Chapter 10: The Joy of Flight
The Return to Earth
Ethan Carter soared.
For the first time in his life, he wasn't just moving—he was flying.
Not rushing. Not pushing himself toward a goal. Just… existing in the air.
On his way to Mars, he hadn't taken the time to appreciate it. He had been focused, determined, thinking only about what he needed to do.
But now?
Now, he let himself feel it.
The wind rushing past him. The weightlessness of his body. The way he could twist, dive, and shift direction with just a thought.
Flying wasn't just moving through the sky. It was freedom.
He stretched his arms out, rolling onto his back to gaze at the vast emptiness of space. Earth was growing larger in the distance, its blue oceans shimmering under the sunlight.
It was beautiful.
This is home.
With a small smile, Ethan angled downward and accelerated.
The atmosphere embraced him as he reentered, heat licking at his body, but he barely felt it. Clouds blurred past, the sky shifting from the endless black of space to the deep blue of home.
For a moment, he simply glided—arms spread, eyes closed, listening to the world below.
His world.
Before some time,
The Stark Tower Incident
Far below, in the heart of New York, a very different kind of man was at work.
Inside Stark Tower, a holographic display flickered to life.
[UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT DETECTED]
J.A.R.V.I.S., the artificial intelligence responsible for monitoring Tony Stark's systems, spoke calmly.
"Sir, I believe you may want to see this."
Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, and professional troublemaker, swiveled his chair toward the display, sipping his coffee. "If it's another missile test from some backwater country, I don't care, J. Just let them play with their toys."
"This is not a missile, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. "An unidentified object left Earth's atmosphere approximately two minutes ago. Its trajectory was direct and unassisted—no visible propulsion system."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "No propulsion? You're saying something just flew out of Earth's gravity?"
"Affirmative."
Tony frowned, setting his coffee down. "Alright, show me."
The hologram shifted, replaying the exact moment Ethan had left Earth.
It wasn't much—just a blur. A streak of movement that barely registered on any satellite feed. But the pattern was too precise to be natural.
Tony leaned forward. "That's not debris. That's controlled."
He tapped the display. "Where did it go?"
"Unknown. The object left all detectable sensor range within seconds."
after Ethan's return..
J.A.R.V.I.S. hesitated.
"…It's back."
Tony's eyes widened. "What? Where?"
"Descending rapidly. Estimated reentry point… unknown."
The display flickered, trying to track something that simply wasn't there.
Tony rubbed his chin. "Alright, J, give me something. Do we at least know what it is?"
A brief pause.
Then—
"…No, sir."
Tony leaned back, crossing his arms. He wasn't sure if he was annoyed or intrigued.
Something left Earth, disappeared completely, and then came back.
And he had no idea who or what it was.
That wasn't normal.
And Tony Stark hated not knowing things.
"Keep an eye on it," he muttered.
J.A.R.V.I.S. responded instantly. "Of course, sir."
But even the AI wasn't convinced.
Because whatever had just left and returned to Earth… was beyond even its tracking systems.
And that was impossible.
Ethan's Landing
Far above the city skyline, Ethan Carter descended.
Slower, this time. More deliberate. He wasn't rushing back to his family just yet.
He wanted to enjoy this.
The feeling of the wind against his skin. The sheer weightlessness of it all.
Flying wasn't just a means of travel. It was something more.
Something that belonged to him.
As he dipped below the clouds, he saw the world stretched out beneath him—vast, sprawling, alive.
A small smirk tugged at his lips.
Yeah.
I could get used to this.