'Lightning Divinity…' Alex spent some time analyzing what the ability entailed.
‹Lightning Divinity›:: Absolute mastery over lightning on the level of electrons.
After spending two hours analyzing the ability, that was all Alex could come up with. Ultimately, his lightning abilities had reached a level beyond what could directly be inferred. He had to spend time analyzing lightning itself to come up with new techniques to help him in combat. All he could clearly say now was that he had absolute mastery over lightning, and all that limited him was his imagination.
'At least I can use Synapse Collapse as much as I want without any issues since the strain it causes on my mind and soul has become almost negligible.'
After a delayed and much-needed empowering, Alex finally decided to directly come in contact with the Illuminati. While he was concerned about Emma Frost's ability to break into his mind, he had the Mind Stone and enough Bioenergy to splurge to offset the backlash.
…
As Alex empowered himself within his soul, Captain America led him through Stark Tower and to the elevator.
"How about a heads up for me before you get involved in the meeting?" Samantha spoke to Alex.
"No can do, Captain," He shook his head. "I will address the complete council."
"I swear, if this is some kind of joke, I will be the first one to beat some sense into you." She threatened.
"Rest assured. I have a way to take care of both Shang Chi and his backer."
Samantha went quiet, not engaging further as the elevator made its way to the top floor of the skyscraper. She led him through the corridors and to a concealed elevator. Once inside, she typed in a code that was followed by the signature ding of an elevator.
A few seconds later, the elevator opened directly into a large room with a conference table in the center. It was already populated by multiple familiar faces.
"You guys took heavy inspiration from the Situation Room, huh?" Alex noticed how the design of the room was very similar to the situation room of the White House.
"Who are you, Mr. Hunt?" Dr. Strange wasn't one to waste time in serious situations. "Unlike most people in the world who have at least a few copies littered through the other Earths, you have none. While I have detected your signature on multiple Earths, they are not multiversal copies by mere clones of your true self. Are you even human?"
"You can't tell?" Alex didn't yet look at the man and continued looking around.
"No. My mystic arts are unable to peer into you. As if you have some active defenses to prevent my magic from affecting you."
"Where's Black Bolt?" Alex didn't reciprocate with an answer to Dr. Strange's question. "I see everyone but him here."
"He's too self-absorbed with the Inhumans to care about problems on Earth," Emma Frost spoke up. "I sometimes envy that their home base is far enough away from civilization that they can just hole up and ignore all outside problems."
"If you want to accelerate your development, I can provide the mutants with the tech to terraform the moon," Alex said with a chuckle, finally turning to the group. "No need to feel jealous of the mutants of the other Earths."
"How about we get to the crux of the situation?" Tony spoke up. "Strange is rightfully skeptical about your identity, but the issue at hand is the terrorist. You said that you have information to share with us?"
"I do, but I expected the entire council to have convened for this," Alex shook his head. Before anyone could say anything to dissuade him, he waved his hand, and a red crack formed in the space in the room. It started swirling and formed a vortex that spat out the last member of the council. In his panic, Blackbolt was about to attack everything around himself indiscriminately. "Quiet, or I'll blow your head off."
The Inhuman's mouth opened to attack, but he quickly shut up, unwilling to destroy everything around him.
"Now that everyone has convened, allow me to officially introduce myself —"
"That was Chaos Magic. No wonder I couldn't use Mystic Arts to pry into you. Are you a variant of Wanda Maximoff?"
"False, Strange," Alex shook his head. "And you would do well to not interrupt me again. I can strip you of your powers in an instant if I so desire." Amidst his words, Emma Frost screamed in pain, clutching her head. "If we're done with the meaningless tests, I shall introduce myself," Alex spoke, finally turning to the seven occupants of the room.
[EP -500]
"My real name is Apex. I am the owner of The Gaia Federation. The reason that I am here today is because the force that has targeted this planet is not one that you can contend against," He addressed all of the people in the room.
"And pray tell, who is this unimaginable force that we are too weak to fight?" Namor retorted.
"It's good that you asked," Alex smiled. "Wanda Maximoff. The second strongest one in this Convergence — or Clusterfuck of Earths as I like to call it. She calls herself the Scarlet Angel and even has a halo that follows her around at all times."
"So what? This one's blonde?" Tony asked. "We've dealt with our Wanda Maximoff when she tried to kill everybody after her father died. We can deal with another."
"Do tell me, how do you plan to do that?" Alex asked. "Your strongest heroes include Blackbolt, Strange, and maybe Stark if he can make a good enough armor. That's all. Your Hulk imploded in a self-induced gamma blast, your Captain Marvel is nowhere to be seen, and your Thor has been gone for over a decade; as for the mutants, they don't have a single true Omega Level beyond maybe Miss Frost here — Jean Gray is barely a mediocre telepath, Magneto is dead, and the less that's said about Charles the better; your Reed Richards is just a kid and the other Fantastic Four are nowhere to be seen, need I continue? You cannot win against the Scarlet Angel."
"What does she want, exactly?" Dr. Strange spoke thoughtfully.
"Your Infinity Stones," Alex said.
"That doesn't make any sense," Emma spoke. "Why would she give someone else the stones that belong to her in order to have them find more Infinity Stones? There has to be something more to it."
"There isn't," Alex shook his head. "And Shang Chi doesn't possess the Reality and Mind Stones. They are still in Scarlet Angel's hands. She has merely provided him with a channel to utilize them in case he needs to. His job is to lay low and search this planet for any Infinity Stones that you may have."
"Lay low, you say?" T'Challa almost scoffed. "Repeatedly bombing an entire state constitutes laying low?"
"That's where he has gone off track. Scarlet Angel doesn't particularly care about your planet for now, so he can do whatever he wants as long as he gets her the stones. He has his own agenda in all this. After all, unlike Scarlet Angel, Shang Chi is a native of this planet."
"So he wants to take over the world and play dictator?" Dr. Strange said. "But that also means that we can't kill or subdue him. Once this Scarlet Angel finds out about it, she can descend herself."
"Exactly," Alex nodded. "That's where I come in. I can help you hold Scarlet Angel back, allowing you to deal with Shang Chi freely."
"And what are your conditions?" Emma asked. "No offense, but you don't really seem like the philanthropist kind of guy."
"None taken, Miss Frost," Alex gave her a flirty smile. "My demand is simple, really. I want to take over this planet."
"As I expected," Dr. Strange sighed. "We refuse, please return to your Gaia Federation. We will not be enslaving ourselves to a dictator in exchange for protection against another dictator."
"Such impatience, Strange. You should learn to wait every once in a while," Alex said with a knowing smile, sending chills down the man's spine.
'Was he spying on our previous meeting regarding Shang Chi…'
Alex continued, "While I want this planet to join my Gaia Federation, I will not be enslaving anyone. Life for people in the Gaia Federation is as normal as anywhere else. I will bring you all into the Gaia Cluster with our planetary shielding technology. It will be configured to your specific multiversal code so that the only entities that can enter your planet are the ones that originate from your specific universe. I'm not going to imprison any of you, and you can leave the planet whenever you want. As long as the planet itself isn't affected, I don't give a fuck."
"So you are aware of how interacting with our multiversal counterparts without the correct protections can be very problematic…" Dr. Strange spoke.
"I'm building the foundation of a multiversal empire, Doctor," Alex smiled maniacally. "Such trivialities are a given."
"We need time to discuss this amongst ourselves. I hope you can understand," Tony Stark said.
"No worries. You have a week to come to a decision," Alex said. "After that, the decision won't be yours to make anymore." His threat was clear as day to anyone. "I will give you a point of contact in case you have anything you need to ask me. For that, I would like to borrow Miss Frost for a moment, do you mind?"
The mutant lady shared a look with the others in the room before nodding, "Sure."
