Disclaimer - The rights of the respective characters are with their respective owners. I don't mean to violate their intellectual property rights and thus, only my original characters are my IP.
The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 16
Manhattan [August 2008]
–Axle Riddle–
Well, this sucked.
There was nothing he could do aside from waiting for Stark to come back from his imprisonment in Afghanistan and even then, he was not sure when Tony would start the construction of Stark Tower though considering the size of that building in the movies, realistically it should have begun by now. Of Course, there was no guarantee that people could not build such huge skyscrapers in less than 4 years in this universe. They did have access to vastly more advanced bullshit than they did in his home universe.
Meanwhile, he continued to buy the dip in SI Stock, which would make for a good little nest for him once Tony returned triumphantly, escaping from the jaws of death by the skin of his teeth.
Anywho, he had made multiple trips around Manhattan and had yet to find any building that looked like Stark Tower in the movies. So, it meant that Tony didn't just buy an existing building and repurpose it. No, that madlad did build his very own Tower Castle.
In the meantime, he watched his portfolio go into red as he continued to buy Stark Industries' Stocks even as people continued to sell them in panic. This much was nothing, he planned on taking a loan from Master Wu, who was loaded apparently, to buy the stock once Tony returned and disbanded the weapons division. Oh, how the Stock would fall then.
He was looking forward to it. Ah, this was such a rush, knowing that your money would grow even as people all around you sold their stocks.
"Sir, are you sure?" He looked up from his phone at Helen as she sat on a chair in front of him, working on her tasks, which was nothing as far as he knew. Maybe something to do with scheduling his message deliveries?
He didn't care much but after hearing her question, he smirked at her and replied, "Oh dear Helen, you don't have to take my word for it. All will be revealed once Stark returns from captivity,"
"...Okay," She replied and went back to her laptop, humming cheerfully.
In the back of his mind, he noted an uptick in crime but that happened in the evening anyway. It was currently 7 PM and he did not feel like going home today because the Air Conditioning was busted and he did not like that.
Apparently, despite having a body that was vastly more suited for extreme temperatures was also very susceptible to falling into the throes of comfort. He could now much more easily identify the quality of a mattress, pillows, and blankets because of the increased sensitivity of his body. That meant that he had become extremely picky in terms of necessary items in his house. That meant that most of the joining bonus he had received from the company went up in flames once he found the correct luxury brand that would sell perfect quality bedding
Anywho, the reason he was bored was because there was quite literally nothing to do. His range extension meant that there was little to no crime happening with him being active for half the day. The rest of the night was somewhat active but even then, once enough noise was made or if he got up to drink water in the night, all the crime in his surroundings was promptly crushed without even him trying.
Somehow, the process of concentrating on areas, looking for crimes that are happening, stopping car accidents, and more had turned into a subconscious activity for his brain.
He had a theory that continuous use of his powers had somehow evolved his brain, along with the episode back when he fell unconscious for three days and woke up with a chiseled muscled body that would not fall short when compared to a professional award-winning bodybuilder.
Now, he had not gotten any medical testing done because, well, he was not that stupid, but he had a hunch that it was not just his body that had been improved. His brain must have been improved drastically to allow such a thing to happen.
Oh, there you go, another car crash averted. Dumbass was watching something on his phone and failed to see the garbage truck in front of him. It was good he did that because not only would that have placed additional expense on the local budget, it would have totally destroyed the dumbass' car and potentially injured him severely. God, people were such fools, he thought to himself as he stopped the car and then bonked the man on the head.
He was sure that he would call 911 himself to report the incident because he…just removed all of the wheels of his car and placed him there.
Ah, yes, the trend of reporting his actions. Apparently, every single agency had gotten so desperate to track him down, that they had made the Mayor announce a reward. It was small for now. Even if somebody just saw his powers in action, they were to report that as well and would get a few dollars in exchange. Nothing life-changing but enough that people would just record anything they could and submit that grainy footage to the police who would write them a check.
It was honestly…very stupid but it got people money so who was he to deny them?
