[A/N: Just a quick note, the Marvel universe in this crossover is an AU and not the MCU]
_______
"But seriously, what are you?"
The voice inside his head resonated again, calm and digital.
[Designation: Ultralink.]
Dexter frowned. "Ultralink? That's it?"
But before the Ultralink could respond, a sharp alarm screeched across his HUD. The screen zoomed outward, displaying a grainy image: five sleek robotic figures cutting through the night sky, their engines burning white.
[Warning: automated robots inbound. Estimated time to contact—one minute and fifty-five seconds.]
Dexter stiffened. "…Oh great. Company."
He jogged back to his truck, muttering. "First a gang of thugs, then a superhuman with a glowing fist, alien tin cans, and now government robots. Can't even get one quiet night in Metro City."
He grabbed the truck door and yanked—
SCHRRRIIIIP!
The entire door tore free with a metallic screech, leaving him staring at it in shock.
"…What the hell?"
He looked at the mangled hinges, then down at his own armored gauntlet. The red glow pulsed faintly as if mocking him.
[Augmentation has increased your strength by 100%. Adjustment required.]
"…Guess I'm stronger than I thought." He grunted, shoving the door awkwardly back onto its frame. It clanged in place, crooked but holding.
Sliding into the driver's seat, he started the autopilot. The engine roared, and with a sharp squeal of tires the truck bolted down the street, disappearing into the night just as the sky lit up.
Minutes later, five sentries descended into the crater, red optics scanning. Their heads swiveled with mechanical precision as they transmitted data back to headquarters.
---
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters – The Triskelion
Rows of glowing monitors lit the dim room. Analysts crowded their stations, relaying streams of data. On the main screen, satellite footage displayed the smoking crater and the five sentries prowling through the wreckage.
Director Nick Fury stood at the center, one hand resting on the console, his one good eye fixed on the display.
"What am I looking at?" he asked flatly.
"Director," one analyst said, tapping through feeds, "unidentified pods entered Earth's atmosphere approximately five minutes ago. Impact sites are west of Metro City and Kauai, Hawaii. By the time our satellites locked on… sentries were already deployed."
Another analyst added, "Also, the pod is already cracked open, sir. But whatever was inside... it's gone."
Fury's gaze lingered. His gut twisted the way it always did when something dangerous slipped through the cracks.
The agent hesitated, then swallowed hard. "Director… there's something else." He tapped a few keys, and the feed shifted. The screen now showed several unconscious men tied together against a lamppost, slowly regaining consciousness. Someone had taken them down, hard.
Fury leaned forward slightly. "What about CCTV? Traffic cams? Anything near the impact zone?"
The room went quiet. Then the operator shook her head. "Negative, sir. Every camera in the area was either down, disabled, or the feeds were corrupted. It's like someone scrubbed the whole block."
Fury muttered under his breath. "So whoever was there knew how to cover their tracks…"
From behind him, a familiar voice drawled with mocking amusement. "Well, well, look at that. A mystery pod falls from the sky, some goons get hogtied like cattle, and Fury's already frowning at the big screen. Shocking."
Fury didn't bother turning around. "Cut me some slack, Stark."
Tony Stark leaned lazily against the wall, sipping coffee from a S.H.I.E.L.D. mug he definitely hadn't been cleared to touch. His eyes flicked to the screen showing the tied-up thugs.
"Y'know," Tony said, "whoever hogtied these guys is not exactly subtle. But definitely… creative."
Fury ignored him and turned back toward the main operator. "What about the other meteor?"
The woman hesitated, exchanging a glance with her team before typing in a sequence. "Sir… we lost contact with all Sentries deployed to the second site."
Fury's brow furrowed. "Lost contact how?"
The feed on the big screen switched. This time, it wasn't satellite footage, it was raw jittery video from inside a Sentry unit itself. The view shook as the bot stumbled forward through a ruined street.
Then, from the shadows, a strange figure darted into view: a small, blue, koala-like alien with four arms, each one gripping a blaster. Its sharp teeth glinted as it cackled.
Without warning, it fired. A searing beam lanced out, striking another Sentry in the chest and blowing it apart.
The alien laughed, scuttling across the cracked asphalt on all fours before leaping onto another bot. It ripped the machine's arm clean off and used it to smash through its torso. Sparks rained as Sentries fell one after another.
"Jesus," one of the operators muttered.
On-screen, the alien raised its gun directly at the Sentry recording. The last thing the feed caught was its manic grin before the gun discharged then static.
"Wow." Tony Stark whistled low, leaning back with a smirk. "That little blue furball tore through your tin cans faster than Rhodey at an open bar."
Fury didn't look at him. "And whose design was it?"