Everyone knew that there wasn't much choice involved in the current situation. After this, Apex instantly kidnapped and subdued one of their strongest without the slightest resistance, they knew that they were out of their depth.
"What is it?" Emma spoke defensively as Alex led her to a separate conference room. She was tense, ready to instantly unleash all her abilities if the need arose. After the backlash from the Mind Stone when she tried to read Apex's memories, she was wholely underconfident in her abilities.
"Wear this," Alex handed her what seemed like a small belt. At second glance, she realized it was a choker, similar to the one she was wearing at the moment.
"That's an interesting proposition," She couldn't help but quip while examining the choker. "I usually wait until the third date before getting intimate with my partner."
Alex gave her a look, "Maybe I'll let you join my inner circle once this planet submits to me. For now, that choker will serve as the point of contact between us. Wear it."
"I'm telling you beforehand, I'm more into being submitted to than submitting," The woman was still joking but still took off her pure white choker that matched her dress for the black one that Alex gave her. "With the way you talk, unless you are a closet submissive, I don't think it's going to work between us."
"I'm not hitting on you with this. It's just the aesthetic I follow," Alex shook his head. "I have to maintain uniformity when it comes to my representation, don't you think?" With his words, the choker tightened around the woman's neck and affixed itself semi-permanently.
[Can you hear me in your head?] Alex asked as Emma recoiled.
[Holy fuck. I've never had someone bypass all my defenses to interact directly with my consciousness like that.] Her suggestive tone conveyed that she was speaking in innuendos.
[Well get used to it. And don't try to read my mind with our mental connection. I established our connection using my Mind Stone.]
[So you really don't have any psychic defense other than the Mind Stone? Interesting.]
[I'm still working on using Chaos Magic to set up an innate mental defense, but it's still a few ways off.] He shook his head. [Now move on, I am a busy man.] Alex spanked the woman's butt as a sort of revenge for her previous teasing.
The blonde looked at him in outrage, but he had already disappeared.
…
As the days passed, Gwen quickly got integrated into The Defenders, acting as a sort of fourth member. As for Alex, he had already started infiltrating the upper echelons of Gwen's planet. With his hypnosis abilities, it was a piece of cake for him to set up an identity that would subtly gather power unnoticed by the Illuminati until it was too late. At the same time, he made sure to constantly monitor Emma Frost. He had chosen her as his 'ambassador' for a reason. He made sure that she wouldn't abruptly mess up his plans and remove the hypnotic suggestions that he used.
Luckily, she was self-aware enough to recognize the predicament that she was currently in a compromised state. She had stopped attending the Illuminati meetings and had even pulled back from many of her administrative duties related to the X-Men. Still, the woman wasn't one to go down without a fight. She was actively doing her best to infiltrate Alex's consciousness through their connection, forcing him to keep up his use of the Mind Stone.
He was forced to constantly expend Bioenergy to offset the backlash of using the Mind Stone, making it an expensive endeavor. Still, he didn't have much of a choice and was forced to use thousands of units of Bioenergy every day. His only saving grace was his two major and consistent sources of Bioenergy: The Widows on Earth-Z, who were working very efficiently to bring in at least a thousand points every day by killing abominations, and his Prisoner Farm on Farm Earth, which was barely generating ten to twenty daily points of Bioenergy, but factoring in the time dilation of one space day to one year in Gaia, that was equivalent to at least four thousand points per day.
Of course, his costs not only included maintaining the use of the Mind Stone but also regularly using the Time Stone to maintain the time dilation for Gaia. His initial system would have barely lasted for five years and it had been well past a decade in Gaia since he took over. This was all because he was constantly using the Time Stone to maintain the time dilation for his cluster.
However, his days of being low on Bioenergy shouldn't last too long. Alex was very hopeful about the prospects of the Prisoner Farm ever since he got access to Qi. In merely six years under time dilation since Natasha and Xialing had moved to Research Earth, he'd already awakened almost fifty prisoners, which allowed him to extract Bioenergy from them directly in the form of Qi. He'd gone from a mere two points a day to twenty with just fifty awakened prisoners. Unfortunately, he was limited by the amount of Qi that the Great Protector could provide him daily. For now, that severely limited his prospects of Bioenergy collection. But he was working on ways to not only expedite the awakening process but also establish a growth system that would enhance the amount of Bioenergy he could get from a single person. Eventually, he would be able to collect hundreds of points of EP a day, or even a thousand.
[We've made a decision. Please come to Stark Tower for a meeting.] Alex heard Emma Frost's voice in his head.
[I'll be there soon.] His tone was grumbling since he wasn't used to people other than his lovely hosts speaking in his head. He decided to make sure to keep telepaths at arm's length; not only because of the costs involved in blocking their mental influences, but also because he wasn't comfortable with these people speaking in his head. Unlike mental communication with his hosts, which was a pleasant and intimate experience, mentally communicating with a telepath was downright aggravating because of the intrusive feeling that accompanied it.
'Telepaths are truly the bane of my existence…' He lamented.
It didn't take long for Alex to directly teleport to the Illuminati's meeting room. His appearance made everyone in the room flinch, T'Challa and Tony directly jumped up, ready to fight as their respective armors made their presence known on their bodies. At the same time, a gold Eldrich magic circle appeared underneath Alex, intent on suppressing him, but it directly shattered once he appeared.
"Nanotechnology, nice," Alex smiled, happy that his intended purpose had been served with his appearance.
"I thought you said you could block teleportation within this room…" Tony's voice came through his visor.
"I also said that it was possible to brute force it if one possessed or was willing to expend the necessary energy," Dr. Strange retorted. "Apologies, Mister Apex. We just didn't expect you to drop in like this."
"You completely expected me to drop in announced like this," Alex said. "And this is the last time that I am willing to entertain one of your tests. The next time will result in a dear loss. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," He nodded. "Shall we get to the main agenda?" Strange wanted to move on from the hostilities as soon as possible, not wanting to antagonize the man further.
"What is it that you want me to do in exchange for your surrender?" Hearing Alex's words, Strange and Tony both stared a look.
"We will surrender. But you have to show us that it's worth it for us to invest in you. Take care of Shang Chi without any further civilian casualties and we will consent to our planet's integration into Gaia. One condition, however. If you attempt to bring about any radical policies that harm the livelihood of the citizens, we will fight tooth and nail despite the odds." Dr. Strange's words brought a smile to Alex's face.
"You don't have to worry. If anything, my world domination comes with the bonus of the abolition of any major wars that are going on in the world along with a somewhat symbolic world peace."
"We'll believe it when we see it," Tony wasn't completely convinced by this man who conveniently appeared when their entire planet was on the line.
'I feel like we've become one planet of many who are going to be a part of a tug-of-war between this Apex and that Scarlet Angel or whatever…' Tony's thoughts were both somewhat correct and completely incorrect at the same time.
"Miss Wilson, I would like to borrow your new team for some of the grunt work. Follow me, I will brief you on the plan to take care of Shang Chi. As for the rest of you… just mentally prepare yourselves to come under new management."
…
As Alex fully leveraged his strength to intimidate and coerce the Illuminati, Gwen was busy working with her new team to clear out another bomb site in Brooklyn.
"Need some help, Spider," Jessica spoke as she tackled three people at the same time.
"In a minute," Gwen was dealing with five. Though her problem was less about dealing with them and more about making sure she didn't accidentally kill one of them. Two whips appeared in her hands, wrapped around her forearms as she directly swiped one of her opponents and shot the other at one of Jessica's opponents. It destroyed the momentum of Gwen's opponents. She jumped and used one of them as a springboard to jump toward Jessica, taking down one of the two left on her side. Within a few moves the two women had taken care of all their opponents and continued making their way down the stairs.
"You're strong, Spider," Jessica spoke, her admiration directly visible. "I think you can even give Cage a run for his money in strength.
