Cerion took a page out of AIM's and HYDRA's playbook. Over the years, he had been keeping close watch over the activities of both organisations from a safe distance. HYDRA manufactured events that broke the minds of their prospective recruits and later built them ground up before recruiting into their cabal. There was a surgical precision and process behind HYDRA's recruit drive as they broke every tether that bound their recruits in the world before making the HYDRA agents.
It was an effective method, but it was also one of the reasons why HYDRA remained a minority within SHIELD. They could not aggressively expand their operations or the recruit pool for fear of discovery. What they lacked in quantity, they make up for in quality.
Besides, the current scope of HYDRA's existence called for a compact organisation that waged war using intelligence and causing chaos behind the lines. They were not strong enough in muscle power yet. Their effectiveness depended on anonymity.
AIM was another creature entirely. They recruited their muscle power from former Navy SEALs and Marine Corps. The little bastards were tied up close with drug gangs and used those connections to recruit their grunts. They also recruited disabled veterans by offering them their magic cure, which was an unstable element.
But Cerion saw the merit in these two organisations. Taking valuable lessons from these two organisations but also seeing the defects for what it was, he pitched a whole new drive. Cerion also mainly concentrated on the veterans. Post 9/11 attack and the war, there were no shortages of veterans discharged by the military. Some were absorbed into different branches of the government, but some unlucky few were left to fend for themselves.
To create inroads into that diaspora of the populace, he used the social obligations of the corporate sector to get in contact under the guise of 'giving back to the community'. Not only did he gain valuable insight into the private lives of many veterans, but he also connected with several support groups, social activists, and aspiring politicians.
It was a win-win as far as he was concerned. The first few recruits were quite simple. Playing dress up as an angel was pretty effective in convincing people to leave their shitty lives to work for him. It was not as if he was planning to turn them into mindless drones, terrorists, or, god forbid, into cliché villains. He targeted some of the worst vulnerable people suffering from alcohol addiction, drug abuse, bad cases of PTSD and crippling injuries. He had them transported to Koron and gave them the help they needed.
Restoring their health was an easy affair. Krypton had mastered the art of cloning. Restoring lost limbs and purging drug dependency were easy procedures, especially for humans. Simply restoring their health was not the extent of his work. But he made Thomas, Derek, Brynn, Vincent and Michelle whole again in the truest sense.
Once he restored their health, he had them engaged in a training program designed to enhance their tactical and self-defence skills. He mostly copied some of the stuff SHIELD and HYDRA agents went through during their training period using Proxima's interface. It was mostly mild stuff to get them back in shape and to get them familiar with their restored body.
"Welcome, everyone. If you've noticed why there are only six of you instead of more, don't worry. That's because you six are the first batch of recruits I tracked down. From now on, I won't be recruiting as that job will fall squarely on you six." Cerion said as he addressed the five men and one woman in the team.
"But before I say anything, I hope you've introduced yourselves to each other."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Your time in the army might've prepared you for chaotic warfare and even controlled high-risk combat zones, but I'm here to prepare you for a war of a different scale."
"A different scale?" Thomas asked.
"A war against hostile extraterrestrial civilisations that only know to wage wars of conquest and genocide on a planetary scale." Cerion said as images of hundreds of planets started popping up around the room with their massive fleet of ships.
"That's…" Michelle looked at the images with wide eyes. "…impossible!"
"That's a lot of spaceships, and they're all huge." Brynn muttered.
"Yeah. That's not good." Derek said, casting worried glances at the images.
"Who are you really?" Vincent asked, tearing his eyes away from the imagery and looking expectantly at Cerion.
By now, Cerion had clarified that he was no archangel or even the measly easter bunny. It had taken him some considerable effort to convey that he was no religious figure. But it was well worth it, in his opinion. The fawning and praying was horrible.
"Someone with an interest in seeing the human species survive intact through the coming storm. And for that to happen, I think the best option is to expand your species beyond the bounds of your planet."
"You want to use us to colonise another planet?" Michelle asked with a frown.
"Yes. There are many uninhabited planets in the galaxy that can support life, and this is the best way to ensure the survival of your race."
"Why is our survival important to you, sir?" Michelle asked eventually after a brief moment of silence.
"I am a survivor of an apocalypse. I do not wish to see it happen again, and the best way to ensure the survival of a race is to spread it out among the stars." Cerion answered honestly.
He had thought much about what he wanted to do by recruiting humans. Ever since he had learned about the sleeping Celestial in the Earth's core, he couldn't think about anything else but escaping the planet. The Earth was a ticking time bomb, and he had no idea how long it'd take for the Celestial to emerge. According to the Eternals, the Emergence would begin once the host planet reached the peak of its civilisation in terms of population and collective consciousness.
