Chapter 22: The Tesseract Problem
Justin couldn't sleep.
He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about a glowing cube sitting in a SHIELD vault somewhere beneath the Mojave Desert. The Tesseract. Infinite power source. Key to faster-than-light travel. And the beacon that would draw Loki to Earth in less than a year.
He knew where it was. Could probably acquire it with enough resources and planning. But every scenario ended in disaster.
At 3 AM, he gave up on sleep and went to his office.
"AEGIS," he said. "New analysis. Strategic objective: prevent Loki from using the Tesseract to open a portal."
"Acknowledged. Processing scenarios."
Justin paced while the AI worked. Outside, New York slept, unaware that in roughly twelve months, aliens would pour through a hole in the sky above Midtown.
"Analysis complete," AEGIS said. "Three primary approaches identified."
"Show me."
"Scenario One: Steal the Tesseract from SHIELD before Loki arrives. Probability of success: 34%. Consequences: Massive manhunt, destruction of relationship with SHIELD and Natasha Romanoff, unknown response from Asgard and other cosmic entities monitoring the artifact. Recommended: No."
Justin grimaced. He'd expected that.
"Scenario Two: Destroy the Tesseract. Probability of success: Unknown—we have insufficient data on whether the artifact can be destroyed by conventional or even exotic means. Consequences: If successful, may prevent invasion but also alert cosmic forces including Thanos. If unsuccessful, expends resources without benefit. Recommended: No."
"And the third scenario?"
"Scenario Three: Allow invasion to proceed but ensure superior defensive response through advanced preparation. Probability of minimizing casualties: 73% with current preparations, potentially higher with additional resources. Consequences: Invasion occurs but Earth's forces are ready. Avengers Initiative proceeds naturally. Timeline stability maintained while improving outcomes. Recommended: Yes."
Justin stopped pacing. His hands clenched into fists.
"Let it happen. Let thousands of people get caught in an alien invasion because preventing it would cause worse problems. Just like Tony's kidnapping. Just like Vanko's original attack plan. I keep choosing to let bad things happen because the alternative is worse."
"Sir," AEGIS said quietly. "You appear distressed."
"I'm tired of making choices where all the options are terrible."
"Then perhaps the solution is not to prevent the invasion, but to ensure we're ready for it." AEGIS pulled up tactical projections. "Current preparations: PROMETHEUS Division developing anti-Chitauri weapons, ARES Division training for urban warfare, Ghost Network positioning emergency supplies. Estimated civilian casualties with current readiness: 800-1200. Estimated casualties without preparation: 4000-6000."
"That's still hundreds of people dead."
"Yes. But thousands fewer than would die if we did nothing. And potentially millions if our interference triggers worse consequences we cannot predict."
Justin slumped in his chair. The void marks on his arms throbbed, responding to his stress. "So we prepare. Build weapons. Train soldiers. Hope it's enough."
"Yes, sir. That is the optimal strategy given known variables and acceptable risk thresholds."
Acceptable. What a word.
The preparations accelerated over the following weeks.
PROMETHEUS Division developed new weapons systems: Chitauri tissue analysis from Thor's New Mexico event had given them enough data to design energy weapons optimized for organic-armored targets. Plasma rifles that could punch through living metal. Explosive rounds calibrated for maximum effectiveness against alien biology.
ARES Division trained for scenarios that would have seemed insane months ago. Urban warfare against flying enemies. Defensive positions against numerical superiority. Civilian evacuation under fire. They practiced until exhaustion, then practiced more.
Ghost Network pre-positioned emergency supplies throughout New York: medical stations, evacuation routes, backup communications. Justin spent millions creating infrastructure that hopefully would never be needed, knowing it absolutely would be.
And he designed new armor variants specifically for fighting Leviathans.
Maya found him in the lab at 2 AM, sketching designs for weapons that could hurt a living ship the size of a building.
"You're preparing for war," she said.
"I'm preparing for disaster."
"What kind of disaster requires anti-ship weapons in Manhattan?"
Justin looked at her. Maya had been loyal for over a year. Had asked fewer questions than she deserved answers for. Had trusted him despite not understanding half of what he did.
"The kind that involves aliens," he said. "Possibly thousands of them. Coming through a portal above the city. In roughly one year."
Maya stared at him. "That's insane."
"Yes."
"You're serious."
"Completely."
"How do you know this?"
"I can't explain. But I know. And I'd rather be wrong and prepared than right and helpless."
Maya was quiet for a long moment. Then she pulled up a chair and grabbed a stylus. "Show me the Leviathan specs. If we're going to kill flying alien warships, we'll need better than what you're designing."
Justin felt something tight in his chest loosen. "You believe me."
"I believe you wouldn't spend millions on insane weapons unless you were certain they'd be needed. And I believe that if aliens are coming, I'd rather be ready." She started sketching modifications. "Also, I've always wanted to design city-scale weapons platforms. This is essentially my dream project, just with horrifying context."
They worked until dawn, designing death for creatures that didn't exist yet.
Natasha found Justin on his penthouse balcony three days later.
"You're preparing for invasion," she said without preamble. "Specific invasion. You know exactly what's coming."
Justin didn't deny it. "Yes."
"How?"
He'd been dreading this conversation. Natasha deserved truth, but the truth sounded like delusion.
"I can't explain how I know," he said carefully. "But in roughly one year, New York will be attacked by an extraterrestrial force using advanced portal technology. Thousands of hostiles. Possibly tens of thousands. Conventional military response will be inadequate. The Avengers Initiative—if Fury actually assembles it—might be enough. But I'm not betting millions of lives on 'might.'"
Natasha studied him. "You speak with certainty about future events. That's not prediction. That's knowledge."
"Yes."
"From where?"
Justin was quiet for a long moment, staring out at the city he was trying to save. "If I told you I'd seen it happen before, in another timeline, would you believe me?"
"No. But I'd believe you believe it."
"Fair enough." He turned to face her. "I know things I shouldn't. Have knowledge that doesn't make sense. And I can't explain how without sounding insane. But I need you to trust me anyway. Trust that when I say aliens are coming, when I prepare for threats that don't exist yet, I'm not paranoid. I'm informed."
Natasha was silent. Then: "What do you need from me?"
Just like that. No demands for proof. No accusations of delusion. Just acceptance and offer of help.
Justin loved her fiercely in that moment.
"Keep Fury from interfering with my preparations. Let him think I'm paranoid about extraterrestrial threats after Thor. But don't let SHIELD shut down what I'm building."
"I can do that." She moved closer. "But Justin? When this invasion comes—and I'm choosing to believe it will—you better survive it. Because if you die saving the world, I will find a way to bring you back just to kill you myself."
He kissed her. "Deal."
They stood together, looking out at Manhattan. Millions of people living their lives, unaware that in less than a year, their city would become a battlefield.
But Justin knew. And he was preparing. Building weapons. Training soldiers. Positioning resources.
Doing everything he could to minimize the damage of a disaster he could see coming but couldn't prevent.
The void marks pulsed on his arms. Fifteen months until critical corruption. One year until invasion.
Not enough time. Never enough time.
But he'd use every day he had left to make sure that when the portal opened, Earth was ready.
Even if being ready meant accepting that some disasters couldn't be prevented—only survived.
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