Afghanistan – Kunar Province – Mountains
Timeline Event: 2 Weeks Before Tony Stark's Abduction
The warzone was dust and silence, punctuated only by the distant hum of drones and the whisper of wind moving through canyons.
Victor Ashburn crouched atop a jagged cliff, draped in his long black coat, completely undetectable.
> [Cloaking Active – Physical, Magical, Quantum Layers Stable]
> Observer status maintained. Event integrity 100%
He could see the convoy miles below — Stark Industries vehicles, lightly armored, lazily guarded. Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, still arrogant, still asleep to the world beyond profits and fame.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
He could end it right now. Kill Tony, collapse the timeline, erase the Avengers before they ever began.
But that wasn't the plan.
The universe needed its original shape — for now. Victor's rise had to come after the world believed it had triumphed.
He turned away before the Ten Rings attack even began. He didn't need to see the explosion. He'd already seen it in every timeline projection.
Let Tony Stark suffer. Let him change.
Let the first spark ignite the fire.
---
New York City – Two Days Later
Victor returned to the city through a shadow gate, stepping into his private penthouse like a ghost returning home.
Akh'Rem, now sealed inside a warded circle, stirred as he passed.
"Another piece placed," the ancient entity hissed. "Why wait? You have power. Rule them."
Victor poured himself a drink.
"Because if I break the game too early," he said quietly, "the pieces scatter."
He looked at the news feed playing silently on his wall — a global report of Tony Stark's kidnapping. Panic. Speculation. Investors in chaos.
Victor smiled faintly.
> [Stock Action: Shadow Entity #019 - "Krieg"]
> Purchase Order: Stark Industries (Post-Kidnap Drop) – 7% Acquisition
Status: Executed
Control didn't always need to be loud. Sometimes, it was just numbers.
---
Wakanda – Unmarked Jungle Perimeter – Same Day
Shuri studied a data spike on their long-range detection array. It wasn't vibranium-related — it was dimensional. A ripple, like a skipped heartbeat in space.
"Again," she said to her lab assistant, "track that signal's signature."
The assistant hesitated. "It's not alien tech, Princess. It's… shadow magic."
Shuri frowned.
"No such thing," she said automatically.
But her instincts told her otherwise.
---
One Week Later – Inside the Cave – Afghanistan
Victor appeared just once, briefly, inside the shadow of a cave. He stood unnoticed in a dark corner, watching Tony Stark sketch the design of the Mark I armor on the cave wall with trembling fingers.
Victor said nothing.
But he watched the transformation — the man forging meaning through trauma.
He watched Yinsen — the man who would die to awaken Stark's guilt — smile quietly, unaware of the fate Victor had no plans to change.
> [Timeline Integrity: 99.2%]
> Notes: Armor development progressing on schedule
Threat: None yet
Victor stepped back into darkness.
"Let him crawl before he runs."
---
New York – One Month Later
Tony Stark returned home changed. Clean-shaven, tighter around the eyes, trauma barely buried. He announced an immediate halt to all weapons manufacturing — the world reeled.
Victor watched the press conference from a high-rise rooftop with Krieg, his armored shadow merchant, standing beside him.
"How long until he builds the next suit?" Krieg asked.
Victor answered without looking away. "Two weeks. Prototype in one. Mark II in three. War Machine in eight."
"And then?"
"Then we let him play hero."
---
Meanwhile – Deep Inside the Shadow Realm
Akh'Rem's cell cracked — not from defiance, but from resonance.
Something was coming. A force of paradox.
A tear between timelines.
A shape stepped through the veil — humanoid, cloaked, face shrouded.
> "You've let him awaken," the figure said. "The mortal. The machine-forger."
Victor appeared in the chamber in seconds, shadows swirling around him like wolves.
"I let the timeline breathe," he answered. "Because once it exhales… I crush it."
The figure tilted its head. "There are others now. Time splinters. One grows in Latveria. One rises in K'un-Lun. And one sleeps beneath ice."
Victor stepped closer.
"Then I will break their pieces too, one at a time."
The figure faded, but not before whispering: "You will drown in your own script."
---
SHIELD Surveillance Report #213 – Subject: "Unknown Interference"
Summary:
Intercepted a cloaked transmission containing dark matter and quantum interference, originating from Manhattan during Stark's press event.
Analysis inconclusive. Pattern matches no known threat entities.
Fury circled the report.
"Find him," he ordered. "Because if he's watching Stark… he's planning something bigger."
---
Victor's Shadow Log – Entry #121
> "The fire has started.
He builds his armor now.
He learns shame. He learns anger. He learns purpose.
They all do. That's the trick.
I let them become their best selves — so I can shatter them when they shine the brightest.
Let the mask forge. Let the world hope.
I'll be waiting when it falls."
He closed the entry and summoned his army.
Behind him, thousands of eyes opened in unison — his elite shadow corps now 117 strong.
And soon…
He would need them.
Because a new power had just entered the board.
And it wasn't him.
---