Maybe it'd not happen for a thousand years, or perhaps it'd happen within a week. Either way, Cerion wanted no part in watching another planet explode. This was why he was expediting one of his old plans to move out of Earth and set up shop elsewhere. It didn't mean he was permanently moving out, but he wanted a fallback planet in case Earth became a pile of floating rocks when the space giant woke up from its slumber.
"The colonising part comes later, as your planet is still safe. This is merely a precautionary action. It's possible that external forces might not even play a role in the destruction of your planet. You might do that yourself." Cerion said with a shrug.
"What do you mean?" Thomas asked with a frown.
"The divisions in Earth's societies are too large to mend anytime soon. I'm afraid my own interference might've only made it worse. That's why I hope to enlist your aid in creating a new human settlement on another planet, but without the divisions you see now on Earth."
"To what end?" Michelle asked curiously.
"So that there is a thriving human colony in case something happens to Earth. You're aware that the war in the Middle East is escalating to a level that is bordering a world war."
"You fear a nuclear holocaust?" Thomas asked with trepidation.
"Hopefully, it won't come to that, but the latest intelligence I've gathered from the US govt suggests that the higher-ups are planning to expand the war into Yemen, Oman, Iraq, Syria and Iran. If this plan goes through, then the war will drag on for nearly a decade with a huge body count on both sides."
The troubled look he saw among the recruits showed they understood the gravity of the situation.
"But why would…"
"The shipping in the Red Sea is facing increasing attacks, and it's pulling NATO into a direct conflict with Iran and other local terrorist groups." Cerion explained the situation.
"It'll only take a small flare to light the powder keg." Michelle muttered with a thoughtful frown.
"Yes. Will you help me to ensure the survival of your race?" Cerion asked.
He could already see he had their cooperation. It was written on their faces.
"There are other reasons as well, and you'll learn them in time. For now, you need to prepare."
****
Cerion watched from the balcony of his room as his newly recruited tactical team took on the obstacle course Optima had set up with the help of Shielders. The tiny purple discs that provided energy shields by floating alongside them were a bit difficult to get used to. But they were perfect for ultimate defence. The Shielders took away the need for any body armour, which increased the speed and manoeuvrability of the team. The beach was filled with light flares as the discs blocked all weapon discharges in the obstacle course.
He didn't expect the team to get into trouble anytime soon, but it was better to be trained for that scenario. Intelligence agencies worldwide were no pushovers, and working under their radar would take time, great skill, and patience.
He sat back in his plush chair and read the morning paper, enjoying the gentle wind caressing his face.
"So, you're going ahead with this plan of yours?" a familiar voice asked from behind his chair.
Cerion eyed the Ancient One out of the corner of his eyes as she moved closer to the railing, observing the team.
"The sleeping Celestial is a ticking time bomb waiting to destroy this planet. I think I'll sleep better on a planet that is not marked to explode anytime soon."
"Giving up so easily even before the battle had even begun. I expected you were far braver, Cerion." The Ancient One chided.
"There is bravery, and there is stupidity. You forget I've already lived through this situation once." Cerion eyed the bald sorceress with annoyance for disrupting his relaxing time.
"Are you telling me you've got no other motives, Cerion?"
He didn't rise to the bait and expose other reasons. He was intent on populating another planet with the human species. He had been experimenting with the warp drives he had collected from the Kree ships. Lately, he had thought of assimilating warp drives with the phantom drive technology of his Kryptonian ship. Theoretically, he was working on a new warp drive that could breach the folds of space, time, and reality itself.
But he didn't say anything about those plans to the Ancient One.
"Trust me, it's better to extract as many species from the planet as possible and give them a home elsewhere. My people's ruling govt dallied with their endless debates condemning our planet to mass extinction instead of sending Krypton's inhabitants to habitable planets. I won't make the same mistake again." Cerion said before going back to reading the newspaper.
"Hmm…" the Ancient One looked at him with suspicion.
"I suppose expanding humanity outside our solar system will not be a bad idea. If something were to happen to Earth, it'd be a blessing to have another planet ready to welcome refugees." She said while letting out a sigh.
"I'm glad you agree. Have you spoken to Thena and the other Eternals?"
"I have." The Ancient One nodded.
"Then you understand the Celestials are not beings that should be easily dismissed. They've created many star systems that support life and destroyed many planets for millions of years."
"I know. They're quite good at what they do." The Ancient One said softly.
"And they have an army of Eternals to do their dirty work. Harming the sleeping Celestial might invite their wrath upon this planet."
"I understand the danger we're in, Cerion. That's why I've denied their plan to kill the Celestial."
"Good." Cerion nodded, lounging back in his seat.
"But I've heard from Bruce you're developing a bioweapon against the Celestials." The Ancient One said, looking expectantly at him for an explanation.
Cerion let out an audible sigh.
"Is there a problem?" she asked curiously.
"Yes. Bruce has a big mouth." Cerion muttered.
