The explosion had shattered the night's stillness, turning Kingpin's once-impenetrable fortress into a battlefield. The sounds of gunfire, shouting, and roaring flames filled the compound. SHIELD had arrived in full force, and Alexander knew he had mere moments before he was completely surrounded.
Wilson Fisk coughed as dust and debris filled the air. His massive frame was slumped against the remains of his shattered desk, blood trickling down his forehead from a cut he had barely registered. The room had been torn apart by the blast, but his focus was singular—the ghost in the shadows.
His fingers clenched around his steel cane, scanning the destroyed office. Alexander was gone.
The shadows had vanished the moment the explosion hit. Like a specter slipping back into the void.
A voice crackled over the emergency comms built into his desk. "Sir, SHIELD has breached the perimeter! They're locking down the entire block. Orders?"
Fisk inhaled deeply, his teeth grinding together. "Let them come. But make sure Carter doesn't leave this place alive."
The comm went silent for a moment before responding, "Understood. We'll flush him out."
Fisk slowly pushed himself up from the floor, wiping the blood from his face. His eyes burned with fury as he gazed at the ruined office. He wasn't just dealing with a criminal or an assassin—this was something far worse.
The compound's main gates had been blown apart, and SHIELD agents flooded the area, moving with military precision. Their night-vision goggles pierced through the dust and smoke, rifles trained on every possible entry and exit point.
Maria Hill led the ground team, her voice sharp over the comms. "We have movement inside the compound. Engage with non-lethal force—we need this target alive."
Her squad fanned out, scanning the devastation. "Any visual confirmation?"
"Negative. The shadows are interfering with our thermal scans. We can't get a lock on him."
Hill cursed under her breath. This was not a standard target.
From the command center aboard the Helicarrier, Nick Fury's voice came over the line. "I want Carter contained. If he slips past you, we'll never get another shot. Find him, and bring him in."
"Copy that," Hill muttered, then raised her weapon. "Teams, sweep every corner. He's here somewhere."
Alexander moved like a phantom through the wreckage. The moment the explosion hit, he had allowed the abyss to consume him, his body slipping through reality like a wraith. Now, he watched as SHIELD's forces moved with relentless efficiency, sealing exits, cutting off escape routes.
They were well-trained. But they weren't prepared for him.
Vasili's voice echoed through the shadows, his presence near but unseen. "They're trying to box you in."
Alexander smirked. "Let them try."
Noctis appeared beside him, his twin daggers gleaming under the dim emergency lights. "Fisk's men are still hunting you too. We can clear them out first."
Alexander shook his head. "No need. SHIELD will deal with them for us."
And as if on cue, a firefight erupted deeper inside the compound. Fisk's remaining forces, desperate to capture him, had unknowingly clashed with SHIELD's advancing units.
"Perfect," Alexander murmured. "Now we walk through the chaos."
Hill's earpiece crackled. "We have crossfire between Fisk's men and SHIELD operatives. Unknowns are engaging us on the west side."
Hill's jaw tightened. Damn it. Fisk's mercenaries were making this even messier. "Push forward and lock this place down. Carter is not leaving."
Then, a SHIELD agent's voice came over the comms, tense and hurried. "We have something—wait, he's here! He's moving!"
Hill spun around. "Where?!"
Before the agent could respond, his comm went dead.
Hill's heart pounded. "All units, converge on my position! We have contact!"
She raised her rifle, scanning the hallway ahead. A faint shift in the air—movement where there should have been none.
Then, suddenly, everything went dark.
A wave of pure abyss spread like ink through the corridors, swallowing the emergency lights, drowning SHIELD's vision in complete blackness. Weapons fired blindly. Orders were shouted. But nothing pierced the void.
Hill gritted her teeth, pressing her back against the wall as she tried to make sense of the attack. "Thermals are failing! I can't see a damn thing!"
The shadows whispered. A voice, deep and resonant, filled the void.
"You should have stayed out of my way."
A gust of darkness rushed past Hill, so fast it sent a shockwave through the air. A figure blurred through the abyss, untouchable.
Then—silence.
When the shadows lifted, Alexander was gone.
Hill stood in the ruined hallway, her fists clenched. SHIELD agents were recovering, regaining their bearings after the unnatural blackout. They had him. And then he vanished.
A voice came over the comms, grim and frustrated. "No sign of Carter. He's gone."
Hill cursed under her breath. She pressed a finger to her earpiece. "Director Fury. We lost him."
The silence on the other end stretched before Fury finally responded. "Damn it."
Hill exhaled, shaking her head. "We need a new strategy. He's not just another rogue meta—we're dealing with something different. Something we don't understand."
Fury's voice was low. "Then it's time we start understanding."
Alexander emerged from the shadows on the rooftop of a distant building, miles away from the chaos. The city stretched before him, oblivious to the war that had just unfolded.
Vasili and Noctis materialized beside him. "That was close," Noctis commented.
Alexander smirked. "No. That was a warning."
He looked down at the city below, his violet eyes reflecting the distant lights. SHIELD had revealed their hand. Fisk had learned his place. AIM was still waiting in the dark.
This was far from over.
He turned, stepping back into the abyss. "Let them come. We'll be waiting."
And just like that, he was gone.
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