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Chapter 18 - The New Age

The Helicarrier hummed around them, a city in the sky teeming with life and purpose. After the whirlwind recruitment tour, everyone was finally back in one place. Peter Parker, standing in the main hangar, looked completely overwhelmed. He stared at the advanced technology, the Wakandan ships, the sheer scale of it all, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and anxiety.

Tony, noticing the kid's state, clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, everyone," he announced to the assembled group. "Peter should get some rest. The big, scary 'end of the world' meeting will be tomorrow."

Peter gave him a grateful look and quickly found a quiet corner to decompress.

Later, Tony was in the main lounge, looking out at the clouds, when Bruce and Natasha approached him.

"Hey, Tony," Natasha said, a new kind of confidence in her posture. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of this new power."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "That was quick. How'd you do it?"

Natasha gave a wry smile. "You know me. I'm just the best." She paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "I think I'm changing my name."

"What?" Tony asked, intrigued.

"I'm Ghost Code," she declared.

"Okay. Cool. Nice name," Tony said, nodding in approval.

"I've also been making progress," Bruce added, looking down at the ten rings on his fingers, which now glowed with a soft, harmonious light. "I've been able to form a relationship with them, to understand their connection. I'm also changing my name. From now on, I'm not the Hulk. I'm Gamma Spectrum."

Tony let out a low whistle. "Now, that's some crazy stuff. In one day, we've gone from Captain America to Stormwarden, Black Widow to Ghost Code, and Hulk to Gamma Spectrum. Now I think we have a perfect team."

"Speaking of the team, where have you been?" Natasha asked.

"Just gathering some friends," Tony replied vaguely.

"And where are they?" Bruce asked.

"Looks like they're running late," Tony said with a shrug. "It's okay."

Just as they were exchanging some friendly banter, Nick Fury strode into the room, his expression as grim as ever.

"I have some people to introduce," he announced.

Two figures followed him in. The first was a woman with an aura of immense power. She had golden blonde hair, and her lilac eyes seemed to shine with an inner light.

"I'm Carol Danvers," she said, her voice ringing with confidence. "You can call me Starheart."

Tony's eyes scanned her for a fraction of a second, his mind processing information at an impossible speed. "Neutron star signature," he said aloud. "Slight gravitational distortion in your personal field. Modified DNA… You didn't get powers. You survived them."

Carol looked genuinely impressed. "Fury, you never said your team included clairvoyant billionaires."

"Does she really have part of a neutron star inside her?" Bruce asked, his scientific curiosity piqued.

"Yeah," Carol said with a shrug. "Long story. Reactor explosion. DNA splicing. Nearly died. Woke up… half supernova, half emotional wreck."

"It's a biological miracle," Bruce breathed.

"I have one more person to introduce," Fury interrupted, gesturing to the second figure. It was a man in a doctor's coat, his hands scarred but his eyes sharp and impossibly deep. "Dr. Stephen Strange. But these days, he answers to…"

"Dr. Mindstorm," Tony finished, his voice filled with recognition. "You're the guy whose accident made him see thoughts like colors."

Stephen Strange offered a thin, knowing smile. "Close. More like… I hear pain like music. Trauma sings. Emotions ripple like storms. And I walk right through them."

"A mental empath?" Bruce asked.

"Empath, surgeon, reluctant telepath," Stephen corrected. "I fix what's broken in the mind—if it doesn't break me first."

Tony looked from Carol to Stephen, then back at Fury, a grin spreading across his face. "You really brought me a woman powered by grief and gravity… and a man who reads minds like they're opera."

Natasha smirked. "That's not a team. That's therapy with fireworks."

"Welcome to the new age," Fury said, a rare hint of a smile on his own face.

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