(AN: Here's the Chappie for the day, Enjoy!)
Morning came quietly.
Despite everything that had happened the previous night, Elias still kept the simple routine he and Wanda Maximoff had formed over the past few days.
Breakfast.
It was strangely normal.
Pancakes.
Eggs.
Coffee.
For a moment, it almost felt like none of the cosmic nonsense surrounding him existed.
Elias sat across from Wanda, lazily sipping his coffee.
Wanda watched him for a moment before speaking.
"You look like you barely slept."
Elias shrugged.
"Define sleep."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"That bad?"
"Let's just say," Elias said dryly, "if someone asks me to go to Antarctica again, I'm saying no."
Wanda blinked.
"…Antarctica?"
Elias waved it off quickly.
"Long story."
She gave him a suspicious look but didn't push further.
Soon enough, they finished breakfast and headed toward the Avengers Compound.
Waiting for them inside were two very familiar faces.
Tony Stark stood with a coffee mug in one hand, looking like he had been awake far too early.
Beside him was Doctor Strange, standing calmly with his hands folded behind his back.
The moment Elias and Wanda entered
Tony looked them over slowly.
Then smirked.
"Well look who finally showed up."
Elias frowned.
"We're not late."
Tony lifted his wrist and pretended to check a nonexistent watch.
"You're not early either. Which, for a time traveler, feels like a missed opportunity."
Wanda rolled her eyes slightly.
Strange, meanwhile, simply stepped forward.
His tone was calm.
"Are you prepared?"
Elias opened his mouth
Then paused.
"…Actually, give me a moment."
He glanced toward Wanda.
"I need to talk to her first."
Strange raised one eyebrow slightly.
Tony, on the other hand, grinned immediately.
"Oh, this should be good."
He leaned casually against the nearby table.
"Kid wants a private moment before jumping through time."
Tony looked at Wanda.
"Should I give you two some music? Maybe candles?"
Wanda glared at him.
Elias sighed.
"Please ignore him."
"That's physically impossible," Tony replied.
Ignoring the commentary, Elias gently took Wanda's wrist and pulled her a short distance away to a quieter corner of the room.
She looked at him curiously.
"What's wrong?"
Elias scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Well… I'm about to take a small detour to 2012."
Wanda nodded.
"I know."
"But after that…" Elias continued, "I'll be going back to my universe."
She stayed quiet.
Watching him carefully.
Elias took a small breath.
"Would you want to visit it?"
Wanda blinked.
"…Your universe?"
He nodded.
"Just a vacation."
Then he quickly added
"Not permanent or anything. Just… if you wanted to see it."
There was barely a second of hesitation.
"I'd like that."
The answer came immediately.
Elias stared for a moment.
"…Really?"
Wanda smiled faintly.
"Yes."
The simple answer made Elias grin.
Without thinking too much, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
Wanda froze slightly before her cheeks flushed red.
He stepped back quickly.
"Okay, good talk."
Before she could say anything else, Elias walked back toward the others.
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"That was fast."
"Mission briefing," Elias said casually.
"Uh-huh."
Tony clearly didn't believe him.
Meanwhile, Strange stepped forward and extended his hands.
Two familiar artifacts appeared.
One glowing green.
The other glowing blue.
The Time Stone.
And the Space Stone.
Strange handed them over carefully.
"It is now your responsibility to return the Time Stone to Ancient One."
Elias nodded.
"I know."
"Steve has already returned the others," Strange continued.
"You will simply return it to the exact moment it was taken. That will prevent any timeline instability."
Elias pocketed the stones.
"No pressure then."
Finally, Strange produced one last item.
A small necklace.
An artifact glowing faintly with mystical energy.
"This will send you to the year 2012."
Strange held it out.
"In that timeline, you do not exist. That will prevent paradoxes."
Elias took the necklace.
"And how long do I get?"
"One week."
Strange's voice was calm.
"After that, the artifact will automatically return you to the exact moment you left when you hitched a ride with Tony and the others to come here."
Elias looked at it for a second.
Then placed it around his neck.
Tony folded his arms.
"Well, try not to break the universe."
"No promises," Elias replied.
Strange simply nodded.
"Good luck."
Elias turned toward Wanda.
She looked directly at him.
Then said softly
"I'll be waiting."
Tony blinked.
"…Waiting?"
Strange glanced between them.
"For what?"
But before Wanda could answer
The necklace activated.
Light suddenly engulfed Elias.
Space twisted around him.
Tony frowned.
"…Did we miss part of the conversation?"
The light vanished.
Elias was gone.
Silence filled the room.
Both men slowly turned toward Wanda.
Tony pointed toward the empty space Elias had just occupied.
"Okay."
"What does 'I'll be waiting' mean?"
Strange also looked curious.
Wanda crossed her arms slightly.
She was clearly not in the mood to explain anything.
"…Nothing."
Tony frowned.
"That definitely didn't sound like nothing."
Wanda simply turned away.
.
.
.
New York, 2012.
The sky was burning.
Alien ships tore through the clouds as the Chitauri invasion ravaged the city below.
Explosions echoed through the streets.
Civilians ran—some escaped.
Some didn't.
Amid the chaos, six figures stood their ground.
The Avengers.
They formed a circle.
Backs to each other.
Surrounded on all sides.
Captain America tightened his grip on his shield.
