The Storm Approaches

"Are you sure this isn't some kind of prank?"

Inside the Pentagon, a group of high-ranking politicians and military brass had Stark surrounded at the center of the conference table, every one of them looking graver than ever.

This was no public relations crisis, nor some petty squabble concerning their jobs or public opinion. The news Stark had brought was a crisis of genocide, a disaster shared by all humanity.

"A prank?" Stark raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, General. Someone hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system without leaving a trace, as easily as walking into their own backyard... and you think they did all that just to leave a few words as a joke?"

Stark shook his head.

"No, I don't think it was a prank. Besides, they mentioned the term 'Celestials.' That's something I've heard of before."

"You mean our opponents are gods?"

"That's right, the genuine kind." Stark's expression turned serious. "And if the person who sent us that message was telling the truth, we're facing not just one god, but a large number of beings like that. They represent the will of the universe. We can't win."

Several officials whispered among themselves for a while.

"You mean we should just sit here and wait to die?" one of them asked.

"I mean perhaps we should keep force as a backup option," Stark said.

The senior officials stirred. Some shook their heads while others murmured to one another, but none of them seemed particularly receptive to the proposal.

They were used to solving problems with force. Negotiations and dialogue were things that only applied within Earth's boundaries. As for extraterrestrials? If it were up to these old men, every time Thor passed through the atmosphere, they would have loved nothing more than to blast him back to Asgard with an anti-air