"Gods..." Tony Stark scoffed.
To a man like Tony, the term "God" was just a label for "Entity with Higher Tech." He didn't fear them. He analyzed them.
"Jarvis, update the threat matrix. File: Thor Odinson."
"File created, Sir."
"And while we're at it," Tony added, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the schematic for the Mark 1 armor. "Add an insulation layer. Faraday cages. Grounding spikes. If this Thor guy throws lightning, I don't want to be cooked inside my own suit."
"Excellent suggestion, Sir. Anti-Electrostatic measures added."
Tony leaned back, satisfied. He was adapting. He was evolving.
"And one more thing," Tony said, his voice hardening. "Upgrade the perimeter security. No visitors. Especially not this Nick Fury character. If a 'Bald Egg Head' tries to enter my living room uninvited, I want him stopped at the gate. Or tasered. Preferably tasered."
"Understood, Sir. 'Bald Egg Head' protocol initiated."
Meanwhile, in Queens.
Gwen Stacy closed her copy of the diary, her heart pounding.
"Thor," she whispered. "The Norse God of Thunder."
Lucas knew so much. He knew about aliens, parallel universes, and now... mythology coming to life. It was overwhelming. But it was also... exciting.
Then, new text appeared.
June 14 (Update)
The Avengers are coming. I wonder if I'll get to see Black Widow? Another dream goddess. Peak Natasha Romanoff. Her figure is insane.
Too bad about her ending, though. Marvel really did her dirty. Used her up and killed her off. A tragic sacrifice for the Soul Stone, jumping off a cliff while Hawkeye watched. It was brutal.
Gwen blinked.
"Black Widow?" she muttered. "Another 'Dream Goddess'? Lucas, seriously?"
She looked down at her own chest again.
"Okay, so he likes Wanda. He likes Black Widow. Does he have a thing for dangerous women in tight suits?"
"Maybe I should eat more papaya," she huffed, referencing an old wives' tale about... growth.
But beneath the jealousy, a cold realization settled in.
"She dies too? Jumping off a cliff?"
Gwen shuddered. It seemed like being a female character in this "Marvel Universe" was a hazardous occupation.
The Triskelion.
Nick Fury stared at the diary.
"Widow... Natasha?"
The description fit perfectly. "Black Widow" was her codename. "Natasha Romanoff" was her name. And "Dream Goddess"... well, Fury wouldn't use those words, but he knew she turned heads.
But the last part...
"Used her up and killed her off."
Fury's single eye went cold.
Natasha wasn't just an agent. She was one of the few people he trusted. She had defected to SHIELD, wiped the red from her ledger, and served with loyalty. The idea that she was just a "tool" to be discarded by the "Writers" enraged him.
"Marvel," Fury whispered the name. "The Company. The Writers."
He wrote it down on a notepad, underlining it twice.
The Enemy.
Office 404. SHIELD Headquarters.
Natasha Romanoff sat at her desk, staring at a black notebook.
The Diary of Lucas Chen (Natasha Romanoff Copy).
She had read about the Multiverse. She had read about Iron Man. She had read about the "Story World." It was a lot to process, even for a super-spy.
But then came her own obituary.
"Too bad about her ending... A tragic sacrifice... Jumping off a cliff."
Natasha felt a chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning.
"I die," she whispered. "Sacrificed."
It wasn't dying in battle. It wasn't a bullet to the head. It was a sacrifice.
"For the Soul Stone?"
She didn't know what a Soul Stone was. But the implication was clear: She chose to die. Or she was forced to.
"Why?"
She wanted to scream. She wanted to find this Lucas Chen and interrogate him until he spilled every detail. Why do I jump? Who am I saving? Is it Clint?
But the moment she thought about tracking him down, a spike of pain drove into her skull like an ice pick.
"Gah!"
Natasha grabbed her head, wincing. The headache was instant and debilitating.
"A safeguard," she realized, panting as the pain subsided. "I can't go to him. I can't ask."
She leaned back, her face a mask of calm, though her mind was churning.
"So, I'm a character. And my arc ends with a splat."
She picked up the diary and walked out of her office. She didn't go to HR. She didn't go to medical. She went straight to the top.
Director's Office.
Fury looked up as Natasha walked in. He didn't need to ask why she was there. He saw the black notebook in her hand.
"You too?" Fury asked, his voice low.
"Me too," Natasha replied, placing her copy on his desk next to his own.
Fury looked at the two identical books.
"So," he said, leaning forward. "We aren't special. We're just part of the audience."
"You read the last entry?" Natasha asked, her voice steady.
"I did."
"I die."
"According to Lucas," Fury corrected. "According to the 'Script.'"
He stood up, walking around the desk to stand beside her.
"But here's the thing about scripts, Romanoff. They can be rewritten."
"Lucas says this world is dangerous. He says Hydra is inside SHIELD. He says Aliens and Gods are coming."
Fury looked her in the eye.
"We have a heads-up. We have the cheat codes. If the Writers want to kill you off... they're going to have to come down here and do it themselves."
"Because on my watch?" Fury said, slamming his hand on the diaries. "Nobody dies unless I give the order."
Natasha looked at him, and for the first time since reading her death sentence, she smiled. It was a small, dangerous smile.
"So," she said. "Where do we start?"
"We start," Fury said, picking up the phone, "by finding out who the hell 'The Ancient One' is. And then... we clean house."