Ah, yes, SHIELD and HYDRA had struck the city multiple times, fake robbing in the case of SHIELD and real shootouts in the case of HYDRA but he had foiled their plans each and every time.
He had taken precautions this time, unlike the last time when he just subdued the HYDRA personnel, this time, he just severed their tendons and pulverized their knee and shoulder joints, rendering them disabled or at least, unemployable for the foreseeable future.
As for the SHIELD personnel, he had started communicating with them through the nearby debris and after heating them up so they would glow red, he always gave them the same messages, "NICE TRY FED!"
Ah, the disappointment on their faces once they saw that was very satisfying to feel. He also did the same for their temporary bases in Manhattan, they had at least two hidden in the city, stocked to the brim with supplies, if their agents needed it or not. Their real HQ was probably outside of his range and even if it was not previously, they must have realised the limitations of his powers and moved it outside the island anyway.
Ah, he was sure that most of them were now sure about his power limitations and would not be worried much about him, assuming that he was limited to the city for some reason. Of Course, they wouldn't stop searching for him. No, if he could not get out into a warzone to be used as a foot soldier, they could figure out how his powers worked and then try and replicate that on a soldier who would.
Well, that was cute but even Hand, the immortal ninja cult could not make heads or tails about his powers, he had no hope in SHIELD or HYDRA, not that they would ever get their grubby hands on him.
Speaking of HAND, he had killed Madam Gao three times now as she came to negotiate with him a safe passage for her goods to pass and distribute in his city.
Well, it was safe to say that neither HAND nor any big criminal enterprise would be able to set up shop as long as he was in the city, which meant at least until 2012. Once the invasion happened, he would move out and start making moves, for his continued survival.
Speaking of moves, what would they even be?
He did not want to risk his body by injecting himself with untested or even tested serums. Wakanda's Heart Shaped Herb was the closest thing to a natural super soldier serum and he did not even want that. Not just because of Bast but because he was already much stronger than the Black Panther.
Extremis could help. Instant regeneration, even when the person is unconscious, would help a lot but once again, untested technology.
Plus, he was sure his powers would grow to reach the peak anyway but even then, he was unsure if it would be enough to stop Thanos. No, what he needed were allies.
Powerful allies who would help in the fight against Thanos. Not the ones who would fight Thanos anyway.
No, he needed to look for powerful people who would have otherwise not been in the fight against Thanos.
Villains, misguided heroes, Villains made out of necessity and so many others, could have been put to greater use in the fight against Thanos and his forces if only the people in the know knew about Thanos and his crusade.
Well, he knew so he would have to gather them. The most obvious would be the Inhumans.
Not the Inhumans on the moon, those were still too powerful and well-organised for him to go after. No, he was thinking of the smaller Inhuman settlement in Asia.
Jiaying would be one of the first to go obviously. Not just because of her mentality of killing humans and her past trauma but also because she would just incite her people against him and attack him. Also, her powers would not help her in any way since she needed physical contact to absorb the life force of people. He didn't know if her powers worked only on Inhumans or humans or even on any living being.
Hmm, more information was necessary for the decision. Even if he did secure her cooperation, he would have to be careful because the woman was willing to kill her own daughter to advance her agenda, which would have resulted in pandemonium across the planet.
What would happen if she absorbed the life force of vastly more powerful beings than herself? She had absorbed the life force of multiple Inhumans who willingly sacrificed themselves for her, brainwashed as they were but that only led to her maintaining her youth and nothing more.
She might just explode if she tried to use her powers on Hulk or Thor, so no. She was not really useful and she would be infinitely more troublesome as a thorn in his path to secure powerful combatants. Even support-oriented powers like healing or teleportation would be more than useful in the fight against Thanos.
The next best candidates were the Eternals but they would not lift their hands for something like this, well, not all of them anyway and the ones who would help would do so at the drop of a hat so he would approach them later on.
That left him with….nothing. The MCU did not have many enclaves of enhanced people. He would have to work with what he had.
"Sigh, so much work and no time to do it," He mumbled to himself, looking at the TV, channel surfing as he reclined on his chair, all alone in his cabin.
You can read upto 5 extra chapters on my P*treon. It is the same name as my username.