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This is the first part of the chapter. The next should follow in a few minutes.
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Re-Nazca, Underground Domed City.
"Good evening, this is Johanna Park reporting live from the Conference Center in the Architectural Wonder of the Modern World, the Domed City. In just a few minutes, the newly established Umbrella Corp will release the most anticipated, first-ever created line of products of the Arbor Mundi."
From around the globe, tuned in to multiple news networks, billions of people watch TV with rapt attention. The underground city, which was a privilege only enjoyed by the citizens of Re-Nazca ever since the country closed its borders, is accepting foreigners and camera crews, it's opening its doors along with the doors of Re-Nazca.
What once was ground zero for an unprecedented disaster, is now the center of Re-Nazca and worldwide attention.
Not only because of the impossibility of its construction and design, because of its amazingly advanced technological prowess, because of the World Tree where the only recognized Goddess lives, or because of The Dragon of the End who could be seen even to this day entangled in the Arbor Mundi; it is now also the center of the world because of the miraculous medical papers Aragorn Abner published about the applications of the multiple resources 'mined' from the tree.
A few weeks ago a video compilation of a medical trial was leaked, the video was about the recovery of a patient suffering from fourth-degree burns and her preternatural recovery over 6 weeks.
Six weeks! That's how long it took for the 15-year-old girl to regrow skin, muscles, tendons, and even bone. Her once-charred appearance returned to its healthy sun-kissed complexion.
Needless to say, a certain pair of AI siblings were responsible for this leak, and a Super-spy-sorcerer pirate was also responsible for confirming and providing official proof of this to the world's superpowers.
Just a day after this, the number of attempts on Aragorn's life increased by 500%, and the number of kidnapping attempts on Jean spiked to 2000%.
It was laughable, a bunch of bipedal cockroaches swarmed the flame like moths, all ended up dead and Aragorn was considering starting a business of selling organs to the best bidder.
Even Jean thought about how wasteful it was to offer all of these perfectly good and healthy bodies to the Phoenix flame. Aren't the waiting lines in UNOS to die for? Isn't it sort of wasteful to simply burn these premium life-saving organs?
Aragorn remembered his nanny, she was a Latina from Honduras, she used to say: "Think about the children in Africa who are dying of starvation! Eat your damn veggies if you don't want your pale ass to meet my Nicaraguan Leather belt!"... Worst of all? His mother bore witness to this and took some notes after she saw him eating his veggies like a starved child...
So Jean, being the soft-hearted girl she was, had her butler set up an underground off-the-grid organ transplant agency. Since the assassination attempts appeared to only be increasing, why not make the best out of it?
To make matters worse... or better, depending on who you ask... N-Tek and Stark industries release information about "The Future"—that's what they called the new line of mobile and computing technology—and this serve to add Anthony Stark as another target for Kidnapping.
Seraph had managed to broker a deal between Stark Industries and Krakoa, so Stark's protective detail was now composed of several X-Men—or X-People for the more inclusive—even Logan decided to be part of the team.
"As is known, after the famously leaked video, everybody's eye has been on the Umbrella Corporation and the most anticipated "Miracle Drug", "Panacea", or "Elixir", some of the names the public has coined to the experimental drug."
"It was only a week ago that the young billionaire mutant genius Aragorn Abner and the provisional government of Re-Nazca informed the public about the opening of their borders and the Medical Conference that we will witness today."
"Just one week, people! And take a look at this ambiance!"
The camera made a panoramic take of the crowded underground city. The waterfalls and columns of light that fell decorated the landscape, the main governmental palace, the main root at the center, the subtle glow of the roof, and the canals of clean fresh water, all of which were captured for the world to see.
The internal structure of this city was not exactly a secret, Aragorn had hired a camera crew when Jean and he were building the city. But it's different to see a ghost city than a populated city in the middle of what appears to be a festival.
Some of the famous, the powerful, the iconic, or the leaders of certain powers were confirmed visits today.
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"I'm ready. Let's start."- Aragorn muttered over the comms, and soon enough walked out from behind the stage into the view of thousands of people physically present and billions virtually present.
A silence permeated. Where normally there would be clapping and cheering welcoming the speaker, silence and curiosity were found, accompanied by disbelief and unease.
It's not that Aragorn's appearance wasn't known, but seeing is believing—as they say.
Aragorn isn't seen in public because he normally isn't outside a building he doesn't control, so it could be said that aside from a small number of employees and coworkers, anybody else who has seen Aragorn has done so from the other side of the screen.
"Hello, welcome to the first annual convention of Umbrella Corp in Medical Discoveries. Hopefully, we will have more of these."- Aragorn thought about the very real possibility of certain countries declaring war on him after they heard of what could be accomplished with the tree.
Obviously, the only deterrent is The Dragon of The End. Puny Aragorn doesn't carry enough weight to act as a nuclear deterrent, lucky for him, he has a Draconic backer!
"You guys appear more like the crowd at a zoo watching an endangered species than a crowd at a medical conference."- Aragorn said jokingly about the silence and wide eyes present in almost everyone in the room.
"You don't have to ask... Yes, I can stand on my tail alone."- Aragorn sat using his tail as the only support.
"Of course, my horns can also light up."- Aragorn made a multicolor light flow through his horns.
A child somewhere laughed and that helped to break the ice. Soon, teenagers and adults laughed at the rainbow-colored horns and the way Aragorn sat and jumped on his tail.
"Well enough of that, no need for a preamble, here this is what you came for."- Aragorn made a signal and a huge multiangled-tridimensional projection came live.
"This is the future of medicine—that much is clear—no more scarring, no more amputations, no more irreparable organ damage, badly healed bone tissue, no more physical trauma."- A video showing the different applications of several of the compounds found in the leaves and sap of the Arbor Mundi played.
In it, there could be observed how the compounds reacted to different tissue samples. How some promoted growth, how some promoted cellular activation, how some promoted hormonal stabilization, and many more results of the thousands of clinical trials.
"There's also the clip that was leaked, which got you all here."- Aragorn said.
The most famous healing progression video played.
"Don't get your hopes up, this is just one case. The so-called Panacea, Elixir, or whatever else you want to call it, isn't something marketable yet. After all, who would trust a drug that is backed up by one single successful case... The point is, that more testing and experimenting is needed, but the future seems astoundingly promising."- Aragorn dropped a bucket of cold water on the crowd.