"Alright, stay sharp!"
Iron Man hovered slightly above the ground.
Thor spun his hammer once.
Hawkeye nocked an arrow.
Hulk exhaled slowly.
Loki watched from afar, riding one of the Chitauri's flying vehicles, his expression filled with cruel satisfaction.
The battle was his.
Victory was inevitable.
But at that moment
A new disturbance appeared.
Above Stark Tower
A second portal tore open.
Not golden.
Not blue like the Tesseract, probably because it involves the time stone.
It was something Darker.
An unnatural blue void that pulsed with an icy aura.
The battlefield slowed.
Even the flying Leviathans hesitated mid-air.
Every head turned upward.
A chill ran through the air.
Tony's HUD flickered.
"…Uh. Anyone else seeing that?"
Cap squinted upward.
"That's not ours."
Thor frowned deeply.
"This feeling… it is not of Asgard."
Clint muttered—
"Great. More company."
Only Hulk doesn't seem bothered by it.
Loki's smirk faded.
His eyes narrowed.
"…What is this?"
He stepped forward slightly, gripping his scepter tighter.
"I did not call for reinforcements."
A pause.
Then a thought crept into his mind.
"…And if I didn't…"
A flicker of uncertainty appeared.
"…Then who did?"
The portal pulsed once more as metallic steps echoes.
Then
A single armored foot emerged.
Heavy.
Metallic.
Then another.
Slowly
A figure walked out.
Fully clad in dark, frost-laced armor.
A presence that didn't just enter the battlefield, it made the battle stop.
Whispers spread among the soldiers below while still guiding survivors towards safety.
"Who is that…?"
"That's not one of ours…"
"Is he with the aliens?"
Loki straightened.
Arrogance returning to his face.
"Whoever you are," he called out, voice echoing across the battlefield, "this conquest is mine."
He lifted his chin proudly.
"I do not require assistance."
The armored figure—Arthas Menethil—said nothing.
He simply looked at Loki.
An icy, emotionless gaze.
Loki hesitated.
Something was wrong.
This man…
Did not feel like a subordinate of that Man.
Did not feel like an ally at all.
"…You are not sent by him," Loki muttered under his breath.
Arthas raised his left hand.
From nothing
A grotesque book appeared.
The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis.
The moment it manifested
The air turned heavy.
Oppressive.
Even the Avengers felt it instantly.
Tony's voice came through urgently
"Okay, I officially don't like that book."
Cap didn't hesitate.
"Stop him!"
That was all it took.
Thor launched forward, lightning trailing behind him.
Iron Man blasted toward Arthas at full speed.
Hulk jumped with great strength, in one leap he'll probably reach Arthas.
Clint released a specialized arrow straight for the target.
Arthas didn't move.
He simply raised his right hand.
And
Everything stopped.
Thor.
Iron Man.
Hulk.
The arrow.
All frozen mid-air.
As if time itself refused to let them pass.
"…What?" Tony's voice cracked through the comms.
With his left hand, Arthas opened the book.
Pages flipped before stopping on a single passage.
Then
He began to speak.
The words were ancient.
Twisted.
Not meant for human tongues.
"Klaatu… Verata… N—"
The chant deepened.
Echoed.
Layered.
As if a thousand voices spoke alongside him. Even his deep voice made it much more darker.
"Spirītūs Cecidōrum… Vocantem Exaudīte…"
The ground trembled.
"Surgite ex carne… ex ossibus… ex amplexū morrtis—"
The sky darkened further.
"Respondēte rēgī vestrō!"
The final word rang like a command.
Reality itself seemed to shudder.
Then
Arthas lowered his hand.
Thor and Iron Man were violently thrown backward.
The arrow shot off course and exploded harmlessly in the distance.
Silence.
For half a second.
Then
They felt it.
Something was coming.
From below.
From all directions.
Cap looked around sharply.
"…Everyone stay alert."
Clint muttered under his breath
"Wasn't aliens enough for one day?"
Even Loki watched intently now.
Curious.
Anticipating.
Then
Laughter.
Soft at first.
Then louder.
Twisted.
Broken.
From the streets.
From the rubble.
From the fallen bodies of civilians
They moved.
One by one. They rose. Eyes lifeless. Bodies broken. Yet moving. Laughing.
Then
They lifted.
Floating into the air as if gravity had abandoned them.
Dozens of them. About 74 of them.
The sky began to fill with them.
Dead civilians.
Now something else.
Deadites.
The battlefield froze in horror.
Tony's voice was quiet.
"…that's new and insane."
Cap clenched his shield tighter.
"…This just got worse."
Even Thor looked disturbed.
"This is no natural magic. It's death magic, he's a necromancer!"
High above
Inside the helicarrier
Nick Fury stared at the screen and heared Thor's voice.
Beside him, Maria Hill looked equally horrified.
"…What the hell are those things?"
Fury didn't answer immediately.
His eyes were locked on the armored figure.
"…That's not part of the invasion."
Below
The sky was now filled with laughing corpses.
The Avengers stood surrounded by aliens
And the dead.
Fury's expression hardened.
"…That's a new level of problem."
Without hesitation
He pressed a button on the pager Carol gave him.
A signal was sent across deep space.
"…We're out of options."
His voice was grim. He was talking to himself.
"We need you."
End of Chapter