"Reed, we're about to make history," Stark said, practically vibrating with excitement.
Inside Avengers Tower, he and Reed Richards were hard at work in front of a massive, cobbled-together machine that looked more like an unfinished sci-fi movie prop than a real device.
After their brutal encounter with the Silver Surfer, Stark hadn't wasted a second. He had burned the name of the Planet Devourer into his mind and passed the terrifying news to the other Avengers.
They didn't know the full extent of the Galactus's abilities.
But if a powerhouse like Silver Surfer was merely a scout for the real threat?
Then the real thing had to be beyond anything they had ever faced.
And so, to prepare for the coming storm, Stark and Reed teamed up—two of Earth's brightest minds joining forces to create a new weapon.
It didn't look like much right now—wires snaking everywhere, circuit boards exposed, sparks occasionally flying—but its potential was anything but simple.
According to their calculations, when fully operational, this machine could obliterate beings on Silver Surfer's level instantly.
They even gave it a name worthy of its ambition:
The Planet Devourer Destruction Device.
"Tony, we're good to go," Reed said, retracting his elasticized arm from deep inside the machine. His face was flushed with excitement.
"The Rubber Man strikes again. Pretty soon, maintenance workers everywhere are gonna be out of a job," Stark quipped, grinning as he flipped the main power switch.
Instantly, the lights in Avengers Tower flickered… and then—
Boom.
Complete blackout.
Everything that ran on energy shut down at once—computers, elevators, even emergency lighting.
Stark had expected the device to be a power hog.
But this?
This was something else entirely.
He had even prepared twenty extra Arc Reactors just to feed the monster, but now he realized—it still wasn't enough.
The Planet Devourer Destruction Device roared to life, unleashing wild torrents of energy. Static electricity filled the air, making Stark and Reed's hair stand on end like they'd stuck fingers in light sockets.
And yet, despite the chaos, the two of them were grinning like maniacs, practically vibrating with excitement.
This was just partial power output.
They could only imagine the devastation once it was fully juiced.
Then, without warning, a brilliant red beam shot from the crown of the device, piercing straight through the ceiling of Avengers Tower like a laser knife through butter.
It soared into the sky, burning a path through the clouds, tearing through the atmosphere, and vanishing into the depths of space.
Stark stared at the massive, smoking hole in his roof, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"…Yeah, we're gonna need to put a few more safety protocols on this thing," he deadpanned.
Reed, still wide-eyed from the power display, nodded fervently. "Definitely."
Just as the two were marveling at their Frankenstein creation, Jarvis's voice crackled urgently through the room:
"Sir, we've lost contact with multiple Stark Satellites. The outage is widespread."
"And prior to the outage, our sensors detected a surge of ultra-high-energy cosmic particles."
Stark, still half-distracted by the hole above him, shrugged. "Solar storm again? Happens every few years. Blows out some satellites. No biggie."
"Sir, this event is… different," Jarvis responded, his tone edged with real concern. "Our instruments confirm that these particles differ significantly from those of a typical solar storm."
Before Stark could even process that, a breathtaking sight unfolded outside the broken ceiling.
The night sky—once black—began to shimmer with color.
Waves of green, blue, purple, and red lights danced across the heavens, like some ethereal ocean swirling overhead.
"Auroras…" someone whispered.
"Look at that!"
"It's gorgeous! I didn't think you could see the aurora in New York!"
"It's like… magic…"
Across the city, people gathered on rooftops, streets, and balconies, staring up at the phenomenon in awe, completely unaware of the true cause behind the beauty.
They didn't know.
They couldn't know.
These auroras weren't the result of a benign solar event.
They were a harbinger.
A sign.
Galactus was near.
The next morning, the news blared across every major channel:
"Experts confirm that the global auroras observed last night were caused by an intense solar storm. Citizens are urged to remain calm. Large-scale auroras are rare, but not without scientific precedent."
"The Avengers Tower incident, involving a mysterious red beam, is suspected to be related to the unusual aurora phenomena."
Inside his lab, Gene Mason stood in front of a floating holographic display, watching the news reports roll in.
Beside him, Skynet's voice chimed in with a snort of electronic amusement.
"These humans are truly amusing. Even when reality stares them in the face, they concoct convenient explanations to avoid panic."
Gene chuckled softly.
"Skynet," he said, "humans are complicated creatures. Unlike your flawless coding, they thrive on inspiration, even in error. What you see as 'mistakes'… sometimes we call it genius."
Skynet processed this in silence, seemingly pondering the strange human logic.
Gene didn't press the issue. Instead, he turned his attention back to the task at hand.
"Pull up the S.W.O.R.D.'s orbital satellites feed," he ordered. "Monitor the Glactus's trajectory in real time. Stark's built his weapon. Now it's our turn."
The holographic display shifted, bringing up a live feed from S.W.O.R.D.'s orbital satellites.
In the deep blackness of space, more than ten light-years away, a shadow moved—massive, blurred, and terrifying.
The silhouette of the Planet Devourer.
Gene's V-shaped eyepiece glowed faintly, a cold glint flashing across the lenses.
The war for Earth's survival had officially begun.
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