If they were not here for the miracle drug what were they doing here?!
"But don't go all jumpy about it, not even I would have dared to allow a crowd this big to enter my house without having something to show for it."- Aragorn smiled to appease the crowd.
"I present you—drumroll please—'SCAR-OFF'..."- Only the chirping cricket was missing.
"Well, don't blame marketing for the lame name, I'm not very imaginative with this stuff, but I paid for everything so I chose a name that was easy for me to remember."- Aragorn shamelessly confessed.
The people couldn't decide if he was being bold or selfish.
"Anything up to third-degree burns is a thing of the past now... Heh... Not impressive enough? Well, this is just the start. Acne, blackheads, abrasions, blisters, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, impetigo, shingles, warts, and even melanoma will become a thing of the past now."- The projection showed the before and afters of multiple of these cases after a regular application of the medicine.
"That's right, people. I just cured a form of cancer, but I bet all you're thinking about are the blackheads and acne, huh? Selfish bastards!"- Aragorn joked and the crowd cheered for the first time since the 'mutant' walked onto the stage.
He had to wait for a few minutes for the crowd to settle down.
"I will assume that you guys were cheering about the cure for melanoma, for the sake of my faith in humanity."- A laugh was shared.
"Now that we are discussing reasons to grant me the Nobel Prize, I bring to you—drumroll please—'STARVATION-OFF'..."- The silence was condemning.
"To be fair, you guys can guess the purpose by simply hearing the name."- Aragorn commented about the lack of response to the name.
It was clear by now that he cared not about marketability.
"Jokes aside, Starvation-Off is simply a new line of super crops that Re-Nazca is selling, when I say super crops, I mean this:"- Aragorn changed the protection from the Scar-Off to a potato plant that was being harvested in a frozen paramo, sieged by icy winds, surrounded by a challenging rugged terrain.
"The potato plant in this video was harvested in Ojos del Salado, at 6,893 meters (22,615 ft), during the first days of winter."- Eyes were wide, mouths were agape.
"At the moment we are only working with potatoes and tomatoes, but this pretty much means that everybody should have access to food, regardless if you live in a desert, a tundra, a dry environment, or an arid place... as long as you're not allergic to potatoes and tomatoes."- Aragorn joked and the crowd came out of their disbelief.
"I won't say I solved world hunger because some of the multibillionaires out there won't like it—you know as well as I do that those guys profit from it—but I will say I just solve world hunger because fuck them!"- Aragorn gave the cameras a predatory smile.
Once more, the crowd and millions in their homes went crazy. Aragorn stood with his arms wide open, gloating in the adoration of the masses.
The people who knew him understood that this was all a show to him. As was the case for Maria Hill, his designated SHIELD point of contact for this month.
"I know some of you might be wondering about how expensive these revolutionary wonders must be, right?"- He asked after they calmed down.
Various heads in the crowd nodded and several 'Yes' and 'Yeah' were heard.
"Most of the production cost will be covered by Goddess Gaea's blessing... No, I don't mean something spiritual, I mean a literal blessing."- Aragorn showed a projection of Gaea in her divine raiment—floating above the Lake above the city—and a blessing coming from her hands like a shower of sparkling gems dust, and then it showed another clip of several farmers using this water on the soil Gaea was now also blessing.
"The water and the soil we use for the production of these supercrops were blessed by Goddes Gaea with her divine energy. The only fee she asked for, was for all of you to keep her in your hearts when you eat one of her warm meals."- Aragorn said this with his bleeding heart exposed to the viewers.
The discomfort was obvious to the eye of the observer.
"I know that most of you have a conflict with the idea of 'another' god existing—not the Indians, those guys already added Goddess Gaea to their list—but if it makes you feel better, Goddess Gaea is not omnipotent, omniscient, nor omnipresent; so to conform with your common sense you can think of her as very powerful and respected being."
"No need to make things overcomplicated, no one has denied your God(s), simply think of her as someone our ancestors named Goddess because they couldn't understand her. I'm pretty sure if you go to the past and show how to make a fire to the Neanderthals you would be a god as well."- Aragorn scoffed.
"But the truth stands by itself, Gaea—goddess or not—is putting a warm meal on your tables so be grateful. Children are supposed to be taught how to show gratitude, so simply do as they are taught. If you want to pray, that's fine, if you don't, that's fine as well."- As long as they believed in her, Aragorn's objective was met.
"Leaving aside all this bothersome talk—which I have to do to appeal to your sensitivities and insecurities since I don't want a holy inquisition on my ass—the local price is about $3.3/kg or $1.5/lb. I know this seems a bit expensive compared to what you normally pay for a pound of seed potato, but Umbrella Corp is not a charity and I need something to pay my people with. I'm not a god so I want more than just a place in your hearts."- Aragorn smiled and the crowd laughed.
"So, there you have it, world hunger solved for a reasonable cost. Oh! Before I forget, these are the results from just 5 months approximately of work, imagine how much more we'll have in a year or two... Terrifying, isn't it?"- The last part was said while looking straight at the camera as if he was guessing the thoughts of certain cephalopods.
"On another note, most of your governments will probably try to block the import of my products—because Big Pharma has them by their balls—but the production cost of my skincare line is affordable. This means that you might consider making a few trips to Re-Nazca and getting the treatment yourselves here—medical tourism as they say—or you could riot at the doors of your governments and help me speed things up a bit, but if someone asks, I never said this and I'm not accountable for whatever mess you make."- Aragorn had a shameless smile.
"Say no to violence."- Aragorn nodded violently as he said this.
"Respect your overlords."- Aragorn shook his head in denial.
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself!"- Aragorn this time gave them a thumbs up.
"Of course, the last part is the truthful message and the previous sentences were jokes."- Aragorn copied Thor's smile.
With a somewhat frantic and cheering crowd left behind, Aragorn ended his performance. Next would come the researchers who worked with him to perfect these products to answer questions and gift some free samples—for marketing of course—but that was not his problem anymore.
He had already painted a big enough target on his back to get the squids off of Doom's change of regime.
When people start talking about the marvelous recoveries in less than a week, Hydra will go crazy to get rid of Aragorn. That's when Doom will move to remove the current leader of Latveria and seat himself as the rightful king of his people.
