CAEB Part V –

The Battle For Earth

Previously- in part IV…

After his breakdown Tony lost all confidence in his work and preparations for the battle are in jeopardy. The fate of the planet rests on Tony's ability to get the machine working but the algorithm was still wrong. After a moment of inspiration Fitz discovered Tony's algorithm was correct all along, and the one from the other dimension used a different number system. Faith in his ability still shaky, Tony begins working again and his recovery is slow.

The team are tested one final time by the Makluhk, and Tony and Thor are injured in the process after Tony is struck down by the sound of their hive mind and fails in his attempt to communicate with it.

As preparations continue Tony makes promising progress with the CAEB powers and after finally opening up to the Avengers about all the sordid details of his past the team are closer than ever. Tony is finally in a place of relative stability, yet the machine to close the portals still eludes the genius.

Frigga has enlightened Thor that the beings they are facing were once Asgardian, are millennia old and possess power beyond belief. These five beings only fear the CAEB and thanks to Frigga's lessons on Asgard Tony can now use his powers to their full extent. The genius, however, is still haunted by the knowledge given by visions, which depicted the deaths of several of the Avengers, something which he is desperate to prevent. He endures regardless, heavy with the knowledge that this these are likely his last days on Earth.
With the outside world in panic due to the unprecedented evacuation, there is no turning back. The countdown has begun.