"Thanks. Did you receive any communication from those two? They were supposed to meet us at the top of the stairs.
"They'll be fine. We should move as quickly as possible to take care of the bomb first," Jessica spoke as the duo quickly made their way down to the bottom.
"Yo, what's up?" Iron Fist greeted the two at the bottom with three other people.
"Do you think they're doppelgangers?" Gwen asked Jessica, ready to fight.
"Wouldn't hurt to beat them up just to find out," Jessica said as the two women made their way forward.
"Woah Woah Woah~" Iron Fist raised his palms up in defeat. "In our defense, we were waiting for you two up there. Then these two ran into us. Next think Luke and I know, we're down here." He quickly explained the situation.
That was when Gwen finally focused on the other two people in the room. One was a white-haired cat-like person, adorned in full black leather while the other was a redhead dressed in a funny-looking yellow and red costume. The redhead was urging the white-haired woman to work faster as she worked on disarming the bomb.
'She's pretty close to Alex's type,' That was Gwen's first thought when she looked at Black Cat.
"You two must be Black Cat and Jackpot," Jessica spoke, identifying the two.
'She looks familiar… I'm just unsure,' Gwen felt that something was amiss with Jackpot.
-x-X-x-
"Wrap things up, guys. We have a debrief in ten."
Everyone received the same message from what Gwen gathered after the look Jessica gave him.
"Done!" Black Cat finally stood up and dusted her hands off. "Now if you can stop urging me…"
"But I've never gotten any powers even remotely as useful as teleportation. We can get so many more than done in the time I run out," The redhead spoke urgently.
"First, we need to meet with Captain America for the debriefing, so no more bombs for now. Second, why are you stealing our job?" Jessica asked. She wasn't happy that they had to fight off so many goons, only to have someone else steal the credit. But of course, she wasn't going to directly say that.
"I feel like I know you," Gwen was clearly in her own thoughts and spoke to Jackpot.
"I hope not," Jackpot spoke with a sudden coldness in her tone. "You seem like the kind of hero that kills people."
"Well that's no way to talk to our teammate," Iron Fist came to Gwen's defense.
"Ask her if I'm lying," The redhead spoke.
'Seriously, Alex. If it's her and you're the reason, I'm going to beat you up so bad. I don't care if I get charged for domestic violence.' Gwen wasn't completely sure, but her suspicions were solidifying as the situation progressed.
"I believe what happened before was a mistake. An error in judgment that cost someone their life. She has done nothing but her best to protect the people of New York City selflessly," Jessica spoke up as well. "One mistake cannot define someone."
"That mistake cost someone their life," The woman spat murderously.
Hearing the blunt words and the increasingly familiar tone of voice, Gwen shrunk. It was as if her infinite strength was completely useless in the face of this confrontation.
"That's enough," Black Cat squeezed the agitated redhead's shoulder. "I believe that Peter Parker must have been an important person in your life. But right now, we have bigger concerns at hand."
"Hey, you okay?" Jessica patted Gwen's back. She was aware that such an event at the height of her career must have left a mental scar on someone as righteous as Spider-Woman.
"Yeah," Gwen nodded with difficulty. "We should get going as well."
[I just thought of something.] Gwen heard Alex's voice in her head. It had an instant calming effect on her.
[Where were you? You didn't say anything…] Gwen was aggrieved.
[You could've called. I was busy doing something important.]
[What did you think of?]
[How about I turn back time to bring your friend back to life?]
Gwen got silent and moved along with the other people in the group to the debriefing location.
[It's not like I haven't thought about it…] She sighed. [I still killed my best friend. Nothing's going to change that.]
[It's not difficult to bring him back if you want me to. All I need to do is pull his soul out of the Soul Stone and use the Time Stone to revert the time on his body to bring him back to life. Without the dimensional rulers interfering with my actions, I can do something like that relatively easily.]
A faint smile couldn't help but appear on Gwen's face as she heard Alex's offer.
[Only you would say something like that in the name of comforting me… Wouldn't you be jealous?]
[I have many ways to make sure that you don't even have the opportunity to make me feel jealous.]
[Let's talk about that later. Why are we being called back?]
[You'll find out soon enough.]
[Ugh. You're turning this into another surprise for me. I'd rather you just keep things simple.]
[There's no fun in that.]
[Also what's the deal with this Jackpot woman? Her little eye mask isn't doing shit to hide her identity from me. Are you cheating on me with MJ?]
[Of course not. On the contrary, the only reason I orchestrated that situation with the threesome was that she has those powers.]
[And what are those powers exactly?]
[Exactly what she said. Jackpot. It's a random power every time.]
[So is she a mutant who just awakened? Or some kind of alien bloodline?]
[Nothing that complex. It's just an alien bracelet. I'm considering taking it from her and giving it to Cindy.]
[She is a friend, Alex… Albeit one who hasn't completely matured from her high school antics.]
[What with all her attempts to steal me from you?]
[Pretty much. But still. She has been there for me in the past. Especially after Peter died… I may have cut contact with her after the whole debacle with the band, but she did support me.]
[You can weigh in when the time for that comes. Don't worry.]
…
Soon enough, Gwen found herself back at the Stark Tower with the Defenders, Black Cat, and Jackpot. They were all led to the top floor, into a large conference hall. Many people were already there and more were coming in after them. Though Gwen's attention was soon captured by the two figures on the stage. One of them, she'd expected to see — Captain America. The other, she couldn't believe her eyes after seeing.
[Alex… Did they clone you or something?] After the time he'd spent hiding himself, Gwen wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or not.
[And that cute O-face is the reason I like to surprise you with this stuff.] Alex chuckled in her head as he met her eyes from the stage momentarily before continuing his conversation with Captain America.
[How? What? Huh?…] Gwen's thoughts were all over the place, only making Alex laugh.
[Say hello to the new owner of your planet, my beautiful Spider-Gwen.]
[Already?] Gwen finally recovered. [I thought you would take years to take over my planet. It's been what… less than four months since you landed here.]
[Shang Chi's plot helped me accelerate many things. Plus the looming threat of the Scarlet Angel behind him was the major catalyst.]
[Fuck me…] Gwen intended it as a curse, but Alex chuckled in her head.
[I will. After we deal with Shang Chi and pull your planet into Gaia, that will be my biggest priority.]
[So what now? Why are you introducing yourself to these people?]
[Patience, darling. You will know all in good time once we start the announcement.]
"Hmph…" Gwen pouted and looked to the side, only to end up looking at Jackpot's side profile. The redhead's jaw was dropped completely. She couldn't believe the figure that she was seeing on the podium. Gwen inwardly chuckled at her reaction and her mood got better.
Moments later, she felt her phone vibrate. She had received a message.
'Fuck, Gwen! You aren't going to believe this… Your boyfriend has a secret identity,'
Ignoring the subsequent texts, Gwen looked at MJ, only to see her furiously typing on her phone. It only made her laugh once again.
"What's so funny?" Jessica asked, hearing Gwen's laughter.
"Nothing, just a funny text," Gwen was quick to hide her phone back in her pocket.
Jessica gave her a look but then shook her head, "Let's grab some seats before they all fill up."
Gwen could count roughly almost two hundred seats facing the stage. Half of them were already filled up with more and more people filing in. She didn't particularly recognize anyone but was still surprised at the number of people.
[Hey Alex, how many people in this room are Mutants and Inhumans?] She asked.
[Not as many as you'd think. Barely half the people in this new team are mutants. As for Inhumans, there are none. They were planning to abstain from this conflict.]
[Were?]
[I yanked Blackbolt through space and forced him to surrender along with the other Illuminati.]
[How'd you deal with Emma Frost? Doesn't she have mind powers like Professor X?]
[I splurged a little and used the Mind Stone to keep myself safe from her influence.]
[Looking at your usual trend, I'd thought that you would either bond with her or devour her for her ability.]
