CH: 300 The Gate of Space
{Chapter: 300 The Gate of Space}
Alice folded her arms and chuckled as she watched the scene unfold. "Natasha, give it up. You're tough, sure, but even you can't beat the White Queen. She's... well, she's something else. A tiny terror."
Natasha gritted her teeth, but then let out a resigned sigh as the tension drained from her shoulders. "You're all monsters in your own right," she muttered, giving up the fight. "Especially her."
White Queen tilted her head with a smug smile, still seated like a queen on her throne. "A monster? That's flattering coming from the infamous Black Widow."
Alice, ever the instigator, leaned in with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "So, White Queen, how exactly did William humiliate her? I'm dying to know."
The White Queen pursed her lips and shook her head. "Oh, I could tell you... but I value my safety. Natasha would despise me forever. And between us, I'm rather fond of my current face."
Unnoticed by Natasha, the White Queen made a few playful swipes at her butt, grinning like a child pulling a prank.
Alice raised an eyebrow knowingly. "Ah. That kind of humiliation. I think I've got the picture."
Natasha turned her face away, clearly embarrassed but doing her best to hide it under a mask of indifference. "Think whatever you want. I don't care."
Alice gave her a look of sisterly understanding. "No judgment. Honestly, anyone who's tangled with that guy has their own trauma to unpack."
"For example," White Queen said sweetly, turning her gaze toward Alice, "r@p€."
The room fell silent.
Alice's smile dropped instantly, her face growing cold. "Watch your mouth, White Queen. That's not something you joke about."
White Queen's expression faltered. She quickly stood up and backed away, hands raised. "S-Sister Alice, I was just teasing! It was a poor choice of words—don't be mad!"
Natasha rose to her feet and glanced over at Alice, her voice calm but tinged with intrigue. "Didn't think you had history with that bastard, too."
Alice exhaled slowly and replied with a distant look in her eyes. "Let's just say... I've seen more sides of him."
Natasha gave a rare, slight smile. "I'm starting to admire you a little."
"Don't." Alice's tone turned sharp. "One day, you might end up doing exactly what I did."
Natasha crossed her arms. "That'll never happen. My willpower isn't that fragile."
Alice looked straight at her. "And you think mine was?"
For a moment, the two locked eyes, an unspoken acknowledgment passing between them. Natasha finally looked away and muttered, "I can tell you've been through a lot. You've got that look."
Meanwhile, across the room, William finally pulled away from Maria, who was red-faced, breathing heavily, and full of fury. "You arrogant—!"
William cut her off with a grin. "From now on, every time you curse at me, I'll kiss you for ten minutes. You choose whether your mouth is better used for insults or silence."
"You wouldn't dare—"
She didn't even finish her sentence before he kissed her again.
Ten minutes passed. When he let her go, she stumbled backward, fuming.
"Do you believe me now?" William asked, grinning like the cat who ate the canary.
Maria shot him a glare sharp enough to pierce steel. "Alright, alright. You win, you maniac. No one can compete with your shamelessness. You're the undisputed king of it."
William gave a mock bow. "Your compliments warm my heart. Truly."
With an angry huff, Maria pushed him aside and stormed over to the treadmill. She jumped on and started running aggressively, each stomp a declaration of war.
William, unbothered, strolled back over to the others. "You ladies look like you're enjoying yourselves."
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Not as much as you enjoy making a mess of everything. You're like a walking scandal."
William looked down at his hands, stretching them as if preparing for mischief. "I know a way to make this party a lot more exciting."
Natasha's expression darkened as she instinctively stepped back. A memory flickered in her mind—the humiliating moment William had once pinned her and spanked her like a bratty child.
"I have absolutely zero interest in whatever stunt you're thinking of," she said icily.
William smirked, unfazed. "That's a shame. Because when you change your mind, I'll be more than happy to indulge you."
Natasha turned away, muttering under her breath, "In your dreams."
He grinned wider. "Every night, darling. Every night."
"William, you've played around enough," Ada said, folding her arms across her chest, her expression hardening. "Tell us your plan. We're facing an unknown enemy and the imminent arrival of the Chitauri army. We need strategy, not theatrics."
William, leaning against a broken pillar, gave a half-smile. "I'm thinking, Ada."
"Thinking doesn't win wars." Alice interjected, arms crossed. "Have you figured out anything useful?"
William shrugged, casual as ever. "Not really. But when they show up, we kill them. Simple as that. When you possess absolute power, even nightmares look like cardboard puppets."
The White Queen, ever composed, narrowed her eyes. "You're not invincible, William. That black fire from earlier—it wounded you. You may look like an ordinary man right now, but clearly, your enemy knew what they were doing. You shouldn't underestimate them."
William's smirk faded slightly, and a flicker of seriousness crossed his face. "I'm aware. But fear is not a luxury I allow myself."
---
Meanwhile, deep in the Pacific Ocean…
A strange sight unfolded. A bald man in a long black trench coat—Nick Fury—sat awkwardly on a battered Iron Man suit drifting across the water.
"Fury, do you have any idea how heavy you are?" came the irritated voice from beneath him. "My arc reactor's barely keeping this hunk of junk afloat."
"Stark, it's a miracle you're still talking," Fury muttered, adjusting his eyepatch with a sigh.
"It'll take more than a lunatic with fire to kill me," Tony snapped. His voice was tinged with exhaustion and rage. "I'm not going out before William does. Not until I watch that smug bastard burn."
Fury gazed out over the water, the weight of failure pressing on his shoulders. "Half of S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone. That madman reduced years of planning to rubble. So many agents dead… and I'm still here. It doesn't feel like a victory. Feels like survival."
Just then, a cold voice sliced through the tension.
"Want revenge?"
Fury bolted upright. "Who's there?"
A shadow flickered across the ocean's surface. A man in black, his figure tall and motionless, stood atop the waves with his back to them. His voice was calm but radiated menace.
"The world is broken. I will rise above it all. You two… will kneel or be erased."
---
Meanwhile, atop Stark Tower in New York…
Dr. Erik Selvig stood on the rooftop, wind tearing at his lab coat. Before him pulsed the Tesseract, encased in a spinning mechanical rig.
"Doctor Selvig, is the device ready?" Loki asked, standing with arms folded, a gleam of triumph in his eyes.
Selvig gave a dazed smile, his mind partially unhinged by the Tesseract's influence. "Yes… yes, it's beautiful. The gateway will open soon. A whole new realm awaits us."
The machine roared to life. A spiral of blue light twisted upward, the Tesseract stabilizing within its core. Then—a violent surge of energy. The sky tore open.
"Behold!" Selvig cried, almost manically.
"Yes… YES!" Loki threw his arms wide. "Let them come. The Chitauri will descend, and I shall sit upon the throne of this world!"
---
Across the city, atop Hammer Industries…
William stood, wind whipping around him as he looked toward the glowing beam above Stark Tower. The sky churned, the dimensional rift opening like a gaping maw.
"There it is," he muttered. "The gate's opening. The Chitauri are arriving."
Alice stood beside him, her arms still crossed, her eyes scanning the sky. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? Chaos. War. Power."
William laughed, tilting his head to the sky as though greeting an old friend. "Of course. It's time the earth remembered who walks its soil. Let them come—I'll make this planet tremble beneath my feet."
As he spoke, the energy column anchored itself in the sky. The rift stabilized, revealing a swirling wormhole. Moments later, a swarm of metallic soldiers—the Chitauri—poured through, flying in perfect formation like mechanical locusts.
"Showtime," William whispered, eyes gleaming.
*****
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