marvel's monster

---

Anomaly Detected

Summary: While monitoring post-battle fallout, S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite teams detect a strange pulse of energy deep beneath the Earth's surface—identical to the anomaly recorded when White emerged. This one is underground. Dormant. But it's starting to move.

---

It began with a spike.

Barely a flicker—just a tremor on a long-range satellite scan over the Southern Hemisphere. Most teams would've missed it, filed it under tectonic noise or faulty calibration.

But not S.H.I.E.L.D.

Not after New York.

Maria Hill stood in the monitoring hub at Sublevel 12, her fingers tapping across a data tablet as a junior technician replayed the waveform on the main screen.

"It happened at 0400 GMT," he said. "One burst. Then it vanished."

"Geothermal?" Hill asked.

"No. The energy signature matches... this." He brought up a comparison file.

The waveform that appeared beside it was unmistakable.

The same pulsed energy. The same rhythm.

It was the same signature they recorded from the crater left by White.

Hill's eyes narrowed.

"Pull all satellite data from the last 72 hours. Every deep-surface anomaly. I want a map. Now."

---

Twenty minutes later, the pattern was clear.

There were no others.

Just the crater in New York.

And this one—deep in the Andes.

Thousands of miles away.

Far below ground.

Dormant.

For now.

---

Nick Fury stood in the Situation Room an hour later, watching a holographic globe slowly rotate as two glowing points blinked in silence—one in New York. One in the mountains.

"They're identical?" he asked.

Hill nodded. "Within 0.0004% deviation. The same kind of energy that surged through White during the invasion. But this one's been quiet until now."

"What triggered it?"

"We don't know. But it responded to something. That's not random."

Fury said nothing for a long moment. Then: "What's in that part of the Andes?"

Hill hesitated. "We're not sure. S.H.I.E.L.D. never mapped that zone fully. There were... complications."

He turned to face her.

"Send a recon unit. Quiet. I want eyes on the ground before that thing turns into another crater."

"And White?"

Fury exhaled slowly.

"We monitor. If he's connected to this, he'll tell us—whether he wants to or not."

---

"Another one?" Steve asked, stepping closer to the holographic globe as the second pulse point blinked steadily in the Andes.

"No," Hill replied, standing beside him. "It's not another him. It's something with the same frequency. The same signature. It's not alive—not like he is—but it's echoing what he brought with him."

"Echoing," Tony muttered. "Great. So now we've got ghost signals from mystery men."

"Not ghosts," Bruce corrected. "Resonance. Like whatever's down there shares a link with him. Maybe it followed him. Maybe it was already here."

"Maybe it's part of him," Natasha added.

Thor folded his arms. "Then it must be watched. Carefully. For any beast that rises from the earth should be met with steel."

Tony glanced at him. "Thanks, Oppenheimer."

Fury ignored the back-and-forth. "This is a recon op for now. S.H.I.E.L.D. has a team en route. We're staying quiet. If it's asleep, I don't want it waking up just because we said hello."

"And White?" Steve asked. "Does he know?"

Fury tapped his tablet.

On the far wall, a new feed lit up—Cell 01-A, live camera view.

White sat in his usual pose: legs folded, back straight, eyes closed.

But his fingers were twitching.

Subtle. Barely perceptible.

Then came the second sign.

His heartbeat—unchanged for days—had spiked.

Not wildly. Not alarmingly.

Just... aware.

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice came through the speakers. "Sir, his biometric profile has entered a reactive state. Minimal adrenaline, but neurological activity is increasing."

Bruce frowned. "He's dreaming."

"No," Steve said softly, stepping closer. "He's listening."

The lights in the cell flickered.

White opened his eyes.

He didn't look at the cameras.

He looked up.

Right at the ceiling.

And didn't blink.

-----

Chapter 6: Ripples

Part 1: Anomaly Detected

It began with a spike.