[She's a strong Telepath, no doubt, but she's still a little weaker than Jean Gray Or Xavier. And devouring her would lead to a level of resistance from these people that I don't want to deal with just yet. As for bonding with her… I think seven is more than enough.]
Gwen hummed amusedly before a frown appeared on her face, [Where's that seventh bond you had? I only sense six, including me. Did something happen?]
[About that… I decided to discontinue my bond with MJ. I didn't have any feelings for her, and she was more of an experiment to find ways to generate more Bioenergy than anything.]
[You can just… get rid of these bonds? Without any issues?]
[Of course not. I had to spend three years slowly wearing down the bonds with her skin. Even then, it was unbelievably troublesome for me to deal with it.]
[So… hypothetically. You can break the bond?]
[Only if the other party is also willing. MJ's situation is complex, but if you're worried about me breaking any more bonds, then rest assured, it's impossible. Just MJ took me three years. If the bond is any deeper, I would need at least a century or more to even figure out a way to pull myself away.]
Hearing Alex's words, Gwen's concerns hadn't completely ceased, but she decided to put it in the back of her mind for now. [When's this dumb meeting going to start?]
[Soon. Let everyone appear first.]
-x-X-x-
The room was soon filled up with most of the members of the new team having populated the seats.
"Since most of you are here. Let us start," Captain America addressed the room of a little over two hundred street-level heroes. "I'm Samantha, the handler of the Neo Avengers. This is for the Mutants in the room. I have already talked to most of the others, after all. You've been called back today because we will move on to the battle's final stretch against Mandarin. This here is Mr. Apex, someone who will be critical for our upcoming battle." The African-American woman stepped aside and allowed the suited man beside her to take up the podium.
"Greetings," Alex's voice itself had a magnetic quality that captured the attention of every single person in the room. "You don't know me yet, but you will, eventually. I am taking temporary control of the Neo Avengers to combat the threat of the Mandarin. You've all done very well in cleaning out most of the bombs that were planted by them in New York, but that's not enough. They don't lack manpower or resources. It will only take them a small amount of time to plant more explosives and bring even more terror to the state and the country. But I can't do it myself. In the next few days, I will run an operation to lure out the man behind all this terror, but I will need your help to make it successful. Are you with me?"
The collective agreement shook the room.
'Man, I should thank Doctor Faustus and his hypnosis knowledge. Crowd control is so much easier and less suspicious with these natural charisma techniques.'
While Alex could do the same with Chaos Magic, that would be much more suspicious and detectable than just using natural charisma abilities. Even telepaths like Emma Frost couldn't see anything wrong with these techniques because they weren't actual abilities but merely simple charisma-enhancing techniques that anyone could use.
After a few more instructions, the group dispersed enthusiastically.
"So, how do you plan to lure Shang Chi out into the open? We can't fight in his facility. Strange detected enough nuclear material in there to blow this state to smithereens if he got desperate enough," Samantha spoke to Alex in a slightly low voice.
"The Reality Stone is a hack…" Alex sighed. "There is an underlying reason that he went against his original orders and is trying to take over the planet. Revenge."
"When is it not?" She scoffed.
"Listen," Alex's impassive stare made the woman shrink. "What was his first target?"
"One of the more average skyscrapers in Manhattan."
"He blew it up for a specific person. Cindy Moon. That woman wanted Shang Chi's heritage and killed his father and sister, eventually torturing and killing his girlfriend as well. He wants revenge. And I'm going to give him the opportunity for revenge."
"Silk hasn't been active for a few months…" Samantha gave a thoughtful look at Alex. "Suddenly, she appears and is working for Stacy Industries. The namesake of your girlfriend."
"If you are suspicious, I didn't know about Cindy's affiliation with the past Ten Rings until the building blew up. I subdued her because of her obsession with Gwen."
Samantha sighed in defeat. "Let me know what needs to be done. The resources of the Illuminati are at your disposal."
"Thanks," Alex gave her a pleased smile.
…
By the time the room cleared out, Gwen was the only one left. She was waiting for Alex.
"So," Gwen looked at him pointedly. "You're going to be my new handler now, are you?"
"I'll handle you however you want me to," Alex said with a smirk, extending his hand toward her. Gwen took a few seconds before holding his hand. Moments later, they appeared back in Gwen's apartment.
"There won't be any problems if you show them your relationship with me, will there?" She asked as her hood disappeared into her outfit, letting her blonde locks flow. Her hair appeared a little longer than usual since Gwen decided to grow it out.
"Not in the slightest. After all, you will eventually be the First Lady of the country."
"I'd rather not…" Gwen sighed. "After hearing about your other MJ, I want to stay as far away from being the First Lady as possible."
"What are you worried about? Do you think I have it in me to abandon you?" Alex pulled her arm and held her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. "There is no way in hell I am ever letting you go."
"Yeah… I know," Gwen leaned into his hug and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "Doesn't stop me from feeling anxious, though."
"It's going to be fine. We will fight Shng Chi tomorrow. I will steal the two Infinity Stones from under Wanda's nose, and we'll bring this planet into Gaia. With all of that done, the only thing left for me will be to bond with your organs. After that, we can take that little interstellar trip that we talked about." Alex said.
"Woah, hold up, hold up…" Gwen pulled back. "Bring into Gaia? What about that Eternal? Did it just disappear?"
"Oh, that's simple. I'm not using the Dyson Core Shield this time. The generator won't be powered by the core but instead will use Chaos Energy to power itself. It can be placed on the surface of the planet."
"That seems to contradict many of the things you've told me before," Gwen seemed confused.
"Yeah, kinda. I guess. But that's why this Earth isn't going to become an actual part of Gaia just yet. For one, they won't be subject to the same Time Dilation field yet."
"To keep the maturity process of the Celestial slow?"
"Yes. I'm not touching any of them before gathering all of the Infinity Stones. At least one of each fragment. Only the synergy between all six of them will allow me to take care of the threat of the Celestial."
"Have any of your hosts told you that you have a habit of making simple things convoluted?" Gwen asked him.
"Not that I recall."
"Well, you do. So stop it."
"Then what would you have me do?" Alex smiled amusedly.
"Take things slow. You don't need to rush to make this planet a part of Gaia, do you?"
"I don't. But a planetary shield is necessary. For the sole reason that the Scarlet Angel has a superpowered army that will wantonly invade this planet if we leave it unprotected from her hands."
"See, you should've told me that beforehand."
"Just trust that what I do, I do for a reason. That way, you get to enjoy life with me while we comfortably breeze through the looming threat that's hanging over my head like the Sword of Damocles."
"It's hanging over all of our heads, really," Gwen sighed before narrowing her eyes. "Right?"
"Of course. We're all in this together, right? It's not like I have it any different from you all," Alex smiled, though Gwen could tell that there was something he was hiding from her.
She shook her head in defeat and decided to change the topic, "You got stronger."
"I did," Alex nodded. "Do you remember seeing those three Thors in my soul three weeks ago?"
"So you finally devoured them…"
"I did. At this point, the base boost I provide to your Bioelectricity should be enough to beat up Shang Chi without any need for lightning empowerment,"
"Cool. Sadly, he also has Infinity Stones."
"With me there, you can easily hold him back long enough until I am able to form a channel to steal his Infinity Stones."
"You won't fight him directly?" Gwen asked. "I thought after the thing with the Illuminati, you would choose to show your face more."
"No. I need to be prepared for whatever Wanda throws at us. That's also why I need to establish the planet shield. To prevent her from directly coming after us and this planet."
"And the others? You said they would also have an important role."
"They will," Alex nodded, "as grunts. They will hold Shang Chi's forces at bay while you and Cindy mess him up."
"And where does Cindy fit in all this?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?" Alex put his hands on the sides of her face and squeezed her cheeks, making her lips look like that of a fish.
