The command center doors opened as Dr. Ishirō Serizawa walked in with Dr. Mark Russell.
After the ORCA had been stolen and Emma Russell disappeared with the eco-terrorists, Mark had been brought to Outpost 54 because nobody understood the device better than he did.
The moment they entered, both men noticed something was off.
The room was unusually quiet. Nobody was focused on Godzilla's tracking data. Several technicians were simply staring in one direction. Others looked mentally exhausted.
Mark looked around. "What happened?"
Rick Stanton let out a long sigh. "You're not going to believe it."
Serizawa turned to Dr. Chen. "Dr. Chen?"
Chen took a slow breath. "Dr. Serizawa... I think we have a bigger problem than Godzilla."
Serizawa frowned. "A bigger problem than the Titans?"
"Yes." She looked across the room at Ethan, who was curiously examining one of the control panels. "I think we've encountered a real god."
Mark gave her a puzzled look. "A god?"
"A real one."
Mark almost laughed.
"Dr. Chen, we've spent our careers explaining why ancient civilizations mistook Titans for gods." Said Serizawa
Chen gave a small nod. "I know. That's why I'm asking you to speak with him yourself. You'll understand what I mean." She glanced across the room. "He's... a little strange."
"Well, I am strange," a familiar voice said from directly beside them.
Mark and Serizawa both turned. Ethan was standing next to them. Neither had seen him walk over.
Rick Stanton sighed from across the room. "I really wish he'd stop doing that."
Ethan smiled. "But sometimes strange is a good thing." He shrugged casually.
"Would you rather I acted like the gods from ancient mythology? Speaking in riddles, demanding worship, wiping out entire countries whenever someone irritated me?"
He scratched his cheek. "I could do that. I just don't see the point."
Mark remained silent, unsure whether Ethan was joking.
Before anyone could continue, Ethan's gaze shifted toward the reinforced wall facing the ocean. His expression became thoughtful.
"Hm..."
The entire command center lurched.
Consoles rattled. The overhead lights flickered as warning alarms echoed throughout the outpost.
"What the hell was that?" Serizawa grabbed the edge of a nearby console to steady himself.
Rick Stanton was already at the sonar station. His eyes widened as the display updated. "Sir." He immediately brought the contact onto the main screen. "It's Godzilla."
The room fell silent.
The Titan's acoustic signature filled the display, his enormous form moving through the Atlantic directly toward Outpost 54.
Mark looked between the screen and Serizawa. "Why would he be coming here?"
Serizawa studied Godzilla's movement without answering immediately. Rick looked over the incoming telemetry. "He's maintaining course. Depth is stable. No signs of aggression, but he's not changing direction either."
"That isn't normal." Serizawa folded his arms.
Godzilla rarely approached a MONARCH outpost without reason. He avoided unnecessary contact with humans unless something significant had disturbed the natural balance.
Chen looked from the sonar display to Ethan. The timing was impossible to ignore.
Then suddenly Godzilla changed course.
Mark kept his eyes on the projected route. "He's not patrolling. He's agitated."
Serizawa looked at him. "Agitated?"
"Godzilla doesn't move like this unless something is wrong." Mark's jaw tightened.
"He's responding to a threat. If group has activated the ORCA, Godzilla would hear it. Depending on how it's being used, he could interpret it as another alpha challenging him."
Rick finished running the projection. "Dr. Serizawa... we've got his destination."
"Where?"
"Antarctica." Rick brought up another screen. "Specifically, Outpost 32."
The room went silent.
Serizawa's expression hardened. "Monster Zero."
The main monitor switched to MONARCH's classified file.
A satellite image of the Antarctic outpost imprisoned there was a creature so ancient and so foreign that even MONARCH's most seasoned researchers couldn't fully explain what it was.
Mark studied the file. "So what is that?"
Chen nodded. "Monster Zero has remained frozen beneath the Antarctic ice for thousands of years."
"We don't know where it came from, only that every civilization that recorded it described it as something fundamentally different from the other Titans." She paused.
"The cave paintings recovered by MONARCH show it fighting Godzilla in the distant past. They battled for dominance over the other Titans. Whatever that thing is, it isn't from this world."
Serizawa looked at the image quietly. "Our research suggests Monster Zero was another alpha predator."
Mark looked back at Godzilla's projected route. The King of the Monsters was already moving to intercept.
Ethan looked at the image of the three-headed Titan frozen beneath the Antarctic ice and let out a yawn.
"Hmmm... a three-headed dragon."
He stared at the monitor for a few moments.
"Yeah, that thing is a pain in the ass. If nobody deals with it properly, it can literally destroy the Earth." He shrugged as though stating an ordinary fact. "Then again, nothing lasts forever."
He looked around the command center before stretching his shoulders. "So, who's going to Antarctica?"
A faint smile crossed his face. "Because I'm up for the trip."
***
A/N: And on Patreon, The Boys arc started.
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