(Early 2011)
The world was quietly humming along under the blanket of Frontier Industries' omnipresent technology—Aether-Fuel powering cities, BFU-1 organs saving lives, and the Aegis Platform silently watching from above. Lucian Rothschild, now twenty-one, was officially recognized as the single most powerful industrialist on the planet, his wealth now firmly in the multi-trillions.
Then, MORPHEUS screamed.
Aegis Alert | Timestamp: TBD, New Mexico Desert
Energy Signature: Massive localized Gamma Spike (low level), rapidly followed by an Off-World Energy Signature (O.W.E.S.) matching theoretical modeling of Bifrost/Einstein-Rosen Bridge displacement.
Subject Tags: Asgardian. High-Priority.
Trajectory: Atmospheric entry of a large metallic, semi-sentient construct. O.W.E.S. Signature Profile: Destroyer-Class.
Gravimetric Anomaly: S.H.I.E.L.D. ground assets (Level 7 clearance) deploying rapidly to the impact zone.
Lucian, dressed in a simple, bespoke gray suit, watched the data unfold in The Citadel's command center. The data was crystal clear: Thor had arrived, been stripped of his power, and now his brother Loki had sent the fearsome Destroyer armor to eliminate him.
"This is it, Nine," Lucian stated, his voice calm but vibrating with intensity. "A piece of celestial technology, violently neutralized and sitting in a crater. S.H.I.E.L.D. will descend on that site like vultures. We need to be the swift, invisible parasite that gets there first."
Mission 003: The Asgardian Seed
Lucian's goal was not to steal the entire Destroyer—that was too big, too difficult to move without detection, and would generate a massive global incident. His goal was to acquire a core component of the armor that housed its power source and, crucially, the fragments of Asgardian metallurgy.
The Phantoms were deployed immediately from the Styx via a custom-built, high-altitude stealth VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) craft known as the Shadowhawk.
Target: The residual, high-energy fragments of the Destroyer after its destruction, focusing on the head and core reactor cavity.
The Phantoms, led by One and Two, inserted into the New Mexico desert under the cover of a massive, pre-scheduled Frontier Industries' 'Aether-Fuel pipeline inspection' (a smokescreen that diverted local air traffic control and ground patrols).
They arrived minutes after Thor regained his powers, confronted the Destroyer, and shattered it with Mjölnir. The air was still thick with the smell of ozone and superheated metal. S.H.I.E.L.D. ground teams, including Agent Coulson, were just beginning to establish their perimeter.
"MORPHEUS, I need a three-minute window of complete electronic disruption around the target," Lucian ordered.
"Affirmative, Mr. Rothschild. Initiating localized Quantum Static Field (QSF) deployment via Aegis. This will neutralize all S.H.I.E.L.D. communications and sensor readings in the area for 180 seconds. Maximum 30 seconds on site for extraction."
As the QSF descended, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on the ground suddenly found their radios dead, their surveillance drones crashing, and their thermal scanners glitching into static.
In those precious seconds, Phantom-One and Phantom-Two, cloaked in their Phase-Shift suits, moved into the crater.
The Destroyer lay in ruin—a twisted monument of cosmic metallurgy. Phantoms One and Two focused on the most critical components.
Phantom-Two used a specialized Frontier cutting tool (an energy blade operating at near-absolute zero) to excise a portion of the Destroyer's central energy conduit—a piece of Asgardian Uru-alloy—which was still pulsing with residual Bifrost energy.
Phantom-One secured a significant piece of the head casing, a complex matrix of metal that defied all terrestrial understanding of molecular bonding.
The Phantoms were extracting the shards into specialized, high-density containment lockers when a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, operating on pure instinct, saw a shimmer in the air near the wreckage. He fired a burst of suppressed rounds.
The Phantoms' Adaptive Stealth Suits absorbed the kinetic impact flawlessly, but the energy dissipation momentarily destabilized Phantom-One's cloaking field. For a fleeting instant, the silhouette of a futuristic, armed operative was visible against the desert night.