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Aragorn jumped to Halo, The Crystal, Leaving the conference center and a very annoyed Agent Covergirl behind.
In the dining room—which was made big enough to accommodate more than a hundred people—his maids, Jean, Kitty—who was forcefully summoned—Seraph, Spark, the Rogers, the Harem Protagonist, Fury, Yao, the Witch team, and Selena Galio waited for him.
"..."- No one wanted to be the first to talk.
"... Jean, go ahead."- Aragorn suggested (ordered).
Jean held eye contact in battle with him. Emerald draconic eyes stared at the multicolor draconic ones.
"Fine!"- She capitulated.
"Let's see, The Goblin Force... think of a ravenous thing which gets power out of its unquenchable hunger... Phoenix said that it is as old as her, so that means since the Big Bang, the first Big Bang, not the one that sparked this iteration of the universe..."- Jean explained and clarified.
"That it defeated her the time they crossed paths... That Galactus lost to it as well, so bad news..."- Spark helped her by projecting a few of the feats of the Phoenix Force and Galactus.
"That it eats galaxies for breakfast, not like the humble Galactus who only munches on a planet at a time..."- Jean showed them a memory Phoenix gave her of the bat-like darkness eating a galaxy.
"That it only tasted defeat when the Celestial fought it off during their 5th host in Earth-1298, but they were left devastated... They also couldn't kill it, so they sealed it..."- Jean cursed at them internally for not doing their job properly.
"It is unknown how it got to this Earth... Yeah, that's pretty much it."- Jean said, no joy could be found in her eyes or voice.
The more she spoke the dimmer her eyes got.
She wasn't the only one, all the present shared the sentiment.
To some, grasping the power of a cosmic entity was a task as ridiculous as the romance in the Twilight movies, to some it was as easy as Anastasia Steele in the hands of the young, billionaire, handsome, sadist, I can fix him, Christian Grey.
But, who were the people in this room?
These were people who served at the weekly visits of the aspect of Death, who dealt with a childish eldritch draconic slime on a daily basis, and who sometimes gossiped with the Phoenix Force through its Host about the drama in the multiverse.
So they had a clear picture of who these benchmarks of power—Galactus, The Phonix Force, and The Celestials—were, and they had no fantasies about besting a thing that bested them.
"... Excuse me. Why am I here?"- Asked the Dark Priestess.
No, she was not part of their inner circle. It's not that they didn't tolerate her, but Jean, Steve Rogers, Margaret Carter, Nicholas Fury, and a few of the most empathic didn't like her after what she did to Santiago, Chile.
"Because when Jean was kidnapped there were traces of this thing left, so more than likely, Mephisto is involved in it somehow."- Spark answered.
The Dark Priestess opened her eyes wide, and terror invaded her face. Now she understood how far her desire to save Amara Aquilla was getting.
"And me?"- Kurt asked.
The Poor guy was given a quick summary by Kitty about the foes they were going to battle... His eyes were stuck in a cycle of losing light and regaining sanity.
"You can ask Irina later."- Aragorn said while looking away.
Irina observed Kurt discreetly and was taking notes of her observations in her mental space.
"What do we know of this thing's powers?"- Steve Rogers asked, furrowing his brows.
Now he was finally going to be a father, and this happens? No! He couldn't allow it, he'll be damned if he lets this thing take away his happiness!
"..."- Jean looked away. She didn't want to be the one to say it. She had dampened the mood enough.
"..."- Steve Rogers got the message and looked at Aragorn. He was an adult who understood the plights of the youth, so he didn't pressure her.
"... Let's start with its more manageable powers: Matter Transmutation, Force of Life Manipulation, Resurrection Force, Immortality, Telepathy, Concussive Force Blasts, Telekinesis, Psionic Nexus, Disintegration Waves-"- Aragorn was interrupted.
"Wait!... These are its more manageable powers?"- Emma asked, terrified.
Matter Transmutation could be dealt with in a vacuum, and she knows of Telepathy and Telekinesis, so even if the potential was on the level of Aragorn she knows that there are ways to work around it, but what about the other rule-breaking powers?
"Yes, then we have its forms of transportation: Quantum Singularity, Cosmic Teleportation, Shadows, Dimensional Openings, and Sorcery."- Aragorn elaborated.
"Why don't you kill us now and spare us the pain?"- Wanda asked. Like even if they could deal with its powerset and trap it, what were they supposed to do with a thing that could use Cosmic Teleportation?
"Are you not listening, Girl? It can resurrect us even if we die."- Agatha admonished her.
Now everyone understood how even in death they couldn't escape the thing.
"What are the powers you consider troublesome?"- Yao asked.
Yao knew her stuff, she was well versed in the matters of the cosmic terrors that besieged her home. But this one was one she had never encountered, and after enjoying three years of peace under the care of Aragorn she was starting to feel the same constant pounding her work's responsibilities gave her... and she didn't like it!
"Chronokinesis, Cosmic Manipulation, Shadow-Morphing, Sorcery, and Energy Absorption. You also have to understand that all of its powers are at least at the planetary level, but we are dealing with a rightful cosmic entity here, so galaxies, quadrants, and sectors are not out of the power-level equation of collateral damage."- Aragorn explained.
With the Goblin Force not being an aspect of existence it was not everywhere, like how Death, Eternity, Infinity, Life, and Phoenix are. But this doesn't mean it didn't carry the power of a cosmic entity, and the energy charge to back the title up.
"Wait a moment!?"- Kitty shouted and raised her hands and tails like a student asking for permission to talk.
"I wait."- Aragorn quipped jokingly.
"Shut up!"- Natalia scolded Aragorn's childish antics.
"Fine, Mom."- Aragorn commented just low enough for it to be heard by the twitching ears of the beast people in the room.
"Aragorn, you said that it is a cosmic entity, right?"- Kitty asked.
"Right."- Aragorn affirmed.
"I know the Madame and Phoenix often visit us but aren't there restrictions for cosmic entities to enter the lower world? How come we are assuming you'll have to duke it out with the Cosmic Hunger itself inside of our universe?"- Kitty questioned.
She knew that something was allowing Death and Phoenix to visit, but she knew that they couldn't stay for long, so, wouldn't this restriction apply to the Goblin Force as well?