"So… Are you?"
"Yes, but it's a last resort. According to Thena, the Celestial is sleeping at the planet's core. No bioweapon could survive the conditions of the Earth's core and afflict the Celestial. It'll be only during the Emergence that we could use the bioweapon against the Celestial."
"That'd leave us with a short time frame to act." She said with a displeased look.
"I know." Cerion sighed. "That's why I'm not as confident in depending on the bioweapon to our Celestial problem."
Cerion saw the Ancient One absently hold the sealed Time Stone on her necklace.
'The infinity stones. That might be the answer to many of my problems.' Cerion thought. 'But finding and holding them in my possession until my research pans out will be a hassle.'
He engaged the x-ray vision to look at the dreadnought in the bay. The ship had been ready for interstellar travel with an advanced warp drive, cutting down the time it takes for space travel.
Cerion supposed it was time to seek out the stones, and he knew the first one he had to track down.
****
Cerion kept his entire focus on structuring the parameters for the search to be conducted in the Kree archives. The data he had pulled from the old Kree base and the data cores he recovered from the Kree ships were a treasure trove of information.
"What exactly are you looking for, sir?" Optimal asked.
"A planet or a habitable moon with a peculiar temple occasionally submerged under water. It has no known intelligent life forms. It also has giant geysers." Cerion answered as he typed down the last bits of command prompts in the program before he let it run.
"Why this particular temple? Have you found this temple's deities worth worshipping?" Optimal asked.
"No. What makes you think I'd start worshipping strange deities on a planet I've never even visited?" he asked, eyeing Optimal incredulously.
"You've started celebrating the human religious festival of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. Based on that data, I merely extrapolated that you've found a new deity to worship. You've also started to pretend to be an Angel the humans of Earth revere." Optimal pointed out.
Cerion could only gape at the strangely logically sound argument from his AI.
"I suppose you've got a point there, but I'm not looking for a deity to worship." he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Then may I ask what you're searching, sir? Perhaps I could be of some help." Optima asked.
"I'm searching for an Infinity Stone. The Power Stone is somewhere safely kept in a temple inside an orb. The planet had a civilisation in the past, but they fell for some reason." Cerion explained.
"This temple is underwater?" Optima asked curiously.
"Perhaps," Cerion answered with a frown, as he didn't know all the details. "I don't know the planet's name, and I don't know what the Kree called the planet either."
"They have a penchant for naming different planets with alphanumeric codes." Optima reminded him.
"Yes. That's also a problem. So, please go through the data the Kree held on different planets and crosscheck them with the parameters I've included in the search program. Table a list of planets that checks out the parameters."
"It shall be done, sir."
Leaving Optima to handle the data mining of the Kree archives, he took a mat, a fridge full of beer and some hot dogs and made himself a camp at the beach. After putting some oil on his body, he allowed himself to relax as he let the sun do the work.
'Hmm…If only all my days were like this one.' Cerion thought, enjoying the sun on his skin while the waves crashed into the beach.
****
"Is this really necessary?" Thena asked.
"Absolutely," said Cerion, welcoming the four Eternals into the chamber where he had prepared all his advanced scanners beforehand for what was about to happen.
"I don't think this is a good idea." Druig commented with a disinterested look while leaning against the wall inside the chamber.
"You told me that your leader Ajak holds a communication device which she uses to keep the Celestials in the loop. Since we've established that you're synthetic beings, I suspect the Celestials hold a kill switch, so to speak."
"You mean Arishem would use it to kill us?" Gilgamesh asked, exchanging a worried look with Druig.
"Kill, control or remotely wipe your memories so you won't work against the Celestial prime directive. Take your pick." Cerion said while calibrating the sensors one last time.
Thena let out a sigh, but she climbed into the bed without complaint and lay down.
"Why, Thena? Why not one of us?" Gilgamesh asked.
"Because she already recovered her past memories, and so far, there seems to be no failsafe that activated to suppress her memories or personality within her. It means the Celestials are unaware of Thena accessing her suppressed memories."
"You can't take the risk of any security measures activating within us if you were to do that same to us." Druig said with a thoughtful look. "That's smart."
"I try." Cerion grinned. "This is the best bet to learn Eternal physiology. If I can study one of you, I can ensure your bodies remain in your control and not under the Celestials."
"You can access our brain…umm…" Gilgamesh trailed off in confusion about whether to call it a brain now that he knew he was not a biological lifeform.
"Your control module, yes." Cerion helpfully provided. "The scans should give me a detailed view of your interior systems, which should help develop a safe procedure to deactivate any failsafe embedded in the others."
"We should've contacted Phastos." Gilgamesh commented after a moment of silence.
"No. He is too close to Ajak like the others. It's better to keep this between us." Druig disagreed immediately.
"All right, Thena. I'm going to fire up the sensors. You ready?" Cerion looked up from the console he was working on.
