"Thor?"
Nick Fury leaned back slightly, the name rolling through his mind as he processed Coulson's report. It wasn't the first time he'd encountered something that sounded absurd on paper but turned out to be very real, and that memory alone kept him from dismissing it outright.
After all, he had already crossed paths with Captain Marvel—a cosmic-level powerhouse who made the boundaries of Earth feel laughably small. Compared to that, the existence of a so-called Norse god didn't seem nearly as impossible as it once would have.
This world was bigger than most people could comprehend.
And Fury understood that better than most.
Still, that didn't mean he was willing to take everything at face value.
He narrowed his eye slightly, his voice carrying a layer of skepticism as he spoke. "Are you absolutely sure this guy isn't just some elaborate con artist?"
Coulson shook his head without hesitation, a trace of excitement still present in his tone. "No doubt about it. We analyzed his cellular structure—it's beyond anything normal. Even stripped of whatever power he claims to have lost, his baseline physiology is… extraordinary."
He paused briefly, recalling the interrogation details.
"According to him, his father took his power away. But even in that state, his body shows incredible potential."
Fury tapped his fingers lightly against the desk, his expression shifting from skepticism to calculation as the implications settled in. A being like that wasn't just a curiosity—it was an asset.
"Then we treat him well," Fury said slowly, his voice taking on a more deliberate edge. "Very well."
There was a pause, then he added with a faint, almost unreadable smile, "Like a prize asset."
Coulson nodded, already understanding where this was going.
"We've arranged for a… specialized reception team," he said, choosing his words carefully. "Professionals."
From a scientific standpoint, the implications were staggering. Genetic compatibility, enhanced reproduction potential, biological advancement—if even a fraction of it held true, the possibilities were enormous.
If the king of Asgard knew what S.H.I.E.L.D. was planning, there was no doubt he'd be furious.
But for Fury?
This was just another opportunity.
…
While S.H.I.E.L.D. quietly moved their pieces behind the scenes, the situation on the surface had already flipped completely.
The Avengers, once hailed as symbols of justice, found themselves drowning under the weight of public backlash. Every word, every decision, every misstep was being dragged into the spotlight and dissected without mercy.
Meanwhile, Dr. Lizard's reputation soared.
The media crowned him with a new title—Green Dragon—and the narrative shifted in his favor almost overnight. What had once been fear turned into admiration, and the monster they had condemned became the figure they now praised.
And through it all, one detail remained consistent.
Leo.
The armored turtle who had shattered Iron Man's attack and turned the tide of battle.
At his invitation, Dr. Connors followed him away from the chaos, stepping into a completely different world.
The moment he crossed into Locke's domain, his senses were overwhelmed.
Figures moved everywhere, organized yet relentless—the Shadow Legion, operating with precision and purpose. Not far away, Doctor Octopus worked alongside advanced machinery, his mechanical arms moving with practiced efficiency.
Nearby, Carnage trained with brutal intensity, while the other turtles pushed themselves to their limits.
And then—
Dr. Connors saw it.
Towering golden trees stretched toward the sky, their presence overwhelming, ancient, and sacred. They radiated something beyond power—something closer to divinity—and standing beneath them was a single figure.
Locke.
The center of it all.
The axis around which everything revolved.
"That's Lord Locke…" Doctor Octopus said, stepping forward as he greeted his former colleague with a mixture of pride and familiarity.
Their shared past at Oscorp flashed through Connors' mind—long nights, endless research, desperate attempts to secure funding and prove their ideas.
Back then, they had been equals.
Now?
Everything had changed.
Otto had risen.
And Connors… had fallen.
A quiet sigh escaped him as he reflected on how differently their paths had unfolded.
But Otto didn't let him linger there.
"It's not the end," he said firmly, his voice carrying conviction. "It's just starting over."
He began recounting his own story—the failure, the brink of death, and the turning point that changed everything. Without Locke's intervention, he would have died at Iron Man's hands.
Instead?
He rose higher than ever.
Not only had he humiliated Tony Stark, he had surpassed him, breaking the monopoly Stark Industries once held over energy technology. The nuclear reactor he developed had become the foundation for a new future—one where even the poorest could access affordable energy.
"This is what technology is supposed to do," Otto said, his eyes burning with purpose. "Change the world."
Connors listened, his emotions stirring as the vision took hold.
He wanted that too.
He wanted his work—his research on limb regeneration—to matter, to spread, to help people everywhere. He was so close to a breakthrough, just one step away, but everything had fallen apart before he could reach it.
Who would trust a monster?
Who would fund a lizard?
His voice caught in his throat as frustration and helplessness surfaced.
And then—
Locke spoke.
"I have high expectations for you, Dr. Connors," he said calmly, his voice carrying a quiet authority that silenced everything else. "I'm willing to fund your research."
For a moment, Connors couldn't respond.
"You… believe me?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Locke's expression didn't change.
And that was enough.
Emotion surged through Connors, his eyes stinging as he bowed deeply, overwhelmed by the opportunity placed in front of him. Despite everything—his transformation, the accusations, the rejection—someone still saw value in him.
He hadn't lost everything.
Not yet.
And as that realization settled in, a new light appeared in his eyes—bright, determined, alive.
Hope.
"Thank you… thank you…" he said, bowing again and again, unable to fully express what this meant to him.
In that moment, it wasn't just his life that had been saved.
It was his purpose.
[Ding! Congratulations, host. Dr. Lizard's storyline has been completed. Rewards are being calculated.]
[Ding! You have obtained Umbrella Corporation Progenitor Virus research data.]
[Ding! Dr. Otto's emotional response has triggered a bonus. Rewards doubled.]
[Ding! You have obtained: Immortal Sword – Wood Spirit Orb.]
[Ding! You have obtained: Immortal Sword – Thunder Spirit Orb.]
If Connors was overwhelmed with gratitude—
Locke was focused on something else entirely.
The Progenitor Virus data was useful, sure, but it wasn't what caught his attention.
The real prize lay elsewhere.
The Wood Spirit Orb.
The Thunder Spirit Orb.
Combined with his existing abilities—the Divine Tree bloodline and the power of Enel's Lightning Fruit—these weren't just enhancements.
They were multipliers.
Power stacking on power.
Synergy on top of synergy.
And the result?
Something far beyond simple addition.
In the mythology of The Legend of Sword and Fairy, these spirit orbs represented the core forces of the world itself—wind, thunder, water, fire, and earth—created by the goddess Nuwa as embodiments of ultimate elemental power.
Even if this version was weaker—
Even if it was just a fragment of the original concept—
For Locke, it was perfect.
He was still climbing.
Still evolving.
And tools like this?
They didn't just help.
They accelerated everything.
Exponentially.
A faint smile formed on his lips as he felt the power settling into place, integrating seamlessly with what he already possessed.
The system wasn't just giving him abilities.
It was building something greater.
Something broken.
And Locke?
He was more than ready to see just how far it could go.
.....
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