"Tew me," Gwen's words came out a little slurred.
"She will join one of the teams and help with the bomb diffusing process. We will be lying in wait for Shang Chi to ambush her."
"Come to think of it, where has Cindy been?" Gwen said. "I haven't seen her since that time after I'd just fought Shang-Chi."
"She's still being punished for hiding her crucial information from me. Her actions directly led to you being sent into a coma. Not to mention the destruction of the foundation of the new business I was trying to set up."
"It's still the sexual kind of punishment, isn't it?"
"Of course," Alex nodded with a smile that said, 'Isn't that natural?'
"I'm not actually going to torture Cindy for what happened. She didn't have any malice; she just messed up. Currently, she's in an isolation chamber, reflecting on her actions."
"I have a feeling that she would rather be tortured…" Gwen said with a suspicious expression.
"Maybe. But actual torture would lead to permanent scarring. And as sadistic as I am, I'm not into that."
"So mental scarring is all fine, then?"
"A month later, she's going to be fantasizing about being in the very same isolation chamber. Unlike your submissive streak, she's more into the masochistic side of kinky sex. She gets off on being punished."
"I feel that I should be offended," Gwen sighed. "But the entire situation with you and other women is so damn convoluted that I can't even begin to wrap my head around it."
"That's the secret of an actually successful harem. As long as you're confused, you won't even be sure if you're supposed to be mad at me or not."
"Yeah, I'm definitely mad at you now," Gwen spoke through her clenched teeth.
"Wanna fuck before I go deal with Cindy?"
"Go fuck yourself!" Gwen punched his arm.
"Geez, no need to be so mean," He hugged Gwen tightly, not letting her hit him further. "If you really want, I'll let you join in."
"I so want to kick you in the balls right now," she growled at him.
"All right, all right. I'm sorry," Alex surrendered as Gwen glared daggers into him. He could swear he could see literal sparks of lightning in her eyes. "I won't tease you anymore."
"Go, do whatever you want with that bitch. I'll wait at home like a trusting girlfriend, not knowing my boyfriend is fucking another woman."
"I think I'm going to stay with you for now," Alex decided, only for Gwen to glare at him again.
"Go."
"It's decided," Alex grabbed Gwen's arm and pulled her toward her bedroom, ignoring her resistance. "You've been too stressed out these days. I'll give you a massage to loosen your shoulders. And the rest of your body."
Hearing his words, Gwen's resistance slowly got weaker and weaker until Alex brought her to a massage table that appeared out of nowhere.
"Lie down. On your back."
"On my back?" She raised a brow.
"Quickly," Alex hurried her, and she snorted in response but still sat on the table and lay flat on it.
She turned her head and looked at him.
"Now what?" At this point, she was half expecting him to abruptly restrain her before teasing her until she begged him to fuck her.
"Now for your clothes," Alex said, and Gwen could feel her clothes stir. Alex usually did it as a quick process for the sake of efficiency, but right now, Gwen could feel her venom suit slowly receding into her body. It started from the neck, leaving her throat bare save for a black choker, slowly moving down her shoulders before freeing her breasts. At the same time, the lower part of her suit was receding as well, starting with her feet as it moved up her ankles and up to her calves, revealing more and more of her skin.
"You're taking too long…" Gwen said with a pout, but her eyes didn't have any anger in them. Alex didn't say anything and continued looking at her with an appreciative gaze as the suit continued slowly receding into her body.
As she felt some heat rising up her cheeks, "What?" Gwen snapped, feeling weirdly embarrassed despite knowing that Alex had seen her in far more compromising positions.
"My girlfriend is irresistibly cute," He smiled and finally raised his hands, only to place them on the edge of the massage table.
"I was promised a shoulder massage," Gwen retorted with a snort. She raised her arms and crossed them under her chest. Alex's eyes couldn't help but focus on the simple barbell piercings on Gwen's nipples.
"I remember," Alex smiled, shifting his hand and making his knuckle run along Gwen's side.
"Hey," she felt ticklish and put her arms back at her sides.
"Good," Immediately, Gwen felt the table under her stirring. Her expression changed as her spider-sense felt Alex coming out of the table and wrapping around her shoulders.
"I knew it!" Her expression turned triumphant. "I knew you would use this opportunity to tie me up and fuck me."
"Do you really think so little of me?" Alex asked, acting hurt.
"You aren't?" Gwen's disappointment couldn't be hidden. But she could still feel the presence of the slime all over her collar and shoulders, covering her down to her sternum. Similarly, it went halfway down her back.
"No. Not yet, anyway."
Immediately, Gwen felt the reason behind that material. It was putting pressure on her skin, specifically around her shoulders. She could feel just the correct spots being pressed. Her body instantly fell limp under the effects of the shoulder massage. A groan escaped her lips as she curled up her toes.
"Feel it?" Alex asked. Gwen groaned in response, barely nodding. Her eyes closed as she surrendered to the comfortable massage that loosened her entire body as if it were putty.
At the same time, Alex held her hand and started giving her a more traditional massage on her palm, which was followed by her forearm. He then repeated the process for her other arm.
With that done, Alex's hands moved to the sides of her waist, gently massaging the spots that would loosen the knots in that area. At the same time, the special massage material extended along her spine and down to her tailbone.
A series of pops was released from Gwen's back as Alex massaged her spine. She groaned weakly, and her expression made it seem like she was ready to melt into the somewhat hard surface of the massage table.
Alex slowly moved his hands higher as his thumbs rubbed circles on Gwen's skin. Once high enough, he focused on her ribs, putting just the right amount of pressure to loosen the internal knots around her ribs. As he reached her breasts, he pressed certain spots around them that made her fingers and toes twitch as a moan escaped her lips.
As Alex continued his massage, Gwen quickly fell into a semi-conscious sleep where she only subconsciously experienced the massage.
"Already asleep," Alex mumbled, shaking his head. Gwen had been under quite a bit of pressure with everything that was going on in the past couple of days, so a little non-mind-melting pleasure in the form of a massage was well-deserved.
As Alex continued massaging her chest area, more of his slime material wrapped around Gwen's feet and calves, allowing her to simultaneously experience both a shoulder massage and a foot and calf massage as Alex manually massaged her chest.
Even unconscious, Gwen continued groaning occasionally whenever Alex massaged a particularly stressful spot. Soon, he started using Bioenergy in the oil that he massaged her with, both to make the benefits of the massage more pronounced.
Wherever Alex's hands trailed, he left an almost glowing sheen of oil on Gwen's skin, making her current state even more enticing to him. Soon enough, her entire torso was covered by a layer of oil that was slowly being absorbed into her body. Alex's eyes were stuck to her breasts, which also had the same sheen of oil all over them.
"Wakey wakey, honey," Alex whispered as he gently pinched both of Gwen's nipples, very lightly yanking on them to stimulate her just enough to get her to wake up. Despite his actions, it took Gwen a few minutes of nipple teasing before she stirred awake.
"Alex…" She called out his name in her half-asleep state. "Stop teasing my piercings. I want your cock…" She mumbled lazily.
"I'm a respectable masseuse, Gwen. I don't provide such services," Alex's words didn't match his actions as he continued to caress Gwen's breasts and nipples, getting a little rougher since she'd finally woken up.
Gwen was left speechless, but her arousal was getting out of control. "Alex~" She called out with a whine. "Please~" She showed him the cutest expression she could muster.
"Be patient," He didn't seem too affected by her look and even let go of her nipples. His hands then trailed along her body and reached her legs. With her calves already being massaged, he focused his attention on her thighs.
As he pressed his thumbs along her inner thigh muscle, Gwen shivered. Her toes curled up as she tried to move her legs, but they were stuck to the table. Same as her shoulders. She was stuck to the table and at Alex's mercy. She groaned as his thumb brushed along her labia, still not giving her what she wanted. He continued massaging her inner thighs, relentlessly teasing her as she begged and writhed.