Barely a flicker—just a tremor on a long-range satellite scan over the Southern Hemisphere. Most teams would've missed it, filed it under tectonic noise or faulty calibration.

But not S.H.I.E.L.D.

Not after New York.

Maria Hill stood in the monitoring hub at Sublevel 12, her fingers tapping across a data tablet as a junior technician replayed the waveform on the main screen.

"It happened at 0400 GMT," he said. "One burst. Then it vanished."

"Geothermal?" Hill asked.

"No. The energy signature matches... this." He brought up a comparison file.

The waveform that appeared beside it was unmistakable.

The same pulsed energy. The same rhythm.

It was the same signature they recorded from the crater left by White.

Hill's eyes narrowed.

"Pull all satellite data from the last 72 hours. Every deep-surface anomaly. I want a map. Now."

Twenty minutes later, the pattern was clear.

There were no others.

Just the crater in New York.

And this one—deep in the Andes.

Thousands of miles away.

Far below ground.

Dormant.

For now.

Nick Fury stood in the Situation Room an hour later, watching a holographic globe slowly rotate as two glowing points blinked in silence—one in New York. One in the mountains.

"They're identical?" he asked.

Hill nodded. "Within 0.0004% deviation. The same kind of energy that surged through White during the invasion. But this one's been quiet until now."

"What triggered it?"

"We don't know. But it responded to something. That's not random."

Fury said nothing for a long moment. Then: "What's in that part of the Andes?"

Hill hesitated. "We're not sure. S.H.I.E.L.D. never mapped that zone fully. There were... complications."

He turned to face her.

"Send a recon unit. Quiet. I want eyes on the ground before that thing turns into another crater."

"And White?"

Fury exhaled slowly.

"We monitor. If he's connected to this, he'll tell us—whether he wants to or not."

Part 2: Subtle Shift

"Another one?" Steve asked, stepping closer to the holographic globe as the second pulse point blinked steadily in the Andes.

"No," Hill replied, standing beside him. "It's not another him. It's something with the same frequency. The same signature. It's not alive—not like he is—but it's echoing what he brought with him."

"Echoing," Tony muttered. "Great. So now we've got ghost signals from mystery men."

"Not ghosts," Bruce corrected. "Resonance. Like whatever's down there shares a link with him. Maybe it followed him. Maybe it was already here."

"Maybe it's part of him," Natasha added.

Thor folded his arms. "Then it must be watched. Carefully. For any beast that rises from the earth should be met with steel."

Tony glanced at him. "Thanks, Oppenheimer."

Fury ignored the back-and-forth. "This is a recon op for now. S.H.I.E.L.D. has a team en route. We're staying quiet. If it's asleep, I don't want it waking up just because we said hello."

"And White?" Steve asked. "Does he know?"

Fury tapped his tablet.

On the far wall, a new feed lit up—Cell 01-A, live camera view.

White sat in his usual pose: legs folded, back straight, eyes closed.

But his fingers were twitching.

Subtle. Barely perceptible.

Then came the second sign.

His heartbeat—unchanged for days—had spiked.

Not wildly. Not alarmingly.

Just... aware.

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice came through the speakers. "Sir, his biometric profile has entered a reactive state. Minimal adrenaline, but neurological activity is increasing."

Bruce frowned. "He's dreaming."

"No," Steve said softly, stepping closer. "He's listening."

The lights in the cell flickered.

White opened his eyes.

He didn't look at the cameras.

He looked up.

Right at the ceiling.

And didn't blink.

----

Inside, the S.H.I.E.L.D. recon team made final checks—drones prepped, seismic probes armed, non-lethal suppressors locked in place. Their orders were clear: no contact, no engagement. Just data. Get in, get out.

The site was remote, half-buried near the edge of a forgotten plateau. Too deep for standard mining, too still for natural fault activity. Until the spike.

Agent Ramirez clicked her helmet into place. "Any radiation?"

"Levels stable," replied Agent McGraw, watching his handheld scanner pulse a steady green. "But the ground's warm. Like... bone-warm."