"That's because Phoenix told me that it was nearby."- Jean answered instead of Aragorn.
"But does that mean the real thing or its Avatar—like you—is coming?"- Kitty understood how different it was to fight an avatar than the real thing.
"I don't know."- Jean shook her head. all she got from Phoenix was that the Goblin Force was coming for her and that she should talk with Aragorn.
"Probably the real thing inside the Avatar."- Aragorn added.
"Explain, Dragon."- Agatha was drawing plans in her mind—supported by her thousands of years of knowledge in sorcery she had—to find a way to counter this horror.
"As we all know from our resident Firebird, the host of Senior Sister houses her power and acts as her representative."- Jean waved her hand like a Miss Universe, to try and lighten the mood.
"Our Firebird doesn't explode into the proverbial cosmic fireball because Senior Sister only stores the amount of herself corresponding to this universe in Jean, no more than that."- Aragorn thought about how there were some exceptions to this in the Jean-616, but until proven wrong he was going to work on the assumption that a human—no matter how special and compatible—could only hold a shard of the real thing, meaning that there were some shenanigans at play here.
"But the Goblin Force is not permeated through existence, although its destruction potential is on the multiversal scale, it is a singular entity. The Goblin Force from Earth-1298 is the same Goblin Force that is attacking us."- It was not that his universe housed a multiversal counterpart of the Goblin Force.
"But how could an avatar embody fully an entity like that?"- Agatha asked, trying to figure out how the avatar wouldn't explode like Aragorn said Jean would if she hosted all of the Phoenix Force.
"I don't know... All I know, from my not-so-reliable comic knowledge, is that the Goblin Force can attach itself in its entirety to an avatar, from what I read, it did so to Madelyne Pryor and the body of a thing called The Beyonder."- Aragorn thought about the Beyonders and their mastery on fucking up the Multiverse.
"Who are they?"- Margaret Carter asked.
She—like any other Haloan—was given access to the learning room, but with her resurrected lover and baby on the way, she's had little time to take advantage of this resource.
"Madelyne Pryor is a clone from Jean—though I don't know if she exists in this universe—and The Beyonder is a thing I plan to kill if I get the chance, but at the moment that remains a dream, not a realistic endeavor."- Aragorn said with a self-deprecating smile.
He knew better than anyone how unmatched a confrontation of a nigh-omnipotent being and him would go.
"Is that the clone you said this Essex guy possibly made from my DNA?"- Jean was curious about this other her, cloned or not.
Taking care and playing with her 'niece'—Mindee (Emma's cloned daughter)—she lost most of the apprehension she had for cloned individuals.
"Yes, but it might be different in this universe."- Aragorn reminded her about the sea of possibilities for different realities.
Maybe they didn't have a Madelyne Pryor, but he was not counting on it.
"Okay, so you might end up fighting this thing on our turf and this might be connected to the Council of Red, so we are looking at war on two fronts but on the cosmic scale... So... What do we do?"- Fury asked, sweat trailing down his back.
He was holding his cane with strength as he tried to deal with the stress and worry he was feeling. He was going through his sorcery mantras to calm down and think about a way out of this seemingly armageddon.
"What can we do? I don't mean to belittle anyone here, but where would we stand against the Goblin Force or the Council of Red?"- Asked James about their role in this unequal battle while looking at Aragorn.
"Against the Goblin Force?... Pretty much damage mitigation and Goblin control-"- Aragorn began explaining.
"Goblin Control? You don't mean the Goblin Slayer type of goblins right?"- Yelena asked while interrupting.
"Yes, It's called Goblin Force because it tends to create goblins from its shadow-morphing. It can also create demons."- Aragorn explained, Yelena's face contorted.
"And against the Council of Red?"- Margaret Carter asked. The seriousness and focus were noticeable.
"You pregnant ladies will be safe and sound in Halo, but the rest... those with four tails could prove a hindrance to one Mephisto, those with five might pose a funny challenge, those with six might hold back one Mephisto, and Gaea could solo a couple or more of them. I could kill them all, but not if I have to care for Earth while doing so."- Everyone looked more pale as they listened to Aragorn.
"When you say that could kill them all, what's the time scale?"- Wanda asked. She was one of the witches who understood that Aragorn was talking about a protracted battle.
"Between one to three years while inside the universe, I also have to take care of not breaking reality so I can't unleash my full might."- Aragorn gave them his best estimate.
He was assuming all Mephistos held a power level similar to Mephistopheles-616, and that they would manage to invade in their true forms while backed by their home dimensions.
"There are ways to prepare for the Council of Red..."- Selene Galio spoke.
"What do you have in mind?"- Asked Fury, his displeasure about her on display, but he was mature enough to accept helpful suggestions when needed.
"Mephisto, no matter how powerful, is still a devil, we should see the trees, not the forest."- Selen Galio elaborated.
"We play the weaknesses of a devil and prepare."- Aragorn realized what she was saying.
Instead of fixating on 'The Council of Red' let's think about 'Mephistopheles' the devil.
"We might be able to hold off the Council of Red just long enough to banish them to a place where you could deal with them. I can probably use the Tesseract to do it."- Yao said to Aragorn.
She was not sure about being able to handle the weight of more than one Infinity Stone, but luckily, the Eye of Agamotto didn't burden its user as much.
"If played right, we might be able to trim the numbers considerably."- Agatha had an idea.
"How?"- James.
"Mephisto's powers are linked with his extra-dimensional realm, his powers would rapidly decrease the longer he is away from his realm... If we keep them away long enough we should be able to take down a few, with the right methods of course."- Agatha answered.
"Let's say we have Yao use the Eye of Agamotto to confuse their perception of time and speed up their depowering, then I use the Tesseract to isolate the devils in a separate space"- Agatha elaborated.
"They will probably try to leave the portal they will use to invade opened, so we will have to close it to ensure that they don't siphon power from the other side or escape, but Agatha's method could work."- Yao supported Agatha's idea.
"But we would still need to find a way to climb the insurmountable mountain that a crowd of Mephistos freshly out of the oven represents, right?"- Emma asked.
Even if they find a way to close the portal and lock the devils in an isolated space, they are still weaker than even one of them, let alone countless devils.
"It is as you say."- Yao nodded. She approved of the careful thinking every one of her students was applying to the situation.