Soon, a loud moan escaped Gwen's tired body as she clenched her fists. She released a burst of liquid on Alex's hands just as he was massaging her thighs.
"What a slut. I didn't even touch your erogenous areas, and you came just like that?" He immediately slapped Gwen's sensitive pussy, making her yelp in pain. "You still need some training."
-x-X-x-
The massage lasted all the way until midnight, making Gwen completely forget what she was mad at him about. Still, she was feeling both unsatisfied and aroused due to Alex keeping words from before about no sex, leaving her wanting.
"Let's go get Cindy," he told her as she leaned into his arms.
"You didn't get her yet?" Gwen mumbled.
"I want you to watch."
"You're sick, do you know that?" Gwen looked at him disapprovingly.
"I know. I still want you there, though."
"No," Gwen shook her head. "I don't want to. I want you to stay with me while I sleep. You can take care of her on the side."
Alex sighed. "I didn't think you'd be so stubborn about this. Even after I gave you that amazing massage."
"I have to put my foot down sometimes. Otherwise, you'd keep walking all over me like a doormat."
"Nah, you aren't into that kind of humiliation stuff," he said. "It would do little to turn you on and may even make you feel averse."
"Come on," Gwen didn't address his words and grabbed his hand. She pulled him to her bed. "Get rid of your clothes. I want to cuddle."
After the massage, Gwen was still naked while Alex was clothed. It was quickly rectified as Gwen pulled him into bed with herself and nestled into his arms, feeling comforted by the warmth of his body pressing against hers.
"Good night, Gwen," Alex ran his fingers through her hair, shifting his arm that was under her head to make sure she was comfortable. His other hand ran along her back, trailing along her spine.
"Night~" She was quick to fall asleep.
…
In the abandoned warehouse where Gwen and Alex regularly train.
Alex had modified the empty storage room into a makeshift cell for Cindy with padded walls and flooring. The room had no doors or windows, completely isolated from the outside world. At the moment, the lights inside were very dim, barely outlining a figure curled up on the floor right along the wall.
The figure was a woman with jet-black hair, restrained in a white straightjacket that held her arms together at her front, just under her chest. It covered her entire torso except for her breasts; the pink nubs on top had a circular clamp attached to them that crushed her nipples between two jagged plates. Her legs were also tied up, restrained in a frog tie that forced them into a folded position. Despite it being late in the night, she was fully awake, wiggling weakly and moaning through the gag that extended from a posture collar all the way up to her nose. There was a small opening just in front of her nostrils that barely allowed her to breathe freely. A single strap went down her straight jacket, covering her crotch while leaving her hips and legs bare. Looking closely, there were toys inserted in both her holes, incessantly vibrating.
The dim lights in the room slowly got brighter, making the woman widen her eyes in expectation. The moment the hidden door to the padded cell opened, she forced herself to sit up and face the newcomer. She sat up on her knees, spreading them apart, and took up a submissive posture. While the posture collar forced her head up and made her look forward, her eyes were on the floor, not meeting his gaze.
"Did you rest well, Cindy?" Alex asked. Since being put in this room two weeks ago, her body's day-night cycle had been all sorts of messed up. Without any clocks to tell her the time, all she knew was that she received three meals a day, and even those were provided at inconsistent times. The rest of the time, the lights were always dimmed, never letting her know what time it actually was. Most of her time was spent sleeping as the incessant vibrators inside her continued to tease her.
Her eyes finally moved up to his face, and her head barely moved to express her affirmative nod.
"Good," Alex patted her head and combed her hair with his fingers. "You must be hungry, right?"
Cindy looked a little reluctant but still agreed with a slight nod. Following her action, she felt her lips being forced apart as her mask separated from the middle and formed a ring gag that forced her to keep her mouth open.
"You're welcome," Alex pulled his lower down and revealed his erection to Cindy as she leaned forward and took him in. Her lips perfectly wrapped around his girth as she took him all the way in before gagging and pulling back. She kept her eyes up and continued looking up at him for the entire duration as if waiting for his review.
As she repeated the movements multiple times, Alex started combing her hair and slowly taking control of her pace, making it more to his liking.
"You're doing very well," He praised her before lowering his other hand and grabbing her breast. A low groan escaped from her throat as he squeezed both her tits alternatively with his free hand.
"I'm close, Cindy," Alex warned, and the captive redoubled her efforts. Immediately, her throaty groan grew high-pitched as Cindy's entire body shook. Alex had twisted the clamp on her nipple. As she writhed in pain, Alex tightened his grip on her hair and forced her to take him all the way in before releasing his load into her mouth.
He only let go when he noticed signs of struggle in Cindy. She quickly pulled back and started breathing heavily through her open mouth. Moments later, the gag closed completely, forcing her to slow down her huffing.
As she recovered, Alex sat down beside her, leaning against the padded wall. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap, making her sit between his legs.
"It's been around a month since your punishment started," Alex said with a reminiscent expression and grabbed both her breasts, squeezing them. She squealed pitifully and moved her restrained legs to express her struggle.
"I think you've understood your mistake by now, right, Cindy?" He asked, lightly tugging her clamped nipples.
Cindy moaned throatily in response, expressing her agreement.
"That's good. I'm going to use you as bait to lure Shang-Chi out into the open soon. Otherwise, your punishment would have lasted for a while longer."
Cindy let out a resistant groan, trying to turn her head to look at Alex.
"Shh," he spoke in her ear, "be good." Immediately, Alex pulled off the two clamps from her nipples.
Cindy let out a guttural squeal and writhed in Alex's arms, shaking in resistance as she attempted to free her limbs from their restraints. Alex hugged her tightly to keep her still and lightly nibbled her ear.
"You're my good spider," he whispered soothingly. "After enduring such a long punishment, I'm going to reward you, okay?"
Alex lightly tugged Cindy's nipples, which still had the marks of the jagged plates that were crushing her poor nubs. She let out another pained moan, wiggling to get herself away from the stimulation. Sadly, the straightjacket was foolproof, keeping her completely restrained in Alex's arms.
He freed one of her nipples and brought his free hand down to her crotch. Immediately unbuckling the strap that went over her crotch, Alex grabbed the toy that was still vibrating inside her pussy.
Cindy thought that he would take it out, but he pressed it further in, and she felt it stirring further. It morphed and clamped itself on her labia as a sort of bead seemed to get pressed against her clit. She wiggled unsuccessfully as her master continued teasing her nipples, and the dildo inside her pussy went even deeper.
"I'll show you how pleasurable an anal orgasm can be," Alex whispered in her ear, and her eyes widened.
Before she could show her reaction to his words, Cindy felt a hand on the back of her neck that pushed her down. She found her face pressed against the padded floor as the man behind her made her raise her hips. He pulled out the toy that was inside her butt and inserted his fingers.
She resisted with a muffled moan, but it came out as a squeal as the toy inside her pussy started vibrating even more intensely alongside the bead that was pressed against her clit. She felt like she would cum within seconds, but something seemed to hold her back. It was a torturous few seconds as she felt her master's fingers exploring her ass while her orgasm continued to be delayed.
Seconds later, she was begging and pleading for him to fuck her ass if it would allow her to cum. She couldn't take the edging anymore.
Alex seemed to hear her pleas and took his fingers out of her ass, instead pressing his cock against her puckered hole. Cindy couldn't be bothered to wait and leaned backward, attempting to take him inside herself.
"So impatient," Alex spanked her ass as she released a pained squeal but didn't stop her hips.
He finally gave in and grabbed her hips before pushing forward, finally entering her ass. He didn't go slow, instead fully penetrating Cindy's ass. He also freed the block on her orgasm, making her squirt all over the floor just as he entered her.
