"Pepper!" Staring at the field of corpses, Tony's face turned deathly pale. Given the scene before him, survival seemed nearly impossible.
In the ruined borough of Queens, Spider-Man frantically sifted through the rubble of collapsed buildings, desperately searching for Aunt May.
Ant-Man had transformed into a giant, overturning chunks of concrete in a frenzy, trying to find his daughter.
The battlefield was littered with devastation—shattered remains of structures and remnants of the fallen.
...
When Naxxramas once again hovered over New York City, a collective sigh of relief swept through the survivors. At the very least, those monstrous insects could no longer claim more lives.
As the glow of a teleportation array flickered, Garus and his team materialized on the rooftop of the Azeroth Tech Tower.
The first to greet him was Kingpin, who stepped forward solemnly. "Master, the situation this time is worse than ever. Other than this location, we've lost contact with all our research facilities."
"Garus, you finally showed up." Uatu arrived with a group of individuals, his tone grave.
Garus's gaze shifted to those accompanying Uatu. He had seen them before, but this time their outfits finally jogged his memory.
"Big Hero 6."
"Whoa! The headmaster of the Mutant Academy actually knows who we are!" Fred exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Hiro's shoulders and shaking him vigorously. "Are we really that famous now?"
"Sir, you require a full-body security scan," Baymax stated as its scanner moved up and down, examining Garus.
"I'm fine. No need for that." Garus was interested in chatting, but now was clearly not the time.
At that moment, Wanda spoke up, "Garus, a helicopter is approaching."
Against the backdrop of the setting sun, a helicopter emblazoned with the H.A.M.M.E.R. insignia flew directly toward the building.
"Headmaster, should we shoot it down?" Some of the mutants were itching for action, well aware of Garus's disdain for H.A.M.M.E.R.
"Let them land. I want to see what they want."
The helicopter touched down on the rooftop helipad, and Garus watched as Osborn stepped out.
"Director Osborn, shouldn't you be out there exterminating those bugs? What are you doing here?" Quicksilver sneered.
Osborn's face remained expressionless. "Now is not the time for petty arguments. The White House is surrounded by the swarm. We need Garus to extract the President."
With the Brood General eliminated, the hive mind had collapsed. The remaining Brood drones, now leaderless, had descended into chaos, attacking indiscriminately.
Garus turned away from Osborn and asked, "Wilson, what's the situation?"
"The world is in complete disarray. Every major city is under siege by the Brood. We don't know the full extent of the damage yet, but based on the current situation, at least half the global population has perished."
Half the world—over three billion dead. More casualties than both World Wars combined. If this continued, humanity itself was at risk of extinction.
It was time to execute the contingency plan.
"Wanda, take the students and wipe out the remaining Brood. There shouldn't be many left."
"Understood."
The teleportation array flared once more, as Naxxramas and the Legion warships resumed their movements.
Watching Garus depart, Osborn clenched his fists in frustration. He needed more power.
...
After the battle with the Brood, Earth lay in ruins. Countless cities had been reduced to wastelands, ecosystems ravaged, and countless Brood eggs still needed purging—a colossal task.
Garus hadn't anticipated this invasion. He had been locked in combat with Annihilus, yet somehow, the swarm still appeared here. He had taken the majority of their fighting force elsewhere, so how had so many still remained? This disaster was far greater than he had imagined.
Given the current state of affairs, when Thanos inevitably arrived, Earth's remaining forces would be in no condition to resist. He refused to let this planet become a barren wasteland.
The world's governments were undoubtedly terrified. By now, they must have realized that the universe harbored countless hostile extraterrestrial threats. There was no longer any point in infighting.
"Dr. Wim." Arriving at the underground laboratory, Garus placed a hand on the scientist's shoulder.
"You—" Wim, about to curse at the interruption, froze when he saw Garus. Swallowing his words, he instead asked respectfully, "Mr. Garus, what can I do for you?"
"How's your study of Titan script progressing?"
"I've mastered it completely! Do you have new technological data for me?" Wim rubbed his hands together eagerly. When Garus first instructed him to learn the ancient language, he had hinted at advanced knowledge that required comprehension of Titan texts.
"Yes. This knowledge crystal contains the information you need. Gather all researchers—I want results as soon as possible. If you need specialized materials, see Wilson."
With barely restrained excitement, Wim took the memory crystal from Garus. He knew this contained knowledge far beyond Earth's current technological capabilities.
Ignoring Garus entirely, Wim rushed to his workstation, gripping the crystal tightly.
As he activated it, twin beams of white light projected from the crystal into his temples.
Titanic script scrolled across his consciousness:
The Emerald Dream System: A planetary backup mechanism. In the event of a world's destruction, this system could reconstruct its ecosystem. It also had the capability to reset the planet if necessary.
The Titan Planetary Defense System: Harnessing planetary energy to generate a shield, capable of barring entry to entities of overwhelming power (configurable as needed).
The Forge of Will: Grants sentience to organic and inorganic beings alike.
The Creator's Engine: The power source driving the Forge of Will, capable of generating souls.
The Origin Crucible…
Wim had never been more astounded. Azeroth's technological advancements were beyond his wildest imagination.
"This… this…" He looked at Garus, at a loss for words.
"Construct the planetary defense system as quickly as possible. We don't have much time."
"Understood!" Wim's excited shout startled passing researchers.
"You! Summon all researchers immediately! Drop whatever you're working on and gather here!"
Garus suddenly recalled the Sanctums of the Ancient Order, which possessed similar protective functions—though they seemed to only guard against threats from other universes.
Once the planetary defense system was operational, he would consult the Ancient Order for testing.
Building such a system wouldn't go unnoticed. When the time came, he would have to have another serious discussion with the world's governments.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON