Marvel: Rise of the Cosmic Beast

Beyond the veil of dimensions, a sea of molten flame churned with rage. Dormammu loomed above it all—his colossal form flickering like a sun born of madness.

He felt the severed connection. The destruction of his branded servant on Earth.

His burning hand curled, crushing a planet of ash beneath his palm.

"How?" His voice rumbled like collapsing stars. "How did the creature fall?"

From the abyss, a cluster of lesser demons writhed.

"The humans were joined by another," hissed one, trembling in chains. "A force unbound by your marks. A... cosmic anomaly."

Dormammu's flaming eyes narrowed. "The one touched by the Abstracts. The Beast of Conquest."

"Garou."

Dormammu seethed. "Then it begins. The shatterpoint I foresaw."

He extended a clawed finger and carved a burning sigil into space.

"Send my Shades. Send the hollowed ones. Test them."

---

Night had fallen again.

Garou and Rogue walked alone through the forest, tracing the remnants of a trail south. The others had returned to their respective bases—uneasy, but temporarily aligned.

Rogue broke the silence. "You could've stayed, you know. They didn't trust you, but they didn't try to cage you."

Garou gave a short, sardonic laugh. "That was their trust."

She looked at him. "And me?"

He didn't answer right away. His golden eyes reflected the moonlight as they moved through the tall grass.

"You don't flinch," he finally said.

"Don't need to."

"You should."

Rogue stepped in front of him, stopping his stride. "I've seen monsters. You don't move like one. You don't feel like one."

He opened his mouth to respond.

That's when the sky split.

A shriek tore through the trees—inhuman, echoing like steel grinding against bone. Black fire rained from above as figures dropped from the canopy—twisted mockeries of humans, draped in flames and shadow, with eyeless faces and jagged limbs.

Rogue instinctively flared with power, her aura burning violet.

"Garou—!"

He was already moving. His body blurred in motion as he tore through the first creature, sending limbs spiraling through the trees. But for each one he crushed, two more emerged from the void.

"Dormammu's pets," he muttered, landing beside her.

"They feel... empty," Rogue said, grimacing.

"They're not alive. Just shells."

One of the Shades lunged at her. She sidestepped and touched it—its essence drained instantly into her hand, burning like acid. She stumbled but stayed standing.

Garou caught her. "Don't absorb too much. They're not natural."

"Didn't plan to."

She nodded, then leapt into the fray. Garou followed, shoulder to shoulder with her as the forest became a battlefield of flickering fire and warped space.

Rogue kicked a Shade into a boulder, her eyes flaring with borrowed strength.

Garou slammed another into the dirt, his fist glowing with compressed gravity.

But it wasn't enough.

More kept coming—climbing from rips in the air like insects pouring from a hive. Dormammu wasn't testing them. He was sending a message.

---

Above it all, in the dimension between dimensions, Dormammu watched.

"They bleed," he whispered to the void. "They burn."

A figure appeared beside him—a woman wreathed in purple flame, her face hidden behind a mirrored mask.

"The Beast resists," she said. "And the woman shields him."

"Then break her," Dormammu said.

The mask cracked slightly, revealing a twisted smile.

"As you command."

---

Back in the forest, Garou stood over a broken Shade, panting slightly.

"That all of them?" he growled.

Rogue turned in a slow circle, listening. "No... one more."

The air shifted.

A ripple.

A distortion.

Then it emerged.

It looked like Rogue.

Same face. Same voice. Same gloved hands.

But its eyes glowed green, and its smile was wrong.

"Well, hello," it purred, stepping out from behind a tree.

Rogue froze. "What the hell...?"

"Fascinating," Garou muttered, flexing his fists.

The doppelgänger moved like liquid fire. In a blink, it was between them, slamming Garou backward into a tree with force that cracked the trunk. Rogue dove to intercept, but the copy twisted around her, brushing its hand along her bare cheek.

A jolt.

Like being hit by her own power.

Rogue screamed and dropped to one knee, her skin glowing.

"Don't worry," the double said. "I'm just... borrowing."

Garou roared. His cosmic aura exploded, golden and jagged. He vanished from sight and reappeared with a punch that shattered the creature's face—

Only for it to reform, smiling wider.

"Hit me all you want, beast. You can't kill your own reflection."

Garou grabbed it again, this time with both hands, pouring raw power through its body. It shrieked, then split into smoke—but not before whispering something only he could hear:

"She will burn for you."

The Shade vanished.

And silence returned.

---

Rogue sat against a tree, holding her side. Her breath was shaky.

"You alright?" Garou asked.

She looked up, sweat streaking her brow. "Felt like... it knew me. Like it wasn't just copying—it was... inside."

He crouched next to her. "Dormammu's learning. Testing our limits."

"Then he's getting too close."

Garou hesitated, then extended his hand.

She took it.

He pulled her to her feet, slower this time. His hand lingered in hers, their fingers curling tighter.

"We can't keep running," she said.

"I don't run."

"Then let's fight."

He looked at her for a long moment. Then nodded.

"We'll need allies," he said. "Real ones."

"Then we start choosing who we trust."

She squeezed his hand, her grip firm. "You trust me?"

A pause.

"Yes."

And for now, that was enough.