"I can have the order help, along with you girls assisting Goddess Gaea... we could use the Abor Mundi as a focus and cast a divine sanctuary to turn the ambient in the isolated space hostile to those not born from Earth."- Yao suggested.
"It would affect the other non-Terrans on Earth, wouldn't it?"- Kitty asked, concerned about the other non-Terran maids.
"Yes, that would include Aragorn and any other 'foreigner', but only those in the trap space."- Yao nodded and looked at Elara (Fairy maid) and Elyseas (Elven maid).
"Elara and Elyseas are no problem, they can stay here and protect Natalia and Peggy, you know, in case they try to attack our place."- Jean said and the mentioned maids accepted her suggestion.
"And I doubt Aragorn will mind it that much, would you?"- Jean asked while looking at Aragorn.
"No, it's not a problem. I'll have to restructure my body to imitate the energy signature and resonance to match Gaea's... It's a good idea, but we also need to be careful of the Pandemonium Cube."- Aragorn dropped cold water on their dreams and hopes.
"What is that?"- Steve Rogers asked, he was getting exasperated that Aragorn and Jean kept making the situation more complicated every time they spoke.
He knew it was not their fault and that one shouldn't kill the messenger—this was not Sparta—but he couldn't help feeling miffed.
"It's a tool capable of reality warping, it should be in the hands of Mephistopheles-616... They could probably use it to temporarily adapt reality to bear the weight of the Goblin Force if they are cooperating at 100%."- Aragorn painted another apocalyptic scenario.
"Or they could fuse it with Madelyne Pryor and empower her. I think the Mephistopheles I read about would do it just to screw with us."- Aragorn explained.
"He would? I don't think any devil would empower someone that it's not theirs or themselves."- Emma expressed incredulity.
"The Mephisto I know about is a devil who would focus on famine relief, disease control, and other global charity work just because people who die after brief, miserable lives receive 'a direct pass upstairs', by helping them live longer and better lives, he increases the odds that they will commit sins that will send them to Hell."- Aragorn explained with a deadpan.
Yeah, he was that petty.
"Motherfucker! Can't we just move the planet to another universe and be done with this bitch?!"- Fury exploded.
No one blamed him or discredited his suggestion, more than one thought the same.
"It would have to be a universe without an Earth, but those are rare, like super ultra rare, like so rare that I would need to ask Boss Tribunal to point me in the right direction because I have no idea where to find one."- Aragorn denied the plausibility of such approach.
"..."- Silence.
Silence while they thought of multiple approaches.
"~Hehehehe~ I have an idea... Why don't we use the Mephistos to deal with the Goblin Force?"- Kitty smiled evilly.
"... I'm listening."- Aragorn smiled back.
"So we sort of have a solution for the Council of HIM, but everything gets fucked up when we consider that the Goblin Force is working with them. The problem is that we are trying to deal with too much at once."- Kitty exposed what she identified as the problem.
"But that's because we don't know where or when the Council will invade, we can't separate enemies without knowing where they are or when they will be."- Selene mentioned the root of their problem.
"Why instead of waiting for the Ghost Rider to invite the Council of Red—who knows where and/or when—we invite them ourselves? We trap them, have Aragorn use them as a source of Energy, and then use that energy to power a supercalifragilisticexpialidociouslly spell for banishment at the Goblin Force, force it into another dimensional plane and then have Aragorn go Kaboom!"- Kitty suggested with disregard for Aragorn's soul.
Aragorn observed her without knowing if he should feel proud, hurt, or concerned. It's clear she didn't care about his suffering.
"It either dies, or it's left injured and then we move our universe to another location in case it wants to follow."- Kitty.
"The only problem, if it survives, is how long it will take for Aragorn to return. It could get us while he is returning from the Void. Last time it took two days—that's enough time for that thing to fuck us up."- Yelena commented, holding nothing back, her language turning crass.
"That's true, but aside from that I don't think it is as impossible as the other plans we are coming up with, right?"- Kitty acknowledged Yelena's observation.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"It could work. I can make certain adjustments to the plan to ensure that it's destroyed or sealed even if it survives me."- Aragorn nodded.
"But the conditions to make it work are a pain in the ass and a half."- Yelena negatively commented but her expression was turning positive like the others.
"And we are placing at risk our universe by inviting the Council."- Irina tacitly approved of the plan.
"We would need to set up the appropriate battlefield, but we have 4 infinity stones, Space, Time, and Power that could help us create the perfect space-time to summon the devils, though Soul won't do much on those soulless bastards it should help us bare the other stones better... Mother, Master (Yao), and I could take charge of sharing the burden of the stones."- Wanda added.
Her affinity and dealings with Chaos magic had acclimated her body to endure foreign energies better than most.
"I should help too."- Emma showed the growing bud of her sixth tail.
She knew she still was a long way from reaching the level of a sixth tail, just having the growing bud was not enough to get there but it was definitely the beginning.
"I could flood you with Life and cosmic fire to stave off the consequences of the stones, and I could probably take down a few Mephistos myself, in case you are attacked."- Jean.
She was not well-versed in magic, so she didn't know if the casters would be exposed to the enemy, but it was better to leave their protection to her.
"... Yeah, it's possible. At least dealing with the Council like this should be workable. Whether I can banish the Goblin Force or not, is another battle... Obviously, I prefer to deal with one front first than with two combined fronts."- Aragorn.
"At least we have a direction to move to, this way."- James.
"Yeah, now we have to find a way to do this without ending the world."- Yelena.
"... We have to summon them on Earth, don't we?"- James said after mulling over the plan for a second.
"Yes."- Yao said.
"How else would we have them walk willingly into the slaughter?"- Agatha remarked.
"Demons and Devils alike can refuse a summon."- Selen Galio added.
"So how do we do it then?"- James was confused, how were they supposed to get rid of them if they could sense the trap coming from a mile away?
"I have a solution for that. Let's work on the assumption that we can summon them, the other problem is time. I don't want to be a pessimist, but it's possible that Mephisto left a way to inform or to send the Goblin Force toward Earth in case of his disappearance. I don't really know what level of cooperation they have, but we have to assume that at least they have a way of knowing the status of the other."- Aragorn said.
"You said that Michael Nathanson was Essex, right?"- Selene Galio asked Aragorn.
Nathaniel Essex was part of the Hellfire Club, but he was not a member under his name, he went by Michael Nathanson.
