The Year 2018

In a bright flash of green light, Kol, Coulson, and others appeared in the year, 2018.

After regaining his balance, Kol spoke with relief, "Finally! We're back home... or back to the right time at least because it's still not home yet, for me.".

"But why are we still in the Lighthouse?", Yo-Yo asked skeptically.

"Maybe the Monolith didn't work?", Mack speculated.

"So we find them, try again!", May replied.

This time Enoch answered, who didn't have to sacrifice himself in this version, "No. I believe it worked. The Monolith takes you through time, but to the same place.".

"Yeah... we've been here before, Enoch and I. We made it.", Fitz agreed.

Then everyone relaxed and sighed with relief.

"It's hard to believe we're back.", May commented with a smile.

"Well... find me a double cheeseburger and I'll believe you.", Mack replied, but he too was relieved.

Fitz spoke, "I'm gonna try and find some light.", then proceeded to look for a light switch.

Kol asked Enoch, "So, you've been here before? You must know where the kitchen is. I think I've eaten enough fruits and vegetables to last a lifetime. Been dying for some normal food.".

"Yeah. Count me in.", Mack commented.

The others agreed as well.

So Enoch replied, "Yes. I believe it's...", but was interrupted.

Fitz found the switches, but along with the lighting, he also switched on the projectors in the room.

Suddenly, a video of a middle-aged man was projected on the walls and began to give out an introduction about the Lighthouse, "Welcome to the Lighthouse, the world's last bastion against the encroaching darkness. If you're here, you understand the gravity of the situation. The world as we know it has come to an end. My name is General Rick Stoner...".

[Images]

The Lighthouse was an underground base, a massive bunker built, in case of an apocalyptic-level event, constructed and equipped by S.H.I.E.L.D. and located under a lighthouse in Lake Ontario, New York. It was abandoned from 1972 until late 2017 when Enoch decided to use it as his base.

In the alternate timeline when Earth was destroyed, the Lighthouse somehow survived and ended up in space, bound to a chunk of the Earth's crust by Gravitonium, where surviving humans sought refuge.

The Lighthouse was built with the 1970s state-of-the-art S.H.I.E.L.D. technology to support the whole of humanity in case of an apocalyptic event. After the Hydrogen wave crisis, the base was abandoned by S.H.I.E.L.D. and ultimately vanished from their radar.

The base was connected to various nearby localities through underground tunnels. One such tunnel connected it with the nearby town of River's End. The base also had an underwater hangar that could hold a plane as big as Zephyr One.

[Images]

The video of General Rick Stoner was very interactive. It even moved from one wall to another and gave a complete tour of the Lighthouse.

On one of the storage levels, Kol discovered something he very much wanted. The Monoliths. Complete set of three, and fully intact.

[Images]

Fitz commented, "Oh my...", he almost forgot to close his mouth in shock, "That's quite unsettling.".

Currently, only Fitz, May, and Kol were here. The rest split up to do their own things.

"Where did they come from?", May asked.

Just at this time, "Unknown!", a voice came from the direction of the door which startled everyone.

May immediately went into fighting position.

"Perhaps I should not have startled you.", it was a man in a suite.

He spoke as he walked in, "Hello! I'm Noah. I'm a sentient Chronicom from a planet which revolves around a star in the constellation...", but was interrupted.

[Images]

"Cygus. Got it.", Fitz completed his sentence.

May relaxed her guard.

"You're a Chronicom?", Fitz asked for confirmation.

"I am", Noah replied.

This time Kol asked, "Are you Enoch's replacement?".

"That is correct. He's the one who alerted me to the presence of this place. I'm glad to see you made your return journey safely, Agent Fitz.", Noah replied in the typical monotone voice of a Chronicom.

"So what will you do now that he's back?", Fitz asked.

"Well, I suppose I have nothing other of significance on schedule, so I'll continue with this current assignment alongside Enoch.", Noah replied.

Despite the little incident with Noah, most of Kol's attention was focused on the Monoliths. Time monolith was a major boost in strength and he wasn't going to let the other two slip through his grasp.