"Contact! We have an unknown... entity on the wreckage!" Coulson yelled into his dead radio.
The Phantoms didn't engage. They extracted, moving with impossible speed back toward the Shadowhawk.
The QSF lifted. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s communications flooded back, but the agents were left staring at the crater, certain they had seen a ghost, and completely unaware that two critical pieces of Asgardian technology were now gone.
We have the seed, Nine. The key to Asgardian power is no longer extraterrestrial; it is Frontier property. MORPHEUS, prioritize analysis of the Uru composite. Determine how to artificially synthesize a stable proxy. This will be the backbone of Project Chimera—my armor.
(2011-2012)
The acquisition of the Asgardian metal sparked a new, ultimate ambition for Lucian—one that transcended planetary dominance: Multiversal Travel.
While his Rick-level intellect had long understood the theoretical mechanics of dimensional displacement, the sheer energy required to safely punch a hole between universes without causing catastrophic structural incisions (like the ones implied by Rick Sanchez's portal gun usage) had been prohibitive.
The Uru-Alloy changed everything. Lucian discovered that the metal acted as a stable dimensional capacitor. Its molecular structure naturally resonated with the energy of the Bifrost, hinting at a way to harness cosmic, rather than purely local, energy for displacement.
Lucian designated the new project Project: The Infinity Bridge.
"MORPHEUS, the Bifrost works by tunneling through extra-dimensional space," Lucian explained, standing over the humming fragments of the Destroyer's conduit. "The Uru acts as a lens. We need a device that can replicate this process on a localized, portable scale, utilizing the Zero-Point Resonator for sustained power."
The result, after months of intensive, multi-trillion dollar R&D shielded within The Citadel, was the Quantum Displacement Collar (QDC).
The Quantum Displacement Collar (QDC)
The QDC was a complex, wrist-mounted device encased in a synthesized, reinforced ceramic matrix (a proxy material derived from the Uru analysis).
Mechanism: It worked by creating a highly localized, stable Klein Bottle geometry within the displacement field. This geometry naturally closed the "wound" in spacetime immediately after passage, preventing the creation of the destructive, reality-tearing incisions Lucian abhorred.
Power Source: A miniaturized Zero-Point Resonator, fueled by Aether-Fuel's derived catalyst, provided the necessary, sustained power.
Safety: The device only allowed travel to known calculated realities, based on MORPHEUS's predictive modeling and Lucian's constant observation of dimensional anomalies. He wouldn't risk an accidental jump to a reality where he might be eaten by sentient furniture.
By the time the events leading up to the Battle of New York were taking shape (late 2011), Lucian was no longer just the most powerful man on Earth. He was now a Multiversal Traveler-in-Waiting.
(Early 2012)
With the QDC prototype perfected, Lucian turned his focus back to his home reality. Loki's arrival with the Tesseract was imminent.
"MORPHEUS, begin final calibration of the Sentinel Defense System—our planetary shield," Lucian commanded. "I want full Aether-Fuel reserves dedicated to the Aegis KDG-1 array. Stark is about to be very busy fighting a horde of aliens. I will be busy protecting my assets and observing the Tesseract's properties."
Lucian looked at the Earth projection, seeing the looming threat of the Chitauri invasion. He adjusted the QDC prototype on his wrist.
"I have the ultimate escape hatch, the ultimate power, and the ultimate intellect. The Avengers are about to save the world, but they don't know who is truly controlling the resources of the aftermath."
He knew his role was not to fight the Chitauri—that was the Avengers' crucible. His role was to learn from the battle, acquire the inevitable alien fallout (especially the Tesseract's residual energy and Chitauri tech), and use that knowledge to make Frontier Industries permanently invincible. The Destroyer remnants were just the appetizer; the Chitauri invasion was the main course.