"Yes."- Aragorn affirmed.
"Then they are most likely cooperating. He was the most eager to work with the Ghost Rider when I met them. So possibly this clone of the girl could be the connection between Mephisto, the Goblin Force, and Essex."- Selene won't forget the desperation and greed in that man's eyes.
"Nice! That means that thing will probably appear when we trap the devils!"- Fury sarcastically exclaimed.
"Fury is right, how fast could you deal with the devils, Master?"- James asked.
"If I don't have to worry about ripping reality apart, I could just expand to my real size and then chomp them all in a single bite. There are only two things they could use to fight me, either reality warping or soul attacks. But even then, I'm the bane of their existence, if they assume physical form then I can use my telekinesis to deal with them, if they assume their energy form then I can use my energy control, but with reality warping and/or soul attacks they could potentially hold me back. My problem with them was the damage they could do to the world, not whether I could defeat them or not."
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Two weeks later...
Latveria, Hassenstadt (Capital City)—later known as Doomstadt (In honor of Cynthia von Doom).
"My people, today marks the beginning of a new era."- Doom's Latveria's flag fluttered behind him as the cameras and the thousands in the square below him captured his kingly visage.
Donning a black and green military-style suit with a green cape on his back.
"I, Victor von Doom, have ascended to the throne not for personal glory, but for the betterment of our great nation. The chaos and corruption of the past are behind us."- Whether this was the truth or not it didn't matter. One had to be an idiot to ignore the reality of Latveria and how corruption had become the standard.
"Under my rule, we will rise to unparalleled heights of power, prosperity, and technological advancement. Together, we shall forge a destiny where none dare to challenge us, where our strength is unmatched, and our wisdom guides all."- As was the case in the comics Aragorn read.
Comic Latveria, despite its size and population, was considered a superpower solely because of the one man who ruled it.
"Follow me, and I will lead us to a future where our name is spoken with reverence and our enemies tremble in fear."- Similarly how the High Command of Hydra is trembling in anger at this moment.
Never before since their fall in WWII had Hydra experienced a loss such as this one.
None could deny that recently they've been hit with a stream of losses at the hands of the group now recognized as Daybreak (Akatsuki), but this was different, this was an entire nation in which under the lead of one person, each and every single one of their pawns was targeted.
A whole country in which they have basically lost all of their standing.
Similar to what happened with Germany, though the situation was different this time, the damage they suffered was enough to make them tremble with anger.
They couldn't contact their personnel, their bases had an unknown future, and worst of all... Now they know that someone—an enemy—knows about them.
Sure, Daybreak had targeted them and to this day they haven't been able to deal some damage back, but they were not considered an 'enemy', not when the damage they had suffered hasn't been that great.
For a Hydra who covertly rules almost all of the superpowers in the world, the losses they had suffered under Daybreak were not considered anything else other than a hindrance.
They still had a supply of mutants from Genosha, so the loss of experimental samples was not as grave as the humiliation they suffered at the hands of Daybreak.
But this was different, they were targetted with such precision that there were no doubts, they had been discovered. Other underground powers were indeed targeted by Doom, not only Hydra, but they were the major losers in this change of regime. And the loss was something that overshadowed whatever they had experienced under the relentless attacks of Daybreak.
"Doom does not seek to conquer for the sake of conquest, but to protect and uplift his people to their rightful place. Let our reign be one of order, strength, and unyielding resolve."- A golden crown with emerald details floated above his head.
"Long live Latveria, and may Doom's vision bring us eternal greatness!"- The crown dropped gently on him, and lightning struck behind him.
*RAAHHH!*
"DOOM!"
"DOOM!"
"DOOM!"
"DOOM!"
"DOOM!"
The crowd fervently cried and cheered its king's name. Today was a day of celebration in Latveria.
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New York, Manhattan.
Baxter Building.
["*DOOM!*... *DOOM!*... *DOOM!*... As you can see, the rise in power of Victor von Doom—the rightful king of Latveria—is more than well received by the people of Latveria."]- A reporter said, the image of Doom and the spirited crowd at her back.
"See that, girl?"- Johnny Storm said to the blob of fire resting on his right shoulder.
This blob of fire waved and moved in such a way that 'I see' was understood.
"That's Uncle Doom, from now on whenever you want presents or energy snacks, that's who you have to go to!"- Johnny spoke with wisdom beyond his years.
"... I don't think you're wrong—since he can indeed provide her with energy—but I don't see how this relates to his ascension in power."- Spoke the fox who was using his lap as a pillow and the couch as her bed.
"Lena, my parents taught me that whenever a family member rises to kingship, they ought to bring you presents, this is common sense!"- Johnny said, and nodded his head in assurance.
"I had the same parents and I don't remember they ever saying that."- Susan commented from her couch.
"Lena, don't listen to my sister, as you can see, she was always a rebel, she never paid attention to the teachings of her elders."- Johnny covered Yelena's fox ears with his hands, taking the chance to enjoy the fluff.
"I feel like the matchstick is projecting and switching roles here."- Ben Grimm commented, a bowl of popcorn and a gallon of soda in his hands while he enjoyed the coronation of Doom.
"~Hahah~"- Yelena chuckled.
*Swish*- The automatic sliding door opened and Reed Richards walked in.
"What did I lose?"- He asked.
"..."x4- The other four looked at him like the irresponsible idiot he was.
"Just take a seat, Plastic Man."- Yelena mocked him.
"I don't know what I was thinking when I named him Mister Fantastic, because there's nothing fantastic about his time management. He just lost the one-in-a-lifetime coronation of his friend."- Johnny said in a voice just loud enough for it to reach Reed Richards.
"I already told you, Johnny; what I'm working on is something that will help us move forward with a safety net to protect us from a worst-case scenario."- Reed sighed and took a seat.
"So you say, but you refuse to tell us what it is."- Johnny remarked in annoyance. He was not expecting an answer after so many unsuccessful attempts at prying the truth out of his mouth.
"~Heh. Safety net? Is that what you call it?"- Yelena asked sarcastically.
"Lena, do you know what he is working on?"- Susan asked, she had taken to call her as Johnny did.
"..."- Reed's heart skipped a beat and he stared fixedly at Yelena.
