The rain began to fall over Manhattan like a slow, rhythmic drumbeat. Alexander stood in the shadows of an alley near Midtown, his coat damp, hair slicked back, and the city lights dancing across puddles at his feet. He had felt Loki's trap end hours ago, yet the unease in his chest hadn't faded.
That trickster didn't set things in motion without purpose.
Alexander's senses were honed, refined from years of moving through the unseen world. Now, they screamed at him—you're being followed.
Not Loki.
Not HYDRA.
This was different.
A flicker of movement at his side signaled the arrival of Noctis, his most perceptive shadow. The wraith-like figure emerged from a swirling ripple of darkness, kneeling beside him in the alley.
"Something stirs," Noctis whispered, his voice low and layered like echoes down a tunnel. "The trickster watches no more. Now others move."
Alexander kept his gaze on the street ahead, eyes focused yet distant. "I felt it too. Something's changed. They're no longer observing… they're acting."
Vasili's voice came next, emerging from the deeper void behind him. "Shall we eliminate the source?"
Alexander shook his head. "No. Not yet. The Avengers are coming. This will be a different kind of test."
The shadows rippled with subtle anticipation.
"I'll deal with them. Stay hidden," he ordered.
Noctis faded first, then Vasili, both dissolving into the backdrop of the night like they were never there.
Alexander straightened just as a low hum buzzed through the air, and then a familiar voice cut through the rain.
"Nice night for a walk. Or are you out here hunting monsters again?"
He didn't turn. Not immediately. He simply allowed the shadows to calm, retracting their coiled tension as he sensed who it was.
Tony Stark stood ten feet away, wearing a sharp suit under a long coat, a miniature glowing device hovering slightly above his open palm.
"Tracking me?" Alexander asked flatly.
"I prefer the term scanning mysterious abyss-empowered vigilantes before they turn into the next world-ending threat," Tony replied with a smirk.
Alexander didn't return the smile.
"I'm not a threat to your world."
"That's funny," came another voice. Natasha Romanoff stepped out from behind a parked car, her weapons holstered but her posture careful. "Because SHIELD has a folder the size of my arm saying otherwise."
Alexander's gaze flicked between them. "You're not here to fight."
"No," Tony said. "We're here to talk. Just talk."
He paused, then added, "Though I'm sure Capsicle would have preferred a shield-to-the-face approach."
Alexander's expression remained unreadable, but he didn't summon his shadows. That was the closest thing to a peace offering they were going to get.
"You've seen Loki," Natasha said carefully. "You fought HYDRA. And you knew about the Tesseract long before we did."
"I know more than you think," Alexander replied. "But that doesn't mean I'm your ally."
Tony nodded. "Then tell us what you are."
There was a long pause, broken only by the soft pattering of rain against rooftops.
"I'm the one who moves where you can't. Who sees what you overlook. I deal with the enemies you don't even realize exist yet."
"Great," Tony muttered. "So you're Batman with extra shadow flavor."
Natasha took a step forward. "Then tell us what you saw in that warehouse. Why did Loki set a trap for you?"
Alexander looked past them, toward the skyline. "Because I'm the only variable he didn't account for."
"Is that why you ran?"
He turned his eyes back to her. "I didn't run. I let him know I'm watching."
The moment lingered. Tension curled through the air like the mist rising off the pavement.
Before Natasha could respond, Alexander's body stiffened. His head turned sharply to the right. The rain… had stopped.
Or rather—it wasn't falling in a perfect radius around them.
"Move," he said quietly.
Tony blinked. "What?"
But Alexander had already pushed him aside. A heartbeat later, the air erupted in a violent explosion of shimmering blue energy, tearing through the alleyway with unnatural force. Natasha dove behind a dumpster as the blast lit up the block like lightning.
From the smoke emerged figures—tall, armored, and moving with disturbing precision. Not HYDRA. Not Chitauri.
Something else entirely.
Their armor bore strange markings, pulsating with unstable energy, and in their hands were weapons crackling with the same blue fire that struck moments earlier.
Alexander stood, his shadows already writhing around him.
"I've never seen them before," he muttered.
Tony activated a gauntlet, his eyes scanning the assailants. "Neither have I."
"SHIELD?" Natasha asked, crouched and ready.
Tony shook his head. "Definitely not."
One of the armored figures raised a hand, pointing directly at Alexander.
"Target acquired," it said in a synthetic, dissonant voice.
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
The first shot came fast—too fast.
But he was faster.
He leapt into the air as the shadows erupted from beneath his feet, catching the bolt midair and twisting it away. It crashed into a building behind him, sending concrete flying.
He landed hard, crouched, eyes locked on the enemies.
This wasn't random.
Whoever these enemies were, they had come prepared.
And they weren't just here for SHIELD.
They were here for him.
Another bolt charged—brighter, faster, burning with unstable energy.
Alexander's shadows surged as he vanished from sight—leaving only flickering black mist behind.
Tony raised his arm. "We've got incoming!"
The enemy unit didn't pause. Two of them split off, breaking from formation, giving chase.
Alexander reappeared on a rooftop, breathing hard. For the first time in a long while, he wasn't sure what these things were.
He glanced behind him—two of them had scaled the building already.
Their weapons glowed.
And they opened fire.
End of Chapter 67
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