"I'm ready. Let's do it." Thena said with a firm nod.
Cerion activated all scanners in the chamber, and Thena underwent a full body invasive scan. The interior circuitry and structuring of Thena's power and command core started to appear on his screen.
"Optima, analyse the data for outgoing transmission signals and communication devices." He ordered.
"There seem to be no working outgoing transmission signals, but I've identified an energy transmission module within Miss Thena." Optima reported.
Cerion sat up in interest as Optima projected a small portion near the control module, which generated thoughts, stored memories, and controlled the body's motor functions.
"This part right here," Cerion pointed at the projected image. "It seems to have the function of transmitting and absorbing vast amounts of energy and data. It is dormant for now, so you don't need to panic."
"But it is a cause for concern, right? Arishem could remotely access our bodies if he so wished." Thena asked worriedly.
"Yes, it's possible." Cerion nodded.
"Then we must find a way to prevent that from happening." Druig said firmly.
"I'll start working on modifying the receptors within your body. It'll take some time as I need to study your core systems before I make any modifications."
****
"Why're we doing this?" Jane asked as she faced Cerion in combat.
She was dressed in a form-fitting attire Optima provided. Most of her attire was made of Kevlar and some other unidentified material that allowed her flexibility. She had a half-sleeved Kevlar top, black pants, black boots, and a tactical belt on her waist. There was some equipment in her belt, but she had mostly glossed over the monotone explanation provided by Optima.
She had no prior experience with self-defence or anything remotely related to physical activity. Sure, she had the standard gym class in school, but she was not exactly an active participant.
Understandably, she was a little cross with her boyfriend for inviting her to his cosy island and asked to engage in a friendly spar when they could be cuddling in bed or sunbathing.
"Your body has undergone Terrigenesis, and you were treated with a modified super soldier serum to combat the infection. It's time that we test the extent of your powers."
"I'm all for testing my powers and limits, but we could be doing something else now." Jane said coyly with a wink.
"First training. After that, we'll see." Cerion said without hesitation, making Jane pout.
Ever since her boyfriend had a heart-to-heart talk with the group called Eternals, there was a drastic change. There was a flurry of activity on the island base, and Cerion was busier than usual. The number of rescheduled dates had gone well above ten in the last four months.
When an invitation came from her boyfriend to the island, she had hoped for an intimate getaway. Instead, she was saddled with physical training.
"All right. Let's get this over with." she sighed, raising her arms in a defensive posture.
Jane surged forward and threw a right hook, the only form of self-defence she had in her arsenal. Cerion easily deflected her punch, and so began their bout.
"What's the point of this exercise? I might be stronger than the average human, but I'm nowhere near as fast or strong as you." said Jane while attempting to kick the legs out from Cerion, but at the very last moment, he evaded her easily.
"You're right. You're not strong enough." Cerion caught her right fist while she tried to punch his abdomen.
Jane tried to elbow Cerion but found her left hand locked behind her back.
"You're not fast enough."
Jane tried to exert strength on her limbs to break free, but her arms didn't budge an inch.
"If you're trying to get yourself banned from my bed, you got it." Jane bit out, glaring at her dense boyfriend.
But to her surprise and fear, Cerion's eyes started to glow bright white. She knew he could blast concentrated pure fire out of his eyes. Enhanced or not, her bones and flesh could not withstand a focused blast of laser beam from Cerion's eyes.
"Cerion?" she looked at him with growing fear as she started to feel heat on her skin.
"Those who're not strong or fast end up dead," Cerion said coldly before he released the twin beams.
Jane screamed and screwed her eyes shut. But when nothing happened to her, she slowly opened her eyes to see a bluish barrier holding off the laser beams inches away from striking her skin.
"What the…?" Jane stared in amazement at the forcefield that was protecting her.
"That's your true power awakened by Terrigenesis." said Cerion, cancelling the laser beams from his eyes.
"What was that?" Jane shouted after she regained her bearings. "You were trying to kill me."
"It was the only way to force your body to lapse from your human instincts and dip into your evolved self-defence mechanism."
"So, I've got control over some telekinetic field in my body." Jane said thoughtfully.
"Yes. Your power had manifested before on several occasions unconsciously and in a much subtle form. The threat to your life forced the genetic memory dormant in you to surface, giving your brain access."
"I see." Jane said.
Suddenly, she scrunched her eyebrows together in concentration.
"Now that you've familiarised yourself with your power, we can revisit that offer of spending some quality time in bed…"
Jane didn't allow her dense boyfriend to finish that sentence as she blasted him away with a concentrated push of her telekinetic energy.
'Oh, yeah. I think I can get used to it.' Jane thought as she smirked at the man-sized hole she had put on the wall through which she blasted Cerion.
AN:
For artwork related to the fic:
https://discord.gg/Nw2JH25fJf