"What a slut. I merely entered you, and you came so hard…" Alex spanked her ass and felt her skin shivering from the orgasm.
He finally started moving, fucking her ass. At the same time, Cindy moaned with difficulty while trying to take weak breaths. Each of his thrusts was making her feel like she was about to die, but at the same time, she felt electrifying jolts of pleasure with each thrust. Before she knew it, she came once again.
Unable to stretch her legs, forced to keep her arms in place as her face was pressed against the floor, she couldn't do anything but accept the violent pleasure that rocked her body. Just as she felt like she would faint, she could orgasm once again, causing her to widen her eyes in response.
As time passed, Cindy didn't even know how many times she came from being fucked in the ass before her master finally climaxed. As his violent thrusts slowed down, she found herself huffing in relief, glad that it was soon going to be over.
'Oh no…'
She realized that her thoughts were too naive as she felt Alex moving after a few seconds. He didn't seem satisfied with a single round.
-x-X-x-
By the time everything wrapped up, Cindy was barely conscious. He slipped her out of her restraints and put her in the bed to allow her to rest up after the intense reward session.
Soon, morning came along and Cindy woke up completely refreshed. She was surprised for a few seconds when she realized that she was freed from her restraints, followed by blushing embarrassedly after recalling the events of the previous night.
[Move to Stark Tower. It's time to lure your past demons out and take care of them once and for all.]
"I will," she nodded before getting out of bed. Her choker extended down her naked body and quickly formed Alex's Venomized version of her Silk outfit as she walked out of the warehouse. Shooting a web at a nearby building, she instantly took to the air, swinging through the city to quickly reach the concrete forest that was downtown Manhattan.
…
Stark Tower.
"You guys will have another member joining your team," Alex told the two Neo Avengers who remained after everyone else had been dismissed. They had all been told to continue their previous operations without any changes.
"Mister… Apex, I believe you have read our files. We don't particularly work well with others," one of them said. He was a man of African-American descent but his entire body was covered under a cloak, leaving only his face visible. His physical features gave an odd feeling as if nothing was under the cloak, and it was merely held up by an ethereal power other than the man's body.
"I have read them and also talked to Strange about your situation. But you two will be the perfect people for the operation. Both of your powers work very well in conjunction with each other and will allow you to hold Shang Chi back for just long enough until I and the others can make a move."
"Since it's so important, we should just agree. This is what we joined this team for, didn't we?" The second member of the duo spoke up. She, unlike the ghostly man, was starkly angelic. With blonde hair and blue eyes, she seemed to radiate an ethereal aura of light that gave the illusion of a halo of light behind her.
"Fine," the ghostly male agreed begrudgingly.
"Don't be so concerned. I'm sure you will get along with Silk," Alex crossed his arms and spoke, keeping another thought to himself.
'It's a spider person. I'm sure they'll get along.'
As they waited, their third team member was escorted up to the main hall.
"There she is," Alex nodded to Cindy.
"I'm happy to be here, sir," she acted the part of an overenthusiastic hero, ready to do good.
"Your past track record isn't that well hidden, Silk," Alex chuckled. "You don't need to pretend. Once this mission is over, you will receive your agreed-upon reward."
"As long as it's clear," Silk's demeanor changed as she nodded stiffly.
"Now, go on, you three are already late. You have ten sites to check," Alex hurried them along and was finally left alone in the huge hall.
He sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
'How tiresome…'
He wasn't talking about the situation with Shang-Chi. That one was still relatively mellow compared to some of the other things he was dealing with at the moment.
…
Two days passed and things were going by normally. All of the smaller teams among the Neo Avengers continued to dismantle the bombs that Shang-Chi's people were actively planting, continuing the stalemate.
No one particularly stood out for now and everyone seemed to be waiting for something to happen.
"I don't think it's working," Emma Frost spoke up.
The Illuminati had convened to discuss a further plan of action.
"We need to wait," Alex said. "Cindy is a trap that Shang-Chi will walk into willingly even if he knows about it."
"Why would he be so stupid?" Tony asked.
"Just the correct mixture of arrogance, pride, and confidence in his backing," Alex said. "Wouldn't you also feel invincible if you had the power to utilize the powers of two Infinity Stones at your behest without any accompanying costs?"
"How can you be so sure that there are no accompanying costs?" Dr. Strange asked. "I have used the Time Stone in the past, and I had to channel its power through the Mystic Arts, lest the mere weight of that power obliterate me."
"Because I have seen him use the Reality Stone at no cost to himself. Not to mention, you shouldn't underestimate Scarlet Angel. With her command over her Chaos Magic, she can perform nonsensical feats that completely defy reality."
"Sometimes I wish to believe that you are merely bluffing… trying to make her threat seem more than it actually is," King T'Challa spoke with a defeated sigh. "Sadly, I have seen with my own two eyes the decimation she brings wherever she goes."
"You don't know the half of it. And this was going to happen sooner or later. The emergence of certain characters whose ambitions blanket reality. She's not the only one who has the ambition to either take over this cluster or destroy it."
A somber mood pervaded through the room, bringing a heavy silence with it.
"But you don't need to worry. The ones who can bring that kind of an onslaught won't. For now. They are all wary of the Celestials. After all, Earth itself is the germination site of a Celestial. If someone kills all of the planet's inhabitants or outright destroys it, it can lead to a Celestial taking action. Even with the Infinity Stones, they would be hard-pressed to endure the incoming retaliation."
"And you won't?" Emma Frost spoke up. "You are also taking over planet after planet, trying to bring them all under your banner. Aren't you afraid of the retaliation of these celestial beings?"
"Celestials," Alex corrected, "with a capital C. They are one of the foremost races of the universe, having existed since before the birth of this Firmament, responsible for the creation of the multitude of universes, but I'm getting ahead of myself. To answer your query, I have my own plans to deal with the germinating celestial inside this planet. But you can rest assured, I won't allow this Earth to spontaneously explode due to a planetary life form emerging from the inside of your planet."
A sigh from Doctor Strange pulled everyone's attention to himself. "He speaks the truth. There are records hidden in the deepest recesses of the history of the Sorcerers. They mention these Celestials. Gods of unfathomable depths. They were the first wielders of the Infinity Stones and shaped reality as we know it. They are the gods that life itself originates from."
"Don't look so glum, everyone. For now, you should just put your faith in me and patiently wait for my plans to come to fruition."
…
That night.
"It's not working," Alex sighed.
"What isn't?" Gwen asked from his side. They were cuddling on the couch while watching a movie.
"Shang-Chi isn't taking the bait," Alex said. "Either he's moved on or he's preparing something. I don't have the patience to wait for it."
"Then why don't we break into his base? We could take the fight to him."
"Too risky," Alex shook his head. "With the Reality Stone in his hand, he can easily modify any environment to his will. Who knows what he has prepared if we decide to break into his base? I know he can't do anything to me or you, but I can't protect the entire city or even the entire state if he decides to take everything down with him in a massive explosion."
"So what are you going to do?"
"Something that I'm still hesitant about…" Alex said. "He not only has access to the Reality Stone but also the Mind Stone. I'm concerned about how much of the Mind Stone's authority I need to channel to affect his mind."
"You're thinking of manipulating him into coming out in the open…" Gwen said.
"Yes. But I need to do it quickly enough that he doesn't have any time to summon the authority of the Mind Stone to protect his mind. Emma Frost already failed when she tried to infiltrate his mind. Even though Scarlet Angel is too busy to pay too much attention to Shang-Chi, me using my fragment of the Mind Stone to infiltrate his mind is bound to alert her."
"I don't know if it will work… but what about empowering Emma Frost's abilities to attack Shang-Chi? Maybe she can do it."
"No can do. I don't trust her enough to not turn around and attack me in her empowered state. I'll just weather through the cost and overpower Shang-Chi before he has the time to call upon his connection to the Stone."
