Destroying the two Kaiju hadn't solved the real problem.
According to Drex Valen, familiar energy fluctuations had been detected deep within the Pacific Ocean.
The readings strongly resembled the spatial distortions created by the Chitauri portal technology.
Except this ti, the wormhole was underwater.
And when it ca to the deep sea, Atlantis was the undisputed expert.
"The monsters' initial appearance point should be close to the breach," Drex said calmly over the conference channel. "If there's positional drift, start with the deepest trench regions."
He continued without pause.
"From what I observed earlier, the Kaiju traveled using physical locomotion."
A brief pause.
"Embarrassingly physical locomotion."
"Creatures that large should leave visible impressions across the ocean floor. If the tracks are still fresh, you can probably trace them back to the ergence point."
Satellite imagery from earlier had already mapped portions of the Kaiju movent paths.
That would make the search easier.
The mont Drex finished speaking, Nick Fury turned toward Tony Stark.
Tony imdiately took half a step backward.
"I don't have ti for this," he said flatly. "That monster damaged my armor. I need ti to repair and upgrade the suit."
"Hold on." Fury raised a hand, stopping Tony before he could leave. Then he pointed toward the ocean footage filled with drifting blue contamination.
"What about the pollution from the Kaiju blood? Any idea how to deal with it?"
Scythehead had died near the shoreline.
Most of its body had been vaporized, but fragnts still remained.
Combined with the injuries inflicted during the battle, Kaiju tissue and blue blood had scattered across several kiloters of coastline.
The city's long-term condition remained uncertain.
But the ocean contamination was unavoidable.
The blue blood would eventually dilute into seawater, but how long that process would take, or whether it would trigger mutations in marine life, was anyone's guess.
Tony rubbed his forehead.
"I need to analyze the biological composition first before I can propose a solution. Until then, quarantine the entire area."
Then he pointed at Fury.
"And stop asking about everything. This isn't even my field."
Fury's expression seed to say:
Aren't you people supposed to be good at everything?
After all, Drex Valen increasingly looked less like a genius scientist and more like a civilization operating in human form.
"Breaking News: The Kaiju that landed in Hokkaido, Japan, has been destroyed by a S.W.O.R.D. orbital satellite cannon. Ergency burn operations are currently underway to eliminate remaining biological contamination and toxic residue."
"anwhile, the giant monster that erged near the Los Angeles coastline has also been neutralized."
"S.W.O.R.D. has issued a humanitarian statent regarding the tsunami activity and seismic damage caused in Hokkaido. The United Nations has begun organizing international disaster relief support."
"Authorities have also confird that the blue blood contained within the Kaiju possesses highly dangerous toxic properties. Both the landing zones and nearby coastal waters may be contaminated. Residents around Los Angeles are strongly advised not to cross quarantine barriers."
Before the wormhole could even be located, S.W.O.R.D. was already burning through manpower and resources at a terrifying rate.
The organization still hadn't fully recovered from the Chitauri invasion.
New York headquarters remained under reconstruction.
And now the suspected portal location was sowhere beneath the Pacific Ocean.
Technically, the United Nations had agreed to cooperate.
Warships.
Submarines.
Research teams.
Everyone contributed sothing.
But the Pacific was unimaginably vast.
Finding a hidden alien wormhole at the bottom of the ocean was like trying to locate a single spark in an abyss.
And naturally, every participating nation had its own agenda.
Atlantis deployed large-scale deep-sea search forces almost imdiately.
Humanity, anwhile, mostly sent submarines as a symbolic gesture and quietly hoped the Atlanteans handled the hard part.
People had thought the world might finally enjoy a brief period of peace after the Chitauri incident.
Instead, things sohow got worse.
"Director Fury," Coulson said urgently, "the situation just escalated."
For once, the agent's trademark professional smile was completely gone.
His face looked pale.
Even his voice carried tension.
"Following Director Valen's recomndation, UN naval forces, S.W.O.R.D. submarines, and Atlantean units have been searching the central Pacific for the wormhole."
Coulson wiped sweat from his forehead before continuing.
"We borrowed military submarines to retrace the movent path of the Kaiju that attacked Los Angeles yesterday."
Then his tone tightened.
"A short while ago, deep-sea reconnaissance teams reported new findings."
"In the region where Scythehead's footprints disappeared... additional tracks appeared."
"Six separate sets."
"Current analysis suggests the tracks split into five different directions."
A beat of silence followed.
"Two minutes ago, multiple submarines, warships, and Atlantean teams lost contact with headquarters."
Fury's brow tightened again almost instantly.
"Did they find the wormhole?"
"No." Coulson shook his head grimly.
"That's the strange part."
"Logically, if multiple Kaiju tracks converge in the sa region, that area should contain the portal."
He exhaled slowly.
"We already know the invaders are using wormhole technology to transport monsters into the Pacific deep sea. But Earth itself is constantly moving through space."
"If the portal closes, accurately reconnecting to Earth becos significantly harder."
Coulson paused.
"No new Kaiju arrivals have been detected yet."
"Could they be trying to wipe out the Pacific Rim using only the monsters already deployed?"
Drex Valen's voice suddenly cut into the conversation.
"The timing is interesting."
"Yesterday they lost two Kaiju."
"Today they deployed six."
His tone remained calm, analytical.
"Smart invaders don't send cannon fodder one at a ti."
"Even a handful of these creatures represents a threat beyond what Earth's known organizations can currently handle."
Fury imdiately asked the obvious question.
"Can the Sword of Damocles fire again?"
"There's only one Sword of Damocles," Drex replied evenly. "It isn't enough to deal with that many Kaiju simultaneously."
"Director, then are we supposed to just..." Coulson began.
"Relax, Agent Coulson," Drex interrupted smoothly.
"Sit down and think through the situation."
His voice carried the composed confidence of soone solving a puzzle rather than facing an extinction-level crisis.
"We know six Kaiju now exist sowhere in the Pacific abyss."
"We also know the original wormhole can no longer be located."
He paused briefly.
"A portal closing before the invasion objective is complete makes no strategic sense."
"Which ans there are two likely explanations."
The room fell silent.
Drex continued.
"First possibility: the invaders didn't build a single portal."
"What if they built two?"
"If one entrance beca compromised or risked exposing their operational position, abandoning it would be the logical move."
Another pause.
"Then they could simply deploy new Kaiju through a second, undiscovered breach."
There was faint amusent in Drex's voice.
As though the entire situation had beco genuinely interesting to him.
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