Chapter 92: What is Around Us
Harlem, New York
"Please save any other questions until after the presentation," Legal announced. "I promise you, once the demonstration is complete, most, if not all, your questions will be answered."
He opened his palm and gestured toward Jeremy York. "Mr. York and I will accommodate all of you to the best of our ability. Legal didn't wait for replies and continued, his back to the gathered. He narrated the visuals, pausing only on topics of conflict, like gods. He gave them a rundown on gods and how they affected human civilization. Jeremy had also updated them about the many existing pantheons; he estimated them as super-powered aliens.
The hardlight broke part before reforming. Another hour had passed, and nobody had even mentioned a break; the attention to detail they had constructed almost made you feel like you were there.
"They are–" he said while gesturing to the hologram.
"The Brood," Cole finished. The hardlight reconstructed at his pushing, making them life-size, or in this case more significant than life, as the menacing insectoid hissed and slashed out with his claw's arms. Legal nodded, not mentioning that Cole should not interrupt.
"Oh my, are those things here?" Dr. Perry leaned back in horror as the creature clambered across the table. The sudden display of aggression caused many to shout and scream in horror.
"Unfortunately, they're here; a small contingent has crash-landed around our southern borders," he explained as he commandeered satellite imagery to show the crash location. The ship had yet to be discovered as it was sequestered in a hard-to-enter mountainous region.
"Shouldn't this be reported? This is an invasion, we ca-"
"Doctor Perry, Reporting this would shine a light on us; that's something we can't do now," he answered, continuing his spill. "The problem will be solved soon." Legal looked toward Cole, and the teen nodded. The video shifted to live feeds of the ATC soldiers inside Mexico, fighting The Brood.
Bullseye had captured Nightcrawler, but the sheer magnitude of Bobby Drake's powers was too much even for Scorch. Legal noticed a sparkle in Cole's eyes as they watched the mutant freeze half a city block.
"These are mutants, genetic offshoots of Homosapiens. The blue mutant particular subgroup, the Neyaphem, which could be related to the Nephilim in the Bible."
The hardlight image zoomed out, and Earth was depicted before the figurative Earth spun and the overhead view zoomed in. It was blurry but enough to showcase Atlantis.
"This is Atlantis, and yes, it's the fabled city that sunk thousands of years ago."
"Is that a Mermaid?" A scientist spoke up, adjusting his glasses.
"Homo Mermanus, they prefer Atlanteans, though," Legal answered.
"What cause-"
Cole interrupted with a sigh; even though he couldn't explain it entirely, he still had his ideas. "There are different opinions on the great cataclysm; all I can say without confusing you all further is that an entity, a fear lord, by the name of Dweller-in-the-Darkness is the only one that really can say, I'm not even positive the celest-"
Cole stopped noticing the frightening stares. "Apologies, I assure you that we're taking precautions."
Cole focused on the image and attempted to upscale it, but that failed. He wiped the image and used his memory to show what the Marvel version of Atlanteans looked like
The galaxy then shifted to highlight an island floating through space. It had buildings built on it in the medieval style. A vast golden palace is situated in the island's center, with a waterfall-like formation dropping water into the void.
"Asgard is the home of Skyfather Odin. As you might have guessed, our visitor Thor hails from this place." A video player of Thor fighting against a gigantic armor in the middle of a small towns
"Once upon a time, Odin reigned near supreme across the universe, conquering realm after realm, but after an incident thousands of years ago, they retreated into their realm and nowadays only guard the Nine Realms, of which Earth, or Midgard as they call it, is a part."
"Then we have Xandar." The hologram showed a planet that slightly resembled Earth, if not only slightly larger.
Legal spread his hands out, zooming in on an expansive city, unlike Earth. "This is the birthplace of the Nova Corps, a mercenary space exploration unit; like the United States, it had deemed itself the local space police; its purview extends toward our little slice of the universe. Unfortunately, they want to be able to weather what will be coming sooner or later." Xander had impressive futuristic skyscrapers that stretched into the sky and healthy biodiversity that Earth-polluted cities lacked that surrounded all their major cities. Also, like Earth, most of its surface was covered with water. The Innumerable space docks also littered its orbit clean and orderly, and ships continued to dock and undock from those facilities.