They exchanged a look.

The descent began.

The cave wasn't a cave.

It was a tunnel.

Carved—not by man, not by machine. Almost organic. The walls pulsed faintly beneath their lights, like the echo of something that used to breathe.

The deeper they moved, the stranger the air became.

Compass needles jittered.

Ears popped.

The sound didn't travel right—muffled, like words underwater.

McGraw knelt at the next bend. "Pressure's wrong."

"We're not that deep," Ramirez whispered.

"Tell that to the laws of physics."

Their path widened into a chamber. Smooth, circular. Empty.

But not lifeless.

In the center lay a stone-like object—dark, ridged, veined with faint cobalt lines.

It hummed.

And on every screen, every sensor, one signal pulsed over and over:

MATCH: ENERGY SIGNATURE - SUBJECT WHITE

McGraw stepped forward, drawn.

Then the stone shifted.

It didn't move.

It responded.

The pulse stopped.

Every light died.

And something opened its eyes.

----

Chapter 6: Ripples

Part 1: Anomaly Detected

It began with a spike.

Barely a flicker—just a tremor on a long-range satellite scan over the Southern Hemisphere. Most teams would've missed it, filed it under tectonic noise or faulty calibration.

But not S.H.I.E.L.D.

Not after New York.

Maria Hill stood in the monitoring hub at Sublevel 12, her fingers tapping across a data tablet as a junior technician replayed the waveform on the main screen.

"It happened at 0400 GMT," he said. "One burst. Then it vanished."

"Geothermal?" Hill asked.

"No. The energy signature matches... this." He brought up a comparison file.

The waveform that appeared beside it was unmistakable.

The same pulsed energy. The same rhythm.

It was the same signature they recorded from the crater left by White.

Hill's eyes narrowed.

"Pull all satellite data from the last 72 hours. Every deep-surface anomaly. I want a map. Now."

Twenty minutes later, the pattern was clear.

There were no others.

Just the crater in New York.

And this one—deep in the Andes.

Thousands of miles away.

Far below ground.

Dormant.

For now.

Nick Fury stood in the Situation Room an hour later, watching a holographic globe slowly rotate as two glowing points blinked in silence—one in New York. One in the mountains.

"They're identical?" he asked.

Hill nodded. "Within 0.0004% deviation. The same kind of energy that surged through White during the invasion. But this one's been quiet until now."

"What triggered it?"

"We don't know. But it responded to something. That's not random."

Fury said nothing for a long moment. Then: "What's in that part of the Andes?"

Hill hesitated. "We're not sure. S.H.I.E.L.D. never mapped that zone fully. There were... complications."

He turned to face her.

"Send a recon unit. Quiet. I want eyes on the ground before that thing turns into another crater."

"And White?"

Fury exhaled slowly.

"We monitor. If he's connected to this, he'll tell us—whether he wants to or not."

Part 2: Subtle Shift

"Another one?" Steve asked, stepping closer to the holographic globe as the second pulse point blinked steadily in the Andes.

"No," Hill replied, standing beside him. "It's not another him. It's something with the same frequency. The same signature. It's not alive—not like he is—but it's echoing what he brought with him."

"Echoing," Tony muttered. "Great. So now we've got ghost signals from mystery men."

"Not ghosts," Bruce corrected. "Resonance. Like whatever's down there shares a link with him. Maybe it followed him. Maybe it was already here."

"Maybe it's part of him," Natasha added.

Thor folded his arms. "Then it must be watched. Carefully. For any beast that rises from the earth should be met with steel."

Tony glanced at him. "Thanks, Oppenheimer."

Fury ignored the back-and-forth. "This is a recon op for now. S.H.I.E.L.D. has a team en route. We're staying quiet. If it's asleep, I don't want it waking up just because we said hello."

"And White?" Steve asked. "Does he know?"

Fury tapped his tablet.

