"Hill, it's three in the morning. Can you guys seriously not handle whatever this is?"
Audelia rubbed at her eyes, trying to talk as quietly as possible into the phone as to not wake Tony beside her. The clock on the bedside table was flashing 3 in the morning, and it was not helping Deli's mood.
"Not when satellites are picking up a giant burst of energy coming from the woods outside where the compound construction site is,"
Maria's comment caught Deli's attention as she sat up in bed, a little more awake then she had been.
"The only thing in those woods that could cause an energy spike is-"
"The quantum tunnel platform," there was silence for a moment. "How long till you can get here?"
"25 minutes if I do the speed limit, 10 if I take my suit,"
In the darkness of the room, Audelia changed her clothes, throwing on sneakers and placing a kiss to her husband's head before she was out of the room. She took a moment to run into Aurora's room and Morgan's, placing kisses on her daughter's heads before heading to the lab downstairs.
Since the events of Thanos, neither Tony or Audelia had touched their suits, leaving their nano-suits out of the question. Deli settled for good old reliable, her briefcase suit, before heading outside into the cool morning air.
Stepping into the suit was something Audelia never thought she'd do again in her lifetime, and she couldn't decide how she felt. She felt like she was going to have a panic attack, but at the same time she felt comfortable being in the suit again.
"Good morning, Ms. Stark,"
"Hi FRIDAY," she whispered, before taking off into the air as to not waste another second.
Maria Hill called for the other agents to back up as she saw the lights of Audelia's suit in the sky. They did as they were instructed, backing out of the way as Audelia landed on the ground. She stepped out of the suit as it returned to it's briefcase size as Audelia picked it up in her hand.
"Tell me everything," she demanded as Hill led her toward the platform.
"About half an hour ago our satellites picked up these energy readings," she passed along the iPad to Deli as they stood in front of the platform. "Notice anything weird about them?"
"They're not the same as normal readings from this platform," Deli commented, quirking an eyebrow at her friend. "These match the energy of a star, Maria."
"Except in the middle," Maria motioned to a second set of readings. "They keep getting stronger, and every time they get stronger the readings coming from the middle of the platform get stranger and stranger. It's only right there that they match those of the quantum tunnel."
Audelia handed the tablet back to Maria as she placed her briefcase on the edge of the platform, walking around the side of the platform.
"Keep your men back, I need to look at this,"
The area was cleared further back as Audelia stepped up onto the center of the platform. She checked every crevice of the machine, every wire, and nothing was out of place.
"Hill, there's something wrong here," Deli spoke up as she looked to Hill, feeling a weird sensation inside of her, almost like dread or uneasiness. "The machine is in tact, the air is normal, if the machine itself was causing this problem then I would feel something up here and I don't. It's almost like the energy is coming from somewhere else."
"How would we be feeling it here? Especially right here at the platform?"
"Because the energy source must just be that stronger," Deli decided with a shrug of her shoulders. "Whatever is actually causing these energy bursts...it's unstable."
At her words, the ground seemed to rock, and earth seemed to move, and the quantum tunnel platform roared to life. Audelia's eyes widened, feeling the energy in the air as she looked at the platform below her feet, the colors of the Quantum Tunnel swirling below her.
Maria took off, calling out her name as agents followed her.
Audelia only had enough time to grab onto her briefcase before the platform below her opened.
There was a flash of light as Hill stopped in her tracks, shielding her eyes, before all way well again. There were no energy spikes, the light was gone, and the earth was quiet once more.
But Audelia was gone, and the platform was empty.
"AUDELIA!"
AUDELIA STARK WILL RETURN IN BRIDGE TO THE MULTIVERSE
◾◾◾
Guys...this is the end of Imperial!!!!!!!
I can't thank you all enough for hanging in there with me as I wrote this story. It took way longer than I wanted it to and I'm so sorry it did, but it feels so good to know that I just finished it!
I didn't plan on writing another Marvel book after Slate, but I couldn't say no. You all wanted more, so I gave you more. And I can't explain the gratitude and love I have for you all for supporting me.
As you know, we aren't done yet. The next book in this series will be Nova, the Peter Parker love story. I hope to finish that one a lot faster than this and Slate because it encompasses less. Recluse was going to be next, but I have pushed it until after we finally get Black Widow in order to include that storyline. If they end up delaying Black Widow again, I will probably continue on without that part of the storyline. So be on the look out for the next Nova update coming soon!
And just to tease you all, I present my labor of love...The Bridge to the Multiverse Official Trailer!
This trailer took me hours, so I hope you all love it and I hope it gets you excited for what is to come!
I love you all 3000, and I will see you soon!
Mikayla xx