"The species is diverse; there lies the significant difference with us; this mega world of commerce and prestige has aliens of all sizes and shapes roaming around in public spaces, showcasing its multi-species and cultural normality.
"This is the civilization that we should pay close attention to. It is the closest galactic superpower we can learn from and have a reasonable chance of trading with. It won't be easy for the world at large, but for us, it's not an if but a when; our technology grows daily, and we have been limited to our CEO as the sole proprietor, with you all, some of the best minds of the country we could grow exponentially in a matter of months vs. decades."
"Apologies, but what reason will they have dealing with us? I can hazard a guess and say Xander knows of us, and by the technological gap, they have known about us for hundreds, if not thousands of years. My question is, will our reaching out to the stars paint a target on our back?"
Cole chuckled before Legal could respond. "That's a reasonable fear and a great question. Xander has known about us and has visited us numerous times alongside other empires outside our backwater planet. The issue is, Earth has had many protectors over the years to the extent that empires have tried but failed to conquer us."
He was still unaware of some events. He was under the illusion that the X-men thwarted the last attempted invasion. He nodded toward Legal before standing. "As you can see, they are humanoid and share slight resemblances with ours, right?" The scientist nodded slowly. "The Xandar empire as a whole is multi-species. What makes you assume Earthlings are omitted?" Another image showed a normal-looking human male and female couple strolling down the street.
"They accept many other species with open arms without discrimination. There is no need for Xander to conquer us. We could offer them our genetics, mutants, or an enhanced population on Earth, which is by far the largest in the galaxy. Xander's technology has also evolved to develop with the nature of their planet rather than against it. Earth, in comparison, is dying, albeit slowly, but she is perishing still.
Cole walked near Legal. "I recommend any of you Interested in this planet choose too, as it is not compulsory to take the soon-to-be-available off-world flight."
Stuart's silence broke as he asked rather loudly. "You're cable of space exploration?"
Cole said. "It's not us being capable, but when we're ready to depart, I could have departed months ago.
"Next is Olympus." The hologram showed a bubble inside a shining gold building.
"Before you ask, yes, they are the same Olympians that early humans used to worship. They have left Earth and reside in a pocket dimension they call an 'Omnipotence City.' Their leader is Zeus, who is said to have matched Odin in combat ability. However, that is yet to be proven because I know that Odin in his rime was someone even Celestials would hesitate to fight with."
At the question marks that must have floated above their heads, he clarified, "Celestials are the first beings to come into existence after the Big Bang. As such, they are naturally among the most powerful species ever in our universe, depending on who you ask. They are planet-sized beings; one had visited us before and wiped out life on the planet, and their abilities are widespread: Energy manipulation, matter manipulation, spatial manipulation, you name it, and they probably have someone in their midst with that ability."
He hurriedly said, their growing looks of horror, "Don't worry. The last time anybody saw a celestial was centuries ago, and even if you did encounter them, they barely interact with any species as they consider us below them."
'There was also their genetic meddling that he suspects was prevalent in this reality of Eart.'
"Ant and a Blue Whale would be an apt comparison regarding the scale of impact on the cosmos around us." That didn't diminish their growing concerns, as the looks of horror remained on all of their faces.
"Anyway, the next would be Kree." The hologram shifted to show a planet completely devoid of nature. No forests or trees littered the surface of the Earth. Water covered most of the planet, but it looked utterly artificial as if it was still water and not flowing like seawater. The zoomed view showed a Tall, blue humanoid alien.
"They are the most war-mongering species in the galaxy—well, of course, apart from the Skrulls." The image of a Skrullwas mentioned. Shapeshifters, our national hero and ultimate spymaster had granted them refugee status," he said humorously.
"With that, I expect you, the chosen few, to prepare, double down, and prepare more, and create technology for the coming hurdles and illumination of events that will inspire some but incite fear in the vast majority."
Cole stood from his chair. "Your bio-contacts and iPads have all the information stored. Please look over what we discussed. The HR Teams will take the floor and assign each of you to their respective departments. I wish each of you a good rest of the day, and once again, welcome aboard."