"How do you know so much about him?" Gwen couldn't help but ask. "I know for a fact that you aren't constantly monitoring him. So how are you so sure about his preparations? The whole thing about him not actually having the stones… his plans to blow the state to oblivion in case all else fails. How do you know so much?"
"I have my sources," Alex smiled, not divulging any more information.
"Fine then, keep your secrets," she huffed.
Alex kissed the side of her face before closing his eyes. Deciding to use the Mind Stone.
Just as Alex started channeling the Authority of the Mind Stone, it started consuming his Bioenergy. Moving as fast as possible, he visualized an infinite number of threads connected to the stone that extended throughout the universe. Using his immense mental prowess, he was able to isolate the thread that was connected to Shang Chi. It was much more robust than the other threads, with a faint presence of the same Mind Authority that he was utilizing to examine the thread. That presence protected Shang Chi's mind from being glimpsed by Alex. The mere connection to an Infinity Stone provided him with a defense against such an intrusion.
'This is going to be troublesome…'
Immediately his Bioenergy reserves took a sharp decline to allow him to mitigate the backlash of channeling so much Mind Authority. Before Shang Chi could even notice the intrusion, Alex stopped the channeling of Mind Authority, merely leaving a simple yet effective suggestion that would make it impossible for Shang Chi to continue delaying attacking Cindy.
[EP -12563]
From having somewhere around twenty thousand units of Bioenergy, Alex directly went back down to the four digits. But it would be fine. Direct Combat against Shang Chi would consume his EP, but it would be nowhere near this close. All he needed to do was restrain Shang Chi from using the Infinity Stones and subdue or devour him. Even if he didn't generate any more EP in that duration, it wouldn't affect Alex.
'Now, to wait for him to make his move.'
…
"What do you mean hundreds of sites?!" One of the more unruly team leaders among the Neo Avengers spoke up. "We were already stretched thin with the last setting. How the hell do you expect us to clear twenty sites per team?"
"That is the intelligence that we have received from the reconnaissance division. Just like before, they have predicted the presence of more than five hundred bomb sites throughout the state today. We don't have the time to argue, nor do we have the manpower to lessen your burdens. Now get to work, people; we have a state to protect."
The reason that the people listened to Captain America's words and promptly dispersed was that not only was she managing all of the communications with the different teams, but she was also doing her best to work on disarming the bombs that were littered throughout the city.
"I feel that today's the day," Dagger spoke to Silk. "They are going all out to spread us thin. Are we confident that we can hold the ambush off long enough?"
"It's going to be fine. We only need to hold them off for a moment. Apex and the rest can directly teleport to us the moment they realize that we are being attacked."
"I hope so…" Cloak spoke in a ghostly voice.
As the hours passed, the team was already feeling stretched thin.
"Does this guy have his entire country backing him?" Dagger grumbled as she blinded three men who were about to shoot at their group. "How is it that every base we strike, we need to deal with so many people? How did so many people enter the country in the first place?"
"Who knows?" Cindy grumbled, effortlessly taking care of four men who wielded electric batons.
Soon, they made their way to the bomb, and a small drone shot out of the communicator on Dagger's wrist, attaching itself to the bomb. Moments later, it was disarmed.
A tired breath escaped Silk's mask, "Onto the next one."
"Maybe not," Cloak's ghostly voice stopped her in her tracks. She saw the ghost man looking up at the ceiling as if expecting something to happen.
Just as Cloak looked up in the air, Silk turned her head, only to see sparks materialize in the air beside her. Just as the portal was about to open, an aura of red blanketed the entire building. The sparks died, immediately warping away the portal.
"Shang Chi," Silk spoke in a soft voice as footsteps echoed through the hall. Her teammates immediately looked at the approaching figure.
"You never thought such a day would come, did you, Cindy Moon?" The man spoke in a chilling voice.
"Your name's Cindy?" Dagger asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. Her grave tone gave away her stress.
"My fight is against her," Shang Chi said. "You two should stand back."
"Wouldn't that completely defeat the purpose of the team?" Dagger chuckled.
"They didn't tell you why I'm trying to kill her, did they?" Shang Chi said, still approaching them with calm, measured steps. "I'll tell you." Just as he was about to continue, the dome of crimson that he was maintaining started flickering as a loud sound reverberated throughout the building.
"Maybe some other time then," the man growled as a ring glowed on his finger, and he suddenly accelerated, appearing right in front of Cindy.
She barely raised her arm to block the attack, but it still blew her away as he used the five rings on his wrist to create a shockwave that assaulted her.
"You're weaker than I thought," the man spoke, effortlessly avoiding the attacks of Cloak and Dagger as he appeared in front of Cindy again.
"And you think you're smarter than you actually are," Cindy spat as the front of her mask got stained with her blood. Shang Chi was about to attack her once again, but he was forced to pause as he saw the intrusion in his Reality Bubble that would prevent any spatial intrusion.
A crack appeared in space as Alex broke through the restriction with the raw strength of Wanda's newly empowered Chaos Magic. He stepped out of it, adorned in a formal suit, making it seem like he was here for a diplomatic meeting rather than a battle. His appearance was just the first of many as after the crack closed behind him, it was followed by more cracks appearing in the domain as more and more people entered.
"Stand down, Shang Chi," Doctor Strange spoke. "You're outmatched."
The man in question just gave a chuckle in response, "Am I now?" He asked rhetorically.
Instantly, everyone in the room found themselves facing a doppelgänger.
"Don't get in my way," The man growled hatefully as the doppelgängers started attacking their respective opponents.
"Cool training practice…" Alex mumbled as he looked at his opponent. It was as if he was looking into a mirror. "That is if the use of the Reality Stone wasn't fueled by literally sucking out the essence of an incubating Celestial…"
[How do you know so much about that Wanda? Have you already infiltrated her base?]
[With her command over Chaos Magic, I can't get close to her without her finding out.]
[Then how?] Gwen asked as she faced her doppelgänger. The two had identical Apex suits and even their abilities and fighting styles were identical.
[You'll find out in time. Once I integrate your planet into my Gaia Cluster, I'll bring you to infiltrate Scarlet Angel's forces.]
[You should go save Cindy. She seems to be in bad shape.]
[It's a pity to waste such a useful training partner…] Alex lamented as he utilized Mind Authority to combat the Reality Authority that Shang-Chi used to conjure up Gwen's doppelgänger.
[Still, you should fight Shang-Chi. I still have to be ready for any surprises we might encounter.]
Instead of using the ability of the Mind Stone, he made its authority clash against the Reality Stone's authority with a brute force attack, directly dispelling the clone. She didn't delay for even a moment and shot her web at the wall behind Shang-Chi.
Cindy was barely holding on against the man's onslaught as he used the various esoteric powers of the Mandarin's Rings to suppress her. That was when she felt a familiar presence. Gwen's web got attached to the wall right beside her as Shang-Chi was forced to step aside for her entry.
"How about a round two?" Gwen spoke as her black suit took up a tint of blue, empowered by her bio-electricity.
"Spider Woman," Shang-Chi growled. "I guess you two must find solidarity in the murders you've committed. Hypocrites."
"Maybe I'm not actually hero material after all. Most of my actions were more about making up for my mistakes than actually helping people," Gwen's chuckle was self-deprecating. "But I think I'll unpack that once you are dealt with."
"You are not my opponent," Shang-Chi spoke as he focused on Cindy, attacking her with a shockwave that was released from the five rings on his wrist. One of the rings on his fingers also glowed as Influence empowered the released shockwave.
Gwen was quick to discharge a chunk of her Bioenergy that was empowered by Alex's new ‹Lightning Divinity›. She redirected the shockwave as it destroyed multiple pillars of the building and made a huge hole the size of a bus.
"This time, you won't be able to cheat by using an Infinity Stone."