The alien swarm's existence was exposed almost by accident.
One of the infiltrators, disguised as a normal human, underwent a routine dical examination. During the scan, a doctor noticed subtle physiological abnormalities that didn't match any known human biology.
The case was imdiately reported to federal authorities.
That single discovery tore the curtain open.
Unfortunately, by the ti humanity realized the infiltrators existed, the infestation had already spread everywhere.
There was an old saying:
If you see one cockroach in your house, there are probably hundreds more hiding in the walls.
The sa logic applied here.
Before that first alien was uncovered, human society had already been riddled with infiltrators.
Long before the truth ca out, strange urban legends had begun circulating online.
People whispered about "doubles."
If one day you encountered soone who looked exactly like you, it ant your death was near.
Your double would kill you.
Then live your life wearing your face.
"S.W.O.R.D.'s investigation indicates the alien organisms are most likely connected to the teor that destroyed Shibuya Town in Kansas several months ago."
Nick Fury spoke coldly during the Security Council briefing.
Unlike disaster movies where officials ignored warnings or sabotaged investigations out of stupidity, humanity now took alien threats extrely seriously.
Every departnt cooperated at full speed.
As a result, S.W.O.R.D. reconstructed the tiline quickly.
The infestation began shortly after the teor impact.
And that teor itself was suspicious.
An object large enough to obliterate an entire town should have left behind massive debris fields.
Instead, Arican aerospace recovery teams found only relatively small teor fragnts containing an unusually advanced tallic material.
Looking back now, the implications were obvious.
The teor had never been an accident.
"Are we certain this theory is credible?" one council mber asked skeptically. "The temperatures generated during atmospheric entry and impact should have incinerated any lifeforms aboard."
"In theory, yes," Fury replied. "But the earliest reports surrounding the 'double sightings' all originated near the Shibuya Town impact zone."
He tapped the holographic display.
"At first, the incidents were isolated to Kansas and surrounding regions. About a month ago, the phenonon began spreading nationwide."
Tony Stark sat nearby looking deeply irritated.
Which, coming from Tony Stark, usually ant the situation was catastrophic.
S.W.O.R.D. had already captured living alien larvae.
Not fully molted adults.
Juveniles.
And after studying them, Tony realized just how terrifying these organisms truly were.
At the sa ti, he couldn't deny the scientific potential.
The creatures' mimicry capabilities were extraordinary. Tony had already extracted biological compounds from their adaptive tissues and planned to integrate the technology into future armor systems.
He could practically feel a massive breakthrough approaching.
A quiet wave of alarm spread across the Security Council chamber.
The infestation had already spread across the entire United States.
Several international representatives imdiately began considering ergency asures.
Closing flight routes.
Shutting down ports.
Severing transportation links with Arica completely.
"How bad is it really?" another council mber asked grimly.
"Bad enough that the United States is effectively ground zero," Fury answered bluntly. "And other countries may already be compromised as well."
He paused.
"I recomnd expanding S.W.O.R.D.'s ard response capabilities imdiately. Specifically, we should purchase large quantities of War Machines from Umbrella Corporation."
Steve Rogers nodded and stepped forward.
The Security Council exchanged looks.
"Haven't we already obtained War Machine production technology?"
That much was technically true.
After the Ultron incident was resolved, the world's major powers gained access to mass-production thods for first-generation War Machines and Iron Mongers.
Because the Mind Stone remained in Drex Valen's possession, Vision had never been created, and Ultron's vibranium body went unused.
Ironically, Ultron's rebellion accelerated global military developnt.
Umbrella Corporation's early monopoly over War Machine production eventually faded as the five major powers started manufacturing their own versions.
But Umbrella never cared.
Not really.
Because third-generation Decepticon-class War Machines and fourth-generation Zaku units still completely dominated the market.
The rest of the world still had to buy those from Umbrella.
Tony finally spoke.
"The anti-alien operations aren't going well. Finding infiltrators hidden among nearly three hundred million people isn't exactly simple."
"And once the creatures realize they've been exposed," Fury added, "they simply change identities."
Tony continued.
"Juvenile-stage organisms can still be neutralized by standard War Machine-equipped S.W.O.R.D. units, though casualties are significant."
"But once they fully mature after the molting phase…" Fury said darkly, "they beco substantially stronger."
He enlarged a combat recording.
The footage blurred.
Not because of transmission failure.
Because the creature itself was moving faster than human eyes could properly track.
"Adult forms possess physical capabilities beyond standard human visual processing speed."
The room fell silent.
"War Machines can't handle them?" soone finally asked.
"No," Fury answered imdiately. "Against adults, War Machines beco stationary targets."
"And the adults possess enough offensive power to destroy them easily."
"S.W.O.R.D. has already lost over one hundred War Machines and more than a dozen Iron Mongers during extermination operations."
The Security Council mbers felt their scalps go numb.
They understood exactly what those losses ant.
One hundred War Machines and over a dozen Iron Mongers represented a devastating military force by modern standards.
Normally, threats powerful enough to destroy that kind of hardware existed only as isolated superhumans or cosmic anomalies.
But these things existed in large numbers.
"How many adults are there?" one representative asked imdiately.
"A lot," Fury said grimly. "Statistically, approximately one adult erges for every hundred juvenile organisms."
"And adult strength levels vary."
Superheroes could still kill them in direct combat.
The problem was catching them.
If the creature stood still, the Hulk could rip one apart effortlessly.
Actually landing the hit was another matter entirely.
And if there were already thousands of juvenile infiltrators across the country…
That ant dozens of adult forms were probably active already.
The Security Council quickly approved S.W.O.R.D.'s request to purchase Decepticon units from Umbrella Corporation.
They all understood the sa reality.
If Arica collapsed first, everyone else would eventually follow.
At least for now, the primary battlefield remained contained within the United States.
S.W.O.R.D. itself wasn't idle either.
Through combined efforts from Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, the organization successfully developed detection systems capable of identifying disguised infiltrators.
Their first confird target?
The Governor of Kansas.
Or rather…
The alien pretending to be him.
Unfortunately, it was an adult form.
The creature resembled a monstrous fusion between a human and a spider.
Over two ters tall, its body maintained a vaguely humanoid silhouette while six asymtrical black eyes covered its face like clusters of polished glass.
Its hands ended in hooked insect claws.
Four folded appendages curled tightly against its ribs beneath layers of gray-black exoskeleton armor covered in fine protruding spikes.
And it moved like sothing humanity was never ant to hunt.
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