______________________________________________________

.

The prophecy stated that a pillar of light would come down from the sky, and it would soon be followed by an alien invasion. A giant alien spaceship would show up without warning, then the Earth would break apart in half.

"Here, you can monitor any unusual activity anywhere on Earth. We Chronicoms monitor the line between the world and a stranger world.", Noah introduced a room full of computer screens displaying data from everywhere on the planet.

May commented from the side, "Yeah... you monitor it, and do nothing about it.".

Without minding her snide comment, Noah replied, "Yes. We observe without interfering, unless there is an...", but was interrupted.

"""An extinction level event.""", May, Fitz, and Kol completed his sentence at the same time.

"Yeah, we got it.", "We know that story", "Heard that pitch before.", Fitz, May, and Kol spoke respectively in an irritated tone.

"What are you observing now?", Fitz asked.

Noah replied, "Various potential threats. You'd be surprised how frequently SHIELD is mentioned.".

"Wow... you're so famous! I didn't even realize I was walking among celebrities!", Kol commented.

"We have a small, but active fan base.", May replied.

Then Noah went on to give a demo about how the monitoring system worked.

Until, May noticed something alarming, "What is this one?", she asked.

Noah replied, "Potential alien contact. Why?".

May was looking at a surveillance footage that showed a giant pillar of light coming down from the sky.

[Images]

That's when they called everyone over.

After observing the footage on the big screen, Coulson spoke, "A light from the sky. This is the prophecy, about what Voss warned me about. This is where it all starts.".

"Hell on Earth.", May commented.

"This is how Earth somehow splits apart.", Kol commented.

"Aaand... we're back!", Mack exclaimed irritatingly. He was rankled by all this.

"How long since it first appeared?", Coulson asked.

Noah replied, "A few weeks ago, then appeared intermittently for some time after.".

"You think it's alien?", Yo-Yo asked.

"The wavelength is unusual.", Noah replied.

"Where is this? Did it always appear at the same location?" Kol asked.

"St. Louis, Missouri. And yes, the location does not change.", Noah asked.

"Well then, I guess we're going to St. Louis, Missouri.", Coulson made the decision. That was the obvious thing to do.

Fitz picked up his bag and got ready, "Hunter and I left Zephyr cloaked just outside of town. I'll show you where it is.".

Just at this point, Kol spoke, "That's amazing, but guys... I think, I'll be staying home for this one.".

"What?", " Why", Jemma and Coulson asked at the same time.

So Kol explained, "Well, I'm not SHIELD. It's not my responsibility, it's yours. Though to be honest with you, I don't know where I fit in, if I still wanna stick around or not. I need time to figure things out. This is all very new to me... but don't worry, you guys still have my complete and... dedicated support... MORAL SUPPORT, that is.".

"Oh, c'mon!", "What's there to think about? You do well in the field.", Mack and Yo-Yo commented at the same time.

"And the lab... sometimes. Well, it's not like you know anybody on this Earth, plus we can help you go back home.", Fitz commented.

"We need you out there.", May commented.

After everyone was done ranting, Coulson spoke, "Kol, it's not our responsibility either. We're fugitives. But we're still doing this to save the world. We don't usually trust people easily, but we trust you. You belong here, and to be honest, we need your expertise out there in the field.".

After a moment of silence, with a thoughtful expression that seemed deep in contemplation, Kol replied, "You're right. This is bigger than us. And it stands to reason why you would believe that I belong in the field, after all, you haven't seen me anywhere else.".

Then continued, "But guys, we already have field agents. There's May, Daisy, and Yo-Yo. Mack is the engineer. Fitz and Simmons, the scientists, and Coulson the leader. Do you know what this team really needs? A cook. That's right! I'm that cook, the missing piece, and I belong in the kitchen. So go on... by the time you get back, there will be magnificent feast waiting for you.", he replied with a big smile on his face.

After hearing Kol's reasoning, everyone was at a little loss for words.

But before anyone could come to their senses and reply, Kol's expression changed and he continued in a serious tone, "Plus I think my talents will be best utilized watching over Daisy. After all... she's also staying behind for this one, isn't that right, Daisy?", he turned to ask her.

