Chapter 13 – Titans Ascendant
(~2,000 words; Titan deployment, first contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. observers, preparation for cosmic conquest)
Citadel Launch Platform – Pre-dawn
Steel moaned under unimaginable strain as the first Titan rose from the launch cradle.
Towering nearly a kilometer tall, its surface was an armored mosaic of Red Alert-era alloys, chakra conductors, and symbiote-infused reinforcement plates. Enormous dorsal cannons flexed upward, crackling with raw energy.
Inside the Citadel, Shawn stood in the observation hall, hands clasped behind his back. Venom's tendrils coiled around his shoulders like a living mantle.
Talia approached, her clone legion standing at parade rest along the gantries. The clones had scrubbed the battlefield clean, stacking Kree corpses like cordwood for incineration.
"Systems check complete," she reported. "All Titans are linked to your neural lattice. When you command, they will obey."
Shawn's Sharingan spun. The live-feed from the Titan's primary ocular array poured into his mind—a vertiginous god's-eye view of the Citadel and the dawn-swept plains beyond.
Venom's voice vibrated inside his chest.
"Take it. Make it yours."
His jaw tightened. He reached out—and willed the Titan to step forward.
With a deep, seismic groan, the machine lifted one colossal foot and set it down, sending a shockwave across the plateau. A hundred clone soldiers staggered but did not break formation.
Shawn's smile was grim and cold.
"It works."
Earth Orbit – S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
"Jesus Christ," the technician whispered. "Director, you need to see this."
Nick Fury turned away from the holo-map of rising Kree incursions. His one good eye narrowed as the video feed stabilized.
A Titan breached the upper atmosphere in a pillar of flame, stabilizing with gravitic thrusters. It drifted into high orbit, dwarfing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites.
"Is that…a walking fortress?" Hill demanded.
Fury folded his arms. "I don't know who this bastard is, but he's getting bold."
He tapped the comm.
"Get me Stark and Rogers. Now."
Titan – Command Nexus
Shawn stood inside the Titan's neural chamber, an enormous spherical vault where chakra conduits and symbiote veins met in a lattice of living circuitry.
A single thought triggered the broad-spectrum comm array. He knew it would be intercepted.
He wanted it to be.
"This is Shawn Voss," he said in a voice calm as glacier ice. "Sovereign of the Red Citadel. The Kree attempted to subjugate my world. They failed."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"I am now establishing orbital dominion over this system. Any interference will be regarded as an act of war."
He closed the channel. Venom's dark amusement rippled across their bond.
"That should get their attention."
"Good," he murmured.
Citadel – Assembly Complex
While the first Titan anchored itself in orbit, two more rose from the dunes—each a different configuration. One carried colossal missile pods for interplanetary bombardment; the other bristled with chakra-forged blades as long as city blocks.
Clone crews flooded into the lower decks, prepping launch systems.
Talia strode among them, issuing crisp orders.
"Stabilizers to 40% thrust. Prepare mass-driver cannons. This is not a drill."
Beside her, a new figure emerged—a tall, pale-skinned clone with bioluminescent veins and an eerie, almost feminine grace.
Venom's whisper reached Shawn across the psychic link.
"The first of the Prime Clones," she murmured. "They will be your generals."
Shawn studied the Prime's file: enhanced genetic template, partial symbiote symbiosis, experimental chakra cores.
Perfect weapons.
Perfect children.
Lunar Surface – Forward Base
Hours later, drop-ships descended to the Moon's southern pole. Clone engineers fanned out, erecting modular fortifications in the dust.
Talia's voice crackled over the comm:
"Lunar Base One established. Shield projectors online."
Shawn stood at the Titan's viewport, surveying his new domain.
Venom pooled at his shoulders, purring.
"You were born for this," she whispered.
"I was born to build," he corrected. "This is just the beginning."
Earth – Avengers Tower
Tony Stark paced in front of the giant holographic projection of the Titan.
"So let me get this straight," he snapped, gesturing. "Some cosmic warlord shows up, merges with a symbiote, builds a thousand-foot murderbot, and declares himself king of the system? What the hell, Fury?"
Fury's expression never wavered. "It gets worse. We picked up residual Kree distress beacons. He beat them back almost alone."
Steve Rogers leaned on the table. "We can't ignore this."
"No," Natasha agreed quietly. "But if he stopped the Kree, he's not our enemy. Yet."
Tony shot her a look. "That's the problem. Yet."
Titan – Command Nexus
Shawn exhaled, feeling the Titan's massive systems humming beneath his boots.
A thought brought up the starmap. Countless systems flickered—some held by Kree, others by Shi'ar, Skrulls, or stranger things.
Venom's tendrils brushed his jaw.
"Where next?"
His Sharingan narrowed on a star cluster at the edge of the projection.
"There," he murmured. "A Kree shipyard. If we take it, the rest of their fleet will crumble."
Venom's smile was a shiver against his skin.
"Then let's begin."
END OF CHAPTER 13