A pillar of blinding light shot into the sky, its overwhelming energy blast shaking the entire world.
Even the intentional redirection of power skyward sent shockwaves so devastating that, with just a glancing touch, they shattered Earth's upper atmosphere defenses and instantly reduced numerous orbiting satellites to fields of drifting space debris.
"Damn it! Reposition our satellite array, immediately!"
"Where are my techs? I want eyes on New York, now! I don't care what it takes, find that man named Martin and show me everything!"
"This power… It's terrifying. I thought he was just building war machines, but this? He's creating an entire civilization! This isn't Tier-4, how the hell does someone at Tier-4 create sentient lifeforms this advanced and battle-ready?!"
Around the globe, leaders of powerful factions stared in stunned silence. Panic spread as encrypted transmissions and contingency orders flew across every secure channel.
No one understood the stakes better than them: if a new race of intelligent beings suddenly emerged on Earth, one as formidable as these mechanical titans, it would tear apart the fragile balance of global power.
The centuries-old tensions between mutants, Inhumans, and baseline humans had already pushed humanity to the brink.
After countless skirmishes and delicate negotiations, they had finally carved out a tenuous peace: the Inhumans, under the leadership of the Skyfather-tier Black Bolt, settled on the Moon.
Mutants, divided yet stabilized by Professor X and Magneto's opposing ideologies, maintained a cold détente.
Humanity countered with rapid technological development, and of course, superpowered individuals who could hold their own against mutants if necessary…
And that's not even accounting for the Atlanteans beneath the sea, or the interdimensional threats skirting Earth's veil, like the monks of mystical K'un-Lun, who trained atop the sacred Eastern peaks in the art of manipulating chi.
The previous Iron Fist of K'un-Lun? Legend says he once shattered the cosmic Phoenix Force itself with a single punch as it descended toward Earth.
That catastrophic strike weakened the Phoenix so thoroughly that it had no choice but to anchor itself within Jean Grey. Without that intervention, Earth would've faced annihilation at the hands of the Phoenix.
To obliterate a cosmic entity, a Skyfather-tier threat, with one punch and cripple the universal Phoenix Force in its prime… it defied logic. Though that Iron Fist gave his life in the act, and no successor has emerged since, the feat remains unparalleled in living memory.
That was the scale of power required to safeguard Earth.
And now... now a new race of sentient, sapient mechanical lifeforms threatened to emerge, possibly more advanced than humanity itself.
"What if he's an Omega-level mutant?" Nick Fury's face was pale with tension as he slammed a fist onto the table, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Most people believed Professor X and Magneto were the apex of mutantkind. But Fury knew better. He knew the most dangerous one was Dr. Jean Grey, the real Omega. One whose power could annihilate stars in a heartbeat. Omega wasn't just a designation, it meant immortality, unlimited potential.
If Martin truly was Omega-level, then Tier-4 wouldn't even scratch the surface. At minimum, he'd be sub-Skyfather. And if that were true… every strategy they'd drafted overnight was now useless. The entire approach to Martin would have to be re-evaluated from the ground up.
Sub-Skyfather class, someone capable of punching a star apart.
And this one's allegiance? Unclear.
Motivation? Unknown.
Just the idea of such a force operating unchecked on Earth made Fury's skin crawl.
He turned toward the window, watching the horizon lighten with dawn.
Behind his back, his fists were clenched tight. He had access to some of the most confidential records on the planet.
He knew things others didn't, about Kamar-Taj, Atlantis, K'un-Lun. He didn't fully understand them, but he knew they were real.
This world was a powder keg. One misstep, and everything would go up in flames.
Especially with someone like Martin, someone who could create life from nothing. Who could build a civilization from raw will and machine.
Just thinking about it was enough to trigger an ice-cold shiver down Fury's spine. A fully independent, self-sustaining intelligent species, their creativity, intelligence, and potential, unquantifiable.
He took a deep breath.
The situation was slipping out of control. And even with Captain Marvel's sub-Skyfather-tier strength, it wouldn't be enough.
He needed outside help.
Without hesitation, he picked up the phone and dialed.
"Xian Zheng. Yes, it's me."
"I assume you've seen what's happening in New York. The old schism between Shield and Spear, it's time to end it. The Brotherhood may never reform, but our ancestors' conflicts shouldn't define us now... I need your cooperation. Like six hundred years ago, when Shield and Spear forged the Armor for Leonardo da Vinci to battle the Celestial."
Only after a long, tense silence did Fury hang up, the hard edge of his expression softening ever so slightly.
"'The Shield in the West, the Spear in the East'…" he murmured. It was a saying passed down for over a millennium, born from the dissolution of Earth's oldest defense order: the Brotherhood. Once united, their legacy had split: S.H.I.E.L.D. in the West, and the S.P.E.A.R. in the East.
Back in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the legendary scholar Zhang Heng had carried the Spear's teachings eastward, founding the S.P.E.A.R..
The Shield remained in the West, evolving over millennia into today's S.H.I.E.L.D.
The last time they had joined forces was six centuries ago, when the two branches, desperate to stop a Celestial threat, pooled every ounce of knowledge and energy they had. They constructed a cosmic-class exo-suit for Leonardo da Vinci, who then launched himself into the sun and fought the enemy in solar orbit, emerging victorious and averting annihilation.
Since then, Shield and Spear had never worked together again. Their philosophies were simply too different.
"I hope this doesn't spiral even further out of control…" Fury whispered, shoulders heavy with burden.
--------
AN: The Brotherhood, the common origin of both S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.P.E.A.R., was founded 4,600 years ago to repel the Brood swarm, extraterrestrial parasites that once threatened Earth. Back then, even the mutant warlord Apocalypse was merely a mid-level officer in the Brotherhood. Legends say that great minds like Galileo, Zhang Heng, Newton, and Da Vinci were all part of this ancient order. In at least one parallel universe, even Howard Stark, Tony's father, was a key member of the Brotherhood.
TN: The raw says "fight" when Leonardo never fought a celestial on the sun, but merely retrieve an infant celestial. The "fight" here might mean the struggle to get there and retrieve the infant celestial. That was the sun after all, and Celestial Madonna did generate explosion when birthing the infant celestial, increasing the difficulty. As for the rest of the details, I don't know. I don't read marvel comics. I merely read what was written on the fandom.
Also, the raw says "Brotherhood of the Holy Shield" and not simply as "Brotherhood." However, I could only see "Brotherhood" in fandom.
Magneto's Brotherhood and this Brotherhood is also different. They are not the same organization, in case, you don't read marvel comics, like me.