Tony feigned confusion, tapping his chin. "What do you mean?"
Fury's single eye slid toward him, unimpressed.
Tony let out a sharp laugh. "Ohhh, here we go. You know damn well they're not mine, but sure, let's rub salt in the wound. Real cute, Cyclops."
His smirk shifted into a scowl as he waved a hand dismissively. "Didn't your government buddies want the schematics 'for security reasons'? Took my blueprints, handed them to my old arms-dealer pal Hammer and what was that other company again?" He snapped his fingers. "Ah, right. Omnidroid Technologies."
Tony snorted. "Real original, by the way."
One of the analysts glanced nervously at Fury, but Fury didn't flinch.
"Let me guess," Tony went on with venomous sarcasm. "They thought, 'Hey, if Stark won't give us an army, we'll just let Hammer Tech and Omnidroid crank one out.' Problem is…" He gestured toward the static-filled screen. "Hammer Tech can't even make a toaster without it exploding, and Buddy's company? Please. They couldn't polish my scraps, let alone copy my tech."
Fury's eye finally shifted toward him. "You're still pissed you had to hand it over."
Tony smirked bitterly. "Oh, don't worry, I'll add it to the long list of things I've been pissed about. Right between 'having to give the military my toys' and 'watching idiots break them.'"
Fury finally spoke, calm and direct. "I never said it was your fault, Stark."
Tony arched his brows, lips curling into a smirk. "No, but you enjoyed asking."
"Maybe," Fury admitted, a ghost of a smile tugging his mouth.
Tony spread his hands. "There we go, honesty. Feels nice, doesn't it?"
---
Metro City
The Ultralink's glow pulsed softly against Dexter's chest as his truck rattled down Metro City's streets.
"So you're saying you defected from your creator, got captured by some space pirate, then that pirate was blown to dust by another alien ship… and you escaped here in a pod looking for a host?"
[Affirmative.]
"Huh… quite a life you've had."
[I have existed for precisely five Earth days.]
Dexter snorted. "Five days old and already more drama than half the people in this city." He leaned back in his seat. "Alright then, care to tell me what this whole 'symbiosis' thing actually gives m—"
BOOOOOOM!
The world shook. His truck jolted as the autopilot slammed the brakes, tires screeching. Dexter's eyes snapped forward.
The Metro Man statue, the city's proud monument, was now engulfed in fire and smoke. Its stone head broke loose, crashing into the street below with an earthshaking—
KRAAASH!
Dexter muttered under his breath. "…Did Megamind blow it up?"
Chaos erupted around him. Cars screeched and collided, metal crunching as they piled together in tangled heaps. Doors burst open, and people spilled into the streets in a frenzy.
Everywhere, phones shot into the air—dozens of shaky screens capturing the madness. Fear was live-streamed even as panic rippled through the crowd.
"What the hell, was that a bomb?!"
"Someone's attacking the city again!"
"No way… no way, it's him, right? Megamind's back!"
"Call the cops, call Metro Force!"
"Idiots. Standing around like it's a fireworks show." Dexter muttered.
"...Hmm?"
Whoosh!
Dexter's eyes flicked sideways, catching a flash of green: a muscle car pulling up through the chaos. Its tires screeched as it stopped, and three figures climbed out.
Before he could study them further—
SHRIIIIEEEK!
A piercing cry split the air.
From the smoke around the shattered statue, twisted silhouettes emerged. Humanoid shapes with mottled gray skin, jaws stretched too wide, eyes bulging, movements jerky like puppets strung on alien sinew.
Dexter's stomach sank. "…DNAliens."
Gasps rippled through the civilians. Phones zoomed in, capturing every grisly detail.
One of the creatures hefted a jagged hunk of stone and hurled it straight toward a group of bystanders too frozen to move.
FWOOOOSH!
"AAAAHH!"
The chunk spun—
BANG!
It slammed into a glowing pink shield that shimmered into existence just feet from the civilians. The stone cracked and bounced harmlessly to the pavement.
Everyone turned.
A young red-haired girl stood firm, arm outstretched, her hand glowing as energy arced into the barrier. The light pulsed with raw mana, wrapping around her like a protective halo.
The crowd went silent for a heartbeat, phones still recording.
Then the tall, dark-haired boy with her shoved through the cluster of civilians roughly, snapping, "Hey! Put the damn phones down and move it! You all wanna die?!"
He yanked one man back by the shoulder, shoving another toward the sidewalk. "This ain't a movie, people! Get outta here before those things make you dinner!"
The civilians finally broke into motion, some scrambling away in panic, others still clutching their phones even as they ran.
"…Well. That's definitely not Megamind's doing."