On the far wall, a new feed lit up—Cell 01-A, live camera view.

White sat in his usual pose: legs folded, back straight, eyes closed.

But his fingers were twitching.

Subtle. Barely perceptible.

Then came the second sign.

His heartbeat—unchanged for days—had spiked.

Not wildly. Not alarmingly.

Just... aware.

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice came through the speakers. "Sir, his biometric profile has entered a reactive state. Minimal adrenaline, but neurological activity is increasing."

Bruce frowned. "He's dreaming."

"No," Steve said softly, stepping closer. "He's listening."

The lights in the cell flickered.

White opened his eyes.

He didn't look at the cameras.

He looked up.

Right at the ceiling.

And didn't blink.

Part 3: Beneath

The Quinjet dipped low over the Andean ridge, blades cutting the air in silence. Cloaked, silent, gliding against moonlight.

Inside, the S.H.I.E.L.D. recon team made final checks—drones prepped, seismic probes armed, non-lethal suppressors locked in place. Their orders were clear: no contact, no engagement. Just data. Get in, get out.

The site was remote, half-buried near the edge of a forgotten plateau. Too deep for standard mining, too still for natural fault activity. Until the spike.

Agent Ramirez clicked her helmet into place. "Any radiation?"

"Levels stable," replied Agent McGraw, watching his handheld scanner pulse a steady green. "But the ground's warm. Like... bone-warm."

They exchanged a look.

The descent began.

The cave wasn't a cave.

It was a tunnel.

Carved—not by man, not by machine. Almost organic. The walls pulsed faintly beneath their lights, like the echo of something that used to breathe.

The deeper they moved, the stranger the air became.

Compass needles jittered.

Ears popped.

The sound didn't travel right—muffled, like words underwater.

McGraw knelt at the next bend. "Pressure's wrong."

"We're not that deep," Ramirez whispered.

"Tell that to the laws of physics."

Their path widened into a chamber. Smooth, circular. Empty.

But not lifeless.

In the center lay a stone-like object—dark, ridged, veined with faint cobalt lines.

It hummed.

And on every screen, every sensor, one signal pulsed over and over:

MATCH: ENERGY SIGNATURE - SUBJECT WHITE

McGraw stepped forward, drawn.

Then the stone shifted.

It didn't move.

It responded.

The pulse stopped.

Every light died.

And something opened its eyes.

--

(Thor POV)

The winds howled over the Stark Tower rooftop, catching the edges of Thor's cape as he looked out at the city below. Smoke still rose from some buildings. Emergency sirens wailed faintly in the distance. Humanity, ever resilient, was already rebuilding.

Behind him, Loki stood in cuffs and a muzzle—silent, bruised, and bound.

The Tesseract device glowed quietly beside them, humming with contained power. The moment it activated, the way home would open.

Thor said nothing for a long while.

He simply stared at the horizon.

This realm had changed.

So had its warriors.

He thought of Stark's fire, Rogers' steel, Banner's rage... and then he thought of the other one.

The pale one.

The one without name or tribe.

Thor had watched White destroy with elegance and fury, fight without pause, move without fear. Not chaos—but certainty. Not bloodlust—but instinct.

He was not of Midgard.

And he was not Asgardian.

Thor had seen many creatures born of war.

But never one that looked so... unfinished.

Like a sword still being forged.

"He does not speak," Thor murmured, half to himself. "And yet he answers every call to battle. That is no accident."

Loki glanced sideways at him, eyes glinting with unreadable amusement.

"You brought a storm," Thor said to him. "But something else answered it."

Loki didn't reply.

He didn't need to.

The device pulsed. The portal shimmered to life.

Thor turned back one last time, gazing at the tower, at the world he was leaving.

"Watch him," he said softly, knowing someone would hear—be it Fury or fate.

And then he vanished in light, with his brother beside him.

The sky closed.

And Earth was quiet again.

But the storm hadn't left.

It had merely changed its shape.