"If you know, please tell us, girl. This idiot is being more stubborn than me, and that's saying a lot."- Ben Grimm added.
"Lena, please, tell us about Reed's secret lover."- Johnny pleaded.
"Well... I don't know what he is doing."- Yelena stood up and floated closer to Reed Richards.
Tails and ears playfully swaying, Matchstick behind her greedily eyeing her assets, Invisible Woman eye-rolling at her brother's wolfish behavior, and Bricked Human enjoying Reed's uncomfortable look, which was similar to a kid whose prank was discovered and now faces a promise of punishment from their mother when they get home.
"But I do know he is messing with space."- She waved her hand and a magic circle ascended from under his couch and passed through him until it coalesced above his head and a blackish-purple substance was left floating inside a sphere of ice.
"And he is being reckless about it."- The substance shifted like it had a life of its own.
Similar to how ferrofluid behaves under a changing magnetic field.
"Oh, hell to the no!"- Johnny lit up and flew away from the substance.
"..."- Susan didn't say anything but she also floated away and had a shield at the ready.
"I ain't going through that once more! I AIN'T!!!"- Been Grimm shouted and moved to Susan's side and looked at Reed as if ready to end him.
"..."- Reed was between panic and intrigue about the substance.
One part of him was damning Yelena for exposing him, another part of him was panicking about what Aragorn will do now that his secret has been exposed, and a not small part was reacting to the underlying trauma that Mephisto left in him the last time they messed with the dimensional portal. But about half of his mind was flooded with curiosity.
"Lena, the owner of my hot bod, my bed, and heart... What is that? And do we have to get rid of Reed? My sister is gonna cry but she'll get over it! Do it if you must!"- Johnny jokingly said in full seriousness.
"..."- Ben Grimm just nodded and made a gesture of wiping a tear in mourning for Reed's passing.
"..."- Susan kept looking between the substance and Reed. Undecided but sorrowful, as if his future was all but uncertain.
"Hahahaha! You guys are funny!"- Yelana laughed and patted repeatedly Reed's shoulder.
With each pat, he jumped in fright a little.
"This is something Aragorn called 'Traces of void (Lower case void)'. He said that if reality were the verses in a story, then the void is the separation between letters, words, paragraphs, and pages. He said that the void is simply the absence that allows for the separation of dimensions, realms, hells, heavens, universes, timelines, and everything else in between."- Yelena said with a thinking expression, as the face one does during an exam when trying to remember what the teacher said in class.
"Well, there was more to it, but I didn't pay much attention, space warping is not my specialization and I only learned how to counter it and detect it."- She said with a carefree expression.
"What's the verdict? Does he get to live?"- Ben Grimm asked.
"Oh! Yeah, this stuff is dangerous, but only to the person that was directly exposed to it. I was just helping him."- Yelena smiled brightly at Reed Richards.
"... Thank you, Yelena... Would you be able to hold it while I go to the lab to get a secured container?"- Reed asked.
"..."- Susan.
"..."- Ben Grimm.
"..."- The Living Flame.
"... Dude!"- Johnny.
"... Here, you can keep this sphere. It won't melt while I live."- Yelena couldn't understand how someone who held the title of 'Genius' was such an idiot.
But it wasn't her problem, if he wanted to die then who was her to stop his suicide? She already did her part and even went beyond that and helped him by purifying the corruption.
"Come here, Johnny, it's your turn."- Yelena floated back to their couch and clapped her lap while she called him.
"Yes, Ma'am."- Johnny forgot about Reed and his recklessness, he powered off and walked fastly to Yelena.
Ben Grimm moved to his couch and dragged it to Yelena's side. He wanted to be as far away from Reed and his blob of void as possible, being close to the strongest person in the room was an added benefit.
"... *SIGH*"- Susan sighed and she felt like she was exhaling years of her life.
"Reed, I thought we already had achieved stable portal technology, why are you messing with space again?"- She asked.
As Aragorn had suggested, they took their dimensional portal and simplified it into a spatial portal. Spark had already run the technology through a few tests and trials and it was green-lighted.
"... I was just running the portal tech through some more stern simulations, I wanted to be sure that it wouldn't fail us like it did the last time."- Reed lied. He was working in his spatial collapser.
Yelena gave him a look from a distance, having felt his lie through her empathy. But she didn't say anything; she had washed her hands of him.
"Is that necessary, Reed?"- Susan asked.
"It was about being a bit extra concerning security, but I can stop."- This time he told the truth, but that was because he had already built the device and he was—by his own judgment—being extra about security. Clearly, the blob of void disagrees.
"Thank you, Reed. I... I just won't go through something like what happened last time again... I won't."- Susan's statement carried finality.
To her assertion, Ben Grimm and Johnny nodded and silently agreed.
Just because Aragorn had helped them with their trauma it doesn't mean that they were left with no scars.
"I can't believe Victor is now a king. I fear for Latveria."- Ben Grimm commented.
"Don't be rude, Brick Wall! That's our friend you're talking about, give him the credit he deserves."- Johnny interjected.
Ben Grim deadpanned at him... Not like his stone face had much in the department of expressions.
"You should fear for the neighboring countries, not for Latveria!~HAHAHAHA!"- Johnny laughed.
"... I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but, Johnny is right."- Susan joined the chat.
"*Gasp!* Sister!"- Johnny looked at her with starry eyes.
["There you have it, an event which is being called the 'Flash Coronation' because it was so sudden that by the time the world realized that his majesty Victor von Doom was staging a coup d'état, it was already over!"]- The news reporter commented.
["On another note, we bring you today news of the 27th attempt on Aragorn Abner's life in US soil ever since he offered the 'solution to world hunger at a reasonable cost'—as he called it."]
["Governments around the world have voiced their disagreement with the young billionaire's behavior and lack of proper regard for societal norms. While some accuse him of instigation and disruption of public safety on a global scale, many support and adulate him for taking such a brave stand against the world."]
["I leave you with this piece, but please be advised, the images are not appropriate for all ages."]
~Video~
["Hey, Mark. Take a picture not a video!"]- A middle-aged ravenette woman laughs and instructs the person recording her.
In her background, the skyline of New York is seen, one particular building stands out because of its gaudy signboard which reads: The Light.
["Sorry, I still can't get myself around this camera."]- A man is heard complaining about the functions of the recording device, and while doing so, something new appears in the skyline.
