walk into one blind."
Thor's frustration crackled like thunder in the air, but Fury turned toward the window, his face unreadable.
He couldn't know it, but in choosing Phase 2, he had just handed Loki the very spark he needed to ignite the fire.
---
Back underground, Adrian stood in the training chamber, sweat dripping down his face.
The Cat's ring glowed green. The Ladybug earrings burned red. The bull miraculous shimmered blue.
Three at once.
His chest heaved with every breath. His veins pulsed faintly with light. Invulnerability . Lucky Charm. Cataclysm. Each power struck like a hammer through his body. His skin cracked faintly at the edges, glowing with energy seeping through.
"Adrian, stop!" Tikki cried. "You're draining yourself too fast!"
But Adrian roared through the pain, cutting down holographic enemies Natalie had calibrated to move like Chitauri and frost giants.
Then his knees buckled. His vision tunneled. A thin trickle of blood slid from his nose.
Natalie was there in an instant, catching him before he fell. Her telekinesis dispersed the field in a shimmer of light.
"Enough." Her voice was sharp, but her eyes—steady, unwavering—held concern. "You saw the future. But killing yourself in the present will not stop it."
Adrian sagged against her, gasping. "If I don't push—"
"You'll be gone before the first shot is fired," she cut in.
Her words hit harder than any blow.
The kwamis hovered close, their little eyes heavy with relief as Adrian finally let go, trembling in Natalie's arms.
"…Alright," he whispered hoarsely. "I'll rest. For now."
Natalie's expression softened, her hand steadying him.
And though the storm loomed nearer, Adrian realized one truth—
He was not alone.
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The board was set.
Fury sharpened his weapons. Thor pleaded for caution. Loki twisted the game. And Adrian pushed his mortal body against the limits of gods.
The invasion wouldn't be like anything New York had seen.
And when it began, nothing would ever be the same.
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❄️ End of Chapter 22
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