Daisy already blamed herself for the future disaster, even though it was just a rumor in the future, and it hadn't happened yet in this present timeline.

She replied, "He's right... if I'm responsible for ending the world, I'd rather not get near one of the first omens. So, hard pass.".

Kol nodded his head, put a hand on her shoulder, and spoke in approval, "It's good that you understand Daisy. Keep this attitude and you won't be the 'destroyer of worlds', but its savior. I'm so proud of you.".

Then continued in an encouraging tone, "Now, go on... make me some sandwiches, and coffee. I must assess your current skill level.".

In response, Daisy snorted and replied, "Do it yourself. I'm not your maid.".

"Hey! You're under my supervision. That means you must do as I say.", he berated her with an offended expression.

But Daisy just scoffed.

So Kol continued, "If you can't even make a sandwich, then how will you ever save the world? This attitude might just be the very reason why you'll end up destroying the world... Sigh! If only you were a little modest, humanity wouldn't be doomed. I'm so disappointed in you.", in a disappointed tone.

Daisy couldn't sit still after that.

She got up, and spoke, "Fine! But only because I'm hungry too.", then she walked away to find her way to the kitchen.

Then the others left for outside the town to find Zephyr-1 to head to Missouri, leaving Kol alone with the two Chronicoms.

After a while, Kol made an excuse to leave as well.

This was it. The opening when no one was paying attention.

In but a few minutes, he copied the energy of two Monoliths.

The Monoliths of Space, and Creation.

Now he possessed the energy of Omega effect, Natural Lightning energy, Phoenix energy, Solar energy, Temporal energy, Space energy, and the energy of creation, which could be used to create things out of nothing, be it organic or inorganic.

The energy needed to create an object was directly proportional to its mass, and the law of conservation of energy was applied if the goal was to create an energy body altogether. Therefore, the basic laws of physics were still applied here.

While copying the energy of Monoliths, Kol discovered that they were intimately linked to some dimension. That was how they recharged every time they were used.

He was certainly curious about this dimension that could generate the special energies of time, space, and creation at the same time. So he decided to study it later.

That told, despite the origin of these Monoliths, Kol had already copied their energy and due to his divinity that came from the Power Stone, he could generate these energies on his own, whenever he wanted.

After getting the complete set, Kol felt stronger than ever before, like these three forms of energy were meant to be together.

He closed his eyes and focused on the temporal energy. Then his whole body was shrouded in a greenish aura.

Usually, Kol loved surprises, but the stakes were too high here. So he decided to use the temporal energy to observe the future of this world, to find out the real cause behind that disaster that would destroy Earth.

After some time, he opened his eyes, "I see. So that's how it happened...", then after spending a moment of silence in deep thought, he spoke, "Well! I suppose I better get started then.".

Kol then joined his hands like in a prayer and his body was shrouded in a green glow.

A moment later he separated his hands, and along with that, a second 'Kol' appeared standing beside him.

This was not a cloning spell, but a simple application of temporal energy.

Just now, Kol pulled out the 'himself' from less than one second from the PAST, into the PRESENT.

Logically speaking, that should have been impossible because it was the past him that lived his life and became the present him.

So removing the past him from the timeline should without a doubt mean that the present him should disappear.

But that's not how Time worked.

As soon as Kol pulled out the PAST him into the PRESENT, a new junk timeline was automatically created through the inertia of time that BRANCHED OUT from the real timeline at the exact point in time when the PAST Kol was removed from it.

It played out exactly how it would if Kol had disappeared at the moment when he was pulled into the present.

Eventually, when the PAST him was done serving his purpose, the PRESENT Kol would put him back at the exact point in time when he was taken, thus making the junk timeline invalidated, and therefore erased.

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.

Whiteman Air Force Base was a mess.

People were running around, experts were typing hard on computers, and officials were yelling orders at their subordinates.

"Sir, we've got a bogey over New York.", someone called out.