["Mark, what's that?"]- The revenette asks, she is pointing at a flying object that is closing into the tall buildings in the background.
["... It looks like a missile(?)"]- Mark says doubtfully.
["Don't joke with that, Mark. A missile in Manhattan is no laughing matter."]- The ravenette says, the camera records as the flying object leaves behind it a trail of white smoke and gets closer and closer.
["..."]- The cameraman doesn't answer but keeps recording, it's unknown if he means to do this or not.
The flying object closes into The Light corporate building and then...
["Oh my god!"]- There's a flash of light and the ravenette screams.
["Good lord!"]- The man yells when he sees the light absorb the neighboring buildings, it gives the impression that it won't stop advancing.
[*BOOOOOOOM* *RUMMMBLEE*]- The explosion's boom reaches them.
A column of fire and black smoke is seen and then... it starts shrinking... until it's compressed and a small figure is seen floating in the sky, at about where the center of the explosion would be.
In its hand is a star-like sphere, undoubtedly the compressed explosion.
The unnatural thing is that the devastation expected from the explosion is nowhere to be found.
The figure then pushes the sphere forward and it flies faster than before, the star-like object follows the previous path of the missile but then it veers to a particular direction. For a second it appears as if the object will fly harmlessly into the sea, but then... it hits something, something that was previously invisible.
It engulfs the flying object in a light no less intense than the previous explosion but smaller in radius.
From one moment to the other, the explosion is extinguished and the floating figure is now next to the wreckage left of the invisible ship. It appears that it is being held floating by the figure, and then from inside the wreckage, the figure pulls a body and holds its head for a second or two.
Then it turns around and with the end of its tail, it beheads the floating body.
["*Gasp!*"]- The revenette gasps and brings her hands to her mouth.
Lastly, with a wave of his hand, the floating wreckage and the bisected body are pulverized until just a cloud of dust is left.
["I think that was that boy, Abner... Anette... Let's get out of here."]- The man says and the video ends.
~Video~
The news anchor is left as background noise in the room. The Fantastic Four pointedly observe Yelena.
"Ehhh, what?"- Yelena asks.
"Lena, can you do that?"- Johnny asks as he points with his head at the repetition of the video on the TV.
"Yes, but with a different approach. I can't do the barrier that protected the buildings, but I can temporarily shift the area of the explosion to the mirror dimension. The compression of the explosion is something I can't do either but I could portal it to the ship directly. And about disintegrating the ship, I could freeze it, make it go brittle, and then break it into tiny ice shards."- Yelena explained her approach.
"That's some punch you're packing, girl."- Ben Grimm commented.
Susan and Reed nodded in approval.
"Well, not really. Plastic Man over there could reproduce all of that with tech—given enough time—and between Susan and my Hot Bod over here they could theoretically do what Aragorn did—between the two of them. In Krakoa there are more than a few who could reproduce the same results, and everyone in The Crystal could. Oh! Mister King Doom could do it too."- Yelena explained.
"Ben, my brick friend, what Lena is saying is that you're the weak link, so you need to get some gains if you don't wanna be left behind. I know the perfect protein brand for you... Quikrete. One shake in the morning and one before going to bed is all that you nee-"- Johnny was stopped midway by a flying couch.
"That's it! Today you'll experience what a brickfoot through the ass will do to a human!"- Ben ran to Johnnt and this one ran away.
Susan looked away in shame and Reed was thinking about the implications of these void traces... yeah, he had not stopped.
"... They remind me of my sisters."- Yelena commented.
"I have a hard time picturing you maid ladies running amok one behind the other."- Susan shook her head when she heard the sound of something breaking.
"It's different but the same. For example, Elyseas discovered a new parameter for cheesecake in the fabricator, yesterday, the thing tasted like the best cheesecake we've ever tried. So, obviously, instead of sharing the parameters she went to brag about it in our faces."- Yelena explained.
Susan agreed in her mind, that indeed was similar to how sometimes her brother behaved.
"And that was it! We called for a blood feud—or as Aragorn likes to call it, Agni Kai—and each of us dueled her until a limb, head, or tail was lost—well, Elyseas is tailless but you get my meaning."- Yelena said with rightful fury.
"..."- Susan was dumbstruck, and even Reed came out of his fantasies, due to the out-of-proportion response that a cheesecake recipe got from the maids.
"Lena... a head? You said a head?"- Susan asked to verify.
"Oh, yes. Decapitation doesn't mean the end of us, though it hurts like hell."- Yelena explained further, and brought her hand to her neck as if feeling some phantom pain.
*Crash!*- Susan's eye twitched at the sound of glass breaking.
"That's it!"- She screamed, similar to Ben Grimm.
She floated away, after the demolition duo.
Yelena and Reed were left alone.
"You know, Richards, I like the Storm siblings and Ben very much."- She said.
"Ehm, I like them too, they are like my family."- He said, not knowing what the point was of her comment.
"Which is why I want you to know that I will do everything I can to protect them."- Yelena smiled sweetly.
"I'm glad to hear that. As someone who cherishes them as much as I do, I can't help but feel pleased that you will. I'm happy Johnny found a woman like you, one who set him straight and took him away from the life of debauchery he was leading."- Reed also smiled sweetly.
"... I will protect them... even from you and whatever you're really working on, which was apparently important enough to lie to your 'family' about."- The smile never dropped from her face, but her eyes told another story.
"..."- Reed was frozen still.
"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. I'm just setting things straight, between you and me. Susan is a lovely woman, Ben is a loyal guy, and Johnny is my hot bod, but you? You're nothing more than an 'add-on' to my friends. Make sure to keep yourself as such and don't change your status to a 'danger'... we don't like dangers in Halo."- Yelena once more smiled with her eyes and opened a portal, from which Johnny fell into her lap like a princess.
"... My hero!"- Johnny said and hugged her neck.
From the other side of the portal, Susan was attempting to restrain Ben who looked like he was about to clobber someone.
"My princess, for you and only you."- Yelena mocked and caressed Johnny's face with her hand, like a knight in shiny armor.
"Give it up, Ben. I've got plot armor!"- Johnny shouted to the other side of the portal.
"More like girlfriend armor!"- Ben shouted back and gave up, Susan releasing him from the bubble that was restraining him.
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