In Washington D.C., the city was eating itself alive. Police forces deployed in full, attempting to impose order on a populace that had succumbed to primal fear. On the outskirts, highways became one-way rivers of desperation as citizens fled the capital. In the city's heart, however, there was no escape. The roads were a solid, unmoving mass of steel and glass, a cage forged by panic. People abandoned their cars, pouring into the streets on foot, turning the gridlock into a stampede.
From the top floor of the S.W.O.R.D. building, Nick Fury watched the chaos unfold below, the scene a silent, horrifying ballet of societal collapse. He rubbed his temples, feeling the immense weight of a crisis that grew more apocalyptic by the minute.
"Sir, the President is on the line. The Joint Chiefs and several world leaders are waiting in the holographic conference," Hill reported, her voice tense.
"Keep your eyes on both situations," Fury instructed, turning his back on the chaos below. He strode into the conference room, the grim, flickering faces of the world's most powerful people already waiting for him.
On the battlefield, the stalemate had become a grinding war of attrition. The Rainbow Bridge hammered down with relentless cosmic force, a celestial drill boring into the heart of the storm. The wind elemental, however, was a master of defense. It moved with impossible speed, a swirling vortex of darkness that danced away from the Bifrost's full power, using its shield of corrupted clouds to absorb the devastating energy.
The storm itself had grown monstrously, its impact zone widening with every passing second. Even in New York, hundreds of kilometers away, citizens could feel the unnatural winds tearing through the streets. General Ross had issued a city-wide emergency broadcast, ordering everyone to stay indoors, as the army attempted to enforce martial law.
Hill watched the storm's growth on the satellite map, her face grim. The meteorological data was nonsensical. "If this continues, it'll be more terrifying than the Great Red Spot on Jupiter," she muttered to herself. "I hope to God that Rainbow Bridge can break it."
She finally understood. The warnings on the mysterious screen hadn't been an exaggeration. The Avengers had handled the water and earth elementals with relative ease, but this was different. The wind and fire elementals were exponentially stronger, twisted by a force she couldn't comprehend.
Wanda felt that force as she flew. The wind grew stronger with every kilometer, a physical wall of pressure that threatened to tear her apart. Forced to descend, she landed on a deserted highway and threw her hands forward, crimson energy bleeding from her fingertips. She ripped a hole in reality, a shimmering golden portal, but as it opened, a terrifyingly strong wind blasted out from the other side. It was a void-like chill that leeched all warmth, a cold that seemed to originate from the space between dimensions.
A shiver ran down her spine. She quickly enveloped herself in a protective shield of chaos magic, the crackling red energy a stark contrast to the storm's oppressive darkness. Taking a deep breath, she plunged through the unstable gateway.
She emerged into a sky of pure chaos. The sheer scale of the storm was breathtaking, an impossible vortex that dominated the heavens. She was inside it. Far in the distance, she could see the faint golden pulse of Rhodes's repulsors, still firing uselessly into the tempest. Carol, however, was completely gone, her brilliant light swallowed by the swirling darkness.
Wanda reinforced her shield, the chaos magic within her responding to the dimensional taint in the air. She tore open another portal, this one directly beside her allies.
Thor, still channeling his divine energy into Rhodes's armor, saw the golden gateway materialize. "Wanda!" he yelled, a surge of desperate hope on his face, but his voice was instantly devoured by the roar of the wind.
He clapped Rhodes on the shoulder, signaling him to stop his futile attack. Wanda expanded her crimson shield, creating a small, quiet bubble of reality around the three of them.
"How are you holding up?" she asked, her voice steady.
"That thing is a monster!" Max spat, his form flickering with frustrated electrical energy. "It's useless. Every volt I throw at it just makes it stronger. My powers are a liability here!"
"Carol can't break through its defenses," Thor added, his voice heavy with concern. "I called on Heimdall to use the Rainbow Bridge, but even Asgard's full power hasn't breached its core." He gestured toward the pillar of rainbow light that continued to pour from the heavens.
Wanda nodded grimly. "The elemental has been corrupted by the power of the dimensional entity, Dormammu. That's why it's so strong."
"Dormammu?!" Rhodes exclaimed, the name echoing with a forgotten dread. "What does he have to do with this?"
"He invaded Earth," Wanda explained concisely, the memory still fresh in her mind. "Strange used the Time Stone to force him back, but not before his power infected the elementals. You don't remember because time was reversed."
The monumental truth of what had happened settled upon them. Through Rhodey's comms, Hill heard it all, and the final puzzle piece clicked into place. Time manipulation… The Eye of Agamotto holds the Time Stone. A chill went down her spine. The long-term implications for Earth were terrifying.
Thor, too, felt a wave of cold dread. He saw them in his mind's eye: the Reality Stone, the Space Stone, and now the Time Stone, all concentrated on this one, small, technologically primitive world. Not to mention the Mind Stone Loki had wielded. Earth wasn't just a planet; it was a cosmic treasure chest, a beacon for every power-hungry tyrant in the universe. For now, Thanos kept them all busy. But for how long?
Wanda pushed such thoughts aside. "We'll deal with tomorrow when we've saved today."
Under the constant threat of the Rainbow Bridge, the elemental was expanding wildly, desperately absorbing more power. She had to act now. Following the Ancient One's instructions, she would use her own unique magic—the power of chaos itself—to rip the darkness from the creature's soul.
She raised her hands, and the air around her began to warp. The crimson energy swirling at her fingertips was not mere energy; it was the power to unravel, to rewrite, to unmake. It was the only force in the universe that could counter the unnatural order Dormammu had imposed, and she was about to let it loose.
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