Usually, this would be a cause for concern, but after all that had happened in recent years, it had become quite common, especially in New York.

"Find out who it is.", the order was given out.

A while later, "Sir, we've crossed referenced with all known databases. It's not the Air Force or Stark!".

"Are you sure? It might be one of the unregistered ones. Make the call, check it out.", the order was given.

Then someone else yelled in panic, "Colonel, it's not the CIA, or the marines, OR the navy. This bogey might be hostile.".

Now, this was truly alarming.

"What's the ETA?", the Colonel asked.

"The Raptors are already at its tail. We'll have visual in under a minute.", the reply came.

"Colonel, we have confirmation. It's not one of Stark's.", someone yelled in panic.

Just at this point, "Bogey spotted!", someone yelled loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Ballroom, this is Charlie-1, I've got the bogey in my sight. It looks like a... a man."

Then the room quieted down.

The big screen showed the video of a man flying in the sky between two F-22s.

This was Kol.

He was headed to Missouri and was taking his sweet time enjoying the view when two F-22s suddenly appeared behind him.

In response, he did what anyone in his situation would do. He slowed down and gave them a wave.

When the Colonel saw this scene, he ordered, "Search the database. Contact all relevant departments and find out who this man is. And somebody contact Pentagon. We need to know what to do in this situation.".

On the other hand, after giving them a wave, Kol sped up a bit, "BO-BOOM!!", breaking the sound barrier once and leaving his new friends behind.

"He just went supersonic.", the pilot reported back.

They didn't give up. They closely followed his tail.

By this point, the orders had come down from Pentagon.

Colonel put down the phone and ordered with a heavy heart, "Alright, we've got our orders. Take him out! Charlie-1 you are clear to engage.", he didn't agree with this decision, but duty comes first.

"Ballroom, this is Charlie-2, I've got a lock."

"Ballroom, this is Charlie-1, I've locked on target."

"Fire at will!", the command came down.

Kol then narrowly dodged two air-to-air missiles that suddenly appeared at his tail.

This situation was unexpected.

Considering the technological development of this era, the people back at the Airforce base should have been able to see him as clear as day.

So when he gave them a wave just now, he was no longer an unknown bogey, but a man of unknown origin and unknown abilities, which made him much more dangerous, yet not an imminent threat.

So in this situation, still sticking to the protocol and attacking him and thus risk provoking him was an unwise decision.

The missiles were locked on to his heat signature, so they doubled back, coming at him from the front.

In response, Kol's eyes glowed with white solar energy, and, "SIZZLESSSS!!", he fired heat rays, "BOMM!!", "BOMM!!", destroying the missiles before they could reach him.

But he didn't stop there.

When one of the F-22s was positioned behind him, Kol suddenly dropped his speed.

"BANG!!", letting the plane hit him from behind.

His body impacted its wing, tearing it apart like it was made out of paper.

"Tnuu! Tnuu! Tnuu! Thuu! I'm hit. I'm hit.", the pilot reported back.

"He's confirmed, he's been hit."

"One has been hit."

Then the pilot reported back, "Punch out! Punch out!", and pulled the lever.

Then the seat disengaged from the rest of the plane.

"Charlie-1 down."

Colonel asked, "Charlie-2, do you see a chute?".

"Affirmative. I see it. Good chute. Good chute.", pilot two reported back.

But just at this point, Kol's eyes glowed in red and he fired Omega rays at the second plane.

In the Airforce base.

"Sir, both our Raptors are down. Pilots are safe, but the target has escaped. He broke through Mach 26 and disappeared somewhere over Missouri.", someone reported.

But the Colonel didn't need to hear this. He was watching the whole thing play out on the big screen.

If he had a say in this matter, he would rather not antagonize someone who could fly faster than an intercontinental missile like it was a walk in the park.

Yet orders were orders. So he could only curse, "Fucking politicians!!".

Kol was in a bit of a hurry this time, so he just destroyed the two planes that were directly attacking him, and left.

But if it was any other day, he would get to the bottom of this, would find out whoever in Pentagon gave the order and deal with it with an appropriate level of ruthlessness.