The peaceful morning at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters didn't last long. Alarms started blaring through every hallway, loud enough to make everyone jump from their stations.
Nick Fury's office door opened quickly and the Director stepped out, his coat shifting as he moved. He scanned the suddenly chaotic corridor with his single eye, looking for answers.
"What's going on?" he called out, stopping a young agent who was hurrying past.
The kid looked nervous, a light sweat on his forehead. "Sir, we detected something launching off Earth's surface. Moving really fast."
Fury let him go and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Probably another military branch launching something classified without telling anyone. The various branches loved keeping their secrets, wrapping everything in layers of need-to-know protocols.
"Why is the alarm still going then?" Fury asked.
He understood the drill. If S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to track every black project, they'd burn through resources for nothing. The standard procedure was simple: call the relevant department, confirm it was authorized, shut down the alarm. Routine stuff.
But the agent's response stopped that line of thinking.
"I don't know all the details, sir, but it looks like... it wasn't launched by the military."
Fury's eye locked onto the young man's face, searching. The agent held his gaze for a moment before looking away, clearly uncomfortable.
Without another word, Fury turned and headed back to his office. He settled into his chair and waited.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on his door.
"Come in."
A senior agent entered, carrying a thick manila folder. His expression was carefully neutral, but Fury could read the subtle tension there.
"Your report, sir." The agent placed it on the desk and left.
Fury opened the folder and started reading. His already serious expression grew darker with each line.
At approximately 10:00 AM this morning, their satellites had detected an object leaving Earth's atmosphere. Started out looking normal enough. But about 47 seconds after breaking atmosphere, the thing began accelerating way beyond anything they'd seen before.
Terminal velocity before they lost track of it: approximately 87% of light speed.
Fury's jaw clenched. There was nothing on Earth—absolutely nothing—that could move that fast. The fastest human-made objects were like snails compared to what this report was describing.
At least, nothing made by humans.
His thoughts went immediately to the Skrulls. The shape-shifting aliens had been living quietly on Earth for a while now, and their technology was definitely advanced to do it.
Fury grabbed his secure phone and dialed Talos.
"Nick," the Skrull answered, already sounding wary.
"Quick question. Did any of your people just leave Earth in a hurry?"
There was a pause. "No. Why would we? You know we're keeping a low profile. What happened?"
Fury explained briefly. Talos's confusion sounded genuine, and After seeing Captain Marvel's power firsthand, witnessing what she could do when truly unleashed, the Skrulls had become remarkably honest in their dealings with S.H.I.E.L.D. They wouldn't risk everything they'd built for an unauthorized flight.
"Nick, I swear, that wasn't us."
Fury believed him. "Thanks." He hung up.
So there was some new power out there he didn't know about. Unknown variables were always the most dangerous kind in his line of work.
He pressed the intercom. "Get me a full analysis team. I want the starting point of that object located as precisely as possible. Traffic cameras, satellite imagery, weather data—everything. And I want it fast."
"Yes, sir."
For now, that was all they could do. Hunt for answers and hope they could identify this new threat before it became a bigger problem. Whatever this was, whoever had that kind of power, they needed to be found.
And if necessary, dealt with.
Mars
The impact was massive.
A sound like thunder rolled across the barren Martian landscape as something struck the surface with tremendous force. The shockwave sent ancient dust flying. When everything finally settled, there was a crater easily a hundred meters across carved into the planet.
At the center of it stood Elric.
He stayed still for a moment, his breathing steady despite having just traveled millions of miles through space. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around.
Red. Everything was red.
The Martian desert stretched endlessly in all directions—rust-colored sand and stone beneath a pale pink sky. No vegetation, no water, no signs of life. Just the ancient, empty landscape. It was strangely beautiful.
Elric looked up. There, hanging in the Martian sky like a blue jewel, was Earth. His home planet, now millions of miles away.
"I'm really here," he whispered. "Actually standing on Mars."
The reality of it hit him. He was on another planet—no spacesuit, no life support, no protective gear. Just his clothes and the power flowing through him. His body felt completely fine, as if he'd simply stepped outside instead of flying through space at near-light speed.
His clothes had survived too. He'd protected them with a coating of chakra during the flight, and except for the thin layer of red dust from his landing, they looked fine.
"This isn't a dream," Elric said aloud. "This is real. I really have Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's power."
The most important discovery was that there seemed to be no restrictions on using it. The chakra flowed naturally, responding perfectly to his will. His dōjutsu activated at a thought. All the fighting experience and technique knowledge that came with the karma seal—he could access it all as if he'd spent years mastering these abilities.
He'd tested his Kokugan last night in his room. The powerful dōjutsu had activated without issue. He didn't have anything stored in his pocket dimension yet, like the Naruto version who got all of the Isshiki's staff , but the ability itself worked exactly as intended.
He couldn't fully test his power on Earth. That much was obvious. His first thought had been the Moon—closer, shorter trip, safe testing ground away from people.
But then he'd remembered the Inhumans. According to Marvel lore, there was supposedly a hidden city called Attilan on the dark side of the Moon. He had no idea if they existed in this universe, but he couldn't risk accidentally revealing himself to an entire civilization.
More importantly, if he did something too extreme to the Moon, it would affect Earth. The Moon's gravity controlled the tides, affected the planet's tilt, influenced Earth's climate. This wasn't something to take lightly.
Naruto could destroy moons—it had happened in the series. And Isshiki had beaten both Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously. If Elric accidentally let loose with too much power, he could genuinely damage Earth's moon, and the consequences would be catastrophic.
So he'd chosen Mars instead. Yes, scientists would probably notice the changes he was about to make to the surface. But honestly, he wasn't too worried about that. Let them wonder. They'd never guess the truth anyway.
Elric took a deep breath, letting his body process the thin atmosphere through means that had nothing to do with normal breathing. He could feel the power thrumming through him, ready to be used.
"Alright," he said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Focus. You came here to test your power, so let's start."
He raised his right hand, studying it. Chakra began to flow, visible as a faint blue glow around his fingers.
Elric smiled, feeling a rush of excitement despite trying to stay calm. He'd dreamed about having power like this for years. And now it was real.
"Let's begin."